Ezekiel 44:1

Ezekiel 44:1 says, Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.  Matthew Henry says Ezekiel was now brought back to review what he had seen just as we should go back to God’s word often to see what He has to say to us.  Ezekiel said God first brought him back to the east gate which was shut.  This was the third time Ezekiel had been brought to the east gate, and it was the only one closed.  

Verse two adds, Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.  Ezekiel was told that this gate was to be closed because it was the one that the Lord, the God of Israel, had entered through.   I believe that this would indicate that God would be in the temple at all times and not coming in and out.  Since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, this would mean that once we put our faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit indwells us, He will never leave.  

Verse three continues, It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.  This seems to say that only the Prince, Jesus Christ, would be allowed to go in and out of this gate as He fellowshipped with others.  The gate to provide salvation is closed to all but Jesus Christ, and He is the only way of entry to God’s kingdom and still calls people to Himself today.    

Ezekiel 43:22

Ezekiel 43:22 says, And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock.  The second day, a young goat without blemish was to be offered as a further sin offering.  The blood of this kid goat was to be used the same way as the blood of the bull had been to further cleanse the altar.  The blood of Jesus alone is all that can cleanse us today as we present ourselves as a living sacrifice to Him.  

Verse twenty-three adds, When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.  After the altar was purified, the priest was then to offer a young bull and a ram, both without a blemish to be set aside for an offering.   Jesus Christ is the only One Who can be presented as a sacrifice without blemish.  

Verse twenty-four continues, And thou shalt offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the Lord.  God said the people were to offer these animals as a sacrifice to Him, and that the priests were to put salt on them before they were offered.  Salt is seen as a preserving and purifying agent, so they were to purify the sacrifices.  They weren’t to be preserved for long though, since they were to be burned on the altar.  As followers of Christ, our life should be made pure for God, not by salt, but by the blood of Jesus Christ and He will preserve our soul forever, even as we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to Hm. 

Verse twenty-five states, Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.  This sin sacrifice was to be offered every day for a week.  Though we are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice every day to God, Jesus Christ offered the one time offering for our sins when He died on the cross.  

Verse twenty-six adds, Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.  The altar was also to be purified everyday and the people were to consecrate themselves to God as they did this.  Though the blood of Jesus Christ is the only acceptable offering for sin, if we accept this offer we need to purify our lives everyday as we serve and worship Him.   

Verse twenty-seven continues, And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord God.  After the seven days passed, the priests were to offer the sacrifices for the rest of the people.  After the death of Jesus Christ for our sins, He is the only sacrifice that is acceptable for forgiveness for our sins, and this was given once and forever.  Now, we should just live our lives in accordance with the will of God if we are a follower of Christ.  We cannot offer an acceptable sacrifice for our sins, no matter how often we may try to do so.

Ezekiel 43:18

Ezekiel 43:18 says, And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord God; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.  God then gave Ezekiel the ordnances or laws concerning the altar and the how sacrifices were to be presented on it.  Today, Jesus Christ is the altar that we offer ourselves on, and by God’s law it can only be done by putting our faith in Him.  

Verse nineteen adds, And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord God, a young bullock for a sin offering.  God specified that the Levites, the sons of Zadok, were the ones who could present the sin offering of a bull for the people.  Zadok was a direct descendent of Aaron, the first priest.  Today, all our sin offering is Jesus Christ, Who presented Himself as such.  To be forgiven of our sins, we must accept His sacrifice for them.  

Verse twenty continues, And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.  God then specified where the blood of the bullock was to be placed to purify the altar, and it was to cover the horns, the four corners at the bottom and the border.  This would be enough to purify the whole altar.  Jesus Christ’s shed blood is enough to purify all who put their faith in Him. 

Verse twenty-one concludes, Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.   The bull itself was to be burned outside the sanctuary.  All this was to be done on the first day that the offering was brought.

Ezekiel 43:13

Ezekiel 43:13 says, And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar.  God now began to show Ezekiel the size of the altar starting from the top.  It was to be six yards square at the top and seven yards square at the bottom according to Matthew Henry. This would be where people brought their sacrifices to God, and today the sacrifice that we have to bring to God is ourselves and it is not a physical place but a spiritual surrender of our lives to Him.  

Verse fourteen adds, And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit.  This verse and the next three continue to give the size and layout of the altar.  This verse speaks of the bottom of the altar as I understand it.  

Verse fifteen continues, So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.  God then gave Ezekiel the height of the altar.  

Verse sixteen states, And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof.  The altar was to be square, the same on all sides, and when we offer ourselves as a sacrifice to God today through putting our faith in Jesus Christ, He is the same to all people.  

Verse seventeen adds, And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.  The settle, or bottom, of the altar was to be larger than the top, which would give it more stabilitym, and the stairs were to face the east.  Our altar today is the at the feet of Jesus and He will always be stable in His love and forgiveness to us.