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Ezekiel 40-43
The Glory Returns
Psalm 101:1-8 Blameless Heart and Life
1.“I will sing of hesed/loyal love and justice. To you, Yahweh, I will sing praises.2.I will be careful to live a blameless life. When will you come to me? I will walk within my house with a blameless heart.3.I will set no vile/worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the deeds of faithless men. They will not cling to me.4.A perverse heart will be far from me. I will have nothing to do with evil.5.I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbor. I won’t tolerate one who is haughty and conceited.6.My eyes will be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He who walks in a perfect way, he will serve me.7.He who practices deceit won’t dwell within my house. He who speaks falsehood won’t be established before my eyes.8.Morning by morning, I will destroy all the wicked of the land; to cut off all the workers of iniquity from Yahweh’s city.“Observations
101:1-2.David praises God's hesed and justice, an awareness of which causes him to purpose to be pure and blameless in His sight. David details what that entails.
101:3-8. Having an intimate friendship or relationship with God is more than a matter of desire. It must involve purposeful positive and negative actions:
- a blameless heart, that is fixed on doing God's will;
- pure eyes/ambitions that are not fixed on unprofitable things;
- opposition to those who lack faithfulness (not loyal to the covenant);
- fellowship with or embracing those who are loyal and faithful to the covenant
Application
Friendship with God requires a blameless life and discriminatory allegiance, hating evildoers and loving the loyal.
Prayer
My loyal Lord, I don't just want to sing about You, but I want to live in Your presence every day; help me identify and avoid the things which will hinder my relationship with You, and do the things which will delight You. Amen.
Proverbs 23:17-19 A Wise Heart
17.Don’t let your heart envy sinners; but rather fear Yahweh all the day long.18.Indeed surely there is a future hope, and your hope will not be cut off.19.Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path!“Observation
23:17-19.The proverbial parent trains the heart/values, not just the actions. If truth doesn't penetrate to our ambitions and rearrange our values, our actions will revert to folly as soon as external constraints are removed (a major reason kids “lose their faith” in college – which wasn't usually Biblical faith to begin with). We're tempted to envy the prosperity of sinners for two reasons: we have trained ourselves to delight in the wrong things; and we have failed to train ourselves to fear God. We might want the temporary pleasures of sinners, but do we want the enduring pain as well? A contemplation of cause and effects (major pedagogical tool of Proverbs and most ancient wisdom literature) helps us see the consequences of different options. Choosing the right objective of denying oneself temporal illegitimate pleasure is the path to realizing our hope of living happily ever after. Choosing folly results in failure, as God always brings judgment and discipline upon sin. If we fear and/or love God, we will take the steps necessary to please Him and reap His blessings (Dt 7:9; Jn 14:15; 1Jn 5:3). The word for “keep” in verse 19 in the Piel means to intentionally and intensively go straight and make progress. Go for it.
Application
Daily check your heart and feet to make sure you get where you want to go.
Prayer
Lord, show me the path that pleases You every day; show me where I'm going crooked, and how to straighten out so I'll wind up in a place that pleases me too. Amen.
Ezekiel 40-43 The Glory Returns
Ezekiel gets a preview of coming attractions. He sees and describes the temple and sanctuary which God said He'd set in the midst of His people in the future (Ezekiel 37:26-28). Then he sees the return of the presence/glory of God to the temple. In the final chapters (Ezekiel 44-48) he'll describe the temple service in the Millennial Kingdom, the resettlement of Israel in the Promised Land. There is an incredible amount of detail in 40-43 that only an architect could appreciate (318 measurements). Just look at the plan and model, and you won't miss much, except the fact that this is a real place, in which memorial sacrifices would be carried out. You can skip to the really worthwhile chapter (Ezekiel 43 below) where Ezekiel sees the glory returning.
