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.