Day 253 (Ezekiel 43-45) - Year 4
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.

Today we continue with Ezekiel's vision tour of a new temple design. But instead of the whole place being empty, today we get to see it being filled with people and their jobs and even with Yahweh himself. But before we jump in, just a reminder that this section of scripture, Ezekiel 40-48, is one of the most challenging for commentators. So take it easy on yourself if you're having a hard time with this. Even Bible scholars find it difficult. And take it easy on me if we happen to disagree on any points.

Remember back in chapter 10 when God's presence left the temple on his cherubim chariot and headed east to Babylon? Today in chapter 43, we see him returning the same way he left, through the eastern gate. When he sees this, Ezekiel falls on his face in worship. But then the Spirit lifts him up again, as is his way, and takes him from the outer court to the inner court, where Ezekiel hears God speaking to him from inside the temple.

In the layout of the temple complex, the outer courts are very large, the inner courts are smaller, the holy place is smaller, and the most holy place, the Holy of Holies, where God's manifest presence dwells in his most saturated form, is the smallest of all.

You may wonder why God's room is the smallest, why he doesn't get the most square footage. But as we know, he's actually everywhere, so he does. He's in dimensions we haven't even accessed yet, so we don't have to worry about him being confined to a 900 square foot space. And on top of that, there's some meaningful symbolism in this layout. It corresponds to what we talked about yesterday with the separation of the holy and the common. We'll talk a little more about that in a few minutes.

When God speaks to Ezekiel, he tells him to do two main things. First, write down all the dimensions of this temple and then tell the people about it, because it will humble them. Second, write down all the laws God gives and command the people to obey them. What's interesting about this section is that God never actually tells Ezekiel to build the temple or have anyone else build it. He just says, here are some dimensions that should put people in their place, and here are some laws, tell them to do them.

It sounds like the description itself is what will produce the proper response in people. Put a pin in this. We'll come back to it tomorrow. In chapter 44, they seal off the eastern gate since it's the one God's cherubim chariot came through. Then another interesting thing is set in motion in today's chapters. Just like Moses met with God on Mount Sinai then told people God's laws, Ezekiel meets with God on the temple mount and sets out God's new laws for the people.

With Moses, God set out specific rules, and the people proved over time that they could not keep them. So you might think God would be like, okay, obviously that was too hard. Let's downshift. Let's put the cookies on a lower shelf this time since you couldn't reach them before. But nope. Instead, he's like, I'm putting the cookies on a higher shelf. The requirements are even higher from here on out.

Have God's standards of holiness changed? No. Complete perfection in deed and in thought has always been required. He's always been after us at a heart level. But when Yahweh first entered into a relationship with his people, he gave them the amount of information they could handle at the time. And as he continues building this relationship with them over the centuries, he brings progressive revelation of who he is and what he requires.

It's kind of like how you don't demand that your newborn baby eat a steak. You don't introduce that until much later. You start with what they can handle. You meet them where they are. Then, when you see that it's time for a new challenge, you introduce pureed vegetables, then steamed veggies, then raw ones, then eventually steak. But the goal has always been to get off the bottle and into real food.

So even though God is raising the law bar, his standards have always been the same. Regardless of how strict or loose his laws are, people won't be able to keep them. The law will always point to our need for a savior.

Another thing I want to address in this section is the fact that the priests aren't allowed to marry divorced women or widows, unless they're the widow of another priest. This may sound harsh, but the reason behind that isn't because widows and divorced women are evil or shameful. In fact, Scripture reveals God's great love for them repeatedly. Instead, it's because women who have been married are likely to have children, and that would add confusion to the question of who could serve in the priestly roles as the generations progressed.

This debate about the priestly roles actually becomes kind of a big deal during this second temple period when the families returned from exile. Without 23andMe, people had to rely on those genealogies we've read in order to establish whether or not they were Levites from the line of Zadok, the approved family line. Zadok was the high priest under King David back in 2 Samuel 8, and his descendants were the priests from that point until the Babylonian exile. You may have noticed that the priests got a costume change.

They can't wear wool when they're working in the temple anymore. They're supposed to use linen now. And they can't wear tight belts either. This is because sweat is considered unclean. It serves as a reminder of the fall of man. In chapter 45, Ezekiel makes land requirements that even include the prince. Plus, he has special assignments for the prince. He's supposed to concern himself with peace and justice and care for the poor. Then Ezekiel explains the priest's portions and the offerings as we wrapped up today's reading.

My God shot popped up a few times today. It was the utter holiness or set-apartness of God. Since he keeps pursuing his rebellious people in their sin, it's easy to forget what a big deal his holiness is.

It's important to hold these two things in perspective simultaneously. Like with the layout of the temple, where, yes, he's dwelling in the midst of his people, but he's also keeping the bulk of his presence in the most separated space. Without context, this may seem unkind, like he's the guy in the VIP section who can't be bothered to mingle with the staff or the other customers.

But here's why I think that's not his motive at all. First of all, if that's what God were like, he wouldn't even bother coming to earth where the sinners are. But he wants to be with his people.

One of the most beautiful paradoxes in scripture is where God's utter holiness meets his relentless pursuit of sinners. The way he holds back the fullness of his presence seems to be for our protection, not his. In Exodus 33, he told Moses that no one can see his fullness and live.

And in 4419 today, we saw that the priests have to change clothes before they go to the outer courts where the people are because they might transmit holiness. That's because, like we've already seen with Uzzah and the Ark in 2 Samuel 6, God's manifest presence can be lethal when it comes in contact with evil or common things. He gets as close to us as we can handle.

So I'm fine with the priests leaving their linens in the dressing room, and I'm good with never seeing the fullness of God's glory. But you can bet I'm going to keep getting as close to him as I possibly can to know as much of him as he'll share with me. Maybe I like living on the edge, but I also like knowing that every step closer and every new thing I learn about him fuels my love and delight in him. He's where the joy is. ♪

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