Ezekiel
41
(I would like to
preface this section by saying that this is way above me but
it is in God’s Word and must have a purpose –
I know that Moses was
commanded to make the tabernacle just like he was
told {Hebrews 8:5} and
that it had great symbolism and
significance. I say the same for
Solomon’s
temple and this one revealed to Ezekiel CY -
2009)
The present chapter continues the description of “the house,” and falls into
four subdivisions.
Ø
The interior of the
temple, or the holy and most holy places
(vs. 1-4);
Ø
the wall and the side
buildings (vs. 5-11);
Ø
the gizrah, or separate place (vs. 12-14);
Ø
the projecting portions of the temple building (vs. 15-26).
The Interior of
the Temple (vs. 1-4)
1 "Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured
the posts,
six cubits broad on
the one side, and six cubits broad on the other
side, which was the
breadth of the tabernacle. The temple. הַהֵיכָל frequently
applied to the whole building
(II Kings 24:13; II Chronicles 3:17; Jeremiah 50:28;
Haggai 2:15;
Zechariah 6:14-15), is here used of the nave of the temple, the
holy place, as distinguished from the holy of holies (compare I Kings 6:5,
17;
7:50). Schroder alone of
commentators holds by the extended meaning.
The measuring began from the east wall of the holy place. The posts
(אֵילִים), as in ch. 40:9, the corner
pillars on each side of the
entrance, measured six cubits broad, whereas those of the porch
measured
only five (ibid. v. 48). The
phrase, The breadth of the tabernacle;
or,
the tent (הָאהֶל), has occasioned difficulty. Hitzig,
Ewald, and Smend
propose to substitute for הַאֹהָל
the word הָאָיִל
(“post”), which might in
itself be unobjectionable, only no such device is required to
render the
clause intelligible. It is sufficient to understand the phrase as
signifying that
the
measurements noted had a special relation to the entire breadth of the
temple, here styled “tabernacle,”
or “tent,” to indicate the covered
portion
of
the edifice, which, in this respect, and in respect of its being the place of
meeting between Jehovah and
the
wilderness.
The New
Ezekiel is a priest (ch. 1:3). It
is natural that his thoughts should
run
on the lines of his professional occupations, and travel to the familiar
haunts of his old life. Thus we find that with him the picture of
the
restoration centers in a glorified temple, just as to Isaiah the
statesman of
war-times it appears as an era of unparalleled peace (Isaiah 11:6),
and
as
to Daniel the minister of a foreign court it appears as a kingdom
conquering the great world-empires (Daniel 7:27). The happy future is
so
rich and wide and manifold that it has room for all of these prophecies.
Each prophet may conceive it in his own style. We must
combine all their
various visions if we would gain anything like a complete idea of
its
character, and even then we shall fail, for “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God
hath
prepared for them that love him” (I Corinthians 2:9). Let us now
consider the special suggestiveness of the restored temple. We know
that a
new
temple was built on
large ideas concerning God’s great and perfect restoration of
His people.
- THE PRESENCE OF GOD. The
temple is more than a place of
assembly. It is a house in which
God dwells. The tabernacle in the
wilderness was called the “tent of meeting,” i.e. the
tent in which God
meets man. There is no temple in John’s new
Jerusalem, because GOD
FILLS THE WHOLE
CITY WITH HIS PRESENCE, i.e. the whole city
is a temple. The Christian Church is growing into a great, temple for the
dwelling of God. God dwells now in the midst of His people. This is
their highest privilege. The dwelling of God in heaven constitutes its bliss.
- HOLINESS. The temple was
sacred. It had its holy place reserved for
the priests, and its holy of holies into which only the high
priest could
enter, and he but once a year. Even the court of the
congregation was
strictly confined to Jews, and for a Gentile to enter it was
accounted a
dreadful profanation — as we see in the case of the attack of a mob
on
Paul, on the ground that he had
been a party to such a profanation
(Acts 21:28). Now God calls His
people to holy living. They are to be
all priests, with free access to His presence (Hebrews 4:16).
Their
holiness is to be real and spiritual, not ritual and ceremonial
like that of the
priests of
of her members. It is not the church that sanctifies the worshippers, but
the worshippers who sanctify the church.
- WORSHIP.
Ø There were sacrifices in the temple. Christ is our Sacrifice, and He is in
His Church.
The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper commemorates that one
supreme
sacrifice. We have now to offer our bodies as living (not slain)
sacrifices
(Romans 12:1).
Ø There was service in the temple. Levites as well as priests worked there.
It was a busy scene
of activity. Christ’s people are all
priests and Levites.
They are not
called to gaze at a spectacle, but to take an active part in the
work of
the Church.
Ø There
was praise in the temple. The sons of Korah and their later
representatives made its walls resound with loud, if not always with what
we should
call sweet, music. The
Christian life should be as a glad psalm
of praise.
2 "And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the
sides of the
door were five cubits
on the one side, and five cubits on the other
side: and he measured
the length thereof, forty cubits: and the
breadth, twenty
cubits." The breadth of the door, i.e.
of the opening from
the
porch, was ten cubits; whereas the door into the porch was eleven cubits
(ch.
40:49). This would have the effect of rendering the door into
the holy place more conspicuous. The sides (or, shoulders) of the door —
according to Kliefoth, “the side
walls,” from the door to the corner pillars;
according to Keil, the shoulders lay
behind the pillars — were five cubits
on the one side, and
five cubits on the other; i.e. were as
broad as the
posts of the porch. The
length of the holy place, forty cubits, and the
breadth, twenty, were the same as in the Solomonic structure. The entire
frontage of the holy place was 20 cubits of interior
breadth + 12 (2 x 6)
cubits, as breadth of pillars — 32 cubits; or, otherwise, 6
+ 6, for the two
pillars, 5 + 5 for the sides, and 10 for the door opening =
32 cubits in all.
3 "Then went he inward, and measured the post of the
door, two
cubits; and the door,
six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven
cubits." Then went he inward; i.e. into the most holy place. As this
could not be entered even by a priest, but only by the high
priest once a
year (Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16:17; Hebrews 9:7), Ezekiel
was
left without, while “the man”
announced to him in succession the
measurements of the adytum, as these were
taken. First, that of the post of
the door (the singular for the plural, meaning the post on either
side of the
doorway) two cubits. Next, that of the door itself, which
is given first as
six and second as seven cubits. Kliefoth and Keil
take the six as the height
and the seven as the breadth of the entrance into the holy
of holies; but as
no other measurement of height occurs throughout this
description, Dr.
