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One-sentence summary: During Israel's captivity in Babylon, the Lord takes Ezekiel in the Spirit to Israel where He shows him the perfect temple, God's dwelling place with man.
In the 25th year of Israel's captivity, 14 years after Jerusalem is taken captive, the hand of the Lord comes upon Ezekiel, and He takes him to the land of Israel and sets him on a very high mountain. Toward the south, he sees something like the structure of a city. The Lord takes him there in the Spirit, and he sees a Man whose appearance is like bronze. The Man has a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stands in the gateway of the temple. He says to Him, "Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and fix your mind on everything I will show you... declare to the house of Israel everything you see." Then, Ezekiel sees a wall all around the temple. The Man measures the width of the structure. Then he goes to the gateway and measures the threshold of the gateway and the gate chambers and between them. Ezekiel records the specific measurements for each. (Throughout this encounter, the Man continues to take Ezekiel through every part of the temple, measuring meticulously each part.) The Man then brings him to the outer court, where he sees thirty chambers. He measures all of the outer court, its windows, archways, gate chambers, posts, and archways. Ezekiel sees the gate to the inner court, while the Man continues to measure. He brings him to the inner court through the southern gateway, measuring it all. He brings him into the inner court facing east and to the north gateway with its gate chambers, posts, and archways. Ezekiel sees the tables in the inner courts which are for slaying the sin offerings, burnt offerings, and trespass offerings. He sees the sacrifices on the tables. He sees the chambers for the singers outside the court. Then, the Man says to him that the chamber which faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple, and the one facing north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. They all minister to the Lord. He measures the court and sees the altar in front of the temple. The Man brings him to the vestibule of the temple and measures it.
The Man brings Ezekiel into the sanctuary and measures the doorposts, the entryway, and everything else. He says to him, "This is the most holy place." He measures the wall fo the temple and the side chambers having three stories, 30 chambers in each. Ezekiel continues describing what he sees in vivid detail. And so, the Man measures the temple, and everything is perfectly symmetric and proportional. There are cherubim and palm trees throughout the temple- the cherubim each having two faces, one of a man and one of a lion. He sees the wooden altar, and the Man tells him, "This is the table that is before the Lord."
Then, the Man brings Ezekiel out to the outer court and into a chamber, and he measures it all. Everything is immaculate. The Man says that the north and south chambers... "are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall lay the most holy offerings- the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering- for the place is holy. When the priests enter them, they shall not go out of the holy chamber into the outer court, but there they shall leave their garments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments. Then, they may approach that which is for the people." After the man measures the inner temple, He brings Ezekiel out through the gateway facing east and measures it all around. He measures it on the four sides, and there is a wall all around to separate the holy areas from the common ares.
Thoughts/discussion questions:
There is so much to explore here concerning the meaning of the measurements and everything inside the temple. The physical always represents a spiritual reality. In the new covenant, we are God's dwelling place!