removing what’s ours

Posted on January 21, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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removing what’s ours

Ezekiel 43:6-9 (JDV)

Ezekiel 43:6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from the house.
Ezekiel 43:7 He said to me: “Son of Adam, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will dwell among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel and their kings will no longer defile my sacred name by their religious prostitution and by the corpses of their kings at their high places.
Ezekiel 43:8 Whenever they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they were defiling my sacred name by the repulsive acts they committed. So I destroyed them in my anger.
Ezekiel 43:9 Now let them remove their prostitution and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will dwell among them forever.

removing what’s ours

What struck me as I read this passage is the contrast between the possessive pronouns. God is jealous because of what is his: “my throne,” “my feet,” “my sacred name,” “my threshold,” “my doorposts.”

It was replaced by what the Israelites considered theirs: their house, “their kings,” “their religious prostitution,” “the corpses of their kings,” “their high places,” “their threshold,” and “their doorposts.”

We will never have room for God in our lives unless we are willing to remove what’s ours.

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the real difference

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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the real difference

Ezekiel 43:1-5 (JDV)

Ezekiel 43:1 And he led me to the gate, the one that faces east,
Ezekiel 43:2 and I noticed the impressive appearance of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice sounded like the roar of a huge wave of water, and the land shone with his impressive appearance.
Ezekiel 43:3 The vision I saw was like the one I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like the ones I had seen by the Chebar Canal. I fell face-down.
Ezekiel 43:4 The impressive appearance of Yahveh entered the house by way of the gate that faced east.
Ezekiel 43:5 Then the Breath lifted me up and brought me to the inner court, and I noticed the impressive appearance of Yahveh filled the house.

After chapters of architectural data describing the buildings and layout and dimensions of the new temple, now Ezekiel concludes with the main event — an event so significant that nothing he had said would matter if it did not happen. The real difference between a past of loss and shame and a future of restoration and glory is this: the impressive appearance of the God of Israel coming.

Come, Lord Jesus.

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no blending in

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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no blending in

Ezekiel 42:15-20 (JDV)

Ezekiel 42:15 When he finished measuring inside the house complex, he led me out by way of the gate that faced east and measured all around the complex.
Ezekiel 42:16 He measured the east wind with a measuring branch; it was 500 cubits by the measuring branch.
Ezekiel 42:17 He measured the north wind; it was 500 cubits by the measuring branch.
Ezekiel 42:18 He measured the south wind; it was 500 cubits by the measuring branch.
Ezekiel 42:19 Then he turned to the west wind and measured 500 cubits by the measuring branch.
Ezekiel 42:20 He measured the house complex on all four winds. It had a wall all around it, 500 cubits long and 500 cubits wide, to separate the devoted from the common.

no blending in

Harlow writes “In chapter 40 we read about the gates leading from the outside into the inner court of the temple. Now we learn that the temple will be in the center of a much larger area. The angel brought Ezekiel to the east gate and measured this area with a reed” (189).

He suggests that the difference between God’s holy temple and the rest of the earth is the point of these chapters.

As believers read these words today, we should reflect on the fact that we are the Lord’s temple. We should seek to reflect his uniqueness, not try to blend in with the normal world around us.

Harlow, R. E. The Prophet Ezekiel. Scarborough, Ont: Everyday Publications, 1989.

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back into civvies

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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back into civvies

Ezekiel 42:13-14 (JDV)

Ezekiel 42:13 Then the man said to me, “The northern and southern chambers that face the courtyard are the devoted chambers where the priests who approach Yahveh will eat the most devoted offerings. There they will deposit the most devoted offerings – the grain offerings, failure offerings, and guilt offerings – for the place is devoted.
Ezekiel 42:14 Once the priests have entered, they are not to go out from the devoted area to the outer court until they have removed the clothes they minister in, for these are devoted. They are to put on other clothes before they approach the public area.”

The special uniform of the priests is a reminder of the sacredness of their task. If they were to stay fitted in that uniform while mingling among the crowds, they might forget how special their ministry is — and how sacred their obligation is.

Thus, they are told to change back into their “civvies” before leaving the temple courts.

How do you protect the sacredness of your time with God?

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get ready for a new existence

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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get ready for a new existence

Ezekiel 42:10-12 (JDV)

Ezekiel 42:10 In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the south, there were chambers facing the house yard and the western building,
Ezekiel 42:11 with a passageway in front of them, just like the chambers that faced north. Their length and width, as well as all their exits, measurements, and entrances, were identical.
Ezekiel 42:12 The entrance at the beginning of the passageway, the way in front of the corresponding wall as one enters on the east side, was similar to the entrances of the chambers that were on the south side.

