---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible"
author: "Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown"
languages: [en]
shelf: "Commentaries"
section: 479 of 927
url: https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/479/
cite: "Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, section 479. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/479/"
---

# Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

*Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown*

The Victorian standard commentary, critical and practical, from Genesis to Revelation.

## 479. Ezekiel · 40 of 41

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/479/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/479/#p-N

### Chapter 44

### Eze 44:1-31. Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests

[¶2] 2. shut ... not be opened--([Job 12:14]; [Is 22:22]; [Re 3:7]). "Shut" to the people ([Ex 19:21], ), but open to "the prince" ([Eze 44:3]), he holding the place of God in political concerns, as the priests do in spiritual. As a mark of respect to an Eastern monarch, the gate by which he enters is thenceforth shut to all other persons (compare [Ex 19:24]).

[¶3] 3. the prince--not King Messiah, as He never would offer a burnt offering for Himself, as the prince is to do ([Eze 46:4]). The prince must mean the civil ruler under Messiah. His connection with the east gate (by which the Lord had returned to His temple) implies, that, as ruling under God, he is to stand in a place of peculiar nearness to God. He represents Messiah, who entered heaven, the true sanctuary, by a way that none other could, namely, by His own holiness; all others must enter as sinners by faith in His blood, through grace.

[¶4] eat bread before the Lord--a custom connected with sacrifices ([Ge 31:54]; [Ex 18:12]; ; [1Co 10:18]).

[¶5] 4-6. Directions as to the priests. Their acts of desecration are attributed to "the house of Israel" ([Eze 44:6], ), as the sins of the priesthood and of the people acted and reacted on one another; "like people, like priest" ([Jr 5:31]; [Ho 4:9]).

[¶6] 7. uncircumcised in heart--Israelites circumcised outwardly, but wanting the true circumcision of the heart ([De 10:16]; [Ac 7:51]).

[¶7] uncircumcised in flesh--not having even the outward badge of the covenant-people.

[¶8] 8. keepers ... for yourselves--such as you yourselves thought fit, not such as I approve of. Or else, "Ye have not yourselves kept the charge of My holy things, but have set others as keepers of My charge in My sanctuary for yourselves" [Maurer].

[¶9] 10-11. Levites ... shall ... bear--namely, the punishment of

[¶10] their iniquity ... Yet they shall be ministers--So Mark, a Levite, nephew of Barnabas ([Ac 4:36]), was punished by Paul for losing an opportunity of bearing the cross of Christ, and yet was afterwards admitted into his friendship again, and showed his zeal ([Ac 13:13]; ; [Col 4:10]; [2Ti 4:11]). One may be a believer, and that too in a distinguished place, and yet lose some special honor--be acknowledged as pious, yet be excluded from some dignity [Bengel].

[¶11] charge at the gates--Better to be "a doorkeeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness" ([Psa 84:10]). Though standing as a mere doorkeeper, it is in the house of God, which hath foundations: whereas he who dwells with the wicked, dwells in but shifting tents.

[¶12] 15. Zadok--The priests of the line of Ithamar were to be discharged from ministrations in the temple, because of their corruptions, following in the steps of Eli's sons, against whom the same denunciation was uttered ([1Sa 2:32], 35). Zadok, according to his name (which means "righteous") and his line, were to succeed ([1Ki 2:35]; [1Ch 24:3]), as they did not take part in the general apostasy to the same degree, and perhaps [Fairbairn] the prophet, referring to their original state, speaks of them as they appeared when first chosen to the office.

[¶13] 17. linen--symbolical of purity. Wool soon induces perspiration in the sultry East and so becomes uncleanly.

[¶14] 18. bonnets--turbans.

[¶15] 19. not sanctify the people with their garments--namely, those peculiarly priestly vestments in which they ministered in the sanctuary.

[¶16] 20. Neither ... shave ... heads--as mourners do ([Le 21:1-5]). The worshippers of the Egyptian idols Serapis and Isis shaved their heads; another reason why Jehovah's priests are not to do so.

[¶17] nor suffer ... locks to grow long--as the luxurious, barbarians, and soldiers in warfare did [Jerome].

[¶18] 21. Neither ... wine--lest the holy enthusiasm of their devotion should be mistaken for inebriation, as in Peter's case ([Ac 2:13], 15, 18).

