Ezekiel 43:1-27
Wednesday, 09 November 2022
“ ….. and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.” -Ezekiel 43:5
The glory of God was revealed to Ezekiel, the Prophet, several times in the book of Ezekiel. Glory is a word derived from a Hebrew word “Kabod,” which is used to describe the weight and worthiness of something, but usually the word is used to depict greatness and splendor!
In the very first chapter (Eze.1:4) Ezekiel encountered the glory of God as a “great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in the midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire.” It then continues the entire chapter (until Vs.28), a detailed description of the glory of God! Finally, Ezekiel encounters God Himself and received his calling from Him (Eze.2:1).
The glory of God came to the Tabernacle in the wilderness and filled it Exodus 40:34-35. Prior to that the glory of God came down to Mount Sinai, when God gave the Law to Moses (Ex.24:15-18). We see how the glory of God filled the Temple built by king Solomon (2Chron.7:1-3).
Though Ezekiel had witnessed the glory of God as seen in the first chapter, we see in Ezekiel 10:18 that the glory of God left the Temple. What was the reason? If we examine preceding chapters through Ezekiel, God described the sin of the people which was intolerable to Him. God showed Ezekiel all the idol worship in the Temple and even in the inner sanctuary, hidden away from the common view, were abominable idols hung on the walls! (Ezekiel 8). God’s glory left the Temple and He avenged His anger on the wicked.
In our reading today, we see God show Ezekiel the vision of the New Temple, how it would be built and the glory of God fill the temple again. In Ezekiel 43:12, the Lord says, “This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.” The principle for God’s glory to dwell in the temple- it has to be kept holy!
Many centuries later, the glory of God came to us in the Person of Christ: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14). Later in John 17:22 Jesus says, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one…” This was when He prayed for His disciples- that includes every believer!
Every believer today is the Temple of God where His glory dwells (1Cor.6:19). We have the great responsibility to keep our “temple” clean! The inner sanctuary mentioned above refers to our heart- a constant check needs to go on in there to see if we have “hung” idols of our own which will displace the glory of God from us. If the glory of God has to shine forth from our lives, we -the temple of God have to keep it holy. We can yield ourselves to “the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood” (1 Peter 1:2) so we can be transformed. May we by His abiding Spirit be transformed more into Christ-likeness so that we will reflect His ever-increasing glory through our lives!
Think on: “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2Cor.4:6)
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