And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south ,.... Which answered to the gate of the outward court before mentioned: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits ; from the gate of the inward court, to the gate of the outward court southward, were just the same dimensions as in the east and north gates, and between their respective ones, Ezekiel 40:19 . read more
And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate ,.... Having done with the outer court, east, north, and south, the prophet is brought into the inner court by the south gate, which was nearest to enter by. No mention is made of a western gate, there was one in Solomon's temple; for there were porters appointed westward by David, and fixed by Solomon, 1 Chronicles 9:24 , but Josephus F12 De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 5. sect. 2. Vid. Lipman, Tzurath Beth Hamikdash, sect. 12. says, in... read more
The outer court , with its gates and chambers: read more
God's kingdom divinely organized. It is no part of God's procedure to provide a sketch-plan for his kingdom and allow others to supply the details. In the kingdom of material nature his matchless wisdom has designed the minutest parts. In the construction of the human body he has taken care to do the best in the articulation of every joint—in the interaction of the most delicate organ. So in the building of his spiritual kingdom he has laid down all the essential principles that are to be... read more
The windows of the Church. Allusion is made again and again to the windows which were to be provided in this sacred edifice. The Church of Christ must be well furnished with windows, and they must not be closed, but opera for it has to— I. ACQUAINT ITSELF WITH DIVINE TRUTH . Through the open window we look out and see the busy street and the ways of men; or we see the fields and the hills and the work of God. We acquaint ourselves with what is passing in the world. The Church... read more
The south gate . Here again the same details recur as to the structure of the gate, its dimensions, and distance from the gate which led into the inner court. read more
Spiritual ascent. "There were seven steps to go up to it"—the outer court; "and the going up to it [the inner court] had eight steps." Translating this into the Christian analogue, we learn— I. THAT TO BE IN THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST IS TO OCCUPY A NOBLE HEIGHT . The base of the temple was the summit of a "very high mountain" ( Ezekiel 40:2 ); to be anywhere within even its outer precincts was to be far above the world. To be in the kingdom of God, even to be... read more
The south gate of the inner court . The construction and measurements of this corresponded with those of the gates in the outer court, with only two points of difference, viz. that it possessed a flight of eight steps instead of seven, and that the arches , or wall-projections, were toward the outer court . The difference in the number of the steps was doubtless of symbolic significance, and pointed not only to the higher sanctity in general which attached to the inner court, but to... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 40:27-38
In these verses we have a delineation of the inner court. The survey of the outer court ended with the south side of it. This of the inner court begins with the south side (Ezek. 40:27), proceeds to the east (Ezek. 40:32), and so to the north (Ezek. 40:35); for here is no gate either of the outer or inner court towards the west. It should seem that in Solomon's temple there were gates westward, for we find porters towards the west, 1 Chron. 9:24; 26:8. But Josephus says that in the second... read more