And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer up burnt-offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.
The glory of the Lord has just filled the house. Now God speaks about one object in the courtyard: the altar. Two questions press on any reader. Why is there an altar at all after the cross? And what does a burnt offering mean in a world already redeemed?
Where does this altar stand, and what does God look upon?
We turn from the vision of the entering glory of the Lord to the detailed measure of the altar. It stood at the centre of the whole enclosure, right in front of the house. God looks out, as it were, from the place of His rest. He looks on the place of sacrifice, the basis of all blessing and glory. It stands as a memorial bearing witness to Christ. He is the true Burnt Offering. Every offering presented on this altar recalls His sacrifice, whose effect never ends.
Who looked at it, and why did it matter so much?
The worshippers in the outer court, and the Prince who came in among them or sat in the east gate, would have their attention and interest focused on this great altar. It would always stand before the eyes of all as something of basic importance to the blessing and welfare of the people. It gave visible expression to their acceptance, and to the ground on which the glory could remain among them.
The verse gives the altar exactly two uses, and each carries its own meaning:
The altar has a twofold purpose — to offer burnt offering and to sprinkle blood. The burnt offering signifies full acceptance. The sprinkled blood signifies expiation accomplished. That offering all goes up to God as a sweet smell. The shed blood tells of judgment borne. It vindicates the righteousness of God and answers to the holiness of His nature. The perfect service and obedience pictured in the offering satisfies His heart. The blood is enough to meet every requirement of His throne. The altar also sanctifies the gift. So everything combines to set before us the preciousness and perfection of the Person and work of Christ.
Commentators say this day has never yet come:
We have already seen that it is useless to apply this description to the past return from Babylon. The present chapter is evidence enough; the dwelling glory has never come back. The Jews were then groaning under Gentile power. Since the Romans destroyed the city, it applies still less. Why then should men avoid the only alternative? The fulfilment is future. Israel will yet return to the land, truly converted and blessed under the Lord their God — but as Israel, not as Christians.
For Ezekiel's first hearers, prisoners in a foreign land, the promise had an immediate use:
These ordinances look forward to the day when they shall make the altar. They were a word of comfort and assurance to the remnant in the land of their captivity. The time would come when God would restore the nation again and set up the divine centre for worship. With this prophecy before them, no wonder those who returned from Babylon to the land of their fathers first built the altar.
If Christ has already died, why would anyone throw blood against an altar again?
The revival of the Mosaic ritual need not create any difficulty in the mind of the student of Scripture. Sacrifice can be commemorative as well as anticipative. In the blood of bulls and goats there was no value in itself (Heb. 10:4). Their blood pictured the blood of Christ. One day they will shed the blood of sacrificial animals again. It will be in remembrance of the atoning blood of Christ, shed once for all on the cross.
The same writers who read these ordinances plainly refuse to bring them into Christian practice today:
Sin offerings, burnt offerings, thank offerings all follow in due order. This is the renewal of sacrifice. It comes when the earth and Israel come under the reign of Messiah, displayed in glory and governing in righteousness and peace. Ritualism turns back to Jewish forms and seeks to bring in the sacrificial system now. That is apostasy, for we are called to act in the faith of the one offering of Christ accepted in heaven. But we ought not to shut our eyes to this revelation of a future day for the earth. In that day God approves priest and people, sacrifice and altar, for Israel.
Which offering comes first, and when does worship begin?
How telling that the first thing offered will be a sin offering. The altar itself must be cleansed for seven days. Then on the eighth day — that day of a completely new start — the burnt offerings and peace offerings will have their proper place.
- Place — the altar stands at the centre, directly before the house, so the glory of God looks out upon the place of sacrifice.
- Purpose — two uses only. Burnt offering speaks of full acceptance. Sprinkled blood speaks of judgment borne.
- Person — every offering on it recalls Christ, the true Burnt Offering; the altar is a memorial, not a fresh remedy.
- Prospect — the day when the altar is erected is still ahead. No past return from exile fits this description. The promise steadied captives, who then built an altar first.
- Proportion — a sin offering opens the seven days. Worship begins on the eighth: cleansing first, then acceptance.
And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that are of the seed of Zadok, who come near unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord Jehovah, a young bullock for a sin-offering.
God's glory has just filled the temple Ezekiel was shown. The voice from inside it turns straight to the altar: before any other offering, God calls for one young bull, given to one named family of priests.
Of all the sacrifices in these chapters, the one God names first deals with sin. One writer marks the order:
How telling it is that the very first thing offered will be a sin offering. The altar itself must be cleansed for seven days. Then on the eighth day — the day of a completely new start — the burnt offerings and peace offerings take their proper place.
