Boiling Places for Offerings

 

Ezekiel 46:19-24

 

February 26, 2024

 

Boiling Places for Offerings

Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, to the north row of the holy chambers for the priests, and behold, a place was there at the extreme western end of them.  And he said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, in order not to bring them out into the outer court and so transmit holiness to the people.”

Then he brought me out to the outer court and led me around to the four corners of the court. And behold, in each corner of the court there was another court— in the four corners of the court were small courts, forty cubits long and thirty broad; the four were of the same size.  On the inside, around each of the four courts was a row of masonry, with hearths made at the bottom of the rows all around.  Then he said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple shall boil the sacrifices of the people.”

 

My thoughts went to King David as I read these verses this morning, for Ezekiel was allowed to see things that were not yet built, things of the future, things that none of us have yet seen.  And that takes a man who has a heart for God to sit quietly in a room listening and waiting for God to speak.  I believe this prophet was that kind of man, and so was David.  Listen to a part of David’s prayer in Psalm 143:7-10, “Answer me quickly, O Lord!  My spirit fails!  Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.  Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust.  Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!  I have fled to you for refuge.   Teach me to do your will, for you are my God!  Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!”

 

Observation, we are not the first generation to want God to do it quickly; that is the nature of man.  Now, with that said, how many of us listen for God to speak in the morning?  This morning, I saw the hand of God in a sunrise; it was amazing.  This morning, as I read David's prayer, it was also my prayer, for I want God to show me how to be obedient in seeking His plans for the day and not mine.  I need God to show me how the enemy of my soul has planned to deceive me so that I do not fall into his trap.  Yes, I need Jesus and the Holy Spirit to lead me on level ground.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Prince and the Feasts

 

Ezekiel 46:1-18

 

February 23, 2024

 

The Prince and the Feasts

“Thus says the Lord God: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.  The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside and shall take his stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening.  The people of the land shall bow down at the entrance of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.  The burnt offering that the prince offers to the Lord on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish.  And the grain offering with the ram shall be an ephah, and the grain offering with the lambs shall be as much as he is able, together with a hin of oil to each ephah.  On the day of the new moon, he shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish, and six lambs and a ram, which shall be without blemish.  As a grain offering, he shall provide an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he is able, together with a hin of oil to each ephah.  When the prince enters, he shall enter by the vestibule of the gate, and he shall go out by the same way.

“When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed feasts, he who enters by the north gate to worship shall go out by the south gate, and he who enters by the south gate shall go out by the north gate: no one shall return by way of the gate by which he entered, but each shall go out straight ahead.  When they enter, the prince shall enter with them, and when they go out, he shall go out.

“At the feasts and the appointed festivals, the grain offering with a young bull shall be an ephah, and with a ram an ephah, and with the lambs as much as one is able to give, together with a hin of oil to an ephah.  When the prince provides a freewill offering, either a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the Lord, the gate facing east shall be opened for him. And he shall offer his burnt offering or his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate shall be shut.

“You shall provide a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to the Lord daily; morning by morning you shall provide it.  And you shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, one-sixth of an ephah, and one-third of a hin of oil to moisten the flour, as a grain offering to the Lord. This is a perpetual statute.  Thus, the lamb and the meal offering and the oil shall be provided, morning by morning, for a regular burnt offering.

“Thus says the Lord God: If the prince makes a gift to any of his sons as his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons. It is their property by inheritance.  But if he makes a gift out of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty. Then it shall revert to the prince; surely it is his inheritance—it shall belong to his sons.  The prince shall not take any of the inheritance of the people, thrusting them out of their property. He shall give his sons their inheritance out of his own property so that none of my people shall be scattered from his property.”

 

Once again, we must remember the timeline; we believe this Temple will be built after Christ's return, and in the 1000-year reign on the Earth.  And once more, we go to Scripture to see if it is for Salvation or for worship, and in agreement with God that they have sinned, by thoughts or deeds.  A great place to start is 1 John 2:2, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”  There was one sin that Jesus did not die for, and that was the sin of unbelief.  John 3:18-20 makes that clear, along with the cost to the one who does not put their faith in the only Son of God.  ^“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Portion for the Prince

 

Ezekiel 45:7-25

 

February 22, 2024

 

The Portion for the Prince

“And to the prince shall belong the land on both sides of the holy district and the property of the city, alongside the holy district and the property of the city, on the west and on the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions, and extending from the western to the eastern boundary of the land. It is to be his property in Israel. And my princes shall no more oppress my people, but they shall let the house of Israel have the land according to their tribes.

 “Thus says the Lord God: Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness. Cease your evictions of my people, declares the Lord God.

“You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, the bath containing one tenth of a homer, and the ephah one tenth of a homer; the homer shall be the standard measure.  The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina. 

“This is the offering that you shall make: one sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and one sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley,  and as the fixed portion of oil, measured in baths, one tenth of a bath from each cor (the cor, like the homer, contains ten baths).  And one sheep from every flock of two hundred, from the watering places of Israel, for grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offerings, to make atonement for them, declares the Lord God. All the people of the land shall be obliged to give this offering to the prince in Israel.  It shall be the prince's duty to furnish the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the new moons, and the Sabbaths, all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.

“Thus says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a bull from the herd without blemish, and purify the sanctuary.  The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and the posts of the gate of the inner court.  You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance; so you shall make atonement for the temple.

“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall celebrate the Feast of the Passover, and for seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten.  On that day, the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a young bull for a sin offering.  And on the seven days of the festival, he shall provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven young bulls and seven rams without blemish, on each of the seven days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering.  And he shall provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a hin of oil to each ephah.  In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, and for the seven days of the feast, he shall make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, and grain offerings, and for the oil.

