Old Testament Commentary - Ezekiel 43

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 43 The glory of God fills the temple—His throne is there and he promises to dwell in the midst of Israel forever—Ezekiel sees the altar and sets forth the ordinances thereof.
1 AFTERWARD he brought me to the gate, even the ^agate that ^blooketh toward the east: 2 And, behold, the ^aglory of the God of Israel came from the way of the ^beast: and his ^cvoice was like a noise of many ^dwaters: and the earth ^eshined with his ^fglory. 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 ^avision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
4 And the glory of the LORD ^acame into the ^bhouse by the way of the gate ^cwhose prospect is toward the east. 5 So the ^aspirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the ^bglory of the LORD filled the house. 6 And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.
7 ¶ And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my ^afeet, 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 ^bdefile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. 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 ^aname by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. 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.
10 ¶ Thou son of man, ^ashew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the ^bpattern. 11 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the ^ahouse, 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 ^bordinances thereof, and do them. 12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the ^amountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
13 ¶ And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a ^acubit 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. 14 And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower ^asettle 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.
15 So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns. 16 And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof. 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.
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 ^asprinkle blood thereon. 19 And thou shalt give to the ^apriests the Levites that be of the seed of ^bZadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young ^cbullock for a ^dsin offering^a. 20 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns ^aof it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.	19^a a young bullock for a sin offering The young bullock is a representation of Jesus Christ. The symbolism of the bullock is that which in corrupt confusion had once become that bullock which Aaron in the absence of Moses did allow to be made in remembrance of the Savior, but the people then did but begin to worship the bullock and not as a similitude of the Savior. The bullock seems to be significant as it is the symbol of the tribe of Ephraim (see: Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph). And when Jeroboam did 'depart from from Judah' or that is Israel refused to be governed by the wicked son of Solomon, again this symbol of the bullock did take upon itself a matter of idol worship when Jeroboam had such make and placed in the land of Israel for sights of worship for the people of Israel.
21 Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and ^ahe shall ^bburn it in the appointed place of the house, ^cwithout the sanctuary. 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. 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.
24 And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast ^asalt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD. 25 ^aSeven 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. 26 Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves. 27 And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the ^aeighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt ^bofferings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.