7. The temple (Ezekiel 41)

We come now to the most important part of the sanctuary - the temple itself. There was only one way into the temple - via the inner court. Ezekiel himself was taken from the inner court into the temple: “So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house. And he brought me to the porch of the house” . Since the 1

north, east and south aspects of the inner court were occupied by gates, it follows that the temple was situated on the west side of the inner court. A plan of the temple is given on page 71. The temple was approached by steps (1), which led into a porch (2). Either side of the steps were pillars (3). The porch led into the temple (4), which in turn led into the most holy place (5).

The porch (2) The Hebrew word used here is the same word used of the porches of the court 2

gates. The porch was twenty cubits by twelve cubits. The entrance was fourteen cubits wide. This means that the posts for the doorway projected out three cubits on either side. The depth of the doorway was five cubits: “And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side. The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps whereby 3

Ezekiel 40:47,481

Heb. Mla - Ulam2

The RSV has “twelve cubits”. This has to be correct, as will be seen from the mathematical 3

calculations on pages 75,76�67

they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side” . 4

There is some uncertainty as to which way round the porch was situated. This arises because of a misunderstanding of the words “length” and “breadth”. The “length” is always the longest measurement, and the “breadth” is always the shortest. In fact the “length” of the porch corresponds with the width of the temple, as we shall see later. This was also the case with Solomon’s temple: “And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house” . 5

The steps (1) and the pillars (3) The porch was approached by ten steps, either side of which stood a pillar: “And he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side” . These two pillars 6

correspond to the two pillars of Solomon’s temple: “And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin : and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof 7

Boaz ” . 8 9

The temple (4) This was the largest room of the temple. It was forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide, and the entrance from the porch to the temple was ten cubits wide. This means that the posts of the doorway projected out five cubits on either side. The depth of the doorway was six cubits: “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. And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on

Ezekiel 40:48,494

1 Kings 6:35

Ezekiel 40:496

Heb. Nyky - Yakiyn. “He will establish”7

Heb. zeb - “Bo’az”. “In him is strength”8

1 Kings 7:219

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the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits” . 10

The size of the temple corresponds exactly with that of Solomon’s temple:

The length “And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long” . 11

The width “And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD… the breadth thereof twenty cubits” . 12

The most holy place (5) There was a further entrance at the far end of the temple, which led into the “most holy place”. This room was a perfect square, twenty cubits by twenty. The entrance was six cubits wide, meaning that the posts of the entrance projected out seven cubits on either side. The doorway was two cubits deep: “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. 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” . 13

Notice how that, as Ezekiel progressed towards the most holy place from the outside of the temple, the doorways became gradually smaller: • Entrance to the porch 14 cubits

• Entrance to the temple 10 cubits • Entrance to the most holy place 6 cubits

The lesson is that the way to eternal life is not easy, and it requires personal sacrifice and commitment, as the Lord Jesus Christ said in his parable: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to

Ezekiel 41:1,210

1 Kings 6:1711

1 Kings 6:212

Ezekiel 41:3,413

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destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” . 14

Note also that Ezekiel himself did not enter into the most holy place - his guide entered, leaving Ezekiel outside: “Then went he inward”. Although Ezekiel was a priest, it was not appropriate for him to approach unto the place where the glory of Yahweh will dwell in the Age to come. The dimensions of the most holy place again correspond exactly with the temple of Solomon. The most holy place in Solomon’s temple is called the oracle: “And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar” . 15

The side chambers (6) We must now look at the temple from the outside, because we shall find that it was surrounded by smaller rooms, called “side chambers”: “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. 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. 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. I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits. 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” . 16

From these verses we learn the following: • The wall of the temple was six cubits thick.

• There were side chambers all around the temple, projecting out a distance of four cubits.

• There were three storeys of chambers, thirty rooms per storey.

Matthew 7:13,1414

1 Kings 6:2015

Ezekiel 41:5-916

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The interior of the temple

• They became wider as they went up, at the expense of the thickness of the temple wall. Thus the beams for the floor of the chambers were able to rest on the ledge formed in the wall, but they did not have to fasten into the wall.

• There was a winding stairway from the first to the third storey. • The outside wall of the chambers was five cubits wide.

If we look at a description of Solomon’s temple, once again we find a marked similarity:

• “Chambers round about” . 17

• “The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house” . 18

• “The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third” . 19

Thus, whilst some of the dimensions differ, there can be no doubt that the basic design of Solomon’s temple and Ezekiel’s temple are the same.

The foundation of the temple (7) The temple stood upon a “raised platform” . This platform essentially formed 20

the foundation of the temple. We are told that underneath the side chambers this raised platform was “a full reed of six great cubits” . 21

The foundation extended beyond the outer wall of the side chambers. This resulted in a narrow walkway which ran around the temple, called “the place that was left”. This walkway was five cubits wide: “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

1 Kings 6:517

1 Kings 6:618

1 Kings 6:819

Ezekiel 41:8 RSV20

Ezekiel 41:821

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The side chambers

five cubits round about” . 22

Between the raised platform and the perimeter of the inner court on the north and the south sides was a distance of twenty cubits: “And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side” . 23

The building (8) Ezekiel was then taken to the back of the temple - that is, the western end. Here he saw another structure, called simply “the building”. It was rectangular in shape - seventy cubits broad by ninety cubits long, and its walls were five cubits thick: “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” . Ezekiel was given no 24

indication as to what this “building” was to be used for.

