The Land Promised by God {Ezekiel 43-48}
12:30 AM
August
7, 2018
I
had a post written and on the blog ready for today last week, until God woke me
up and reminded me that the ‘land’ is my heart.
“And so, dear brothers and
sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice (pause),
the kind He will accept.” (Romans 12:1)
43:10-12 “…describe to the
people of Israel the Temple I have shown you.
Tell them its appearance and its plan so they will be ashamed of all
their sin. And if they are ashamed of
what they have done, describe to them all the specifications of its
construction – including its entrances and doors – and everything else about
it. Write down all these specifications
and directions as they watch so they will be sure to remember them. And this is the basic law of the Temple: absolute holiness! The entire top of the hill where the Temple
is built is holy. Yes, this is the
primary law of the Temple.”
“All of the regulations
God gave Ezekiel to give to the Israelites are meant to be obeyed – then I will
accept you, says the Sovereign Lord.”
43:27b
Sacrifices
are costly. Imagine buying or raising a
bull/cow/goat and raising it NOT for your consumption! In today’s economy that would cost you
hundreds of dollars. You never get that
money back – it belongs to God.
When
we sacrifice our desires for a better house, or better body, or health for
ourselves or a family member, we accept that we may not get it back – it’s
costly!
These
final chapters of Ezekiel have made me realize the sacrificial system and God’s
regulations a bit better. Obedience
allows me back into the land I desire.
Obedience allows God to take up residence and His glory fills the temple
and thus radiates out of me.
The sea that will become fresh refers to the
Dead Sea, a body of water so salty that nothing can live in it. The river will freshen the Dead Sea’s water
so it can support life. This is another
picture of the life-giving nature of the water that flows from God’s
Temple. God’s power can transform us no
matter how lifeless or corrupt we may be.
Even when we feel messed up and beyond hope, His power can heal us.
We can learn so much from this street preacher – Ezekiel didn’t have the luxury of preaching from a pulpit. He spent 22 years in Babylon, but he lived what he preached. Ezekiel ends this book in hope and proclaims the faithfulness of God and tells of future blessings.
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