Through the Bible – Day 336

₁The man took me back to the east gate of the temple, ₂where I saw the brightness of the glory of Israel's God coming from the east. The sound I heard was as loud as ocean waves, and everything around was shining with the dazzling brightness of his glory. ₃This vision was like the one I had seen when God came to destroy Jerusalem and like the one I had seen near the River Chebar.

I immediately bowed with my face to the ground, ₄and the LORD's glory came through the east gate and into the temple. ₅The LORD's Spirit lifted me to my feet and carried me to the inner courtyard, where I saw that the LORD's glory had filled the temple.

₆The man was standing beside me, and I heard the LORD say from inside the temple:

₁₃According to the official standards, the altar in the temple had the following measurements: around the bottom of the altar was a gutter fifty centimetres wide and fifty centimetres deep, with a twenty-five-centimetre ledge on the outer rim. _14-17The altar rested on a base and had three sections, each one of them square. The bottom section was eight metres on each side and one metre high. The middle section was seven metres on each side and two metres high, and it had a twenty-five-centimetre rim around its outer edge. The top section, which was six metres on each side and two metres high, was the place where sacrifices were burnt, and the four corners of the top section looked like the horns of a bull. The steps leading up to the altar were on the east side.

₁₈The LORD God said:

Ezekiel, son of man, after the altar is built, it must be dedicated by offering sacrifices on it and by splattering it with blood. Here is what you must do: ₁₉the priests of the Levi tribe from the family of Zadok the priest are the only ones who may serve in my temple—this is my law. So give them a young bull to slaughter as a sacrifice for sin. ₂₀Take some of the animal's blood and smear it on the four corners of the altar, some on the corners of the middle section, and some more on the rim around its edge. That will purify the altar and make it fit for offering sacrifices to me. ₂₁Then take the body of the bull outside the temple area and burn it at the special place.

₂₂The next day, a goat that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice for sin. Purify the altar with its blood, just as you did with the blood of the bull. ₂₃Then choose a young bull and a young ram that have nothing wrong with them, ₂₄and bring them to my temple. The priests will sprinkle salt on them and offer them as sacrifices to please me.

₂₅Each day for the next seven days, you must offer a goat and a bull and a ram as sacrifices for sin. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. ₂₆The priests will purify the altar during those days, so that it will be acceptable to me and ready to use. ₂₇From then on, the priests will use this altar to offer sacrifices to please me and sacrifices to ask my blessing. Then I will be pleased with the people of Israel. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

₁The man took me back to the outer courtyard, near the east gate of the temple area. I saw that the doors to this gate were closed. ₂The LORD said:

₄Then the man took me through the north gate to the front of the temple. I saw that the brightness of the LORD's glory had filled the temple, and I immediately bowed with my face to the ground.

₅The LORD said:

Ezekiel, son of man, I am going to give you the laws for my temple. So pay attention and listen carefully to what kind of people are allowed to come in the temple, and what kind are not. ₆Tell those rebellious people of Israel:

₁₀Some of the Levites turned their backs on me and joined the other people of Israel in worshipping idols. So these Levites must be punished! ₁₁They will still be allowed to serve me as temple workers by guarding the gates and by killing the animals to be sacrificed and by helping the worshippers. ₁₂But because these Levites served the people of Israel when they worshipped idols, I, the LORD God, promise that the Levites will be punished. They did not stop the Israelites from sinning, ₁₃and now I will no longer let the Levites serve as my priests or come near anything sacred to me. They must suffer shame and disgrace for their disgusting sins. ₁₄They will be responsible for all the hard work that must be done in the temple.

₁₅The priests of the Levi tribe who are descendants of Zadok the priest were faithful to me, even when the rest of the Israelites turned away. And so, these priests will continue to serve as my priests and to offer the fat and the blood of sacrifices. ₁₆They will come into my temple, where they will offer sacrifices at my altar and lead others in worship.

