Ezekiel 44:1-31

44:1-2 | Once the Lord Himself has entered the temple through the gate that faces toward the east, the gate is to be closed permanently. It will have only one function, to allow the Lord and His Shekinah glory to enter the temple; because God has promised He would never again leave the temple, the east gate could be permanently shut. The shut gate is another symbol of the Lord’s permanent presence.

44:3 | The identity of the prince is something of a mystery, but clearly he is not the Messiah, since this prince needs to make a sin offering for himself and is said to have children, both of which are impossible for Jesus Christ. The Hebrew word translated prince (Hebr., nasi) might be better translated leader. This leader in the millennial temple carries out many of the duties that the high priest of OT days formerly handled.

44:4 | The glory of the LORD will fill this temple, as it had when Moses inaugurated the tabernacle in the wilderness (Ex. 40:34-35) and when Solomon dedicated the first temple (1 Kgs. 8:10-12). Ezekiel had said that the glory of the Lord left the first temple before its destruction, and so it is instructive that the glory of the Lord was not said to fill the rebuilt temple in Haggai’s day, nor the expanded temple of Herod’s day. That new filling awaits the construction of the millennial temple.

44:9 | In the ancient Near East, captives of war, foreigners, were often pressed into service in the worship gatherings of the victorious nation. The Gibeonites served in this capacity under Joshua (Josh. 9:23-27), for example, and the practice continued at least through the time of Ezra (Ezra 8:20). The Mosaic law stipulated that only those circumcised in both heart and flesh could so serve, but over time this provision was ignored. The children of Israel even allowed foreigners to serve in priestly functions – but worship in the millennial temple expressly forbids this practice. This appears to contradict Isaiah’s prophecy that foreigners will be welcome to worship God in the temple in the kingdom (Isa. 56:6-8). However, Isaiah has proselytes in mind, while Ezekiel is speaking of those who have not turned to the one true God and remain uncircumcised in heart (Joel 3:17).

44:15-22 | God has a long memory, especially in regard to those who serve Him faithfully. Long ago the descendants of Zadok, priests in the line of Aaron, alone had remained true to the Lord and to His commandments (1 Kgs. 1:5-8; 2:26-35); in the millennial temple, they alone will be allowed to stand before God to offer sacrifices. They illustrate the principle that faithfulness to God in little things today will result in great reward tomorrow.

44:28 | The Lord promised to provide for the Levites and to be their inheritance, so they will be given no allotment of land in the millennial kingdom. Everything the Levites need to live will be provided for them by the Lord through the activity of the temple.