Ezekiel 40-43
Today’s reading makes us think we’re back in the Pentateuch, where Moses teaches the people how to build the tabernacle, or in 2 Chronicles, where Solomon builds the first temple. On the surface, we might imagine that these are God’s plans for the rebuilding of the temple just destroyed in Jerusalem. But this is not so. The temple described here in Ezekiel was NEVER actually built. Bible scholars think its description is symbolic of the perfect worship God desires for His people.
This seems to be verified in Ezekiel 43, where the description of restored worship is so overwhelmingly wonderful, that it seems to place us in heaven for a moment(Ezekiel 43:7). These plans, Ezekiel says, are to be “considered” by the people and make them ashamed for their sins (43:10-11).
Do you remember how, just before the destruction of the temple, Ezekiel was given a vision of God’s glory gradually departing from it (Ezekiel 8-10)? Here in Ezekiel 43, the glory of the Lord returns! Lord, may your glory be present in Your Church!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
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