This review is brought
to you by the Kentucky
First Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ Sunday School Department.
LESSON AIM: By the end of the lesson, we will: comprehend the vision of
God's holy and merciful glory in the Temple; associate a sense of holiness of
place with the presence and mercy of God, and grow in respect for the
sacredness of worship settings.
BIBLE TRUTH: God's calming presence can be felt in sacred places where He is
truly worshiped.
Ezekiel 43:1-12 | King James Version (KJV)
1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even
the gate that looketh toward the east:
2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel
came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters:
and the earth shined with his glory.
3 And it was according to the appearance of
the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to
destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river
Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
4 And the glory of the Lord came into the
house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me
into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.
6 And I heard him speaking unto me out of the
house; and the man stood by me.
7 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place
of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the
midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of
Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by
the carcases of their kings in their high places.
8 In their setting of their threshold by my
thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they
have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed:
wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.
9 Now let them put away their whoredom, and
the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them
for ever.
10 Thou son of man, shew the house to the
house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them
measure the pattern.
11 And if they be ashamed of all that they
have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the
goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and
all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws
thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form
thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.
12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top
of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold,
this is the law of the house.
If you have ever been involved in the building
up of a home, work location, or, in this case, a new church…it’s really
exciting! The developer or builder has to share their vision of the new
facility with precise blueprints and even lay out the framework, so those who
are looking on can understand what they will be moving into. This is what
Ezekiel is doing for God’s people. He begins in verse 1, describing the
physical dimensions of the temple. This is a refreshing change from when God is
prescribing for the city to be destroyed in Chapter 9 of this book.
Ezekiel is having a vision, where the Holy
Ghost is taking him on a virtual tour of the new temple! He sees the spirit of
God coming into the east side, where it had departed Solomon’s temple previously
when the Babylonians destroyed it. Then, in verse 3, the vision carries him
into the inner courts. We all know that’s the location of the “Holy of Holies”.
Only the most sacred could enter there. But, why is all of this so important?
God is sharing through Ezekiel that the temple is a place for Him to rest His
presence. This was to be a place of no condemnation or hypocrisy. Formerly, the
Israelites and leaders defiled the temple by burying their kings too close to
the temple. God has standards and His ground is sacred. They didn’t respect
this in the past. Their actions were considered spiritual prostitution (verse
7). You can’t mix holiness with worldliness. God was willing to forgive His
people, He allowed Ezekiel to champion His vision to let the people know they
would be receiving another chance…but they MUST adhere strictly to His
instructions, being careful not to deviate in any way, from the plan.
Take a look at the blueprint:
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