Ezekiel 43—the Glory of God returns to the Temple and the East Gate is closed symbolically representing the fact that Spirit of God would never leave the Temple again (Ezekiel 44)
Ezekiel 44:10-16—only certain Levites (descendants of Zadok) who remained faithful were able to come near to God and minister before Him. The rest of the Levites were left to do the menial tasks due to their previous disobedience. SIN HAS ITS CONSEQUENCES. AT THE VERY LEAST, UNACCOUNTED FOR SIN AND THOSE WHO ARE NOT ASHAMED OF WHAT THEY HAVE DONE, WILL HAVE BITTER CONSEQUENCES. FAITHFULNESS HAS ITS BEAUTIFUL REWARDS
Ezekiel 44:28-31—He was the only inheritance the priests would have, and they were not to have no possession of anything. WE ARE NOT TO OWN ANYTHING, BUT RATHER WE ARE TO FIND OUR FULL SATISFACTION IN HIM. We must be content in every state we are in and be UNHINDERED BY WORLDLY ATTACHMENTS.
Ezekiel 45:13-17—God gave a command that a certain percentage of crops was to be given to provide for regular offerings and appointed seasons.
Ezekiel 45:18-20—on the first day of the first month, the sanctuary is to be cleansed. On the seventh day of the first month, the people are to be cleansed of their intentional and unintentional sins. This is done so that the person could draw near to God in worship (Leviticus 4:20).
Ezekiel 46:9-10—The people were to leave out the opposite gate they came in. Strategically, this was done to keep order flowing through the Temple. Symbolically, this is done so that we should know WE ARE NOT TO LEAVE THE SAME WAY WE CAME!
It is not about how you come to Jesus, but it is about how you are after you come to Jesus. God has not commanded a follower to ever turn back. Nor has He forced anyone to change. What He has done, is offered an opportunity for each of us to change and rid ourselves of all that we are holding onto.
Often times, we hold on to things and the further we go into the ‘sanctuary’ or the closer we get to God, the easier it seems to try to turn back and go out the way we came in. The problem with this is, when we do turn back we realize we are powerless and often find ourselves going against the direction that God has told us to go.
1. If you turned back in the temple, you would disrupt the forward progress of others.
2. If you stalled in the temple, you could hinder the movement of others.
3. If you failed to move forward, you would stop your own progress and fall short of your desired destination
Ezekiel 47—Ezekiel’s vision of healing waters
In this vision, God shows Ezekiel a stream that gradually gets deeper and deeper until Ezekiel is unable to stand and the water is over his head.
A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord (Joel 3:18)
And in that day it shall be – that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8)
In this vision, we can see a real river in a real Messianic Kingdom to come. But spiritually, it illustrates something in our walk. It is a call to go deeper, and the closer we get and want to get to God, the deeper we must go.
F.B. Meyer said “We need the ankle-depths of walking to be exchanged for the knee-depths of praying; and these for the loin-depths of perfect purity; and these for the length, depth, breadth, and height of the love of Christ.”
Charles Spurgeon saw a spiritual analogy between the life of faith and swimming. We start out “floating in faith,” somewhat passively, just keeping our head up out of the water. We then progress to swimming by faith.
Historically, many have seen this as the increasing depth of the Word of God. We can silently look at the scriptures as not being very deep and not being difficult at all. The further we get into reading and studying the scriptures, the more we realize the depth of the scriptures. We are then able to see a glimpse of who we really are and who Christ really is. The depth of the scriptures, when pursued, will often leave us swimming in faith without being able to touch the ground or trust in anything except the Holy Spirit (symbolized by the flowing water).
John 7:37-38--37 Now on the last and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood and called out [in a loud voice], “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! 38 He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’”
Ezekiel 47:21--21 “You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners residing among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe a foreigner resides, there you are to give them their inheritance,” declares the Sovereign Lord.
