The Gospel According to Ezekiel, Chapter 40-42 (Part 1 of 2)

Rediscovering a Tool for Sanctification

Our goal throughout these remaining chapters is to rediscover an often neglected tool for our sanctification. As we examine this vision that God is giving to Ezekiel, we will rediscover what is often a neglected tool for our struggle against sin, for our battle against those kinds of temptations that would exist within our lives. There is a gold mine that is before us in these pages as we examine this vision that Ezekiel is receiving.

Chapter 40 is a very peculiar switch in our context. Throughout history, there was a marked transition into something that is going to take place within these verses. We've examined some of the context prior to this—the idea of Gog and Magog coming against the people of God for the specific purpose of showing himself to be mighty, demonstrating his power by defeating this mighty army. It was such a fantastic display of God's power that the people of God would have firewood for seven years from the wood of their weapons.

As we examined it before, we could recognize some eschatological significance, with parallels to Revelation, including Gog and Magog and a new city. But there are significant differences. In Revelation, the temple is God and the Lamb, not a physical construct. Here, we have a specific temple with certain dimensions.

You might be asking yourself why this is a tool for our sanctification—how it benefits spiritual growth and assists in battles with temptation and sin. Traditional understanding sees these passages as purely eschatological, concerning a third temple rebuilt post-70 AD. But let's dive into our context and see why this is an important and essential tool for our sanctification, even useful in counseling.

One of the things that often happens in a struggle within a person's life is that these kinds of truths are missing, and as a result, the struggle persists. We're going to do a lot of reading, and that's actually the point. The amount of reading pertains to this concept and how it's supposed to benefit our sanctification.

The Vision Begins: Ezekiel 40

In the 25th year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the 10th day of the month, in the 14th year after the city was struck down, on that very day the hand of the Lord was upon me and brought me to the city. In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain on which was a structure like a city to the south. When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand, and he was standing in the gateway.

And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and set your heart upon all that I show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.” (Ezekiel 40:4)

God brought Ezekiel here so that he would set his heart upon everything that is shown, and that Ezekiel would declare these things to the house of Israel.

Behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man's hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. He measured the thickness of the wall, one reed, and the height, one reed. A long cubit is about 21 inches, a regular cubit around 18 inches.

Then he went into the gateway facing east, going up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep; and the side rooms, one reed long and one reed broad; and the space between the side rooms, five cubits; and the threshold of the gate, by the vestibule of the gate at the inner end, one reed. He measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and its jambs, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner end. There were three side rooms on either side of the east gate; the three were of the same size, and the jambs on either side were of the same size. Then he measured the width of the opening of the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gateway, thirteen cubits.

There was a barrier before the side rooms, one cubit on either side. The side rooms were six cubits on either side. Then he measured the gate from the ceiling of the one side room to the ceiling of the other, a breadth of 25 cubits; the openings faced each other. He measured the vestibule, 20 cubits. Around the vestibule of the gateway was the court, from the front of the gate at the entrance to the front of the inner vestibule of the gate, 50 cubits. The gateway had windows all around, narrowing inwards toward the side rooms and toward their jambs, and likewise the vestibule had windows all around inside, and on the jambs were palm trees.

Then he brought me into the outer court, and behold, there were chambers and a pavement all around the court. Thirty chambers faced the pavement, and the pavement ran along the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. This was the lower pavement. Then he measured the distance from the inner front of the lower gate to the outer front of the inner court, a hundred cubits on the east side. And on the north.

As for the gate that faced toward the north, belonging to the outer court, he measured its length and its breadth. Its side rooms, three on either side, and its jambs and its vestibule were of the same size as those of the first gate. Its length was 50 cubits, and its breadth 25 cubits. Its windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees were of the same size as those of the gate that faced toward the east. By seven steps people would go up to it, and find its vestibule before them. And opposite the gate on the north, as on the east, was a gate to the inner court. And he measured from gate to gate, a hundred cubits.

He led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate on the south. And he measured its jambs and its vestibule; they had the same size as the others. Both it and the vestibule had windows all around like the windows of the others. Its length was 50 cubits, and its breadth 25 cubits. There were seven steps leading up to it, and its vestibule was before them, and it had palm trees on its jambs, one on either side. And there was a gate on the south of the inner court. And he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.

There are a lot of similarities between this temple and Solomon's temple described in First Kings. There are subtle nuances and differences. Notably, there's a space around the holy of holies that separates the outer court, inner court from the holy of holies. The outer court pertains to corporate worship, where the people of God as a group could worship.

Then he brought me to the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate; it was of the same size as the others. Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side and measured the gate; it was of the same size as the others. Then he brought me to the north gate and measured it; it had the same size as the others. The inner court area is about 175 square feet.

