Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 7 · Ezekiel · Chapter 43
CHAP. XLIII.
HEre for 12. verses the Prophet before he proceedeth any further to describe V. 1, 2, 3.other things about this temple, sheweth that he saw the glory of God again, as he had done when he went out to destroy, of which see chap. 9. and again chap. 10. and as by the river Chebar. But as then his glory went out of the house, so now it went in and filled the house, and it went in V. 4, 5,by the gate looking eastward, to shew that in the time of the Gospell the Church should through Christ set forth by the East be made more glorious then ever Solomons temple was, in alluding to which Haggai saith, The Lord shall come and fill this house with more glory then the former.Hag. 2. 7. V. 7.
The place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell forever, in the midst of the children of Israel. The Prophet having seen the house of God or Church, that should be under the Gospell before represented, and the glory of God filling it, now heareth the man, that hitherto had lead him about, and measured all parts thereof, telling him to the comfort of all faithfull Christians, that here he would rule as king, and dwell here among the faithfull called the children of Israel for ever, as Daniel had before spoken in the spirit, saying, This is my habitation, and here will I dwell, &c. and hereby he sheweth a difference between the materiall, and this spirituall temple, because he so dwelt in that, that he left it again for their grosse abominations amongst whom it was placed: but in this he promised to dwell, and never to depart herefrom any more. And whereas it might be objected, But what if they sin, that be the children of this Church or temple? he prevents this objection by saying further, My holy name they shall defile no more, neither they nor their kings, by their whoredomes nor the carkasses of their kings in their high places: for they that are born of God sin not, neither can they, for they are born of God, and his seed abideth in 1 Joh. 3. 9. Mar. 16. 16.them. And, upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. But what meaneth he by their whoredoms, and the carkasses of their kings in their high places? For the one it is plainly meant of their idolatries, commonly set forth by the name of whoredoms, and by these carkasses, saith Junius, understand the dead bodies of those of those that were sacrificed to their idols Junius.called their kings, for so Melkom signified, which was an idoll of the Ammonites, comming of foreign a king, see Amos. 5. 26. But others better understand the words properly of the carkasses of the kings, that dwelt near the temple, of whom, some having a garden near the temple laid their dead bodies therein, which was a defilement, seeing by the Law, to come into a room where a dead body was, was to be defiled and made unclean thereby: and his exposition is favoured by the next words, in the setting of their threshold by my threshold, V. 8.and their posts by my posts, and the wall between me and them. For hereby it is plainly shewed, that their sin added to their idolatry was making them sepulchres so near the Temple, there being only a wall and a groundsell whereupon it stood, betwixt the one and the other, wherein he taxeth Amon and Manasseh in speciall, who are said thus to have done. And for the last words of 2 King. 21. 18this 7. verse, In their high places, Hebr. it is not in, but only, by their whoredoms, and the carkasses of their kings, their high places, the word and being understood, so that the laying of their kings bones in their high places is not meant, as by the New Translation it may seem, but having spoken more obscurely in saying, by their whoredomes, these words, their high places, are added for further explication, that we might know, what their whoredomes here complained of were even their idolatries in these places committed. And in saying, this is the place of the soles of my feet, he alludeth to that of David, Heaven is thy throne, and the earth is thy footstool.
Now let them put away their whoredomes, and the carkasses of their kings, &c. That V. 9.is, seeing it shall be thus in my house, which I have here shewed unto thee, which shall for ever be blessed with my presence, do ye (O Children of Israel) lay this to heart, and now reform from idolatry, and from legall polluting of my holy place, and I will dwell amongst you constantly and continually: two most notorious abuses being named, and the rest hereby understood. But as the words of v. 7, 8. have reference to the Evangelicall Church, how shall Christians not any more defile the Church by carkasses? Rabanus saith, that Raban.this is done, when persons devoted to live in continency, and the serving God, are like dead carkasses, continuing still dead in sins and trespasses, placing all their piety in outward shewes, as many do: for whoso joyning himself Note. to the Church of Christ is dead still in sin, is no better then a dead carkasse, and by him the house of God is defiled; and if we look upon such an house or building, as men in their naturall estate are compared to, where it is said, when a strong man armed keeps the house, all is in quiet; Here is their threshold Luk. 11. 21.set by Gods threshold, and they come so near unto him, as that there is but a wall betwixt him and them, so that he is annoyed by their stink, and takes his house thus to be greatly defiled, for which he will be revenged upon them.
Shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed, &c. The Lord V. 10.having shewed all things touching his house or Church under the Gospell to Ezekiel, whereby it might be gathered, how glorious and excellent it should be for the graces shining therein, and comly proportionablenesse in all things, now he biddeth him shew it to the Jewes, that they might be ashamed in seeing, how unlike they were to this beautifull fabrick, being contrariwise a very Chaos, a rude and unformed heap, by reason of their grosse sins, making them as foul as this house was fair, and as disproportionable, as this was proportionable. And as he that is ashamed of his former vile doings, repenteth, and turneth therefrom, so he meaneth he should by shewing this pattern unto them seek to move them to do, for of repentance beginning in being ashamed the Apostle speaketh, when he saith, What fruit Rom. 6. 21.had ye of those things, whereof ye are now ashamed? Wherefore these words of shewing them the pattern, that they might be ashamed, and for shame put away their sins, are spoken, as setting him into a way of bringing the house of Israel to do, as they were required before v. 9. before going.
