LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Message 20
THE OUTER AND INNER COURTS
WEEK 10 - SUNDAY
Scripture Reading: Ezek. 40:38-46
Read and pray: “But this One, having offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God,” (Hebrews 10:12)
A Place to Wash the Burnt Offerings
In the outer court there is some enjoyment through cooking and eating, but there is no service, no ministry to the Lord. However, when we pass through the gate into the inner court, the ministry begins immediately.
There is a chamber, probably inside the north gate of the inner court, for the priests to wash the burnt offerings (v. 38). In the preparation of a burnt offering to be offered, a series of steps must be followed.
First, the animal was slain, and then it was skinned and cut into pieces. After that, the offering was washed. After it had been washed, the offering was ready to be burned. Washing, therefore, was the last step in the preparation of the burnt offering.
The chamber here is not for killing, skinning, or cutting the burnt offering into pieces. Rather, the chamber is only for washing the burnt offering. This indicates that at this stage of our experience, we are ready to be a burnt offering to God. Only when we are in resurrection and at a higher level are we ready to be absolute for God.
Here, in the inner court, the life that is for God begins. We do not see this in the outer court. In the outer court, we have the enjoyment of Christ. But in the inner court, we have an advance and progress, for here we are in something that is more inward and also higher. Here, the priests are ready to offer the burnt offering, which means that they are ready to be absolute for the Lord.
The Tables
Inside the north gate, there are eight tables. Four are on one side and four on the other, making a total of eight. These tables are for slaughtering the offerings (vv. 39–41). This is the real service, the real ministry. The only ones who participate in this service are the priests. Today, in the New Testament age, we are all priests.
However, according to our actual experience, if we remain in the outer court, we are still merely common people who are not yet priests. In our experience, we cannot be priests until we are in a situation that is both higher and more inward.
Only after we are more elevated and have more inwardness will we have maturity in life. Then we will be ready to be a burnt offering. At that point, we can truly serve the Lord and minister to Him. Now we are no longer merely common people; we are priests ready to serve the Lord with a particular ministry.
With the tables, once again we have the number eight, which signifies resurrection. The eight tables are divided into two groups of four and also into four groups of two. These numbers show that the creature is in resurrection as a testimony.
We can say that eight is composed of two times four, with four being the number of the creature. We can also say that eight is composed of four times two. Four represents the creature, eight signifies resurrection, and two signifies testimony. Therefore, we have here the creature in resurrection as a testimony.
The tables are one and a half cubits square and one cubit high. The number one signifies the one God. By adding one and a half cubits of length to one and a half cubits of width, we have three cubits. Once again, the number three signifies the Triune God in resurrection.
The Triune God was “split,” as indicated by the two sides of the gate, each measuring one and a half cubits. In the matter of the eight tables, we see that the Triune God, the one God who became a creature, was “split” on the cross, but He resurrected. Now, in resurrection, He is a testimony. Today our service, our ministry, must be in the Triune God, the one God, who was “split” as a creature and who is now in resurrection as a living testimony.
At this point, I would like to summarize what we have covered thus far concerning the burnt offering and the tables. The chambers are for washing the burnt offering, which is something absolute for the Lord. Being ready to offer the burnt offering means that we are ready to be absolute for the Lord.
The eight tables, which are in four groups of two tables each, are for slaughtering the offerings. Eight signifies resurrection, four signifies the creature, and two signifies a testimony. Then we have the measurement of the tables, which is one cubit in height.
The number one signifies the one God. The number three (three cubits formed by adding one and a half cubits of length and width) signifies the Triune God in resurrection. This three, divided into two parts, indicates that the Triune God, who became a creature, was “split” through death and now He is in resurrection. Our service today is in the Triune God, the one God, who was “split,” and who is now in resurrection to be a testimony.
Two More Chambers
From the gate, we proceed into the court, where there are two more chambers, one on the north side and the other on the south side. These two chambers are for two groups of priests: those who care for the temple and those who keep the altar.
The chamber on the south side is for the priests who care for the temple (v. 45), and the chamber on the north side is for the priests who keep the altar (v. 46). These chambers indicate that at this point, their service, their ministry, is settled, established, unshakable, and constant. They are fully qualified and unshakable in their ministry.
Originally, we were wandering outside the wall. Praise the Lord, we entered into Christ and passed through Christ into the outer court. Eventually, by the Lord’s mercy, we arrived at the chambers, and there we began to taste Christ and enjoy Him.
Once we have tasted Him, we do not want to leave these chambers. However, after having considerable enjoyment of the Lord, we realize that we need to go up again and experience the meaning of the number eight in order to be absolutely in resurrection.
For this, we need to pass through Christ again and enter into the inner court. Once we are in the inner court, we need to be ready to be absolute for the Lord. Here we begin the ministry, the service, with the Triune God, who became a creature, who was “split,” and who is now in resurrection as a testimony. Now we become fully qualified priests, established unshakably in the chambers, caring for the temple and the altar.
🌿Enjoy more:
Hymn: Praise the Lord - “His Redemption”
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