₁₇When they come to the inner courtyard, they must wear their linen priestly clothes. My priests must never wear anything made of wool when they are on duty in this courtyard or in the temple. ₁₈Even their turbans and underwear must be made of linen to keep my priests from sweating when they work. ₁₉And before they leave to join the other people in the outer courtyard, they must take off their priestly clothes, then place them in the sacred rooms and put on their ordinary clothes. That way, no one will touch their sacred clothes and be harmed.

₂₀Priests must never shave their heads when they are mourning. But they must keep their hair properly trimmed and not let it grow too long. ₂₁They must not drink wine before going to the inner courtyard.

₂₂A priest must not marry a divorced woman; he can marry only a virgin from Israel or the widow of another priest.

₂₃Priests must teach my people the difference between what is sacred and what is ordinary, and between what is clean and what is unclean. ₂₄They will make decisions in difficult legal cases, according to my own laws. They must also observe the religious festivals my Law requires and must always respect the Sabbath.

₂₅Touching a dead body will make a person unclean. So a priest must not go near a dead body, unless it is one of his parents or children, or his brother or unmarried sister. ₂₆If a priest touches a dead body, he is unclean and must go through a ceremony to make himself clean. Then seven days later, ₂₇he must go to the inner courtyard of the temple and offer a sacrifice for sin. After that, he may once again serve as my priest. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

₂₈I myself will provide for my priests, and so they won't receive any land of their own. ₂₉Instead, they will receive part of the grain sacrifices, as well as part of the sacrifices for sin and sacrifices to make things right. They will also be given everything in Israel that has been completely dedicated to me. ₃₀The first part of every harvest will belong to the priests. They will also receive part of all special gifts and offerings the Israelites bring to me. And whenever any of my people bake bread, they will give their first loaf as an offering to the priests, and I will bless the homes of the people when they do this.

₃₁Priests must not eat any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that has been killed by a wild animal.

₁Think how much the Father loves us. He loves us so much that he lets us be called his children, as we truly are. But since the people of this world did not know who Christ is, they don't know who we are. ₂My dear friends, we are already God's children, though what we will be hasn't yet been seen. But we do know that when Christ returns, we will be like him, because we will see him as he truly is. ₃This hope makes us keep ourselves holy, just as Christ is holy.

₄Everyone who sins breaks God's law, because sin is the same as breaking God's law. ₅You know that Christ came to take away sins. He isn't sinful, ₆and people who stay united in their hearts with him won't keep on sinning. If they do keep on sinning, they don't know Christ, and they have never seen him.

₇Children, don't be fooled. Anyone who does right is good, just like Christ himself. ₈Anyone who keeps on sinning belongs to the devil. He has sinned from the beginning, but the Son of God came to destroy all that he has done. ₉God's children cannot keep on being sinful. His life-giving power lives in them and makes them his children, so that they cannot keep on sinning. ₁₀You can tell God's children from the devil's children, because those who belong to the devil refuse to do right or to love each other.

₁₁From the beginning you were told that we must love each other. ₁₂Don't be like Cain, who belonged to the devil and murdered his own brother. Why did he murder him? He did it because his brother was good, and he was evil. ₁₃My friends, don't be surprised if the people of this world hate you. ₁₄Our love for each other proves that we have gone from death to life. But if you don't love each other, you are still under the power of death.

₁₅If you hate each other, you are murderers, and we know that murderers do not have eternal life. ₁₆We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. That's why we must give our lives for each other. ₁₇If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God. ₁₈Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it.

₁₉When we love others, we know that we belong to the truth, and we feel at ease in the presence of God. ₂₀But even if we don't feel at ease, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. ₂₁Dear friends, if we feel at ease in the presence of God, we will have the courage to come near him. ₂₂He will give us whatever we ask, because we obey him and do what pleases him. ₂₃God wants us to have faith in his Son Jesus Christ and to love each other. This is also what Jesus taught us to do. ₂₄If we obey God's commandments, we will stay united in our hearts with him, and he will stay united with us. The Spirit that he has given us is proof that we are one with him.