All of these mundane elements of the second temple vision are preparing us for another vision — a vision within this vision, where the glory of the LORD is going to enter this new temple. And like all Israelite temples, the new temple has a most holy place which neither the people nor the king can enter. Only the high priest. Ezekiel’s people needed to know that no political influence would change that.

Get ready for a new existence empowered and indwelt by God himself.

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future perfect

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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future perfect

Ezekiel 42:1-9 (JDV)

Ezekiel 42:1 Then he led me out by way of the north gate into the outer court. He brought me to the group of chambers opposite the house yard and opposite the building to the north.
Ezekiel 42:2 Along the length of the chambers, which was 100 cubits, there was an entrance on the north; the width was 50 cubits.
Ezekiel 42:3 Opposite the twenty cubit space belonging to the inner court and opposite the paved surface belonging to the outer court, the structure rose gallery by gallery in three tiers.
Ezekiel 42:4 In front of the chambers was a walkway toward the inside, ten cubits wide and 100 cubits long, and their entrances were on the north.
Ezekiel 42:5 The upper chambers were narrower because the galleries took away more space from them than from the lower and middle stories of the building
Ezekiel 42:6 because they were arranged in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and middle stories.
Ezekiel 42:7 A wall on the outside ran in front of the chambers, parallel to them, toward the outer court; it was 50 cubits long.
Ezekiel 42:8 For the chambers on the outer court were 50 cubits long, and I noticed those facing the great hall were 100 cubits long.
Ezekiel 42:9 At the base of these chambers there was an entryway on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.

future perfect

Fisch says “The fundamental principle of Ezekiel’s vision of the restored Temple with all its implications is holiness, as indicated in xliv. 23, They shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the common. The correct understanding of the term ‘holiness’ sheds light on the regulations concerning the structure of the restored Temple and its ritual, which are aimed at separating that which is holy from that which is common” (Fisch, xv).

The temple is a sign of what God wants his people to be. A perfected temple is a prophecy of a perfected people. But, unlike the temples of the past, this is not something that we will build for God. It is something he is building in us.

Fisch, Solomon, and A. Cohen. Ezekiel: Hebrew text & English translation. 1950.

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not irrelevant

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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not irrelevant

Ezekiel 41:21-26 (JDV)

Ezekiel 41:21 The doorposts of the great hall were square, and the front of the sanctuary had the same appearance.
Ezekiel 41:22 The altar was made of wood, three cubits high and two cubits long. It had corners, and its length and sides were of wood. The man told me, “This is the table that stands before Yahveh.”
Ezekiel 41:23 The great hall and the sanctuary each had a double door,
Ezekiel 41:24 and each of the doors had two swinging panels. There were two panels for one door and two for the other.
Ezekiel 41:25 cherubs and palm trees were carved on the doors of the great hall like those carved on the walls. There was a wooden canopy outside, in front of the portico.
Ezekiel 41:26 There were beveled windows and palm trees on both sides, on the side walls of the portico, the side rooms of the house, and the canopies.

not irrelevant

McGee says that the temple being described is the earthly temple that will be here during the millennium, but that believers will not worship there. He says we will be in the New Jerusalem, which is in heaven. He says “the church is going to be in a place where there won’t be a temple; we won’t need one, but the earth will have one for the duration of the millennium at least. I rather like the fact that we won’t have a temple because, very candidly, I have never gone in much for ritual. I’m going to be delighted to be up there with the Lord God and the Lamb as the temple of the New Jerusalem. We will be with them, and I cannot even conceive how wonderful that is going to be” (McGee, 205).

Such a view makes Ezekiel’s vision practically irrelevant. It is not. We need to look at the description of the temple in Ezekiel from the viewpoint of his readers and listeners. They would never assume that this temple would be a decoration in a world rejected by God. Ezekiel was encouraging God’s people with his vision. He was not saying that in the future the earthly Jerusalem would be inconsequential.

God is God of heaven and earth. Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth.

McGee, J. Vernon. Ezekiel. 1978.

