Day 483: Read today's devotional on Bible Gateway. The Glory DaysThe Lord said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place where I will rest my feet. I will live here forever among the people of Israel. They and their kings will not defile my holy name any longer by their adulterous worship of other gods or by honoring the relics of their kings who have died. They put their idol altars right next to mine with only a wall between them and me. They defiled my holy name by such detestable sin, so I consumed them in my anger. Now let them stop worshiping other gods and honoring the relics of their kings, and I will live among them forever. "Son of man, describe to the people of Israel the Temple I have shown you, so they will be ashamed of all their sins. Let them study its plan, and they will be ashamed of what they have done. Describe to them all the specifications of the Temple—including its entrances and exits—and everything else about it. Tell them about its decrees and laws. Write down all these specifications and decrees as they watch so they will be sure to remember and follow them. And this is the basic law of the Temple: absolute holiness! The entire top of the mountain where the Temple is built is holy. Yes, this is the basic law of the Temple." (Ezekiel 43:7-12) ReflectIn Ezekiel 10, God's departure from the city had been a signal for the destruction of both the city and the Temple. Now for God to return, one condition had to be met: Idolatry had to be removed. Some commentators feel these verses indicate that Ezekiel was commanding the people of his day to build this Temple according to the designs and regulations that the angelic architect had given. But the people never repented and therefore the conditions were not met, so the fulfillment was postponed. The basic law of God's Temple was holiness. In all he does, God is holy, perfect, and blameless. There is no trace of evil or sin in him. Just as God is holy, we are to be holy (Leviticus 19:1-2; 1 Peter 1:15-16). People are holy when they are devoted to God and separated from sin. RespondAs 1 Peter 1:16 states, "You must be holy because I am holy." How do your actions, particularly the way you deal with temptation, reflect a concern for holiness? |
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