[¶19] 28. I am their inheritance--([Nu 18:20]; [De 10:9]; ; [Jos 13:14], ).

[¶20] 30. give ... priest the first ... that he may cause the blessing to rest--([Pr 3:9], ; Mal 3:10).

### Chapter 45

### Eze 45:1-25. Allotment of the Land for the Sanctuary, the City, and the Prince

[¶23] 1. offer an oblation--from a Hebrew root to "heave" or "raise"; when anything was offered to God, the offerer raised the hand. The special territorial division for the tribes is given in the forty-seventh and forty-eighth chapters. Only Jehovah's portion is here subdivided into its three parts: (1) that for the sanctuary ([Eze 45:2], ); (2) that for the priests ([Eze 45:4]); () that for the Levites ([Eze 45:5]). Compare [Eze 48:8-13].

[¶24] five and twenty thousand reeds, &c.--So English Version rightly fills the ellipsis (compare Note, see on [Eze 42:16]). Hence "cubits" are mentioned in [Eze 45:2], not here, implying that there alone cubits are meant. Taking each reed at twelve feet, the area of the whole would be a square of sixty miles on each side. The whole forming a square betokens the settled stability of the community and the harmony of all classes. "An holy portion of the land" ([Eze 45:1]) comprised the whole length, and only two-fifths of the breadth. The outer territory in its distribution harmonizes with the inner and more sacred arrangements of the sanctuary. No room is to be given for oppression (see [Eze 45:8]), all having ample provision made for their wants and comforts. All will mutually co-operate without constraint or contention.

[¶25] 7. The prince's possession is to consist of two halves, one on the west, the other on the east, of the sacred territory. The prince, as head of the holy community, stands in closest connection with the sanctuary; his possession, therefore, on both sides must adjoin that which was peculiarly the Lord's [Fairbairn].

[¶26] 12. The standard weights were lost when the Chaldeans destroyed the temple. The threefold enumeration of shekels (twenty, twenty-five, fifteen) probably refers to coins of different value, representing respectively so many shekels, the three collectively making up a maneh. By weighing these together against the maneh, a test was afforded whether they severally had their proper weight: sixty shekels in all, containing one coin a fourth of the whole (fifteen shekels), another a third (twenty shekels), another a third and a twelfth (twenty-five shekels) [Menochius]. The Septuagint reads, "fifty shekels shall be your maneh."

[¶27] 13-15. In these oblations there is a progression as to the relation between the kind and the quantity: of the corn, the sixth of a tenth, that is, a sixtieth part of the quantity specified; of the oil, the tenth of a tenth, that is, an hundredth part; and of the flock, one from every two hundred.

[¶28] 18. The year is to begin with a consecration service, not mentioned under the Levitical law; but an earnest of it is given in the feast of dedication of the second temple, which celebrated its purification by Judas Maccabeus, after its defilement by Antiochus.

[¶29] 20. for him that is simple--for sins of ignorance ([Le 4:2], [13, 27]).

[¶30] 21. As a new solemnity, the feast of consecration is to prepare for the passover; so the passover itself is to have different sacrifices from those of the Mosaic law. Instead of one ram and seven lambs for the daily burnt offering, there are to be seven bullocks and seven rams. So also whereas the feast of tabernacles had its own offerings, which diminished as the days of the feast advanced, here the same are appointed as on the passover. Thus it is implied that the letter of the law is to give place to its spirit, those outward rites of Judaism having no intrinsic efficacy, but symbolizing the spiritual truths of Messiah's kingdom, as for instance the perfect holiness which is to characterize it. Compare [1Co 5:7], , as to our spiritual "passover," wherein, at the Lord's supper, we feed on Christ by faith, accompanied with "the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Literal ordinances, though not slavishly bound to the letter of the law, will set forth the catholic and eternal verities of Messiah's kingdom.

### Chapter 46

### Eze 46:1-24. Continuation of the Ordinances for the Prince and for the People in Their Worship

[¶33] 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], , Solomon standing before the altar of the Lord in the presence of the congregation; also [2Ki 11:14]; , "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.

[¶34] 9. The worshippers were on the great feasts to pass from one side to the other, through the temple courts, in order that, in such a throng as should attend the festivals, the ingress and egress should be the more unimpeded, those going out not being in the way of those coming in.

