“Come Near To My Table To Minister To Me”

Today’s Word Of Encouragement From Wayne:

“But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me. They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep My charge.”

Ezekiel 44:15-16

Blessed priest of God, come near to the table of your Lord today, in the inner court of your inner being, and offer up your praise, which is received as a sweet incense before your Lord and God!

In the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant, the table of the Lord was in the inner court of the temple, next to the Holy of Holies, and this table was the altar of incense. In Ezekiel’s vision of the temple he wrote concerning the inner court, “The altar was of wood, three cubits high and it’s length two cubits; it’s corners, it’s base and it’s sides were of wood. And he said to me, ‘This is the table that is before the Lord’” (Ezekiel 41:22).

The altar of burnt offerings was different from the altar of incense in both it’s location and purpose.

The altar of burnt offerings was in the outer court, where people came to make atonement for their own sins and to receive cleansing. This is where the outer court priests ministered to people.

“The table that is before the Lord” is the altar of incense (see exodus 30:1-3, 37:25-28) and this was in the inner court, where the favored priests of the Lord were invited to “come near to Me to minister to Me.” This is where the inner court priests ministered to God.

As Christians, we are called to minister the gospel of Christ’s atonement, of His offering His “New Covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20), Himself atoning for our sins, to all the people in the outer court of this world and, by and large, most true believers do accept this call.

As Christians, we are also and equally called to minister to our Lord God, before His altar of incense, in the inner court of His presence, as His faithful priesthood and, by and large, most true believers do not accept this call, for the church appears to be completely and unknowingly in the dark concerning our holy call and favored position as Jesus’ Christ’s present day kingdom of priests.

This is the very place, our inner court, where the glory dwells, that we may see and serve and be renewed before our Lord’s table on a regular basis as His priesthood. This is a most highly favored position which is granted to every single child of God.

God is at His table and He is beckoning us to come meet with Him. Only the true faithful and attentive child of God hears this call and therefore humbly, gratefully, and joyfully responds to this call.

O beloved, please allow me to encourage you once more, enter your Lord’s sanctuary today, as His Own beloved child and priest of God, and come near to His table, to minister to Him.

Your priestly spirit and praises are the true spiritual incense that pleases your God so much.

This highest reward and blessing of God granted under the Old Covenant, to enter the inner court “to minister to Me,” has now been freely granted to every single child of God. What grace! What favor! What love!

Let us meet with our God in His presence and thank Him over and over for this most marvelous blessing. Be His priest! Bless your Lord and be blessed by your Lord! Hallelujah!