Solomon's Temple

In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the LORD (1 Kings 6:1, NIV).

"The reference to the Exodus in the introduction to the temple is important because the temple testifies to the continuing presence of God in the covenant, as he was encountered at Mount Sinai" (August H. Konkel, 1 & 2 Kings, The NIV Application Commentary (NIVAC), Terry Muck, General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), p.137).

In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its specifications. He had spent seven years building it (1 Kings 6:38, NIV).

"1 Kings 6:38b tells us that it took Solomon seven years to build his Temple. According to 1 Kings 8, he dedicated it during the Feast of Booths (Sukkot), which occurs in the seventh month (verse 2) and which, in Deuteronomic tradition, is a festival of seven days' duration (Deut. 16:13-15). Moreover, the speech in which Solomon dedicates his shrine, just completed, is structured around seven petitions (1 Kings 8:31-55). Can the significance of the number seven in this Temple dedication be coincidence? In light of the argument on other grounds that Temple building and creation were thought to be congeneric, this is improbable. It is more likely that the construction of the Temple is presented here as a parallel to the construction of the world in seven days (Gen. 1:1-2:4)..." (Jon D. Levenson, The Temple and the World, pp.288-89).

Sinai, Zion and the Cosmic Mountain

The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven... (Psalm 11:4a, AV).

For the LORD has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling: "This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it (Psalm 113:13-14, NIV).

"In God's revelation to Israel, his heavenly sanctuary and its earthly sanctuary are inseparable (cf. Ex 25:9; Pss. 11:4; 76:4, 8; Heb. 9:23; etc)" (Bruce K. Waltke, Micah, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (TOTC), D.J. Wiseman, General Editor, (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), p.168).

"The particular mythic symbol that unlocks much of the power of the image of Zion is that of the cosmic mountain..." (Jon D. Levenson, Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible, (New York: HarperOne, 1985), p.111).

"The mountain is an image which the Biblical authors can use to express the paradox of a God who dwells in heaven and on earth. Just as a tall mountain appears to bridge the gap between heaven and earth when its peak reaches up into the clouds, so too, does God's dwelling place" (Robert L. Cohn, The Mountains and Mount Zion, notley.net/Jerusalem%20Archaeology/1.25.MountZion.pdf, (Ipswich: EBSCO Publishing, 2002), p.113).

"....the cosmic mountain is the "meeting place of heaven and earth," the tangent of celestial and mundane reality. And since it is the meeting place of heaven and earth, it follows that the mountain is also "the place where effective decrees are issued," in other words the moral as well as the physical capital of the universe, a place "involved in the government and stability of the Cosmos" (Jon D. Levenson, Sinai and Zion, pp.111-12, quotes taken from Richard J. Clifford, The Cosmic Mountain in Canaan and the Old Testament, HSM 4 (Cambridge: Harvard University, 1972), p.3)

You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good (Nehemiah 9:13, NIV).

"At Mt. Sinai God descends on the mountain and yet speaks from heaven (Neh. 9:13). At Mt. Zion, too the boundary between heaven and earth is erased" (Robert L. Cohn, The Mountains and Mount Zion, p.113).

"Sinai is the mountain of Israel's infancy, of the days of Moses... Mount Sinai is the location of ... one great event in Israel's history, the revelation of Torah...

"In the early poetry of Israel ... one common theme is the march of YHWH, conceived as a warrior, from Sinai is an earthshattering apparition (e.g. Ps 68:8-9; Deut 33:2). But in most passages it is not from Sinai, but from Zion that he comes:

From Zion, perfect in beauty,

God shone forth.

Our God came;

He did not fail to act.

Before him was a devouring fire; Around him it stormed fiercely! (Ps 50:2-3)...

"The traditions of YHWH's theophany, his earthshattering apparition to man - even, to some extent - his revelation of law, have been transferred from Sinai to Zion. In short, Sinai has not so much been forgotten as absorbed...

"The transfer of the motif from Sinai to Zion was complete and irreversible, so that YHWH came to be designated no longer as "the One of Sinai," but as "he who dwells on Mount Zion" (Isa 8:18). More than merely the name of the mountain abode of YHWH is involved in the change. Zion, unlike Sinai, was a known site in Israel" (Jon D. Levenson, Sinai and Zion, pp.89 & 91).

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2-3, AV).

"As the junction between heaven and earth, Zion, the Temple mount, is a preeminent locus of communication between God and man" (Jon D. Levenson, Sinai and Zion, p.125).

"Zion new authority is symbolized by a further elevation of its height. It has become a center for torah, for the proclamation of God's word... [the] futuristic oracles show how the renewed Jerusalem [is] to be an exceptionally high mountain. Power and authority flow from height; the sacred mountain is an axis mundi, a link between heaven and earth" (Robert L. Cohn, The Mountains and Mount Zion, pp.113-14).

Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King (Psalm 48:2, AV).

"A common theme to temples in the ancient Near East is that they were the architectural embodiment of the cosmic mountain... The conception of Mount Zion as holy mountain are found in the prophets (Isa 2:2) and in the Psalms (Ps. 48:2)" (August H. Konkel, 1 & 2 Kings, NIVAC, p.137).

"... the Temple is a visible, tangible token of the act of creation, the point of origin of the world, the "focus" of the universe" (Jon D. Levenson, The Temple and the World, p.283).

"... the Temple is the epitome of the world, a concentrated form of its essence, a miniature of the cosmos...

"It is the theology of creation rendered in architecture and glyptic craftsmanship...

"If the Temple is a form of the world, then the construction of the Temple, and of its predecessor, the Tabernacle, should mirror the creation of the world..." (Jon D. Levenson, Sinai and Zion, pp.138-39, & 142).

"Restoring order out of chaos. The initiative taken by David to build a temple for Yahweh and its completion by his successor Solomon fit a pattern of temple building by kings in the ancient world. [A.] Kapelrud ["Temple Building: A Task for Gods and Kings", Orientalia 32 (1963)] has illustrated that elements of the temple-building motif in ancient near Eastern literature have parallels in the biblical narratives treating the construction of the Mosaic tabernacle and the Solomonic temple... the adaption of Kapelrud's study in the chart ... indicates the interdependence of the tabernacle and temple-building narratives in the Old Testament" (Andrew E. Hill, 1 & 2 Chronicles, NIVAC, pp.418-19).

Temple Building Motif		Mosaic Tabernacle	Solomonic Temple
1	A sanctuary is to be built	Ex. 25:1-8	1 Chron. 28:11-21
2	The king visits the temple overnight	Ex. 24:12-18	2 Chron. 1:2-7
3	The deity reveals the temple plans	Ex. 25:8-30:38	1 Chron. 28:2-3, 11-19 2 Chron. 1:7-12
4	The king announces intention to build	Ex. 35:4-10; 36:2-35	2 Chron. 2:1-10
5	A master builder and material secured	Ex. 31:1-6; 35:4:29	1 Chron. 22:14-15; 29:1-9; 2 Chron. 2:7-14
6	Sanctuary is finished according to plan	Ex. 39:42-43	2 Chron. 5:1; 6:10
7	Offerings and dedication occur	Ex. 40:9-11	2 Chron. 6:12-42; 7:4-7
8	The people assemble	Ex. 39:32-33, 42-43	2 Chron. 5:2-13
9	The deity enters the sanctuary	Ex. 40:34-35	2 Chron. 5:13-14; 7:1-3
10	The king is blessed and promised dominion	----	2 Chron. 7:12-18

(Andrew E. Hill, 1 & 2 Chronicles, NIVAC, p.419)

Tabernacle - Temple Typology

"Not only is there idealization of David and Solomon, but the author also appears to consciously adopt the account of the succession of Moses and Joshua as a model for the succession of David and Solomon: Both David and Moses fail to attain their goals - one to build the temple and the other to enter the promised land... Both Solomon and Joshua bring the people of God into rest (22:8-9; Jos 11:23; 21:44)... Both enjoy the immediate and wholehearted support of the people (29:23-24; Dt 34:9; Jos 1:16-18)... It is twice reported that God "exalted" or "made great" Solomon and Joshua (29:25; 2Ch 1:1; Jos 3:7; 4:14). The Chronicler also uses other models from Pentateuchal history in his portrayal of David and Solomon. Like Moses, David received the plans for the temple from God (28:11-19; Ex 25:9)..." (Raymond Dillard, "1 Chronicles", The NIV Study Bible, Kenneth Barker, General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1987), pp.580-581).

Solomon/Huram-abi and Beazalel/Oholiab

And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen (Exodus 38:22-23, AV).

Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom. And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's, The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father (2 Chronicles 2:12-14, AV).

"The third model which the Chronicler borrows to fashion the account of Solomon derives from the building of the tabernacle. The Chronicler draws numerous parallels between the building of the tabernacle and building of the temple; particularly he casts his Solomon and Huram-abi as the new Bezalel and Oholiab.

"(1) Solomon as the new Bezalel. Of the thousands who labored in the building of both the tabernacle and the temple, Bezalel and Oholiab and Solomon and Huram-abi are the only ones to be named for their roles. More particularly Bezalel is signaled out as the one chosen by God by name (Exod 31:1-11); 35:30-36:2; 38:22-23); Oholiab is in the secondary role as helper (31:6). Solomon too is singled out for the building task (1 Chr 22:9-10; 28:6-29:2). Solomon and Bezalel are both of the tribe of Judah (Exod 31:2; 35:20; 38:22). Both receive wisdom from God for the building task (Exod 31:1-3; 35:30-35; 2 Chr 1). It is striking to note that the only two references to Bezalel outside the accounts of the building of the tabernacle in Exodus are found in Chronicles (1 Chr 2:20; 2 Ch 1:5). It is only after his seeking God at the altar built by Bezalel (2 Chr 1:5) that Solomon is endued with wisdom. For the author of Kings this was wisdom in general, wisdom shown in judicious decisions (1 Kgs 3:16-28), effective administration (4:1-28), and international reputation (4:29-34). But for the Chronicler it was specially wisdom for building: he omits 1 Kgs 3-4 and proceeds directly to the building of the temple. In Chronicles Hiram does not praise God for giving David "a wise son over this great people" (1 Kgs 5:21 [7]) but for "a wise son who will build" (2 Chr 2:11 [12]).

"(2) Huram-abi as the new Oholiab. The Chronicler's presentation of Solomon as the second Bezalel is enforced by his handling of Huram-abi as the second Oholiab. This is seen by modifications the Chronicler introduces in three areas: arrival time, skill inventory, and ancestry. The deuteronomic historian records the labor of Huram-abi only after he has reported the completion of the temple and palace (1 Kgs 6:38-71); Huram appears only to cast the bronzes needed for the temple construction (1 Kgs 7:13-47). In contrast the Chronicler makes it clear that Huram-abi was involved with the building activities from the very beginning, just as Oholiab; Huram-abi's services are sought and offered in the first exchange of correspondence between Solomon and Hiram of Tyre (2 Chr 2). Nor are his labors confined to bronze alone as was the case in Kings (1 Kgs 7:14); the Chronicler records a more extensive skills inventory (2 Chr 2:13 [14] so that it is the same as the skills of Bezalel and Oholiab (Exod 31:1-6; 35:30 - 36:2; 38:22-23). While the author of Kings reports that Huram's mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali (1 Kgs 7:14), the Chronicles describes her as a widow from Dan (2 Chr 2:13 [14]), thus giving Huram-abi the same tribal ancestry of Oholiab (Exod 31:6; 35:34; 38:23..." (Raymond B. Dillard, 2 Chronicles, Word Biblical Commentary (WBC), David A. Hubbard & Glenn W. Barker, General Editors, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1987), pp. 4-5).

He made

And he made the most holy house... (2 Chronicles 3:8, AV).

"Following the outline of the temple's basic plan (vv.3-7), fourteen paragraphs in 3:8 - 4:11 all begin with the phrase he made (Heb. wayya'as; 3:8, 10, 14, 15, 16a, 16b; 4:1, 2, 6, 7, 8a, 8b, 9, 11a). The purpose is to draw attention to an analogy with the construction of the Tent, where a longer version of the same pattern recurs (Ex. 36:1 - 39:32). Solomon, like Moses, is faithful to the plans revealed by God (cf. 1 Chr. 28:11-19 where most of the details of the building is listed here are also mentioned). The association between Solomon's temple and Moses' Tent is featured several times in chapter 3 (see also vv.9, 16). Since none of these links occurs in 1 Kings 6-7, they are Chronicles' way of underlining that the purpose of the Tent, a travelling sanctuary, was fulfilled in the 'rest' signalled by the temple" (Martin J. Selman, 2 Chronicles, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (TOTC), D. J. Wiseman, General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), pp.303-04).

"The repeated "And he made" (wayya'as), which occurs thirteen times between 3:8 and 4:9 systematically demarcates the progression of the narrative. The chronicler develops the four instances of wayya'as in 1 Kgs 6:23; 7:23, 38, 48 in line with the description of the tabernacle and its furnishings (Exodus 36-39). The chronicler is teaching his Torah-versed readers that what Solomon made corresponds to what Bezalel had made. There are further features borrowed from the tabernacle in this account. The small weight of gold nails in the most holy place (v.9) indicates the use of gold plating. These golden nails correspond to the gold hooks used for the screen of the tabernacle in Exod 26:32, 37; 36:36. The curtain between the rear room and the nave (v.14) was a feature of the Herodian Temple, but is not mentioned in the 1 Kings narrative, which has doors instead (1 Kgs 7:50; cf. 2 Chr 4:22), though 1 Kgs may presuppose it. The chronicler again has the tabernacle screen in mind, as the verbal parallelism with Exodus 36:35 (and 26:31) indicates" (Leslie C. Allen, The First and Second Books of Chronicles, The New Interpreter's Bible (NIB), Vol.3, Leander E. Kech, Editorial Convener, (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1999), p.484).

Square/Cube Dwelling

The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold... (1 Kings 6:20, NIV).

"The Most Holy Place had therefore the form of a perfect cube in the temple as well as in the tabernacle, only on an enlarged scale" (C. F. Keil, 1 and 2 Kings, KD, Commentary on the Old Testament, (Peabody: Hendrikson Publishers, 1996), Vol.3, p.56).

"The use of pure or the best 'red' gold (cf. NEB -a symbol of past glory, splendour and purity (cf. Rev. 21:18-21) - follows the precedent of the tabernacle" (Donald J. Wiseman, 1 & 2 Kings, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (TOTC), D. J. Wiseman, General Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1993), p.109).

God dwelling/presence

Then Solomon said... I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever (2 Chronicles 6:1-2, NIV).

"... almost the first words of Solomon at the temple's dedication ceremony are to the effect that God is in this building..." (Michael Wilcock, The Message of Chronicles, The Bible Speaks Today (BST), A. Motyer, OT Series Editor, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1987), p.143).

Glory of God

Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory [kabod] of the LORD filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD'S house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD... (2 Chronicles 7:1-3, AV).

"Seeing the fire on the altar of burnt offering and now also an aura of glory "on" the Temple, they [the children of Israel] received assurance of the Lord's commitment to the Temple. The chronicler has in mind Lev 9:23-24, where the tabernacle sacrifices were authenticated by supernatural fire before all the people. This repetition teaches that the Temple had taken over the role of the tabernacle" (Leslie C. Allen, The First and Second Books of Chronicles, NIB, p.499).

