Ezekiel 46 Study Notes: The Prince at Worship and the Land
God gives rules for worship in Ezekiel’s temple vision, with the prince bowing at the inner east gate on Sabbath and New Moon days and worshipers crossing the court at the feasts. The prince may not seize the people’s land, and the guide shows Ezekiel where the sacrifices are cooked.
General
True or False: During the set feasts, a worshiper who came in through the north gate was to leave by that same north gate.
Answer: False
This is false. When the people gathered to worship at the set feasts, anyone entering through the north gate had to leave through the south one, and anyone entering through the south had to leave through the north. No one was to turn back and leave through the gate he had used to come in (46:9). The prince did not stand apart from the crowd: he went in when the people went in and went out when they went out (46:10). No reason is stated for the rule, though many readers have seen in it a simple picture of worshipers who keep moving forward after meeting with God rather than turning back. The scene recalls Israel’s pilgrim feasts, when God’s people went up together to appear before Him (Deuteronomy 16:16) and were glad to go to His house in joyful procession (Psalm 122:1; Psalm 42:4).
- Ezekiel 46:9 (BSB)“When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship must go out by the south gate, and whoever enters by the south gate must go out by the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which he entered, but each must go out by the opposite gate.”At the set feasts, those entering by one side gate must leave by the gate on the opposite side.
- Ezekiel 46:10 (BSB)“When the people enter, the prince shall go in with them, and when they leave, he shall leave.”The prince goes in and out together with the worshiping people.
- Deuteronomy 16:16 (BSB)“Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.”The law called all Israel’s men to come before the LORD at the three great yearly feasts.
- Psalm 122:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.””A worshiper rejoices at the call to go up together to the LORD’s house.
- Psalm 42:4 (BSB)“These things come to mind as I pour out my soul: how I walked with the multitude, leading the festive procession to the house of God with shouts of joy and praise.”The psalmist remembers walking with the crowd in festal procession to God’s house.
Theological
True or False: According to 46:9, a worshiper who entered the court through the north gate at the set feasts was to exit through that same north gate.
Answer: False
This is false. At the set feasts the flow of worshipers runs straight through the court: those entering through the north gate exit through the south, those entering through the south exit through the north, and no one returns by the gate of entry (46:9). The prince enters and exits together with the people rather than apart from them (46:10). No reason is stated for the rule, though many readers have seen in it a picture of worshipers who go on from God’s presence without turning back. The scene renews the pattern of Israel’s pilgrim feasts, when Israel’s men gathered at the LORD’s chosen place for the three great yearly feasts (Deuteronomy 16:16) and went up to His house together with gladness (Psalm 122:1; Psalm 42:4).
- Ezekiel 46:9 (BSB)“When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship must go out by the south gate, and whoever enters by the south gate must go out by the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which he entered, but each must go out by the opposite gate.”At the set feasts, those entering by one side gate must leave by the gate on the opposite side.
- Ezekiel 46:10 (BSB)“When the people enter, the prince shall go in with them, and when they leave, he shall leave.”The prince goes in and out together with the worshiping people.
- Deuteronomy 16:16 (BSB)“Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.”The law called all Israel’s men to come before the LORD at the three great yearly feasts.
- Psalm 122:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.””A worshiper rejoices at the call to go up together to the LORD’s house.
- Psalm 42:4 (BSB)“These things come to mind as I pour out my soul: how I walked with the multitude, leading the festive procession to the house of God with shouts of joy and praise.”The psalmist remembers walking with the crowd in festal procession to God’s house.
General
Why must the prince give his sons their inheritance only out of his own land (46:18)?
Answer: So no one among God’s people would be driven off their land
The LORD set limits on the prince’s land. Land he gave a son stayed in that son’s family, but a gift to a servant returned to the prince when the appointed year of freedom came (46:16-17). That release echoes the Jubilee law, the fiftieth year, when liberty was proclaimed and property went back to its family (Leviticus 25:10). Above all, the prince was forbidden to seize the people’s inheritance by forcing them off their land; he had to give his sons their share out of what was his, so that no family among God’s people would be uprooted from its land (46:18). Israel’s rulers had done the opposite: God had already told the princes to stop their violence and stop driving His people off their land (45:8-9), and the prophets condemned those who seized others’ fields (Micah 2:2). The land was the LORD’s, given to His people as their inheritance (Leviticus 25:23), and the prince in the vision was to protect, not prey on, their share in it.
- Ezekiel 46:16-17 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons as an inheritance, it will belong to his descendants. It will become their property by inheritance. But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to that servant until the year of freedom; then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs only to his sons; it shall be theirs.”Land the prince gives a son stays in that son’s line; land given to a servant goes back to the prince in the year of freedom.
- Ezekiel 46:18 (BSB)“The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people by evicting them from their property. He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people will be displaced from his property.’””The prince may not seize the people’s inheritance; his sons’ share must come from his own land.
- Ezekiel 45:8-9 (BSB)“This land will be his possession in Israel. And My princes will no longer oppress My people, but will give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes. For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Enough, O princes of Israel! Cease your violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing My people, declares the Lord GOD.’”God had already ordered Israel’s rulers to end their violence and stop pushing His people off their land.
