September 13 - Ezekiel 43-45: So They'll Be Dismayed

Justice and mercy. Judgment and blessing. Destruction and restoration.

I've been trying to wrap my mind around these contrasts I've read in Ezekiel. God promises both ends of the spectrum to His people, in His timing, in His way. And there's a stark contrast as well in Ezekiel's two visions of the Temple.

Ezekiel's second vision (chapter 8) transported him back to Jerusalem to see what angered and offended The Holy of Israel - blatant idol worship in the middle of the Temple, desecrating the Lord's Sanctuary. God made it clear that He would no longer tolerate the outrageous obscenities of the Israelites. His people would pay dearly for their unfaithfulness.

That's it. They have an angry God on their hands! From now on, no mercy. They can shout all they want, but I'm not listening. (8:18)

Justice. Judgment. Destruction.

Almost twenty years later, here in the third vision (chapters 40-48), God gives Ezekiel an amazing glimpse of what's to come. He shows Ezekiel a detailed picture of the restored temple complex. God explains how He and His people will relate to each other in a restored Israel. God divides up the land again, providing space for the temple complex, reinstates the festivals and sacrifices and offerings, and specifies the rules of the Sanctuary.

This is the place where I'll live with the Israelites forever. Neither the people of Israel nor their kings will ever again drag my holy name through the mud...I'll move in and live with them forever. (43:7-8)  

And I'll accept you with pleasure, with delight! Decree of God, the Master. (43:27) 

oh! - the bright Glory of God filling the Temple of God! (44:4)

No irreverent and unrepentant aliens, uncircumcised in heart or flesh, not even the ones who live among Israelites, are to enter my Sanctuary. (44:9) 

[The priests'] job is to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, to show them how to discern between unclean and clean. (44:23) 

As to priests owning land, I am their inheritance. Don't give any land in Israel to them. I am their 'land,' their inheritance. (44:28) 

Everyone in the land must contribute to these special offerings that the prince in Israel will administer. (45:16)

Mercy. Blessing. Restoration.

This view of the Temple had to be a hopeful picture for Ezekiel after twenty-five years in exile. And God commands Ezekiel to tell it to His people for a specific reason:

Son of man, tell the people of Israel all about the Temple so they'll be dismayed by their wayward lives. (43:10)

The people are given a glimpse of a glorious future so they'll be thoroughly disheartened by how they're living. God tells them the truth about themselves and reveals His promised future so His people will see how sinful and off-track they really are. He wants them to repent and "get rid of their whoring ways." (43:9)

And He wants the same thing for me. He wants me to have a sober self-assessment and to recognize the depth of my unholiness.

"Only when you are so grieved by the raw evil of your ongoing self-obsession that My glory overwhelms you with desire to love like My Son will you deeply change." 66 LL

What's uncomfortable for me is I see from Ezekiel that God will use anything and everything - blessings and judgment, justice and mercy, destruction and restoration - to bring me to Himself. Everything is fair game, and there's no guarantee that I will understand it as it's happening. Yikes.

Truthfully, I am dismayed by my wayward life. I see my very real depravity and am ashamed of my sinful patterns. My sin is so deep.

But I keep reminding myself that God's not asking me to try harder or perform better. It's about continuing to bring all of me to the feet of Jesus and trusting Him to change me on the inside. He's the only One who can do it.

My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you'd won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. (Galatians 5:16) 

But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart , and a conviction that basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not need to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. (Galatians 5:22-23)