EZEKIEL 43 COMMENTARYEDITED BY GLENN PEAS3E

God’s Glory Returns to the Temple

1 Then the man brought me to the gate facing east,

BARNES, "The gate - This was the eastern gate from the precincts to the outer court.

GILL, "Afterward he brought me to the gate,.... The dimensions of this wonderful building being finished, the prophet's divine guide brought him from the wall about it, he had last measured, to the gate he first had him to, after he had observed to him the same wall, Eze_40:5, even the gate that looketh toward the east; or, as the Targum, which was open to the way of the east. The reason of his being brought hither follows.

HENRY, "After Ezekiel has patiently surveyed the temple of God, the greatest glory of this earth, he is admitted to a higher form, and honoured with a sight of the glories of the upper world; it is said to him, Come up hither. He has seen the temple, and sees it to be very spacious and splendid; but, till the glory of God comes into it, it is but like the dead bodies he had seen in vision (ch. 37), that had no breath till the Spirit of life entered into them. Here therefore he sees the house filled with God's glory.

JAMISON, "Eze_43:1-27. Jehovah’s return to the Temple.Everything was now ready for His reception. As the Shekinah glory was the peculiar distinction of the old temple, so it was to be in the new in a degree as much more transcendent as the proportions of the new exceeded those of the old. The fact that the Shekinah glory was not in the second temple proves that it cannot be that temple which is meant in the prophecy.

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K&D 1-12, "Entrance of the Glory of the Lord into the New TempleEze_43:1. And he led me to the gate, the gate which looked toward the east: Eze_43:2. And behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the east, and its sound was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory. Eze_43:3. And the appearance which I saw, was to look at like the appearance which I saw when I came to destroy the city; and (there were) appearances like the appearance which I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell down upon my face. Eze_43:4. And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate, the direction of which is toward the east. Eze_43:5. And wind lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house. Eze_43:6. And I heard one speaking to me from the house, and there was a man standing by me. Eze_43:7. And he said to me, Son of man, the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I shall dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel for ever; and the house of Israel will no more defile my holy name, they and their kings, through their whoredom and through the corpses of their kings, their high places, Eze_43:8. When they set their threshold by my threshold, and their door-posts by my door-posts, and there was only the wall between me and them, and they defiled my holy name by their abominations which they did, so that I destroyed them in my wrath. Eze_43:9. Now will they remove their whoredom and the corpses of their kings from me, and I shall dwell in the midst of them for ever. Eze_43:10. Thou, son of man, show to the house of Israel this house, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities, and may measure the well-measured building. Eze_43:11.And when they are ashamed of all that they have done, show them the picture of the house and its arrangement, and its goings out and in, and all its forms and all its statutes, and all its forms and all its laws; and write it before their eyes, that they may keep all its form and all its statutes and do them. Eze_43:12. This is the law of the house: Upon the top of the mountain all its territory round about is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. - The angel had shown the prophet the new sanctuary as already completed, and had measured it in his presence according to its several parts. But this building only became the house of God when Jehovah as the God of Israel consecrated it, to be the dwelling-place of His divine and gracious presence in the midst of His people, by the entrance of His divine glory into the house.

(Note: “The Lord appears, and fills the house with His own glory; showing that the house will not only be built, but will be filled with the power of God” (Theodoret).)The description of the new temple closes, therefore, with this act of consecration. That the prophet might see this act of divine grace with his own eyes, the measuring man led him from the ground surrounding the temple (Eze_42:15-20) back again to the east gate (Eze_43:1). The allusion is to the eastern gate of the outer court; for it is not till Eze_43:5 that Ezekiel is taken into the inner court, and, according to Eze_44:1, he was brought back to the east gate of the outer court. Standing in front of this gate, he sees the glory of the God of Israel come by the way from the east with a great noise, and lighting up the earth with its splendour. The coming of the theophany from the east points back to Eze_10:19; Eze_11:1 and Eze_11:23, where the Shechinah, when leaving the ancient temple, went out at the east gate and ascended to the summit of the mountain, which was situated on the east of Jerusalem. It was from the east, therefore, that it returned to

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enter the new temple. This fact is sufficient of itself to show that the present entrance of the divine glory into the new temple did not lay the foundation for a new and more exalted bond of grace, but was simply intended to restore the relation which had existed before the removal of Israel into captivity. The tabernacle and Solomon's temple had both been consecrated by Jehovah in the same manner as the seat of His throne of grace in Israel (compare Exo_40:34-35; 1Ki_8:10-11; and 2Ch_5:13-14, and 2Ch_7:1-3, from which the expression את־בית in Eze_43:5 has been borrowed). It is true that Hävernick, Kliefoth, and others find, along with this agreement, a difference in the fact that the glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud in both the tabernacle and Solomon's temple; whereas here, on the contrary, it appeared in that peculiar form which Ezekiel had already repeatedly seen. But it does not follow that there was really a difference, because the cloud is not mentioned in the verses before us; for it is evident that the cloud was not wanting, even in the manifestation of the glory of God seen by Ezekiel, from the words found in Eze_10:3 : “The cloud filled the inner court, and the glory of Jehovah had risen up from the cherubim to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the splendour of the glory of Jehovah.” If, therefore, it is expressly attested in Eze_43:3, as even Kliefoth admits, that the appearance of God which entered the temple as like the appearance which Ezekiel saw by the Chaboras and before the destruction of the temple, and in connection with the last-mentioned appearance the cloud was visible along with the brilliant splendour of the divine doxa, the cloud will certainly not have been wanting when it entered the new temple; and the only reason why it is not expressly mentioned must be, that it did not present a contrast to the brilliant splendour, or tend to obscure the light of the glory of God, but as a shining cloud was simply the atmospheric clothing of the theophany.

If, then, the cloud did not present a contrast to the brilliancy of the divine glory, it cannot be inferred from the words, “and the earth shone with His glory,” that there was any difference between this and the earlier manifestations of the divine glory at the consecration of the tabernacle and Solomon's temple; more especially as these words to not affirm that it became light on earth, but simply that the earth shone with the glory God, - that is to say, that it threw a bright light upon the earth as it passed along, - so that this remark simply serves to indicate the intensity of the brightness of this theophany. The words ' ל ק ל כק are not to be understood, as we may learn from Eze_1:24, as referring to a voice of the coming God, but describe the loud noise made by the moving of the theophany on account of the rustling of the wings of the cherubim. This resembled the roaring of mighty waves. In Eze_43:3, the expression וכמראה המראה ... is somewhat heavy in style, but is correct Hebrew; and the remark with which כמראהHitzig seeks to justify his alteration of וכמראה into ומראה, - namely, that כמראה “would signify 'so the appearance,' whereas Ezekiel intends to explain the present appearance from the well-known earlier one,” - is false so far as the usage of the language is concerned. When the Hebrew uses two כ in cases of comparison, which we are accustomed to express in German by so...wie (so...as), he always commences with the thing to which he compares another, and lets the thing which is to be compared follow afterwards. Thus, for example, in Gen_18:25, והיה does not affirm that it happens as to the righteous so to the wicked, but vice versâ, that it happens to the righteous as to the wicked; and in Gen_44:18, כי כמ does not mean, for like thee so is Pharaoh, but “for thou art like Pharaoh.” According to this genuine Hebrew expression, the present appearance of the divine glory is mentioned first in the verse before us, and then in the

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earlier one which the present resembled. And even the apparent pleonasm מראה המראהvanishes if we render מראה by “look,” - the look of the apparition which I saw was just like the apparition, etc. 'כבאי לשחת וגו refers to the ecstatic transportation of the prophet to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8-11), to witness the destruction of the city (see more particularly Eze_8:4; Eze_9:1.). “The prophet destroyed the city ideally by his prophecy, of which the fulfilment simply forms the objective reverse side” (Hitzig). ת ומרא is appended in loose apposition, - there were appearances, visions, - and the plural is to be taken as in ת מרא הים א in Eze_1:1; Eze_40:2. For what follows, compare Eze_3:23; Eze_10:15. For Eze_43:5, compare Eze_3:14; Eze_11:24.

In Eze_43:6 and Eze_43:7 the question arises, who it is who is speaking to the prophet; whether it is Jehovah, who has entered the temple, or the man who is standing by Ezekiel in the inner court? There can be no doubt that מדבר is Jehovah here, as in Eze_2:2; though the commentators are divided in opinion whether Jehovah spoke directly to the prophet, or through the medium of the man who stood by his side. Hävernick presses the Hithpael and imagines that Ezekiel heard God conversing ,מדברwithin the sanctuary, in consequence of which the angel stood by his side; so that the words of God consisted chiefly in the command to communicate to Ezekiel the divine revelation which follows in Eze_43:7. But this view is proved to be erroneous by the expression אלי which follows מדבר, and which Hävernick has overlooked. Kliefoth, on the other hand, is of opinion that the words contained in Eze_43:7, which proceeded from the מדבר, were addressed to the prophet directly by God Himself; for he heard them before anything was said by the man, and neither here nor in what follows is the man said to have spoken. On the contrary, both here and in what follows, even in Eze_46:20,Eze_46:24; Eze_47:6-7, it is always God Himself who appears as the speaker, and the man simply as the prophet's guide. But this is also not correct. Such passages as Eze_46:20 and Eze_46:24 compared with Eze_43:19 and Eze_43:21, and Eze_47:6, Eze_47:8, compared with Eze_43:1 and Eze_43:4, show undeniably that the man who conducted the prophet also talked with him. Consequently, in the case referred to in the verse before us, we must also conclude that he who spoke to the prophet from the temple addressed him through the medium of the man who stood by his side, and that איש is the subject to יאמר in Eze_43:7; from which, however, it by no means follows that the מדבר was also an angel, who spoke to the prophet, not from the most holy place, but simply from within the house, as Hitzig explains the matter. The meaning is rather, that Ezekiel heard God conversing with him from the sanctuary, whilst a man, i.e., an angel, stood by his side and spoke to him as follows. איש is in that case not some angel merely who spoke in the name of Jehovah, but the angel of Jehovah, God's own speaker, ὁ λόγοςτοῦ Θεοῦ (Joh_1:1.). But according to his outward habitus, this angel of the Lord, who is designated as איש, is identical with the angel who showed the prophet the temple, and measured it (Eze_40:3 onwards). For according to Eze_47:1. this איש had also a measuring rod, and measured. The absence of the article from איש in Eze_43:6, which prevents Kliefoth from admitting this identity, does not indicate decidedly that a different man from the one mentioned before is introduced here as the prophet's attendant, but simply leaves the identity of this איש with the former indefinite, so that it can only be inferred from the further course of events; because the point of importance

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here was neither to establish this identity by employing the article, nor to define the medium of the word of God more precisely, but simply to introduce the words which follow as the words of God Himself. The address commences with an explanation on the part of God that the temple into which the glory of the Lord had entered was the place of His throne, where He would dwell for ever among the sons of Israel. The ם את־מק is a concise expression, in which את is nota accus., and we have to supply in thought either ראה or הנה: “behold the place.” ם מק ת כפ .the place of the soles of my feet (cf ,רגליIsa_60:13), is equivalent to the footstool of my feet in Isa_66:1. The ark of the covenant is called the footstool of God in 1Ch_28:2 and Psa_132:7; compare Psa_99:5 and Lam_2:1, where this epithet may possibly be used to designate the temple. This also applies to the throne of Jehovah, since God was enthroned above the cherubim of the ark in the holy of holies (cf. Exo_25:22; 1Sa_4:4, etc.). In the sanctuary which Ezekiel saw, no reference is made to the ark of the covenant, and the silence with regard to this is hardly to be regarded as a mere omission to mention it, inasmuch as none of the things contained in the temple are mentioned with the exception of the altars, not even the table of shew-bread or the candlestick. The ark of the covenant is not mentioned, because, as is stated in Jer_3:16, in the Messianic times the ark of the covenant will not be remembered, neither will it be missed.

לם as in Eze_37:26 ,לע and Eze_37:28. The promise culminates in this. לם לע does not apply either to the tabernacle or to Solomon's temple, in which Jehovah also had His dwelling-place, though not for ever. These sanctuaries He left, and gave them up to destruction, because the Israelites had profaned His holy name by their idolatry. This will not take place any more after the erection of the new sanctuary. לא יטמאו is not imperative, but a simple future: “they will no more defiled,” because they come to a knowledge of their sins through the punitive judgment of exile, so that they become ashamed of them, and because the Lord will have poured out His Spirit upon them (cf. Eze_37:23., Eze_39:29). - Formerly, however (Eze_43:7), they profaned the holy name of God by their spiritual whoredom (cf. Ezekiel 16) and by dead idols, for which they erected high places in the immediate neighbourhood of the dwelling-place of Jehovah, that is to say, even in the temple courts, so that Jehovah was only separated from the idols by a wall. This is the general meaning of Eze_43:7 and Eze_43:8, in which the exposition of פגרי is difficulty. Rosenmüller, Hävernick, and others understand by the “corpses of their kings,” the dead idols. Ewald, Hitzig, and Kliefoth, on the other hand, take the expression in a literal sense, as referring to the corpses of kings which had been buried near to the temple, so that the temple had been defiled by the proximity of these graves. But the latter view is precluded by the fact that not a single instance can be adduced of the burial of a king in the vicinity of the temple, since Neh_3:15 contains no allusion to anything of the kind, and the tombs of the kings upon Zion were not so near to the temple that it could possibly be defiled in consequence. Moreover, תם במ cannot be reconciled with this view; and for that reason Ewald and Hitzig propose to read תם תם in their death.” The attempt of Kliefoth, however, to defend the reading“ ,במ ,במby taking it as in apposition to בזנותם and not to ובפגרי ,is a desperate remedy ,מלכיהםwhich clearly shows the impossibility of connecting תם במ with the “corpses of the kings.” We therefore understand by פגרי the dead idols, in accordance with Lev_26:30(cf. Jer_16:18); but by מלכיהם we understand, not the idols, but the Israelitish kings, as

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in the case of the preceding מלכיהם; partly because it cannot be shown that the plural מלכים is ever used in the sense of idols (though the singular מלכם is used of Baal in Zep_1:5 and Amo_5:26), and partly on account of the harshness involved in interpreting the two מלכיהם when standing so close together, in the first instance of the kings, and in the second of the idols of Israel. The corpses of the kings are therefore the dead idols, for which the kings (for example, Manasseh) had built altars or high places (ת in the (במsanctuary, i.e., in the courts of the temple (2Ki_21:4-7). The objection that פגריםwithout anything further, such, for instance, as גלולים sa ,ecnatsni rof ,hcus in Lev_26:30, cannot signify the dead idols, will not bear examination, as the more precise definition which is wanting is supplied by the context, where idolatry is the point in question. תם במ without the preposition ב is a loosely attached apposition to בפגרימלכיהם and בזנותם, which defines more precisely in what way the whoredom of the nation and the dead idols of the kings had amounted to a defiling of the house of the Lord, namely, from the fact that the people and the kings had erected temples of high places (bâmoth) for dead idols by the side of the temple of the living God, and had placed them so close that the threshold and door-posts of these idol-temples touched the threshold and door-posts of the temple of Jehovah, and there was nothing but the wall of the temple (הקיר) between Jehovah and the carcase-gods. תם במ is explained in this way in Eze_43:8, and then the defiling of the holy name of the Lord is mentioned again for the purpose of appending, by means of ואכל (imperf. Piel of כלה), the allusion to the penal judgment which they had thereby brought upon themselves. Eze_43:9. Such profanation as this will not take place any more in time to come, and Jehovah will dwell for ever in the midst of Israel.

To lead Israel to this goal, Ezekiel is to show them the house (i.e., the temple). In this way are the further words of God in Eze_43:10-12 attached to what goes before. הגיד show or make known the house, is equivalent to proclaim to the people the ,את־הביתrevelation concerning the new temple. In this were the Israelites to discern the magnitude of the grace of God, that they might blush at their evil deeds, and measure the well-measured building (תכנית, as in Eze_28:12), i.e., carefully consider and ponder what the Lord had bestowed upon His people through this sanctuary, so that they might suffer themselves to be brought to repentance by means of its glory. And if they felt shame and repentance on account of their transgressions, Ezekiel was to show them the shape and arrangement of the sanctuary, with all its forms and ordinances, an write them out before their eyes, that they might have the picture of it impressed upon their minds, and keep the statutes thereof. In Eze_43:11 the words are crowded together, to indicate that all the several parts and arrangements of the new temple are significant and worthy of being pondered and laid to heart. צורה is the shape of the temple generally, its external form; תכונה, the internal arrangement as a whole. Both of these are noticed specifically by the allusion to the goings out and in, as well as to the forms (ת of the (צורseparate parts, and their statutes and laws. ת חק are the precepts concerning the things to be observed by Israel when appearing before the Lord in the temple, the regulations for divine worship. ת ר the instructions contained in these statutes for sanctification ,תof life. The second וכל־צורתו is omitted in the lxx and some of the Hebrew Codd., and

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has therefore been expunged as a gloss by Dathe, Hitzig, and other critics; but it is undoubtedly genuine, and in conformity with the intentional crowding together of words. - The admonition to keep and to observe everything carefully is closed in Eze_43:12 with a statement of the fundamental law of the temple; that upon the lofty mountain the whole of its domain round about is to be most holy. ל־ראש ע ההר does not belong to הבית ot g in the sense of the house which is to be built upon the top of the mountain, but to the contents of the thorâh of this house. It is to stand upon the top of the mountain, and to be most holy in all its domain. ראש ההר is to be understood in accordance with Eze_40:2; and גבל points back to הבית. Both by its situation upon a very high mountain, and also by the fact that not merely the inner sanctuary, and not merely the whole of the temple house, but also the whole of its surroundings (all its courts), are to be most holy, the new sanctuary is to be distinguished from the earlier one. What has been already stated - namely, that the temple shall not be profaned any more - is compressed into this clause; and by the repetition of the words, “this is the law of the house,”' the first section of this vision, viz., the description of the temple, is rounded off; whilst the command given to the prophet in Eze_43:10 and Eze_43:11, to make known all the statutes and laws of this temple to the house of Israel, forms at the same time the transition to the section which follows.

COFFMAN, “Here is a vision of the return of God's glory to the Temple, corresponding in every way to the visions of the departing glory in Ezekiel 10-11 (Ezekiel 43:1-6). God cited the reprobacy of the priests as a hindrance and as a reason for leaving the Temple. God promised that his glory would dwell there forever (Ezekiel 43:7-12); but that promise was made to be absolutely contingent upon Israel's holiness (Ezekiel 43:9-12). We also have the detailed measurements of the altar (Ezekiel 43:13-17), certain details on animals sacrificed, the sprinkling of the blood, the choice of animals, the days when sacrifices were to be offered, etc,

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, [even] the gate that looketh toward the east:

Ver. 1. Afterwards he brought me.] Non nisi dimenso prius montis ambitu. The prophet saw not the glory of God till he had first seen the mount measured, the temple restored. Men must usually wait upon God in the use of means ere they see the King in his glory.

Even the gate that looketh toward the east.] Men must awake out of the west of 7

wickedness, and stand up from dead courses and companies, if Christ, the Day Star from on high, shall give them light. [Ephesians 5:14 Luke 1:78-79]

PETT, "Introduction

Chapter 43 The Glory of Yahweh Returns to the Land.

Having completed his tour of the measurement of the heavenly temple, Ezekiel once again has a vision of the glory of God. This relates directly to the vision he saw when he was first called (chapter 1) and to the vision which he had when he witnessed in vision the destruction of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8:4; Ezekiel 9-10). In this vision Yahweh takes His throne in the heavenly sanctuary and takes up His dwelling there in glory. The measurement had been in preparation for this appearance, This again confirms that we are dealing with a temple that was current in the time of Ezekiel.

This is then to be followed by the depicting of the heavenly altar. But the altar is not measured, rather its measurements are declared and it is then stated that an earthly copy must be made. It is the earthly copy which is now central, as a means by which His people might reach up to Him in His heavenly temple. But the earthly altar will need to be thoroughly ‘de-sinned’ in order to be acceptable, and the method of doing it is described.

There were, however, two aspects of the heavenly temple that had not yet been finally dealt with. The first will come in Ezekiel 44:1-4 and the second in Ezekiel 46:19 to Ezekiel 47:12. Meanwhile various instructions have to be given, and both aspects not dealt with (no measurement is involved) relate directly to these practical instructions, firstly to the Princes and their duties, and secondly to the rituals that must be fulfilled.

Verses 1-3

The Return of Yahweh to the Land in His Heavenly Temple. His Throne Enters the

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Heavenly Holy of Holies (Ezekiel 43:1-12).

‘Afterwards he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looks towards the east, and behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and his voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city, and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the River Chebar, and I fell on my face.’

Ezekiel was now brought back to the East Gate, (having followed his visitant as he measured the externals), the temple and its environs having been fully measured in order to demonstrate that God was about to act again in relation to it. And there he saw again the vision of the glory of God. Especial stress is laid on the massive volume of sound (‘as the voice of many waters’ like the thunder of the mighty Niagara or Victoria falls -Ezekiel 1:24; Revelation 1:15) and the greatness of the glory (the earth shone with His glory, reflecting the glory of God - Isaiah 60:1-3; Habakkuk 3:3-4 see also Deuteronomy 33:2; Exodus 34:29-30; Exodus 34:35; Mark 9:3; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Revelation 1:16; Revelation 18:1). ). The heavenly temple now having been established, the heavenly chariot throne of Yahweh in all its majesty, the great reality behind the symbolic ark of the covenant, now comes to enter the ‘real’ holy of holies in the heavenly temple. God is here in earnest.

‘Came from the way of the east.’ Previously it was from the north (Ezekiel 1:4). God can come from anywhere. We must not limit Him to one place, and it was towards the east that He had previously departed. See Ezekiel 11:23.

‘When I came to destroy the city.’ Ezekiel felt so involved with his visions that he saw himself as having had a part in the destruction of Jerusalem. His words of prophecy had, as it were, brought it about.

‘And I fell on my face.’ His reaction was the same as before. A response of awe and worship. Before the glory of Yahweh none could stand. All had to hide their eyes.

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POOLE, "The glory of God returneth into the temple, Ezekiel 43:1-6. God promiseth to dwell there, if the people will put away their sins, Ezekiel 43:7-9. In order to incite them to repentance, the prophet showeth them the model and law of the house, Ezekiel 43:10-12. The measures of the altar, Ezekiel 43:13-17. The ordinances thereof Ezekiel 43:18-27.

After that the measuring of the temple was finished,

he brought me, from the west gate where the whole was finished, and where the 42nd chapter left the prophet,

to the gate, which, lest we should mistake, is expressly described the east gate, of the first wall measured, where he began with the angel, Ezekiel 40:6. From this gate, in a direct line, you have the fairest prospect of the temple.

PULPIT, "The consecration of the new temple by the entrance into it of the glory of the God of Israel (Ezekiel 43:1-12), and a description of the altar with its dedication to the solemn ritual for which it was in future to be employed (Ezekiel 43:13-27), form the contents of the present chapter, and complete the prophet's picture of the future sanctuary of Israel.

Ezekiel 43:1-12

The consecration of the temple by the entrance into it of the glory of the God of Israel.

Ezekiel 43:1

Afterward, etc. Having completed the survey of the temple precincts (Ezekiel 42:15-20), 10

the prophet's guide, "the measuring man," conducted him back to the gate that looked towards the east, i.e. to the gate leading into the outer court from the east (see on Ezekiel 40:6), perhaps because this was the principal entrance to the sanctuary, but chiefly because through it the impending theophany was to pass.

KRETZMANN 1-2, The Entrance of Jehovah's Gloryv. 1. Afterward He brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east, the main entrance of the Temple,

v. 2. and, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, to make the Temple of the New Testament, the glorious structure of His Church, the dwelling of His merciful presence; and His voice was like a noise of many waters, that associated also with other manifestations of the Lord's glory, Eze_1:24; Rev_1:15; Rev_14:2; and the earth shined with His glory, with the reflection of the Shechinah, the wonderful cloud of the presence of Jehovah in the Old Testament, that which was also seen at the transfiguration of the Lord, Mat_17:5.

2 and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.

CLARKE, "The glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east -This was the chariot of cherubim, wheels, etc., which he saw at the river Chebar. And this glory, coming from the east, is going to enter into the eastern gate of the temple, and thence to shine out upon the whole earth. Is there not a mystery here? All knowledge, all religion, and all arts and sciences, have traveled, according to the course of the sun,

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From East To West! From that quarter the Divine glory at first came; and thence the rays of Divine light continue to diffuse themselves over the face of the earth. From thence came the Bible, and through that the new covenant. From thence came the prophets, the apostles, and the first missionaries, that brought the knowledge of God to Europe, to the isles of the sea, and to the west first, and afterwards to these northern regions.

