Context No. 3924 of 4322 · Ezekiel

Ezekiel 40:6-16: in context

6Then he came to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate, one reed wide; and the other threshold, one reed wide. 7Every lodge was one reed long and one reed wide. Between the lodges was five cubits. The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed. 8He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed. 9Then he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its posts, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house. 10The side rooms of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side. The three of them were of one measure. The posts had one measure on this side and on that side. 11He measured the width of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits; 12and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the side rooms, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. 13He measured the gate from the roof of the one side room to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits, door against door. 14He also made posts, sixty cubits; and the court reached to the posts, around the gate. 15From the forefront of the gate at the entrance to the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits. 16There were closed windows to the side rooms, and to their posts within the gate all around, and likewise to the arches. Windows were around inward. Palm trees were on each post.

In Ezekiel's vision of a restored temple, a heavenly guide with a measuring reed carefully measures the great gate that leads into the temple, its threshold, its chambers, its posts, each dimension exact and deliberate. To modern readers, the long list of measurements can seem tedious, but there is meaning in the care.

God's dwelling, and the way into it, was not thrown together haphazardly; every part was measured and ordered by design. Even the gate, the way of entry into God's presence, had its precise pattern. There is a quiet truth here about approaching God. There is a way in, a real access to God's presence, but it is a way God himself has established and defined, not one we invent. The careful measuring of the gate reminds us that coming to God is on his terms, through the way he has appointed. And for us, that way has a name: Christ himself said, I am the door; whoever enters by me will be saved. The measured gate of Ezekiel's vision points to the truth that God provides the way into his presence, which we now enter through Christ.

Do I come to God through the way he himself has appointed, entering his presence on his terms through Christ the door, rather than assuming I can approach him however I please?

Sources

Ezekiel 40:6: "Then he came to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate, one reed wide."
Ezekiel 40:16: "There were closed windows to the side rooms... Palm trees were on each post."
John 10:9: "I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved."