42:1ffEzekiel played the role of a captive being led away to exile, portraying what was about to happen to King Zedekiah and the people remaining in Jerusalem. The exiles knew exactly what Ezekiel was doing because only six years earlier they had made similar preparations as they left Jerusalem for Babylonia. This was to show the people that they should not trust the king or the capital city to save them from the Babylonian army—only God could do that. And the exiles who hoped for an early return from exile would be disappointed. Ezekiel’s graphic demonstration was proven correct to the last detail. But when he warned them, many refused to listen. practices as good luck charms, but they were used to ensnare the people in idolatry.
Life Application Study BibleEzekielChapter 42
Ezekiel 42
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1365, 1366
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
1On both sides of the entry room were recessed windows decorated with carved palm trees. The side rooms along the outside wall also had roofs. Rooms for the Priests. 4? Then the man led me out of the Temple courtyard by way of the north gateway. We entered the outer courtyard and came to a group of rooms against the north wall of the inner courtyard. 2This structure, whose entrance opened toward the north, was 1 75 feet long and 871 feet wide.* One block of rooms overlooked the 35-foot* width of the inner courtyard. Another block of rooms looked out onto the pavement of the outer courtyard. The two blocks were built three levels high and stood across from each other. #Between the two blocks of rooms ran a walkway 17% feet* wide. It extended the entire 175 feet* of the complex, and all the doors faced north. 5Each of the two upper levels of rooms was narrower than the one beneath it because the upper levels had to allow space for walkways in front of them. 6Since there were three levels and they did not have supporting columns as in the courtyards, each of the upper levels was set back from the level beneath it. 7There was an outer wall that separated the rooms from the outer courtyard, it was 87’ feet* long. 8This wall added length to the outer block of rooms, which extended for only 871 feet, while the inner block—the rooms toward the Temple—extended for 175 feet. 9There was an eastern entrance from the outer courtyard to these rooms. 100n the south* side of the Temple there were two blocks of rooms just south of the inner courtyard between the Temple and the outer courtyard. These rooms were arranged just like the rooms on the north. 11There was a walkway between the two blocks of rooms just like the complex on the north side of the Temple. This complex of rooms was the same length and width as the other one, and it had the same entrances and doors. The dimensions of each were identical. 12So there was an entrance in the wall facing the doors of the inner block of rooms, and another on the east at the end of the interior walkway. 13Then the man told me, “These rooms that overlook the Temple from the north and south are holy. Here the priests who offer sacrifices to the LORD will eat the most holy offerings. And because these rooms are holy, they will be used to store the sacred offerings—the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. ‘When the priests leave the sanctuary, they must not go directly to the outer courtyard. They must first take off the clothes they wore while ministering, because these clothes are holy. They must put on other clothes before entering the parts of the building complex open to the public.” 15When the man had finished measuring the inside of the Temple area, he led me out through the east gateway to measure the entire perimeter. ‘He measured the east side with his measuring rod, and it was 875 feet long.* 17Then he measured the north side, and it was also 875 feet. 18The south side was also 875 feet,!9and the west side was also 87 5 feet. 20So the area was 875 feet on each side with a wall all around it to separate what was holy from what was common.
Textual footnotes
- long, and its walls were 5 cubits [2.7 meters] thick.
- and 50 cubits (26.5 meters] wide.
- in Greek version; Hebrew reads east.
- 42:2 Hebrew 100 cubits [53 meters] long
- 42:3 Hebrew 20 cubits {10.6 meters].
- 42:4a Hebrew 70 cubits [5.3 meters].
- 42:4b Hebrew 100 cubits [53 meters]; also in 42:8.
- 42:7 Hebrew 50 cubits [26.5 meters]; also in 4. "8. 42:10 As
- 42:16 As in 45:2 and in Greek version at 42:17, which reads 500 cubits [265 meters}; Hebrew reads 500 rods [5,250
Life Application Notes 3 notes
42:14Approaching our holy God must not be taken lightly. The holy garments the priests were required to wear may symbolize the importance of having a holy heart when approaching God. The priests had to wear these special clothes in order to minister in the inner rooms of the Temple. Because the garments were holy, the priests had to change their clothes before going back out to the public.
42:16-20The perfect symmetry of Ezekiel’s Temple may represent the order and harmony in God’s future Kingdom. 43:1ft This is the culmination of chapters 40-42 because God’s glory returns to the Temple. It reverses the negative tone of the book and serves as a fitting end for all the passages dealing with the blessings reserved for the restored remnant. All true believers should long for that mament when God’s name will finally be glorified and he will live among his people forever.