complete consecration.

Salt was to be sprinkled upon these burned offerings 767 by the priests (v
23). This preservative may symbolize the everlasting covenant between God and his people.768
These three sacrifices-the goat, bullock and ram-were to be repeated six more times
during the dedicatory week (v 25). By this means the new altar would be set apart for its
sacred functions769 (v 26).
After these rites had been performed, then the regular sacrificial service could begin. Burnt-
offerings and peace-offerings770 had as their primary aim acceptance by God. The devout and
obedient worshipers of the new temple era find that acceptance with God (v 27).

EZEKIEL 44
MINISTERS OF WORSffIP

Ezekiel's lengthy symbolic portrayal of the messianic age continues in this unit. The empty temple
complex of chs 40-42 now comes alive. Now that God has returned to the temple (43:1-12), his people can
meet with him there. The laws set forth in the present unit underscore that the temple of the preceding
chapters is not a lifeless monument. It is the hub of worship and service. Having already focused his
attention on (1) the center of worship (43:13-27), Ezekiel now speaks of (2) the ministers of worship (44:1-
45:8); and (3) the regulations concerning worship (45:9-46:24).
After briefly discussing the relationship of the prince to the sanctuary (44:1-3), Ezekiel speaks of the
qualifications of the temple ministers (44:4-14), the regulations for the Zadokite priests (44:15-27); the
provision for the Zadokite priests (44:28-31), and the allocation of land that was theirs (45:1-8).

PRINCE AND SANCTUARY

44:1-3

Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that faces east; and it was
shut. (2) The LORD said unto me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, neither shall any man
enter in by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut. (3) As for
the prince, he shall sit therein as prince to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the
porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same. The angel now brought Ezekiel back from
the inner court to the outer eastern gate that only shortly before he had entered (43:1). He found that
gate shut, now that the glory of God had reentered the temple (v 1).
Never again would that gate be open. God's glory would never again depart from his temple. No man
would be permitted to enter the gate through which the divine presence had come (v 2).
The future leader of God's people-the prince771-will be permitted to eat bread before the LORD
within the eastern gate complex. The phrase hints of the priestly prerogatives of the future prince.772
Not even the prince, however, will be allowed to enter by that sealed gate. He will enter the gate
complex from the rear or west by the way of the porch of the gate (v 3).

767
Cf. Lev 2:13; Mark 9:49.
768
Fisch, SBB, 300.
769
The altar of the tabernacle was consecrated by anointing (Exod 30:28; 40:10) as well as with sacrificial blood (Lev 8:14ff.). The altar in
Solomon's temple was consecrated by a seven-day feast of burnt-offerings and peace-offerings (2 Chron 7:1-9).
770
The peace-offering symbolized fellowship with God.
771
The prince (nasf ) is mentioned seventeen times in chs 44-48. Jewish commentators regarded this prince as Messiah. Most Christian
commentators have rejected this view because the prince (1) offers a sin offering for himself (45:22), (2) has sons (46:15), and (3) is distinct
from the priests. For a defense of the messianic interpretation of the prince, see Smith, TPM, 372-377.
772
Certain bread could not be eaten by non-priests (e.g., Lev 2:3; 24:9). Cf. Exod 29:32 where the Aaronic priests were to eat a religious meal by
the door of the tabernacle.

1
 PRIESTLY QUALIFICATIONS
44:4-14

A. A Word of Admonition (44:4-5): Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the
house; and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell
upon my face. (5) The LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and look with your eyes, and
listen with your ears all that I say unto you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the
LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entrance of the house, with every egress of the
sanctuary. Though the architectural tour of the temple is over, the heaven guide continues to lead
Ezekiel. From the outer court, the prophet was led by his angelic guide around through the northern
gate (the eastern gate was to be kept perpetually closed) to the inner court. For the last time in the
book, Ezekiel observed the glory of God filling the house. The prophet falls on his face in reverence
(v 4).
At this juncture, God spoke to Ezekiel again, this time concerning the qualifications of those who
might approach him in his holy temple. Previously the emphasis was on what the guide showed
Ezekiel; here it is upon what the Lord tells him. Ezekiel was bidden to make careful note (mark,
look, listen) of these ordinances, particularly those laws governing the approaches to the house (v
5).