Another writer compares Ezekiel's altar with the altar described in Chronicles:
Chronicles mentions neither the sin offering nor the trespass offering; there the altar is only the place of burnt offerings and peace offerings. Ezekiel, by contrast, insists on the sin offering as the preparation for all the other offerings (Ezek. 43:25–27). He then names every one of them, leaving none out (Ezek. 45:25).
In the verses that follow, the blood goes on the altar itself. Why would an object need cleansing? One writer answers from what the altar stands for:
If God's glory has found its resting place in this holy house — and the plan and order of that house express God's own character — then the altar and its service are essential. Without them the people could not draw near in their place, or enjoy the blessings of acceptance and fellowship with that glory. Man can come to God's dwelling place only on the ground of sacrifice, which sets out the truth of atonement and purification. So the altar is bound up with the people themselves and their place with God. It is identified with what they are. And because they are sinful, atonement must be made for the altar, to purify and set it apart. In what is done for the altar, the people see, as in an object lesson, what is done for them.
The single young bull given to the priests opens a whole sequence of offerings, each with its own meaning:
The second reference (Ezek. 43:19–27) discloses a further detail, namely that the sons of Zadok will be given a bullock (young bull) for a sin offering. This speaks of the sacrifice of Christ who bore the sins of His people. They will use the blood to sanctify the altar and burn the bullock in the appointed place as a sin offering. This opens the way for another sin offering (the kid of a goat) to be brought as well as burnt (speaking of God's appreciation of Christ's complete devotion to Him in death) and peace offerings (expressing communion between the Israelites and their God).
God names not just a tribe but one family. One writer traces the history behind that name:
Then the priests descended from Zadok are to serve at the altar. Zadok holds a large place in Israel's history. He was high priest in the reigns of David and Solomon. He stayed loyal to David when Absalom rebelled. With Nathan the prophet he backed Solomon when Adonijah tried to seize the throne. David agreed with them, and told Zadok to anoint Bathsheba's son as king (1 Kings 1:8, 26, 32–45). So Zadok stands for the priesthood joined to the king God chose, and to the kingdom God set up in David's line — a picture of Christ.
The name itself carries the same note. Identifying which Zadok Ezekiel means, one writer adds:
His name is derived from the verb 'to justify' and his father was called Ahitub, which means 'brother of goodness'.
Many readers stumble here. How can an animal be killed for sin after Christ has died? One writer answers that these sacrifices point back, not forward:
I know some have said that offering sacrifices in the coming kingdom would be a step backwards in God's ways. But this is not true. Israel's future sacrifices will differ at the root from the sacrifices of the past. The old ones were pictures of the sacrifice Christ was coming to make. In those days to come they will be the appointed pictures of what Christ has already done by His one offering and death.
That future arrangement is not a pattern for today. The same writer draws the line:
We hear not only of priests, but of priests who are Levites. And not only that, but of the line of Zadok, trusted with the duties of the altar. Sin offerings, burnt offerings and thank offerings all follow in order… Ritualism tries to bring the sacrificial system back today. That is a falling away, a return to Jewish ritual, because we are now called to act in faith of the one offering of Christ, which heaven has accepted. But we should not shut our eyes to what is revealed about this future day for the earth, when God approves priest and people, sacrifice and altar, for Israel.
- Sin first. The altar's opening act is a sin offering. It prepares the way for every burnt offering and peace offering that follows.
- Altar cleansed. Blood goes on the altar because the altar is identified with a sinful people. What is done for it is an object lesson of what is done for them.
- Christ first. The young bull speaks of the sacrifice of Christ, who bore the sins of His people. It opens the way to offerings that express His devotion and Israel's fellowship with God.
- Faithful priests. The priests come from Zadok's line. Zadok stood with God's chosen king, so his line pictures priesthood joined to the king God has chosen.
- Direction reversed. Old sacrifices pointed forward to what Christ would do. These point back to what He has done — a memorial for Israel then, not a ritual for believers now.
And thou shalt take of its blood, and put it on the four horns thereof, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about so shalt thou purge and make atonement for it.
God shows Ezekiel a temple he has never seen. Now the altar in its court receives its first blood — a sin offering. Two questions arise. Why would an altar itself need purifying? And why sacrifice at all in a scene set after the cross?
The chapters around this verse describe priests from Zadok's family serving at a working altar. That places the whole scene in the future.
This is decisive. Not only do we hear of the priests, but of these as Levites; nor this only, but of the seed of Zadok, entrusted with the duties of the altar. Sin offerings, burnt offerings, thank offerings, all follow in due order. This is the renewal of sacrifice, when the earth and Israel come under the reign of Messiah. He is displayed in glory, and governs in righteousness and peace. To bring in the sacrificial system now is a falling away, a turning back to Jewish ritual. We are called to act in faith of the one offering of Christ, accepted in heaven.