'Precious' Building Materials

"With all my power I [David] have made provision for the house of my God - gold for (the objects of) gold, silver for those of silver, bronze for those of bronze, iron for those of iron, and wood for those of wood, stones of onyx, (stones) for settings, stones of antimony, variegated cloth [...] and fine linen in abundance... Then the princes of the fathers, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the princes of thousands and hundreds, and the princes over all the kings's work gave freely... and the people rejoiced over the generous contributions for it was with a perfect heart that they had made these generous contributions to Yahweh; David the king also rejoiced with great joy (1 Chronicles 29:2, 6 & 9, Roddy Braun's, 1 Chronicles, WBC, translation).

"In describing David's preparation for the temple, the author has continued his dependency upon the tabernacle pericope, Exod 25-31 and 35-40. This is clear from the following notations. (1) The similarity of the building materials provided and contributed in the two sections. In addition to the gold and silver (vv 3-5), David's preparations included bronze, iron, wood, onyx stones, stones for setting, antimony, variegated cloth, and linen (v 2); and the people's contribution included gold, silver, bronze, iron, and precious stones (vv 7-8). All of these materials except iron are found in the tabernacle pericope... Particularly striking is the mention of the otherwise rare onyx (Exod 25:7; 28:9, 20; 35:9, 27; 39:13), otherwise found in the OT only in Gen 2:12; Eze 28:13; Job 28:16; variegated cloth... "stones for settings" (Exod 25:7; 35:9, 27; cf. Exod 28:17, 20; 39:13), and linen (thirty-three times in the tabernacle narrative, only five in the remainder of the OT... "antimony" is absent from the tabernacle narrative, although ... "a precious jewel" (cf. BDB, 656), read here by some scholars, occurs as one of the jewels in the high priest's vestments in Exod 28:18; 39:11... (2) the use of ... "engraver, artificer," recalls Exod 28:11; 35:35; 38:23. (Cf. Also 1 Kgs 7:14). The fourfold use of ... "to give generously" repeats a root that Chronicles has introduced in 28:21 in another sense. The priestly writer use the root five times (Exod 25:2; 35:5, 21, 22, 29) to refer to the generosity of the Israelites in making their contributions for the tabernacle. [E. L.] Curtis [A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Chronicles, ICC [Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1910] (301) correctly notes that as Moses appealed to the people for freewill offerings (Exod 35:4-9; cf. 25:1-8) and as they later responded to that appeal (Exod 35:20-29), so David is presented as appealing to the princes of Israel and receiving their gifts.

"Attention should be called again to the freedom with which the Chronicler has used the material available to him, however. He has avoided mention of those items most closely connected with the priests and their vestments... In vocabulary, the Chronicler has worked with some freedom, preferring, e.g. the hithpael of ... "give generously" to the qal used in Exodus..." (Roddy Braun, 1 Chronicles, Word Biblical Commentary (WBC), David A. Hubbard & Glenn W. Barker, General Editors, (Waco: Word Books, Publisher, 1986), pp.279-280).

"Again the Temple is being put on par with the tabernacle. The chronicler is announcing a new era launched by the same God of Israel" (Leslie C. Allen, The First and Second Books of Chronicles, NIB, Vol.3, p.467).

Wall

And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams (1 Ki 6:36, AV).

Furthermore he made the court [haser] of the priests, and the great court ['azara], and doors for the court ['azara], and overlaid the doors of them with brass (2 Ch 4:9, AV).

"The epithet inner court applied to the "court of the priests" (2Ch 4:9) presupposes an outer one, which is also mentioned in 2Ch 4:9, and called "the great court." The inner one is called the upper (higher) court in Jer 36:10, from which it follows that it was situated on a higher level than the outer one, which surrounded it on all sides. It was enclosed by a low wall... According to 2Ch 4:9, the outer court had gates lined with brass, so that it was also surrounded with a high wall" (C. F. Keil, 1 and 2 Kings, KD, Vol.3, p.60).

The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the LORD with its portico (1 Ki 7:12, NIV).

"... the temple court, or "inner court," was distinguished from the "great court," that surrounded the complex of palace buildings and the temple area" (Leslie C. Allen, First and Second Books of Chronicles, NIB, Vol.3, p.485).

... the two courts of the temple of the LORD... (2 Ki 23:12, NIV).

He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD... (1Ch 28:12a, NIV).

"... both histories report that the temple had two courts (1 Kgs 7:12; 2 Kgs 23:12, though Kings does not mention the doors" (Raymond B. Dillard, 2 Chronicles, WBC, pp.36-37).

Lampstands

He made ten gold lampstands according to the specifications for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north (2 Chronicles 4:7, NIV).

"Solomon's temple was also better equipped than the Tent in the case of the light and bread. Whereas the Tent had a single seven-branched candlestick and one table for the 'showbread' (cf. Ex. 25:23-40), the temple had ten of each, though the lamps were possibly of a different shape...

"The light and the bread both speak of God's continuing presence with his people, a special emphasis in Chronicles (vv. 7-8 are not in Ki.) Even in times of darkness and poverty, God remained the source of light and food for his people (cf. Dt. 8:3; Ps. 36:8-9; Jn 6:35; 8:12)" (Martin J. Selman, 2 Chronicles, TOTC, p.313).

"The virtual garden of Eden is further manifested in the interior that includes the lamps (7:49). The lampstands stand five to either side of the entrance to the Most Holy Place... The biblical lamps are lit only at night, like the stars of the heavenly host, they shine from dusk to dawn" (August H. Konkel, 1 & 2 Kings, NIVAC, p.143).

Cherubim

On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers (1 Kings 6:29, NIV).

"The cherub is the prominent motif of the temple interior... The association of the cherub with the palm is a powerful symbol of the source of the vitality for creation. The cherubs guarding the tree of life in the Garden of Eden make the cherubs facing the tree a poignant motif in the temple of Solomon" (August H. Konkel, 1 & 2 Kings, NIVAC, pp.141-42).

The Sea and Lavers

He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape... It held two thousand baths... He then made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths... one basin to go on each of the ten stands. He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple (1 Kings 7:23, 26, 38-39, NIV).

"This strangely named object was actually a large water 'tank' (GNB), placed just inside the south-east corner (v. 10) of the temple. Its nearest equivalent in the Tent was the basin (or laver) which stood between the bronze altar and the Tent entrance (Ex. 30:18-21). Both were to be used by the priests for washing (2 Ch. 4:6; cf. Ex. 30:19-21)..." (Martin J. Selman, 2 Chronicles, TOTC, p.312).

"The second item described is a giant water container (vv.23-26), over 4 metres (15 feet) in diameter and over 2 metres (7½ feet) in height, cast with two rows of gourds beneath its rim, which have the shape of a lily... it holds about 11,000 gallons of water. Its significance is to be found in the name "Sea". Another non-literal use of the term to designate chaos before creation (e.g., Ps. 74:12-14). In describing creation, "sea" is the equivalent of Leviathan and sea monster..." (August H. Konkel, 1 & 2 Kings, NIVAC, p.132).

"In addition to the great Sea, the temple has ten water tanks in the shape of a bowl to distribute water for cleansing purposes (vv.27-29). Each of these tanks was six feet in diameter and holds about 220 gallons of water (v.38). It is estimated that the weight of each stand with its water reservoir full would be three and a half tons. They are equipped with wheels, but they are not readily mobile..." (August H. Konkel, 1 & 2 Kings, NIVAC, p.133).

In them [the ten basins] the things to be used for the burnt offerings were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing (2 Chronicles 4:6, NIV).

"Water has a practical use in ritual cleansing in Solomon's temple (2 Chron. 4:6), but the size of the great water basin is not practical for that purpose. Its primary purpose in the temple court is to represent the rule of God over the cosmos... The great tank represents either the cosmic waters or the "waters of life" that emanate from the Garden of Eden. Divine forces subdue the waters of chaos ("sea") so that they provide life-giving nourishment for plant, animal and human life. The temple is a depiction of Eden as the garden of God (Isa. 51:3; Eze 28:13)" (August H. Konkel, 1 & 2 Kings, NIVAC, pp.132 & 142).

River

"Consider, too, that just as Eden is a source of rivers (see Genesis 2:10-14), so too is Zion (Ps. 46:4..." (Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, NIBC, p.188).

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells (Psalm 46:4, NIV).

"Jerusalem had no river ... yet she had a "river"" (John H. Stek, "Psalms", The NIV Study Bible, Kenneth Barker, General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1987), p.832).

"Readers have often been puzzled as to what river in Jerusalem this might refer. Some have suggested the Gihon spring (1 Kgs. 1:33; 2 Chron. 32:30). But, instead of looking at Jerusalem's geography, we should probably look at the theological and imagery of the Jerusalem temple. Since the Hebrew term for "temple" (Hb. hekal) also denotes "palace," the temple symbolizes Yahweh's kingship. This was demonstrated, in part, when he subdued the chaotic waters at creation (see on Pss. 24; 29; 74; 93). Yahweh not only subdued the chaotic waters (104:6-9), he transformed them into life-giving waters (104:10-16). Psalm 65, which sings of the Zion temple (vv. 1-4) and of Yahweh's "stilling the roaring seas" (vv. 5-7), refers to "the stream of God" (v. 9, Hb. peleg, the same term used in 46:4) that waters the land and similarly results in joy (v.13). Thus, this river of Psalm 46 is probably an image depicting the holy place (i.e., the sanctuary) where the Most High dwells as the source of life for the city of God. This image is developed later in Ezekiel's vision of a new temple after the restoration from exile (47:1-12)" (Craig C. Broyles, Psalms, New International Biblical Commentary (NIBC), Robert L. Hubbard Jr. & Robert K. Johnston, OT Editors, (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc, 1999), p.209).

"Here the "river" ... serves as a metaphor for the continual outpouring of the sustaining and refreshing blessings of God, which make the city of God like the Garden of Eden (see Ge 2:10; Isa 33:21; 51:3; cf. also Eze 31:4-9)" (John H. Stek, "Psalms", The NIV Study Bible, p.832).

"Psalm 46 contains one of the clearest elaborations in the Bible of the theological implications of the faith in creation. The two versions of the fourth commandment provide the dimensions of Israel's creation faith. The primary faith in creation concerned God's creation of the world as such (Exod 20:11; cf. Gen 1); the secondary faith, given expression in the second form of the commandment, was rooted in God's redemption and creation of the nation Israel from Egyptian bondage (Deut 5:15; cf. Exod 15:1-18). In each case, creation represents the establishment of order where formerly there was chaos, either the chaotic primeval waters (Gen 1:1-2), or the bondage of Egypt which was crushed and ended by the waters of the Reed Sea. The first focus of creation faith established God kingship and rule in the realm of nature; the second focus of creation faith established God's kingship in the realm of history (Exod 15:18)" (Peter C. Cragie, Psalm 1-50, Word Biblical Commentary (WBC), Bruce M. Metzger, General Editor, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004), p.345)

See also the 'recreation' of Israel in comments on Ezekiel 37 below.

Rest

Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us (1 Kings 8:56, AV).

And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon (1 Kings 4:25, AV).

"As Solomon stood before the people to bless them, his heart was filled with praise; and once again he spoke of God's faithfulness in fulfilling all his promises. The key word here is "rest" (v.56), which has important soteriological connotations. In Deuteronomy 12:9-10 "rest" is described as Israel's living securely in the Land of Promise. In the following verse, Israel is told to bring her sacrifices to the place (temple) where God will cause his name to dwell. Then the people will rejoice before the Lord (Deut 9:12). There can be no doubt that Solomon saw the temple as the completion of the picture of rest portrayed in Deuteronomy 12. Not only was Israel living in peace and security, enjoying the fulness of the land, but God was formally dwelling in their midst. This made everything complete. Solomon, at this high point of his life, saw with Moses and other great men of God that peace, security, and material prosperity are empty unless God is at the center of things. Solomon's kingdom, with God's residence in the center, foreshadows the messianic kingdom with its rest...

"The statement that "each man [sat] under his own vine and fig tree" (v.25) speaks of undisturbed prosperity and became a favorite catch phrase used by the prophets to indicate the ideal conditions prevailing in Messiah's kingdom (Mic 4:4; Zech 3:10). The fact that a man could enjoy the fruit of the vine and the fig tree meant that there was a complete absence of warfare and economic disruption" (R. D. Patterson & Herman J. Austel, 1 & 2 Kings, EBC, Vol.4, pp.89-90, 54).

Restoring order out of chaos

"Although Kapelrud's essay provides helpful literary and historical background to the Chronicler's temple building narrative, it fails to address the theological purpose tied to the construction of a "sacred space" in the cultural context of the ancient world. [Frank H.] Gorman [The Ideology of Ritual Space: Time and Status in the Priestly Theology, JSOT Sup 91, (Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press,1990)] has argued that "rituals serve as one means to effect restoration when inappropriate actions have disrupted the world order of a given society. By ritual he means "a complex performance of symbolic acts, characterized by its formality, order, and sequence, which tends to take place in specific situations, and has as one of its central goals the regulation of the social order." The "disruption of world order" in a society occurs when individuals or group conduct violates established rules and norms for appropriate meaning and existence in that given cultural context. That is, the disruption of social order represents some sort of incongruity between the ideal defined by the society's worldview and the reality of current behavior by one or more of the group members.

"More concretely, the Israelites had a worldview or world order established by the principles and legislation codified in the Mosaic covenant ratified at Mount Sinai. Violations of the covenant stipulations were regarded as disruptions of the social order and were dealt with by rituals that both punished the offender and cleansed the community. This permitted the full restoration of the relationship between the Israelite people and their God, Yahweh. In terms of the Mosaic covenant, for instance, the ritual of the burnt offering addressed the disruption of the social order by atoning for sinful conduct by a member of the community (cf. Lev. 4:1-12). The ritual of the morning and evening sacrifices were essential acts of obedience for maintaining the community's ongoing relationship with God (cf. Ex. 29:38-41).

"By applying Gorman's analysis to the cosmological level, we understand that God established a social order for the world in original creation that was disrupted by the fall of humanity. By enacting a series of covenants with humanity (each typically including legislation designed to shape worldview and ritual intended to maintain the covenant relationship), God graciously and systematically responded to the problem of human sin in order to redeem his fallen creation and restore order out of chaos...

"Thus, according to Gorman, ritual becomes one means of regulating social order, which may be done in two ways. (1) Ritual provides a means for maintaining the structures, processes, and regulations of an already-existing sociocultural system. (2) Ritual serves to regulate the social order when the normative structures, processes, and relations have been broken or ruptured. In other words, ritual may serve to either maintain or restore societal order. Ritual action in the Israelite society was centered in the tabernacle (and later the temple) and orchestrated by the Levitical priesthood. The priestly ritual system communicated theological truth about the state of being or status with reference to four interrelated areas of Hebrew society: the individual, the community or society, the cosmos or created order, and God himself.

"The ministry of the Levitical priesthood was vital to the health of the community because through their instruction and ritual actions the people were led into righteousness and away from sin (Mal. 2:5-9; cf. Deut. 33:10). In this way, covenant relationship with Yahweh was maintained and the community of God's people enjoyed peace and prosperity of his blessing.

"As we recall from Gorman's definition of ritual cited above, ritual is a complex performance of symbolic actions, and one of its chief goals is the regulation of social order. Furthermore, ritual is comprised of several basic elements, like ritual space and time, ritual objects and roles, ritual actions, and even ritual sounds and language. But how did the enactment of ritual actually maintain or restore societal order?

