Ezekiel 43

AFterward After that the Measuring of the Temple was finished. he brought From the West Gate where the whole was finished, and where the 42 Chapter left the Prophet. me to the gate Which least we should mistake, is expressly described the East Gate., even the gate that looketh toward the East Of the first Wall measur'd, where he began with the Angel; chap. 40. ver. 6. From this Gate, in a direct line, you have the fairest Prospect of the Temple..

And behold Sometime this word is expletive, but here surely it stands for more, it expresseth no doubt, the joy the Prophet had to see this excellent sight, which should not be seen there more then sixty years; for in the sixth year of the Captivity, the Glory of God left the City, chap. 11. ver. 22, 23. and now the Prophet foreseeth its return after the setling the Temple, its Buildings, and Ordinances, which took up a great time, as is evident, Iohn 2.20. which time of 46 years, (viz. 30 in Cyrus, 8 in Cambyses, and some 6 in Darius) is very near accounted. So that between the departure, and the return of the Glory of God, are about One Hundred, and Six, or Eight Years; And about Fourscore between this vision, and the accomplishment., the glory vid. chap. 1. ver. 28. let. i. k. l. m. of the God Of him, who is an Infinitely Glorious Being, yet in Covenant with us, as a peculiar people of God. of Israel came When the Glory departed, it went Eastward, and now that it returns, it comes from the East. from the way of the East: and his voice Though by the Voice of God, Thunder is sometimes meant, yet here it was an articulate voice, as appears ver. 7. and 8. Perhaps this might be attended with Thunder, as usually in such cases. was like a noise Terrible, and a mighty voice, as the noise of mighty Waves of the Sea; so chap. 1.24. and Rev. 1.15. of many waters, and the earth Not the whole Earth, but that part about Ierusalem, and the Temple. shined The Rays of Glory, like the Sun-Beams, made the dark Earth to shine with Glorious Light. with his glory vid. let. f. where reference is to the like place and Glory..

And it This Glory of the God of Israel. was according to the appearance Vid. chap. 1. ver. 4. let. n. and chap. 1. ver. 28. let. i. k. l. of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw, when I came to destroy To declare, that their sins would ruin their City, chap. 9. ver. 3. let. r. and chap. 10. ver. 4. let. u. which see. Here the effect seems ascribed to him, though he only declares it will be. the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw at the river Vid. chap. 1. ver. 1, 3. Chebar: and I fell Overwhelmed, and as 'twere swallowed up. Vid. chap. 1. ver. 28. l t. l. upon my face.

And the glory Vid. ver. 3. let. o. of the LORD came The sins of impenitent Israel caused the Glory of the Lord to go out of his house, but now the Repentance of Israel is blest with the return of this Glory. into the house The Temple where before it dwelt. by the way of the gate, whose prospect Whose Front looks Eastward. Vid. ver 2. let. h. is toward the east.

So the spirit Vid. chap. 2. ver. 2. let. s. took me up, and brought Carried me, at least supported, and moved. me into the inner court The Court next to the house of the Lord, this was the innermost Court., and behold, the glory of the LORD filled Either with Splendor and Brightness, or with a Cloud, such as formerly was, Lev. 16.2. and 1 Kings 8.10, 11. Token of his presence. the house The Temple..

And I heard Distinctly, intelligibly, so that I am sure it was no delusion. him The Lord, who was in that Glory. speaking What was spoken appears in the next two Verses. unto me out of the house God speaks to his out of his Temple., and the man Christ Mediator. stood To encourage, inform, and strengthen him. by me.

And he The glorious God of Israel. said unto me, son of man, the place of my throne His Throne, i. e. of Glory, and Majesty is in Heaven, but the Throne of his Grace is in his Temple, in the dispensations of Grace, God manifests himself a King., and the place of the soles After the manner of man God speaks, and expresseth his abode and rest, where 'tis in his Temple, as Type, in his Church a the Antitype. of my feet, where I will dwell Not only shall my Ordinances be here administred, but I my self will dwell there. in the midst of the children of Israel for ever For a very long time, till the age of infancy with the Iewish Church be over, and to Eternity with my Church, signified by this Temple and City., and my holy name Vid chap. 22. ver. 26. let. z. and chap. 36.20. let. p. shall the house of Israel no more defile Dishonour, and bring into contempt, as they have done., neither they The Priests, the false Prophets, and the common People, nor their Governours and Kings., nor their kings, by their whoredom By Idolatries, and worshipping of strange gods, which after the Captivity, they did very punctually abstain from; as Stories assure us., nor by the carcases Either the dead Bodies of their deceased Kings, buried too near the Temple, les likely; Or by the Sacrificing of men to their Idols to Moloch; or Idols are here called Carcases, as dead stinking, loathsome things in the sight of God. Or, if I had instances of any Kings, buried in the Temples of the Idols, I should incline to interpret this passage of the profane, and wicked burying Idolatrous Kings near the Idols they Worshipped. of their kings in their high places Where Idol Temples, and Idol Worship were Celebrated..

