After a lengthy tour rich with details of God’s new temple, Ezekiel watches his guide measuring the external temple dimensions. The section ends with the image of a wall and God’s purpose for this temple: “to separate the holy areas from the common Holiness is key for God’s glory to return and fill this temple in the vision (Eze 43:2-5). After all, a lack of holiness caused God’s glory to depart from the temple. To His people, God instructs, “No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name.” (Eze 43:7) We, too, have the great honour of receiving the Holy Spirit today and becoming God’s temple (1 Cor 3:16-17). But this is more than just accommodation logistics. Being God’s temple has much to do with When God resurrected the dry bones of Israel into an exceedingly great army, being the Spirit’s temple was part of it. God declared to them, “I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live” (Eze 37:10, 14). As God’s temple, we are called to live out holiness: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Cor 3:19-20) But we are not alone, for we live when we overcome our sinful nature with the Spirit’s help (Rom 8:13). Having the answer to history’s perennial question of achieving immortality is a wondrous thing. So is witnessing God’s glory fill the temple. Thunderstruck, Ezekiel falls on his face. Isn’t it incredible that the glorious God chooses to make you His temple and home (Jn 14:23)? We need to be renewed in our sensitivity to God’s awesomeness. So shatter the shell of numbness cementing over your heart. Brush away the sediments of sin and the dust of doubt. Renew your actions through this glorious truth: God chooses to make you His temple. Let His glory be shown to the world through you.

From Chapter 40, it marks the start of the vision shown to Ezekiel of a new temple that is to be built in Jerusalem. Did your eyes glaze over as you read the 2 chapters?   Imagine you were Ezekiel and you were told to pay close attention to everything that he was being shown and then go and tell the people everything he had seen.   4 ~ Ezekiel 40:4 ~ What follows is Ezekiel being first led to see the Eastern Gateway of the Temple, then the Outer Court, Northern and Southern Gateway to the Temple, Gateways to the Inner Courts, where the sacrifices were made, the chambers for the priests and singers.  And then, very careful recordings of the dimensions of the different parts of the temple were specified and recorded down. Why do you think this was done? Being a person who is not very detail oriented, I cannot quite understand the need for all the exact measurements to be spelled out.  What’s wrong if the measurements are out by an inch or two? Then it struck me.  God cares for His people so much that He does not want to leave any stone unturned for His people.  In our daily lives many things happen - big or small.  Some are blessings and some are trials.  Some are good things, some are bad.  God is interested in us, His People.  Even to the most minute detail! And He has given us specific instructions in His Holy Word for many areas of our life.  The question is, do our eyes glaze over the Words from the Bible.  Or do we, like Ezekiel, listen carefully and then tell it to others? Last night I had a dream and in that dream, I had a very big pain in my leg and could not figure it out.  And for some reason, a Deacon of the church was examining me as if he was a doctor.  And then after he diagnose that there was some issue with my leg (could not remember what was said), his conclusion was this… “This is why you need to get better and after that, go out and preach the Gospel!” Tears welled up as I recall this and am writing this now.   Was this a rebuke?  Areminder?  A warning?  An admonishment?  An encouragement? God through His infinite wisdom. Mercy and grace has given us all the details (truth) of Salvation. Should we not go and tell others about it so that they also know of it? And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ~ Mark 16:15-16 ~ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ~ Romans 1:16 ~ Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ~ 2 Timothy 4:2 ~ May we be interested in all the little details that God reveals to us and after listening carefully to it, tell it to others as well.

What thoughts spring into mind as we read this chapter?   As we read of the utter destruction of Gog, that though they are great in numbers, they cannot stand against the might of God (v11 – 12).   As we read of the shocking and shameful treatment of the slain.  As we imagine the grotesque picture of every bird and every beast of the field feasting upon the corpses of the fallen. Do we decry and cringe at the carnage, at the horrid indignity on a fellow human.  Wondering why our loving God can be so harsh and heavy handed. Are we gleeful and smug that justice is served to the enemies for they must be punished for going against the house of Israel. Or do we rightfully see God’s purpose and intent. “Then they shall know that I am the Lord. So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, And I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.”  V6 – 9 As Paul and Peter described the nature of God in Rom 9:22 and 2 Peter 3:15 respectively.  God desires for man’s salvation.  For that He has put off the destruction that man rightfully deserves.  But once the period of grace is over for it is only right not to expect an indefinite period of grace), God will take action to protect His name and sovereignty. We should see the awesome power of our Lord and know that nothing can stand in His way.  If we stand on the side of God and the love of God abides in us, we shall be victors, regardless of how strong and mighty our enemies are. (Rom 8:31 – 39).   Hence in all wisdom, to whom should we pledge our allegiance and trust? And how shall we direct our lives?  As the author of Hebrews exhorts us (Heb 10:26 – 31), we must see things in the right perspective.  Our God is an awesome God, one that we must fear, honour, submit and obey. 

