LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Message 24
THE RETURN OF THE GLORY OF GOD TO THE HOUSE
WEEK 12 - TUESDAY
Scripture Reading: Ez 43:7-11
Read and pray: “You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the house, its arrangement, its exits, its entrances, and all its forms; all its statutes, all its ordinances, and all its laws; write it in their sight so that they may keep its whole design and all its statutes and do them” (Ez 43:10-11)
PROSTITUTION AND THE CORPSES OF THE PEOPLE
In verse 7b, the Lord told Ezekiel that the people had offended Him with their prostitutions and with their corpses. Here, the Lord did not rebuke the house of Israel for their behavior and conduct, but for their prostitution and corpses.
Prostitution is fornication. No matter how lovable and beautiful a certain wife may be, and no matter how many good things she does, if she loves another man besides her husband, that is prostitution.
In principle, this was the situation of the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2. The Lord said that they had done many good works, but that they had lost the first love (v. 4). He was saying that, besides Him, they loved some other things. This is prostitution.
No matter how good, pure, or holy something may be, if we love that thing more than we love the Lord Himself, that is prostitution. Very few Christians today care simply for the Lord Himself. Instead, many care for other things, including things that are good and fundamental, spiritual and holy. This is prostitution.
Corpses are dead things. Ezekiel 43:7b speaks of “the corpses of their kings in their high places.” In the interpretation of this part of the verse, after high places we may insert of Zion to indicate that these high places here may refer to the high places on Mount Zion.
According to custom, the bodies (corpses) of the kings were buried beside the temple. This is why the Lord said that the limit of the corpses was near His limit and that the gravestones of their tombs were near His threshold in the temple (v. 8).
On one side was the Lord’s sanctuary; on the other side was the burial place of the bodies of the kings. Thus, these were not the corpses of people of lower classes, but of kings, people of high position.
THE LORD INSTRUCTS EZEKIEL
TO SHOW THE HOUSE OF GOD TO THE PEOPLE
After describing these abominations, the Lord told Ezekiel how to instruct the people: “You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities” (v. 10a).
The Lord did not commission Ezekiel to teach the people of God the law and the Ten Commandments as He had commanded Moses. Rather, He told Ezekiel to show the house of God to the people.
Here, the Lord seemed to be saying, “From now on, it is not a matter of the dispensation of the law, but of the dispensation of My house. Simply keeping the law is not sufficient. You must keep the design, the arrangements, the ordinances, the statutes, the laws, the entrances, and the exits related to the house. You must behave not only according to the Ten Commandments, but also according to My house.”
According to verse 10, God wanted Ezekiel to show the temple to the house of Israel so that the people would be ashamed of their iniquities. The temple of God is a model, and if the people would examine themselves in the light of this model, they would know their deficiencies.
It was God’s intention to evaluate the life and conduct of the people of Israel by His house, His dwelling, as a model and standard. The life of God’s people must match the temple of God. Showing the temple to God’s people exposes their sins and failures and causes them to be ashamed of their iniquities.
Most believers today feel that moral regulations and spiritual principles are sufficient as rules for behavior and conduct. Few realize that our behavior and conduct must be evaluated not only according to moral regulations and spiritual principles, but also according to the church, the house of God.
The common, or lower, teachings in today’s Christianity tell believers how to behave, that is, what to do and what not to do. Many rules of conduct are given to believers. There are also higher teachings that encourage them to be spiritual. These teachings are somewhat better than teachings concerning conduct.
The Lord did not tell Ezekiel to show the law or spiritual principles to the house of Israel. Instead, the Lord commissioned Ezekiel to show His house to the house of Israel. Because the house was to be His regulation, the Lord charged him to show them “the design of the house, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, all its statutes, all its ordinances, and all its laws” (v. 11).
Our main concern today should not be how we behave or even how we become spiritual. Our concern should be how we match the house of God, that is, the way we conduct ourselves in the house of God.
The Lord did not command Ezekiel to show the law, the Ten Commandments, to the house of Israel; nor did He command him to show spiritual principles to them. Rather, the Lord commissioned Ezekiel to show His house to the house of Israel.
Suppose a certain young man is saved. Before being saved, he treated his parents and his sister very badly. Now that he is saved, he learns to treat them with respect and to behave properly toward his father, mother, and sister.
Later, he learns to be spiritual and to do things such as considering himself dead. He is good in behavior and, in certain matters, he is even spiritual; nevertheless, he is completely independent.
He is so independent that he is not willing to pray with others. Such a person, who is extremely independent, knows nothing about the house of God. He does not care at all for the church. Everything he does is for himself individually; nothing is for the church, the Body, the corporate expression of Christ.
If this kind of person is measured by the house, he will realize that he is lacking in every way. For example, he will see that he has no windows, that is, the life-giving Spirit. He needs to have windows by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. The more he calls on the Lord’s name, the more windows he will have.
This brother also needs to be evaluated and compared with the doors of the house. This may cause him to realize that he has many doors through which he can leave the church life. As far as the church life is concerned, he may come and go as he pleases, coming one day and leaving the next. Although he has many doors, the temple does not have many doors. He has no windows, but he has many doors, many ways to leave the church life.
🌿Enjoy more:
Hymn: "Freed from Adam, from the self, build me up, Lord"
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