Chambers, Tables, and Controversy

There was a chamber with its door in the vestibule of the gate where the burnt offering was to be washed. In the vestibule of the gate were two tables on either side, on which the burnt offering, sin offering, and guilt offering were to be slaughtered. Off to the side, as one goes up to the entrance of the north gate, were three tables, and on the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables—eight tables on which to slaughter. There were four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, on which the instruments were to be laid with which the burnt offerings and sacrifices were slaughtered.

This is one reason why this temple is controversial. Many see it as prophetic—a future temple where sacrifices resume. But post-70 AD, with the destruction of the temple, resuming sacrifices is a New Testament understanding of apostasy, as in Hebrews. When someone knows the sacrifice of Jesus Christ completely forgives sins and restores relationship with God, offering animal sacrifices says the blood of Jesus is no different than animal blood. That's a huge problem. The idea of sacrifices resuming in the New Testament is foreign to this context.

On the outside of the inner gate, there were chambers in the inner court, one at the side of the north gate facing south, the other at the side of the gate facing north. And he said to me, “This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple, and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar—these are the sons of Zadok, who alone among the sons of Levi may come near to the Lord to minister to him.” (Ezekiel 40:44-46)

In Ezekiel, there's a lot of symbolism to teach specific concepts. Zadok was a high priest in David's time. The sons of Zadok imply ancestry or something else. Given God's use of "his servant David" on the throne, this is symbolic language. The sons of Zadok were faithful in David's time; in the time of the New David, they represent those faithful to Christ. As New Testament priests, this applies to our lives.

He measured the court, 100 cubits long and 100 cubits broad, a square, and the altar was in front of the temple.

Into the Temple Proper: Ezekiel 41

Then he brought me to the vestibule of the temple and measured the jambs of the vestibule, five cubits on either side. The breadth of the gate was 14 cubits, and the side walls of the gate were three cubits on either side. The length of the vestibule was 20 cubits, and the breadth 12 cubits. The people would go up to it by 10 steps, and there were pillars beside the jambs, one on either side.

Then he brought me to the nave, and measured the jambs. Six cubits was the breadth of the jambs. The breadth of the entrance was 10 cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits on either side. He measured the length of the nave, 40 cubits, and its breadth, 20 cubits.

Then he went into the inner room and measured the jambs of the entrance, two cubits, and the entrance, six cubits, and the side walls on either side of the entrance, seven cubits. He measured its length, 20 cubits, and its breadth, 20 cubits, opposite the nave. And he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick, and the breadth of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the temple. The side chambers were in three stories, one over another, 30 in each story. There were offsets all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that they should not be supported by the wall of the temple. It became broader as it wound upward to the side chambers, because the temple was enclosed upward all around. As the house had increasing breadth upward, one went up from the lowest story to the top story through the middle story.

I saw also that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed of six long cubits. The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. The free space between the side chambers of the temple and the other chambers was a breadth of 20 cubits all around the temple on every side. The doors of the side chambers opened on the free space, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south. The breadth of the free space was five cubits all around.

The building that was facing the separate yard on the west side was 70 cubits broad, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length 90 cubits. Then he measured the temple, 100 cubits long; and the yard and the building with its walls, 100 cubits long; the breadth of the front of the temple and of the yard to the east, 100 cubits. Then he measured the length of the building facing the yard that was at the back and its galleries on either side, 100 cubits.

The inside of the nave and the vestibules of the court, the thresholds and the narrow windows and the galleries all around the three of them, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, from the floor up to the windows. The windows were covered. To the space above the door, even to the inner room, and on the outside. And on all the walls all around, inside and out, was a measured pattern. It was carved of cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Every cherub had two faces: a human face toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around. From the floor to above the door, cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall also of the nave.

The nave and the Holy Place had each a double door. The double doors had two leaves apiece, two swinging leaves for each door. And on the doors of the nave were carved cherubim and palm trees, such as were carved on the walls. There was a canopy of wood in front of the vestibule outside. And there were narrow windows and palm trees on either side, on the side walls of the vestibule, the side chambers of the temple, and the canopies.

The Priestly Chambers: Ezekiel 42

Then he led me out into the outer court, toward the north, and brought me to the chambers that were opposite the separate yard and opposite the building on the north. The length of the building whose door faced north was 100 cubits, and the breadth 50 cubits. Facing the 20 cubits which belonged to the inner court, and facing the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was gallery against gallery in three stories. And before the chambers was a passage inward, 10 cubits wide and 100 cubits long, and their doors were on the north. Now the upper chambers were narrower, for the galleries took more away from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. They were in three stories, and they had no pillars like the pillars of the courts. Thus the upper chambers stood back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones. And there was a wall outside parallel to the chambers, toward the outer court, opposite the chambers, 50 cubits long. For the chambers on the outer court were 50 cubits long, while those opposite the nave were 100 cubits long. Below these chambers was an entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer court.

