Ezekiel 43-44 - God's Glory

The temple is to be made perfectly, according to God's design, and the LORD will fill it with His glory. The people will see and be reminded that even as God is perfect, we are not. Yet, God calls those who are not perfect and sanctifies us. He calls us who were not holy; sanctified through the blood of the everlasting covenant, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

According to the Book of Ezekiel, the regulations and laws of the temple must all be followed. Those laws include:  “A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then he may defile himself." (Ezek 44:25 NIV)

All I can say about that is: the position of priest has drastically changed since the advent of Jesus the Christ. Through Jesus the Christ, we are now all members of a royal priesthood. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:8-10)  Who then, if not the priests or pastors (shepherds) would pray with the dying or hold them as they breathe their last earthly breath as they enter through the gateway of death into eternal life?

We declare the marvelous praises of Him who has called out darkness into His light and we are with our brothers and sisters in Christ (for in Christ, all are our brothers and sisters) even as they enter into God's glory most fully.

God's Peace - Pr. J

1 Chronicles 6-The Priests

1 Chronicles 6 gives us the descendants of Levi and their alloted dwelling places including the cities of refuge.  These men, were a people unto themselves.  They were called specific to be separate from the rest of God's people to serve Him in His temple.  They were, one could say a holy nation, yet they lived within a larger nation. 

As those first Levitical priests were called and set aside to serve God, we too have been set aside to serve God.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)

We have been called.  We have been chosen as a royal priesthood, a holy nation, to serve not just God in the heavens, whom we cannot see, but to serve all whom we can see, in this world, in the various nations of this world.  We are members of a nation within a nation.  We live in various nations, yet we are not of this world.  We belong to the kingdom of God.

But, always we must remember this call, this separation is from God.  We love and serve Him because He loves us.   Yet, we are holy, not because of the works that we might do, but because of the work that Jesus did for us.  We are holy because of the blood of Christ shed on that cross.  We are not members of this royal priesthood, a holy nation because of anything we or our fathers did.  It does not matter who our father's are or were.  It is not their blood-line that makes us worthy to be members of this royal priesthood, holy nation.  It is the blood of Christ shed for you. 

We are a royal priesthood, a royal nation.  We live and serve in this world, but we are not of this world...

God's Peace - Judy