And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt-offering and the sin-offering and the trespass-offering.
Ezekiel walks through a temple no one has built yet. At its inner gate he sees stone tables for killing the burnt, sin and guilt offerings — so why does God ask for sacrifice again, now that Christ has died?
The verse belongs to a short section describing the working area attached to the gateway. One writer sums up what Ezekiel is being shown here:
We also have the porch with two tables on one side and two on the other for slaughtering the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering, with other tables, making eight in all. Details are also given of the apparatus for other sacrificial service (Ezek. 40:5-43).
These tables belong to the north gate. One writer reads meaning in that:
It seems significant that the work of sacrifice is connected with the northern gate. In Scripture the north is associated with judgment. From that quarter the stroke falls upon both Israel and Judah. The word itself, tsaphon, properly means "the hidden," "the dark," and is only used of the north as a quarter gloomy and unknown. The darkness linked with the north fits well with the thought of judgment. And here we cannot fail to think of the darkness of Calvary… In the moral and spiritual application, it is in relation to the north, symbolically speaking, that we need to learn the truth of sacrifice. So at this north gate of the inner court — the court of the altar — everything is provided for that work: the burnt offering, the sin offering, or the trespass offering.
One writer sets what Israel will do later beside what Christians know now:
For centuries such sacrifices have ceased. There was only one altar on which they could be offered — the one called the altar of burnt offering. In time that altar will be set up afresh, and made holy again for acceptable worship to the Lord. Then trespass offerings will be brought, as before, to God's altar at Jerusalem (Ezek. 40:39, Ezek. 42:13)… But Christians live between the time when sacrifice on the altar stopped and the time it starts again. They know now what the earthly people will then learn — that propitiation has already been made once for all, and substitution in its fullness and reality is a thing of the past, though never to be forgotten.
Some object to sacrifice returning at all. The answer turns on which way these offerings point:
I know it has been said that the offering of millennial sacrifices would be a going back in the ways of God. But this is not true. Israel's sacrifices in the future will be different in their very nature from those in the past. Those of old were types of what Christ was coming to do as a sacrifice. In those future days they will be the appointed types of what Christ has accomplished by His one sacrificial offering and death.
The verse names two offerings for sin, not one. One writer sets the difference in what each shows about God:
The sin and trespass offerings both speak of the judgment of sin… The sin offering deals with sin in view of the divine nature; the trespass offering deals with sin in view of the divine government. The words "sin" and "trespass" convey this difference well: the thought of restitution has a prominent place in the trespass offering. The sin offering alone shows that necessary separation of God from sin, which is both what His nature requires and the most awful punishment of sin.
One writer rejects another popular explanation — sinful nature versus sinful acts:
A writer once well known to many put the idea forward, and his thoughts are still more widely read. He said the sin offering was for sin in the flesh, and the trespass offering for acts of evil. But this is completely untenable. No such distinction was meant, nor could it be in Old Testament times: it was Christ who made that difference plain. Moral evil in general, as we have seen, was in view in the one case. In the other the wrongs were done to the Lord in holy things, or to a neighbour — yet against Him, by a breach of trust. Repayment was owed for them.
All the slaughtering tables point inward to one object, and that object carries the meaning of the whole vision:
It surely stands as an abiding memorial of Christ and His sacrifice. This is central to all the blessing and glory Israel and the nations will share. It is central for the whole universe too (Col. 1:19-20). It will always remind those who fill the courts of the Lord's house of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world… The unmatched glory that will then surround Him will not hide the truth of that redemption by blood. All action in power rests on that redemption.
- Place — Four tables stand in the gate porch, the place for killing the burnt, sin and trespass offerings.
- Direction — The tables stand at the north gate, the quarter Scripture links with judgment and darkness. There we learn the truth of sacrifice.
- Memory — Israel will bring trespass offerings to that altar again. Christians already know what Israel will then learn: propitiation was made once for all.
- Difference — Old sacrifices were types of what Christ was coming to do. The future ones will be types of what He has done.
- Centre — Every line of approach converges on one altar, an abiding memorial of Christ. The coming glory will not hide the redemption by blood it rests on.
And at the side without, at the ascent to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables
Ezekiel is walking through a temple that does not yet exist, and at the north gate of the inner court he is shown four tables for killing sacrifices. Their place raises the questions this chapter keeps pressing: why here, why so many, and why sacrifice at all in a future age?
The verse fixes the spot with care: outside the porch, where a person climbs the steps into the gateway. One outline of the chapter places the tables there and ties them to the work they serve.
Sacrificial tables belonging to the North Gate. They stand in the porch of the gate, beside the steps up to it (Ezek. 40:39-43).
