Ezekiel 41:1-26

content/bible_journal/ezekiel_41:1-26.md

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+title = "Ezekiel 41:1–26"
+date = "2023-07-04"
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+
+### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel41.1-26)
+
+The tour moves into the temple itself. Ezekiel's angelic guide provides
+measurements for the nave, the doorways, and the temple's heart, the Most Holy
+Place. In Solomon's day, this was where the Ark of the Covenant, the
+representation of God's throne on earth, was kept. As before, it is a cube,
+perfect in its symmetry. However, there is no mention of the Ark here, so it
+will probably still be lost when the temple is built again.
+
+The rooms around the main sanctuary are arranged in an inverted staircase
+pattern, such that the third story is wider than the second, which is wider
+than the first. As best I can tell, there are columns to support the upper
+stories, separate from the wall between the inner court and the temple. What I
+cannot tell is whether there is space between the temple and the side chambers,
+nor why there are two measurements for the "breadth of the free space". What is
+certain is that the temple was on a raised platform above the inner court, and
+there was an outbuilding of some kind towards the west.
+
+The temple building measured 150 feet to a side, and it was square. Wood panels
+showed decorations of palm trees and cherubim, showing God's sovereignty over
+heaven and earth. Inside was the table of show-bread, called an "altar" by
+Ezekiel, though it wasn't the golden altar of incense or the altar for burnt
+offerings which was outside the temple. Other missing implements are the sea of
+brass used for ritual washing and the golden, seven-branched lampstand. I can't
+imagine future Jews neglecting to furnish the temple with a menorah, but I
+suppose neither Ezekiel nor the angel felt the need to be completely exhaustive
+in their descriptions.
+
+* * *
+
+As Your creation reflects Your character, so does Your house point to Your
+holiness.