Chapter XIII: Part 13

The first word which the Lord addressed to Ezekiel from the house is significant: "Son of Man, this is 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 forever." Of old the Lord dwelt in the midst of the children of Israel. Thus we read in the book of Exodus, the book of redemption: "I will dwell among the children of Israel, and I will be their God, and they shall know that I am Jehovah their God that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt that I may dwell among them" (Ex. xxix:45, 46). And now after the long and sad history of Israel's apostasy, blindness, judgment and dispersion is ended, He comes to make His dwelling place in their midst again and establishes in Jerusalem His throne. Here He will dwell and bless His people. Of this Psalm cxxxii speaks, "This is my rest forever, here will I dwell, for I have desired it." And other prophets announced that the Lord would dwell in Zion in the midst of His people and establish His throne there (Joel iii:17, 21; Zech. ii:10, 11; viii:3, 8). His rest then will be glorious (Is. xi:10). When that time comes and the Lord of Glory has come back to earth again, all the promised blessings for Israel, the nations and for all creation will be realized.

Then His holy name will no longer be defiled and the nation will be ashamed of all their past history of rebellion and abomination.[47] The prophet is therefore commanded to set before the people the house in its measured pattern, so that they might know what a gracious Lord has prepared for them, what He will yet do for His people. It is to lead them to repentance, to acknowledgement of their guilt and shame over their iniquities. Such will be the case in the day of their restoration when these things will be accomplished.

[47] "The carcases of their kings" may either mean that some of their idolatrous kings had been buried within the bounds of the Solomonic temple, or, the word kings may refer to their idols, which had dominion over them (Is. xxvi:13). The latter may be the right meaning for the high place mentioned.

When this house on the top of the mountain is established all will be most holy. His people will be righteous and holy and all Jerusalem with this sanctuary will be holy unto the Lord (Zech. xiv:20-21). This is "the Most Holy" of Daniel's prophecy (Dan. ix) to be anointed when the last prophetic week of seven years has expired.

III. The Measurement and the Ordinances of the Altar.

And these are the measures of the altar in cubits: The cubit is a
cubit and an hand breadth: The bottom was a cubit, and the breadth a
cubit, and its border thereof on the edge thereof round about shall
be a span: and this was the base of the altar. And from the bottom
upon the ground to the lower settle was two cubits, and the breadth
a cubit; and from the small settle to the great settle four cubits,
and the breadth a cubit. So the altar was four cubits; and from the
hearth of God and upward were four horns. And the hearth of God was
twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four sides thereof.
And the settle was fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the
four sides thereof; and the border about it half a cubit; and the
bottom thereof a cubit about; and its steps shall look toward the
east. And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah:
These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall
make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood
thereon. And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of
the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me,
saith the Lord Jehovah, a young bullock for a sin offering. And thou
shalt take of its blood, and put it on the four horns of it, and on
the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about:
thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it. Thou shalt take the bullock of
the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of
the house, without the sanctuary. And on the second day thou shalt
offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and
they shall purge the altar, as they did purge it with the bullock.
When thou hast made an end of purging it, thou shalt offer a young
bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.
And thou shalt offer them before Jehovah, and the priests shall cast
salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering
unto Jehovah. Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a
sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out
of the flock, without blemish. Seven days shall they purge the altar
and purify it; and they shall consecrate it. And when these days are
expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day and so forward, the
priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your
peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord Jehovah
(verses 13-27).

The altar which is now described in its measurement, was previously mentioned in chapter xl:47. The altar according to this description, is composed of four square layers (probably stones) one above another, decreasing in extent and increasing in thickness; the top is a square of twelve cubits. This is called "the altar hearth" or "the hearth of God." The three words translated in the authorized version by altar are not the same in the original. In verse 13 the word is "mizbeach." This word is used many times in the Hebrew Bible; it means "slaughter-place." In verse 15 two words are used which are nowhere else found in connection with an altar. The one is "_Harel_" which means "the mountain of God;" and the other "_Ariel_" the meaning of this is different from Ariel in Isa. xxix:1[48] when it is used for Jerusalem as "the lion of God." Gesenius translated it "the hearth," and still better is "the hearth of God." Upward from this hearth were four horns. The Septuagint gives the height of these horns as one cubit each. While in Exodus xx:25 steps are prohibited for the altar, this altar has steps which look toward the east. This great burnt offering altar, standing in the center of the inner court before the house, will be the central place of worship in this future temple.