"By analogy to the movement from chaos to cosmos in the creation account of Genesis 1-2, Gorman posits that ritual brings order to sociocultural systems by a similar principle. The "creation principle" facilitating the movement from chaos to cosmos in Genesis 1-2 is that of "order through separation." The Bible depicts Gods creative activity as that of dividing between the various elements of creation and thereby prescribing order through a system of classification (e.g., God "separated" [bdl] the light from the darkness, 1:4).

"The biblical worldview recognizes three distinct but interrelated orders of creation, each established by the speech of God: the cosmological (reflecting a system of identification), the societal (reflecting a system of meaning and value), and the religious (or the "cultic" for Gorman, reflecting a system of praxis). Just as the cosmological order is achieved by acts of separation - the establishing of boundaries between different categories of created things - so is the societal and cultic orders, achieved through categorical distinctions.

"God instructed the Israelite priesthood to maintain (or restore) societal and religious order by establishing boundaries or separating elements of creation is a similar fashion. Specifically, the priests were charged to "divide" or "distinguish" (bdl) between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean (Lev. 10:10-11). Applying the concepts of the holy, common, clean and unclean to the physical, moral, and spiritual realms of life was basic to the ancient Israelite worldview. The purpose of these theological categories for ritual purity allowed the people to order their relationship to the natural world in such a way that they might fulfill the mandate to be "holy" as God is holy (Lev. 11:44-45). In fact, the basic intention of the book of Leviticus was to provide instruction for the community in "holy worship" (chs. 1-10) and "holy living" (chs. 11-27) so that as the covenant people they might enjoy the blessing of Yahweh's presence (cf. Lev 26:1-13). The relationship of these principles is illustrated in the chart below:

"On the basis of Levitical law, everything in life was holy or common. Those things determined common were subdivided into categories of clean and unclean. Clean things might become holy through the ritual of sanctification or unclean through the pollution of sin. Holy things could be profaned and become common or even unclean through sin. Unclean things could be cleansed and then consecrated or sanctified to be made holy through prescribed rituals.

"As the central worship center for the nation of Israel, Solomon's temple was an integral part of God's design for maintaining order and/or restoring order in the social and religious life of his people. This was accomplished primarily in one of two ways, since the temple was the place of sacrifices (2 Chron. 2:6, 7:12) and a house of prayer (Isa. 56:7)..." (Andrew E. Hill, 1 & 2 Chronicles, NIVAC, pp.420-23).

Call to Repent and Live

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place (Jeremiah 7:3, NIV).

But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD... Therefore will I do unto this house ["temple" (NIV)], which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim (Jeremiah 7:12-15, AV).

"In a rhetorical fashion, the prophet invites the throngs of pilgrims at Jerusalem's temple to take a pilgrimage to Shiloh and see what happened there. It too had been a place where God's presence was established, but now it was in ruins. The reason for ruin was equally clear to the prophet, for its demise was "because of the evil of my people" (v.12). A temple or shrine, in other words, which was the symbolic location of God's presence among his people, provided no absolute security; God could be driven out of his temple by evil, and when that happened, sooner or later the place would collapse in ruin...

"And so the termination of Jeremiah's temple sermon rings with a funereal tone: "I will cast you out of my presence" (v 15), just as he had done before to the people of Ephraim, in whose territory the shrine of Shiloh was located. The very thing which the pilgrim crowd sought, namely, the divine presence symbolized by the temple, would be gone for ever..." (Peter C. Craigie, Page H. Kelly, Joel F. Drinkard, Jr., Jeremiah 1-25, Word Biblical Commentary (WBC), Bruce M., Metzger, General Editor, (Dallas: Word Books, Publisher, 1991), p.122).

And he said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing - the utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary?... (Eze 8:6, NIV).

The Israelites failed to repent and so society descended into such disorder that a holy God could no longer 'live' in that society.

Departure from 'Eden'

I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of sapphire above the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim. Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. The glory [kabod] of the LORD went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it (Ezekiel 10:1 & 3; 11:22-23, NIV).

"Peering "above" (... Ezek 10:1) the cherubim, the prophet catches glimpses of God's glowing throne, "something like a sapphire." Soon, God's very presence will appear upon it. At Ezek 11:22, God's kabod visibly hovers over the living cherubim, resting "above"...

"Nearer their heads, according to Ezek 10:1, is a "dome" or "expanse." This is the same cosmic boundary ... appearing in Gen 1:6-8, which separates earth and heaven. Atop it, God sits enthroned as king forever (cf. Ezek 1:22-26; Ps 29:10).

"For both Ezekiel and the wider Israelite context, with the divine glory present, Jerusalem's temple symbolized God's cosmic mountain. There, humans came closest to Eden, God's holy realm. The carved pattern of repeating cherubim and palm tress on the temple's doors and wood paneling (Ezek 41:16-20, 25; 1 Kgs 6:29, 32, 35; cf. Exod 26:31; 36:35) helped re-create Eden's ambiance (cf. Gen 3:24; Ezek 28:13)...

"Within the temple, according to Ezekiel, the kabod of God normally rests in the adytum. It hovers over the cherub statues in the holy of holies, where Ezekiel see it in Ezek 9:3 (also 10:4)...

"In the present situation, sin polluted this sacred precinct. Ezekiel sees the cherubim "on the south side of the house" (v.3), not within its midst. They are waiting to remove God's glory from a spoiled, desecrated sanctuary" (Stephen L. Cook, "Cosmos, Kabod, and Cherub", Ezekiel's Hierarchical World, Cook and Patton, Editors, (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004), pp.185,187).

Covenant curse

Again the word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman's monthly uncleanness in my sight. So I poured out my wrath on them...I dispersed them among the nations... And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, 'These are the LORD'S people, and yet they had to leave his land' (Ezekiel 36:16-20, NIV).

"The prophet begins by pointing out the motivation for God's wrath in the past. The people, while they lived in their own land, polluted it by their own actions (36:17). As a result they could not remain in God's presence and he could not remain in their midst. They were unclean, which the prophet describes in terms of the ceremonial uncleanness caused by menstruation. In the law of Moses, this process was considered defiling to a woman, making her unable to take part in religious activities (Lev. 15:19-24). This is not because it was in any sense sinful but because any contact with the realm of death, through the loss of bodily life fluids (e.g. blood or semen) or through contact with a corpse, renders one unfit to be in contact with the realm of life. Communication with the living God through the various Old Testament means of grace was impossible as long as one was in a state of impurity as a result of contact with the death.

"What Israel had done while they lived in the land was to turn it into a permanent place of death, thoroughly defiling it by means of bloodshed and idolatry, making it a place unfit for divine habitation by the living God (Ezek. 36:18). God had no choice but to bring on them the curses of the covenant they had broken, in wrath scattering them among the nations, just as he had threatened when they first entered the land (Deut. 29:22-29).

"This action, however, created a new problem for God. He had promised to bring this people, who were called by his name, into the land to possess it. He had established a relationship between himself, his people, and the land. Yet now the nations could see that the Lord's people were absent from the land (Ezek. 36:20). That three-way relationship hade been broken. The conclusion drawn by the surrounding nations would be natural: The Lord's power was insufficient to bring about that which he had promised...

"Thus, as long as Israel was scattered among the nations, they continually profaned the divine name (Ezek. 36:20). This was now not because of anything particular they were doing, although there is no suggestion that the shock of exile in and of itself brought about a radical change in their behavior. Rather, they profaned God's name simply by being in exile instead of the land of promise!..." (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, pp.413-14).

Excursus

"Ceremonial cleanness and uncleanness. The concept of ceremonial uncleanness is a distinctive feature of the Old Testament law. People and things were divided by nature into the categories of "clean" and "unclean," of "sacred" and "profane." Sheep, for example, were "clean" animals, which could be eaten, while camel's were "unclean" and could not be eaten (Lev. 11:4).

"... the animals functioned as a means of holding up a mirror to society. Unclean animals formed the outer circle to the natural order. They were neither to be eaten nor sacrificed to God. Clean animals formed an intermediate category: All clean animals were fit to be eaten, but only some clean animals qualified for inclusion in the central circle, those that could be used for a "sacred" purpose by being sanctified to God. Those that fit the criteria for this function had to be unblemished animals from a limited number of groups.

"A similar order prevailed in the social realm and in the real of sacred geography. On the outside of the circle were the nations, those who lived outside the Promised Land. They could observe God's great acts and act as witnesses of his almighty deeds. But unless they converted, they could not enter the inner circle of God's covenant people, Israel, and live permanently in the land. Even this inner group was subdivided, however, with a "sacred" minority who served as priests and had access to the inner areas of the tabernacle and temple. Membership of this group was limited to unblemished members of a particular subgroup (Levites who were descendants of Aaron). Only these people were qualified for the sacred purpose of approaching God. One of the responsibilities of the priests was to teach clearly to the people these distinctions between "clean" and "unclean" (Lev. 10:10-11; Ezek. 22:26; 44:23)...

"What Israel had done through her idolatry and bloodshed was to move themselves as a nation from the category of "clean" to "unclean." The land had become defiled by their presence, just as a woman was defiled (temporarily) by her monthly flow of blood. They were no longer able to inhabit the inner circle, the land of promise, from which they had necessarily been scattered (Ezek. 36:18-19). The punishment fit the crime. Having behaved like the unclean (the nations), they were now scattered among them" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, pp.416-17).

The Destruction of the Temple and the Eruption of Chaos

Why have you rejected us forever, O God?... Remember the people you purchased of old, the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed - Mount Zion, where you dwelt. Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary (Psalm 74:1-3, NIV).

"With the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of Judah in 587 B.C., the people of God experienced not only a national crisis but also a religious one. They lost three tangible symbols that marked them as the people of God: the land, the Davidic king, and the temple. The Psalm laments the temple's destruction, and it takes on the seemingly impossible task of appealing to the God who has apparently rejected the temple's "congregation" (Hb. 'eda, not "people" in the NIV, v.2)..." (Craig C. Broyles, Psalms, NIBC, p.306).

But you, O God, are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth. It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan...

The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter (Psalm 74:12-14 & 16-17, NIV).

"Now the psalm takes a surprising turn to praise and a seemingly irrelevant tangent about a conflict between God and a monster that took place of old. Although its connection with the temple escapes modern readers, it would have been apparent to the ancients. The confession of God as king from of old and of his victory over the monster in the waters points to the tradition of divine kingship familiar in the ancient Near East... Thus, while these verses are phrased as praise, they function in the context of the psalm as a stirring reminder that the divine king must have a "palace/temple" (Hb. hekal denotes both). In addition, this recitation of Gods salvation when he vanquished the sea and Leviathan draws an implicit parallel between them and the temple invaders, who roar (v.4) as wild beasts (v.19), producing clamor, an uproar (v.23), and a chaotic destruction (vv.5-8) This parallel may also imply that with the temple's destruction primeval chaos once again threatens creation order. Thus, as God brought salvation in the past, so he must do the same in the turmoil of the present.

"It seems odd to us moderns that creation could be viewed as an act of salvation. One might prefer to see Leviathan ... as a derogatory term for Egypt, as "Rahab" is used on occasion (87:4; Isa. 30:7; cf. also Ezek. 29:3; 32:2), and to see God's "splitting open the sea" as a reference to the deliverance at the Reed Sea (Exod. 14). But the verses closing this hymnic section clearly celebrate God's establishing creation order (vv.16-17). Other Psalms are clear that creation was viewed as a heroic act whereby God brought order out of chaos (e.g., "O God our Savior,...who formed the mountains" and "who stilled the roaring of the seas," 65:5-7)" (Craig C. Broyles, Psalms, NIBC, pp.307-38).

Remember how the enemy has mocked you, O LORD... do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever. Have regard for your covenant... (Psalm 74:18-20, NIV).

"The reference to the covenant in v 20 is an unusual expression ("to the covenant," cf. Jer 14:21). It assumes that God is being charged with ignoring the obligations of his covenant. The reference is most probably to Yahweh's covenant with Israel (Exod 19:4-6; 24:8) rather than to the Davidic covenant (Pss 89:3, 39; 143:11-12) or to the covenant with Noah (Gen 9:8-17) or to that with Abraham (Gen 17:2-14). Cf. Ps 78:10; Isa 64:8. The idea of "covenant" is that God has taken on himself commitments to his people which he should not forget..." (Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51:100, WBC, pp.252-53).

New Covenant

"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more" (Jeremiah 31:31-34, NIV).

"The truth of the matter was that Jeremiah found no fault with the Sinaitic covenant. Both Jeremiah and the later writer of Hebrews were emphatic in their assessment of the trouble with the covenant made in Moses' day. The problem was with the people, not with the covenant-making God nor with the moral law or promises reaffirmed from the patriarchs and included in that old covenant. The text of Jeremiah 31:32 explicitly pointed the finger when it said, "Which covenant of Mine they broke"...

"Why call this covenant a "New covenant" especially since most of the content adduced in the "New" is but a repetition of those promises already known from the Abrahamic-Davidic covenant already in existence? What were the essential new items that were "not like" (Jer. 31:32) and "no longer" similar to the old covenant (v.34 bis)?

"... some of these would be: (1) a universal knowledge of God (Jer. 31:34); (2) a universal peace in nature and the absence of military hardware (Isa. 2:4;... (3) a universal material prosperity (Isa. 61:8... (4) a sanctuary lasting forever in the midst of Israel (Ezek. 34:26, 28); and (5) a universal possession of the Spirit of God (Joel 2:32ff.).

"In this list, the new covenant transcends all previous announcements of the blessings of God. Thus the New is more comprehensive, more effective, more spiritual, and more glorious than the old - in fact, so that in comparison it would appear as if it were totally unlike the old at all...

"We conclude then that this covenant was the old Abrahamic-Davidic promise renewed and enlarged" (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Towards an Old Testament Theology, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), pp.231-34).

And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day (Deuteronomy 10:12-13, 15, AV).

"This passage makes it clear that at the core of the covenant relationship lies a twofold love, the mysterious love of YHWH for Israel and the less baffling love of Israel for YHWH, her benefactor. Covenant love is mutual; it distinguishes a relationship of reciprocity. On God's side lies an obligation to fulfil the oath he swore to the Patriarchs, to grant their descendants the promised land, to be their God. Israel, for her part, is to realize her love in the form of observances of her masters stipulations, the mitsvot, for they are the words of the language of love, the fit medium in which to respond to the passionate advances of the divine suzerain. It is not a question of law or love, but law conceived in love, love expressed in law. The two are a unity... The love of God moves Israel to embrace the norms of Sinai" (Jon D. Levenson, Sinai & Zion, p.77).

In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground... (Hosea 2:18), NIV).

I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety (Ezekiel 34:25, NIV).

"The category "wild animals" ... signifies a presence inimical to the socially ordered world. The wild animal, like the wilderness with which it is associated, is the polar opposite of both people and the livestock of the settled realm... Wild and domestic animals represent chaos and order respectively.

"... in Hos 2:20 (Eng. 2:18), a verse that probably underlies Ezekiel's covenant of chapter 34, YHWH creates peace, not by cutting off wild animals, but by cutting a covenant with them. Hosea's new covenant does not abolish the wild animals, but assigns them their proper place within YHWH's ordered world" (Julie Galambush, "God's Land and Mine: Creation as Property in the Book of Ezekiel," Ezekiel's Hierarchical World, Cook and Patton, Editors, (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004), pp.92-94).

"In that day I will respond," declares the LORD - "I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel. I will plant her for myself in the land;... I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God' " (Hosea 2:121-23, NIV).

