The Glory Returns to the Temple, 1-12

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.

In ch. 11, Elijah saw a vision of God’s glory departing from the temple.  Now, that same glory has returned, through the eastern door (v4).

Faithful Israelites always knew that God’s presence could not be localised (2 Chron 6:18).  The temple represents, but does not limit, that presence (Ezek 11:16).

When Jesus being brought to the temple for dedication, Simeon describes him as ‘the glory of your people Israel’ (Lk 2:32).  John 1:14 says, ‘We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth’.  When Jesus overturned the tables of the traders in the temple, he wasn’t simply offering a dramatic critique of their business motives and methods: he was bringing the entire sacrificial system to a halt.  In the discussion which follows, he describes his own body as ‘this temple’ (Jn 2:19-21).

The temple seen by Ezekiel in his vision points forward to Christ, the perfect dwelling place of God, the perfect temple.  And it points forward to those who are in Christ, who are themselves ‘temples of the Holy Spirit’, Col 1:27; 1 Cor 6:19f.

The Altar, 13-27

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. 43:27 When the prescribed period is over, on the eighth day and thereafter the priests will offer up on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings; I will accept you, declares the sovereign LORD.”