Ezekiel 42:16-20

The *angel had taken Ezekiel out of the *temple for a particular reason. Ezekiel needed to see that the *temple’s design was perfect. So Ezekiel watched as the *angel measured each wall. There were the outer walls that surrounded the *temple’s outer area. Ezekiel had described the walls in 40:5.

Ezekiel saw that each wall was the same length. The entire area was a square. The design was perfect.

And Ezekiel saw that the wall had a purpose. It was necessary to separate *holy things from everything else. The *temple belonged to God, so it was *holy. The wall separated the *temple’s grounds from the ordinary land that surrounded it.

Such a *temple pleased God. Its design was the design that he wanted. Every detail gave honour to God. The design separated *holy things from things that were not *holy. There was a proper place for *sacrifices in order to deal with human *sin. There were rooms for every purpose that the *temple needed.

This was a *temple where the *Israelites could serve God in the proper manner. This was a *temple where the priests could carry out their duties loyally. This was the *temple that God’s *glory could fill. And this was the *temple where God’s *glory would remain.

vision ~ something that God shows to a person but not with the physical sight. Visions are often in the form of dreams.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
cubit ~ a length of about half a metre.
holy ~ what God is like. He is completely different from people. He never does anything wrong. The word ‘holy’ also describes something that is separate, for God’s use only. People must never use a holy thing for ordinary purposes.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means, ‘He is always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
sacrifice ~ something that people gave to God. (or, something that people gave to a false god). It could be an animal, or grain, or oil, or wine. The priest burned all or part of the sacrifice on an altar. Sometimes people gave sacrifices in order to thank God. And sometimes people gave sacrifices so that God could forgive sin (Leviticus 4:35).
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
angel ~ God’s special servants in heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.'

Ezekiel: “They shall know that I am God”

The Future *Temple and *Sacrifices

Ezekiel Chapter s 40 to 48

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 42

Buildings for the priests – Ezekiel 42:1-14

v1 Then the man led me north into the outer area. He brought me to the rooms across from the *temple and its area. v2 This building on the north side was 100 *cubits long and 50 *cubits wide. v3 The building was in a space of 20 *cubits from the inner area. This was opposite the path of the outer area. The rooms were on three floors, each room was further back than the one below it. v4 There was a path on the north side of the rooms. This path was 10 *cubits wide and 100 *cubits long. Doors led into the rooms from this path. v5 The top rooms were narrower, because the passages took more space from them. The rooms on the first and second floors of the building were wider. v6 The rooms on the third floor did not have columns like the columns of the open areas. So, these rooms were smaller than those on the first and second floors. v7 There was a wall outside parallel to the rooms and to the outer area. It extended in front of the rooms for 50 *cubits. v8 The row of rooms along the outer area was 50 *cubits long. The row on the side nearest the *temple was 100 *cubits long. v9 The lower rooms had an entrance on the east side. The way into them was from the outer area.

v10 There were rooms on the south side along the length of the wall of the outer area. These rooms were next to the *temple area and across from the outer wall. v11 These rooms had a path in front of them. They were like the rooms on the north with the same length and width and the same doors. v12 The doors of the south rooms were like the doors of the north rooms. There was an entrance at the beginning of the path. This was next to the wall, so people could enter at the east end.

v13 The man said to me, ‘The north and south rooms across from the *temple area are *holy rooms. The priests who go near the *LORD will eat the most *holy *sacrifices there. There they shall put the most *holy *sacrifices. These *sacrifices are the grain, the *sin and the blame *sacrifices. These rooms are *holy. v14 The priests who enter the *holy place must leave their special clothes there. The special clothes are *holy. They must change their clothes before they go into the outer area. Then they may go to the part of the *temple area that is for the people.’

Verses 1-12 There were two buildings in the outer area. They were just outside the inner area. One building was on the north side and the other building was on the south side. Ezekiel describes the one on the north side. All these rooms had doors to the north. The building on the south side was like the one on the north side. The rooms in the south building had doors to the south.

The building was 175 feet long (53.8 metres) long, east to west. It was 87½ feet (26.9 metres) wide, north to south. There were three floors with many rooms on each one. The lower two floors had columns.

The entrance to the building was from the outer area on the east side.

Verses 13-14 These two buildings were *holy places. In them, the priests could eat some of the *holy gifts. Also, they would store the oil and grain for the *sacrifices in these buildings. In these rooms, the priests would change their clothes. They had to wear special clothes to serve in the *temple. They would keep those clothes in these rooms.

The size of the *temple area – Ezekiel 42:15-20

v15 When the man had measured the *temple area, he led me out by the east gate. He measured all round the area there. v16 He measured the east side with the stick. It was 500 *cubits long. v17 He measured the north side with the stick. It was 500 *cubits long. v18 He measured the south side with the stick. It was 500 *cubits long. v19 Then he turned to the west side and he measured it with the stick. It was 500 *cubits long. v20 So, he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall all round it. The wall was 500 *cubits long and 500 *cubits wide. The wall separated the *holy area from the ordinary land.

Verses 15-20 The man took Ezekiel out of the entire *temple area. They went out by the east gate. There was a wall round the whole area. The area was a square. The man measured the wall. The area was 875 feet (269.2 metres) long and 875 feet (269.2 metres) wide.

temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
sacrifice ~ The priests killed a special animal and they burned it on an altar. That animal was called a sacrifice. They offered a sacrifice when they asked God to forgive sins. When Jesus died, he was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Animals or people whom God or other people kill for a purpose are also sacrifices (see Ezekiel 39:17). And people also made sacrifices to false gods.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
cubit ~ a length of about half a metre.
holy ~ a holy object is special; it is only for religion. God himself and his name are also called ‘holy’. This means that God and his name are perfect, in fact, even more than perfect.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
sacrifice ~ The priests killed a special animal and they burned it on an altar. That animal was called a sacrifice. They offered a sacrifice when they asked God to forgive sins. When Jesus died, he was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Animals or people whom God or other people kill for a purpose are also sacrifices (see Ezekiel 39:17). And people also made sacrifices to false gods.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.