"In Hos 2:20 [18], YHWH makes a covenant, not one between himself and Israel, but between Israel and the beasts and birds and creeping things... Now even nature will participate... The entire universe takes part in the sacred remarriage of YHWH and Israel... Sinai is the model of cosmic harmony, and the relationship of Israel and YHWH, the prototype of redeemed life. Redemption is not "liberation" from law... Rather, redemption involves the gracious offer to Israel to reenter the legal/erotic relationship and the renewed willingness of Israel to do so" (Jon D. Levenson, Sinai & Zion, pp.78-79).

New Creation

Isaiah 65:17a (NIV)	(Genesis 1:1 NIV)
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.	In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

"In Hebrew this sentence [Genesis 1:1] consists of seven words, mirroring the seven days of creation" John E. Hartley, Genesis, NIBC, p.42).

"The great promise, with its introductory call to special attention - "Behold, I will create a new heavens and a new earth" ([Isaiah 65] v.17; cf. Rev 21:1 - consists of only seven words in Hebrew; yet is implications are staggering. The whole created order is to be renewed..." (Geoffrey W. Grogan, Isaiah, The Expositor's Bible Commentary (EBC), Vol. 6, Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), p.351).

"It is not the real heaven and earth that is now revealed, nor the real Jerusalem that is let down from heaven. Rather, they are new (65:17). What this means is that God will "create" something that, while being in continuity with what has been, will yet be a completely new experience of that reality... because they are new, the tragic realities of this world need not be repeated here..." (John N. Oswalt, Isaiah, The NIV Application Commentary, Terry Muck, General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), p.687).

Isaiah 65:20 (NIV)	Genesis 5:5 & 27; 25:7 & 50:26 (NIV)
Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.	Adam lived 930 years Methuselah lived 969 years Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten

"... Genesis language and context are pivotal in the construction of this unit [65:17-25]. Advanced years, like the ages of the great ancestors from Genesis, will be like youth and there will be no premature dying (65:20). Human labor will not be marked by the "thorns and thistles" of Genesis (3:18)... Children will be born without labor pains ... with obvious resonance to Gen 3:16. Blessing stands (65:23) where curse - over ground, creation, procreation, and human labor - ruled before... In the enjoyment of one's work in long life (65:22), humankind is likened to a tree in its longevity, and one can hear in this verse no reference to a tree of life to be contrasted with a tree of good and evil. Something truly new is being set forth, against the backdrop of these former things" (Gene M. Tucker, Isaiah, NIB, Vol.6, pp.544-545).

In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below (Isaiah 24:21, NIV).

Satan ... was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years (Revelation 12:9 & 20:2, NIV).

"If there is to be a radical renewal on earth, then, there needs to be radical renewal in heaven. Only then can the vision of verses 18-25 be fulfilled" (John Goldingay, Isaiah, New International Biblical Commentary (NIBC), Robert L. Hubbard Jr. & Robert K. Johnston, OT Editors, (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc, 2001), p.368).

Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads (Revelation 14:1, NIV).

Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them" Revelation 7:15, NIV).

All this suggests that there will be no "tree of good and evil" on the earth during the Millennium because Satan and the 'fallen' angels will not be in the heavenly realm (Ephesian 6:12), that is, in the heavenly Zion/Garden/holy place.

Christ and the Saints 'replace' Satan and the Demons in the heavenly holy place; and with the doors of the heavenly temple opened, the Saints, as heavenly priests, will minister before God in the heavenly holy place.

And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven (Revelation 12:7-8, NIV).

It would appear that Satan and his angels, at the end of this age, attempt, to open the 'heavenly' doors that separates the heavenly Most Holy Place from the heavenly Holy Place. These doors, it would appear, would have been shut when Satan and the Demons sinned. Typology suggest, the cherubim that kept mankind out of the Garden of Eden are a type of the cherubim that kept Satan and the demons out of heaven - the Most Holy Place- pictured by the huge cherubim in Solomons Temple.

The new heaven is a return to an earlier time, before Satan sinned, when both 'rooms' of heaven operated in harmony dispensing 'life and good' in the heavens and the earth.

Isaiah 65:17,18; 66:23 (NIV)	Revelation 21:1, 2 & 3 (AV)
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth...	And I saw a new heaven and a new earth...
I will create Jerusalem to be a delight	And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven
From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD.	And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them ... and be their God.

"For those whose imagination cannot cope with the macrocosm, the prophet indicates that Jerusalem too, is to be created anew (v.18)" (Geoffrey W. Grogan, Isaiah, EBC, Vol.6, p.351).

Similar to the argument that in seeing Christ, you are in effect seeing the Father, seeing the microcosm, the temple, in this case Jerusalem, you are in effect seeing the macrocosm - the new heavens and new earth.

Just as Jesus Christ was the revelation of the Father, Jerusalem is the revelation of the new 'creation'.

Jerusalem, using Jon D. Levenson's comment about the Temple, "is the epitome of the world, a concentrated form of its essence, a miniature of the cosmos" (Sinai and Zion, p.138).

But it is more than this. There cannot be a "new heavens and earth" without the 'New' Jerusalem - the dwelling place of God, the point of contact between God and His Creation. A parallel to this, is that there cannot be a week without the Sabbath. The 'New' Temple and 'New' Jerusalem are the manifestation of the reality of God and the symbols and guarantees of His New World and New Covenant - a renewed dwelling place, the power-centre sustaining the new Creation, and a renewed relationship with Israel.

"And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE" (Ezekiel 48:35, NIV).

Technically, the Temple in the Millennium is some distance from the city of Jerusalem. A journey to the Temple requires leaving the city, in the 'common' portion of the 'reservation,' passing through the city's 'pastureland' (NIV)and then passing on into the priests' 'most holy' portion to the Temple in its midst, that is, if the priests land is adjacent to the 'common' portion. If the Levites' 'holy' portion is adjacent to the 'profane' portion then that land will have to be crossed before entering the priests' portion.

"To whom are the promises given? Just to the people of Israel Hardly. They are given to those of all flesh who worship him from month to month and Sabbath to Sabbath. This is the ultimate end of Israel's religion, that everyone should have opportunity of joining Israel in worshiping the one God (cf. Zech. 14:16-21). Israel is not to be separate so that it can revel in its separateness, but so that its faith can survive to be declared" (John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah Chapters 40-66, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT), R. K. Harrison & Robert L. Hubbard, Jr., General Editors, (Grand Rapids: William. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), p.691).

... the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today (Deuteronomy 10:8, NIV).

The Levites ... are to set up their tents around the tabernacle of the Testimony so that wrath will not fall on the Israelite community (Numbers 1:53, NIV).

'Seeing' the Covenant with Israel is in effect 'seeing' the Covenant with "all mankind". Just as the Levites facilitated the Covenant between God and Israel, Israel facilitates the Covenant between God and "all mankind".

Restoring order

... the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited... I the LORD have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate... (Ezekiel 36:35-36, NIV).

"It is a commonplace that ancient Near Eastern cultures saw in creation stories the struggle of a god or gods to assert order over chaos. This "order" included not only the natural order, but also a divinely appointed social order, which tended to be identified with the social order of the society in which the creation story was produced. Divine control was embodied within established political, religious, and social structures, including rituals, personnel, and monuments. A certain circularity obtains here: cosmogonies reinforced existing power structures by presenting them as derived from the divine order asserted by the cosmogony. Divine and human orders are thus mutually reinforcing.

"The book of Ezekiel does not contain a cosmogony as such. On the contrary, the text's narrative world assumes both a long-established created realm and a divinely appointed social order. Nevertheless, the plot of Ezekiel resolves around a form of Chaoskampf: the exile of the leadership (from a sociopolitical perspective), caused by the apostasy of Judah's leaders (from a theological perspective), has disrupted the established social order. As a result, over the course of the narrative Yahweh must ... reassert divine authority and to reimpose the order that manifests heavenly sovereignty. The vision of Yahweh's victory and enthronement in chapters 40-48 employs symbols of creation to assert the renewal of divine order. Ezekiel is not concerned with how the world came into existence, but with re-forming a world gone awry" (Julie Galambush, "God's Land and Mine: Creation as Property in the Book of Ezekiel," Ezekiel's Hierarchical World, p.91).

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow... Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity (Psalm 51:7 & 9, NIV).

For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols... (Ezekiel 36:24-25, NIV).

"The restoration of Israel to their own land is described in terms that echo the original exodus in which God had taken Israel 'out' of Egypt and brought then into the promised land. God will accomplish a new exodus and a new conquest. This double 'exodus from the nations' and 'new entry into the land' motif is found elsewhere in Ezekiel, and is even more common in Isaiah 40-55. Hosea may have been the first among the prophets to use it, but it goes back ultimately to the covenant promises found in Deuteronomy 30:3-5. It would not be the generation that went into exile that would return, but even for them, such a promise gave them 'a future and a hope'" (Christopher J. H. Wright, Ezekiel, The Bible Speaks Today (BST), Alec Motyer, OT Series Editor, (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), p.293).

"After Israel's regathering by divine activity the Lord will cleanse them by sprinkling clean water upon them. Here is an allusion to the Mosaic rites of purification (see Num. 19:17-19; Isa. 4:4; Zech. 13:1; Ps. 119:9). There is a reference to the washing of water by the Word. Through their idolatrous practices they had contracted moral uncleanness (v.17). For the concept of sprinkling see Psalm 51:7, 10; Hebrews 9:13; 10:22. The sprinkling symbolized purifications by water generally and collectively (Lev. 14:5-7), for they all prefigured uncleanness" (Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel, (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, Publishers, 2003), p.209).

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51:10, NIV).

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers;... (Ezekiel 36:26-28, NIV).

"The outward act of initiation is then followed by a deeper, internal change, whereby Israel's heart and spirit will be made new. The "heart" and the "spirit" are the seats of thought and will from which actions flow. Unresponsive, unyielding stone will be replaced by warm, living, responsive flesh (Ezek. 36:26). That which has been defiled will be made clean. The Spirit of God, which brings life and power, will indwell them and create in them both the will and the ability to follow God's decrees and laws (36:27). Then, finally, they will be fit to live in God's land and be his people, and he in turn will not be ashamed to be called their God" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.415).

"The sequence of the petitions [of Psalm 51:7-12) also matches the promises of a new covenant in Ezekiel 36:25-27. As they promise "you will be clean" (Ezek. 36:25), so verse 7 seeks the same claim, "I will be clean." As they promise "a new heart" and "a new spirit" (Ezek. 36:26), so verse 10 seeks a pure heart and "a steadfast spirit." As they promise God's "Spirit" (Ezek. 36:27), so verse 11 seeks to forestall the removal of "your Holy Spirit." The new covenant passages in Jeremiah also promise a new "heart" (24:7; 31:33) and adds that Yahweh will forgive "their iniquity" (NIV "wickedness") and "their sin" (31:34) - the same word pair used in Psalm 51:9... Psalm 51, for example, boldly petitions, Create in me, an act reserved solely for God in the OT for unprecedented acts of creation [see Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 65:17; Jeremiah 31:22]" (Craig C. Broyles, Psalms, NIBC, p.229).

"This is not a creative work in the sense of creation-out-of-nothing, but a creative work in the sense of bringing order and peace where chaos and hopeless turbulence were before. In Gen. 1, light is created to overcome darkness; days emerge from what had been endless night; life emerges where there had been only surging matter; purpose and blessing are given to human beings, themselves created into an order of life that had not existed before; the ceaseless roaring of the primeval sea gives way to the ordered world, and God and man pause for a sabbath to celebrate its completion. The creative work of God is the prelude to his blessing. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Cor 5:17, NIV; cf. Gal. 6:15; John 3:3, 6; 1 Pet 1:23)" (Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51:100, WBC, pp.30-31).

"... the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Israel [is] in the future, not that at Pentecost...

"Those interpreters who accuse Ezekiel of being ritualistic, formal, legalistic, external, etc., owe him a genuine apology on the basis of this chapter alone. Ezekiel has shown himself to be not one whit behind the most emphatic of the prophets in the matters of spiritual conversion and spiritual life. The doctrines of Ezekiel are, indeed, those of Paul as well: forgiveness (v. 25), regeneration (v.26), the indwelling and ruling Spirit of God (v.27), the spontaneous keeping of God's law (v.27; Rom. 8:4); the inseparable connection of Israel's history with God's self-revelation to the nations (vv.33-36; Rom. 11); and the conversion of the nation Israel (vv.24-31; Rom 11:25-27)" (Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel, pp.209 & 11).

the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:7, NIV).

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones... And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live' " (Ezekiel 37:4, 7-9, NIV).

"While he is prophesying, the bones come together and are clothed in flesh and skin - but still without life; there was not breath (ruach) in them... This time he is to prophesy to the wind (ruah), which is invoked to come from afar, bringing life-giving breath to the people. Like the creation of the first 'adam in Genesis 2, which was a two-stage process involving first his formation and then his filling with the breath of life, so the recreation of this might army is a two-stage process of forming and filling..." (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.427).

Compare also the two-stage recreation - forming and filling - of the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1.

"In summary, then, this passage is about the divine work of re-creating Israel through the prophetic word and Spirit" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.430).

They will say, "This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited"... So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people ['adam]. Then they will know that I am the LORD" (Ezekiel 36:35 & 38, NIV).

"... the great prosperity of the land in the time of fulfillment can only be compared to that of the Garden of Eden, which is the ultimate comparison" (Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel, p.210).

I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you (Ezekiel 36:29b, NIV).

"Just as in Genesis 1 plants and animals were called into being by God's command, so He will call for the grain to make it grow, so that there will no longer be famine (cf.34:29)" (Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel, p.210).

I will make a covenant of peace with them... and I will put my sanctuary among them forever (Ezekiel 37:26, NIV).

"Just as it pleased God to dwell in a tabernacle when Israel departed from Egypt, so He will tabernacle among them in their converted condition (cf. Exodus 25:8).

"In the final verses of this important chapter the Spirit of God began to prepare the mind for the revelation of the manner in which God will have a sanctuary in the midst of His people and will dwell with them (for the same concept see Zech. 6:12-13). According to the Old Testament view of the future, man is not taken to dwell with God in heaven, but God condescends to dwell with man, whereby the earth is gloriously transformed (47:1-12)" (Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel, p.216).

But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest (nwh) from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. Then to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name - there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the LORD. And there rejoice before the LORD your God... (Deuteronomy 12:10-12, NIV).

And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest (nwh) round about from all his enemies (2 Sam 7:1, AV).

I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle (nwh) you in your own land (Ezekiel 37:14, NIV).

"In Deuteronomy 12:10, the Lord promised to give rest (Hiphil of nwh) to the people from their enemies all around them in the land, after which it would be time to build the central sanctuary. In accordance with that command, "after the LORD had given [David] rest" (Hiphil of nwh), (2 Sam. 7:1), he started to think about building a temple for the Lord in Jerusalem. Similarly, once the new, united Israel has been settled (Hiphil of nwh) in the land (37:14) and is at peace, then the nation's thoughts will naturally turn to temple building. Thus the promise of the Lord's sanctuary in the midst of his settled people is a fitting capstone to the prophecies of restoration. Though her enemies will once more descend on her (chs. 38-39), it is so that they may be defeated by the Lord, who will then establish his final temple (cha. 40-48)...

"In the ancient Near East ... the state of a society's temples was considered a measure of its health and wealth and an indication of the favor of its gods. When a king was strong and prosperous, "blessed" by his god, that fact would often be publically demonstrated through an ambitious program of public building works, of which a temple was a prime example. The building program itself could act as a focus of national unity and a sign of divine approval. In this context, a restoration of a people and of their monarchy without the visible symbol of divine presence provided by the temple would have been unthinkable.