 

Let me share first that we are no longer under the law, for in Christ we have received grace.  Does that mean we cannot learn from the Law? If that were so, why did God command you and me to take the whole counsel of the word?  Acts 20:26-27, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”  Do not let anyone put you under religious rule and traditions. In 2 Timothy 2:1,2, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”  Galatians 5:1,
“For freedom, Christ has set us free; stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

 

In Galatians 5:1–15, the apostle Paul discusses the nature of Christian freedom, beginning with an admonition to “stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1, NKJV). 

“Paul contends that Jesus Christ came to set believers free from a burdensome, legalistic existence as slaves to the law. Therefore, Christians must ensure that they stay free and not get bound up again under a yoke of bondage to the law. (Taken from “Got Questions”)

Let me be clear that Ezekiel's temple has not yet been built; many believe it will be so when Christ returns.  They believe that during the 1000-year reign, the Temple will be built.  That will be a time Satan will be bound, and yet we know that the prince will be at his best performance during that time.  But we also know that after the 1000-year reign, that old serpent will be free, and a great battle will take place, and they, the children of the devil, will spend eternity in a place of torment.  

Anyone who is in Christ should never desire another human to go to hell, and it was not designed for humans but for the devil and his angels.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Holy District

 

Ezekiel 45:1-6

 

February 21, 2024

 

The Holy District

“When you allot the land as an inheritance, you shall set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent.  Of this, a square plot of 500 by 500 cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for an open space around it.  And from this measured district you shall measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 broad, in which shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.  It shall be the holy portion of the land. It shall be for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to minister to him, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.  Another section, 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits broad, shall be for the Levites who minister at the temple, as their possession for cities to live in.

“Alongside the portion set apart as the holy district, you shall assign for the property of the city an area 5,000 cubits broad and 25,000 cubits long. It shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

 

It is believed by most that Ezekiel’s temple will be built in the millennial kingdom, a 1,000-year reign of Christ.  A follower of Christ should understand that they are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

"Cubit": here is a "long cubit", about 21 inches (53 cm), as defined in Ezekiel 40:5. · "25000 cubits": about 8 miles (13 km). · "Length": east-west ... (Taken from the dictionary)

 

From The Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Rules for Levitical Priests

 

Ezekiel 44:15-31

 

February 20, 2024

 

Rules for Levitical Priests

“But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God.  They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.  When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within.  They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.  And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers. And they shall put on other garments, lest they transmit holiness to the people with their garments.  They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.  No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.  They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.  They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.  In a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy.  They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister, they may defile themselves.  After he has become clean, they shall count seven days for him.  And on the day that he goes into the Holy Place, into the inner court, to minister in the Holy Place, he shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord God.

“This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.  They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.  And the first of all the first fruits, of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, that a blessing may rest on your house.  The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by wild animals.

When reading this Scripture, a few things you will see have changed. The priest no longer owns anything, but they have all they need, for they have God’s present; they are there to serve, not to be served.  They are only to wear linen garments while ministering before God.  And those clothes were not to be worn in the outer courts around the people.

 

I often wonder if into days place where the church assembles, we call that place the church, but it's not a temple where God resides, you are that temple, if you believe by faith that God has given you have asked Jesus to come and live in you.  And when we, the church, come together, it only requires two or three to have this promise.  ^“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”  (Matthew 18:20) Once more, Scripture confronts us with a question: how often do we as the church meet?  Jan and I often have church in the morning and evening, and even during the day when we meet with a brother or sister in Christ, and share what Jesus is or has done for us.  But often we, the Church, ignore this truth, only thinking it happen on a time we are in the building we wrongly call the church.

That brought my mind to things God has told us to do, and we act as if we do not have the ability, such things as Colossians 3:2, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”  You have been given the ability to set your mind on anything you choose.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Gate for the Prince

                                                           Ezekiel 44: 1-14

February 19, 2023

 

The Gate for the Prince

Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut.  And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore, it shall remain shut.  Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.”

Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. And I fell on my face.  And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. And mark well the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary.  And say to the rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus, says the Lord God: O house of Israel, enough of all your abominations, in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat, and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations.  And you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary.

“Thus says the Lord God: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.  But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment. They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before the people, to minister to them.  Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn concerning them, declares the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment.  They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed.  Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.

It should be clear to all that Ezekiel's vision from God is about a temple yet to be built.  When Jan and I visited Israel, we were told by our guide that all the vessels and the training of the Levites had been done, and now they are waiting for the temple to be built.  The Muslims have built the Dome of the Rock where they believe the Temple will be, and they have also sealed over the East Gate, as if they believe that will keep Jesus from entering.

God went into great detail to give the measurements of each room and great insight as to who shall enter and to whom shall serve in the temple that is being described to Ezekiel, and yet some believe it does not talk about a literal temple but Christ's return and that God will once more be with His people.  Both are true, in my way of thinking, Jesus will return, the temple will be built, and Jesus will enter by the East gate.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

Note:  As we stood below the East gate that was sealed, people above the wall tried to hit us with rocks.  No one was hit, but we did not stay long at that site.

Conform or Not

 

 Conform or Not

 

March 19, 2026

 

The world will conform you to think like it, but as a follower of Christ, God has given you the mind of Christ; it is a choice each day and many times each day to conform to the world or to renew your mind.  Jan and I are putting Romans 12:2 to memory as a reminder.  “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

 

The Ability as a Follower of Christ to test what the World is offering against the Scriptures.  Now, a problem with many is that they are not searching the Scriptures for God’s counsel.  Many Churches try a program that worked somewhere else, without seeking the Lord’s counsel, and they wonder why they are not experiencing the same results.  Testing is the key; you have the mind of Christ, as His follower.  You will find that in 1 Corinthians 2:15-16, “The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

 

As one who is a mess, I like Rascal better. You will also need to put into memory 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice