The Glory of the Lord fills the Tabernacle
At the end of Exodus we see God filling the Tabernacle with His Glory—so much so that Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because of the cloud that had settled on it. God had come to dwell in the midst of His people. Exodus 29:43; 40:34-35
The Glory of the Lord leaves Israel
Later, at one of Israel’s many points of disobedience, God’s Glory left the presence of Israel. Eli, God’s priest, had two rebellious sons who took the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistines. The Israelites were soundly defeated and the Ark was taken captive to Philistine. Eli and his two sons died. When Eli’s pregnant daughter-in-law gave birth to her son she called him Ichabod saying “the Glory of the Lord has departed from Israel.” 1 Samuel 4:17-22
The Glory of the Lord fills the House of the Lord
Solomon later built a Temple for the Lord. The House of God was dedicated and consecrated to Him with great ceremony. God showed His acceptance of the house by filling it with His Glory. It was so great that the priests couldn’t even minister because of the thick cloud of Glory in the house where God had said that He would dwell! 1 Kings 8:10-13
God’s Glory, sometimes called the “Shekinah Glory,” remained in the Temple until the sin of His people became so great that He had to move out of His Own house!
The Glory of the Lord departs from Israel
Ezekiel is living as an exile in Babylon when God commissions him to speak to the Jews, whether they listen or not! Nebuchadnezzar had successfully attacked Jerusalem twice—the first time was 605 BC, and the second was 597 BC. Ezekiel had been taken captive to Babylon in the second siege. There was one more siege to come in 586 BC which would completely destroy Jerusalem. They have seen the wrath of God come on them, yet they still will not repent. God’s decision has been made. He will judge and judge them harshly! Ezekiel 2:3-5, 7; 3:4-9, 26-27
The Jews are rebellious and stubborn, even more rebellious than all the other nations! They refuse to listen! God, through Ezekiel, gives them a stinging prophecy of their own future. It is horrible what will happen to them. In fact, God says, “Because of all your abominations, I will do among you what I have not done, and the like of which I will never do again.” Fathers will eat their sons and sons will eat their fathers! God will execute His judgment on them and they will be scattered to every wind of the world! Ezekiel 5:5-10
Verse 11 is a key verse to understand what is happening in the book of Ezekiel. God orders that the Jews be taken out of the land. But because the Jews have defiled His sanctuary with all their detestable idols and all their abominations, God Himself is going to leave, too. He is going to withdraw, first from the Temple of His Sanctuary, and then from the city of Jerusalem itself! Ezekiel 5:11
By His Spirit, God takes Ezekiel to Jerusalem and shows him what the Jews are doing in His Temple and in His city.
- Ezekiel 8:3-6
He shows Ezekiel the entrance of the north gate of the inner court. There, in God’s House was a seat for an “idol of jealousy.” To the north of the altar gate was the idol of jealousy at the entrance. Unbelievable! In God’s Own House, where He should be sitting on His Mercy Seat, the people were instead worshiping an idol sitting on its own seat! Should God have to leave because an idol has taken His place!!! God tells Ezekiel, “You haven’t seen anything yet!”
- Ezekiel 8:7-13
In the inner rooms of the Temple, God shows Ezekiel the false, disgusting carvings of creeping things and beasts and detestable idols. And who is worshiping these carvings? Why, it’s none other than God’s Own elders! They are offering incense to other gods in God’s Own house with the lights turned out! And they have the audacity to say, “The Lord doesn’t see us doing this. After all, He has abandoned us!” Aughhh! Then God gives Ezekiel the next bad news, “Prepare yourself, Ezekiel. It gets even worse.”
- Ezekiel 8:14-15
God now takes Ezekiel to the actual entrance to the house of God. And there are the women of Israel, sitting and weeping for Tammuz! Tammuz was believed to be the reincarnation of his father, Nimrod. Tammuz is also known as “Osirus” or “Adonis.” He is pictured on seals as a protector of flocks against wild beasts. This “weeping for Tammuz” lasted for 40 days preceding the pagan Spring Equinox Festival. The women were grieving over his death in hopes that he would come back to life, representing a renewal of nature. Can it get worse? God tells Ezekiel that it does and then He shows him…
- Ezekiel 8:16
He takes Ezekiel to the inner court and there, at the entrance to the Temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about 25 men with their backs to the Temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east. They were laying down worshiping the sun!
- Ezekiel 8:17-18
God has had it! He says to Ezekiel rhetorically, “Wasn’t it bad enough to sin the terrible sins they sinned against Me? Wasn’t it bad enough that they polluted the land with their abominations? Wasn’t it bad enough that they wouldn’t repent?” No, I guess it wasn’t bad enough because they went one step further and committed their horrible abominations right in God’s Own House!