And the south also opposite the yard and opposite the building. There were chambers with a passage in front of them; they were similar to the chambers on the north, of the same length and breadth, with the same exits and arrangements and doors. As the entrances of the chambers on the south. There was an entrance at the beginning of the passage, the passage before the corresponding wall on the east as one enters them.

Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers opposite the yard are the holy chambers, where the priests who approach the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall put the most holy offerings—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering—for the place is holy. When the priests enter the Holy Place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court without laying there the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They shall put on other garments before they go near to that which is for the people.” (Ezekiel 42:13-14)

The Purpose Revealed: Ezekiel 43

When he had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by the gate that faced east, and measured the temple area all around. He measured the east side with the measuring reed, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around. He measured the north side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around. He measured the south side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed. Then he turned to the west side and measured, 500 cubits by the measuring reed. He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, 500 cubits long and 500 cubits broad, to make a separation between the holy and the common. The whole temple area, with inner and outer courts, is about 875 feet.

Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple, and he said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their whoring, and by the dead bodies of their kings at their high places, by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger. Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.” (Ezekiel 43:7-9)

“As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its statutes and all its laws and carry them out. This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.” (Ezekiel 43:10-12)

This demonstrates important things pertaining to our context. This is not a prophecy, but a revelation or vision. Ezekiel is brought in vision to witness these things. His vision was like previous ones, which pertained to that time frame—seeing the glory of the Lord, not future events. Previously, he saw the glory exiting the temple by the east gate; now God enters by the east gate.

Visions can have future significance, but a vision of the future that does not change the present has failed in its main purpose. There is a specific purpose here: to grant us a tool in our arsenal for the present. This isn't prophecy.

The Purpose of the Temple Vision

The vision is like other visions specific to the temple of God and His glory, aimed at helping the people of God understand something profound about Him. As we read, it's as if we are there hearing Ezekiel describe it. God is turning through the temple to dwell among His people, implying they would put away sin, no longer sinning as before, but living holy because God is holy. Beholding His glory, they recognize sin as ruinous and miserable, motivated to put it away.

Verse 10 shows God instructing Ezekiel to describe the temple to the house of Israel. These dimensions serve a specific purpose: that the people of God would be ashamed of their sins. As they measure the plan, they receive shame for their iniquities. The word "plan" in Hebrew means pattern or example. This revelation provides a pattern for valuing holiness, glorifying God, and living an exemplary lifestyle.

Parallels may exist for a future literal fulfillment, but the purpose remains: a pattern and exemplary life for the heirs to conform to. God gives no revelation without significance for His people, including us today. It shows the right way of life, with God dwelling among people who pay close attention to His revelation.

From Defilement to Restoration

Solomon's physical temple was defiled by the inward idolatry of the people—their imaginations and dwelling on sinful thoughts. Since the defilement was spiritual, saving God's people restores the temple as a representation of their holiness. The ultimate result is shame over sin in their lives, motivating holy living, with less motivation to sin and more to obey God.

As seen in Ezekiel 11 and 36, this requires receiving the Holy Spirit. The heart of stone is exchanged for a heart of flesh, sensitive to God. The Holy Spirit dwells within, motivating and controlling them to turn from sin and do God's will.

Ezekiel 43:11
If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and entrances, that is, its whole design, and make known to them as well all its statutes and its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out.

If the people grow in shame and disdain for sin, God says reveal the entire temple. The vision is a reward for those ashamed of sin and obedient to God. Focus on the purpose: receiving this revelation enables shame over sin, with reward for that shame.

The Reward of God's Presence

The book closes with the Lord being with His people. God's purpose is to redeem a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds, living among them as their sole source of enjoyment and satisfaction. This is the reward, seen in the love of God in John 3:16—God gave His Son, fully God, so we get God. Though Jesus ascended, He sent the Holy Spirit, fully God, to live with us.

The Meaning of Shame

Being ashamed means God's people, enjoying the vision of God, experience a decrease in sin's intensity. It means growing weary of sin; sin diminishes as they behold God's glory and holiness as supremely valuable. The Hebrew conveys hurt, confusion, righteous anger, and annoyance over sin.

A problem arises in Christians without an adverse attitude toward sin. Continued disobedience stems from loving sin, not shame or annoyance over it. The main emphasis is growing enjoyment of God by beholding His glory—the same glory Ezekiel saw at the Chebar River and in Ezekiel 1, causing him to fall in worship. This glory, over Ezekiel's closing chapters, produces a severe attitude against sin, diminishing its enjoyment and restoring paradise as we enjoy God.