Ezekiel 40 :39

Ezekiel 40:39 says, And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.  God said that there were to be two tables on each side of the north gate.  There was no altar mentioned, but there were several places to prepare for sacrifice.  These were to be used for the offerings made to God, which included both the sin and trespass offerings.  There is now only one sacrifice offering for all our sins and trespasses, and that is the shed blood of Jesus Christ, but we will worship God in several places until we are at home in heaven.  Still, if we are a Christian we will not worship many gods but will only worship one God through putting our faith in Jesus Christ.

Verse forty adds, And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables.  There were also to be two tables on each side of the north gate as people went up to it.  

Verse forty-one continues, Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices.  There would be a total of eight gates for people to prepare their offerings.  We may come to Jesus from many different places, but we as followers of Christ can only come to present our offering, which is our life, to God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.  

Verse forty-two states, And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice.  Ezekiel was then told the size of four tables, which would be made of stone and used to prepare the burnt offerings brought by the people.   

Verse forty-three adds, And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.  God also said there would be hooks fastened to the tables to hang the sacrifices on.  There was no longer an altar mentioned, but the sacrifices were still to be brought.  We have no physical altar where we can offer sacrifices to God but come to Him individually through our faith in Jesus Christ as we present ourselves as a living sacrifice.   

Ezekiel 40:27

Ezekiel 40:27 says, And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits. This verse and verses thirty-two and thirty-five give the dimensions of the inner court from south, north and east, but there was no inner or outer gate to the west.  Matthew Henry points out that in Solomon's temple there was a west gate, but not in the new temple.  All the gates into the inner temple were to be the same size, just as the entrance into God’s promised land is the same for all. 

Verse twenty-eight adds, And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;  The next few verses concern the inner court.  

Verse twenty-nine continues, And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad,  Since they are pretty much the same as the outer court, I will just list the verses.  

Verse thirty adds, And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. 

Verse thirty-one continues, And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps.  

Verse thirty-two continues, And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures. 

Verse thirty-three states, And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.  

Verse thirty-four adds, And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.  

Verse thirty-five continues, And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures;  

Verse thirty-six says, The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.  

Verse thirty-seven adds, And the posts thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.  

Verse thirty-eight continues, And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering.  

Ezekiel 40:24

Ezekiel 40:24 says, After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures.  Ezekiel was then brought to the gate on the south side and shown the posts and arches and the size of the gate and arches.

Verse twenty-five adds, And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.  The arches of the gate also had windows in it, which would imply that a person could either get inside the arch or there was a walkway behind it so they could see out.  This would allow them to see who was at the gate if it was closed.  When Jesus stands at the gate of our heart and knocks, faith is the window that allows us to see Who He is.

Verse twenty-six continues, And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof.  Matthew Henry points out that all the gates had seven steps leading up to them, which he says some see as indicating that we move up step-by-step in grace, but I believe that we are completely under God’s grace when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  We may then grow in our spiritual life one step at a time.   \

Ezekiel 40:20

Ezekiel 40:20 says, And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof.  Now, Ezekiel gave the dimensions of the gate to the north.  

Verse twenty-one adds, And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.  This verse and the next give details about the little chambers and their position and size.  

Verse twenty-two continues. And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them.  Matthew Henry says that the gate to the north and south were to admit ordinary people, whereas the gate to the east was to admit those who were famous for their wealth and wisdom.  I don’t know if this is true or not, but I do know that all people, whether they are rich and wise or are just ordinary people have to come to God through the same gate, which is faith in Jesus Christ as one’s Savior and Lord.  

Verse twenty-three concludes, And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.  Ezekiel then gave the size of the courtyard between the north and east gates.

Ezekiel 40:15

Ezekiel 40:15 says, And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.  This verse tells the distance from the gate and to the porches and the size of the area surrounding them.  This would give the size of the porch.

Verse sixteen adds, And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees.  Ezekiel then returns to the little chambers and speaks about their windows and the arches and windows that seemed to look inward.  God will cause us to look inward at our lives to see if we are being obedient to Him, no matter what we may see in the world outside.  Ezekiel also said that the posts were engraved with palm trees.  Matthew Henry says that these palm trees signified that the righteous would flourish like palm trees.  I believe that this would tell us as righteous people, those who are made righteous by accepting God’s gift of salvation and not those who are self-righteous, that we should be flourishing spiritually today and every day.  

Verse seventeen continues, Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement.  Ezekiel said he was then brought into the outward court, the one where the people would gather.  There were also thirty chambers there and a paved area.  Matthew Henry says the courtyard was paved with prophyry-stone, which would glow like burning coals.  I am not sure what this stone was, but I do know that when we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit that our lives should shine for God. 

Verse eighteen states, And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement.  This verse and the next continue to give the size of the paved courtyard.  

Verse nineteen adds, Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward.   These dimensions were set by God and not Ezekiel or anyone else.  We should never try to limit the size of God’s kingdom to what we or anyone else might want it to be but must accept the fact that God alone can set the dimensions.