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The Temple

In a study I've been attending at church, we've been reading the book of Ezekiel in the Bible. Through the majority of the book, God has Ezekiel prophesying disaster on Israel and the surrounding nations for their idol worship, pride, and--in the case of Tyre and other nations--their joy at Israel's destruction. There are some events in the book that may seem strange to us: God has Ezekiel eat a scroll; draw Jerusalem on a clay block and make war against it; and lay on his side for 430 days with a pan between him and the clay city. God speaks of cannibalism, too, and of an entire valley of dry bones that God attaches together, puts flesh on, and brings back to life.

Within the latter part of the book, however, Ezekiel outlines the dimensions of the temple, which was a significant place for God. Priests serving in the inner courts of this temple could not even don the garments they had worn during their service. They were required to leave them in the inner courts because the garments themselves were holy. Similarly, these priests were to eat food sacrificed to God beside the altar in the sanctuary (Leviticus 10); could not shave their heads or beards; must not allow their hair to become unkempt or tear their clothes; could not enter a place with a dead body; must marry a virgin or a priest's widow; and could not offer food to God if they were disfigured, diseased, or exhibited any other defect (Leviticus 21; Ezekiel 44). Moreover, only Aaron, his descendants, and Levites served as priests (Exodus 28:1; Numbers 8:19); and only the high priest could enter the inner room, once a year with blood as an offering (Hebrews 9).

One passage in Ezekiel caught my attention today more than any other. At the end of chapter forty-two, Ezekiel writes that a wall surrounded the temple, "to separate the holy from the common." Patently, then, God demands holiness of his temple. Since those who follow Jesus are now that temple (1 Corinthians 3:16), God dwells in us. It shows just how much value God placed on us to be with us; and, importantly, it shows how we are to regard ourselves both physically and spiritually. We are "God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved" (Colossians 3). I find myself, admittedly, living in a mindset of the ordinary, even seeking out normalcy so as not to excite change or require anything of significance of myself. If we are to take God at his word, though, we are far from normal. We are holy, chosen, and loved.

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