Prince at the Post - Ezekiel 46

Ezekiel 46:2 "And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate; then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening."

v3 "Likewise, the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons."

What some have called superstition may have come about from this very chapter of Ezekiel. I have heard during my life that if you go in a door you should leave by the same door. In this chapter, it is commanded to leave by a different door than where they came in. It is a good example of how things get turned around.

v9 "But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate; and he that entereth by way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate; he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.

I think this has to do with organization. If you can picture two lines going and coming from the temple. It would be difficult for everyone to get through if they turned against the traffic and there would be a log jam at the gates.

Remember, all Israel was to go to Jerusalem at certain times of the year.

The prince was different, he was to enter and leave by the same way.

v8 "And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof."

Now look at the following verse. As sons, Christians have a great inheritance. We join Christ as children of the Father.

v16 "Thus saith the LORD GOD; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance."

Ephesians 3:6 "That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel;"

But, of course, our passage is concerning the temple activities when it is restored. I do believe that there are parallels with our spiritual worship.

Christmas 2008

I have often told my children when they come to me with a problem: Some things, you just have to let God fix. I can listen but I cannot mend a broken heart but God can. I can weep over lost souls but God can redeem them. I can sorrow over a wasted life but I cannot convince another to turn from a destructive path but God can woe them with his great love. I cannot fill the empty places that life leaves in our life but God can. He is well able to be for us what we need at this time in our life. I have often felt helpless but it is true peace to be able to put my concerns in the strong and loving hands of the LORD. He really does love us.

Isaiah 55:4 "Behold I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people."

Isaiah 2:14 "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign, Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel."

Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

Luke 1:26-31 "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary, And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him she was troubled at his saying and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her Fear not Mary; for thou hast found favour with God. And behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. v32 He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the LORD God shall give unto him the throne of his father Davie; v33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob, for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

Luke 2 "And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria,) And all went o be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, unto the city of David which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David;) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

Luke 23:33 "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left."

Luke 24:1-7 "Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning they came unto the sepulchre bringing the spices which they had prepared and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they wee afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen, remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again."

I Peter 1:19-20 "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."

Jesus does not hold out an empty hand but bears the gift of salvation for you. Won't you Reach out and take His gift of eternal life.