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Ezekiel 40 (ESV)

1 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me to the city. ² In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. ³ When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway. ⁴ And the man said to me, “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. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”

⁵ And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man’s hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed. ⁶ Then he went into the gateway facing east, going up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep.

REFLECTION:

This vision obtained by Ezekiel in 573 BC explained the dimensions of the temple and then described how it was filled with the glory of God. Since Ezekiel was a priest, he was very familiar with the rituals and furnishings of Solomon’s temple. Ezekiel gave a specific measurement of the temple, the purpose of which is to explain the dwelling place of God in words and images that the people understand. God wants them to see the great glory He has prepared for godly people. Such a temple has never been built before, it is just a vision. The purpose of this vision is to show God’s beautiful plan for the people of God, pointing out that the center of worship is the presence of the Lord and the blessings from God, as well as the order and obligations of worship. Let us not just see the details of the vision without understanding its key point. The key point is: God is in charge of our worship and the timing when the faithful people will return. One day, all those who are loyal to God will share eternal life with God. May this solemn vision strengthen our faith and teach us how to worship and serve God.

PRAYER:

Pray for God to strengthen your faith so that you do not lose hope for future glory in your daily busy life; pray for God to make you understand that worshiping God is not only on Sunday, but is seeing God’s glory every day and live a godly life in everything you experience.

HYMN:

Centre of my Life – youtu.be/WKuuScgnlDE