Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened ... And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate. The prince is to go through the east gate without (open on the Sabbath only, to mark its special sanctity) to the entrance of the gate of the inner court: he is to go no further, but "stand by the post" (cf. 1 Kings 8:14; 1 Kings 8:22, Solomon standing before the altar of the Lord in the presence of the congregation; also 2 Kings 11:14, The king stood by a pillar, as the manner was; 2 Kings 23:3). This was therefore the customary place, the court within belonging exclusively to the priests. There, as representative of the people, in a peculiarly near relation to God, he is to present his offerings to Yahweh, while at a greater distance the people are to stand worshipping at the outer gate of the same entrance. The offerings on Sabbaths are larger than those of the Mosaic law, to imply that the worship of God is to be conducted by the prince and people in a more munificent spirit of self-sacrificing liberality than formerly.