Ezekiel 46:2

46:1-24 The ordinances of worship for the prince and for the people, are here described, and the gifts the prince may bestow on his sons and servants. Our Lord has directed us to do many duties, but he has also left many things to our choice, that those who delight in his commandments may abound therein to his glory, without entangling their own consciences, or prescribing rules unfit for others; but we must never omit our daily worship, nor neglect to apply the sacrifice of the Lamb of God to our souls, for pardon, peace, and salvation.

And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without,.... That is, by the way of the porch of the eastern gate, even the outermost gate of the porch; for, as every gate had a porch, so every porch had two gates, one at one end, and the other at the other; now this was the outermost gate of the porch, which looked to the outward court, and not that which led into the inner: and shall stand by the post of the gate; this denotes the presence of Christ, the Prince with his people waiting at Wisdom's gate, and watching at the posts of her door. The allusion seems to be to the king's pillar in the temple, where he used to stand, 2 Chronicles 23:13. Some understand this of Christ's incarnation, of his entrance into the world, and his standing before his Father, and praying for his people, as he did in the garden, and a little before his death, as recorded John 17:1. and the priests shall prepare his burnt offerings, and his peace offerings; that is, shall offer them.

Ezekiel 46:2-3 . The prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without — The prince shall go through the outer gate of that court, and so pass to the inner gate, where he may see the whole service performed at the altar. And shall stand by the post of the gate — That is, by the entrance of the gate, where there was a seat prepared for him: see note on Ezekiel 44:2 . And the priests shall prepare his burnt-offering — Or, offer his burnt-offering, as the original word often signifies. And he shall worship at the threshold of the gate — By bowing his head, bowing down his face to the ground, or falling down upon the ground, as the posture of divine worship is elsewhere described. But the gate shall not be shut until the evening — Because the people were to pay their solemn worship in the same place, as is prescribed in the following verse. Likewise the people shall worship at the door of this gate — Here the inner porch of the east gate is assigned for their station, who came to present themselves before the Lord upon the solemn festivals, and they were to come no further into the inner court.

(2) Stand by the post of the gate.— The prince shall enter the sanctuary by the east gate of the outer court, pass through that court to the inner gate, and “worship at the threshold of the gate” immediately adjoining the inner court, while the priests make ready his sacrifices. But he is not to enter the inner court, or to assume any priestly functions. Afterwards he is to go forth by the same way ( Ezekiel 46:8 , and Ezekiel 44:3 ), and the gate stands open until evening, though no one else is to enter thereby.

Verse 2. - The reason for the opening of this inner east gate should be that the prince might enter it as far as its threshold, and stand there worshipping by the posts of the gate, while his burnt offerings and his peace offerings were being prepared by the priests, who, rather than the prince, were the proper ministers for conducting the sacrificial ceremony. The prince should reach his station at the threshold of the inner gate, by the way of the porch of that (or, the) gate without ; but whether this signified that he should pass through the eastern gate of the outer court, and so advance towards the inner east gate, as Ewald, Keil, Kliefoth, and Plumptre assume, or, as Hengstenberg, Schroder, and Smend suppose, that he should enter the inner gate by the way of the porch of the gate, i.e. from the outside, from the outer court into which he had previously entered through either the north or the south outer gates, cannot be decided.

In favor of the former may be urged the consideration that it seems more natural to apply מִהוּצ to the outer gate than to the outer court, since no, one could enter the inner gate except from the outer court, unless he were already in the inner court; but in favor of the latter is (1) the stringent character of the language in Ezekiel 44:1-3 , which expressly declares that the outer east gate should not be opened, and that no man should enter in by it , thus scarcely admitting of an exception; and (2) the statement in vers. 9, 10 of the present chapter, that in the "appointed feasts" the prince and the people alike should enter the outer court either by the north or the south gate, since, if any of these "feasts" fell upon a sabbath, this regulation would not be practicable, if the prince and the people were required to enter by different doors. The question, however, in itself is immaterial. The points of importance are that the prince should worship in the porch of the inner gate, and that, on finishing his worship, he should retire, and that the gate should not be shut; until the evening. Ezekiel 46:2