The order matters. Note what comes first, and what has to wait.
How significant that the very first thing offered will be a sin offering. The altar itself must be cleansed for seven days. Then comes the eighth day, the day of a completely new start, and the burnt offerings and peace offerings will have their proper place.
The blood goes on the horns for a reason.
The horns speak of the strength of that altar, the strength of the claims of God. The blood put on the horns of the altar would assure us that the claims of God had been met in full. God's righteousness had been maintained in full, so that God can pronounce this forgiveness and remain holy and righteous.
The number matters too, and so does the height at which the blood could be seen.
A horn is the symbol of power; four is chiefly the number of completeness on earth through Scripture... Sprinkled on the four horns, the blood stood on full display above the heads of the people — the blood that had made atonement for the transgression. It was a public memorial of atonement accomplished. No misgiving or doubt could arise as to this.
An altar is wood, stone and metal. If it needs purifying, the problem lies not in the object but in the people who touch it.
But suppose obedience were possible... what need for atonement?... However perfect their obedience might be, their nature was sin. Such a nature could not come before a holy God without blood of atonement... Their sinful nature was so hateful to God that their touch defiled the altar, even at the height of practical obedience. The altar had to be cleansed, and atonement made for it. Righteousness can never make a sinful nature acceptable.
The altar stands where the people stand, so what happens to it is a picture of what happens to them.
Man can only approach the dwelling place of God on the ground of sacrifice, which presents the truth of atonement and purification. So the altar stands related to the people themselves and their place with God. It stands identified with what they are; and since they are sinful, it needs atonement to purify and consecrate it. In what is done for the altar, the people see, as in an object lesson, what is done for them.
The same picture holds true of Christ and His people.
In His grace He identified Himself with them. So what they were in themselves made it necessary for Him to be the sacrifice, bearing in their place the very judgment they deserved... If our blessed Lord took our sins upon Himself, He also endured the smiting that made atonement. So He comes out from under the curse He took for our sakes. He can stand before God's glory and appear in His presence on our behalf — even, may we say, as the great altar stands before the house where the glory dwells.
These renewed offerings add nothing to the cross. They face the opposite way from the offerings of Moses' law.
Under 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 of goats should take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). In the millennium they will look back to that one sacrifice for sin offered on the cross, as those under the law of Moses foreshadowed it. So they will only bring back to the grateful, worshipping hearts of God's people the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, which cleanses from all sin.
- Blood first. A sin offering comes before any worship. The altar's own cleansing comes before its regular use.
- Blood on strength. The horns stand for power and for God's claims. Blood on them says those claims have been met in full, so God can forgive and stay righteous.
- Blood in public. The blood on the four horns stood above the heads of the people. Atonement was there for all to see, beyond doubt.
- Blood for the altar. Sinful hands defiled even an object of wood and stone. In what was done for the altar, the people read what was done for them.
- Blood once. These future offerings look back to the one sacrifice. The older ones looked forward. Neither adds to it.
And thou shalt take the bullock of the sin-offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.
In Ezekiel's vision of a future temple, the rules for the altar begin not with worship but with a bull for a sin offering, burned outside the sacred area. Why would animal sacrifice return at all, and why does the altar itself need cleansing first?
These rules belong to a coming age, when Messiah reigns over the earth and Israel.
Sin offerings, burnt offerings, thank offerings, all follow in due order. This is sacrifice renewed, when the earth and Israel come under the reign of Messiah. He is displayed in glory, and He governs in righteousness and peace. When ritualism tries to bring the sacrificial system back now, that is a falling away, a return to Jewish forms. For we are called to act in faith of the one offering of Christ, accepted in heaven. But we should not close our eyes to what God has revealed about this future day for the earth.
These offerings cannot take away sin. Their whole value lies in the sacrifice they point to.
Under the old order these sacrifices 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" (Hebrews 10:4). In the millennium 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.
The one animal goes two ways: its blood to the altar, its body out to the fire.
The second reference (Ezekiel 43:19-27) adds a further detail: the sons of Zadok receive a young bull for a sin offering. This speaks of the sacrifice of Christ, who bore the sins of His people. They will use the blood to sanctify the altar, and burn the bull in the appointed place as a sin offering.
Why would an altar itself need atonement? Because it is tied to the people who use it.
Man can only approach the dwelling place of God on the ground of sacrifice, which presents the truth of atonement and purification. So the altar stands related to the people themselves and to their place with God. It stands identified with what they are; and because they are sinful, it needs atonement to purify it and set it apart. In what is done for the altar, the people see, as in an object lesson, what is done for them.
This verse turns on where the body is burned. One writer links that burning outside the camp, the suffering of Christ, and this future altar at Jerusalem.