[48] The word "Ariel" as used in Ezekiel has one more letter than the word in Isaiah xxix.

The ordinances of this burnt offering altar in that future day are given to the prophet, the Lord Jehovah addressing Ezekiel as "Son of Man." Burnt offerings will be brought upon it and blood sprinkled. The priests, the Levites of the seed of Zadok[49] will minister unto the Lord Jehovah. What is first described is a kind of consecration or dedication of this burnt offering altar, after which the general sacrifices begin (verse 27). First a young bullock is brought for a sin offering and the blood is applied to the altar and the four horns. For seven days these offerings for purging and cleansing continue and with the eighth day the burnt offerings and peace offerings are to be made by the people.

[49] Zadok means "just." He was the successor of Abiathar in the priesthood--the son of Ahitub of the family of Eleazar (2 Sam. viii:17; 1 Kings ii:27, 35).

But what do these ordinances mean? Here are priests again standing before an altar, bringing bloody sacrifices, burnt offerings, sin offerings and peace offerings. Is this to be taken literally also? Some expositors have stated that all this had a meaning in the past and could only be true in connection with the second temple. Others attempt to read into it a spiritual meaning. All, or nearly all commentators think it inconceivable that such sacrifices could ever be brought again in a future temple. Those expositors who combat the premillennial coming of the Lord and the literal restoration of Israel, consider the supposed impossibility of a satisfactory explanation of this part of Ezekiel's visions, the collapse of the premillennial argument.

Sacrifices of bulls and goats were brought by Israel in their past history; the Lord commanded His people to do this. Every Christian knows that these sacrifices foreshadowed the work of Christ, His great sacrifice on the Cross. In themselves these sacrifices Israel brought could not take away sins, nor give rest to the conscience, nor could they make the worshipper perfect. The Epistle to the Hebrews demonstrates this fully.

All these sacrifices had a prospective character, looking forward to the work of the Cross. And when the Lamb of God died, when His blessed lips uttered the never-to-be-forgotten words, "It is finished," and God's hand rent the veil from top to bottom, the prospective character of these sacrifices were forever ended. The new and living way into God's presence, into the Holiest, had been made by His blood. During this age Israel has no temple and all their Levitical ordinances can no longer be practised by them. As Hosea declared they are without a sacrifice (Hos. iii:4).

God, during this age, our present age, which began with the rejection of Christ by Israel and ends with His Return, is gathering a heavenly people, the church. The church has for its worship no earthly place, no temple, but worships in spirit and in truth, in a heavenly sanctuary. There are no sacrifices, priests, altars, in connection with the true church, the body of Christ. Christ is all. He is the sacrifice, the priest, and the altar. That the enemy has produced upon Christian ground a ritualism which is aped after the Jewish system and which denies as such the Gospel and Christianity, is well known. They have invented altars, and sacrifices and priests. This is the Judaizing of the church, "the other Gospel which is not another," upon which the Spirit of God has pronounced the curse of God (Gal. i). The day is coming when the Lord will deal in judgment with the apostate church which denies His Son and His work, while His true church will be taken to the place which He has prepared.

When the true church is no longer on earth and the apostate church is left behind to plunge into the great apostasy, then the Jews will partially be restored in unbelief. When they get back to the land they will put up another temple in which they bring again bloody sacrifices. These will be an abomination in the sight of God. Let us hear what Isaiah reveals about this time: "Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye will build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made and all those things have been, saith the Lord. But to this man will I look, that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abomination" (Isaiah lxvi:1-3). The entire last chapter of Isaiah shows that the future is in view. The Jews have returned to their land and have resumed their ancient worship. In their midst is also a believing remnant (verse 5) who suffer and are cast out. The Lord looking down from heaven and beholding the sacrifices they bring despises them, for they are an abomination in His sight, because they reject Christ and His sacrifice. This temple worship will be made possible by the coming prince, the little horn of Daniel vii, who will make a covenant with the unbelieving portion of the nation. In the middle of the last seven years (Dan. ix:26) he will break that covenant. Then appears the beast out of the earth (Rev. xiii:11), the false Messiah, and takes his place in that temple, demanding divine worship, claiming to be God (2 Thess. ii).

