Wed.’s Devo - The Temple

Read: Ezekiel 40:28-41:26; James 4:1-17; Psalm 118:19-29; Proverbs 28:3-5
Today we read about the inner court where only the priest could go. The ratio was one to five. Five has to do with grace which is how the priest could do what he did. He had to be operating under a spirit more powerful than man’s. There were tables where the sacrifices where slaughtered. There were prongs to put the sacrifices on the altars. There were two rooms. One was on the north side that faced south. It was for the priests in charge of the temple. The other room was on the south side and faced north. It was for the priests who had charge of the altar. These were the sons of Zadok and they were the only Levites who could draw near to the Lord to minister to him. They were always facing up to heaven - north.
Next, he was taken into the Most Holy Place. It was the only dimension that had the number 7 in it because it is complete and perfect.
The wall of the temple was 6 cubits because six is the number of man and the temple was for men. Each level of the temple got larger as it went up because as we grow in the Lord, our capacity to hold his presence and revelation increases.
The outer sanctuary was covered in wood signifying man since we are depicted as trees throughout scripture (Psalm 1). Palm trees and cherubim were all around the inner and outer sanctuary showing interaction between the spiritual realm and the natural and how God longs to meld the two together. The cherub had two faces: the face of a man facing the palm tree on one side and the face of a lion facing the palm tree on the other side. That is the two pictures God gives us of angels: man and lion. In the temple that Solomon built there were angels and palm trees. In John 12:13 we see a glimpse of the manifestation. Jesus was riding into Jerusalem and the people took the branches of palm trees and waved them before Jesus saying, “Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that coms in the name of the Lord.” Our hands are the palm branches that we lift in praise and worship to the Lord. We interact with the angels when we worship as they do.
James checks our motives. He says that most of the quarrels we have with others are over stuff. It makes me think of inheritances. Nothing will split a family like the death of a parent and the dividing of their stuff. God says that we should check our motives and ask ourselves why we want something. If we ask God what he wants us to have and trust that he knows best, we will find ourselves delighting in Him and not in our selves. Then every gift will come from him.