| God's Glory Seen Again
43:7 And 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. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. Our sin blinds us from seeing the wonder and beauty of God's glory. God Himself will also withhold His manifested glory because in His presence our blatant and unrepentant hearts are akin to placing pearls before swine. In other words, His glory is seen as something of no value. Nonetheless , it is God's passion to fellowship, to embrace us in His love. The original purpose for which we were created in God's image as a source of loving pleasure has never ceased. It is with this in mind that God has given this detailed description of the future Temple. God wants this vision to be a blessed hope for those of the nation of Israel who in their time had basically lost everything. Their nation, their homes, their possessions, and their freedom had all been lost because of their ever-escalating sin and disregard for the purpose He had made them a nation in the first place. Yet even though they had turned their backs to Him, God still pursued them. His heart was not to leave them as exiles from their land, nor as a people in alienation to Him. To restore them as a nation and as individuals who can once again experience His glory, He only asks that they honestly face the shame their sin has brought upon them. It was not ultimately Babylon who did this to them. They had brought it upon themselves. This basic principle has not changed to this present hour. Without honestly facing our own role in the destructive consequences of sin, we bring upon ourselves the loss of God's glory and the irreplaceable pleasure that can only be found in fellowship with God (43:9-12). This self-imposed alienation and spiritual blindness ends up driving us to seek a substitute for the glory of an incorruptible and glorious God. Some of us will seek to find glory in humanity. We hide ourselves from the sinful atrocities we perpetuate upon one another and convince ourselves that we are all good and within us is all the "glory" we will ever need. Others turn to nature to find a substitute for the glory of God. Yet we do so while strangely suppressing the obvious reasoning that its origin and design must have come from a glorious Creator. Then, of course, there are those who create philosophical ideological images of what we wish God would be and then bow at the feet of our self-created idol. A process that thinly veils our effort to replace God with ourselves. The master stroke of self idolatry. God, however, is ready to unleash His glory. This description of the meeting place of God, the Temple, is God's invitation to enter the true Holy of Holies not made with hands. He only asks for repentance and honesty, and the presence of God is ours. | |||
|
| |||
| Ezekiel 41:1-43:27 1 Then he brought me into the sanctuary and measured the doorposts, six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the other side—the width of the tabernacle. 2 The width of the entryway was ten cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits on this side and five cubits on the other side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits. 3 Also he went inside and measured the doorposts, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits high; and the width of the entrance, seven cubits. 4 He measured the length, twenty cubits; and the width, twenty cubits, beyond the sanctuary; and he said to me, "This is the Most Holy Place." The Side Chambers on the Wall 5 Next, he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits. The width of each side chamber all around the temple was four cubits on every side. 6 The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty chambers in each story; they rested on ledges which were for the side chambers all around, that they might be supported, but not fastened to the wall of the temple. 7 As one went up from story to story, the side chambers became wider all around, because their supporting ledges in the wall of the temple ascended like steps; therefore the width of the structure increased as one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the middle one. 8 I also saw an elevation all around the temple; it was the foundation of the side chambers, a full rod, that is, six cubits high. 9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits, and so also the remaining terrace by the place of the side chambers of the temple. 10 And between it and the wall chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side. 11 The doors of the side chambers opened on the terrace, one door toward the north and another toward the south; and the width of the terrace was five cubits all around. The Building at the Western End 12 The building that faced the separating courtyard at its western end was seventy cubits wide; the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits. Dimensions and Design of the Temple Area 13 So he measured the temple, one hundred cubits long; and the separating courtyard with the building and its walls was one hundred cubits long; 14 also the width of the eastern face of the temple, including the separating courtyard, was one hundred cubits. 15 He measured the length of the building behind it, facing the separating courtyard, with its galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits, as well as the inner temple and the porches of the court, 16 their doorposts and the beveled window frames. And the galleries all around their three stories opposite the threshold were paneled with wood from the ground to the windows—the windows were covered— 17 from the space above the door, even to the inner room, as well as outside, and on every wall all around, inside and outside, by measure. 18 And it was made with cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces, 19 so that the face of a man was toward a palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion toward a palm tree on the other side; thus it was made throughout the temple all around. 20 From the floor to the space above the door, and on the wall of the sanctuary, cherubim and palm trees were carved. 21 The doorposts of the temple were square, as was the front of the sanctuary; their appearance was similar. 22 The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits. Its corners, its length, and its sides were of wood; and he said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD." 23 The temple and the sanctuary had two doors. 