43:1–5 Having completed the meandering journey through the empty spaces of the visionary temple, starting at the outside and going to the center, then returning to the outside (chapters 40–42), the guiding angel leads Ezekiel to the outer east gate (43:1). Now the prophet will observe the filling of these spaces, starting with the center (the Most Holy Place) and ending with a description of the activities to be carried out in the kitchens, located in the corners of the outer courtyard, the most distant parts of the sanctuary from the center (46:24).285

In sacred geography east is the cardinal point of the compass. It is the location of the entrance to the garden sanctuary in Eden (Gen. 3:24); when Israel is encamped around the tabernacle, the east side is guarded by the most important tribe (Judah) and by the priestly families (Num. 2:3; 3:38). Hence in Hebrew “in front” is eastward (qedem; Gen. 2:8) and “behind” is west (ʾakhor; Isa. 9:12). When the Lord departed from the Jerusalem temple, he left in an eastward direction, toward the Mount of Olives (Ezek. 10:19; 11:23). Whereas the departure of the glory from its resting place was slow and halting, its return is rapid and direct. It is no surprise that when the glory of the Lord returns to his temple, he returns by the way he departed, through the east gate (43:2; cf. the connection to the earlier vision in v. 3). This is entirely different from the way in which the glory of the Lord filled the Mosaic tabernacle and Solomon’s temple. In those times the glory seems simply to have appeared, perhaps descending and settling on the sacred space like a cloud (Ex. 40:34–35; 1 Kings 8:11). Once again Ezekiel’s vision is contrasting the past and the future, stressing the newness of what God is about to do and its significance as a reversal of earlier events.

The return of the glory of the Lord is not merely a visual phenomenon, as it was with the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple; it is also overwhelmingly auditory (“like the sound of many waters”), reminiscent of the prophet’s opening visions of God (Ezek. 1:24). Frequently the glory of the Lord is said to “fill” the earth (Num. 14:21; Isa. 6:3), which is a static image, but here we are told that the earth “shone” with his glory, a dynamic representation (Ezek. 43:2). Exactly the same verb form is used to describe the illuminating effect of lightning (Ps. 77:18), highlighting the transformative impact of the Lord’s return. The effect on the prophet of this part of the vision is similar to that of the opening vision, as he falls flat on his face (Ezek. 43:3; cf. 1:28). Once again the Spirit lifts him up and empowers him to stand, bringing him back to the inner court so that he can see the glory of the Lord fill the temple building (43:5; cf. 2:2).

43:6–9 Thus far the interpreting angel has guided Ezekiel and communicated to him whatever additional information he needs to know (e.g., 42:13–14). Now, however, the prophet hears the Lord address him directly from the temple building (i.e., from the Most Holy Place; 43:7). Again, we should not miss the differences with the earlier outpouring of God’s glory on the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple, which filled the entire complex, preventing the priests from carrying out their ministry (Ex. 40:34–35; 1 Kings 8:11). Here it seems that the Lord’s glory remains contained within the Most Holy Place (while being visible from the outside), so that the inner court is still accessible to the prophet and will remain accessible to the priests.

The Lord’s message to Ezekiel (and, through him, to the exiles) comprises a statement and a command. The statement is a renewed commitment by the Lord to live among his people. The visionary temple will provide the place for the Lord to reign on his throne in the midst of his people and also provide a footstool for his feet (Hb. kappot raglay286) forever (43:7). It will be a permanent place of victorious rest for the triumphant King. This same goal of the Lord’s dwelling among his people was the intention behind the tabernacle and temple (Ex. 29:45; 1 Kings 6:11–13; cf. Psalm 99), though it was thwarted by Israel’s sin, which defiled the Lord’s name and drove him out from their midst (cf. Ezek. 5:11).

In addition to the general sins of the people (“whoring,” 43:7, 9; “abominations”, v. 8)—terms that normally have in view idolatrous worship (cf. ch. 23)—the Lord specifically criticizes the layout of the former temple, in which the royal palace was constructed right next to (and dominated) the temple complex (43:8), as well as a specific practice involving setting up and performing various rituals at memorial stelae287 to Judah’s monarchs within the temple grounds (vv. 7–8).288 If the Lord is to reign as king from this temple, there is no room for such divinizing rites in memory of human kings. Monuments to the dead have no place in the abode of the living God. Indeed, the role of the king in Israel is significantly downgraded in Ezekiel 40–48: he is reduced to a nasiʾ (“prince”) who will have an honored role in facilitating and leading the people in their worship, but not the control over the temple that preexilic kings exerted.289 With these protections in place the Lord’s reign and rule in the midst of his people will be maintained forever.

43:10–12 This passage addresses the impact that Ezekiel’s description of his vision is intended to have on his immediate audience. It should elicit his hearers’ shame (v. 10), a human emotion that can be positive or negative depending on context. Inappropriate shame—for example, over physical weaknesses or failures that are not one’s fault—feels like a debilitating and haunting sense of inadequacy. Such shame should be resisted. But shame can also be an appropriate response to one’s failure and sin that leads to repentance and changed behavior. This kind of shame is healthy and is experienced by all but psychopaths.

