Servant Quarters Series

Ezekiel 42: 1 – 20

Servant Quarters

“ 1 Then he brought me out into the outer court, by the way toward the north; and he brought me into the chamber which was opposite the separating courtyard, and which was opposite the building toward the north. 2 Facing the length, which was one hundred cubits (the width was fifty cubits), was the north door. 3 Opposite the inner court of twenty cubits, and opposite the pavement of the outer court, was gallery against gallery in three stories. 4 In front of the chambers, toward the inside, was a walk ten cubits wide, at a distance of one cubit; and their doors faced north. 5 Now the upper chambers were shorter, because the galleries took away space from them more than from the lower and middle stories of the building. 6 For they were in three stories and did not have pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper level was shortened more than the lower and middle levels from the ground up. 7 And a wall which was outside ran parallel to the chambers, at the front of the chambers, toward the outer court; its length was fifty cubits. 8 The length of the chambers toward the outer court was fifty cubits, whereas that facing the temple was one hundred cubits. 9 At the lower chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one goes into them from the outer court.10 Also there were chambers in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, opposite the separating courtyard and opposite the building. 11 There was a walk in front of them also, and their appearance was like the chambers which were toward the north; they were as long and as wide as the others, and all their exits and entrances were according to plan. 12 And corresponding to the doors of the chambers that were facing south, as one enters them, there was a door in front of the walk, the way directly in front of the wall toward the east. 13 Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separating courtyard, are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the LORD shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall lay the most holy offerings—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering—for the place is holy. 14 When the priests enter them, they shall not go out of the holy chamber into the outer court; but there they shall leave their garments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they may approach that which is for the people.” 15 Now when he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out through the gateway that faces toward the east, and measured it all around. 16 He measured the east side with the measuring rod,[a] five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around. 17 He measured the north side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around. 18 He measured the south side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 19 He came around to the west side and measured five hundred rods by the measuring rod. 20 He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred wide, to separate the holy areas from the common.”

Wherever you live in the world I know that you have some building or area that is a tourist hot spot. I live in the historic northeast part of the United States. I remember visiting Washington Crossing State Park in Pennsylvania. They have a few interesting things to see. For one they have a building that houses relics of the Revolutionary War. In the main building they have a copy of the famous painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware River. In addition, the historic society has refurbished some of the colonial homes so you can get a good idea of the living arrangements during this time in history. They even had replicas of the boats that were used to ferry the men, canons, and horses across. You can also gaze around at the topography to take into your mind what it would be like during the soldiers stay in the winter of the late 1700’s. The river is nearby and you can visualize the crossing on that historic Christmas Evening. I remember walking back to my car and I passed a family who had just arrived. They were from the Midwest and arrived late after the visitors’ center had closed. They asked me a few questions that I had the answers to. Without knowing it, I had turned out to be their tourist guide. I filled them in on everything I knew and had witnessed. It was an enjoyable thing to do.