At the end of the three and one-half years which constitute the great tribulation, the Lord is suddenly manifested. Of this Isaiah speaks also. The unbelieving Jews sneer at the believing remnant: "Let the Lord be glorified!" The Spirit of God gives them the assurance, "but He shall appear to your joy and they shall be ashamed." "A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompense to His enemies" (verse 6). These words describe His manifestation. After this comes the restoration of Israel. The apostates who worshipped the Beast will be punished. The temple Ezekiel describes will then be built and Israel is now at last the kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exod. xix:6). The new covenant promised to them will then be ratified (Jere. xxxi:31-34).

Their great temple will be more than their place of worship; it will be a house of prayer for all nations. Let us listen again to Isaiah's great testimony. "The sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath[50] from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even them (Gentiles) will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Lord God who gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto Him" (Is. lvi:6-8). All this has nothing to do with the church or the present dispensation of grace. It is a prophecy of the kingdom, the age to come, the dispensation of the fullness of times.

[50] The sects, like Seventh Day Baptists, Adventists, etc., quote this passage. They are utterly wrong for this has nothing whatever to do with the present age.

So let us understand that the millennial temple will be the great center of earthly worship during the reign of the King of Kings. In that temple sacrifices will be brought again. The ancient worship of Israel will be resumed and that in a way as Israel never enjoyed it in the past. To deny the literalness of these sacrifices does violence to the Word of God. Ezekiel is not the only prophet who tells us of this. One of the strongest passages is found in Jeremiah. Speaking of the coming reign of Christ, Jeremiah tells us, "In those days shall Judah be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely, and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness. For thus saith the Lord, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel. Neither shall the priests, the Levites want a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meal offerings, and to do sacrifice continually" (Jere. xxxiii:15-18). Why then should it be an impossible thing that literal sacrifices are brought again?

But what is the meaning and the purpose of these animal sacrifices? The answer is quite simple. While the sacrifices Israel brought once had a prospective meaning, the sacrifices brought in the millennial temple have a retrospective meaning. When during this age God's people worship in the appointed way at His table, with the bread and wine as the memorial of His love, it is a retrospect. We look back to the Cross. We show forth His death. It is "till He comes." Then this memorial feast ends forever. Never again will the Lord's Supper be kept after the Saints of God have left the earth to be with the Lord in glory. The resumed sacrifices will be the memorial of the Cross and the whole wonderful story of the redemption for Israel and the nations of the earth, during the kingdom reign of Christ. And what a memorial it will be! What a meaning these sacrifices will have! They will bring to a living remembrance everything of the past. The retrospect will produce the greatest scene of worship, of praise and adoration this earth has ever seen. All the Cross meant and the Cross has accomplished will be recalled and a mighty "Hallelujah Chorus" will fill the earth and the heavens. The sacrifices will constantly remind the peoples of the earth of Him who died for Israel, who paid the redemption price for all creation and whose glory now covers the earth as the waters cover the deep. And above in the New Jerusalem, where the throne of the Lamb is, the Saints in glory sing their Hallelujah (Ps. cxlix:5).

I. The Outer Eastern Gate and the Prince.

Chapter xliv.

Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary
which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the Lord
unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man
shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath
entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince;
the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he
shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out
by the way of the same (verses 1-3).

In the previous chapter the prophet was in the inner court (xliii:5). It was there he heard the voice of the Lord and received the message and saw the great altar and its ordinances. From the inner court he is led back by the man to the eastern gate. This gate he finds no longer open. As they arrived it was shut. The last time that gate was seen it was open, and the glory of the Lord entered through this eastern gateway. The reason why this gate is to be shut is stated by the Lord in His address to Ezekiel. "Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore shall it be shut." The Lord who entered with His glory is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and here His full glory is made known. He is the Lord, the God of Israel, He "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah v:2). The gate is now to serve another purpose. "It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same." Who is this prince? Some say that this prince is the Lord Himself. Our Lord is repeatedly called a prince (Isaiah ix:6, 7, lv:4[51]; Dan. ix:25; Rev. i:5). In chapters xxxiv and xxxvii Messiah, Christ, is meant by the One Shepherd "My servant David," who will be King and Prince over them. But now in the closing chapters of this book a prince is mentioned seventeen times. But not once is he spoken of as "David" or "my servant David." This prince is not the Messiah, our Lord; nor is he the high priest as others claim. The best evidence that this prince is not Christ is learned from the ordinances he is to observe as revealed in chapter xlvi, where we read that he is to worship himself and that he must bring burnt offerings and peace offerings; we also read of this prince having sons. All this shows that the prince is not identical with the Lord. Who is he then? He is the viceregent of the King, a future prince of the house of David, who will represent the Lord on earth. David's throne will be established in Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus Christ will reign supreme over all; His throne is above the earth in the New Jerusalem. He will visit the earth and manifest His glory as King of kings and Lord of lords. This probably will be during the great celebrations of the feast of Tabernacles, when the nations send their representatives to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts (Zech. xiv:16). Upon David's throne will sit this prince of David as viceregent. The enemy anticipating this has counterfeited this vice-regency in the spurious claims of the Roman pope.