Currey regards “six” as the distance from “post” to “post,” and
“seven” as
the actual width of the door, each post projecting half a
cubit beyond the
hinge of the door, which opened inward. Ewald
and Villalpandus, after the
Septuagint, read, “the entrance
six cubits and the flanks of the entrance seven
cubits;” and these figures, 7 + 6 + 7, certainly make up the
breadth of the
interior; only it is impossible to extract this meaning
from the Hebrew
without tampering with the text.
4 "So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and
the breadth,
twenty cubits, before
the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most
holy
place." The holy of holies was an exact square of twenty cubits, as
in
the
turned himself round, lay along the whole breadth of the temple
or holy place.
The
Holiness is an idea which admits of gradual precision and
elevation. There
is
a very simple and primitive meaning of the term, which it would ill
become us to despise and ridicule, inasmuch as it was preliminary
and
preparatory to a more spiritual conception. At the same time, we
should do
discredit to our Christian training did we not strive to rise to a
higher and
nobler conception of holiness than that which obtained among, and
was
sufficient for, a people in an early stage of spiritual culture. In
the temple
at
language of Ezekiel, the most holy
place. An effort may be made to reach
and
to explain the several ideas which together made up the peculiar
sanctity of the most
sacred place of the Jewish temple.
- THE PRIMITIVE SIGNIFICATION OF
HOLINESS IS
SEPARATION, AND THE
OFF AND SET APART FROM ALL AROUND. A purpose was served
by the distinction between the
sacred and the
profane — a distinction
which may, in the highest stage of spiritual culture, be
transcended. Men
have to be taught by their senses; and the separation of a
certain spot, a
certain building, a certain portion of a building, from all
around,
contributes to the formation of the idea of sanctity. This might not
be
necessary in a world where no sin exists; but in this world, where
sin has
reigned, and where sin still so largely prevails, the evil has
impressed itself
on men’s minds as normal, and the pure and Divine as exceptional.
Hence
the consecration of sites, and temples, oracles, and holy
places.
- THE
PEOPLE IN MORALITY AND IN TRUE RELIGION. The whole
ceremonial and sacrificial dispensation established by Moses, with
all the
observances of the Levitical Law, may justly
be regarded as instructive and
disciplinary, in the first place for
who looked upon the temple and its sanctuary could not but be
reminded
that here was the
peculiar dwelling-place of a holy God. The
degrees of
holiness attaching to the several parts of the sacred edifice,
culminating in
the sanctity of the most holy place, were fitted to elicit the spiritual
apprehensions, the reverence, the devotion, the penitence, of those
who felt
themselves in the presence
and under the training of the all-holy God. To a
certain extent every Israelite not specially disqualified might
draw near to
Jehovah; the priests were
suffered and required to approach still nearer to
the shrine; but the
high priest alone was permitted, and that only upon a
special occasion, to enter the most holy
place. Such arrangements and
provisions were admirably adapted to educate the Jewish people in the
idea
and in the practice of holiness.
- RECONCILIATION
BETWEEN A SINFUL NATION AND A
JUST AND PURE GOD WAS
EFFECTED THROUGH THE MEDIUM
OF THE
especially solemn and sacred service in which, upon the Day of
Atonement,
the high priest alone was suffered to take part as the representative
of the
people of the covenant. On that occasion the federal relation of
conspicuously set forth. To the pious Jew the contents of the holy of
holies, the vestments of the officiating high priest, the blood of atonement,
must all have possessed a very special and very sacred
interest. And that
interest centered in the idea of reconciliation
between JEHOVAH and the
chosen nation —
reconciliation rendered necessary by the sins of the
people, and by the perfectly
holy character, the perfectly righteous
government, of God.
Consecrated to this use, the inmost sanctuary was
naturally invested with a sacredness altogether unique.
- THE
COMMUNION BETWEEN
Reconciliation naturally led to
fellowship. The enlightened Jews doubtless
took a spiritual view of the Divine presence, and sympathized
with the
sublime language of Solomon at the dedication of the temple: “Will
God in
very deed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the
heaven of
heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have
built!”
(I Kings 8:27) Still, it was by means of this temple, its
priesthood and its
services, that the Jewish nation generally were, by Divine
appointment and
intention, made familiar with the possibility and privilege of fellowship with
THE ETERNAL! It was inculcated
upon them that such communion was
only possible in virtue of the
condescension and compassion of THE
MOST HIGH, and that there was needed on their part, in order to the
enjoyment of the privilege, a
peculiar preparation, a spiritual cleansing.
The thoughtful and devout Jew
learned, by means of the temple services,
to form such an idea of God as led him to seek a spiritual
discipline. He
knew that the sacrifices in themselves were insufficient,
and that the
sacrifices required by the Searcher of hearts were spiritual, consisting in:
Ø
humility,
Ø
penitence,
Ø
faith, and
Ø
obedience.
Those thus prepared might draw
near unto God, and God would draw
near unto them.
- THE
MEDIATION, SYMBOLIZES
THE MEDIATORIAL WORK OF
CHRIST. In order to understand the symbolical, and indeed typical,
character of the holy of holies, and of the ministration therein
performed by
the Jewish high priest, it is important to study the ninth
chapter of the
Epistle to the
Hebrews. In that portion of Scripture
is as authoritative and
lucid explanation of the spiritual
meaning of the central scenes and
observances of the Jewish economy. It is shown that the shadow was in
Christ superseded by the
substance, and that in the new and spiritual
dispensation we have the fulfillment of
ancient promise. The transactions
which, on the great Day of Atonement, took place within the holy of holies
prefigured and adumbrated the great events by which, not
humanity as a whole, was reconciled to JEHOVAH! For when Christ
expired upon the cross the veil of the temple was rent in twain
(Matthew
27:50-51); and thenceforth,
through the rent veil of Christ’s humanity:
Ø
THE WAY INTO THE
HOLIEST OF ALL WAS OPENED UP,
Ø
the alienation
of the human race from God was abolished; and,
Ø
perpetual
communion was provided between a gracious Father
and His restored and
accepted children.
The most holy place into which
through Christ
we have access is nothing
else than:
Ø
the favor,
Ø
the fellowship,
and,
Ø
the love of God.
Sacred Places (v. 4)
“This is the most holy place.” There has always dwelt in the minds of men
a
feeling that some places are peculiarly sacred. Unfortunately, there has
been no small amount of superstition connected with this feeling, which
should be discouraged in others and should be resisted in our own
case.
We should strongly insist upon the truth, and carefully
cultivate the
conviction, that if some places have a peculiar sanctity, it is that
“ever,
place may be holy ground “to us; that we may find God
everywhere and in
everything; that we may worship and serve Him in every sphere and on
all
occasions whatsoever. Still, the feeling rests on a basis of truth.
We know
that there was a “most holy place.”
- IN THE
into which none but the high priest might enter, and he only
once a year,
and then only with the blood of the slain goat. God might only
be
approached by men as they were purified from sin; and this the
careful
graduation of access to Him clearly symbolized. That inner chamber of
the
temple was the most sacred spot on earth, because there God
manifested
His presence
as nowhere else. But there were very
holy places indeed:
- IN THE LIFE OF OUR LORD. He
was the living
was with us; for was not God manifest in Him far more truly
and
importantly than He was present “between the cherubim” in the
luminous
cloud? There were three places which, in the experience of Jesus
Christ,
may be said to be “most holy”:
Ø
the upper room
in
to that sacred meal, and delivered that discourse of
priceless value
to mankind (John 14.);
Ø
the
and,
Ø
the “place
which is called
offered for the sins of the world.
- IN OUR OWN BUILDINGS NOW. We find such in those
sanctuaries or in those chambers which are closely associated with our
converse with THE MOST
HIGH. Apart from and
independent of any
act of formal
“consecration,” the place where we
gather together to worship
God, the place where we hold
holy and happy fellowship with Christ, the
place where we listen with eager mind and fervent spirit to His
Divine truth,
— this
is hallowed ground to us; these are sacred spots which we tread
reverently, where we feel near to God, which will always be
peculiarly dear
to our hearts.
- IN OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. There are certain very solemn
and sacred experiences through which the God of our life
“makes us to
pass, of which we may truly say that they are “most holy.” Of
these we
have instances in:
Ø The time of separation, of loneliness,
when we first find ourselves cast
upon God
for guidance and for fellowship.
Ø The day of desperate grief, of overwhelming sorrow, when men can do
nothing
for us, but God everything.
Ø The hour of very special privilege, when
we feel the nearness of Christ,
the excellency of His salvation, the power
of the world to come, the
influence of the Holy Spirit; when we feel that we stand before the open
gate of
the
Ø The occasion of great opportunity, when it
is in our power to make
some
great sacrifice for others or to render some valuable service to them
or to
speak faithfully and effectively for Jesus Christ.
The Wall and Side
Buildings (vs. 5-11)
5 "After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits;
and the breadth
of every side
chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every
side." The
measuring commenced with the wall of
the house, i.e.
with the outer wall, which, beginning at the pillars (v. 1), enclosed the
temple on its south, west, and north sides. Its great
thickness, six cubits,
corresponded with and even surpassed the colossal
proportions of
architecture in the ancient East. The walls of Solomon’s
temple, though
not mentioned in either Kings or Chronicles, could hardly
have been less
than four cubits thick (see I Kings 6:6), and were probably more
(Schurer). Like the Solomonic (ibid. vs.
5-10), the Ezekelian temple
had
side chambers, which, like those of the earlier
building, served as
storehouses for priests’ clothing, temple utensils, and temple
treasures
(I Kings 7:51; II Kings 11:2; II Chronicles 5:1), and
measured four cubits
broad in the clear.
6 "And the side chambers were three, one over another,
and thirty in
order; and they
entered into the wall which was of the house for the
side chambers round
about, that they might have hold, but they had
not hold in the wall
of the house." The side chambers were
three, one over
another, and thirty in
order; literally, side
chamber over side chamber, three and
thirty times; which means that they were ranged in
three stories of thirty each;
in
this, again, agreeing, as to number
and position, with the chambers in
Solomon’s temple (see Josephus, ‘
the text, as Bottcher, Hitzig, Havernick, and Ewald propose to do, in order
to
make it read, with the Septuagint, “chamber
against chamber, thirty and
(this) three times,” on the ground that אֵל and not עַל is the preposition,
because in Ezekiel אֵל often stands for עַל (ch. 18:6; 31:12; 40:2). How
the chambers were arranged along the three sides is not
stated; but most
likely there were twelve threes on each of the longer
sides, the north and
the south, and six threes on the shorter or western side.
Like the chambers
in
Solomon’s temple (I Kings 6:6). those in Ezekiel’s were not
fastened to “the wall of the
house,” i.e. of the temple proper; the only
question is whether they were built against the temple
wall, as Kliefoth,
Keil, Smend, and Schroder
suppose, or, as Ewald and Dr. Currey
seem to
think, against another wall, five cubits thick (v. 9), which ran
parallel to
the temple wall, and which, having been built expressly for
the support of
the
side chambers, might properly enough be said to be “of the house,” i.e.
belonging to it. In the former case the chambers would
doubtless be
fastened to the temple wall by means of “ledges,” “holds,”
“rebates,” as in
the
be “a light passage between the wall of the house and the
side chambers
around.”
7 "And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still
upward to
the side chambers:
for the winding about of the house went still
upward round about the
house: therefore the breadth of the house
was still upward,
and so increased from the lowest chamber to the
highest by the
midst." In the side chambers an
enlarging took place as
they went up, i.e. the
floorage of the second story exceeded that of the first,
and
the floorage of the third that of the
second; though how this was effected
can only be
conjectured. If the chambers were built against the temple wall,
then probably the wall at each story went in, say a cubit
or a cubit and a
half from the outside, so as to admit the beams; or, if the
chambers were
built against an outside wall, a similar recession of the
wall from the inside
may have taken place. In either ease, the (interior) breadth of the house,
i.e. of the side
chambers, would be upward, and would increase from the
lowest chamber to the highest by the midst. Plumptre, after Kliefoth,
suggests that the increasing size of the chambers in the
three stories may
have been due to projecting galleries. Ewald,
taking “house” as “the
temple,” supposes that it gradually became bigger. i.e. broader,
as it rose,
which could be the case only if the side chambers were
built against the
temple wall, and the increased width of the stories was
scoured By
projecting galleries or corridors. Greater obscurity
attaches to the second
clause, and a winding about
still upward to the side chambers,
which
the Authorized Version and some expositors regard as an
indication that
Ezekiel’s temple had a spiral staircase like that in
Solomon’s temple (see
I Kings 6:8); and probably some such mode of passing from
story to
story did exist in Ezekiel’s temple; yet the clause, when
properly rendered,
does not refer to this. The Revised Version reads, “And the
side chambers
were broader as they encompassed the house higher
and higher; for the
encompassing of the house went higher and higher round
about the house;
therefore the breadth of the house continued upward;
and so one went up
(most likely by a spiral stair) from the lowest chamber to
the highest by the
middle chamber.”
8 "I saw also the height of the house round about: the
foundations of
the side chambers
were a full reed of six great cubits."
explains that “the house” did not stand upon the level ground, but,
like many temple buildings in antiquity (see Schurer, in Riehm’s
‘Handworterbuch,’ art. “Tern. pel
basement (Revised Version) — round about, which agrees with the
statement in ch. 40:49 that the temple was
approached by means of
a stair. In consequence of this, the foundations of the
side chambers were a
full reed of six great
cubits; or, of six cubits
to the joining (Revised
Version); “six cubits to the story” (Ewald);
literally, six cubits to the
armpit. This can
hardly mean six cubits each equal to the distance from the
elbow to the wrist, which would be a new definition of the
length of the
reed; but as Havernick and Kliefoth propose, must be taken as an
architectural term indicative of the point where one
portion of the building
joined on to another. Accordingly, by most interpreters the
six cubits are
considered to be a statement of the height of the ceiling
above the floor in
each story, which would give an elevation of eighteen
cubits for the three
stories; but probably they mark only the height of the
temple and side
chamber basis above the ground. Kliefoth
includes both views, and obtains
an altitude of twenty-four cubits from the ground to the
temple roof.
9 "The thickness of the wall, which was for the side
chamber without,
was five cubits: and
that which was left was the place of the side
chambers that were
within." The thickness of the wall,
which was for the side
chambers on the outside, is next mentioned as having been five cubits, i.e. the
same as the
breadth of the wall of the porch (ch. 40:48), but one
cubit
thinner than that of the temple (v. 5). The clause which follows
is
obscure. By that which was left,
the Authorized and Revised Versions
understand the place of the
side chambers that were within — or, that
belonged to the house (Revised
Version) — without intending to assert
that the whole space left, which was five cubits (v. 11), was occupied by
the
side chambers, which were only four cubits broad (v. 5). Accepting
these measurements, Kliefoth and Keil regard the free space as a walk of
five cubits broad on the outside of the side chambers. Ewald, and Dr.
Currey, in the ‘Speaker’s Commentary,’ place the five cubits
between the
temple wall and the side chambers.
10 "And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty
cubits round
about the house on
every side. Ewald and Smend, following the
Septuagint,
combine vs.; 9 and 10
thus: “And that which was left between the side chambers
of
the house and the cells (along the
inner court wall) was twenty cubits round
about the house on
every side.” Interpreters who reject this combination of the
verses explain
v. 10 as a statement of the distance between the outside wall of
the side chambers and the cells of the inner court. Between
the two lay the
wideness of twenty cubits; i.e. a free space of such breadth on the north,
south, and west sides of the house.
11 "And the doors of the side chambers were toward the
place that was
left, one door toward
the north, and another door toward the south:
and the breadth of
the place that was left was five cubits round about."
The place that was
left has been differently explained
(see
above on v. 9); but on any hypothesis the side chambers opened
on the
free space towards the north and towards the south, g.s. one row of
chambers was entered by a door from the south, another by a
door from
the north. The corridor into which the chambers opened —
whether
between them and the house (Ewald,
Currey) or between them and an
outside wall (Kliefoth, Hengstenberg, Keil) — was five
cubits broad. Thus
the
whole breadth of the temple court can be obtained.
- The breadth of the court —
Ø
Breadth of the house
….……………….20 cubits
Ø
Breadth of wall………...
6 × 2 cubits = 12 cubits
Ø
Breadth of chambers, …..4 × 2 cubits =
8 cubits
Ø
Breadth of chamber
wall, 5 × 2 cubits = 10 cubits
Ø
Breadth of corridor,
…… 5 × 2 cubits = 10 cubits
Ø
Breadth of free space,
…20 × 2 cubits = 40 cubits
Total ... 100
cubits
- The length of the court —
Ø
The length of the house .... 60 cubits
Ø
The temple wall
…………....6 cubits
Ø
The chambers ………………4
cubits
Ø
The chamber wall
………….5 cubits
Ø
The corridor……………….. 5
cubits
Ø
The space towards the
west 20 cubits
Total ...
100 cubits
The “house” was thus one hundred cubits
square. The porch of the
house was reckoned as belonging to the inner court (ch. 40:48).
The
12 "Now the building that was before the separate place
at the end
toward the west was
seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was
five cubits thick
round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits."
The building that was before the separate
place. The word
הַגּזְרָה, occurring only in this chapter, and translated “separate place,” is
derived from a root signifying to “cut off,” and
here denotes a space behind
the temple on the west, which was marked off from the rest
of the ground
on which the temple with its courts and chambers stood, and
devoted most
likely to less sacred purposes. Behind Solomon’s temple lay
a similar space
(II Kings 23:11; I Chronicles 26:18), with buildings upon
it and a
separate way out; and as the name gizrah
appears to convey the notion of
something that required to be kept apart and removed from
the sacred
precincts, the opinion of Kliefoth
is probably correct that “this space with
its buildings was to be used for the reception of all
refuse, sweepings, all
kinds of rubbish — in brief, of everything that was
separated or rejected
when the holy service was performed in the temple, and that
this was the
reason why it received the name of ‘the separate place.’ The dimensions
of
this building were:
Ø
the breadth, seventy
cubits;
Ø
the length, ninety
cubits;
Ø
the thickness of the wall, five cubits round about.
