Eze 44:17 | KingComments | STEP | The LORD gives the priests of the new temple precise precepts about a number of things. The first precept concerns their garments ( ). They are to wear their priestly garments only when they serve in the inner court ( ). Their garments must be of linen. They are not allowed to wear woolen garments. Wool attracts dirt. Also, insects can easily nest in wool. The chances of contamination are high. Linen offers no opportunity for insects to nest in it. Linen speaks of righteousness (cf. ; ). To be in the presence of God, they must have garments that expresses that they are in agreement with God, appropriate to be there. Their turban must be of linen and also their undergarments ( ). They must wear these in a way that does not make them sweat. Sweat is first found after the fall into son. It is a result of the Fall and associated with the laborious work of man ( ). After Christ accomplished the work, He was laid in a tomb and His face cloth, or sweat cloth, was rolled up in a place by itself ( ). With the Lord, Who is without sin, the sweat cloth is the symbol of His laborious suffering on the cross where He was made sin. That work was accomplished, so the sweat cloth was no longer needed and could remain in the tomb. Wool comes from the flesh of a sheep. It speaks of what comes forth from the natural man. Sweat speaks of man’s effort. Neither can God endure in His presence. When the priest has finished his service, he must change his garments before going among the people into the outer court ( ). He is to lay down the removed garments in the holy chambers ( ). Any mixing of the holy and unholy must be avoided. If the holy comes into contact with the unholy, the unholy is sanctified by it (cf. ), but without changing anything in the essence of the unholy in this case. This precept is meant to prevent people who are not allowed to enter the sanctuary from getting the wrong impression that the sanctuary is coming to them, making holiness a general thing and losing its true meaning for staying in God’s house. The garments in which the priests served is not suitable for wearing in everyday life. Our service as priests in the sanctuary is of a different order than our stay in the world. When we are in daily life, we should not and cannot pretend to be in the sanctuary. The holiness of our stay in the sanctuary is not transferable to others, for example, our children. We must be careful not to give them the impression that they can ‘piggyback’ on our dealings with the Lord and be accepted by Him on the basis of our Godliness. We can also apply this to the various meals in which we can participate. We can participate in the Lord’s meal, the Lord’s Supper, at His table. The way we participate in that meal will be different from the way we have our meals at home. The Corinthians need to be admonished that they have relegated the Lord’s meal to a mere meal ( ). The Lord’s meal involves the highest holiness. No unbelievers should participate in that meal. Our meals at home we use in a different, looser, way than the Lord’s meal. Unbelievers may also participate in this and we may even invite them to it. For what we eat and drink, we thank the Lord, because we realize that we get it from Him ( ). We also set the mood at the meal. Compared to the Lord’s meal at His table, the meal at our house table is of lesser holiness. Then there is the meal to which we may be invited by an unbeliever ( ). Such a meal is an even lesser form of holiness. If we decide to go there – we will discuss this with the Lord – we may eat what is set before us. We will use the opportunity to testify to Whom we belong and Whom we serve, which we will do, for example, by giving thanks to the Lord before our meal. The second precept concerns their head hair ( ). The priests must not shave their heads, but they must not let the hair grow freely either ( ). The head hair must be cut short. The third precept is about drinking wine ( ). Drinking wine is not forbidden to the priest. However, the priest is forbidden to drink wine when he goes to do service in the inner court (cf. ). This prohibition is intended to prevent the slightest degree of intoxication in the service of the LORD. Any ecstasy or loss of consciousness, of self-control or self-discipline must be excluded. We are to be sober in all things ( ). Service of the LORD should be done with clear understanding. Then, fourth, comes a precept about marriage, purity in the marriage relationship ( ). In the law, marriage to a widow is forbidden only to the high priest ( ). Here this prohibition is extended to all priests. The only exception to this prohibition is that he may marry the widow of a priest. It does show how the LORD watches over the holiness of those who draw near to Him. The priest may only enter into a marriage covenant with one who belongs to the people of God and is still a virgin. This precept includes, of course, the prohibition of pre-marital intercourse. Then follow various regulations for the service of priests among the people. The sons of Zadok are to teach God’s people about the difference “between the holy and the profane” and “between the unclean and the clean” ( ; ; ; ). They will have to demonstrate this difference first and foremost by their walk, but additionally in their teaching. For our time, we can apply this to the teachers the Lord Jesus has given to the church. They are to show those who belong to the church the difference between sound doctrine, which promotes spiritual health, and error, which proliferates like the cancer resulting in spiritual death ( ). The priests are also to act as judges when there are disputes ( ). Occurring court cases they are to conduct in accordance with the LORD’s provisions. They are not to act according to their own judgment. This also applies to us who live in the kingdom of God that now exists in hidden form. Every believer must be able to administer justice between brothers who have disagreements with one another ( ). With regard to the appointed feasts, which the LORD calls “My appointed feasts”, He tells them to keep them in accordance with His laws and His statutes. His sabbaths they must sanctify. This refers back to creation, where God sanctified the seventh day ( ). This intention of God finds its full fulfillment in the realm of peace. The realm of peace is a millennial sabbath. A final precept is that the priest may not touch a dead person, for death defiles ( ; ). Some exceptions where he does get to touch a dead person involve immediate family members. That touch equally defiles, but in those cases the LORD provides an opportunity for cleansing ( ). If he is clean, he must wait seven more days ( ). Then he may enter the inner court to serve in the holy place, but he must first “offer his sin offering” to the LORD ( ).

‏ Ezekiel 44:17

The Holiness of the Sons of Zadok

The LORD gives the priests of the new temple precise precepts about a number of things. The first precept concerns their garments (Eze 44:17-19). They are to wear their priestly garments only when they serve in the inner court (Eze 44:17). Their garments must be of linen. They are not allowed to wear woolen garments. Wool attracts dirt. Also, insects can easily nest in wool. The chances of contamination are high. Linen offers no opportunity for insects to nest in it.

