Ezekiel 43 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Ezekiel 43 Bible Study
TIMELINE:
Ezekiel gives an exact date for the vision he recorded in chapters 40-48 (40:1), the 25th year of his exile, 14 years after the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, 573 or 572 BC.
Below is a list of kings of Judah and dates for their reign:
Amon (642-640 BC)
Josiah (640-609 BC)
Jehoahaz (also known as Shallum, 609 BC)
Jehoiakim (initially known as Eliakim, 609-598 BC)
Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 598-597 BC)
Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon conquered Judah, (597-586 BC)
WHAT WE STUDIED PREVIOUSLY
Ezekiel 1 – Ezekiel had a vision of 4 living creatures, 4 wheels, and God’s throne.
Ezekiel 2 – God commissioned Ezekiel to be a prophet to his rebellious countrymen.
Ezekiel 3 – The end of the heavenly vision. Ezekiel ate a scroll of God’s words, and God called him to be a watchman over the people of Judah.
Ezekiel 4 – Ezekiel prophesies with an object lesson in the street by laying on his side for 430 days, eating rations of bread, and creating a siege scene with a brick that represents Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 5 – After the 430 days, Ezekiel cut off his hair divided it up into 3 parts and used it as a symbol for what would happen to the people of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 6 – Ezekiel prophesies against the idol worshipers in Judah, telling them their bodies will be thrown at the feet of their powerless gods.
Ezekiel 7 – God spoke to Ezekiel about the day of His judgement. The end was near for the citizens of Jerusalem, and their doom was on the horizon.
Ezekiel 8 – Ezekiel saw a vision of the Temple in Jerusalem. God guided him through the courts and gates of the Temple and showed him the secret idolatries that filled God’s house.
Ezekiel 9 – God sends a man with a writing case to mark the foreheads of those who hated the idolatries of Judah. Afterwards, God sends 6 executioners to kill everyone in Jerusalem who didn’t have the mark.
Ezekiel 10 – God’s glory departed the inner sanctuary of the Temple and ascended to His throne carried by the 4 living creatures.
Ezekiel 11 – God announced judgement on the wicked rulers of Judah. They thought they were safe in Jerusalem, like meat in a cauldron, but God promised to bring them out for death and captivity. At the end of the chapter, God spoke of a future day, when He would regather a remnant of His people and give them a new heart and new spirit.
Ezekiel 12 – Ezekiel prophesied about the downfall of King Zedekiah by carrying his possessions out of his house as if he were going into exile. God promised that His judgement was near, and anyone who suggested otherwise would be put to shame.
Ezekiel 13 – God confronted the false prophets and sorceresses amongst the people of Judah. The false prophets falsely claimed to speak with the authority of God, and the sorceresses hunted the souls of God’s people through witchcraft and divination.
Ezekiel 14 – God condemned the elders of Judah who harbored love for idols in their hearts. He told Ezekiel Jerusalem would not be spared even if righteous men like Noah, Daniel, and Job lived there.
Ezekiel 15 – God compared the citizens of Jerusalem to useless vine wood that was good for nothing except to burn.
Ezekiel 16 – God compared his people to a young woman who he had raised and cared for. When she grew up, she turned her back on God and prostituted herself with foreign nations and idols.
Ezekiel 17 – Ezekiel spoke a parable to the people of Judah about two great eagles. The parable indicated that the King of Judah would betray Babylon and be uprooted by them.
Ezekiel 18 – The people of Judah were accusing God of punishing them for the sins of their ancestors. God clarified that each man was responsible and would be held accountable only for his own sins.
Ezekiel 19 – God lamented the unfaithfulness of His people through two laments, the lament of the lion cubs and the lament of the vine.
Ezekiel 20 - The elders of Israel wanted to consult with God, but God refused them based on their continual and cyclical rebellion against His laws. God spoke of His future judgement on Judah and His future grace that would restore the nation.
Ezekiel 21 – Ezekiel spoke of the sword of the Lord that God had sharpened to punish Judah. The king of Babylon stood at a fork in the road, and God was going to direct him and his army to Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 22 – God condemned Judah for a litany of sins and their total neglect of any attempt to keep His commands. He told them He would melt them down like metal within the furnace of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 23 – God illustrated the unfaithfulness of Israel and Judah with a story about two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah.
Ezekiel 24 – God compared Jerusalem to a corroded pot that would be emptied and melted down. In the second half of the chapter, Ezekiel’s wife died, and God instructed him not to mourn for her publicly as a sign of the fate of the citizens of Jerusalem and their beloved city.
Ezekiel 25 – God prophesied against Ammon, Edom, Seir, Moab, and the Philistines.
Ezekiel 26 - God prophesied against the city of Tyre. God was going to judge them by bringing the nations against them and destroying them. Babylon would attack first, followed by the Greeks under the command of Alexander the Great (332 BC).
Ezekiel 27 – God described the downfall of the city of Tyre. His judgement on them was going to take them from the mountain of wealth, power, and influence, down to obscurity in the depth of the sea, never to rise again.
Ezekiel 28 - God rebuked the king of Tyre, because in his pride, he elevated himself to the status of a God. Some believe the language is comparing the downfall of Tyre’s king to the fall of Satan. God promised to restore Judah, but Tyre would never be restored.
Ezekiel 29 - A prophecy against Egypt and the pride of Pharaoh. Pharaoh was like a dragon in the Nile, but God would draw him out with a hook and cast him into the desert. God would humble Egypt to a lowly nation and give them over to the Babylonians.
