Ezekiel 46 explained: Worship and Limits in the Temple

The east gate on holy days (vv. 1-8)

The inner east gate stays shut on ordinary days and opens on the weekly rest day and at each new moon, when the leader, called the prince, worships at its threshold while the people bow at the entrance behind him. Interpreters differ on whether he stepped into the priests' inner court or only stood at the gateway, and no one knows if these rules, which differ from the older law of Moses, were ever followed.

Moving through festival crowds (vv. 9-11)

At the big festivals, everyone who comes in by one gate leaves by the opposite one, which most likely kept huge crowds moving without people pushing against each other. The prince walks in and out among the people rather than apart from them.

Freewill and daily offerings (vv. 12-15)

When the prince brings a voluntary gift offering, the east gate opens just for that and shuts once he leaves. Every morning a young lamb with flour and oil is offered, though the evening offering found in the older law is not mentioned, and scholars are unsure why.

Limits on the prince's land (vv. 16-18)

Land the prince gives his sons stays in the family, but land given to a servant goes back to him in the year of freedom, a set year when land returned to its original holders. Above all he must not seize the people's land, which some readers see as a guard against abuses like King Ahab's, who had a man killed to take his vineyard.

Kitchens for sacred meals (vv. 19-24)

The priests cook the most holy offerings in a room near their own quarters, so these meals never reach the outer court, since holiness was thought to pass to people by contact. Four walled kitchens in the corners of the outer court, each roughly 20 by 15 meters, are where temple workers cook the sacrifices that ordinary worshippers shared as meals.

Key verse: Ezekiel 46:10

Where Christians differ

Christians differ over whether Ezekiel's temple vision describes a real future temple with literal sacrifices, an ideal picture of restored worship for the returning exiles, or a symbol later fulfilled in Jesus and the church.

Something to think about

This vision puts firm limits on what a ruler may take from ordinary people; what do you think actually keeps people with power from overreaching?