In this chapter we need to cover the building which is at the back of the temple, the incense altar within the temple, the holy chambers on both sides of the temple, the two boiling places where the priests prepared the offerings, and the walls.
In 1961 I spent many hours considering and looking to the Lord to discover the meaning and purpose of the building at the back of the temple (41:12-14). Sometimes it is very meaningful to know what the Bible does not say. We can discover the meaning and purpose of most of the buildings in Ezekiel, but no matter how much we read this record, we cannot find a hint concerning the meaning and purpose of the building at the back. It is very mysterious! It is the biggest building; it is even bigger than the temple. The temple measures one hundred by sixty cubits, but the building at the back measures one hundred by eighty. It is larger than the temple, and yet the record does not tell the purpose of the building.
As I was studying this building, the Lord showed me that it signifies the riches of Christ. Let me illustrate: if I come to visit you and you do not have a room for me to stay in, but you ask me to sleep on your sofa in the living room, it indicates that you are not rich. But if I come to your home and you say, "Praise the Lord, Brother Lee! We have many empty, vacant rooms. This spacious, vacant room is just for you!" This would indicate that you are rich. Our Christ is likewise very rich! He is able to fulfill all the requirements and meet all the needs of both God and man and still have a large building left. This indicates that Christ is rich with something left over. Christ is all the building with something left over. Do you think that Christ as the building of God is only as much as we need? In principle, Christ as the building must have something left over. What is left over should be even bigger than what is used. Do not forget that five loaves fed five thousand people with twelve baskets left over (John 6:12-13). The amount left over was greater than the amount on hand at the beginning. Do not think that Christ is so limited. Praise the Lord! Behind all that you need is an even bigger portion of Christ that is vacant. It is not like today's apartments which put out a sign saying, "no vacancy." With Christ the sign always says "vacant" because He is so rich. The size of the building is very meaningful. It is one hundred cubits by eighty cubits. Eighty is ten times eight. Eight signifies resurrection and ten signifies fullness. This indicates resurrection in fullness and it is one hundred times eighty. In other words, it is one thousand times of resurrection. The wall is five cubits thick on all four sides making the capacity of the building seventy by ninety cubits (41:12). These numbers are also very significant. Seventy is ten times seven, ninety is ten times nine, and nine is three times three. These numbers indicate completion, fullness, resurrection, and the Triune God. What a rich Christ!
According to the record in Ezekiel, all the parts of the building related to the temple, including the temple proper, the porch, the side chambers, the back building, and all the walls are covered, wainscoted, with wood (41:16). When you enter into the temple, you can see nothing but wood. This temple is absolutely different from Moses' tabernacle. If you entered into the tabernacle raised up by Moses, you would see gold everywhere. Every part was overlaid with gold (Exo. 26:29). But in this temple, every part is overlaid with wood. Gold signifies the divinity of God, and wood signifies the proper humanity of the Lord Jesus. This is marvelous! I would like to remind you that Ezekiel is a book full of humanity. In chapter one, Christ on the throne was a man. Even in His glory, Christ was revealed as a man. Furthermore, when the glory came back to the temple, the man was there (43:2, 6). That man was the Lord Himself. In God's building the primary building material is humanity. We have to be human, but not humanly human; we have to be "Jesusly" human. The proper humanity is not our natural humanity, but the crucified, resurrected, and ascended humanity of Jesus. In this record concerning the temple, the number six is used many times. Nearly every entrance, gate, and threshold has the number six. The guard rooms were six by six, and the thirty chambers on the pavement were five by six. The number six signifies the humanity of the man Jesus. The inside of the entire temple was covered with wood, signifying His humanity.
The record does not tell us what kind of wood was used for wainscoting. In like manner, it is really difficult to describe the kind of humanity the Lord Jesus had. His humanity was marvelous! We cannot describe it, but we can see it, and we also have it. Praise the Lord! This is wonderful!
On all the wooden wainscoting, cherubim and palm trees were carved (41:18-20). The cherubim are the four living creatures mentioned in chapter one, signifying the glory of the Lord manifested upon the creatures. Among the cherubim were the palm trees, signifying the victory of Christ, the everlasting and ever-existing power of Christ. In chapter one the cherubim had four faces, but in the carvings on the walls, they have only two faces: the man's face and the lion's face. The man's face signifies and expresses humanity, and the lion's face shows victory in humanity. Hallelujah! The wall is covered with cherubim and palm trees carved into it. These are not paintings on the wood, but carvings. We need to be carved by the Lord. We are the pieces of wainscoting, and we need to be carved by the Lord. To be carved means to suffer something. When you meet certain brothers and sisters, you have the impression that upon them there is some carving of the Lord. The victory of Christ and the glory of the Lord have been carved into them. The everlasting power, the freshness, and the evergreen life have been carved into their being. Because of the Lord's carving, they bear this kind of image and impression wherever they go.