"In a similar way, the White House, the Capitol, and the other buildings in Washington, D.C. have a significance for Americans that goes far beyond their mere function as the seat of government. In a real sense, the buildings represent America, and to let them crumble would be unthinkable, even if other equivalent buildings had been erected to carry out their practical function. Thus when the original presidential palace was destroyed in the War of 1812, it was a matter of national pride to replace it with a bigger and better building as soon as possible.

"But there is more than one symbol of God's presence with his people in the Old Testament. The patriarchs experienced his presence in various ways, all of which were occasional rather than permanent. God's permanent dwelling in the midst of his people was not established until Mount Sinai, where Moses received the instructions for the tabernacle (Ex. 25-40). This dwelling was a mobile tent, appropriate for the people's condition as wanderers in the desert and for the early years of conquering the Promised Land. The temple that Solomon constructed at God's command was different. It was not merely a tabernacle on a larger scale, it was a glorious building, exuding permanence and stability - the suitable symbol for God's people as rest in God's land (1 Kings 6).

"Ezekiel vision of God's presence in the midst of his people is different again. It revolves around the establishment of sanctuary (miqdas), a place where they experience and respect God's holiness. It is the symbol of a holy God living in the midst of a holy people. The theme will emerge more clearly in the detailed description of the temple in chapters 40-48, but it is adumbrated already in 37:28, where it announces that the nations will come to recognize that the Lord sanctifies (megaddes) Israel when the sanctuary (midas) is among them forever" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, pp.437-38).

Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever (Ezekiel 37:28, NIV).

"... Yahweh is recognized in the international world as the one who has sanctified Israel, i.e. reserved her for himself. The proximity of this ... ("sanctify"), which is surrounded by the verbal range of election concept, to the idea of election is pointed out by K. Koch ["Zur Geschichte der Erwahlungsvorstellung in Israel," ZAW 67 (1955 [1956]), p.219]. 20:12 had mentioned the Sabbath as the sign of recognition of this sanctifying separation of Israel. Here it is the fact that Yahweh's sanctuary stands in Israel's midst "for all time"... In the citing of the nations ... it is made clear that the realization of ... ("my sanctuary in their midst"), which is described in chapters 40-48 without the any reference to the nations, is to be understood as the central event in which Yahweh is acknowledged throughout the world" (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, Translated by James D. Martin, (Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1983,) p.277).

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her (Ezekiel 5:5, NIV).

"In Ezekiel's cosmos, the city of Jerusalem is located in the land of Israel, which is surrounded by other lands. The image appears to be one of a city located within one land (the land of Israel) that, in turn is encircled by many other lands...

"Jerusalem is the center of the world because YHWH has chosen this city to be the locus of the divine presence, the mountain sanctuary where ... ("the glory of YHWH") dwells (cf. 20:40-44; 40:2; 43:4-7). In anticipation of the omphalos image of Jewish midrash, Jerusalem is tantamount to the "naval of the earth" (Norman Habel, "The Silence of the Lands: The Ecojustice Implications of Ezekiel's Judgment Oracles," Ezekiel's Hierarchical World, Cook and Patton, Editors, (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004), pp.130, 129).

"The land, in Ezekiel, is properly that realm whose ownership should display the authority and control of YHWH designated representatives [Israel]...

"The profound land anxiety of the narrator and his fellow exiles is expressed through its exact opposite: an assertion of absolute divine right soon to be manifested through YHWH's reestablishment of that divine "social order" of which they themselves [Israel] are the guardians" (Julie Galambush, "God's Land and Mine: Creation as Property in the Book of Ezekiel," Ezekiel's Hierarchical World, pp.107-08).

In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more. He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth (Psalm 72:7-8, NIV).

"Using a creation image, the Psalmist describes the monarch as fulfilling the intended role of humanity: "he will rule" (72:8a). The verb for rule (rdb) is the same used in Genesis 1:26 to describe the role of all humanity in creation. Rather than autocratic rule, however, the term most often means to bring under the authority of another - in this case, God. The monarch is here envisioned as establishing the intended creation order - God's kingdom - throughout the whole earth: "from seas to sea and from River to the ends of the earth"" (Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms Volume 1, The NIV Application Commentary (NIVAC), Muck, Terry, General Editor, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2002), pp.990, 987-988).

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6b, NIV).

["I" refers to God; "you" to Christ, who first delegates the role to Israel the Church, in the Church Age on the earth, and then to Israel the kingdom, in the Millennium].

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise (Psalm 51:12-15, NIV)

"Restoration naturally leads to ministry. The worshiper makes a commitment to teach transgressors and sinners the "ways" of God (v 13). The psalm expresses the powerful urge to minister which is stirred into life by confession and divine forgiveness. Testimony and praise flow from the new creation and the presence of the spirit. Confession and forgiveness are always necessary as a prelude to mission. However, confession without mission is abortive and ends in an apathetic spiritual state" (Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51:100, WBC, p.31).

Ezekiel's Temple

In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city (Eze 40:2, NIV).

"The "very high mountain" represents theological geography and points to Yahweh's supremacy: cf. Isa 2:2. Mount Zion is in view (cf. 17:22; 20:40)" (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.229).

"The characterization of the structure by 'ir, "city," is intentional... The designation is normally reserved for walled settlements... Here the designation applies not to the city Jerusalem, but to the temple complex, conceived as "a walled enclosure" " (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.514, 516).

"The city-like appearance of the temple was doubtless prompted by its gate structures (Gallin in Fohrer 223)" (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.229).

"The Hebrew kemibneh- 'ir could better be translated "a structure like a city." That is, it was something with walls and gates like a city but still a single structure. It can only be the temple. Strangely, the city of Jerusalem is not in evidence - only the massive structure like a city. The temple stands alone on the mountain top of Ezekiel's vision" (Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, NIBC, p.284).

"In his vision, he [Ezekiel] is walking about in a three-dimensional structure, even though the complex is generally measured in two dimensions" (Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, NIBC, p.284).

"With very few exceptions, measurements are of length and breadth only; in other words, the visionary has effectively conveyed only a ground plan, bounding and describing areas in accord with his basic concerns over separation and gradation..." (Moshe Greenberg, "The Design and Themes of Ezekiel's Program of Restoration," Interpreting the Prophets, James Luther Mays & Paul J. Achtemeier, Editors, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987), p.225).

"The literal Mount Zion was never particularly conspicuous for its physical elevation. But here, as in Ezekiel 38-39, we are dealing with theological geography, rather than literal geography. The new temple, which appears "like a city" (40:2), is located in the theologically opposite terrain to the dry bones of Ezekiel 37" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.472).

For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things (Eze 20:40, AV).

"What we have in Ezekiel 40-48 is nothing less than the visionary reordering of an entire new world, following on the [re-]creation of the new people of God in chapter 37 and the birth pangs of chapter 38-39...It is, in time-honored ancient Near-Eastern tradition, a tour of the house that the divine warrior built on completion of his cosmic victory.

"Like the account of Genesis 1-11, this cosmogony revolves around the idea of separation and order, but this is significantly a new Eden..." (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.479).

Wall

Eze 40:5a I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area...	Rev 21:12a It had a great, high wall...
Eze 40:5b The length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits...	Rev 21:15a The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold...
Eze 40:5c He measured the wall; it was one measuring rod thick and one rod high.	Rev 21:17a He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick...
Eze 42:20 So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common. (NIV).	Rev 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. (NIV).

"As one approaches a complex such as this from the outside ... the wall is naturally the first object to catch ones's eye. Furthermore, by opening and closing this lengthy description of the temple with a reference to the city wall the author has created an effective inclusio" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.517).

"It is highly significant that the first thing the prophet sees on his tour is a wall surrounding the whole temple area (40:5). Walls have as their purpose regulating and defining space; they are there to mark territory as "inside" or "outside" and to regulate access to the "inside" space. Nor is this wall a minor obstacle; it is some ten and a half feet tall and ten an half feet thick, providing a solid dividing line between the "holy," area of the temple itself and the "profane," the area outside. The function of this wall as a wall of separation between the two realms is apparent from the fact that the walls height is mentioned, a dimension not provided for the other spaces. A wall depends on its height and thickness in keeping people out, so these dimensions take on a particular importance" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.472).

"A crosscut [of the wall] would have appeared as a square 6 cubits by 6 cubits... Like most of the account to follow, the materials used to construct the item are not specified" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.517).

Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully (Ps 24:3-4, AV).

"The final note on the layout of the temple brings us back to where we started, to the wall (42:20). The inclusion highlights the wall and its function. It serves "to separated the holy from the common" (42:20). Never again will the profane intrude on the realm of the holy as it did in the past. In the future, the lines will be clearly drawn. The walls must be clearly established, with a place for everyone and everyone in his or her place, so that the Lord can return to his place at the center of his people" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.478).

"The outer wall effectively separated the sacred within from the secular without (20)" (John B. Taylor, Ezekiel, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (TOTC), Donald. J. Wiseman, General Editor, (Downers Grove, InterVarsity Press, 1969, p.257).

Eze 42:20b to separate [badal] the holy [qodesh] from the common [chol]. (NIV).

Eze 22:26b they have put no difference [badal] between the holy [qodesh] and profane [chol]. (AV).

"They [the outside walls] are not constructed to keep enemy forces out, if by these forces one means human foes of Israel, but to protect the sanctity of the sacred area from the pollution of the common touch and to prevent the contagion of holiness from touching the people. They guarantee that the violence done to Yahweh's Torah and the profanation of things sacred described in 22:26, never occurs again. In the past priests failed to maintain the distinction between the holy and profane, but the present structures guard against such abominations under the new order. Later in 44:23, Ezekiel will emphasize the role of the priests in indoctrinating the laity on the issue and their own modeling of respect for these distinctions" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, pp.570-71).

"According to the priestly Weltanschauung, this distinction is carried over into every aspect of life, including diet, bodily states, and all social transactions. In this instance the distinction is not absolute for ... the holiness of the sanctuary is carried over, though in progressively diminished degree, to the area adjacent to the temple precincts and the land of Israel in general" (Joseph Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, James L. Mays, Series Editor, (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990), pp.209-10).

"The statement of the purpose of the wall in v 29b reveals the sanctity of the temple areas as the domain of God. This sphere of the divine was set aside, in the world and yet not of the world, as a colony of heaven" (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.235).

"The vision is all about holiness. On the one hand, Ezekiel's visionary temple is about the preservation of the holy - through walls and gates and clearly demarcated, concentric spheres of sanctity. But on the other had this vision is about access to the holy. The fortified gates whose description occupies so much of these chapters stand as a fitting symbol of that dual concern" (Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, NIBC, p.293).

Square/Cube Dwelling

Eze 41:4 And he measured the length of the inner sanctuary; it was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits across the end of the outer sanctuary. He said to me, "This is the Most Holy Place." (NIV).

Rev 21:16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. (NIV).

"The [temple] ground plan, corresponding essentially to that of the Solomonic building, also reproduced in Zerubbabel's and Herod's temple, was quite simple and traditional" (Joseph Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, Interpretation, p.205).

"The temple building is a tripartite structure, comprising portico, outer sanctuary, and inner sanctuary, whose architecture focuses on the inner sanctuary, that is, "the Most Holy Place" (41:4)" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.476).

"Although Ezekiel, with his priestly rank, is taken into the first two rooms, his angelic guide goes alone into the third. By such means is exemplified the absolute degree of holiness revealed in the declaration that breaks the silence of the basic account" (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.232).

"... the innermost room of the temple ... corresponds in width and depth to the inner room in Solomon's temple (twenty by twenty cubits, 41:2; note that in Solomon's temple the innermost room was a cube, see 1 Kgs 6:20)" Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, NIBC, p.290).

"This is the only square space within the temple building itself" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.476).

"Like the Most Holy Place and the inner court, the [temple] complex as a whole is a perfect square: five hundred cubits on each side" (Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, NIBC, p.293).

"It might seem only natural that a sacred building would adopt the most sacred shape, but once more the stakes have been raised from the arrangement of the Mosaic and Solomonic eras. In the tabernacle, for example, only the Most Holy Place is square; the other external spaces are increasingly nonsquare. In Ezekeil temple, however, the entire structure bears an increased level of sanctity that is expressed in its overall shape" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, pp.477-78).

The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long (Rev 21:16, NIV).

"The shape and size of the entire temple complex reflects a lofty theological and spiritual ideal, according to which the residence of Yahweh must be perfectly proportioned... According to Josephus (Ant. 15:11.3, §400), Herod's temple acropolis had a perimeter of 4 stadia, each side being one stadia long. Archeological explorations have confirmed that the postexilic temple acropolis, constructed over the ruins of the preexilic acropolis, was designed after this idea model. The present day platform of the temple mount consists of a square 262.5 m. per side, which computes remarkably to 500 cubits (assuming Ezekiel employs the great cubit of 525 mm)" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, pp.570).

"... at this point in the vision report it is a bit early to be taking about holiness. Ezekiel's temple is beautiful in its simplicity and perfect in its symmetry, but it is also empty" (Steven Tuell, Exekiel, NIBC, p.294).

"The similarities between Ezekiel's and Solomon's temples (1 K. 6-7) are obvious... The Solomonic connection invites the reader to associate significance of this temple as the residence of Yahweh with the function of the original" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, pp.543-44).

"... 'This is the Most Holy Place' (41:1-4). Yes, it certainly was, and that is where Yahweh should have been present in his overwhelming holiness and glory. But the room was empty. Ezekiel knew it. He had seen the glory depart from this very spot years ago. But he also knew that if and when the LORD returned to his temple, this would be his most intimate dwelling-place again" (Christopher J. H. Wright, The Message of Ezekiel, BST, p.333).

Glory of God

"There are similarities between the world-constructing vision of Ezekiel 40-48 and Genesis 1-2. A further similarity emerges in Ezekiel 43-46 as the account of the formation of the different spaces in chapters 40-42 is followed by an account of their filling, just as the spaces formed in days 1-3 of Genesis 1 were subsequently filled in days 4-6. An empty temple is, by itself worthless, it was made to be occupied. The logic of the description starts from the center with the filling of the Most Holy Place (43:1-9) and ends in the corners of the outer court, with the descriptions of the activities in the kitchens (46:24)" (Iain M, Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, pp.488-489).

Eze 43:2a And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east	Rev 21:10b ... and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
Eze 43:2b ... and the earth shined with his glory. (AV).	Rev 21:11b ... It shone with the glory of God. (NIV).

"At last the moment arrived which Ezekiel must have sensed was so imminent. All the preceding process of inspection and measurement was like a grand tour of the empty palace before the grand arrival of the king himself. The sure-footed guide had brought Ezekiel to the very best vantage point for the spectacle: the gate facing east. There, right on cue, he saw the sight that had launched his career - the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east (43:1-2)" (Christopher J. H. Wright, The Message of Ezekiel, BST, p.333).

"The glory of God is an intangible concept for most contemporary Christians. We may pray for God to be glorified in us and in the world, but the idea tends to be somewhat ethereal. In contrast, in the Old Testament the glory of God was a substantial, even tangible, presence. When Moses went up on Mount Sinai, he had an encounter with God's glory that, made his face radiant (Ex. 33:18-23; 34:29-30). At the completion of the tabernacle, the glory filled it to such an extent that even Moses could not enter (40:34-35). When Solomon finished constructing his temple and dedicated it, God's response was to descend in glory to fill it (1 Kings 8:11). In Old Testament times, God's glory was the visible manifestation of his presence in the midst of his people..." (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, pp.492-93).

