Ezekiel 10:4, 18, 19, 23, 24; Acts 2:2
The glory of the Lord rested on the mercy seat, between the two cherubims, on the top of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark itself sat in the back of the temple, in the most Holy Place, and was visited only once per year by the High Priest. This glory was often characterized by a cloud, and all of Israel knew that this was the very Spirit of the Lord.
Ezekiel saw a vision of the final moments of the presence of the Spirit of the Lord in Jerusalem. Having shown Ezekiel the debauchery that was taking place in the temple; idolatry, prostitution and blasphemy (Ezekiel 8), God is now ready to depart from the temple, emptying it of His presence, making room for the enemy to ransack and destroy it. In light of how bad things have gotten, you would think that God would run out as fast as possible, but His slow movements speak of someone who does not want to leave, but would rather stay as long as He can, speaking just a bit longer.
He starts in Ezekiel 10:4, “over the threshold of the house”, which is the doorway into the temple. Then He proceeds outward, “Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims” (Ezekiel 10:18). Now outside of the main room of the temple, the Spirit is hovering near the cherubims that were present at the event, who now fly out the east gate of the temple, with the glory “over them above” (verse 19).
Next we find God’s glory over the heart of Jerusalem, “And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city” (Ezekiel 11:23). Still slow to leave, the Spirit takes one more look at Jerusalem before going up from the mountain, back into heaven (verse 24).
Just over 600 years later, after the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit makes His triumphant return to Jerusalem. The book of Acts records the way that He arrives as, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2). He comes in a hurry! There is no slow arrival. Some say that He had to be begged in by the prayers of the 120, but that is not true. He waited until, “the day of Pentecost was fully come” (Acts 2:1), so that He could arrive on time.
Some say that if you are not very careful you will run the Holy Spirit off. I have heard it said that any foolishness in a service, even down to someone chewing gum will run the presence of the Lord out of the house. I say that if chewing gum ran the power out of a service, then there wasn’t much to begin with! The Holy Spirit was slow to go and quick to return. Don’t be deceived into believing that He is quick to leave you now. In fact, He will not leave you, nor forsake you. He will stay with you through all things because He is your comforter, and He is always pointing you to Jesus.
Go in the assurance that the Holy Spirit is in you as a child of God. He is not looking for some excuse to leave you high and dry, but rather, He is looking for another excuse to bless you. Take the abundant grace and dwell in it.
The glory of the Lord rested on the mercy seat, between the two cherubims, on the top of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark itself sat in the back of the temple, in the most Holy Place, and was visited only once per year by the High Priest. This glory was often characterized by a cloud, and all of Israel knew that this was the very Spirit of the Lord.
Ezekiel saw a vision of the final moments of the presence of the Spirit of the Lord in Jerusalem. Having shown Ezekiel the debauchery that was taking place in the temple; idolatry, prostitution and blasphemy (Ezekiel 8), God is now ready to depart from the temple, emptying it of His presence, making room for the enemy to ransack and destroy it. In light of how bad things have gotten, you would think that God would run out as fast as possible, but His slow movements speak of someone who does not want to leave, but would rather stay as long as He can, speaking just a bit longer.
He starts in Ezekiel 10:4, “over the threshold of the house”, which is the doorway into the temple. Then He proceeds outward, “Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims” (Ezekiel 10:18). Now outside of the main room of the temple, the Spirit is hovering near the cherubims that were present at the event, who now fly out the east gate of the temple, with the glory “over them above” (verse 19).
Next we find God’s glory over the heart of Jerusalem, “And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city” (Ezekiel 11:23). Still slow to leave, the Spirit takes one more look at Jerusalem before going up from the mountain, back into heaven (verse 24).
Just over 600 years later, after the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit makes His triumphant return to Jerusalem. The book of Acts records the way that He arrives as, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2). He comes in a hurry! There is no slow arrival. Some say that He had to be begged in by the prayers of the 120, but that is not true. He waited until, “the day of Pentecost was fully come” (Acts 2:1), so that He could arrive on time.
Some say that if you are not very careful you will run the Holy Spirit off. I have heard it said that any foolishness in a service, even down to someone chewing gum will run the presence of the Lord out of the house. I say that if chewing gum ran the power out of a service, then there wasn’t much to begin with! The Holy Spirit was slow to go and quick to return. Don’t be deceived into believing that He is quick to leave you now. In fact, He will not leave you, nor forsake you. He will stay with you through all things because He is your comforter, and He is always pointing you to Jesus.
Go in the assurance that the Holy Spirit is in you as a child of God. He is not looking for some excuse to leave you high and dry, but rather, He is looking for another excuse to bless you. Take the abundant grace and dwell in it.
