The LORD Is There

And the name of the city from that time on shall be, "The LORD IS There." Ezekiel 48:35


How are you doing?

I'm all right. I'm kind of depressed.

What's wrong?

I don't know. 
Nothing. 
Maybe it's the rain.
It's been raining all day.

Seriously. I don't feel like doing anything. Maybe I'll just sit on Facebook... or find another novel to read... or watch a movie...

Wait.

Why do I default to wallowing in my own self-pity?

I have every blessing in the world around me. Why do I feel down?

Does it matter?

Therefore my spirit faints with me;

my heart within me is appalled.

I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

I stretch out my hands to you;

my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

Psalm 143:4-6

Maybe I'm just thirsty. 

Maybe in the midst of all this rain, I'm just thirsty.

“And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.” Ezekiel 43:2

And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD, the God of Israel has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut. Ezekiel 44:2

“And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There.” Ezekiel 48:35

The LORD Is There

"And then, though their troubles were many and threatening, they were like the bush which burned but was not consumed, because the Lord was there."  

-Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel

"And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20

I must take care above all that I cultivate communion with Christ, for though that can never be the basis of my peace - mark that - yet it will be the channel of it." 

-Charles Spurgeon

And he said to me, "This is the Most Holy Place."

Then he went into the inner room... And he said to me, "This is the Most Holy Place." Ezekiel 41:5

My alarm goes off at 6:30am. And I ignore it.

At 6:45, I hear "Mommy!  Mommmmyyyyy!!" And I put my pillow over my head.

Husband says in a muffled voice, "Somebody's calling for you. Hopefully, they're not hurt."

I fall out of bed. And run up the stairs to find my child laying on the floor in his room screaming. 

The other one begins to stir. Shhh.... don't wake up your sister. Go back to sleep, Elizabeth. 

I want you to carry me downstairs! 

Okay, then go back to sleep on the couch. Yeah. Right.

I sit in my chair with my Bible. Both of you, please be quiet. And they are.

Ezekiel 40...

In the twenty-fifth year...

And behold, there was a wall...

...Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits.

Ezekiel 41...

Then he measured the nave...

...And there were narrow windows and palm trees on either side...

The children begin getting restless... at least my Study Bible has a diagram of the temple Ezekiel saw in his vision. Maybe that will help this be a little more interesting...

The children are screaming. So much for a verse to meditate on.

Later in the day, I think, "What did I read this morning? Oh, yes. I couldn't find a verse." Truly, sometimes, these are the best passages. I stop and think about it again. What did that diagram look like?

The main east gate... stairs up to the outer court... the prince's gate... stairs up to the altar... stairs up to the entrance to the temple... the inner room of the temple... the "Most Holy Place"

"The temple itself appears to be geometrically idealized. It is a square structure, its areas are nested, with the most sacred place being both the innermost and the uppermost, as each succeeding area is elevated from the preceding." ESV Study Bible

innermost and uppermost...

The heavenly being brings Ezekiel to the nave below the Most Holy Place. But even in this vision, Ezekiel is not permitted inside. The heavenly being reports the measurements.

"The low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us. A whole new philosophy of the Christian life has resulted from this one basic error in our religious thinking."  A.W. Tozer in The Knowledge of the Holy

I wonder if I'd have an easier time waking up to my 6:30 alarm if I really understood how holy He is. 

I wonder if I'd have an easier time understanding how holy He is if I had a visual temple to remind me... or a burning bush... a voice to say, "Take off your sandals. You are standing on holy ground."

Israel didn't.