Day #253

Sermon - Audio
Ezekiel 42-43
- Audio
Ezekiel 42-43 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Ezekiel 42

1-14 = Chambers of the Outer Court. Ezekiel is led to the outer court and describes the construction of the chambers in the perimeter wall of the court’s north area (vv. 1–9). Clearly the same arrangement is meant to be mirrored in vv. 10–12, although it appears that south is more likely the original reading in v. 10, following the Septuagint, rather than the Hebrew text’s “east.” The functions of these rooms are explained in vv. 13–14. They are to serve as sacristies, that is, rooms for the use of the priests to prepare for the exercise of their duties.

15-20 = Exterior Measurements. Finally, Ezekiel and his guide return to the place where they began, the main east gate to the temple complex (15; cf. 40:5–6). Starting there, and proceeding counterclockwise, the external dimensions are measured as 500 cubits by 500 cubits square (roughly 830 feet/253 m). The numbers of the internal dimensions, with fifties and hundreds featuring prominently, yield these ideal and perfect dimensions. The sacredness of the entire domain is emphasized by the closing comment, that the wall separates the holy and the common.

Ezekiel 43

3 - Vision of destroying the city (chapters 8-11). Chebar canal (chapters 1-3).

3 - "fell on face" - This is a popular expression when people behold God's glory (Moses, Isaiah, etc)

5 - God's presence was once again filling the temple.

6 - This is two separate men in this sequence.

6-9 - The framework, in v7 and 9, interprets the vision in terms of Yahweh’s immanence among his people, never to leave again. The verb “live” recalls the tabernacle: the sovereign God, who moved where he willed, was graciously to settle in the new temple, his wanderings over. -WBC-

6-12 - God’s return sets everything right again, but there is no relenting from the rigorous demands his holiness places on his people. Verses 7–9 combine promise and warning—or, the promise is a warning—that the bond between God and people is indissoluble (I will dwell … forever, v. 7) but that he will not tolerate the challenge to his supremacy that their earlier behavior had brought (vv. 8–9). The serious point about the architecture of this temple (v. 10) is that no royal palace is adjoined to it, in contrast to Solomon’s temple/palace complex (see 1 Kings 7:8) and the wayward royal cult it often harbored (cf. Isa. 42:8). As Ezek. 43:11–12 makes clear, these measurements and regulations are not merely interesting details but communicate something of the character of God. -ESVSB-

10-12 - Ezekiel is to teach the people the plan of the Temple.

13-17 - The altar’s design is described, just as the temple architecture was before it.

18-27 - This section describes the rituals of purification required for the altar before it is fit for regular use.

0 comments:

Post a Comment