Yechezkel 43 | The Shekhina and the Monarchy

Chapter 43 opens with a moving event that brings full closure to the book’s opening — the Shekhina returns: “And behold! The glory of the God of Israel was approaching by the eastern path with a sound like the roar of vast waters, and the earth was lit up with His glory!” (43:2). If there were any doubt, Yechezkel clarifies that this is the same vision of Shekhina he described at the beginning of the book: “It looked like the vision that I had seen, like the vision I saw when I came to prophesy the city's destruction, visions like the vision I had seen at the Kevar River, and I fell upon my face” (43:3). His reaction mirrors his previous encounters with the divine — Yechezkel falls on his face in awe of God's presence. The book that began with the most powerful revelation of Shekhina in all of Tanakh — yet within the painful context of destruction — now closes the circle. That same divine glory returns to dwell in its rightful place: “And behold - the glory of the Lord filled the House” (43:5).

Yechezkel hears a voice speaking to him from within the Temple, declaring that the Shekhina has returned to dwell among the people of Israel — this time, however, without them defiling His name: “And the House of Israel will no longer defile My holy name, they and their kings with their whoring, and with the graves of their kings' corpses decorated with altars” (43:7). The following verse contains a crucial insight into the corruption of the First Temple: “When they placed their thresholds near My threshold and their doorposts near My doorposts, with only a wall between Me and them, they polluted My holy name by the disgusting things they did” (43:8). This is a sharp critique of the close proximity between the king’s palace and the Temple, as well as of Shlomo's decision to intertwine his construction projects — his palace and the Temple. The overly tight connection between the monarchy and the Temple, in Yechezkel’s view, led to the Temple’s defilement through the kings’ idol worship. As part of Yechezkel’s rectification process, we will later see that the future Temple will introduce a significant separation between the monarchy and the Temple itself.

We previously discussed the positive potential of uniting the monarchy and the Temple, seen vividly in the verse: “And Shlomo ascended the Lord’s throne in his father David’s place” (Divrei HaYamim I 29:23). However, the conclusion of our chapter — after centuries of historical experience — is that it is simply not worth it. The presence of the king adjacent to the Temple is too dangerous. Achaz treated the Temple as his personal property, introducing idolatry to appease the king of Assyria (Melakhim II 16). Even Uziyahu, a righteous king, arrogantly entered the Temple to offer incense despite not being a priest, and he was stricken with leprosy as a result (Divrei HaYamim II 26). These are just a few examples. Other kings plundered the Temple’s treasuries to pay tribute to imperial rulers, while still others brought idolatry into the Temple itself. The union of the monarchy and the Temple was intended to remind kings that they were not the true source of power, but merely God’s emissaries to lead His people. Instead, however, it made them feel as though the Temple belonged to them, leading to disastrous consequences.

Throughout Yechezkel’s prophecies of redemption, an important recurring theme is shame. The redemption is not earned by the people’s merits but is granted for the sake of God’s name. In such a redemption, the people of Israel are meant to feel ashamed of their sins and thereby refrain from repeating them. This theme is explicitly connected to the Temple’s design in our chapter: “You, Man, describe this House to the House of Israel so that they feel ashamed of their sins, and let them take measure of the plan” (43:10). What is the connection between the Temple’s blueprint and shame over past sins? It may be that the changes mentioned above — rectifications of Israel’s past failures — are meant to instill a sense of shame. Thus, the new Temple will serve as a kind of monument to past sins, ensuring that they recall their past failures and avoid repeating them.

Toward the end of the chapter, the inauguration process of the future altar and Temple is detailed, lasting seven days. At the end of this process, the ultimate goal is achieved: “From the eighth day onward, the priests may prepare your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar, and I shall respond favorably to you. So spoke the Lord God” (43:27).