Ezekiel is having a vision of the temple, not Solomon’s temple as they had known it, but a much larger temple. And it begins with a messenger measuring the temple and guiding Ezekiel as he goes. But now, he sees the glory of the Lord fills the temple” and it isn’t a messenger speaking, it is the Lord who says directly in Ezekiel 43:7 “this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet where I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites to eternity”. Then he charges Ezekiel again to tell them and write it so they can do it. Then the Lord continues giving Ezekiel the law of the temple, for its administration and the law of the altar for purification.
A Gallery Facing a Gallery in the Three Stories
Ezekiel 42:1–9
The Chambers of the North and South
This is the Place of My Throne
Ezekiel 43:1–9
Four times in this vision, as he sees the Lord approaching to take his place, he notes the glory in Ezekiel 43:2-5 and he finishes with “The glory of Yahweh filled the temple!” But this is not just a place for the Lord to visit, he is not just passing through. This is in
Ezekiel 43:7 “the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet where I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites to eternity, and they, the house of Israel, they and their kings, will not again defile my holy name with their fornication and with their offerings for the dead of their kings on their high places.
And this message was not left to an angel, a messenger. Here in Ezekiel 43:6 “a man was standing beside me” and in Ezekiel 43:7 “he said to me … this is the place of my throne”. The man standing with Ezekiel was the Lord and he was personally declaring the place of his throne and the covenant with the house of Israel.
This is the Law of the Temple
Ezekiel 43:10–17
The Lord carefully describes the temple in Ezekiel 43:11 “the plan of the temple and its arrangement and its exits and its entrances and all of its plans and all of its statutes” and tells Ezekiel to “make known to them and write them before their eyes … so that they do them!” and then goes on to describe in Ezekiel 43:12 “all of its territory, all the way around it”. This the Lord says “will be most holy”, then emphasizes it by saying, “Look, this is the law of the temple”. But the Lord is not demanding, in Ezekiel 43:10 he says to the prophet, “You, son of man, describe … let them measure the pattern”. It is up to us to do, to build, to become, what the Lord has intended for us.
These Are the Statutes of the Altar
Ezekiel 43:18–27
Now the Lord turns to the altar and says in Ezekiel 43:18 “These are the statutes of the altar on the day when it is made”. It is the process to cleanse and establish the altar. This is not to be done by just anyone, but only by, in Ezekiel 43:19 “the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok” and these were “the ones coming near me, … to serve me”. During this purification, it was always in Ezekiel 43:22 “without defect” and in Ezekiel 43:24 “they must offer them as a burnt offering to Yahweh”. We may not understand this but a burnt offering is just that, burned completely “into smoke” as in
Leviticus 3:16–17 “The priest shall turn them into smoke on the altar as a food offering; all the fat is an offering made by fire as an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh. 17 This is a lasting statute for your generations in all your dwellings: you must not eat any fat or any blood.”
The God of Israel Has Entered It
Ezekiel 44:1–10
Just as Ezekiel had seen the Lord depart from Jerusalem before they where taken into exile, now the Lord has returned to take his place among them.
The Descendants of Zadok Will Approach to Serve Me
Ezekiel 44:11–21
Study Verses
- Ezekiel 43:1–9 This is the Place of My Throne
- Ezekiel 43:10–17 This is the Law of the Temple
- Ezekiel 43:18–27 These Are the Statutes of the Altar
Today’s Reading
- Ezekiel 42:1-20
- Ezekiel 43:1-27
- Ezekiel 44:1-21