[51] The Hebrew word translated "leader" is "prince."

This prince as the vice-regent, has to enter by the way of the porch of the eastern gateway, and he must also go out the same way (see also xlvi:2-8.)

II. Concerning the Strangers and the Levites in Relation to the Temple Worship.

Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house and I
looked, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the
Lord; and I fell upon my face. And the Lord said unto me, Son of
man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears
all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house
of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in
of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. And thou
shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith
the Lord God; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your
abominations. In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers,
uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my
sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the
fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all
your abominations. And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy
things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for
yourselves.

Thus saith the Lord God; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor
uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any
stranger that is among the children of Israel. And the Levites that
are gone away from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray
away from me after their idols: they shall even bear their iniquity.
Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the
gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay
the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall
stand before them to minister unto them. Because they ministered
unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall
into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them,
saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity. And they
shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me,
not to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place;
but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they
have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the
house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done
therein. (verses 4-14).

Brought again through the north gate of the inner court, the prophet is face to face with the glory of the Lord which filled the house of the Lord, and Ezekiel fell on his face. Then the Lord addressed him. He is to mark well what he sees and what he hears concerning the ordinances and the laws of the house of the Lord. The temple is now repeatedly called the house of the Lord, the place where His glory dwells, exalted above the hills, to which the nations shall come (Isaiah ii:2). Israel in this message is reminded of the past. They were a rebellious house. This was the burden of the opening messages of the prophet (chapter ii, etc.). But now all must be and will be different. The abominations of the past, the pollution of His house and all else will now be put away. "Let it suffice you of all your abominations." They will no longer be tolerated, nor will converted Israel backslide again. He reminds them of their sinful past and of the demands of holiness for His house; all abominations and failures will cease. Uncircumcised in heart and in flesh shall not enter into the sanctuary of the Lord. Zechariah bears the same testimony: "In that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts" (Zech. xiv:21). His people will then be holy; their new birth has taken place, the uncircumcised, stony heart is taken away and His Spirit is poured out upon them (chapter xxxvi:25-27).

Verses 10-14 concern the Levites; they are to bear their iniquity and be degraded as to their office. What Levites are meant, and when did they go away from the Lord? It cannot mean past generations of Levites. The offence must have been committed by them before the Lord appeared in glory. It must be explained by what happened among the people before the Lord came, during the days of the false Messiah. At that time Israel will go far astray from the Lord and turn again to idols. In this apostasy the Levites have a share. "They ministered unto them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity." When the Lord comes, when their sins are forgiven and they are cleansed, the Lord will deal accordingly with these Levites as announced in these verses. They shall bear their iniquity for their unfaithfulness. "They shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed." Yet there will be service for them. "But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein."

III. Concerning the Priests, the sons of Zadok, and their Duties.

But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the
charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from
me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall
stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the
Lord God: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come
near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my
charge.

And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of
the inner court, and they shall be clothed with linen garments; and
no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of
the inner court, and within. They shall have linen bonnets upon
their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they
shall not gird themselves with anything that causeth sweat. And when
they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the
people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered,
and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other
garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their
garments. Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their
locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads. Neither shall
any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. Neither
shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away:
but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a
widow that had a priest before. And they shall teach my people the
difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern
between the unclean and the clean. And in controversy they shall
stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my
judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine
assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. And they shall come
at no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for
mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that
hath had no husband, they may defile themselves. And after he is
cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days. And in the day that
he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in
the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord God.
And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their
inheritance; and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am
their possession. They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin
offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in
Israel shall be theirs. And the first of all the first fruits of all
things and every oblation of all of every sort of your oblations,
shall be the priests': ye shall also give unto the priest the first
of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine
house. The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of
itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast (verses 15-31).