In their setting of their threshold The Idolatrous Kings of Iudah and Israel, built Temples and Altars for their Idols, and these are called their thresholds. The Iewes, or people of Iudah, and their Kings, Erected these in the Courts, or near the Courts of the Temple, and so in local nearness, their Threshold was by God's Thresholds, and their Pests by his that they were a nuisance to him. by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and And there was but a Wall between me and them, that under my Eye, and within my hearing, they have with greatest presumption defiled my name. the wall between me and them, they have even defiled Despised my Ordinances, corrupted my Worship or forsaken it, used me as if I were neither great nor holy. my holy name by their abominations Abominable Idolatries, and wickednesses not to be named. that they have committed: Acted boldly, and openly, against Precept, Threat, and Admonitions. wherefore I have consumed For which sins I brought destruction upon them; The Chaldaeans ruin'd them, but they were the Rod of Gods Anger. them in mine anger In great displeasure and wrath, i. e. in my provoked Justice, as chap. 20. ver. 13. l t. i. and chap. 23. ver. 31. let. d..

Now let them put Cast away, as impure and loath ome things should be cast away. away their whoredom See ver. 7. let. t., and the carcases Ibid. l t. u. of their kings far from me My Temple and Worship., and I will dwell As their sight protection and glory; t e promises which are made in these cases, enjoyn us duty Men may sin away God's presence, and Blessings; cast away all in that God cast not you away. in the midst of them for ever See ver. 7. let. p.. This Verse is either Prophetick, or Preceptive, i does direct the Iew, what he should in duty do under this Temple and foretel what the people of God will do under the Gospel.

Thou son of man Ezekiel, who is call'd thus above 80 times in this Book., show He could not lay a model before their eye, but he could, and this is requir'd, describe it to them in all the parts. the house Temple, which he had seen, and exactly measured. to the house To the Rulers, Prophets and Priests especially, not excluding others. of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities When they shall blush to see what Glory their iniquities had ruin'd: How great losers they were by their sins, or else thus interpret the meaning of these things, and let the Iewes know what a Church God will erect among the Gentiles, that so the Iewes may be asham'd of their iniquities, which provoked God to cast them off, and to destroy their Church and State., and let them measure the pattern As thou declarest let them write down, delineate all, and then compute the whole, that they may fully comprehend it..

And if they The house of Israel. be ashamed Repent, and show it by manifest tokens. of all 'Tis not true Repentance, which is ashamed of some only, but not of all sins. that they have done, show them the form The model of the Temple. of the house, and the fashion The manner of the Building, and fitting each part to other. thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof All the Alleys, Gates, Staires, &c., and all the forms Which ought to be observed, says the French Version; Now though this be not in the Hebrew, yet the word may imply as much, it being an Idea, Pattern or Platform, to which a thing is to be conformed. thereof, and all the ordinances Rites and Orders, Rules of Governing Priests, and their services. These are again repeated in the next words of the Verse, which is usual in Scripture, and with this Prophet. thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the lawes thereof: and write it in their sight That it may be remembred, they shall have a draught of it from thy hand, and drawn in their sight, that they may enquire of any particular, wherein doubt ariseth., that they may keep the whole As Moses and Solomon did, so must the Builders of this Temple, frame the whole to the Pattern, or Exemplar set before them, for not doing whereof, a heavy account lyeth on some in the Church. form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.

This is the law This is the first comprehensive rule. Holiness becomes Gods House or Temple, this relative holiness refer'd to personal, and real holiness, and requir'd it. of the house; Upon the top The whole circuit of his Mountain shall be holy, but the top of it, on which the Temple stands shall be most holy, into which only holy persons, and holy things shall be brought. of the mountain, the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy: behold, this is the law of the house.

