Eze 43:1-8 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Ezek 43:1-4: 43:1-4 The sacred spaces described in the previous chapter were of no value as long as they were empty (cp. 37:7-8 ). To be effective, the Temple must be occupied by the glory of the God of Israel , which had departed from it in ch 10 . Now the glory would return from the same direction in which it had left, the east . Unlike its slow, almost reluctant, departure, its return would be sudden, accompanied by the terrifying roar of rushing waters (see 1:24 ; Rev 1:15 ). As always, the prophet fell face down on the ground in response to this glory.

a43:1-4►

b37:7-8►

c10►

d1:24►

eRev 1:15►

f43:5-7a►

g1 Sam 4:4►

h43:7b-9►

i45:7►

‏ Ezekiel 43:1-8

Summary for Ezek 43:1-4: 43:1-4 ^a The sacred spaces described in the previous chapter were of no value as long as they were empty (cp. 37:7-8 ^b). To be effective, the Temple must be occupied by the glory of the God of Israel, which had departed from it in ch 10 ^c. Now the glory would return from the same direction in which it had left, the east. Unlike its slow, almost reluctant, departure, its return would be sudden, accompanied by the terrifying roar of rushing waters (see 1:24 ^d; Rev 1:15 ^e). As always, the prophet fell face down on the ground in response to this glory.
Summary for Ezek 43:5-7: 43:5-7a ^f The Spirit then carried Ezekiel into the inner courtyard so that he could hear the Lord declare that the restored Temple was the palace in which his throne and his footstool were located, and that he would live ... forever among the people of Israel. The identification of the Temple as God’s dwelling and the seat of his sovereignty was not new (see, e.g., 1 Sam 4:4 ^g). The Temple would now be God’s throne forever; never again would the sins of his people drive him away from his sanctuary.
Summary for Ezek 43:7-9: 43:7b-9 ^h If God were to remain with his people, standards would have to be raised and regulations enforced that would guard against the repetition of past abuses. Israel and their kings would not defile God’s holy name by their spiritual adultery with other gods or with relics of their kings who had died—memorial markers to dead kings—within the grounds of the Temple of the living God. There was no place for honoring human kings in the palace of the divine King. In the future, the proper hierarchy would be reestablished by removing the residence of the earthly ruler to a greater distance from the spiritual center of the land (see 45:7 ⁱ). Putting the earthly ruler in his proper place was a necessary precondition for God’s dwelling perpetually in his rightful place.