Solidity (v. 12)
“The wall of the building was five cubits thick.” This suggests a solid
structure.
- THE STRUCTURE OF SALVATION IS SOLID.
The temple was
strong as a castle. Indeed, it was used as a fortress in the time
of the
Roman siege of
foe. The
fortress, built upon a strong foundation, and strongly protected by the
presence of God. (“Salvation will He appoint for walls and bulwarks.”
Isaiah 26:1) We need not fear for our spiritual
shelter. It will not be
blown away with every wind of doctrine. What Christ has done for us
will stand the hardest strain.
- THE STRUCTURE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS
SOLID. There
are, indeed, some Christian people whose faith seems to be no
better than
the flimsiest summer tent, quite unfit to stand against the
least gale of
doubt, temptation, or trouble. But he who is really and earnestly
endeavoring to live the Christian life by the grace of God will find
that,
though he is weak, God can make him
strong, and build up his spiritual
life into a vigor at which the man himself may well be
surprised.
- THE STRUCTURE OF TRUTH IS SOLID.
There is a great deal in
men’s opinions of religion that will need to be swept away by
widening
knowledge. But this is not truth. As soon as a real fact is reached,
no
granite from
our feet touch the rock, and when we build up our teachings
out of truths
they must stand. “Truth is
great, and it must prevail.”
- THE STRUCTURE OF GOOD WORK IS SOLID.
Here is the test by
which to reveal showy, worthless work, and to distinguish it
from that
which is of real value. There are men
who build on the right foundation,
and yet only pile up
wood, hay, and stubble. Their work
will be burnt,
though they themselves will be saved (I Corinthians 3:12-15). But
when a man with an honest heart toils unpretentiously to build
up what is
real and true — to better society, to spread the gospel by it —
all on the
foundation of Christ, he
may rest assured that his work will stand. Such
work is solid.
- THE
shocks and dangers — temptations and persecutions. Still she
endures.
Philosophies, social systems,
and political movements have risen and
fallen. But the
the
rivals in thought and social movements in the present day.
- HEAVEN IS
SOLID. It is no vague cloudland. Christ
spoke of His
Father’s house (John 14:1). Paul
contrasted the house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens, with the present
temporary tabernacle
of the earthly body (II
Corinthians 5:1). The writer to the Hebrews
shows us Abraham looking “for a
city which hath foundations,
whose
Builder and Maker
is God” (Hebrews 11:10).
13 "So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and
the separate place,
and the building,
with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long;
14 Also
the
breadth of the face of the
house, and of the separate place toward the east,
an hundred
cubits." Thus the whole breadth of
this erection was seventy plus
ten, or eighty cubits; which, with ten cubits of free space
on the north and
south sides, make a hundred cubits in all. Its whole length
was ninety plus
ten, or a hundred cubits. The entire area was thus once
more a hundred
cubits square. At this point, again, a convenient estimate
of the whole
dimensions of the temple area may be made.
- The breadth of the area from west to east —
Ø
The separate place
(including walls)………………………. 100 cubits
Ø
The “house” (with free
space behind)……………………... 100 cubits
Ø
The inner court
…………………………………………….. 100 cubits
Ø
The outer court (the
two gates with space between them) … 200 cubits
Total ... 500 cubits
- The length of the area from north to south —
Ø
The outer court (the
two northern gates with spaces
between them)……………………………………….. 200 cubits
Ø
The “house” (with free
space on both sides)……….. 100 cubits
Ø
The outer court (the two
southern gates with distance
between them)
........................................................... 200 cubits
Total…500
cubits
The Projecting Portions of the Temple Building (vs. 15-26)
15 "And he measured the length of the building over
against the
separate place which was
behind it, and the galleries thereof on the
one side and on the
other side, an hundred cubits, with the inner
temple, and the porches
of the court;" With this verse begins a summary of
measurements of which some
have been already given, while others are new.
Starting from the gizrah, or separate place, this summary mentions that the
“man” measured:
Ø
the whole length of
the erection;
Ø
the length of its “galleries” on the north and south
sides; and
Ø
the inner temple with the porches of the court.
The length of the separate place is not stated, that having
been already
done (v. 13). The length of the galleries is specified as a hundred cubits,
which shows they extended along the whole side of the
building. As for the
nature of these “galleries,” or אַתִּקִים, nothing can be ascertained from the
derivation of the word. The Septuagint renders it in this
verse by ἀπόλοιπα -
apoloipa - things left over) in ch. 42:3 and 5 by περίστυλα – peristula - and
στοαί - stoai - the
Vulgate has here ethecas,
the Hebrew Latinized, and in
ch. 42. portions. The ethekim were most likely passages or porches
running
along both (north and south)
sides of the building, and supported either by
pillars or ledges in the wall. The
inner temple, which was measured, was the
“house” which stood
between the gizrah and the inner court; the porches
of the court were the gate buildings in the inner and outer
courts. Of all
these the dimensions have already been reported, and are
not again
rehearsed.
16 "The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the
galleries round
about on their three
stories, over against the door, ceiled with wood
round about, and from
the ground up to the windows, and the
windows were
covered; 17 To that above the door, even unto the inner
house, and without,
and by all the wall round about within and without,
by measure." These two verses introduce several new details.
(1) That the
door-posts (rather, thresholds), and the narrow (or, closed)
windows, and the galleries round about on their three
stories, were covered
with a wainscoting of wood from the ground up to the
windows.
(2) That the
windows, whether openings on the first floor (Kliefoth)
or
skylights in the roof (Hengstenberg), were
“covered,”
which may signify,
as Ewald and Plumptre
think, that they were not left open, but protected by
a lattice-work of bars or planks; or, as Currey suggests, that they were
wainscoted as well as the space from the ground to the
windows.
(3) That nothing was
constructed by caprice or at random, but that all
about the building proceeded by exact measurement.
