Ez 41:12-26

Beyond the temple to the west, there was a building (that even the commentators had no idea what it was for) which was 122.5'X157.5' with 9' walll. Then the angel measured the temple and it was 175' long and the inner area of the temple was 175' long and the inner area and the temple building was 175'wide. The temple building had 3 rooms, the entrance room, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. They all had wood paneled walls with windows and window covers. There were patterns on the walls of palm trees and cherubim. Each angel had 2 faces - man and a lion. There was also a table for use as an altar as well in the HP.

Hearing that GG is coming home today for a few days since his schedule allows. Should be an ok day, just the normal stuff (I hope). Surgical area still tender and there was some bleeding last night but all in all am doing ok.

Praise for today: That He has adopted me and called me His own!

Ez 41:1-11

As a priest, the man (angel) was able to show and lead Ezekiel into the temple area. The measurements of the holy place was 35ft x 35 ft. Even the doors and passageway were measured. Apparently, even Ezekiel had his limits since he was told at the end of v.4 that "this is the Most Holy Place" and ONLY the chief priest could enter it. According to the commentary, the walls of the temple were 10 feet thick and were surrounded by 90 rooms that were 7 feet wide and were on three floors. A pretty impressive sight, to say the least.

Last weekend was a blast! Friday, worked out of Princeton and went out to eat. Saturday was the church picnic and met some old friends, cooked, played some ball and afterwards some of David/Daniel's friends came over while I was going over my sermon. Sunday was church and my message which went ok. Taking GG to the airport and going to the supermarket before going to our favorite Italian restaurant before calling it a day. Monday was the oral surgery which went ok but still could have issues with that area after it is all said and done. Still trying to nurse the area back before heading to Hawaii for a few weeks.

\Glad to speak and pray with GG yesterday. Prayers still for my peeps!

Praise for today: that God is in control and He does answer prayers!

Ez. 40: 44-49

Apparently there were two rooms set aside for the priests - one for those who were in charge of the temple and the other room was for the priest in charge of the altar. They were from the lineage of Zadok, from the Levite clan. They were the only ones permitted to "draw near to the Lord" to minister before Him. I guess I have to wait until c. 44 to find out why them. The inner area of the square was 175 ft by 175 ft. According to the commentary: In the inner area, there were the gates to the north, the south and the east. At the west end of the square was the entrance to the temple building. In the centre of the inner area was the altar of sacrifice. Ezekiel describes this altar in chapter 43. The way into the temple was 24½ feet (7.5 metres) wide. The walls at the side of this entrance were 9 feet (2.8 metres) thick. The walls at the sides of the door were 5½ feet (1.6 metres) thick. Inside the door was an entrance hall. This was 35 feet (10.7 metres) across and 19½ feet (7 metres) long. There were 10 steps up from the inner area to the gate of the temple building.

Interesting how meticulous the dimensions and the layout of the temple area was. Still wonder what the dimensions of God's house and the size of the room I have in it.

Looking forward to today - presentation behind me, the reporting stuff almost done and the dentist today before me. Still interesting to come home to NJ and no one will be there. All out seeing shows and dining while I'll either scrounge for lefties or splurge on a Chinese buffet.

Praise for today: that He is faithful and just!

 

Ez 40: 28-43

Ezekiel had to pass through a series of gate to get to the temple itself. All very similar in decor and style. There were rooms for preparing sacrifices, which gave this vision a more current look since with Christ there would be no more need to sacrifice. There were 2 tables on which the burnt offerings, the sin offerings and guilt offerings were to be slaughtered in one room and 8 tables in all on which the sacrifices were to take place. There were 4 tables of dressed stone for the burnt offerings with all of the utensils need to do the burnt offerings. The sacrifices could never take away their sin, only the blood of a Savior could do that - the perfect sacrifice.

Work has been rather hectic with all of the reports and other stuff due before I head out to Hawaii. I edited my sermon for this week and need to get that over to David and Judy so that they are aware of the changes. Still a full schedule and now off to the gym to start this day off.

Praise for today: that He is my Rock and my Salvation!

Ez 40: 17-27

The commentary is pretty silent regarding the outer court and the north and south gate. It did say of vv 17-19: The man took Ezekiel through the entrance hall. They were now in the outer area of the temple. Along the outer wall, there were 30 rooms. To get to the rooms there was a path. The rooms with the path were the same depth as the entrance halls at the three gates. Round the inner area of the temple, there was a wall. From the outer wall to this wall was 175 feet (53.8 metres). I did notice when reading this that there was nothing distinctive about the rooms or their usage. It also noted that the north and south gate were similar to the east gate. It is interesting to note that the north and south gate walls had palm tree decorations on it which were also on the east gate walls as well.