Ezekiel 40 Measuring The Millennial Temple
1."In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was struck, in the same day, the hand of Yahweh was on me, and he brought me there.2.In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south.3.He brought me there; and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate4.The man said to me, Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I shall show you; for, to the intent that I may show them to you, you are brought here: declare all that you see to the house of Israel.5.Behold, a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each (10 feet): so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed (10 feet x 10 feet).6.Then came he to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad (10 feet); and the other threshold, one reed broad.7.Every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad (10 feet x 10 feet); and the space between the lodges was five cubits (8.75 feet); and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.16.There were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate all around, and likewise to the arches; and windows were around inward; and on each post were palm trees.17.Then brought he me into the outer court; and behold, there were rooms and a pavement, made for the court all around: thirty rooms were on the pavement.21.The lodges of it were three on this side and three on that side; and its posts and its arches were after the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits (87.5 feet), and the breadth twenty-five cubits (43.75 feet).22.The windows of it, and its arches, and the palm trees of it, were after the measure of the gate whose prospect is toward the east; and they went up to it by seven steps; and its arches were before them.23.There was a gate to the inner court over against the other gate, both on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate one hundred cubits (175 feet).27.There was a gate to the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south a hundred cubits (175 feet).28.Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate:34.The arches of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.38.A room with its door was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the burnt offering.39.In the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to kill thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.41.Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they killed the sacrifices.42.There were four tables for the burnt offering, of cut stone, a cubit and a half long (31.5 inches), and a cubit and a half broad (31.5 inches), and one cubit high (21 inches); whereupon they laid the instruments with which they killed the burnt offering and the sacrifice.43.The hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened within all around: and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.44.Outside of the inner gate were rooms for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south; one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.45.He said to me, This room, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the duty/service of the house/temple; 46 and the room whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Yahweh to minister to him.47.He measured the court, one hundred cubits long (175 feet), and a hundred cubits broad (175 feet), foursquare; and the altar was before the house/temple.48.Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured the pilasters of the porch; they were 8.75 feet thick on each side. The width of the gateway was 24.5 feet,and the side walls of the gate were 5.25 feet wide on each side.49.The portico was 35 feet across and 21 feet deep, and 10 steps led up to it. There were pillars by the pilasters, one on each side."Observation
40:1-21.A picture is worth a bunch of words, so study the plans and models of the temple Ezekiel saw for making sense of the details in the text. This is not the Tabernacle, nor David's/Solomon's Temple, nor the temple rebuilt under Zerubbabel and expanded under Herod (the one standing in NT times and destroyed in AD 70), but a yet to be built temple, many believe will be constructed in the Millennium when the Messiah returns (it looks like He builds it).
Zechariah 6:12 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying: " Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the LORD;13 Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; so He shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."'
This is not some “spiritual” or symbolic temple, but something tangible that Ezekiel saw measured. Notice that it has sacrifices mentioned, which are usually understood to be of a memorial nature. If the Suffering Servant Messiah of Isaiah 53 bore the iniquity of Israel by being the sacrificial lamb, then these are not efficacious, but commemorative sacrifices.
Ezekiel 41 More Measurements
1."He brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tent.2.The breadth of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured its length, forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits.3.Then went he inward, and measured each post of the entrance...6.The side rooms were in three stories, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which belonged to the house…7.The side rooms were broader as they encompassed the house higher and higher; for the encompassing of the house went higher and higher around the house: therefore the breadth of the house continued upward; and so one went up from the lowest room to the highest by the middle room.8.I saw also that the house had a raised base all around...12.The building that was before the separate place at the side toward the west was seventy cubits broad...13.the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries around on their three stories, over against the threshold, with wood ceilings all around, and from the ground up to the windows, (now the windows were covered),17.to the space above the door, even to the inner house, and outside, and by all the wall all around inside and outside, by measure.18.It was made with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces;19.so that there was the face of a man toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. thus was it made through all the house all around:20.from the ground to above the door were cherubim and palm trees made: thus was the wall of the temple.21.As for the temple, the door posts were squared; and as for the face of the sanctuary, the appearance of it was as the appearance of the temple.22.The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits; and its corners, and its length, and its walls, were of wood: and he said to me, This is the table that is before Yahweh.23.The temple and the sanctuary had two doors.24.The doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves: two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other.25.There were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubim and palm trees, like as were made on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the face of the porch outside.26.There were closed windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch: thus were the side rooms of the house, and the thresholds."Observation
41:1-26. More of the same, with the added detail of two faced cherubim decorations, and verse 22 describes an “altar” of wood (3.5 feet square by 5 feet high - smaller than the great altar of sacrifice in 43:13-17) which probably served as a table for the bread of presence (Exodus 25:30; Leviticus 24:5-9; 1 Kings 7:48).The Millennial Temple lacks: separate courts for the Gentiles and women, the Sea/Laver for ritual cleansing (1 Kings 7:23), the Ark of the Covenant, the Altar of Incense, the Lampstand, and the Curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. With God present on His throne, and people reconciled to God, and having direct access to him, you can see why these are omitted.
