02 The Strange Journeys of the Glory of God

Krisan Marotta: Good morning. This is Krisan Marotta, welcoming you to Wednesday in the Word, my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. Today we'll be listening to a talk given by Dr. Erica Moore titled There and Back Again: The Strange Journeys of the Glory of God. Dr. Moore is a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Trinity School for Ministry. I was privileged to hear this talk at the October 2009 Women in the Weird Workshop, which is a Ministry of World Reformed Fellowship, and I can put a link to their website in the lecture notes. I am grateful to republish Dr. Moore's talks here. She is one of my favorite teachers, especially on the Old Testament. I hope you'll enjoy her talks as much as I do. Speaker 1: Good evening. Let's open up our Bibles to Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 8. In our first talk this afternoon, we looked at putting the prophets in their redemptive historical context. And we said at the end that Christ is the prophet par excellence. And we said that all the Old Testament promises find their fulfillment in Christ. So what I'd like for us to do today is this evening is think a little about this vision that Ezekiel has in Ezekiel 8 to 11. And there are lots of different themes that we could pull out of this four-chapter vision, but we're going to in particular look at the theme of God's glory in the temple. And we're going to see when you look at that particular theme in redemptive history, where does it take us? Okay, so that's what I'd like to see us do this evening. Ezekiel 8, verse 1. In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the sovereign Lord came upon me there. Now, we said earlier today that context is king. So what I'd like to do for the first few minutes, and again, I kind of switched things around a little, so the outline may, you may have to do a little jumping around. But what I'd like to do is put Ezekiel's vision in its historical context so we can understand who he was talking to. What's this sixth year, the sixth month of the fifth day, what's he talking about there? First of all, chapters 8 through 11 are a second, the second of four visions that Ezekiel has that are recorded in his book. The first vision takes place in chapter 1 to 3, and it's where he is called by the Lord to be a prophet. Now, the best we can figure is that Ezekiel had been trained to be a priest. The Hebrew in the first chapter is a little ambiguous, so we're not sure whether his father Buzzy was the priest or Ezekiel, but it doesn't matter because if his father was a priest, most likely then Ezekiel would be a priest. So he had studied for his life to be a priest, and in chapters 1 to 3, we might as well turn back to chapter 1 there. The book of Ezekiel starts out in the 30th year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kabar River, the heavens were open and I saw visions of God. Something a little problematic about that first verse in the 30th year. The 30th year of what? Okay? And most likely, uh there's debate, but probably his, it's probably his age in the 30th year of his life. Okay, that that seems, when you study the reasons for different options, that one seems to make the most sense. And it's interesting because when you study to be a priest in ancient Israel, 30 years old is the time when you can start actually being a priest and doing priestly functions. So Ezekiel had probably prepared his life to be a priest, and on the exact year when he should be performing priestly duties, uh, instead he finds himself hundreds of miles away from the temple in Babylon. And the Lord says to him, Well, we have a little change of career plans. I want you to be a prophet. Okay? And we know that in the first three chapters he has this vision with these living beasts and all these other things that we just don't have time to get into tonight. And he's in by the Khabar River, which is in Babylon, because as I've said before, Ezekiel, his whole career is spent in Babylon with the exiles. Okay? And that's important for us when we get to chapters 8 through 11. So what we want to picture here is uh this is Jerusalem in Judah, and over here to the east in Babylon is Ezekiel. Okay, and there's a big desert between them. Okay. So Ezekiel is in Babylon, and he is called by the Lord to be a prophet among the exiles. What's happened here is that to really do a quick view of Old Testament history, we we learned earlier today that in 722 BC, the northern kingdom was destroyed. We said that the Assyrians came and attacked the Northern Kingdom, carried off the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom, and repopulated the area with uh people that they had conquered from other lands. And the year now that we're talking about in, let's go over to back to chapter 8. The year there is 592 BC. Okay, so it's been 130 years or so since the northern kingdom has been destroyed, but the southern kingdom is still intact. Well, what's Ezekiel doing in Babylon? Well, Babylon had become the world power at this time. Assyria lost domination in the 620s, and by 612, 609 BC, Assyria was no longer the dominant power, and Babylon was. And the kings in Judah, in the southern kingdom, kept trying to get rid of Babylonian uh domination. And so what would happen was the Babylonian king, uh Nebuchadnezzar, kept coming back from Babylon to the southern kingdom and taking some captives back with him into Babylon. He did that in 605 