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46:1 The east gateway between the inner and outer courtyards would open once a week for the Sabbath, once a month for new moon celebrations, and when the prince offered voluntary burnt offerings or peace offerings (46:12). The east gate between the outer courtyard and the outside world was never to be opened again (44:2-3).
46:1-15 Ezekiel continued to outline the responsibilities of the prince at the special celebrations by specifying his duties on Sabbath days and at new moon celebrations. The prince would be the representative worshiper on behalf of the people. He would pass through the Temple in procession with them, and he would also be uniquely able to approach the realm...
46:1-15 Ezekiel continued to outline the responsibilities of the prince at the special celebrations by specifying his duties on Sabbath days and at new moon celebrations. The prince would be the representative worshiper on behalf of the people. He would pass through the Temple in procession with them, and he would also be uniquely able to approach the realm of the sacred on their behalf.
46:12 The voluntary burnt offering or peace offering was in addition to the regular daily offerings of meat, grain, and oil that symbolized the regular table fellowship and communion that had now been restored between God and his people.
46:16-18 Because the land assigned to the prince was the Lord’s gift to him and to his family, he could not give it permanently to one of his servants. Each Year of Jubilee, the fiftieth year when all land in Israel reverted to its original family owners, this land would revert to the crown. This provision was intended to remove the temptation for the king t...
46:16-18 Because the land assigned to the prince was the Lord’s gift to him and to his family, he could not give it permanently to one of his servants. Each Year of Jubilee, the fiftieth year when all land in Israel reverted to its original family owners, this land would revert to the crown. This provision was intended to remove the temptation for the king to acquire more and more land with which to reward his faithful servants, resulting in less land for the ordinary people. The land belonged to the Lord, and he divided it among his people. No one, not even the king, was permitted to tamper with the people’s inheritance.
Ezekiel
Ezekiel Ezekiel, a priest and prophet, was born around 623 BC. He was probably raised in Jerusalem, and he was married (24:16-18). He went into exile in Babylon with Jehoiachin in 597 BC, where he lived by the Kebar River. He was called to be a prophet in Babylon on July 31, 593 BC (1:1). All that we know of his personal life is from the book named after him. Ezekiel often reinforced his prophetic words with strange actions, such as illustrating his message about the dire lack of food in the final siege of Jerusalem by eating food cooked over dung (4:12). Another time, he lay motionless for 430 days, one day for each year of Israel’s and Judah’s sin (4:4-7). When Ezekiel’s wife died suddenly, he was forbidden to mourn her in public (24:16-18); her death was a solemn warning of what would happen in Judah (24:15-27). Ezekiel’s strange actions were designed to grab people’s attention. At first, Ezekiel’s messages were rejected, but his prophecies were later vindicated as they began to come true and the nation was purged of idolatry. His teaching emphasized holiness, purity, resurrection, and the ritual law. His message of hope encouraged the exiles to remain faithful during t...
ezekiel 40:1-24
ezekiel 44:2-3
ezekiel 46:12
Temple Legislation as Theology
Temple Legislation as Theology The rabbis of Judaism spent a great deal of time seeking to harmonize the laws of Ezekiel 44–48 with the laws of the Torah. They were unsuccessful because the legislation in these chapters was no more intended to match that of Moses than the vision of the Temple building (Ezek 40–43) was designed to match the design of the Tabernacle or the Temple of Solomon. The description of the Temple regulations conveys a theological message of change, as did the earlier description of the Temple’s architecture. These regulations highlighted the need for proper separation between the Temple and the palace. The sacrificial rituals would become more numerous and more focused on purification. Holy offerings would once again be made by holy people to the holy God. These practices were completely devoted to the separation of the holy from the unholy and to the cleansing of God’s people. Since defilement of the Temple and idolatrous worship had driven the Lord out of his house (Ezek 8–11), an entirely new situation was necessary if God was to dwell once more among his people. Thus, the function of this legislation was to convict the prophet’s hearers of their pas...