24 The doors had two panels apiece, two folding panels: two panels for one door and two panels for the other door. 25 Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the temple just as they were carved on the walls. A wooden canopy was on the front of the vestibule outside. 26 There were beveled window frames and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the vestibule—also on the side chambers of the temple and on the canopies. Ezekiel 42 The Chambers for the Priests 1 Then he brought me out into the outer court, by the way toward the north; and he brought me into the chamber which was opposite the separating courtyard, and which was opposite the building toward the north. 2 Facing the length, which was one hundred cubits (the width was fifty cubits), was the north door. 3 Opposite the inner court of twenty cubits, and opposite the pavement of the outer court, was gallery against gallery in three stories. 4 In front of the chambers, toward the inside, was a walk ten cubits wide, at a distance of one cubit; and their doors faced north. 5 Now the upper chambers were shorter, because the galleries took away space from them more than from the lower and middle stories of the building. 6 For they were in three stories and did not have pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper level was shortened more than the lower and middle levels from the ground up. 7 And a wall which was outside ran parallel to the chambers, at the front of the chambers, toward the outer court; its length was fifty cubits. 8 The length of the chambers toward the outer court was fifty cubits, whereas that facing the temple was one hundred cubits. 9 At the lower chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one goes into them from the outer court. 10 Also there were chambers in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, opposite the separating courtyard and opposite the building. 11 There was a walk in front of them also, and their appearance was like the chambers which were toward the north; they were as long and as wide as the others, and all their exits and entrances were according to plan. 12 And corresponding to the doors of the chambers that were facing south, as one enters them, there was a door in front of the walk, the way directly in front of the wall toward the east. 13 Then he said to me, "The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separating courtyard, are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the LORD shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall lay the most holy offerings—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering—for the place is holy. 14 When the priests enter them, they shall not go out of the holy chamber into the outer court; but there they shall leave their garments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they may approach that which is for the people." Outer Dimensions of the Temple 15 Now when he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out through the gateway that faces toward the east, and measured it all around. 16 He measured the east side with the measuring rod, five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around. 17 He measured the north side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around. 18 He measured the south side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 19 He came around to the west side and measured five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 20 He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred wide, to separate the holy areas from the common. Ezekiel 43 The Temple, the LORD's Dwelling Place 1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. 2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. 3 It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw—like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. 4 And the glory of the LORD came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. 5 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 6 Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me. 7 And 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. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. 8 When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. 9 Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever. 10 "Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. 11 And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them. 12 This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple. Dimensions of the Altar 13 "These are the measurements of the altar in cubits (the cubit is one cubit and a handbreadth): the base one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a rim all around its edge of one span. This is the height of the altar: 14 from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits; the width of the ledge, one cubit; from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits; and the width of the ledge, one cubit. 15 The altar hearth is four cubits high, with four horns extending upward from the hearth. 16 The altar hearth is twelve cubits long, twelve wide, square at its four corners; 17 the ledge, fourteen cubits long and fourteen wide on its four sides, with a rim of half a cubit around it; its base, one cubit all around; and its steps face toward the east." Consecrating the Altar 18 And He said to me, "Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: 'These are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made, for sacrificing burnt offerings on it, and for sprinkling blood on it. 19 You shall give a young bull for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach Me to minister to Me,' says the Lord GOD. 20 'You shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim around it; thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it. 21 Then you shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and burn it in the appointed place of the temple, outside the sanctuary. 22 On the second day you shall offer a kid of the goats 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 from the flock without blemish. 24 When you offer them before the LORD, the priests shall throw salt on them, and they will offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD. 25 Every day for seven days you shall prepare a goat for a sin offering; they shall also prepare a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish. 26 Seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it, and so consecrate it. 27 When these days are over it shall be, on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar; and I will accept you,' says the Lord GOD." | |||
|
| |||
