Ezekiel - Chapter 43-44

Ezekiel 43:5 - The Spirit carries him into the inner court, a place where he likely has never been in real life. A place that only a few men have gone and only a few times. Imagine how that would have felt to have God bring you into his most private place. (After reading further (Ezekiel 44:15-27), I don't think this is the most holy place, behind the curtain, where the high priest would only go once a year. Still, it's the inner court, a special holy place, with special rules and only the Levites are to go there.)

Ezekiel 43:10-12 - Now I know why there was 3 chapters on the design of the temple.

Ezekiel 43:18-27 - As I read this ritual for cleansing the alter, it struck me how rediculous and scandalous Jesus would have seemed. God is Holy, He reequired elaborate steps from us to purify us that we may approach His holines. It is not a simple thing, it requires a lot of specific, sacred steps to be in the right condition to approach God.

But along comes this Jesus, and He talks as if God can be your best buddy in comparison. He brings all sort of unholy folks around him and doesn't even attempt to cleanse them. It would seem as though he's triffling with God, treating him with contempt. It would seem that Jesus is mocking the rituals that remind them of God's holiness. He's not, of course, but I can imagine how hard that would be to see.

Ezekiel 44:9 - God demands holiness and purity.

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