Ezekiel 41: The Most Holy Place
The guide measures the temple itself, its sanctuary and inner room, adorned with cherubim and palm trees, where God will dwell.
Ezekiel 41 (WEB)
1 He brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tent.
2 The breadth of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured its length, forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits.
3 Then went he inward, and measured each post of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the breadth of the entrance, seven cubits.
4 He measured its length, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said to me, This is the most holy place.
5 Then he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side room, four cubits, all around the house on every side.
6 The side rooms were in three stories, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which belonged to the house for the side rooms all around, that they might be supported, and not penetrate the wall of the house.
7 The side rooms were wider on the higher levels, because the walls were narrower at the higher levels. Therefore the breadth of the house increased upward; and so one went up from the lowest level to the highest through the middle level.
8 I saw also that the house had a raised base all around: the foundations of the side rooms were a full reed of six great cubits.
9 The thickness of the wall, which was for the side rooms, on the outside, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side rooms that belonged to the house.
10 Between the rooms was a breadth of twenty cubits around the house on every side.
11 The doors of the side rooms were toward an open area that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south. The width of the open area was five cubits all around.
12 The building that was before the separate place at the side toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.
13 So he measured the house, one hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with its walls, one hundred cubits long;
14 also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, one hundred cubits.
15 He measured the length of the building before the separate place which was at its back, and its galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits; and the inner temple, and the porches of the court;
16 the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries around on their three stories, over against the threshold, with wood ceilings all around, and from the ground up to the windows, (now the windows were covered),
17 to the space above the door, even to the inner house, and outside, and by all the wall all around inside and outside, by measure.
18 It was made with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces;
19 so that there was the face of a man toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. It was made like this through all the house all around:
20 from the ground to above the door were cherubim and palm trees made: thus was the wall of the temple.
21 As for the temple, the door posts were squared; and as for the face of the sanctuary, its appearance was as the appearance of the temple.
22 The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits; and its corners, and its length, and its walls, were of wood: and he said to me, This is the table that is before Yahweh.
23 The temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
24 The doors had two leaves each, two turning leaves: two for the one door, and two leaves for the other.
25 There were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubim and palm trees, like as were made on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the face of the porch outside.
26 There were closed windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch: thus were the side rooms of the house, and the thresholds.
Ezekiel 41 (KJV)
1 Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle.
2 And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits.
3 Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits.
4 So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place.
5 After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side.
6 And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house.
7 And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.
8 I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.
9 The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within.
10 And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side.
11 And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about.
12 Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.
13 So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long;
14 Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, an hundred cubits.
15 And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court;
16 The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered;
17 To that above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure.
18 And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces;
19 So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about.
20 From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple.
21 The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one as the appearance of the other.
22 The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the Lord.
23 And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
24 And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other door.
25 And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without.
26 And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.
Ezekiel 41 (ASV)
1 And he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle.
2 And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits.
3 Then went he inward, and measured each post of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the breadth of the entrance, seven cubits.
4 And he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place.
5 Then he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side-chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side.
6 And the side-chambers were in three stories, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which belonged to the house for the side-chambers round about, that they might have hold therein, and not have hold in the wall of the house.
7 And the side-chambers were broader as they encompassed the house higher and higher; for the encompassing of the house went higher and higher round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house continued upward; and so one went up from the lowest chamber to the highest by the middle chamber.
8 I saw also that the house had a raised basement round about: the foundations of the side-chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.
9 The thickness of the wall, which was for the side-chambers, on the outside, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side-chambers that belonged to the house.
10 And between the chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits round about the house on every side.
11 And the doors of the side-chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about.
12 And the building that was before the separate place at the side toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.
13 So he measured the house, a hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, a hundred cubits long;
14 also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, a hundred cubits.
15 And he measured the length of the building before the separate place which was at the back thereof, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, a hundred cubits; and the inner temple, and the porches of the court;
16 the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the threshold, ceiled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows (now the windows were covered),
17 to the space above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure.
18 And it was made with cherubim and palm-trees; and a palm-tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces;
19 so that there was the face of a man toward the palm-tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm-tree on the other side. Thus was it made through all the house round about:
20 from the ground unto above the door were cherubim and palm-trees made; thus was the wall of the temple.
