And when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose front was toward the east, and measured [the enclosure] round about.
The tour of the inner house is over. Now the guide brings Ezekiel out through the east gate and measures again — this time the whole area, all the way round. Why end a long, detailed survey by drawing one huge outer line?
The guide has been measuring since chapter 40. Commentators see the act itself as God laying claim to what is His.
The man has in his hand a cord of flax and a measuring reed. He is ready to measure... This work of measurement is prophetically significant... It suggests God's care and interest; everything relating to His purposes and promises is important. Then it may well signify that God has risen up to take possession — it is the assertion of His title. Every false claim will be set aside. Every wrongly seized possession will be removed. Everything will be established according to the measure of truth and righteousness.
The vision named a wall around the outside of the house at the very start, but gave no size for it. The size comes only here, at the end — and it is startling.
The "wall on the outside of the house round about" (Ezek. 40:5) is not measured until we reach the end of Ezekiel 42. There it is said to be 500 reeds square, given with the most careful exactness... That is, the temple grounds take in far more than the entire city did.
The gate is the way out, not the thing measured:
This is not the gate itself, as the dimensions that follow show, but the enclosure — or, in the early Greek translation, "the plan of the house." The measurement appears to run along the wall mentioned in Ezek. 40:5.
Everything turns on the unit. A reed is six cubits. Read the figures as reeds instead of cubits, and the scale of the whole vision changes.
In Ezek. 42:15-20, after the measuring of the inner house, the guide brings the prophet toward the gate that faces east. Here a space with a wall measures 500 by 500 reeds... If these were cubits the city would be no more than about 1.136 miles square — a very small place. Taking the measurement as reeds — the reed is six cubits, Ezek. 40:5; Ezek. 43:13 — we have a city more fitting in size to the glory of the millennial kingdom.
Commentators differ over the exact wording of verse 16. Kelly knows the figures dwarf the temple hill in Jerusalem, yet he refuses to soften them:
No doubt the space would be far larger than Mount Moriah is now. But that is a small difficulty for the believer, who expects great physical change according to prophecy. To call it an exaggeration, and still say the literal meaning stands, seems to me not only unbelieving but absurd.
The outer line has one stated purpose: to keep apart the holy and the common. Set against Israel's past, it is a correction.
This whole design is a rebuke and a correction. Israel had grown careless and had lost the right sense of the great difference between Jehovah and Israel. The prophet shows that this sense was completely missing from the nation's life. Rulers and people had violated the holiness of the temple, and had even brought in idol worship. They had failed badly to keep His holiness separate from evil. Through these courts and gates, and the wide open spaces around them, Jehovah shows by solid example the truth of His surpassing glory, His absolute pre-eminence, and His essential holiness.
One writer applies the same rule to us now, not only to the coming thousand-year kingdom:
When the Lord gave the law to Moses, the priests had to teach the people what was holy and what was not. They had to show what was common and what belonged to the Lord. In the millennium God will have a separation between that which belongs to Him and that which is unholy. In our time we have to apply the same measure. God wants a clear separation between that which is holy and that which is unholy.
No temple this size has ever stood. So Kelly looks forward, not back.
If true, we must look for the temple the prophet means in the future, and everything around it points that way... Here it is a prophecy of what will only be fulfilled for Israel in their land... All the evidence is in favour of a future temple for Israel under Messiah and the new covenant. At the same time, there may be many a lesson of truth and righteousness hidden in the building, the ritual, and the general order set out here.
- Measure — The reed in the guide's hand asserts God's title. He sets aside every false claim and settles everything by truth and righteousness.
- Finish — The guide measures the inner house first, then leads the prophet out east. The outer wall named in chapter 40 gets its size only now, at the end.
- Scale — Read as reeds of six cubits, the enclosure covers more ground than the old city. Commentators refuse to call the figures an exaggeration.
- Separate — That outer line is one wall between the holy and the common. It corrects the carelessness that once let idols into God's house.
- Apply — The same measure stands today. God still wants a clear line between what belongs to Him and what does not.
He measured the east side with the measuring-reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed round about.
Ezekiel's temple vision now leaves the buildings and measures the outer boundary. Verse 16 is the first of four sides, and it raises two questions. What unit is the man using, and why does God want the whole area walled off and counted?
