Ezekiel and God's Presence (Part 2)

We live in a Christian culture where 'worship' has become closely linked to (and even defined by) the songs we sing on a Sunday morning. As a result, the music we sing in church has become a CENTRAL issue in most churches to the point where we define individual churches by their style of music (traditional, mixed, contemporary, or modern). But not only this, worship style has become so CENTRAL that some people will actually divide (or leave) a church over it! Ouch! But music style is not very important to God and so it shouldn't be to us either. In fact, throughout Scripture, God defines a much more authentic 'worship' that runs much deeper than the songs we sing. And God wants His idea of 'worship' (and NOT ours) to be CENTRAL to His church. So how does He define authentic worship? Ezekiel 40-48 gives us some fresh insights. So let's check it out...

A NEW TEMPLE (VS. THE OLD TEMPLE)
In Ezekiel 40-48, God describes a new Temple to Ezekiel. This vision has many similarities with the vision of the old Temple that is given in Ezekiel 8-11. Why the similarities? The author wants us to see that this new, restored Temple is to be contrasted with the old, corrupt Temple which housed idolatry, injustice, and sin. But why does God describe this Temple to Ezekiel in the first place (and with so much detail)? Well, Ezekiel 43:10-11 gives us the answer!

"Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider its perfection, and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations."

This passage suggests that just like many of the symbolic acts described in the earlier chapters of Ezekiel, this description of the Temple is to be used by Ezekiel as a type of sermon illustration (a type of teaching aid). This is made apparent by the intricate details used to describe this new Temple. But what do these details communicate? And how might they have made the people feel ashamed? Let's find out...

A NEW PRIESTHOOD
We learn early on in the book of Ezekiel that the religious leaders were poor shepherds and guides for the people (Ezekiel 34). Because of this, in the new Temple, only the Zadok priests will be permitted to enter God's presence. But why only this specific group of priests? Check out Ezekiel 44:15-16.

"But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me...they alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table to minister before me and serve me as guards."

Do you think that this might bring shame to the leaders of Israel who were unfaithful in leading God's people?

THICK WALLS AND GUARD POSTS
This is not God's only indictment against Israel. Ezekiel's vision also makes the new Temple seem like a military fortress. There are guard stations at the entrances to the new Temple (Ezekiel 40:7). And the 'walls' surrounding the Temple are greatly emphasized in Ezekiel 40-42. And rightfully so, they are roughly 11 feet thick and 11 feet tall! But why the emphasis on the walls? Well, the walls of the old Temple were used for idol worship. We see this in Ezekiel 8:10-11.

"So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel. In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphah was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising."

But the new, thick walls will be used to keep idols and idolatry outside of God's presence! In this way, they will also serve as a reminder of Israel's past unfaithfulness to God. Do you think that these walls might bring shame to Israel?

LIVING WATER & PURIFICATION OFFERINGS
Ezekiel's vision also shows an obsession with the sin or purification offering and Temple purity (40:39; 43:19-25; 44:29; 45:17-25; 46:20). This obsession with the sin offering is most evident in Ezekiel 45:18-20. The sin offering was the sacrifice that 'atoned' or 'purged' the Temple of all impurity (or death). This was accomplished by splashing the Temple furniture with blood (a sign of life) from the sin offering. But why is there this emphasis on the sin offering? Ezekiel 44:7-8 tells us.

“In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant. Instead of carrying out your duty in regard to my holy things, you put others in charge of my sanctuary.”

Israel had been desecrating God's Temple by allowing DEATH to enter God's presence through unclean foreigners! However, God's Temple presence (and God's people) were always meant to be givers of LIFE! Israel was called to be a life-giving force to a hurting world under the curse of Genesis 3. This is why a river of life is described in Ezekiel 47. It shows us that one day God's presence (and God's people) will once again bring LIFE to a DYING world! But the purification offerings will always be a reminder of Israel's past failings. Do you think that these purification offerings might bring shame to Israel?

NEW LAND DIVISIONS
We also see in Ezekiel's vision that land divisions are very important. In fact, in Ezekiel 47:14 we learn that the land will be divided EQUALLY among the people. And then we also learn that people won't have to worry about their land being unjustly taken from them by a king (Ezekiel 45:7-8; 46:18). This is a big deal because in the past, the Israelite kings would steal land from the people for their own gain (1 Kings 21). But not only this, land was never returned to people who had to sell it to pay off debts because the Sabbath Years (according to Jeremiah which included the Jubilee years) were never observed (2 Chronicles 36:21). So might these new land divisions bring shame to Israel and remind them of their past injustices?

THE BOTTOM LINE
Ezekiel's description of the Temple communicates to us that authentic worship is more than just singing songs in a certain style. Authentic worship is ACTION that REFLECTS God ACCURATELY to the world around us. This involves showing the world that God is KING (as opposed to cultural idols such as popularity, material things or anything else), that God is JUST (and cares deeply for people), and that God is LIFE (and wants people to feel loved). This is the type of worship that we need to make CENTRAL in our churches today! And so may we REFLECT God accurately to the world around us as a COMMUNITY of His people!