Ezekiel 46, The Perfect Temple (Part Seven)

“The Sabbath and the observance of the new moon would be part of the worship ritual during the Millennium. It may seem incongruous that the Sabbath, the sign of the Mosaic covenant (cf. Ex 31:13, 16-17), would be observed in the millennial kingdom when it is not observed during the church age under the new covenant. Is this a retrogression in God’s purposes? Not if it is understood that all God’s covenants would be fulfilled and operative in the messianic kingdom (cf. 37:15-28). The Mosaic covenant would find its fruition in the messianic kingdom in that Israel finally would be God’s people and he would be their God in a relationship that was to exist under the Mosaic covenant” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

1 “This is what the Lord Yahweh says: The gate of the inner court that faces east is to be closed during the six days of work, but it will be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the New Moon. 2 The prince should enter from the outside by way of the gate’s portico and stand at the gate’s doorpost while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He will bow in worship at the gate’s threshold and then depart, but the gate is not to be closed until evening. 3 The people of the land will also bow in worship before Yahweh at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and New Moons.

4 “The burnt offering that the prince presents to Yahweh on the Sabbath day is to be six unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram. 5 The grain offering will be half a bushel with the ram, and the grain offering with the lambs will be whatever he wants to give, as well as a gallon of oil for every half bushel. 6 On the day of the New Moon, the burnt offering is to be a young, unblemished bull, as well as six lambs and a ram without blemish. 7 He will provide a grain offering of half a bushel with the bull, half a bushel with the ram, and whatever he can afford with the lambs, together with a gallon of oil for every half bushel. 8 When the prince enters, he is to go in by way of the gate’s portico and go out the same way.

“That the pictorial sacrifices had their reality in the work of Christ does not nullify the relationship of Mosaic covenant that is a holy one. The Mosaic covenant showed Israel how to live a holy life in a relationship with God, and that type of life is still valid under the new covenant (cf. Jer 31:33-34; Ro 8:4). Therefore, for the Mosaic covenant and the new covenant to be fulfilled side by side is not incongruous. Ezekiel, however, was looking at the situation only from his perspective under the Mosaic covenant.” (Expositor’s)

9 “When the people of the land come before Yahweh at the appointed times, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship is to go out by way of the south gate, and whoever enters by way of the south gate is to go out by way of the north gate. No one may return through the gate by which he entered, but is to go out by the opposite gate. 10 When the people enter, the prince will enter with them, and when they leave, he will leave. 11 At the festivals and appointed times, the grain offering will be half a bushel with the bull, half a bushel with the ram, and whatever he wants to give with the lambs, along with a gallon of oil for every half bushel.

12 “When the prince makes a freewill offering, whether a burnt offering or a fellowship offering as a freewill offering to Yahweh, the gate that faces east is to be opened for him. He is to offer his burnt offering or fellowship offering just as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he will go out, and the gate is to be closed after he leaves.

Unlike the prince who comes in the east gate (no one else may come in this way), the people come in either the south or north gates and exist the opposite gate they came in, creating a helpful flow. The temple is not open as much as it was before the Millennium.

13 “You are to offer an unblemished year-old male lamb as a daily burnt offering to Yahweh; you will offer it every morning. 14 You are also to prepare a grain offering every morning along with it: three quarts, with one-third of a gallon of oil to moisten the fine flour—a grain offering to Yahweh. This is a permanent statute to be observed regularly. 15 They will offer the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil every morning as a regular burnt offering.

There is no evening sacrifice as before under the Mosaic covenant.

Transfer of Royal Lands
16 “This is what the Lord Yahweh says: If the prince gives a gift to each of his sons as their inheritance, it will belong to his sons. It will become their property by inheritance. 17 But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to that servant until the year of freedom, when it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs only to his sons; it is theirs. 18 The prince must not take any of the people’s inheritance, evicting them from their property. He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of my people will be displaced from his own property.”

“Inheritance was extremely important to the Israelite. Many laws had been established to guarantee that an Israelite retained family property. This concept continues in the messianic kingdom, at least in the case of the prince. Any inheritance given to one of his sons would remain with that son’s descendants (that the prince has sons argues against his identity as the Messiah). Anything given to a servant would revert to the prince in the Year of Jubilee (“the year of freedom”; cf. Lev 25:10; 27:24). Ezekiel also stresses that the prince was not permitted to take other people’s property and make it part of his inheritance as Israel’s past leaders often did (cf. 34:3-4; 1Ki 21:19; Mic 2:1-2). No one was ever to be separated from his property.” (Expositor’s)

The Temple Kitchens
19 Then he brought me through the entrance that was at the side of the gate, into the priests’ holy chambers, which faced north. I saw a place there at the far western end. 20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they will bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them into the outer court and transmit holiness to the people.” 21 Next he brought me into the outer court and led me past its four corners. There was a separate court in each of its corners. 22 In the four corners of the outer court there were enclosed courts, 70 feet long by 52½ feet wide. All four corner areas had the same dimensions. 23 There was a stone wall around the inside of them, around the four of them, with ovens built at the base of the walls on all sides. 24 He said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple will cook the people’s sacrifices.” (Ezekiel 46)

“There were four kitchens in the four corners of the outer court, each forming a court in itself. Each of these kitchens was forty by thirty cubits. There was a stone ledge around the inside of each room under which fireplaces were built. These ample kitchen facilities enabled the priests (probably the Levites, cf. 44:10-14) to cook the people’s sacrificial meals.” (Expositor’s)