Tyndale Open Study NotesEzekiel 41

The prophet’s tour of the new temple began outside the building. He then moved step by step toward its center.

After reaching the inside, he walked outward again. The tour ended at the kitchens located in the corners of the outer courtyard (Ezekiel 46:19–24).

The temple stood at the protected center of the temple complex. It was next to the inner court. This location showed its importance.

The temple also stood at the highest point in the complex. It was ten steps higher than the inner court. The inner court itself was eight steps higher than the outer court. This rising height showed increasing holiness as a person moved inward.

Like Solomon’s temple before it, this temple had three main areas. These were:

• the entry room,

• the sanctuary (the main holy room), and

• the Most Holy Place (the most sacred room).

The temple walls were about 3.2 meters thick (10.5 feet). These thick walls showed strength and protection. At this point, the gates were replaced by a doorway. Only the priests were allowed to enter the inner court around the temple, so a heavy gate was not needed.

The sanctuary was the most important room in the new temple. For this reason, the vision describes it in greater detail than the other rooms. It also gives more exact measurements for this space.

The inner room was the Most Holy Place. It was the only square room in the temple. This room was the most sacred space in the building.

A person reached it by passing through three openings. Each opening was narrower than the one before it. Access became more limited as a person moved closer to God.

The entrance to the entry room was about 7.5 meters wide (24.5 feet; Ezekiel 40:48). The doorway into the sanctuary was about 5.3 meters wide (17.5 feet; 41:2). The entrance to the Most Holy Place was only about 3.2 meters wide (10.5 feet).

Ezekiel did not enter the Most Holy Place. He stood outside and waited while the angel went in alone and measured the room.

The temple had 90 side rooms on three levels. Behind it was a large building with an unknown purpose, possibly to prevent unauthorized access. No one could approach God's presence from behind. The side rooms might have stored priestly clothing and equipment.

The temple building was covered with wooden panels. The walls were decorated with carvings of palm trees and cherubim.

The cherubim were like those Ezekiel saw in his earlier visions of judgment (see Ezekiel 1:5–12; 10:2–14). In those visions, the cherubim had four faces. However, the carved images in the temple had only two faces. One face was a lion, the greatest of the wild animals. The other was a human, the highest part of God’s created order.

Cherubim also decorated Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:32). Cherubim were traditional symbols of judgment. The palm trees were traditional symbols of blessing. Together, these images showed both God’s judgment and his blessing.

The only piece of furniture was a wooden altar, the table that stands in the Lord’s presence. This is likely where the priests daily placed the bread of the presence before the Lord (Exodus 25:30). Describing this table as an altar emphasizes the focus on sacrifice in Ezekiel’s temple.