I am wondering how others would preach Ezekiel 43:10-12? In particular, does it befall on the Church to "describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities" and, if so, what does it look like to "describe" the law of the temple in our current age?
It's funny you should ask: here's an excerpt from my forthcoming ESVEC on Ezekiel (the response section for Ezekiel 43). You could also check out my commentary in the NIVAC, if you can't wait until 2022.
Ezekiel 43:1-16 is absolutely critical to understanding the significance of Ezekiel’s entire temple vision. It is not a blueprint for a future building; it is a mirror for his contemporaries to acknowledge their own sins with shame and to anticipate a different future in which, through the transforming power of God’s spirit (see Ezek. 36:24-28), the people would be cleansed and sanctified. The apostle Paul uses the metaphor of clothing (“Put off….put on…”; Eph. 4:22-24); Ezekiel uses the metaphor of architecture: in effect he says, “Compare this very different design of temple with the earlier ones God commanded. Learn from it to confess your former sins and to aspire to a different future that God has prepared for his people” (“Be ashamed…measure the plan” Ezek. 43:10).
Pivotal in that new plan is an altar at which sacrifices may be offered to purify the Lord’s people from their sins. Sacrifice was important in both the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple, but it was absolutely critical for a people contemplating their sins in exile, far away from their land and their God. Again, this image is not intended to inspire the construction of a massive altar in some future Israelite temple. Such altars are no longer needed now that Christ has offered the once for all sacrifice at the end of the ages to do away with all of the sins of his people, past, present, and future (Heb. 9:18-26). We do not await another temple or another altar, but the triumphant return of Christ in glory (Heb. 9:27-28).
In the meantime, there is plenty of material here to convict contemporary Christians of our very real sins, which should properly be acknowledged with shame. In contrast to our contemporary society, which suggests that shame should be dealt with in the context of the therapist’s office through the process of self-forgiveness, Ezekiel urges us to confront and acknowledge our shame in the context of the temple, by means of an atoning sacrifice. This is the pathway to true forgiveness and freedom from guilt’s enduring power over us, as we are reminded that in Christ there is no condemnation for guilty sinners like us (Rom. 8:1).
Such acknowledgement of our shame and guilt in the light of the cross also empowers us to begin to pursue a new life in which, as Martin Luther insisted, repentance is our chief Christian duty. Our king is present in our hearts by his Spirit and we have been joined to Christ, yet we regularly take the members of our body and sin with them, as if nothing had changed and we were still dead in our transgressions and sins (see 1 Cor. 6:15-17; Paul uses a dramatic example – that of prostitution – but the same principle applies to our more “mundane” sins). Week after week, we ascend the heavenly mountain to worship the God who is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:18-29) – yet we often do so without proper reverence and fear, simply going through the motions and wishing the service was over. We are still deeply stained with sin as believers –
simul justus et peccator (at the same time, both fully justified and yet still deeply sinful) – until the day that we die.
How astonishing and joyful is God’s grace that he does not strike us dead on the spot! How great his mercy and kindness to us! Instead of berating us for our sins, he welcomes us in once again, for the sake of Christ, and calls us his beloved sons and daughters, promising to be present with us, wherever two or three of us gather together in his name, without requiring any outward pomp or show. Our God is indeed Immanuel: he is with us.
