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.

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

Ezekiel continues describing his vision of the new temple that he foresaw being built when God restored the Israelites to the land which He promised to Abraham’s descendants.  As he finishes that description, he describes a stream of living water which will flow out of the new temple down to the east to the Dead Sea.  It starts out as a trickle which becomes deeper and wider as it flows away from the temple until it is a mighty river when it reaches the Dead Sea.  This river will bring life to everything along its path, even converting the Dead Sea into a fresh water lake.  I believe that this stream of living water represents Jesus and the Church.  When Jesus founded the Church it was a small organization which did not even represent a significant portion of the people living in Jerusalem.  But as time has passed the Church has become a mighty force which changes the world.  As those who make up the Church allow the Holy Spirit to transform them into the likeness of Christ, they become vessels of the Living Water which is Christ.  As we allow the Spirit to work in us, we become, all combined, a life giving river.  I pray that the Spirit transforms me so that others may gain life from being exposed to God’s Spirit in me.

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

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

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

Every year I come to this passage and feel like there is a lesson here for us that I am not seeing.  Today, I am going to focus on the things which struck me as significant, even though I do not understand their significance.  First, the gateways to the temple.  Ezekiel says that the eastern gate will only be opened on Sabbath days and New Moon festivals.  Only the prince will be allowed to enter by that gate and he will worship and offer his sacrifices in the threshold to that gate, then depart the way he came.  Every one else is to enter either the northern gate or the southern gate and they are to exit through the opposite gate of the one they entered.  As I read this it seems deeply significant, but I have no idea why it should be.  I have looked up what a few other people have written concerning this passage.  While I find what they have to say to accurately reflect how God wants us to live, I am unconvinced that this passage was intended to teach us those lessons.  That is, if those lessons were not taught elsewhere in the Bible, I doubt that you would learn them from reading this passage.

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

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.

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

In the year 2000, on the 23rd day of this month, my wife married me.  So here we are on day 10 of the 20 days that I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary for 20 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary Darling!

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

So, yesterday I noticed something in the passage which I did not comment on because it was in the middle of a section which I cannot see a way to apply today.  However, I saw a very similar thing today, also in the middle of a section for which I do not see an application today (in both cases I believe this to be a limitation to my vision, not a comment on the value of the passage).  So, in yesterday’s passage the priests were instructed leave the clothes they wore when they were ministering to God in special inner rooms of the Temple in order to be sure not to endanger anyone by transmitting holiness to them.  In today’s passage, the priests were to prepare the offerings eaten only by the priests in special kitchens so as to avoid carrying them through the through the outer courtyard and risk endangering the people by transmitting holiness to them.   I am completely baffled as to what Ezekiel is getting at by saying that the people would be endangered by having holiness transmitted to them.  If any of my readers think that they understand this, please comment.

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

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

As I read the rules Ezekiel gave concerning the gateways to the Temple they came across as very meaningful, but I do not understand the meaning.  On certain days the prince will enter the east gateway, worship God from the entry room, then leave the way he came in.  However, the common people will enter through either the north or south gateway and leave through the gateway opposite the one they entered.  All of that reads as spiritually very significant to me, but I do not understand the significance.

However, I think that I do understand part of the significance of the River of Life which Ezekiel describes as flowing out from God’s presence in the Temple.  Ezekiel describes the river as getting progressively deeper as it flows away from the Temple, but without any other sources.  I suspect there is a meaning here besides what I see, but to me Ezekiel is describing God’s love and how He expects us to respond to it.  There is a story I heard many years ago which sums this up.  I do not know if the story was true and I no longer accurately remember the details, but I am going to tell it as I remember it because it sums up the river which Ezekiel describes.  There was a woman in a small town who never married, but who taught Sunday School her whole life.  She touched the lives of perhaps a few hundred people, but one of those people grew up to be an evangelist.  That evangelist brought tens of thousands of people to the Lord.  One of those who came to serve God through that evangelist was Billy Graham, who went on to bring tens of millions of people to know and serve God.  Whether or not that story is true, it reflects the message of the River of Life which Ezekiel describes.  Each of us is God’s Temple and His love flows out from us.  Perhaps we have little direct impact on the world, but if we show God’s love to the people around us, God will change their lives.  Some of them will show God’s love to many more people and the river which is God’s love will get deeper, bringing life to all who encounter it.