Commentators read this steady work of measuring as more than architectural detail:
The man has in his hand a cord of flax and a measuring reed. He is prepared to measure. He keeps the prophet busy with this work as he guides him through the courts and around the buildings of the Sanctuary. This work of measurement is prophetically significant. It suggests God's care and interest. Everything that touches His purposes and promises matters. Then it may well signify that God has risen up to take possession — it is the assertion of His title. Every false claim will be set aside. All that was wrongly seized will be removed. Everything will be established by the measure of truth and righteousness.
Verse 16 measures the east side first. The prophet has just come out by the east gate. The next chapter shows what that gate is for:
In Ezekiel 43, Ezekiel records his vision of the return of Jehovah to the earthly city of His choice. Having described his sight of the temple buildings (40-42), he now describes the glory of God coming to fill them. "And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east... And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose front was toward the east."
The writer quotes an older translation, which has "Jehovah" where the ESV has "the LORD."
Everything depends on the unit. One writer settles it by comparing this passage with the measurements given later for the city:
Now turn to Ezekiel 42:15-20. After the measuring of the inner house was finished, the prophet was brought toward the gate facing east. Here a space with a wall was measured as being 500 by 500 reeds... If this conclusion is correct, then the other measurements are reeds too. This seems the only reasonable view, since the city is given as 5,000 by 5,000 (the unit is not named). If these were cubits, the city would be no more than about 1.136 miles square — a very insignificant place. Taking the measurement as reeds — the reed is six cubits — we have a city more fitting in size to the glory of the millennial kingdom: about 6.81 miles square.
The figure is far bigger than anything ever built on the temple hill. That is the point:
The "wall on the outside of the house round about" is not measured until the end of Ezekiel 42. There it is declared to be 500 reeds square. The figure is given with the most exact precision... The temple grounds are to take in far more than the entire city did.
The wording of verse 16 has long been disputed. One writer handles both the text itself and the wish to soften the figure:
It is well known that there has been much debate about the reading in verse 16, and whether the word used here means "reeds" or not. The reading in the text ("five cubits") is plainly a copying error, and the "five hundred" of the margin must be adopted. Some would strike out the measure altogether. No doubt the space would be far larger than Mount Moriah is now. But that is a small difficulty to the believer, who looks for great physical change according to prophecy. Some call the figure an exaggeration and still claim to keep the literal meaning. To me that is not only unbelieving but absurd.
Israel's history explains why the boundary is drawn so wide:
This whole design rebukes and corrects Israel's carelessness. They had lost any true sense of how great the difference is between Jehovah and themselves. The prophet shows that this sense was missing from the life of the nation. Rulers and people had violated the holiness of the temple, and had even brought in the worship of idols... Through these courts and gates, and the wide open spaces around them, Jehovah is showing in concrete form the truth of His surpassing glory, His absolute pre-eminence, and His essential holiness.
The writers also apply this to the present day:
In the millennium God will have a separation between that which belongs to Him and that which is unholy. In our time we have to apply the same measure. God wants a clear separation between that which is holy and that which is unholy.
- Measure — with the reed in the man's hand God asserts His title. He sets aside every false claim and establishes all by truth and righteousness.
- East — the survey begins on the side through which the glory of the God of Israel will come back to fill the house.
- Reeds — read as reeds, not cubits, the space outgrows the old temple hill. The figures are exact, not exaggerated.
- Wall — the four measured sides close in a wall, marking off what belongs to God from what is unholy.
- Us — the same measure applies now: God still wants a clear line between what belongs to Him and what does not.
He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed round about.
The man with the measuring reed walks the outside line of the temple area — east, north, south, west. The same number comes back on every side. Why does a vision full of gates and rooms end with a plain square and a wall? And what is that wall for?
The act of measuring carries a message of its own, not only the numbers it produces.
This work of measurement has prophetic meaning. It suggests God's care and interest. Everything relating to His purposes and promises is important. It may well mean that God has risen up to take possession — it is the assertion of His title. Every false claim is set aside. Everything wrongly seized is taken away. All will be established by the measure of truth and righteousness.
Another writer states what the line means and what follows it:
The measuring line is the symbol of taking possession, either in title or in fact, when renewed dealings or restorations would follow.
Commentators dispute the unit behind the number five hundred. The ESV reads "cubits." Older translations read "reeds," and one reed is six cubits. One writer argues that reeds must be meant, because cubits would shrink the whole plan to a tiny size:
Here a space with a wall was measured as being 500 by 500 reeds. This made a separation between what was holy and what was common… The city is given as 5,000 by 5,000. If these were cubits, the city would be only about 1.136 miles square. That is a very small place, little more than one and a quarter square miles. Take the measurement as reeds — one reed is six cubits — and we have a city whose size fits the glory of the millennial kingdom.
