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Texts -- Ezekiel 43:1-26 (NET)

Context
The Glory Returns to the Temple
43:1 Then he brought me to the gate that faced toward the east . 43:2 I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east ; the sound was like that of rushing water ; and the earth radiated his glory . 43:3 It was like the vision I saw when he came to destroy the city , and the vision I saw by the Kebar River . I threw myself face down . 43:4 The glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate that faces east . 43:5 Then a wind lifted me up and brought me to the inner court ; I watched the glory of the Lord filling the temple . 43:6 I heard someone speaking to me from the temple , while the man was standing beside me. 43:7 He said to me: “Son of man , this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet , where I will live among the people of Israel forever . The house of Israel will no longer profane my holy name , neither they nor their kings , by their spiritual prostitution or by the pillars of their kings set up when they die. 43:8 When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorpost by my doorpost , with only the wall between me and them, they profaned my holy name by the abominable deeds they committed . So I consumed them in my anger . 43:9 Now they must put away their spiritual prostitution and the pillars of their kings far from me, and then I will live among them forever . 43:10 “As for you , son of man , describe the temple to the house of Israel , so that they will be ashamed of their sins and measure the pattern . 43:11 When they are ashamed of all that they have done , make known to them the design of the temple , its pattern , its exits and entrances , and its whole design – all its statutes , its entire design , and all its laws ; write it all down in their sight , so that they may observe its entire design and all its statutes and do them. 43:12 “This is the law of the temple : The entire area on top of the mountain all around will be most holy . Indeed , this is the law of the temple .
The Altar
43:13 “And these are the measurements of the altar : Its base is 1¾ feet high, and 1¾ feet wide , and its border nine inches on its edge . This is to be the height of the altar . 43:14 From the base of the ground to the lower edge is 3½ feet , and the width 1¾ feet ; and from the smaller ledge to the larger edge , 7 feet , and the width 1¾ feet ; 43:15 and the altar hearth , 7 feet , and from the altar hearth four horns projecting upward . 43:16 Now the altar hearth is a perfect square , 21 feet long and 21 feet wide . 43:17 The ledge is 24½ feet long and 24½ feet wide on four sides ; the border around it is 10½ inches , and its surrounding base 1¾ feet . Its steps face east .” 43:18 Then he said to me: “Son of man , this is what the sovereign Lord says : These are the statutes of the altar : On the day it is built to offer up burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it, 43:19 you will give a young bull for a sin offering to the Levitical priests who are descended from Zadok , who approach me to minister to me, declares the sovereign Lord . 43:20 You will take some of its blood , and place it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge , and on the border all around ; you will cleanse it and make atonement for it. 43:21 You will also take the bull for the sin offering , and it will be burned in the appointed place in the temple , outside the sanctuary . 43:22 “On the second day , you will offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering . They will purify the altar just as they purified it with the bull . 43:23 When you have finished purifying it, you will offer an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock . 43:24 You will present them before the Lord , and the priests will scatter salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord . 43:25 “For seven days you will provide every day a goat for a sin offering ; a young bull and a ram from the flock , both without blemish , will be provided . 43:26 For seven days they will make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, so they will consecrate it.

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Aharoni, Yohanan. The Land of the Bible. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1979.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell...
  • Had Elijah still been alive on the earth Elisha could not have exercised authority as his successor. In this chapter note the parallels between the succession of the prophets and the succession of the kings that the writer re...
  • There are two more "woes"that deal with Jerusalem in this chapter (vv. 1-14, 15-24) in addition to the one in chapter 28. The first of these is similar to the previous "woe"(cf. vv. 1-8 with 28:1-6, and vv. 9-14 with 28:7-13)...
  • Light would dawn on Israel, and as a result the Gentiles would seek her out.60:1 God had called Israel to be a light to the nations (43:10), but presently she was darkness (56:9-57:13; 59:1-15a). The Lord had promised that He...
  • 31:38-39 In the future, Jerusalem would undergo rebuilding for the Lord. It would be built larger than it had been before its destruction by the Babylonians. The tower of Hananel was at the northeast corner of the city (Neh. ...
  • Ezekiel ministered to the Jews in exile. He probably wrote this book for the benefit of the exiles and the other Jewish communities of his day and beyond his day. In some of his visions (e.g. chs. 8 and 11) the Lord carried t...
  • There are two major structural peculiarities that set Ezekiel off as distinctive.First, the book is a collection of prophecies arranged in almost consistent chronological order. No other prophetical book is as consistently ch...
  • Ezekiel contains a combination of several types of literature. These include proverbs, visions, parables, symbolic acts, allegories, rhetorical questions, dreams, drama, funeral dirges, history, and apocalyptic revelations."T...
  • Several theological concepts receive considerable attention in Ezekiel. Alexander identified five central ones: the nature of God, the purpose and nature of God's judgment, individual responsibility, the ethical, religious, a...
  • Ezekiel began prophesying when he was 30 years old, and he had gone into captivity five years before that. Thus Ezekiel was familiar with Jeremiah's preaching and ministry. Ezekiel shows quite a bit of similarity to Jeremiah ...