BC. We know that from Daniel 1.1. He did it in 598 BC. We know that from the book of Kings. And it appears that in 598 BC, Ezekiel, along with a lot of the uh prominent people in Jerusalem, including one of the kings, King Jehoiachin, were exiled to Babylon. So our chapter 8 of Ezekiel is 592 BC. So Ezekiel has been in captivity for six years. He's with a healthy group of exiles who are waiting to go back to Jerusalem. Okay, so when when in this vision, in chapters 8 through 11, Jerusalem is still standing, the temple is still standing, uh, there's a puppet king on the throne in the southern kingdom, and Ezekiel is in Babylon. And as we just read in 8.1, the elders come before him. That's an interesting statement. They're in exile, and yet they obviously have some sort of social community that they have elders, and it also says that they come before him sitting in his house. So when we think of the Jews being in exile, we don't want to think of a German concentration camp. It wasn't that terrible, but they wanted to be home. This was no party either. So we have Ezekiel in Babylon in exile, and most of the people around Ezekiel are trying to figure out when they can go back home to Jerusalem. And the Lord raises up Ezekiel, and one of the messages that Ezekiel needs to give to these people is you're not going home for a long time, because the Lord is going to destroy Jerusalem. Okay? So that's the setting we have in chapter 8. And remember, we said earlier in the earlier hour that while Ezekiel is preaching this message of impending doom in Babylon, his contemporary Jeremiah is preaching the same message over back in Jerusalem, in Judah, in the southern kingdom. Okay? So Ezekiel has this four-chapter vision, and in chapter, and the elders are sitting before him, and I think from distilling facts from other parts of Scripture, we can get an idea of what the mindset of Ezekiel's audience was. Okay. And first of all, we can understand their mindset that basically they never thought that Jerusalem could fall. The mindset of the Jews at this time is that Jerusalem is inviable. It can't fall, it can't be destroyed. Because that's where the temple is, and God lives in the temple. God lives there, it can't be destroyed. That is the attitude of Ezekiel's audience at this time. Now, where did they get this? Did they just go to the wrong church on Sunday and heard the wrong sermon? Where did they get this idea that Jerusalem was inviable? Well, they got it from doing something that I'm afraid many of us are tempted to do, and that is selectively study scripture. Okay? And I was talking at dinner to somebody how right now I'm using Robert Murray McShane's read through the Bible schedule because I've noticed that I have that tendency to go back to the good old favorites, Ezekiel and things like that. And so by having a program that forces me to read through the entire scripture, that's one of the ways to combat this tendency that I think is in all of us to just go to certain portions of Scripture. Okay? So the mindset of Ezekiel's audience, Ezekiel, you know, you're just out in left field. There's no way the temple is going to be destroyed. Now, where did they get that mindset from? Well, we want to look at a couple passages of Scripture. And probably, remember this earlier this afternoon, I said it's critical, if you want to understand the prophets, to know Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, the covenant curses and blessings passages. Another very critical portion of Scripture that's going to help you understand the prophets is 2 Samuel chapter 7. So why don't we turn there quickly? 2 Samuel chapter 7. And my NIV Bible says that 2 Samuel 7, God's promise to David. And the context is that David has defeated all his enemies around him. He's living in a nice palace. And it strikes him that all the Israelites have for worshiping the Lord is the tabernacle. And that strikes him as a bit incongruous. Why should I be living in a cedar palace and the Lord still living in a portable tent? So in 2 Samuel chapter 7, David says in verse 2, he says to Nathan the prophet, Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of the God of God remains in a tent. Nathan replied to the king, Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you. But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan saying, Go and tell my servant David, this is what the Lord says. Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I've not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I've been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commander to shepherd my people Israel, why have you not build me a house of cedar? Now then tell my servant David, this is what the Lord Almighty says. I took you from the pasture and from following the flocks to be ruler over my people Israel. I've been with you wherever you've gone, and I've cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth, and I will provide a place for my people Israel, and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them any more, as they did at the beginning, and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you. When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I'll punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Nathan reported to David all the words of the entire revelation. So you're a uh you're an Israelite in Babylon, and uh you're reminded of this passage of scripture. How long is Jerusalem going to be established? Forever. Right? That's