Ezekiel 44-48
Worship in the Millennial Temple

God's wrath is not random nor arbitrary, but always a response to sin. The afflicted author is overwhelmed with the consequences of sin (both personal and national), and feels that his heart has withered, and God has tossed him out in the trash.

In contrast to the impermanence of man, God remains strong and glorious, and able to respond to the prayer of the destitute.

God has built up Zion for a purpose, the revelation of His glory, and that purpose is not yet fulfilled. Shifting from the human to the divine perspective gives hope. The psalmist starts looking forward to the time when God will act, and future generations will praise Him in Zion, probably during the days of the Messiah.

When given freedom fools chase pleasure that results in pain. The wise use freedom to seek truth. A typically foolish adolescent goes through an advanced toddler stage, where they think they know more than their parents and even more than God. Some never grow out of this toddler stage, gorging themselves on whatever they think will give them gratification, from wine to women, until the consequences catch up with them, and they find themselves imprisoned by their abuse of freedom. Failing to listen to parents, not seeking their counsel, or despising their advise are telltale signs of a fool. Paying the cost to acquire truth, and applying it, getting wisdom, instruction and understanding are the hallmarks of a righteous and wise person. That's the child who brings joy and delight to the parents who have properly trained their offspring. The wise are righteous and bring delight to God as well as themselves.

God brings Ezekiel to see the shut eastern gate, which shall remain that way, because Yahweh had permanently entered the sanctuary for His glory to dwell there (and would not leave). This is not the gate of the temple mount in modern day Jerusalem, but rather that of the Millennial temple which will be constructed north of the city (Ezekiel 40:2). The prince (David?? cf 45:22) enters by way the porch to eat before Yahweh. In the Ancient Near East, eating food offered to the gods was a means of divine strengthening and fellowship with the gods. God chastises the rebellious people who had treated Him as common, and set servants in place to please themselves, rather than God (44:9). The uncircumcised of heart and flesh would be excluded from God's presence, as would the priests who had defiled themselves. The defiled priests would still be servants in the gates and in the priestly things related to the people (like killing their sin offerings during the Millennium – Ezekiel 40:38-43, a task the offender did under the Mosaic law), but they would bear their iniquity/punishment (NASB) and therefore not be in the direct presence of God. There were enduring consequences for their sin.

The priests who had remained loyal to God would be able to come into the presence of God, but they too had to be careful to follow God's rules and requirements for themselves and the ordinances for the temple service. Note that the sacrifice offered in verse 27 is for defilement caused by touching a dead person, and is not memorial in nature, but appears to look back on the Suffering Servant's sacrifice, just like earlier Levitical offerings looked forward to it. They had to teach the people the difference between holy and common, that is, between doing things God's way and the way the rest of the world lived. They had to teach folks to discern or discriminate between the unclean (which preempted people from God's presence) and the clean (which resulted in a state that enable them to be recipients of God's blessing). This is the same task that Biblical teachers have today. It's not about pork or beef, but about being blessable or not. It's not about the ritual, but the relationship. They did have to follow the regulations God mandated for Israel, especially the Sabbath, the sign of the Mosaic covenant. Careful readers will note that the requirements of that covenant apply even in the Millennium for the Israelite participants in the New Covenant (so do consequences for sin, as seen in the first half of the chapter). The Biblical priests would be honored for their service, because they not only pleased God, but enabled those they taught to be blessed by God (“blessing to rest/remain on your house”).

God specifies the division of the land around the temple by lot. This is yet future, since it follows the return of the glory to the temple and no historic arrangement is anything close to this.

God charges the princes to execute justice and righteousness rather than oppress the people which indicates that participants in the New Covenant are not robots but have the choice to obey or disobey. God establishes a just and uniform standard of measure. He also charges the princes with providing the animals and drink and grain for corporate offerings, Sabbaths, and feasts.

At the beginning of each year, the cleansing of the Temple and observance of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread (seven days following the Passover) are mandated (just like under the Mosaic-Levitical law). The Feast of Tabernacles/Booths matches 45:25. First-fruits, Pentecost (Harvest/Weeks), Trumpets, and Day of Atonement are omitted (even though most things are spelled out in detail). One could argue that only Feasts which had changes are mentioned and 45:17 assumes all other Feasts are as specified in the Mosaic-Levitical law. On the other hand, one could see how Pentecost was fulfilled by the Spirit being given in the New Covenant; Trumpets by the Second Coming of the Messiah; and the Day of Atonement by the sacrifice of the Suffering Servant. Pre-trib fans will immediately hazard a guess for why First-fruits as a festival is missing; others will note that the giving of first fruits to the priests was covered in 44:30, and some will say it is as specified by Moses.

This chapter has mainly housekeeping details and regulations for the unidentified prince (which most think is a resurrected David or one of his descendents). The prince enters and leaves by the same gate, but is not allowed into the inner vestibule since he is not a priest. The people enter from the north and leave by the south, maybe for traffic control. On the major feasts, the prince joins with the people, worshiping as one of them.

The Mosaic law specified a morning and evening sacrifice. Here there is only a morning sacrifice as the continual offering. Perhaps there is no evening because of the continual presence of God which gives light (Revelation 21:23, although that is in the context of the New Jerusalem).

The laws of gifts and inheritance ensure that people would be able to maintain their possessions, and develop them for their livelihoods. Even in the almost idyllic setting of the Millennium, God knows there is a need to remind the leadership not to oppress the people nor seize their property.

From under the altar comes water that eventually becomes a river that goes all the way to the Dead Sea. This is probably not a “natural” spring, because of the source, quantity, and ability to “heal the dead sea. When it reaches the Sea (which has a mineral/salt content about five times normal, which prevents aquatic life) it will heal the Sea so all kinds of fish will grow. Along it's banks will be trees for food and whose leaves will be used for healing. This is similar to, but not identical to, the Water and Tree of Life description in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22:1-2). In a dry region, without water there is no life. With water, things grow. The water from under the altar will not only give life to the region, but will reverse the barrenness of Dead Sea.

God specifies the borders of the land that will be split up among the tribes by lot for their inheritances. The amazing thing is that foreigners and strangers who had joined themselves to Israel as God had predicted would happen when He regathered Israel, would get inheritance rights in the land. Joseph would get the double portion as Jacob/Israel had promised.

God specifies the boundaries of the land for each tribe, the “offering” for the Temple area, the choice spot for the faithful sons of Zadok, and the places for the Levites, the Prince, and the city. See the map.

There are twelve gates for the twelve tribes (Joseph and Levi replace Ephraim and Manasseh). The name of the city is now “Yahweh-Shammah” (Yahweh is there). It wasn't easy, and takes thousand of years, but God is finally able to bless Israel as He intended and promised.