When I read the description of the Temple's Chambers... I had this thought of a building that was much narrower and more closely built together. I picture a walk-up like when I went to Philadelphia to visit a friend, and she took me through this tall narrow building...that felt long (though I'm sure it wasn't really) but was narrow and pressing in. All the walkups looked the same, just like the temple chambers here are the same as each other.
The purpose of the chambers. The north and south chambers are holy. They are where the priests eat the most holy offerings...the grain, the sin and the guilt offerings. It is a holy place.
13 Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers opposite the yard are the holy chambers, where the priests who approach the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall put the most holy offerings—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering—for the place is holy.
In fact, in this holy place, you can wear walk about clothes, you have to wear garments fit just for the holy place. This causes me to think about how I have "rabbit clothes" and then I have all my other clothes. I don't wear rabbit clothes other than when I am at home. So the part of them having to change their clothes doesn't surprise me. You only want the best things for the holy place.
14 When the priests enter the Holy Place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court without laying there the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They shall put on other garments before they go near to that which is for the people.”
Then Ezekiel saw the man measuring the exterior of the temple area. Can you imagine it was 500 cubits square? It was a large square building. and around the building was a wall, this made a separation between God's holy place and the place for everyone else, the common area.
15 Now when he h that faced east, and measured the temple area all around. 16 He measured thead finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by the gate east side with the measuring reed, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around. 17 He measured the north side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around. 18 He measured the south side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed. 19 Then he turned to the west side and measured, 500 cubits by the measuring reed. 20 He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, 500 cubits long and 500 cubits broad, to make a separation between the holy and the common.
I'm thinking about all this and honestly...I have a hard time figuring what to learn from this, other than God is holy, we need to treat him as such. That there is to be a separation between that which is holy and that which is not.
oh...
Think about that.
A separation between the holy and the not holy.
Do you see it in your life? That awareness that God is different from EVERYTHING else in your life? Do you?
Do I?
Admittedly I don't always see it. I see everything around me so much more clearly than I see God sometimes. I don't always react to God with the reverence that he is due...sometimes just leaving my "rabbit clothes" on when I approach him.
And yes, God wants us to be intimately familiar with him.
But he also wants us to know that HE IS GOD. That's been taught over and over in Ezekiel that he wants us to know that HE IS THE LORD GOD.
Remember it.
Consider it in the day to day.
Let it make a difference. This I should do better. Oh that the Good Lord would help me to do so.
You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.
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