[¶35] 10. prince in the midst--not isolated as at other times, but joining the great throng of worshippers, at their head, after the example of David ([Psa 42:4], "I had gone with the multitude ... to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holy day"); the highest in rank animating the devotions of the rest by his presence and example.

[¶36] 12-15. Not only is he to perform official acts of worship on holy days and feasts, but in "voluntary" offerings daily he is to show his individual zeal, surpassing all his people in liberality, and so setting them a princely example.

[¶37] 16-18. The prince's possession is to be inalienable, and any portion given to a servant is to revert to his sons at the year of jubilee, that he may have no temptation to spoil his people of their inheritance, as formerly (compare Ahab and Naboth, [1Ki 21:1-29]). The mention of the year of jubilee implies that there is something literal meant, besides the spiritual sense. The jubilee year was restored after the captivity [Josephus, Antiquities, 14.10,6; 1 Maccabees 6:49]. Perhaps it will be restored under Messiah's coming reign. Compare [Is 61:2], , where "the acceptable year of the Lord" is closely connected with the comforting of the mourners in Zion, and "the day of vengeance" on Zion's foes. The mention of the prince's sons is another argument against Messiah being meant by "the prince."

[¶38] 19-24. Due regard is to be had for the sanctity of the officiating priests' food, by cooking courts being provided close to their chambers. One set of apartments for cooking was to be at the corners of the inner court, reserved for the flesh of the sin offerings, to be eaten only by the priests whose perquisite it was ([Le 6:25]; ), before coming forth to mingle again with the people; another set at the corners of the outer court, for cooking the flesh of the peace offerings, of which the people partook along with the priests. All this implies that no longer are the common and unclean to be confounded with the sacred and divine, but that in even the least things, as eating and drinking, the glory of God is to be the aim ([1Co 10:31]).

### Chapter 47

### Eze 47:1-23. Vision of the Temple Waters. Borders and Division of The land

[¶41] The happy fruit to the earth at large of God's dwelling with Israel in holy fellowship is that the blessing is no longer restricted to the one people and locality, but is to be diffused with comprehensive catholicity through the whole world. So the plant from the cedar of Lebanon is represented as gathering under its shelter "all fowl of every wing" ([Eze 17:23]). Even the desert places of the earth shall be made fruitful by the healing waters of the Gospel (compare [Is 35:1]).

[¶42] 1. waters--So [Re 22:1], represents "the water of life as proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." His throne was set up in the temple at Jerusalem ([Eze 43:7]). Thence it is to flow over the earth ([Joe 3:18]; [Zec 13:1]; ). Messiah is the temple and the door; from His pierced side flow the living waters, ever increasing, both in the individual believer and in the heart. The fountains in the vicinity of Moriah suggested the image here. The waters flow eastward, that is, towards the Kedron, and thence towards the Jordan, and so along the Ghor into the Dead Sea. The main point in the picture is the rapid augmentation from a petty stream into a mighty river, not by the influx of side streams, but by its own self-supply from the sacred miraculous source in the temple [Henderson]. (Compare [Psa 36:8], ; ; [Is 11:9]; [Ha 2:14]). Searching into the things of God, we find some easy to understand, as the water up to the ankles; others more difficult, which require a deeper search, as the waters up to the knees or loins; others beyond our reach, of which we can only adore the depth ([Ro 11:33]). The healing of the waters of the Dead Sea here answers to "there shall be no more curse" ([Re 22:3]; compare [Zec 14:11]).

[¶43] 7. trees--not merely one tree of life as in Paradise ([Ge 3:22]), but many: to supply immortal food and medicine to the people of God, who themselves also become "trees of righteousness" ([Is 61:3]) planted by the waters and ([Psa 1:3]) bearing fruit unto holiness.

[¶44] 8. the desert--or "plain," Hebrew, Arabah ([De 3:17]; ; [Jos 3:16]), which is the name still given to the valley of the Jordan and the plain south of the Dead Sea, and extending to the Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea.

[¶45] the sea--the Dead Sea. "The sea" noted as covering with its waters the guilty cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah. In its bituminous waters no vegetable or animal life is said to be found. But now death is to give place to life in Judea, and throughout the world, as symbolized by the healing of these death-pervaded waters covering the doomed cities. Compare as to "the sea" in general, regarded as a symbol of the troubled powers of nature, disordered by the fall, henceforth to rage no more, [Re 21:1].