The Glory of the LORD Returns to the Temple
The sacred spaces described in the previous chapter...
The sacred spaces described in the previous chapter were of no value as long as they were empty (cp. 37:7–8). To be effective, the Temple must be occupied by the glory of the God of Israel, which had departed from it in ch 10. Now the glory would return from the same direction in which it had left, the east. Unlike its slow, almost reluctant, departure, its return would be sudden, accompanied by the terrifying roar of rushing waters (see 1:24; Rev 1:15). As always, the prophet fell face down on the ground in response to this glory.
1Then the man brought me back to the gate that faces east, 2and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.
3The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when He came† to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the River Kebar. I fell facedown, 4and the glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east.
The Spirit then carried Ezekiel into the inner...
The Spirit then carried Ezekiel into the inner courtyard so that he could hear the Lord declare that the restored Temple was the palace in which his throne and his footstool were located, and that he would live . . . forever among the people of Israel. The identification of the Temple as God’s dwelling and the seat of his sovereignty was not new (see, e.g., 1 Sam 4:4). The Temple would now be God’s throne forever; never again would the sins of his people drive him away from his sanctuary.
5Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
6While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple,
If God were to remain with his people,...
If God were to remain with his people, standards would have to be raised and regulations enforced that would guard against the repetition of past abuses. Israel and their kings would not defile God’s holy name by their spiritual adultery with other gods or with relics of their kings who had died—memorial markers to dead kings—within the grounds of the Temple of the living God. There was no place for honoring human kings in the palace of the divine King. In the future, the proper hierarchy would be reestablished by removing the residence of the earthly ruler to a greater distance from the spiritual center of the land (see 45:7). Putting the earthly ruler in his proper place was a necessary precondition for God’s dwelling perpetually in his rightful place.
7and He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel will never again defile My holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and by the funeral offerings† for their kings at their deaths.† 8When they placed their threshold next to My threshold and their doorposts beside My doorposts, with only a wall between Me and them, they defiled My holy name by the abominations they committed. Therefore I have consumed them in My anger. 9Now let them remove far from Me their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings, and I will dwell among them forever.
At this point, the prophet was given the...
At this point, the prophet was given the rationale for the whole Temple vision. He was not the first person to receive the blueprint for a sanctuary from God (see Exod 25–40). This vision was not intended to spark a building project at some time in the future when God would return his people to their land, but to convey a message to the people of Ezekiel’s generation. As they would study its plan, Ezekiel’s hearers should be convicted of their sins and be ashamed of what they have done. The conviction of sin should be induced as they studied its entrances and exits, its decrees and laws, and the overall plan.
10As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. Let them measure the plan, 11and if they are ashamed† of all they have done, then make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement and its exits and entrances—its whole design along with all its statutes, forms, and laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its complete design and all its statutes and may carry them out.
12This is the law of the temple: All its surrounding territory on top of the mountain will be most holy. Yes, this is the law of the temple.
The Altar of Sacrifice
The holiness of the Temple area would be...
The holiness of the Temple area would be maintained by keeping sinners out and by the sacrificial system. The importance of this aspect of Temple life is made clear by the detailed description of the altar of the inner court, which was located at the center of the entire Temple complex. The altar shown to Ezekiel was almost three times as long and wide as the altar in front of the Tabernacle (see Exod 27:1–8).
13These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits († a cubit and a handbreadth): Its gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span† around its edge.
And this is the height of the altar: 14The space from the gutter on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the ledge one cubit wide.† The space from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge shall be four cubits, and the ledge one cubit wide.†
15The altar hearth shall be four cubits high, and four horns shall project upward from the hearth. 16The altar hearth shall be square at its four corners, twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide.† 17The ledge shall also be square, fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide,† with a rim of half a cubit† and a gutter of a cubit all around it. The steps of the altar shall face east.”
The new altar had to be consecrated before...
- The new altar had to be consecrated before it was used.
- On the first day, the blood of a young bull was to be applied to the extremities of the altar, the horns and corners, as a sin offering. The body of the sin offering was then burnt outside the sacred area, as with the Tabernacle (cp. Lev 4:11–12).
18Then He said to me: “Son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is constructed, so that burnt offerings may be sacrificed on it and blood may be splattered on it: 19You are to give a young bull from the herd as a sin offering to the Levitical priests who are of the family of Zadok, who approach Me to minister before Me, declares the Lord GOD. 20You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and all around the rim; thus you will cleanse the altar and make atonement for it. 21Then you are to take away the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the appointed part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.
22On the second day you are to present an unblemished male goat as a sin offering, and the altar is to be cleansed as it was with the bull. 23When you have finished the purification, you are to present a young, unblemished bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. 24You must present them before the LORD; the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the LORD.
25For seven days you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both unblemished.
These sin offerings properly set the Temple apart...
These sin offerings properly set the Temple apart for holy use, so that the priests could once again sacrifice . . . the burnt offerings and peace offerings of the people. These offerings were necessary if the Lord were to accept his people.
26For seven days the priests are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; so they shall consecrate it.† 27At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Lord GOD.’”