Ezekiel 43.1-12
The Glory of the Lord Fills the Temple
43 Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. 2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. 3 And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. 4 As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, 5 the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple, 7 and he said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies of their kings at their high places, 8 by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger. 9 Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.
10 “As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan. 11 And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out. 12 This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.
Ok so we're jumping ahead again. In the intervening chapters, we've had the continuing themes of prophecies against nations that have persecuted God's people and promises of restoration. Then, starting in chapter 40, Ezekiel has this vision of the new temple, and it's very specific (something that is fulfilled later as the temple is rebuilt—just as the vision describes). At the end of this vision, something amazing happens.
I want you to remember that in earlier chapters, Ezekiel witnessed God leaving the temple. Can you imagine the devastation of watching the glory of the Lord leave the temple and depart to the east?
Now Ezekiel has another vision of the glory of the Lord returning from the same way it left. The glory comes in from the east, moving toward the temple, and it fills the whole temple, but it's much more than just simply returning. Look at verse 2 again—the glory of the Lord is so infectious that it causes the land itself to radiate with His glory.
But there is more. Ezekiel hears the voice of the Lord, and the sound is like that of roaring rushing waters. That's actually a description of Jesus' voice in Revelation 1.15. The connection here can be made to Revelation and the implication that Jesus is of the same stuff as God: fully God and fully human.
But there are more connections to Revelation. In Ezekiel’s vision, God promises to live among His people, and in John’s vision in Revelation, we know that God is always with His people.
What an awesome thing for Ezekiel. He saw the worst things possible in his calling as the Lord’s prophet: the glory of the Lord departing from the temple. But now, a vision accompanied by God's promises to restore the people, and the best thing ever—God coming back.
Can you imagine the overwhelming joy that Ezekiel must have been feeling in this moment? After all that he has been through, and all that the Lord has revealed to him and commanded him to say, now Ezekiel has this incredible vision of the Lord's return.
This is not just an amazing moment for Ezekiel; it’s also the shadow of Jesus here in the Old Testament, as we see something of Jesus being revealed. Jumping ahead to the New Testament, with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, from what direction does He come when entering Jerusalem? The east! Doesn’t that just blow your mind?
Today I’m just overwhelmed by the amazing fact that God is with us — His glory, His grace — always and fully present in every moment.
Literally right now, the Lord is with you.
I want to encourage you to just take some time today, just five minutes or so, and stop what you’re doing and simply listen for His voice.
He is with you; He is speaking to you of His great love and calling you to a deeper life with and through Him.
Can you hear it? As C.S. Lewis said, it’s that larger, quieter voice. So it may take some effort on your part to set aside all the other things and voices that are clamoring for your attention from the moment you wake up. But make no mistake, He is speaking to you.
God bless you, and know you are prayed for constantly.
Scott