  • I. Ezekiel's calling and commission chs. 1-3A. The vision of God's glory ch. 11. The setting of the vision 1:1-32. The vision proper 1:4-28B. The Lord's charge to Ezekiel chs. 2-31. The recipients of Ezekiel's ministry 2:1-52...
  • 9:1 In his vision Ezekiel heard the Lord (cf. v. 4) cry out loudly for the executioners (guards), who would punish the people of Jerusalem, to draw near to Him with their weapons in hand. The Lord had predicted that the peopl...
  • 11:22-23 Ezekiel then saw in his vision the glory of God depart from the temple gate and from the city of Jerusalem. He saw the cherubim under Yahweh's throne-chariot bear the Lord east from the entrance of the temple to the ...
  • 20:39 For now the Israelites to whom Ezekiel spoke could continue to practice idolatry, not with the Lord's blessing of course, but in the future they would listen to and obey the Lord. Then they would make His name common no...
  • 24:25-26 Evidently Ezekiel was not to deliver any more prophetic messages to his fellow exiles after he made the explanation in verses 20-24 until he received word of the destruction of the temple and the capture of the remai...
  • It is appropriate that this section appears at this point in Ezekiel, between the messages announcing judgment on Judah and Jerusalem for sin (chs. 4-24) and the messages announcing future blessings for Israel (chs. 33-48). I...
  • "This last major division of the book focuses on the restoration of Israel's blessing. Israel would be judged for her sin (chaps. 1-24) as would the surrounding nations (chaps. 25-32). But Israel will not remain under judgmen...
  • Since this message is undated, it may have come to Ezekiel about the same time as the previous two in chapter 32, namely, in the last month of 585 B.C. If so, Ezekiel received it about two months after God gave him the six me...
  • "The themes of regathering as sheep and of covenant merge in Ezekiel 34:25-31. The Lord promises to make a covenant of peace with His regathered sheep."44434:25 The Lord also promised to make a covenant of peace (i.e., result...
  • This well-known apocalyptic vision of the valley of dry bones pictures the manner in which Yahweh would restore His people.473This may be the best known section of the Book of Ezekiel."Few other passages have suffered more fr...
  • 37:15-17 The Lord also commanded Ezekiel to take two sticks (cf. Zech. 11:7-14). He was to write on one of them "For Judah and for the sons of Israel, Judah's companions."He was to write on the other stick "For Joseph and for...
  • This is the sixth and last message that Ezekiel received from the Lord the night before the refugees reached the exiles with the message that Jerusalem had fallen (cf. 33:21-22). It too deals with God's plans for Israel in th...
  • The Book of Ezekiel begins with a vision of God's glory (ch. 1), records the departure of God's glory (chs. 8-11), and ends with another vision of God's glory (chs. 40-48). This is the longest vision outside the Book of Revel...
  • Earlier Ezekiel hinted that there would be a future temple in the restored Promised Land (20:40; 37:24-28). Now he described it in considerable detail. Some of the detail is here to help the reader understand what the writer ...
  • The man first measured the thickness and the height of the wall around the temple complex. Measuring not only provides data but implies ownership (cf. Zech. 2:1; Rev. 11:1; 21:15); the man measured as God's representative. He...
  • There were two rooms for singers in the inner court. One of them stood beside the north inner gate, and its door faced south. It also accommodated the needs of the priests who were responsible for the care of the temple. The ...
  • 41:1-2 Beyond the vestibule was the nave, the holy place. It had a doorway 6 cubits deep and 10 cubits wide. The projecting wall on either side of this entrance, which also formed part of the wall of the vestibule and the hol...
  • 43:1-2 Ezekiel's guide next led him to the east gate in the outer wall. This was the wall of the millennial temple that he had been seeing and continued to see, not the wall of the Solomonic temple. There the prophet saw the ...
  • 43:6 The prophet heard someone speaking to him from the temple, and there was a man, probably Ezekiel's guide, standing beside him (cf. 1:16).43:7-8 The one speaking from the temple, undoubtedly the Lord, told Ezekiel that th...
  • Instructions (statutes) designed to maintain holiness in the new temple follow. The Lord specified how His people were to construct the new altar to accommodate sacrifices (43:13-17) and how they were to dedicate it (43:18-27...
  • Some scholars view this section as the central one in chapters 40-48.536The altar was at the very center of the whole temple complex, and it was the centerpiece of the system of worship represented in the new temple complex.4...
  • 43:18 The Lord told Ezekiel what to do when the construction of the altar was complete.538The purpose of this altar was to receive the burnt offerings that people would bring to the Lord and to receive the blood of those anim...
  • 44:1-2 Ezekiel's guide next took him back to the east outer gate (cf. 40:6-16). The gate itself, on the east side of the gate complex, was shut and was to remain shut. The Lord told the prophet that this gate was shut because...
