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Ezekiel 42 (ESV)
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. 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.”
15 Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by the gate that faced east, and measured the temple area all around. 16 He measured the 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.
REFLECTION:
There was no mention about the rooms used by the priests in Solomon’s temple, but in the temple that Ezekiel saw, there were two very large holy chambers. This holy chamber is not for the priests to rest, but to meet the God’s requirements of consecration, allowing the priests on duty to eat the most holy things there, place the most holy offerings, and change the “holy garments” for serving there. Priests are required to wear holy garments, which symbolizes that the priests have a holy heart when they approach God. The holy garments symbolizes Christ. Priests wear holy garments to serve before God, symbolizing “putting on Christ” before God. Therefore, priests can neither wear ordinary clothes to serve, nor can they go out in holy garments for casual activities. After the end of the ministry, they must change into ordinary clothes in the holy chamber before they can go out to the outer court. Today, our faith and life are one. We no longer have to wear holy garments to worship God, but “put on Christ” and rely on the Lord for victory. Those who truly worship the Father must worship Him in spirit and truth. The temple that Ezekiel saw was a perfectly symmetrical square, symbolizing the order and harmony of God’s future kingdom. Today, churches and believers live in the world, but we should also build walls in our hearts to “make a separation between the holy and the common”, as declared in 1 Corinthians 3:17, “For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
PRAYER:
Come to God and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in your heart, so that you can clearly understand that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; set your mind to God, you are willing to build a wall in your heart on all sides to protect your mind from secular pollution, obey the Holy Spirit in your daily life, and strive to live a consecrated life.
HYMN:
