Ezekiel 44:4

Ezekiel 44:4 says, Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord: and I fell upon my face.  Ezekiel said that when he was brought to the north gate that the glory of God filled the temple and he fell on his face.  God’s glory should always fill our loves as Christians, and we should always bow to His will.  We are unworthy to worship Him by our own merit.  

Verse five adds, And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.  Ezekiel was told to mark well, or intently, seeing with his eyes and hearing with his ears all that God said to him concerning the laws of God and the entry into His temple.  As followers of Christ, we must intensely study God’s word, should be able to see His glory in the world, and should hear Him when He speaks to us.   We must also understand that there is only one gate, or way to enter God’s kingdom, and that is by faith in Jesus Christ.  

Verse six continues, And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,  Ezekel was to proclaim God’s word to the rebellious house of Israel, His chosen people.  If Christians, God’s chosen people today, begin to go astray, preachers, and even individual Christians, need to proclaim God’s word to them.  Ezekiel was to first point out their faults and was then to call them to repentance.  If Christians are allowing sin into their lives today, we must under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, point them out, not as someone who is morally superior, but as a fellow sinner saved by grace.

Verse seven states, In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.  God said that the people of Israel had brought the uncircumcised both in heart and in the flesh into His temple while they were worshipping Him.  This was against God’s covenant with them then, but we are under the new covenant, so we need to bring the lost into the house of God.   Still, we are not to come into His house if we are under His covenant with unconfessed sin in our hearts as we worship Him.  

Verse eight adds, And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.  God said that instead of keeping His charge, or commandments, that the people of Israel were following their own rules in His house.  We need to beware that we are not gathering in God’s name without obeying His word.   This will never be acceptable to God.  

Verse nine continues, Thus saith the Lord God; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.   God said that no one who wasn’t a part of His called people were to enter into His house.  The place itself was considered to be strictly a place of worship, whereas the church today is both a house of worship and a place to reach the lost with God’s salvation plan, so He expects us to call the unbelievers into the church.

Ezekiel 44:1

Ezekiel 44:1 says, Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.  Matthew Henry says Ezekiel was now brought back to review what he had seen just as we should go back to God’s word often to see what He has to say to us.  Ezekiel said God first brought him back to the east gate which was shut.  This was the third time Ezekiel had been brought to the east gate, and it was the only one closed.  

Verse two adds, Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.  Ezekiel was told that this gate was to be closed because it was the one that the Lord, the God of Israel, had entered through.   I believe that this would indicate that God would be in the temple at all times and not coming in and out.  Since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, this would mean that once we put our faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit indwells us, He will never leave.  

Verse three continues, It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.  This seems to say that only the Prince, Jesus Christ, would be allowed to go in and out of this gate as He fellowshipped with others.  The gate to provide salvation is closed to all but Jesus Christ, and He is the only way of entry to God’s kingdom and still calls people to Himself today.    

Ezekiel 43:22

Ezekiel 43:22 says, And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock.  The second day, a young goat without blemish was to be offered as a further sin offering.  The blood of this kid goat was to be used the same way as the blood of the bull had been to further cleanse the altar.  The blood of Jesus alone is all that can cleanse us today as we present ourselves as a living sacrifice to Him.  

Verse twenty-three adds, When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.  After the altar was purified, the priest was then to offer a young bull and a ram, both without a blemish to be set aside for an offering.   Jesus Christ is the only One Who can be presented as a sacrifice without blemish.  

Verse twenty-four continues, And thou shalt offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the Lord.  God said the people were to offer these animals as a sacrifice to Him, and that the priests were to put salt on them before they were offered.  Salt is seen as a preserving and purifying agent, so they were to purify the sacrifices.  They weren’t to be preserved for long though, since they were to be burned on the altar.  As followers of Christ, our life should be made pure for God, not by salt, but by the blood of Jesus Christ and He will preserve our soul forever, even as we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to Hm. 

Verse twenty-five states, Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.  This sin sacrifice was to be offered every day for a week.  Though we are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice every day to God, Jesus Christ offered the one time offering for our sins when He died on the cross.  

Verse twenty-six adds, Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.  The altar was also to be purified everyday and the people were to consecrate themselves to God as they did this.  Though the blood of Jesus Christ is the only acceptable offering for sin, if we accept this offer we need to purify our lives everyday as we serve and worship Him.   

Verse twenty-seven continues, And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord God.  After the seven days passed, the priests were to offer the sacrifices for the rest of the people.  After the death of Jesus Christ for our sins, He is the only sacrifice that is acceptable for forgiveness for our sins, and this was given once and forever.  Now, we should just live our lives in accordance with the will of God if we are a follower of Christ.  We cannot offer an acceptable sacrifice for our sins, no matter how often we may try to do so.