LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Read and pray: “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete and without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thes. 5:23)
THE HOLY BUILDING OF GOD
The holy temple is the place where God is, the dwelling place of God. If we want to seek God, contact God, have fellowship with God, and serve God, we must realize that God has His dwelling place.
On the one hand, God is omnipresent; on the other hand, God has His particular place. If we want to find Him, we must know His exact location, His definite dwelling place. Thus, it is necessary to consider the vision of the building of God in Ezekiel, for this vision describes the place where God dwells ─ His holy temple.
We will first consider a general sketch, or plan, of the building of God. Please refer to Figure 1¹, which is the graphic plan showing the temple and its inner and outer courts.
The building is square, with each of the four sides measuring five hundred cubits. Three of the four sides have an entrance. There are gates on the east, south, and north, all of which lead into the outer court around the walls.
In the outer court, there are six pavements made of stone. Each of the pavements has five chambers built as places for people to eat and enjoy the sacrifices and offerings. This means that the thirty chambers are places for us to enjoy Christ.
Within the outer court there is an inner court, which also has gates on three sides, on the east, south, and north. This makes a total of six gates: three for the outer court and three for the inner court.
In this regard, we must realize that the building which Ezekiel saw has two walls: the wall outside the outer court and the outer wall of the inner court. In each of the walls there are three gates. The measurement and the pattern of the walls and the gates are exactly the same.
Within the inner court is the altar. This altar is the center of the entire complex of the building of God. The altar is a type of the cross. Therefore, the altar in the center of the complex indicates that the cross of Christ is at the center of God’s economy and of God’s interests.
In Ezekiel 40─48, a section concerning the building of God, three main things are covered: the holy temple, the holy city, and the holy land. The temple, the city, and the land are all holy.
It is significant that Ezekiel begins not from the outside, but from the inside. This is the way of God’s economy. In His economy, God always begins from the inside, not from the outside.
We see an indication of this in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, which speaks of our “spirit and soul and body,” not body, soul, and spirit. This reveals that God begins from the inside, from our spirit, not from the outside.
God’s economy always begins from within, whereas human movements always begin from the outside. In light of this, we need to learn, in the church life, not to begin anything outwardly, but always to begin something from within. This is to apply what is revealed here concerning the building of God: first the temple, then the city, and afterward the land.
THE WALL
The first item we need to see concerning the temple is the wall. The temple has a wall on all four sides. The wall is for separation, separating what is of God and what cannot belong to Him. It separates what should belong to God and what should never belong to Him. The wall is therefore a line of separation.
The measurement of the wall indicates that it typifies Christ Himself as a line of separation. Everything within Christ belongs to God’s interests and the building of God, but what is outside of Christ is excluded from God’s interests and from the building of God.
In a city of millions of people, we can know who is of God and who is not by Christ as the line of separation. Whoever is in Christ belongs to God, and whoever is outside of Christ is separated from God. In other words, whoever belongs to Christ is within the wall, and whoever is outside of Christ is outside the wall.
The measurement of the wall is quite unusual. I do not think that throughout all the centuries of human history such a wall has ever existed. This wall is six cubits high and six cubits thick. If we could look at a cross section of the wall, we would be looking at a square of six cubits by six cubits.
The number six refers to man, who was created on the sixth day. Since the wall is six cubits high and six cubits thick, and since six is the number of man, we can say that the wall typifies the Lord Jesus as a square, in the upright position, a perfect and complete man. As a square, straight, perfect, and complete, and even as a resurrected man, Christ is the line of separation.
Because He is square and straight, He is fully qualified. In Him there is no imperfection; with Him there is nothing lacking and nothing crooked. Rather, with Him everything is straight, even, perfect, and complete. Again I say, this man is the line of separation.
If only the Lord Jesus were such a man, we would be excluded. We are not square, even, or straight. Surely, we are not perfect or complete. Although we are so limited, we should not try to imitate Christ.
It is impossible for any fallen human being to imitate Christ, the One who is square, straight, perfect, and complete. When we come to the Lord Jesus and compare ourselves with Him, we are exposed and condemned. For example, in Luke 2, we see that when the Lord Jesus was a boy of twelve, no matter how much He was for His Father, He still obeyed His parents.
Young people, you are not obedient to your parents while you are seeking the Father’s interests, but the Lord Jesus was obedient. From this one example, we can realize that the history of the life of the Lord Jesus is a factor that condemns us.
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¹ Unfortunately, we do not have the images in this material.
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