September 10 - Ezekiel 40-42
In this passage the hand of the Lord was on Ezekiel in a special way, and the Lord, Himself, showed Him a vision of the Temple, which would be built in Jerusalem. The fact that a measuring rod is used to verify each feature is meant to show the certainty of its being built. This is how it is for us, too. When the hand of the Lord is upon us, we can understand things from the Lord, and we can trust God to cause them to happen. I urge you to pray the prayer of Jabez, which asks God to keep His hand on you all the time.
The normal assumption is that the Temple, which God is showing Ezekiel, will be built right after the exile. That is not correct. The measurements are for a much grander Temple, which will be built for the Tribulation and the 1,000 year reign of Christ at the end of our time on earth. Without going into the details it is obvious that this Temple will be huge. It will be appropriate to serve the whole world, as it will in the millenial time. This shows me how God is always planning ahead. He knows what needs to be done, and He has it all laid out. The only question is if we will personally follow God's plan for our lives, or if He will have to enlist someone else to do what He had planned for us to do. I urge you to listen to God in your unhurried times with Him, and do what He tells you to do.
Ezekiel is shown all of the decorations of this future Temple, too. They include Cherubim like he saw by the river in chapter one and palm trees. I think by now Ezekiel has become familiar with how God does things. The Cherubim are His angels around His throne. They are involved in worship. That is why Ezekiel saw them when he saw the throne of God, as he was led to worship God. This reminds me that as we look back over the experiences of life, everything begins to fall in place for us. We can see what God was doing all along. Do you see God's plan in your life? Are you following His plan? That is the only way to true happiness. If you depart from His way, one day you will run into a road block, because you are going against the flow of God's plans.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 43-45.
The normal assumption is that the Temple, which God is showing Ezekiel, will be built right after the exile. That is not correct. The measurements are for a much grander Temple, which will be built for the Tribulation and the 1,000 year reign of Christ at the end of our time on earth. Without going into the details it is obvious that this Temple will be huge. It will be appropriate to serve the whole world, as it will in the millenial time. This shows me how God is always planning ahead. He knows what needs to be done, and He has it all laid out. The only question is if we will personally follow God's plan for our lives, or if He will have to enlist someone else to do what He had planned for us to do. I urge you to listen to God in your unhurried times with Him, and do what He tells you to do.
Ezekiel is shown all of the decorations of this future Temple, too. They include Cherubim like he saw by the river in chapter one and palm trees. I think by now Ezekiel has become familiar with how God does things. The Cherubim are His angels around His throne. They are involved in worship. That is why Ezekiel saw them when he saw the throne of God, as he was led to worship God. This reminds me that as we look back over the experiences of life, everything begins to fall in place for us. We can see what God was doing all along. Do you see God's plan in your life? Are you following His plan? That is the only way to true happiness. If you depart from His way, one day you will run into a road block, because you are going against the flow of God's plans.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 43-45.