King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Monday, September 11, 2023
Chapters: EZEKIEL 46-48
Study: The One Greater Than the Temple
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
There is so much that can be taught through these three chapters for today, the importance of being a living sacrifice, or using our liberties in Christ to serve Him. The inheritance that we will receive as saints of Christ, or the glorious day in which He returns as both KING and Prince, or the fountain of living water that we are given. We could also learn the importance of pressing toward the prize awaiting us when we do get to see Christ. Perhaps, God, has several points to make today, but the one that stood out the most was from this passage.
[Matthew 12:2-8 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. 3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. 7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.]
Since Jesus is LORD even of the Sabbath, it is interesting to note that as we come to the end of the reading of Ezekiel, we are given a glimpse into the future ordinance that would take place in the new temple on the Sabbath. The prince himself, would stand by the post of the gate while the people stood at the door of the gate.
[Ezekiel 46:1-4 Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 2 And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. 3 Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons. 4 And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.]
[Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate] This was also foretold by Isaiah and is in reference to the people of Israel, both Jews and Gentiles, meeting at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in the sabbaths, and in the new moons at their stated weekly and monthly meetings, [Isaiah 66:22-24 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.]
[in the sabbaths and in the new moons.] The east gate, which was kept shut except for sabbath days, new moons, and whenever the prince offered a voluntary offering. By doing this, he had a full view of the priests and their performances at the altar as they were preparing the sacrifices, then the prince would enter in the temple, while the saints would follow.
[Ezekiel 46:8-10,12 And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof. 9 But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it. 10 And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth. 12 Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.]
[he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in,] The second that we believe in and accept Christ as our Saviour, we ought to be moving forward in the newness of Christ, not falling back into the sin we left behind. God, does not expect us to know of and lose every sin right away, but He does expect us to follow His Son’s example, never looking back, [Romans 6:3-6 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.]
Remember, these are symbolical as Christ became our trespass (sin) offering. Also notice that these are burnt offerings, which was a ram wholly burnt to honor God, after the sin offering was made [Exodus 29:15-18], and peace offerings. This was done as a token of ones dedication of themselves wholly unto God and to His service, as living sacrifices, kindled with the fire and ascending that sweet savor to God. As God continues to give Ezekiel this amazing vision, He shows him of an incredible gift that the prince has for His children, it will not be forced upon them, it will be received upon all who wanted to receive it.
[Ezekiel 46:16-18 Thus saith the Lord GOD; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons’; it shall be their possession by inheritance. 17 But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons’ for them. 18 Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.]
[then it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the prince:] This is in reference to the Jubilee, in which any land in the possession of someone other than the person it was given would be given back to the rightful owner, [Leviticus 25:13-14 In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession. 14 And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another:]. In this case, it would be returned to the prices sons (or daughters), but it is also a reminder that without Christ, there is no inheritance, [Hebrews 9:14-15 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.]
[he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession:] Jesus, Himself gives each and every person who accepts Him as their Saviour a part of His own inheritance into the Kingdom of God. This means that we are joint heirs with Him, [Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.]
Jesus, did not give His life in vain, nor was it to receive some great reward from His Father, He gave His life because He honestly and truly loves us and does not want to see one soul in hell. Jesus, bared the cross that should have been rightfully ours, and it is of His good pleasure to give a part of His inheritance to those who do accept His gift of eternal life. Now, I was not going to point this out, but God said otherwise, so Ezekiel is brought to another court, the place which appears to be the priests very own living quarters.
[Ezekiel 46:20-24 Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the utter court, to sanctify the people. 21 Then he brought me forth into the utter court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. 22 In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure. 23 And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about. 24 Then said he unto me, These are the places of them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.]
[that they bear them not out into the utter court,] Okay, so this was done to separate the holy priesthood from the common people as to not confuse them into believing that by touching those sacred things they were sanctified, and made more acceptable to God. Jesus, who was made sin, became a sacrifice for the sins of His people, whether presumptuous ones, or out of ignorance. Care was taken that they should not confuse the two, these were symbolical and not to be used to sanctify the people, which was not possible, [2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.]
Remember when Joshua was given the task of dividing the promised land into sections where each tribe was given? Well, it was nine and a half of the twelve and the other two and a half did not want to be on the promised land, [Joshua 11:23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.] Well, the inheritance that we will receive from Jesus will not the same as when Joshua divided the land the first time. This is an inheritance like you would not believe, including a river that will be flowing from the temple out into the streets. Now, Ezekiel was led back to the door of the temple, something weird begins to happen, the water from the temple comes gushing from underneath the door, the man that had the measuring line was there and began measuring how deep it was getting.