18 "And it was made with cherubims
and palm trees, so that a palm
tree was between a
cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two
faces; 19 So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the
one
side, and the face of
a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side:
it was made through
all the house round about. 20 From the ground unto
above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of
the
temple." As in Solomon’s temple (I Kings 6:29), the
wainscoting was adorned with artistic carving of cherubim and palm
trees, a palm tree and a cherub standing alternately. Each cherub
had two
of its four faces exhibited (since four could not be
conveniently represented
on a plain surface) — a man’s face (symbolizing the
rational creation)
directed towards the palm tree on one side, and a young
lion’s face
(symbolizing the irrational creation) turned towards the
palm tree on the
other side. This particular style of ornamentation was
employed from the
ground unto above the
door, which Plumptre interprets as an indication
of the height of the palm trees and cherubic figures, but
which probably
meant the same thing as the preceding clause, “through-
all the house
round about.” Cherubic
figures formed part of the adornment of the
tabernacle curtains (Exodus 26:1; 36:8). (On the nature of the
cherubim and their symbolic significance, see ch.
1:5-10.)
Cherubims and Palm Trees (v. 18)
Ezekiel is here in the midst of his favorite imagery. But
as there were no
palm trees in the old tabernacle of the wilderness, nor in Solomon’s temple,
why
does the prophet plant them among his cherubim?
- THE FUTURE WILL BE VICTORIOUS.
The old times were times of
darkness, fear, difficulty, and strife. Even yet we are not out of the noise of
the battle, and perhaps a more fierce conflict is gathering. But beyond all
these is the peace of Divine victory assured to the
servants of Christ. This
was anticipated by the exultant Galilaeans,
who spread palm branches
before our Lord as He rode up to
trees should encourage patience and inspire energy. A splendid
future is
before us; let us, then, press on with undimmed hope.
Ø The
palm tree is lofty. It
shoots straight up and towers above the plain, a
graceful
and a conspicuous object. The happy future will be exalted and
heavenly.
Ø The
palm tree bears all its fruit on its summit. It is a high, bare pillar,
crowned
with fruit and foliage. Men must climb to reach its treasures. The
victory
of Christian experience is not for those who grovel in earthly
mindedness. (“Set your affection on things above, not on
things on
the earth.”
(Colossians
3:2)
Ø The
palm flourishes in the desert. It is the one fruitful tree of the desert.
The victory of
Christ over Satan was obtained amidst outward darkness
and
despair. His future victory over all evil may be among discouraging
external
signs. We need not despair of the human desert if the palm of
Christ is
there.
Ø The
palm tree requires water for its nourishment. It will not grow in the
sandy
wastes of the
supplies of the water of life.
- THE VICTORY OF THE FUTURE WILL BE DIVINE.
The palm
tree is in the temple, planted among the heavenly cherubim. It
is a bit of
nature surrounded with things never found in nature. Christ’s
kingdom
grows upon earth. The people of God are to flourish like the
palm tree
(Psalm 92:12). But this prosperity is no mere natural growth of wild
humanity; neither is it the cultivated product of secular education. The
palm tree is not in the well-pruned and tended garden, but in
the temple.
It is through religion that we
are led on by Christ to victory.
Ø There is the conquest of evil. The palm tree is planted by the place of
sacrifices
— in the temple. We can only hope for a good future when the
wrongs
and sins of mankind, which are its greatest evils, are overcome.
Ø There
is dedication to God. The palm tree grows in a holy place. We
must be
devoted to God if we would enjoy His smile and favor. The highest
glory
will crown the work of the most devoted servant of Christ. At the
monastery
of Mar Saba, in the wilderness of the
grows on a
shelf of the rock high up a wild, barren cliff, and yet flourishes
there and
bears fruit, because — as the monks say — it springs from a
date-stone
sown by the saint who founded the monastery. True saints will
grow
palms of victory from the hardest lives.
The Significance of the Cherubim (vs. 18-20)
Among the difficulties that attend this question, it seems
clear that these
composite forms were intended either to represent the human or the
angelic, not the Divine. The idea of any artistic representation of the Divine
Being in a Hebrew temple is surely quite inadmissible (Deuteronomy
4:15-17).
Making our choice, then, between the human and the angelic,
we distinctly
prefer the former, and think that the general idea is that man,
when raised to
the
highest conceivable condition, when possessed of the greatest variety of
powers, should bring
everything he has and is TO THE WORSHIP AND
SERVICE OF GOD! The fact that, in Ezekiel’s vision, the cherubim had
so
large a share in the ornamentation, “made through all the house round
about,” suggests the
very close connection there should be between the
finest and highest powers of man and the worship of God.
In
other places
(see ch.1.) we
have a far fuller description of these “living ones,” and there
we
have the idea not only of “peerless strength and majesty” suggested by
the
“face
of a young lion” (v. 19), but also of patient, productive
labor
(the ox), and of penetrating
vision (the eagle); while the thought of swift
motion is conveyed both by the wings and the wheels of the prophet’s
former
vision. Conceive man at
his very best, endowed generally with such powers
as he is never or rarely possessed of now; add to those
capacities which he
does enjoy those which are borrowed from other nonhuman
spheres; and as
he would then be, thus invested, thus enlarged and crowned, the fitting
thing
would be for him to be found in the temple, BLESSING AND
PRAISING
GOD! This
is so, in several aspects and for many reasons.
- IT IS HIS MOST SACRED AND BOUNDEN DUTY. For however
high in dignity man may rise, and to whatever commanding
faculty he may
attain, it is certain that:
Ø He will always owe everything he may be or
may possess TO THE
CDREATIVE
POWER OF GOD and
that:
Ø He will be dependent on the providential
goodness of God for their
continuance. Thus gratitude and hope should bring him to the sanctuary, to
bless God
for bestowing them upon him, and to ask Him to sustain and to
enlarge
them.
- IT IS HIS TRUEST AND HIGHEST HONOR. There are many
engagements by which man does some honor to his human nature; e.g.
conversing, reading, discussing, meditating, planning, learning,
executing
works of art, composing works of literature, etc. But never does
he confer
such honor on himself as when
he is worshipping God; then the life of the
“living one” reaches its very highest point. To come
consciously into the
near presence of God, to hold communion with the Eternal, to hymn his
praise, to dwell in thought upon His nature and His high
purposes, to speak
His Divine truth or hear it, to
work with Him toward the gracious and
glorious end He has in view, — there is nothing we can do, here or perhaps
hereafter, so worthy of, so honorable to, our human nature. Man reaches
the very summit of his manhood when he is engaged in
worshipping God.
