And I heard one speaking unto me out of the house; and a man stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, this is 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, they, nor their kings, with their fornication, and with the carcases of their kings in their high places. In that they set their threshold by my threshold, and their post by my post, and there was only a wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: and I consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their fornication and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. 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. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and its goings out, and its comings in, and all its forms, and all the ordinances, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. 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 (verses 6-12).
The Glory of the Lord and the Lord of Glory had entered the house, filling it; and now the voice of one is heard out of the house. The speaker is the Lord Himself, who had made His dwelling place in the temple (see also xlvi:20, 24; xlvii:6, 8). The man who stood by Ezekiel did not speak, as some expositors claim. He is only guide to the prophet (xliv:1, 4; xlvi:19, 21). He is probably not the same person, who as the measuring man had accompanied the prophet, for the Hebrew is not "the man" "stood by me," but "a man." This person, no doubt an angel, is silent, waiting till the Lord has spoken and then leads the prophet from place to place.
The first word which the Lord addressed to Ezekiel from the house is significant: "Son of Man, this is 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 forever." Of old the Lord dwelt in the midst of the children of Israel. Thus we read in the book of Exodus, the book of redemption: "I will dwell among the children of Israel, and I will be their God, and they shall know that I am Jehovah their God that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt that I may dwell among them" (Ex. xxix:45, 46). And now after the long and sad history of Israel's apostasy, blindness, judgment and dispersion is ended, He comes to make His dwelling place in their midst again and establishes in Jerusalem His throne. Here He will dwell and bless His people. Of this Psalm cxxxii speaks, "This is my rest forever, here will I dwell, for I have desired it." And other prophets announced that the Lord would dwell in Zion in the midst of His people and establish His throne there (Joel iii:17, 21; Zech. ii:10, 11; viii:3, 8). His rest then will be glorious (Is. xi:10). When that time comes and the Lord of Glory has come back to earth again, all the promised blessings for Israel, the nations and for all creation will be realized.
Then His holy name will no longer be defiled and the nation will be ashamed of all their past history of rebellion and abomination.[47] The prophet is therefore commanded to set before the people the house in its measured pattern, so that they might know what a gracious Lord has prepared for them, what He will yet do for His people. It is to lead them to repentance, to acknowledgement of their guilt and shame over their iniquities. Such will be the case in the day of their restoration when these things will be accomplished.
When this house on the top of the mountain is established all will be most holy. His people will be righteous and holy and all Jerusalem with this sanctuary will be holy unto the Lord (Zech. xiv:20-21). This is "the Most Holy" of Daniel's prophecy (Dan. ix) to be anointed when the last prophetic week of seven years has expired.
III. The Measurement and the Ordinances of the Altar.
And these are the measures of the altar in cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth: The bottom was a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and its border thereof on the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this was the base of the altar. And from the bottom upon the ground to the lower settle was two cubits, and the breadth a cubit; and from the small settle to the great settle four cubits, and the breadth a cubit. So the altar was four cubits; and from the hearth of God and upward were four horns. And the hearth of God was twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four sides thereof. And the settle was fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it half a cubit; and the bottom thereof a cubit about; and its steps shall look toward the east. And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. 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 Jehovah, a young bullock for a sin offering. And thou shalt take of its blood, 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. Thou shalt take the bullock of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary. And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall purge the altar, as they did purge it with the bullock. When thou hast made an end of purging it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. And thou shalt offer them before Jehovah, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto Jehovah. Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish. Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate it. 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 Jehovah (verses 13-27).
The altar which is now described in its measurement, was previously mentioned in chapter xl:47. The altar according to this description, is composed of four square layers (probably stones) one above another, decreasing in extent and increasing in thickness; the top is a square of twelve cubits. This is called "the altar hearth" or "the hearth of God." The three words translated in the authorized version by altar are not the same in the original. In verse 13 the word is "mizbeach." This word is used many times in the Hebrew Bible; it means "slaughter-place." In verse 15 two words are used which are nowhere else found in connection with an altar. The one is "Harel" which means "the mountain of God;" and the other "Ariel" the meaning of this is different from Ariel in Isa. xxix:1[48] when it is used for Jerusalem as "the lion of God." Gesenius translated it "the hearth," and still better is "the hearth of God." Upward from this hearth were four horns. The Septuagint gives the height of these horns as one cubit each. While in Exodus xx:25 steps are prohibited for the altar, this altar has steps which look toward the east. This great burnt offering altar, standing in the center of the inner court before the house, will be the central place of worship in this future temple.
The ordinances of this burnt offering altar in that future day are given to the prophet, the Lord Jehovah addressing Ezekiel as "Son of Man." Burnt offerings will be brought upon it and blood sprinkled. The priests, the Levites of the seed of Zadok[49] will minister unto the Lord Jehovah. What is first described is a kind of consecration or dedication of this burnt offering altar, after which the general sacrifices begin (verse 27). First a young bullock is brought for a sin offering and the blood is applied to the altar and the four horns. For seven days these offerings for purging and cleansing continue and with the eighth day the burnt offerings and peace offerings are to be made by the people.
But what do these ordinances mean? Here are priests again standing before an altar, bringing bloody sacrifices, burnt offerings, sin offerings and peace offerings. Is this to be taken literally also? Some expositors have stated that all this had a meaning in the past and could only be true in connection with the second temple. Others attempt to read into it a spiritual meaning. All, or nearly all commentators think it inconceivable that such sacrifices could ever be brought again in a future temple. Those expositors who combat the premillennial coming of the Lord and the literal restoration of Israel, consider the supposed impossibility of a satisfactory explanation of this part of Ezekiel's visions, the collapse of the premillennial argument.