GILL, "And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east,.... The God of Israel is Jehovah the Father, the covenant God of literal Israel; and the covenant God and Father of the whole spiritual Israel, or his elect, whether Jews or Gentiles; whom he has taken into covenant, loves, cares, provides for, and protects: Christ, who is the brightness of his Father's glory, whose glory is the glory of the only begotten of the Father, is here meant; and who has the same glorious attributes, the same glorious names, and the same worship, honour, and glory, his Father has; and in whom, as Mediator, is displayed the glory of all the divine perfections: he is said to "come from the way of the east"; which agrees with him in his character as the rising sun of righteousness; and with his incarnation, when as the day spring from on high, from heaven, he visited us, was born in the east, where his star appeared; from this part of the world his Gospel first came; here it was first preached, and churches planted; and though these parts have been forsaken by him a long time, he will return hither again; when he will dry up the river Euphrates, and make way for the kings and kingdoms of the east to be converted to him, Rev_7:2, to which a "behold" is prefixed, as a note exciting attention, and raising admiration; as it was matter of wonder and joy to the prophet, to see the glory of the Lord returning to his house, the same way he departed, Eze_10:4, and his voice was like a noise of many waters; this is to be understood of his Gospel, in which he speaks to men, and which is a voice of love, grace, and mercy; of peace and reconciliation; of pardon and righteousness; of life, liberty, and salvation: and the metaphor here used is expressive of the swiftness of its motion in the world; of its general spread in it, and all over it; of the noise it will make, as it always does among men, wherever it comes; and of the rapidity and force of it, being attended with almighty power; and is a soul shaking, heart melting, soul quickening, enlightening, alluring, and comforting voice; see Dan_10:6. The Targum is, "and the voice of them that bless his name is as the voice of many waters.'' The Septuagint and Arabic versions, the voice of the camp or army. And the earth shined with his glory; with the brightness of his glory, as the Targum; with his glorious Gospel, in which the glory of his person, office, and grace, is displayed; this will be spread all over the earth, and that will be enlightened by it: it will remove the darkness and infidelity, error, superstition, idolatry, and all false doctrines from the world, and the darkness of calamity and distress from the church; which will cast a lustre and glory upon it; and with the brightness of which the Lord will destroy antichrist, and by it set up his kingdom in the world, and reign before his ancients gloriously: this will bring on Zion's light and glory, to which kings will come, and upon which will be a defence; Rev_18:1.

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HENRY, " He has a vision of the glory of God (Eze_43:2), the glory of the God of Israel, that God who is in covenant with Israel, and whom they serve and worship. The idols of the heathen have no glory but what they owe to the goldsmith or the painter; but this is the glory of the God of Israel. This glory came from the way of the east, and therefore he was brought to the gate that leads towards the east, to expect the appearance and approach of it. Christ's star was seen in the east, and he is that other angel that ascends out of the east, Rev_7:2. For he is the morning star, he is the sun of righteousness. Two things he observed in this appearance of the glory of God: - 1. The power of his word which he heard: His voice was like a noise of many waters, which is heard very far, and makes impressions; the noise of purling streams is grateful, of a roaring sea dreadful, Rev_1:15; Rev_14:2. Christ's gospel, in the glory of which he shines, was to be proclaimed aloud, the report of it to be heard far; to some it is a savour of life, to others of death, according as they are. 2. The brightness of his appearance which he saw: The earth shone with his glory; for God is light, and none can bear the lustre of his light, none has seen nor can see it. Note, That glory of God which shines in the church shines on the world. When God appeared for David the brightness that was before him dispersed the clouds, Psa_18:12. This appearance of the glory of God to Ezekiel he observed to be the same with the vision he saw when he first received his commission (Eze_1:4), according to that by the river Chebar (Eze_43:3); because God is the same, he was pleased to manifest himself in the same manner, for with him is no variableness. “It was the same” (says he) “as that which I saw when I came to destroy the city, that is, to foretel the city's destruction,” which he did with such authority and efficacy, and the event did so certainly answer the prediction, that he might be said to destroy it. As a judge, in God's name, he passed a sentence upon it, which was soon executed. God appeared in the same manner when he sent him to speak words of terror and when he sent him to speak words of comfort; for in both God is and will be glorified. He kills and he makes alive; he wounds and he heals, Deu_32:39. To the same hand that destroyed we must look for deliverance. He has smitten, and he will bind up. Una eademque manus vulnus opemque tulit - The same hand inflicted the wound and healed it.JAMISON, "And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east,.... The God of Israel is Jehovah the Father, the covenant God of literal Israel; and the covenant God and Father of the whole spiritual Israel, or his elect, whether Jews or Gentiles; whom he has taken into covenant, loves, cares, provides for, and protects: Christ, who is the brightness of his Father's glory, whose glory is the glory of the only begotten of the Father, is here meant; and who has the same glorious attributes, the same glorious names, and the same worship, honour, and glory, his Father has; and in whom, as Mediator, is displayed the glory of all the divine perfections: he is said to "come from the way of the east"; which agrees with him in his character as the rising sun of righteousness; and with his incarnation, when as the day spring from on high, from heaven, he visited us, was born in the east, where his star appeared; from this part of the world his Gospel first came; here it was first preached, and churches planted; and though these parts have been forsaken by him a long time, he will return hither again; when he will dry up the river Euphrates, and make way for the kings and kingdoms of the east to be converted to him, Rev_7:2, to which a "behold" is prefixed, as a note exciting attention, and raising admiration; as it was matter of wonder and joy to the

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prophet, to see the glory of the Lord returning to his house, the same way he departed, Eze_10:4, and his voice was like a noise of many waters; this is to be understood of his Gospel, in which he speaks to men, and which is a voice of love, grace, and mercy; of peace and reconciliation; of pardon and righteousness; of life, liberty, and salvation: and the metaphor here used is expressive of the swiftness of its motion in the world; of its general spread in it, and all over it; of the noise it will make, as it always does among men, wherever it comes; and of the rapidity and force of it, being attended with almighty power; and is a soul shaking, heart melting, soul quickening, enlightening, alluring, and comforting voice; see Dan_10:6. The Targum is, "and the voice of them that bless his name is as the voice of many waters.'' The Septuagint and Arabic versions, the voice of the camp or army. And the earth shined with his glory; with the brightness of his glory, as the Targum; with his glorious Gospel, in which the glory of his person, office, and grace, is displayed; this will be spread all over the earth, and that will be enlightened by it: it will remove the darkness and infidelity, error, superstition, idolatry, and all false doctrines from the world, and the darkness of calamity and distress from the church; which will cast a lustre and glory upon it; and with the brightness of which the Lord will destroy antichrist, and by it set up his kingdom in the world, and reign before his ancients gloriously: this will bring on Zion's light and glory, to which kings will come, and upon which will be a defence; Rev_18:1.

COKE, “Ezekiel 43:2. The glory of the God of Israel— The Lord appeared upon his chariot borne by the cherubim, in the same manner as we have seen described in the first, eighth, and ninth chapters. The glory of the Lord, when it forsook the temple, is described as departing from the eastern gate of it; afterwards it is represented as quite forsaking the city, and removing to a mountain on the east side of it; and now it returns by the same way it departed. See chap. Ezekiel 10:11 and Calmet.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice [was] like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.

Ver. 2. And behold the glory,] i.e., The vision of the glory. God, who by the east gate had left the temple and the city, [Ezekiel 10:19] doth now the same way return, and filleth the house with the glory of his presence.

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And his voice was like a noise of many waters.] Importing the multitude of his attendants, and his irresistible power, in his gospel especially, which is the power of God to salvation, and, like a mighty torrent, bears down all before it.

And the earth shined with his glory.] How can it do otherwise when the Sun of righteousness cometh in place, and irradiateth both organ and object. [2 Corinthians 4:6] Into Solomon’s temple God came in a thick cloud; not so here. Light is now more diffused than ever. Woe be to those that wink, or who seek straws to put out their eyes with, as Bernard hath it.

POOLE, " Behold: sometimes this word is expletive, but here surely it stands for more; it expresseth, no doubt, the joy the prophet had to see this excellent sight, which should not be seen there more than sixty year’s; for in the sixth year of the captivity the glory of God left the city, Ezekiel 11:22,23; and now the prophet foreseeth its return after the settling the temple, its buildings, and ordinances, which took up a great time, as is evident, John 2:20, which time of forty-six years (viz. thirty in Cyrus, eight in Cambyses, and some six in Darius) is very near accounted. So that between the departure and the return of the glory of God, are about one hundred and six or eight years, and about fourscore between this vision and the accomplishment. The glory: see Ezekiel 1:28.

Of the God of Israel; of him who is an infinitely glorious Being, yet in covenant with us, as a peculiar people of God.

Came from the way of the east: when the glory departed it went eastward, and now that it returns it comes from the east.

His voice: though by the voice of God thunder is sometimes meant, yet here it was an articulate voice, as appears Ezekiel 43:7,8. Perhaps this might be attended with thunder, as usually in such cases.

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Like a noise of many waters; terrible, and a mighty voice, as the noise of mighty waves of the sea; so Ezekiel 1:24 Revelation 1:15.

The earth; not the whole earth, but that part about Jerusalem and the temple.

Shined with his glory; the rays of glory, like the sun-beams, made the dark earth to shine with glorious light.

PULPIT, "Scarcely had the prophet taken up his station at or near the gate when the glory of the God of Israel (see on Ezekiel 1:28; Ezekiel 3:23) came from the way of the east, as if intending to enter the temple by the very door through which it had previously departed from the temple (comp. Ezekiel, Ezekiel 10:19; Ezekiel 11:22, Ezekiel 11:23). The voles which proceeded from the theophany and resembled the noise of many waters, is after the LXX. ( καὶ φωνὴ τῆς παρεμβολῆς) by Keil and Smend understood to have been the sound produced by the motion of the wheels and the rustling of the wings of the cherubim (see on Ezekiel 1:2, Ezekiel 1:4; Ezekiel 10:5), but is better taken, with Kliefoth and Hengstenberg, to signify the voice of the Almighty himself, i.e. of the personal Jehovah (comp. Revelation 1:15). The statement that the earth shined with his glory (comp. Revelation 18:1) has by Havernick, Kliefoth, and others been supposed to indicate the absence of that "cloud" in which the glory of Jehovah appeared in both the Mosaic tabernacle (Exodus 40:34, Exodus 40:35) and the Solomonic temple (1 Kings 8:10, 1 Kings 8:11), and thereby to point to the clearer and more resplendent manifestations of the Godhead, which were to be given in connection with the new dispensation for which Ezekiel's "house" was being prepared. This, however, as Keil has shown, cannot be main-rained in face of the facts that in both Exodus and 1 Kings "the glory of the Lord" is used synonymously with "the cloud," and that in Ezekiel's vision "the glory" and "the cloud" were alike present (see Ezekiel 10:3, Ezekiel 10:4). Kliefoth and Schroder hold "the earth" which was illumined to have been "the whole globe," "the entire region of humanity," as in Isaiah 6:3; Isaiah 60:1, etc.; but there does not appear ground for departing from the ordinary sense of the words, that "the path" of the advancing God was irradiated by the brilliance of his material glory.

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3 The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he[a] came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.

GILL, "And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw,.... Recorded in the first, ninth, and tenth chapters of this book; the form in which the glory of the God of Israel now appeared was like to what he then saw; in each of which visions was the likeness of a throne, and on it the appearance of the glory of God: even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; the city of Jerusalem; not that the prophet destroyed it, or came to destroy it himself, which was to be done, and was done, by the Chaldeans; but to foretell the destruction of it; which prediction of his made it as certain as if it was done. So the Targum, "when I prophesied to destroy the city;'' and this was, when he was bid to cause, in a visionary and prophetic manner, six men, with their destroying weapons, to draw near unto it, and smite it; at which time he saw the glory of the God of Israel go up from the cherub, Eze_9:1. And the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; the four living creatures and the wheels; the throne of sapphire stone, and the glorious appearance above it, Eze_1:3 only with this difference, then he saw the glory of the God of Israel departing, especially in the last vision, but now returning: and I fell upon my face; in reverence of such glorious majesty: affected with such a display of grace and goodness, and sensible of his own unworthiness to behold it: the clearer and fuller views saints have of the grace and glory of Christ, the more humble they are; see Isa_6:1.

HENRY 3-5, "He has a vision of the entrance of this glory into the temple. When he saw this glory he fell upon his face (Eze_43:3), as not able to bear the lustre of God's

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glory, or rather as one willing to give him the glory of it by a humble and reverent adoration. But the Spirit took him up (Eze_43:5) when the glory of the Lord had come into the house (Eze_43:4), that he might see how the house was filled with it. He saw how the glory of the Lord in this same appearance departed from the temple, because it was profaned, to his great grief; now he shall see it return to the temple to his great satisfaction. See Eze_10:18, Eze_10:19; Eze_11:23. Note, Though God may forsake his people for a small moment, he will return with everlasting loving-kindness. God's glory filled the house as it had filled the tabernacle which Moses set up and the temple of Solomon, Exo_40:34; 1Ki_8:10. Now we do not find that ever the Shechinah did in that manner take possession of the second temple, and therefore this was to have its accomplishment in that glory of the divine grace which shines so brightly in the gospel church, and fills it. Here is no mention of a cloud filling the house as formerly, for we now with open face behold the glory of the Lord, in the face of Christ, and not as of old through the cloud of types.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:3 And [it was] according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, [even] according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions [were] like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.

Ver. 3. And it was according to the vision.] Being so much the sweeter and the welcomer to me. Hence he so oft repeateth it; and the Jewish doctors observe that eight times in this one verse, visionis ac videndi vocabulum repetitur, the word for vision and to see it is made use of.

When I came to destroy the city,] i.e., To foretell the destruction of it, [Ezekiel 9:2; Ezekiel 9:5] from which time forth it was a done thing. See Jeremiah 1:10. {See Trapp on "Jeremiah 1:10"}

And I fell upon my face.] In reverence to his majesty, in admiration of his mercy, and in the sense of mine own unworthiness. The nearer any one cometh to God, the lower he falleth in his own eyes, and the more doth "rottenness enter into his bones."

POOLE, " And it, this glory of the God of Israel,

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was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw: see Ezekiel 1:4,28.

To destroy the city; to declare that their sins would ruin their city, Ezekiel 9:3 10:4, which see. Here the effect seems ascribed to him, though he only declares it will be.

By the river Chebar: see Ezekiel 1:1,3.

Fell upon my face; overwhelmed, and as it were swallowed up: see Ezekiel 1:28.

PULPIT, "The prophet identifies the vision on which he now looks as the same he had formerly beheld on the hanks of the Chebar, when he came to destroy the city, i.e. when, in obedience to Divine command, he stood forth to announce the destruction of Jerusalem. Ewald and Smend follow the Vulgate. quando venit ut disperderet, in substituting "he," Jehovah, for "I," Ezekiel; but the change is unnecessary, as the prophet's language is perfectly intelligible and quite correct, since "the prophet destroyed the city ideally by his prophecy" (Hitzig), and it is not unusual for Scripture to represent a prophet as himself doing what he is only sent to predict (comp. Ezekiel 4:2; Ezekiel 32:18; Jeremiah 1:10). The prophet's reason for introducing this clause was manifestly the same he had for identifying the visions—to show that, while it was the same Jehovah who had departed from the old temple that was now returning to the new, there was nothing incongruous in the idea that he who in the past had shown himself a God of justice and judgment by overturning and destroying the old, should in the future exhibit himself as a God of grace and mercy by condescending to establish his abode in the new. The impression produced upon the prophet's soul by his vision was the same that had been produced by the former—he fell upon his face in awe and wonder.

KRETZMANN 3-5, "v. 3. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, Eze_1:4-28, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city, at the time when he was given the prophecy concerning the fall of the city, in the first chapters of his book; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar, Eze_3:23. And I fell upon my face, overcome by the glory

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of a manifestation which sinful men cannot behold without quaking.

v. 4. And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east, the majesty of God appearing in the fullness of His grace, to enter into the portal of His everlasting Temple. Cf Psa_24:7-10.

v. 5. So the Spirit, Eze_3:12-23; Eze_10:15, took me up and brought me into the inner court, while the prophet was in this state of ecstasy; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house, as it did at the dedication of Solomon's Temple, 1Ki_8:10-11.

4 The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east.

BARNES, "By this gate the glory of the Lord had departed. See the marginal reference.

GILL, "And the glory of the Lord came into the house, Before described and measured; and being fitted and prepared, the builder and owner of it comes and takes up his residence in it; as Christ will do in his church, more especially and more visibly in the latter day: by the way of the gate whose prospect is towards the east; which was the direct way into the outward court, and so to the inward court, and into the holy, and into the most holy place; and was the way by which he departed from hence, Eze_10:18.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way

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of the gate whose prospect [is] toward the east.

Ver. 4. And the glory of the Lord.] See Ezekiel 43:2.

By the way of the gate.] The ordinary entrance into the temple. There, if anywhere, God is to be found. Where should a man be sought for but at his house? Say he be from home a while, yet thither he returneth; so here.

PETT, "Verse 4

‘And the glory of Yahweh came into the house by way of the gate whose prospect is towards the east.’

The glory of Yahweh now entered the heavenly temple situated ‘on a very high mountain somewhere in the land’ (Ezekiel 40:2), through the East Gate. It was nineteen years since Ezekiel had seen Yahweh leave the land. Now He had returned (compare Ezekiel 10:4; Ezekiel 44:4; Exodus 40:34-35 1 Kings 8:10-11; Isaiah 6:1-3), but to His own temple, not one built by man. That made Israel’s future for the present secure. Again this demonstrates that this heavenly temple was an actuality at the time that Ezekiel was speaking.

Patterned on this the glory of Yahweh would also enter the second temple when it was built under Zerubbabel as a foretaste of the glory in the everlasting kingdom under the everlasting king (Haggai 2:7 with 21-23).

POOLE, " The glory: see Ezekiel 43:3.

Came; the sins of impenitent Israel caused the glory of the Lord to go out of his house, but now the repentance of Israel is blessed with the return of this glory.

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Into the house; the temple where before it dwelt.

Whose prospect is toward the east; whose front looks eastward: see Ezekiel 43:2.

PULPIT, "Ezekiel 43:4, Ezekiel 43:5

The prophet next narrates that he saw the glory of the Lord entering into and taking possession of the "house," as formerly it had entered into and taken possession of the tabernacle and the temple (Exodus 40:34, Exodus 40:35; 1 Kings 8:10, 1 Kings 8:11), and that of this he was further assured by experiencing immediately thereafter—not a push from the wind, as Luther and Kliefoth translate, but an impulse from the Spirit (not "a spirit," Ewald, though the Hebrew word wants the article), which raised him from the ground upon which he had fallen (Ezekiel 43:3), took him up (see on Ezekiel 2:2; Ezekiel 3:12), and brought him into the inner court, exactly in front of the "house," where, having looked into the interior, he saw that the glory of the Lord filled the house, the language being that used in connection with the tabernacle and the temple.

5 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

BARNES, "The glory of the Lord filled the house - Compare the marginal reference; Exo_40:34-35.

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CLARKE, "The spirit took me up - And, to follow this thought for a moment, how many men has this heavenly Spirit taken up; filled them with his own influence, and sent them to every country, and nation, and tongue, and people, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God, and to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ! What spiritual temples have been raised, beautified, and filled with the glory of God! And this light is shining and burning more and more unto the perfect day, when the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of God!

GILL, "So the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court,.... The prophet was fallen down on his face, upon the sight of the glory of the Lord, and there he lay, until a wind came, as the word signifies; or the Holy Spirit, which is compared to the wind, for its invisible and irresistible power, came and took him up: humble souls are regarded by the Lord; he raises them up, and exalts them, and brings them into nearer and more intimate communion with God; and gives them clearer views still of the glories of Christ's person, grace, and love: and it is the Spirit of God only that does this, and that to priests only, such an one as Ezekiel was; for none but priests went into the inner court: and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house; the body of it; both the holy and the most holy place, with all its courts and apartments; so the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle when that was set up in the temple of Solomon, when it was built; and the glory of the Lord will fill the church of God, yea, the whole earth, in the latter day, Isa_6:3, of this Christ's personal appearance in the second temple, which gave it a greater glory than the former, was an emblem and pledge, Hag_2:7, here, it may be observed, no mention is made of a cloud, as at the setting up of the tabernacle, and dedication of the temple; denoting the clear light of the Gospel in those times, and how the glory of the Lord will be seen with open face by all the saints.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.

Ver. 5. So the spirit took me up.] Who was fallen upon my face. The lowly shall be lifted up.

And brought me into the inner court.] As being a priest. So is every true believer. [1 Peter 2:9 Revelation 1:6]

Filled the house.] God’s presence is the full glory of each good soul. See Haggai 2:7.23

PETT, " ‘And the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner court, and behold the glory of Yahweh filled the house.’

Ezekiel was not allowed to enter by the gate through which Yahweh had entered (compare Ezekiel 44:2). Instead he was lifted up by the Spirit Who carried him to the inner court. And there he saw the glory of Yahweh filling the sanctuary. But the main glory was revealed in the holy of holies where none could go or see. That he could not look on.

POOLE, " The spirit: see Ezekiel 2:2.

Brought me; carried me, at least supported and moved.

The inner court; the court next to the house of the Lord, this was the innermost court.

Filled, either with splendour and brightness, or with a cloud, such as formerly was, Leviticus 16:2 1 Kings 8:10,11, the token of his presence.

The house; the temple.

6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple.

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BARNES, "The man - A “man.” Probably an angel different from “the man” who had hitherto accompanied the seer. That angel guided, measured, and explained; this is present only to guide.

GILL, "And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house,.... The holy place, the prophet being in the inward court: this is Jehovah the Father, the God of Israel, whose glory entered into it; who utters his voice out of Zion; who speaks in his church by his word, and the ministers of it; and which is to be heard and regarded, not as the word of man, but as the word of God: and the man stood by me: whom he saw at first with a measuring line in his hand, Eze_40:3, and with whom he had been all along, and had seen him measure the house, and all belonging to it: he stood by him as the Mediator between God and him; as the medium of communion with him; as the advocate with the Father: he stood by him to interpret what was said to him; to guide him further into the knowledge of divine things; to assist him, protect and defend him, to continue him in fellowship with God, and to preserve him in grace to glory. Here is an appearance of the three Persons in the Godhead; the Father speaking to the prophet out of the house; the Son in human form standing by him; and the Spirit of the Lord, who had took him up from the ground, and had brought him into the inner court.

HENRY, "He receives instructions more immediately from the glory of the Lord, as Moses did when God had taken possession of the tabernacle (Lev_1:1): I heard him speaking to me out of the house, Eze_43:6. God's glory shining in the church, we must thence expect to receive divine oracles. The man stood by me; we could not bear to hear the voice of God any more than to see the face of God if Jesus Christ did not stand by us as Mediator. Or, if this was a created angel, it is observable that when God began to speak to Ezekiel he stood by and gave way, having no more to say. Nay, he stood by the prophet, as a learner with him; for to the principalities and powers, to the angels themselves, who desire to look into these things, is known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, Eph_3:10. The man stood by him to conduct him thither where he might receive further discoveries, Eze_44:1.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:6 And I heard [him] speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.

Ver. 6. And I heard him speaking unto me.] The man Christ Jesus, standing by. Here, then, is a meeting and the mystery of the blessed Trinity; yea, here is a double mystery to be taken notice of, viz., those two wonderful unions of three persons in

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one God, and of Christ’s two natures in one person.

PETT, " ‘And I heard one speaking to me out of the house, and a man stood by me.’

As Ezekiel watched, with the heavenly visitant beside him, he heard from the sanctuary the voice of One Who was speaking to him. The main reason for mention of the man is so that we would not think it was he who spoke from the temple. The voice was that of God Himself, not of an intermediary

POOLE, " I heard, distinctly, intelligibly, so that I am sure it was no delusion.

Him; the Lord, who was in that glory.

Speaking; what was spoken appears in the next two verses.

Out of the house; God speaks to his out of his temple.

The man; Christ, Mediator.

Stood by, to encourage, inform, and strengthen him.

PULPIT, "And I heard him (better, one) speaking unto me out of the house; and the (literally, a) man stood by me. Two questions arise—Who was the speaker? and, Who the man? As to the speaker, the natural reply is that the One who addressed Ezekiel from the interior of the "house" was Jehovah himself, whose "glory" had just entered in to take possession of the house, and this view is adopted by most interpreters, though Hengstenberg and Schroder regard the man who stood beside the prophet as the one who addressed him. As to the man, it cannot, as Kliefoth

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maintains, be decided solely by the absence of the article before "man" that this was a different person from the guide who had hitherto conducted the prophet and measured the Building. The article may have Been emitted because the important point to be recorded was not the circumstance that the "one" who stood beside him was his quondam guide, but the fact that this "one" was a man. That he was also Ezekiel's old conductor is at least a natural suggestion when one finds him afterwards appearing as a measurer with a line in his hand (Ezekiel 47:3).

KRETZMANN 6-8, "v. 6. And I heard Him speaking unto me out of the house, out of the Sanctuary, where Jehovah at once established His throne; and the Man stood by me. Note that a distinction is made between the person of Him speaking on the inside of the Temple and Him who stood beside Ezekiel; and yet their identity is clear from the following.

v. 7. And He said unto me, Son of man, the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, their permanent resting-place, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever, as the King of his people, and My holy name shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they nor their kings, by their whoredom, by the spiritual adultery of their idolatry, nor by the carcasses of their kings in their high places, the latter referring to their idols as having had lordship over Israel in past times. What the Man says identifies Him entirely with Jehovah; His speech legitimates itself as the Word of Jehovah; He is the Word of God which was with God from the beginning. Cf John 1.

v. 8. In their setting of their threshold by My thresholds and their post by My posts, as when Manasseh built altars in the courts of the Temple to the host of heaven, 2Ki_21:5, and the wall between Me and them, or, "with only the wall between Me and them," they have even defiled My holy name by their abominations that they have committed, as was so abundantly set forth by the various prophets before the Exile; wherefore I have consumed them in Mine anger.

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7 He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The people of Israel will never again defile my holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and the funeral offerings[b] for their kings at their death.[c]

BARNES 7-8, "He said - i. e., God “said.” Both the Septuagint and the Vulgate break this verse into two, so as to make the first half the solemn words of dedication. place a full stop after “forever;” the words mark the distinction between the new and the former sanctuary.

