{"id":75606,"date":"2020-06-05T15:28:53","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T12:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=75606"},"modified":"2020-06-05T15:28:53","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T12:28:53","slug":"ezekiel-stands-up-for-what-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/ezekiel-stands-up-for-what-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Ezekiel Stands Up For What Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"75606","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":66417,"related_cahpter":"496","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"There are some things in our lives that are so important that they are worth dying for\u00a0\r\n\r\n","content":"

Ezekiel knows that a person cannot see God\u2019s face and live (cf Exodus 33:20). In Ezekiel 44, as God\u2019s presence returns to fill the Temple, Ezekiel takes precautions to preserve his life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ezekiel describes the scene in verse 4: \u201cThen he led me, by way of the north gate, to the front of the Temple, I looked, and lo! The Presence of the LORD filled the Temple of the LORD; and I fell upon my face.\u201d Ezekiel is careful not to look up, lest he catch a glimpse of God and die.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not the first time Ezekiel has fallen on his face in God\u2019s presence. In Ezekiel 1:28 he does so after seeing \u201cthe appearance of the semblance of the Presence of the LORD.\u201d God\u2019s immediate response (Ezekiel 2:1) is to tell Ezekiel to \u201cstand up on your feet that I may speak with you.\u201d Perhaps Ezekiel wondered then why he needed to stand \u2013 he likely would have preferred to listen with his face on the ground!<\/span><\/p>\n

In our chapter, God does not directly ask Ezekiel to stand up; however, it is clear this is what God wants Ezekiel to do. Verse 5 continues, \u201cThen the LORD said to me: O mortal, mark well, look closely, and listen carefully to everything that I tell you regarding all the laws of the Temple of the LORD and all the instructions regarding it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ezekiel needs to use his eyes, ears, and heart to absorb everything that God is showing him. However, using his own eyes to look closely at everything around him might inadvertently cause Ezekiel to look upon God directly and die. Unlike in chapter 1 where Ezekiel saw \u201can appearance of a semblance of the Presence of the LORD,\u201d here we have the unmediated \u201cPresence of the LORD.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

God must have known how dangerous this moment was for Ezekiel. However, God still commands Ezekiel to look closely at the Temple, absorbing everything he can about its laws and instructions. Of course, there is a risk that Ezekiel may die in doing so. However, there is a greater risk that if Ezekiel does not do this, the people of Israel will not receive this vital instruction from God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here God and Ezekiel teach us that there are some things in our lives that are so important that they are worth dying for. God willing, may we escape harm just as Ezekiel did as we stand up for what matters most in our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

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