Some avoid the huge result by calling the figure poetic exaggeration. One writer rejects that:
No doubt the space would be far larger than Mount Moriah is today. But that is a small difficulty for the believer, who expects great physical change according to prophecy. To call it an exaggeration, and still say the literal meaning stands, seems to me not only unbelieving but absurd.
The height of this wall gives away its purpose.
We see at once that this wall is not for protection against enemies. It is too low. It means something other than a barrier built to resist attack. The basic idea here is separation. The wall teaches that the space inside is sanctified, set apart to Jehovah… It preaches the exclusion of everything that defiles. This wall is as broad as it is high. It is foursquare, for perfect equality in every direction marks the holy requirements of God.
That is why north matches east, and south and west match both. The line is the outer boundary of the whole design.
The vision is not decoration. It corrects something that had gone wrong in Israel.
This whole picture rebukes and corrects Israel's carelessness. The nation had lost any true sense of the great difference between Jehovah and itself… Rulers and people had violated the holiness of the temple, even bringing in idol worship. They had failed terribly to maintain His holiness in separation from evil. By these courts and gates, and the wide open spaces around them, Jehovah is showing by a concrete example the truth of His surpassing glory, absolute supremacy, and essential holiness.
The same line matters now, not only then:
In the millennium God will have a separation between that which belongs to Him and that which is unholy. In our time we have to apply the same measure. God wants a clear separation between that which is holy and that which is unholy.
One writer takes this detail as proof that no building has ever matched the plan.
The temple that the returned exiles built does not correspond in any way to the magnificent structure Ezekiel saw in his vision. The fact is, if this temple is a literal building — and it certainly is — it has never yet been built… The glory did not return to the second temple. No glory cloud filled that house.
- Measure — the reed in the man's hand asserts God's title. He sets aside every false claim and marks the ground as His own.
- Scale — five hundred a side, read as reeds, gives a space fit for the glory of the coming kingdom. The figure is exact, not poetic.
- Separation — the wall is too low to stop an army. It was never meant to. It marks off what belongs to God from what is common.
- Symmetry — north, east, south and west all match, because God's holy requirements are equal in every direction.
- Standard — the square rebukes a nation that lost the sense of difference between God and itself. It sets the same measure before us today.
He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring-reed.
The guide has finished the inside of the house and now paces the outer boundary — east, north, and here the south. Why does Scripture record the same figure on all four sides?
This verse comes in a closing survey, not in the room-by-room detail of the earlier chapters. One commentator describes this last stage of the vision.
Once the whole inner house has been measured, the prophet is brought out through the east gate into a large space. It is square, 500 reeds on each side, enclosed by a wall whose size is not given. This appears to be the outermost line of separation "between the holy and the common." It would form a great square of 3,000 cubits, with the Sanctuary square of 500 cubits at its centre.
The measuring itself carries a message.
The man has in his hand a cord of flax and a measuring reed. He is ready to measure. That is the very work he keeps the prophet busy with, as he leads him through the courts and around the buildings of the Sanctuary. This work of measuring carries prophetic meaning. It shows God's care and interest. Everything to do with His purposes and promises matters. It may well mean, too, that God has risen up to take possession — He is asserting His title. He will set aside every false claim, remove everything wrongly held, and establish all things by the measure of truth and righteousness.
The four sides end in a wall, and the wall has a stated purpose. That purpose reaches past the future temple into life now.
When the Lord gave the law to Moses, the priests were to teach the people the difference between the holy and the unholy. They were also to teach the difference between common things and the things that belonged to the Lord. In the millennium God will keep a separation between what belongs to Him and what is unholy. In our time we have to apply the same measure. God wants a clear separation between that which is holy and that which is unholy.
The word set opposite "holy" sounds worse than it means. The writer below quotes an older translation's "profane," where the ESV has "common."
A sanctified person or thing is one set apart from ordinary uses, to be God's own possession, for His use and enjoyment. The opposite of sanctification is profanation. … The priests of the coming day are to "teach My people the difference between the holy and profane" (Ezek. 44:23). The word used there means "common or polluted." And it is just when a thing is put to common use that it does get polluted.
Ezekiel's own generation had treated the temple as common ground. This measured space answers that failure.