a long time. Okay? Forever. So any chance it's going to be destroyed? No, no, it's forever. I have God's word right here that tells me that. Okay? Uh Psalm 89. Okay, here also like this is another one of your favorite passages of scripture. Verses three and four. You said, I have made a covenant with my chosen one. I have sworn to David, my servant, I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations. The heavens praise your wonders, your faithfulness too in the assembly of the holy ones. How long is David's kingdom to be established? Forever. Okay, repeated in Scripture. Turn over to verses 35 to 37 of the same chapter. Once for all I have sworn by my holiness, and I will not lie to David, that his line will continue forever, and his throne endure before me like the sun. It will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky. So what we have here is this unconditional promise that David's line will last forever. Jerusalem set forever. Okay? And in other passages of Scripture that we don't have time to look at, the Lord makes it clear that He will dwell specifically in Jerusalem, that in a special way he will dwell in the temple in Jerusalem. If God dwells there, it can't be destroyed. Okay, so that's one of the uh sources that is solidifying in the minds of Ezekiel's audience that Jerusalem cannot be destroyed. We have God's promises. Didn't we just sing a song about standing on the promises of God? Okay, well, they could have sung that back then, too. And these are the promises they would have sung. Okay? They also, the let's go back to Ezekiel 8:1, at least for a second. Um the elders that have come before Ezekiel to hear a word from the Lord, in addition to the scriptural support to buttress their view that Jerusalem cannot be destroyed, they also have historical support. Okay? In 722 BC, we said earlier that the Assyrians came to the northern kingdom and totally wiped it out, just like Isaiah and Micah in the southern kingdom and Hosea and Amos in the northern kingdom had predicted. God predicted that if they didn't repent, their kingdom would be destroyed, and in 722 BC, it was destroyed by the Assyrians. But some very interesting event happened in 701 BC. unknown: Okay. Speaker 1: And let's turn to Isaiah. It's also in Kings, but we'll use the Isaiah passage. Let's turn to Isaiah chapter 36. And again, we we don't have time to uh do the reading, but the the chapter 36 of Isaiah starts out in the 14th year of King Hezekiah's reign. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. Now the 14th year of Hezekiah's reign is 701 BC. And in 701 BC, the same foreign power, the Assyrians, who completely demolished the northern kingdom, came knocking at the southern kingdom's door. Okay? But what happened? Hezekiah went to Isaiah, they prayed before the Lord, and the Lord miraculously delivered the southern kingdom. So the same superpower who destroyed the northern kingdom was rebuffed in 701 BC in the southern kingdom. Okay? So again, you're living, we're now we're back in Ezekiel's day, Ezekiel 8, we're in 592 BC. And you're thinking, I can't wait to get home for Christmas because we know God cannot destroy Jerusalem or Judah, right? And you have scripture to prove it, and history tells you. Now, these guys, they knew Leviticus 26, okay, in Deuteronomy 28. They understood that if you obey God, you're blessed. If you disobey God, you're cursed. So if you're a southern kingdom Israelite, how do you what's your take on 722 BC? Why was the northern kingdom destroyed? They were sinners. They didn't keep the covenant. Why were you not destroyed? We're good. Right? God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. Okay? So you have 130 years of history that proves every day. Why are we in here still? Because Leviticus 26, obey me, you stay in the land. Disobey me, you go to exile. Okay? So again, what we're trying to do is set the stage for the mindset of Ezekiel's audience. They have scripture to buttress the idea that, like I said, we'll be home for Christmas. There's no way Jerusalem will be destroyed. God promised it. We stand on God's promises. They have history to buttress their view because it's been 130 years or so, and there they are. Okay? God says what he means, and he means what he says. Okay? They also have prophetic support. Let's turn over to Jeremiah 28. And remember, Jeremiah is Ezekiel's contemporary in Jerusalem. Jeremiah 28. And my little subtitle is The False Prophet Hananiah. And in Jeremiah 28, it says, in the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year early in the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, the year is 593 BC. Okay, so that's when chapter 28 takes place. So one year before Ezekiel's vision, okay, this event that we're going to read about took place in Jerusalem. Some guy named Hananiah, son of Azor, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says. Well, that sounds official, right? We said five thousand times the prophets say, Thus says the Lord. So it sounds like an official word. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says. I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I'll bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord's house that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, removed from here and took to Babylon. Remember, we said Nebuchadnezzar went in 605 BC and brought people back. He went again in 598 BC. And now in 593 BC, this prophet had an easy. Thus says the Lord, you'll be back in two years. I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other exiles who went into Babylon. I'll break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Sounds good to me. That sounds like the scripture we knew. It sounds like the history that we've that we've just went over. Sounds like this is the word of the Lord. And to boot, it's a happy word. That's just the kind we want to hear. Then the prophet, verse 5, Jeremiah, replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. He said, Amen. May the Lord do so. May the Lord fulfill the words you've prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord's house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. From early times the prophets Prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true. Remember Deuteronomy 18? How do you know if it's a true prophet? Well, this is what he says comes true. One of the litmus tests. Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, and said, Before all the people, this is what the Lord says. In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, off the neck of all the nations within two years. At this the prophet Jeremiah went on his way. So we have Hananiah preaching a word that seems to jive with Scripture and history, and he's passionate about it to boot, even does a little drama. Okay? And Jeremiah goes on his way. Shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Go and tell Hananiah, this is what the Lord says. You've broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says. I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. They will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals. Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, and he is a prophet, it's just that he's a false prophet. Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, yet you've persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore, this is what the Lord says. I'm about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you're going to die, because you've preached rebellion against the Lord. In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died. Back over to Ezekiel. And we don't have time to look at it, but you can on your own look at Ezekiel 13, which my Bible lists as false prophets condemned. And the same problem that Jeremiah was having with Hananiah in Jerusalem, Ezekiel was having back in Babylon. He had false prophets who were being raised, who were coming and saying, This says the Lord, and they were tickling the people's ears, saying what they wanted to hear. Okay? So again, but poor Ezekiel, right? You know, he's these elders are before him and were trying to distill down a set of beliefs that they had. They believed Jerusalem was inviable because they had scripture on their side, they had history on their side, they had false prophets on their side, and they even had current political affairs on their side. We know from extra-biblical literature that in 594 BC there was an outbreak in the Babylonian army. Okay. And what happened was a lot of people thought, aha, see, there's somebody's going to have a coup, uh, Nebuchadnezzar is going to be destroyed, and sure enough, we'll be back home. So they had all these factors feeding into this false idea that Jerusalem could not be destroyed. Okay? So we come to our vision in Ezekiel 8 through 11. And chapter 8, Ezekiel, he has this vision, and the best definition that I've run across of what's going on when Ezekiel has this vision. I had somebody call me this week, a seminarian from uh seminary down south, and she was she asked me, like, did Ezekiel go to Jerusalem when he had this vision? Like, did he fly over there? Like, what happened? And I think the best way to, and I've I've taken this from Ian Dugood, and I give his reference there. I I think that the best way to understand the visions, the prophetic visions, are that they are stylized representations of reality intended to make a particular point. Okay, they're stylized representations of reality intended to make a particular point. Okay? So they're related to reality. Okay, but there's it's stylized. It's it's given in such a way to emphasize certain parts of reality. It's related to reality, but that doesn't mean that anybody in Jerusalem would have seen what Ezekiel was seeing in this vision. Does that make sense? I said, I just think uh Ian Dug Dugod's is just the best uh definition of a vision. So in chapter 8 of Ezekiel's four chapter vision, he has this vision of all this idolatry that's going on in the temple. Remember, the elders are sitting before him, a coup has taken place, they have their little favorite scripture, they have history, they have false prophets. They're probably coming before Ezekiel to hear a message, thus says the Lord, you'll be home for Christmas, something like that. And instead, and now we know that the end of this vision, if you go to 1122, the last verse of chapter 11, I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me. Ezekiel's gonna show them what goes on. In chapter 8, he has this vision of the idolatry that's going on back in the temple. Okay, and we're not gonna read the chapter, but this is certainly a multi-faith worship service going on back in Jerusalem. There's a little bit of Egyptian idolatry, a little bit of Babylonian idolatry. Okay, it's all going on in the temple. And in verse 5 of chapter 8, uh, verse 6, uh, he said to me, Son of man, do you see what they're doing? The utterly detestable things that