FFOZ | Magazine Articles : When His Presence Returns

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Category: Tetzaveh

When His Presence Returns

Shemot (Exodus) 27:20–30:10 | Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 43:10–27

One of the saddest events in all of human history was when the Shekinah left the Temple in Jerusalem. However, according to the one who wrote of the Shekinah’s departure, the special Presence of God will some day gloriously return to earth. Ezekiel writes about the reversal of what happened centuries ago. Just as the Shekinah left, so is He promised to return. Our sadness will be turned to great joy as we are assured that once again, the Holy One of Israel will have a special manifested presence among the people of the earth. In order to accommodate the return of God’s special Presence on earth, God instructs Ezekiel to build a place of dwelling.

The Temple

We are told that Ezekiel was instructed to make a building in which to house this Presence. It is called, in verse 43:10, a “house.” It is God’s house where He could dwell in safety and happiness with His family—those who believe in Him. Moreover, this house had specific furniture designed to denote some of the functions of this special house. It had a place where common meals were shared (the altar), a place where light shined (the menorah), and a location where special guests were nourished (the bread of God’s presence). Finally, there was the room designated for that special intimacy shared by all families through their Priestly representative—the Holy of Holies.

The second feature of the coming of God’s glory was that this house was also the site of God’s royal throne. Ezekiel’s Temple will be the seat of government for the future royal Divine Kingdom which will be on earth. The Scripture emphasizes the fact that the very embodiment of the Torah Himself will be sitting on the Ark!Third, we are told that when the Glory returns, this future Temple will be “the place of the soles of My feet.” We know from I Chronicles 28: and Psalm 132:7 that the Ark of the Covenant is called the footstool of God. It appears that the Ark is God’s throne. The Scripture emphasizes the fact that the very embodiment of the Torah Himself will be sitting on the Ark! From His mouth will come all of the words of the Torah. Hence, as an “Ark,” this piece of furniture will return to its original function, that of a royal throne. As a box that housed the written Torah, it will be the resting place for the Living Torah.

A Place of Repentance

There is a second purpose for the future Temple that God showed Ezekiel. According to verse 43:10, God told Ezekiel to describe the Temple to the house of Israel “that they may be ashamed of their iniquities.” Perhaps a better translation for “ashamed,” would be “humiliated.”

One of the most basic revelations of the Good News to be found in all of the Scriptures is the plan for the Temple. It has been known from ancient times that this basic plan is also a revelation of the person and work of the Messiah. First, the entrance way is in the east. The word used by Ezekiel is not mizrach, as we might expect, but the word kedem. This is the same word that was used in Genesis to describe where the Garden of Eden was located. Thus, its use reminds us of creation, pointing back to the beginning. The Temple was designed to bring people back to God. Second, one of the first things to be encountered was the large altar for blood sacrifices.The picture reminds us of the finished work of Messiah. The next revelation is the furniture inside of the Holy Place. First is the menorah, which spoke of the light of God, pointing to Messiah, the light of the world. Next there was the bread of His Presence, otherwise known as the “showbread.” Finally was the altar of incense, continually burning, which pictures the prayers of the saints.

The Temple was designed especially to reach the Jewish people with the Good News of the person and work of Messiah. It functioned like this simply because it spoke so much of sin, atonement, fellowship, and relationship with God.

Today there is no Temple. The people of Israel look forward to the Temple and the Messianic Age described by Ezekiel in this haftarah. A phenomenon is beginning to happen in Jerusalem. Today, more than ever, many teachers are arising within the Jewish community to teach about the nature of the Temple. There is a new movement within Judaism that is seeking to educate the people of Israel about the Temple and its workings. This may be one of the most important tools that the Holy One will use to work repentance among the people of Israel and point them to the way of the Messiah.

© 2009 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved. We encourage you to share this material with your friends for further personal study. However, This material may not be republished, in print, electronically, or any other form without our prior permission.