Corona Devo 1976

A prophet in the Bible is a regular person that believes in God like you or me, that God speaks to and tells to share His message, and they do.  Ezekiel was a prophet, and in one of his visions...God was holding in his hand a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod (Ezekiel 40:3). 

The vision was mostly about measurements.  Specific measurements.  Intentionally and purposely specific in detail, and in design.  God was specific, and God gave details.  

Our God is specific, and our Lord is detailed.

And this vision is about more than just the (specific) dimensions that God gave.  Those measurements and the fact that God was holding in his hand a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod were also definitive of us and of our lives and of the specific details and situations that you and I find ourselves in and facing today...and of the One who holds in his hand our measuring cord and measuring rod.  

On April 28, during the twenty-fifth year of our captivity—fourteen years after the fall of Jerusalem—the Lord took hold of me. 

(2) In a vision from God he took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. From there I could see toward the south what appeared to be a city. (3) As he brought me nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside a gateway entrance. He was holding in his hand a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod.  ~Ezekiel 40:1-3

God has purpose in every word and chapter of His Bible.  Ezekiel's vision outlines specifics for the people of Israel, and God told Ezekiel to tell others what He said.  

God still has purpose in every word and chapter of His Bible, and He gets specific about the details of life.  We have to read His Word to know His Word, and then He calls us to tell them everything we have seen.

(4) He said to me, “Son of man, watch and listen. Pay close attention to everything I show you. You have been brought here so I can show you many things. Then you will return to the people of Israel and tell them everything you have seen.”  ~Ezekiel 4:4

Listen for the preciseness and the detail in God's instruction.

Our God is specific, and our Lord is calculated  And He has plans... 

(5) I could see a wall completely surrounding the Temple area. The man took a measuring rod that was 10 1⁄2 feet long and measured the wall, and the wall was 10 1⁄2 feet thick and 10 1⁄2 feet high.  

(6) Then he went over to the eastern gateway. He climbed the steps and measured the threshold of the gateway; it was 10 1⁄2 feet front to back.

(7) There were guard alcoves on each side built into the gateway passage. Each of these alcoves was 10 1⁄2 feet square, with a distance between them of 8 3⁄4 feet along the passage wall. 

The gateway’s inner threshold, which led to the entry room at the inner end of the gateway passage, was 10 1⁄2 feet front to back. 

(8) He also measured the entry room of the gateway.  (9) It was 14 feet across, with supporting columns 3 1⁄2 feet thick. This entry room was at the inner end of the gateway structure, facing toward the Temple.    

(10) There were three guard alcoves on each side of the gateway passage. Each had the same measurements, and the dividing walls separating them were also identical. (11) The man measured the gateway entrance, which was 17 1⁄2 feet wide at the opening and 22 3⁄4 feet wide in the gateway passage. 

(12) In front of each of the guard alcoves was a 21-inch curb. The alcoves themselves were 10 1⁄2 feet on each side. 

(13) Then he measured the entire width of the gateway, measuring the distance between the back walls of facing guard alcoves; this distance was 43 3⁄4 feet. 

(14) He measured the dividing walls all along the inside of the gateway up to the entry room of the gateway; this distance was 105 feet 

(15) The full length of the gateway passage was 87 1⁄2 feet from one end to the other. (16) There were recessed windows that narrowed inward through the walls of the guard alcoves and their dividing walls. There were also windows in the entry room. The surfaces of the dividing walls were decorated with carved palm trees.  ~Ezekiel 40:5-15

The vision was mostly about measurements.  Specific measurements.  Intentionally and purposely specific in detail, and in design.  God was specific, and God gave details.  

But the Lord's specifics don't end with His lengths and widths of the Temple.  In this vision, God laid out the rules and details that His people were to abide by when they build His Temple.  However--the entire Bible is specifics for us who are building our lives on God's Law.  All of God's Word is with purpose and is exactly how God wanted it to be.  There are no pieces to remove or to update.  In all of the Bible, God was intentional and purposefully specific in detail.

And that leads us to today.  

We might not be happy with the 21-inch curb (Ezekiel 40:12) that we have hit in life lately.  We might be tired of making our way down the long  87 1⁄2 feet gateway passage (Ezekiel 40:15) that we continue to amble our way through.

We might be questioning if any of this really matters?  

Yes, yes it does matter.  

The "waiting" period that we are in--there is a point to it.  The closed door that is still stings--there is purpose in it.  The "season" that we are in--won't last forever--there is already an assigned (specific!) closure date to it.  

How do I know?  

Because we serve a God of order and purpose.  

He has specific measurements for His Temple (Ezekiel 40) and for each of His individual people, like you and me.  (Jeremiah 29:11 = For I know the plans I have for you...)

Intentionally and purposely specific in detail and in design: God was specific and detailed about everything, and especially about us and about each day of our lives (...all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  ~Psalm 13916).

That includes our today.  We are right where we are supposed to be.  

Thanks to Ezekiel, we catch a glimpse of what it might be like when we see God: I saw a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside a gateway entrance (Ezekiel 40:1).

And we also get the details about how detailed our Holy God is.  Nothing escapes His attention, and we can trust that He has laid our plans for today, with an attention to detail and calculated purpose.  Our Lord is exact.  He doesn't make mistakes, and that includes us.

He was holding in his hand a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod.  ~Ezekiel 40:3

Blessings, 

Sarah 

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com