Ezekiel 40:20-27

For the present, Ezekiel had to remain in the outer area. The *angel showed him the other two outer gates. They too were very familiar to Ezekiel. Their design matched the east gate, which Ezekiel had already measured.

The gates to the inner area of the *temple – Ezekiel 40:28-37

v28 Then the man brought me through the south gate into the inner area. He measured the south gate. It was the same size as the other gates. v29 Its rooms, its walls and its entrance were the same size as the other gates. There were windows all round the gate and its entrance room. It was 50 *cubits long and 25 *cubits wide. v30 Rooms surrounded it, which were 25 *cubits long and 5 *cubits wide. v31 These rooms opened toward the outer area. There were pictures of palm trees on the sides of the doors. There were 8 steps up to the doors.

v32 Then the man brought me to the inner area on the east side. He measured the gate. It was the same size as the other gates. v33 Its rooms, its walls and its entrance were the same size as the other gates. There were windows all round the gate and its entrance room. It was 50 *cubits long and 25 *cubits wide. v34 Its rooms opened toward the outer area. There were pictures of palm trees on the sides of the doors. There were 8 steps up to the doors.

v35 Then the man brought me to the north gate. He measured it. It was the same size as the other gates. v36 Its rooms, inner walls, and entrance room were the same as at the other gates. There were windows all round the gate. The entrance was 50 *cubits long and 25 *cubits wide. v37 Its rooms opened toward the outer area. There were pictures of palm trees on the sides of the doors. There were 8 steps up to the doors.

Verses 28-37

At last, the *angel took Ezekiel to the gates that led into the *temple’s inner area. This was a very special moment for Ezekiel. When Ezekiel lived in Jerusalem, he was too young to perform the duties of a priest. And only a priest could enter the inner area of the *temple. So the guards who worked at these gates would only allow priests to pass through them. (People who offered *sacrifices could also enter the inner gates. But unlike the priests, those people would not remain in the inner area. They would leave as soon as they had handed over their *sacrifice to the priests.)

The design of these gates was again, familiar to Ezekiel. Each gate was similar to the outer gates, except that the rooms were the opposite way round. Perhaps this was to make the arrangement more convenient for the guards.

There was one very important difference between the outer gates and the inner gates. Ezekiel mentions this difference three times. Perhaps he wanted to emphasise it. As the *angel measured, Ezekiel counted the steps. Each inner gate had 8 steps upwards (verse 31, 34 and 37). But the outer gates only had 7 steps.

Many Psalms have an ancient title. We cannot be sure whether these titles are original. The title of Psalms 120:134 is the same: ‘a step song’. People are not sure about the meaning of this title. However, the author of these Psalms begins in a foreign country (Psalms 120). And his Psalms end in the *holy place in the *temple (Psalms 134). So these Psalms are like a series of upward steps. And with each step, there is a closer relationship with God. That is a good way to describe a traveller’s long journey to *worship God at the *temple. And it is especially so, as the *temple was on the top of a hill.

There are other passages that show a similar idea (for example, Genesis 28:12; Habakkuk 3:19). So perhaps the steps are a word picture that describes a close relationship with God. And the number of steps increases because Ezekiel was getting closer and closer to the most *holy place. It was as if he was climbing ever closer to God.

Rooms for the priests – Ezekiel 40:38-47

v38 By each of the inner gates there was a room. In this room, the priests washed animals for the *burnt *sacrifices. The door to this room was near the entrance room. v39 There were two tables on each side of the gates. On these tables, the priests killed the animals for the *sacrifices. These animals were for the *burnt *sacrifices and the *sacrifices because of *sin and blame. v40 On each side of the entrance to the north gate, there were two more tables. v41 So there were 4 tables on one side of the gate and 4 on the other side. On these 8 tables, the priests killed the animals for the *sacrifices. v42 Also there were 4 stone tables for the *burnt *sacrifices. On these tables, the priests would put the tools that they used to kill the animals for the *sacrifices. (That is, for the *burnt *sacrifices and the other *sacrifices). These tables were a *cubit and a half long, a *cubit and half wide, and a *cubit high. v43 There were nails in the walls. These nails were in pairs and the length of a nail was the width of a hand. The stone tables were for the bodies of the animals for the *sacrifices.

v44 There were two rooms in the inner area. One was by the north gate toward the south. The other was by the south gate toward the north. v45 The man said to me, ‘The room toward the south is for the priests. It is for those priests who serve in the *temple. v46 The room toward the north is for the priests who serve at the *altar. These priests belong to the family of their *ancestor Zadok. Zadok belonged to the *tribe called Levi. Only these priests can come near to the *LORD to serve him at the *altar.’

v47 The man measured the inner area. It was a square, 100 *cubits long and 100 *cubits wide. The *altar was in front of the *temple.