The sons of Zadok kept the charge, they were faithful when the children of Israel went astray, and the Lord is now announcing the reward for their faithfulness. The earthly priesthood as it was once is re-established and vested in the sons of Zadok. These are to come near unto Jehovah and offer in His presence. How they are to come in, the garments they shall wear, is made known to the prophet. They are not to shave their heads, "neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court." They are forbidden to take for wives a widow or one that has been put away. Maidens of Israel or a priest's widow they could marry. All this will be literally fulfilled and done when this new and true worship is instituted in the coming age. It has nothing whatever to do with our age. No such special class of an earthly priesthood exists during this age of grace. All believers constitute a holy and a royal priesthood; the priests of ritualistic Christendom are an invention. But when the Lord has restored Israel to their land and this great place of worship stands, priestly ministrations will be resumed. Neither will this be a denial of Him who is priest forever after the order of Melchizedec. While the spurious, man-made priesthood of this Christian age denies the Lord and His finished work, the future priesthood ministering in the millennial temple will glorify Him.

These priests will also be teachers and exercise judicial authority (verses 23-24). The law of defilement will be enforced, though there will be less possibility of such defilement, for death during the millennium will not be the rule as it is now, but a rare and exceptional occurrence. Finally we read of the inheritance of the priests who minister before the Lord. "I am their inheritance, and ye shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession." While many of these appointments in priestly ministry during the millennium are obscure to us who enjoy the heavenly things, we may rest assured that the Lord in His own time "in that day" will bring about the accomplishment of all He has spoken.

Chapter xlv.

I. The Holy Portion of the Land for the Sanctuary, the Priests, the Levites, the City and the Prince.

Moreover when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye
shall offer an oblation unto the Lord, an holy portion of the land:
the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds,
and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all
the borders thereof round about. Of this there shall be for the
sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth,
square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs
thereof. And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five
and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand; and in it
shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place. The holy portion of
the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary,
which shall come near to minister unto the Lord: and it shall be a
place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary. And the
five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth,
shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for
themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers.

And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad,
and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the
holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.

And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the
other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the
possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and
before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and
from the east side eastward: and the length shall be over against
one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. In
the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no
more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to
the house of Israel according to their tribes (verses 1-8).

The land possessed will be divided by lot for the inheritance of the people. The special territorial division for the different tribes is recorded in the last two chapters. They are to bring an oblation of the land which the Lord so graciously restored unto them. The word "oblation" is literally an "heave-offering," because when anything was offered to Jehovah the offerer raised the hand. The dimensions of the holy portion of the land are, in length 25,000, and in breadth 10,000. But what? The Hebrew has no definite measure. The authorized version supplies the word "reeds," which seems to be correct in view of the statement in chapter xlii:16.[52] This is a very large territory, a square of some sixty miles on each side. The topography of Palestine will be entirely changed in the coming age, as we pointed out before. The land is to be greatly enlarged, while the temple-mountain will be highly exalted. These changes will make all possible which we read in these closing chapters. We must take these chapters in faith, knowing that the omnipotent Lord will accomplish all in his own time. In the center of this large area, the holy portion of the Lord, will be the sanctuary; the measurement is given in verse 2. Around this the priests have their portion; there they will have their houses. The estate of the Levites comes next; the measurement is given, and that they shall have for possession twenty chambers. The Septuagint has "cities to dwell in," habitations where they will reside. This is undoubtedly the correct meaning. Then the measurement of the city is given, which is for the whole house of Israel. Finally the portion of the Prince is recorded. "And the Prince shall have his portion on the one side and on the other side of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city over against the holy oblation, and over against the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward; and in length answering to one of the portions of the tribes from the west border unto the east border." From this we learn that the estate of the Prince consists of two halves, the one on the west and the other on the east of the holy portion. He stands as the head and ruler in closest connection with the sanctuary. It is all a new order and will be brought about when the Lord has come back, and when Israel is restored to the land. They never possessed such a holy portion in the land, nor such a sanctuary. A spiritual application as to the Church is impossible to make; the literal interpretation is the only possible one which can be made.

[52] Read our comment on this verse.

III. Exhortation Addressed to the Princes.

Thus saith the Lord God; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel:
remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take
away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord God. Ye shall
have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and
the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the
tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer:
the measure thereof shall be after the homer. And the shekel shall
be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen
shekels, shall be your maneh[53] (verses 9-12).

[53] The sixtieth part of a talent, about fifty shekels.

The princes who used to oppress the people, shall no longer oppress (verse 8). They are to execute judgment and justice. Every measure is to be just. The time has come when righteousness reigns. "He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor" (Ps. lxxii:4). No longer will the poor be down-trodden.

