Albert Barnes Commentary Ezekiel 43
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezekiel 43
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezekiel 43
"Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east." — Ezekiel 43:1 (ASV)
The gate — This was the eastern gate from the precincts to the outer court.
"And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east." — Ezekiel 43:4 (ASV)
By this gate the glory of the Lord had departed. See the marginal reference.
"And the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house." — Ezekiel 43:5 (ASV)
The glory of the Lord filled the house - Compare the marginal reference; Exodus 40:34–35.
"And I heard one speaking unto me out of the house; and a man stood by me." — Ezekiel 43:6 (ASV)
The man - A “man.” Probably an angel different from “the man” who had previously accompanied the seer. That angel guided, measured, and explained; this is present only to guide.
"And he said unto me, Son of man, [this is] the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, and by the dead bodies of their kings [in] their high places; in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their door-post beside my door-post, and there was [but] the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger." — Ezekiel 43:7-8 (ASV)
He said – that is, God "said." Both the Septuagint and the Vulgate break this verse into two, so as to make the first half the solemn words of dedication. They place a full stop after "forever;" these words mark the distinction between the new and the former sanctuary.
The palace of Solomon adjoined the southern side of the embankment of the temple-platform; there was only a wall between Yahweh and them. When the kings gave themselves up to idolatry, this vicinity was a pollution and defilement to the temple.
Thus, it has been conjectured that "the garden of Uzza," in which Manasseh and Amon were buried (2 Kings 21:18, 2 Kings 21:26), and on which the mosque of Omar now stands, was on the temple area itself. If so, this would explain the mention of high places in connection with the defilement by the carcases of kings, since the platform of the mosque of Omar at the time of Ezekiel rose to a considerable height above the temple.
Besides this, idolatrous kings of Judah did actually introduce their idolatries into the temple courts themselves (compare 2 Kings 16:11; 2 Kings 21:4).
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