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Ezekiel 41 (ESV)
21 The doorposts of the nave were squared, and in front of the Holy Place was something resembling 22 an altar of wood, three cubits high, two cubits long, and two cubits broad. Its corners, its base, and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” 23 The nave and the Holy Place had each a double door. 24 The double doors had two leaves apiece, two swinging leaves for each door. 25 And on the doors of the nave were carved cherubim and palm trees, such as were carved on the walls. And there was a canopy of wood in front of the vestibule outside. 26 And there were narrow windows and palm trees on either side, on the sidewalls of the vestibule, the side chambers of the temple, and the canopies.
REFLECTION:
Why set up a “Holy Place” in the temple? Because one of the core themes throughout the Old and New Testaments is the holiness of God. The Holy Place is the most holy place in the temple. This is the place where the Ark of the Covenant is parked, and it is also the abode of God’s glory. This place can only be entered when the high priest presides over the atonement ceremony for the entire nation of Israel once a year. Verse 22 is the angel’s speech, reminding us of the importance of the table. When Ezekiel saw the vision, the ark had already been taken into captivity and its whereabouts was unknown, so the only furniture in the big temple was an altar of incense. This altar is made of wood, unlike the altar of incense in Solomon’s Temple which was covered with fine gold. The decoration of the whole temple is far from the magnificence of Solomon’s Temple, but it symbolizes that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within us. The children of God are ordinary on the outside, but have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, the holy and glorious “Holy Place.” Therefore, we should obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit and live a holy life. In Solomon’s Temple, the service of satisfying God is “burning incense”, which symbolizes prayer, worship, and fellowship before God. On every Sabbath, the bread of the Presence was placed and the replaced bread was eaten by the priests, symbolizing that Christ is the “true bread from heaven,” which not only satisfies God, but also provides for those who seek God. The altar of incense represents the satisfaction that God obtains from man, and the table represents the supply of God to man. In the temple that Ezekiel saw, the altar of incense and the table were combined into one. Therefore, today we should communicate with the Lord through our prayers on the one hand, receiving from the Lord on the other; pleasing God on the one hand, and getting provision from the Lord on the other.
PRAYER:
Come to God in awe and think about God’s holiness and how He saves you from darkness and filth, so that you can be part of God’s holiness; listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in your heart, and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to live a holy life in the filthy world, not to be influenced by the values of the world, not to worship any tangible or intangible idols, and not to be contaminated by all kinds of entertainments.
HYMN:
When I Look Into Your Holiness – youtu.be/jfIT3rooJWQ