Heb 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word (Heb 1:3, NIV).

"The God of Israel is Jehovah the Father, the covenant God of literal Israel; and the covenant God and Father of the whole spiritual Israel, or his elect, whether Jews or Gentiles; whom he has taken into covenant, loves, cares, provides for, and protects: Christ, who is the brightness of his Father's glory, whose glory is the glory of the only begotten of the Father, is here meant; and who has the same glorious attributes, the same glorious names, and the same worship, honour, and glory, his Father has; and in whom, as Mediator, is displayed the glory of all the divine perfections..." (John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible, Referenced from Ezekiel 43, e-Sword 7.9.8, e-sword.net).

"... Ezekiel has his attention arrested by a remarkable phenomenon; the return of Yahweh's kabod. His eyes followed the movement of the kabod as it appeared in the east, made its way into the temple complex through the east gate and finally entered the temple (habbayit) itself. Meanwhile the whole earth seemed to light up with the emanating radiance of the divine majesty...

"The words used to describe the event are all carefully chosen. The phenomenon itself is described as kabod elohe yisra'el, "the glory of the God of Israel" " (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.578).

"... and this is continued in vv 4f with the simpler "glory of Yahweh"... one has the impression that for this first reference to the presence of Yahweh within chapters 40-43 the fuller expression, with its suggestion of Israel's covenant reality, has been carefully chosen" (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.413).

"The initial preference for the long form of the expression reflects the significance of the event: the divine patron of the nation is returning; one of the central themes of the salvation oracles of chs. 34-37 is being fulfilled. As in the exodus, Sinai and tabernacle narratives, the glory is the visible manifestation of the divine presence, a fact reinforced by Yahweh's own interpretative comment in 44:2. Although Yahweh could have entered the temple area through the northern or southern gate, the choice of the east gate is deliberate, leading in a straight line along the central spine of concentrated sacrality to the holy of holies... Furthermore, the present course signifies a reversal of the tragedy described in chs. 10-11). The last time the prophet had encountered the divine glory the latter hovered over the east gate and then disappeared over the mountain east of the city (11:19, 23), symbolic of Yahweh's abandonment of his people. The present movement affirms the nation's period of separation from him is past..." (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, pp.578-79).

"The light and fire motif had also been present in the opening vision (1:4, 13), but here the radiance of the divine kabod seems even more intense, lighting up the earth and announcing to all the arrival of Yahweh. The account of progress of the divine procession continues in v. 4. Yahweh has only one goal in mind: to reestablish his residence in the temple..." (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.579).

The priests then brought the ark of the LORD'S covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place... And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple (1 Ki 8:6, 11, NIV).

"An analogous statement is to be found in the account of the transfer of the ark to the newly built temple of Solomon" (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.414).

"God's glory filled the house as it had filled the tabernacle which Moses set up and the temple of Solomon, Exo 40:34; 1Ki 8:10" (Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, Referenced from Ezekiel 43, e-Sword 7.9.8, e-sword.net).

And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts (Hag 2:7, AV).

"Since Jerusalem's destruction, God's glory had not been present in Jerusalem nor among his people. Israel had been under discipline in Babylonia and would remain under discipline till the end times. Then she would be cleansed and restored to her promised land by the Messiah. God's glory would not even fill Zerubbabel's temple nor the temple of Herod (cf. Hag 2:7)...

"This vision made it very clear that God's glory would return after Israel was cleansed and after the millennial temple had been constructed..." (Ralph H. Alexander, Ezekiel, EBC, Vol.6, p.969).

God with His people

Eze 43:6b I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple.	Rev 21:3a And I heard a loud voice from the throne
Eze 43:7 He said... This is where I will live [saken] among the Israelites forever. (NIV).	Rev 21:3b saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. (NIV).

"It was nineteen years since Ezekiel has seen the vision of the glory of the Lord leaving the temple (10:18-22; 11:22-24). Now he sees his return, to occupy and to consecrate this new building to be his holy sanctuary..." (John B. Taylor, Ezekiel, TOTC, p.257).

"The present pattern - the description of the sanctuary followed by the entrance of the divine kabod into the building - follows the pattern of two previous biblical parallels, the construction of the tabernacle (Exod. 25-40) and Solomon's temple (1 K. 6-8). In both instances, the arrival of the glory served as a visible seal of Yahweh's approval of the construction project. God takes up residence in his palace" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.576).

"The arrival of the Lord's Glory (vv. 1-9) accomplishes the sanctification of this place" (Steven Tuell, Exekiel, NIBC, p.294).

"... at this point there is a special word from the Lord out of the temple, which is virtually a statement of consecration" (John B. Taylor, Ezekiel, TOTC, p.257).

"The significance of this vision of God's glory was so important that the Lord himself interpreted it to Ezekiel" (Ralph H. Alexander, Ezekiel, EBC, Vol.6, p.969).

"... the newly arrived divine king ... now speaks..." (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.580).

"The austerity of this assertion of the divine kingship [see next section] is deliberately tempered by the twofold reference to Yahweh's eternal (le'olam) residence in the midst of the descendants of Israel (vv. 7, 9). The verb saken alludes to the tabernacle/temple as the miskan, "dwelling place," of Yahweh, and the locative modifier, betok bene yisra'el, "in the midst of the descendants of Israel," offers hope to those who had experienced the catastrophic effects of his departure, as portrayed in chs. 8-11. The declaration is intended to answer the people's bewilderment over their future, particularly their question regarding the relationship with Yahweh. The vision of the return of the kabod offers optical reinforcement of verbal pronouncements in earlier salvation oracles (chs. 34-37) that Yahweh will come back and reestablish his residence among them, never again to leave. Ezekiel's temple represents a symbol of his recommitment" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, pp.581-82).

"... "forever" as in Eze 37:26 and Eze 37:28. The promise culminates in this. "forever" does not apply either to the tabernacle or to Solomon's temple, in which Jehovah also had His dwelling-place, though not for ever. These sanctuaries He left, and gave them up to destruction, because the Israelites had profaned His holy name by their idolatry. This will not take place any more after the erection of the new sanctuary" (C. F Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel, Translated by James Martin, (Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans, 1970), Vol.2, p.280).

"It should be observed here that in this expression there is nothing about Yahweh's dwelling in his temple, but of his dwelling in the midst of his people Israel. This corresponds to the statement, expressed in different terminology, of 37:26-28, where it was said that Yahweh would set his sanctuary in the midst of his people for all time. The mention there in v 26 of the covenant with the people and the specific quotation of this two-sided covenant formula in v 27 allowed this fact to emerge clearly. Here too it is not a question of the sacred place which might have holiness in itself, but of the relationship of Yahweh to his people, for which his presence in the sacred place is a sign and a seal" (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.416)

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? (1 Ki 8:27, AV).

"The words here are an echo of Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 8:12, 13, 27)... though strangely enough this idea does not seem to contradict the view that in reality the Lord dwells in heaven. The temple is simply his earthly habitation..." (John B. Taylor, Ezekiel, TOTC, p.258).

"It is Yahweh's taking up residence in the temple that starts the wheels of worship turning and energizes the temple area into a concourse of bustling activity" (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.269).

Throne

... the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever (Eze 37:28, NIV).

"The presence of Yahweh in the midst of his people had always been seen as the fundamental distinguishing mark of Israel even before the construction of the original tabernacle. It remains the ultimate vision of the new creation. Here it is given a particularly royal flavour through the depiction of the temple as God's palace" (Christopher J. H. Wright, The Message of Ezekiel, BST, p.333).

Eze 43:7a He said... this is the place of my throne (NIV).

Rev 22:3b The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city... (NIV).

"The address proper begins with a formal announcement, "This is the place of my throne, the place of the soles of my feet." The language is obviously royal; Yahweh is hereby declaring that the temple is his palace and asserting the claim to kingship over Israel. While the tradition of the temple as the palace of Yahweh has a long history, Ezekiel's portrayal of the temple itself rather that the ark of the covenant as the throne of Yahweh is striking. In the prophet's inaugural vision cherubim were observed carrying the throne of God (1:24-28), but the present speech is silent concerning the role of the ark or of the cherubim...

"The image of the divine kingship is concretized with the description of the temple as "the place for the soles of my feet" (meqom kappot raglay). This phrase is a variation of hadom raglayw, "his footstool," which identifies literally the object on which a person rest one's feet, and by extension functions as an expression of dominion. Ezekiel's conjunction of Yahweh's throne and his footstool in the temple reminds one of 1 Chron. 28:2,where David explicitly associates the hadom with the ark of the covenant, and several additional texts identifying Zion/the temple as Yahweh's footstool (Ps. 99:5; 132:7; Lam. 2:1), especially Isa. 60:13, which pairs meqom miqdasi, "the place of my sanctuary," with meqom raglay, "the place of my feet," " (Daniel I. Block, ezekiel 35-48, NICOT, pp.580-81).

Isa 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts (Isa 60:5, AV).

Isa 8:10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; ;propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us (Isa 8:10, NIV).

"... Isaiah's vision of the glory of God filling the temple (Isa. 6) forms the basis of his confident assertion in the following chapter of "God with us" ("Immanuel," Isa 7:14; 8:8).

"But the immanent presence of God with us is not necessarily good news for sinners. That is why Isaiah fell on his face, proclaiming the covenant curse on himself: 'Woe to me ... I am ruined for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty' (Isa.6:5). He was afraid that the vision of God's glory would not merely make his face shine but would incinerate him...

"In Ezekiel's vision, although the fundamental concerns are similar, the situation is more complex. The danger with which he is concerned is not so much the presence of God as the absence of God. Though the wrathful presence of God had already led to the destruction of Jerusalem for her sins, the permanent absence of God is an equally fearful prospect. Without the presence of God at the center of the life of the community, there can be no life. There will simply be a collection of dry bones. Ezekiel's vision of the return of God's glory is the theological prerequisite for the restoration of the people, just as surely as his vision of the departure of God's glory from the Jerusalem temple was a theological prerequisite for its destruction. It is a statement that the Lord is still King - an issue addressed in his victory over the nations in chapter 38-39. Specifically, the Lord is King over Israel and will continue to be King forever. Never again will they experience total abandonment, the absence of God" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.493).

Doors

Eze 41:23 And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.	1Ki 6:34a And the two doors were of fir tree:
Eze 41:25a And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; (AV).	1Ki 6:35 And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work. (AV).

"As in Solomon's temple (1 K. 6:34), entrance to both the great hall and the inner sanctum was gained by double doors..." (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, pp.559-60).

"As in 1 Kgs 6:31ff these doors too have the same figurative decoration as the temple wall" (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.389)

"Like the rest of the interior, the doors were decorated with palms and cherub carvings" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, pp.560).

"... the doors of the temple in Ezekiel 41 lack the flower ornamentation of Solomon's structure. Similarly there is no mention of a gold overlay" (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, pp.389-90).

"Chronicles describes the doorway into the Most Holy Place as covered by "the curtain of blue, purple and crimson yearn and fine linen," though embroidered with cherubim (2 Chr. 3:14)" (Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, NIBC, p.292).

"In the Herodian temple a curtain separated the holy of holies from the sacred area (Josephus, Jewish War V 5, 5; Mt 27:51 (and parallels); Heb 6:19; 9:3; 10:20)" (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.358).

Cherubim

Eze 41:17b on the walls at regular intervals all around the inner and outer sanctuary	1Ki 6:29a On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms,
Eze 41:18a were carved cherubim and palm trees. Palm trees alternated with cherubim. (NIV).	1 Ki 6:29b he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. (NIV).

"According to vv. 17b-20, from the floor to ceiling (v. 20), all over the entire temple the walls were decorated with beautiful carvings of cherubim and palm trees, motifs obviously borrowed from Solomon's temple (1 K. 6:29-36)..." (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.558).

"Ezekiel's decoration scheme is simpler than that of the first temple, which had a wide variety of other symbols carved on it, and the focus of the cherubim recalls the ominous presence of these enforcers of divine judgment in Ezekiel opening vision" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, pp.476-77).

"No mention is made of "open flowers" (peture sissim) or of gold overlay, which had figured prominently in Solomon's ornamentation. Nor is the significance of the winged sphinxes and palms explained, though these skillfully carved sculptures will have certainly enhanced the beauty of the interior... But more than aesthetics is involved in this design. In these figures aspirations of life and prosperity (palm) and security (cherubim) coalesce. In Israelites thought, the divine resident of this house was the source of both" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.558).

"The all-seeing cherubim or sphinxes are vigilant guardians of God's sovereign holiness, while the palms, as often in Near Eastern art, represent the tree of life (cf. 47:1-12)" (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.233).

"The motif is the familiar one of the tree of life surrounded by animals, an Eden motif, warding off the powers of evil and death - for the temple is, first and foremost, the place of life" (Joseph Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, Interpretation, p.208).

No 'Precious' Building Materials

"40:38-43 and 41:15b-26... Most significantly, these two passages contain the only mention of furnishings or materials to be found in this opening section [chs. 40-42]: the hewn stone tables of 40:38-43, with their hooks and instruments for the preparation of sacrifices, and the carved wooden panelling, table and doorways of 41:15b-26. Apart from these sections, one would think the Temple of Ezekiel's vision entirely empty and unadorned...

"Although formally distinct from the rest of 40-42, 40:38-43 and 41:15b are in keeping with the spirit and mood of the text. Descriptions and explanations are kept sparse and succinct. The materials mentioned are ordinary: dressed stone and wood (not even cedar!). This is sharp contrast with ... [t]he fine stuff used in the Tabernacle and its accoutrements (Exod 25-28) and in the First Temple (1 Kgs 6)..." (Steven Shawn Tuell, The Law of the Temple in Ezekiel 40-48, (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992), pp.29-30).

River

Eze 47:1a The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east...	Rev 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
Ezek 47:1b The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. Eze 47:5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river... (NIV).	Rev 22:2a down the middle of the great street of the city. (NIV).

"Ezekiel's tour of the temple is now complete. His vision at this point turns outward to the rest of the land and the influence that the thorough restoration of the temple as the place of God's dwelling will have on it. That influence is nothing short of a total transformation from death to life, a transformation expressed in the visionary form of a life-giving river that flows out of the temple" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, 530).

"The door of the house is the entrance into the holy place of the temple..." (C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel, Vol.2, p.353).

Eze 47:1... waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward... and the waters came down from under from the right [yamin] side [ketapot] of the house

Ps 89:12a The north [sapon] and the south [yamin] thou hast created them...

"[Ezekiel] is amazed by the sight of a small stream of water gushing out from under the mippan, "threshold," an architectural designation for the slab of stone at the base of the doorway visible to the observer outside. The last line of v. 1 identifies the place where the water emerges more precisely: mikketep habbayit hayemanit, "from the right side of the facade of the temple." ketep is also an architectural term, referring to the part of the gate structure that extends horizontally from the opening itself to the next corner, and vertically from the ground up at least as far as the top of the door. Each gate/door would have four ketapot, two on the inside and two on the outside" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.691).

It appears that the water issued from under the south side of the threshold, ran southward along the ketep, which would imply it flowed from the door of the holy place to the internal corner created by the intersection of the eastern wall of the temple and the southern wall of the porch, that is viewed from inside the porch. The water would then flow, (in a built-in pipe?) between the eastern temple wall and the porch wall to the internal corner, on the outside, down into the inner court.

