Latest / Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms / #177. Ezekiel 43–48: The Lord Is There | Hope, Holiness & Biblical Parenting

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#177. Ezekiel 43–48: The Lord Is There | Hope, Holiness & Biblical Parenting · Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms

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  This is a Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.
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  I'm Stephanie Hickox.
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  Today, as we finish another book of the Bible, in digging into Ezekiel chapters 43 through 48, right from the get-go, I need to acknowledge that these are some of the most contested and confusing chapters in all of Scripture.
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  I certainly maintain I am not a theologian.
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  I'm just a mom that loves Jesus and have found His Word to be entirely sufficient for what I need each day.
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  Even in this portion of Scripture that doesn't speak to our present day, we can still be reminded of the perfection and character of our Lord and Savior through it.
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  I ask you to persevere in faithfulness with me, because if God ordains for detailed instructions to be given to us, we should take heed.
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  In these concluding chapters, God describes a new covenant in which He will restore and dwell with His people.
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  I promise you, I'm not forcing that theme.
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  It's a thread that is intricately woven throughout scripture.
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  Once your eyes are open to it, you can't unsee it.
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  This holy, sovereign, perfect God is so intentional to dwell with His people that He gives about nine chapters describing what a future temple will look like.
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  God gives Ezekiel this intricate, detailed vision in the 25th year of their captivity.
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  It's been decades since they've seen Jerusalem, and it'll be 45 years before any are allowed to go back and rebuild the temple.
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  But our God is a God who speaks hope and a future even into very desperate, dismal situations.
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  If there's one thing that I'll take away from studying Ezekiel this time around is how obedient he was to the Lord.
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  I think we almost might miss it because every difficult thing God asks him to do, he just does it.
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  A couple of times he said, "I did as I was commanded," but he doesn't highlight his character, and scripture doesn't really meditate on it either.
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  There's a lack of questioning and a lack of doubt from him The one time that he does ask a question, it seems he was trying to maintain his ceremonial cleanness before the Lord, not trying to argue.
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  Many people compare Ezekiel to Moses because they both give really detailed instructions about the temple Certainly Ezekiel had the tremendous blessing of God's glory being revealed to him even in exile.
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  And in the wilderness, God revealed His glory to Moses but Moses was allowed to see many miracles.
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  And Ezekiel was really called to walk by faith I bring all this up to say that I have the utmost respect for the faithfulness of Ezekiel, if God led him to pen nine chapters of scripture detailing a future
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  temple, then I'm going to take it seriously and I'm going to listen The vision begins when a man of bronze shows up with two measuring devices, a linen cord and a measuring reed.
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  in chapter 40 verse four he says, "Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might
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  show it to you.
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  Declare all that you see to the house of Israel."
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  The length of this architectural blueprint reveals that it's very important to the Lord.
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  But I have to confess that reading it felt a little bit to me like when you meet a mom who's 10 years down the road from you, and she's giving you information that you know you're gonna need at
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  some point in your parenting journey, but you just don't have capacity yet.
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  And you just think, "I'll cross that bridge when we get to it, but I'm thankful to know somebody that can guide me when I do need the info."
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  That's kind of how I feel about these chapters of Ezekiel.
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  First of all, God hasn't called us to build this temple yet.
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  It hasn't existed to this point.
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  Scholars even debate whether this is a literal or a symbolic temple But I also believe that every word of the Bible was put there with intention by God.
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  And as we read through all these numbers and measurements, we can see that God is a God of order and intention so we shouldn't neglect these chapters even if you feel your eyes glazing over the seventh time you
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  read 100 cubits.
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  this bronze statue of a man is guiding Ezekiel around with a stick.
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  They measure and measure and measure.
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  God is precise, He's accurate, and He commands for a wall to be built around this entire temple structure.
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  The wall is 10 feet thick and only 10 feet high.
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  Obviously, walls at this time were to protect from outside attacks.
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  But honestly, you and I could probably hoist one of our kiddos over a 10-foot wall.
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  This isn't really providing protection and 10 feet thick?
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  What is that about?
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  This wall is not about keeping enemies out.
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  It's about creating a division between the common and the sacred Though God wants to dwell with us, we need to be aware when we come into His presence Not only is the wall thick, this whole temple structure is
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  enormous.
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  The whole city of Jerusalem that David had conquered was about .5 square miles, but Ezekiel's temple is 8.3 square miles.
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  It's about 140 times larger than the historical city of Jerusalem.
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  this includes the areas that the priests were to live as they surrounded the temple structure.
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  The temple itself is about a mile on each side.
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  It's gigantic.
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  This temple structure has actually never been built on Earth, If you've been reading scripture for a long time, you might be thinking, "Wait, didn't God call Nehemiah to come back and rebuild the temple?
