Sun.’s Devo - The Priests of the New Temple

Read: Ezekiel 44:1-45:12; 1 Peter 1:1-12; Psalm 119:17-32; Proverbs 28:8-10 The angel brought Ezekiel back to the eastern gateway of the outer wall of the Temple area and gave him strict instructions about the eastern gate. No one was to open it or walk through it because God had entered it. Only Jesus was allowed to sit inside this gateway to be in God’s presence and he could only come into the entry room of the gateway. The angel took Ezekiel through the north gateway to the front of the Temple. There he saw the glory of the Lord in the Temple and fell on his face. The Lord told him to take note of everything he heard and saw because God wanted his earthly temple cleansed of all the unholiness. From now on, no uncircumcised foreigner or person who had not surrendered themselves to the Lord would be allowed in the Temple. The Levites who had rebelled could only be Temple guards and gatekeepers and they were allowed to slaughter the animals brought for sacrifices. They could not longer approach the Lord to minister as priests or touch any of God’s holy things or the holy offerings. They would have to bear their shame and only work as Temple caretakers, maintenance workers and doing general duties because they had led the people into idolatry. The family of Zadok would continue to minister in the Temple to the Lord because they remained faithful when everyone else turned away. They must enter the gateway to the inner courtyard wearing only linen clothing so that they never sweat. (Ministering to the Lord should never be “work”.) They were to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments to symbolize our thoughts and all that they did in secret should be holy. They had to take off the clothes they wore while ministering and leave them in the sacred rooms and put on other clothes so that they wouldn’t endanger anyone by transmitting holiness to them through their clothing. That sounds weird but it meant that we can’t throw our pearls before swine. We can’t share with the world the intimacy’s we have with the Lord because they would not understand and think it was ridiculous. It would do them more harm than good because they are not spiritually equipped to handle or understand it. They were to keep their hair trimmed and not drink too much wine to be an example of self-control. They would judge the people according to the law and keep themselves clean. Everything they owned must belong to the Lord and they were to tithe the tenth. When they divided the land, they were to section off a large section for the temple and for the priests. The priests of the land would no longer oppress the people but care for them. We will see these proportions and regulations in the millennium. Peter wrote three letters and we begin reading the first one today. It is worthy to note that Peter’s wife suffered being martyred and he encouraged her to face it with courage and faith. That might be why he was so excited about the priceless inheritance we are anticipating in heaven. He encourages us to be truly glad even through our trials because they are only temporary. Being tested purifies us like gold and helps our faith to grow stronger. Salvation is something the prophets foretold even though they didn’t understand what they were saying. Even the angels have been eagerly awaiting this day. Lord, thank you for your perfect plan for our future. It may look uncertain to us but it has been planned from the foundation of the earth and it is perfect.