"The extensive series of injunctions dealing with different cultic functions and actions (43:6-46:24) tends to obscure the logic of the narrative according to which the water flowing from inside the temple is the direct consequence of the return of the kabod to the inner sanctuary (43:1-5)" (Joseph Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, Interpretation, p.230).

...and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south (1 Ki 7:39, AV).

... and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar (Eze 47:1b, AV).

"... the south side of the temple, south of the altar. This was the site of the "Sea" in Solomon's Temple, a massive bronze pool whose practical purposes was to provide water for cleansing (1 Kings 7:23, 39). Its significance was more than merely practical, however. By calling it "the Sea" (hayyam), a rather grandiose title for an object smaller than most above-ground swimming pools today (fifteen feet in diameter), it also appears to have a symbolic significance, representing the forces of chaos subjugated in the orderly cosmos of the temple..." (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, 530).

"In Ezekiel's temple vision the brazen Sea has been replaced by the a life-giving river (Eze 47:1-2; cf. Rev 22:1-2)" (Raymond B. Dillard, 2 Chronicles, WBC, p.35).

"The stream passed by the south side of the altar of sacrifice, through the outer court, and out of the temple complex, along the south side of the outer eastern gate (vv. 1-2)" (Ralph H. Alexander, Ezekiel, EBC, Vol.6, p.969).

"There is an implicit reminder that this was the route that Yahweh had traveled in the return to the temple (43:1-5). The stream, virtually retracing his path, was flowing from the very presence of God" (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.279).

"Nor is it coincidental that before the stream flows out over the desert and down into the Arabah to rejuvenate land and sea, it passes by the altar. This structure, standing in the very center of the temple complex, symbolizes God's desire to receive sinful humans and his delight in their worship" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.701).

"Before Ezekiel had time to wonder why he had not noticed it before (as one does in dreams), his eager guide whisked him back outside to the outer gate facing east...[via the way of the north gate]" (Christopher J. H. Wright, Ezekiel, BST, pp.355-356).

"The most direct route to this spot would have been through the eastern gate itself, but it was barred to human traffic (44:1-2)" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.691).

"... the permanently closed east gate spoke of God's return to his temple, never to leave again. God himself would not retrace his steps eastward to the exit, but that did not mean that he was imprisoned in his sanctuary. The river of his life-giving blessing was now flowing back through this very gate and on out to the land and the world beyond" (Christopher J. H. Wright, Ezekiel, BST, p.357).

"Arriving outside the gate, Ezekiel notices water trickling out under the wall on the south side of the gate structure. He describes the trickling action of the water with a hapax, mepakkim, an onomatopoeic formation from pak, "bottle," conveying the sound of liquid gurgling out of flask. The choice of expression is intentional, highlighting the modest size of the stream at its source - no larger than the flow of water from the mouth of a small vessel..." (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.691).

"... the tour guide assumes a now thoroughly familiar role, symbolized by the measuring instrument in his hand. Whether or not he has picked up a different instrument, the use of a new term, qaw, alerts the reader to a possible shift in significance. The man's earlier measurement of the temple and its environs had highlighted its symmetrical plan and the gradations of holiness as one moved toward the sacred residence of Yahweh. But now the guide's intentions have changed..." (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.692).

"Here, with the measuring instrument ... four identical stretches are measured by the guiding figure, and then in addition, with a second method of measurement, the increasing depth of the water is established" (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.512).

"With the east gate as his starting point, the guide measures his movements away from the temple, pausing at 1,000-cubit (about 1700 ft.) intervals to bring the prophet along. At each interval Ezekiel notes the depth of the water in which he is wading in. The results are quite fantastic. Having begun as a mere trickle, the stream reaches his ankles at 1,000 cubits, his knees at 2,000 cubits, and his waist at 3,000 cubits. At the 4,000 cubit mark the trickle (mepakkim) has swelled to a stream (nahal), too deep to wade through and deep enough for swimming. At this point the measurement stops, leaving prophet and reader to extrapolate a geometric increase in volume of water every 1,000 cubits as it flows toward the sea. That this effect is achieved without apparent contributions from tributaries heightens the magnitude of the miracle" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.692).

"In just over a mile the stream increases to a deep river. Here ... a miracle is at work, somewhat like the unspent jar of meal and unfailing cruse of oil in 1 Kgs 8:12-16, or like the growth of the kingdom of God from mustard seed to spreading tree (Mark 4:31-32); cf. Dan 4:8 [11]), or like the stone that became a great mountain (Dan 2:35)" (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.279).

... whithersoever the rivers shall come... (Eze 47:9, AV).

"The rivers of verse 9 are literally two rivers, to bring out the greatness of the river, though actually only one" (Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecies of Ezekiel, p.273).

"The archetype of this river is the earth-fructifying stream that flows out in four branches from the prototypical sanctuary of Eden (Gen, 2:10-14)" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, 530).

"The repetitive style of the first three stages reflects the guide's methodical manner, but the departure from the pattern in the fourth signals the climatic phase" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.692).

Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river... Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed... because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. But the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt (Eze 47:6b, 8, 9b, 11, AV).

"The miraculous growth of this river from small beginnings is not the only lesson to be observed, however. This river is also a transforming force wherever it flows" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.531).

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south (Zec 14:4, AV).

"After flowing eastward and then south through the Arabah, which here seems to indicate simply the region of the Jordan Valley, the river transforms the Dead Sea, healing its waters - that is, turning its salty water, which is undrinkable and hostile to life, into drinkable, life-supporting water 47:8)" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, 531).

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 (Eze 43:24, AV).

"In its backwaters, however, would be left salt waters to provide salt for cultic (43:24) and presumably for human needs, although the verse seems primarily to reflect cultic concerns evident throughout chaps. 40-48" (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.279).

"Even the Talmud pointed out that salt from the Dead Sea was preferred above all other kinds because it was reputed to hasten the burning of the sacrifices, as well as to minimize the unpleasant odors of burning flesh" (Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecies of Ezekiel, p.273).

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea (Rev 21:1, AV).

"... simply as a mass of water it [the Dead Sea] is a symbol of chaos, that which is hostile to the purposes of God and for his people (cf. Rev 21:2)" (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, pp.279-80).

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly [sharas] the moving creature [sheres] that hath life [nepesh hay] (Ge 1:20a, AV).

And God created great whales, and every [kol] living [hay] creature [nepesh] that moveth [ramas], which the waters brought forth abundantly [sharas], after their kind [min] (Ge 1:21, AV).

And it shall come to pass, that every [kol] thing [nepesh] that liveth [hay], which moveth [sharas], whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live... (Eze 47:9a, AV).

their fish shall be according to their kinds [min], as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many (Eze 47:10b, AV).

"The life-giving water and marvelous trees of Ezekiel's vision call to mind the garden of Eden (Gen 2:8-14). Indeed, the language of verse 9 (Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows) makes explicit connections with the primordial narratives of Genesis. The expression "living creatures" (Heb nepesh khayyah) is found in this form only here and in the Genesis stories of creation (Gen. 1:20, 24, 30: 2:7, 19) and flood (Gen. 9:12, 15, 16). The word rendered "swarms" (the Heb. root sharats, both as a verb and a noun) also appears in the priestly creation and flood accounts (Gen. 1:20, 21; 7:21; 8:17; 9:7), and is found in combination with nepesh khayyah only here in verse 9 of Ezekiel 47 and in Genesis 1:20" (Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.331).

"This Edenic river will induce Paradise-like levels of fertility, teeming with all kinds of swarming creatures (47:9), like the waters of Genesis 1:20, and a great many fish "of many kinds" (Eze 47:10; cf. Gen. 1:21). To sum up the pictorial message in a straightforward speech: "Where the river flows everything will live" (Ezek. 47:9)" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.531).

... this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah... (Isa 8:6, NIV).

"By the gently flowing waters of ... ("Shiloah") is meant the system of canals which, before the Siloam tunnel cutting through the hill was built under Hezekiah, led the water of Gihon with a minimal drop along the western slope of the hill. By this quite unrepresentative small amount of water there is meant, in Isaiah 8, Yahweh who is enthroned on the heights of the temple mount above these waters of Gihon" (Walter Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.511).

"Behind the vision stands the cultic concept of blessing, as the power of God, which, crowning the worship of his pilgrim people, returns home with them and enriches their lives. Here it is appears appropriately, after the regulations for temple upkeep and worship have been revealed in chaps. 43-46. The particular imagery is drawn from a motif of the Songs of Zion tradition, the "river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High" (Ps 46:5 [4]). The river was a religious metamorphosis of the little Gihon spring, which was itself of some cultic significance (1 Kgs 1:33, 45; cf. Psalm 110:7) or possibly of the Shiloh canal (Isa 8:6). The rivers of Eden (Gen 2:10-14) may have been a contributing tradition, as it is often claimed..." (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.280).

"Few doubt that Ezekiel's vision of a life-giving stream has been influenced, at least in part, by Gen. 2:10-14, which portrays paradise as a garden, rendered fruitful by a river flowing out of Eden and dividing into four branches, and which Yahweh visits daily (3:8). However, Ezekiel offers this ancient Edenic tradition a twist by merging it with Zion theology, according to which the temple in Jerusalem is the source of blessing and nourishment to a dry and thirsty land..." (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, pp.696-97).

"... a variety of texts identify Zion, the mountain of the temple, as a source of rivers. Psalm 46 contrasts the violence and chaos of the nations, depicted as a raging violent flood (Ps 46:2-3) with the quiet, calm, life-giving waters flowing from Zion: "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God" (Ps. 46:4; compare Zech. 13:1; Joel 3:18). Isaiah 8:5-8 similarly contrasts the might of Assyria, symbolized by the flood of waters of the Euphrates (Isa. 8:7-8), with the assurance of God's presence represented by "the gently flowing waters of Shiloah" (Isa 8:6), fed by the Gihon spring. Shiloah, of course is not a river - just as, strictly speaking, Zion is no mountain. However, in the symbolic language of Israel's temple ideology, Zion is the cosmic mountain, the source of life and fertility for all the world, and so a source of waters. In short, Zion is Eden" (Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.333).

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them (Mt 11:5, AV).

"One objection set forth is that, even supposing a change in the land, a stream rising on top of Mount Zion, of the magnitude seen in this vision of Ezekiel, would be entirely opposed to the known laws of the physical world. Such an objection is entirely beside the point and completely misses the emphasis of the entire description. If the passage teaches anything, it reveals that all this will be a result of the working of God's power; it is miraculous. Since when has God been confined to the laws which He Himself made in nature? He cannot and will not contravene His moral laws, but there is nothing inherently discrepant with His nature to altar any of His natural or physical laws" (Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecies of Ezekiel, p.273).

Trees of life

Eze 47:12a Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail., because the water from the sanctuary flows to them.	Rev 22:2b On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit
Rev 47:12b Every month they will bear...	Rev 22:2c yielding its fruit every month.
Rev 47:12c Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. (NIV).	Rev 22:2d And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (NIV).

Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other (Eze 47:6b, 7, AV).

"The sight has left Ezekiel staring in amazement... Both sides of the steam were lined with dense groves of trees" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.693).

"[The river] brings fertility to the ground surrounding it, indicated by the presence of a great many trees on both sides of the river (47:7)...

"The numerous trees of 47:7 are now more closely defined as "fruit trees" (lit., "food trees," 47:12). They will not suffer from any lack of moisture; rather, as with the depiction of the righteous person in Psalm 1, "their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail." Indeed, they will be so full of life that they will bear new fruit every month to feed the population, and their leaves will be for healing (47:12). All this will be brought about because they are fed from the source of life-giving fruitfulness, the stream that flows from the temple" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.531).

Ezekiel's River and other Rivers of Life

"The image of a life-giving stream flowing from the sanctuary is ubiquitous in the Scriptures, from the opening chapters of Genesis (Gen. 2:10-14) to the closing chapters of Revelation. Revelation features a river similar in many respects to that of Ezekiel 47, which flows from the throne of God and the Lamb out to nourish the ... tree[s?] of life, whose fruit appears every month and whose leaves are "for the healing of the nations" (Rev. 22:1-2). The motif is also attested in mythological literature from the ancient Near East. Yet because of the frequent use of the motif, it would be easy to overlook what is distinctive about Ezekiels use.

"(1) The most striking aspect of Ezekiel's river is that, unlike the other rivers of life, it starts out as an insignificant trickle and only ends up as a thunderous torrent after a distance. This is something that no upheaval in the topography of Palestine can accomplish literally... Though the work of God starts out in tiny, seemingly insignificant ways, it will ultimately accomplish God's goals with unstoppable power. In a similar way the tiny mustard seed to which Jesus likened the kingdom of God, grows to become a might tree (Matt.13:31).

"(2) Another aspect that Ezekiel's river gives prominence to is the theme of transformation. The other rivers of life are eternal, fertility-inducing streams. They bring life to everything they touch, but there is no reflection or any prior state of the land that they impact. In contrast, Ezekiel's river brings not merely life but life-from-the-dead. It not only provides fresh, living water, but heals the dead, salt-contaminated water of the Dead Sea.

"The motif of "healing the water" brings with it echoes of Israel's earlier history. At Marah, Israel's first stop in the desert after crossing the Reed Sea, the water was so bitter that Israel could not drink it. In spite of the people's grumbling, the Lord graciously gave Moses the answer to their need: a piece of wood that, when thrown into the water, turned it sweet. Then the Lord promised that if they walked in faithfulness to the covenant they would experience him as yahweh rapa', the LORD, who heals you" (Ex. 15:22-26). Similarly, in 2 Kings 2:19, the men of the city of Jericho appealed to Elisha because of the "bad water" of that city... God graciously transformed that curse into a blessing through his prophet (2 Kings 2:21-22)..." (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, pp.532-33).

"(3) The third distinctive to be noted about the river of Ezekiel's vision is the way in which it runs counter to the general trend in this vision to separate off the holy from the profane, to protect the glory of the divine presence from contamination by sinful humankind. The river bridges the gap, demonstrating the fact that the protection of the sphere of the holy is not an end in itself. It is intended to ensure the presence of God in the midst of his people, a presence that will have visible and tangible effects of blessing for the people. Blessing is not a category restricted to those who have access to the inner reaches of the holy space, it flows out as widely as the river of life does..." (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.533).

For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! (Eze 18:32, NIV).

"This passage declares that the divine sanctity and grace are not antithetical notions but perfect correlatives of the divine character. Illegitimate contact with divine holiness may be lethal, but not because Yahweh delights in death. On the contrary, the stream that flows from the temple symbolizes Yahweh's firm and enthusiastic vote for life (cf. 18:32)" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.702).

Do and Receive

If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit... and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely... And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. (Lev 26:3-4, 5b, 11-12, AV).

"If there were any suspicion from the preceding texts that God in his sanctuary was there merely for his own benefit, selfishly relishing the offerings and sacrifices of his people, this image dispels it. The flow of benefit is entirely in the opposite direction. It is only because of the life-giving bounty of God that we have anything at all to bring as gifts into his presence. As David put it so perceptively, when he dedicated the abundance of the people's giving to provide for the building of the original temple,

" 'Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand ... all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your holy name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you' (1 Chr. 29:14-16)" (Christopher J. H. Wright, Ezekiel, BST, pp.357-58).

"The Bible ... associates abundance with God's presence in the temple. The descriptions of both the tabernacle in Exodus 25-27 and the temple of Solomon in 1 Kings 6-7, which emphasize precious materials (in contrast to chs. 40-42... [as noted above]), suggests the association of the temple with material abundance. Haggai 1:2-11 makes explicit the link between material prosperity, and the divine presence. Their failure to rebuild the temple is the cause of the hand-to-mouth existence of the returnees from exile: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin" (Hag. 1:4). Only when they have rebuilt the temple can God's presence in the midst of the community bring blessing" (Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.333).

Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence... (Ge 4:14a, NIV).

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Mt 18:20, NIV).

Steven Tuell's last sentence needs qualifying in that Christ was "present," but His Shekinah glory was not "present" in the Second Temple as it had been in the Mosaic Tabernacle and Solomonic Temple - it was not time to restore the Kingdom of Israel.

and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house ["temple sanctuary," NIV] shall be in the midst thereof (Eze 48:21, AV).

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Dt 30:19-20, NIV).

"These closing chapters [47-48] trace the relation of the temple to the land of Israel. There is a tradition deeply embedded in Israel's faith that inextricably linked together the fortunes of temple and land. To worship in the temple carried with it the privilege of dwelling in the land, and enjoying God's blessing there (cf. Exod 15:17; Ps 78:54; Isa 57:13; Obad 17...). That tradition finds reaffirmation in this representation of Israel's future...

"If chaps. 40-48 begin with theological architecture, they end with theological geography. The destruction of the old people of God gave an opportunity for a new beginning on sounder principles that took theology seriously... Land and people are closely connected throughout the Old Testament and not least in the book of Ezekiel. Expulsion from the land was the people's judgment; restoration to it was to be their salvation. Indeed, the repeated phrase ... "people of the land" in the previous section 45:22; 46:3, 9) may be considered a seminal concept that entails as the corollary a literary progression to the renewed gift of the land" (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, pp.285-86).

"... the prerequisite to renew the environment is to restore a people's relationship with God. That Ezekiel's portrayal of the land of Israel's physical revitalization comes at the end of the elaborate vision is no accident. This may happen only after Yahweh has returned to his people, and the people have accepted his presence with authentic faith and humble worship...

"... the renewal of the environment represents the natural and logical concomitant of spiritual renewal. In the beginning God had pronounced the world he had made good (Gen. 1:31). At the cosmic level, the rebellion of humanity had brought the curse upon the good earth, and its only hope is in the lifting of the curse. This vision presents this same truth at the national level. Like its ancient Near Eastern neighbors, and in keeping with Yahweh's original covenant (Lev. 26:1-13; Deut. 28:1-14), Ezekiel expected the spiritual renewal of his people to be accompanied by the lifting of the curse from the land, demonstrated materially in numerous progeny, abundant crops, and large herds of livestock. In Ezek. 34:26-27 and 36:8-11 God had given his verbal promise of renewal and blessing; now that promise is concretized in visual form: Judean desert and Dead Sea, the most inhospitable of land and marine environments, respectively, serves as dramatic symbols of renewal. Rev. 22:3 offers an interpretation of the river of life that is in perfect keeping with historical interpretation of this text: "No longer will there be any curse" (NIV).

"... the renewal of God's people is from start to finish a miraculous work of divine grace. The revitalization of the landscape is not achieved through human technology, or effort; it is the result of Yahweh's lifting of the curse and replacing it with blessing. The river of life does not originate in the palace of the earthly king, but in the house of God" (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, pp.701-02).

Conclusion

Leviticus 26 (AV & NIV)	Ezekiel 37 (NIV)	Revelation 21 NIV)
If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;	They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses,	I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven...
I will put my dwelling place among you,	My dwelling place will be with them;	Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.
I will walk among you and be your God,	I will be their God,	and God himself will be with them and be their God
and you will be my people.	and they will be my people	They will be his people

"The Hebrew uses an uncommon form of the verb 'to walk' (halak in Hithpael), which means 'to stroll around' - as one does with a friend or loved one. It is also used for Noah and Abraham 'walking with God' (Gen. 6:9; 17:1), but, more significantly in relation to Leviticus 26:12, it is used for God's 'strolling' with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Again it is noticeable how the promises of God to Israel reflects his purpose for humanity as a whole" (Christopher J. H. Wright, The Message of Ezekiel, BST, p.299).

The goal of God is to be literally with His creation. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden had a foretaste of this reality but 'sin' severed the intimate relationship.

The plan of God was to restore and fulfill the relationship of a holy God and a holy people.

But a holy God cannot literally 'dwell' in an environment of sin.

Israel in covenant with God, centred on the Mosaic Tabernacle and the Solomonic Temple 'broke' the covenant and God could no longer be with His people.

The glory [kabod] of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. He said: "Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel will never again defile my holy name - neither they nor their kings - by their prostitution and the lifeless idols of their kings at their high places. When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by their detestable practices. So I destroyed them in my anger. Now let them put away from me their prostitution and the lifeless idols of their kings, and I will live among them forever (Ezekiel 43:4-9, NIV).

In the renewed covenant, in the next step towards literally dwelling with His creation, God takes steps to ensure that the people will not brake the new covenant.

The first step in God's plan to achieve this goal is the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. And the second:

"The uniquely hierarchal theology of Ezekiels's book is nowhere clearer than in the design of the restored temple and land in Ezek 40-48. These chapters create an unmistakably unique world, quite different from that of other Scriptures. The stress on spatial order, separation, and gradation ... unfolds a new "failsafe" reality in Israel that ensures the permanent dwelling of God's glory (Eze 43:7; 44:2 and the safe diffusion of God's holiness throughout the land (Eze 47:1-48:35)" (Stephen L. Cook and Corrine L. Patton, "Introduction: Hierarchical Thinking and Theology in Ezekiel's Book," Ezekiel's Hierarchical World, p.13).

The spatial reorganization of society and the tightening of the holiness code of practice

In the Millennium human beings will still be human beings. They will still make mistakes, be forgetful, inadvertently do wrong, be careless, and sin. God, therefore, implements changes to help minimise social disorder by human-beings being human-beings, even with the Holy Spirit.

"Human geography shows that every society is organized in space. Changing the spatial organization of the society changes the society. Ezekiel 40-48 is a vision of a new society organized according to a new set of spatial rules. It is a temple society with controlled access to sacred space, based on a spatial theology of holiness" (Kalinda Rose Stevenson, The Vision of Transformation - The Territorial Rhetoric of Ezekiel 40-48), (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996), p.xviii).

Then the LORD said to Aaron... "You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the LORD has given them through Moses" (Leviticus 10:8, 10-11, NIV).

And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean (Ezekiel 44:23, AV).

"... holiness (and its opposite, the profane) represent the divine relationship to the ordered world, and the clean (with its opposite, the unclean) embraces the normal state of human existence in the earthly realm. The holy-profane pair represents (positively and negatively) the divine sphere, and this may be distinguished from the human sphere (which is marked by the opposition between clean and unclean). The presence of a holy God and a holy sanctuary in the midst of Israel ensures that these two points overlap in a complex way..." (Philip Peter Jenson, Graded Holiness - A Key to the Priestly Conception of the World, p.49).

"That which is clean ... may be thought of as that which is in its proper place within the boundaries established by God in creation, and whose own external boundaries are whole and intact. That which is unclean ... is something out of place, out of what seems to be its proper category or niche, "out of bounds." The unclean is an anomaly, something that does not fit into a classification, or whose own external boundaries have been breached or are ambiguous in some way" (Richard D. Nelson, Raising Up a Faithful Priest, (Louisville: Westminister/John Knox Press, 1993), pp.21-22).

"Only if the categories of clean and holy could be maintained in the realm of worship and in a society as a whole could an ongoing relationship with Yahweh the holy God be possible" (Richard D. Nelson, Raising Up a Faithful Priest, p.21).

"The concern for and protection of the holy. In ancient Israel, as elsewhere in the ancient Near East, a sanctuary was not a place to be entered lightly and unthinkingly. Rather, the sanctuary was seen as a danger zone, somewhat comparable to a nuclear power plant. In a nuclear power station, strict precautions have to be taken because of the special dangers of radioactivity, which can cause catastrophic effects if it is handled carelessly. Access to some areas of the site is strictly limited, and special clothing has to be worn for some processes to prevent lethal contact between those operating the plant and the radioactive material, and to prevent radioactivity being transmitted by them to the outside world. In an analogous way, the priests had to take special care in their dress and their conduct to avoid danger to themselves and to prevent dangerous levels of holiness being brought into contact with the general public.

"Nowhere is this caution more evident than in Ezekiel's vision. This is hardly surprising, given Ezekiel's own experience of seeing the Jerusalem temple defiled and subsequently destroyed by God's holy wrath. Anyone who personally witnessed the carnage caused by the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power station would understandably be concerned to tighten up regulations to guard against its repetition. In precisely the same way, Ezekiel's vision represents a tightening of the "holiness code of practice," a raising of the walls and reinforcing the steel of the containment chamber around the temple. Ezekiel is all too aware of something distant from our contemporary thinking: that it is a fearful thing for sinners to fall into the hands of the all-holy God" (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, pp.503-05).

Ezekiel's Temple - Graded Holiness

"Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider the plan, and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple - its arrangement, its exits and entrances - its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations. "This is the law of the temple... (Ezekiel 43:10-12, NIV).

"Ezekiel's temple complex contains six or seven zones of graded holiness, whereas the Priestly tabernacle and the temple of Solomon have only three. While there continues to be a sanctuary building with two (or three) main sections, the courtyard of Ezekiel's temple contains multiple new zones with defined entry restrictions. Its walled inner court and altar area is restricted to priestly use, barred to Levites and laity alike (Eze 42:14; 44:19; 46:3). Intermediate zones between the temple's inner and outer courtyards are constituted by three gate buildings (Eze 40:28-37). In particular, the northern and eastern buildings have vestibules areas reserved respectively for ritual activities of the Levites and of the political ruler (Ezk 40:38-43; 46:2).

"The outer court has its own new, unique zones (cf. Ezek 44:1-3), and a new series of gatehouses. As noted above, Levites and laity have use of the temple's outer court, but no one circumcised, profane, or foreign has access (Ezek 42:20; 44:9). The temple's outer court gates lead into a newly conceived "holy district" of land... [Ezek 45:1-8) with two distinct parts. This district surrounds and protects the temple complex, and its two parts provide dwelling places for the priests, the Levites, and their families.

"The primary zones of both the desert tabernacle and Solomon's temple, in contrast, were merely threefold: the inner section of the sanctuary, its outer section (with porch, in the temple's case), and a surrounding courtyard (e.g., Exod 26:33; 27:9-19... Num 4:4; 3:28; 4:26... some biblical texts do suggest two courts of some sort around the preexilic temple...

"Several pronounced ... physical features further distinguish Ezeliel's new temple from other temples of the Hebrew Bible. The character of the outer gate buildings is a case in point (Ezek 40:5-16; cf. 43:1-5; 44:1-3). They are simply colossal in size, and their importance is signaled by the intricate detail with which they are described. Moshe Greenberg writes, "The massive size of the gate house verges on caricature: their dimensions (25 x 50 cubits) exceed those of the main hall of the Temple (20 x 40 cubits); their length is half of the inner court (100 cubits)! ["Design and Themes [of Ezekiel's Program of Restoration." Int 38 (1984)]" 193].

"A series of terraces and successively narrowing entrance further define and demarcate the intricate tiers of holiness with the complex. Rising stages of courts and platforms - so that height demarcates gradations of holiness - is clear from Ezek 40:22, 26, 31; and 41:8. A narrowing of successive entrances is apparent in the description of the sanctuary proper (Ezek 40:48; 41:2,3). These devises signal increasing holiness as one enters further up and into the temple. Like the hierarchy of sacerdotal roles, this detailed spatial hierarchy guards the temple's sanctity, and it allows the Israelite congregation a safe, tempered exposure to the burning, sanctifying power of God.

"To reiterate, Ezekiel's complex system of boundaries and differentiations with the temple complex are foreign to descriptions of the preexilic temple of Solomon and the Priestly tabernacle. As [Moshe] Greenberg summarizes, "Ezekiel introduces rigor into separation and gradation of areas in the sanctuary precincts; moreover, his requirements are more stringent than those of the Pentateuch." ["Design and Themes," 203]. Here again, a variety of evidence requires us to reckon with unusually hierarchal dimensions in Ezekiel's thinking and theology compared with other biblical texts and traditions" (Stephen L. Cook and Corrine L. Patton, "Introduction: Hierarchical Thinking and Theology in Ezekiel's Book," Ezekiel's Hierarchical World, pp.13-14).

Ezekiel as a 'second' Moses

"While some despair of finding a coherent program in Ezekiel's final vision, at the macroscopic level at least, following the opening preamble (40:1-4) the text divides into three major units: 40:3-43:27, 44:1-46:24, and 47:1-48:35, which deal respectively, with Yahweh's establishment of his residence in the temple, Israel's response to his presence in their midst, and the apportionment of the healed land to the twelve tribes. The significance of this arrangement goes beyond its sheer logic; its parallels to the Mosaic Torah are obvious. The latter also begins with the provision for Yahweh's residence in the midst of Israel (Exod. 25:1-40), then prescribes Israel's response to his presence (all of Leviticus and much of Numbers), and concludes with the arrangement for the apportionment of the land to the twelve tribes (Num 34-35). These parallels provide an early clue that Ezekiel is functioning as a second Moses...

"Since chs. 40-48 come after the Gog oracle, some have interpreted them cosmologically, as the culmination of an ancient mythic pattern in which a deity overcomes a challenge from the forces of chaos in a fierce battle, which is followed by a victory procession, the enthronement of the deity, and a feast of celebration. But one also needs to consider the broader context. The parallels between Eze. 40-48 and the Mosaic Torah can hardly be coincidental in view of the remarkable correspondence between the broad structure of Ezekiel's restoration oracles in chs 40-48 and the Exodus narratives as a whole... These correspondences strengthen the impression that Ezekiel is perceived as a second Moses...

"[Jon D.] Levenson Theology of the Program of Restoration of Ezekiel 40-48, HSM 10 (Missoula: Scholars Press, 1976, pp.42-44)] is certainly correct in viewing Ezekiel's mountaintop prophetic experience as a programmatic revelation, and the prophet himself as a second Moses. But these links should not blind the reader to the substantial discrepancies in detail that exit between Ezekiel's and Moses' Torahs..." (Daniel I. Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-48, NICOT, pp.498 & 500).

See, therefore, "Introduction to Ezekiel's Temple and the Land of Israel in the Millennium."

Glory Ahead for Israel and the Nations

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:2-3, AV).

"To read the last nine chapters of Ezekiel in their literal force is to learn that God has glorious plans in view for Israel and through them for all the earth. But such predictions of blessing never carry with them the assurance that there will be blessing for individuals anywhere apart from personal response in faith to the invitation of the Saviour" (Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel, The Glory of the Lord, p.239).

Abbreviations

AV	Authorised Version
BST	Bible Speaks Today
DBI	Dictionary of Biblical Imagery
EBC HSM	Expositor's Bible Commentary Harvard Semitic Museum
ICC	International Critical Commentary
ISBE	International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
NBD	New Bible Dictionary
NIB	New Interpreter's Bible
NIBC	New International Biblical Commentary
NICNT	New International Commentary on the New Testament
NICOT	New International Commentary on the Old Testament
NIV	New International Version
NIVAC NSBL SBL	NIV Application Commentary New Studies in Biblical Theology Society of Biblical Literature
TDNT	Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
TNTC	Tyndale New Testament Commentaries
TOTC	Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries
TWOT	Theological WordBook of the Old Testament
WBC	Word Biblical Commentary
ZAW	Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

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