the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary. Okay, chapters nine and ten of this vision, the best, and we don't have time to unpack why this is so, but we this is we see this in other places in scripture. They are viewing the same event from two perspectives. Chapter 9 is the perspective from earth, chapter 10 is the perspective from heaven. Okay, we'll just leave and I'll explain why that's important in a minute. And then finally, chapter 11, uh, there is judgment on Israel's leaders, and then the promise of a later return to the exiles. So, in the middle of this devastating vision, and remember, Ezekiel was trained to be a priest, so he knew everything about the holiness of the temple and the holiness of the Holy of Holies and all that, and he has this vision of the utter abominations that are going on back home. Okay, and in the middle of this vision, he talks about something that happens very incrementally. And before we get to that, let me ask a question. What comes to mind when you think of the temple in the Old Testament? The Old Testament temple. What comes to mind? It's big, okay? Orderly, ornate, the holy of holies, okay, the Ark of the Covenant, the sacrifices, the mercy seat, God's presence, okay? Where does God dwell in a special way? He dwells in the temple, okay? And it's his presence, it's you you you identify in the Old Testament the temple with the glory of the Lord. Okay? And when we think about the glory of the Lord, we think about things such as splendor, magnificence, abundance, presence, radiance. God's glory is his visible and active presence in the midst of his people. Okay, that's very important. God's glory is his visible and active presence in the midst of his people. Listen to this passage in Psalm 26, verse 8. I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells. Okay, so the temple is where God lives in a special sense, and where his glory dwells. And then one more, Psalm 63, verse 2. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. So God's glory is his visible and active presence in the midst of his people. It's the place where he dwells specially with his people. Now let's go back to this vision that Ezekiel has that he's going to share with the people when he's done. And I'm just going to pick out some certain passages. In chapter 9, and 9 is this is judgment now because of all the idolatry that he's just witnessed in chapter 8. Now look at chapter 9, verse 3. Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim. Right, remember, where does God's glory? It's in the Holy of Holies, above the Ark of the Covenant, where the cherubim have their heads down. Okay, the mercy seat. God's glory went up from above the cherubim where it had been and moved to the threshold of the temple. And that verse is repeated in 10 4 because chapter 9 and 10 are the same event from two different perspectives. Okay? So just in the midst of describing the judgment, there's just this sentence that the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. Now look at 10 18. Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim, while I watched the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. So we've moved from the Holy of Holies to the threshold of the temple to the entrance of the east gate. And then go to chapter 11, more this vision, judgment on Israel's leaders, and the promise of a return. Look at 1122. Then the cherubim with the wheels beside them spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. The glory of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it. So you have in the midst of this vision the incremental departure of the glory of the Lord from the hole above the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies to the threshold, to the east gate, to the mountain east of Jerusalem. And what did God said back in chapter 8, verse 6, Son of Man? Their idolatry will drive me far from my sanctuary. Okay, so Ezekiel has this vision. Well, suddenly, if God's glory isn't in the temple, then we're in trouble. Okay, then certainly 586 BC will come and the temple will be destroyed. Okay now. The glory of God in the temple. Okay? Do we ever when do we hear about the glory again? When does it come up next in scripture? Well, if you don't know the answer, it's always good to try Ezekiel. And certainly Ezekiel 43 will give us our answer. Okay. Ezekiel 43 is the part of the last of the four visions that Ezekiel has. He has this vision in 573 BC. So way after the destruction in 586 BC. He has this final vision, and this is the nine-chapter vision of the New Jerusalem, and he has this vision of this new temple that gives us a lot of problems that we're going to talk about tomorrow when we talk about land. And it's a very detailed vision, okay? And in chapter 43, my NIV says, the glory returns to the temple. When the man brought me to the gate facing east, I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. Where was it in Ezekiel 11, right? It had moved from the Holy of Holies to the threshold to the east gate to the mountain east of Jerusalem. So here in years later, Ezekiel sees the glory of God coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like the visions I had seen by the Kabar River, and I fell face down. The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and there the glory of the Lord filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. He said, Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. So what's going on here? Well, when do we next