Tyndale Open Study NotesEzekiel 43

The sacred spaces mentioned earlier were useless when empty (see Ezekiel 37:7–8). The temple needed the presence of the God of Israel's glory to be meaningful. This glory had left in Ezekiel 10. Now, it would return from the east, the same direction it had left. Unlike its slow and hesitant departure, its return would be sudden, with the loud roar of rushing waters (see Ezekiel 1:24; Revelation 1:15). As usual, the prophet fell face down in awe of this glory.

The Spirit took Ezekiel to the inner courtyard. There, he heard the Lord say that the restored temple was his palace, with his throne and footstool. He would live there forever among the people of Israel.

Identifying the temple as God's dwelling and seat of power was not new (see, for example, 1 Samuel 4:4). The temple would now be God's throne forever. The sins of his people would never again drive him away from his sanctuary.

If God were to remain with his people, they needed higher standards. They also needed clear rules to prevent the sins of the past from happening again.

In earlier times, Israel and their kings dishonored God. They worshiped other gods. They also honored dead kings by placing memorial markers inside the temple area. The temple belonged to the living God, not to human rulers.

In the future, the proper order would be restored. The home of the earthly ruler would be placed farther from the spiritual center of the land (see Ezekiel 45:7). This change would show clearly that God alone was supreme.

Placing the earthly ruler in his proper position was necessary. Only then could God remain among his people forever in his rightful place.

At this point, God explained the purpose of the temple vision. Ezekiel was not the first person to receive a detailed plan for a sanctuary from God (see Exodus 25–40).

This vision was not meant to begin a future building project after the people returned to their land. Instead, it was a message for the people living in Ezekiel’s own time.

As they carefully studied the plan of the temple, they were meant to recognize their sin. They were to feel deep sorrow and shame for what they had done.

As they looked at the entrances and exits, the laws and commands, and the full design, they should see how far they had turned away from God. The vision was meant to lead them to repentance (turning away from sin and back to God).

Israel had to be completely holy if the holy God was to live among them forever.

The holiness of the temple area would be protected in two ways. First, sinners were kept out of the sacred space. Second, the sacrificial system dealt with sin and impurity.

This focus on holiness is clear from the detailed description of the altar in the inner court. The altar stood at the center of the entire temple complex. Its central place shows how important it was.

The altar shown to Ezekiel was much larger than the altar in front of the tabernacle. It was almost three times as long and wide (see Exodus 27:1–8).

Steps led up to this altar from the east side. Normally, in the ancient Near East, steps came from the west. This change might have been to avoid any suggestion of sun worship (see Ezekiel 8:16).

• The new altar had to be consecrated (set apart for holy use) before it could be used.

• On the first day, the priests were to offer a young bull as a sin offering. They were to put its blood on the horns and corners of the altar. This act made the altar ready for holy service.

  After this, they burned the body of the sin offering outside the sacred area. This was the same practice used with the tabernacle (compare Leviticus 4:11–12).

They repeated the second day's procedure for seven more days to finish the eight-day purification cycle. They used a similar method when they consecrated Solomon’s Temple (2 Chronicles 7:8–9).

These sin offerings made the temple ready for holy use. The priests could once again sacrifice the burnt and peace offerings of the people. These offerings were necessary if the Lord were to accept his people.