The burning of the body by fire expressed God's judgment on sin. The fire of His wrath had fallen on it. But because it was burned outside the camp, it also pictured Him who "suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood" (Hebrews 13:12). So when sacrifices are again offered and accepted on God's altar at Jerusalem, the body of the sin offering will be "burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area." Outside the camp, outside the gate, outside the sanctuary — each speaks of how hateful sin is in God's eyes. But the holy character of the flesh (for it was most holy) tells of a holiness in the sin offering that nothing could stain.
The burning says sin was judged, not overlooked. It also shows the obedience of the One who suffered there.
Sin and burnt offerings are made for seven days. These present two aspects of atonement: they make reconciliation effective and open the way to God. Judgment deals with sin completely, and that judgment is carried out in the burning in the outside place — the place where Jesus suffered in order to sanctify the people through His own blood. He did this according to the will of God, and He obeyed that will perfectly, offering Himself without spot in the power of the eternal Spirit.
- Outside first. The chapter opens with a sin offering, not with worship. God settles His judgment on sin outside, before fellowship begins inside.
- Outside, outside, outside. Outside the camp, outside the gate where Jesus suffered, outside the sanctuary here: one verdict on how hateful sin is to God.
- Outside — yet most holy. The flesh of the sin offering was most holy. The burning shows how heavy sin is; the flesh shows a holiness nothing could stain.
- Inside, cleansed. The blood goes on the altar, because the altar stands identified with a sinful people. What is done for the altar, they read as done for them.
- Backwards, not forwards. These future sacrifices add nothing. They point back to the one offering already accepted. To bring such rituals into the present is a step away from faith, not towards it.
And on the second day thou shalt present a he-goat without blemish for a sin-offering; and they shall purge the altar, as they purged it with the bullock.
Ezekiel sees the rules for an altar in a temple still to come, where the week opens not with praise but with a sin offering. Why does an altar itself need cleansing, and why do animal sacrifices return at all?
Commentators place this whole section in the future: worship restored to Israel under the reign of Christ, not a pattern for today.
Sin offerings, burnt offerings, thank offerings, all follow in due order. This is sacrifice renewed, when the earth and Israel come under the reign of Messiah, shown in glory and ruling in righteousness and peace. For ritualism to bring the sacrificial system in now is a falling away into Jewish ritual, when we are called to act in faith of the one offering of Christ, accepted in heaven.
The order of the week is itself the lesson. Sin comes first at this altar, before any other offering.
How significant that the very first thing offered will be a sin offering. The altar itself must be cleansed for seven days. Then comes the eighth day, the day of a completely new start, and the burnt offerings and peace offerings take their proper place.
The same order held for every worshipper.
Leviticus sets out the offerings themselves in this order: the burnt offering, grain offering, and peace offering first, and then the sin offering. But in practice, for the individual worshipper, the sin offering came first, then the burnt offering, and so on. He could not worship while sin was against him. He had to come by the power of what took that sin away.
An altar is an object. It has done nothing wrong. One commentator, writing on the same command in Exodus, points to what the worshippers were by nature.
"And every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. And you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it." Why? Because their nature was sin, however perfect their obedience might be. Such a nature could not appear before a holy God without the blood of atonement. This is not a question of wrong acts at all. How could it be, if obedience was perfect? Their sinful nature was so detestable to God that their touch defiled the altar, even with the highest practical obedience. So the altar had to be cleansed, and atonement made for it. Righteousness can never make a sinful nature acceptable.
The verse names a goat for the second day. That choice runs through the whole sacrificial system.
The goat suggests sin, but its remedy also. The rules for sacrifice mention the sin offering again and again. In most cases the goat, or "a kid of the goats," is the animal used for that sacrifice. On the great day of atonement the two goats hold the prominent place: one was slain as a sin offering, and on the head of the other, Aaron laid his hands, confessing all the sins of the nation, so that it carried them away. Here we have a two-fold picture of Christ, bearing the penalty of our sins and also taking them away, so that they shall be remembered against us no more.
The second day is one step in a seven-day process. That process ends with a promise.
The sacrifices and consecration offerings must come first. Only then do the priests offer the burnt offerings and sprinkle blood on the altar for seven days. "And from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord GOD."
If Christ's sacrifice is finished, what are these offerings for? Commentators answer that their direction is reversed.
Some have felt a difficulty about 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 commemorative in character. In the old order they had no power at all apart from their reference to Christ, for the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). In the millennium they will look back to that one sacrifice for sin offered on the cross, as the sacrifices under the law of Moses pointed forward to it. They will therefore only recall to the grateful, worshipping hearts of God's people the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, which cleanses from all sin.
- Blood first. The week opens with a sin offering — bull, then goat, the animal that pictures both sin and its cure. No one can worship while sin still stands against him.
