365 Reflections

It’s a world clamoring for attention. Everyone wants to be seen, followed, admired, liked, loved, connected, networked and heard. To me, it’s getting exhausting. The quest for attention dilutes our competency around what actually IS worth our attention. Click bait ropes us in with false/misleading headlines. I’ve seen something emerge called engagement bait where a post is obviously misconstrued by the author simply to illicit comments from readers. In other words, the poster is asking for people to correct an obvious mistake they purposefully made simply to get attention from others.  Maybe it’s a lack of cohesion in family and community. Our neighborhoods are now HOA drama-fests. Our families are often fractured by politics and opinions. Our churches have dwindled and social clubs like the American Legion and K of C are a thing of the past.  But there’s a far deeper issue. We seem to be a culture of dead fish all swimming down stream and on our way to the dead end, we’re gra...

Daniel begins and it's one of my favorite books in the Bible. Daniel is a book about conviction and clarity regarding one's place in God's sovereign control of history. We find that truth in the first two verses of the English version of this book: Daniel 1:1–2 (ESV) In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. The first verse suggests that Nebuchadnezzar was in charge. He came to Jerusalem and besieged it. But the second verse provides interesting clarity. The Lord gave the king of Jerusalem into his hand.  God rules over history. Even here where the beloved nation suffers the reproach of being conquered in the ancient world, God is in charge.  Wow.  Now we love the sovere...

Ezekiel closes with the land as it was meant to be. The measurements of each tribal allotment are much more equal and the outlines drawn are very similar to what Moses described in Numbers 34.  Ezekiel 48:1–2 (ESV) “These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath), and extending from the east side to the west, Dan, one portion. 2 Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion. What we see is that not only is the Temple restored, but the land is finally what it was meant to be. Ezekiel ends by teaching us that things only work as they should when God's house is in order and we make room for Him to rule and reign.  In the middle, a holy portion run by the "prince" which most believe is the Priestly system.  Ezekiel 48:21 (ESV) “What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the prop...

In Ezekiel 47 the prophet is ushered to the outer gate facing east and sees a trickle of water flowing from the south side of the Temple. As he watches, the temple tour guide goes out eastward from the temple measuring the water depth that flowed from that source. Every 1000 cubits the water gets deeper and deeper.  Ezekiel 47:3–6 (ESV) Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. 4 Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. 5 Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. It's an amazing picture that as the water gets further from t...

Ezekiel 46 continues with the vision of the Temple. In this passage, we see the order of worship retired to Israel. God is a God of order. He will not tolerate confusion in His worship. He desires people to know Him in truth and righteousness. Chaos and confusion are the language of satan. Ezekiel 46:1–2 (ESV) “Thus says the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 2 The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening. We have here a requirement for the "prince" to act in a mediatorial role between the inner temple priestly system and the people. He will take his stand at the gatepost. H...

Ezekiel's tour of the Temple continues in chapter 45 and we come to the new "Holy of Holies".  Ezekiel 45:1–2 (ESV) “When you allot the land as an inheritance, you shall set apart for the LORD a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent. 2 Of this a square plot of 500 by 500 cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for an open space around it. Every Bible passage about the Temple has a common theme. The Lord's people were to set apart a sacred space in three sections where they met with God. Ezekiel has this understanding reiterated to him here in Chapter 45. There is to be a place for the Lord, a holy district. This district was set apart for worship. Within that space was an even holier place. The priests would occupy the space outside of that holy place to act as an intermediary between the people and the Lord.  Ezekiel 45:3–4 (ESV) And from this measured district y...