- IT IS THE SOURCE OF THE PUREST AND
MOST EXALTING
JOY. Of all sources
of delight, beginning with the sensuous and rising to
the spiritual, there can be none purer or more ennobling than
this.
- IT BRINGS
DOWN A LARGE SHARE OF DIVINE BLESSING.
21 "The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of
the
sanctuary; the appearance
of the one as the appearance of the other."
The posts of the
temple were squared; literally, as for
the
temple the doorposts were
squared, or “the sanctuary post work of square
form” (Keil). The remaining
clauses ought to read as in the Revised
Version, “As for the face of the sanctuary, the appearance thereof
was as
the appearance of the temple,” the sanctuary being
the holy of holies as
distinguished from the holy place or the house as a whole,
The precise
force of the last words, the
appearance as the appearance,
is supposed
by Kliefoth and Keil to be that the sanctuary door, like that of the
temple,
had square pests; by Ewald, that
it appeared to be what it really was; by
Plumptre, that the appearance was like that he (Ezekiel) had
formerly
described: by Currey, that the
appearance in this vision was the same as in
the
other visions, and as in the actual temple (compare ch.
43:2).
Something can be said for each of these attempts to
elucidate a dark
phrase. Smend and Hitzig, follow the Septuagint in connecting the last clause
of
v. 21 with v. 22 in this fashion, “And in front of the holy place was an
appearance like the sight of a wooden altar.”
22 "The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the
length thereof two
cubits; and the corners
thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof,
were of wood: and he
said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD."
The
altar. This was the altar of incense (Exodus 30:1, etc.), which
stood in the
holy place in contradistinction to the altar of burnt offering, which was
located in
the
outer court. The altar of burnt offering in Solomon’s temple was of brass
(II Chronicles 4:1), and in the tabernacle of shittim wood (Exodus 27:1); the
altar of incense in the tabernacle (Exodus 30:1) and in
Solomon’s temple
(I Kings 7:48) was constructed of wood overlaid with gold,
but in this temple
only of wood. Plumptre, commenting on this, writes,
“Possibly Ezekiel shared
the
feelings of Daniel (9:25), that the rebuilding would be ‘in troublous times,’
and
did not contemplate an abundance of gold as likely to be the outcome
of the scant offerings of an impoverished people.” The
dimensions of this
altar in the tabernacle were two cubits high and one cubit
long and broad;
in the Solomonic temple, though
not stated, they were probably the same
as in the tabernacle; in Ezekiel’s temple they were three
cubits high, two
cubits long (and probably two cubits broad). The corners of the altar
were most likely “the horns, or horn-shaped points
projecting at the
cornets.” The length. Ewald, Keil, Smend, and others, after
the Septuagint,
change into “base,” “stand,” or “pedestal,” on the ground
that the length
has been already mentioned, and that one does not usually
speak of a
length being of wood; but it does not strike one as
peculiarly objectionable
to say that the altar had corner pieces, a length, and
walls (or sides) of
wood, meaning thereby to intimate that it was wholly
constructed of
timber. When the prophet’s attention had been directed to
it, the guide who
accompanied him observed, This
is the table that is before the Lord,
not
because, as Bottcher conjectured,
the altar was regarded as including the
table of showbread, but because in the Law the offerings
laid upon the altar
had
been spoken of as the bread of God (Malachi 1:7); and because in this
vision table and altar appear to be used interchangeably (see ch. 44:16).
The
Table that is Before the Lord (v. 22)
There can be no question that by this table Ezekiel intends
the altar of
incense, which stood in the holy place, but which, on account of
its
sacredness and value, is mentioned by the author of the Epistle to
the
Hebrews as part of the furniture of the
holy of holies. This altar in the
tabernacle was of acacia wood covered with gold; that in the temple
of
Solomon was of cedar wood covered with the same pure and
costly metal.
Upon this table was burned, every morning and evening, the
incense which
represented the devotions of
of
the altar of incense were touched with the blood of sacrifice. But as no
sacrifice, in the strict meaning of that term, was offered upon it,
it seems
appropriately designated “the table that is before the Lord.”
Remembering
the
symbolical intention of the offering of incense as described in the
Apocalypse, we cannot fail to understand by this table the
appointment that
prayer and praise, as
an acceptable offering to God, should ever be presented
by
the Church through the priestly mediation of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
- A SPIRITUAL OFFERING. The
costly and fragrant incense had value
in the sight of God, as representing the spiritual sacrifices
with which He is
ever well pleased. Prayer is not
only natural to man as a needy and
dependent being; it is enjoined
by God as an exercise profitable to man and
as the wisely ordained means of securing spiritual and
promised blessings.
Thanksgiving and
praise are becoming to those who are ever
receiving
from Heaven more than they
desire or deserve. We are not to
understand
merely verbal offerings, but those which proceed from a devout,
grateful,
confiding, and affectionate heart.
(“My son, give me thine heart” –
Proverbs 23:26)
- AN APPOINTED OFFERING. In Exodus 30 we find minute directions
concerning the presentation as well as the preparation of incense.
This
service was not an invention of man; it was prescribed by Divine
authority.
In the Church it is God’s will that there should be constant
presentation
of devotion — “incense and a pure offering” (Malachi
1:11). From
the
altar of Christian hearts such sacrifices are to ascend to heaven. God
will be “inquired of” by his people (ch. 36:37). “Whoso offereth praise
glorifieth God.” (Psalm 50:23)
- AN ACCEPTABLE OFFERING. We have abundant testimony in
Scripture to
the Lord’s indifference to the merely material gifts of men. If
such gifts are not the expression of faith and loyalty, He
disdains and rejects
them. But, on the other hand, nothing is more clearly revealed
in Scripture
than the delight of
the Supreme in the offering of true and
loving and
reverent hearts. This is a “sweet-smelling savor” to Him.
“Vainly we
offer each ample oblation,
Vainly with gifts would His favor secure;
Sweeter by
far is the heart’s adoration,
Dearer to God are the prayers of the
poor.”