This whole plan rebukes and corrects Israel's carelessness. They had lost any right sense of the great difference between Jehovah and themselves. The prophet shows that this sense was missing from the nation's life. Rulers and people had violated the holiness of the temple, and had even brought in the worship of idols. They had failed badly to keep His holiness separate from evil. Through these courts and gates, and the wide open spaces around them, Jehovah shows by solid example the truth of His surpassing glory, His absolute first place, and His essential holiness.
The ESV gives the unit here as cubits. The writers below read it as reeds, and one insists that the larger figure must stand.
The "wall on the outside of the house round about" (Ezek. 40:5) is not measured until the end of Ezekiel 42. There it is declared to be 500 reeds square. The figure is given with the most exact precision. To call it a "hyperbole" would shake the character of the prophet, and of Scripture in general. That is, the temple precincts are to take in far more ground than the whole city did.
The same writer faces two problems head on: the disputed reading, and a space larger than the hill where the old temple stood.
There has been much debate over the reading in verse 16, and over whether the word used here should be taken to mean "reeds" or not. … No doubt the space would be far larger than Mount Moriah is today. But this is a small difficulty for the believer, who looks for great physical change in line with prophecy.
- Measured — the reed in the guide's hand shows God's care and interest, and asserts His title to what He measures.
- Squared — the same figure on all four sides marks off one vast square, with the Sanctuary at its centre.
- Walled — the wall's stated purpose is to divide what belongs to God from what is common.
- Corrected — Israel had lost all sense of the distance between God and themselves, so these courts and spaces show that distance in solid form.
- Taught — the same measure applies now: keep a clear line between what is holy and what is common.
He turned about to the west side, [and] measured five hundred reeds with the measuring-reed.
The guide's tour of the future temple ends with the outside wall: east, north, south, and now the west side, each measuring the same five hundred. So the square closes — but why measure at all, and what is this wall for?
Writers treat the measuring itself as the message, not just a survey.
This work of measurement has prophetic meaning. It shows God's care and interest. Everything to do with His purposes and promises matters. Then it may well signify that God has risen up to take possession — it is the assertion of His title. Every false claim is set aside. All wrongly held possession is removed. All will be established according to the measure of truth and righteousness.
Another writer explains what the symbol claims, and why the measuring comes before the possessing:
The measuring line is the symbol of taking possession, either in title or in fact, when renewed dealings or restorations would follow. Here it is title rather than fact, because actual possession would wait for the overthrow of the Gentile powers. Yet the act of measuring was meant to show even then that God intended to bless in this way.
The west side completes the circuit. What appears is one great square.
Finally, after the whole inner house has been measured, the guide brings the prophet out through the east gate into a large space. It is foursquare, 500 reeds on each side, enclosed by a wall whose dimensions are not given. This is the outermost line of separation "between the holy and the common."
The wall's height rules out one obvious explanation.
This encircling wall is one reed high and one reed broad — a reed of six cubits, about 7.2 feet in our measure. We see at once that this wall is not for protection against enemies: it is too low. Its meaning is something other than a barrier to resist attack. The basic idea here is separation. The wall teaches that the enclosed space is sanctified, set apart to Jehovah. It preaches the exclusion of all that defiles.
Commentators differ on the unit. The ESV reads "500 cubits by the measuring reed". Older translations read five hundred reeds, and that is the figure most of these writers use. One writer sets the question aside as secondary:
Some have thought this was a space 500 reeds square. It may be simply a wall 500 cubits square surrounding the temple court. Either way, the evident meaning is to make a complete separation between what is holy and what is not.
Another writer keeps the larger measure, even though it far outsizes the temple hill in Jerusalem:
No doubt the space would be far larger than Mount Moriah is now. But that is a small difficulty for the believer, who looks for great physical change according to prophecy. To call it exaggeration, and still leave the literal interpretation standing, seems to me not only unbelieving but absurd.
This vision spoke to a people whose history had blurred exactly this line.
This whole picture rebukes and corrects a carelessness in Israel: they had lost a right sense of the great difference between Jehovah and themselves. The prophet shows this sense was completely absent from the life of the nation. Rulers and people had violated the holiness of the temple, even bringing in idol worship. They had failed badly to keep His holiness separate from evil.
The same line runs from Moses, through the coming kingdom, to us.
When the Lord gave the law to Moses, the priests were to teach the people the difference between the holy and the unholy. They were to teach the difference between the common and the things that belonged to the Lord. In the millennium God will have a separation between what belongs to Him and what is unholy. In our time we have to apply the same measure. God wants a clear separation between what is holy and what is unholy.
