John Gill Commentary Ezekiel 42

Then he brought me forth into the utter court, the way toward
the north
After the dimensions of the gates and courts of this building has been shown, and that of itself, the holyand most holy place, with the ornaments thereof; the prophet is brought by his guide into the outward court,which encompassed the building to the north part of it; probably he came out of the north gate of the houseinto it. So the Targum renders it, ``by the way of the gate which is open to the way of the north:''

and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate
place ;
or holy of holies; see (Ezekiel 41:12) , over against or before this, to the north of it, were a chamber orchambers; the singular being put for the plural; where the prophet was brought to take a view of, being anew and distinct building from all others he had seen before; unto one of them, or to the place of them, asJarchi, where they stood: there were two rows of them opposite to each other, and a walk between them; theyare afterwards called the north and south chambers, (Ezekiel 42:13) :

and which was before thebuilding toward the north ;
this chamber or chambers were over against or before the whole fabric, to the north of it. The Jews hereconfess their ignorance, there being nothing in the first or second temple answerable to these. Lipman^F19 expressly says that these chambers were not in the second temple; perhaps they may design theProtestant reformed churches in the northern parts of the world; the religion of Protestants is by thePapists called the northern heresy: and if our northern churches are here pointed at and described, it is agreat honour that is done to them, to have a particular apartment allotted them in this wonderful building;compare (Psalms 48:2) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F19: Tzurath Beth Hamikdash, sect. 71.

Before the length of an hundred cubits was the north door
That is, the north door of the house opened to a space that lay between that and the chambers, which was a hundred cubits long: and the breadth was fifty cubits ;
or the sense is, that the prophet was brought, as Noldius renders the words ^F20 , to a place whose length was an hundred cubits towards the north door ;
so that they describe the length and breadth of these chambers, the whole of them; and to this agrees the Arabic version:

this account of them makes them larger than Solomon's temple, (1 Kings 6:2) , which may signify the largeness of these churches; the number of men in them; and the abundance of spiritual blessings and privileges, of light and knowledge, peace and joy, possessed by them:

but the measure being oblong, and not foursquare, as the city of the New Jerusalem, (Revelation 21:16) , shows they are not yet come to stability and perfection.

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: Concord. Ebr. Partic. p. 82.

Over against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court , &c.] Starckius thinks that the breadth of the chambers being fifty cubits, is here parted, disposed of, and accounted for. The chambers were in two rows over against each other; that row which looked to the south, and so to the temple, was twenty cubits broad; and because it led to the temple, its court is called the inner court: and over against the pavement which was for the utter court : or that row which was over against the pavement of the outward court, to the north, was also twenty cubits broad, which make forty; and the walk of ten cubits between them, (Ezekiel 42:4) , account for the breadth of the fifty cubits.

was gallery against gallery in three stories ; or, there was post before post in three stories ^F21 ; each chamber had a post or pillar, so Jarchi; which distinguished or divided one from another, and ran up with the chambers three storey high; and as the chambers, so these posts in both rows answered to one another. These may denote the ministers of the Gospel, who are as pillars in the house of God, and churches of Christ; and every distinct church has its pillar or pastor, (Proverbs 9:1) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: (Myvlvb qyta ynp la qyta) "postis ante postem in triplici", Starckius.

And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits' breadth inward That is, within side, or between the two rows of chambers, there was a walk of this breadth, for those that lodged in the chambers to walk in for their pleasure and profit, and to converse with one another. Such who by these "chambers" understand places of retirement for private devotion, or the duties of the closet, which fit and prepare for public worship, as these chambers were near and in sight of the temple, so by this walk then Christian conference and conversation is intended; and shows, that the whole of religious time is not to be spent between the church and the chamber; but some part of it should be allotted for spiritual discourse, about gracious experiences, the truths of the Gospel, and the duties of religion; but as chambers design churches, this walk denotes the outward walk and conversation of the saints; which should be according to the rule of God's word, as becomes the Gospel, and worthy of the calling wherewith they are called. Starckius applies this to the decalogue or ten commandments, which is a broad way, (Psalms 119:32Psalms 119:96) and the moral law, as in the hands of Christ, is a rule of walk and conversation to believers under the Gospel:

and besides, there "was a way of one cubit"; which led into the chambers, and out of them into the broad walk: this is a narrow way, as Christ is said to be, (Matthew 7:14) and whoever profess faith in him, and in this way enter into a Gospel church state, and into the kingdom of heaven, must be attended with much affliction and persecution, and pass through many tribulations; and there being both a broad walk and a narrow way, and these lying near one another, and a passage from the one to the other, may denote that the churches and people of God are sometimes in prosperity, and sometimes in adversity; one while they walk at liberty, as in a large place; and at other times in great straits and difficulties:

and their doors toward the north ; that is, the doors of that row of chambers nearest the temple; these opened to the north into the walk of ten cubits; though one would think that the row opposite to them, their doors must be to the south, into the broad walk between them; unless this is to be understood of the doors that opened into the way of one cubit, and were to the north in both rows; but then the way of one cubit could not in both lead into the broad walk.

Now the upper chambers were shorter. The chambers were in three stories, as in the following verse, one above another; the middlemost were shorter than the lowermost, and the upper shorter than either; just the reverse of the chambers in (Ezekiel 41:7), they were not so high from the floor to the ceiling, nor so broad from side to side.

The reason follows: for the galleries were higher than these; or, "ate out of these"^F23, "than the lower, and than the middlemost of the building"; the meaning is, that the galleries or balconies in the middlemost and upper chambers were taken, out of them, and so made them lesser than the lower ones, and the upper ones lesser than either; or the posts or pillars, as the word may be rendered, see (Ezekiel 42:3), which supported the chambers, took more out of the uppermost than the others, and so made them shorter.

This may signify the diversity of gifts and grace, of light and knowledge, and of liberty and comfort, in the churches; and that, as those that are uppermost have most light, they are usually the least, and fewest members in them; who are the few names in Sardis, (Revelation 3:4), and are generally more straitened, afflicted, reproached, and persecuted.

FOOTNOTES:

• F23: (hnhm wlkwy) Keri, (wlkay) "comedebant ex ipsis", Mariana; "demordebant ab illis", Cocceius, Starckius.