Tues.’s Devo - The Day of Atonement

Read: Ez. 10:1-11:25; Heb. 6:1-20; Ps. 105:16-36; Pr. 27:1-2 Exekiel is taken by the spirit to God’s throne. It is the day of Atonement when the High Priest enters the Holy Place. It is showing us what happens in heaven since the earthly temple was a replica of heaven’s temple and the priesthood a replica of heaven’s priesthood. As “the man” - the heavenly High Priest went into the house the glory of the Lord filled the temple. He took the coal from the altar of incense with him. This represented prayer and intercession for the people. The cherubims were sent forth to carry out God’s will on the earth. Next, Ezekiel was taken to the princes of the land and told to prophesy against them since they were not carrying out God’s will and were wicked. They would be killed by the sword because that was their greatest fear. When he said this, one of the leaders fell dead. Ezekiel cried out to the Lord on behalf of the rest of the people. God promised to bring them back and preserve a remnant. This remnant would have a new spirit and a heart of flesh. They will follow the Lord and be God’s people. God took Ezekiel back to the people so he could tell them what he had seen and warn them. Hebrews six is a much misunderstood passage. I have read several commentaries on these verses and I’m not sure I agree with any of them so I’m going to leave you to your own interpretation. I’m going to continue to pray for clarity. He sums it up in verses 7 and 8: rain falls on the earth and the land that is prepared to receive it brings forth herbs. The land that is not prepared to receive it bears thorns and briers and is cursed. The rain stands for the spirit of God that rains down upon all flesh. Those that prepare their hearts to receive it bear fruit, those that don’t will be judged and condemned. He also reminds us that it is through faith that we receive His promises. Lord, give us faith to receive Your rain.