The people of God had been in captivity for twenty-five years already, when the Lord begins to direct a vision and message of hope to his people through the prophet Ezekiel. He wanted to renew his covenant with them, do a ‘vow renewal’ if you will. In Ezekiel chapters 40, 41 and 42, we can see this beginning to take place. God began to give them the aspiration of rebuilding the temple. The tape measure is out, and a survey of the structure begins, as excitement builds. Specific dimensions and instructions were to be followed to see this accomplished correctly. It was spectacular, to be done in an orderly fashion, and according to God’s particular liking. God did not want them, or us, to veer from His plan. We know that everything He does and instructs is for our good and for a reason.
As we continue to read of Ezekiel’s vision, we see what really made the difference. Ezekiel 43:1-6 says, “Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. So, the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.” The temples and idols of the heathen, though often pleasant to the eye and of cunning craftmanship, were powerless. The Spirit and Glory of God is what made the difference in the temple that would be built by the people of God, according to God’s plan.
God first reminded them of the past wrongs, why the Glory of God had left them. They had been separated from God because of their evil ways and were admonished to turn back to Him. Ezekiel 43:7-10 tells us, “And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcasses of their kings in their high places. In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in my anger. Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcasses of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever. Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.” Our first step to being reconciled with God, whether for the first time, or subsequent times, is to reflect upon our sins and come to God in submission and repentance.
1 Peter 4:17-19 says, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” We cannot win others to the Lord, until we first are made clean and pure and do a little housekeeping in our own lives. The simple definition of repentance is to have a change of heart and do an about face and go the other way. Get back to what we were or what we should be in our walk with God. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” And in His earthly ministry, Jesus said in Matthew 21:13, “It is written, my house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”
When we do our part, God will do the rest. Ezekiel 43:11-12 continues, “And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.” When God restores, builds, forgives, and places his Glory upon us, He does it completely. This is how he works; it is the Law of the House.
In these verses, he instructs Ezekiel to show the people of Israel four aspects of the house of God. The first one is the form or structure. The kingdom of God, or the Church as we know it, does not mean the concrete, wood, or brick structure but the born again believers themselves are referred to as the church. Ephesians 2:19-22 tells us, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” And 1 Corinthians 6:19 states, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” The church is not only the temple, but it is admonished in the word of God to have structure. 1 Corinthians 14:40 says, “Let all things be done decently and in order.”
Within this structure we see positions of authority for the church mentioned. 1 Corinthians 12:27-28 says, “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” Ephesians 4:11-15tells us why we need this structure, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”
Paul warned Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” And he preached to the Romans in Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” God knew that we as His church, the saints of God, the body of Christ, would need constant teaching and renewing in His word and Spirit, so he put structure as a part of the Law of the House.
The second aspect that Ezekiel was to show God’s people was the fashion. How would all this come about. Philippians 2:1-8 tells us, “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” This account encapsulates every aspect of how we can accomplish God’s will in our lives as the church. Love, humility, righteousness, submission to God’s authority, and unity. Jesus said in Mark 3:25, “And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” The way we can be successful saints is to follow the example of Christ. This is the Law of the House.
Thirdly, Ezekiel was to show them God’s ordinances. The dictionary definition of ordinance is, “an authoritative decree or direction, a law set forth by a governmental authority, something ordained or decreed by fate or a deity. Synonyms are order, law, rule, regulation, precept, statute, canon which all mean, a principle governing action or procedure.” God does not change His mind on what He likes and dislikes, loves, or wills. If He says something it is for a reason, and it will always be connected in some way to other things, principles, or commands He has given before. If you say you have heard from the Lord, check to see if that word is in accordance with the Word of God given to us in scripture to validate it, because He will not give you a message contrary to what has already been set forth. The Gospel will never change, which is the message of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and how we can apply it to our lives, because how we apply it to ourselves is all wrapped up in what Jesus already did on Calvary and the prophesies that were given regarding His coming, in the Old Testament. History does not change. In Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33, Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” We must keep true to the teaching of His word.This is the law of the House.
Fourthly, he showed His people His law. The word of God is the final authority for our lives; therefore, we should know what it says. It consists of the Old Testament or covenant, and a New Testament or covenant. His laws are seen throughout, and will never change, however, the old covenant only showed us that we were sinners, and could never be attained on our own, whereas the new covenant fulfills the Old, in that we are shown how we can live according to it. Romans 3:20 states, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Galatians 3:23-27 tells us, “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” Luke 24:44 states, “And he said unto them, these are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” And Paul tells the saints in Romans 8:1-5, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”
We are no longer under a law that we cannot attain to, but under the law of liberty in Christ Jesus. However, this does not mean we do not need to continue in God’s laws, because they are a depiction of His nature, but on the contrary, James 1:25 and 2:12 says, “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. So, speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” With liberty comes promise, however, we are now given the responsibility to fulfil these laws daily. This is the Law of the House.
The entire reason for the Law of the House could be wrapped up in one scripture, Leviticus 19:2 says, “Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16 gives us the New covenant version and tells us how to do it, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
The last two chapters of Ezekiel tell of the land that each tribe of Israel was to inherit, and then in the last verse, chapter 48:35 it says, “It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there.” John the revelator sees our inheritance, in Revelation 21: 1-4 and 7:14-17, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” This is the Law of the House.