Chapter 43

1 The returning of the glory of God into the temple. 7 The sin of Israel hindered God’s presence. 10 The prophet exhorteth them to repentance, and observation of the law of the house. 13 The measures, 18 and the ordinances of the altar.

1. To the gate. See on ch. 42:15.

2. Came from the way. The prophet had seen this glory depart through the east gate of the former Temple (chs. 10:18, 19; 11:1, 23).

Noise of many waters. Compare Rev. 1:15; 14:2; 19:6.

3. The vision which I saw. See chs. 1:4–28; 3:12, 23; 10:15, 22. The various revelations of God’s glory to the prophet have been characteristically similar.

Came to destroy. The earlier visions announced the destruction of Jerusalem.

5. Filled the house. Compare a similar event in connection with the previous sanctuaries (Ex. 40:34, 35; 1 Kings 8:10, 11).

6. I heard him. The voice was doubtless that of God. The speaking came from the house, while the “man” remained with the prophet in the inner court.

7. The place of my throne. In the Hebrew the emphatic position of the word translated “the place of” requires some such addition as “this is,” or “behold”: “This is the place of my throne,” etc.

By their whoredom. The former Temple had been defiled by idol worship within its very precincts (2 Kings 16:11–16; 21:4–7). Some think that literal harlotry is here referred to (2 Kings 23:7; cf. 1 Kings 14:24; 15:12).

Carcases of their kings. There is no historical evidence that any king was buried in the Temple area. A number were buried near the area in the southeast hill (see 1 Kings 2:10; 11:43; 22:50; etc.). The LXX gives the reading, “Or by the murders of their princes in the midst of them,” which may reflect the thought intended by the text.

8. The wall between. There was only a wall separating the Temple enclosure and the palace enclosure. There was no provision for an outer court as in the new plan (ch. 40:17, 20, 31, 34, 37).

9. Put away their whoredom. This was the indispensable prerequisite of Jehovah’s taking up His residence among the people.

10. Shew the house. When Israel would see a revelation of God’s love in the glorious plans for the new temple and for their re-establishment as a nation they would “be ashamed of their iniquities” and turn from them. God wanted them carefully to consider His pattern so that it might become to them the inducement to leave off their sinful ways and accept the new provisions.

11. If they be ashamed. If Israel showed any interest in the plans and evidenced a change of heart, the prophet was not only to reveal each detail of the plan but to “write it in their sight,” for them to keep.

The tabernacle, and later the Temple, was God’s dwelling place among His chosen people. The rebuilding of the Temple represented the restitution of His purpose to work through Israel for the salvation of the world (see pp. 26–30). If Israel was now “ashamed” of their past record of transgression to the extent that they would, as a nation, go forward with His purpose for them, all that Ezekiel foretold would certainly come to pass (see on Eze. 40:1).

12. This is the law. Compare the same formula in the underwriting and superscription of the Levitical laws of the priest code (see Lev. 6:9, 14; 7:1, 37; 11:46; 12:7; 13:59; 14:54; 15:32). The reference seems to be to all the preceding instruction.

13. The measures of the altar. Verses 13–17 give the description of the altar identified in v. 18 as the altar of burnt offerings. The same cubit is used as for the measurements of the building (see on ch. 40:5). The altar rested on a base 1 cu. (1 ft. 8 in.; 5 m.) high. On top of the base rested successive ledges, each 1 cu. smaller. The topmost ledge, the hearth, was 12 cu. (20 ft. 5 in.; 6.3 m.) square and 4 cu. (6 ft. 8 in.; 2 m.) high. The material from which it was made is not identified. The altar in Solomon’s Temple was made of brass, and was 20 cu. square and 10 cu. high (2 Chron. 4:1). That in the tabernacle was made of shittim wood overlaid with brass and was of considerably smaller dimensions, 5 cu. square and 3 cu. high (Ex. 27:1). According to the Mishnah the altar in Herod’s Temple rested on a base 32 cu. square and was made of unhewn stone.

The altar (p. 716, Q) stood before the temple in the center of the inner court. The altar had stairs (Eze. 43:17) unlike the former (see Ex. 20:26). They led up on the east side, probably so that the priest making the sacrifice would have his back to the rising sun, that there might be no suggestion of sun worship. For God’s abhorrence of sun worship see on Eze. 8:16.

18. Ordinances of the altar. Verses 18–27 describe the ceremonies to be performed in connection with the consecration of the altar. They are not the general regulations for the sacrificial worship later to be observed. The former sanctuaries also had special ceremonies of dedication before the altar was brought into ordinary use (Ex. 29:1–46; Lev. 8:11–33; 1 Kings 8:63–66; 2 Chron. 7:4–10).

19. Seed of Zadok. See on 2 Sam. 8:17.

Ellen G. White comments

2    EW 34, 285