Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

40:1-48:35 Vision of Restoration. With the last date formula in the book appearing at 40:1, Ezekiel arrives at the beginning of the end. The post-destruction oracles of chs. 33-37 concluded with a promise of divine presence that anticipates the final words of the book (cf. 37:26-28; 48:35). The oracle against Gog in chs. 38-39 appeared to interrupt the movement toward realizing that presence. That interpretation, however, assumes a reading of the book that focuses on the human plane, which is not Ezekiel's perspective. The most important thing is not human hope but divine glory. The Gog oracle established God's absolute supremacy among the nations. The book's final vision accomplishes this same purpose, but within the community of God's own people. Understood this way, the details of Ezekiel's vision (which may strike the modern reader as mundane or obscure) take on their proper vitality and significance. The vision of chs. 40-48 is a direct counterpart to the pre-destruction vision in chs. 8-11, in which the abominations practiced in Jerusalem drove the holy God from his temple. In chs. 40-42, Ezekiel is again taken on a tour, this time of the new temple, which culminates with the return of the glory of God (43:1-5). The voice of the Lord now instructs Ezekiel in the regulations for Israel's renewed worship life (43:6-46:24). When the "tour" resumes, Ezekiel witnesses the river flowing from the temple, which brings life to the world (46:19-47:12). The book concludes with the division of the land among the tribes with the new city and new temple at its heart, with equal access for all (47:13-48:35).

With regard to the meaning of this passage as a whole: (1) Some interpreters understand this vision as a prophecy that will be fulfilled literally, with a rebuilt temple and Israel dwelling in the land according to its tribes--a future millennial kingdom on the earth (see notes on Rev. 20:1-6). Many who hold this position believe that literal animal sacrifices will be offered, but that in the future millennial kingdom they will function as reminders of the complete and sufficient death of Christ, a function different from what they had in the OT. (2) Other interpreters see this vision of a new temple and a renewal of the land of Israel as an extended, detailed metaphor predicting the presence of God among his people in the new covenant age (that is, his presence in the church). (3) Another view is that the vision predicts God's presence among his people in the new heavens and new earth (cf. Isa. 66:17; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1), not as physical details that will be literally fulfilled but as symbolic indications of the great blessings of that future age. In this interpretation, the details about worship and sacrifices are symbols of the centrality of worship of God: the temple represents the orderliness and beauty of God's heavenly dwelling place; the priests and their sacrifices represent the service and worship of all God's people; the division of the land represents the allocation of places to live for all God's people; and the river represents the outward flow of God's blessings to his people forever. (4) Finally, it is possible that there are both literal and symbolic elements in this vision, and that, as with the visions in Ezekiel 1, this vision describes future realities that cannot be fully expressed in terms of Ezekiel's present realities. Almost all interpreters agree that Ezekiel 40-48 is one of the most difficult passages in the entire Bible.

No matter which interpretation one adopts, certain primary emphases are quite clear. The whole vision may be understood as describing the actual presence of God within the temple of the new community: chs. 40-42 prepare for it; ch. 43 realizes it; chs. 44-46 provide the rules for it; ch. 47 describes its effects; and ch. 48 lays out access to it. The vision thus also presupposes threads and themes of earlier oracles: the supremacy of God; the requirements necessitated by his holiness; revitalization by the Spirit of God; honoring God by living in accord with his holiness; and ensuring the sanctity of the community by maintaining divine justice.

40:1-42:20 Vision of the New Temple. Fourteen years after the destruction of Jerusalem, Ezekiel is given a vision of a rebuilt temple, just as he had been given a temple vision 20 years earlier (8:1). (See drawing of this temple plan.) As on that occasion, a heavenly being leads him around the temple precincts. This time, however, the vision does not reveal the sin of Ezekiel's people but the splendor of his God. The temple itself appears to be geometrically idealized. It is a square structure, its areas nested, with the most sacred place being both the innermost and the uppermost, as each succeeding area is elevated from the preceding. It seems also to be symmetrical around the east-west axis, with the main entrance facing east. Ezekiel is led back to the outer court in ch. 42 where various chambers of the temple area are identified. Cf. illustration.

40:1-4 The Vision Begins. The date formula corresponds to April 573 b.c. About 12 years have passed since the last dated oracle (32:1). The phrase visions of God links this vision with 1:1 and 8:3. The ruined city is in the prophet's mind (40:1) as the vision of a new city comes to him (v. 2). His guide, with an appearance like bronze, is reminiscent of the guide of 8:2.

40:5-27 The Outer Court and Its Gates. The tour with accompanying measurements begins at the main east entrance. (A number of the Hb. technical architectural terms are of uncertain meaning, as the ESV footnotes illustrate.) The main units of measurement are given (v. 5): the reed, about 10 feet (3.1 m), which was equal to six long cubits of about 20 inches (50 cm). The outer wall is thus about 10 feet high and 10 feet thick (v. 5; 3.1 m high and 3.1 m thick). The main east gate with its chambers is described (vv. 6-16) in more detail than the other gates, which are built to the same plan. The expanse of the main outer court is taken in (vv. 17-19) before inspection of first the north gate (vv. 20-23), then the south gate (vv. 24-27).

40:28-49 The Inner Court, Gates, and Chambers. Ezekiel's guide then leads him into the inner court by way of the south gate (v. 28), and the descriptions are more cursory since the design is repeated from the outer gates. The sequence now is south gate (vv. 28-31), east gate (vv. 32-34), and north gate (vv. 35-37). This area is reserved for priestly use, and the furnishings and implements for sacrificial rituals are described in vv. 38-43. The chambers for the use of ministering priests of two classes (see 44:9-31) are found in the north and south gates (40:44-47). They then approach the central structure of the inner court, the temple building itself (vv. 48-49). With 10 steps (v. 49; cf. vv. 22, 31), it has the tallest rise of any set of stairs.

41:1-26 The Temple Interior. The temple structure is now described in detail, including both floor plan and elevations. The nave (v. 1) is the main hall of the temple. Ezekiel is guided into its interior but does not follow his celestial guide into the Most Holy Place (v. 4). This might have been the climax of the tour, but it continues. Verses 5-11 describe the three-story structure built into the temple's walls. A building is located to the extreme west of the temple complex (v. 12), but no purpose is identified for it. The previous measurements are summarized in vv. 13-15a, while visual descriptions of the temple's decorations and layout are described in vv. 15b-26. The cherubim, carved on the walls in relief (vv. 18-20), are reminiscent of the cherubim woven into the fabric walls of the tabernacle (Ex. 26:1, 31). The cherubim and palm trees are combined in the decoration of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:29, 32).

42:1-14 Chambers of the Outer Court. Ezekiel is led to the outer court and describes the construction of the chambers in the perimeter wall of the court's north area (vv. 1-9). Clearly the same arrangement is meant to be mirrored in vv. 10-12, although it appears that south is more likely the original reading in v. 10, following the Septuagint, rather than the Hebrew text's "east." The functions of these rooms are explained in vv. 13-14. They are to serve as sacristies, that is, rooms for the use of the priests to prepare for the exercise of their duties.

42:15-20 Exterior Measurements. Finally, Ezekiel and his guide return to the place where they began, the main east gate to the temple complex (v. 15; cf. 40:5-6). Starting there, and proceeding counterclockwise, the external dimensions are measured as 500 cubits by 500 cubits square (roughly 830 feet/253 m). The numbers of the internal dimensions, with fifties and hundreds featuring prominently, yield these ideal and perfect dimensions. The sacredness of the entire domain is emphasized by the closing comment, that the wall separates the holy and the common.