Scripture Daily

Context No. 2303 of 4322 · Ezekiel

Context · Reflection

Ezekiel 46:1-8: in context

1“‘The Lord GOD says: “The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut 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. 2The prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate outside, and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare 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 the evening. 3The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. 4The burnt offering that the prince shall offer to the LORD shall be on the Sabbath day, six lambs without defect and a ram without defect; 5and the meal offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 6On the day of the new moon it shall be a young bull without defect, six lambs, and a ram. They shall be without defect. 7He shall prepare a meal offering: an ephah for the bull, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs according as he is able, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 8When the prince enters, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go out by its way.

In Ezekiel's vision of the restored temple, the gate of the inner court is to be shut on the six working days, but opened on the Sabbath and on the day of the new moon, so that the prince and the people may come and worship before the LORD. On these appointed days the gate opens, the offerings are made, and the people gather at the gate to worship. The rhythm of worship is set: regular, appointed times when the gate opens and the people come before God.

The detail worth noticing is the regular, appointed rhythm of worship. The gate was shut on the working days but opened on the Sabbath and the new moon, the appointed times of worship, when the people gathered to come before God. Worship was not left to whim or chance, happening only when someone felt like it; it was woven into the regular rhythm of the community's life, with set times when the gate opened and the people came to worship. There was an appointed rhythm, a regular returning to worship God at the set times. This holds a wisdom for our own worship. We can leave worship to whim, coming to God only when we feel like it, without any regular rhythm, so that our worship becomes sporadic, irregular, easily crowded out. The appointed rhythm of worship in Ezekiel's vision, the set times when the gate opened and the people gathered, points to the value of a regular rhythm of worship built into our lives, appointed times when we come before God rather than leaving it to chance. I was glad, the psalmist says, when they said to me, let us go to the house of the LORD; the appointed time to worship was a joy and a rhythm. And the New Testament calls us not to forsake the regular assembling together for worship. A regular rhythm of worship, set times woven into our lives, keeps worship from being crowded out or left to whim. This searches whether our worship has a regular rhythm or is left to chance. Do we have appointed times of worship woven into our lives, regular occasions when we come before God, gathering with his people to worship? Or is our worship sporadic, left to whim, easily crowded out by the demands of the working days? The gate in Ezekiel's vision opened at the appointed times, and the people came; and the regular rhythm of worship kept it central and constant. This calls us to build a regular rhythm of worship into our lives. The gate opened on the appointed days, and the people gathered to worship; and we too do well to have regular, appointed times of worship woven into our lives, coming before God at set times rather than leaving worship to whim, so that our worship is not sporadic and crowded out but constant and central, a regular rhythm of coming before God, as the gate opened at the appointed times for the people to worship.

Is my worship left to whim, happening only when I feel like it and easily crowded out by the demands of daily life, or do I have a regular rhythm of worship woven into my life, appointed times when I come before God, and can the gate in Ezekiel's vision, opened at the set times for the people to gather and worship, move me to build a regular rhythm of worship into my life, coming before God at appointed times rather than leaving it to chance, so that my worship is constant and central rather than sporadic?

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