The palace of Solomon abutted upon the southern side of the embankment of the temple-platform; there was but “a wall between Yahweh and them.” When the kings gave themselves up to idolatry, this vicinity was to the temple a pollution and defilement. Thus it has been conjectured that “the garden of Uzza” in which Manasseh and Amon were buried 2Ki_21:18, 2Ki_21:26, and on which now stands the mosque of Omar, was on the temple area itself; if so, this would explain the mention of “high places” in connection with the defilement by the “carcases of kings,” since the platform of the mosque of Omar at the time of Ezekiel rose to a considerable height above the temple.Besides this, idolatrous kings of Judah did actually introduce their idolatries into the temple courts themselves (compare 2Ki_16:11; 2Ki_21:4).

CLARKE, "Son of man, the place of my throne - The throne refers to his majesty; the soles of his feet, to his condescension in dwelling among men.

Where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel - The tabernacle and temple were types of the incarnation of Jesus Christ: “Destroy This Temple, and after three days I will raise it up; - but this he spake of the temple of his body;” Joh_2:19, Joh_2:21. And in That Temple “dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Into this immaculate humanity did the glory of the Supreme God enter; and thus, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.” And this Jesus is Immanuel, God with Us. In him we find united the ineffable majesty of God, with the abjectness of man. He humbled himself in human nature, not only to bear the form of a servant, but to suffer 28

death upon the cross as a malefactor slave! But by these means he has purchased eternal redemption for us; and the spiritual Israel, who find redemption in his blood, shall be raised up wherever his holy name shall be proclaimed; and shall not, like the old apostate Israel, defile that great name by idolatry or a life of wickedness, but they shall show forth the virtues of Him who has called them from darkness into his marvellous light.

GILL, "And he said unto me, son of man,.... A kind, usual, and singular appellation, given to this prophet: these are the words either of the man that stood by him, so the Arabic version; or of Jehovah, speaking out of the house to him: the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet: that is, this house, the church of God, is the place where the throne of the Lord is set; where he rules and reigns; where he sets his feet, and is his resting place; even his, whose throne is the heaven, and the earth his footstool; here Christ, as King of saints, dwells, and here he walks and shows the glory of his majesty: where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever; not Carnal, but spiritual Israel; such as are Israelites indeed, or which the church will be full in the latter day, both Jews and Gentiles; and in the midst of these will Jehovah dwell, and grant his gracious presence, and never more depart from them: this shows that this house or building can not be understood of the second temple; since the Lord did not dwell in that for ever, but has left that house desolate hundreds of years ago: some Jewish writers (p) have owned that it belongs to the times of the Messiah: and my name shall the house of Israel no more defile, or "profane"; or cause to be blasphemed by immoralities, or false doctrines, or superstition and will worship; denoting the holiness of life, purity of doctrine and worship, in the churches of Christ in the latter day; see Isa_4:3, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom: that is, idolatry, which is spiritual fornication; such as the kings of Israel, and their subjects, were often guilty of, before their captivity in Babylon, though not after; nor will they ever return to it in the latter day, when converted; for they will never espouse the idolatries of Rome; and those kings and people that bear the name of Christians, and yet commit fornication with the whore of Babylon, shall do so no more after these times, Rev_17:2, nor by the carcasses of their kings in their high places; or, and "their high places" (q); that is, by both; by the carcasses of their kings being buried in or near the house of God; so the Targum adds, at their death (r); or by human carcasses being sacrificed to Molech or Milcom, which signifies their king: or else the idols themselves are so called, because lifeless and abominable; see Jer_16:18, and the worship of which the kings of Israel encouraged by precept and practice, order and example, and therefore called theirs; and also by their high places, which they made for idolatrous worship, and which were made where the carcasses of their kings were laid, as Ben Melech observes; and all which were done, especially in the reigns of Manasseh and Ammon: but now nothing of this kind shall be hereafter, or any thing now similar to it, in the antichristian

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state.

HENRY 7-8, "God does here, in effect, renew his covenant with his people Israel, upon his retaking possession of the house, and Ezekiel negotiates the matter, as Moses formerly. This would be of great use to the captives at their return both for direction and encouragement; but it looks further, to those that are blessed with the privileges of the gospel-temple, that they may understand how they are before him on their good behaviour.

I. God, by the prophet, puts them in mind of their former provocations, for which they had long lain under the tokens of his displeasure. This conviction is spoken to them to make way for the comforts designed them. Though God gives and upbraids not, it becomes us, when he forgives, to upbraid ourselves with our unworthy conduct towards him. Let them now remember therefore, 1. That they had formerly defiled God's holy name, had profaned and abused all those sacred things by which he had made himself known among them, Eze_43:7. They and their kings had brought contempt on the religion they professed, and their relation to God, by their spiritual whoredom, their idolatry, and by worshipping images, which they called their kings (for so Molochsignifies) or lords (for so Baal signifies), but which were really the carcases of kings, not only lifeless and useless, but loathsome and abominable as dead carcases, in their high places, set up in honour of them. They had defiled God's name by their abominations. And what were they? It was in setting their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, that is, adding their own inventions to God's institutions, and urging all to a compliance with them, as if they had been of equal authority and efficacy, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (Isa_29:13); or, rather, setting up altars to their idols even in the courts of the temple, than which a more impudent affront could not be put upon the divine Majesty. Thus they set up a separation wall between him and them,which stopped the current of his favours to them and spoiled the acceptableness of their services to him. See what an indignity sinners do to God, setting up their walls in opposition to his, and thrusting him out from what is his right; and see what injury they do to themselves, for the nearer any come to God with their sins the further they set him at a distance from them. Some give this sense of it: Though their houses joined close to God's house, their posts and thresholds to hi, so that they were in a manner his next neighbours, there was but a wall between me and them (so it is in the margin), so that it might have been expected they would acquaint themselves with him and be in care to please him, yet they were not so much as neighbourly. Note, It often proves too true, The nearer the church the further from God. They were, by profession, in covenant with God, and yet they had defiled the place of his throne and of the soles of his feet, his temple, where he did both reside and reign. Jerusalem is called the city of the great king(Psa_48:2) and his footstool, Psa_99:5; Psa_132:7. Note, When God's ordinances are profaned his holy name is polluted. 2. That for this God had had a controversy with them in their late troubles. They could not condemn him, for he had but brought upon them the desert of their sins: Wherefore I have consumed them in my anger. Note, Those that pollute God's holy name fall under his just displeasure.JAMISON, "the place — that is, “behold the place of My throne” - the place on which your thoughts have so much dwelt (Isa_2:1-3; Jer_3:17; Zec_14:16-20; Mal_3:1). God from the first claimed to be their King politically as well as religiously: and He had resisted their wish to have a human king, as implying a rejection of Him as the proper

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Head of the state. Even when He yielded to their wish, it was with a protest against their king ruling except as His vicegerent. When Messiah shall reign at Jerusalem, He shall then first realize the original idea of the theocracy, with its at once divine and human king reigning in righteousness over a people all righteous (Eze_43:12; Isa_52:1; Isa_54:13; Isa_60:21).

COKE, “Ezekiel 43:7. Son of man, the place— Son of man, thou seest the place. Houbigant. The prophet here refers to the promise formerly made in relation to the tabernacle and temple; alluding to Christ, in whom all the prophesies of the Old Testament are to have their final accomplishment. Zechariah prophesies of the Messiah, that he should build the temple of the Lord, and bear the glory; that is to say, as the spiritual sense of these prophesies is explained in the New Testament, "He shall build the Christian church;" in him shall all the fulness of the Godhead dwell bodily, and reign; not in types and figures. Calmet explains the last phrase thus, "By adoring idols in my temple, and by burying their kings in my holy mountain." Others, by carcases of their kings, understand the lifeless images which were erected to those dead monarchs, who were deified and worshipped.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:7 And he said unto me, Son of man, 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 for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, [neither] they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.

Ver. 7. The place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet,] i.e., My Church, which is unto me instead of heaven and earth. Behold the place of my throne, &c., [Isaiah 60:1] so some read it; others, As for the place of my throne, &c.

No more defile.] But hallow; for negative holiness alone is little worth.

Nor by the carcases of their kings,] i.e., Their idols; (a) not unfitly called "carcases": - (1.) Because void of life; (2.) Stinking stuff. See Leviticus 26:30, Jeremiah 16:18. These were oft brought in, and countenanced by their kings.

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PETT, "Verse 7-8

‘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 for ever. And the house of Israel will no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their whoredom and by the carcasses of their kings in their high places, in the setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their door post beside my door post, and there was but the wall between me and them. And they defiled my holy name by their abominations which they committed, which is why I have consumed them in my anger.”

Here Yahweh speaks to Ezekiel and confirms that the heavenly sanctuary is His throne room and is where He treads and is present. There may also be the thought that it is there that He places His feet on His footstool (Psalms 99:5; Psalms 132:7). It is the everlasting sanctuary promised in Ezekiel 37:24-28. The earthly sanctuary that Israel will subsequently build, while very important to them, would be but a shadow of this, as Solomon himself previously recognised, ‘Will God in very deed dwell on earth? Behold, Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built’ (1 Kings 8:27). Compare also the words of Isaiah 66:1, ‘The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool, what manner of house will you build for me?’ There was no temple that could hold Yahweh, only the heavenly temple.

He points out that they will not be able to defile this heavenly sanctuary, whatever they may do with their earthly copy, and indeed had done previously. Even Solomon, in all his supposed wisdom, had not had the wit to recognise the insult to God there was in his building his house next to God’s house so that there was no clear distinction. (There was no walled in outer court in his temple). He had put himself just at ‘the other side of the wall’ from God’s sanctuary, and had built his house ‘threshold to threshold and door to door’, as though he were somehow semi-divine, and his successors had done likewise. They had taken His adoption of them too literally. They had thus drawn to themselves some of the glory of God. But as mortal kings they had died, and death had thus contaminated His house, and then they had arranged for themselves to be buried in the vicinity of the temple. But

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there was to be no more of that. The ‘carcasses’ of their kings (the term is derisive) should be put far from Him.

There is a message too here for us. We too can overplay the wonderful gifts that God has given us and make of ourselves more than we are. Sons we may be, and joint heirs with Christ, but this must humble us, not exalt us. We must not presume on God as Solomon had done.

Furthermore they had defiled His house by their abominations; actual idolatry in the temple, sexual misbehaviour and sinfulness. All proved that men had dealt lightly with God. They would not be able to do this in His heavenly temple. Only what was holy could enter there. So let them also beware lest they do it in the earthly. They must put away idolatry, rebellion and sin. This was the condition of His dwelling in the midst of them for ever. Otherwise His heavenly temple would leave their land, (and their earthly temple would be destroyed).

And yet there would always be a remnant. God would continue to dwell with His true people, for He would be in them by His Spirit (Ezekiel 39:29; Ezekiel 36:26) and they would be His temple, prepared for the temple that was in Heaven, and that even greater day when there would be no temple, because God Himself would be their temple (Revelation 21:22).

POOLE, " And he; the glorious God of Israel.

The place of my throne: his throne, i.e. of glory and majesty, is in heaven, but the throne of his grace is in his temple; in the dispensations of grace, God manifests himself a King.

The place of the soles of my feet: after the manner of man God speaks, and expresseth his abode and rest, where it is in his temple, as type, in his church, as the antitype.

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I will dwell; not only shall my ordinances be there administered, but I myself will dwell there.

For ever; for a very long time, till the age of infancy with the Jewish church be over; and to eternity with my church, signified by this temple and city.

My holy name: see Ezekiel 22:26 36:20. No more defile; dishonour, and bring into contempt, as they have done. Neither they; the priests, the false prophets, and the common people, nor their governors and kings.

By their whoredom; by idolatries, and worshipping of strange gods, which, after the captivity, they did very punctually abstain from, as history assures us.

By the carcasses of their kings; either the dead bodies of their deceased kings, buried too near the temple, less likely; or by the sacrificing of men to their idols, to Moloch; or idols are here called carcasses, as dead, stinking, loathsome things in the sight of God. Or, if I had instances of any kings buried in the temples Of the idols, I should incline to interpret this passage of the profane and wicked burying idolatrous kings near the idols they worshipped.

In their high places; where idol temples and idol worship were celebrated.

PULPIT, "Ezekiel 43:7-12

Debate exists as to who the speaker in the seventh verse was, whether Jehovah or the man—some holding with Kliefoth, Ewald, Smend, and Currey, that he was Jehovah; others, with Havernick, Keil, Hengstenberg, and Schroder, that he was "the man;" and still others, with Plumptre, that it cannot be decided which he was. One thing is clear, that if "the man" was the speaker, his words and message were

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not his own, but Jehovah's. Yet unless the man had been the angel of the Lord—the view of Hengstenberg and Schroder—it will always seem incongruous that he should have addressed Ezekiel without a "Thus saith the Lord." Hence the notion that the speaker was Jehovah is, perhaps, the one freest from difficulty. The message announced or communication made to the prophet related first to Jehovah's purpose in entering the temple (verses 7-9), and secondly to his object in showing the house to the prophet, viz. that he might show it to the house of Israel (verses 10-12).

PULPIT, "Ezekiel 43:7

The LXX. and the Vulgate divide the present verse into two parts, and take the first as equivalent to a solemn word of consecration, the former supplying ἑώρακας the latter vidisti, "thou hast seen." The Chaldee Targum inserts, hic est locus, "this is the place," and in so doing is followed by Luther and the Revised Version. Some word, it is obvious, either a "see!" or a "behold!" must be interpolated, in thought at least, unless one adopts the construction of the Authorized Version, with which Smend agrees, and makes "the place of my throne," etc; to be governed By the verb "defile," or, with Ewald, places it under the regimen of "show" in Ezekiel 43:10, throwing the whole intervening clause into a long parenthesis—a device which does not contribute to lucidity. Of the two expressions here employed to designate the sanctuary—not the temple proper, but the whole house with its surroundings—the former, the place of my throne, though peculiar to Ezekiel, receives explanation from the conception, familiar to earlier writers, of Jehovah as dwelling between the cherubim (Exodus 25:22; 1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Kings 19:15; Psalms 80:1; Isaiah 37:16); the latter, the place of the soles of my feet, was of frequent occurrence to denote the ark of the covenant (1 Chronicles 28:2; Psalms 99:5; Psalms 132:7) and the temple (Isaiah 60:13; Lamentations 2:1). The word of consecration was expressed in the promise, I will dwell (in the temple) in the midst of the children of Israel forever, etc; which went beyond anything that had been spoken concerning either the tabernacle of Moses or the temple of Solomon (comp. Exodus 25:8; Exodus 29:45; 1 Kings 6:13). The second part of the verse announces what would be the result of Jehovah's perpetual inhabitation of the temple—the house of Israel would no more defile his holy Name either by their whoredom or by the carcasses of their kings in their high places, or, according to another reading, in their death. That the whoredom signified idolatry (comp. Ezekiel 16:1-63.) commentators are agreed. What divides them is whether this also is alluded to in the alternative clause.

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Rosenmüller, Havernick, Keil, Fairbairn, and Plumptre believe it is, contending that the "carcasses of their kings" (comp. Leviticus 26:30; and Jeremiah 16:18) was a contemptuous and satirical designation of the idols they had formerly served, that the word "kings ' is frequently employed in this sense in Scripture (see Isaiah 8:21; Amos 5:26; Zephaniah 1:5), and that the special sin complained of, that of building altars for dead idols in the very temple court, had been practiced by more kings than one in Judah; and in support of this view may be urged first that it is favored by the use of the term bamoth, or "high places," in verse 7, and secondly by the exposition offered in verse 8 of the nature of the sin. Ewald, Hitzig, Kliefoth, and Smend, on the other hand, regard the sin spoken of in the second clause as different from that indicated in the first, maintaining that while this was the practice of defiling Jehovah's sanctuary by idolatry that was the desecration of the same by the interment in its courts of their dead kings. Against this, however, stands the fact that no authentic instance can be produced of a Judaean sovereign's corpse having been interred in the temple area. David, Solomon, Jehoshaphat, and others were buried in the city of David (1 Kings 2:10; 1 Kings 11:43; 1 Kings 22:50), and a place of sepulchers existed on the south-west comer of Zion in the days of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:16); but these prove nothing unless the temple hill be taken, as no doubt it sometimes was, in an extended sense as inclusive of Mount Zion. Similarly, the statement that Manasseh had a burial-place in the garden of Uzzah (2 Kings 21:18, 2 Kings 21:26) cannot be adduced in support of this view, unless it can be shown that the garden of Uzzah was situated on the temple hill. On the whole, therefore, the balance of argument inclines in favor of the first view, though it does involve the introduction of a figurative sense into the words.

8 When 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 their detestable practices. So I destroyed them in my anger.

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BARNES, "He said - i. e., God “said.” Both the Septuagint and the Vulgate break this verse into two, so as to make the first half the solemn words of dedication. place a full stop after “forever;” the words mark the distinction between the new and the former sanctuary.

The palace of Solomon abutted upon the southern side of the embankment of the temple-platform; there was but “a wall between Yahweh and them.” When the kings gave themselves up to idolatry, this vicinity was to the temple a pollution and defilement. Thus it has been conjectured that “the garden of Uzza” in which Manasseh and Amon were buried 2Ki_21:18, 2Ki_21:26, and on which now stands the mosque of Omar, was on the temple area itself; if so, this would explain the mention of “high places” in connection with the defilement by the “carcases of kings,” since the platform of the mosque of Omar at the time of Ezekiel rose to a considerable height above the temple.Besides this, idolatrous kings of Judah did actually introduce their idolatries into the temple courts themselves (compare 2Ki_16:11; 2Ki_21:4).

CLARKE, "In their setting of their threshold - They had even gone so far as to set up their idol altars by those of Jehovah; so that their abominable idols were found in the very house of God! therefore, “he consumed them in his anger.”

GILL, "In their setting of their threshold by my threshold,.... The threshold is the way of entrance into the house; when men open any other way of entrance into the house of God than he has directed, it is setting up their threshold by his: the Gospel way of entrance into the church of Christ is Christ himself, and faith in him, and a profession of it, and submission to the ordinance of baptism, Joh_10:1, Act_2:41 but when men make carnal descent, religious education, mere morality and civility, the way of entrance into church communion; this is opposite to God's way, and is resented by him; this shall not be hereafter: and their post by my post; which is done when the ordinances of men are substituted in the room of the ordinances of God, or set upon a level with them; when the ordinances of God are changed and altered, or that brought into his worship which he has not commanded; and the commandments of men are taught for the doctrines of God: so the Pharisees set up the traditions of the elders as equal to the written word, and, made it of no effect by them; as the Papists do, by setting up their traditions, under the name of the traditions of the apostles, and of the church, upon a level with the Scriptures; and the same is done when men set up their own doctrines, concerning the Persons in the Godhead, concerning the power and purity of human nature, and the way of redemption; and oppose their own works to the grace of God, in justification, pardon,

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and salvation; the allusion is to the setting up of altars and idols in the house of the Lord, by his altar, 2Ki_21:4, and the wall between me and them; that these sins and abominable practices were a wall of separation between God and them, and caused him to hide himself from them, withdraw his presence, and deny them communion with him, Isa_49:2, some render it, "for" or "so that there was but a wall between me and them" (s); so near were their thresholds, posts, and altars, to his: they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: by their false doctrines, idolatrous worship, and immoral lives; such abominations as before mentioned: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger; as the Jews are now, and all the antichristian states will be.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:8 In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.

Ver. 8. In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds.] By broaching falsehoods for truth, and setting human devices in competition with the good Word of God. That detestable decree of the Council of Trent is well known, whereby the Apocrypha is set cheek by jowl, as they say, with the holy canon; the Vulgate translation with the original; traditions with Scriptures, and unwritten verities with those that are written. This is intolerable presumption. Jews and Turks do the like in their Talmud and Koran; that I speak not of our sect masters, who boldly obtrude their placits without just reproof, and require to be believed.

And the wall between me and them.] Which they have wretchedly set up by their sins, to their singular disadvantage; [Isaiah 59:2] or, They have come under my nose, as it were, to provoke me; or, The nearer they were to Church, the farther from God.

POOLE, " The idolatrous kings of Judah and Israel built, temples and altars for their idols, and these are called their thresholds. The Jews, or people of Judah, and their kings, erected these in the courts, or near the courts., of the temple, and so ill

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local nearness their threshold was by God’s thresholds, and their posts by his, that they were a nuisance to him. And there was but a wall between me and them, that under my eye, and within my hearing, they have with greatest presumption defiled my name.

Defiled my holy name; despised my ordinances, corrupted my worship, or forsaken it, used me as if I were neither great nor holy.

Abominations; abominable idolatries, and wickednesses not to be named.

Committed; acted boldly and openly, against precept, threat, and admonitions.

Wherefore I have consumed them; for which sins I brought destruction upon them. The Chaldeans ruined them, but they were the rod of God’s anger.

In mine anger; in great displeasure and wrath, i.e. in my provoked justice, as Ezekiel 20:13 22:31.

PULPIT, "In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds etc. The first "their" can only refer to "the house of Israel and their kings;" the second "their" may also allude to these, but is best taken as pointing to the "idols," whose thresholds or temples, according to the view adopted of the preceding verse, were set up in the court of Jehovah's temple, and so close to the latter that nothing stood between them except the temple wall Smend, who favors the second view of the preceding verse, considers this verse as a complaint against the kings for having erected their royal residence on Mount Zion, in the immediate vicinity of the temple; but as David's palace was older than the temple, it is not likely Ezekiel was guilty of perverting history in the manner this hypothesis would imply.

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9 Now let them put away from me their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings, and I will live among them forever.

CLARKE, "Now let them put away their whoredom - Their idolatry.And the carcasses of their kings - It appears that God was displeased with their bringing their kings so near his temple. David was buried in the city of David, which was on Mount Zion, near to the temple; and so were almost all the kings of Judah; but God requires that the place of his temple and its vicinity shall be kept unpolluted; and when they put away all kinds of defilement, then will he dwell among them.

GILL, "Now let them put away their whoredom,.... Idolatry, superstition, and will worship, with which the corrupt church of Rome abounds; and whatever appearance thereof is in the reformed churches: and the carcasses of their kings far from me; their idols; See Gill on Eze_43:7, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever; now though the Jews were never guilty of idolatry after their return from the Babylonish captivity, nor even to this day; yet the Lord has departed from them, and left them to blindness and stupidity, they having rejected the Messiah he sent unto them; which shows that this passage refers not to those times, but to future times; when the whole Israel of God shall be cleared of all corruptions in doctrine and worship, and the Lord will take up his abode with them, and no more depart from them.

HENRY 9-11, " He calls upon them to repent and reform, and, in order to that, to be ashamed of their iniquities (Eze_43:9): “Now let them put away their whoredom; now that they have smarted so severely for it, and now that God is returning in mercy to them and setting up his sanctuary again in the midst of them, now let them cast away their idols and have no more to do with them, that they may not again forfeit the privileges which they have been taught to know the worth of by the want of them. Let them put away their idols, those loathsome carcases of their kings, far from me, from being a provocation to me.” This was seasonable counsel now that the prophet had the model or pattern of the temple to set before them; for, 1. If they see that pattern, they will surely be ashamed of their sins (Eze_43:10): when they see what mercy God has in store for

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them, notwithstanding their utter unworthiness of it, they will be ashamed to think of their disingenuous conduct towards him. Note, The goodness of God to us should lead us to repentance, especially to a penitential shame. Let them measure the patternthemselves, and see how much it exceeds the former pattern, and guess by that what great things God has in store for them; and surely it will put them out of countenance to think what the desert of their sins was. And then, 2. If they be ashamed of their sins, they shall surely see more of the pattern, Eze_43:11. If they be ashamed of all that they have done, upon a general view of the goodness of God, let them have a more distinct particular account of the temple. Note, Those that improve what they see and know of the goodness of God shall see and know more of it. And then, and not till then, we are qualified for God's favours, when we are truly humbled for our own follies. “Show them the form of the house; let them see what a stately structure it will be; and withal show them the ordinances and laws of it.” Note, With the foresights of our comforts it is fit that we should get the knowledge of our duty; with the privileges of God's house we must acquaint ourselves with the rules of it. Show them these ordinances, that they may keep them and do them. Note, Therefore we are made to know our duty, that we may do it, and be blessed in our deed.JAMISON, "carcasses of their kings — It is supposed that some of their idolatrous kings were buried within the bounds of Solomon’s temple [Henderson]. Rather, “the carcasses of their idols,” here called “kings,” as having had lordship over them in past times (Isa_26:13); but henceforth Jehovah, alone their rightful lord, shall be their king, and the idols that had been their “king” would appear but as “carcasses.” Hence these defunct kings are associated with the “high places” in Eze_43:7 [Fairbairn]. Lev_26:30and Jer_16:18, confirm this. Manasseh had built altars in the courts of the temple to the host of heaven (2Ki_21:5; 2Ki_23:6).I will dwell in the midst ... for ever — (Rev_21:3).

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:9 Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.

Ver. 9. Now let them put away their whoredom.] So shall all be well between us. See Jeremiah 3:1, Isaiah 1:18. {See Trapp on "Jeremiah 3:1"} {See Trapp on "Isaiah 1:18"} Piscator; Ictus sapiat. Some read it, Now they will put away, &c.; and so they did, after the captivity, but will not be yet drawn to worship the true God aright. The Lord persuade their hearts thereto. Fiat, Fiat! Do it, Do it!

And the carcases.] See on Ezekiel 43:7.