In the previous chapter, God prophesies about how He will revive His people Israel with His Spirit, transforming them from a valley of dry bones to His great living army (Ezekiel 37: 1-14). Such a spiritual revival was necessary to enable the Israelites to face a coming enemy in the last days: a foreign nation named Gog, who will come like a storm and cover them like a cloud (Ezekiel 38:9, 16). Furthermore, God states that this event will occur in “the latter years/days” (Ezekiel 38:8, 16), meaning this is a prophecy about the last days. As such, we who are God’s spiritual Israelites through our baptism (Galatians 3:27-29) must note this enemy Gog and prepare ourselves to face him.  Here are three things we must note about our spiritual enemy:  The time when we can live and worship God safely, freely, and easily is also the time when we are most prone to letting our guards down, perhaps even losing our “walls, bars, and gates” (v11). In times of peace and religious freedom, we may take for granted the ease of coming to church weekly and safely, being able to pray and read the Bible peacefully in our homes and being able to openly practice and preach our faith before others. Yet, here lies the danger: when we, because of such ease, unknowingly slacken in our faith. Remember that the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). He is always on the lookout for any opportunity to topple us through temptation (Luke 4:13). Therefore, sober up instead of slackening in our safety!          Twice in verses 16 and 17, God says, “I will bring you (Gog) against My land.” Not that God will twist the heart of Gog from a godly to evil one and consequently destroy His people. Rather, God already knows the heart of Gog, that it is thoroughly evil (v10); that Gog, upon seeing how God gathers and blesses His people (v8), will respond by devising evil plans to destroy them instead of joining their worship of the one true God. And yet, knowing Gog’s reaction, God is still determined to gather and bless His people anyway. Why? Because God is in absolute control and more than able to quell Gog (v18-22) and deliver His people from Gog’s evil plans; and when this happens, God will be magnified, sanctified, and known to all nations, who can then turn to Him for salvation (v23). Knowing this, our part is simply to endure all temptation, with absolute unwavering faith in our God, until we receive His approval and crown of life (James 1:12).          The phrases “coming like a storm” and “covering like a cloud” are used to depict the vastness of Gog’s army (v9, 4-6). Spiritually speaking, they also depict the all-encompassing nature of the forces that attack our faith. Assaults on our faith can come from all areas of our life – our health, our studies, our career, our relationships, our media, our cultural and political systems, just to name a few. Knowing our spiritual enemy will attack us in all possible vital points, we must therefore wear and bear the whole armour of God for complete protection (Ephesians 6:11-17); do not neglect any pieces of this armour! Just like how a storm is preceded by tangible warning signs – the sound of thunder rumbling, the darkening of the sky as clouds gather, the windiness and coldness we feel – the coming of this great spiritual enemy will also be preceded by early warning signs (Luke 12:54-56), such as the prevalence of falsehood and evil (Matthew 24:4-12). May we therefore discern the spiritual “climate” of our times and prepare ourselves for this storm so that we can rise above it, approved by God. 