[Ezekiel 47:1,3-6 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. 3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. 4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. 5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. 6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.]
[Son of man, hast thou seen this?] Here he is swimming in this water and yet asks him if he had seen it. Well, think about it, how many people see things that are right before their eyes yet pay no mind to it. Nevertheless, the man proceeds to tell him what the waters were and what they were for.
[Ezekiel 47:8-10,12 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. 9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. 11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. 12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.]
[and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.] This reminds me of what Jesus said, [John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.] Jesus, is that living water, the only one to whom we can come to and give us life! Jesus, said that He came here to heal the sick, [Mark 2:16-17 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.]
Now, this water flowed directly from the temple out into the city, and would give life to everything around it, except for one thing, [But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed;] The miry places and marshes of the land represent those whom have not come to the healing waters of the Gospel that is the only thing capable of giving them life. In fact, these hearts were salted, meaning they did not believe therefore it was hardened and given over to their reprobate mind, [Romans 1:28-29,32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.]
[it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months,] I said to my husband that the next time you read Revelation you should read Ezekiel as it fills in the blanks and it really does. There really is no difference in the information that is found in the Old and New Testaments, except that Christ has already been here. Can you imagine trees lined up along this long and narrow river growing a different kind of fruit every month? We will have apples this month, pears the next, then oranges, then peaches, [Revelation 22:1-3 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:]
No one has to die and end up in the lake of fire, it does not matter if you were fearful, unbelieving, a murderer, an idolaters, or a liar, if you repent and turn to Christ, He will heal you with His blood, and none of that will ever be remembered. Praise God! While they have their breath in them, we have to opportunity to tell them the Gospel. Now, further account is given of each of the portions of land that will be given by the prince and Israel will also get their land restored to them.
[Ezekiel 47:13-14,21-23 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. 14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. 21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.]
[which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country] Remember when Miriam and Aaron fussed at Moses for marrying a Midianite? Remember when the Jews would shun anyone who was born out of wedlock? Remember when the Jews would shun the Samaritans because they were half Jews? There will be no more shunning of the mixed families because both Jew and Gentile believers will be one nation of people. And who will be their Father? God Himself,
[John 10:14-16,27-30 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.]
I have read these chapters every year for fourteen years and this is the first time that I saw it from a different perspective. It does not matter what family you came from, how well they treated you or how bad they mistreated you. It does not matter if you were born rich or poor, out of wedlock or from the finest of families, every person born has a soul that needs to be saved, and every soul has that same opportunity to get saved. Jesus, gave His life for every soul, and every soul that does believe in the Gospel and accepts Him as their Saviour are one with Him and will receive a part of the inheritance the twelve tribes. Now, further account is given of each of the portions of land Israel, not for only the twelve tribes of Israel, including the cities in which God and His ministers will dwell. The temple and prince will be right in the midst.
[Ezekiel 48:1,7,10,21 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan. 7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah. 10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof. 21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.]
[And by the border of Reuben,] Notice that all of the tribes will be there this time, and while the Levites still would not receive their own portion or land, the faithful ones will receive a portion from the other tribes. No soul gets left behind, which is why Jesus has not returned yet, [2 Peter 3:9-10 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.]
[And the residue shall be for the prince,] This is part of the land that is offered to God for the Prince to reside. Now, we are going to be able literally feast with Jesus and will not only feel the presence of the Almighty God Himself, He will be seen, and we will be able to fellowship with Him face to face. We can still feast and fellowship with Jesus right now, we just need to let Him in, literally give Him a room to reside in. I have not done this in a long time, but since I have a new house, it is time that I start, set a place setting for Jesus at the table, make a birthday cake for Him when we celebrate His birth, let Him be a part of our homes, and watch just how much He blesses us, [Revelation 3:20-21 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.]
Today’s Prayer: God, thank You for loving us and giving us a way to live with you forever. Through Your sacrifice in sending Your only Son to be the one and only sacrifice we need to save our soul, we are given the opportunity to not only join You in Your kingdom, but be one of Your very own children. Lord, Give us Your power, mercy, and grace, ignite our faith by letting us know that You are near. Help us to remain faithful in preaching the Gospel to those who have not yet received Your Son. Give us Your strength to keep going through the trials, if we fall down, help us to get back up, and let us always be inviting and welcoming You in our own homes as we feast and fellowship with You. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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