- Blood on the altar. Even the altar had to be purified. It had done no wrong; a sinful nature defiled whatever it touched.
- Blood repeated. The same cleansing runs seven full days. Only then does the altar serve for worship.
- Blood accepted. From the eighth day the burnt and peace offerings take their place. God Himself promises, "I will accept you."
- Blood remembered. These future offerings add nothing. Israel's old sacrifices pointed forward to the cross; these look back to it.
When thou hast ended purging it, thou shalt present a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish;
Ezekiel sees a great altar and hears the rules for its dedication, and verse 23 marks a turning point: once the cleansing is done, two flawless animals come to it. The word "when" carries the weight, because something had to be finished first.
This vision has never yet come true. One writer puts the scene in the future, when God's glory returns to His people.
We have already seen that it is useless to apply this description to the past return from Babylon… The present chapter is evidence enough; there has been no return of the glory. The Jews were then groaning under Gentile power. Since the destruction of the city by the Romans it applies still less. Why then should men avoid the only alternative? The fulfilment is future.
The same writer warns against using this chapter to bring back sacrifices today.
Sin-offerings, burnt-offerings, thank-offerings, all follow in due order. It is the renewal of sacrifice when the earth and Israel come under the reign of Messiah… Ritualism seeks to bring in the sacrificial system now, when we are called to act in faith of the one offering of Christ accepted in heaven. That is apostasy; that is a going back to Judaism.
It seems strange that an object of worship should need purifying. The reason lies in whom the altar represents.
Man can approach the dwelling-place of God only on the ground of sacrifice, which presents the truth of atonement and purification. So the altar stands related to the people themselves and their place with God. It stands as identified with what they are. Since they are sinful, atonement for it is needed to purify and consecrate it. In what is accomplished for it, the people see, as in an object lesson, what is accomplished for them.
Why does one offering come before the other? The answer lies in how a person comes to grasp the death of Christ.
When two birds were offered, one was looked on as a Sin Offering and the other as a Burnt Offering. This shows that it is the death of Christ in all its aspects that is for the believer's blessing. In that case the Sin Offering came first, and then the Burnt Offering. That follows the order in which the sinner realizes the value of the death of Christ. First the Sin Offering, typifying clearance; then the Burnt Offering, typifying acceptance.
The same writer applies that order to the days of dedication in this chapter.
How significant that the first thing actually offered will be a sin offering. The altar itself must be cleansed for seven days. Then on the eighth day, that day of a completely new start, the burnt offerings and peace offerings will have their proper place.
The two animals named are not interchangeable. Each carries its own picture of Christ.
There is the young bull in all the energy and power of fresh, new life, neither aged nor blemished — a type of the Perfect Servant who came only to do God's will… The ram is the symbol of devotedness even to death.
That devotedness is the ram's distinctive note, tied to the setting apart of priests.
The priests laid their hand on this ram, showing their identification with it. Then its blood went on the ear, thumb, and great toe of the priest. This showed that he now belonged completely to God, who had an absolute claim on his obedience, his service, and his walk. So the ram of consecration was the measure of full, complete devotedness to God, measured not merely by the life, but to death.
The phrase is repeated for both animals, and it is never a throwaway detail.
God makes sure that the sacrifices which speak of His Son always stress His perfection — not only free of defilement (spotless), but also "without blemish." No good trait of character was lacking in Christ, or present in less than the right measure.
These offerings come long after the cross, so they face the other way.
These sacrifices will be connected with an earthly people and an earthly temple, and will be commemorative in character. Under the old order they had no power at all apart from their reference to Christ. In the millennium they will look back to that one sacrifice for sin offered on the cross, as those under the law of Moses foreshadowed it. 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.
- Finished. The burnt offering waits until the cleansing ends. Clearance comes first, then acceptance.
- Identified. The altar was purified because it stood for a sinful people; what happened to it was their object lesson.
- Flawless. Both animals are "without blemish." Nothing good was missing in Christ.
- Devoted. The bull speaks of fresh, willing strength for God's will; the ram of surrender carried all the way to death.
- Commemorative. These later offerings look back to the cross, as the older ones looked forward. They are memorials, not merit.
and thou shalt present them before Jehovah; and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt-offering unto Jehovah.
Ezekiel sees a future temple, and this verse belongs to the ritual that sets its new altar apart. Priests bring a bull and a ram without blemish, salt them, and burn them whole for God. Why do sacrifices reappear at all after the cross, and what does a handful of salt add to them?
The rules for the altar come with a condition attached.
Ezekiel 43:7 says that the house is the throne and the footstool of Jehovah, and that unholy things must never defile it again. The prophet was then to declare that if Israel gave up their unfaithfulness, Jehovah would return to dwell there. The prophet was to show the house to Israel so that they might repent. The ordinances of the house were to be shown to them if they humbled themselves. In view of this, the prophet announces all that had to be done to cleanse and consecrate the altar, so that the regular service could go on.
