Ezekiel 46:19

Ezekiel 46:19 says, After he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the two sides westward.  Ezekiel was next brought into the holy chambers of the priests by the side gate.   This was an area not discussed before, and we should never be surprised to understand things that we never knew about God before as we grow in our Christian life.  

Verse twenty adds, Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the utter court, to sanctify the people.  This we might say was like a kitchen where the priests boiled the trespass and sin offering and baked the meat offering.  This was to be done away from the people.  Matthew Henry said it was a shame that holy ground should be waste ground, which these areas could have become had God not assigned a purpose to them.  If we as followers of Christ are not actively involved in doing His work, then we become like wasted holy ground.  

Verse twenty-one says, Then he brought me forth into the utter court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.  Ezekiel was then brought to the outer court.  God will continue to show us more about what it means to be a Christian if we are faithfully looking to Him for understanding.   

Verse twenty-two states, In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure.  This verse and the next two give us the size of these courts within the larger court. 

Verse twenty-three adds, And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about.  These areas were also to be boiling points for the priests to prepare the sacrifices.  This would not be glamourous work, but it was necessary work.  A lot of what we do when we serve God may not be glamourous work, but if it is what God has called us to do, then we need to do it to the best of our ability even of it is never seen by anyone else.  

Verse twenty-four continues, Then said he unto me, These are the places of them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.  God repeated that these areas were for the ministers of the house to boil the sacrifices.  God will always provide us with everything we need to carry out His purpose in our life.

Ezekiel 46:16

Ezekiel 46:16 says, Thus saith the Lord God; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance.  God said that if the prince gave any of his sons an inheritance that it would be theirs and their descendants by inheritance forever.  

Verse seventeen adds, But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons' for them.  God then said that if a prince gave an inheritance to a servant that it would return to the prince in the year of liberty and to his sons' when he died.  The inheritance was to stay in the family and could not forever stay with those outside the family.  

Verse eighteen continues, Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.  God also said that the prince could not take anyone else’s inheritance and give it to his sons.  Thinking about the last three verses, I believe  I can say that as followers of Christ, we are both servants and children of God through our faith in Jesus Christ, and the inheritance He gives us is everlasting life which can never be taken from us, and we can also never take it from anyone else. Everything He entrusts us with in life is only ours until the Son returns.  

Ezekiel 46:11

Ezekiel 46:11 says, And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah.  I believe this would be other times of sacrifice, when it was specified that a young bull, a ram, and the lambs would be sacrificed according to their ability to give.  We are not required to give anything to God as a sacrifice for sin, but we should willingly give all that we can to help carry out God’s work after we accept forgiveness for our sins that only Jesus Christ can offer. 

Verse twelve adds, Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the Lord, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.  God said that when the prince offered these voluntary offerings that the east gate was to be opened and when the sacrifice was completed that he was to go out the east gate once more and it was to be closed.  If we offer more to God than what might be expected, we are to give it the same way as any other offering and then are to close the gate and no longer wonder about the gift nor try to control how it will be used.  

Verse thirteen continues, Thou shalt daily prepare a burnt offering unto the Lord of a lamb of the first year without blemish: thou shalt prepare it every morning.  In addition to the sacrifices mentioned before, the people were to daily offer a lamb without blemish as a sacrifice prepared every morning.  We are to daily offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God, starting from the time we get up in the morning.  

Verse fourteen states, And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour; a meat offering continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the Lord.  The people were also to offer the things necessary to prepare the sacrifice, which would be flour and oil.  We should want the things that we offer to God to be prepared the best way we can prepare them.  

Verse fifteen adds, Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meat offering, and the oil, every morning for a continual burnt offering.  God said this was to be done every morning as a continual burnt offering.  The sacrifice that Jesus Christ offered on the cross is continual, or everlasting, and we as His followers should daily offer our lives as a living sacrifice to Him, starting from when we get up in the morning and continuing all day.

Ezekiel 46:6

Ezekiel 46:6 says, And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish.  God then specified the animals for sacrifice on the new moon, once more specifying that they should be without blemish.  There was to be a young bull, six lambs, and a ram.  It seems that the young bull was the only difference in the sacrifice on the sabbath.  Matthew Henry equates this with those who have done a lot for the Lord continually at times being called on to do even more.   I can say that as Christians we should give God everything we have to be used for His purpose and glory every day.  

Verse seven adds, And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain unto, and an hin of oil to an ephah.  God said these animals would be prepared for a meat offering, along with a specified amount of oil.   This was much more than was required under the law of Moses, just as Jesus Christ’s sacrifice was much more than any other sacrifice in the time of Moses or any other time.  

Verse eight continues, And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof.  God said that when the prince entered, he would go in by the gate on that porch.  We can only enter into God’s kingdom by the gate opened when Jesus Christ died for our sins.  

Verse nine states, But when the people of the land shall come before the Lord in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.  God also said that the people of Israel would enter by one gate and leave by another.  They would not go back the way they came but would continue on straight ahead.  Matthew Henry says that some people think this was done so that since they would likely have entered the gate closest to their home that by having to go farther to return that they would have time to meditate on the worship experience.  I do know that once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, that we should move ahead daily and never turn back.  

Verse ten adds, And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth.   God said the prince should be in the middle of them, going in when they went in and going out when they went out.  Those in power in the church today should never think of themselves as more important than anyone else, but they should be in the midst of other Christians as a spiritual equal.