Ezekiel 42 Holy Place for the Priests
1."Then he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the room that was over against the separate place, and which was over against the building toward the north.2.Before the length of one hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits...13.Then he said to me, The north rooms and the south rooms, which are before the separate place, they are the holy rooms, where the priests who are near to Yahweh shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meal offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy.14.When the priests enter in, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments in which they minister; for they are holy: and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which pertains to the people.15.Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it all around.16.He measured on the east side with the measuring reed five hundred reeds (875 feet), with the measuring reed all around.17.He measured on the north side five hundred reeds with the measuring reed all around.18.He measured on the south side five hundred reeds with the measuring reed.19.He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed.20.He measured it on the four sides: it had a wall around it, the length five hundred, and the breadth five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common.Observation
42:1-20.The measuring continues, with a comment on the rooms in which the priests would eat the holy sacrifices as God specified in Exodus. The chapter ends with outdoor measurements, which a separation made between the holy and common places, just like in Solomon's temple.
Application
God gives us a glimpse of the future to assure us that He will fulfill His plan to regather His people and dwell in the midst of them.
Prayer
Lord, I look forward to the days when You will be on the earth, dwelling in the midst of Your people who will no longer stray from You. Amen.
Ezekiel 43 The Glory Returns
1."Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looks toward the east.2.Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shined with his glory.3.It was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.4.The glory of Yahweh came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.5.The Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the house.6.I heard one speaking to me out of the house; and a man stood by me.7.He said to me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their prostitution, and by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places;8.in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their door post beside my door post, and there was but the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed: therefore I have consumed them in my anger.9.Now let them put away their prostitution, and the dead bodies of their kings, far from me; and I will dwell in their midst forever.10.You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.11.If they be ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the form of the house, and its fashion, and its exits, and its entrances, and all its forms, and all its ordinances, and all its forms, and all its laws; and write it in their sight; that they may keep the whole form of it, and all its ordinances, and do them.12.This is the law of the house: on the top of the mountain the whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
13.These are the measures of the altar by cubits (the cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and its border around its edge a span; and this shall be the base of the altar.14.From the bottom on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit.15.The upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns.16.The altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve broad, square in the four sides of it.17.The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad in the four sides of it; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and its bottom shall be a cubit around; and its steps shall look toward the east.18.He said to me, Son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.19.You shall give to the priests the Levites who are of the seed of Zadok, who are near to me, to minister to me, says the Lord Yahweh, a young bull for a sin offering.20.You shall take of its blood, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around: thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it.21.You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burnt in the appointed place of the house, outside of the sanctuary.22.On the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they cleansed it with the bull.23.When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.24.You shall bring them near to Yahweh, and the priests shall cast salt on them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering to Yahweh.25.Seven days you shall prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bull, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.26.Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it.27.When they have accomplished the days, it shall be that on the eighth day, and forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord Yahweh."
Observations
43:1-6.Ezekiel sees the glory of the Lord which he had first seen in chapter 1, (and saw departing in 11:23) returning to Jerusalem, from the east (same gate where it had departed).
43:7-12.
God expresses His intent to dwell in the midst of Israel forever, and asserts the requirement for Israel to no longer defile the temple with their disobedience.
43:13-27.
The outside altar was much larger than Solomon's approximately 20 feet tall, almost like a Babylonian ziggurat made of three slabs. God gives the instructions for cleansing and consecrating it as He did for the Tabernacle and Solomon's Temple (Exodus 29:36-37; Leviticus 8:14-17; 2 Chronicles 7:9).
Application
Obedient holiness is necessary to experience the benefits of being in the presence of God.Prayer
God, may I never take Your grace for granted, but live in holiness before You all my days. Amen.
Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: God will not abandon His people nor His promises, but will return to display His glory to the world from Jerusalem. His return to His people and acceptance of them, requires their obedience (43:9, 27).Us in a nutshell: Holiness is necessary for a relationship with God, who will always require people to follow His rules/directions/commands. Memorial sacrifices will commemorate God's provision for His people's sin.