The offerings follow in a fixed order, and that order belongs to a day still ahead. One writer warns against copying it now.
Sin offerings, burnt offerings, thank offerings, all follow in due order. This is sacrifice renewed, when the earth and Israel come under the reign of Messiah. He will be displayed in glory, and He will govern in righteousness and peace. When ritualism tries to bring that sacrificial system in now, it is apostasy — a turning back to Jewish ritual. For we are called to act in faith of the one offering of Christ, which God has accepted in heaven.
One writer meets the difficulty by reversing the direction of the older sacrifices; the millennium he mentions is that coming reign of Messiah.
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 commemorative. Under the old order they had no power at all except as they pointed 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 offered on the cross, just as the sacrifices under the law of Moses pointed forward to it.
Salt here is not seasoning. It has a name of its own — "the salt of the covenant of your God" — and it points to what does not fade.
Salt, as you know, is a preservative. Here it may speak to us of what is eternal, as we read in Mark 9:49: "For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt." Eternal judgment is the portion of all who die in their sins. But in the case of the sacrifice, its power and its results will endure forever. It is "the salt of the covenant of your God." In it God binds Himself, as it were, to bless us according to His own heart, on the ground of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, whose power lasts forever.
(The ESV of Mark 9:49 has only: "For everyone will be salted with fire." The longer wording comes from an older translation.)
Salt has a second meaning. Set beside what an offering must never contain, it marks a boundary.
Leaven is corruption, or sin. Honey is not allowed either, for it stands for the sweetness of nature. That can be very pleasant at times, but it cannot go into a sacrifice. Salt must — "the salt of the covenant of your God," which is the separating power of holiness.
The salted animals go up as a burnt offering, and that offering has a rule of its own.
Of some sacrifices the priest ate a part; of some, the person who brought it; but the burnt offering was "all" burned on the altar. It was for God alone. The priests could lay the wood and the fire and watch the flame rise — a high and holy privilege. But they did not eat of the sacrifice. God alone was the object of Christ, in the burnt offering aspect of His death.
The salting belongs to a seven-day sequence, and the sequence has a destination.
The sacrifices and consecration offerings must come first. Then the priests offer the burnt offerings and sprinkle blood on the altar for seven days. "From the eighth day onward the priests shall offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord Jehovah."
- Cleansed first. The altar is cleansed and consecrated before the regular service can begin, and God showed Israel these ordinances on one condition: that they humbled themselves.
- Salted second. Salt is the salt of the covenant. It speaks of what lasts forever, and of the holiness that keeps out leaven and honey.
- Wholly given third. The salted bull and ram rise as a burnt offering. Nobody eats any of it; it is for God alone.
- Accepted fourth. After seven days of cleansing comes the eighth, and with it the word, "I will accept you."
- Backward-looking throughout. These future sacrifices do not repeat the cross. One writer calls them commemorative: they look back to the one sacrifice already offered.
Seven days shalt thou offer daily a goat for a sin-offering; they shall also offer a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.
The altar Ezekiel sees in this chapter is not used straight away: a full week of sin offerings comes first. That raises the questions in this verse — why an altar needs atonement, and why blood flows again in a temple God's glory already fills.
These instructions came to Israel with a condition attached.
If they humbled themselves, they were to be shown the ordinances of the house. With that in view, the prophet announces everything to be done for cleansing and consecrating the altar, so that the regular service could be carried on.
These offerings follow a set order. Commentators read them as a real future arrangement for Israel — and warn against copying them now.
Sin offerings, burnt offerings, thank offerings — all follow in due order. This is sacrifice renewed, when the earth and Israel come under the reign of Messiah. He will be displayed in glory, and will govern in righteousness and peace. Ritualism tries to bring the sacrificial system back now that we are called to act in faith of the one offering of Christ, accepted in heaven. That is apostasy — a turn to Jewish forms. But we ought not to close our eyes to the revelation of this future day for the earth, when God sanctions priest and people, sacrifice and altar, for Israel.
The order of these offerings is itself the lesson.
How significant that the very first thing offered will be a sin offering. The altar itself must be cleansed for seven days. Then on the eighth day, the day of a completely new start, the burnt offerings and peace offerings take their proper place.
The count of seven carries its own meaning.
There are seven days of consecration; from the eighth day on, the regular services may be carried out. In the seven we have the perfect basis laid for lasting worship — worship of new creation character, in the grace of the new covenant.
Each animal named here carries its own note about Christ. So does the salt commanded with them a verse earlier.
