Ezekiel 43:1–12

Just as God showed the Apostle John a revelation of the future in a vision, which included the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2), so he permitted Ezekiel a similar partial vision of the new temple (begun in Ezekiel 40). The whole purpose of the restored temple would be to receive God’s glory, which would arrive from the east. This coming glorious event would perfectly reverse Ezekiel’s prior vision of the glory departing toward the east (10:1–22; 11:22–25).

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1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looked toward the east:

2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.

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God’s actions and symbols are never accidental, and the emphasis here on the east is significant for several reasons in addition to the prophetic context. This is the direction to which God’s presence departed in Ezekiel 11:23. The sun rises in the east, so God’s glory followed the path of the rising sun as it cast its light on the temple. Entering the east gate led directly to the main entrance to the temple, which was a direct path to the Holy of Holies. Directly to the east of the temple mount is the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane, both of which have momentous biblical significance, including both Jesus’ agony (Matthew 26:36–39) and His parting ascension (Acts 1:9–12). This gate is also the one into which Jesus rode on a donkey on Palm Sunday (Mark 11:1–11)—another example of God’s incarnate glory entering the temple from the east. The word for east in Hebrew (kadim, kah-DEEM) also means first or at the beginning, indicating that God’s glory has existed since the beginning and is primal (first and fundamental).

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3 And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. 

4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. 

5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.

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Ezekiel had two prior experiences with God’s glory: 1) he saw in a vision the destruction of Jerusalem when the glory left, moving toward the east (10:1–22; 11:22–25), and 2) he saw a vision of the glory when he was called to the ministry of prophecy by the river Chebar (Kebar River, NLT), where the glory had come from the north (1:25–3:15). Nothing could be more natural than to fall prostrate before such brilliant radiance (cf. 1:28).

Since Ezekiel witnessed the glory departing, it was altogether fitting that he is given a preview of its return. For Old Testament believers, the glory of the Lord was a tangible reality that wasn’t witnessed often, but whenever it appeared, it was unforgettable and beyond description. Numerous Scriptures attempt to capture it, e.g., Psalm 24:9–10, which seems appropriate for Ezekiel’s vision: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.”

For New Testament believers, God’s glory is usually an intangible concept but we are not without examples of New Testament references to His tangible glory, e.g., “who [is] the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1:3), among others from the beginning to the end of the New Testament (cf. Matthew 1:23; Revelation 21:23). One would be correct to say that in the Christian era, Jesus’ veil of humanity was removed momentarily during His transfiguration, revealing the glory of God (Matthew 17:2).

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6 And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. 

7 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.

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Even in a vision, Ezekiel does not behold God directly, but rather he hears Him from within the Holy of Holies; His glory makes it beyond man’s ability to perceive Him directly. Although God dwells in heaven and earth cannot contain Him, still He chooses to dwell on the earth. Isaiah 66:1 captures the balance, “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?” (cf. “throne” in Jeremiah 3:17, 17:12, with “footstool” in Psalm 99:5, 132:7). In this speech, God dedicates the restored temple Himself, essentially saying that the soles of His feet are on the same ground as the soles of mankind. The difference is that wherever God chooses to make His earthly habitation must be holy and sacred.

The word “dwell” in Hebrew is shakhan (shah-KHAN), which means “reside,” “inhabit,” or “rest” and is the root of the word “Shekinah” (which does not appear in Scripture), referring to the glory of God that appeared in a cloud to guide the Israelites (Exodus 16:10). This cloud also appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:16–17, 33:22) and filled the tabernacle in the wilderness when it was finished (Exodus 40:34– 38). It also filled Solomon’s temple on the day ofits dedication(1 Kings 8:10–11). Interestingly, the Hebrew for tabernacle, mishkan (mish-KAHN), also comes from the same root. Some theologians connect this dwelling or settling of the divine presence with the New Testament use of the Greek parousia (par-oo-SEE-ah), which means “presence” or “coming” (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:8; 2 Peter 1:16).

The Lord’s speech reassures Ezekiel declaring that His return is permanent, which provides hope not only for Ezekiel but for the captives in Babylon. From the beginning, God’s presence marked and accompanied every move of the nation of Israel, and by itself distinguished Israel from all other nations, and her God from all other gods. Israel was not complete without God’s presence, and now it not only will return, but this time it will be home “forever.”

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8 In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.

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God reminds Ezekiel why His presence had departed from the people: because of their cumulative and collective sins, represented by their spiritual “whoredom” (v. 7), which is another word for idolatry. This is illustrated by the temple example. The corruption of the temple was a sign of the overall moral corruption of the nation. Apparently, the temple authorities had permitted either actual burials of deceased kings on the temple mound or had erected memorials to them, neither of which glorified the living God, the King of glory, in what was supposed to be His sacred temple. Instead, they had defiled (Heb. tame’, tah-MAY) or profaned God’s name and treated it with disrespect. The notion that only the thickness of a wall or the threshold (Heb. saf, SAHF) or timber that lies under a door separated such profane things from God’s exalted sacred place was an abomination against God’s holiness. It was complete and total disobedience to do this on the sacred temple grounds. Ezekiel points out the Lord’s consuming of the nation due to these grave sins.

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9 Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcasses of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever.

10 Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.

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The prophet’s message is continued even beyond the time of the prophets and even into our current day and age. The message of the prophets has taken similar forms throughout the history of faith, but the theme barely varies—turn from the death of evil and turn to the life of God; put sin out of your heart and purify your temple so God may dwell within you—culminating in today’s ultra-succinct Gospel in a nutshell, “repent and be saved.”

The temple is God’s symbolic dwelling. It is His earthly residence, which is not to be defiled in any way. It is the ultimate paradox that the infinite, uncontainable God chooses to be present among mortal, finite humanity—a paradox perfectly embodied in the life of Jesus Christ: “who is the image of the invisible God” (from Colossians 1:15). This same paradox creates the ultimate tension in humanity— at any given time, how much is the profane rejected and the glory of the sacred presence welcome in our hearts? God wants to be King over all and will share His glory with no one else.

The use of the word “ashamed” as the purpose of the vision stands in stark contrast to modern thinking, which tends to avoid the subject at all costs. Yet shame, like guilt or fear, can be a valuable emotion if it leads one to transformation—much like the sensation of burning helpfully teaches one to withdraw from or avoid things that burn. Only from within the healthy experience of shame in confessing one’s sins can one truly repent and thus fully experience God’s mercy and grace.

 

11 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. 

12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

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The ultimate disaster for Israel was the Lord’s departure. Even captivity by her enemies did not compare to His absence. Conversely, the ultimate blessing for Israel would be His permanent return. The element on which both departure and return hinged was Israel’s faithlessness or her faithfulness. As a result, it is not enough that the people be aware of God’s return. They must know everything involved with the temple, including its design (both exits and entrances) and the laws and teachings associated with it, which refer to the instructions originally laid out through Moses. Just as Jesus came not to destroy the law and the prophets but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17), so Ezekiel promises that God will restore the blessings associated with Him originally through Moses (both His presence and worship of Him). Ezekiel was exhorted to deliver the message of hope both orally and in hard copy. One can only imagine the depth of meaning and significance that his vision would have brought for the languishing exiles. Many today are in self-imposed exile, imprisoned by their own bondages, and held in bondage by their addictions and profane habits. Not so different from the people of Ezekiel’s time, they are in desperate need of the hope of God’s glory entering their temple and evicting their darkness and sin. By receiving Him, they experience the sacred place of God’s glorious presence within their hearts.

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