All in all, pretty good weekend. The drive home was relatively quick despite leaving later than usual. The FW group had a good time on Friday nite with the new study. Saturday was my usual early morning walk in the park, getting gas, paying bills and some cleanup before going the Subway series game which was disappointing to see the Metskis lose to the NYY. Had a good dinner with friends afterwards and then conked out early. Sunday's rain was off the chart which made for so-so commute into church. There were no umbrellas in the car so I had to scrounge some for Irene and her mom to use while I being the prepared one had my rain gear. Good time at the game with David and work associates. Cookout at my b-i-l's place which had a good crowd was nice as well. It was also nice getting up at 8 on Monday and getting some stuff done before playing golf and heading down to Delly. This week should be hectic -workwise and getting the final touches on my sermon this Sunday. We also have GG coming home and am glad that he and Dave are getting together on Thursday. I'll be solo on Thursday nite since I have a dental appointment and Irene is also out at a show. Oh well, this will give me a chance to do some cleaning for the after-picnic hangout at my place.

Still, a lot to be thankful and grateful for. Also keeping in prayer my peeps and their families.

Praise for today: that He is my banner and His banner over me is love!

Ez 40: 5-16

According to the commentary: First, Ezekiel saw that the temple had three outer gates. He describes the east gate first, but all three gates were similar. The gates were not simple doors. When people passed through a gate, they would be in a hall. Inside that hall, there were small rooms for the temple guards. The halls did not lead directly to the temple. Instead, they lead into a large outer area. There were also three inner gates. Those gates led from the outer area into an inner area. And the temple stood in that inner area.

Verses 5 The stick that the man had was 6 cubits long. But these cubits were longer than the normal cubit. The normal cubit was the distance from the end of a man’s middle finger to his elbow. This was about 18 inches. The width of a hand is about 3 inches. So, the length of the stick was about 10½ feet (3.2 metres). This longer cubit is the holy or royal cubit. In Babylon, where Ezekiel was, they used the royal cubit. The use of the royal cubit here shows that the temple of God is a very important building.

The wall that went round the temple was 10½ feet (3.2 metres) high and 10½ feet (3.2 metres) wide.

Verses 6-16 The man took Ezekiel to the east gate of the temple. He explained the design of the gate and the measurements of each part.

There were 7 steps up to the entrance of the gate. The entrance of the east gate was 10½ feet (3.2 metres). Beyond the first gate, there was an entrance hall. The inside of the hall was 87½ feet (26.9 metres) long and 44 feet (13.5 metres) wide. The outside length of the hall was 105 feet (32.3 metres). Inside this hall, there was a space of 10½ feet (3.2 metres) long and 17½ feet (5.4 metres) wide. Then there were three rooms on each side. They were for the temple guards so that they could control the entrance to the temple area. These rooms were square. They were each 10½ feet (3.2 metres) wide and 10½ feet (3.2 metres) wide. The walls between these rooms were 9 feet (2.7 metres) thick. These rooms had windows in the outer wall. At the entrance to these rooms, there were walls two feet (0.6 metres) high.Beyond the 6 rooms was another space of 10½ feet (3.2 metres) long and 17½ feet (5.4 metres) wide. Then there was another room 14 feet (4.3 metres) long and the full width of the entrance hall. This room had windows each side in the outer walls. The door that led from this room to the temple was 3½ feet (1.1 metres) thick. There were gates in the temple’s outer walls. These were to the north and to the south. Each of these gates was the same as the east gate.

The plan of these gates was similar to the gates in Solomon’s temple. 

Pretty impressive both in description and stature. How much detail had to be recorded and in a dream or vision. When we go through a dream, at least for me, the details while vivid when I go through them become muddled and faded as time goes on. God's temple had walls that would not be breached and as I think about the Great House of God that I will live in one day, those walls will be my shelter as well.

So... got through another quarter-end. Still today will be a hectic day and hopefully, I can get all I need to get done. With the shortened work-week, I will still have to squeeze 5 pounds into a one pound bag. However, this is the half point of the year and as I look back upon it, it has been quite eventful and fruitful. Looking forward to seeing the family and friends as well.

Praise for today: that He is my Jehovah-jireh!