And these are the measures of the altar Of burnt Offerings; for the Altar of Incense was within the Temple, and is called the Golden Altar, but this in this verse is the Brazen Altar, and stood in the Court of the house. after the cubits; the cubit is a cubit and an hand-breadth The great or sacred Cubit, three inches longer then the common Cubit.; even the bottom The ledge or settle, or as a little bench fasten'd to the Altar on all sides at the bottom, shall be a Cubit in height. shall be a cubit, and the breadth From the edge of this settle, or bench on the outside to the edge, where it join'd the body of the Altar a Cubit, and this the breadth 21 inches, broad enough for the Priests to walk on round the Altar, as they had occasion. a cubit, and the border A ledge going round on all the squares. thereof by the edge On the outer edge of this settle a span high, about 9 inches, which was to prevent the Priests that they slipt not down in walking on this settle. thereof round about shall be a span, and this shall be the higher This seems somewhat harsh Translated; the French has it, this shall be the back of the Altar, as the back bears burthens, so this should bear the weight of the whole Altar; this the Basis or bottom, as called before, which was one Cubit in each square broader, then the next square frame or settle. place of the altar.

And from the bottom From the superficies of the first ledge, which was a Cubit broad, and a Cubit high from the ground. upon the ground, even to the lower settle To the top of that square settle, which is called lower, because another settle is raised upon it. shall be two cubits In height., and the breadth one cubit On every square, as first and bottom settle, which by this account was two Cubits larger in each square or side, then the middle settle.; and from the lesser From the highest edge of the uppermost settle, down to the Cubit broad ledge about the lower settle. The Prophet measures now downward. settle even to the greater So called, because it exceeded the upper settle a Cubit in breadth on each side. settle shall be four cubits In the height thereof,, and the breadth one cubit As the two other were..

So the altar This upper part is now called the Altar, though sometimes this name is given to the whole, as verse 13. let. g. shall be four cubits In height for it was of much greater wideness, as in the next verse., and from the altar From the top of the Altar, at each corner shall be a horn, four in all. and upward shall be four horns.

And the altar That which in the 15th verse is precisely determin'd to be the Altar, the uppermost and least settle. shall be twelve cubits An exact square, by which we may know the dimensions of the other two, the first of the two was wider by two Cubits, and longer by two Cubits, then the highest, and the lowest was as much greater and larger, then the middlemost. The highest twelve Cubits square, the middle fourteen Cubits square, and the lowest sixteen Cubits square. long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof.

And the settle So call'd now, since the uppermost carrieth the name of Altar, proper to it self. shall be fourteen As said in the former verse, nor can it be otherwise, since 'tis one cubit on each side broader then the Altar, which was 12 cubits square. cubits long, and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof, and the border Or a border, or ledge, fastned to the edge of the outside of this bench, that goes round about the settle. about it shall be half a cubit About eleven inches, being the hal of this great cubit, now this border was for security to the Priests in their going round the Altar, that if a foot slipt, this border might stay it., and the bottom The superficies, on which the Priest treads, when he is doing any thing on the Altar, or the breadth of this bench within the border, a cubit. thereof shall be a cubit about, and his stairs Or steps, for such they needed, and probably each stair about one fourth of a cubit, to carry them up to the first and second settles. shall look toward the east These stairs placed Eastward, that who went up should have his face to the West, his back to the East, his face toward God, not toward the rising Sun, as they, who made the Sun their Idol..

And he said unto me, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, these are the ordinances These are the measures and proportions for building the Altar. of the altar, in the day Whensoever. when they The returned Captives shall build and use it. shall make it, to offer burnt-offerings It appears then, this was the great Brazen Altar, of which see, Exod. 38.30. and 39.39. thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon According to the Law, Lev. 1.5..

And thou shalt give Direct, or command that it be given; for the Prophet could not bestow such a gift on them. to the priests the Levites Explaining who were meant by the Priests., that be of the seed of Zadok Who was put into Abiathars room. Vid. chap. 40. verse 46. and chap. 44. verse 15., which approach unto me, to minister Vid. chap. 42. verse 13. let. q. r. unto me, says the Lord GOD, a young bullock The Sacrifice appointed, Exod. 29.1, 36. at the Consecrating of the Priests. for a sin-offering An expiatory Sacrifice, to make an atonement for errors, and to reconcile the person that brought the Sacrifice. New consecration and reconciliation, needful after so long an interruption of their ministration, and for such as never were before consecrated..