The prophet does not arrive here first. He tours the whole complex in order. Only at this last gate does the equipment of sacrifice appear:
The prophet now enters the inner court by the south gate, and is led next to the east gate and then to the north gate. At this last gate we find the provision for the work of sacrifice.
Of the three gates, only the north has tables for killing. One writer finds meaning in that choice, starting from the Hebrew word for "north".
It seems significant that the work of sacrifice belongs to the northern gate. In Scripture the north goes with judgment. From that direction the blow falls on both Israel and Judah. The word itself, tsaphon, means "the hidden," "the dark," and is used of the north only as a gloomy, unknown region. That idea of darkness fits well with the idea of judgment. And here we cannot fail to think of the darkness of Calvary... In the moral and spiritual lesson, it is at the north, taken as a symbol, that we need to learn the truth of sacrifice.
The four tables of this verse are only half the count. Four more stand with them, and each table has a named use.
We also have the porch, with two tables on one side and two on the other, for killing the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. With the other tables, there are eight in all. We are given details of the equipment for other sacrificial service too (Ezek. 40:5-43).
Tables for killing animals in a coming temple trouble many readers, since the one sacrifice of Christ is finished. One writer meets the objection head-on.
Some people find it hard to see how animal sacrifices could be used again after the church has been caught up to heaven. They imagine that the Jewish ritual was abolished once and for all... Scripture never says that the ritual given through Moses is abolished... But Ezekiel 40 - 46 states the return of sacrifices so clearly that the matter is settled at once for anyone who bows to the Word. Further, the sons of Zadok will be restored to their priestly office and duties, as the holy priesthood, to offer animal sacrifices (Ezek. 44:15-16).
If these tables will be used, what will the blood on them mean? Under Moses the offerings pointed forward. Then they will point back.
Some have found it hard that sacrifices should be restored. The difficulty disappears once we remember that these sacrifices belong to an earthly people and an earthly temple, and that they will be memorials. Under the old order they had no power at all apart from what they pointed to in Christ, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Heb. 10:4). In the thousand-year reign they will look back to that one sacrifice for sin offered on the cross, just as the sacrifices under the law of Moses pointed forward to it. So they will simply recall to the grateful, worshipping hearts of God's people the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, which cleanses from all sin.
The tables are not the destination. Seven verses later the plan reaches the altar, and everything is arranged around it.
We come now to the altar, the real centre of the whole sacred enclosure... It is the divine centre where every line of approach meets, from east, north, and south. It stands as a lasting memorial of Christ and His sacrifice. It is central to all the blessing and glory that Israel and the nations will share... It will always remind those who crowd the courts of the Lord's house of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
- Place. Four tables stand at the north gate of the inner court, outside the porch by the steps — the one gate equipped for killing sacrifices.
- Darkness. "North" in Hebrew means the hidden, dark quarter. Scripture links it with judgment, and so with the darkness of Calvary.
- Fulness. Four more tables join these, making eight in all. They serve the burnt offering, the sin offering and the trespass offering.
- Literal. Commentators note that Scripture never declares the ritual given through Moses abolished. Ezekiel 40–46 says sacrifice will return.
- Memorial. What once pointed forward will then point back. Every table serves the altar at the centre, a lasting memorial of Christ and His sacrifice.
four tables on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate, -- eight tables, whereon they slew [the sacrifice],
In his vision Ezekiel walks through a temple he has never seen, and at one gate his guide points out eight stone tables for killing sacrifices. Four stand on each side, which raises the question of what this house is, when it stands, and why sacrifices belong in it at all.
These chapters have often been read as a picture of the church. One writer rules that out:
If that is so, we must look for the prophet's temple in the future, and everything around it points that way. One can understand a past tabernacle that pictured present heavenly things in Christ. But here is a prophecy of what will only be carried out for Israel in their land. That will happen when Christ comes, the church is changed, and she reigns with Him over the earth. So there is no room for the Christian or allegorical application.
The eight tables are the four and four already listed. A survey of the chapter notes what they are made of and what they are for:
Verses 38 to 43 then describe the cells and entrances by the columns of the gates. They also describe the eight tables of hewn stone for killing the burnt offerings and the rest, four on each side.
An outline of the whole plan fixes them at one entrance:
Sacrificial tables connected with the North Gate. These are placed in the porch of the Gate and next to its ascent (Ezek. 40:39-43).
The same notes explain what that direction stands for:
The north (tsaphon) means "what is hidden," and the reason the north is called this is that for people living in the northern hemisphere the sun travels through the southern sky, so the north side of anything is the dark side… So the north tells of mystery, the power of evil, the judgment of God. It also tells of His ways in providence, which so often search the heart and leave human wisdom completely baffled. And, as we have also seen, it is the place where the sacrifice is killed, which speaks of the cross with all its horror of great darkness.