The young bull has all the energy and power of fresh, new life, neither old nor blemished. He is a picture of the Perfect Servant who came only to do God's will. The he-goat speaks of the sinner's Substitute; the ram is the symbol of devotedness even unto death. The salt is the preserving power of holiness and the sign of the covenant; it makes everything secure, beyond any possibility of failure. Then the sprinkled blood of the salted sacrifice, the precious blood, brings about expiation and the forgiveness of sins, according to the holiness of God and the perfection of the offering.
An altar is metal and stone; it has not sinned. Yet atonement is made for it. That points to Christ, who identified Himself with His people.
So He accomplished atonement, that they might know they are identified with Him in the acceptance of the sacrifice He made. One offering perfects all who are sanctified — us now, Israel in the future, and everyone who believes. These sacrifices are the telling picture of that offering, and in the coming day they will stand as a memorial that witnesses to it for ever. Our Lord took our sins upon Himself, and He also endured the smiting by which atonement was made. Coming out from under the curse He took for our sakes, He can stand before God's glory and appear in His presence for us — just as the great altar stands before the house where the glory dwells.
Many readers stumble here. If the cross has happened, why are animals sacrificed again under the reign of Messiah? The answer given is that these offerings point backward, not forward.
Some have found it hard to accept that sacrifices will be restored. The difficulty disappears once we remember that these sacrifices belong to an earthly people and an earthly temple, and that they look back as a memorial. Under the old system they had no power at all apart from what they said about Christ, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). In the millennium 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.
- Sin first. God deals with sin before any worship begins. The sin offering opens the week and repeats every day of it.
- Atonement for the altar. The altar stands identified with a sinful people. What God does for it pictures what He does for them.
- Seven days. The repetition lays a perfect foundation. The worship that follows rests on finished atonement, not on fresh doubt.
- The eighth day. Burnt and peace offerings come only after the week of cleansing. That new start is where settled worship begins.
- Backward-looking blood. These future offerings add nothing to the cross. They remember the one sacrifice, just as the older ones pointed forward to it.
Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it, and consecrate it.
God gives Ezekiel the rules for the altar of a temple still to come, and the whole first week goes to cleansing it. Two questions follow: why would an altar need atonement, and why are animal sacrifices back at all?
The altar is not a neutral piece of furniture. It takes its character from the people who use it.
If the divine glory has found its resting-place in this holy shrine, whose plan and order express the divine character, then the altar and its service are essential. Without them the people cannot draw near in their place, or enjoy the blessings of acceptance and fellowship with that glory. Man can only approach the dwelling-place of God on the ground of sacrifice, which presents the truth of atonement and purification. So the altar is bound up with the people themselves and their place with God. It stands as identified with what they are. They are sinful, so it needs atonement to purify and consecrate it. In what is done for it, the people see, as in an object lesson, what is done for them.
The Hebrew behind "consecrate it" is a picture drawn from the hands of the priests.
The words mostly used for "to consecrate" are mala yad, which mean "to fill the hand" (as often given in the margin). It doubtless refers to the priests taking portions of the ram into their hands and waving them before Jehovah. Their hands being filled with offerings suited their character as priests to God.
The order matters. So does the day on which it changes.
How significant that the first thing actually offered will be a sin offering. The altar itself must be cleansed for seven days. Then comes the eighth day, that day of an entirely new start, when the burnt offerings and peace offerings will have their proper place.
The eighth day marks a new start elsewhere in Scripture too:
EIGHT. A new departure outside of, but connected with, creation-order: so, in resurrection. Circumcision was on the eighth day, when a new communion began. Eight people were saved in the ark, to begin a new world.
This altar belongs to a coming day, not to ours. One writer points to the priests named for its service, and draws a sharp line about the present.
This is decisive. We hear not only of priests, but of these as Levites, and of the line of Zadok, entrusted with the duties of the altar. Sin offerings, burnt offerings, thank offerings, all follow in due order. This is the renewal of sacrifice, when the earth and Israel come under the reign of Messiah. He will be displayed in glory, governing in righteousness and peace. Ritualism, which tries to bring the sacrificial system in now, is apostasy — a turning back to Jewish forms. We are called instead to act in faith of the one offering of Christ, accepted in heaven. But we should not close our eyes to what God reveals about this future day for the earth, when He sanctions priest and people, sacrifice and altar, for Israel.
If Christ's death is the one sacrifice for sin, a revived sin offering sounds like a step backwards. These offerings, though, face the opposite direction from the old ones.
Some have felt a difficulty about sacrifices being restored. The difficulty vanishes when we remember what these sacrifices are. They will belong to an earthly people and an earthly temple, and they will be commemorative in character. In the old dispensation they had no value at all apart from their reference to Christ... In the millennium they will look back to that one sacrifice for sin offered on the cross, just as the sacrifices under the law of Moses foreshadowed it.
