Ezekiel 43:27

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, the opening ceremony was complete. The *altar was ready for daily use. There were daily *sacrifices. There were monthly *sacrifices. There were *sacrifices on special occasions. Sometimes a person would decide to give an extra *sacrifice as a gift to God.

And God would accept these *sacrifices. But the *Israelites had to offer these *sacrifices regularly (Hebrews 10:1-4). Only the *sacrifice of Jesus the *Messiah had a permanent effect. He died once to take away all the *sins of everyone who trusts him (Hebrews 9:28).

vision ~ something that God shows to a person but not with the physical sight. Visions are often in the form of dreams.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.
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.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
vision ~ something that God shows to a person but not with the physical sight. Visions are often in the form of dreams.
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.

'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
throne ~ the special chair for the king.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
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.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
prostitute ~ a woman who receives payment when she offers her body for sex. There are also male prostitutes.
prostitution ~ what a prostitute does.
prostitute ~ a woman who receives payment when she offers her body for sex. There are also male prostitutes.
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.
exile ~ When people have to live in a foreign country they are in exile. Such a person is called an exile.
turn ~ to change your behaviour, your friends, or your God; or, to carry out actions in order to oppose someone.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
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.
cubit ~ a length of about half a metre.
horns ~ hard bones on an animal’s head; a thing like a stick, with a point, that grows on the heads of cows and some sheep. On the corners of the altar are things like horns, which are called the ‘horns of the altar’.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
bulls ~ the male farm animals which mate with cows.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
descendant ~ a later member of a family.
clean ~ acceptable to God.
bronze ~ A brown metal. It glows when in a fire. It polishes well and it reflects the light. It is very strong.
Messiah ~ The Jews expect a king to come who will save them. That king, called the Messiah, will rule both them and all people.
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.
bulls ~ the male farm animals which mate with cows.'

Ezekiel: “They shall know that I am God”

The Future *Temple and *Sacrifices

Ezekiel Chapter s 40 to 48

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 voice was like the sound of rushing water. And the earth shone from his *glory. v3 I saw this in a *vision. And this *vision was like the *vision that I had seen before. Then the *vision was of the *LORD when he came to destroy the city. This *vision was also like the *vision that I had by the river called Chebar. I fell with my face to the ground. v4 The *glory of the *LORD came into the *temple area through the east gate. v5 Then the Spirit picked me up. He brought me into the inner area. There the *glory of the *LORD filled the *temple.

v6 The man stood by my side. Then I heard a voice, which spoke to me from the *temple. v7 That voice said, ‘*Son of man, this is the place of my *throne. This is where I rest my feet. I will live here among the *Israelites always. The *Israelites will never again cause my *holy name to seem like something unclean. They and their kings will not *worship the kings’ false gods, which have no life. They carried out that evil behaviour on the mountains, like *prostitutes. v8 They caused my *holy name to seem like something unclean. They did this when they put their doors next to my door. They made their entrances next to mine. There was only a small wall between them and me. There they did those things that I hate. This caused my *holy name to seem like something unclean. And so, I killed them because of my anger. v9 Now let them stop their *prostitution. They must destroy their kings’ false gods, which have no life. Then I will come and I will live among them for all time.’

v10 ‘*Son of man, describe the *temple to the *Israelites. Then they will be ashamed of their *sins. Let them think about the plan of the *temple. v11 Maybe they are ashamed of all that they have done. If so, tell them about the design of the *temple. Tell them its design, its entrances and exits. Tell them its shape and the plan of everything in it. Give to them all its rules and regulations. Write these things down in front of them. Then they can be accurate about its design. And then they can follow all its regulations.

v12 This is the law of the *temple. All the area round about the top of the mountain is very *holy. This is the law of the *temple.’

Verses 1-5 The man led Ezekiel to the east gate of the outer area. They looked towards the east. Ezekiel saw the *glory of God come from the east. It was like the *glory that he had seen by the Chebar River. And he had seen that same *glory when God left the old *temple. That *glory had gone through the east gate of that *temple. God’s *glory would not return until this *temple was ready for him.

The *glory of God went through the east gate into the *temple. The Spirit took Ezekiel into the inner court. There he saw that the *glory filled the *temple.

This *prophecy has not yet happened. It is still future. I believe that, one day, there will be this *temple. Then God’s *glory will come and he will fill the *temple.

Verses 6-9 The voice that spoke from the *temple in verse 6 was the *Lord’s voice. He entered the *temple and he was speaking from his *throne. So the words in verses 7 to 26 are the *Lord’s words.

The new *temple will be God’s *throne. It will be God’s house for all time. The *Israelites will serve the real God. They will never *turn to false gods again.

These verses show why God gave this *vision to Ezekiel. He desires to live with his people. He wants them to serve him. They must never *turn to false gods again.

God compares the *worship of false gods to *prostitution. He does this for two reasons. The people were not loyal to God, even as a *prostitute is not loyal to her husband. And *sins of sex were part of the false religions that the *Israelites followed during Ezekiel’s life. God says that this *prostitution must end. The *Israelites must be completely loyal to him.

Verses 10-12 When Ezekiel told the people about the new *temple, they should be ashamed. They knew that God had left the old *temple. Then the *Babylonians had destroyed it. They knew that the reason for this was the *sin of the *Israelites.

The people would think about the plans of the new *temple. And maybe they would *repent of their *sins.

The area of the new *temple will be much larger then the old one. The whole area will be a *holy place. This includes the top of the mountain beyond the *temple area.