- Leviticus 25:10 (BSB)“So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.”In the Jubilee, the fiftieth year, liberty was proclaimed and each Israelite went back to his family land and clan.
- Micah 2:2 (BSB)“They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.”Micah condemned the powerful who coveted and seized other men’s fields and inheritances.
- Leviticus 25:23 (BSB)“The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.”Because the land belonged to the LORD, it was not to be sold off for good.
Theological
According to 46:18, why is the prince required to endow his sons solely from his own holding?
Answer: So no one among God’s people would be driven off their land
The ordinance limits the prince’s power over land. Gifts of land to his sons pass permanently to their line, while gifts to a servant return to him when the appointed year of freedom arrives (46:16-17), a provision that echoes the Jubilee, the fiftieth year of proclaimed liberty in which property returned to its family (Leviticus 25:10). He may not enrich his house by evicting the people from their inheritance; his sons must be provided for from his own portion, so that not one of God’s people is uprooted from his holding (46:18). This answers the abuses already condemned in 45:8-9, where Israel’s princes are ordered to cease violence and dispossession, and the land-grabbing Micah denounced (Micah 2:2). Because the land belongs to the LORD and His people hold it as His tenants (Leviticus 25:23), the future ruler is bound to guard the people’s inheritance rather than consume it.
- Ezekiel 46:16-17 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons as an inheritance, it will belong to his descendants. It will become their property by inheritance. But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to that servant until the year of freedom; then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs only to his sons; it shall be theirs.”Land the prince gives a son stays in that son’s line; land given to a servant goes back to the prince in the year of freedom.
- Ezekiel 46:18 (BSB)“The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people by evicting them from their property. He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people will be displaced from his property.’””The prince may not seize the people’s inheritance; his sons’ share must come from his own land.
- Ezekiel 45:8-9 (BSB)“This land will be his possession in Israel. And My princes will no longer oppress My people, but will give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes. For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Enough, O princes of Israel! Cease your violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing My people, declares the Lord GOD.’”God had already ordered Israel’s rulers to end their violence and stop pushing His people off their land.
- Leviticus 25:10 (BSB)“So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.”In the Jubilee, the fiftieth year, liberty was proclaimed and each Israelite went back to his family land and clan.
- Micah 2:2 (BSB)“They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.”Micah condemned the powerful who coveted and seized other men’s fields and inheritances.
- Leviticus 25:23 (BSB)“The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.”Because the land belonged to the LORD, it was not to be sold off for good.
General
On Sabbath and New Moon days, what was the prince to do at the inner court’s east gate (46:1-3)?
Answer: Bow down to worship at the gate as priests made his offerings
The inner court’s east gate stayed shut on the six working days but was opened on the Sabbath and at each New Moon, the start of a new month (46:1). The prince, the ruler of God’s people in Ezekiel’s vision, came in through the gate’s porch and stood by its doorpost while the priests sacrificed his offerings. He bowed down at the doorway in worship and then went out (46:2), and the ordinary people also worshiped the LORD at that gateway’s entrance (46:3). The prince supplied what was offered at the feasts (45:17), but he did not do the priests’ work himself. Centuries earlier King Uzziah had been rebuked for trying to burn incense, a task that belonged only to the priests (2 Chronicles 26:18). Here the ruler is first of all a worshiper who bows before the LORD along with his people, and Isaiah too pictures worshipers coming before the LORD Sabbath after Sabbath and month after month (Isaiah 66:23).
- Ezekiel 46:1 (BSB)““This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘The gate of the inner court that faces east must be kept shut during the six days of work, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened.”The inner east gate stays shut on working days but is opened on the Sabbath and at the New Moon.
- Ezekiel 46:2-3 (BSB)“The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico of the gateway and stand by the gatepost, while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and peace offerings. He is to bow in worship at the threshold of the gate and then depart, but the gate must not be shut until evening. On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people of the land are also to bow in worship before the LORD at the entrance to that gateway.”The prince stands by the gatepost and bows at the threshold while the priests present his offerings; the people bow at the entrance too.
- Ezekiel 45:17 (BSB)“And it shall be the prince’s part to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—for all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.”The prince is charged with supplying the offerings for the appointed feasts and holy days.
- 2 Chronicles 26:18 (BSB)“They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the LORD. Only the priests, the descendants of Aaron, are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully; you will not receive honor from the LORD God.””When King Uzziah tried to burn incense, the priests told him that this task belonged only to Aaron’s descendants.
- Isaiah 66:23 (BSB)“From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.”Isaiah foresees all mankind coming to worship the LORD at every New Moon and every Sabbath.
Theological
According to 46:1-3, what is the prince’s role when the inner east gate is opened on the Sabbath and at the New Moon?