The cleansed altar also pictures something about Christ and His people.
In His grace He identified Himself with them. So what they were in themselves made it necessary for Him to be the sacrifice. He bore in their place the very judgment they deserved. So He accomplished atonement. Now they can know they are identified with Him, accepted in the sacrifice He made... He came out from under the curse which He took for our sakes. So He can stand before God's glory and appear in His presence for us — even, may we say, as the great altar stands before the house where the glory dwells.
- Cleansed — The altar shares the character of the people who use it. They are sinful, so it needs atonement before it can serve them.
- Filled — "Consecrate" means "to fill the hand": hands full of the offering mark out those who serve God as priests.
- Ordered — The sin offering comes first, for seven full days. On the eighth day, a day of new beginnings, the burnt and peace offerings take their place.
- Pictured — Christ identified Himself with a sinful people, bore their judgment, and now stands before God's glory for them, as the altar stands before the house.
- Backward-looking — These future offerings commemorate the one sacrifice of the cross; to revive a sacrificial system now is to reverse that direction.
And when these days are ended, it shall be that upon the eighth day and onwards the priests shall offer your burnt-offerings upon the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Ezekiel 43:27 ends a week of ceremonies that cleanse the great altar in the temple Ezekiel is shown, and on the eighth day the people's own offerings begin. Why do animal sacrifices return at all, and what does God mean when He promises to accept them?
One commentator reads these details as settling the timing, and warns against copying them now:
This is decisive. We hear not only of the priests, but of them as Levites; and not only that, but of the line of Zadok, entrusted with the duties of the altar. Sin offerings, burnt offerings, thank offerings, all follow in due order. This is sacrifice renewed, when the earth and Israel come under the reign of Messiah, displayed in glory and governing in righteousness and peace. Ritualism, which tries to bring in the sacrificial system today, is apostasy — a going back to Jewish ritual — now that we are called to act in faith of the one offering of Christ, accepted in heaven.
The order matters here, and so does the number:
How significant that the first thing offered will be a sin offering. The altar itself must be cleansed for seven days. Then on the eighth day — that day of a completely new start — the burnt offerings and peace offerings will have their proper place.
Why would an altar need atonement made for it?
Man can come to God's dwelling-place only on the ground of a sacrifice that presents the truth of atonement and purification. So the altar is tied to the people themselves and to their place with God. It stands identified with what they are; and since they are sinful, atonement must be made for it, to purify and set it apart. In what is done for the altar, the people see, as in an object lesson, what is done for them.
The burnt offering carries the idea of acceptance in its own name:
What is the burnt offering? Literally, "the offering that ascends," or goes up to God. As we find here, it is a sweet savour to Him. We shall find other offerings that are a sweet savour to God, such as the grain offering and the peace offering, yet this is the great and basic one. "Sweet savour" is a poor rendering of the term: it properly means, as the margin says, "savour of rest," of contentment and delight. That fits what is said to be the point of the burnt offering in a verse the older translation obscures. "He shall offer it of his own voluntary will" (Lev. 1:3, older wording) should be, "He shall offer it for his acceptance" — and this is the key note of the burnt offering.
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Christ's one sacrifice has already been offered, so why sacrifice again? One writer holds to what the text plainly says:
Nothing said before this implies that animal sacrifices stop. According to Ezekiel they will be offered even in millennial days (Ezek. 43:18-28; Ezek. 45:15-25). If this does not fit our thoughts, we must always be ready to correct our thoughts by Scripture... It will be good in the Lord's sight to have this commemorative witness of the way in which the joy of His favour can be reached.
Another writer points to the direction these offerings face:
Under the old order they had no power at all except as they pointed to Christ, for it was not possible 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 the sacrifices under the law of Moses pointed forward to it.
What the altar pictures reaches beyond a future nation:
In His grace He identified Himself with them. So what they were in themselves made it necessary for Him to be the sacrifice, bearing in their place the very judgment they deserved. In this way He made atonement, so that they might know they are identified with Him in the acceptance of the sacrifice He made. These sacrifices are the telling picture of that one offering which makes perfect all who are sanctified — us now, Israel in the future, and everyone who believes.
- Cleansed — God cleanses the altar first, because it stands for the sinful people who will use it. What happens to it is their object lesson.
- Completed — seven days finish the work. The eighth day is a fresh start, and only then do the people's own offerings take their place.
- Accepted — the burnt offering is brought for acceptance, so God's closing word is what the whole week was building toward.
- Commemorative — these future sacrifices look back to the cross. The older ones looked forward. Neither had value apart from Christ.
- Confirmed — when the picture does not fit our thoughts, we correct our thoughts by Scripture, not Scripture by our thoughts.