And I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.] This is the same with that in 41

Matthew 28:20, "I am with you to the end of the world."

POOLE, " This verse is either prophetic or perceptive, it doth direct the Jew what he should in duty do under this temple, and foretell what the people of God will do under the gospel.

Put away; cast away, as impure and loathsome things should be cast away.

Their whoredom, & c.: see Ezekiel 43:7.

Far from me, my temple and worship.

I will dwell in the midst of them, as their light, protection, and glory. The promises which are made in these cases enjoin us duty: men may sin away God’s presence and blessings. Cast away all sin, that God cast not you away.

For ever: see Ezekiel 43:7.

PULPIT, "Now let them put away their whoredom, etc. What has just been declared to be the necessary consequence of Jehovah's abiding in the midst of Israel is now enjoined upon Israel as an indispensable prerequisite of Jehovah's taking up his residence amongst them. Ezekiel's theology in this respect harmonizes with that of Old and New Testament writers generally, who invariably postulate purity of heart and life as a necessary condition of God's abiding in the heart, while asserting that such Divine indwelling in the heart is the only certain creator of such purity (comp. Ezekiel 18:31; Ezekiel 36:26; Isaiah 1:16, Isaiah 1:25; Isaiah 26:12; John 14:23; 2 Corinthians 6:17; James 4:8).

KRETZMANN 9-112, "v. 9. Now let them, all those who wish to be members of the

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spiritual Israel, put away their whoredom, their idolatry in every form, and the carcasses of their kings, of their dead idols, far from Me, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever, in the everlasting manifestation of His grace and mercy in Christ Jesus, the Redeemer.

v. 10. Thou son of man, show the house, this new wonderful structure of the Messianic Temple, to the house of Israel that they may be ashamed of their iniquities, for the realization of the unmerited greatness of God's goodness- and mercy awakens a feeling of shame and repentance; and let them measure the pattern, the harmony of proportion shown in this marvelous edifice, so that they would understand what the Lord is offering through His Church. With the picture of its perfection before their eyes always, Eph_5:26-27, they would have the strongest incentive to keep themselves in the way of holiness.

v. 11. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form of the house, as it appeared to the beholder in its entirety, and the fashion thereof, its arrangement, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, the various ascents and stairways, and all the forms thereof, the individual sections, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof, everything pertaining to all its parts; and write it in their sight that they may keep the whole form thereof and all the ordinances thereof and do them.

v. 12. This is the law of the house: Upon the top of the mountain, on which this wonderful structure is supposed to have been built, the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy, preserved from all acts of idolatry and every profaning influence. Behold, this is the law of the house. In the New Testament the entire edifice of God's Church is altogether holy, not having a spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but altogether holy and without blemish. Cf Eph_5:27.

10 “Son of man, describe the temple to the people 43

of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider its perfection,

BARNES, "Deviation from the exact rules of the Mosaic ordinances was connected with the transgression of the people. So the restoration, according to the pattern of the Law, was symbolic of their return to obedience.

CLARKE, "Show the house to the house of Israel - Show them this holy house where the holy God dwells, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. Their name, their profession, their temple, their religious services, all bound them to a holy life; all within them, all without them, should have been holiness unto the Lord. But alas! they have been bound by no ties, and they have sinned against all their obligations; nevertheless, let them measure the pattern, let them see the rule by which they should have walked, and let them measure themselves by this standard, and walk accordingly.

GILL, "Thou son of man, show the house,.... That is, the house the prophet had seen measured, its gates, courts, and all belonging to it; which he was at first bid to observe, that he might show it to others; the house that the glory of the Lord was now come into, and had filled; and which is no other than the Gospel church in its perfection and glory in the latter day. This the prophet, who is addressed under his usual character in this book, is bid to show "to the house of Israel"; either to the captives in Babylon, among whom he was, and to whom he often speaks in this book, being sent with a message to them: and this he is ordered to show them, both to comfort them in their present state, with a view of what would be hereafter; and to humble them, and bring them to a sense of their sins, and shame for them, which had brought them into the condition they were, and so greatly short of this happy one: or else to the Jews in the first times of the Gospel; the prophet representing the apostles of Christ, who delivered out the form of a Gospel church state to the believing ones, far superior to that they had been in, and into which they entered: or rather he represented the ministers of the word in the latter day, showing to the Christians of those times the order, worship, and discipline of a pure Gospel church, who have been greatly deficient in their observance of them; and which is the work and business of Gospel ministers to do, as well as to preach the doctrine of the Gospel: that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; how far short they have come of the model of true Gospel churches, and of observing the order, and maintaining the ordinances, and keeping up the discipline of such churches; and when persons are

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brought to blush and be ashamed, it looks as if they had a true sight and sense of their mistakes, and of repentance for them: and let them measure the pattern; that is, of the house, and what belongs to it; by which they will see their defects, and correct them; see Rev_11:1.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:10 Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.

Ver. 10. Show the house.] Heb., That house - sc., Which I have showed thee in visions; the idea of that temple which shall shortly be set up, its figure and dimensions.

That they may be ashamed.] Of having dealt so unworthily with a God so gracious.

And let them measure the pattern.] Ut metiantur universe; that, by a holy geometry, they may, in the spirit of their minds, take all the dimensions of it, and be transformed into the likeness of the heavenly pattern. These are those holy and heavenly mathematics, which none can learn but those that are taught of God, and without which none can be Christ’s disciple; like as none might be scholar to Plato that had not the grounds of geometry. (a)

PETT, " “You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities, and let them measure the pattern (or ‘the sum’).”

The details of the heavenly temple were to be explained to the exiles. The idea was that as they assessed the sum total of its significance (‘measure the sum’ - for the idea compare Ezekiel 28:12) and recognised the holiness and perfection of the One against Whom they had been rebelling as it was revealed there, they would be ashamed of all their evil behaviour and idolatry.

POOLE, " Son of man; Ezekiel, who is called thus above eighty times in this book.45

Show: he could not lay a model before their eye, but he could, and this is required, describe it to them in all the parts.

The house; temple, which he had seen, and exactly measured.

To the house of Israel; to the rulers, prophets, and priests especially, not excluding others.

That they may be ashamed of their iniquities; when they shall blush to see what glory their iniquities had ruined, how great losers they were by their sins: or else thus interpret the meaning of these things, And let the Jews know what a church God will erect among the Gentiles, that so the Jews may be ashamed of their iniquities, which provoked God to east them off, and to destroy their church and state.

Let them measure the pattern; as thou declarest let them write down, delineate all, and then compute the whole, that they may fully comprehend it.

PULPIT, "Show (or, make known, i.e. publish the revelation concerning) the house to the house of Israel For this purpose the vision had been imparted to the prophet. That they may be ashamed of their iniquities. This told the reason why the vision of the house should be made known to Israel. And let them measure the pattern; sum, number, or well-proportioned building. This explained how, by beholding the house, Israel would be led to repent, and be ashamed of her iniquities. There is no ground for thinking the ultimate object Jehovah had in view, in recommending the house of Israel to note the proportions of the visionary edifice, was, as Wellhausen, Smend, and others allege, that they might reproduce these in the post-exilic building; if they were to measure, i.e. scan and meditate upon the fair dimensions of the "house," it was that they might understand its religious or moral and spiritual significance, both as a whole and in detail.

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BI, "Let them measure the pattern.Measuring the patternA correct exhibition of God’s spiritual building was to be the means of awakening the Israelites to a sense of their own deficiencies. The prophet was to hold up the pattern showed in the mount, the temple as it existed in the excellence of its majesty, in order that measuring the present by the past, the national mind might be enlightened as to its true condition.I. The principle here laid down, in its application to us as members of a national Church. Now there are two errors to which the human mind is prone in estimating moral progress, the one is that of overrating the present, the other that of clothing the past in unreal excellence. It is hard to say which of these forms of error is most injurious to healthy exertion. The man who casts unmixed scorn upon the attainments and practices of his forefathers; who will see nothing admirable in their habits of thought and feeling, is almost certain to end in being intolerant in his judgment, shallow and narrow minded in his counsels. And again, the man who is always taking the lowest view of the present, is almost equally sure to grow apathetic and idle. Now let us apply these thoughts to the state of our own part of Christ’s Catholic Church. Who has not himself come in contact with both the illusions of which we have spoken—the illusion of overrating and underrating the present? What is that will worship with which we have to struggle in reference to points of faith, but the offspring of the feeling that this generation is so wise and enlightened that it may safely cut asunder all the moorings which bind it to the past, and launch forth upon the dim waters of the future, with its own shrewdness and intellect as its sole pilot and guide? And contrariwise; we have in ourselves and in those who are actually sensible of the evils of the present, to guard against the imagination that the Church is now in a state of hopeless decay; that it is vain to bestir ourselves for a falling fabric; that the most which we can do is to assist in saving individual souls; but that the national disease is beyond the reach of the national Christianity. This latter error is, after all, perhaps the most injurious, because it is that to which the purest and most faithful souls are liable; and is, therefore, if allowed to have place, the greatest obstacle to improvement. And now what is the remedy for this two-fold temptation which we have described? Indeed the remedy is set forth in the text. That which has grown so important a duty for all, clergy and laity, is the duty of calmly, soberly, dispassionately reviewing our position, our advantages and disadvantages, our weaknesses and our strength. What the Church of Christ is, in its original ideal, as designed in the counsels of the Eternal mind; what the Church has been, at every stage of its long sojourn upon earth—the Church of revelation and the Church of history; how much it has ever been corrupted with worldly influences; how far it must concede to, at what point it must resist, the spirit of the age; to what degree it has been really successful in coercing human lusts; these are points most essential for us to form a definite conception of, if we would go forth to our labour with a good heart. Every century has its set task, every lifetime its own office in the majestic march of God’s designs. What if it be the very work of our generation, to certify them that come after; by our failures and discomfitures to acquire and deliver down a clearer knowledge of our standing before God than we received, and so to prepare the way for a revival of faith and obedience which others shall perfect. What if to us, especially in the very difficulties which beset us, in the very perplexities which we encounter, it be given to sweep clear

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the scene for nobler achievements, so that we may hear our peculiar vocation sketched out in the solemn charge: “Thou son of man, shew the house,” etc.II. A striking declaration of our proper duties as priests of God. The charge is a charge to exhibit to the people the sacred edifice, to place before them the Church; and it is implied that the sight of the mystic structure will itself go far to make them ashamed of their own backslidings. Now we learn hence that it is one of our functions, each in his own parish, to exhibit the Church in all the integrity of its provisions for overcoming the world, with the belief that this showing it to the people will have a vast moral effect upon them. The carrying out of the Church system does not depend for its results upon the number of those who use the privileges offered; the simple exhibition of the Church in a parish is calculated to produce immense moral effect. The Church is a Divine instrument for regenerating the people. And the Church is known to the masses, not by definitions of theology, but by its perpetual worship, services, and sacraments, its fast days and festivals, its Lent and its Easter. And there is, we contend, in this Divine instrument fairly exhibited, a power over men’s hearts which we are apt to forget. It was the loveliness of the Church catholic which bowed the hearts of the nations in her infancy. Amidst jarring idolatries, the Christian Church stood forth the fairest among ten thousand. It was not more by active preaching, than by the passive exhibition, so to speak, of Christianity as practised by themselves, that the old saints attracted to the Cross the barbarian tribes of ancient Europe. The melody of perpetual prayer and praise rung out through the aisles of primeval forests by night and day, in sweet accord with ascetic lives and heroic exertions, and the institution of practices which preternaturally harmonised with human need; and rough spirits yielded to the constraining Deity. And now, we are persuaded that there is no form of religion which so commends itself to men’s hearts, which so enlists the affections, as the Church when thoroughly exhibited. Only in the Church will you find all things at once; the unwearied Litany, the high-wrought exhortation, the didactic catechising, the frequent commemoration of Christ’s death. “Shew the house to the house of Israel.” O! it is a noble burden here laid upon us. To be, each in his own parish, like Solomon the king. In quietness and stillness, in peace and gentleness, no sound of axe or hammer being heard, to make to rise up before our people, in all its unearthly beauty, the house of the Lord; to lead hungry souls through the mystic arcade of the seven pillars, and show them the feast of good things which wisdom has prepared; to point out the victories of faith which overcomes the world; the might of prayer which vanquishes God; the omnipotence of love which endureth all things; to cause that upon every cottage home shall rest the shadow of a holier building;—this is our office as doorkeepers of the house of the Lord. Suffer yet one word more. We may not forget that, in measuring the pattern of the Church, men will measure ourselves; how far, as individuals, we fall short of the mark. The people cannot see the house without seeing us who have the charge of it. Let us try, then, to inflame our own souls with the love of the house which we have to show. Whatever we have done, surely we may do more. (Bishop Woodford.)

11 and if they are ashamed of all they have done, 48

make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations[d] and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.

CLARKE, "And if they be ashamed - If, in a spirit of true repentance, they acknowledge their past transgressions, and purpose in his help never more to offend their God, then teach them every thing that concerns my worship, and their profiting by it.

GILL, "And if they be ashamed of all that they have done,.... As sinful and, criminal, at least as very imperfect and defective, and not answerable to the pattern shown them, from which they have sadly deviated; if made sensible of this, and they acknowledge it with shame, not only the house in general, but the particulars of it, are to be shown with them; for, to sensible and penitent persons, more grace, light, knowledge, and judgment in divine things, are given: shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof; the form and order of a Gospel church; which is not national, provincial, or parochial, nor Presbyterian, but congregational; consisting of persons called out of the world by the grace of God, and who are incorporated and knit together in Gospel bonds; among whom the word of God is faithfully preached, and the ordinances truly administered, and furnished with proper officers, pastors, and deacons; the one to take care of the spiritual, the other of the temporal affairs of the church; and to see a church in such form and order, and thus organized, is a very beautiful sight. And the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof; the gates and way of entrance into it, which is only by Christ, and a profession of faith in him; and care should be taken that none be admitted but such who appear to be regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit of God; to be righteous through the righteousness of Christ; and that keep the truth, and hold the doctrines of the Gospel: and also the way and manner of excluding unworthy persons, such who are immoral in their lives, and erroneous in their principles, should be observed. And all the forms thereof; the decorations of it, signified by the cherubim and palm trees; so Jarchi and Kimchi; and these expressive of ministers of the word, and faithful men: this is often repeated, that it might be the more observed; for to have ministers to answer such characters is of great consequence.

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And all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof; the ordinances are those of baptism and the Lord's supper, which are to continue until the second coming of Christ: the laws are, besides the moral law, in the hands of Christ the lawgiver, the law of loving one another, called the law of Christ, and his new commandment; and all the laws relating to worship and discipline, concerning the reproof of members, in case of private or public offences; and concerning the exclusion of disorderly or heretical persons: and write it in their sight; the plan and model of this house, and all things belonging to it, that they may have it before them, as the rule of their conduct and behaviour: that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them; for all this is shown, not for mere speculation, and to gratify curiosity, but in order to be put in practice; all these rules, laws, and ordinances, are to be kept in faith, from a principle of love, in the name and strength of Christ, and with a view to the glory of God.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:11 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write [it] in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.

Ver. 11. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done.] If they blush and bleed at heart for their iniquities. Penitents are to be taught the truth which is according to godliness, and all such are exactly to know and to do the whole will of God, as had not rather be carnally secured than soundly comforted.

PETT, " “And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make the form of the house known to them and its fashion, and its goings out and its comings in, and all its forms and all its ordinances, and all its forms and all its laws, and write it in their sight that they may keep all its forms and all its ordinances, and do them.”

If they were expected to build a temple like this, surely this would be the point at which it would have been expressed clearly as it was of the tabernacle (Exodus 25:9; Exodus 25:40; Exodus 26:30; Exodus 27:8). But there is no such thought. Rather they are to be given the details of the heavenly temple and recognise the lessons that they are to learn from them. And its main lesson is ‘holiness’ (Ezekiel 43:12).

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The word translated ‘form’ occurs only in this verse (four times) and nowhere else, and in each case it is paralleled with another noun, ‘and its fashion’, ‘and all its ordinances’, ‘and all its laws’. Thus while referring to the make up of something it here indicated the make up of the fashion of the temple, and the way of entry and exit, the make up of its ordinances (mentioned twice) and the make up of its laws, because it had important lessons to teach. It was a command to understand, not a command to build or even a suggestion that it should be built. The next verse amplifies it.

POOLE, " They; the house of Israel.

Be ashamed; repent, and show it by manifest tokens.

Of all: it is not true repentance which is ashamed of some only, but not of all sins. The form, ; the model of the temple.

The fashion; the manner of the building, and fitting each part to other.

The goings out there of, and the comings in thereof; all the alleys, gates, stairs, &c.

The forms, which ought to be observed, saith the French version. Now though this be not in the Hebrew, yet the word may imply as much, it being an idea, pattern, or platform to which a thing is to be confirmed.

The ordinances; rites and orders, rules of governing priests, and their services. These are again repeated in the next words of the verse, which is usual in Scripture, and with this prophet.

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Write it in their sight: that it may be remembered, they shall have a draught of it from thy hand, and drawn in their sight, that they may inquire of any particular wherein doubt ariseth.

That they may keep the whole form thereof: as Moses and Solomon did, so must the builders of this temple, frame the whole to the pattern or exemplar set before them, for not doing whereof a heavy account lieth on some in the church.

PULPIT, "And if they be ashamed of all that they have done. This cannot signify that Ezekiel was not to show the house until they had evinced a sincere penitence for past wickedness, since the converse has just been stated, that their repentance should flow from a disclosure to them of the house: but that in the event of the presentation to them of the "well-measured" building awaking in them any disposition of regret and sorrow, then the prophet should proceed to unfold to them its details. He should show them first the form of the house, i.e. the external shape of the building, and the fashion thereof, or its well-proportioned and harmonious arrangements; the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, i.e. its exits and entrances (Ezekiel 44:5), and all the forms thereof; which can only mean the shapes of its several parts; and all the ordinances thereof, or regulations concerning its use in worship, and all the forms thereof—the same words as above, and therefore omitted by the LXX. as well as some Hebrew manuscripts, and, after their example, by Dathe, Hitzig, Ewald, Smend, and others, though Keil, Kliefoth, Schroder, and others retain the clause as genuine, and regard it as an illustration of Ezekiel's habit of crowding words together for the sake of emphasis—and all the laws thereof, by which were probably signified "the instructions contained in these statutes for sanctification of life" (Keil). In addition to rehearsing the above in the hearing of the people, the prophet was directed to write them in their sight, if it be not open to understand the "writing" as explanatory of the way in which the" showing" was to be made.

BI, "If they be ashamed of all that they have done.True penitenceI. The character of true penitents. “If they be ashamed of all that they have done.” Every principle of corrupted nature lies in direct opposition to penitential shame. Ignorance, pride, deceit, hostility against God, and self-righteousness, combine their influence in hardening the heart against the humiliation of sincere repentance.

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1. The shame here spoken of is the effect of a mighty, Divine influence, which entirely changes the views and dispositions of the soul.2. The radical effect of God’s renewing grace, in this respect, consists in an abiding, gracious disposition of the heart towards penitential exercises. It discovers itself in a peculiar anguish under that darkness and hardness,—a high esteem of repentance for its own intrinsic beauty,—an ingenuity, diligence, and earnestness, in laying open the conscience to Divine light, and in imploring those breathings of the Almighty Spirit, which are effectual to thaw and dissolve the frozen heart.3. This gracious disposition obtains its aim, and comes forth to its desired exercises, through supernatural discoveries of Divine truth, attended with a heart-melting and heart-turning power.4. We are led by the text to fix our attention on one particular ingredient of these penitential sensations, namely, shame. This shame is a generous recoiling of the soul from itself, as having once embraced and perpetrated what it now perceives to be unspeakably vile in the sight of God and His holy creatures. It implies in it a sense of the detestable deformity of sin, in its own nature; a recollection of our former love and practice of it; a consideration of our remaining depravity, and want of the perfect beauty of our nature.5. The text teaches us particularly to take notice of the universal extent of this gracious shame: “If they be ashamed of all,” etc. Impenitent sinners are disposed to palliate and defend the vilest enormities of their conduct. But whatever may be said of occasional slips, they suppose the general tenor of their lives to be at least harmless. It is far otherwise, when the Spirit effectually breaks in upon the conscience. The true penitent is ashamed, more or less, of his whole life, of all that he hath formerly been, thought, and done. He sees himself to have been opposite to the law of God, in every motion of his heart, in every article of his conduct.6. This deep-felt shame renders the heart more and more soft, tender, submissive to the authority of God, and ready to receive the impression of every part of His revealed will.

II. What is comprehended in the instruction here described, by such an accumulation of expressions. “Shew them the form of the house,” etc.1. This gracious instruction includes peculiar discoveries of the ultimate end, designed by the Author of these ordinances, and to be pursued after in the observance of them. This is the end, for which such a frame of ordinances is divinely created, and for which men are collected into a society for the observance of them; that therein Jehovah may display His own glory, communicate His love, and exalt men to a heavenly communion with Himself and with each other. The glory, importance, and certainty of this sublime end are, to true penitents, manifested in a peculiar manner. Hence they are strongly attached to Divine ordinances, and to the instituted order of God’s house. And hence their attachment to these things differs widely from the random rhapsodies of enthusiasm, superstition, or bigotry.2. This instruction relates to the authorised methods of acquiring, cherishing, and increasing that holy inward frame of spirit which is necessary in the worshippers of God. This is a capital part of what is here spiritually signified by the goings out, and comings in, and laws of the house. The instructions and counsels of the inspired prophets and apostles, and of Jesus Christ, whose name is called Wonderful,

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Counsellor, will, through the grace of the Spirit, be effectual for these purposes.3. The instruction described in the text hath a direct reference to the institutions of God, respecting the external ordinances, order, and government of His Church. (John Love, D. D.)

12 “This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.

BARNES, "See also Eze_47:12. This is the law of the ordinance of the new sanctuary. After the consecration, God pronounces the “law” which is to govern the ordinances of the sanctuary (compare 1 Kings 8), first briefly repeating the general rule that the place must be kept holy to the Lord (compare Rev_21:27), and then proceeding to specific ordinances commencing with the altar.

CLARKE, "This is the law of the house - From the top of the mountain on which it stands, to the bottom, all round about, all shall be holy; no buildings shall be erected in any part, nor place nor spot be appropriated to a common use; all shall be considered as being most holy.

GILL, "This is the law of the house,.... Which follows, the more general one, which comprehends the rest: upon the top of the mountain; denoting the exaltation and visibility of the church of Christ in the latter day, as well as its firmness and stability; see Isa_2:2, the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy; all belonging to it shall be as the most holy place in the temple, sacred to the Lord; laws, ordinances, doctrines, worship, members, ministers, all holy; nothing said or done, or have a place here, but what is holy; see Zec_14:20,

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this is the law of the house; the principal one, according to which are directed and governed.

HENRY, "He promises that they shall be such as they should be, and then he will be to them such as they would have him to be, Eze_43:7. 1. The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name. This is pure gospel. The precept of the law says, You must not defile my name: the grace of the gospel says, You shall not. Thus what is required in the covenant is promised in the covenant, Jer_32:40. 2. Then I will dwell in the midst of them for ever; and the same again Eze_43:9. God secures to us his good-will be confirming in us his good work. If we do not defile his name, we may be sure that he will not depart from us.

IV. The general law of God's house is laid down (Eze_43:12), That, whereas formerly only the chancel, or sanctuary, was most holy, now the whole mountain of the houseshall be so; the whole limit thereof, including all the courts and all the chambers, shall be as the most holy place, signifying that in gospel-times, 1. The whole church shall have the privilege of the holy of holies, that of a near access to God. All believers have now, under the gospel, boldness to enter into the holiest (Heb_10:19), with this advantage, that whereas the high priest entered in the virtue of the blood of bulls and goats, we enter in the virtue of the blood of Jesus, and, wherever we are, we have through him access to the Father. 2. The whole church shall be under a mighty obligation to press towards the perfection of holiness, as he who has called us is holy. All must now be most holy. Holiness becomes God's house for ever, and in gospel-times more than ever. Behold this is the law of the house; let none expect the protection of it that will not submit to this law.JAMISON, "whole ... most holy — This superlative, which had been used exclusively of the holy of holies (Exo_26:34), was now to characterize the entire building. This all-pervading sanctity was to be “the law of the (whole) house,” as distinguished from the Levitical law, which confined the peculiar sanctity to a single apartment of it.

COKE, “Verse 12Ezekiel 43:12. The whole limit—shall be most holy— "From the beginning of its declivity to the very top, in all the circumference of the temple, there shall no more be erected any building; no burial shall be performed there, nor any garden or other thing made, which is applicable to the common use of men. It shall be entirely holy, sacred, separate from all other employment, but that of the worship of the Lord." We find in Josephus, Antiq. lib. 15: cap. 14 that this was very ill observed in future time. The Asmonaean princes built up close to the north side a tower, which became very famous toward the latter end of the Jewish republic, under the name of the Antonian tower. On the west side there were four gates, one of which led to the

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royal palace; though elsewhere he describes the mountain of the temple as surrounded with very high walls, from the foot to the summit, except on the east side. The Jews tell us, that so profound a veneration was paid not only to the inclosure of the temple, but also to the whole extent of the mountain where it was built, that no one was permitted to walk there with a staff in his hand, or shoes on his feet, or his feet soiled with dust. They never carried money there, bound in their girdles or handkerchiefs; nor ever spat upon the ground or pavement; never passed from one gate to another, in order to shorten the way; but whatever gate they entered, they were to walk gravely and composedly on, straight to the place they were to go to. The excommunicated, and those who were in mourning, never ascended the mountain in the ordinary way, but obliquely, the left side foremost: the priests, Levites, and all the Israelites in general, who retired from the presence of the temple, never turned their back upon it; but with their head and body inclined to one side, left it respectfully, walking backward, till they were entirely got from it. These rabbinical observations are the more suspicious, as the law enjoins nothing of the kind; and we read nothing either in the Old or New Testament, or in Josephus's History, which gives us any idea of these ceremonies; some indeed of which appear childish and ridiculous. The only prohibition hereafter given is, not to quit the temple by the same gate by which it was entered. See chap. Ezekiel 46:9.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:12 This [is] the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about [shall be] most holy. Behold, this [is] the law of the house.