- Claimed. The reed in the guide's hand is God asserting His title. He sets aside every false claim and settles everything by the measure of truth and righteousness.
- Closed. The west side is the last of four. With it measured, the line between the holy and the common runs all the way round.
- Set apart. The wall stands about seven feet high, too low to stop an enemy. Its point is not defence but separation: the space inside belongs to God, and all that defiles stays outside.
- Corrected. Israel had lost the sense of the difference between God and themselves. They even brought idols into the temple. This vision draws the line they had erased.
- Current. The same measure applies now — God still wants a clear separation between what is His and what is unholy.
He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall round about, five hundred long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common.
Ezekiel's long tour of the future temple ends at a wall, marking where holy ground stops and ordinary ground begins. Why does a vision of God's house close with a line drawn in stone?
The wall is measured, like everything else in the vision. One writer reads the measuring as God staking His claim.
This work of measuring has prophetic meaning. It suggests God's care and interest. Everything that touches His purposes and promises matters. It may well mean that God has risen up to take possession. He is asserting His title. Every false claim is set aside. All that was wrongly seized is removed. Everything will be established by the measure of truth and righteousness.
The size of this wall is the clue to its purpose.
This encircling wall is one reed high and one reed broad — a reed of six cubits, about 7.2 feet in our measure. We see at once that it is not for protection against enemies. It is too low. Its meaning is not that of a defence built to resist attack. The basic idea here is separation. The wall teaches that the space it encloses is sanctified, set apart to Jehovah. It preaches the exclusion of all that defiles. The wall is as broad as it is high. This perfect equality in every direction marks God's holy requirements, both separation from evil and judgment of it.
The verse sets holy against common. One writer traces both words back to their root idea.
The root idea of the word, whether we take its Old or New Testament use, is that of setting apart for God. A sanctified person or thing is set apart from ordinary uses. It becomes God's own possession, for His use and enjoyment. The opposite of sanctification is profanation. The priests of the coming millennial day are to "teach my people the difference between the holy and the common" (Ezekiel 44:23). The word used there means "common or polluted." A thing gets polluted just when it is put to common use. That is easy to see in ordinary life. When a piece of ground is thrown open freely to the public it becomes a "common," and rules must at once be made to keep it decent. Left to itself, it would soon become more or less of a rubbish heap.
This wall answers a history. One writer ties it to what Israel had become.
This whole design rebukes and corrects a real failure. Israel had grown careless and had lost any true sense of the great difference between Jehovah and itself. The prophet shows that this sense was completely missing from the life of the nation. Rulers and people had violated the holiness of the temple, and had even brought in idol worship. By these courts and gates, and the wide open spaces around them, Jehovah is showing something in concrete form. It is the truth of His surpassing glory, His absolute first place, and His essential holiness.
Commentators differ over the unit of measure. Some read the five hundred as reeds, others as cubits. One writer says the dispute does not change the meaning.
Whether this was a space five hundred reeds square, as some have thought, or simply a wall five hundred cubits square surrounding the temple court, the evident meaning is to make a complete separation between that which is holy and that which is not.
Another writer will not soften the larger reading, even though it needs a site far bigger than the temple mount today.
No doubt the space would be far larger than Mount Moriah is now. But this is a small difficulty to the believer, who looks for great physical change according to prophecy. To call the number an exaggeration, and still keep the literal meaning, seems to me not only unbelieving but absurd.
One writer draws a line from this wall to how believers gather now.
A wall is for protection and to keep out what does not belong in the city. A wall of separation is needed to keep out what is undesirable and would hinder and spoil true worship. Even the millennial temple has a wall, "to make a separation between the holy and the common" (Ezekiel 42:20). In the same way a church, an assembly of true believers who gather together in that worthy Name, and to that Name, must be kept safe from the world. It must shut out all that dishonours Christ or goes against sound doctrine.
- Measured — the measuring asserts God's title. It sets aside every false claim and settles all things by the measure of truth and righteousness.
- Marked — the wall is too low to stop an army. Its message is separation: the space inside belongs to God, and all that defiles stays out.
- Defined — holy means set apart for God's own use. Common means thrown open to everyone, and common use brings pollution.
- Corrected — Israel's rulers and people had violated the temple. The wall teaches in stone the glory and holiness they had lost sight of.
- Applied — the same line still holds. Wherever believers gather, they guard what belongs to God and shut out what does not.