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

The passage continues with the description of the restored temple from Ezekiel’s vision and with the instructions for worship in it.  In today’s passage I noticed that the common people were instructed to enter from either the north gate or the south gate of the temple, and to leave through the opposite gate.  If they entered through the north gate, they were to exit through the south gate, and those who entered through the south gate were to exit through the north gate.  Now, this is not the first time I have seen that, but this year I thought I should write a little bit about it.  I am not sure why God would give this instruction through Ezekiel, but I can imagine one positive consequence of following it.  It would force a certain degree of mixing among the people.  I mean think about it.  When people go to a large gathering they tend to go in through the entrance which is most convenient to them, and then leave by the same entrance.  The only people they interact with, most of the time, are the people who go in, and out, the same entrance they do, because they never cross paths with those who enter from the opposite side.  With this instruction, those who went in once entrance would need to, at least, pass by those who went in the other entrance.  It seems unlikely that this would be the only reason, but perhaps it is part of the reason God commanded this through Ezekiel.

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