Ver. 12. Upon the top of the mountain.] The Church is as a city on a hill, seen far and near, [Matthew 5:14] and the members of it are still ascending from one degree of grace to another, from strength to strength, till they see the face of God in Zion. [Psalms 15:1 Hebrews 12:22-23]

The whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy.] All the Lord’s people are so, at least in profession, first steps, honest endeavour, divine acceptation, and shall be so one day in all perfection. [Revelation 21:8; Revelation 21:27; Revelation 22:14-15]

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PETT, " “This is the law of the house on top of the mountain. Its whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold this is the law of the house.”

Note the vague description, ‘the house on the top of the mountain’. The mountain was described in Ezekiel 40:2 as ‘a very high mountain’. It is a special place whose whereabouts is not revealed. Ezekiel does not want to connect it directly with any specific earthly site. And its law is the awful holiness of it, holy because the Holy One will be there, Whose holiness is revealed by every detail of the house. And its ordinances are holy. They must be scrupulously observed, very important words to exiles in a far country where detail may have tended to become blurred. And its laws are holy. Not one of God’s laws revealed in the covenants must be overlooked. They must be obeyed to the glory of God.

Sadly many in Israel took this in the wrong way. They made the laws an end in themselves rather than a means of showing their faith and trust in God. They overlooked the fact that in the end all was intended to bring them to God in love and trust, not to keep them away.

We shall see shortly in Ezekiel 45:1-5 how it was proposed that this heavenly temple would be preserved from ever again being contaminated by man, but first it was necessary that the way still open to God must be revealed. God was in His sanctuary, but how were they to reach Him? The key lies in the sacrificial altar.

POOLE, "This is the first comprehensive rule. Holiness becomes God’s house or temple: this relative holiness referred to personal and real holiness, and required it. The whole circuit of this mountain shall be holy, but the top of it, on which the temple stands, shall be most holy, into which only holy persons and holy things shall be brought.

PULPIT, "This is the law of the house. In this instance "the house" must not be restricted to the temple proper, consisting of the holy place and the holy of holies, but extended to the whole free space encompassing the outer court, the quadrangular area of three thousand cubits square (Ezekiel 42:16-20); and

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concerning this house as so defined, the fundamental torah, law, or regulation, is declared to be that of its complete sanctity. Ewald and Smend, as usual, unite with the LXX. in connecting "upon the top of the mountain" with "house;" but expositors generally agree that the clause belong to the words that follow, Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about; and that the prophet's thought is that the entire territory upon the mountain summit included within the above specified border, and not merely the inner sanctuary, or even that with its chambers and courts, was to be regarded as most holy, or as a holy of holies, i.e. was to be consecrated as the innermost adytum of the tabernacle and temple had been. by the indwelling of Jehovah. Smend notes that "This is the law" is the customary underwriting and superscription of the laws of the priest-code (see Le Ezekiel 6:9, Ezekiel 6:14; Ezekiel 7:1, 37; 11:46; Ezekiel 12:7; Ezekiel 13:1-23 :59; 14:54; 15:32); but it need not result from this that the priest. code borrowed this expression from Ezekiel, who employs it only in this verse. The more rational hypothesis is that Ezekiel, himself a priest, made use of this formula, because acquainted with it as already existing in the so-called priest-code.

The Great Altar Restored

13 “These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits,[e] that cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: Its gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span[f] around the edge. And this is the height of the altar:

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BARNES, "The altar of sacrifice which stood in the inner court, not the altar of incense described Eze_41:22. In the temple of the vision the dimensions differ from those of the tabernacle Exo_27:1, and of Solomon’s Temple 2Ch_4:1, with a view to introduce definite propositions and symbolic numbers. See Plan L.

The bottom - The base (I) of the altar so called, because it forms with its “border” (K) a kind of socket to receive the “lower settle” (L). It was to be “a cubit” in depth.The “breadth” is the breadth of that portion of the base which was not covered by the “lower settle.”The higher place - the base, literally back; the base is called the back because the altar rested upon it.

CLARKE, "The cubit is a cubit and a hand breadth - It is the same cubit by which all the previous admeasurements were made, and was a hand breadth or four inches longer than the Babylonian cubit.

GILL, "And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits,.... Of the altar of burnt offering, which though measured before, the dimensions were not given till now; see Eze_40:47, this altar was a type of Christ, Heb_13:10 with respect to his deity, which is greater than the sacrifice of his human nature, the support of it, which sanctified it, and gave virtue and efficacy to it, and rendered it acceptable to God, Mat_23:19 and the measures of it are said to be after the cubits used in the measuring of places and things belonging to this house, described; and what these were appears by what follows: the cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; not the common cubit, but what was larger than that by a hand breadth, or three inches: even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit; or, "the bosom" (t); that is, the foundation of the altar, as the Targum and Jarchi; the basis, foot, or settle of it; this was a cubit high, and a cubit broad: and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span; the edge or "lip" (u), of this bottom or settle, was a cubit broad, for the priests to stand and go round the altar, and to this there was a border of a span, or half a cubit, to prevent their slipping; or else to keep the blood, poured at the foot of the altar, from running upon the pavement: and this shall be the higher place of the altar; or the projection or jetting of it out beyond others, which was further than any other part; otherwise it was the lower part of the altar.

K&D 13-17, "Description and Consecration of the Altar of Burnt-Offering59

Description of the AltarEze_43:13. And these are the measures of the altar in cubits: The cubit a cubit and a handbreadth; a ground-framework of a cubit (in height), and a cubit in breadth, and its moulding on its border round about a span. This is the base of the altar. Eze_43:14.And from the ground-framework of earth to the lower enclosure, two cubits (in height), and a cubit in breadth; and from the small enclosure to the greater enclosure, four cubits (in height), and one cubit in breadth. Eze_43:15. And the mount of God, four cubits; and from the heart of God upwards, the four horns. Eze_43:16. And the hearth of God, twelve cubits in length by twelve cubits in breadth; squared on its four sides. Eze_43:17. And the enclosure, fourteen cubits in length by fourteen cubits in breadth on its four sides; and the moulding round about it, half a cubit; and the ground-framework of it, a cubit round about: and its steps faced the east. - To the heading, “these are the measures of the altar in (according to) cubits,” there is once more appended, as in Eze_40:5, in connection with the measuring of the temple, the length of the cubit measure. The description commences with the foundation of the altar, and, proceeding upwards, gives the height and breadth of the several gradations of the walls of the altar, up to the horns at the four corners (Eze_43:13-15). It then passes from above downwards, to supply the length and breadth or the circumference of the different stages (Eze_43:16 and Eze_43:17). As the first, or lowest part, the חיק is mentioned, literally, the bosom or lap; then by transference, the hollow formed by the sides of a chariot (1Ki_22:35); here the lower hollow or base of the altar (p), formed by a border of a definite height, to merely “a frame running round, a stand in which the altar stood” (Hitzig), nor merely “the hollow filled with earth” (Kliefoth), but both together. This ground-framework (p) was a cubit (sc., high) and a cubit broad. That האמה is to be taken as referring to the height, is evident from the statement of the breadth which follows. חיק האמה is not to be altered into חיקה האמה as Ewald proposes, nor is ,אמה to be changed into באמה (Hitzig); but Hävernick's explanation is to be adopted: “and a bosom (was there) the cubit,” i.e., of the height of the cubit just described. רחב, breadth, is the extent to which the bosom projected beyond the next enclosure (q) on every side, and formed a support, the circumference of which was a cubit more than the lower cube of the altar on every side. This is shown by the measurements in Eze_43:16 and Eze_43:17. The חיק had a גבול on its שפה of a span (half a cubit) in height (o). שפה, lip, is the rim (1Ki_7:26; Gen_22:17); and גבול, the bordering on the rim, is a moulding. The feminine suffixes attached to גבולה and שפתה refer to חיק, which is of the masculine gender, no doubt, when used in its literal sense of bosom or lap, but is construed as a feminine in the tropical sense of an inanimate object. The ground-framework, with its moulding, formed the גב of the altar. גב, the arched, then a hump or back, signifies here the support of the altar. Upon this support the altar rose in a cubical enclosure or frame, which diminished in circumference by ledges or steps. The enclosure resting upon the support, and therefore the lowest enclosure (q), is mentioned in Eze_43:14; and the one which followed (r) in Eze_43:14.

The word עזרה, which has probably sprung from עצר by the softening of צ into ז, signifies enclosure, surrounding, and is mostly used for the outer court of the temple; here it is applied to the altar, and signifies the enclosure or framework of the kernel of the altar, consisting of earth. As the altar rose in steps, a distinction is made between the lower or smaller, and the (upper or) greater עזרה. The identity of the lower עזרה and the

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smaller one (הקטנה) is so evident from the course of the description, that it is universally admitted by modern expositors. The lower one (q) is called the small one, in comparison with the large one which stood above it, from the fact that its height was smaller, as it was only two cubits high, whereas the upper one (r) was four. When, therefore, the measurement of the greater one is given in this way in Eze_43:14: “from the small enclosure to the great enclosure, four cubits,” this statement cannot be understood in any other way than as meaning, that this enclosure or frame had a height of four cubits from the lower to the upper end, - that is to say, in other words, that the lower ledge was four cubits from the upper. Consequently the statement in Eze_43:14, “from the ground-framework of earth to the lower enclosure, two cubits,” can also have no other meaning than that the lower enclosure, from the lower edge by the moulding to the upper edge, at which the second enclosure commenced, was two cubits high. This height is reckoned from the upper edge of the חיק, or from the first (lowest) ledge. The height of these three portions taken together, therefore, was (1 + 2 + 4) seven cubits. To this the mount of God (s), which was four cubits (Eze_43:15), has to be added, making in all eleven cubits. In Eze_43:14 חיק is followed by הארץ: the חיק consisting of earth, or filled with earth. But the חיק, with its moulding, is designated גב, the back or support of the altar, and is thereby distinguished from the altar itself; so that, for the height of the altar, we have only to reckon the two enclosures, with the mount of God, which amount to ten cubits. Upon the basis of the חיק, with its moulding, and the two enclosures ,there rose the true altar, with its hearth, and the horns at the four corners ,(עזרה)noticed in Eze_43:15. A distinction is here made between הראל, i.e., mount of God, and and they are not to be identified, as they have been by many of the ;אריאלcommentators, down to Hitzig, after the example of the lxx. אריאל (as the word is to be written according to the Keri) does not mean “lion of God,” but “heart of God” (ארי, from ארה, to burn), as in Isa_29:1-2. The hearth of God is the surface of the altar, its fire-hearth (t); whereas הראל, mount of God (s), was the basis or foundation of the hearth. This was four cubits high, whereas no height is mentioned in connection with the hearth of God; but it is simply stated that four horns went upward from it, namely, at the four corners. With the horns of the altar, the size and height of which are not given, and which cannot be reckoned at three cubits, the description of all the parts, from the bottom to the top, is given; and all that remains to complete the measurements, is to describe the circumference of the several parts which rose one above another in the form of steps. This follows in Eze_43:16 and Eze_43:17. The hearth of God is twelve cubits long and twelve cubits broad, and is therefore רבוע, square, of the same length and breadth on its four sides. Going downwards, there follow in Eze_43:17 the length and breadth of the עזרה, with fourteen cubits, as it was a cubit broader on every side according to Eze_43:14. It is very strange, however, that the length and breadth of only one עזרה are given here, as there are two of different heights mentioned in Eze_43:14. Many of the commentators have therefore identified the mount of God with the great עזרה, and attribute only a height of seven cubits to the altar; whereas Kliefoth regards both the עזרה of Eze_43:17 and the גבול and חיק of Eze_43:15 as different from the parts mentioned by the same name in Eze_43:13 and Eze_43:14, and takes them as referring to an enclosure and a barrier of the mount of God. One is as arbitrary as the

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other, as the words of the text do not require either of these assumptions. The difficulty, that only one עזרה is mentioned in Eze_43:17, is easily solved, if we consider that in Eze_43:15 only the height of the mount of God is given, and no breadth is mentioned as in the case of the עזרה in Eze_43:14. We may see from this that the mount of God had the same breadth or the same circumference as the upper עזרה (see r and s in the illustration). In that case the length and breadth of all the parts of the altar were given, when, in addition to the length and breadth of the hearth of God (t), those of one עזרה, and that the lower, were given, as this alone was longer and broader than the hearth of God and the mount of God; whereas the length and breadth of the upper עזרה were identical with those of the circumference of the mount of God.

The altar, therefore, upon the upper surface, the hearth of God, was a square, of twelve cubits in length and breath. The mount of God and the upper enclosure had the same length and breadth. The lower enclosure, on the other hand, were fourteen cubits long and broad; and the support, finally, without the moulding, was sixteen cubits in length and breadth. The height of the altar was as follows: the support, with the moulding, a cubit and a half; the lower enclosure, two cubits; the upper, four; and the mount of God, with the hearth, also four cubits in height; whereas the altar in Solomon's temple was ten cubits high, and at its lower basis twenty cubits long and broad (2Ch_4:1). - The description closes in Eze_43:17 with an allusion to steps, which the altar of Ezekiel had upon the eastern side; whereas, in the case of the tabernacle, steps were not allowed to be placed by the altar (Exo_20:23). The form ת פנ is taken by Kimchi as a noun. Others regard it as an infin. nominasc.; whilst Hitzig proposes to point it as a participle ת .פנ

COKE, “Ezekiel 43:13. Even the bottom, &c.— And the foundation shall be a cubit [in height], and the breadth a cubit over; and the border thereof, by the edge thereof and about, a span; and this shall be the ridge [or protuberant part] of the altar. Houbigant.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:13 And these [are] the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit [is] a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom [shall be] a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about [shall be] a span: and this [shall be] the higher place of the altar.

Ver. 13. And these are the measures of the altar,] viz., Of burnt offerings, which was in the priests’ court, and not at all spoken of till now.

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The cubit,] viz., That of the sanctuary.

Even the bottom.] Heb., The bosom.

This shall be the higher place.] Heb., The back, as that which bore all. "We have also an altar," [Hebrews 13:10] even Jesus Christ, the just one, who is both our Ariel (God’s lion, Revelation 5:5) and our Hareel (God’s mount) of four cubits, as being "preached unto the Gentiles" in all parts, "believed on in the world, received up into glory." [1 Timothy 3:16]

PETT, "Verse 13-14

“And these are the measures of the altar by cubits, the cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth. The bosom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and its border by its edge round about, a span. And this shall be the back (platform) of the altar. And from the bosom on the ground (or of the earth) to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit, and from the lesser settle to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit. And the upper altar (the harel) shall be four cubits, and from the Ariel and upwards there shall be four horns.

That the brazen altar was ‘most holy’ we are told in Exodus 40:10, which again demonstrates that its pointed non-measurement by the man with the measuring reed (Ezekiel 40:47) must have been significant. Now we are told the measurements of the altar by God Himself. Its importance is thus emphasised and it is the only part of the heavenly structure which was specifically to be built by man as a direct copy of the heavenly. It is to be the direct link between the earthly and the heavenly.

(There is a specific distinction between something being measured and measurements being given. The former was to indicate that it was there and being brought into use, the latter was to indicate that it should be built to these measurements).

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It is interesting in this regard that in the description of the building of Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6-7) the brazen altar was also ignored, although it was clearly assumed to be there (1 Kings 8:22; 1 Kings 8:54; 1 Kings 8:64; 1 Kings 9:25 - and compare 2 Chronicles 4:1). And indeed that was where Solomon knelt with his hands spread towards Heaven (1 Kings 8:54). This may well suggest that such an altar was seen generally, not as part of the heavenward side of the temple, but as part of its earthward side. When man wanted to approach God in worship the first thing he did was to erect an altar (Genesis 12:8 and often; Ezra 3:2). Where God ‘revealed His name’, that is His very nature, an altar was to be built (Exodus 20:24). It was the link between earth and Heaven. It brought man in touch with the heavenly.

The description in these verses is full of interesting problems due simply to problems as to the meaning of certain words. The word translated ‘bosom’ means ‘that which is enclosed’. Thus a woman enfolds her children to her bosom. It possibly here refers to the channel at the bottom of the altar going along its length into which any residue went and was there ‘grasped to its bosom’, (consider ‘the place of the ashes’ - Leviticus 1:16, and the place where the spare blood of sin and guilt offerings was thrown - Leviticus 4:18; Leviticus 4:25; Leviticus 4:30; Leviticus 5:9) and thus it was the equivalent of the ‘length’. The measurement of a cubit refers to the exposed part of the platform after the next stage is built on it. The ‘back’ refers to the platform. The border by its edge probably refers to a rim or boundary going all round.

Some have read ‘the bosom of the earth’ (cheq ha arets) in 14a literally and have seen in ‘bosom’ a reference to the Akkadian irat ersiti (bosom of the earth), which was the name given to the foundation platform of the temple of Marduk in Babylon. This may well have become a regular technical description among some nations for the platform on which an altar was erected, and the parallel might seem to be more than a coincidence. As the platform was probably mainly buried in the ground it would be appropriate. But the use of ‘bosom’ to indicate length in Ezekiel 43:13 counts against stress on this meaning here. It may be that this is simply to be seen as the more prosaic, ‘the channel in the ground’, described by its technical term.

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The next smaller stage of the altar was two cubits in height up to ‘the lower settle’, with a one cubit surround (the ‘breadth’ of the top surface left showing) revealed, and the next even smaller stage four cubits in height to the ‘greater settle’, again with the one cubit surround revealed. This was then followed by a further stage four cubits in height, all reaching to an impressive ten cubits.

(A ‘settle’ would appear to indicate an area on which something else would be ‘settled’).

The upper altar (har’el - which could mean ‘mountain of God’) and the altar hearth (’ari’el) have also been connected with Babylonian ideas. The Akkadian arallu means either the ‘underworld of the gods’ or ‘mountain of the gods’. Compare the use of Ariel in Isaiah to mean Mount Zion (Isaiah 29:1-2; Isaiah 29:7), which confirms that this idea was present in Israel. Thus the top of the altar might be seen as intended to be connected with the ‘mountain of God’, which Ezekiel seemingly saw as making this the link to the heavenly temple.

However, it is possible that by then these were simply technical names for the top part of the altar, or upper altar, which was called the harel (or ‘mountain of God’), with the Ariel, which was therefore probably the altar hearth, in the top of the altar.

On the other hand the whole altar here was clearly built like a Ziggurat (stepped temple). There the fact that it rose up and was stepped was to indicate ascent to the gods. It represented a mountain, indeed possibly being seen as almost a stairway up to Heaven (compare Genesis 11:4). So the idea here of the stepped altar may well be to reveal that by use of the altar Israel would be able to ‘reach’ the heavenly temple which had descended on the unknown high mountain, which thereby had become the mountain of God.

The ‘horns’ are protrusions from the four corners of the altar, which were a regular feature of altars elsewhere, the purpose for which is uncertain. They may have symbolised power (as ‘horns’ regularly do), or have been pointers up to Heaven. The horns were regarded as being an essential part of the altar and had to be

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‘cleansed’ (Ezekiel 43:20; Exodus 29:12).

A large sacrificial altar with protrusions at its four corners dated to the 8th century BC has been discovered at Beersheba (it had been used to repair the wall of a storehouse). 9th century altars discovered at Megiddo with such protrusions were small and probably incense altars, but they do demonstrate that the protrusions were not simply for securing the sacrifice but had deeper significance.

Verses 13-17

The Altar Of Sacrifice Is To Be The Connection Between the Heavenly Temple and the Earthly Temple Yet To Be Built And Is To Be Copied For That Purpose (Ezekiel 43:13-17).

The heavenly visitant had now finished his measuring. But note that he was not ever told, and is not now, to measure the altar. Although the altar was mentioned for completeness in Ezekiel 40:47, it was pointedly not measured. It was basically almost ignored as not being an important part of the heavenly temple from the point of view of its message. This was very significant. As demonstrated by its non-measurement the heavenly altar was not to be brought into use. For the brazen altar spoke of what man was, and of man’s approach to God, and not of what God was.

But the altar is now described as a pattern for an altar to be built by man (Ezekiel 43:18) and Ezekiel is told its details for this specific purpose. Then it is to be used as a means of approach to God and His heavenly temple. Any measuring is thus to be done by man, for man will bring it into use. It is in absolute contrast to what has gone before.

We can compare this with Jacob at Bethel. There too he had witnessed ‘the house of God, the gate of Heaven’, a heavenly conception. Then he too erected a means of worship, a pillar, an earthly symbol of what he had seen. And it was there that he offered his worship (Genesis 27:17-18). And like that pillar so with the altar here. It

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is to be the connection between the earthly and the heavenly.

POOLE, " Of the altar of burnt-offerings; for the altar of incense was within the temple, and is called the golden altar, but this in this verse is the brazen altar, and stood in the court of the house.

The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; the great or sacred cubit, three inches longer than the common cubit.

The bottom, the ledge or settle, or as a little bench fastened to the altar on all sides at the bottom, shall be a cubit in height.

The breadth, from the edge of this settle or bench on the outside, to the edge where it joined the body of the altar, a cubit; and this breadth, twenty-one inches, broad enough for the priests to walk on round the altar, as they had occasion.

The border, a ledge going round on all the squares, on the outer edge of this settle, a span high, about nine inches, which was to prevent the priests. that they slipped not down in walking on this settle.

This shall be the higher place of the altar: this seems somewhat harshly translated; the French hath it, this shall be the back of the altar; as the back bears burdens, so this should bear the weight of the whole altar; this the basis or bottom, as called before, which was one cubit in each square broader than the next square frame or settle.

PULPIT, "The measures of the altar. The altar is המזבח, that formerly mentioned as standing in the inner court, immediately in front of the" house" (Ezekiel 40:47 ), the altar of burnt offering, and not the altar of incense in the holy place (Ezekiel 41:22). Its dimensions, then omitted, are now reported in connection with its consecration, which also is narrated as a pendant to that of the "house," because of the intimate

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connection between the two—the consecration of the altar being practically equivalent to the consecration of the house, and the consecration of the house finding approximate expression in the consecration of the altar. As in the other portions of the temple, so in this, the measurements are given after the cubits, i.e. by or in cubits, the length of each cubit being noted at "a cubit and an hand-breadth," as in Ezekiel 40:5. They are likewise taken first from the foundation upwards (Ezekiel 40:13-15), and then from the top downwards (Ezekiel 40:16, Ezekiel 40:17). The first portion measured is the bottom; literally, the bosom (Hebrew, חיק, "that which embraces," from הוק "to embrace;" LXX; κόλπωμα: Vulgate, sinus); but what exactly that signified is debated among interpreters. Gesenius thinks of "the hollowed part for the fire;" Hitzig, of "a frame running round, a stand in which the altar stood;" Kliefoth, of "a deepening on the wooden ring in which the whole altar stands;" Keil, of" a lower hollow or base of the altar, formed by a border of a definite height;" Smend, of "the channel or gutter of the altar base, which should receive the sacrificial blood;" Havernick, Currey, and Plumptre, of "a base upon which the altar stood." If Smend's feasible notion be not adopted, then probably that of Hitzig, Kliefoth, or Keil most nearly expresses the conception of the Hebrew term. The altar was surrounded by an enclosure in which it seemed to be set, or out of which to rise; the dimensions of this "stand" or "enclosure" being a cubit in height, and a cubit in breadth, with a border on its edge round about a span or half a cubit high. This, the stand just described, should be the higher place; literally, the back; hence the support, base (Revised Version), or elevation, ὕψος (LXX.) of the altar.

See drawing, The Altar

The Legend for the Altar

A, base.

B, border.

C, lower settle.68

D, upper settle.

E, "mount of God" (harel).

F, "hearth of God" (ariel).

H, H, horns of altar.

KRETZMANN 13-16, "v. 13. And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits (the cubit is a cubit and an hand-breadth, the so-called sacred cubit) even the bottom, literally, "the bosom," probably a paneled recess in the side of the altar, shall be a cubit and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span, that is, the molding, or ornamental border, enclosing such a panel; and this shall be the higher place of the altar, or its elevation.

v. 14. And from the bottom, literally, "the bosom," upon the ground even to the lower settle, the rest, or projection, running round about the altar, shall be two cubits and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle, near the bottom, even to the greater settle, the second projection, or ornamental rest, shall be four cubits and the breadth one cubit. The altar was thus built in successive units, or cubes, each one set off with a molding.

v. 15. So the altar, according to the Hebrew, the mountain of God, the altar proper, with its plate, as it were the sanctuary upon a high mountain, shall be four cubits, and from the altar and upward, on the four corners of its plate, as on the altars of Solomon's Temple, shall be four horns.

v. 16. And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four

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squares thereof, so that its plate had an area of 144 square cubits.

14 From the gutter on the ground up to the lower ledge that goes around the altar it is two cubits high, and the ledge is a cubit wide.[g] From this lower ledge to the upper ledge that goes around the altar it is four cubits high, and that ledge is also a cubit wide.[h]

BARNES, "The bottom - The basement just described is now called “the bottom upon the ground.” The altar (independently of the bottom) was composed of two stages called “settles,” the base of the “upper settle” (M) being less than that of the “lower” (L).