IV. The Oblation for the Prince and His Offerings.

This is the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah
of an homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah
of an homer of barley: Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of
oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which
is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are an homer: And one lamb
out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of
Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace
offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord God. All
the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in
Israel. And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings,
and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the
new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of
Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering,
and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make
reconciliation for the house of Israel (verses 13-17).

What the ruling Prince, the vice-regent upon the throne of David, is to receive from the people is stated in verses 13-16. The part of the Prince is to give burnt-offerings, meal offerings, drink offerings, at the different feasts and solemnities, to make reconciliation for the House of Israel. No doubt all this has a retrospective value and meaning. These sacrifices and offerings commemorate the one great sacrifice, which is constantly and vividly kept in full view by these ceremonies.

V. The Two Great Feasts Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Thus saith the Lord God; In the first month, in the first day of the
month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse
the sanctuary: And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin
offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four
corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate
of the inner court. And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the
month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so
shall ye reconcile the house. In the first month, in the fourteenth
day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days;
unleavened bread shall be eaten. And upon that day shall the prince
prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for
a sin offering. And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt
offering to the Lord, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish
daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin
offering. And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a
bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah. In
the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do
the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin
offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat
offering, and according to the oil (verses 18-25).

First stands the cleansing of the sanctuary on the first day of the first month. The cleansing of the sanctuary therefore commences the year. And this offering of a young bullock without blemish shows forth Christ in His wonderful, unblemished devotedness as He suffered once for sin. The same sacrifice will be repeated on the seventh day, and it is then especially for everyone that erreth and for him that is simple. The precious blood of the Lamb of God is thus constantly kept in remembrance. Two great feasts will be celebrated, the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. These are the feasts of the Millennium. Very significantly the feast of weeks, that is Pentecost, is no longer mentioned. Dispensationally the Feast of Pentecost typifies the coming of the Spirit of God, to baptize believing Jews and Gentiles into one body. Pentecost ushered in this present age, and during its course the Holy Spirit is on earth fulfilling His mission in calling from Jews and Gentiles a people for His name. When this age closes with the great predicted events transpiring, the Spirit of God has finished the work for which He came. The body of Christ is taken home to glory and united with the Head. It is true the Holy Spirit will yet be poured out upon all flesh (Joel ii:28) but the dispensational aspect of Pentecost is fulfilled and can have no such meaning in millennial times.[54]

[54] The Feasts of Jehovah--Passover: The Cross and its work. First Fruits: Resurrection of Christ. Pentecost: The Gift of the Spirit and the calling of the Church. Feast of Trumpets: The Regathering of Israel. Day of Atonement: Israel's Cleansing. Feast of Tabernacles: The Millennium.

And how appropriate it is that only Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles are celebrated by Israel when the Lord has come. Passover was first kept in Egypt; its precious meaning is well known to all Christians. Redemption by blood, so fully realized in the work of the spotless Lamb of God, is blessedly seen in the Passover, while the Feast of Unleavened Bread reveals the purpose of redemption--redemption unto holiness. Israel observed this feast in the wilderness. They celebrated it when they had come into the land; then under Hezekiah and Josiah it was recovered. During their long dispersion Israel has not forgotten this feast. Though with judicial blindness upon them, eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear, the people keep once a year the Passover. Longingly the orthodox Jew looks towards the land of promise and repeats each Passover night the pious wish "This day here; next year in Jerusalem." When the nation is regathered and the Kingdom is established in their midst, they will keep this Feast anew. What meaning it will then have! What memories cluster around it! How all their history will be recalled by that Feast--started in Egypt and consummated in the Kingdom! But the observance apart from the unleavened bread is different. The Prince and all the people on the fourteenth day of the first month are identified as they never were before, in a single bullock for a sin offering, while every day for seven days the Prince prepares a complete burnt offering, a sign of perfect consecration to the Lord. What praise the Lord, the Lamb of God enthroned in glory, and His glory covering the earth, will receive in these yearly memorial feasts.

The Feast of Tabernacles is the second great feast. It was kept by Israel when the harvest and the vintage had taken place. It foreshadows the Millennium, when the harvest and the vintage (Rev. xiv) the end of the age is passed and the new age, the age of glory, has come; the great ingathering has taken place and the prophetic meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles will be realized. Zechariah xiv:16-21 tells us of its Millennial celebration.

Chapter xlvi.