The *altar for *sacrifices – Ezekiel 43:13-27

v13 ‘This is the size of the *altar in long *cubits. These long *cubits are a *cubit plus the width of a hand. Its ditch will be one *cubit deep and one *cubit wide. It will have a lip on its edge of half a *cubit. So, this will be the height of the base of the *altar. v14 From the ground up to a lower lip will be two *cubits high and one *cubit wide. From the smaller lip to the larger lip will be 4 *cubits high and one *cubit wide. v15 The place where the priest burns the *sacrifice on the *altar will be 4 *cubits high. Above this, there will a *horn at each of the 4 corners of the *altar. v16 The top of the *altar will be 12 *cubits long and 12 *cubits wide. It will be square. v17 The upper edge of the *altar will be 14 *cubits long and 14 *cubits wide. There will be a lip all round of half a *cubit. And there will be a ditch of one *cubit all round. The steps to the *altar will be on the east side.’

v18 Then he said this to me. ‘*Son of man, this is what the *LORD your King says. These are the rules for the *altar on its first day of use. The *altar will be the place where the priests burn the *sacrifices. They will throw some of the blood against the *altar. v19 You must give to the priests a young *bull as a *sacrifice because of *sin. These priests belong to the family of their *ancestor Zadok who was a *descendant of Levi. They shall come near to me in order to serve me, says the *LORD your King. v20 You must take some of its blood and put it on the 4 *horns of the *altar. You must put some blood on the 4 corners of the upper lip and all round the edge. This is how you will make the *altar *clean and ready. Then God will accept it. v21 Then you must take the *bull and burn it as a *sacrifice because of *sin. You must burn it in the proper place. This is in the *temple area outside the *holy place.

v22 On the second day, bring a male goat that has nothing wrong with it. It will be a *sacrifice because of *sin. The priests will make the *altar *clean and ready as they did with the young *bull. v23 When the *altar is *clean and ready, *sacrifice a young *bull and a male sheep. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. v24 You must *sacrifice them in front of the *LORD. The priests must throw salt on them. Then the priests must burn them as *burnt *sacrifices to the *LORD.

v25 You must bring a goat every day for 7 days as a *sacrifice because of *sin. You must bring a young *bull and a male sheep. There must be nothing wrong with these animals. v26 For 7 days, the priests must make the *altar *clean and ready. Then they will give to God the *altar. v27 After these 7 days, on the 8th day and afterwards, this is what the priests must do. They must bring to the *altar your *burnt *sacrifices. They must also bring your *sacrifices for peace and they must put them on the *altar. Then I will accept you, says the *LORD your King.’

Verses 13-17 The *altar was in front of the main *temple building. It was in the inner area. Ezekiel describes the *altar from the bottom to the top. Round the base of the *altar, there was a ditch. This ditch was 2 feet (0.6 metres) deep and 2 feet (0.6 metres) wide. The edge of the ditch had a lip of nearly a foot (about 0.25 metres).

Above the base, the *altar was in three sections. The first section was 3½ feet (1.1 metres) high. The *altar was square. This section was 28 feet (8.6 metres) long on each side. The second section was 7 feet (2.2 metres) high. It was 24½ feet (7.5 metres) long on each side. It had a lip on the top of nearly a foot (about 0.25 metres) wide. The third section was 7 feet (2.2 metres) high. It was 21 feet (6.5 metres) long on each side. On this section, there were *horns on each corner.

There were steps up to the top of the *altar from the east side.

Verses 18-27 After they had built the *altar, the priests had to make it ready for use. This process took 7 days. On the first day, the priests must kill a young *bull as a *sacrifice because of *sin. They must take some of the blood of the *bull. They must put it on the 4 *horns and all round the top edge of the *altar.

Then, on each of the other days, the priests must *sacrifice a goat. This goat must be a male and it must be perfect. Then, on each of the days, they must *sacrifice a young *bull and a male sheep. They must put salt on these animals and burn them.

After the 7 days, the *altar will be ready for daily use. When people decide to offer *sacrifices, they will bring their animals to the priests. The priests will *sacrifice the animals on the *altar on behalf of the people.

My opinion is that these *sacrifices will happen in the future, during the *millennium. But these *sacrifices cannot replace the *Lord Jesus Christ’s *sacrifice. He died once for all time because of our *sin. His *sacrifice was perfect and complete. And God forgives our *sin because of Christ’s *sacrifice. So the *sacrifices in this *temple cannot take away *sin. Instead, these *sacrifices must refer back to Christ’s death. And they remind people about the *sacrifice of Christ. So, they are like the communion service (in other words, the ceremony when Christians break bread together).

Priests and *sacrifices – Ezekiel 44:1-46

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.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.
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.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
vision ~ something that God shows to a person but not with the physical sight. Visions are often in the form of dreams.
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.'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
throne ~ the special chair for the king.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
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.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
prostitute ~ a woman who receives payment when she offers her body for sex. There are also male prostitutes.
prostitution ~ what a prostitute does.
prostitute ~ a woman who receives payment when she offers her body for sex. There are also male prostitutes.
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.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.
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.
turn ~ to change your behaviour, your friends, or your God; or, to carry out actions in order to oppose someone.
Babylonian ~ a person from the nation called Babylon or anything that has a relationship with Babylon.
repent ~ to change the mind; to turn away from sin and turn to God.
turn ~ to change your behaviour, your friends, or your God; or, to carry out actions in order to oppose someone.
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.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
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.
cubit ~ a length of about half a metre.
horns ~ hard bones on an animal’s head; a thing like a stick, with a point, that grows on the heads of cows and some sheep. On the corners of the altar are things like horns, which are called the ‘horns of the altar’.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
bulls ~ the male farm animals which mate with cows.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
descendant ~ a later member of a family.
clean ~ acceptable to God.
millennium ~ the rule of Christ on the earth for 1000 years (Revelation chapter 20).