096. II. The Details Of The Vision
II THE DETAILS OF THE VISION 1. The New Sanctuary on Mount Zion (Ezekiel 40-43) (1) Its Gateways and Outer Court (Ezekiel 40:1-27)
Introduction : the vision of the new temple at Jerusalem (Ezekiel 40:1-4). In the fourteenth year after the fall of Jerusalem Jehovah graciously revealed to me a vision of such an abode as he would delight to inhabit. When the prophetic ecstasy came over me, I seemed to be carried back to my native land and set down in the sacred city, Jerusalem. Upon the old temple hill, conspicuous above all other elevations, was an imposing group of buildings, like those of a city. Directly before me in the eastern gateway stood a man of glorious appearance like a heavenly messenger, holding in his hand a cord and rod for taking measurements, who said to me: “Mortal man, pay strict heed to all that I show you, that you may be able to reveal Jehovah’s purpose to your nation.” The surrounding wall (Ezekiel 40:5). My attention was first drawn to a wall, nine[29] feet high and broad, which encircled all the buildings.
[29] For purposes of convenience the cubit will be reckoned at eighteen inches in the following estimates. Quite probably one-sixth should be added to every such estimate. The eastern gateway of the outer wall (Ezekiel 40:6-16). Then we came to the great gateway facing the east. It was seventy-five feet long and half as wide. Ascending the outer steps, we entered, through a portal as wide as the outer wall, a passage-way fifteen feet wide and forty-two feet long. On each side of this were three guardrooms. for officers, each nine feet square and provided with windows. At the other end of the passage-way was a second portal, similar in size to the first, from which we passed into a large vestibule, and then into the courtyard. The outer court and the outer gateways (Ezekiel 40:17-27). Around the outer margin of this court were thirty chambers fronting upon a pavement which extended to the vestibule of the gateway. The court was one hundred and fifty feet wide. It had two other gateways fronting to the north and south, exactly similar in construction and size to the one through which we had passed.
(2) The Inner Court (Ezekiel 40:28-47) Its three gateways (Ezekiel 40:28-37). Crossing the outer court, we came to the gateways leading into the inner court. They were three in number, facing south, east, and north. Their dimensions and construction were exactly like those of the outer gateways, except that their vestibules faced the outer court. The level of the inner court was reached by a flight of eight steps. The sacrificial tables (Ezekiel 40:38-43). Connected with a vestibule of the inner gateway[30] by a door was a chamber in which the burnt offering was washed. In the vestibule itself stood four tables, two on either side, and outside the vestibule two other pairs of tables, all for use in the slaughter of sacrificial victims. With each pair of tables was a smaller one of hewn stone, on which the sacrificial implements were laid.
[30] The text does not indicate which gateway it was. The two apartments for priests (Ezekiel 40:44-46). In the inner court were two apartments, one by the north gate facing southward, the other by the south gate facing northward. The former was the residence of the priests who took care of the temple; the latter was for those of the family of Zadok, who ministered at the altar. The great altar (Ezekiel 40:47). The inner court itself was one hundred and fifty feet square. In the middle, so that it could be seen through the gateways, and immediately before the temple, was the great altar of burnt offering.
(3) The Temple and its Adjuncts (Ezekiel 40:48 to Ezekiel 41:26) The porch (Ezekiel 40:48-49). On the western side of the inner court was the temple on an elevated platform approached by ten[31] steps. Ascending these, we entered a vestibule thirty feet wide and eighteen feet long by an entrance twenty-one feet wide. On either side of the entrance was a huge pillar. The main hall (Ezekiel 41:1-2). Beyond the vestibule was the main hall of the temple, sixty feet in length by thirty in breadth, entered through a doorway fifteen feet wide.
[31] So the Septuagint. The most holy place (Ezekiel 41:3-4). Beyond this hall was the innermost shrine of the temple, the holy of holies. It was exactly square, with a doorway nine feet in width. Within this hallowed spot, the abode of Jehovah’s glory, I could not enter. The chambers at the side (Ezekiel 41:5-7). The wall of the temple was nine feet thick. Round about this wall on each side except the east was an outer wall seven and a half feet thick, the interval between them at the base being six feet. Between these walls were built small cells in three tiers, thirty chambers in each tier. The cells of the second and third tier were somewhat broader than those at the base, their supporting beams resting on the ledges made by the recession of the wall. The raised platform (Ezekiel 41:8-15a). The tiers were connected by winding stairways, and opened into the terrace on which the temple stood. Thirty feet west of the temple was a large building, the purpose of which I did not ask. Its area as well as that of the temple court and that of the inner court were each one hundred and fifty feet square. The interior of the temple (Ezekiel 41:15-26). The whole interior of the temple was panelled and ceiled with wood. From floor to roof this woodwork, in the holiest place and in the main hall, was ornamented with carved work representing cherubs and palms. Before the holy of holies stood an altar-like wooden table for the shewbread. Swinging doors led into the hall and into the most holy place, each door being made in two sections and elaborately carved.
(4) Other Buildings of the Inner Court (Ezekiel 42:1-14; Ezekiel 46:19-24) The chambers for the priests (Ezekiel 42:1-12). Their use (Ezekiel 42:13-14). On the northern and southern sides of the inner court were two three-story buildings, each one hundred and fifty by seventy-five feet, with a passage-way fifteen feet wide in front. The uppermost stories included a gallery. The walls which faced the outer court extended only half of the length of the walls that faced the temple. These buildings could be entered from the passage-ways and from the outer court. In these chambers the priests who minister at the altar were to store and eat their portions of the sacrificial offerings, and to lay aside their sacred garments before going into the outer court of the people. The kitchens for priests and people (Ezekiel 46:19-24). Entering these chambers from the outer court, we noted in the western corners of the inner court kitchens for the exclusive use of the priests in preparing their share of the sacrifices for food. Passing thence, we saw in each corner of the outer court four kitchens sixty by forty-five feet in size, surrounded by pillars, where the Levites boiled the sacrificial meals for the people.
(5) The Whole Temple Area (Ezekiel 42:15-20) The outside measurements of the whole enclosure (Ezekiel 42:15-20). Having completed the inspection and measurement of the interior arrangement of the temple area, we passed out of the eastern gateway and measured the exterior wall. The whole enclosure was seven hundred and fifty feet square. A wall encircled it, shutting in the sanctuary from the outside world.
(6) The Return of Jehovah to His Abode (Ezekiel 43:1-12) The third vision of Jehovah’s glory (Ezekiel 43:1-5). We then returned to the eastern gate, and there I beheld the glory of Jehovah approaching from the east with a noise that resembled the roar of a rushing stream and a radiance that illumined the earth and sky. It was like the splendid visions I had seen before on the river Chebar and at Jerusalem. I fell on my face in awe, while the glory passed through the gateway. Transported to the inner court, I saw that it filled the temple. The conditions of its permanence (Ezekiel 43:6-9). At the same time a voice announced: “Mortal man, in this truly sacred temple I will be pleased to dwell. No longer shall my abode be defiled by the immediate presence of a royal palace and a royal burial-place, and by the abominations which kings are wont to practise. It must be wholly free from contact with that which is profane. The new temple to be built according to the vision (Ezekiel 43:10-12). “Proclaim, therefore, to the men of Israel exactly how the new temple is to be erected, describing its true dimensions and noting all its ordinances and ritual, that everything may be done in perfect keeping with the divine ideal. No part of the mountain top is to be given up for a royal residence, or for any other secular use. All is to be consecrated to the worship of Jehovah.”
(7) The Great Altar and its Consecration (Ezekiel 43:13-27)
Description of the altar (Ezekiel 43:13-17). In the very centre of the inner court was the great altar of burnt-offering, a huge structure of stone, rising in three regularly diminishing terraces to a height of seventeen feet from a base twenty-seven feet square and one and a half feet in height. The steps by which the priests ascended to the altar-hearth faced the east. The method of its dedication (Ezekiel 43:18-27). “Mortal one,” said the voice, “in the day when the altar is completed it shall be consecrated for its sacred service in the following manner: Let the priests of the family of Zadok, whose service is acceptable to me, apply the blood of a freshly slain bullock to the prominent parts of the altar, in token of its dedication to the service of Jehovah. The bullock shall then be burned in the proper place outside the temple area. For six days thereafter the altar shall be ceremonially cleansed with the blood of a he-goat, and a burnt offering made of a bullock and a ram. When the altar has thus been set apart and sanctified, the sanctuary will be holy, and there will I accept the offerings of my people.”
2. Ordinances Regarding the Temple (Ezekiel 44-46) (1) The Use of the Outer Eastern Gateway (Ezekiel 44:1-3) The prince alone to enter it (Ezekiel 44:1-3). We now returned to the great eastern gateway of the outer court but found it closed. The voice then said: “Since Jehovah has entered by this gateway, no mortal shall pass through it. Let it remain forever closed. The prince[32] may enter the vestibule from the outer court and there partake of the sacrificial meal.”