To the lower settle - That is, to the top of “the lower settle,” which was to be “two cubits high.”From the lesser settle ... to the greater settle - i. e., from the top of the “lower settle” to the top of the “upper settle,” called “lesser” and “greater,” because the height of the lower is less than that of the “upper; The breadth” here is the part of the lower settle not covered by the upper settle, projecting one cubit on every side.

GILL, "And from the bottom upon the ground, even to the lower settle,.... From the basis or foundation of the altar, as it stood upon the ground, to the lower settle or "court" (w), as it is called, where the priests stood; and in which they could walk round the altar, to do their business: shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; that is, two cubits high, and one broad: and from the lesser settle or court, to the greater settle or court, shall be four cubits, and, the breadth one cubit; the lowermost settle is called the lesser, not in quantity, but in height, it being but two cubits high from the ground; but the

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upper settle was four cubits from that, and one broad, for the priests to walk on round about; in all six cubits from the bottom.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:14 And from the bottom [upon] the ground [even] to the lower settle [shall be] two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle [even] to the greater settle [shall be] four cubits, and the breadth [one] cubit.

Ver. 14. And from the bottom upon the ground.] This so exact measuring of the altar may import, saith Polanus, the faithful and perfect preaching of the gospel by the apostles, and all faithful ministers of God’s word after them. [2 Corinthians 10:13-18 1 Corinthians 4:1,2 Kings 11:1]

POOLE, " From the bottom; from the superficies of the first ledge, which was a cubit broad and a cubit high from the ground.

To the lower settle; to the top of that square settle which is called lower, because another settle is raised upon it.

Two cubits in height.

The breadth one cubit on every square, as the first and bottom settle, which by this account was two cubits larger in each square or side than the middle settle.

From the lesser settle; from the highest edge of the uppermost settle, down to the cubit broad ledge about the lower settle. The prophet measures now downward.

The greater; so called, because it exceeded the upper settle a cubit in breadth on each side. Four cubits in the height thereof.

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The breadth one cubit, as the two other were.

PULPIT, "The next measurements which are taken from the bottom upon the ground, i.e. from the היק, "base," or ground framework above described, to the lower settle, i.e. to the top of the undermost of the two "terraces," or enclosures," or "platforms," of which the altar consisted, are two cubits of height with one cubit of breadth ; the measurements which follow, from the lesser settle, i.e. the undermost, to the greater settle, i.e. the uppermost, are four cubits of height with one cubit of breadth.

15 Above that, the altar hearth is four cubits high, and four horns project upward from the hearth.

BARNES, "The altar ... the altar - See the margin. The two words may denote, the first a square block (N) placed upon the upper settle, the second a slab (O), the thickness of which is not given, from which rose four horns Exo_27:2; and to which it seems probable that the victims of sacrifice were at times bound. Psa_118:27. Why the names Harel and Ariel were used must be conjectural. Mount of God may have been a title naturally given to the place of sacrifice as elsewhere to the place of worship Eze_40:2; Lion of God was a term used for the Holy City itself Isa_29:1.

CLARKE, "So the altar - ”.haharel, “the mount of God ההראלAnd from the altar - umihaariel, “and from the lion of God.” Perhaps the ומהאראיל

first was a name given to the altar when elevated to the honor of God, and on which the victims were offered to him, and the second, the lion of God, may mean the hearth, which might have been thus called, because it devoured and consumed the burnt-offerings, as a lion does his prey. See on Isa_29:1 (note).72

GILL, "So the altar shall be four cubits,.... That is, from the greater settle; so that in the whole it was ten cubits high, the same with Solomon's, 2Ch_4:1 some make this to be eleven cubits high, one higher than Solomon's; it is here called "Harel", the mountain of God, because it looked like a mountain in the court, for its size: it was on a mountain our Lord was offered up a sacrifice for the sins of his people; and which was far superior to all other sacrifices, and for more persons than those sacrifices offered up on the altar of burnt offerings. And from the altar and upward shall be four horns; or, "from Ariel" (x); which was the focus or hearth where the wood was laid, and the fire kindled, called "Ariel"; which some render the lion of God, because, as the Jewish Rabbins (y) say, the fire of the altar lay upon it in the form of a lion; or rather, because like a lion it devoured the sacrifices: this name of the altar agrees well with Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah; who was strong to bear the sins of men, and the wrath of God for them, whereby they are no more; though it rather signifies the fire of God, which consumed the sacrifice, and denoted the wrath of God on Christ, and also the divine acceptance of his sacrifice: now from hence and upwards were four horns at the four corners of the altar; which denote the strength of Christ, to save all that come unto God by him, and his being a refuge to them that by faith lay hold upon him; and that he is accessible to persons that come from all parts, from the four corners of the earth.

JAMISON, "altar — Hebrew, Harel, that is, “mount of God”; denoting the high security to be imparted by it to the restored Israel. It was a high place, but a high place of God, not of idols.

from the altar — literally, “the lion of God,” Ariel (in Isa_29:1, “Ariel” is applied to Jerusalem). Menochius supposes that on it four animals were carved; the lion perhaps was the uppermost, whence the horns were made to issue. Gesenius regards the two words as expressing the “hearth” or fireplace of the altar.

COKE, "Ezekiel 43:15. So the altar, &c.— And the fire-grate, or hearth, shall be four cubits, and from the fire-place and upwards, &c. and so Ezekiel 43:16. Houbigant, instead of altar, reads the higher part, and instead of settle, Ezekiel 43:14, &c. he reads border.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:15 So the altar [shall be] four cubits; and from the altar and upward [shall be] four horns.

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Ver. 15. So the altar.] Heb., Hareel, the hill of God, or the only place of sacrifices.

And from the altar.] Ariel, the lion of God; so called because the fire of this altar devoured the sacrifices, as a lion doth the prey. See Isaiah 29:16.

POOLE, " The altar: this upper part is now called the altar, though sometimes this name is given to the whole, as Ezekiel 43:13.

Four cubits in height, for it was of much greater wideness, as in the next verse.

From the altar; from the top of the altar, at each corner shall be a horn, four in all.

PULPIT, "Noteworthy is the word altar, which in this verse renders two distinct Hebrew terms, הראל and אריאל, which Gesenius, Hitzig, Ewald, Smend, and others, after the LXX. ( τὸ ἀριὴλ), identify as synonymous, and translate by "hearth." But the first can only signify "the mount of God," while the latter may mean either "lion of God" or "hearth of God." Kliefoth, deriving the latter from ארה, "to consume," and איך, "a ram," prefers as its import "ram-devourer;" Hengstenberg, resolving into איל "a ram," and ארי, "a lion," proposes as its equivalent "ram-lion." i.e. "the lion that consumes the rams for God"—a ten-doting closely allied to that of Kliefoth. In any case, the terms allude to parts of the altar: the second, Ariel (equivalent to the hearth on which God's fire burns), according to Keil, Kliefoth, and the best expositors, meaning the flat surface of the altar; and the first, Harel (conveying the ideas of elevation and sanctity), the base on which it rested. The height of this base was four cubits, while from the hearth projected four horns, as in the altars of the Mosaic tabernacle (Exodus 27:2 ; Exodus 38:2; Le Exodus 4:7, Exodus 4:18; Exodus 8:15) and Solomonic temple (Psalms 118:27). If the length of these be set down, as Kliefoth suggests, at three cubits, then the whole height of the altar will be in cubits—one for the ground bottom, two for the lower settle, four for the upper, four for the bases of the hearth, with three for the horns, equal to fourteen in all; or, omitting the horns, of which the length is not given, and the altar base, which is distinguished from the altar, ten cubits in all for the altar proper. As to the symbolic import of the "horns," Kurtz, after Hofmaun and Kliefoth, finds

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this in the idea of elevation, the "horns," as the highest point in the altar, bringing the blood put upon them nearer to God than the sides did the blood sprinkled on them (see 'Sacrificial Worship of the Old Testament,' § 13); Keil, after Bahr, in the notions of strength, beauty, and blessing, the horns of an animal being the points in which its power, grace, and fullness of life are concentrated, and therefore fitting emblems of those points in the altar in which appears "its significance as a place of the revelation of Divine might and strength, of Divine salvation and blessing" ('Biblische Archaologie,' § 20).

16 The altar hearth is square, twelve cubits[i] long and twelve cubits wide.

BARNES, "altar - Ariel was to be an exact square on all sides. Compare Exo_27:1; Rev_21:16.

GILL, "And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad,.... The length of it, from east to west, was twelve cubits; and the breadth, from north to south, was the same; so that it was a proper foursquare, as follows: Christ the altar, or the doctrine of his sacrifice and satisfaction for the sins of men, is the doctrine of the twelve apostles of Christ, and embraced by the twelve times twelve, the 144,000 that belong unto him: square in the four squares thereof; as the altar in the tabernacle, and Solomon's temple, were, Exo_27:1, denoting the largeness of Christ's sacrifice, the perfection of it, and its stability and permanency, to take away the sin, of his people.

JAMISON, "square in the four squares — square on the four sides of its squares [Fairbairn].

PETT, " “And the altar hearth (’ari’el) shall be shall be twelve long by twelve

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broad, square in its four sides.”

The whole altar was to be foursquare indicating its perfection but it is only as regards the altar hearth that we are specifically told this. It is a large altar, twelve cubits by twelve cubits at the top (contrast Exodus 27:1 where the altar was five cubits by five cubits and 2 Chronicles 4:1 where Solomon’s altar was twenty cubits by twenty cubits but not said to be stepped.).

POOLE, " The altar; that which in the 15th verse is precisely determined to be the altar, the uppermost and least settle.

Twelve cubits long, twelve broad; all exact square, by which we may know the dimensions of the other two; the first of the two was wider by two cubits, and longer by two cubits, than the highest, and the lowest was as much greater and larger than the middlemost. The highest twelve cubits square, the middle fourteen cubits square, and the lowest sixteen cubits square.

PULPIT, "Ezekiel 43:16, Ezekiel 43:17

The measurements that now begin concern the breadth of the altar, and proceed from above downwards. First the altar, or, hearth of God (Hebrew, ariel) was twelve cubits long and twelve broad, i.e. was square in the four squares (or, sides) thereof, or a perfect square (comp. Exodus 27:1; Revelation 21:16). Next the settle, or, enclosure (Hebrew, ה ) of Ezekiel 43:14, was fourteen cubits long, and fourteen broad in the four squares (or, sides) thereof; the fourteen being made up of the twelve cubits of the altar-hearth's side with one cubit of ledge from the settle all round. The only question is to which "settle," the upper or the under, reference is made. Some expositors, identifying the greater Azarah with the Harel, i.e. the "upper settle," with "the mount of God" or the base of the hearth, make the altar height only seven cubits from the ground to the hearth. The general belief, however, is that they cannot be so identified. Among interpreters who distinguish them, Kliefoth, with whom Smend agrees, holds the "settle" in this verse to be the harel, or "mount of God," which extended (Smend says with a hek. or "gutter") one cubit

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on each side beyond the ariel, or "hearth of God," so that the "mount of God," on which the" hearth of God" rested, was fourteen cubits square. Then, assuming a similar extension of one cubit at each stage—in the greater azarah, the lesser azarah, and the hek, or ground bottom—he finds the surface of the greater azarah to be sixteen, of the lesser azarah eighteen, and of the ground bottom twenty cubits square. Keil, with whom Schroder and Currey agree, objects to this as involving too much of arbitrary assumption, and takes the" settle" of this verse to mean the lower azarah; so that no additional measurements are required beyond those given in the text. If the square surface of the greater azarah be considered as having been the same as that of the harel, so that their sides were continuous, then, as the "ground bottom" extended one cubit on each side beyond the lower azarsh, the altar at its base was a square of sixteen cubits. Comparing now these measurements with those of the altar of burnt offering in the tabernacle and the temple, one finds that the former was only five cubits square and three cubits high (Exodus 27:1), while the latter was twenty cubits broad, but only ten cubits high (2 Chronicles 4:1), which awakes the suspicion that the different views above noted have been insensibly influenced by a desire on the part of their authors to make them harmonize with the measurements of the temple. But there does not appear sufficient reason why the measurements of Ezekiel's altar should have agreed with those of Solomon's rather than with those of Moses', The border (or, parapet) of half a cubit which ran round the ledge, or bottom, of a cubit, at the foot of the lower azarah was clearly designed, not for the protection of the priest officiating, but for ornament. The stairs (or, steps), mention of which closes the description, mark a departure, not from the pattern of the Solomonic temple, in which the altar must have had steps, but from the pattern of the tabernacle, in which altar-steps were disallowed (Exodus 20:26) and did not exist (Exodus 38:1-7). But if, as Jewish tradition asserts, the pest-exilic altar had no steps as Ezekiel's had, having been reached by an inclined plane, because in the so-called book of the covenant steps were forbidden, how does this harmonize with the theory that Ezekiel's vision temple was designed as a model for the post-exilic temple? And why, if the priest-code was the composition of a writer who worked in the spirit and on the lines of Ezekiel, should it have omitted to assign steps to the tabernacle altar?

17 The upper ledge also is square, fourteen 77

cubits[j] long and fourteen cubits wide. All around the altar is a gutter of one cubit with a rim of half a cubit.[k] The steps of the altar face east.”

BARNES, "The settle - The “lower settle” (L), projecting beyond the “upper settle” (M) one cubit on every side.

His stairs - Jewish tradition says that the approach to the altar was by an inclined plane, because to go up “by steps” was forbidden Exo_20:26.The number “twelve” was symbolic of the twelve tribes, “four,” of the earth; “sixteen” is the square of “four,” and “fourteen” the double of “seven,” the number of the covenant, as being composed of “three,” the number of God, and of “four,” the number of the world. Thus we have in the altar a special instance of Hebrew symbolism.

CLARKE, "And the settle - The ledge on which the priests walked round the altar, see Eze_43:14. By these settles or ledges the altar was narrowed towards the top. “The ascent shall look toward the east;” this ascent was an inclined plane. But these settles, or more properly ledges, as Bp. Newcome translates, may be thus computed. The altar itself was ten feet high and twenty broad; the same as that of Solomon, 2Ch_4:1.

Height CubitsFor the base, Eze_43:13, is in height 1From the surface of the base to the first ledge, Eze_43:14 1From the lower ledge to the upper, Eze_43:14 4From the upper ledge to the ariel or hearth, Eze_43:15 4In all 10

Breadth CubitsAnd as to the breadth, the upper ledge, Eze_43:17, was 14

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Add a cubit on each side for the higher ledge, Eze_43:14, latter part2

Add a cubit on each side for the lower ledge, Eze_43:14, former part2

Add a cubit on each side for the base, Eze_43:13 2In all 20

The altar of burnt-offerings, described Exo_27:1; Exo_38:1, was smaller than this, because it was to be removed from place to place with the tabernacle. This was designed for a permanent temple. See Bp. Newcome on this chapter.

GILL, "And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof,.... Here Kimchi confesses his ignorance. Jarchi interprets it, the top of the altar, with the place of the horns, and of the feet of the priests, and was twenty eight cubits by twenty eight, the fourteen mentioned being to be measured from the middle (z); and he seems to be right in making it to be the upper part of the altar, and not the lower settle, as some; the focus or hearth where the wood was laid, and the sacrifice burnt; and which had a projection of a cubit on each side, and so made the twelve cubits, the length and breadth of the altar, fourteen: and the border about it shall be half a cubit; or the enclosure, as the Targum; the ledge about it, which went round the altar, to keep the fire or sacrifice from falling, or that the feet of the priests might not slip: the Jews expound it of the horns: and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; or the foundation, as the Targum; which was between the altar, and the border on which the priests walked, when they went round it, to do the business of it: here Kimchi owns his ignorance again; and his stairs shall look towards the east; steps to the altar were forbidden by the law of Moses, Exo_20:26 wherefore, as the height of the altar of Solomon, and so of the second temple, required some way and method of ascent to the top of it, to do the business upon it; the Jews had what they call "kibbesh", a way made of earth thrown up, which rose gradually, and led to the top of it, and was about two and thirty cubits long, and sixteen broad (a); but here steps or stairs are expressly mentioned, which show that this refers to times when the Mosaic and ceremonial laws should be abolished. These stairs were placed eastward, so that those that went up them looked toward the west, toward the temple and house of God, where he dwelt; and turned their backs to the east, or rising sun, in direct opposition to the worshippers of the sun, whose faces were to the east. How many steps or stairs there were to the altar is not said; Starckius conjectures there might be twelve or fourteen of them, and allows for each step half a cubit; but as the altar was ten, or, as others, eleven cubits high, there should be twenty steps or more,

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of such a measure. These may signify the several ways and means of coming to, and increasing in, the knowledge of the doctrine of the altar, or of Christ's satisfaction for sin; as hearing, reading, prayer, meditation, &c. JAMISON, "settle — ledge [Fairbairn].stairs — rather, “the ascent,” as “steps” up to God’s altar were forbidden in Exo_20:26.

COKE, "Verse 17

Ezekiel 43:17. And his stairs— And its ascent. Ezekiel 43:21. He shall burn it] It shall be burnt.

REFLECTIONS.—1st, The temple was great and glorious, but infinitely greater the glory of the divine Inhabitant, who condescended there to take up his abode.

1. The same bright vision which had before been seen by the prophet, again appears from the east. It was the glory of the God of Israel; like many waters his voice was heard far off, his gospel having spread into distant lands, and the earth shined with his glory; his church, as the moon, reflecting the lustre that she has borrowed from him the Sun of righteousness.

2. This glory of God filled the house; and when the prophet in humble adoration had fallen prostrate on the earth, the Spirit took him up, and brought him to the inner court, to behold God's glory, and receive his instructions; and the man, Christ Jesus, stood by him; for through him alone can we hold communion with God, or hear his voice with comfort.

2nd, God, having taken possession of his temple, admonishes them of the obligations lying upon them, to be more faithful to him than, they had ever yet been.

1. They had formerly grievously offended, and had been deservedly punished. They and their kings had been gross idolaters, and worshipped on the high places. They

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had corrupted the service of the sanctuary by their own inventions; had even dared to erect their idols and altars in that sacred place; and by such abominations had provoked God's wrath and indignation against them. Note; They who faithlessly depart from God, provoke him to take up the scourge, and to plague them for their offences.

2. He calls on them to repent, and graciously promises on that condition to make them such as he would have them be. They must put away their whoredoms, their idolatrous services, and the carcases of their kings; which some suggest were buried in or near the house of God; or perhaps the idols themselves are meant, as loathsome in God's sight as a putrid corpse in ours; and in order to induce them hereunto, the prophet must shew them the house, that a sense of the mercy which God hath in store for them may work upon their hearts, and his goodness lead them to repentance; and if they expressed shame and confusion on the view of their past conduct, then he must go farther, and give them a more distinct view of the glorious fabric and all its parts; and give them in writing all the ordinances thereof, that they may keep them and do them. And while God is thus using the strongest motives, he promises to make them effectual to every penitent, believing soul. They shall defile my name no more; yea, he will engage their hearts to his blessed self, and, in consequence thereof, dwell in the midst of them for ever, yea, with all his faithful people, as their God. Note; (1.) When we begin to return to God, every step we take will give us fresh reason for deeper humiliation and self-loathing. (2.) They who are restored to God's favour, will above all things desire to walk henceforth in his ways.

3. The law of God's house is declared; not only the sanctuary, but the whole mountain is now most holy; no veil in the gospel church excludes the believer, but by the blood of Jesus we have boldness to enter into the holiest, Hebrews 10:19 and are called upon as his disciples to perfect holiness in the fear of God.

3rdly, We have,

1. The altar: typical of the Lord Jesus, through whom all our sacrifices find acceptance with God; and the sinner who flies to the horns of this altar shall find a sure refuge from fear of evil.

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2. The consecration of the altar, and the service to be performed on it, which God promises to accept. Christ, by offering his own blood as the atonement, has consecrated himself as the altar, and every believer is now a spiritual priest, ordained to offer spiritual sacrifices thereon, acceptable and well-pleasing to God through him.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:17 And the settle [shall be] fourteen [cubits] long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it [shall be] half a cubit; and the bottom thereof [shall be] a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.

Ver. 17. And his stairs shall look toward the east.] As leading to the Sun of righteousness, and the light of eternal blessedness, arising out of heaven.

PETT, " “And the settle shall be fourteen long by fourteen wide in its four sides. And the border about it shall be half a cubit, and its bosom shall be a cubit about, and its steps shall look towards the east.”

The next stage down, the ‘higher settle’, was to be fourteen cubits by fourteen. There would be a one cubit surround with a half cubit rim. Thus the next step down was sixteen cubits, but this is not mentioned. This draws attention to the measurements of the top two sections, twelve by twelve representing the official number of the tribes of Israel, fourteen by fourteen representing twice seven, intensified divine perfection. The main interest of the ancients in numbers was in their significance.

There were to be steps up to the altar. Previously steps had been forbidden (Exodus 20:24-26), but they were essential with an altar of this size. The stepped shape of the altar and the steps leading up to it were both an indication that the altar was the means by which they reached heavenward.

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The Altar Is To Be Built and Sanctified (Ezekiel 43:18-27).

Instructions were now given for the building and cleansing of the earthly altar. The very fact that an altar was to be built was indirect confirmation of God’s willingness for them to build a new temple for themselves, although actually, as long as they had an altar, worship could function without a temple, as Ezra 3:2-3 makes clear. Thus it was not the direct equivalent of a command to build the temple. The first essential was that man should have his approach to God made possible by the shedding of blood, and that required an altar. But by making it according to the pattern of the heavenly altar they ensured its spiritual connection with the heavenly temple. An earthly temple could follow.

POOLE, "Verse 17

The settle; so called now, since the uppermost carrieth the name of altar, proper to itself.

Fourteen cubits, as said in the former verse: nor can it be otherwise, since it is one cubit on each side broader than the altar, which was twelve cubits square.

The border; or a border, or ledge, fastened to the edge of the outside of this bench, that goes round about the settle.

Half a cubit; about eleven inches, being the half of this great cubit: now this border was for security to the priests in their going round the altar, that if a foot slipped, this border might stay it.

The bottom, the superficies, on which the priest treads when he is doing any thing

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on the altar, or the breadth of this bench within the border,a cubit.Stairs, or steps, for such they needed; and probably each stair about one fourth of a cubit, to carry them up to the first and second settles. These stairs were placed eastward, that he who went up should have his face to the west, his back to the east; his face toward God, not toward the rising sun, as they who made the sun their idol.

KRETZMANN 17-19, "v. 17. And the settle, the lower ledge, shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof, the extra cubits being added on account of the depth of the panel; and the border about it shall be half a cubit, the span spoken of in verse 13; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east, that is, the ascent for the officiating priests faced the east. The altar of burnt offering is so minutely described because under the Old Dispensation it was the place where the ordinary worship centered, where the believing Israelites drew near to God, where their relation to him, disturbed by the fact of their trespasses, was once more restored.

v. 18. And He said unto me, Son of man, Thus saith the Lord God, the sovereign Ruler of the universe, These are the ordinances of the altar, the regulations concerning its service, in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon and to sprinkle blood thereon, in the act of atonement combined with that of consecration to Jehovah.

v. 19. And thou shalt give to the priests, the Levites, the descendants of Levi, that be of the seed of Zadok, of this line of the family, the other line having been discontinued since the time of Solomon, 1Ki_2:26-27, which approach unto Me to minister unto Me, saith the Lord God, a young bullock for a sin-offering. Cf Lev_4:3 ff.

18 Then he said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: These will be the

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regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings and splashing blood against the altar when it is built:

BARNES, "The rites here described are not those of the regular service, but those to be observed on the day of dedication. (Compare Lev_8:10 ff; 1Ki_8:63 ff; 2Ch_7:4 ff, In the tabernacle the priest killed the victims, but Moses sprinkled the blood. In the vision the seer is addressed as though he were to perform the part of Moses.

GILL, "And he said unto me, son of man, thus saith the Lord God,.... This is the voice of the Lord continued, speaking out of the house to the prophet; see Eze_43:6, these are the ordinances of the altar: not what go before, concerning the measures of it, but what follow, concerning the sacrifices to be offered on it: in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and sprinkle blood thereon; this plainly shows that this altar is the altar of burnt offerings; such were to be offered on it, and the blood of them to be sprinkled thereon, as follows; that is, upon the horns, corners, and border of it, Eze_43:20.

JAMISON 18-27, "The sacrifices here are not mere commemorative, but propitiatory ones. The expressions, “blood” (Eze_43:18), and “for a sin offering” (Eze_43:19, Eze_43:21, Eze_43:22), prove this. In the literal sense they can only apply to the second temple. Under the Christian dispensation they would directly oppose the doctrine taught in Heb_10:1-18, namely, that Christ has by one offering for ever atoned for sin. However, it is possible that they might exist with a retrospective reference to Christ’s sufferings, as the Levitical sacrifices had a prospective reference to them; not propitiatory in themselves, but memorials to keep up the remembrance of His propitiatory sufferings, which form the foundation of His kingdom, lest they should be lost sight of in the glory of that kingdom [DE BURGH]. The particularity of the directions make it unlikely that they are to be understood in a merely vague spiritual sense.