hear about the temple? Let's turn over to the book of Haggai. And put one hand in Haggai and the other in Ezra chapter 3. Okay? Ezra 3. Sure enough, as Ezekiel's vision had and preaching had declared, in 586 BC, the southern kingdom is destroyed. Jerusalem is burned to the ground, the temple is utterly destroyed. Okay? And we know from our Old Testament and from extra-biblical history that in 539 BC, Cyrus, a Persian king, uh, came, defeated Babylon, and liberated the captives of Babylon. He said to the Jews, you can go home. Not only do you can you go home, I'll even uh help you rebuild the temple. The Persian Empire actually gives funds to rebuild the temple. Okay? And uh they go home about, if you look at Ezra 2, about 50,000 Israelites make the journey back home from Babylon. A lot stayed because, well, they were born in Babylon and life wasn't all that bad, and Judah really wasn't their home. So about 50,000 Jews make the journey home, according to Ezra chapter 2, and they get started on rebuilding the temple right away. Okay? In fact, Ezra 3 tells us that they rebuild the altar, they lay the foundation, and in Ezra 3 verse 11, with praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord, He is good, his love to Israel endures forever. And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. So they come home, they lay the foundation in two years, and everything starts out so well. Then we read in Haggai that the Lord, and the year is 520 BC, the Lord raises up Haggai and says, Tell the people, why are they living in paneled houses while my house lies in ruin? Okay. The people had come back, they had started out well, they had built the foundation, and then they got absorbed with their own self-concerns. Okay? If you look at chapter 2, uh chapter, verse 2 of chapter 1 of Haggai, this is what the Lord says. These people say the time has not yet come for the Lord's house to be built. The Lord said to Haggai, Is it time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses while this house remains a ruin? So the people had come back, they had started out well, but then they'd gotten preoccupied with building their own houses. They had paneled houses, but God's house wasn't built up yet. They had enough time to run the Home Depot for themselves, but didn't build the Lord's house. Through Haggai, the people are encouraged to rebuild the house. They rebuild God's temple, and it's done in 516 BC. But there's something very interesting that happens. Okay? Now, I want you to keep your finger here in Haggai 2. Put another finger in Exodus 40. And on the way, also put one in 1 Kings 8. So we want to be in Exodus 40, 1 Kings 8, and Haggai 2. In Exodus 40, we have the Israelites, uh, the the preceding chapters tell us about the building of the tabernacle. The Lord had commanded them to build the tabernacle in the wilderness. And after the tabernacle is built, look at the end of Exodus 40, verse 34. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 1 Kings 8, we have the recounting of the dedication of the temple after Solomon built it. And in 1 Kings 8 10, when the priests withdrew from the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple. Now, before you get back to Haggai, stop at Ezra chapter 6. And verse 15, my Bible says the completion and dedication of the temple. The decree is made. Verse 15, the temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. The people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. For the dedication of this house of God, they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes. And they installed the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what was written in the book of Moses. What's missing? The glory of the Lord. Okay, there's no mention when the second temple was dedicated that the glory of the Lord filled the temple. So the Israelites, they're back in the land, thanks to the decree of Silas, of Cyrus, but they're still exiled from the glory of the Lord. Okay? We're gonna skip over the intertestamental period for the sake of time and move over to the New Testament. What happens to the glory of the Lord? Well, in the synoptics, we see the glory connected with Christ. Remember, the glory of God is his visible presence among his people. In Matthew 1.23, you know, you will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. Okay? Luke 2, verses 9 and 14. In verse 9, we have the angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. When is the glory of the Lord appearing? At the announcement to the shepherds. Okay, so in the synoptics, we have the glory of the Lord connected with Jesus. Look at chapter 20, Luke 2, verse 27. Moved by the Spirit, he went to the temple courts when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required. Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, Sovereign Lord, as you've promised, you now dismissed your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people, Israel. It's interesting that Jesus, his glory is hailed in the temple, but he's not glorified in the temple. Okay, he's glorified instead, Luke chapter 9, at the Mount of Transfiguration. Okay, so his glory is hailed in the temple, but he's not glorified in the temple. Instead, that takes place at the Mount of Transfiguration, when Moses and Elijah are in his presence, and there we see a picture of the glory of Christ. Now turn over to Matthew 23. This is an important passage for us in understanding what's going on with the glory of God in the New Testament. Think back to this incremental departure of the glory of God in Ezekiel's vision till it settles east on a mountain. And think of that as I read to you in Matthew 23. Jesus has just gotten done all his woes to the Pharisees, okay? And in verse 37 of Matthew 23, he says, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you. How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate, for I tell you, you will not see me again till you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Jesus left the temple and was walking away. And again, Jesus, the glory of God, he leaves the temple. He's walking away when his disciples come to him and say, Call attention to its building. Do you see all these things? He asked. I tell you the truth. Not one stone here will be left on another. Every one will be thrown down. And then where does he go in verse 3? To the Mount of Olives. You see what's happening here? Okay? Once again, the glory has departed from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives, leaving behind a magnificent but doomed structure. Okay? What's the point? And I'm quoting here from one of my professors, former professors at Clowney. The point is that the indestructible temple is the presence of God in glory with his people. In the presence of God Himself lay the meaning of the temple symbolism. But above all, we must recognize that this is not spiritualization in our usual sense of the word, but the very opposite. In Christ is realization, it's not so much that Christ fulfills what the temple means, rather, Christ is the meaning for which the temple existed. It's a big difference. And that speaks to the charge that we sometimes get from our brothers and sisters who are looking for another literal temple to be built, that, oh, poof, you spiritualize everything away. No, no, no. Christ was the prior reality. According to Hebrews 8, verse 5, these things are merely shadows and copies of the prior heavenly reality. Well, what about today? I mean, what do we do with the glory of God today? Well, I think we need to think about what the gospel writer John does with glory. Okay? And in John, okay, what we see is a connection between glory and crucifixion. Okay, what that's what that's what the gospel writer John does. Okay? And uh he doesn't talk about the transfiguration, uh, but he uses doxazo, the Greek word to glorify, 23 times. Okay, and the next most frequent usage is in Luke's gospel only nine times. Okay, and what John does is he connects the glorification of Christ with the crucifixion. And this is startling to us, okay? Uh, because I think, and I don't think sometimes the full impact of what John is doing hits us because we have further New Testament reflection that talks about what Christ accomplished on the cross. But we want to think for a minute about this connection between the glory of Christ and crucifixion. Okay? For example, let's look at John 2, verse 11. And here, uh, of course, this is the wedding feast of Cana, and in John 2.11, this is the first of his miraculous signs. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. Okay? So we see Christ doing miracles and revealing his glory in that. You can also look at John 11.40, which we won't have time for. But in the larger context of the Roman Empire, the few miracles that Jesus does, the places he does them, the types of insignificant people he does them to, really points to the fact that the manifestation of his glory in performing miracles is very understated and low-key. Okay, and that's important. Okay? We've seen his glory, but it's most prominently linked in John's gospel with crucifixion. And, you know, how can glory and all that that entails, you think of the glory of the temple that we've talked about, how can that be connected with a cross when you think about all that a cross entails, especially in the first century A.D. And again, I think sometimes we're not as taken off guard by this glory cross connection because we're so immersed in later New Testament reflection. Okay? But repeatedly in John's Gospel, it's Jesus' death by crucifixion that is his glorification. Let's look at a couple passages in John 12. John 12, verse 23. Jesus replied, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be crucified. I tell you the to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Now my heart is troubled, verse 27. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. No, it was for this very hour I came, I came. Father, glorify your name. You see the connection there between the glorification of Christ and the crucifixion. unknown: Okay. Speaker 1: And then John 17, verse 1. We talked in the first hour about Jesus being the prophet par excellence. Here, on the night before he's betrayed, the night before he dies, he prays for his people. Remember, we talked about prophets pray for their people. Okay? And here is Jesus praying for his people. Okay? And he says, Father, the time has come, glorify your son, so that your son might glorify you. Okay. Now, today then, where are the temple and the glory today? Well, let's turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 16. Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him, for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple. Okay, where's the temple today? It's in believers. Okay? Ephesians 2. We can turn there also. A couple of New Testament passages that bring home this point. Ephesians 2, and I'm looking at verses 19 and following. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. So the temple is the church today. It's the body of Christ. And that same cross, glory, paradox that was present in Jesus' life exists for us, his church. And I know for myself it's easy to get impatient. I just want Jesus to do a few real spectacular things to just shut up the unbelievers and maybe even save a few. And the way that God has his kingdom in breaking into the world is not through this spectacular mighty displays of power. Not usually. That day will come, but it's not yet. We live in this in-between time. What we like to call in redemptive history the already not yet. We already, in principle, have all this stuff that we inherit, that Christ has inherited. We have it in principle, but not yet in reality. And it's in this in-between time that we live with this cross-glory paradox. Okay? And it's an apparent, it's a hard thing to put together. The way that God's kingdom advances, the way that God is glorified today, is by us dying to self. It's in our weakness that Jesus is glorified. Back in John 17, verse, uh, let's see, what verse are we in? Verse 22. John 17, 22, Jesus in his high priestly prayer says, I've given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. We have God's glory. Okay? Jesus says, I've given them that glory. And that's how great. Let's run with that. Let's remember that it's a glory cross connection. Okay? So being given the glory as the church today means living in weakness and Christ being strong in our weakness. Okay? It's jars of clay. Turn to 2 Corinthians 4. The whole passage is talking about the glory of Christ. Verse 4: The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ is Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We're hard pressed on every side, but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. So the glory we've been given is a glory of suffering and humiliation. It's the glory of the cross. Okay? It's this connection. And this is galling to our pride, isn't it? That it's in our weakness that the glory of God is revealed. It's not only galling to our pride, it also cuts against a lot of modern Western understanding about the successful Christian woman. Okay? But this is this is a glory-cross connection. Okay? In our weakness, Christ's glory is revealed. Okay? On the one level, the glory of God's in our midst, and yet our sin persists. Okay, on a deeper level, the glory of God is manifested in the weakness of his people. When we imitate Christ in self-giving love and humility, relying on the powers of the Word and the Holy Spirit to effect change, we appear weak in human terms, and yet, paradoxically, the kingdom of God advances through these weak means displaying God's power and glory. Okay? Gory cross paradox. The way to the glory of heaven is the glory of the cross. This was true for Jesus in his incarnation, and it's no less true for those of us who for those of us who follow him. For how long? Is this just a first stage in the Christian life? No, you know those uh road signs that have popped up in the last dec decades, buckle up for the next million miles? That's what we have here. Okay, it's the next million miles in this in-between time, between the already and the not yet. Until Jesus comes again, glory and crucifixion go together. Okay? So let's close up with a few passages. Uh Hebrews 2, verse 9. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor, because he suffered death, so by that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. And then verse 10, in bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything is six, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Okay? So we do this when, well, until, as Paul says in Colossians 3:4, when Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. So this glory of the Old Testament, the glory of God in the temple, okay, a great redemptive historical shift took place in the incarnation of Jesus. This connection between glorification and crucifixion. It was the pattern in our Savior's life, and it's the pattern in the Christian life until Jesus comes again. This is the way to God's kingdom being advanced. This is the way to God being glorified in our lives. And then what's the future hold? The glorious future that we look forward to as we live in this in-between time is stated clearly in Revelation 21. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There'll be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on their throne said, I'm making everything new. Then he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And he carried me away. I'm skipping down to Revelation 21, verse 19, verse 10, and he carried me away in the spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that a very precious jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. He goes on, I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city doesn't need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. unknown: Amen. Krisan Marotta: Thank you for listening to Wednesday in the Word, a podcast that explains not only what a passage means, but also shows you how to figure that out. I hope this podcast has blessed you. If it's inspired you to learn more, I invite you to visit my website and explore the free, ad-free, spam-free Bible study resources. Our theme music is graciously provided by Reggie Coates. You can find his fabulous music on heartfeltmusic.org. Thank you for joining me today. I'm Krisan Marotta, and I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.