The appearance and plan of God’s Temple

“And you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple and its appearance and plan…”.

_Ezekiel 43:10 (RSV)

“This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple”.

_ Ezekiel 43:12-14 (NKJV)

Here, the Glory of the Lord speaks to the prophet Ezekiel from the restored temple as Israel returns from exile. When God repeats Himself twice in one sentence He emphasizes a spiritual truth we need to explore.

“This is the law of the temple….this is the law of the temple.”

And therein we’ll find a spiritual principle that must be expanded upon for every work man endeavors in the name of the Lord. God tells the prophet:

” These are the dimensions of the altar by cubits (the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth)”

_ Ezekiel 43:13

What is a cubit?

A cubit is the measure of man.

A man’s handbreadth (four fingers held tightly together) is one-sixth of a cubit. If a man places his hand at the inner bend of his elbow, then marks the width and continues down the forearm, he will find there are six handbreadths from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.

Try it yourself. It works every time, on every man.

In Bible numerology, six is the number of man.

Noah measured the ark using the cubit. The Tabernacle and all of the furnishings were designed using the cubit. Moses was instructed to craft the Ark of the Covenant using the cubit as his unit of measure.

Throughout antiquity the cubit was God’s unit of measure.

Man’s accomplishments are innumerable. From the Ark to the iPhone, man’s ingenuity and intellect has proven he was indeed created in the image of God. Man is gifted because he was created in the Image of God (Genesis 1:26-31)  and God has promised to bless the work of man’s hands

Deuteronomy 28:12 says “The Lord will open to you his good treasury the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands;”

but…

God added a 7th handbreadth to the law of His House…another hand beyond anything man is able to accomplish on his own. God, upon restoring His Temple, His Altar, told the prophet, restoration requires

The Seventh Hand

In Bible numerology, seven is the number of spiritual perfection.

Jesus taught, “without me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:1-5)

In 1 Kings 18:41-46  we read the account of Elijah’s prayer for rain. Seven times the prophet prayed and finally he was shown a cloud the size of a man’s hand rising out of the sea.

The prophet understood God’s principle

Without the addition of God’s hand in any spiritual endeavor, man can do NOTHING.

If you want to accomplish anything for God’s kingdom your measurement must account for your own talent and ability, but without the seventh hand, you can do nothing. The measurement must be a cubit and God’s handbreadth.

So be it.