Christ has already died once for sins. So why blood on eight tables in the age when He reigns? The answer is that these sacrifices point the other way:
Some have felt a difficulty about restored sacrifices. The difficulty disappears once we remember this: these sacrifices will belong to an earthly people and an earthly temple, and they will be commemorative in character. In the old order they had no power at all apart from their reference to Christ. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Heb. 10:4). In the millennium they will look back to that one sacrifice for sin offered on the cross, just as those under the law of Moses pointed forward to it. So they will simply recall to the grateful, worshipping hearts of God's people the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, which cleanses from all sin.
Some object that this is a return to shadows God has finished with:
I know some have said that offering millennial sacrifices would be a going back in the ways of God. But this is not true. Israel's sacrifices in the future will differ at the root from those of the past. The old ones were types of what Christ was coming to do in sacrifice. In those future days they will be the appointed types of what Christ has already done, by His one sacrificial offering and death.
Eight tables mean constant killing, and so constant remembering. All that provision has one end:
So these sacrifices will testify to the atonement Christ made by His crucifixion and death. That testimony will secure a continual tribute of praise to the Messiah of Israel all through His millennial reign. The revival of sacrifices and feasts in Jerusalem will not be a backward step in God's dealings with this earth. It will mark the high point of His ways with the present heavens and earth, when "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD" (Ps. 22:27).
- Future. The temple Ezekiel measures is not a picture of the church. It is a house yet to stand for Israel in their land when Christ reigns.
- North. The eight tables are hewn stone, four on each side, set in the porch of the north gate. North is the dark side, the place where the sacrifice is killed, and so it speaks of the cross.
- Memorial. The blood shed there takes nothing away. It looks back to the one sacrifice already offered, as the older sacrifices looked forward to it.
- Climax. Their revival is no retreat. It marks the high point of God's ways with the present heavens and earth.
- Praise. The tables keep praise flowing to Israel's Messiah, until the ends of the earth remember and turn to the Lord.
-- and at the ascent, four tables of hewn stone, of a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereon also they laid the instruments with which they slew the burnt-offering and the sacrifice.
Ezekiel walks through a temple no one has yet built. His guide stops at four stone tables by a gate — the place where the killing happens before anything reaches the altar. The details are small enough to seem pointless: the size of a slab, the tools laid on it. Yet they raise the biggest questions in the chapter. Why does sacrifice appear again after the cross? And why does God record a table's width at all?
These four tables are not the only ones. One survey of the chapter counts them:
Verses 38 to 43 then describe the cells and entrances by the columns of the gates. They also describe the eight tables of hewn stone for killing the burnt offerings and so on, four on each side.
The verse gives a table's length, width and height to the half cubit. Nothing here is a rough sketch; the whole vision reads like an architect's specification:
The background of this final vision of Ezekiel is the whole of his earlier prophecies. It takes the form of a great plan with its specifications. It is drawn with the utmost care and marked out with mathematical exactness. Its sharp outlines are meant to express those principles of God's holiness and government that the earlier messages of the book set out.
These tables stand at the north gate. That direction carries weight in Scripture:
It seems significant that the work of sacrifice goes with the northern gate. In Scripture the north stands for judgment. From that quarter the stroke falls upon both Israel and Judah. The word itself, tsaphon, means "the hidden," "the dark." It is used of the north only as a region gloomy and unknown. The idea of darkness that goes with it fits well with judgment. And here we cannot fail to think of the darkness of Calvary... Darkness is also the word for man's state away from God, alienated by wicked works and darkened in his understanding. So at the north gate of the inner court — the court of the altar — we have everything needed to do this work, whether it is the burnt offering, the sin offering, or the trespass offering.
The verse names these four tables for the burnt offering. That offering holds a particular place among the sacrifices:
The name itself says so: it means the "offering that ascends" — it goes up to God... Of all the offerings burned on the altar, this is the only one burned whole — the "whole burnt-offering."... Yet, on the other hand, it was the offering "for acceptance"... The measure of our acceptance is not just that sin is put away. It is all the preciousness to God of that perfect "obedience to the point of death" by which sin is put away.
Some read these chapters as a description of a temple that once stood. The detail itself argues otherwise:
The sequel in chapter 42 closes the first part of the description. It is important because it destroys the idea that there was, or could be, any real likeness between Ezekiel's prophetic vision and any temple built so far.
If Christ has died once, the return of knives and tables looks like a step backwards. One writer answers that these offerings point the other way:
I know it has been said that the offering of millennial sacrifices would be a going back in the ways of God. But this is not true. Israel's future sacrifices will differ from the old ones at the root. The old ones were pictures of what Christ was coming to do in His sacrifice. The future ones will be the appointed pictures of what Christ has accomplished by His one sacrificial offering and death.