And if they be ashamed, shew them, &c. That is, if for shame thou seest them V. 11.turn to put away their wickednesses, as hath been said, then proceed to declare all things more particularly unto them, that they may in all things do and be, as is in this pattern, and the ordinances of my house past or following intimated. For although some understand their doing so of their building the materiall temple again so, after their return from Maldona….captivity under Zerubbabel, yet because this was not then made a patterne, it is manifest, that their doing so is to be understood spiritually, they becomming in all things conformable in grace and vertue hereunto, and not only the Jewes, but all, that would be taken by God for Rom. 2. 29. Revel. 3. V. 12. Esa. 2. 2.Jewes indeed, whose praise is not of men, but of God. Then he concludeth saying, this is the Law of the house upon the top of the mountain, wherein he speaketh like unto Esay, In the last dayes the mountain of the Lords house shall be higher then the hils, and be established on the top of the mountains: which is undoubtedly spoken of the Church under the Gospell, and therefore this likewise.
And these be the measures of the altar after the cubits, the cubit is a cubit & handl readth, the bottome shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border round about a span and V. 13.this shall be the higher place of the altar. Having not hitherto spoken of the brazen altar for burnt-offerings in all his former descriptions, but only of an altar, or table, ch. 41. 22. now he commeth to describe this by cubits, telling first, that the cubit was an hand breadth more then an ordinary cubit, for such was the sacred cubit. For the bottome said to be a cubit, it is to be understood of the height thereof, and the breadth a cubit, for the length both of bottome and top, is said afterwards to be 12. cubits. It stood then up from the ground one cubit, and so was hollow underneath for the bloud to be poured into a ditch or vault, from thence to be washed away by the water afterwards spoken of ch. 47. The border, a span broad round about, was for ornament and to hide the hollow place underneath. For these words, this shall be the higher place of the altar, the vulg. the ditch of the altar, for the word foreign signifieth as well low, as high, and being rendred, the higher place of the altar, it cannot but be doubted how this can be, seeing it was the lowest part, neither can it well be put for the ditch under, because it is said, this, as referring to that before spoken of, as a cubit high and broad. I resolve therefore, that neither the New Translation nor vulg. are right here, but we must look to another signification of the word, and that is, a back: which may well agree, because that which beareth, is not amisse called a back, the under part of this first building, being as it were the belly in reference to that which lay upward to bear all the rest.
And from the bottome upon the ground to the lower settle shall be two cubits, V. 14.vulg. from the bosome of the earth to the first crepido. Hebr. From the bosome. And to the lower auxiliary. For foreign, is to aide, or help, and it may well be understood of another loft, as it were, of this altar, betwixt which and the first before spoken of there, were two cubits, or rather betwixt the bosome of ground upon which this stood, because it is expresly said so, and then the lowest being one foot elevated from the ground, this could be but one above that. Then from the lower called also the lesser, to that above it called the greater, were 4. cubits, and from thence to the Altar 4. vulg. to Ariel, as it is Hebr. the upper part of the altar being so called, as Lyra hath it, because foreign signifieth a strong Lion, and the flesh of beasts being laid Lyra.there, were by fire burning there devoured, as a beast by a strong lion, which reason, and appellation of this part of the altar is not to be misliked, but the rendring it thus rather to be followed, because the word doth not signifie altar, but as hath been said, and so it is elsewhere rendred (O Ariel, Ariel) although the upper face of the altar be meant.Isai. 29. 1.
The altar or Ariel 12. cubits long and 12. broad, the upper settle. Next unto it, V. 16.14. and 14. about which a question ariseth, how this could be, seeing it was said before of both the settles or crepidoes, that they were one cubit broad apiece? Junius for settle hath Diazoma, but so he had also before, but the word is the same, that was rendred settle. To this nothing can be said, but that unto the body of this settle, which was more solid, a cubit broad, some more slighty work was added on either side, whereupon the ashes falling from the Ariel might light to be after the sacrifice ended, gathered off again and taken away, as falling through the Ariel, being made with holes like net-work, as we may gather from Exod. 27. 3, &c. These pans then most probably made up the breadth, which was before one cubit, 14. cubits, and so the whole altar in the parts was above a square of 12. cubits, in breadth and length, in the part next under this 14. and then we must needs conceive, that for uniformities sake, the lower settle was a square of 16. cubits, so some say.
Lastly, for the border further spoken of, by vulg. called a crown, of half V. 17.a cubit round about, it was some curious work about Ariel of this breadth added for ornament above, as the like was said before touching the border beneath; touching the bottome or bosome, enough hath been said before, and it is only the same repeated again.