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beyond and permeating

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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beyond and permeating

Ezekiel 41:12-20 (JDV)

Ezekiel 41:12 Now the building that faced the house yard toward the west was seventy cubits wide. The wall of the building was five cubits thick on all sides, and the building’s length was ninety cubits.
Ezekiel 41:13 Then the man measured the house; it was 100 cubits long. In addition, the house yard and the building, including its walls, were 100 cubits long.
Ezekiel 41:14 The width of the front of the house along with the house yard to the east was 100 cubits.
Ezekiel 41:15 Next he measured the length of the building facing the house yard to the west, with its galleries on each side; it was 100 cubits. The interior of the great hall and the porticoes of the court –
Ezekiel 41:16 the thresholds, the beveled windows, and the balconies all around with their three levels opposite the threshold – were overlaid with wood on all sides. They were paneled from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered),
Ezekiel 41:17 reaching to the top of the entrance, and as far as the inner house and on the outside. On every wall all around, on the inside and outside, was a pattern
Ezekiel 41:18 carved with cherubs and palm trees. There was a palm tree between each pair of cherubs. Each cherub had two faces:
Ezekiel 41:19 a human face turned toward the palm tree on one side, and a lion’s face turned toward it on the other. They were carved throughout the house on all sides.
Ezekiel 41:20 cherubs and palm trees were carved from the ground to the top of the entrance and on the wall of the great hall.

beyond and permeating

Craigie writes “In a literal sense, God’s presence cannot be focused and limited to a single spot in the world; there can be no geographical or architectural constraints on a deity who is transcendent. But a too casual view of a God who is both transcendent and immanent, both beyond the world and yet permeating every part of it, has certain dangers. On the one hand, God may seem to be so distant as to be not really present; on the other hand, the belief in his presence everywhere may lead us to take it for granted. The nature of the temple and its innermost sanctuary in Ezekiel’s vision strikes a balance. God is indeed present in the world, but that presence should not be recognized casually; it is a holy presence, an extraordinary privilege, and to be treated with appropriate awe” (Craigie, 284).

Our lives should present the same kind of balance. We need to be genuine, without a hint of hypocrisy or show. But we should also present lives that cannot be fully explained by what is now. We should leave people with a taste of the beyond.

Craigie, Peter C. Ezekiel. Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1983.

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what’s not there

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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what’s not there

Ezekiel 41:5-11 (JDV)

Ezekiel 41:5 Then he measured the wall of the house; it was six long cubits thick. The width of the side rooms all around the house was four cubits.
Ezekiel 41:6 The side rooms were arranged one above another in three stories of thirty rooms each. There were ledges on the wall of the house all around to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports would not be in the house wall itself.
Ezekiel 41:7 The side rooms surrounding the house widened at each successive story, for the structure surrounding the house went up by stages. This was the reason for the house’s broadness as it rose. And so, one would go up from the lowest story to the highest by means of the middle one.
Ezekiel 41:8 I saw that the house had a raised platform surrounding it; this foundation for the side rooms was six long cubits high.
Ezekiel 41:9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits. The free space between the side rooms of the house
Ezekiel 41:10 and the outer chambers was twenty cubits wide all around the house.
Ezekiel 41:11 The side rooms opened into the free space, one entrance toward the north and another to the south. The area of free space was five cubits wide all around.

what’s not there

Hals asserts that “the major technique employed to formulate messages of hope in Ezekiel is to express them as the undoing of past evil situations” (Hals, 288). Throughout this final section of Ezekiel, what counts is not so much new things added to the picture of the ideal temple, but what is not there as compared to the former picture of the temple corrupted by the sins of the worshippers.

For you and me, the best thing about our future lives as the redeemed of God is not that we will have special superpowers, but that we will not have all those things that weigh us down and hinder our full devotion to God and his purposes.

LORD, we eagerly await our full deliverance through Christ at his return.

Hals, Ronald M. Ezekiel. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 2014.

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not for public display

Posted on January 12, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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not for public display

Ezekiel 41:1-4 (JDV)

Ezekiel 41:1 Next he brought me into the great hall and measured the jambs; on each side, the width of the jamb was six cubits.
Ezekiel 41:2 The width of the entrance was ten cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits wide on each side. He also measured the length of the great hall, forty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits.
Ezekiel 41:3 He went inside the next room and measured the jambs at the entrance; they were two cubits wide. The entrance was six long cubits wide, and the width of the entrance’s side walls on each side was seven cubits.
Ezekiel 41:4 He then measured the length of the room adjacent to the great hall, twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits. And he said to me, “This is the most sacred place.”

not for public display

Even in the temple, there was a most sacred place. In your life, there is a time and a place that our LORD wants to share only with you — nobody else. I’m not talking about public worship, or a public website or social media site. No, this time and this place is not for public display. It is a covenant time between you and your God.

Jesus made such a time in his hectic earthly ministry. We need it as well. Steal away to him, my friend.

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