2 . porch of that gate without ] porch of the gate without. It is difficult to decide whether “without” describes porch or gate. If porch, then the porch of the inner gate is meant, which lay “without,” i.e. towards the outer court ( Ezekiel 40:31 ; Ezekiel 40:34 ; Ezekiel 40:37 ). If “without” refers to gate, then the porch of the outer gate is meant. In the latter case the prince would cross the outer court from the porch of the outer gate and enter the inner gate, cf. Ezekiel 44:3 . Neither is it certain whether the “posts” and “threshold” are those at the outer end of the inner gate, or those at the end opening into the inner court. The technical “threshold” lay at the inner end, inasmuch as the inner gate was the outer gate reversed ( Ezekiel 40:6 ). It is possible that the prince was allowed to enter the inner gateway and advance to the inner end of it so as to have a full view of the operations of the priests at the altar, without, however, being permitted to set his foot in the inner court. In this case “porch” would be that of the inner gate (as A.V.).

And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.

In the time of Solomon, priest, king, and people each took his due part in the temple-service. Of the later kings some forsook Yahweh for false gods, some encroached upon the prerogative of the priest. Now all should be set right. The prince occupies a position analogous to that of Solomon 2 Chronicles 6:12-13 , standing in front of the porch of the eastern gate of the inner court, and at the head of his people to lead their worship, while the priests are sacrificing before him.

The prince must come in at the gate which is between the court of the Jews and the court of the priests, which is here called the gate without, or the outer gate of that court, and so go up to the gate within, which leads into the inmost court, and rose by ten, or twelve, or fifteen stairs, say some. While this solemn service was acting to make atonement for the prince, or to offer sacrifices of peace.offerings for himself, he is directed to stand before the Lord; in other cases he might sit: the greatest should revere that God whose mercy they need and seek. By the post; one of the inward posts, where he might best see the sacrifice offered up, but may not go into the court; none might go in but such as were, by God’s appointment, to minister before him. The priests shall prepare: Ezekiel 46:22-24 , it is said the prince shall prepare ; here the priests must prepare; but these places speak of different preparations: the prince prepared by buying, or bringing of his own the best for sacrifice; the priest prepared by receiving, bringing the sacrifice to the altar, slaying and disposing of all things according to the rule. The householder prepares, so doth his cook prepare the feast, so that each prepares what is proper to him; and so it is here, the prince prepares, but doth not sacrifice, the priest prepares, but doth not buy, or bring the sacrifices.

He shall worship; he shall bow (as the Hebrew) himself: it is a praying posture, Exodus 12:27 , in which duty the prince, as all others, are to attend on God, while the expiatory sacrifice is offering, while their reconciliation is to be made; and in which posture the prince is to be all the while the priest is offering, 2 Chronicles 29:29 . At the threshold: here he took his standing in the beginning of the service, here he is when it is finished; at the inner threshold of the gate, where his eye might see enough; if his understanding were enlightened with knowledge of these mysteries, he need not approach nearer to God than his faith could now carry him while at the threshold. Then he shall go forth; not stay to gaze or talk; but as he came to worship, so having worshipped he must return. Until the evening; till all the sacrifices were offered, and the offerers reconciled; now each offerer was to bring his offering to this gate, and there give it to the priest, and there lay his hands oil the head of the sacrifice, Leviticus 1:3,4 .

2. The prince is to go through the east gate without (open on the Sabbath only, to mark its peculiar sanctity) to the entrance of the gate of the inner court; he is to go no further, but "stand by the post" (compare 1Ki 8:14, 22, Solomon standing before the altar of the Lord in the presence of the congregation; also 2Ki 11:14; 23:3, "by a pillar": the customary place), the court within belonging exclusively to the priests. There, as representative of the people, in a peculiarly near relation to God, he is to present his offerings to Jehovah, while at a greater distance, the people are to stand worshipping at the outer gate of the same entrance. The offerings on Sabbaths are larger than those of the Mosaic law, to imply that the worship of God is to be conducted by the prince and people in a more munificent spirit of self-sacrificing liberality than formerly.