The same gate serves offerings for sin and trespass too. That says something about the people who bring them:
The arrangements for killing the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings show that even in the Millennium perfection is not reached. This provision for relationship with God and for holiness is made for a people who can still sin.
- Measured — the plan is drawn with mathematical exactness. Even a table's size expresses God's holiness and government.
- Placed — four tables on each side, at the north gate. Scripture ties that direction to judgment and darkness.
- Prepared — before anything reaches the altar there is a table and a knife; the burnt offering is the offering that ascends wholly to God, and it is the offering "for acceptance."
- Pointing back — the future offerings are not a step backwards. They are appointed pictures of what Christ has already finished in one offering.
- Still needed — sin and trespass offerings at the same gate show a people who can still sin, in a temple no one has yet built.
And the double hooks of a hand breadth were fastened round about within; and upon the tables [they put] the flesh of the offering.
Ezekiel walks through a vision of a future temple, measured piece by piece. Here the tour stops at the plain tools of slaughter: hooks fixed to the wall and tables loaded with meat. Why would a house full of God's glory need butchers' tables? What are they meant to say?
This verse closes a short block of description that ends the measuring of the gates:
Verses 38 to 43 then describe the cells and the entrances by the columns of the gates. They also describe the eight tables of cut stone for killing the burnt offerings and so on, four on each side.
A detailed outline of the same section separates the furniture into its uses: tables for killing, tables for the sacrifices, tables for the instruments, and "double hooks for sacrificial purposes."
All this equipment stands at one gate. The choice of gate carries meaning:
It seems significant that the work of sacrifice is tied to the northern gate. In Scripture the north speaks of judgment. From that direction the blow falls on both Israel and Judah. The word itself, tsaphon, means "the hidden" or "the dark." It is used of the north only as a gloomy and unknown quarter. The darkness the word carries fits well with the idea of judgment. And here we cannot help thinking of the darkness of Calvary… So at the north gate of the inner court, the court of the altar, everything is provided for this work, whether it is the burnt offering, the sin offering, or the trespass offering.
The meat on these tables is on its way somewhere. The vision moves on to the point it is all heading for:
We come now to the altar, the true centre of the whole sacred enclosure… It is the divine centre where every line of approach meets — east, north, and south. It stands as a lasting memorial of Christ and His sacrifice. This is central to all the blessing and glory that Israel and the nations will share… It will always remind those who crowd the courts of the Lord's house of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Many readers stumble at animal sacrifice starting again after the cross. Commentators answer that these offerings look back, not forward:
Some have found a difficulty in sacrifices being restored. The difficulty disappears once we remember that these sacrifices belong to an earthly people and an earthly temple, and that they will be memorials. In the old order they had no power at all apart from their reference to Christ, for it was not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). In the millennium they will look back to that one sacrifice for sin which was offered on the cross, just as those under the law of Moses pointed forward to it. So they will only recall to the grateful, worshipping hearts of God's people the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, which cleanses from all sin.
Believers today live between the old altar and this future one. They already know what those tables will teach:
For centuries such sacrifices have stopped, because there was only one altar where they could be offered… In time that altar will be built again, and made holy again for worship the Lord accepts. Then, as before, people will bring trespass offerings to God's altar at Jerusalem… But Christians live between the time when sacrifice on the altar stopped and the time when it starts again. They know now what the earthly people will then learn — that propitiation has already been made once for all.
The vision even gives the size of a wall hook. Earlier in the chapter it defines the measuring unit used throughout this temple:
Ezekiel's cubit is one sixth larger. It is a cubit and a handbreadth (Ezekiel 40:5), the handbreadth counting as one sixth of the ordinary cubit. Ezekiel's reed of six great cubits is therefore equal to seven ordinary cubits… Seven is the Scriptural number for completeness or perfection. So it is interesting to see that the measurements of Ezekiel's temple, the millennial temple, are brought up to the scale of perfection.
Such precision over hooks and tables is not wasted ink:
Great care and exactness go into making this plan and into defining how the parts relate to each other… All this is designed to press on heart and conscience how deeply God cares about the important truth set out in this great picture.
- North — the killing happens at the north gate, the quarter of darkness and judgment. It recalls the darkness of Calvary.
- Tables — eight tables of cut stone stand four on each side, with hooks a handbreadth long. That is the whole provision for the burnt, sin and trespass offerings.
- Altar — the flesh moves toward the altar at the centre of the whole enclosure. That altar is a lasting memorial of Christ and His sacrifice for Israel and the nations.
- Memorial — these offerings have no power of their own. They look back to the one sacrifice, as the old ones looked forward to it.
- Measure — hooks sized to a handbreadth show God's interest in every detail of what points to His Son.