Ez 40: 5-16

According to the commentary: First, Ezekiel saw that the temple had three outer gates. He describes the east gate first, but all three gates were similar. The gates were not simple doors. When people passed through a gate, they would be in a hall. Inside that hall, there were small rooms for the temple guards. The halls did not lead directly to the temple. Instead, they lead into a large outer area. There were also three inner gates. Those gates led from the outer area into an inner area. And the temple stood in that inner area.

Verses 5 The stick that the man had was 6 cubits long. But these cubits were longer than the normal cubit. The normal cubit was the distance from the end of a man’s middle finger to his elbow. This was about 18 inches. The width of a hand is about 3 inches. So, the length of the stick was about 10½ feet (3.2 metres). This longer cubit is the holy or royal cubit. In Babylon, where Ezekiel was, they used the royal cubit. The use of the royal cubit here shows that the temple of God is a very important building.

The wall that went round the temple was 10½ feet (3.2 metres) high and 10½ feet (3.2 metres) wide.

Verses 6-16 The man took Ezekiel to the east gate of the temple. He explained the design of the gate and the measurements of each part.

There were 7 steps up to the entrance of the gate. The entrance of the east gate was 10½ feet (3.2 metres). Beyond the first gate, there was an entrance hall. The inside of the hall was 87½ feet (26.9 metres) long and 44 feet (13.5 metres) wide. The outside length of the hall was 105 feet (32.3 metres). Inside this hall, there was a space of 10½ feet (3.2 metres) long and 17½ feet (5.4 metres) wide. Then there were three rooms on each side. They were for the temple guards so that they could control the entrance to the temple area. These rooms were square. They were each 10½ feet (3.2 metres) wide and 10½ feet (3.2 metres) wide. The walls between these rooms were 9 feet (2.7 metres) thick. These rooms had windows in the outer wall. At the entrance to these rooms, there were walls two feet (0.6 metres) high.Beyond the 6 rooms was another space of 10½ feet (3.2 metres) long and 17½ feet (5.4 metres) wide. Then there was another room 14 feet (4.3 metres) long and the full width of the entrance hall. This room had windows each side in the outer walls. The door that led from this room to the temple was 3½ feet (1.1 metres) thick. There were gates in the temple’s outer walls. These were to the north and to the south. Each of these gates was the same as the east gate.

The plan of these gates was similar to the gates in Solomon’s temple. 

Pretty impressive both in description and stature. How much detail had to be recorded and in a dream or vision. When we go through a dream, at least for me, the details while vivid when I go through them become muddled and faded as time goes on. God's temple had walls that would not be breached and as I think about the Great House of God that I will live in one day, those walls will be my shelter as well.

So... got through another quarter-end. Still today will be a hectic day and hopefully, I can get all I need to get done. With the shortened work-week, I will still have to squeeze 5 pounds into a one pound bag. However, this is the half point of the year and as I look back upon it, it has been quite eventful and fruitful. Looking forward to seeing the family and friends as well.

Praise for today: that He is my Jehovah-jireh!