[32] For some reason Ezekiel uses this word in preference to “king.”
(2) The Functions of the Levites and the Priests (Ezekiel 44:4-31) The regulations in the interests of sanctity (Ezekiel 44:4-5). Returning to the inner court, I again saw the splendor of Jehovah’s glory filling the temple. The voice bade me pay good heed to the ordinances and regulations about to be promulgated for the preservation of the sanctity of the house of God.
Servants of foreign birth to be replaced by Levites (Ezekiel 44:6-14). No longer, forgetful Israel, shall you profane the sanctuary by permitting foreigners, whose service is purely mercenary, to be present while sacrifices are being offered and to have charge of the temple. Hereafter the members of the priestly families, which ministered at the high places and promoted Israel’s unfaithfulness, shall be responsible for the service of the sanctuary. They shall guard the gateways, serve the priests, slay the animals for sacrifice, and wait upon the worshippers. They shall not, however, be permitted to act as priests.
Priests to be Zadokites (Ezekiel 44:15-16). The members of the priestly family of Zadok alone shall act as priests in the temple, for they have always been faithful to me. Their clothing (Ezekiel 44:17-19).In the service of the sanctuary they shall wear, for the sake of coolness and purity, only linen clothing. Before mingling with the people they shall change these garments, leaving them in the appointed chambers. Further regulations promotive of sanctity (Ezekiel 44:20-22;Ezekiel 44:25-27).They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long like the Nazirite. They shall refrain from wine while on duty. They shall marry no one but a virgin or the widow of a priest. They shall not approach a dead body except that of a blood-relative. They shall then remain unclean, not serving at the altar for seven days, and shall thereafter present a sin-offering. Their duties (Ezekiel 44:23-24). They shall instruct the people in ceremonial obligations, deciding difficult cases. They shall also arbitrate in disputes between man and man, control public worship, and enforce the due observance of sacred days and seasons. Their support (Ezekiel 44:28-31). They shall not be expected to support themselves, but shall subsist entirely upon the offerings brought to the sanctuary. It is lawful for them to eat whatever is not to be consumed by fire. Theirs also is all property consecrated to Jehovah, the best of the first fruits and the thank offerings. They must carefully avoid eating meat which has not been slaughtered.
(3) The Apportionment of their Land (Ezekiel 45:1-7) The sacred reservation (Ezekiel 45:1-7). On the return from exile, when the land is reapportioned, you shall mark out a tract about seven miles square. Of this land, set apart two-fifths for the Levites and their cities.[33] Another two-fifths allot to the priesthood, the domain required for the temple and an open space of seventy-five feet on all sides of it being taken from its centre. The remaining strip, about seven miles by one and one-half, shall belong to the people who live in Jerusalem. All the territory east and west of the reservation shall belong to the prince.
[33] So the Septuagint in place of “chambers.”
(4) The Rights and Duties of the Prince (Ezekiel 45:8-17; Ezekiel 46:16-18) The prince subject to property laws (Ezekiel 45:8;Ezekiel 46:16-18). Having received a portion of his own, the prince must not take or give away the property of a subject. He may only allot the land to the tribes in accordance with Jehovah’s will. His own property he may give to one of his sons in perpetuity. If granted to a subject, the land reverts to the prince in the jubilee year. To regulate weights and measures (Ezekiel 45:9-12). He shall establish a correct scale of weights and measures, so that all robbery of the people in his name shall cease. The support of the ritual (Ezekiel 45:13-17). They shall pay over to him for the support of the ritual one-sixtieth of their produce of wheat or barley, one-one-hundredth of their oil, and one out of every two hundred lambs. The prince shall in turn provide that which is needful for all the stated public sacrifices.
(5) The Stated Offerings (Ezekiel 45:18 to Ezekiel 46:15) The atonement for the sanctuary (Ezekiel 45:18-20). On the first day of the new year[34] and on the first day of the seventh month the priests shall formally cleanse the temple by applying the blood of an unblemished bullock to the doorposts of the sanctuary, to the corners of the altar and to the posts of the gateway of the inner court. Thus shall it be kept absolutely sacred.
[34] According to our calendar about the fifteenth of March. The offerings at Passover and Tabernacles (Ezekiel 45:21-25). In the middle of the first month[35] shall be held the feast of the Passover. On the first day the prince shall offer in atonement for himself and the people a bullock, and in addition, daily burnt offerings for a week, with the appropriate cereal offerings and oil, and a sin-offering for each day.
[35] About the first of April.
Similarly, at the feast of Tabernacles, six months later, shall be provided all that is needed for the public offerings throughout the sacred week.
