February 26, 2023
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Ezekiel? Here’s today’s reading:
Ezekiel 45 (NIV)
Israel Fully Restored
1“ ‘When you allot the land as an inheritance, you are to present to the Lord a portion of the land as a sacred district, 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide; the entire area will be holy. 2 Of this, a section 500 cubits square is to be for the sanctuary, with 50 cubits around it for open land. 3 In the sacred district, measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. In it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place..........Continue Reading
God is restoring order in land, leadership, and daily life. He is bringing order to places that would now be sacred areas and calling on priests and leaders to get themselves together to restore justice and accountability both for themselves and the people. He is restoring the covenants of atonement and accountability in the people’s sins and how they should rightly handle them. He is restoring the Passover festival. I imagine how far the people have strayed away that sin had permeated into all aspects of their daily lives leaving all of these things a mess and God is calling all things back to order.
Reading completed.
This is not the same temple. It seems to be very large. The territory is estimated to be 5,100 feet long and wide. The temple is located inside this area. It is 500 square cubits or 875 feet long and wide. The Holy portion around the temple is 25 thousand reeds for the length and 10,000 reeds is the width. One reed = 6 cubits. In the holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary. Here they will have a place for their houses. The area outside of that will be for the rest of the Levites. They will have 20 chambers. Outside of this will be the rest of Israel with all her tribes. The Levites will actually have their own area to live with their families. Their own special portion. I don`t believe this was true earlier on in the history. I think that they lived with the other tribes. The rest of the chapter is about weights and offerings including preparing for the Passover. I want to share something to those who do this reading or have thought about doing it. I have continually put it off for one reason or another. Melodye kept prompting me that I should do this for a couple of years. I kept telling her that I didn`t need to for I have been doing my own reading for years since the day that I got saved. Which was 50 years ago. It is very different when you join a group in church doing the reading together. I have been enjoying myself and highly recommend doing it together. It is so important to get into the Word of God every day. We all need that food. God bless everyone and I hope this encourages you all.
Ezekiel 45
Ezekiel 45
After God describes the details of construction of the temple in the past few chapters, He makes sure the appropriate amount of land is allowed for it. Thanks for the details on that Dennis. God continues to call them back to right behavior as well. His statement, “Give up your violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing my people,” let’s us know how bad they have become and how their offenses were not only against God, but also against each other. He is also calls them to use honest measures and defines what those measures should be. How important honesty and integrity is in human relationship as well as in business dealings. As God describes the nature of the sacrifices required in proper worship in the temple, it is interesting to see the level of sacrifice needed and how that level of obedience is best supported by faith and right motivation and not just for show or checking a legalistic box. It was always to be about relationship and loving and believing in God through the sacrifices made. The Jews missed that. Let’s make sure we don’t.
Exekiel 45
GOD tells how he wants the Princes to behave and not to repeat their evil ways.
He explains his what’s to be offered up and the Holy days.