Theological Commentary: Click Here
I love
chapters like Ezekiel 44. It’s so easy
to read this chapter and pass it off.
After all, it is all about placing the servants of the Lord. What can be found in that? What does it matter where a person stands in
the temple?
Actually,
much can be gleaned from this. Note that
the Levites who abandoned the Lord serve on the outer parts. In fact, they aren’t even allowed to serve in
the inner places! That space is reserved
for those who stayed loyal. What can we
learn? God rewards loyalty. God sees who is loyal and who is not. God remembers. We might not be rewarded in the moment, but
He will reward.
We can also
learn that God forgives. After all, God
could easily have abandoned the Levites who worshipped foreign gods and
encouraged others to do so. Yet, He
allows them to have a place anyways. It
might not be the closest place. It might
not be a place of honor. But they do have
a place.
Continuing
down this road gives a greater teaching.
Note how much emphasis God puts on holiness, righteousness, purity, and
unholiness, unrighteousness, and impurity.
God is angry that the foreigners and the uncircumscribed were allowed to
do whatever they wanted in the temple.
Yes, God forgives. However, God
does get offended. He knows the
difference between impure and pure.
If we
combine this with the punishment of the Levites, we can get a clear message
from God. God forgives and He includes. But He expects us to change. He expects us to grow closer to Him. He expects us to chose Him over the world. He expects us to go from foreigner to
follower. He expects us to go from
uncircumcised hearts to circumcised hearts.
Why would we
do this? The answer is profound, and it
is my favorite part of this chapter. We
do it because God is our inheritance. We
do it because we will be with Him forever.
He is our reward. He is our
reason. Other people can have fame,
wealth, and popularity. I’ll take God as
my reward.
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment