The measuring rod

The measuring rod

Scripture: I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area. The length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits, each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. He measured the wall; it was one measuring rod thick and one rod high. Ezekiel 40:5

Observation:  Right through chapters 40-44, we see that literally everything was measured and their precise measurements recorded. This fact teaches us that our God is a perfect God, perfect in detail, to the minutest specification. In Isaiah 28:17, God said that He would make justice the measuring line. Imagine a group of students trying to make it to the basketball team. Each one is measured, and only students of a certain height are allowed to go on. Or imagine a group of women seeking to be air stewardesses, but only those taller than a certain height would be allowed to go to the next stage. In the same way, God has a certain standard of righteousness and holiness, but none of us can truly attain in.

However, praise be to God, our Lord Jesus can, and because of His great sacrifice, we have peace and acceptance with God. This is never by our own merit, but solely by God’s grace and the sacrifice of Jesus.

In Zechariah 2, there is a similar image of a man with a measuring line going to measure Jerusalem’s breadth and length, and the Lord speaks of Jerusalem being a city without walls and the Lord Himself being the walls of fire around the city. This speaks of separation of God’s people from the outside.

Application: There are two principles we must learn here. Firstly, our righteousness is in the Lord Jesus. The Bible says there is no one who does good, not even one, and no one is worthy of the perfect salvation of God. However, God has prepared a way, for us to measure up, not by our righteousness but the righteousness of Jesus. In Him, we are wearing white raiment, pure and bright and clean. Secondly, we are set apart from God. That means we are not to be like the world, but holy and set apart, living sacrifices unto God.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank You that You alone are my righteousness. Only in You am I justified and saved and made righteous before God. Help me in humility always remember that. I thank You, Lord, that You set me apart for Your service. Help me serve You faithfully with all You have given me, and keep myself from being polluted by the world. In Jesus name, Amen.