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  Won't we read about that soon?"
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  You're correct.
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  Nehemiah did lead the people to rebuild the temple, but there wouldn't have been a physical location large enough to follow Ezekiel's directions.
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  It literally would not fit on any mountain near Jerusalem.
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  That fact alone makes many scholars believe that this is a symbolic and figurative temple, and that all of these measurements represent something Other scholars vigilantly maintain this is a description of the temple that Christ will reign from during
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  the thousand-year millennial reign.
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  Again, I'm not a theologian.
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  I am a mom who has found the Word of God To give me exactly what I need every day of my life.
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  And generally, I will say that I, and Entrusted Ministries, we follow a historical grammatical perspective that much of scripture can be taken literally.
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  Of course, there are books that are poetic or have a different purpose due to their genre, but overall, we believe it's most biblically faithful to interpret it literally.
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  And as I began praying, immediately I thought of Noah's Ark.
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  God gave the exact dimensions for what Noah was supposed to build.
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  Then I thought about the detail and the chapters and chapters we read about what the tabernacle was supposed to look like during the days of Moses.
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  Next, I thought about Solomon's temple and the instructions we were given about that.
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  It seems that every time there is this level of specificity and this amount of numbers, that it concludes with a physical, literal construction project.
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  And honestly, the fact that a mountain doesn't exist for it to be built on right now really doesn't bother me, because I know that the Lord who created the mountains could certainly raise another one up, and He could
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  flatten one that exists.
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  He could do any number of things to bring this vision to life And why does it matter?
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  What is the purpose of this temple?
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  If you recall earlier, Ezekiel saw something terrifying and devastating.
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  God's glory left the temple And it was truly powerful that God's glory came to him in Babylon.
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  But listen to what happens at the beginning of chapter forty-three.
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  Then he led me to the gate facing east, and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east.
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  And the sound of His coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.
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  And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when He came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen at the Chebar Canal.
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  And I fell on my face.
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  As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court.
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  And behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
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  While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple.
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  And he said to me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever.'
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  See, there we have it again that God wants to dwell in the midst of His people.
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  He has always had a plan to draw near to us.
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  Next, God describes how people have defiled His holy temple, and He will never allow it to happen again.
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  Something incredible that I've been wanting to share with you is that even though many Jews do not claim the name of Jesus today, the Jewish people have not really struggled with idolatry since the time of the kings.
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  The exile truly did purify them so that the nation as a whole has not given into that temptation even to today And God declares that they never again will.
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  His presence calls us to holiness.
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  Although it may not give us warm fuzzies, it's important to include part of verses 10 and 11.
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  As for you, son of man Describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities, and they shall measure the plan.
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  And if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out.
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  As I've said, in order to have a restored relationship with God, there must be repentance In 44:4, we're given the remarkable description of the glory of the Lord filling the temple once again.
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  And God says to Ezekiel, "Son of Man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws."
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  It's basically like when a teacher tells you, "Pay attention, there's gonna be a quiz on this."
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  And if God is saying that this is so important, it's important for you and I, too Chapter 44 also reveals that the sons of Zadok will have the honor of serving in the temple.
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  Zadok was the priest during the days of Solomon, and he and his line stayed faithful to the Lord, even though much of the Levitical line betrayed their role.
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  The Levites will still be allowed to serve in the outer area, but not be elevated as Zadok is In chapter 45, there's an interesting insertion in the middle.
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  God is explaining the proportions of the holy place, but then He tells the leaders of Israel to put away violence and oppression, and calls them to execute justice and righteousness, and to have just balances.
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  God is reminding them that when we love Him, it dramatically impacts how we treat others.
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  leaders of God's people should be known for generosity, compassion, and righteousness Throughout these chapters, you'll notice a reference of a prince, and you, like me, might be wondering, who is this prince?
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  Is he Jesus?
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  But we know he can't be because later it explains that he offers sacrifices for his sins.
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  Instead, he is a leader that is a godly example for the people, but this isn't the Lord And neither is that bronze statue guy.
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  In chapter forty six God makes it clear that some things will always be important to him Thus says the Lord God: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days.
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  But on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
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  The priest shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside and shall take his stand by the post of the gate.
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  The priest shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate.
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  Clearly the Sabbath is still important to God, and clearly his people gathering to worship him is still important.
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  But did you notice that it talked about sacrifices?
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  But you're probably thinking, Why are there still sacrifices?
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  here's the best explanation I could find for this.
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  If all of this is literal in the millennial kingdom, these animals are not being sacrificed for the forgiveness of people's sins.
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  They will be a reminder of what Jesus did for them.
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  In reality, the sacrifices never provided forgiveness.
