EZEKIEL LESSON 45


     The temple, we had been looking at in the past few lessons, was
actually a vision that had been given to Ezekiel in detail. He was to
tell this vision to the Israelites, who were in captivity in Babylon.
They knew their holy city had been left in shambles. This vision
brought hope of the temple being restored to them. This may have been
a temple to be built later, or it could have been given Ezekiel to
give the people hope. We do know that the temple was one thing that
made Israel want to go home. They would never be home, until they
could commune with their God, again. This temple could have been of a
spiritual nature, as well.

     We will, now, begin this lesson in Ezekiel 43:1 "Afterward he
brought me to the gate, [even] the gate that looketh toward the east:"

     This vision continues at the eastern gate. He had just finished
viewing the measurements in the temple, and now He brings Ezekiel to
the east gate to witness the entering in of the glory of God.

     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."

     God is the source of all Light. The light we see in the sun and
moon are not the source of Light. They are containers we see light in.
This Light, spoken of here, is so bright, it would cause anyone not to
see the source. The "noise of many waters" is the voice of God. It is,
many times, spoken of as thunder. This Light led the children of
Israel across the wilderness. This Light does away with all darkness.
John 8:12  "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light
of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life."  This presence of light and glory of
God entered into the temple that Solomon built. This is a promise of
God, His presence will be with them. Matthew 24:27 "For as the
lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

     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."

     In Ezekiel chapter 1, we read of the presence of God in the
wheel. Ezekiel is now seeing this vision of the wheel. Jesus, in the
four faces in the middle of the wheel, is the Light of the world. The
Spirit of God is in the fire. This presence of God has an awe
inspiring effect on Ezekiel. He fell on his face before the presence
of God.

     Ezekiel 43:4 "And the glory of the LORD came into the house by
the way of the gate whose prospect [is] toward the east."

     We saw, just before the fall of Jerusalem, that the presence of
the Lord went out this very same gate. He had judged Jerusalem, and
the temple would be destroyed. This same God who judged it then, now
comes back full of forgiveness and grace.

     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."

     Ezekiel, in this vision, is shown the glory of the LORD coming
into the most holy place and taking up residence.

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

     We read earlier of this voice that accompanied the glory of the
Lord. It is loud, sounding like thunder. He is not speaking to the
great masses, here. He is speaking specifically to Ezekiel.

     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."

     "The place of the soles of my feet", many times, was speaking of
the place of the Arc of the Covenant. This is the throne that God has
on the earth. It had always been the desire of the LORD to dwell with
the children of Israel. He wanted to be their God, and for them to be
His people. They had brought their idols into the temple in the past,
but that would be no more. God loves to fellowship with His people.
This is a new covenant of love.

     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."

     Even The huge, thick, wall could not keep the idols they had in
their own quarters from coming to the notice of God. Of course the
people, here, are the Israelites. They lived physically near where the
very presence of God dwelled in the most holy place. God wanted to be
with them all the time. Their unfaithfulness to Him brought the
separation.

     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."

     We have seen, over and over, the indication that God thought of
Israel as His wife. When they worshipped false gods, or had idols,
they committed spiritual adultery. They were unfaithful to God. He
wants them to be His wife, but He wants them to be faithful to Him. If
they will be faithful to Him, He will dwell with them forever. Kings,
in the sense it is used in the verse above, is speaking of idols.

     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."

     These exact measurements of the temple, they were shown by
Ezekiel, would show them of the perfection of God. This new temple in
Ezekiel's vision had no silver {redemption} in it. It had no gold
{pureness of God} in it either. It did become acceptable to God. His
presence in the wheels came back into the most holy place.

     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."

     True repentance is turning from the old sinful way of life, and
turning back to God which brings good morals. Christians call it being
born again of the spirit, and not of the flesh. One way to tell who
belongs to God and who does not, is look at who obeys Him. This is
what the verse above is saying. If they have repented, they will keep
His ordinances. It is as if He is telling Ezekiel to show them the
house, and see if they want to live up to its perfection.

     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."

     We saw in a previous lesson, that almost a mile square around the
house of God was to be holy. No vile thing was to come inside of that
area. This whole mountain would be holy, because of the presence of
God upon the mountain.

     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."

     This cubit is peculiar in that it is a cubit and a hand breadth
which is 21.648 inches. A span is 10.9 inches. It appears this is
21.648 inches wide with a border on it of 10.9 inches. This must be
speaking of the top where the sacrifice is made. It appears the piece
mentioned here is like a square pan that the sacrifice is placed on
and it has a lip of 10.9 inches holding it in place.

     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."
     This seems to be in layers the first area closest to the ground
is two cubits tall. If we are using the cubit plus a hand span, this
is about 43 inches in depth. If this is a regular cubit it would be 36
inches tall. This would probably 21.648 inches wide. From the lesser
to the greater settle would be either 72 inches or about 86 inches,
according to which cubit you use. The breadth is the same as the
other.

