Sat.’s Devo - Measuring the Temple

Read: Ezekiel 39:1-40:27; James 2:18-3:18; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 28:2 God told Ezekiel to prophesy against Gog, the Lord’s enemy. Yesterday we read that God would draw them back with a hook of six teeth (Eze. 38:22). These six teeth are the six plagues he would bring on them: pestilence, blood, overflowing rain, hailstones, fire and brimstone. In Ezekiel’s time Gog was Egypt and their leader was Antiochus. He came to his death when he left Egypt to fight against Palestine. He was a type of the Anti-Christ in the end of days. He and his men would die in the mountains of Israel and be fed to the vultures and the wild animals Fire and brimstone would rain down on Magog and all their allies. The people of Israel would burn their weapons as fuel for seven years while they cleaned up the land. There were so many dead corpses in the valley it would take seven months to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. It will be a great victory for the people of Israel. The birds and the wild animals were called to the valley to eat the bodies of the dead in what Revelation calls the “Feast of Leviathan”. In the end, while this is going on, the saints will be at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. God will pour out his Spirit on his people. On the Day of Atonement, the twenty-fifth year of Israel’s captivity, fourteen years after Jerusalem fell, Got took Ezekiel in the Spirit to the land of Israel and set him down on a very high mountain. He was taken to a city where he met a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside the gateway entrance. He was holding a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod. He told Ezekiel to pay close attention to everything he was going to show him and then return to the people and tell them every detail. A wall completely surrounded the Temple area. It was as thick as it was tall. The area given was so much larger than the Temple area in real life that it would be a literal impossibility unless the typography was changed. The measures were mostly taken from the human body. The greater cubit was the length from the elbow to the end of the middle finger, a little more than two feet: exceeding the ordinary cubit (from the elbow to the wrist) by an hand-breadth, that is, twenty-one inches in all. The palm was the full breadth of the hand, three and a half inches. When you think about the fact that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, it makes you wonder. Nothing of the old temple was left remaining. He was brought to the eastern gate where the presence of God left through and would return through. This temple would be so much more glorious than any of the Temples ever built because Haggai 2:9 tells us that the latter house will be greater than the former house. This will be the place where God will give his people peace. In Hebrews, we are told that faith has to be experienced and tried by our actions to be called faith. Abraham proved his faith by offering Isaac. Rahab proved her faith by putting her life on the line and hiding the Hebrew spies. We will be tested many times to prove our faith by the way we respond. We are warned that not many people can be teachers. They are responsible for the things that come out of their mouths because their students are affected by them. James tells us that no one can tame the tongue. He explains the harm the tongue can have and also the power it can do for good. We are given a description of God’s wisdom. It is pure, peace loving, gentle at all times and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and it bears the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. If we plant the seeds of peace we will reap a harvest of righteousness. Lord, may our lives bring glory to your kingdom today. We pray for wisdom to walk in truth and love.