Chapter xlvii.
1. The Waters of Healing from the Temple. Verses 1-12.
2. Borders of the Land. Verses 13-21.
3. Concerning the Stranger in the land. Verses 22-23.
Chapter xlviii.
1. The Portion of the Seven Tribes. Verses 1-7.
2. The Oblation for the Sanctuary, for the City and for the Prince. Verses 8-29.
3. The Gates of the City and its new Name. Verses 30-35.
THE TEMPLE VISION.
Chapter xl.
The Temple vision is first recorded and the opening verses form the introduction.
I. The Introduction to the Temple Vision.
In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought me thither. In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel (verses 1-4).
The time of the vision is first given by the prophet. It was in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem had been smitten, which would make the date 572 B. C. The beginning of the year is mentioned. In the Hebrew a word is employed (Rosh hashanah) which is not used again in the Old Testament. In Exodus xii we read "this month shall be unto you the beginnings of months, it shall be the first month of the year to you." (Abib or Nisan.) Some expositors claim that the beginning of the year in Ezekiel's vision was in the month of Nisan commemorating the Passover. But it may mean the seventh month (September-October) the feast of trumpets from which the Jews reckon the new year, and the first day of the month would be the day of atonement. We incline to the latter view. Both the feast of trumpets and the day of atonement foreshadow the regathering of Israel and the forgiveness of their sins. And when that has come then, and not before, Ezekiel's glory vision will be accomplished in the land. We also read in Lev. xxv:9: "Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout your land." It will be the time of Israel's jubilee when this temple, Ezekiel beheld, will be erected in their land. Once more the hand of the Lord rested upon the prophet. It is the seventh time that this happened to Ezekiel, and not again after this. (See chapters. i:3, iii:14-22, vii:1, xxxiii:22, xxxvii:1, xl:1.) In the visions of God the prophet was brought into the land of Israel, which is conclusive evidence that the vision he is about to receive concerns the people Israel and not, as the spritualizing, allegorical school of interpreters claim, the church. Ezekiel knew nothing whatever of the church and therefore not a line of all his prophecies could intelligently be applied to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He finds himself upon a very high mountain; towards the south he noticed the frame (or building) of a city.[37] The high mountain is, no doubt, the mountain frequently mentioned in the prophetic Word. "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow unto it" (Isaiah ii:2). "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north the city of the great King" (Ps. xlviii:2). It is the place of His rest (Ps. cxxxii:14), where the King is enthroned (Ps. ii).
Then appeared in the vision the man with the line of flax and the measuring reed. Zachariah beheld such a man with a measuring line in his hand to measure Jerusalem (Zech. ii:13). In Rev. xxi:15 we read of the heavenly Jerusalem, that wonderful city, "and he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city and the gates thereof and the wall thereof." And then follows the measurement of the city. The one who measured in Revelation was an angel and the measure was that of an angel. We shall make, when we come to the measurement itself, a brief comparison between the measure mentioned by Ezekiel and the measure of the city in Revelation. And the man with the measuring reed stood in the gate. He addressed the prophet once more as "Son of Man." He was to give attention to all. His eyes were to see, his ears to hear, he should set his heart upon all that would be shown unto him and declare it to the house of Israel.
II. The Eastern Gate.
And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth; so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed, and the height, one reed. Then came he unto the gate which looked toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad. And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed. He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed. Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward. And the little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure; and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side. And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side; and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another; the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door. He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate. And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits. And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches; and windows were round about inward; and upon each post were palm trees (verses 5-16).