神的灵降在以西结先知身上，使以西结看见枯骨复活的异象。从11节我们可以了解这些骸骨指的是以色列全家，指的是被掳到巴比伦的选民。神的旨意是使以色列回归于祂，重新有神的荣光归回以色列国，重新得到神的生命。 以色列说自己的骨头枯干了，指望失去了，他们灭绝净尽了（11节）。枯干的骨头是失去生命好久一段时间的，已经完全没有生命的迹象。比起以色列民曾经见证先知行使人复活的神迹，例如以利亚先知使寡妇的儿子复活（王上17章），和以利沙先知使书念妇人的儿子复活 （王下4）；他们不过刚刚死去，尸体仍然完好，或许还有一点体温。然而在这里，这么多的骨干的骸骨贴切地描述了以色列民对于自己的未来的绝望。如不可能在复活得枯骨一样，他们以为自己的民族就此要在巴比伦灭绝消失。 然而神的旨意并不是要灭绝祂的选民，乃是要借者苦难让以色列民回心转意。神公义的审判与惩罚里是带着怜悯的，为要重新赐下神的生命，如5-6节里神要使自己的气息进入他们里面，他们就要活了。就如神用尘土造亚当后，将祂的气息吹入亚当的鼻孔，使他成为有灵的活人，成为有神的灵，有神的形象的人。 人因为有神所赐的灵，才有属灵的生命。如使徒行传里记载神在五旬节将自己的圣灵浇灌在使徒们身上，那刻好像一阵大风吹过（徒2：2）原文的“风”与“气息”是同个词，好比神将自己的气息吹如使徒们，使他们得着神的生命，就如我们今天真耶稣教会有了神所赐的圣灵，就是有神的生命。与祂得生命连结，要行出祂的旨意。 神在以西结书37：10说神要气息进入枯干的骸骨，骸骨便活了，并且站起来成为极大的军队。被掳70年后，神要复兴以色列国，这确实后来在历史上实现了。然而对今天的我们，这里有跟深一层的意义。在末世神以圣灵将真教会兴起后，将传福音的使命付托给我们。我们就如组织起来，属于神的军队，要与天空属灵气的恶魔争战（弗6：12），抢夺灵魂是一场属灵的战争。我们必须靠神的灵所赐给我们的力量来战胜。 但愿我们能明白我们原本也如同枯骨，因为罪的缘故，本处于毫无指望的境况。然而因为神的恩典与怜悯是我们得真生命，配成为神军队的一个小成员。愿我们不辜负重任为主争战，抢救灵魂来报答主恩。

“Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that Upon reading this verse, hymn 262, I Want a Principle Within, started playing in my mind.  Doing anything and everything under the sun that was seemingly right in their own eyes appears to be the signature trademark of the Israelite nation. As we readily and easily point out and analyse each of their sins, all their grievances, deliberate acts of disobedience, are we numb, ignorant or perhaps, in denial of those of our own? Or is pain synonymous with our plights? God’s decisive hand in sanctifying His holy and hallowed name shows us how powerless we are at redeeming ourselves, turning away from temptation for good, and how far we fall short of His standard, how far we’ve fallen from grace. God’s actions also give us a glimpse into His perspective – how He sees us. If we constantly see ourselves as God does, would we not, like Adam and Eve at the beginning of time, be ridden with shame and guilt, then be resolved to live lives of reconciliation with God? May the unspeakable holiness and sanctity of God and His name keep our sights unobstructed towards the stains in our slumbering souls.

In Ezekiel 34, God brings a prophecy against the shepherds of Israel, whom God had instituted as spiritual leaders over the flock—His people. Not only had these leaders failed to nourish God’s sheep, they had also abused their power, reaping personal benefits at the sheep’s expense. “The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.” (Eze 34:4) You and I may not so be so bold to abuse God’s flock as these failed leaders had.  It would, however, be foolish of us to disregard these rebukes completely. You likely have others you can look out for in this journey of faith – your sheep. Let us consider: Whatever kind of a shepherd we now are, however our sheep may respond to us, Jesus wants us to always pray and not lose heart (Lk 18:1). The perfect Shepherd is ready to grant us an upright heart and a skilful hand to shepherd His people as David did (Psa 78:72).  More importantly, God is the perfect Shepherd. Where we may fail in our ministry, God can do infinitely more. Despite those shepherds’ failings, God says, “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick” (Ezekiel 34:16). Moreover, when you and I are in our darkest days, we have a perfect shepherd who restores our soul (Psa 23:3). Our Shepherd declares, “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God” (Eze 34:31). As you embrace your ministry of shepherding God’s sheep, never stop allowing God to shepherd you. All the sheep of His pasture fare so wondrously fine His sheep am I.

“I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?” — Ezekiel 33:11 From the verse above, we can sense both God's love and His frustration towards His people. God does not wish for His people to perish; therefore, He appointed Ezekiel as a watchman for the house of Israel, to warn the wicked to turn from their ways. From other earlier chapters, we read that one’s salvation depends on personal righteousness and faithfulness toward God. Even if surrounded by righteous individuals, one will not be saved unless they turn away from their wickedness (Ezekiel 14:14). However, the earlier part of Ezekiel 33 also reminds us that the watchman will be held accountable if he fails to warn others about impending judgment. Today, we also have a message to share with others: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” — Mark 1:15 As watchmen in our present time, are we mindful of our duties? Are we aware of the serious consequences of not sounding the alarm, despite knowing what will happen to the wicked if they do not repent? Let us not fear the rejection of others, but instead, let us truly fear the judgment that God will bring upon those who do not repent.