John Wesley

Next he measured the gateposts to be sixty cubits high. The gateway extended around to the gatepost of the courtyard.

“He made - Measured, and thereby shewed what kind of posts they should be. Threescore cubits - Probably this refers to the height of this gate built up two stories above the arch, and the posts in their height are only mentioned, but imply all…”

The gate chambers and their side pillars had beveled windows all around the inside of the gateway. The porticos also had windows all around on the inside.

“Narrow windows - Windows narrowed inward to the middle. Their posts - The upper lintel of each door over which was a window.”

which flanked the gateways and corresponded to the length of the gates; this was the lower pavement.

“The length - The length was measured fifty cubits. The inner pavement - The side pavement was laid somewhat lower than this middle pavement, not only for state, but for the more convenient, keeping it clean; so the middle pavement rose with a little convex…”

The double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth long, were fastened all around the inside of the room, and the flesh of the offering was to be placed on the tables.

“Within - Within the porch, where these tables stood. Hooks - Hooks on which the slaughtered sacrifice might be hanged, while they prepared it farther.”

Then he brought me to the portico of the temple and measured the side pillars of the portico to be five cubits on each side.

“The breadth - The whole breadth was eleven cubits, but the breadth of each leaf of this folding-gate was three cubits, and they met, or shut on an upright post, set in the middle of the gate space, and this was one cubit broad.”

were alternating carved cherubim and palm trees. Each cherub had two faces:

“Cherubim - Generally taken for the portrait of angels, or young men with wings: yet is the description of them very different in different places; in Ezekiel's vision, chap. i, 5-14; x, 14, Isaiah's vision, Isaiah vi, 2, John's vision, Rev.”

Gallery faced gallery in three levels opposite the twenty cubits that belonged to the inner court and opposite the pavement that belonged to the outer court.

“Against gallery - That is, a gallery on the south part toward the inner court, and a gallery toward the pavement north-ward, and between the backs of these galleries were chambers.”

Now the upper chambers were smaller because the galleries took more space from the chambers on the lower and middle floors of the building.

“Shorter - At first view it should seem to refer to the length, but indeed it refers to the height of the chambers, of which the lowest chamber was highest, the second lower pitched than the first, yet of greater height than the uppermost between…”

So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the…

“Thus large were the suburbs of this mystical temple, signifying the great extent of the church in gospel times.”

and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.

“Came - When the glory departed, it went eastward, and now it returns, it comes from the east. And his voice - Though by the voice of God, thunder is sometimes meant, yet here it was an articulate voice.”

The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when He came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the River Kebar.

“And it - This glory of the God of Israel. To destroy - To declare, that their sins would ruin their city, chap. ix, 3, 4. I fell - Overwhelmed, and as it were swallowed up.”

and the glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east.

“Came - The sins of Israel caused the glory of the Lord to go out of his house, now the repentance of Israel is blest with the return of this glory.”

and He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the…

“He - The glorious God of Israel. My throne - The throne of his grace is in his temple; in the dispensations of grace, God manifests himself a king.”

When they placed their threshold next to My threshold and their doorposts beside My doorposts, with only a wall between Me and them, they defiled My holy name by the…

“Their threshold - The kings of Judah and Israel, built temples and altars for their idols, and these are called their thresholds. They erected these in the courts, or near the courts of the temple.”

As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. Let them measure the plan,

“Shew - Describe it to them in all the parts. To the house - To the rulers, prophets, and priests especially, not excluding others. Their iniquities - When they shall blush to see what glory their iniquities had ruined.”

This is the law of the temple: All its surrounding territory on top of the mountain will be most holy. Yes, this is the law of the temple.

“The law - This is the first comprehensive rule: holiness becomes God's house; and this relative holiness referred to personal and real holiness.”

These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits (a cubit and a handbreadth): Its gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of…

“Border - A ledge going round on all the squares. The edge - On the outer edge of this settle a span high. The back - As the back bears burdens, so this was to bear the weight of the whole altar.”

The space from the gutter on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the ledge one cubit wide.

“From the bottom - From the first ledge, which was a cubit broad, and a cubit high from the ground. To the lower - To the top of that square settle, which is called lower, because another settle is raised upon it.”

You must present them before the LORD; the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the LORD.

“Shalt offer - Direct them to offer. Salt - It may allude to the perpetuity of the covenant thus made by sacrifice.”

Only the prince himself may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the LORD.

“The Lord - That glory which was the visible sign of his presence. He - The king might sit before the Lord, others might not. Bread - That part of the sacrifice, which was allowed to the offerer.”

They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair.

“To grow long - Priding themselves in it, as Absalom. Shall only poll - When the hair is grown, they shall cut the ends of their hair, and keep it in moderate size.”

No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.

“Drink wine - Or any other strong liquor, when they go either to trim the lamps or set the shew-bread in order, or to offer incense in the temple, or when they go to the altar to offer a sacrifice, which stood in the inner…”

and after he is cleansed, he must count off seven days for himself.

“Cleansed - After for seven days he hath kept from the dead. They - The priests, who are about the house of God, shall appoint seven days more to this defiled person for his cleansing before he is admitted into the sanctuary.”

The best of all the firstfruits and of every contribution from all your offerings will belong to the priests.

“And the first - So soon as the first-fruits are ripe in the field, your vineyards, and olive yards. Every oblation - Whether free- will offering, or prescribed.”

Now the prince will have the area bordering each side of the area formed by the holy district and the property of the city, extending westward from the western side…

“Over against - What is called now over- against, or by the side, is called before three times together. So now you have an exact square of twenty-five thousand cubits laid out for God, the Levites and city, which appears thus in the breadth.”