Leave by a Different Gate

Ezekiel 46:9b No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate.

This was my last morning of reading the book of Ezekiel, and it has ended with a powerful lesson for me.

This verse is talking about the people who come to the temple in Jerusalem to participate in worship. They were not to leave the temple the same way they came in.

Although here Ezekiel was talking about the Jews coming for their regular worship and doing so in an orderly manner, I see something there for myself as well.

My encounters with God in worship should have me leaving by a different “gate.”   

I need to be different in some way whenever I leave God’s presence.  

If I am always coming and going the same way, if I am no different from my encounter with God in worship, that means I am stale.

If my life does not change after being in God's presence, I have missed the point of worship.

If my view of God, myself and/or the world around me does not change after worship, I have not listened carefully to God's voice.

If I am not more conscious than ever of God's power and authority over my life, I have not heard His message to me.

All through the book of Ezekiel, he, as God's prophet, was reminded that all God does has God's one goal in mind: "That they may know that I am the Lord."

If I do not go away from every encounter with God in worship knowing that He is the Lord of the universe, I will be leaving by the same gate I entered.

If I am leaving out from the “opposite gate,” the implication is “change.”  That is what God wants for me.

 

Worship? or Work?

 

Ezekiel 2:1 He said to me, “Son of man, stand upon your feet and I will speak to you.”

Why did Ezekiel have to stand up to listen to God speak to him?  

I see two reasons Ezekiel needed to stand up. 

1. Ezekiel had fallen on his face in worship when he became aware of the glory of the Lord.  Have you ever noticed in the Bible that every time God, or God's angelic messenger, appeared to someone, that person fell on his face in awe or worship or fear, or all three? Because of the awe Ezekiel felt when seeing the glory of God, Ezekiel was prepared to listen to what God had to say to him. 

He knew without any doubt that God was about to speak something important.

2. Standing was a signal for action.  What God said to him once he stood was a call to service.  God was sending him out to the Israelites with a message.

He could not obey that command lying on his face, even though it was in worship.  

There comes a time when we must stop worship and stand up and do something for God.   

There is a time for worship. But there is also a time for work. I want to be ready for both.