Ezekiel 41:5-11

The *angel took Ezekiel to see the outside of the *temple building. On three sides of the *temple building were small rooms for the priests to use. These rooms were not part of the *temple building although they leaned upon it.

The building that contained these rooms was on three floors. So it was a high building by the standards when Ezekiel was alive. And although the rooms were small, there were many of them. Ezekiel counted a total of 90 rooms.

We cannot be sure about the purpose of these rooms. But we do know that the original *temple had similar rooms. And their construction was similar too (1 Kings 6:5-6).

The unusual construction of these rooms was probably because the *temple was so *holy. Uzzah died when he touched the sacred box (1 Chronicles 13:10). The *Israelites learnt that they had to respect *holy things. So when they built the *temple, they were careful. They separated these rooms from the *temple building. They knew that the *temple building was more *holy than the priests’ rooms.

Because these rooms were on three sides of the *temple, they hid much of the *temple from view. This may be for a reason. The *temple was a very impressive building. But its purpose was not to impress people. Its purpose was to provide a proper place for the *worship of God. So people should not stare at the *temple. Instead they should look at the high *altar and the smoke that rose from it. Then people would remember why *sacrifice was necessary. They would remember their *sins. And they would be humble in God’s *holy *temple areas.

It is possible that these rooms provided accommodation for the priests. We cannot be sure about this, but compare 1 Samuel 3:3; Psalms 134:1 and Luke 2:37. It seems that some people were living in the *temple.

Measurements of the *temple areas – Ezekiel 41:12-15a

(Note: verse 15a means the first half of verse 15.)

v12 The building in front of the *temple area on the west side was 70 *cubits wide. Its walls were 5 *cubits thick and it was 90 *cubits long.

v13 Then the man measured the *temple and it was 100 *cubits long. The inner area of the *temple, with the building and its walls, was in all 100 *cubits long. v14 The open area of the *temple on the east was 100 *cubits wide. This included the front of the *temple.

v15a He measured the building on the west side in front of the open area. With its walls on either side, it was 100 *cubits long.