Answer: Bow down to worship at the gate as priests made his offerings
The inner east gate, closed through the six working days, is opened on the Sabbath and at the New Moon (46:1). The prince enters by way of its porch and takes his place at the doorpost while the priests offer his sacrifices; he prostrates himself at the threshold and withdraws, and the common people worship at the gate’s entrance (46:2-3). His office is to furnish the offerings for the appointed times (45:17), not to perform priestly ministry; the line Uzziah crossed when he presumed to burn incense remains in place (2 Chronicles 26:18). The ruler of the restored people stands under God, not over His worship: he is the chief worshiper among a worshiping people, a scene in keeping with Isaiah’s picture of worship rising before the LORD from Sabbath to Sabbath and New Moon to New Moon (Isaiah 66:23).
- Ezekiel 46:1 (BSB)““This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘The gate of the inner court that faces east must be kept shut during the six days of work, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened.”The inner east gate stays shut on working days but is opened on the Sabbath and at the New Moon.
- Ezekiel 46:2-3 (BSB)“The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico of the gateway and stand by the gatepost, while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and peace offerings. He is to bow in worship at the threshold of the gate and then depart, but the gate must not be shut until evening. On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people of the land are also to bow in worship before the LORD at the entrance to that gateway.”The prince stands by the gatepost and bows at the threshold while the priests present his offerings; the people bow at the entrance too.
- Ezekiel 45:17 (BSB)“And it shall be the prince’s part to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—for all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.”The prince is charged with supplying the offerings for the appointed feasts and holy days.
- 2 Chronicles 26:18 (BSB)“They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the LORD. Only the priests, the descendants of Aaron, are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully; you will not receive honor from the LORD God.””When King Uzziah tried to burn incense, the priests told him that this task belonged only to Aaron’s descendants.
- Isaiah 66:23 (BSB)“From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.”Isaiah foresees all mankind coming to worship the LORD at every New Moon and every Sabbath.
General
Why were the priests to cook the guilt, sin, and grain offerings in their own holy rooms rather than in the court where the people gathered (46:20)?
Answer: So that the holiness of these offerings would not pass to the people
The guide showed Ezekiel a place at the western end of the priests’ holy rooms. There the priests were to boil the guilt and sin offerings and bake the grain offerings, so that these most holy things would not be carried out among the people and pass their holiness on to them (46:19-20). The law of Moses taught the same thing: anything touching the flesh of a sin offering became holy, that is, set apart for God (Leviticus 6:27). The people were not left out of worship, though. The guide then showed Ezekiel kitchens in the corners of the court where the people gathered, where those serving at the temple would cook the sacrifices the people brought (46:21-24). So the vision keeps a clear line between what is most holy, the priests’ portions, and what is for common use, the people’s own sacrificial meals. Both belong to worship: the law had told Israel’s households to eat their offerings and rejoice in the LORD’s presence (Deuteronomy 12:7).
- Ezekiel 46:19-20 (BSB)“Then the man brought me through the entrance at the side of the gate into the holy chambers facing north, which belonged to the priests, and he showed me a place there at the far western end and said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them into the outer court and transmit holiness to the people.””The priests are to prepare the most holy offerings in their own chambers so that their holiness is not passed to the people.
- Ezekiel 46:24 (BSB)“And he said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple will cook the sacrifices offered by the people.””The guide explains that the corner courts are where temple servants prepare the sacrifices the people bring.
- Leviticus 6:27 (BSB)“Anything that touches its flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in a holy place.”The law of the sin offering taught that whatever touched its meat was made holy.
- Deuteronomy 12:7 (BSB)“There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.”Israel’s families were to share their offerings joyfully before the LORD.
Theological
According to 46:20, why must the priests prepare the guilt, sin, and grain offerings within their own chambers rather than among the people?
Answer: So that the holiness of these offerings would not pass to the people
The priests’ most holy portions, the guilt and sin offerings and the grain offerings, are boiled and baked at the western end of the priestly chambers so that they are not carried out among the people to communicate holiness to them (46:19-20), in keeping with the Mosaic teaching that contact with the sin offering’s flesh conveys holiness (Leviticus 6:27). The vision guards the boundary between the most holy and the common. Yet the worshipers are not shut out: in the corners of the court where the people assemble, those who serve at the temple cook the people’s own sacrifices (46:21-24), providing for the sacrificial meals in which the covenant people eat and rejoice before the LORD (Deuteronomy 12:7). Holiness is carefully ordered, and fellowship with God is still extended to His people.
- Ezekiel 46:19-20 (BSB)“Then the man brought me through the entrance at the side of the gate into the holy chambers facing north, which belonged to the priests, and he showed me a place there at the far western end and said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them into the outer court and transmit holiness to the people.””The priests are to prepare the most holy offerings in their own chambers so that their holiness is not passed to the people.
- Ezekiel 46:24 (BSB)“And he said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple will cook the sacrifices offered by the people.””The guide explains that the corner courts are where temple servants prepare the sacrifices the people bring.
- Leviticus 6:27 (BSB)“Anything that touches its flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in a holy place.”The law of the sin offering taught that whatever touched its meat was made holy.
- Deuteronomy 12:7 (BSB)“There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.”Israel’s families were to share their offerings joyfully before the LORD.