Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 46-48.

Every time I read this I wonder why God felt it necessary for Ezekiel to spell out the offerings which should be made.  Now I have never compared the offerings which Ezekiel prescribes here to those spelled out in Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, but they are certainly similar.  However, I also always feel that the account here of the river which will begin at the Temple has meaning which I cannot quite understand.  He describes this river as flowing from the Temple, getting deeper and wider the further it gets from the Temple until it flows into the Dead Sea.  This flow of water will convert the Dead Sea into a fresh water lake.  Yet the swamps and marshes around the Dead Sea will remain salty.  So, I understand that the life giving power of this river comes from the fact that it originates at the Temple in the presence of the glory of God, but why does it get deeper and wider as it flows away from that presence?  Sometimes, I think that it is a metaphor for the way in which God’s love grows as we share it with those around us.  However, I think it has more meaning than just that, but I am at a loss as to what that might be.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.