God's Purpose, God's Spirit, God's Glory, God's People, God's Blessing

In Ezekiel 38:23, we read about God's purpose in history - "I will show My greatness and My holiness. I will reveal Myself to many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord." It is important that we see the divine dimension in the events which take place here on earth. There are political events, but politics isn't everything. There's more than politics. There's the work of God. He is working out His plan,

"I will pour out My Spirit on the nation of Israel" (Ezekiel 39:29). True blessing comes when God pours out His Spirit. This is something for which we must always - the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

In Ezekiel 40-43, we have a description of the temple. We can measure the physical dimensions of the temple, but there is something that we cannot measure: "I saw the glory of the Lord fill the temple" (Ezekiel 43:5). This is the spiritual dimension. This is the presence of the Spirit of the  Lord. We look beyond the temple. We catch a glimpse of the glory of God. The glory of the temple fades. The glory of the Lord remains forevermore.

In Ezekiel 44-46, we read about the worship of God. The emphasis is on holiness. The place of worship is described as "the holy place" (Ezekiel 44:1). When we move into the New Testament, the emphasis is on the people. We are to be the holy people of God - "You are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people who belong to God." Why does God call us to be His holy people? - "You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God, who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light." As we do this, there's something we must never forget - "Once you were not God's people, but now you are. Once you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy" (1 Peter 2:9-10).

In Ezekiel 47:1-11, we have a wonderful picture and an encouraging message - the river of God's blessing. In Ezekiel 48:35, we have a wonderful presence and an inspiring message - "The Lord is there."