21 As for the temple, the door-posts were squared; and as for the face of the sanctuary, the appearance thereof was as the appearance of the temple.
22 The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before Jehovah.
23 And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
24 And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves: two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other.
25 And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubim and palm-trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there was a threshold of wood upon the face of the porch without.
26 And there were closed windows and palm-trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch: thus were the side-chambers of the house, and the thresholds.
Summary
The guide brings Ezekiel into the temple proper and measures its posts and the width of the entrance, then the great hall, the nave, forty cubits long and twenty wide. Going further in, he measures the inner room and declares it the most holy place, a perfect twenty-cubit square, the dwelling place of God's presence. He measures the wall of the house and the side chambers built in three stories around it, each level wider than the one below because the wall stepped back, so that one ascended from the lowest level to the highest. The vision notes the raised base, the surrounding open space, and the building to the west behind the separate place. Ezekiel sees that the inner walls are paneled and adorned throughout with carved cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree set between each pair of cherubim, each cherub having two faces, the face of a man and the face of a young lion. A wooden altar, three cubits high, is called the table that is before Yahweh. The temple and sanctuary each have double doors with two leaves, also carved with cherubim and palm trees like those on the walls. The whole sanctuary is beautiful, holy, and ordered, a fitting place for the God who would dwell in the midst of his people.
Key Figures
- Ezekiel — The prophet led into the temple and shown its inner sanctuary, the carved cherubim and palm trees, and the table that is before Yahweh.
- The man like bronze — The heavenly guide who measures the nave, the most holy place, the side chambers, and the doors of the sanctuary with exact care.
- The most holy place — The perfect inner square set apart as the holiest space, the dwelling of God’s presence at the heart of the temple.
- The cherubim and palm trees — The carved figures adorning the walls and doors, with faces of man and lion, marking the sanctuary as a place of glory and life.
Key Verse
Ezekiel 41:4 (WEB)
He measured its length, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said to me, This is the most holy place.
Lessons Learned
- At the heart of the temple stands the most holy place, reminding us that God's presence is supremely holy.
- The beauty of the carved cherubim and palm trees shows that God's dwelling is meant to be glorious and life-filled.
- Every part of the sanctuary is measured and ordered, for nothing about approaching God is left to chance.
- The wooden table before the Lord points to fellowship and offering in God's presence.
- God’s presence is most holy. The inner room is declared, “This is the most holy place” (Ezekiel 41:4, WEB), a perfect square set apart at the center of the house.
- God’s dwelling is beautiful and alive. The walls are carved “with cherubim and palm trees” (Ezekiel 41:18, WEB), echoing Eden and crowning the sanctuary with glory and life.
- Worship centers on the table before the Lord. The wooden altar is named “the table that is before Yahweh” (Ezekiel 41:22, WEB), a place of fellowship and offering in God’s presence.
- Holiness has structure. The side chambers, walls, and doors are all measured (Ezekiel 41:5-15, WEB); approaching the holy God is a matter of reverent, ordered design, not careless approach.
- Why is the innermost room singled out and named “the most holy place” (41:4)?
- The walls are covered with cherubim and palm trees, images that recall the garden of Eden. What might this say about God's purpose for his dwelling?
- The cherubim each have the face of a man and the face of a young lion. What qualities might these faces suggest about the place where God dwells?
- The wooden altar is called “the table that is before Yahweh” (41:22). How does calling it a table shape the way we think about worship and fellowship with God?
- How does meditating on the holiness and beauty of God's dwelling stir your own desire to draw near to him?
- The most holy place is the center toward which the whole temple is oriented, the throne room of God's presence. Help the group sense the weight of holiness at the heart of worship and the wonder that God invites us near.
- The Eden imagery suggests that God's dwelling is meant to be a restored paradise, a place of life and beauty where God and humanity meet. The temple looks back to Eden and forward to the new creation.
- The man's face suggests God's care for humanity made in his image, and the lion suggests strength and majesty. Together they hint at a dwelling marked by both intimacy and awesome power.
- Calling it a table evokes shared meals and fellowship, not only sacrifice. It anticipates the communion we enjoy at the Lord's table, where Christ welcomes us into fellowship with God.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to let the beauty and holiness of God's house awaken longing for his presence. As leader, connect this longing to the access we now have through Christ.