Ezekiel_43
Scripture - What stood out?EZEKIEL 43
25 “For seven days you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect. 26 For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it. 27 At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord.”Observation - What does it say?Ezekiel 43 is about God’s home in Israel, His temple. The second half of this chapter pertains to the restoration of God’s altar, where priests would perform sacrifices on behalf of God’s people and themselves. Verses 25 to 27 are the finishing instruction for the dedication of the altar of God.Understanding - What does it mean?First of all, thank you Jesus for so many things, but I am glad we no longer have to trade blood for our sins. The ultimate trade by Jesus was made close to 2000 years ago. Reading about the dedication of this altar where atonement was made...really made me think about how much went into the dedication and purification of it. The altar itself was atoned for and cleansed...so that the priests could properly perform the necessary sacrifices on behalf of the people and God.So when we repent today in a post-Jesus world what is that altar? If Jesus is the once and for all high-priest that intercedes for us, his blood covers all forms of atonement, what is the modern day parallel to that altar? Does it exist? And if so shouldn’t we atone and purify it for 7 days at least? These are the thoughts running through my head.Is it possible that this altar is the - altar of our heart? If so, I would like to dedicate at least 7 days to atone for and purify it.Life Application - How can I apply this to my life today?I do believe that Jesus died for all of our sins once and for all. But I consistently ask God to forgive me for our sins. I have committed myself to Christ as my Lord and Savior. I have been baptized. Why does my soul feel like it is crying out to do something that was done years ago in a pre-Jesus time period. This doesn’t feel like tension between something old and new, but instead a synergy of what once was and of what is.Lord teach me how I would properly cleanse and purify the altar of my heart, if such a thing even exists. In the name of Jesus do I pray. Amen.-ken