K&D 18-27, "Consecration of the AltarEze_43:18. And he said to me, Son of man, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, These are the statutes of the altar in the day when it is erected, to offer burnt-offerings upon it, and to sprinkle blood thereon. Eze_43:19. Thou shalt give to the priests of the tribe of Levi who are of the seed of Zadok, who draw near to me, is the saying of the Lord

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Jehovah, a bullock, a young ox, for a sin-offering. Eze_43:20. And thou shalt take of its blood, and put it upon is four horns, and upon the four corners of the enclosure, and upon the moulding round about; and so absolve and expiate it. Eze_43:21. And thou shalt take the bullock of the sin-offering, and burn it at the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary. Eze_43:22. And on the second day thou shalt offer a faultless he-goat for a sin-offering, that they may absolve the altar, as they absolved it with the bullock. Eze_43:23. When thou hast completed the absolution, thou shalt offer a bullock, a young ox, without fault, and a faultless ram of the flock; Eze_43:24. And shalt bring them before Jehovah, and the priests shall throw salt upon them, and sacrifice them as burnt-offering to Jehovah. Eze_43:25. Seven days shalt thou offer a sin-offering goat daily and a bullock, a young ox, and a ram of the flock without fault shall they prepare. Eze_43:26. Seven days shall they expiate the altar, and cleanse it, and fill its hand. Eze_43:27. And when they have completed these days, it shall come to pass on the eighth day and henceforward, that the priests place your burnt-offerings and your peace-offerings upon the altar, and I will accept you with delight, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah.As the altar of the tabernacle and that of Solomon's temple were consecrated before they were used (Lev_8:11, Lev_8:15, Lev_8:19, Lev_8:33; 1Ki_8:62-66; 2Ch_7:4-10), and God commanded and regulated this consecration of the altar of the tabernacle (Exo_29:10.), so also is the altar of burnt-offering in the new sanctuary to be consecrated before it is used. This command is given to Ezekiel, and the consecration enjoined upon him, not as the representative of the nation, but as a prophet, upon whom, as is frequently the case in the prophetical narratives, those things are said to be enjoined, which are to be set in operation through his proclamation. This commission is given to him, however, for the day (the time) when the altar will be made or restored, from which alone we may see that the execution of the command belongs to the future, in which the temple shown him in the spirit is to be erected, and that it will take place in a manner corresponding to the realization of the temple; so that we cannot infer from this command alone that the reference is to the building of a temple and altar of stone,

metal, and wood. ת חק are not the regulations prescribed for the altar service generally, but simply those relating to its consecration. If we compare these with the account of the consecration of the altars of the earlier sanctuaries, we find that no detailed description is given of the consecration of the altar of Solomon's temple, but that it is simply stated that it lasted seven days (2Ch_7:9). The consecration of the altar of the tabernacle lasted just the same time (Exo_29:37; Lev_8:33). And the same period is appointed here (Eze_43:26). But the consecration of the altar of the tabernacle was associated with the consecration of the priests. Here, on the contrary, the existence of the priesthood is presupposed, and only the altar is consecrated. The consecration of the Mosaic altar commenced with the anointing of the altar and all its utensils, by the sprinkling of it seven times by Moses with the holy anointing oil, for the purpose of sanctifying it (Lev_8:11). Here, on the other hand, nothing is said about the anointing of the altar; only the absolving of it by sacrifice is mentioned, which followed the anointing in the case of the Mosaic altar. At the altar in the tabernacle Moses performed the whole act of consecration, as the mediator of the covenant, the anointing as well as the preparation of the sacrifices. Here, however, the priests already consecrated for their service are to complete the sacrificial ceremony. It is true that the expressions used in Eze_43:20, “take of its blood,” etc., and in Eze_43:21, “take the bullock of the sin-offering,” etc., apparently indicate that the prophet was to perform the sprinkling of the blood and the burning of the sin-offering. But it is obvious that this is only to be understood as

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signifying that he was to do it through the medium of the priests, i.e., was to enjoin the performance of it upon them, from the use of the plural הטאו in Eze_43:22: “they shall absolve the altar, as they have absolved it with the bullock.” It is not all the priests of the tribe of Levi however, who are to perform this service, but simply those of the family of Zadok, who alone are selected in the new temple for specifically priestly service (cf. Eze_40:46 and Eze_44:15.).

The sacred ceremony commences with the offering of a young ox as a sin-offering; Eze_43:19, Eze_43:20, as in Lev_8:14, compared with Exo_29:1, Exo_29:10. The blood of the ox is to be put upon the four horns and the four corners of the enclosure, and upon the moulding below it round about; and the flesh is to be burned at an appointed place outside the sanctuary. For the article in הפר החטאת (Eze_43:21), see Ewald, §290b. The pouring out of the blood - that was not used for smearing the places indicated - at the foot of the altar is not mentioned, nor the burning of the fat portions of the sacrifice upon the altar. We cannot infer, from the omission of the latter circumstance, that the fat was not consumed upon the altar, but was burned, with the flesh, skin, and bones of the animal, outside the sanctuary, as Kliefoth supposes. Without the burning of certain definite portions of the victim upon the altar, the slaughtering of the animal would not have been a complete sacrifice at all; the smearing of the blood upon the altar would not have sufficed for this. And the fact that in Eze_43:21 the command is given, “take the bullock and burn it,” does not prove that the animal was to be burned along with those fat portions which were to be consumed upon the altar in the case of every sin-offering. In Lev_8:17 also, את־הפר stands in the place of את־בשר Exo_29:14. Ezekiel generally presupposes that the sacrificial ritual is ,הפרwell known, and therefore mentions only those points in which deviations from the ordinary ritual took place in connection with this sacrifice, such as the sprinkling of the blood, because the blood was to be smeared on particular parts of the altar, and the burning of the flesh, on account of the place where this was to be done. In the case of the burnt-offering in Eze_43:23, no directions are given concerning the ceremonial; because this was to be in conformity with the standing ritual, with the exception of the sprinkling with salt, which was not to be performed in the same manner as in the ordinary sacrifices. The burning is to take place במפקד , outside the sanctuary. מפקד is a place commanded or appointed; and מפקד is a place in the temple set apart for that purpose. It follows from this that the place in question, since it belonged to the house, i.e., to the temple, is to be sought for within the square of five hundred cubits in extent, which was covered by the temple and its courts; and at the same time that it was outside the מקדש, i.e., upon a spot which did not form part of the sanctuary in the stricter sense of the word. Kliefoth therefore thinks of a spot within the gizrah (Eze_41:12), the name of which implies that the space which it covered did not belong to the true מקדש. This view is the most probable one; whereas Ewald's conjecture, that the place intended is the locality of the sacrificial kitchens of the priests described in Eze_46:19, is decidedly erroneous, as these kitchens, which were set apart for the cooking of the holy sacrificial flesh to be eaten by the priests alone, were certainly reckoned as forming part of the מקדש. - Eze_43:22. On the second day, a he-goat was to be brought for a sin-offering, and the altar was to be cleansed from sin with this just as with the bullock on the first day; which implies that the same ceremonial was to be observed with this sacrifice as with that of the sin-offering.

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After the completion of the expiation a burnt-offering was to be presented to the Lord of a bullock and a ram (Eze_43:23 and Eze_43:24). There is a difference of opinion as to the meaning of ת בכל in these verses. Hitzig and Kliefoth suppose that the expiation was only completed on the second day, with the offering of the he-goat as a sin-offering. They both of them lay stress upon the fact that, on the one hand, in Eze_43:23 and Eze_43:24 the offering of the burnt-offering is mentioned on the second day, and not on the first day also; and on the other hand, in Eze_43:25, for the seven days of consecration, only the preparation of a he-goat for the sin-offering and the preparation of the two animals appointed for the burnt-offering are mentioned. Hitzig also adduces the fact that in Eze_43:26 there is no further reference to חטא, but simply to כפר and טהר, and draws the conclusion from this, that the sin attaching to the altar was removed with two sin-offerings on two days, and then through seven days further by means of burnt-offerings the anger of God which followed the sin was appeased (כפר), and the uncleanness or profane character of the altar was expunged (טהר), so that the seven days of Eze_43:25 are not to be dated from Eze_43:19 onwards. According to this view, the consecration of the altar lasted nine days, and not seven, and the eighth day mentioned in Eze_43:27 would really be the tenth day, reckoning from the commencement of the consecration. To carry out this view, Hitzig is obliged to erase not only the וכפרתהו of Eze_43:20, but also the first half of Eze_43:25 as glosses; a fact which carries its condemnation with it, as even the Septuagint furnishes no warrant for the erasure of Eze_43:25. Moreover, the distinction which Hitzig draws between חטא on the one hand, and כפר and טהר on the other, is quite erroneous. Purification (טהר) is never mentioned in the law as the effect produced by a burnt-offering. A sin-offering followed by a burnt-offering is invariably prescribed for the removal of uncleanness; for “reconciliation and purification take place through the absolution effected by the sin-offering; and to such a sin-offering and its purifying operation the burnt-offering is then added to secure the good pleasure of God for that which has been already cleansed” (Kliefoth).

But we cannot regard even Kliefoth's view as well founded, namely, that on the first day a sin-offering alone was presented, and it was only from the second day onwards that a sin-offering and burnt-offering were presented, and this lasted for seven days, so that the consecration of the altar continued fully eight days, and on the ninth day (not the eighth, as stated in Eze_43:27) the regular use of the altar commenced. Kliefoth bases this conclusion principally upon the fact that Eze_43:19-21 attribute only the sin-offering of a bullock to the first day; and that, on the other hand, Eze_43:25 and Eze_43:26 extend in all its details to seven days the very same ceremony as Eze_43:22-24assign to the second day, whereas they do not contain a syllable to the effect that the sin-offering of the bullock was to be repeated every day, or that the sacrifices described in Eze_43:22-24 were also to be offered on the first day. The sinew of this demonstration consists in silentio, therefore; and this precarious basis of argument crumbles here, as in most other cases, as is evident from the words of Eze_43:26 : “seven days shall ye reconcile the altar, and purify it.” This perfectly general statement, which is not connected with Eze_43:25 by any Vav copul., or placed in subordination to it, affirms in the clearest manner that the consecration of the altar was to last seven days, neither more nor less; so that if these seven days are to be reckoned from the second day, the sin-offering of the bullock upon the first day must be deprived of its reconciling and purifying worth, in direct contradiction not only to Eze_43:20, according to which the 88

altar was to be absolved and reconciled through the sin-offering of the bullock to be offered on the first day, but also to Eze_43:22, according to which they were to absolve the altar by the sin-offering of the he-goat, in just the same manner as they had absolved it by the sin-offering of the bullock (on the first day). To take the כפר and מהר in Eze_43:26 merely as the effect produced by the sacrifices mentioned in Eze_43:25, renders the שבעת standing at the head of Eze_43:26 an impossibility. Unless, therefore, we would impose upon the words of the prophet a gross contradiction, we must lay no stress either upon the fact that in Eze_43:23 the offering of the burnt-offering is not mentioned till after the direction concerning he sin-offering to be presented on the second day, or upon the circumstance that in Eze_43:25 the he-goat is mentioned as a sin-offering for all the seven days, and no allusion is made to the fact that the sin-offering of the first day was a bullock. The former (the reference to the burnt-offering after the sin-offering of the second day) may be explained very simply, on the ground that the sin-offerings of the first two days are mentioned one after the other, because different animals were prescribed for the purpose, and then, first, the burnt-offerings, which were the same for every day. And it is obvious that the explanation is to be sought for in this formal arrangement, and not in the fact that only a sin-offering without a burnt-offering was to be presented on the first day, and consequently that the expression “on the second day” refers solely to the sin-offering of that day, from the words ת בכלמחטא in Eze_43:23; since מחטא cannot be understood in a different sense from that which it bears in Eze_43:22, the clause immediately preceding, i.e., must not be restricted to the sin-offering of the second day, but must be taken as referring to the sin-offerings of both the first and second days. The meaning of the words is therefore this: when the absolution by means of the sin-offering on the first and on the second day is ended, then shalt thou bring a burnt-offering. But if this is the meaning of the words, the offering of the burnt-offering prescribed in Eze_43:23 does not fall so exclusively under the definition of time contained in the words “on the second day,” as to warrant our assigning it to the second day alone, and concluding that no such offering was presented on the first day. There was no necessity for Ezekiel to express himself more clearly on this point, as there was no fear of any misunderstanding on the part of those who were acquainted with the law; since every Israelites who had been instructed in the law knew full well that no sin-offering could ever be presented without being followed by a burnt-offering, that in fact the burnt-offering was indispensable to the accomplishment of the כפרה, for which the sin-offering was presented. And in Eze_43:25 also, Ezekiel had no occasion to fear that the somewhat loose expression, “seven days shalt thou prepare a he-goat sin-offering for the day,” would be misunderstood; as he had already stated that a bullock was to be taken for the sin-offering of the first day, and the period of seven days was so universally prescribed in the law for every act of consecration which lasted more than one day, that he would have indicated in a clearer manner any deviation from this rule. We therefore regard the change of the seven days devoted to the consecration of the altar into eight as being just as groundless as that into nine, and adhere to the traditional explanation of these verses, namely, that the consecration of the altar lasted only seven days, and that on every one of these days a sin-offering and a burnt-offering were to be presented, the sin-offering on the first day being a bullock, and on the other days a he-goat, whilst the burnt-offerings were to consist on all seven days of a young ox and a ram.

With regard to the burnt-offering, the direction given, that the priests are to throw or

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pour ( and not merely to strew or sprinkle, salt upon it, is to be regarded as ,(השליsignificant. According to Lev_2:13, salt was to be added to every קרבן (bloody or bloodless) sacrifice. The express allusion to the salting of these consecrating burnt-offerings, and also the choice of the verb השלי, point to a copious strewing with salt for the purpose of giving greater intensity to the force of these sacrifices. On the significance of salt in relation to the sacrifices, see the comm. on Lev_2:13. The ו attached to the Chetib וכפרו in Eze_43:26 is to be explained from the fact that the definition of the time שבעת is placed at the head absolutely. There is something bold in the application of the expression מלא יד to the altar; since this expression arose from the ceremony peculiar to the consecrating sacrifice of the priests, namely, that the fat and fleshy portions of this sacrifice, which were intended partly for consumption upon the altar, and partly as a heave-offering for Jehovah, were to be given into the hands of the priests to be consecrated for the purpose of investing them symbolically with the gifts, which they were to offer in part to the Lord in the altar fire in the fulfilment of their official duties, and to receive in part for their service (see the comm. on Lev_8:25-29). Filling the hand of the altar, therefore, is equivalent to providing it with sacrificial gifts, so that it should never be without them. In this sense the symbolical act was connected with the completion of its consecration as a place of sacrifice. The Keri ידו is incorrect, and ידthe proper reading; inasmuch as even at the consecration of the priests, when the sacrificial portions were placed in the hands of the priests, מלא only is used, and not ידים (cf. Exo_29:9; Lev_21:10, etc.).

If we compare the directions given in the section before us concerning the consecration of the altar, with the consecration which was prescribed in Ex 29 for the altar of burnt-offering in the tabernacle, and was fully carried out according to Lev 8, we find the following points of difference: - (1) the anointing of the altar is wanting here; (2) at the consecration of the Mosaic altar a bullock (young ox) was prescribed as the sin-offering for all the seven days (Exo_29:36), in Ezekiel for the first day only, and a he-goat for the rest; (3) the blood of this sin-offering is smeared upon the horns of the altar in the former consecration (Exo_29:12; Lev_8:15), in the latter upon the horns and the corners of the walls, and upon the lower moulding round about; (4) the burnt-offering there consists in a ram every day, here in a bullock and a ram daily; (5) on the other hand, the ram offered as a sacrifice of consecration in the Mosaic ceremony, which was specially connected with the institution of the priests in their office, is omitted here, as the priests were already holding their office; so that the sacrifice of consecration might be said to be here absorbed into the burnt-offering. All essential differences therefore reduce themselves to the fact that in Ezekiel the anointing of the altar is wanting, and the sin-offering of the last six days is diminished by the selection of an inferior animal, in place of which the burnt-offering is considerably intensified by the demand of a bullock and a ram for this, the same thing being also indicated by the copious pouring of salt thereon. - For the symbolical meaning of these sacrifices, compare the commentary on Lev 8. - The consecration of the altar was completed in seven days; and from the eighth day onwards the priests were to offer the regular sacrifices upon it (Eze_43:27); whereas at the Mosaic consecration of the altar and priests, the constant altar service of the priests was still further inaugurated by a solemn sacrifice on the eighth day (Lev 9). Burnt-offerings and peace-offerings are mentioned in Eze_43:27 instar omnium as being the principal and most frequent sacrifices, whilst sin-offerings and meat-offerings 90

are implied therein.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:18 And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD These [are] the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.

Ver. 18. These are the ordinances of the altar.] Christians also have their sacrifices, though of another alloy, to offer, and must look to the ordinances of their altar; ministers must especially.

PETT, " The Building of the Altar (Ezekiel 43:18).

‘And he said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh, These are the ordinances of the altar in the day that they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it.” ’

The altar described had to be made as a means by which ‘burnt offerings’ could be offered to God (this in fact covers the whole range of sacrifices, the burnt offering being the oldest, the most general and the most important). It was also the means by which the blood could be applied before God. This would make possible access to Him.

POOLE, " These are the ordinances; these are the measures and proportions for building the altar.

In the day when, whensoever,

they shall make it, the returned captives shall build and use it.

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To offer burnt-offerings thereon: it appears then this was the great brazen altar, of which see Exodus 38:30 39:39.

To sprinkle blood thereon, according to the law, Leviticus 1:5.

PULPIT, "The ordinances of the altar. These were not the regulations for the sacrificial worship to be afterwards performed upon this altar, but the rites to be observed at its consecration when the day should arrive for its construction. As the altar in the tabernacle (Exodus 29:1-46; Le Exodus 8:11 -33), and that in Solomon's temple (1 Kings 8:63-66; 2 Chronicles 7:4-10), so was this in Ezekiel's "house" dedicated by a special ceremonial before being brought into ordinary use. The particular ritual observed by Solomon is not described in detail; but a comparison between that enjoined upon and practiced by Moses with that revealed to and published by Ezekiel shows that while in some respects they agreed, in other important particulars they differed. In both the ceremony largely consisted in offering sacrifice and smearing blood, and lasted seven days; but in the former the ceremony was performed exclusively by Moses, consisted, in addition to the above, of an anointing of the altar, the holy utensils, and the tabernacle itself with oil, and was associated with the consecration of the priests; whereas in the latter, in addition to some variations in the sacrificial victims, which will be noted in the course of exposition, the priests should bear an active part—there should be no anointing with oil, and no consecration of the priests, the priesthood being assumed as already existing. If in Ezekiel's ritual there was no mention of a cleansing of the sanctuary (that of Ezekiel 45:18 referring to a special ease), but only of the altar, that was sufficiently explained by the circumstance that Jehovah was already in the "house." The final clause, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon, indicates the purpose for which the altar was to be used.

19 You are to give a young bull as a sin offering[l] to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who

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come near to minister before me, declares the Sovereign Lord.

BARNES, "The seed of Zadok - See Eze_40:46 note.

CLARKE, "The priests - that be of the seed of Zadok - It was this Zadok that was put in the place of Abiathar, by Solomon, 1Ki_2:35, in whose family the priesthood had continued ever since.

GILL, "And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites, that be of the seed of Zadok,.... Who, in Solomon's time, was put in the room of Abiathar; see Eze_40:46, his name signifies a "righteous" one, a type he was of Jesus Christ the righteous; and here his seed signify the seed of Christ, such whom he makes priests unto the Lord; to these, in a visionary way, the prophet was to give this altar, for them to serve at, and eat of; and all the rites and ordinances to observe and keep; and the sacrifices to offer on it, after mentioned: which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord God; See Gill on Eze_40:46, a young bullock for a sin offering: typical of Christ, strong and laborious, able to bear the sins of his people; to become a sin offering, and to be made sin itself for them.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:19 And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.

Ver. 19. And thou shalt give to the priests.] All this is to be understood spiritually, as being figuratively spoken.

A young bullock.] Together with a goat and a ram. [Ezekiel 43:22-23; Ezekiel 43:25]

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All that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts, [Galatians 5:24] and are still doing at it.

PETT, "Verse 19-20

“You will give to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok, who are near to me, to minister to me,” says the Lord Yahweh, “a young bullock for a sin offering, and you will take of its blood, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and on the border round about. Thus you will cleanse it and make atonement for it. You will also take the bullock of the sin offering, and he will burn it in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.”

Once again we have confirmed the fact that the sons of Zadok now have a privileged position before God. This confirms that we are here dealing with a situation immediately after the exile when such ‘sons of Zadok’ could be identified. There would be no grounds for such special privilege in any supposed millennium, for the sons of Zadok were equally responsible for the crucifixion of Christ (see further on Ezekiel 44:15 onwards). The partial rejection of a large part of the priesthood from the central sacred tasks was a preparation for the time which would later result in the rejection of the whole of the priesthood when it was replaced by Jesus Christ, God’s own High Priest. After that there are no grounds for any restoration of a levitical priesthood. God’s people are His priests, and their offering is one of praise, thanksgiving, dedication and good lives, ‘spiritual sacrifices’ (1 Peter 2:5; Hebrews 13:15; Romans 12:1; Philippians 2:17; Hebrews 13:16)

Their responsibility here was to officiate in the overall sacrificial ordinances of Israel, which would begin here by offering a young bullock provided by Ezekiel (or his representative) as a sin offering. The fact that the offering was a sin offering stresses the defilement brought on the earth by the past failure of Israel. The first step to restoration of worship was admission of the depths of their sin, and the need for it to be atoned for.

The blood of the sin offering was then to be applied to the horns of the altar (with 94

the finger) and the corners of the higher settle, together with its surround. The place in which future sacrifices were to be offered must be freed from all taint of sin. For the procedures see Leviticus 16:18-19 where the altar had to be cleansed on the Day of Atonement. Compare also procedures in Exodus 29:12; Leviticus 4:7; Leviticus 4:18; Leviticus 4:25; Leviticus 4:30; Leviticus 4:34; Leviticus 8:15; Leviticus 9:9.

‘Thus you will cleanse it and make atonement for it. You will also take the bullock of the sin offering, and he will burn it in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.’ Thus cleansing and atonement (the ‘covering’ of sin) was made. The altar was now pure. The burning of the remains outside the sanctuary was because the remains were now fully tainted with sin. Had it been because of their holiness they would have been burned in the sanctuary. This was done previously for major sin offerings which were for the whole people or for the priests and those offered on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 4:12; Leviticus 4:21; Leviticus 16:27 see also Ezekiel 8:17). This emphasis on this severe treatment militates against any suggestion of a memorial offering. The reference to ‘the house’ does not necessarily refer to a specific temple, but to whatever place housed the sanctuary and the altar (compare Genesis 28:22; Judges 20:18; Judges 21:2; 1 Samuel 1:7; 1 Samuel 3:15 and contrast 2 Samuel 7:6).

‘The seed of Zadok.’ This refers primarily to those descended from Zadok (1 Chronicles 6:8), and the high priesthood would in future be Zadokite. However, ‘seed of’ does not necessarily demand a blood relationship. It could include priests who had opted to be one with the Zadokites in their faithfulness to Yahweh, and exclude those who by their blatant misbehaviour had shown themselves not ‘true’ Zadokites. In the same way Israel were the ‘seed of Jacob’ (Psalms 22:23; Isaiah 45:19; Jeremiah 33:26) but the large proportion of them were not directly descended from Jacob, they were his ‘seed’ by opting in and by adoption.

Verses 19-27

The Sanctifying and Cleansing of the Altar and Reinstitution Of Sacrificial Worship (Ezekiel 43:19-27).

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This process would take seven days. This was unlike the case of the sanctifying of the tabernacle, accomplished through the anointing oil (Exodus 30:22-29; Exodus 40:10), but like the sanctifying of the temple of Solomon, although there the offerings were whole burnt offerings and peace-offerings (2 Chronicles 7:1-9), and therefore not having the same significance.

However, the consecration of the priesthood did take seven days (Leviticus 8:33) and required sin offerings. The idea here might be that the altar had been defiled by Israel’s previous behaviour and treatment of it. Or more likely it may have in mind its special function as the ‘entry’ to the heavenly temple, needing therefore to be totally purified, just as the priesthood who provided access to God had had to be totally purified.

POOLE, " Thou shalt give; direct or command that it be given; for the prophet could not bestow such a gift on them.

The priests the Levites; explaining who were meant by the priests.

Zadok, who was put into Abiathar’s room. See Ezekiel 40:46 44:15.

To minister unto me: see Ezekiel 42:13.

A young bullock; the sacrifice appointed, Exodus 29:1,36, at the consecrating of the priests.

For a sin offering; an expiatory sacrifice, to make an atonement for errors, and to reconcile the person that brought the sacrifice. New consecration and reconciliation, needful after so long an interruption of their ministration, and for such as never

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were before consecrated.

PULPIT, "Thou shalt give to the priests. This injunction, which was addressed to Ezekiel, not as the representative of the people or of the priests (Smend), but as the prophet of Jehovah, made it clear that Ezekiel was not to act in the future consecration of the altar alone as Moses did in the dedication of the tabernacle altar, but that the priests were to bear their part in the ceremonial. If some expressions, as the use of "thou" in this and the following verses, appear to suggest that Ezekiel alone should officiate, the employment of "they" in verses 22, 24, 25, 26 as plainly indicates that Ezekiel's share in the ceremonial was to be performed through the medium of the priests. And, indeed, if the temple was a pattern designed to be converted into an actual building after the return from captivity, as the newer criticism contends, it is apparent that Ezekiel could not have been expected to have any hand in its erection. The Levites that be of the seed of Zadok. The assistants of Ezekiel and the officiating priests at the new altar were not to be the whole body of the Levitical priesthood, but those only who derived their descent from Zadok (see on Ezekiel 44:15). A young bullock for a sin offering. With the offering of this the ritual commenced, as in Exodus 29:1, Exodus 29:10 and Le Exodus 8:14 (comp. Ezekiel 45:18). It is observable that in the Levitical code a young bullock, i.e. of a bullock in the full vigor of youth, is appointed as the requisite sin offering for the priest, i.e. the high priest, who was the head and representative of the people.