- A PERPETUAL OFFERING. Incense was offered by the Jewish
priest daily — every morning and every evening. Not less frequent
should
be the offering of prayer and praise by God’s people-in the
Church and in
the home, above all in the heart. There
is no cessation of God’s favors;
there should be no cessation of our thanksgivings. There is no intermission
of our needs; there should be no interruption of our prayers.
“Pray
without
ceasing.” (I Thessalonians 5:17)
- A HEAVENLY OFFERING. It is
observable that the one altar
mentioned in the Book of the Revelation as existing in the celestial
temple
is the altar of incense. The purpose of sacrifice is answered
and
accomplished upon earth. There remains no
more offering for sin. In
heaven, accordingly, is no altar of sacrifice. But the altar of
incense is
imperishable. From it ascend immortally the praises and the prayers of
the redeemed and
glorified. In heaven FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
is never suspended; there harps are never unstrung and voices are never
silent.
23"And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
24 And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves;
two
leaves for the one
door, and two leaves for the other door.
25 And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple,
cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the
walls; and
there were thick
planks upon the face of the porch without.
26 And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one
side
and on the other
side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side
chambers of the house, and
thick planks." The doors
of the temple and of
the sanctuary form the next subject for description. Again as
in the Solomonic
edifice (I Kings 6:31,
etc.), the holy place and the holy of holies had two doors;
i.e. each had one door composed of two turning
(or, folding) leaves, ornamented,
like the walls of the house, with carvings of cherubim and
palms. On the
face of the porch without were thick
planks, by which Ewald understands
“foliage” or “leafwork,” but
which, with greater likelihood, were either as
Keil renders, “moldings of wood” for the threshold; or
“cornices,” as
Kliefoth translates; if not, as Smend
suggests, projecting beams to afford
shelter to one standing in the porch; or as Hengstenberg and Plumptre say,
“steps.” The last verse states that narrow or closed (as in
v. 16) windows
admitted light into the porch, while carvings of palm trees
adorned its walls
on each side. The cherubic figures, Plumptre
hints, were absent, because
the porch was a place of less sanctity than the temple. Hengstenberg notes
that the words, “thick planks,” “thick beams,” or “steps,”
as he translates,
fitly close this description, “as placing the extreme east
over against the
extreme west with which it began.”
The Significance of the Palm Trees (vs. 18-20, 25)
The cherubim and the palm trees were closely associated;
both were largely
represented, and they were found in close conjunction: “a palm tree
was
between a cherub and a cherub.” Both of them pictured the
righteous man
in
the sanctuary of God, but while the cherub signified the good man at his
best bringing himself and all that he had as an offering to God, the palm
tree stood for the good man as one who had been made what he was by the
services of the sanctuary; the one was enlarged and ennobled
humanity
bringing its offering to God, the other was that same humanity
gaining its
goodness and worth from God and from His house. “The
righteous shall
flourish like the palm tree,” said the psalmist (Psalm 92:12). And there
is
very good reason why that tree should be taken as a type or picture of
the
righteous man; there is also excellent reason why the prominence of the
palm tree in the prophet’s vision should picture the truth that man’s
goodness is the fair and excellent result of MUCH COMMUNION
WITH GOD! Among
the resemblances are these:
- ITS
UPRIGHTNESS. Some trees are irregular, they are twisted and
tortuous in their growth; some hug the ground before they rise; but
the
palm rises straight toward heaven, it stands upright among the
trees. “Like
some tall palm the noiseless fabric grew.” The good man
is well figured
here; he is the man who does not stoop, who does not bend and
bow
earthward, who stands erect, who moves in one heavenward direction,
who is governed constantly by true and abiding principles. And
these he
gains from God and from His house. There, in the sanctuary, he
is sustained
in his principles, is reminded of them, gains fresh
inspiration to illustrate
and adorn them.
- ITS FRUITFULNESS.
The palm, as a fruit-bearing tree, bearing a fruit
which is remarkably nutritious — for the date will sustain life
for a long
time, without any other kind of food — is an admirable picture
of the
righteous man. He bears fruit; he is expected to “bear
much fruit,”
(John 15:5) and fruit of many kinds:
excellency of spirit, — love, joy,
peace, long-suffering,
etc.; worthiness
of life, — consistency,
blamelessness,
practical kindness, etc.; earnest
effort to do good, — patient, prayerful
endeavor to awaken the slumbering, to elevate the fallen, to comfort
the sorrowful, to encourage
the feeble, etc. And if he does this, it can
only
be by having much to do with
Jesus Christ his Lord. He must be a branch
abiding in the vine (ibid.); he must maintain a very close
spiritual connection
with Christ; and how shall he do this without the
ordinances of His house?
- ITS BEAUTY. The palm tree lends a great charm to the landscape
when seen standing in clusters upon the heights against the
sky; and its
evergreen foliage makes each particular tree an object of beauty.
The
righteous man is he whose character is fair, excellent, admirable. When he
is what his Master calls on him to be, and what he actually
becomes when
he seeks the strength and refreshment to be found in communion with God,
then the more he is observed the more he is admired. Those qualities are
found in him which are “lovely and of good report” (Philippians
4:8);
he is unselfish, pure, considerate, open-handed, patient,
brave, loyal, loving.
His goodness, like the foliage of the
palm, grows not near the ground, where
it can easily be soiled and lost, but high up, where lower things cannot
damage or destroy it.
- ITS ELASTICITY. The fiber of the palm is so elastic that, even
when
loaded with considerable weights, it still grows determinately
upwards (see
Smith’s
‘Dictionary of the Bible’). The good
man may have much to
depress him and to hamper his growth, but if he “dwells
in the house of the
Lord,” he will rise, notwithstanding all that would otherwise check him, to
a noble height of virtue and of piety.
- ITS ULTIMATE TRIUMPH. It does not promise much at the
beginning. “It is rough to the touch and enveloped in dry bark, but
above it
is adorned with fruit… so is the life of the elect, despised
below, beautiful
above;… down below straitened by innumerable afflictions, but on
high it
is expanded into a foliage… of beautiful greenness” (see II Corinthians
4:17; Hebrews 12:11).
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