And thou shalt take Appoint it to be taken. of the blood thereof Of the slain Bullock., and put it Not all, but some of the blood, on the horns of the Altar, as Lev. 4.30. prescribeth, and as Moses did, Lev. 8.15. on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle On which the Altar stood, which was two cubits high, and set upon one of a cubit high from the ground., and upon the border See verse 17. let. e. round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge Make it legally clean, that it may be fit for so sacred an use as this of Sacrificing was. it.

Thou shalt take As verse 20. let. x. the bullock also of the sin-offering, and he The Priest of Zadok's line, that by his course in ministration, ought at that time to offer the Sacrifice. shall burn Either the whole, or so much as is commanded to be burnt. it in the appointed place of the house The house here is not the Temple it self, but a place within the circuit of the most Consecrated ground; 'tis called the place of the house, because the place in which the house was built, which is the Sanctuary or Temple. This was done without the Gate, without the Camp, while the Tabernacle stood. Now 'tis to be done in the Court of the house, and on the Altar appointed and consecrated, this is the first days Sacrifice. without the sanctuary.

And on the second The next days Sacrifice is here directed. day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish This was a qualification required in all Sacrifices, and there were Priests appointed to search whether they were perfect, in which search they were very punctual, and curious. for a sin-offering Vid. verse 19. let. u., and they The Priests in attendance, or course. shall cleanse See verse 20. let. c. the altar With the blood of the Kid put upon the Altar, as appointed, and as the blood of the Bullock, verse 20. let. z., as they did cleanse it with the bullock.

When thou hast made an end Of the first and second days Sacrifices, and cleansing the Altar. of cleansing it, thou shalt offer On the third day, and so on, through seven days. a young bullock without blemish, and a ram A Kid, verse 22. now a Ram, both, or either, as God appoints, there was no inherent excellency in either one or other to commend them to God, but a Male, and without blemish it must be. out of the flock without blemish.

And thou shalt Direct them to offer. offer them before Not only to the Lord, but before the Lord, i. e before the Temple, so the Altar stood where the burnt-offering was to be offer'd. the LORD, and the priest shall cast salt So the Law, Lev. 2.13. expresly requir'd, and the Priests salted every Sacrifice made by fire three times, they say in the salt Chamber, at the bottom of the Altar, and when the Sacrifice was on the Altar. It may allude to the perpetuity of the Covenant thus made by Sacrifice, and salted; As Numb. 18.19. and 2 Chron. 13.5. upon them, and they The Priests. shall offer them up for a burnt-offering unto the LORD.

Seven days shalt thou prepare every day By this it appears, that there were seven days appointed for consecrating Altar and Priests, and that, either these three Sacrifices were every day of the seven offer'd up, and their blood sprinkled on the Altar, or at least the young Bullock every day, and one Goat, or one Ram with it, the word here is copulative, but possibly the sense disjunctive; for so this particle is often used. a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.

Seven days they The Priests in course. shall purge The same with what is said of the Priests, they and the Altar were thus Consecrated and Dedicated unto God, to be his in peculiar manner. the altar, and purifie it, and they shall consecrate themselves.

And when these days are expired When you have on every day of these seven offer'd the Sacrifices, as appointed, and for the ends mention'd., it shall be that upon the eighth Which begins a new week, and 'tis probable, the first of these seven days for Sacrifice, might be the Sabbath, and end on our Fryday, however, the first week is spent in solemn Consecration of Altar and Priests; all weeks after are to have day by day, the usual appointed Sacrifices. day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt-offerings Which were Sacrifices expiatory, and for atonement of sin. upon the altar Of burnt-offering, the great Brazen Altar describ'd in this Chapter, verse 13.14, 15, 16, 17., and your peace-offerings Sacrifices of Praise, and Thanksgiving unto God for his goodness.: and I will accept Be well pleased with your persons, pardon your sins, smell a savour of rest in your Thanksgiving, and own you with signal tokens of my favour and kindness, I will show my good will, and delight in you. you, says the Lord GOD.