Congregation Bible Study (30 min.): Rr ch. 13 paras. 15-21.
What did the vision mean to the exiled Jews?
15. a) What was the main message of Ezekiel's prophetic vision? b) What contrast do we find between chapter 8 and chapters 40 to 48 of Ezekiel?
To find out the Bible's answer to this question, let's look at three interrelated ideas that will help us see the big picture. First, what was the main message of this prophetic vision? Bottom line: pure worship would be restored. Without a doubt, Ezekiel was very clear on this. He had already written what is now chapter 8 of his book; there Jehovah showed him through very real images the disgusting things that were happening in the temple in Jerusalem. It has nothing to do with the vision in chapters 40-48. What a contrast! For Ezekiel it was surely a pleasure to write all the details of a story in which there is not a trace of tainted worship. There is only pure worship at its finest - a perfect example of worshiping Jehovah according to the Mosaic Law.
16. How does Ezekiel's vision of the temple confirm what Isaiah had predicted over a hundred years earlier?
To return pure worship to the place it deserves, you would have to place yourself in a lofty position. More than a hundred years earlier, the prophet Isaiah had written by inspiration: "In the final part of the days, the mountain of Jehovah's house will be firmly established above the top of the mountains and it will be raised above the hills." (Is. 2: 2). Isaiah clearly predicted that the pure worship of Jehovah would be restored and placed in a high place, as if it were on top of the highest mountain. And where is Ezekiel when he receives this vision? Precisely “on a very high mountain”, looking towards the house of Jehovah (Ezek. 40: 2). So Ezekiel's vision confirms that pure worship would be restored.
ILLUSTRATION:
Aerial view of the temple of the vision of Ezekiel located on a high mountain and a river flowing out of the sanctuary.
The temple that Ezekiel saw was in a very high place. (See paragraph 16)
17. What is explained in chapters 40 to 48 of Ezekiel?
Here is a brief summary of what Ezekiel saw and heard, as recorded in chapters 40 through 48 of his book. He first saw an angel measuring the doors, the walls, the walls, the courtyards, and the sanctuary of the temple (Ezek. 40-42). Then he beheld something impressive: the glorious arrival of Jehovah! Then he saw how God corrected and guided his stubborn people, priests and leaders (Ezek. 43: 1-12; 44: 10-31; 45: 9-12). He also saw a river that came out of the sanctuary and produced life and good things all the way to the Dead Sea (Ezek. 47: 1-12). The country was divided into exact parcels and, near the center, pure worship was given to Jehovah (Ezek. 45: 1-8; 47: 13-48: 35). What is the main message of the vision? It is clear that God wanted to assure his people that pure worship would be restored and exalted. Jehovah would honor his house of worship with his presence and flow from that temple a river of blessings that would bring healing, life and peace to the restored earth.
ILLUSTRATION:
The temple of the vision of Ezekiel, located on a high mountain, seen up close.
The temple Ezekiel saw was a glorious representation of something Jehovah would do, the restoration of pure worship. (See paragraph 17)
18. Why can't the vision of the temple be taken literally?
Second, should the vision be interpreted at face value? No. Ezekiel and his fellow exiles probably realized right away that the vision did not represent anything literal. Why not? Remember that Ezekiel saw that this temple was "on a very high mountain." Although it is easy to relate that to Isaiah's prophecy, the truth is that it does not fit with Mount Moria (Jerusalem), where Solomon's temple had been and where it would one day be rebuilt. Was that mountain "a very high mountain"? No, in fact Mount Moria was surrounded by other mountains that were the same height or even higher. And, furthermore, the temple compound that Ezekiel saw was enormous. The entire area it occupied, including the walls, was too large to be on top of Mount Moria. It wouldn't even have fit in the Jerusalem of Solomon's day! Nor would the exiles expect a literal river to flow out of the temple sanctuary and into the Dead Sea, and there to heal its lifeless waters. Finally, the mountainous terrain of the Promised Land could not be divided in a straight line creating parallel borders for the tribes, as described in the vision. For all this, it does not seem that the vision can be interpreted literally. * the vision does not appear to be interpretable literally. * the vision does not appear to be interpretable literally. *
19-21. What effect did Jehovah want Ezekiel's vision to have on his people? And what did he do to have that effect on them?
Third, what effect was the vision supposed to have on the Israelites in Ezekiel's day? Seeing Jehovah's high standards for pure worship, the people would have to feel ashamed. Jehovah told Ezekiel: "Describe the temple to the house of Israel." The description of the temple was to be so detailed that they could, as it were, study "its plan." And why would they have to meditate so much in that temple? Not to build it, as we already saw; rather, so that they would feel “ashamed of their mistakes,” just as Jehovah had said (read Ezekiel 43: 10-12).
Why should this vision appeal to the consciences of sincere people and make them feel ashamed? Note what was said to Ezekiel: “Son of man, pay attention, observe and listen carefully to everything that I tell you about the statutes and laws of the temple of Jehovah” (Ezek. 44: 5). Time and again, the prophet heard about statutes and laws (Ezek. 43:11, 12; 44:24; 46:14). He was also repeatedly reminded of Jehovah's standards, including the standard measurement for a cubit and the exact units of weight (Ezek. 40: 5; 45: 10-12; compare Prov. 16:11). In this vision alone, Ezequiel used more than fifty times the words that in Spanish are equivalent to "measure", "measure" and their derivatives.
Measures, weights, laws, statutes ... What did Jehovah mean to his people with all this? Using these expressions over and over again, it seems that God wanted to emphasize a fundamental truth: Jehovah is the one who sets the standards for pure worship. Those who had strayed from those norms needed to feel ashamed. But how did the vision get the Jews to learn such lessons? In the next chapter we will analyze some concrete examples. That will help us see more clearly what this extraordinary vision means to us today.
ILLUSTRATION:
Jewish exiles feeling ashamed to hear Ezekiel describe the temple of vision.
Why should the vision of the temple make sincere people feel ashamed? (See paragraphs 19-21).
PURE WORSHIP AND YOU
With what simpler approach are we approaching this analysis of the temple Ezekiel saw?
Do not attribute to every detail a symbolic or prophetic meaning.
Why do we no longer say that Ezekiel saw the great spiritual temple of which the Apostle Paul spoke later?
It does not fit with what the apostle Paul explained, he spoke of a holy place not made with human hands, In the spiritual temple they spoke of a single sacrifice that was of the High Priest himself (Jesus Christ) It was not the time to reveal truths of the temple about that temple.
For Ezekiel and the other Jews in exile, what was the main message of the vision of the temple?
The restoration of pure worship.
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