Comments on Ezekiel 43 The first mention of the idealized Temple, or "sanctuary", in Ezekiel occurs in 37:24-28. Prior to this all references to the sanctuary are negative accusing Judah of defiling the contemporary Temple. Thus, we have a clear transition occurring between the contemporary and the future ideal. The contemporary sanctuary is one that has been rejected because of defilement, this future ideal Temple is one that will be sanctified by the Lord and never defiled. This is the Lord's command, but then the Lord commands a lot of things which people don't end up doing. With ch. 40-42 we have the rather didactic and exacting account of the ideal Temple's dimensions. Then in ch. 43 the text moves to the Lord's acceptance of the Temple (v. 1-12) and the construction of the altar and offerings (v. 13-27). The connection between these two subjects is obvious based upon the Law of Sacrifice: the altar represents atonement and the Lord accepting the Temple represents reconciliation. v1 A continuation of the vision from the preceding chapter. v2 is composed of a series of authority statements. The Lord comes from the east, the direction of the sunrise, the source of light. His voice is powerful and overwhelming like mighty waters. The earth is illuminated by His glory, a spiritual light surpassing that which the sun provides. v3 The present theophany is similar to those recounted in ch. 1- 3. "when I came to destroy the city", the JPS translation footnotes indicate six manuscripts of the Masorah and two ancient versions read "He" in place of "I". This simple statement also casts considerable light on the revelations of ch. 1-3. It indicates the thesis of those revelations was the Lord judging and destroying Jerusalem, cp. ch. 9. "I fell upon my face", Ezekiel reacts as in previous episodes (cp. 1:28, 3:23, 9:8, 11:13). The meaning is he is overwhelmed by the theophany and his strength is exhausted. In the case of 3:23-24 it is the spirit of the Lord that enters into him and gives him strength to stand upon his feet. The same thing is implied in 1:28 with 2:1 and 9:8 with 11:1 and here as well with v. 5. And this happens again in 44:4. In the case of 9:8 and 11:13 it would appear 9:8 starts out more as Ezekiel bowing himself before the Lord in an appeal to show humility and pathos. It then transitions into theophany in ch. 10 and he collapses again in exhaustion in 11:13. v4 The east gate is the entrance the Lord uses as He arrives from the east per v. 2. The pathway back to Eden through the angels with the flaming swords which turn every way is east, cf Gen. 3:24. The entrance to all LDS Temples faces east. v5 As in previous cases, after Ezekiel falls upon his face in the presence of the Lord it is the spirit that grants him sufficient strength to abide the presence of the Lord, cf. Isa. 40:28-31, cp. Moses 1:2. v6 While the angel from ch. 40-42 is still acting as guide, he hears the voice of the Lord from within the House. v7-8 The Lord states emphatically that the Temple is His House and it is not to be defiled by men. He goes on to say that this Temple which He has just accepted will not ever be defiled by Israel again by their harlotry. It also makes it perfectly clear that the reason Judah was consumed, or destroyed, was because they defiled His name. v8 Regarding the thresholds, posts, and walls, a JPS translation footnote states: The south wall of the First Temple enclosure was also the north wall of the royal enclosure; the two communicated by the Gate of the Guard (2 Kings 11.19). Thus Temple and palace could be regarded as a single dwelling ("tent") in the sense of Num. 19.14, and the death of a king in the palace would defile the Temple. Hence the zoning provisions of 45.2 ff. One would tend to read this verse literally, but consider the figurative implications. The Lord is telling them not to ever connect the Temple and king's palace again. It was the various wicked kings of Judah like Ahaz and Manasseh who defiled the Temple horribly, forced the priests to sacrifice to idols, and lead the people into apostasy. Thus, the Lord wants a complete physical separation between the Temple and palace, but the implicit message is He also wants a spiritual separation as well. Especially when the king goes bad. v9 As a lead-in to the main theme of v. 10-12, the Lord tells them to abandon their former ways and then He will dwell among them forever. His dwelling among them forever would be accomplished by establishing a Temple among them forever, cf. Exod. 33:7. v10-12 are the main thesis of these Temple chapters. Ezekiel is to describe this ideal Temple to Judah and they are to ashamed at their present separation from the Temple (v. 10). If they are ashamed then they should take note of the designs and statutes Ezekiel documents and then do them (v. 11). The law concerning the House of the Lord is that it is entirely Holy, the structure and the precincts around it (v. 12). v11 This can be taken as a standing command to repent and build the described Temple. No time limit was imposed for fulfilment. Judah is presently separated from the Temple, thus the command is the same. I would assume the laws and ordinances referred to here are those of v. 18-27, and naturally those described in the Law of Moses as well. v12 As they had previously defiled the Temple precinct by the practices described in v. 7-8, the Lord commands them to completely exclude the profane. v13-27 then move to a description of the Temple altar (v. 13-17) and the attendant sacrifices (v. 18-27). v18-27 describe the consecration of the altar in terms very similar to those found in Lev. 1-4, but most especially that of Lev. 4 which recounts the sacrifices for sin offerings and atonement. The implicit message is the consecration of the altar in the Temple is an admission of sin on their part in that they brought about exile and therefore is an attempt at reconciliation with the Lord (v. 26). So, the Temple is a symbol of reconcilliation, agreeing with Solomon's statements in 1 Kings 8. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. 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