RTW 2024

And the glory of the LORD came into the Temple through the east gateway. Then the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner courtyard, and the glory of the LORD filled the Temple. And I heard someone speaking to me from within the Temple, while the man who had been measuring stood beside me. The LORD said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place where I will rest my feet. I will live here forever among the people of Israel. 

Ezekiel 43:4-7a

Numerous carvings of palm trees in the temples. I wonder what they might symbolize?

• The temple described in Ezekiel may be symbolic of God’s promised everlasting presence with us. The dimensions of the temple itself were given in width but not height.
• The inner courtyard formed a perfect square which was a representation of perfection or holiness, and at the exact center was the altar.
• The inner sanctuary was a perfect square and was accessed by passing through three openings of increasing narrowness which may have indicated increasing degrees of sacredness.
• There was no mention of an altar of incense or lamp stands or the bronze sea or the Ark of the Covenant in Ezekiel's Temple.
• “Ezekiel's altar was much larger than Solomon's. It was over 20 feet–6 meters–tall and was made up of three slabs of decreasing size, like An Egyptian pyramid or Babylonian ziggurat. Exodus 20:26 prohibited the use of steps leading up to an altar but here they were required because of its size.” The Archaeological Study Bible
• East was the direction of Eden.
• East is where the sun rises–new beginnings, light out of the darkness.
• It’s not ultimately the direction but the picture, the symbol, the meaning of the direction. God was revealing Himself in a way they would understand and remember
• Sacrifices and all the articles of the temple represented something about the character of God, something God wanted His people to remember about Him.
• May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.
  1 Kings 8:30
• But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.
  Daniel 6:10
• The Epic of Eden by Sandra L. Richter, PhD

We always look to the presence of God in our hearts, in our lives, and to His original plan for us to be in His presence forever.