| THE TURNING POINT |
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| and preachers ever since. He forecast a fantastic battle with evil forces from the north, Gog and Magog, in which God's people would triumph magnificently (chapter 38-39). Then, in his final vision, God showed Ezekiel the nation of Israel restored, with its boundaries extended far into hostile territory, its temple rebuilt in new splendor (chapters 40-48). The Lord would come back to his home, to live with his people. The Temple's Significance The temple, to Israel, was a sign of God's love. By taking up a home there, he committed himself to be with them permanently - not to come and go but to be available at any and all times to his people. When he left the temple (10:18) and let it be razed by the Babylonians (2 Kings 25:9), he communicated clearly that Israel had forfeited any right to his care. So Ezekiel's vision of a rebuilt temple, with God's glory filling it, was a promise of new hope. The temple has never been rebuilt according to the precise description Ezekiel gave (chapters 40-43), and many scholars understand his portrayal as symbolic. But the central beauty of the temple is this: "The Lord is there." The glorious, astonishing God whom Ezekiel first saw in the Babylonian desert will make his home in the center of the land. He will not always be angry. He has great plans for the happiness of his people. Life Questions: In your relationship with God, are you more concerned with past failures? Or with hopes for the future? |