Ezekiel 46:1 - Meaning and Application

Whether these rules for public worship were meant to be followed, even in the points where they differed from the law of Moses, is not certain. We do not find, in the history of the later Jewish church, that they arranged their worship by these commands, as one might expect. Instead, they seem to have followed the law of Moses only, and to have treated this later vision as symbolic rather than literal.

In these verses, we see that the place of worship was fixed, and rules were given for both ruler and people. The east gate, which was normally kept shut, was to be opened on the sabbath, on the new moon festivals, and whenever the prince brought a freewill offering (Ezekiel 46:1, 12). We read earlier that this gate was usually shut (Ezekiel 44:2). The other gates of the court were opened every day, but this one was opened only on special holy days and special occasions.

When the gate was opened for the prince, he was to come in by the porch of that gate (Ezekiel 46:2, 8). Some think he entered with the priests and Levites into the inner court, because that gate led there. If so, it shows that rulers and ministers should work together, side by side, in promoting the worship of God. But it seems more likely that he did not pass through the gate itself, as the glory of the Lord had done. Instead, he stood by the porch, at the gatepost, and worshiped at the threshold (Ezekiel 46:2). From there he could see the priests at the altar and show his agreement with their service, both for himself and for the people of the land standing behind him at the gate (Ezekiel 46:3).

In this way, every prince should show David’s heart, who said he would gladly be a doorkeeper in God’s house and lie at the threshold (Psalm 84:10). The greatest people are still less than the least of God’s ordinances. Even princes, when they draw near to God, must worship with reverence and holy fear, admitting that they are not worthy to come near him. Yet Christ is our prince, and God causes him to draw near and come close to him (Jeremiah 30:21).

As for the north and south gates, which led into the court of the people, there was this rule: whoever entered by the north gate was to leave by the south gate, and whoever entered by the south gate was to leave by the north gate (Ezekiel 46:9). Some think this was meant to prevent pushing and crowding, for God is a God of order, not confusion. Others think people may have entered by the gate nearest their homes, but on the way out God wanted them to take the longer route, so they would have time to think and meditate.

Going all the way around the sanctuary would give them a chance to consider its beauty. If they used that time well, they would count it the shortest way home. Others see in this a reminder that, in God’s service, we should keep pressing forward (Philippians 3:13) and not look back. When we attend worship, we should not leave as we came, but should go out more holy, more heavenly, and more spiritual.

It is also appointed that the people should worship at the door of the east gate, where the prince worships, with him at their head and they following him, both on the sabbath and on the new moons (Ezekiel 46:3). And when they come in and go out, the prince is to be among them (Ezekiel 46:10). Great people should set a good example by their regular and reverent attendance at public worship. That encourages those below them and draws them along.

It is a graceful and fitting thing for people of rank to go to church with their servants, tenants, and poor neighbors around them, and to behave there with seriousness and devotion. Those who honor God with their honor, God will delight to honor.

The ordinances of worship were also fixed. Even if the prince was a sincere and zealous friend of the sanctuary, he was not left free to decide what sacrifices should be offered, not even together with the priests. God himself set the offerings, because it is his right to establish the rites and ceremonies of worship.

Every morning, as surely as morning came, they were to offer a lamb for a burnt offering (Ezekiel 46:13). It is strange that no evening sacrifice is mentioned here. But since Christ has come and offered himself now, at the close of the age (Hebrews 9:26), we are to think of him as the evening sacrifice, the one who died around the time that sacrifice would have been offered.

On sabbath days, the law of Moses required four lambs (Numbers 28:9), but here six lambs and one ram were to be offered at the prince’s expense (Ezekiel 46:4). This points to how much more we should abound in sabbath work in gospel times, and how full our prayers and praises should be on that day. If God is pleased with such sacrifices, then we have every reason to offer them gladly.

On the new moons, at the start of each month, there was to be, in addition to the usual sabbath offerings, the extra sacrifice of a young bullock (Ezekiel 46:6). Those who do much for God and for their own souls steadily and faithfully must still, at times, do even more.

All the sacrifices were to be without blemish. So was Christ, the great sacrifice (1 Peter 1:19). And so Christians, who are to present themselves to God as living sacrifices, should aim to be blameless, harmless, and beyond reproach.

All the sacrifices were also to have grain offerings attached to them, as the law of Moses had already ordered. This shows that God keeps a full table in his house, and that we should honor him with the fruit of the ground as well as the fruit of the herd, since he has blessed us in both (Deuteronomy 28:4). At the beginning, Cain offered one, and Abel the other.

Some note that these grain offerings are larger in proportion than those under the law of Moses. Under that law, the amount was three-tenths of an ephah for a bullock, two-tenths for a ram, and at most half a hin of oil (Numbers 15:6-9). But here, for every bullock and every ram, there is a whole ephah and a whole hin of oil. This may show that under the gospel, now that the great atoning sacrifice has been offered, these unbloody sacrifices should be offered more freely. More generally, it shows that just as God now gives us more grace under the gospel than under the law, so we should give him more in praise and duty.

It is also worth noticing that for the grain offering with the lambs, the prince is allowed to give what he can afford, what his hand can reach (Ezekiel 46:5, 7, 11).

Note, people, even the wealthy, must give as they are able. In works of piety, God asks only that we give according to our ability, each person as God has prepared him to give (1 Corinthians 16:2). God has not made us to serve him with an offering beyond what we can bear (Isaiah 43:23), for he knows our frame and condition.

Yet this does not excuse those who claim they cannot give when their disability is only pretend. It also does not excuse those who waste their money on other things and then make themselves unable to do the good they should do. We also find praise given to those who, in a special case of charity, gave not only up to their limit, but beyond it.