Today's Reading:

Ezekiel 37
Ezekiel 38
Ezekiel 39
Ezekiel 40

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​God’s Spirit had been active throughout the Old Testament; He came ON leaders for specific tasks. Joseph (Genesis 41:38), Joshua (Numbers 27:18, and David knew that the Spirit worked IN them. David prayed, “Do not take Your Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11), showing his awareness of the Spirit’s presence and that it could leave.

Ezekiel 36-37 and Jeremiah 31:31-34 promise a new, widespread Spirit that transforms and INDWELLS. For all who obey from the heart, not just keep the laws, the new Spirit becomes permanent, which was fulfilled at Pentecost (Acts 2, John 14:17, Romans 8). 

What was once given by God temporarily to only a few was now poured out permanently to all who belong to Him. The same Spirit who used to come on a few leaders for a task now lives within our hearts. He does not only tell us the rules. He changes our hearts, so we actually want to obey. This is grace. God does not just command a new heart; He gives the Spirit who creates it.

Do you sense the Spirit of God dwelling within you? Not just visiting for a moment or a task, but truly living in your heart and quietly transforming it from the inside?

 

God gave Ezekiel another teleporting vision of a valley filled with dry bones after Jerusalem’s fall, while he was in Babylon in exile. God told him to prophesy to the bones so they would come together. Ezekiel did not make the bones move; God did. Bone came to bone, then tendons, flesh, and finally skin covered them. They looked like mannequins sitting there. Ezekiel was then told to command, “Breath.” Now the mannequins stood up. The bones represent the whole house of Israel, and they will receive national and spiritual restoration. The people felt dead and hopeless, and God promised to open their “graves” to bring them back to the land with His Spirit and let them live again after exile itself. I cannot help but sing the children’s song “Dry Bones, when reading this chapter. This is the restoration of the spiritually dead, a future hope, not a vision of every person’s final resurrection.

 God gave a second vision of two sticks. The sticks represented the kingdoms of Judah (south) and Ephraim/ Joseph (north). God joined both sticks into one stick to reunite the two kingdoms as one nation, with one King. He would gather, cleanse, and give them the covenant of peace, and His sanctuary would be with them forever. There would be life out of hopelessness. What looked dry, dead, and finished (the bones and sticks parables), God could make new again by breathing new life into it.

 

God told Ezekiel to announce judgment on Gog from the land of Magog. He was the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal (Asia Minor /Turkey). After the bones come to life, there would be one King, but there would be a future conflict again. Gog would invade the restored land. God would bring Gog against Israel only so that God could make His name known, display His power, and then defeat the enemy. Gog would come to plunder the restored Israel so other nations would come to know God. God will protect them even after restoration. This was possibly a look into the end times.

Chapter 39 brought the burial of the dead, cleansing of the land, and full recognition of God’s power. God would destroy Gog’s army similar to Judges 7, where they would accidentally destroy themselves through His power. He said Gog is the enemy that the earlier prophets spoke about. In the aftermath of judgment, Israel would use Gog’s weapons (shields, bows, clubs, and spears) for fuel for seven years. It was a reminder for all nations not to mess with God or His people. Since God used His power over the big enemy, then the smaller enemies would not attack. Israel would have a full-time job for about seven months to bury all of the dead in the Valley of Hamon-Gog. There would be a feast of the birds, where God invites them to feast, bringing total humiliation and destruction. The victims of Gog would be treated like a sacrifice. Israel would be the clean-upcrew after Gog was defeated and their weapons burnt and their burial done. Instead of people offering animals to God, God would make the “sacrifice.” The warriors would become food for the birds and beasts. Normally the fat and blood were reserved for God (Leviticus 3:16, 1 Samuel 2:15, and Isaiah 34:6). “You will eat your fill of horses and riders…” showing that the enemy was defeated. The defeat of Gog then set the record straight about why Israel was sent into exile.

 Chapter 40 starts what is known as the vision of “Ezekiel’s Temple.” This could be a literal future temple, or a symbolic picture of the restored people of God, or a combination. There is no absolute answer to whether this temple was, is, is still to come, or something different. I am of no mind to even comprehend an answer to that question. So, for the next 9 chapters, we will walk through Scripture keeping our hearts and minds open to God to allow Him to reveal the answer when He desires. The details given from the Tabernacle to the first Temple (Solomon’s Temple) pale in comparison. Jesus came to fulfill the need for sacrificing animals, yet in Revelation, God also shows us a vision of the New Jerusalem where no physical temple is needed at all, because the Lord and the Lamb are its temple.

 The Temple was destroyed in 586 BC. This was not just about rebuilding; it was about restoration after judgment. Solomon’s Temple focused on its beauty, the building and its furnishings. Ezekiel’s temple focused on the outer wall, gates (3 inner and 3 outer), the courts, the restricted access based on levels of holiness, and the precise dimensions of each passageway and chamber. Ezekiel was on his third guide in this book: chapter 1had the fiery man, chapter 9 had the man in linen (scribe), and now chapter 40 had a bronze man with a cord and rod for measuring.

His vision took him to what resembled Mount Zion, where a wall surrounds the Temple area that is about 10.5 feet tall. The ancient measuring system was in cubits and reeds. A reed was similar to a yardstick, not a ruler, and it was 6 long cubits. The “standard short” cubit was the length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, which was a very similar length for most men at about 18”, in comparison mine measures 17.5”. A “long or royal cubit” was the length of a cubit plus the width of a hand, which is about a standard 3 inches for a total of about 20.5-21 inches.

Ezekiel was then taken to the east gate with 7 steps, the inner court which had 8 steps, and the temple which had 10 steps. The increased number of steps correlated with the increased amount of holiness in the area. Just like the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple, the More West, the More Holy. At the outer threshold entrance, there was a long passage and three alcoves on each side of the passageway, then another threshold and the portico (porch) that opened into the outer courtyard. The alcoves were guard rooms with a short wall to keep the guard from being in the pathway. The walls of each guard room facing towards the inside had decorative palm tree images just like Solomon’s Temple. This was a large entrance, about 41 feet wide, about 100 feet long, 83 feet deep,and 105 feet high. If your mind was spinning with the dimensions and the layout of the temple, there are videos by Bibliaprints with 3D renderings of what Ezekiel’s temple would look like online that I will link to.

The radiant man with his measuring rod carefully measured the outer walls, gates, courts, and chambers. This was a highly protected and sacred space. The detailed dimensions emphasize holiness, with the chambers for washing burnt offerings that included 8 tables for the sacrifices (Leviticus 1:11). There were two rooms, one for the priest who guard the temple (Levites) and one for the guards of the altar, which is more holy and therefore done by the sons of Zadok, the Levite descendants who were set apart from the other Levites. Zadok was the key high priest during David and Solomon’s reigns through the line of Aaron (1 Kings 2:26-35). The Levites had been the only ones allowed to do the temple services. They had become corrupt and allowed idolatry and uncleanliness to enter, but Zadok’s lineage of the Levites stayed faithful. The final measurement in chapter 40 was of the two pillars at the entrance of the portico, which were reminiscent of the two pillars from Solomon’s Temple called Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:21).

Today's Discussion question:

Do you sense the Spirit of God dwelling within you? Not just visiting for a moment or a task, but truly living in your heart and quietly transforming it from the inside?

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