Look Carefully and Listen Closely!

 “The Lord said to me, “Son of man, look carefully, listen closely and give attention to everything I tell you concerning all the regulations and instructions regarding the temple of the Lord. Give attention to the entrance to the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary.

 Say to rebellious Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says”

Ezekiel 44:5-6a

Let me point out to you four commands given to the Prophet that we can take to heart, put into practice and learn from when it comes to studying the Word of the Lord. He was told:

First: Look carefully

Second: Listen closely

Third: Give attention to everything I tell you.

Finally: Say to!

You can speak only after you have done the first three. How much trouble would that keep us out of if we really followed these steps in the order they are laid out in this passage – look, listen, give attention and only after those three does He command the prophet to – speak! You know what has been said before – God created us with twice as much capacity to listen as we have to speak; two ears but only one mouth. Many a truth is spoken in jest!

What I want us to understand is that if you go to the Book of Ezekiel you will see that there was a “shift” at Chapter 40 and going on from Chapter 40 to the end of the Book at Chapter 48 God shows Ezekiel great detail regarding the Temple, the Tribes, The Land Inheritance and the priesthood for the later time when the nation is restored to the land. It is 8 chapters of very specific detail. You will also find that God directed Ezekiel more than once to write down what he saw. He simply could not have remembered all the details revealed to him.

Have you ever received a word from the Lord?

Did you esteem it enough to document that word and to study it?

Have you studied God’s word?

Have you dug deeper than the newborn whose diet consists only of milk?

If in fact you desire to grow in Him then study of His word is not an option.

It is your nourishment.

It is your food.