I think for the most part that the majority of folks who spend any time at all reading the Book of Ezekiel, their focus is on chapters 38 and 39 in an effort to better understand Revelation 20. And, honestly, there are parts of the book that on the surface are boring when compared to 38 and 39. But as you know, God has kept me in the Old Testament for the past 2 years and every day He has put a spotlight on a word or a verse that speaks to today. And last week I almost “ran” over a verse that seemingly was just another detail in a long list of details speaking about the Temple in the millennium.
It seems that in our attempts to understand the “big picture” that we often attempt to focus on God’s big plan for the world, our country or our life. And it is with the complete understanding that God’s Word makes it clear that He has a plan for each and everyone of His children. But what gets lost in the process is that we fail to realize that while His thoughts and His ways are higher than ours, His ways also include detailed plans for each one of us.
Here’s how He made that point to me.
If you read chapters 40 to 48 its clear that God is setting out His plan for the land of Israel and the new Temple, and with the wrong approach it can be rather tedious reading. I know, I asked myself why in the world is there all that boring detail… especially after reading chapters 38 and 39. But in doing so I missed the entire reason for all those details.
With Israel under the judgment of God for turning its back on Him, they were in terrible shape; physically, emotionally and spiritually. So God, through His prophet Ezekiel, was giving them hope for a future that would recenter them in their relationship with Him. And so each and every detail He set forth was for the purpose of reassuring them that His promises would never be broken and that they had a future to look forward to. And He painted a detailed picture of the future that they would easily understand… the total blueprint for a new Temple to replace the one that lay in ruins before them. In detail after detail He set forth His promise… but one verse jumped off the page at me!
Ezek 46:9 “But when the people of the land come before the Lord on the appointed feast days, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate; and whoever enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he came, but shall go out through the opposite gate.
God was directing traffic!
As I read it, it was like God saying … “I have left out no detail.” He shall not return by way of the gate through which he came, but shall go out through the opposite gate. That statement delivered a message to Israel that should resonate with the church today. In the midst of drawing complete construction details God even told them how to “direct traffic” in the Temple.
As I thought about that statement, parked right in the middle of detailed building instructions, I wondered how many reading that verse ever see it. How easy it is to gloss over because the subject is tedious and boring. Perhaps that’s what happens in our life when God is giving us a key instruction or direction. Do we have such a focus on our own Ezekiel 38 and 39 issues that we miss His message for today? I wonder if we miss His road signs that keep us from heading in the wrong direction in our life… bucking the traffic?
And like it has been for me the past 2 years. We need to slow down when we are studying the Word because it is an absolute truth that there is a message for us each and every time we sit down under the teaching of the Holy Spirit. But if we are skipping over those passages that “we” deem not that important, we stand to miss out on a Word that just may keep us from heading the wrong way down a one way street.
Mind the signs… God puts them there for a reason!