I. The Worship of the Prince.

Thus saith the Lord God; The gate of the inner court that looketh
toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the
sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall
be opened. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of
that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the
priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings,
and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go
forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. Likewise
the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before
the Lord in the sabbaths and in the new moons. And the burnt
offering that the prince shall offer unto the Lord in the sabbath
day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.
And the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the meat
offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and an hin of
oil to an ephah. And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young
bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be
without blemish. And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for
a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as
his hand shall attain unto, and an hin of oil to an ephah. And when
the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of
that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof (verses 1-8).

Here another worship scene of the Millennium is described. The prominent eastern gate is to be closed during the six working days, but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, as well as in the day of the new moon. The Sabbath and the new moon are prominent in the worship of the Kingdom Age. The Sabbath was a type of the coming rest for the people of Israel.[55] This rest has now come. Their wanderings are ended, they are gathered from the East and from the West, from the North and South, and have found at last the promised rest (Ps. cvii:1-8). Therefore the Sabbath is especially mentioned in connection with worship. On the seventh day the gate through which the Lord and His glory passed is opened and left open till the evening. The six working days (typical of 6,000 years) are forever gone, the seventh day, the seventh thousand, the Day of the Lord, has come. And when the Millennium ends, the complete, eternal rest comes for all the people of God. The new moon is typical of Israel's re-establishment as a nation. The nation, like the moon, had waned, and disappeared, but now she shines again like the new moon.

[55] When it speaks of "my rest" in Hebrews iv it refers to the eternal rest.

The Prince is to worship at the threshold of the gate, and the people before the gate. But neither the Prince nor the people enter within. No drawing near to God is known then as we now enjoy it who worship in the Spirit through the rent veil. It is all an earthly worship, while the true worship of the Church is heavenly. The Prince in this worship enters by the outer door on the side of the east and he goes out by the same door. The Prince occupies the prominent place as the representative of the people. He presents his offerings to Jehovah, while the people stand as worshippers at the outer gate of the same entrance. The offerings the Prince is to bring on the Sabbath are larger than those commanded in the law. Both the burnt-offering and the meal offering brought by him on the Sabbath are more abundant than those offered under the old dispensation, an evidence of the higher and more perfect worship of restored Israel. Different, however, is it with the offering on the new moon. In Numbers xxviii:11-15 we read:

And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt offering
unto the Lord; two young bullocks, and one ram, seven lambs of the
first year without spot; And three tenth deals of flour for a meal
offering, mingled with oil, for one bullock; and two tenth deals of
flour for a meal offering, mingled with oil for one ram; And a
several tenth deal of flour mingled with oil for a meal offering
unto one lamb; for a burnt offering of a sweet savour, a sacrifice
made by fire unto the Lord. And their drink offerings shall be half
an hin of wine unto a bullock, and the third part of an hin unto a
ram, and a fourth part of an hin unto a lamb: this is the burnt
offering of every month throughout the months of the year. And one
kid of the goats for a sin offering unto the Lord shall be offered,
beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.

Such are the offerings according to the law, to be brought on the new moon. But in the millennial worship these offerings are diminished. All this has a deeper meaning which will be fully known and enjoyed when this worship is carried out.

II. Further Instructions as to Worship.

But when the people of the land shall come before the Lord in the
solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to
worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that
entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of
the north gate; he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby
he came in, but shall go forth over against it. And the prince in
the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go
forth, shall go forth. And in the feasts and in the solemnities the
meal offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram,
and to the lambs as he is able to give, and an hin of oil to an
ephah. Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering
or peace offerings voluntarily unto the Lord, one shall then open
him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his
burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath
day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall
shut the gate. Thou shalt daily prepare a burnt offering unto the
Lord of a lamb of the first year without blemish: thou shalt prepare
it every morning. And thou shalt prepare a meal offering for it
every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an
hin of oil to temper with the fine flour, a meal offering
continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the Lord. Thus shall they
prepare the lamb and the meal offering, and the oil, every morning
for a continual burnt offering. (verses 9-15.)

Everything is divinely ordered. Here are first the special instructions for the worship of the people of the land. When they come before the Lord in the solemn feasts some will enter in to worship by the north gate and leave by the south gate, and others who enter by the south gate will leave by the way of the north gate. None is permitted to leave by the gate through which he entered. Perhaps this injunction is given to avoid confusion among the multitudes who will come to worship in those coming days, when the Lord will be universally acknowledged (Zech. xiv:9).