What is the context?
Ezekiel hears a voice from inside the temple while the guide stands beside him. The Lord calls this the place of His throne and the soles of His feet, where He will dwell among the Israelites forever.
The promise also names what must change. The people and their kings had defiled His holy name through prostitution and funeral offerings for their kings. They had placed their thresholds and doorposts beside His, with only a wall between.
The Lord calls for those defiling practices to be removed far from Him. His return does not mean that the earlier wrongdoing was harmless. Lasting fellowship with Him goes together with honoring His holy name.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Wesley understands the prostitution and neighboring thresholds through the people’s idolatry. Cambridge also connects prostitution with idolatry, but takes the language about dead kings as referring to royal burials near the temple, rather than as another name for idols.
The BSB speaks of funeral offerings for the kings. These explanations differ over the exact practice, while agreeing that royal privilege could not make the defilement of God’s dwelling acceptable.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.