Ezekiel · chapter 46 of 48
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Ezekiel 46 describes how the prince and the people worship in the temple of the vision. The prince enters by the vestibule of the east gate, which is opened on the Sabbath and the new moon, and offers his sacrifices while the people worship at the entrance. The chapter sets the daily offerings, warns that the prince must not take inheritances from the people and ends with the kitchens of the priests and the people.
This chapter continues the rules of worship in the temple of the vision. We have already seen that the east gate stays shut, and here it is explained when and for whom it is opened. It also leaves one of the clearest rules of social justice in the book: the prince may not enrich himself at the people's expense.
The gate of the inner court that faces east will remain shut for the six working days, but on the Sabbath and the new moon it will be opened. The prince will enter by the vestibule of the gate and stand by the post, while the priests offer his burnt offering and peace offerings. He will bow down at the threshold of the gate and then go out, and the gate will not be shut until evening. The people of the land will worship at the entrance to that gate on the Sabbaths and new moons.
The offerings for the Sabbath and the new moon are described, with lambs, rams and grain and oil offerings. When the prince enters, he will do so by the vestibule of the gate and go out by the same way. At the appointed feasts, the people who enter by the north gate will leave by the south, and vice versa, never returning by the way they entered. Every morning a one-year-old lamb will be offered as a continual burnt offering, with a grain offering and oil.
If the prince gives a portion of his inheritance to a son, it will belong to the sons as property; but if he gives something to a servant, it will be his only until the year of liberty, then it returns to the prince. The prince must not take any of the people's inheritance to drive them from their property, and he will give his sons inheritance from his own, so that none of his people is scattered from what he possesses. Finally, the guide brings Ezekiel to the priests' chambers and the kitchens at the corners of the outer court, where the ministers of the temple will boil the people's sacrifices.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The east gate of the inner court stays shut for the six working days and is opened on the Sabbath and the new moon. The day of rest and the start of the month mark the rhythm of the people's worship.
The people of the land will worship before the Lord at the entrance of the gate on Sabbaths and new moons. It is a picture of community: the prince and the people worship together, each in their place.
Every day a one-year-old lamb without blemish will be offered as a burnt offering to the Lord, each morning. The rhythm of worship is a daily offering, not just an occasional festival.
The prince will take nothing of the people's inheritance to drive them from their possession, but will give his sons from his own. One who governs cannot enrich himself by taking what others have received from God.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: On the Sabbath and the new moon. — Ezekiel 46:1
Answer: At the entrance of that gate, before the Lord. — Ezekiel 46:3
Answer: By the south gate, without going back the way he came. — Ezekiel 46:9
Answer: A one-year-old lamb without blemish as a burnt offering. — Ezekiel 46:13-14
Answer: Their inheritance, to drive them from their property. — Ezekiel 46:18
Answer: For the ministers of the temple to boil the people's sacrifices. — Ezekiel 46:24
The chapter invites us to think about the rhythm of our worship: Sabbaths, new moons and a burnt offering every morning. A life with God needs regular habits, both worship with the community and daily time. In a small group you can talk about how we care for those rhythms without letting them become empty routine.
It also reminds us that those with authority must protect others, not take advantage of them. The rule about inheritance is one of the clearest against abuse of power, and applies to rulers, employers and leaders of every kind.
Ezekiel 46 describes the regular worship of the temple and protects the people's inheritance. Chapter 47 opens a vision of great hope: a river that flows from the temple and gives life to everything it touches.
The text gives the pattern without explaining it: on the six working days the gate is shut, and on the Sabbath and the new moon, days of rest and the start of a month, it is opened. It marks a difference between days of labor and days of worship, and the prince and people worship together.
They show that worship included shared meals, because ancient peoples ate part of the peace offerings. The vision provides kitchens for the priests and for the people, a reminder that worship is also fellowship around a table. It is a practical detail within a very spiritual vision.