Ezekiel 43:11

Eze 43:11 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write [it] in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.

Ver. 11. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done.] If they blush and bleed at heart for their iniquities. Penitents are to be taught the truth which is according to godliness, and all such are exactly to know and to do the whole will of God, as had not rather be carnally secured than soundly comforted.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eze_43:11

If they be ashamed of all that they have done.

True penitence

I. The character of true penitents. If they be ashamed of all that they have done. Every principle of corrupted nature lies in direct opposition to penitential shame. Ignorance, pride, deceit, hostility against God, and self-righteousness, combine their influence in hardening the heart against the humiliation of sincere repentance.

1. The shame here spoken of is the effect of a mighty, Divine influence, which entirely changes the views and dispositions of the soul.

2. The radical effect of Gods renewing grace, in this respect, consists in an abiding, gracious disposition of the heart towards penitential exercises. It discovers itself in a peculiar anguish under that darkness and hardness,--a high esteem of repentance for its own intrinsic beauty,--an ingenuity, diligence, and earnestness, in laying open the conscience to Divine light, and in imploring those breathings of the Almighty Spirit, which are effectual to thaw and dissolve the frozen heart.

3. This gracious disposition obtains its aim, and comes forth to its desired exercises, through supernatural discoveries of Divine truth, attended with a heart-melting and heart-turning power.

4. We are led by the text to fix our attention on one particular ingredient of these penitential sensations, namely, shame. This shame is a generous recoiling of the soul from itself, as having once embraced and perpetrated what it now perceives to be unspeakably vile in the sight of God and His holy creatures. It implies in it a sense of the detestable deformity of sin, in its own nature; a recollection of our former love and practice of it; a consideration of our remaining depravity, and want of the perfect beauty of our nature.

5. The text teaches us particularly to take notice of the universal extent of this gracious shame: If they be ashamed of all, etc. Impenitent sinners are disposed to palliate and defend the vilest enormities of their conduct. But whatever may be said of occasional slips, they suppose the general tenor of their lives to be at least harmless. It is far otherwise, when the Spirit effectually breaks in upon the conscience. The true penitent is ashamed, more or less, of his whole life, of all that he hath formerly been, thought, and done. He sees himself to have been opposite to the law of God, in every motion of his heart, in every article of his conduct.

6. This deep-felt shame renders the heart more and more soft, tender, submissive to the authority of God, and ready to receive the impression of every part of His revealed will.

II. What is comprehended in the instruction here described, by such an accumulation of expressions. Shew them the form of the house, etc.

1. This gracious instruction includes peculiar discoveries of the ultimate end, designed by the Author of these ordinances, and to be pursued after in the observance of them. This is the end, for which such a frame of ordinances is divinely created, and for which men are collected into a society for the observance of them; that therein Jehovah may display His own glory, communicate His love, and exalt men to a heavenly communion with Himself and with each other. The glory, importance, and certainty of this sublime end are, to true penitents, manifested in a peculiar manner. Hence they are strongly attached to Divine ordinances, and to the instituted order of Gods house. And hence their attachment to these things differs widely from the random rhapsodies of enthusiasm, superstition, or bigotry.

2. This instruction relates to the authorised methods of acquiring, cherishing, and increasing that holy inward frame of spirit which is necessary in the worshippers of God. This is a capital part of what is here spiritually signified by the goings out, and comings in, and laws of the house. The instructions and counsels of the inspired prophets and apostles, and of Jesus Christ, whose name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, will, through the grace of the Spirit, be effectual for these purposes.

3. The instruction described in the text hath a direct reference to the institutions of God, respecting the external ordinances, order, and government of His Church. (John Love, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 11. And if they be ashamed] If, in a spirit of true repentance, they acknowledge their past transgressions, and purpose in his help never more to offend their God, then teach them every thing that concerns my worship, and their profiting by it.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(11) If they be ashamed.—The same thing which had already been declared positively is now expressed contingently, showing that the sanctification of the people and God’s dwelling among them were correlative facts; the one could not be without the other. Many expressions of nearly the same meaning are heaped up, as it were, in the latter part of this verse, to emphasise the significance of the arrangements of the new Temple, and to secure for them the thought and consideration of the people.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. The verse seems overgrown with amplifications or repetitions. LXX. omits: “and the comings in thereof and all the forms thereof.” The second “and all the forms thereof” seems an accidental misreading and consequent duplication of the following “and all the laws thereof.” Cf. Eze_44:5, where the “ordinances” and “laws” of the house again come together.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And if they be ashamed of all that they have done,.... As sinful and, criminal, at least as very imperfect and defective, and not answerable to the pattern shown them, from which they have sadly deviated; if made sensible of this, and they acknowledge it with shame, not only the house in general, but the particulars of it, are to be shown with them; for, to sensible and penitent persons, more grace, light, knowledge, and judgment in divine things, are given:

shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof; the form and order of a Gospel church; which is not national, provincial, or parochial, nor Presbyterian, but congregational; consisting of persons called out of the world by the grace of God, and who are incorporated and knit together in Gospel bonds; among whom the word of God is faithfully preached, and the ordinances truly administered, and furnished with proper officers, pastors, and deacons; the one to take care of the spiritual, the other of the temporal affairs of the church; and to see a church in such form and order, and thus organized, is a very beautiful sight.

