Ezekiel 46

This chapter is part of the vision of the new temple that runs through chapters 40–48 of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 45 lays out the divisions of the holy land and the offerings the prince is to provide. Ezekiel 46 continues with the order of worship, the prince's land, and the temple kitchens.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 The east gate of the inner court remains shut during the six working days and is opened on the Sabbath and on the new moon (the first day of each month). The prince enters by the porch of the gate and worships by the post of the gate, while the people worship at the entrance of the gate.
• Verses 4–7 The Sabbath burnt offering consists of six lambs without blemish and one ram. On the new moon a young bullock is added. The meat (grain) offering is measured in ephahs (a dry measure for grain) and hins (a liquid measure for oil).
• Verses 8–10 At the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate leaves by the south gate, and whoever enters by the south gate leaves by the north gate. The prince goes in and out in the midst of the people.
• Verses 11–12 These verses give the regulations for the meat offering at the feasts and describe how the east gate is opened and shut when the prince presents a voluntary burnt offering or peace offering.
• Verses 13–15 Every morning a lamb of the first year is offered, together with a sixth part of an ephah of flour and a third part of a hin of oil.
• Verses 16–18 Land the prince gives to his sons remains the possession of their descendants for generations. Land he gives to a servant belongs to the servant only until the Year of Jubilee. The prince may not seize the people's land.
• Verses 19–24 There is a place where the priests boil the trespass offering and the sin offering. In the four corners of the outer court are small courts forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, with kitchens where the sacrifices of the people are boiled.

Key Verses

• Ezekiel 46:9 "He shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in" — a rule governing how worshipers move through the temple at the feasts.
• Ezekiel 46:18 "Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession" — a prohibition against rulers seizing the people's land.

People and Places

• Ezekiel: the prophet who receives the vision.
• The guide: the figure who has been leading Ezekiel through the temple since chapter 40.
• The prince: in Hebrew nasi, rendered "ruler" in the New Korean Revised Version. He is the leader who presents offerings on behalf of the people.
• Priests: they offer sacrifices on the prince's behalf and handle the holy things.
• The east, north, and south gates of the temple, and the kitchens: facilities of the temple in the vision.

Points for Reflection

• The sacrificial regulations in this chapter differ from those in Numbers 28. Numbers prescribes two lambs on the Sabbath and a continual burnt offering every morning and evening, whereas this chapter mentions only a morning burnt offering. Jewish tradition is reported to have debated the Book of Ezekiel because of discrepancies such as these.
• Traditions differ in how they read the vision of the new temple. Dispensationalism regards it as an actual temple to be built during the millennial kingdom. The Reformed tradition, among others, reads it as a symbolic portrayal of God's restored people and their worship. Interpreters also disagree on how the animal sacrifices in this chapter relate to Hebrews 10, which speaks of Christ's once-for-all sacrifice.
• Many commentators note that 46:18 recalls earlier kings who seized the people's land, such as Ahab in 1 Kings 21.

In the Korean Church

The phrase in 46:9, "he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in," is sometimes used as a sermon text emphasizing a changed life after worship.