epcblog

Devotional thoughts (Monday through Thursday mornings) from the pastor of Exeter Presbyterian Church in Exeter, NH // Sunday Worship 10:30am // 73 Winter Street

Friday, June 13, 2008

Ezekiel 45

In the days of Jesus, the temple had a commanding presence in the city of Jerusalem. The things that men do to the landscape in any city may give important clues concerning the values of the people that live there. In the case of this vision, the layout of space tells us about God, since He is the one who gives these instructions. Here we have a conspicuously large holy district, 25,000 cubits by 20,000 cubits. This entire area is to be considered holy, somehow set apart for the Lord’s purposes. Within this area is the 500 by 500 area for the sanctuary that has been our most immediate focus.

It would seem as if holiness is flowing out of the Most Holy Place in this special world, creating a large holy portion of the land. There is some power of the sacred that seems to overwhelm the common as this vision moves toward a conclusion in the final chapters of this book. It is not enough to have a small holy sanctuary in this new place. The holiness must begin to expand from a discreet holy building winning over a much larger holy land. Here we have the land for the priests and for the Levites who are dedicated to the system of worship and sacrifice. It is not enough for them to have holy garments to set themselves apart for their sacred duties. Their houses where they live with their families are holy. For those who are marked by God as holy, His presence among them diminishes the distinction between the sacred and the profane – not that everything is some mix of the two, and not that the profane overwhelms the sacred, but that somehow the power of holiness is expansive and victorious, so that it will not be limited to some small place. The holy overwhelms the common. The entirety of the lives of the Lord’s servants becomes holy.

It is striking that an adjacent separate area, called the “city,” seems to have a relatively small area compared to the holy district where the priests and Levites live. No more are there just a few places where there are towns and lands for the support of the Lord’s servants. They are right there near the new temple area, and the city is alongside this larger holy space. The area that belongs to the prince is also very conspicuous, and borders the holy district and the city on both the east and the west.

Not only will the prince have an obvious presence in the new land, He will use His resources for the good of the people. He will not consider His power as an excuse for oppression in order to get some unjust gain for himself. The priest will let the people of God have the land that God has allotted for them. Will the prince be a violent man who evicts the Lord’s sheep from their resting place? Far from it! The Lord (and presumably His prince) will rule over a land of justice. There will be honesty in dealings between men. The day of false weights and measures as tools of stealing the property of others will be gone. The people of the land will give to the prince, but then the prince will supply out of his abundance blessing upon blessing for the people through the system of offerings appointed by the Lord. By the wealth of the prince, the people shall know atonement. The temple will be kept holy according to the blood of the covenant. Out of the prince’s resources will come all that is necessary for the festivals to be celebrated by the prince and his people. He will supply the sin offering and all the necessary provisions for his subjects.

This is the kind of prince that a righteous people should gladly obey. Nonetheless, there are two obvious problems with that thought. First, we are not righteous people, so we do not easily submit even to a righteous Lord. Second, where can we find a righteous prince like this among the sons of men? Even if we were to find one such a man, what would we do when he died? Experience has taught us that the son may not have the same abilities or graces as the man who came before him.

God has answered these problems for us in His wonderful provision for His church. We are an eternal society of holy servants who have been promised a “new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). A distinguishing mark of the members of our society is that we recognize Christ as our King. He is a Prince without any fault, full of all the qualities necessary in order to rightly rule a godly people. Out of the abundance of His righteousness and through the gift of Himself as an offering we have all that we will ever need as a sin offering. From the bounty of His great riches we celebrate eternal communion with our God.

Two other things are worthy of our celebration even now in this present age. First, even now, when we go to be with our Prince we are immediately made perfect in holiness. That will happen to each of the Lord’s people as we lay down our lives here, and our spirits go to be with the Lord. Finally, our Prince will never die. We need not worry about the character of His successor. He will be our Ruler and Friend forever, and we shall rejoice in that perfect kingdom. The vision of Ezekiel is just a taste of a great age to come. That tastes was first given to those in exile, during a time when these matters waited in the shadows. Our day is different, for a bright Light has now dawned, even among the Gentiles. We see the Temple. We love the Prince. We believe.

posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM

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