And the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof; the gates and way of entrance into it, which is only by Christ, and a profession of faith in him; and care should be taken that none be admitted but such who appear to be regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit of God; to be righteous through the righteousness of Christ; and that keep the truth, and hold the doctrines of the Gospel: and also the way and manner of excluding unworthy persons, such who are immoral in their lives, and erroneous in their principles, should be observed. And all the forms thereof; the decorations of it, signified by the cherubim and palm trees; so Jarchi and Kimchi; and these expressive of ministers of the word, and faithful men: this is often repeated, that it might be the more observed; for to have ministers to answer such characters is of great consequence.

And all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof; the ordinances are those of baptism and the Lord's supper, which are to continue until the second coming of Christ: the laws are, besides the moral law, in the hands of Christ the lawgiver, the law of loving one another, called the law of Christ, and his new commandment; and all the laws relating to worship and discipline, concerning the reproof of members, in case of private or public offences; and concerning the exclusion of disorderly or heretical persons:

and write it in their sight; the plan and model of this house, and all things belonging to it, that they may have it before them, as the rule of their conduct and behaviour:

that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them; for all this is shown, not for mere speculation, and to gratify curiosity, but in order to be put in practice; all these rules, laws, and ordinances, are to be kept in faith, from a principle of love, in the name and strength of Christ, and with a view to the glory of God.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

In the whole fabric, (Menochius) as thou hast described it, (Haydock) or received from the angel, with all the ceremonies to be observed.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

They; the house of Israel.

Be ashamed; repent, and show it by manifest tokens.

Of all: it is not true repentance which is ashamed of some only, but not of all sins. The form, ; the model of the temple.

The fashion; the manner of the building, and fitting each part to other.

The goings out there of, and the comings in thereof; all the alleys, gates, stairs, &c.

The forms, which ought to be observed, saith the French version. Now though this be not in the Hebrew, yet the word may imply as much, it being an idea, pattern, or platform to which a thing is to be confirmed.

The ordinances; rites and orders, rules of governing priests, and their services. These are again repeated in the next words of the verse, which is usual in Scripture, and with this prophet.

Write it in their sight: that it may be remembered, they shall have a draught of it from thy hand, and drawn in their sight, that they may inquire of any particular wherein doubt ariseth.

That they may keep the whole form thereof: as Moses and Solomon did, so must the builders of this temple, frame the whole to the pattern or exemplar set before them, for not doing whereof a heavy account lieth on some in the church.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And if they be ashamed of all that they have done. This cannot signify that Ezekiel was not to show the house until they had evinced a sincere penitence for past wickedness, since the converse has just been stated, that their repentance should flow from a disclosure to them of the house: but that in the event of the presentation to them of the "wellmeasured" building awaking in them any disposition of regret and sorrow, then the prophet should proceed to unfold to them its details. He should show them first the form of the house, i.e. the external shape of the building, and the fashion thereof, or its well-proportioned and harmonious arrangements; the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, i.e. its exits and entrances, (Eze_44:5) and all the forms thereof; which can only mean the shapes of its several parts; and all the ordinances thereof, or regulations concerning its use in worship, and all the forms thereof the same words as above, and therefore omitted by the LXX as well as some Hebrew manuscripts, and, after their example, by Dathe, Hitzig, Ewald, Smend, and others, though Keil, Kliefoth, Schroder, and others retain the clause as genuine, and regard it as an illustration of Ezekiel"s habit of crowding words together for the sake of emphasisand all the laws thereof, by which were probably signified "the instructions contained in these statutes for sanctification of life" (Keil). In addition to rehearsing the above in the hearing of the people, the prophet was directed to write them in their sight, if it be not open to understand the "writing" as explanatory of the way in which the" showing" was to be made.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And if they are ashamed i.e., [if] they will be embarrassed and hide their faces because of all they did, then let them know what I am destined to do for them.

the form of the House the perimeter of the House, from front to back, arranged on [all] four sides.

and its scheme the number of its cells and its chambers.

and all its forms the cherubim, palm trees, posts, and halls.

I found: “and all its forms” is unclear.

so that they keep They will learn the matters of the measurements from your mouth so that they will know how to do them at the time of the end. I found [the following]: The second aliyah [to the Holy Land] through Ezra was merited to be like the first entry through Joshua, to come about by force and through a miracle, as expounded (Ber. 4a, Exod. 15:16): “until... pass.” This Building would then have been fit for them as of then, when they emerged from exile, to an everlasting redemption. But [their] sin caused [this not to happen] for their repentance was not suitable, [i.e.,] they did not resolve to stop sinning. [Therefore,] they emerged to freedom [only] through the sanction of Cyrus and his son. Some say that in Babylon they stumbled regarding gentile women.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.