Ezekiel 44:4

It is clearly the kingdom. The prince shall be there, and the glory of the Lord too. No approach to it has yet been seen, only a type had once been in the days of Solomon. Greater things are yet in store for Israel.

When the Spirit carried the prophet into the inner court of the temple, he found that the glory of the Lord filled the house. Nothing like this happened when the Jewish remnant returned from exile and entered the temple. The old men had seen Solomon's temple and knew its glory. When they saw the foundation of the second temple, they wept (Ezra 3:12). At its dedication no glory returned, no cloud appeared, no shining presence filled the house. Nor is it a spiritual glory, the glory of the church, as so many seem to believe.

God has always filled His house with glory. He did the tabernacle erected in the wilderness (Ex. 40), the temple in the kingdom (2 Chr. 5:14), the church at Pentecost (Acts 2); and the last house to be raised on earth will be no exception. But what is the "glory"? It is the Lord's own presence — the sign of which was the cloud, both in the tabernacle and Solomon's temple... For the glory of the Lord is the display of what He is, whether seen with the eye or seen by faith. It is the sum and excellence of all His attributes. So He fills His house with the display of all the perfections of His own spiritual being.

The prophet is now brought before the House by way of the north gate. This was the gate of sacrifice, as we have seen. Is not this significant? For only by the way of sacrifice can we be brought before the glory of God. This he beholds filling the House, and bows low in worship. Then the LORD reveals to him the ordinances that follow, and after that he is taken to see other parts of the sacred enclosure. How suggestive the order — sacrifice, worship, revelation.

These ordinances of service and worship are given in the light of the glory, and close to the place where the sacrifices are made. Three important truths come together here. There is the glory of God, who is the Holy One. There is the work of redemption, shown in the sacrifices. And there are the holy ways that should mark God's people. Peter sets before us God's holy character and government. He tells us to walk in holiness and fear, since Christ's precious blood has redeemed us (1 Peter 1:14-19). Redeeming love in Christ has fully answered the light which God is — the light that searches out all we are and all we have done. So we who believe are made fit for the portion of the saints in light. Accepted by God, we may enter the holiest place of all by the blood of Jesus.

This chapter to the end (Ezek. 44:4-31) deals with the ordinances of the house and the priesthood. The Lord rebukes the sins of the past that touched His sanctuary. There, above every other place on earth, His holiness should have been upheld. He recounts the past failures of the Levites and the priesthood as a solemn warning for the future.