Chapter 47 finishes with the boundaries of the land, and it includes the foreigners living there as well. The Bible describes humane treatment for those who choose to live amongst the Israelites. If the foreigners choose to live by the laws and moral codes of Israel, then they are accepted as such and are to be welcomed in as “native Israelites.” They are to be grafted in.
Ezekiel 48 lets us know how the land is to be divided among the twelve tribes. There are twelve gates, three on each side. This is the New Jerusalem, and it’s forever name would be JEHOVAH SHAMMAH (The Lord is There)!
SUMMARY
Ezekiel started with a vision of The Glory of God and ended with a description of the Glory of God in the Glorified City of Jerusalem. In the end, God dwells with man in holiness and glory, but there was a lot that had to take place to get to that point.
The book starts with a vision from God that symbolizes the majesty of the Lord and proclaims His sovereignty over all the nations of earth. When Ezekiel saw this vision, he was so overcome with emotion that he fell face down. God then says to him "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. . . . And whether they listen or fail to listen — for they are a rebellious house — they will know that a prophet has been among them." Ezekiel is then handed a scroll, on which is written "words of lament and mourning and woe." Told to eat the scroll, when he does so he finds that it tastes as sweet as honey. Evidently, Ezekiel knows that the message he is to proclaim portends impending disaster, yet he thoroughly enjoys the task given to him.
Ezekiel proceeds to warn all the exiles about the coming destruction. He makes it clear that this is punishment for their idolatry and other disgusting behavior. In a vision, he sees God's presence leaving the Temple in Jerusalem.
God also orders Ezekiel to do strange things that you might call "performance art." He has to lie motionless for the same number of days as the number of years that Israel and Judah will be exiled, for example. God also relates different helpful allegories about eagles and vines and pots of meat and compares Judah to an adulterous wife-prostitute.
Ezekiel rejects the ideas that fathers may be punished for the sins of their sons and the sons punished for the sins of their fathers, he boldly states that the soul that sins shall die. Furthermore, he carries this idea to the extreme position of maintaining that a person's entire life will be judged in terms of that individual's last act. Concerning the man who has lived wickedly all of his life but turns from his wickedness and does that which is lawful and right immediately before he dies, all of his wickedness will not be remembered: He will be judged as a righteous man. The reverse is true of the man who has lived righteously all of his life but turns to wickedness just before he dies: All of his righteousness will not be remembered.
Once God finishes totally reading the riot act to the people, he turns to the other nations (Ch. 25-32). They're all headed for destruction, too; no one really escapes God's wrath. He helps comfort the House of Israel by informing them that all of their enemies are going to get creamed as well, especially Edom.
God’s punishment to Israel (and us at times) is intended to bring them to repentance. God’s punishment to Israel’s enemies is intended to enact revenge on them for coming against God’s anointed, and also to get them to turn from their wickedness.
God then lets the Israelites know that He will put his own spirit into their hearts. This restoration will include both the people of the northern kingdom and the people of Judah. In the vision of the valley of dry bones, Ezekiel proclaims a complete restoration of the whole house of Israel. The Israelites will return to their own land and rebuild the kingdom that was overthrown, and Yahweh will dwell in their midst forever. The final destruction of all foreign nations is described as an event that will take place when the vast armies under the leadership of Gog and Magog attempt to capture the restored city of Jerusalem. At the crucial moment when victory appears near for the invaders, Yahweh will intervene and completely destroy all of their forces.
The last eight chapters of Ezekiel contain a description of the restored state as envisioned by the prophet. The Temple will be built outside the main part of Jerusalem, constructed in such a manner that will make it possible to keep out those persons and objects that might contaminate the holy place in which Yahweh will dwell. At this point in the text, Ezekiel introduces a distinction between priests and Levites in order that only qualified persons should enter the Temple, even for the purpose of keeping it clean. The highest official no longer will be the king but rather the high priest, thus indicating that political affairs shall always be made subordinate to religious considerations.