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

     The 4 horns extending upward from the altar symbolize strength.
The 72, or about 86 inches is actually the height of the entire altar.

     Ezekiel 43:16 "And the altar [shall be] twelve [cubits] long,
twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof."

     If these are the regular 18 inch cubit, the altar is 18 feet
long. It will, also, be 18 feet broad. The lower settle could
symbolize the mount of God, and the upper settle could be speaking of
the hearth of God. At any rate, this is where the sacrifice is made.

     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."

     Again, using the 18 inch cubit, this would be a 21 feet by 21
feet square. There is a small border that goes around it. This is so
tall, that stairs must be climbed to offer the sacrifice.

     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."

     These Israelites, who had been in captivity, had lost all contact
with the ordinances of the temple and the altar. The sprinkling of
blood was an important part of the worship. Without the shedding of
blood, there is no remission of sin. It was the shed blood of Jesus
Christ which atoned for our sins.

     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."

     The individual brought the sacrificial animal to the priest to be
sacrificed. Zadoc, is mentioned because they all remember him and his
ancestry. This is saying, leave the ministry in the temple to the
family God had chosen out to do it.

     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."
     This spreading of the blood on the horns, is a cleansing for the
altar.  "Horns" signify strength.

     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."

     This is the same thing as the sin offering being burned
completely up without the camp. This symbolizes the crucifixion of the
Lord Jesus being outside the city wall. He was our sin offering, if we
are Christians.

     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."

     All of the preparations would be the same for this offering, as
for the bullock. The he-goat was an offering for a ruler who sinned.
The earthly priests and high priest in the temple had to sacrifice for
their own sins, as well as for the people's sin.  Jesus, our High
Priest was without sin. His crucifixion was not for His own sin, but
for ours.

     Ezekiel 43:23 "When thou hast made an end of cleansing [it], thou
shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the
flock without blemish."

     There must, next, be a burnt offering dedicated to God. All of
these offerings are following the laws in Leviticus. See our lessons
on Leviticus for greater detail about the meaning of the offerings.
Notice, all these offerings must be without blemish. This burning, as
we said earlier, is for purging, or cleansing.

     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."

     "Salt" is a preservative. It symbolizes the saving of the
relationship with God. The priests actually do the fundamental work of
sacrifice for the people.

     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."

     These seven days speak of spiritual completeness. The eighth day
would speak of a new beginning, old sins gone, and starting all over
again in right standing with God.

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

     This seven days symbolizes a separation from the world to the
duties God would have them do. It is a time of preperation. When this
time is over, the altar will be purified. More than that, they will be
purged of their sins, and dedicated to the work God has for them to
do.

     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."

     The most beautiful statement here, is that God will accept them.
When they were living in spiritual adultery, just before their capture
by Babylon, God had refused their offerings. They offered, but He
refused. Now, they have been restored to fellowship with God. When
they have come to this eighth day of new beginnings, God will accept
their offerings again. He will be their God. He has forgiven them, and
allowed them to begin again.






































                         Ezekiel 45 Questions


1.  This vision of Ezekiel's brought __________ to the Israelites.
2.  What gate did He take Ezekiel to in verse 1?
3.  Describe the presence of God in verse 2.
4.  ________ is the source of all Light.
5.  What are the sun and moon?
6.  What is the "noise of many waters"?
7.  Quote Matthew chapter 24 verse 27.
8.  What had Ezekiel seen at Chebar?
9.  What effect does this presence of God have on Ezekiel?
10. Why did the glory of God come in by the eastern gate?
11. In the inner court, what did Ezekiel see?
12. What does the voice of the LORD sound like?
13. "The place of the soles of my feet" sometimes means the place of
    the ________ ___ ____ ______.
14. Why had God been so angry with them?
15. God thought of Israel as His _________.
16. What would these exact measurements of the temple show the people
    of God?
17. What were two things missing from this temple in Ezekiel's vision?
18. What is true repentance?
19. What do Christians call it?
20. Why would the whole mountain be holy?
21. What is different about the cubit in verse 13?
22. How big is a span?
23. What do the four horns symbolize?
24. Why are stairs mentioned in verse 17?
25. In verse 19, the young bullock was for a _______ offering.
26. Why is Zadoc mentioned in verse 19?
27. Why was the blood used on the horns?
28. Why was the bullock burned outside the sanctuary?
29. Why did they sacrifice a He-goat?
30. "Salt" is a ____________.
31. How many days should they purge the altar and purify it?
32. What day shall the priests begin the making of burnt offerings on
    the altar?
33. What is the most beautiful statement in verse 27?