This chapter describes the opening of the *temple in Ezekiel’s
*vision. Ezekiel had seen that the *temple was complete. The *angel
had measured it. The act of measurement was a word picture to mean
that the *angel tested it. He had tested it, and it was complete. It
was splendid. It was ready for Go... [ Continue Reading ]
EZEKIEL’S LAST *VISION
EZEKIEL CHAPTER S 40 TO 48
_COMMENTARY: KEITH SIMONS; TRANSLATION: IAN MACKERVOY._
CHAPTER 43
THE *GLORY OF GOD RETURNS TO THE *TEMPLE – EZEKIEL 43:1-12
V1 Then the man led me to the east gate. V2 I saw the *glory of the
God of *Israel, which came from the east. His voi... [ Continue Reading ]
Ezekiel saw God’s *glory. Ezekiel did not describe God’s *glory
here. But it was the same as Ezekiel had seen on previous occasions.
He described it in chapter 1. God’s *glory was impressive. It was an
astonishing experience. Even the ground was shining because God’s
*glory was so bright. The *glory... [ Continue Reading ]
This *vision caused Ezekiel to remember two previous occasions when he
saw God’s *glory. The *vision by the river Chebar was in chapter 1.
And the other *vision was in chapter 10. On that second occasion,
Ezekiel saw God’s *glory leave the original *temple in Jerusalem. It
was terrible that such a t... [ Continue Reading ]
Ezekiel seems to say that he did not enter the *temple in the usual
manner. He did not walk in. The Holy Spirit took him into the inner
area. This was not the first time that such a thing happened to
Ezekiel (8:3). But Ezekiel does not often use such a description. So
clearly, this was an unusual ex... [ Continue Reading ]
The *angel who acted as Ezekiel’s guide entered the inner area with
him. But the voice that Ezekiel heard was not the *angel’s voice. It
was the voice of God.... [ Continue Reading ]
In 1 Kings chapter 8, King Solomon made a speech and a prayer at the
opening of the original *temple. King Solomon organised the
construction of that *temple. He acted as its architect, although he
received the plans from his father, King David. The speech that begins
in 43:7 has a similar purpose t... [ Continue Reading ]
This was the reason for the people’s *sin in the past. They did not
recognise what was *holy. In other words, they acted as if God was
just a man, like themselves. So they did not respect his *holy *temple
or his *holy law. It was true that they had built his house. But they
also built their own hou... [ Continue Reading ]
That is why God showed this *vision to Ezekiel. The descriptions in
this *vision may seem strange to us today. But those descriptions were
familiar to the people in *exile, who had lost their *temple. Because
of that event, they may have thought that nothing could mend their
relationship with God. B... [ Continue Reading ]
The people’s proud attitudes must end. They had *sinned, so they
must be humble. They must confess their *sin to God. But if they did
these things, Ezekiel’s *vision would be like a wonderful promise to
them. God was not just promising a building, however wonderful that
building may be. He was promi... [ Continue Reading ]
Like the original *temple, this *temple was at the top of a mountain.
That is, the mountain called Zion, which is in Jerusalem. But the
original *temple was inside the city. As soon as people left it, they
were in the streets. There, people carried on their normal activities.
They only considered th... [ Continue Reading ]
The description of the *altar begins here. And the *altar was the
place where priests burned *sacrifices as a gift to God. Some
*sacrifices were because of human *sin. The person who *sinned
deserved to die. So that person offered an animal, for example a *bull
or a sheep, as a *sacrifice. The pries... [ Continue Reading ]
The *altar was tall, but it stood firm. The description is of three
levels. Each level was narrower than the one below. But the *altar was
so large that its top level was 21 feet (5.6 metres) across. On this
top surface, the priests would burn the *sacrifices.
The *sacrifice burned because of God’s... [ Continue Reading ]
At the opening of the original *temple, Solomon offered thousands of
animals as *sacrifices (2 Chronicles 7:5). And some people may have
thought that such great ceremonies were necessary in order to please
God (Micah 6:6-8). But God only wanted a simple ceremony to prepare
the *altar for use.
On th... [ Continue Reading ]
For the rest of that week, the priests offered three animals daily as
*sacrifices. *Bulls, sheep and goats were the three kinds of animal
that the *Israelites could use for *sacrifices. Before the priests
could offer an animal, they had to check it. Only perfect animals were
suitable for use as *sac... [ Continue Reading ]
So there was a special week of *sacrifices. This was like the special
week in Leviticus chapter 8, when the priests began to serve God at
the sacred tent. The new *temple in Ezekiel’s *vision was a new
beginning for the priests. And so another special week was necessary.
At the end of that week, th... [ Continue Reading ]