20 You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the upper ledge and all around the rim, and so purify the altar and make atonement for it.

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GILL, "And thou shalt take of the blood thereof,.... Ezekiel being a priest. This must be understood in a visionary way; for, as Kimchi observes, Ezekiel did not live to come up out of the captivity, but died, and was buried in the land of Babylon, and so did not actually do this: though it is a mere dream of the same writer, that this is to be understood of the resurrection of the dead, when he supposes Ezekiel will be high priest, though Aaron be present; or however be the second, or deputy to him. And put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about; that is, on the four horns of the altar, and on the four corners of the settle which went round it, for the priests to walk on, and do their business; either the uppermost, or as others the lowermost, and as some both; and also on the border or ledge that enclosed the settle. The prophet's doing this, putting the blood on these several things, represents the nature of the Gospel ministry, and the business of it; which is to hold forth the blood of Christ, and the blessings of grace through it, as redemption, peace, pardon, righteousness, and life. Thus shall thou cleanse and purge it; the altar; thus Christ, though without sin, and needed no cleansing and purging for himself, yet was sanctified by his own blood; that he might sanctify his people, and perfect by his sacrifice them that were sanctified, Joh_17:19.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:20 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put [it] on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.

Ver. 20. And thou shalt take of the blood.] Christ, as mediator, was consecrated and qualified for the work.

POOLE, " Thou shalt take; appoint it to be taken.

Of the blood thereof; of the slain bullock.

Put it, not all, but some of the blood, on the horns of the altar, as Leviticus 4:30 prescribeth, and as Moses did, Leviticus 8:15.

Of the settle, on which the altar stood, which was two cubits high, and set upon one

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of a cubit high from the ground.

Upon the border: see Ezekiel 43:17.

Cleanse and purge it; make it legally clean, that it may be fit for so sacred a use as this of sacrificing was.

PULPIT, "And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it. The application of the victim's blood to and upon the altar formed an integral part of every expiatory offering; but "whereas in all the other kinds of sacrifice the blood was poured indifferently round about the altar of the fore court, in the sin offering it was not to be sprinkled, lest the intention should be overlooked, but smeared with the finger upon the horns of the altar ('And the priest shall put of the blood upon the horns,' Le Ezekiel 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34). In the present instance the blood was to be carefully put upon the four horns of the altar—the only part to be smeared with blood in the Mosaic consecration (Exodus 29:12)—the four corners of the settle, or azarah, but whether the greater or lesser is left undecided, though in all probability it was the under, if not both, and the border round about, that mentioned in Ezekiel 43:17; and the effect of this smearing with blood should be to cleanse and purge, or, make atonement for, the altar; not for the people, as Havernick interprets, saying, "without an atoned-for altar, no atoned-for people (ohne entsuhnten Altar, kein entsuhntes Volk)," but for the altar, either, as Kliefoth suggests, because, being made out of a part of the sinful earth and world, it required to be sanctified, or because, as Plumptre prefers, the sins of the people having been, as it were, transferred to it, it stood in need of cleansing.

KRETZMANN 20-23, "v. 20. And thou shalt take of the blood thereof and put it on the four horns of it, according to the ancient ritual, and on the four corners of the settle, of the ledge below, and upon the border round about; thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it, this purification and expiation of the altar being symbolical of the complete sanctification of the people.

v. 21. Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin-offering, Exo_29:10; Lev_8:14, and 99

he shall burn it, rather, impersonal, "one shall burn it," in the appointed place of the house, without the Sanctuary. Cf Exo_29:14.

v. 22. And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish, this being a prime requisite in all sacrificial animals, for a sin-offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, namely, the priests engaged in this work, as they did cleanse it with the bullock, the offering of expiation thus being a daily occurrence.

v. 23. When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, of purifying the altar by these rites, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish and a ram out of the flock without blemish, for atonement and consecration.

21 You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.

BARNES, "In the appointed place of the house - A place within the temple-court, but “without the sanctuary” properly so called, that is to say, without the temple and inner court. This was probably the “separate place” (see Eze_41:12).

GILL, "Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering,.... Which was appointed for the sin offering, according to the divine direction, Eze_43:19, the prophet was to take it out of the herd, and separate it from the rest for this purpose, and deliver it into the hands of one of the priests: and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house; that is, one of the sons of Zadok should receive it of the prophet, and burn it in its proper place; not within the house, without the court, but within the wall of the house: this burning of it was typical

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of the dolorous sufferings of Christ; See Gill on Eze_40:39, or of the zeal and fervency of the ministers of the Gospel, in preaching a crucified Christ in the proper place, in the house and church of God: without the sanctuary; the holy place or temple, properly so called; or without the camp, typical of Christ's suffering without Jerusalem, and of his being preached not only there, but in the Gentile world; see Heb_13:11, this was the work of the first day of the consecration of the altar.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:21 Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.

Ver. 2l. Without the sanctuary.] So Christ suffered without the gate. [Hebrews 13:11-12]

POOLE, " Thou shalt take; as Ezekiel 43:20.

And he, the priest of Zadok’s line, that by his course in ministration ought at that time to offer the sacrifice,

shall burn it; either the whole, or so much as is commanded to be burnt.

The house here is not the temple itself, but a place within the circuit of the most consecrated ground; it is called

the place of the house, because the place in which the house was built, which is the sanctuary or temple. This was done without the gate, without the camp, while the tabernacle stood. Now it is to be done in the court of the house, and on the altar appointed and consecrated. This is the first day’s sacrifice.

PULPIT, "As a further stage in the ceremony, the Bullock of the sin offering, i.e. the carcass of the victim, was to be burned by Ezekiel or the priest acting for him in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary, as in the Mosaic code it was

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prescribed that the flesh of the bullock, with his skin and dung, should be burned without the camp (Exodus 29:14; Le Exodus 4:12, Exodus 4:21; Exodus 9:11, Exodus 9:15; comp. Hebrews 13:13). Ewald at first sought the place here referred to in the sacrificial kitchens (Ezekiel 46:19), which it could not be, as these belonged to the "sanctuary" in the strictest sense; he has, however, since adopted the view of Kliefoth, which is doubtless correct, that the "place of the house, without the sanctuary" meant the gizrah, or separate place (Ezekiel 41:12), which was a part of the "house" in the widest sense, and yet belonged not to the "sanctuary" in the strictest sense. Smend thinks of the migrash, "suburbs" or "open spaces," which surrounded the temple precincts (Ezekiel 45:2); and these were certainly without the sanctuary, while they were also appointed for the holy place, and might have been designated, as here, miphkadh, as being always under the inspection of the temple watchmen. The fact that in post-exilic times one of the city gates was called Hammiphkadh (Nehemiah 3:31) lends countenance to this view. That in this "appointed place" the carcass of the bullock should be consumed was a deviation from the Mosaic ritual, which prescribed that the fat portions should be burned upon the altar, and the rest eaten as a sacrificial meal (Le Ezekiel 4:10, 26, 35; Ezekiel 7:15, 81; Deuteronomy 12:7, Deuteronomy 12:17, Deuteronomy 12:18). Keil appears to think that the fat portions may have been burned upon the altar, although it is not so mentioned, and that only "those points" were mentioned "in which deviations from the ordinary ritual took place."

22 “On the second day you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering, and the altar is to be purified as it was purified with the bull.

BARNES, "They shall cleanse - By sprinkling the blood Eze_43:18. Here “they” marks the act as that of the priests. Moses did his part before the priests were consecrated, and the seer could act through them.

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GILL, "And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering,.... Jarchi observes, that this was not in the tabernacle, but ordered to be in future time by him that speaks; instead of this, another ram was appointed by the law, Exo_29:15, this shows the ceremonial law to be changeable, and now abolished: this was typical of Christ, without spot and blemish, and yet figured by the goat, being made sin for his people: and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock; See Gill on Eze_43:20.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:22 And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse [it] with the bullock.

Ver. 22. And they shall cleanse the altar.] To set forth how Christ cleanseth and sanctifieth his people. [Hebrews 9:19-24 John 17:19 Hebrews 9:13-14]

PETT, "Verse 22-23

“And on the second day you will offer a he-goat without blemish for a sin offering, and they will cleanse the altar as they cleansed it with the bullock. When you have made an end of cleansing it, you will offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish, and you will bring them near before Yahweh, and the priests shall cast salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh.”

Note again the emphasis on cleansing (literally ‘de-sinning’). Until that was accomplished no whole burnt offering could be offered up, an offering wholly consumed in fire. But then a young bull and a ram, both without blemish, could be offered as a whole (burnt) offering, an act of total self-giving, of worship, love and gratitude. But it would require seven days, the period of divine perfection, to thoroughly cleanse the altar. This sounds like something very intense and necessary, not at all like a memorial offering.

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‘And the priests shall cast salt on them.’ Compare Leviticus 2:13; Numbers 18:19; Mark 9:49. The idea seems to be of a preservative function and a countering of corruption. It was closely linked with the covenant and was continually required (Leviticus 2:13) as a sign of the preserving of the covenant relationship without corruption.

POOLE, " The next day’s sacrifice is here directed.

Without blemish: this was a qualification required in all sacrifices, and there were priests appointed to search whether they were perfect, in which search they were very punctual and curious.

For a sin offering: see Ezekiel 43:19.

And they, the priests in attendance or course,

shall cleanse the altar, with the blood of the kid put upon the altar, as appointed, and as the blood of the bullock, Ezekiel 43:20.

PULPIT, "The second day's ceremonial should begin with the offering of a kid of the goats (rather, a he-goat) without blemish for a sin offering, the ritual observed being probably the same as that of the preceding day. The substitution of a "he-goat," the offering for a ruler who sins (Le 4:23, 24), instead of a "young bullock," which formed the first day's offering, was a deviation from the ritual prescribed for the consecration of the Mosaic altar and priesthood (Exodus 29:36). The object of the offering of the "he-goat" was the same as that of the offering of the "bullock," viz. to cleanse the altar; not, however, as if the previous day's cleansing had been insufficient and required to be supplemented, or had already become inefficient so as to call for renewal, but in the sense of recalling the meaning and impression of the previous day's ceremonial, and so in a manner linking it on with the several rites of

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the succeeding days.

23 When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.

BARNES, "There was, on each of the seven days, a burnt-offering of a bullock and a ram, preceded by a “sin-offereng of a bullock” on the first day, and of a “kid of the goats” on the other days.

GILL, "When thou hast made an end of cleansing it,.... The altar, by the sacrifices of the bullock and the kid, on the first and second days; then, on the third day, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish; all these sacrifices point at the one sacrifice of Christ; which was pure and perfect, and once offered up for the sins of many, and needs no reiteration; only the doctrine of it is to be frequently inculcated in the ministry of the word and ordinances.

POOLE, " Made an end of the first and second days’ sacrifices, and cleansing the altar.

Thou shalt offer on the third day, and so on, through seven days.

A ram: a kid, Ezekiel 43:22, now a ram; both, or either, as God appoints; there was no inherent excellency in either one or other to commend them to God, but a male and without blemish it must be.

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PULPIT, "Ezekiel 43:23, Ezekiel 43:24

The presentation of a burnt offering unto the Lord was the next item in the ritual that should be observed. The material composing it should consist of a young bullock without blemish, as in the ordinary sacrificial cede (Le Ezekiel 1:3, Ezekiel 1:4, Ezekiel 1:5), and a ram out of the flock without blemish, as in the consecration of the priests (Exodus 29:18) and of the altar (Le Ezekiel 8:18). The persons presenting it should be the prophet, thou, and the priests, they, as his representatives. The mode of offering should be by burning, the distinctive act in a burnt offering, as that of a sin offering was sprinkling, and that of a peace offering the sacrificial meal, and by casting salt upon the carcass, a feature in every meat offering (Le 2:13), and here added probably to intensify the idea of purification. "In the corrosive and antiseptic property of salt there is hidden something of the purifying and consuming nature of fire; hence the Redeemer, in Mark 9:49, combines the salting of the sacrifice with the purifying fire of self- denial". The significance of it should be an expression of complete self-surrender unto Jehovah, as the necessary outcome of the antecedent act of expiation. The time of its presentation should be immediately after the cleansing of the altar on the second day, and presumably also on the succeeding days. Whether the burnt offering was, as Keil maintains, or was not, as Kliefoth contends, offered also on the first day is difficult to decide, though the former opinion has, perhaps, most in its favor. The Mosaic ritual always enjoined a burnt offering to be offered as a sequel to the sin offering (comp. Exodus 29:14, Exodus 29:18, with Le Exodus 8:14, Exodus 8:18; and see Kurtz, 'Sacrificial Worship of the Old Testament,' § 86); and, in accordance with this, Mark 9:23 and Mark 9:24 naturally follow on Mark 9:19-21, Mark 9:22 being interposed because of the variation in the sin offering for the second day.

24 You are to offer them before the Lord, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.

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BARNES, "Eze_43:24Salt is here added to the “burnt-offering” to express still more the idea of purification. In the second temple no sacrifice was complete without the use of salt, and the rabbis assert that there was a great heap of salt close to the altar, always ready for use, and that the inclined plane to the altar was kept covered with salt. Compare Mar_9:49.

GILL, "And thou shalt offer them before the Lord,.... Upon the altar of burnt offering, which stood before the house or temple where Jehovah dwelt, Eze_40:47, and the priests shall cast salt upon them; which was to be used in all sacrifices under the law, Lev_2:13, this may denote the savoury doctrines and lives of the ministers of the Gospel, who thereby recommend the truths they deliver, concerning a crucified Christ, his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, to others; see Mat_5:13, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the Lord; throughout the whole seven days of the consecration and cleansing of the altar, as follows:

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:24 And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up [for] a burnt offering unto the LORD.

Ver. 24. And the priests shall cast salt upon them.] Christians must "have salt (a) within themselves," [Mark 9:50] and see to it that all their speeches be seasoned with the salt of mortification and discretion; [Ephesians 4:29 Colossians 4:6] so shall God make an everlasting covenant with them, even a "covenant of salt." See Leviticus 2:13.

POOLE, " Thou shalt offer; direct them to offer.

Before the Lord; not only to the Lord, but before the Lord, i.e. before the temple; so the altar stood where the burnt-offering was to be offered.

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Cast salt upon them; so the law, Leviticus 2:13, expressly required, and the priests salted every sacrifice made by fire three times, they say, in the salt chamber, at the bottom of the altar, and when the sacrifice was on the altar. It may allude to the perpetuity of the covenant thus made by sacrifice, and salted; as Numbers 18:19 2 Chronicles 13:5.

They; the priests.

KRETZMANN 24-27, "v. 24. And thou shalt offer them before the Lord, in whose worship they were brought, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, as required by the ordinance, Lev_2:13, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the Lord, again to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

v. 25. Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin-offering, Exo_29:35; Lev_8:33; they shall also prepare a young bullock and a ram out of the flock without blemish.

v. 26. Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it, by means of these sacrifices; and they shall consecrate themselves, literally, "fill their hands. " namely, with offerings to the Lord, as when the priests of old were inducted into office. Cf Exo_29:24-35.

v. 27. And when these days are expired, it shall be that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar and your peace-offerings, or thank-offerings, in the regular work of their calling; and I will accept you, saith the Lord God. While this passage is clearly retrospective. that is, looking backward to the Levitical sacrifices, it is also prophetical, looking forward to the great sacrifice of propitiation whereby Christ, by one offering, forever atoned for the sin of mankind. Cp Heb_10:1-18.

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25 “For 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 without defect.

CLARKE, "Seven days shalt thou prepare - These are, in general, ordinances of the Law; and may be seen by consulting the parallel passages. All these directions are given that they might follow them, when they should be put in possession of their own land. For in several cases the prophet enters into particulars, as if he had supposed that the book of the law had perished.

GILL, "Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering,.... By this it appears that the altar was seven days a consecrating and cleansing; and that on each day a goat was prepared and offered, typical of Christ, as before observed. Here Kimchi owns that this was not according to the order of Moses, or was done by those that came out of the captivity of Babylon; and is obliged to confess that there will be a change or an innovation in the order of sacrifices in time to come, or under the Messiah. They shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock without blemish; which, either one or all of them, should be offered up on each of the seven days; See Gill on Eze_43:23.TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:25 Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat [for] a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.

Ver. 25. Every day a goat.] Mortification must be a Christian’s daily practice.

PETT, "Verses 25-27

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“For seven days you will prepare every day a goat for a sin offering, they will also prepare a young bullock and a ram out of the flock without blemish. For seven days they will make atonement for the altar and purify it. So will they consecrate it (fill its hands). And when they have accomplished the days it shall be that on the eighth day, and from then on, the priests will make your burnt offerings on the altar and your peace offerings, and I will accept you,” says the Lord Yahweh.’

The process was to go on for seven days, with a sin offering, followed by whole (burnt) offerings, every day. This would thoroughly purify the altar, and consecrate it. From then on it would be clean for the purpose of offering whole offerings and peace offerings to Yahweh. The peace offerings included parts that could be eaten by the priests, and in many cases by the people. This would not have been possible had the altar not been fully clean. This speaks strongly of Old Testament sacrifice.

Note that all the offerings are to be made by the priests. In earlier times the people themselves in many cases participated in the acts of sacrifice, but now it was limited to the priests. ‘And I will accept you.’ Once the proper rites had been gone through and the continuing sacrifices offered, the people could be confident of God’s acceptance of them through it.

POOLE, "By this it appears that there were seven days appointed for consecrating altar and priests, and that either these three sacrifices were every day of the seven offered up, and their blood sprinkled on the altar, or at least the young bullock every day, and one goat or one ram with it: the word here is copulative, but possibly the sense disjunctive, for so this particle is often used.

PULPIT, "Seven days. Hitzig reckons these as additional to the first (Ezekiel 43:19) and second (Ezekiel 43:22) days; Kliefoth begins them with the second; Keil, Schroder, Currey, and the majority of expositors take them as inclusive of the first and second. Hitzig's proposal may be set aside, since it cannot be maintained without erasing "thou shalt make atonement for it" in Ezekiel 43:20, and the first half of the present verse. In favor of Kliefoth's view may be urged that the first day appears to stand out from the others, 'and to be distinguished by the peculiar

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character of its offering—a young bullock for a sin offering, without any accompanying burnt offering; that the offerings on the second and subsequent days are alike, a he-goat and a ram; that on each of the seven days a goat is mentioned for a sin offering, whereas on the first day it was a young bullock that was slain; and that in Zechariah 3:9 occurs an allusion to what seems a special day such as this first day of Ezekiel. In support of Keil's interpretation it is contended that the seven days were to be employed in purging or making atonement for, and purifying the altar, which was in part at least (even admitting a distinction in meaning between חטא and טהר) the business of the first day; that the general statement in verse 20 as to a goat for a sin offering on the seven days admits of easy qualification by the previous statement in verse 19; and that seven days was the normal duration of religious solemnities under the Law (see Le 8:33; 1 Kings 8:65; 2 Chronicles 7:8, 2Chronicles 7:9).

26 For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it.

BARNES, "Eze_43:26Consecrate themselves - literally, as in the margin. Lev_8:27. The priests are already consecrated, but the memory of their consecration was thus kept up at the dedication of the altar.

GILL, "Seven days shall they purge the altar, and purify it,.... Which denotes the perfect purity and sanctification of it; which how to be applied to Christ; see Gill on Eze_43:20; and they shall consecrate themselves: the priests shall consecrate themselves, or devote themselves to the service of the altar; so Gospel ministers to the ministry of a crucified Christ: or they themselves should consecrate the altar by the above rites: or rather it may be literally rendered,

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and they shall fill its hands, or "their own hands" (b); that is, either they shall fill the sides of the altar with sacrifices, as much as it could hold; or the hands of the priests with parts of the sacrifice, or with gifts, as a token of their being inaugurated into, and invested with, the priestly office: so Gospel ministers should have their hands full of, or be filled with, the gifts and graces of the Spirit, and with the knowledge of Christ, his person, offices, grace, righteousness, and sacrifice, that they may minister unto others. (b) There is a double reading of the words; the Cetib or textual reading is ידו, "its hand"; the Keri or marginal reading is ידיו, "their own hands".

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:26 Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.

Ver. 26. They shall purge.] Thou and they together. We must also sanctify the Lord God in our hearts. [1 Peter 3:15]

POOLE, " They, the priests in course,

shall purge the altar: the same with what is said of the priests; they and the altar were thus consecrated and dedicated unto God, to be his in peculiar manner.

PULPIT, "They shall purge the altar. Smend thinks it strange that only the purification of the altar should be mentioned here, while that of the sanctuary is referred to later (Ezekiel 45:18), and finds in this an explanation (at least, perhaps) of the fact that in Exodus 29:36 only the consecration of the Mosaic altar—not of the Mosaic tabernacle—is reported. He conceives it likely that the author of Exodus 29:36 copied Ezekiel, but does not explain why Ezekiel may not have copied the author of Exodus 29:36. And they shall consecrate themselves; more correctly, they—i.e. the priests—shall consecrate it; literally, fill its hand. The phrase, מלאיד, "to fill one's hand," sc. with gifts, occurs with reference to Jehovah (Exodus 32:29 ; 1 Chronicles 29:5; 2 Chronicles 29:31). It is also employed in the sense of filling the hand of another, as e.g. of a priest, with sacrificial gifts, when he is instituted into his sacred office (Exodus 28:41; Exodus 29:9; Le Exodus 21:10; comp, Le Exodus 8:27). Here the hand to be filled is that of the altar, which is personified for the purpose (compare the use of the terms "bosom" and "lip" in connection with the

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altar). The meaning is that the altar, at its consecration, should have a plentiful supply of gifts, to symbolize that the offering of such gifts was the work for which it was set apart, and that it should never be without them.

27 At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

BARNES, "After this inauguration the regular service shall be resumed, and be acceptable unto God (compare Mal_1:11).

The Epistle to the Hebrews Heb. 8–10 helps us to recognize in this vision the symbol of the purification of the Church of God by the cleansing blood of Christ, Victim and priest.

GILL, "And when these days are expired,.... The seven days of consecration, and all these rites and sacrifices observed: it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward; that is, on the first day of the week, or Lord's day, the Christian sabbath, the next day after the seventh, and so upon every return of it; in which Christian ministrations are exercised, the word preached, ordinances administered, and works of righteousness and charity done; see Joh_20:19. The priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; or "thank offerings" (c); preach Christ and him crucified to the people, and offer up the sacrifices of prayer and praise unto God for them: and I will accept you, saith the Lord God; through Christ the Mediator, in whom

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he is well pleased; who is the altar on which such sacrifices are accepted, and become well pleasing to God, Isa_56:7.

TRAPP, "Ezekiel 43:27 And when these days are expired, it shall be, [that] upon the eighth day, and [so] forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.

Ver. 27. It shall be upon the eighth day.] The services of mortified men shall be accepted, on the eighth day especially, the Christian Sabbath, in the holy assemblies.

POOLE, " When these days are expired; when you have on every day of these seven offered the sacrifices as appointed, and for the ends mentioned.

Upon the eighth day, which begins a new week and it is probable the first of these seven days for sacrifice might be the sabbath, and end on our Friday; however, the first week is spent in solemn consecration of altar and priests; all weeks after are to have, day by day, the usual appointed sacrifices.

Burnt-offerings; which were sacrifices expiatory, and for atonement of sin.

Upon the altar of burnt-offering, the great brazen altar described in this chapter, Ezekiel 43:13-17.

Peace-offerings; sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving unto God for his goodness.

I will accept you; be well-pleased with your persons, pardon your sins, smell a savour of rest in your thanksgiving, and own you with signal tokens of my favour and kindness; I will show my good-will and delight in you.

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PULPIT, "The eighth day, and so forward. Omit "so." With this day the regular sacrificial service should commence. Thenceforward the priests should offer upon the altar the burnt offerings and peace offerings of the people. The omission of sin offerings is explained by Keil, on the principle that "burnt offerings" and "peace offerings" were "the principal and most frequent sacrifices, whilst sin offerings and meat offerings were implied therein;" Kliefoth adding that Ezekiel 44:27, Ezekiel 44:29; Ezekiel 45:17, Ezekiel 45:19, Ezekiel 45:22, Ezekiel 45:23, Ezekiel 45:25; and Ezekiel 46:20 show it cannot be inferred that sin offerings were no more to be offered on this altar. At the same time, the prominence given to "burnt" and "peace" as distinguished from "sin offerings" may, as Schroder suggests, have pointed to the fact that the sacrificers who should use this altar would be "a people in a state of grace," to whom Jehovah was prepared to say, I will accept you, not your offerings alone, but your persons as well; and not these because of those, but contrariwise, these on account of these. Kliefoth's idea, that the first day symbolized the future day of Christ's sacrifice, that the seven intermediate days (on his hypothesis) pointed to the period of the Christian Church, and that the eighth day looked forward to the time of the end, while not without elements of truth, is open to this objection, that in the period of the Christian Church there should have been "no more sacrifice for sin;" and yet, as Kliefoth admits, "sin offerings" were afterwards to be made upon this altar.

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