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  They pointed to Christ and the forgiveness he would offer.
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  So just like when you and I take communion today and we're saying, "Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice on the cross," these continual sacrifices will remind people of their need for forgiveness And they'll make them realize that it
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  was Jesus' sacrifice that allowed them to now dwell in the temple with the Lord I already explained why the size of the temple would produce a difficulty in construction.
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  But in chapter 47, we read of another element that makes it beyond human control.
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  This will be our longest reading today, then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the temple faced east.
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  The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.
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  Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east.
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  And behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.
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  Going out eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then he led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep.
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  And he measured a thousand And led me through the water, and it was knee-deep.
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  Again, he measured a thousand and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep.
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  Again, he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen.
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  It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.
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  And he said to me, Son of man, have you seen this?"
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  Then he led me to the bank of the river.
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  As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other.
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  And he said to me, This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah and enters the sea.
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  When the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh, and there will be very many fish, for the water goes there that the waters of the sea may become fresh.
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  So everything will live where the river goes.
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  Fishermen will stand beside the sea From En Gedi to En Eglaim.
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  It will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of very many kinds like the fish of the Great Sea.
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  But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh.
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  They are to be left for salt.
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  And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food.
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  Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month because the water for them flows from the sanctuary.
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  Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing I really don't want to be irreverent, but I can't help but laugh when the angel takes him through all of that water and says, "Son of man, have
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  you seen this?"
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  I don't know what the temperature of the water was, but I'm thinking Ezekiel probably was like, "Yeah, man, I followed you for a really long time through the water.
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  I see it."
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  But I think the bronze man was saying, "Do you see how this river has no source, and it's giving life to everything it encounters?"
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  The MacArthur commentary states, This section reinforces the constant emphasis of the prophets, that in the final kingdom, amazing physical and geographical changes will occur on the earth, and especially the land of Israel."
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  He says that the stream of water flows underneath the temple, going east to the Jordan River, and then curving south to the Dead Sea area.
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  The origin of this river coincides with Christ's second arrival on the Mount of Olives.
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  This will trigger a massive earthquake and will create an east-west valley through Jerusalem, allowing for the water to flow, which would align with Zechariah 14.
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  God says that the Dead Sea is going to become like the Mediterranean Sea as He transforms the world for good.
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  Sometimes-- it's easy to talk about what is said here, sometimes what we don't realize is what's left out.
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  Remember all of that furniture we read about in the Book of Exodus?
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  Guess what?
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  In this temple, all there is is a wooden table there is no Ark of the Covenant here.
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  Its absence is radical.
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  The Ark symbolized God's presence with the people, but when Christ comes to reign on the Earth, there will not need to be a symbol of His presence.
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  He told us the very soles of His feet would dwell there.
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  The simplicity of this speaks volumes In chapter 48, God describes the allotments of the priests Interestingly, another detail that you may not have noticed is that it's never stated that this will be in Jerusalem.
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  But in the final verse, we read the name of the city.
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  and the name of that city from that time on shall be, 'The Lord is there.'"
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  Amen and hallelujah, interestingly, the name Yahweh Shammah means the Lord is there, the Moody commentary says it's a Hebrew wordplay on Yerushalayim.
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  and if you thought that that sounded like Jerusalem, you're right.
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  These names sound similar, and it points to God's restored relationship with His people The book opened with a vision of the divine glory of God.
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  And because of God's holiness, Ezekiel had to describe the judgment against Judah and its enemies.
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  Then, in God's faithfulness, he explained how he would hold to his unconditional covenant with Abraham, and he promised a new covenant.
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  And finally, Ezekiel presents the glory and majesty of the Lord God's sovereign rule and his absolute holiness in the details of the new temple and the new Jerusalem.
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  This challenges every person who loves the Lord to greater personal holiness and obedience to the King who will one day rule from his throne.
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  The city will then be known as Adonai Shema, the Lord is there.
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  Heavenly Father, we praise you that you are a God that has a good plan.
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  As moms, we make decision after decision and handle detail after detail, and we thank you for the clarity your Word brings us of what matters most.
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  I pray you would lead us forward in our lives with peace, that we would know exactly what you're calling us to, and that we would obey fully as Ezekiel did.
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  Strengthen our hearts so even when we're tired or when the things you're asking us to do are hard, I pray we would move forward in diligence, knowing that you promise a blessing for our faithfulness.
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  We thank you that we can look forward to dwelling with you for all eternity, and that we don't need to understand every detail to trust in a good Father with a good plan.
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  We know the extent of the sacrifice that you made for us, Jesus.
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  Help us to move forward in total trust as you so rightfully deserve.
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  It's in your name we pray.
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  Amen.