1 `Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The gate of the inner court that is looking eastward is shut the six days of work, and on the day of rest it is opened, and in the day of the new moon it is opened;
And it hath been from month to month, And from sabbath to sabbath, Come do all flesh to bow themselves before Me, Said Jehovah.
And he causeth me to turn back the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary that is looking eastward, and it is shut. And Jehovah saith unto me, `This gate is shut, it is not opened, and none doth go in by it, for Jehovah, God of Israel, hath come in by it, and it hath been shut.
by the sweat of thy face thou dost eat bread till thy return unto the ground, for out of it hast thou been taken, for dust thou `art', and unto dust thou turnest back.'
And He bringeth me in unto the inner court of the house of Jehovah, and lo, at the opening of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, about twenty-five men, their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces eastward, and they are bowing themselves eastward to the sun.
And on the prince are the burnt-offerings, and the present, and the libation, in feasts, and in new moons, and in sabbaths, in all appointed times of the house of Israel: he doth make the sin-offering, and the present, and the burnt-offering, and the peace-offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel. `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 on the day of the new moon a bullock, a son of the herd, a perfect one, and six lambs and a ram, they are perfect.
And the chief of the synagogue answering -- much displeased that on the sabbath Jesus healed -- said to the multitude, `Six days there are in which it behoveth `us' to be working; in these, then, coming, be healed, and not on the sabbath-day.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ezekiel 46
Commentary on Ezekiel 46 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 46
Eze 46:1-24. Continuation of the Ordinances for the Prince and for the People in Their Worship.
2. The prince is to go through the east gate without (open on the Sabbath only, to mark its peculiar sanctity) to the entrance of the gate of the inner court; he is to go no further, but "stand by the post" (compare 1Ki 8:14, 22, Solomon standing before the altar of the Lord in the presence of the congregation; also 2Ki 11:14; 23:3, "by a pillar": the customary place), the court within belonging exclusively to the priests. There, as representative of the people, in a peculiarly near relation to God, he is to present his offerings to Jehovah, while at a greater distance, the people are to stand worshipping at the outer gate of the same entrance. The offerings on Sabbaths are larger than those of the Mosaic law, to imply that the worship of God is to be conducted by the prince and people in a more munificent spirit of self-sacrificing liberality than formerly.
9. The worshippers were on the great feasts to pass from one side to the other, through the temple courts, in order that, in such a throng as should attend the festivals, the ingress and egress should be the more unimpeded, those going out not being in the way of those coming in.
10. prince in the midst—not isolated as at other times, but joining the great throng of worshippers, at their head, after the example of David (Ps 42:4, "I had gone with the multitude … to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holy day"); the highest in rank animating the devotions of the rest by his presence and example.
12-15. Not only is he to perform official acts of worship on holy days and feasts, but in "voluntary" offerings daily he is to show his individual zeal, surpassing all his people in liberality, and so setting them a princely example.
16-18. The prince's possession is to be inalienable, and any portion given to a servant is to revert to his sons at the year of jubilee, that he may have no temptation to spoil his people of their inheritance, as formerly (compare Ahab and Naboth, 1Ki 21:1-29). The mention of the year of jubilee implies that there is something literal meant, besides the spiritual sense. The jubilee year was restored after the captivity [Josephus, Antiquities, 14.10,6; 1 Maccabees 6:49]. Perhaps it will be restored under Messiah's coming reign. Compare Isa 61:2, 3, where "the acceptable year of the Lord" is closely connected with the comforting of the mourners in Zion, and "the day of vengeance" on Zion's foes. The mention of the prince's sons is another argument against Messiah being meant by "the prince."
19-24. Due regard is to be had for the sanctity of the officiating priests' food, by cooking courts being provided close to their chambers. One set of apartments for cooking was to be at the corners of the inner court, reserved for the flesh of the sin offerings, to be eaten only by the priests whose perquisite it was (Le 6:25; 7:7), before coming forth to mingle again with the people; another set at the corners of the outer court, for cooking the flesh of the peace offerings, of which the people partook along with the priests. All this implies that no longer are the common and unclean to be confounded with the sacred and divine, but that in even the least things, as eating and drinking, the glory of God is to be the aim (1Co 10:31).
22. courts joined—Fairbairn translates, "roofed" or "vaulted." But these cooking apartments seem to have been uncovered, to let the smoke and smell of the meat the more easily pass away. They were "joined" or "attached" to the walls of the courts at the corners of the latter [Menochius].
23. boiling places—boilers.
under the rows—At the foot of the rows, that is, in the lowest part of the walls, were the places for boiling made.