Saturday, August 29
Read Ezekiel 10
Think About It:
It was the idolatry in the temple that had aroused the anger of Lord. Often in scripture you find God sending judgment, not because unbelievers have sinned, but because His own people disobey His law! Peter warned believers in the first century that “judgment must begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17)”. A warning we need to heed today as our Lord’s coming draws near.
Again we see the magnificent creatures in the throne room. One new feature is the fact that the living creatures were “full of eyes,” which suggests God’s omniscience.
The Lord commanded the scribe-angel to enter between the wheels and take coals from the fire that was there and to scatter the coals over the city of Jerusalem. Not only would the city be visited by famine, pestilence, and sword, but it would be burned by the Babylonian army. This was not a fire of purification, such as Isaiah experienced, but a fire of condemnation.
God’s Glory departed from the threshold and stood over the chariot-throne, which was on the right side of the house, as though the Lord were calling His Glory back to His throne. At the same time, the chariot-throne arose and stood at the door of the East gate of the temple.
Ezekiel was learning that the most important part of the nation’s life was to magnify the Glory of God. The presence of God in the sanctuary was a great privilege for the people of Israel, but it was also a great responsibility. The Glory of God cannot dwell with the sins of God’s people, so it was necessary for the Glory to leave, and the sanctuary and the people to be judged.
Dear ones, our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. We must keep it pure, holy, and true.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, if I have let anything not of You in my temple, please God, reveal it to me – right now! I confess my sin of ( _________) and ask for forgiveness. I ask, Lord, that you would cleanse me. I ask that you would create in me a clean heart. I ask that you would renew a right spirit within me. And now I ask you, Holy Spirit, to fill this temple and awaken all the Spiritual Gifts you have already given me and planned for me to use. Equip me spiritually for the tasks you’ve planned for my life. I am sorry for not using them. Awaken them, Lord, in Me RIGHT NOW! Amen
Family Time:
- With what was the man clothed in linen to fill his hands? (verses 2, 6-7)
- What were the four faces like on the wheels? (verse 14)
