Seder 81: Ezekiel's Temple Vision and the Torah

 The vision of Ezekiel recorded in Ezekiel 40-48 is one of the most mysterious sections of Scripture.  In this vision, Ezekiel is escorted by a heavenly guide around a restored temple compound, with lots of measurements given for gates, courtyards, a sanctuary, and quarters for priests.  God's presence comes to this temple, where he will be present with his people forever.  Worship at the temple is then described, and finally an apportionment of the Holy Land among the tribes of Israel.  

Ezekiel received this vision in about 573 BC, during the time of Judah's exile in Babylon.  The vision was a comforting one for the exiles, assuring them that there would be a future restoration of Israel in the land, with God dwelling among his people and true worship reestablished.  

But how literally are we to take the details of the vision?  Is this a literal description of a millennial temple, as dispensationalists tend to believe, or is it more a symbolic description of true worship in images meaningful to the original readers of the book of Ezekiel? 

In any case, there are a number of parallels between the book of Ezekiel and the things revealed in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, as commentator Daniel Block points out.  In both accounts,

• God commissions a human agent---Exodus 3-4; Ezekiel 33.
• God separates Israel from the nations and delivers her from bondage---Ex 5-13; Eze 34-37.
• Attacking enemies are defeated---Exodus 14-15; Ezekiel 38-39.
• God appears on a high mountain---Ex 19; Eze 40:1-4.
• God provides for residence among his people---Ex 25-40; Eze 40-43.
• God prescribes the appropriate response to his grace---Lev 1-Num 21; Eze 44-46;
• God provides for apportionment of land to the tribes---Num 34-35; Eze 47-48.

So Ezekiel, a new Moses figure, describes a new exodus with a renewed covenant and Torah.

Seder 24: Psalm 87---Praise to Zion, Mother of Nations

Psalm 87, a hymn of praise to Zion, may be associated with Israel's pilgrimage festivals, when people from all nations came to Jerusalem to worship God.  

Verse 3 declares, "Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God."  Here the words of the prophets may be particularly in view, in passages like Isaiah 2:1-4; 26:1-2; 60:15-22; 61:1-7.  Such verses picture Zion's restoration and people from all nations coming to Jerusalem to worship the true God.  

A representative sampling of the nations from which people flock to Jerusalem are listed in verse 4.  "Rahab" is listed here as a way of referring to Egypt (see Ps 89:10; Isa 30:7; 51:9).  Rahab is the name of a mythical sea monster, and God's victory over Egypt at the Red Sea can be pictured as a victory over that sea monster and the forces of chaos.  

When people from the nations submit to the God of Israel, they are counted as citizens of Zion.  In the Septuagint, verse 5 speaks of "Mother Zion."  It's possible that Paul is thinking of this verse in Galatians 4:26 when he speaks of "Jerusalem above" which is "our mother."

At the festivals in Jerusalem, singers and dancers declare, "All my springs are in you" (verse 7). They are celebrating at the place from which living waters flow (Jer 2:13; Isa 12:3; Eze 47; Rev 22:1-5).  

Seder 131: Ezekiel 45-48---Vision of a Future Restoration of Israel

 The mysterious vision recorded at the end of the book of Ezekiel has some links with Numbers 34.  For one thing, the boundaries given in Ezekiel 47:13-20 mention some of the same places listed in Numbers 34.

Ezekiel 48 describes a division of the land among the twelve tribes.  Included is a holy district within which a square block of land 25,000 cubits on a side is to be allotted for a sanctuary, a place for priests and Levites to live, and a special city to be set up.  To the east and west of this special square block will be land for the prince, a civil leader, to keep flocks for sacrifices (Eze 45:1-8; 48:8-22).  

The special city will also have  the dimensions of a square.  There will be 3 gates on each of the four sides, one for each of the tribes. The city will be known as "the Lord is there."  It sound like a kind of forerunner of the New Jerusalem pictured at the end of the book of Revelation.   

It's not clear whether Ezekiel's vision is describing things that will happen fairly literally on the ground at some future date.  It is safe to say, though, that the vision communicated some key spiritual messages to Ezekiel and his contemporaries in images that they could understand.  

One of those messages is that Israel would be restored to the Promised Land, and God would be present there among his people.  Civil government would no longer exploit people but would instead serve God and the people (45:8-17).  True worship would occur regularly, with holiness of the land, sanctuary, and city maintained.  

Seder 115: Psalm 46---Finding Refuge in God with the Sons of Korah

 When the rebellious Korah, possibly engulfed in flames, fell into a pit and disappeared, his children were spared (Num 26:11).   According to a later tradition, they were lifted into the air above the pit and kept safe from harm.  

Descendants of Korah included, most famously, the prophet Samuel.  David appointed Samuel's grandson Heman to be one of those in charge of the service of song at the tabernacle (1 Chron 6:31-38), and his descendants continued serving in that way.

Eleven psalms (twelve, if Psalm 43 is counted as a continuation of Psalm 42) are associated with the sons of Korah.  In these psalms, we find evidence that the rescue from death that their ancestors experienced left a lasting imprint upon the family's collective consciousness.  

One prominent example is in Psalm 46, which praises God as "our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (v 1).  This psalm, the source of Martin Luther's hymn "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," goes on to declare, "Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way ..."(v 2).  

The psalm pictures the Day of the Lord, a time of eschatological judgment, and asserts that those who find refuge in God have nothing to fear from that time of judgment.  Though we have all at one time been rebels like Korah, if we turn to God in repentance, we are rescued and will one day be resurrected to eternal life.  

The psalm goes on to picture God putting down all rebellion and ruling the world from his throne in Zion.  From that throne will flow life-giving waters (v 4; Ezek 47; Rev 22).