Ezekiel 43:12-17: a reflection

12“This is the law of the house. On the top of the mountain the whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. 13“These are the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit is a cubit and a hand width): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the width a cubit, and its border around its edge a span; and this shall be the base of the altar. 14From the bottom on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the width one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the width a cubit. 15The upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns. 16The altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, square in its four sides. 17The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and its bottom shall be a cubit around; and its steps shall look toward the east.”

In Ezekiel's vision of the restored temple, a foundational principle is laid down: This is the law of the house. On the top of the mountain, the whole area all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. Before the details of the altar's measurements, the governing law is stated: the whole area is most holy. Not just the inner sanctuary, but the whole precinct on the mountain top, is to be holy, set apart wholly for God.

Notice the sweep of the holiness described: the whole area shall be most holy. It is not that one small part is holy while the rest is common; the entire precinct, all around, is most holy. Holiness is not confined to a corner, but pervades the whole. This was the governing law of God's house: that the whole of it, not merely a part, was set apart for God, holy throughout.

That principle of pervasive holiness speaks to our own lives, which Scripture calls a dwelling for God. It is easy to think of holiness as belonging to one compartment of life, a religious corner, while the rest of life is common, unaffected. But the law of God's house was that the whole was holy; and so it is meant to be with us. God calls us to holiness not in one compartment only, but throughout, in the whole of life, work and rest, relationships and speech, private and public. Do not confine holiness to a religious corner of your life while the rest goes unaffected. The whole area was most holy; let the whole of your life be set apart for God, holy throughout, not just in a compartment. God's claim on you is not partial but whole; let your holiness be whole too, pervading all of your life, as the holiness of God's house pervaded the whole precinct on the mountain.

Lord, in Ezekiel's vision of the restored temple, a foundational law is laid down: the whole area all around shall be most holy; this is the law of the house. Not just the inner sanctuary, but the whole precinct, is to be holy, set apart wholly for you. Let that principle of pervasive holiness speak to my own life, which your word calls a dwelling for you. It is easy to think of holiness as belonging to one compartment of life, a religious corner, while the rest is common, unaffected. But the law of your house was that the whole was holy; and so it is meant to be with me. You call me to holiness not in one compartment only, but throughout, in the whole of life, work and rest, relationships and speech, private and public. Keep me from confining holiness to a religious corner of my life while the rest goes unaffected. The whole area was most holy; let the whole of my life be set apart for you, holy throughout, not just in a compartment. Your claim on me is not partial but whole; let my holiness be whole too, pervading all of my life, as the holiness of your house pervaded the whole precinct. Make the whole of my life holy to you, Lord.