Commentary - Ezekiel 40:28-43

Bird's-eye view

In this portion of Ezekiel's vision, we are led deeper into the holy precincts of God's house. The movement is from the outer court, a place accessible to the nations, to the inner court, the place of covenant worship. This progression is not just architectural; it is theological. It teaches us that drawing near to God is a process of increasing holiness and separation from the world. The meticulous repetition of measurements for the south, east, and north gates underscores a central truth: God's standards for approaching Him are fixed, precise, and unchanging. There is no room for improvisation in true worship. The vision then culminates at the very heart of the temple's purpose: the place of sacrifice. The detailed description of the tables, instruments, and hooks for the burnt, sin, and guilt offerings makes it unavoidably clear that access to a holy God is predicated entirely on substitutionary atonement. This is not a blueprint for a future stone building in Jerusalem; it is a glorious Old Testament picture of the New Covenant church, its ordered worship, and its absolute dependence on the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

These closing chapters of Ezekiel present a vision of a restored temple and land. It is crucial that we read this not as a literal architectural plan for a third temple, but as a symbolic vision of the age to come. One scholar has rightly said that the book of Revelation is simply a Christian rewrite of the book of Ezekiel. This temple is the Christian church. The water that flows from its threshold is the gospel going out to heal the nations (Ezekiel 47). Therefore, the detailed measurements and procedures we see here are not instructions for future stonemasons and priests, but rather a rich, symbolic portrayal of the nature of the church, the people of God. The glory of God had departed from the old temple because of Israel's sin; this vision shows the conditions under which His glory will dwell with His people once more, conditions perfectly fulfilled in Christ and His church.

Key Issues

The Inner Court Gates: A Standard of Holy Access (vv. 28-37)

(28-31) The angel brings Ezekiel into the inner court by the south gate. This is a move toward the center, closer to the presence of God. The first thing to notice is the constant measuring. Every gate, guardroom, pillar, and porch is measured, and the measurements are identical for each gate. God is a God of order, not of chaos. His standards are not suggestions. The way we approach Him is defined by Him, not by our feelings, our traditions, or the latest trends. The guardrooms speak of the need to protect the holiness of God's house. The windows speak of the light of God's truth; there are no dark corners in His church. The palm tree ornaments are symbols of victory and righteousness (Ps. 92:12). The church is a place of triumphant life. Most significantly, the stairway has eight steps. In biblical numerology, seven is the number of completion and perfection. Eight is the number of the new beginning, of resurrection. The first day of the week, the day of Christ's resurrection, is the eighth day. To enter the inner court, one must ascend by way of resurrection. We approach God on the basis of the new creation, not the old.

(32-37) Then he is brought to the east gate, and then the north gate. The text deliberately repeats the details: "he measured the gate according to those same measurements." This is not lazy writing; it is emphatic teaching. God is driving the point home. It does not matter which gate you use to approach; the standard is the same. There are not multiple ways to God, no customized paths. The way is one way, defined by His holy requirements. The repetition of the guardrooms, pillars, windows, palm trees, and the eight steps is a liturgical refrain. The message is that our access to God is guarded, glorious, triumphant, and founded entirely upon the new life of resurrection.

The Place of Sacrifice: The Foundation of Worship (vv. 38-43)

(38-41) Having passed through the gates of resurrection, we arrive at the functional center of the inner court. And what is there? A chamber for rinsing the burnt offering and tables for slaughter. Before you get to the place of praise, you must pass by the place of blood. Worship in the presence of a holy God begins with dealing with sin. There is no other way. Here are tables for the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. Notice the abundance of them, eight tables in total. The provision for sacrifice is ample because the need for it is absolute. This is a graphic, bloody picture of the reality that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb. 9:22). These tables are a prefigurement of the cross of Jesus Christ. The Christian faith is a faith based on human sacrifice, the one perfect human sacrifice offered to God and accepted by God, through which we are liberated from our sins.

(42-43) The details continue, driving the point home. There are four more tables of cut stone for the burnt offering. Stone signifies permanence. The need for atonement is a permanent fixture of our fallen condition, and God's provision for it is just as permanent. Upon these tables lay the instruments of slaughter. We must not sanitize this. The cross was a brutal instrument of death. These knives and hooks are a stark reminder that the wages of sin is death. The double hooks were for hanging the carcass of the slain animal. Finally, the text states plainly, "on the tables was the flesh of the offering." The sacrifice has been made. For us, this points directly to the body of Christ, broken for us. These bloody tables of slaughter in Ezekiel's vision find their fulfillment and replacement in the Lord's Table. At that table, we do not see slaughter, because the slaughter is finished. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. We now feast on the accepted offering, remembering the brutal price that was paid so that we could ascend those eight steps and enter into the presence of God.

Application

This passage is not about stone and timber; it is about Christ and His Church. What then do we take from this? First, we must take to heart that worship is an ordered affair. It is a conversation between God and His people, and God sets the terms. We are to come to Him as He has commanded, through the Word, not through our own inventions. Second, our access to God is based entirely on resurrection life. We do not come in the strength of our old Adam nature. We ascend the eight steps, meaning we come as those who have been made new creatures in Christ. Third, and most centrally, our worship is grounded in a bloody sacrifice. We must never forget the cost of our access to God. We can only draw near because Christ was slaughtered for us. The tables of sacrifice in Ezekiel's temple should make us profoundly grateful for the Table of the Lord in our church. The bloody work is done. Therefore, we can approach with confidence, entering the inner court not with fear of judgment, but with the joy of accepted children, ascending by resurrection into the presence of our Father.