Commentary - Ezekiel 46:21-24

Bird's-eye view

In this portion of Ezekiel's grand temple vision, we are taken to the corners of the outer court to inspect what are essentially the kitchens of the temple. These are the designated places where the sacrifices of the people are prepared by the ministers. As with the rest of this vision, we are not being given an architectural blueprint for a future millennial temple to be built by Zerubbabel, Herod, or some future Antichrist. The New Testament is our inspired commentary on the Old, and it teaches us that this glorious temple is the Christian Church. Therefore, these detailed instructions about boiling places are not about literal pots and pans, but about the life and ministry of the new covenant community. This passage shows us a God who is concerned with the orderly, sanctified, and communal aspects of our worship. The sacrifices of the New Covenant are spiritual, but they are to be prepared and offered with diligence and care by the appointed leadership, for the nourishment and life of the whole body.

What we have here is a picture of the practical, day-to-day workings of the Church. Our spiritual sacrifices of praise, our good works, the offering of our very lives, do not ascend to God in a chaotic or individualistic haze. They are part of a corporate reality, guided and served by ministers. These kitchens are where the life of the people is brought into the life of the sanctuary. It is a picture of fellowship, service, and the transformation of our offerings into something that sustains the holy community. God is building His house, and He has not forgotten the kitchen.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

This passage comes at the tail end of Ezekiel's long and incredibly detailed vision of a restored temple, which occupies the final nine chapters of the book. The prophet has been led by a divine guide through the gates, courts, and inner sanctums of this magnificent structure. The glory of the Lord, which had dramatically departed from Solomon's temple earlier in the book (Ezekiel 10), has now returned to this new house (Ezekiel 43). Following the return of God's presence, the vision lays out the "law of the house," detailing the functions of the priests, the prince, and the regulations for worship and sacrifice. These final chapters are a portrait of a perfected covenant community living in right relationship with their God. The specific section here, concerning the boiling places, is one of the final architectural details given, focusing on the practical preparation of the sacrifices that are central to the life of this restored people. It is a vision of hope given to a people in exile, promising not just a return to the land, but a restored and purified worship at the center of their life.

Key Issues

Not a Future Kitchen, But a Present Reality

It is a great temptation, when faced with such precise measurements and architectural details, to assume that the prophet must be describing a literal building that must one day be built. This leads many down the dispensational path of expecting a stone-and-mortar temple in a future millennium, complete with a reinstated animal sacrificial system. But this is to read the Old Testament while ignoring the glorious fulfillment that has come in Christ. The book of Hebrews tells us plainly that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin and that Christ is the final, once-for-all sacrifice. To expect a return to the old system is to dishonor the finished work of the cross.

The apostle Peter tells us that we, as believers, are "living stones" being built up into a "spiritual house" (1 Pet 2:5). Paul tells us that the Church is the temple of the living God (2 Cor 6:16). The book of Revelation culminates not with a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, but with the New Jerusalem descending from heaven, a city in which there is no temple, "for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple" (Rev 21:22). Therefore, we must read Ezekiel's vision as a magnificent, Spirit-inspired blueprint of the Christian Church. The details are not for contractors, but for Christians. They describe the spiritual realities of the new covenant community in the architectural language of the old. These kitchens, then, are not for boiling lamb, but for preparing the spiritual life of the Church.

Verse by Verse Commentary

21 Then he brought me out into the outer court and had me pass through to the four corners of the court; and behold, in every corner of the court there was a small court.

The tour continues. Ezekiel is led from the inner areas out into the outer court, the place most accessible to the people. His attention is directed to the four corners. The symmetry is important. What is found in one corner is found in all four. This suggests a comprehensive provision. Whatever is happening in these courts is for the entire community, in every direction. There is no corner of the church that is to be neglected. The structure is orderly and complete. In each corner, there is a distinct, smaller court, a designated space for a specific function.

22 In the four corners of the court there were enclosed courts, forty cubits long and thirty wide; these four in the corners were the same size.

The description becomes more specific. These courts are enclosed, meaning they are set apart for a particular purpose. They are not just open space. And again, their uniformity is stressed: all four are precisely the same size. God is a God of order, not of chaos. The dimensions, forty by thirty cubits, are given. While we need not find a hidden meaning in every number, the precision itself communicates that God cares about the details of how His house is run. This is not a slapdash operation. The life of the covenant community is to be structured and well-ordered, with specific places for specific ministries.

23 Now there was a row of masonry round about in them, around the four of them, and boiling places were made under the rows round about.

Within these enclosed courts, there is further structure. A row of masonry, likely a low wall or curb, runs around the inside. Underneath these rows are the boiling places, which we might think of as hearths or fire pits with places for pots. The function is built right into the structure. This is not an afterthought. The preparation of the offerings is integral to the design of the entire temple complex. This tells us that the practical service and ministry within the church, the "kitchen work," is not a secondary or less spiritual task. It is part of the divine blueprint.

24 Then he said to me, “These are the boiling places where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifices of the people.”

Here the divine guide explains the purpose of all this. These are the kitchens. And notice the key elements. The work is done by the ministers of the house. In the new covenant, this refers to the pastors, elders, and deacons, those appointed to serve and lead the congregation. And what do they do? They boil the sacrifices of the people. In the old covenant, this was the portion of the peace offerings and other sacrifices that the people and the priests would eat together in a fellowship meal before the Lord. It was a communal feast of celebration and communion.

In the new covenant, the "sacrifices of the people" are spiritual. They are our praise (Heb 13:15), our good works and sharing (Heb 13:16), and the offering of our bodies as "a living sacrifice" (Rom 12:1). These are the raw materials. The ministers of the house, through the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, and pastoral care, take these individual offerings and "boil" them. That is, they prepare them, make them suitable for the whole community, and help turn them into a communal feast. The preaching of the Word takes the raw stuff of our lives and interprets it, seasons it with Scripture, and makes it nourishing for the whole body. The Lord's Supper is a prime example: a fellowship meal where the sacrifice of Christ is remembered and our communion with one another is strengthened. These kitchens are the engine rooms of church fellowship and sanctification.

Application

This passage, which at first glance seems like an obscure bit of architectural trivia, is actually a profound encouragement to the local church. It reminds us that our life together is not meant to be a disorganized, free-for-all. God has designed His house with an intentional order. There is a place for leadership and service, represented by the "ministers of the house." Pastors and elders have a real job to do, and it is a service job. It is kitchen work. It is taking the sacrifices the people bring, their lives, their resources, their praise, and helping to prepare it all into a feast that honors God and builds up the body.

For the congregation, this passage reminds us that we are to bring our sacrifices. We are not to come to worship as passive consumers. We are to bring the offering of our lives, our attention, our voices in song, our resources. We bring the raw ingredients. We then submit to the ministry of the Word, allowing our offerings to be shaped and prepared so that they contribute to the health of the whole community.

Finally, this is a picture of fellowship. The sacrifices were boiled in order to be eaten together. The church is a feasting community. Our worship should culminate in communion with God and with one another. These four kitchens, one in each corner, show that this life-giving preparation and fellowship is for everyone. No one is to be left out. God has made ample provision in His house for every single one of His people to bring their sacrifice, to have it prepared by faithful ministers, and to share in the glorious feast of covenant life.