The Temple was a house built for God’s presence. It is tragic that in the lead up to the Captivity, preparations went on to pave the way for wholesale dislocation and demolishing of all that the people knew and took for granted from God. From 2Chronicles 7 when the fire came down, and glory cloud filled the house till the year that Ezekiel 10 was cited, the people enjoyed the benefits of God’s covenant, even when they began to break the same covenant they were blessed by.
The book from Ezekiel, a high priest who flowed in the prophetic in the Captivity, shows the Captivity from heaven’s perspective.
When judgment is mistaken for revival
the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of nthe brightness of the Lord’s glory.
The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Eze 10:4.
The same manifestation of the house being filled with the cloud and brightness of glory, is distinct to what we read in 2 Chronicles 7, this is a preparation to de-consecrate the Temple. The objective being is to have the “glory” depart completely from the Temple. This departure is so that the Temple along with priesthood and people would be the object of God’s judgment. For the undiscerning, this would be mistaken for being revival, but in actual fact it was the prelude to judgment.
When God moves among the unprepared
And the sound of the cherubims’ wings was heard even to the outer court
The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Eze 10:5.
Chapter 11 God exposes the state of the leadership of the nation of Judah. Chapter 10 is God’s response to what He was about to reveal. And as the Glory departed from out of the Inner Holy Place, it was symbolic what He was doing amongst the people, He would shift His activity from the leaders, ministers, priests to the unprepared people of the Outer Court. This is a sure sign of judgment when God’s character and power begins to move through those we consider to be unprepared. When the activity of the Holy Spirit no longer resides in our meetings, yet in the everyday activity of our towns and cities we see evidence of so called unprepared and unschooled people the move of God. This sure shows us that we are moving into the disciplinary cycles of judgment. Surely the discerning of us must know that when the so called learned of God, leaders and priests are devoid of inspiration, the glory has indeed departed from the Inner place.
The Tragedy of a Temple devoid of Glory
18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. 19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house; and jthe glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 20 This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims. 21 Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. 22 And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.
The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Eze 10:18–22.
Ichabod came to the Temple, priesthood and nation. Many may say that this is simply a Old Testament concept, not applicable to the New Testament. Yet we see in Matthew’s gospel a manifestation of what happened in Ezekiel 10, in the Gospel too. When Jesus died, so the shaking of the Temple broke the foundations, and in turn the Curtain of the Temple was rent from bottom to top.
“if the foundations are broken up what can the righteous do?” is the addage applied here. Yet when God institutes a new Temple, the old is rejected and made empty. As it happened in Ezekiel 10 so also in the time of Jesus, His death, His resurrection so God emptied the Temple of His Glory, so the house was empty, and as the Curtain was torn so it was exposed. When God takes away His Hand, His blessing there is exposure.
We see a similar scenario in 1 Samuel 2, when the priesthood of Eli had turned corrupt and God was to deal with this decisively. The taking of the Ark of the Covenant, the killing of Hophni and Phineas was sign of God’s deep displeasure. God calls us to holiness, to His character, not to double talk, not to pandering after our own interests. When God removes it means He is planning for our return to His covenant. He is coming to treat with our own heart, turning our hardness to sensitivity. Turning our indifference to ardent love for Him!! The road back is never the same again.
The formula of worship and Word must change to ardent seeking of God again, seeking for a place where His glory comes back.
The removal did not happen suddenly, there were 4 different phases.
God’s reticence in removing His presence is shown here. He looks for repentance and a recognition of errors for restoration. His Heart is for restoration. The Glory moved away from the Inner Place, removal 1, moved to the inner court 2, moved to the outer court 3, to the Threshold 4.
What we verify today is the Glory of God is rarely moving in leadership circles. The tendency to use human wisdom is prevalent. We preach faith and trust yet when we see it at work we reject it. The use of worship as a mechanism for God to move particularly in the area of emotions is being abhorred by the Lord. Our worship can be in silent, prostrate before Him, giving over our lives in surrender.
I believe we are in a “removal of glory” process, because we have lost our vision and love of God. The letter of Jesus to the Church in Ephesus comes with a threat to remove the Lampstand.
Here we see another removal in the New Testament. God’s removal of His Presence is never permanent, but is a process for us to seek restoration to Him, for which His Presence and Glory are not solely what we seek, we seek Him and His Intimacy above all. When the Temple in Matthew’s Gospel was exposed Paul expounds what the Priesthood did there:
3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Ro 10:3.
They seeing all empty went about establishing once again a false righteousness and the maintenance of a empty faith, devoid of inspiration, devoid of God’s Glory.
There is much disunity, disease, destruction and exposure in the Body, surely we should recognise that God is calling us back to a true repentance. Yet we go about sometimes as the people of Judah, not believing that our mode of doing “the things of God” needs to change, carrying on as business as usual, yet there comes a day of calamity. For the Temple of Jesus’ day, in 70 AD, was destroyed and the people dispersed over the known world, until 1948.
Do we need to be judged and dispersed? No. If we see God’s glory depart from the usual places, we must recognise God is preparing a “Captivity” and whilst there is still a “Temple” we have time to repent and return. Let us hear the call.
Maranatha!
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