  • The emphasis on the holiness of God that has marked this vision continues strong in this pericope and the next. God's holiness will determine who serves as priests and how they serve.44:4 The guide proceeded to take Ezekiel t...
  • God promised Abraham that He would give a particular piece of real estate to his descendants (Gen. 12:7). Later He reiterated this promise and became more specific about its boundaries (Gen. 15:7, 18-21; 17:8; Num. 34:1-12). ...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1968.Alexander, Ralph H. Ezekiel. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976._____. "Ezekiel."In Isaiah-Ezekiel. Vol. 6 of The Expo...
  • Daniel is a book of prophecy."Among the great prophetic books of Scripture, none provides a more comprehensive and chronological prophetic view of the broad movement of history than the book of Daniel. Of the three prophetic ...
  • 3:18 Joel continued to describe the future day of the Lord, but now he passed from the judgments of the Tribulation to the blessings of the Millennium. The mountains of Israel would be so full of grapevines that they could be...
  • 4:1 Reference to "the last days"often points to the eschatological future in the Prophets, and it does here (e.g., Deut. 4:30; Ezek. 38:16; Dan. 2:28; 10:14; Hos. 3:5). This phrase usually refers to the Tribulation and or the...
  • 1:1 Yahweh sent a message to Zerubbabel and Joshua through the prophet Haggai, though it went to all the Israelites too (vv. 2, 4). Zerubbabel was the political governor (overseer) of the Persian province of Judah who had led...
  • 2:1 The Lord revealed another message to Haggai almost one month later, on the twenty-first day of the seventh month (Tishri, modern October 17) of the same year, 520 B.C. This was the last day of the feast of Tabernacles (Bo...
  • 1:7 Zechariah received another revelation from the Lord three months after his previous one in Darius' second year, 520 B.C.35"On the same day (24 Shebat), five months earlier, the rebuilding of the temple had been resumed (c...
  • 2:1-2 In the next scene of his vision, Zechariah saw a man (i.e., an angel who looked like a man) with a measuring line in his hand (cf. 1:11; 6:12; Ezek. 40:2-3). When the prophet asked him where he was going, he replied tha...
  • The visions ended and Zechariah awoke from his dream-like state. What follows is a symbolic act that took place in Jerusalem at the Lord's command."The position of this actual ceremony after the eight visions is significant. ...
  • 14:16 The remaining former enemies of Israel who would not die would bow to the sovereignty of Yahweh (cf. 8:20-23; Isa. 2:2-4; 45:21-24; 60:4-14; Ezek. 40-48; Phil. 2:10). They would be expected to make annual pilgrimages to...
  • That another oracle is in view is clear from the question and answer format that begins this pericope, as it does the others. Verse 17 contains the question and answer, and the discussion follows in 3:1-6. The Israelites' cha...
  • There was an even more serious dimension to this problem. The Corinthians were sinning against the Lord as well as one another.11:23 What Paul taught here came ultimately from the Lord Jesus Himself. This reminder stresses th...
  • Adams, Jay. Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible. Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1980.Andrews, J. N. "May Women Speak in Meeting?"Review and Herald. January 2, 1879. Reprinted in Advent...
  • 1:9 John now addressed the seven churches to which he sent this epistolary prophecy directly. He described himself to his readers as their brother in Christ and a partaker with them in three things. These were, first, the rel...
  • John turned to see the person who had given him his commission. These verses describe what he saw.1:12 When John turned to see the person who spoke to him he saw a majestic figure clothed in a long robe standing among seven l...
  • The scene continues to be on earth.7:1 The phrase "after this"(Gr. meta touto) indicates that what follows is a new vision (cf. 4:1). The general chronological progression of the visions suggests that the events John saw now ...
  • 14:1 "And I looked"(Gr. kai eidon) introduces three scenes in chapter 14 (vv. 1, 6, 14), as this phrase did twice in chapter 13 (vv. 1, 11). "Behold"(Gr. idou, cf. v. 14) calls special attention to the greatness of the sight ...
  • 18:1 John next saw another scene on earth (Gr. Meta tauta eidon, "After these things I saw,"cf. 4:1). Another angel of the same kind as in 17:1 (i.e., one who descends from heaven to fulfill a special mission; cf. 10:1; 20:1)...
  • This pericope has strong ties to what precedes (16:17-18:24). It is the concluding revelation concerning the fall of Babylon, the latter-day Egypt and Tyre, and Antichrist, the ultimate Pharaoh of the Exodus and King of Tyre....
  • 20:7 At the end of the Millennium God will release Satan from the abyss (cf. 1 Pet. 3:19). Two reasons are implied in the text: to demonstrate the incorrigibility of Satan, and to demonstrate the depravity of humanity.695God ...
  • The next scenes in John's visions proved to be of conditions that will exist after the Millennium. He recorded this insight to reveal the final home of believers. There are many allusions to Isaiah 60 and 65 and Ezekiel 40-48...
  • 21:11 This city obviously appeared extremely impressive to John. The first and most important characteristic that John noted was its radiant glow. It shone with the splendor of God Himself because He was in it (cf. Exod. 40:3...
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