Linen speaks of righteousness (cf. Psa 132:9a; Rev 19:8). To be in the presence of God, they must have garments that expresses that they are in agreement with God, appropriate to be there. Their turban must be of linen and also their undergarments (Eze 44:18). They must wear these in a way that does not make them sweat.

Sweat is first found after the fall into son. It is a result of the Fall and associated with the laborious work of man (Gen 3:19). After Christ accomplished the work, He was laid in a tomb and His face cloth, or sweat cloth, was rolled up in a place by itself (Jn 20:7). With the Lord, Who is without sin, the sweat cloth is the symbol of His laborious suffering on the cross where He was made sin. That work was accomplished, so the sweat cloth was no longer needed and could remain in the tomb. Wool comes from the flesh of a sheep. It speaks of what comes forth from the natural man. Sweat speaks of man’s effort. Neither can God endure in His presence.

When the priest has finished his service, he must change his garments before going among the people into the outer court (Eze 44:19). He is to lay down the removed garments in the holy chambers (Eze 42:14). Any mixing of the holy and unholy must be avoided. If the holy comes into contact with the unholy, the unholy is sanctified by it (cf. Lev 6:18), but without changing anything in the essence of the unholy in this case. This precept is meant to prevent people who are not allowed to enter the sanctuary from getting the wrong impression that the sanctuary is coming to them, making holiness a general thing and losing its true meaning for staying in God’s house.

The garments in which the priests served is not suitable for wearing in everyday life. Our service as priests in the sanctuary is of a different order than our stay in the world. When we are in daily life, we should not and cannot pretend to be in the sanctuary. The holiness of our stay in the sanctuary is not transferable to others, for example, our children. We must be careful not to give them the impression that they can ‘piggyback’ on our dealings with the Lord and be accepted by Him on the basis of our Godliness.

We can also apply this to the various meals in which we can participate. We can participate in the Lord’s meal, the Lord’s Supper, at His table. The way we participate in that meal will be different from the way we have our meals at home. The Corinthians need to be admonished that they have relegated the Lord’s meal to a mere meal (1Cor 11:20-22). The Lord’s meal involves the highest holiness. No unbelievers should participate in that meal.

Our meals at home we use in a different, looser, way than the Lord’s meal. Unbelievers may also participate in this and we may even invite them to it. For what we eat and drink, we thank the Lord, because we realize that we get it from Him (1Tim 4:3-5). We also set the mood at the meal. Compared to the Lord’s meal at His table, the meal at our house table is of lesser holiness.

Then there is the meal to which we may be invited by an unbeliever (1Cor 10:27). Such a meal is an even lesser form of holiness. If we decide to go there – we will discuss this with the Lord – we may eat what is set before us. We will use the opportunity to testify to Whom we belong and Whom we serve, which we will do, for example, by giving thanks to the Lord before our meal.

The second precept concerns their head hair (Eze 44:20). The priests must not shave their heads, but they must not let the hair grow freely either (Lev 21:5 ; 10). The head hair must be cut short.

The third precept is about drinking wine (Eze 44:21). Drinking wine is not forbidden to the priest. However, the priest is forbidden to drink wine when he goes to do service in the inner court (cf. Lev 10:9). This prohibition is intended to prevent the slightest degree of intoxication in the service of the LORD. Any ecstasy or loss of consciousness, of self-control or self-discipline must be excluded. We are to be sober in all things (2Tim 4:5). Service of the LORD should be done with clear understanding.

Then, fourth, comes a precept about marriage, purity in the marriage relationship (Eze 44:22). In the law, marriage to a widow is forbidden only to the high priest (Lev 21:7 ; 13). Here this prohibition is extended to all priests. The only exception to this prohibition is that he may marry the widow of a priest. It does show how the LORD watches over the holiness of those who draw near to Him. The priest may only enter into a marriage covenant with one who belongs to the people of God and is still a virgin. This precept includes, of course, the prohibition of pre-marital intercourse.

Then follow various regulations for the service of priests among the people. The sons of Zadok are to teach God’s people about the difference “between the holy and the profane” and “between the unclean and the clean” (Eze 44:23; Lev 10:10-11; Deu 33:10; Mal 2:7). They will have to demonstrate this difference first and foremost by their walk, but additionally in their teaching. For our time, we can apply this to the teachers the Lord Jesus has given to the church. They are to show those who belong to the church the difference between sound doctrine, which promotes spiritual health, and error, which proliferates like the cancer resulting in spiritual death (Tit 1:9-11 ; Tit 2:1).

The priests are also to act as judges when there are disputes (Eze 44:24). Occurring court cases they are to conduct in accordance with the LORD’s provisions. They are not to act according to their own judgment. This also applies to us who live in the kingdom of God that now exists in hidden form. Every believer must be able to administer justice between brothers who have disagreements with one another (1Cor 6:1-4).

With regard to the appointed feasts, which the LORD calls “My appointed feasts”, He tells them to keep them in accordance with His laws and His statutes. His sabbaths they must sanctify. This refers back to creation, where God sanctified the seventh day (Gen 2:3). This intention of God finds its full fulfillment in the realm of peace. The realm of peace is a millennial sabbath.

A final precept is that the priest may not touch a dead person, for death defiles (Eze 44:25; Lev 21:1-3). Some exceptions where he does get to touch a dead person involve immediate family members. That touch equally defiles, but in those cases the LORD provides an opportunity for cleansing (Eze 44:26). If he is clean, he must wait seven more days (Num 19:11). Then he may enter the inner court to serve in the holy place, but he must first “offer his sin offering” to the LORD (Eze 44:27).