| Ezekiel 41:1-43:27 v. 1 sanctuary – This is the nave or main hall of the Temple. v. 4 Most Holy Place – The place where God's visible presence will be manifested. Ezekiel is not taken in here. Only the High Priest was allow entry, and that only with a blood sacrifice on the Day of Atonement (Heb 9:7). v. 5 temple – The rest of the Temple itself is measured and described. v. 12 building – There is a building on the extreme western end of the complex which is measured and described (Eze. 46:19-20). v. 13 temple – Summary measurements of the Temple itself are given: 100 cubits square, or about 175 feet. cherubim – The cherubim, carved on the walls in relief (v. 18-20), are reminiscent of the cherubim woven into the fabric walls of the tabernacle (Ex. 26:1, 31). palm trees – The cherubim and palm trees are combined in the decoration of Solomon's Temple (1 Kings 6:29, 32). v. 21 doorposts – Details of the doorposts, altar, and panels are given. Altar – This is the altar of incense (Ex. 30:1-3), not the sacrificial altar outside in the Inner Court. The altar is square, about 5-1/4 feet. Panels – A folding panel separated with main room from the Most Holy Place. The original tabernacle had a woven curtain. Ezekiel 42 v. 1 out into – They measure and describe the chambers in the perimeter wall of the court's north area. v. 10 chambers – The same measurements and description apply to the Outer Court's eastern area as well. v. 13 said to me – The use of the chambers which surround the outside of the Outer Court are described. They are to serve as sacristies, that is, rooms for the use of the priests to prepare for the exercise of their duties. Priests eat the holy offerings (Lev. 2:3,10; 6:9-11; 10:12) and dress there. v. 15 he had finished – Ezekiel and his guide return to the place where they began, the main east gate to the Temple complex. Starting there and proceeding counterclockwise, the external dimensions are measured as 500 rods by 500 rods square. The numbers of the internal dimensions, with fifties and hundreds featuring prominently, yield these ideal and perfect dimensions. v. 20 to separate – The sacredness of the entire complex is emphasized by the closing comment, that the wall separates the holy and the common Chapter 43 v. 1 east – Ezekiel's guide brings him once more to the east gate from which he is able to see the Lord's return. v. 2 vision – The approach of the glory of the God of Israel recalls the overwhelming sensory experience of Ezekiel's inaugural vision: the sound of many waters describes the roar of the approach (1:24); its brilliance caused the earth to shine with His glory (1:27-28). I fell on my face – Ezekiel fell on his face before the holiness and majesty of God. The return of the glory of God to the Temple is the most dramatic moment in this book. It is the unexpected grace of God that is the finishing touch to the new Temple, without which it would be an empty shell. It is also counter-point to the departure of God's glory due to the abominable sins of the people recorded in Ezekiel 10:18-22 and 11:23. v. 5 The Spirit lifted me up – Ezekiel is transported to the inner court of the Temple. v. 7 forever – The bond between God and people is unbreakable. defile – The promise of the presence of God is also a warning. God is absolutely holy and must be feared and obeyed, but the promise of His Spirit enables these people (and us) to live a life of obedience (Eze. 37). v. 9 carcasses – One serious point about the architecture of this Temple is that no royal palace is adjoining it, in contrast to Solomon's Temple/palace complex (1 Kings 7:8) and the sinful royal powers often harbored there (Is. 42:8). v. 11 design – Here is the key to the entire vision of chapter 40-48. These measurements and regulations are not merely interesting details but communicate something of the character of God. They show how much Israel forfeited by their sins. Every detail should produce repentance in Ezekiel's readers. v. 13 measurements – The measurements of the altar are described. The altar is square, like the Temple itself, with a horned projection at each corner, as Israel's altars had long been (Ex. 29:12; Ps. 118:27). The altar was layered, with each succeeding layer one cubit (21 in.) less on each side than the one below it. The base is one cubit (21 in.) tall, and the sum of the layers above it totals 10 cubits (about 7.5 feet). These dimensions make it slightly smaller than the altar of Solomon's Temple (2 Chron. 4:1. v. 13 cubit – Ezekiel uses the long cubit. The standard cubit was 6 handbreadths, or about 18 inches. The long cubit had an extra handbreadth and was 21 inches long. v. 18 Son of Man – This section describes the rituals of purification required for the altar before it is fit for regular use. The whole process will take a total of eight days. The first day's sacrifice is described in detail in (v. 18-21) when a single bull is offered by the Zadokite priests. The sacrifice on day two (v .22-24) sets the pattern for the succeeding days until the seven days (v. 25-26) of the consecration are complete. v. 19 Levites and Zadokite priests – Levi was one of the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel); his descendants were given charge of the Tabernacle and, later, Solomon's Temple. Zadok was faithful to David and Solomon, unlike most of the Levites. His sons carried on that distinction of faithfulness (Eze. 44:10-15, study notes). sin offering – Only the fat of the animal was burned as a confession of sin. The rest of the animal was for the priests (Num. 18). v. 20 atonement – In this context, it means that the altar is prepared for its function before God; it is holy, sacred. v. 24 salt – Salt stands for purity. It was added to all offerings (Lev. 2:13). v. 27 burnt offerings – The burnt offering denoted full consecration to God (Lev. 1:13). peace offerings – The peace offering expresses gratitude for peace with God (Lev. 4:31). | |||
|
| |||
| And the glory of the LORD came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. –Ezekiel 43:4 And 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. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. –Ezekiel 43:7 Lord, while we live with longing hearts toward the day that Your Kingdom is created here on earth and we worship You for eternity, let us be reminded of those around us, those right next to us, who would not be granted entrance into Your eternal Kingdom because they do not believe. | |||
|
| |||
| |||
43:4 
Dimensions of the Sanctuary
Wednesday Morning Bible Study
