Category: Ezekiel

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

Rooms for priests. Believers are now all priests – Rev. 5:10. Jesus’ words in John 14 have especial poignancy – In my Father’s house are many mansions or rooms!

SJA Notes

* Loving God, please show us how to please You from Your word today.

“When the priests enter the Holy Place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court without laying there the garments in which they minister, for these are holy.”

As we’ve seen, this is not a temple built with human hands.

This temple that Ezekiel was shown in a vision gives us a glimpse at the heavenly realities.

And as we spoke about yesterday, the truths we read of here give us a strong directive to take seriously our corporate new sabbath (Sunday) worship.

And today we see that the leadership of the church need to be leading by example.

Do our church leaders today take seriously the coming before our God on Sundays in corporate worship?

* Gracious Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the visions and truths You gave to Ezekiel, an encouragement and exhortation to Your people at that time, and from since then for us all.

Please help our church leaders to take seriously the new sabbath and the corporate-together worship You have prescribed to happen on that one day in our weeks.

Thank You for the strong and steady hope that we will be one day gathered up by the Good Shepherd and taken into eternal life, to many mansions built by You!

Amen.

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

Details, details! They all give us the knowledge that God is taking particular care in building this heavenly Temple – so as Peter writes: We are living stones being built into a spiritual house – the body of Christ the true Temple.

SJA Notes

* Dear God, thank You for Your word today. Please write it on our hearts that we might not sin against You.

“And he said to me, ‘This is the Most Holy Place'”.

We should take seriously what we do on a Sunday, the new sabbath, when we join together in corporate worship of our God.

It is very interesting that in this new temple shown to Ezekiel (and never built on earth) there is a Most Holy Place.

The Most Holy Place was an inner place where the High Priest could only enter once a year to offer up sacrifice to God for the sins of the people.

Leviticus 16 tells us,

“And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.”

Once a year. Sacrifice for sin. Atonement for the people. Only the High Priest.

The book of Hebrews help us greatly. Jesus is our great High Priest. He secured for us eternal redemption, He atoned for our sins.

In chapter 9 we read,

“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”

Now if the temple shown to Ezekiel is not built with human hands, if it is a vision of the heavenly true things, and there is a most holy place there – Then this is what Hebrews speaks of, the holy places opened (because the first “copy” section no longer stands).

Then. Because Jesus opened up the way into the holy places, and because we are living stones making up this new template – we are able to enter the Most Holy Place in this new temple.

This is why we must take seriously what we do when we come together to worship our God on a Sunday, on the New Sabbath.

Because we enter into the presence of our King, our God, into the very heavenly realities.

* Father God,

Please help us understand Your Word today.

Please write it on our hearts.

Please help us discern truth and discard lies.

Amen.

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

This Temple was never an actual building. It foreshadows the true Temple of God – the body of Jesus Christ, His Church. It is a shadow of the Temple in Jerusalem Above. (See the book of Hebrews) Ezekiel had seen the destruction of the Temple Below. God gave Ezekiel a vision of a new Temple, similar yet very different to that destroyed. In this new Temple the Glory would return forever (Ezekiel 43:7). The spirit of this prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. (Rev 19:10b)

SJA Notes

* God Above, please show us Jesus today as we read Your word.

“Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you.”

We have here the description of a building, a new temple – Given in a vision from God to Ezekiel.

Ezekiel, the watchman on the wall, who was to blow the trumpet.

Called here to see and listen and to SET HIS HEART on all that God would show him.

God gives Ezekiel a very clear indication of what this building will look like. The rooms, the measurements, the placements.

And as God called Ezekiel, He calls us to SET OUR HEARTS on what He shows us.

So what does this mean for us? Why are we reading about a vision about a building that was never constructed here on earth?

Because it is being built! Just not by human hands.

In 1 Peter 2 we read of Jesus (the living stone rejected by men) and us,

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

This temple is being built – However, the stones are us (God’s people) and the builder is God Himself!

This is a wonderful thing. Worthy of SETTING OUR HEARTS ON.

Let’s do that today.

* Father God,

Thank You that we are each a part of Your holy temple, each stone important and ordered and thought of by You the builder.

Thank You that through Jesus we are living stones, built up in You and able to offer acceptable sacrifices to You.

Amen.