Let me give you a graphic example of what they had done to God. Israel was God’s wife; she committed adultery against Him. That, in itself, was bad enough, but then she actually took her lover into God’s bedroom and flagrantly made love to him right there in front of God, her husband. I can’t imagine the pain God must have felt and the anger…
Starting in Chapter 9 of Ezekiel, we see the Glory of the Lord beginning to depart—first from His sanctuary, then from His Temple and then from His city… Ezekiel 9-11
Before God leaves, He calls for destroyers to execute those Jews who are part of this awful sin against God. A mark is put on the forehead of every person who sighs and groans over all the abominations which are being committed in the city. The executioners are given orders to utterly slay everyone who does not have that mark, whether it is an old man or a young man, a maiden or a women, or even a little child. And He commands that the execution begin in His Sanctuary! Judgment begins with the house of God! 1 Peter 4:17
Now, heartbreakingly, we see the Glory of the God of Israel departing from the Holy of Holies and hovering over the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house. Ezekiel 10:4, 18, 19
In verses 22-23 of Ezekiel 11, we see the Glory of the God of Israel going up from the midst of the city and standing over the mountain which is east of the city.
Yet in verses 14-21 of Ezekiel 11, before God actually leaves, He gives His people a promise of a New Covenant. He is leaving because they sinned against Him. They sinned against Him because they could not keep the Law He had given them. They could not keep the Law because their hearts were wicked and evil. They were slaves to sin. Because they broke the Law, God had to scatter them from the land of Israel He promised to them.
In this New Covenant, God would give them one heart to obey Him. He would put a new spirit within them—one that would seek after God. He would take their heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh so they could walk in His statutes and keep His ordinances. This heart of flesh would be sensitive and responsive to the finger of God. Their old heart of stone never even felt or noticed His touch. In this New Covenant, God would be their God and they would be His people.
As God departs from His Temple, He promises to send the New Covenant to them. He is promising to send Jesus to them! He is promising The Seed!
The Glory of the Lord returns to Israel
The Glory of the Lord returns to Israel when Jesus is born. Jesus’ parents brought Him to the Temple to present Him to the Lord; He was only eight days old. Luke 2:21-22
Simeon, a righteous and devout man, was looking for The Seed. God brought Simeon into the Temple by His Spirit and when he saw this tiny baby, he took Him in his arms and announced to the people that the Glory of God had returned! God Himself was among them once again. Luke 2:25-35 Anna, the prophetess, also gave witness that He was indeed The Seed. Luke 2:36-38
He came to His Own, and His Own did not receive Him. God was back with Israel tabernacling among them in the flesh. He was full of Glory as the only begotten of God, full of grace and truth, and yet their eyes would not see Him; they would not see His Glory. John 1:11, 14
Jesus teaches the nation of Israel for three long years. A few people believe, but most turn their backs on Him when He offers to let them enter into the New Covenant with Him. Instead of receiving Him they murder Him.
The Glory of the Lord departs from Israel
Finally, it is Jesus’ last week. He goes into the Temple one last time to teach the people. When He leaves, He informs them He will not be back again to the Temple. They will not see Him as the Glory of Israel until He comes again in all His Glory at the end of the age. O Jerusalem… How Jesus wept for you… Matthew 21:23; 23:37-39
The Glory of the Lord returns!
God’s Glory does return after Jesus leaves the earth. He sends His Holy Spirit to indwell all believers. The Holy Spirit causes believers to walk in God’s ways and to obey Him—conforming each one into the image of God’s Own Son, Jesus. True believers give Glory to God simply by being seen by the world! 2 Corinthians 3:18
The Glory of the Lord returns to Israel!
Jesus is coming again! He will return to the earth in all His Glory. The whole earth will see Him. All the tribes of Israel will see Him and mourn because they will realize that this Jesus that they crucified was indeed The Seed. And, just as He predicted, they will say, “Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord!” Revelation 19:11-16; Zechariah 12:10; Revelation 1:7
The Glory of the Lord remains!
Ezekiel finishes his book with a description of the new Temple that will be in existence during the Millennial Reign of Christ. In this Temple the Glory will stay forever! It will never leave. And just as we saw the Glory of the God of Israel leaving to the east, we see the Glory of the God of Israel returning from the east. Ezekiel 43:4
God tells Ezekiel, “This is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My Holy Name.” Why won’t they? Because they will enter a New Covenant with God—a Covenant where God keeps both sides of the Covenant and causes His people to obey Him—a Covenant where God gives them a new heart—a Covenant where God gives them Jesus, His Holy Son—The Seed to bring them Life! Ezekiel 43:1-9
Notice the amazing pattern that is revealed:
The Glory of the Lord fills the Tabernacle
The Glory of the Lord leaves Israel
The Glory of the Lord fills the House of the Lord
The Glory of the Lord departs from Israel
The Glory of the Lord returns to Israel
The Glory of the Lord departs from Israel
The Glory of the Lord returns!
The Glory of the Lord returns to Israel!
The Glory of the Lord remains!
God comes to dwell with man to make His Glory known, but because of man’s sin in the face of His Holiness He must leave. Yet He comes again and again, finally defeating the power of sin itself in order to make men holy before Him. And in the final end, He will dwell in the place of His choosing, (in the new heavens, on the new earth, in the new Jerusalem) with the people of His choosing for all of eternity. Revelation 21:22 “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”
Copyright © 2010-2011 Sharon Jensen — Adapted from HIStory Bible Timeline: An Inductive Observation Bible Study Guide for All of HIStory