Such healthy shame is that which the Lord has in view here for the exiles: a fitting acknowledgement of the former sins of their community, along with a vision of a very different future through the Lord’s grace (cf. 16:54, 61). This shame is to be triggered as the people study the temple design, especially its exits and entrances—the gatehouses so prominent in chapter 40–42—and its statutes and laws, which come into focus in chapters 44–46. Far from its being a blueprint for a millennial construction project, this temple vision is an exercise in conviction of sin, repentance, and renewal.290 As the people come to repentance and are brought into this new relationship with the Lord, the temple and its entire surroundings will be maintained as most holy space—no longer defiled by Israel’s many sins. The perfect architectural balance of the visionary temple is intended to be replicated not by a building but by a perfectly balanced society, as the people submit themselves to the power of this ideal vision.

43:13–17 In the design of the tabernacle the altar of sacrifice is one of the less important pieces of furniture. It is made of bronze, as befits its place in the outer courtyard, whereas the objects in the Holy Place and Most Holy Place are made of gold. The tabernacle comprised two adjoining squares, a more important (and restricted) square to the west that housed the sacred tent itself, containing the ark of the covenant at its geometric center, and a less important square to the east, containing the altar of sacrifice, the bronze washbasin, and so on.291 In the construction of Solomon’s temple the design of the altar for sacrifice in the outer court is barely mentioned (not at all in Kings and in one verse in Chronicles: 2 Chron. 4:1). But for Ezekiel the altar is the most important piece of furnishing in the temple, located at the geometric center of the entire temple complex and described in great detail. There is no ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place and no lampstand in the Holy Place; indeed, there is no gold, silver, or bronze in any of the furnishings, for the splendor of this temple comes solely from the indwelling presence of the Lord’s glory in the Most Holy Place. The temple needs little else, apart from a simple wooden table in front of the Most Holy Place (“before the Lord”; Ezek. 41:22) and the massive altar of sacrifice in the outer court, where the purifying sacrifices are to be offered.

Like many other aspects of the temple, the altar is square—or really a series of squares placed one on top of the other, like the layers of a cake. The altar comprises four parts, with a one-cubit-deep trench292 as its base layer (v. 13). The altar is 18 by 18 cubits (31.5 feet [9.6 m] square) at its lowest level and 14 by 14 cubits (24.5 feet [7.5 m] square) at its highest level, the hearth (vv. 12–17). As with many ancient Near Eastern altars,293 each corner of the top layer features “horns” upon which the priests are to daub blood during some aspects of the ritual (v. 20). The altar is 9 cubits (about 15 feet [5 m]) high, not including the horns, and thus completely dominates the outer court.

Surprisingly, given the Mosaic prohibition of steps leading up to an altar (Ex. 20:26), Ezekiel’s altar is approached by a flight of steps from the east (Ezek. 43:17). This is merely one of many ways in which Ezekiel’s vision cannot be harmonized with the Pentateuchal legislation given by Moses.294 The reason is simple: Ezekiel is not giving a new torah, designed to supplement or supersede Moses, any more than his temple plan is intended to replace the Solomonic design. Rather, he is communicating theological ideas in visionary form. In this case the key attribute of the steps is that they approach the altar from the east, so that the priest always faces west, toward the Most Holy Place, where the glory of the Lord has once again taken up residence. This is the exact opposite of the normal ancient Near Eastern practice whereby the priest would face eastward. In this way there will be no danger of a repetition of the sun worship that formed a climactic aspect of the earlier abominations in the Jerusalem temple (cf. 8:16).

43:18–27 In the case of the tabernacle the sacred space had to be consecrated before the Lord’s glory could descend upon it (cf. Exodus 40). In Ezekiel’s temple the order is reversed: first the Lord’s glory returns, and then the altar is purified. Ezekiel himself plays a key role in the eight-day purification process that prepares the altar for sacred use (Ezek. 43:19–27). He fills a similar role in this consecration process to the one Moses undertakes when the Aaronic ritual is established.295

On the first day Ezekiel is to select an unblemished bull from the herd and give it to the Zadokite priests to sacrifice as a purification offering (Hb. khattat),296 while on days two through eight Ezekiel is to offer a male goat as a purification offering and a bull and a ram as burnt offerings. He is then to decontaminate the altar by applying the blood of the purification offerings to the altar at its vulnerable points: the topmost extremities (the four horns), the lowest extremities (all around the rim), and four middle extremities (the four corners of the upper ledge; v. 20). As a result of its role in the purification process, the body of the purification offering was considered a kind of toxic waste. In some cases, when the contamination was minimal, it could be disposed of via consumption by a priest in a clean location; when the defilement was more severe, it had to be disposed of via burning outside the camp (cf. Lev. 6:26–30).

The defilement’s removal from the visionary sanctuary is clearly significant—perhaps representing the accumulation of sin that has built up since the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. The offerings are to be offered with salt (Ezek. 43:24), which, as a preservative, represents faithfulness and endurance. For this reason salt featured prominently in covenant ceremonies in the ancient Near East, whereas yeast, the symbol of change and decay, was normally forbidden for sacrifices (cf. Lev. 2:11, 13).297

The goal of this whole process is to restore the sacrificial system to a functional state after the exile. When the altar is purified, sacrifices can again be offered to atone for sins (whole burnt offerings) and to celebrate a relationship of peace between God and his people (peace offerings; Ezek. 43:27). Then, and only then—with their sin washed away—could the people be accepted once again in the Lord’s sight.