Regulations for Sabbaths and new-moons (Ezekiel 46:1-7). In ordinary weeks the eastern gate of the inner court shall be open only on Sabbath days and the days of the new moon. At such times the people shall assemble for worship in front of the gate, while the prince may ascend the steps, pass through the gateway, and stand at the threshold which opens upon the inner court. Every Sabbath the prince shall offer a burnt offering of six rams and one Iamb, with the suitable proportion of cereal offerings and of oil. On the day of the new moon he shall make the same offering with the addition of a bullock
Various regulations (Ezekiel 46:8-12). After performing his duties in the temple, the prince shall return as he entered. The multitude, however, to prevent confusion on a festal day, shall enter the outer court by one gate and depart by the opposite one. Both prince and people shall worship at the same time. If the prince desires to make a special offering, the eastern gate of the main court may be opened for the purpose. The daily burnt offering (Ezekiel 46:13-15). For every day in the year the prince shall provide a yearling lamb as a morning burnt offering with the suitable offerings of flour and oil.
3. The Renewing and Allotment of the Land (Ezekiel 47, 48) (1) The Fertilizing Stream from the Temple (Ezekiel 47:1-12) Its source (Ezekiel 47:1-2). Again my celestial guide brought me to the inner court and showed me a stream of pure water issuing from beneath the porch of the temple, passing the altar on the south side and emerging from the temple near the outer eastern gate. Its size (Ezekiel 47:3-7). Fifteen hundred feet away from the gate the water was ankle-deep; farther on it covered the knee; soon the stream became an unfordable river that could be crossed only by swimming. Along its banks grew an abundance of trees. Its effect (Ezekiel 47:8-12). “Mortal one,” said my companion, “behold this river of life-giving water springing from the very presence of God. Down the barren slopes of the Judean wilderness it will pour, restoring them to productiveness. It shall freshen even the Dead Sea, so that fishermen shall ply their trade there as on the Great Sea. Its desolation shall disappear. Only so much shall remain unchanged as will supply the salt which human life demands. All along the banks of the river shall grow every kind of useful tree, perennially fruitful. Thus shall the land be made a paradise.”
(2) The Boundaries of the Land (Ezekiel 47:13-20)
Only territory west of Jordan to be included in the new land of Israel (Ezekiel 47:13-20). This is the will of Jehovah, O Israel, respecting the extent of the fertilized land, which you shall equally share among the twelve tribes. Its northern boundary shall extend from the sea, not far from Tyre, and run eastward to the vicinity of Dan. Its eastern boundary shall be the river Jordan and its connected seas. The southern boundary shall extend from Tamar below the Dead Sea, through Kadesh, along the Brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, which shall constitute its western boundary.
(3) The Allotment of the Land (Ezekiel 47:21 to Ezekiel 48:29) The rights of proselytes (Ezekiel 47:21-23). Although this land shall be divided among the tribes, strangers not of Israelitish blood, who have adopted the worship of Jehovah and abide by all the ordinances, shall have equal rights with those who are of Israel. They shall have an inheritance among the members of the tribe in which they sojourn. The tribes north of the reservation (Ezekiel 48:1-7). Seven tribes shall be given allotments north of the portion set apart for sacred purposes: Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, and Judah. Each tribe shall occupy a zone extending from the Jordan to the sea. The reservation itself (Ezekiel 48:8-22). South of Judah’s allotment shall be the sacred reservation, inhabited by the Levites and by the priests. None of it shall ever be sold or exchanged or alienated by them, for it is Jehovah’s land.
South of the portion allotted to the priests shall be a zone, one-half as large, in which the city Jerusalem shall be built. It shall be about a mile and a quarter square. Its public lands shall extend three hundred and seventy-five feet on every side. The rest of the territory, about nine square miles, shall be devoted to agricultural purposes. The inhabitants shall come from all Israel. On both sides of the sacred reservation, that he may protect it, shall be the domain of the prince. The tribes south of the reservation (Ezekiel 48:23-29). South of the reservation five tribes shall be given allotments: Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulon, and Gad. This territory, two hundred miles by an average of fifty, shall be the possession of the tribes of Israel forever.
(4) The Holy City (Ezekiel 48:30-35) The circuit, gates, and name of the new city (Ezekiel 48:30-35). The city shall have three gates on each side named after the ancient tribes. Its whole circuit shall be about five miles.[36] The city shall no longer be designated by its old familiar name, but shall be worthy of a new one, indicating that God dwells with his people. All shall call it, “Jehovah is there.”