I am afraid that I am going to cover all these chapters in a single go as I think it is more useful to look at the broad theme than intricate details about the temple.
There are four main lines of interpretation that are used for these chapters. One is to assume that it relates directly to the building of the temple after the return from exile, laying out a blueprint for this. Another is to assume that it is referring to sometime in the future in the last days. This notion seems ridiculous as it seems to necessitate Israel reinstituting the sacrificial system, when the whole point of the last days is that they will eventually realise who Jesus is, and that He is the one true sacrifice. The fourth, and the one I prefer, is to see it as symbolic.
The most popular chapter in this section is chapter 47, which talks about the river flowing from the temple. The water is living water, bringing life wherever it goes. This is reminds one of Jesus's words that whosoever believes in Him, then living waters will flow from within him (John 7:38). Now we are temples of the Holy Spirit. There is also allusion to this in Revelation (Rev 22:2).
It is clear from these chapters that God has everything worked out, in every detail. When we are called to follow Jesus, or to commit to Him in a new and deeper way, we often ask "what about this" or "what about that". We can be sure that God has worked out every detail. We are not called to work out our how to save ourselves, we are called to trust God and to follow Him. When we do this we will find that He has all the details taken care of, and we will become a source of life and blessing to others. (Matthew 6:33; Gen 12:2).
There are four main lines of interpretation that are used for these chapters. One is to assume that it relates directly to the building of the temple after the return from exile, laying out a blueprint for this. Another is to assume that it is referring to sometime in the future in the last days. This notion seems ridiculous as it seems to necessitate Israel reinstituting the sacrificial system, when the whole point of the last days is that they will eventually realise who Jesus is, and that He is the one true sacrifice. The fourth, and the one I prefer, is to see it as symbolic.
The most popular chapter in this section is chapter 47, which talks about the river flowing from the temple. The water is living water, bringing life wherever it goes. This is reminds one of Jesus's words that whosoever believes in Him, then living waters will flow from within him (John 7:38). Now we are temples of the Holy Spirit. There is also allusion to this in Revelation (Rev 22:2).
It is clear from these chapters that God has everything worked out, in every detail. When we are called to follow Jesus, or to commit to Him in a new and deeper way, we often ask "what about this" or "what about that". We can be sure that God has worked out every detail. We are not called to work out our how to save ourselves, we are called to trust God and to follow Him. When we do this we will find that He has all the details taken care of, and we will become a source of life and blessing to others. (Matthew 6:33; Gen 12:2).
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