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In Order. Dedicated & Devoted

September 10, 2017. Ezekiel 42-43.

 

The day is coming when there will be another temple for the nation of Israel.  At that time, the glory of the Lord will come into the temple and the glory of the Lord will fill the temple. (43:4-5)

As a result, the Lord then declares,

Ezekiel 43:12 This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple. 

Two times in this verse the Lord says, “this is the law of the temple.”  They are bookends to the fact that the whole area surrounding the temple is most holy.  A key idea of being holy is being dedicated or devoted.  So the whole area surrounding the temple is dedicated or devoted to the Lord. 

As the Lord talks about this future temple, He encourages His people how He is present, His glory is seen, and that where He is, is holy.

Now think about our lives as believers.  Lives where the Lord is present.  For all of us who have believed in Jesus as Savior and Lord, this unbroken “chain” is true:

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 

30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. 

Note that last word, “glorified.”  The Lord is present in our lives and His glory is seen in our lives.  How that happens is found in these simple instructions from God:

1Peter 1:15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct

God is holy, devoted and dedicated to us, and we are holy, devoted and dedicated to Him in all our daily conduct of living life.

How awesome and wonderful that the Lord uses our lives to reveal, through us, His glory and that He is holy.

For this reason, the Lord tells us as believers:

Roman 12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 

2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (NLT)

By living our lives in this specific way, not only are we blessed but the Lord shows others, through us, His glory and holiness.

Robert McClendon

Bob McClendon grew up in Pennsylvania, spent most of his adulthood in Colorado, and is now ready to learn how to be a Texan. He married his high school sweetheart, Tracy, in 1975. They have two...more