18 And He saith unto me, `Son of man, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: These `are' statutes of the altar in the day of its being made to cause burnt-offering to go up on it, and to sprinkle on it blood.
and he hath slaughtered the son of the herd before Jehovah; and sons of Aaron, the priests, have brought the blood near, and sprinkled the blood on the altar round about, which `is' at the opening of the tent of meeting. `And he hath stripped the burnt-offering, and hath cut it into its pieces; and the sons of Aaron the priest have put fire on the altar, and arranged wood on the fire; and sons of Aaron, the priests, have arranged the pieces, with the head and the fat, on the wood, which `is' on the fire, which `is' on the altar; and its inwards and its legs he doth wash with water; and the priest hath made perfume with the whole on the altar, a burnt-offering, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah. `And if his offering `is' out of the flock -- out of the sheep or out of the goats -- for a burnt-offering, a male, a perfect one, he doth bring near, and he hath slaughtered it by the side of the altar northward, before Jehovah; and sons of Aaron, the priests, have sprinkled its blood on the altar round about; and he hath cut it into its pieces, and its head and its fat, and the priest hath arranged them on the wood, which `is' on the fire, which `is' on the altar; and the inwards and the legs he doth wash with water, and the priest hath brought the whole near, and hath made perfume on the altar; it `is' a burnt-offering, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah. `And if his offering `is' a burnt-offering out of the fowl to Jehovah, than he hath brought near his offering out of the turtle-doves or out of the young pigeons, and the priest hath brought it near unto the altar, and hath wrung off its head, and hath made perfume on the altar, and its blood hath been wrung out by the side of the altar; and he hath turned aside its crop with its feathers, and hath cast it near the altar, eastward, unto the place of ashes; and he hath cleaved it with its wings (he doth not separate `it'), and the priest hath made it a perfume on the altar, on the wood, which `is' on the fire; it `is' a burnt-offering, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah.
And he bringeth near the ram of the burnt-offering, and Aaron and his sons lay their hands on the head of the ram, and `one' slaughtereth, and Moses sprinkleth the blood on the altar round about; and the ram he hath cut into its pieces, and Moses maketh perfume with the head, and the pieces, and the fat, and the inwards and the legs he hath washed with water, and Moses maketh perfume with the whole ram on the altar; it `is' a burnt-offering, for sweet fragrance; it `is' a fire-offering to Jehovah, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
`Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the first `month', in the first of the month, thou dost take a bullock, a son of the herd, a perfect one, and hast cleansed the sanctuary: and the priest hath taken of the blood of the sin offering, and hath put on the door-post of the house, and on the four corners of the border of the altar, and on the post of the gate of the inner court.
and both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the service with blood in like manner he did sprinkle, and with blood almost all things are purified according to the law, and apart from blood-shedding forgiveness doth not come.
for it is impossible for blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Wherefore, coming into the world, he saith, `Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not will, and a body Thou didst prepare for me, in burnt-offerings, and concerning sin-offerings, Thou didst not delight, then I said, Lo, I come, (in a volume of the book it hath been written concerning me,) to do, O God, Thy will;' saying above -- `Sacrifice, and offering, and burnt-offerings, and concerning sin-offering Thou didst not will, nor delight in,' -- which according to the law are offered -- then he said, `Lo, I come to do, O God, Thy will;' he doth take away the first that the second he may establish; in the which will we are having been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once, and every priest, indeed, hath stood daily serving, and the same sacrifices many times offering, that are never able to take away sins. And He, for sin one sacrifice having offered -- to the end, did sit down on the right hand of God, --
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 43
Commentary on Ezekiel 43 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 43
The prophet, having given us a view of the mystical temple, the gospel-church, as he received it from the Lord, that it might appear not to be erected in vain, comes to describe, in this and the next chapter, the worship that should be performed in it, but under the type of the Old-Testament services. In this chapter we have,
Ezekiel seems here to stand between God and Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord did when the sanctuary was first set up.
Eze 43:1-6
After Ezekiel has patiently surveyed the temple of God, the greatest glory of this earth, he is admitted to a higher form, and honoured with a sight of the glories of the upper world; it is said to him, Come up hither. He has seen the temple, and sees it to be very spacious and splendid; but, till the glory of God comes into it, it is but like the dead bodies he had seen in vision (ch. 37), that had no breath till the Spirit of life entered into them. Here therefore he sees the house filled with God's glory.
Eze 43:7-12
God does here, in effect, renew his covenant with his people Israel, upon his retaking possession of the house, and Ezekiel negotiates the matter, as Moses formerly. This would be of great use to the captives at their return both for direction and encouragement; but it looks further, to those that are blessed with the privileges of the gospel-temple, that they may understand how they are before him on their good behaviour.
Eze 43:13-27
This relates to the altar in this mystical temple, and that is mystical too; for Christ is our altar. The Jews, after their return out of captivity, had an altar long before they had a temple, Ezra 3:3. But this was an altar in the temple. Now here we have,