And hitherto of the literall meaning, now for the spirituall; this Altar setteth forth Christ, of whom, by the name of an Altar it is spoken, Heb. 13. 10. And as of this Altar, there is first one part but a cubit high, and a Note. cubit broad; so Christ at the first was but a poor despicable infant born of a poor Virgin, yet set forth by a border to grace him; that is, Shepherds coming out of the field, who were Jewes, by the instigation of Angels, to publish what they had seen and heard on the one side, and Magi coming out of the east country, that were Gentiles, on the other side, to proclaim him King by the conduct of a Star miraculously appearing unto them. Then there is a second part two cubits high, and but one still broad; so Christ arising somewhat more in height in his youth, when he was but 12 years old, by the tast, that he gave of his understanding amongst the Doctours in the Temple, yet kept at the same breadth, none were hereby wonne unto him. 3. There was here another part four cubits higher, but yet one cubit only broad; so Christ being Baptized, and beginning to Preach, and to work Miracles, could yet winne few, or none unto him, but was as a poor despicable man still in the account of the great ones of this world. 4. Here was an Ariel twelve cubits square; so Christ having not onelyonly wrought Miracles in his Life, but at his Death spread himself by his twelve Apostles into all the four parts of the World, so that they came from the East, West, Luke 13.North, and South, as our Lord speaketh, To sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdome of Heaven. 5. As here were four horns, so the invincible strength of Christ was such, that no opposition, when he went out by his Apostles conquering, could withstand him; but he brake in pieces the four Monarchies of the world, as the Stone, of which Daniel speaks, falling Dan. 2.out of the Mountain, and filling all the Earth, brake all the parts of the Image in pieces. 6. As the settle next to Ariel was yet larger fourteen cubits square; so after a long time of persecution by Heathen Emperours, thererofe up a Christian, Constantine the Great, by whose means, and the Christian Emperours succeeding him, Christ was enlarged more, all Heathens being put down, and Idolaters not suffered any more. Rabanus indeed Rabanusin shewing the spirituall meaning here agreeth in the main, about Christ set forth; but when he cometh to this square of 14. he saith, that the 14 generations from Abraham to David, and 14 from David to Jehoiakin, and 14 from him to Christ are set forth, endevouring to make it hold thus according to the square here spoken of. Let who so will follow him, I rest in the sense before going. And finally for the border last spoken of, hereby the Grace, in which our Lord Jesus now is all over the Christian world set forth, he being by all men adored, as a King, whose Head and Crown thereupon hath a border about it of all manner of rich, and pretious Stones.
From hence, to the end of the Chap. the Lord instructeth the Prophet V. 18, 19, &c.about that which should be done for the consecrating of this Altar, after they should have made it, continuing still in his Allegory, as if the Jewes building of an Altar, when they should be come out of Babylon, were meant. But as hitherto, so all to the end is spiritually to be understood of things to be done under the Gospell. When we have set up Christ for an Altar unto us, as is done by believing in him, then we must sanctifie him to this end to our selves, that we may by him offer acceptable sacrifices unto God. And the beasts to be killed, and offered, and their bloud to be put upon the horns, and corners of the Altar, are Bullocks, Goats, and Rams, setting forth sensuality, fleshly lusts & oppressions; the first by the Bullock, or Bull, for sensuall men are spoken of, as the fat bulls of Bashan, who regard nothing but the feeding of the Psal. 22. 12.belly, & worldly things pertaining hereunto; the Goat is an emblem of Lust, and therefore the lustfull are said to be capricious; & the Ram pusheth with his hornes, and hurteth the more weak and feeble cattell, and are full of debate amongst themselves, as Ezekiel sheweth. But the Lord threatneth such Ezek. 33. 17. 21.Rammes; and the fat Ox is but for the day of slaughter, and goeth to the shambles; and the Goats are set on the left hand. These are killed and offered, when we that beleeve in Christ mortifie sensuality, fleshly lust, and wrath, and their bloud is put upon the Altar, when being thus mortified, and the bloud, which is the life, spilt, we place not confidence herein, but lay all upon our Altar, Christ, trusting to be accepted of in our thus doing only through him. And whereas, ver. 24. it is said, Thou shalt cast salt upon them; he means, that which was before commanded, being done, the faithfull V. 24.must doe thus much more, viz. have his speeches poudred with salt, that they Col. 4. 6.may minister grace to the hearers, as the Apostle saith; and all this must be done day after day for seven dayes; the number of seven being put for many, as if V. 25.he had said all the week, and week after week we continuing to mortifie Col. 3. 5. V. 26.our members upon earth alwayes, because they will be ready to revive again; and this being done, our offerings upon the eight day, and thenceforth shall be accepted of, where by the eight day the Christian Sabbath, the day of Christs Resurrection from week to week, is to be understood, our Prayers and praises, and all our devotion… then offered at our assembling together, shall be as a sweet smelling favour to God from time to time. Of Sacrifices, being salted with salt, according to which it is here spoken, see Lev. 2. 11. and of our sanctifying the Lord, our Altar, 1 Pet. 3. 15.