Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 43

Verse 2

And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.

Came — When the glory departed, it went eastward, and now it returns, it comes from the east.

And his voice — Though by the voice of God, thunder is sometimes meant, yet here it was an articulate voice.

Verse 3

And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.

And it — This glory of the God of Israel.

To destroy — To declare, that their sins would ruin their city, chap9:3,4.

I fell — Overwhelmed, and as it were swallowed up.

Verse 4

And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.

Came — The sins of Israel caused the glory of the Lord to go out of his house, now the repentance of Israel is blest with the return of this glory.

Verse 6

And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.

The man — Christ.

Stood — To encourage, and strengthen him.

Verse 7

And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.

He — The glorious God of Israel.

My throne — The throne of his grace is in his temple; in the dispensations of grace, God manifests himself a king.

My feet — Speaking after the manner of men, and expressing his abode and rest, in his temple, as the type, in his church, as the antitype.

In their high places — Perhaps some kings were buried in the temples of their idols, near the idols they worshipped.

Verse 8

In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.

Their threshold — The kings of Judah and Israel, built temples and altars for their idols, and these are called their thresholds. They erected these in the courts, or near the courts of the temple.

Abominations — Idolatries, and wickednesses not to be named.

Verse 9

Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.

Far from me — From my temple.

Verse 10

Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.

Son of man — Ezekiel, who is called thus above eighty times in this book.

Shew — Describe it to them in all the parts.

To the house — To the rulers, prophets, and priests especially, not excluding others.

Their iniquities — When they shall blush to see what glory their iniquities had ruined.

Verse 12

This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

The law — This is the first comprehensive rule: holiness becomes God’s house; and this relative holiness referred to personal and real holiness.

The top — The whole circuit of this mountain shall be holy, but the top of it on which the temple stands, shall be most holy.

Verse 13

And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar.

The altar — Of burnt-offerings.

And an hand-breath — The sacred cubit, three inches longer than the common cubit.

The bottom — The ledge or settle, fastened to the altar on all sides at the bottom, shall be a cubit in height.

The breadth — From the edge of this bench on the outside to the edge where it joined the body of the altar, a cubit, and this the breadth, twenty one inches, broad enough for the priests to walk on.

Border — A ledge going round on all the squares.

The edge — On the outer edge of this settle a span high.

The back — As the back bears burdens, so this was to bear the weight of the whole altar.

Verse 14

And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit.

From the bottom — From the first ledge, which was a cubit broad, and a cubit high from the ground.

To the lower — To the top of that square settle, which is called lower, because another settle is raised upon it.

Two cubits — In height.

The lesser — From the highest edge of the uppermost settle, down to the cubit broad ledge about the lower settle.

The greater — So called, because it exceeded the upper settle a cubit in breadth.

Four cubits — ln height.

Verse 15

So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.

Four cubits — In height.

From the altar — From the top of the altar.

Verse 17

And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.

Stairs — Or steps, for such they needed, (probably each stair about one fourth of a cubit,) to carry them, up to the first and second settles.

Verse 19

And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.

Give — Direct, or command that it be given.

Verse 20

And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.

Shalt take — Appoint it to be taken.

Verse 21

Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.

He — The priest.

In the appointed place — That is, in the court of the house, and on the altar appointed; this is the first day’s sacrifice.

Verse 22

And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock.

They — The priests in attendance.

Verse 23

When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.

Shalt offer — On the third day, and so on, through seven days.

Verse 24

And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD.

Shalt offer — Direct them to offer.

Salt — It may allude to the perpetuity of the covenant thus made by sacrifice.

Verse 26

Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.

They — The priests in course.

Verse 27

And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.

I will accept you — Those that give themselves to God, shall be accepted of God, their persons first, and then their performances, through the mediator.