Ezekiel 42:13 AMP
“Then he (the angel) said to me: The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separate area, are the holy chambers where the priests who are close to the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings. They shall place the most holy things—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering—for the place is holy”.
Today’s chapter is a continuation of Ezekiel’s vision of the future and eternal promised land, earthly Jerusalem, and the eternal worship.
The vision spans eight chapters, 40-48. Ezekiel saw them from a very high mountain, which is somewhat comparable to the vision of John the beloved, on a great and high mountain, when he saw the new earth, new heaven, the New Jerusalem and other eternal things in Revelation 21:10.
Ezekiel saw things as they would be from the beginning of the Millenium into eternity, while John saw things beginning with the new earth into eternity. Ezekiel saw the eternal Jerusalem. He saw Christ and His eternal reign.
The remarkable details of measurements seen in this chapter reveal to us that God is intentional in He everything He does. All things are set according to the pattern He lays out.
We are His creation, and just like Him, we can be mindful of even those things we think do not matter, giving more attention to details, more so in things pertaining to the quality of service we render to God.
Our ministering to the Lord God deserves nothing short of excellence. In verse 14, see that the priests don’t just stagger into performing their duties. The very garments they wear are important to God.
In the same vain, they are not careless to remain in these garments when they appear in public – they are removed. This speaks of separation to God from the dirt and dust of everyday life.
Oftentimes, we forget this when we assemble together in our place of worship, sometimes throwing caution to the wind as we display conduct that does not align with reverence for God. There seems to be no difference whether we are in God’s house or out on the streets.
The implication of this is for us to be more aware of what our dedication to Him entails. Being mindful of His code of conduct for our lives.
Rendering to God what He is due by being intentional in our service to Him. Service to God is not secondary but should be seen as an avenue to show forth His excellent Spirit in us, whether it is in the Reach out teams or in the Raise and Rule teams.
In the verse highlighted above, we can see that it is the priests who are close to the Lord that shall eat of the Holy offerings (think on this!).
In conclusion, it is imperative that as priests and kings unto God in this dispensation, we must be intentional to cut off whatever remains in us that draws us away from the demands of our consecration to our God.
And this we can do if we continually look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Thoughts On Ezekiel 46
Theme: CHRIST, Our Perfect and Final Sacrifice
Memory Verse:
Hebrews 10:14
“For by one offering HE has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”
Main Text:
Ezekiel 46:13–15
“When the prince provides a freewill offering to the LORD —whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings—the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate will be shut.
‘Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD; morning by morning, you shall provide it”.
You are also to provide with it morning by morning a grain offering, consisting of a sixth of an ephah with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the flour. The presenting of this grain offering to the LORD is a lasting ordinance. So the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided morning by morning for a regular burnt offering.
Supporting scripture
Hebrews 10:10-14
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of JESUS CHRIST once for all. Day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again, he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of GOD.
For by one sacrifice, HE has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Ezekiel 46 outlines the order, procedure of worship in the house of GOD, that is acceptable to HIM..
This chapter shows us that GOD encourages orderliness. It also specified the type of sacrifice, the items for sacrifice, and how regular it would be. So we find a church system that is completely structured by GOD..
We find here a system of every morning, regular, and repeated sacrifices( burnt, grain, and peace offerings)
—a lamb( totally burnt up, symbolizing our total surrender to GOD
– a grain offering with oil (symbolizing the acknowledgement with thanks that our sustenance comes from GOD
and a continual act of worship, especially acknowledging that the very first part of the day is to be devoted to GOD, signifying daily dependence on GOD.
So these ritual actually symbolized surrender, thanksgiving, and dependence on GOD. However, they were incomplete to totally cleanse man from sin, and had to be repeated endlessly. It was a lasting ordinance
Imagine, if we were still to be doing this, how tedious it would have been.
Thank GOD for JESUS.
In contrast, JESUS CHRIST became the final Lamb, offering HIMSELF once and for all. HIS sacrifice didn’t just cover sin—it cleansed it.
Now, HE has become the ultimate sacrificial lamb. Instead of bringing lambs, we bring/ present ourselves as living sacrifices, worshipping in spirit and truth. Hallelujah!
Take Away
Three things i see here:
• Gratitude: We no longer need rituals—our worship is now in spirit and truth (John 4:23).
• Devotion: Even though we no longer offer daily lambs, we are now to offer our lives daily as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1).
• Consistency: Just as the lamb was offered every morning, so should our fellowship with GOD be constant.
Prayer Point
• Thank you, LORD JESUS
• Thank you, LORD JESUS
• Thank you, LORD JESUS
• I can never thank you enough for the sacrifice you did for me. Help me to prioritize you in all that i do.