Four calculations In Ezekiel 41:13-15, Ezekiel was shown four different measurements of the temple and the building, which all added up to one hundred cubits. By referring to the diagram on page 77 we can now do these calculations with Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 41:1122

Ezekiel 41:1023

Ezekiel 41:1224

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Cross section through the temple

Foundation (7)

1) The house (41:13)

This corresponds to measurement (A) on the diagram. • Posts of the porch 5

• Porch 12 • Door to the temple 6

• Temple 40 • Door to the most holy place 2

• Most holy place 20 • Wall of the temple 6

• Chambers 4 • Wall of the chambers 5

TOTAL: 100 cubits

2) The separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof (41:13) This is measurement (B) on the diagram.

• West wall 5 • Building 70

• East wall 5 • Separate place 20

TOTAL: 100 cubits

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3) The breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east (41:14) This is measurement (C) on the diagram.

• Separate place 20 • Place that was left 5

• Wall of side chamber 5 • Side chamber 4

• Wall of temple 6 • Temple 20

• Wall of temple 6 • Side chamber 4

• Wall of side chamber 5 • Place that was left 5

• Separate place 20 TOTAL: 100 cubits

4) 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 (41:15)

This is measurement (D) on the diagram. Wall of building 5

Building 90 Wall of building 5

TOTAL: 100 cubits

If we now add measurement (A) to measurement (B), we arrive at a figure of two hundred cubits. This corresponds to the distance which was labelled X on our original plan of the sanctuary on page 51. This confirms our conclusion that the sanctuary seen by Ezekiel was five hundred cubits square.

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The building and the temple

(8)

More detail on the inside of the temple Ezekiel 41:15-26 provides us with more information about what the temple looked like from the inside. It also tells us about the furniture of the temple.

1) Panelling The porch, the temple and the most holy place were all panelled with wood . 25

Into this panelling was carved likenesses of cherubim and palm trees - a palm tree being between two cherubim . The cherubim each had two faces - a man 26

looking one way and a lion looking the other , to represent the twofold aspect of 27

priesthood and kingship. This will teach those who enter the temple the lesson that the spiritual “holy temple in the Lord” is comprised of the community of the saints, who have been redeemed unto God by the blood of Christ, and who will be “kings and priests”, and “reign on the earth” in the Age to come. 28

Note again the close correspondence with Solomon’s temple: “And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without” . 29

2) Windows There were apparently windows in all three rooms of the temple. Ezekiel says that “the windows were covered” . This probably means that there was lattice-30

work over the windows, as in Solomon’s temple: “And for the house he made windows of fixed lattice-work” . 31

3) Doors

The temple and the most holy place each had double doors. Each door was made of two swinging leaves . Upon the doors were carved cherubim and palm 32

Ezekiel 41:15,1625

Ezekiel 41:17,1826

Ezekiel 41:1927

Revelation 5:9,1028

1 Kings 6:2929

Ezekiel 41:1630

1 Kings 6:4 RV31

Ezekiel 41:23,2432

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trees, similar to those carved upon the walls . The doors in Solomon’s temple 33

were essentially the same: “So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall. And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work” . 34

4) The canopy

There was a canopy of wood in front of the porch: “And there was a canopy of wood in front of the vestibule outside” . Exactly what this looked like we 35 36

cannot be certain - no more details are given. Solomon used a similar structure in his own house that he built - the “house of the forest of Lebanon”: “And he made the Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits; there was a porch in front of the pillars, and a canopy before them” . 37

5) The altar of wood One major difference between Solomon’s temple and Ezekiel’s temple is that, as far as we know, Ezekiel’s temple contained only one piece of furniture - “an altar of wood”. This was three cubits high, two cubits long, and two cubits broad. It was made entirely of wood. When the guide pointed this structure out to Ezekiel, he said, “This is the table that is before the LORD” . The question is, Which piece of furniture does this 38

represent? In the description of the tabernacle, and of Solomon’s temple, “the table” without exception always refers to the table of shewbread. This was not

Ezekiel 41:2533

1 Kings 6:33-3534

Heb. be - ab. The KJV renders this as follows: “And there were thick planks upon the face 35

of the porch without”. The precise meaning is somewhat uncertain. “A masculine noun indicating an overhang, thick planks. Its technical meaning is not known for sure. Suggestions are as indicated: a canopy, a threshold… It was a structure in front of certain other features of the king’s palace (1 Kings 7:6)” The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old Testament, W Baker, E Carpenter

Ezekiel 41:25 RSV36

1 Kings 7:6 RSV37

Ezekiel 41:2238

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strictly an altar, so Ezekiel says, “In front of the holy place was something resembling an altar of wood” . 39 40

We find this table mentioned again in Ezekiel 44:15,16: “But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me… they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge”. Access to “the table which is before the LORD” is thus to be restricted to “the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok”. In keeping with this, under the Law of Moses the shewbread loaves were eaten by the priests: “And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD. Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute” . 41

We can now update our diagram of the sanctuary, adding on the temple and the building.

Ezekiel 41:21,22 RSV39

There is difference of opinion amongst expositors regarding the altar of wood:40

J B Taylor says “This was specifically called the table which is before the Lord (v 22), but it is better known from its counterpart in Exodus 25:23-30; Leviticus 24:5-9; 1 Kings 6:20, as the table of the Presence, or the table of shewbread”. Ezekiel, An Introduction and Commentary, page 262, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Tyndale Press, 1969. G Currey states that “this was the altar for incense (see Exodus 30:1); the altar of gold (1 Kings 7:48), of which the dimensions are not given, but were probably the same as in the tabernacle, two cubits in height, one in length, and one in breadth”. Speaker’s Commentary, Volume 6, page 174. C F Keil and F Delitzsch believe that it is the altar of burnt offering that is intended.

Leviticus 24:5-941

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The sanctuary

C

C

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