Ezekiel 30 - A prophecy against Egypt. The day of the Lord’s judgement would be a day of doom for Egypt. God would bring the nations against Egypt to crush their pride, throw down their idols, take their wealth, and diminish their nation. God said He had broken pharaoh’s arm so he could not take up a sword to defend his nation.
Ezekiel 31 - God warned Egypt by reminding them of the fate of the Assyrian Empire. Assyria was like a mighty ceder, tall and formidable. But when they grew proud, God chopped them down. God told Pharaoh He would do the same to Egypt.
Ezekiel 32 - Pharaoh, like a dragon in the sea, would be caught in God’s net and thrown into the desert to die. The inhabitants of Egypt would be sent down to Sheol with the Assyrians and all the evil nations who went before her.
Ezekiel 33 - Ezekiel was reminded of his role as a watchman. God invited the people of Judah to choose life, because He had no pleasure in the death of the wicked. The people accused God of being unjust. God said He would judge each according to their deeds. A fugitive from Jerusalem came to Ezekiel and informed him of the fall of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 34 – God rebuked the bad shepherds of Israel for neglecting his flock and scattering them among the nations. The Lord promised to send His “servant David” as a better shepherd.
Ezekiel 35 - A prophecy against Mount Seir (Edom). God was going to judge Seir because they encouraged and relished in the slaughter of the people of Judah. God’s anger was going to make Sier a desolate and uninhabited place.
Ezekiel 36 - God promised a future restoration for the land and people of Judah. He would restore them, not because they were righteous, but in order to vindicate His great name in the eyes of the nations. God would give His people a new heart and spirit to follow His commands.
Ezekiel 37 - Ezekiel saw a vision of a valley of dry bones. God’s Spirit put flesh on the bones and brought them back to life. It was a symbol of the new life God would give to Judah when He restored them. God revealed to Ezekiel that one day He planned to unify the nations of Israel and Judah again under the reign of His servant David (Jesus).
Ezekiel 38 - Prophecy against Gog, the king of Meshech and Tubal (in the far north). In the latter years, Gog would fight with the people of God, but God would destroy his army with an earthquake, a sword, pestilence, torrential rains, fire, hailstones, and sulfur.
Ezekiel 39 - Prophecy against Gog continued. Gog’s army would be a feast for wild animals. The people of Israel would burn Gog’s weapons for 7 years and it would take them 7 months to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. God promised to restore Israel and pour out His Spirit on them.
Ezekiel 40 - Ezekiel was brought to Israel in a vision. He was put on a high mountain overlooking an enormous structure. It was a new Temple, new in size and proportion to Solomon’s Temple, which had been destroyed by the Babylonians. The chapter contains detailed measurements for the new structure.
Ezekiel 41 - The heavenly being that began measuring the Temple in chapter 40 continues, with Ezekiel writing down exact measurements and documenting specifics about the Temple construction and the furniture.
Ezekiel 42 - The measurement of the Temple continues. Chapter 42 focuses mainly on the buildings, chambers, outer court, and length of the outer walls. The outer wall of the new Temple was 500 cubits square (Ezekiel 42:15-20).
OUTLINE:
GOD’S GLORY FILLS THE TEMPLE (43:1-12):
When the man with the appearance of bronze (40:3) had finished measuring, he brought Ezekiel to the gate that faced east.
Ezekiel saw the glory of God approaching the Temple from the east in the same splendor that he had observed near the Chebar Canal (Ezekiel 1). He heard the sound like “many waters” and the earth shone with God’s glory.
Ezekiel fell on his face as God entered the Temple, but God’s Spirit lifted him up and brought him to the inner court.
God’s glory filled the Temple (contrast this with God’s glory leaving the Temple in Ezekiel 10).
A voice announced to Ezekiel that this new Temple would be the place of God’s throne, and the place where He would dwell with His people. God told the house of Israel He would dwell with them forever if they put away their evil kings and their immoralities.
God told Ezekiel to reveal the plans for the Temple to the people of Judah and Israel if they showed shame for their sins.
“And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out” (43:11).
THE TEMPLE ALTAR (43:13-27):
Ezekiel documented the dimensions for the altar where sacrifices were to be offered.
On the day the altar was dedicated for use, the priests, the sons of Zadok, were to kill a bull. The bull’s blood was to be put on the altar’s corners, horns, and rim. This was to “purify the altar and make atonement for it” (43:20).
The bull was to be burned outside of the sacred area (43:21).
The day after the bull was sacrificed, a ram was to be offered on the altar as a burnt offering (43:22).
Following these two sacrifices, for the next 7 days, another bull and another ram were to be offered each day (43:23).
When this week-long ceremony was complete, the altar would be ready for regular use.
BIBLE COMPREHENSION:
One way of interpreting Ezekiel 40-48 is to view it as a conditional promise.
Those who support this interpretation point to Ezekiel 43:11 as evidence.
“And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design” (43:11).
God’s plan for this glorious Temple was to be revealed to the house of Israel IF they showed remorse and were ashamed of their past sins.
We know from books like Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi that, while there was a certain degree of repentance amongst the people, it wasn’t long before the majority of God’s people returned to the same sins that got their parents exiled from the Promised Land.
Because the people did not fully repent and turn away from their sins, the vision that Ezekiel saw in chapters 40-48 never became reality.
In upcoming chapters, we’ll discuss alternative interpretations and discuss the pros and cons of each.
