Don’t Leave the Same Way

 Scripture:

“But when the people come in through the north gateway to worship the Lord during the religious festivals, they must leave by the south gateway. And those who entered through the south gateway must leave by the north gateway. They must never leave by the same gateway they came in, but must always use the opposite gateway.” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭46‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

This is a unique command about coming and going from the Temple in Ezekiel’s day. During festivals, when it was crowded, people were to enter the south and leave the north. This was most likely to keep it moving and not have people traffic as bad. It was practical guidelines to help with crowd control I would imagine.

Application:

Taking this totally out of context, there is a unique line in here that I have sung in church since I was a kid. “You must never leave the way you came in.” There is an old song we used to sing, “You won’t leave here like you came, in Jesus’ name.” I want to get back to this in our church and in my life. I want the house of God to be a place where people expect to be changed and leave differently than they came. In my own life, I want to leave church more like Jesus than when I entered. 

Prayer:

Lord, I don’t want to go through the motions in church. I want to leave changed every time I enter Your house. Change me, mold me, transform me. In the church I pastor, let people not leave the same way they came each week in Jesus’ name. Let people experience true transformation each and every week. Let them leave differently than when they came. 

Yours Forever,

Jeff