B. A Word of Condemnation (44:6-8): You shall say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel,
Thus says the Lord GOD: O house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, (7) in that
you have brought in foreigners uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my
sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood. They
have broken my covenant, to add unto all your abominations. (8) You have not kept the charge of
my holy things; but you have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. In the
former temple, aliens773 had been permitted to discharge priestly functions. This was an abomination
(v 6; cf. Num 3:10). This practice must not persist in the age of the new temple. Those
uncircumcised in heart and . . . flesh profaned the holiness of that sacred shrine. Circumcision of the
flesh was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant. Moses, however, called for Israelites to be
circumcised in their hearts as well as in the flesh (Lev 26:41; Deut 10:16; 30:6; cf. Jer 4:4; 9:25).
Such a change of heart was necessary for the Israelite and the foreigner if they were to enter into a
proper relationship with the Lord.
God's bread, i.e., sacrifices of fat and blood, was not to be offered by the uncircumcised, i.e., the
unfaithful and unconverted. To allow them to do so was to violate the covenant and commit
abomination (v 7).
Apparently the use of foreign temple servants such as the Carites (2 Kgs 11:4) is here being
proscribed. It may have been that in times when the priesthood was at low ebb, some priestly duties
actually had been assigned to these foreigners. In so doing, God's people had been more concerned
about what was convenient to them rather than what conformed to the instructions of God (v 8).

C. A Word of Judgment (44:9-15): Thus says the Lord GOD, No foreigner, uncircumcised in
heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners that are
among the children of Israel. (10) But the Levites that went far from me, when Israel went
astray, that went

773
The use of aliens for menial temple service can be traced back to Joshua. He made the Gibeonites temple servants (Josh 9:23, 27). Israel
seems to have continued this practice through the time of Ezra (Ezra 8:20).
 astray from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. (11) Yet they shall be ministers in
my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and ministering in the house: they
shall slay the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to
minister unto them. (12) Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and became a
stumbling block of iniquity unto the house of Israel; therefore have I lifted up my hand against
them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity. (13) They shall not come near
unto me, to execute the office of priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, unto
the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which
they have committed. (14) Yet shall I make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the
service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. The menial temple work, formerly done
by aliens, must in the future be performed by the Levites774 (v 9).
The duties of the Levites in Ezekiel's temple were threefold: (1) they were to have charge of the
temple gates, i.e., they were to police the crowds who entered for worship; (2) they were to minister
in the house, i.e., courtyard, by slaying the sacrificial animals; 775 and (3) they were to stand before
the worshipers to minister to them by helping them in their ritual responsibilities (v 11).
The demotion of the Levites in the new temple was a punishment for previous transgression on
their part. They had gone far away from God (v 10). They had ministered at idolatrous shrines, and
thus had become stumbling blocks to the people of God. God had taken an oath (lifted up my hand)
against the Levites that they bear the consequences of their iniquity in the new temple age (v 12).
In effect, the penalty against the once wayward Levites was reduction in status to that of lay
servants in the temple. They are not allowed to come near the Lord, i.e., enter the inner courtyard,
nor minister at the sacrificial service, nor come near any holy thing in the temple (v 13).
The Levites are keepers of the charge of the house, i.e., they are restricted to functions in the
outer court (v 14).

PRIESTLY REGULATIONS
44:15-27

A. Ministerial Privileges (44:15-16): But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the
charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to
me to minister unto me; and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood
(oracle of the Lord GOD): (16) they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my
table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. Only the sons of Zadok776 are allowed to
minister before and within the sanctuary proper. They alone had remained faithful when the rest of
the nation had gone into idolatry. The Zadokites are permitted to (1) come near to God to minister
unto him; (2) stand before God to offer the sacrificial portions of animals and the blood (v 15); (3)
enter into the sanctuary itself and minister there; and (4) approach the table of showbread (cf. 41:22).
Whereas the Levites were to keep the charge of the house (v 14), the Zadokites were to keep my
charge (v 16).
Older critics saw in these verse evidences of a political conflict between priests and Levites.
Supposedly Ezekiel took the side of the priests. The main concern here, however, is the holiness of a

774
Cf. J. Gordon McConville, "Priests and Levites in Ezekiel: A Crux in the Interpretation of Israel's History," TB 34 (1983): 3-31.
775
The slaughtering of the animal for sacrifice was not a priestly function. It could be performed by a layman.
776
The genealogy of Zadok is found in 1 Chron 6:50-53. Zadok was a priest in David's day, alongside Abiathar (2 Sam 8:17; 15:24ff.). He
became the high priest under Solomon.
 temple liturgy that far surpasses in holiness anything known during the days of the previous
temple.777
B. Ministerial Dress (44:17-20):
1. Garments must be linen (44:17-18): It shall be that, when they enter in at the gates of the inner
court they shall be clothed with linen garments. No wool shall come upon them, while they
minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. (18) They shall have linen turbans upon
their heads, and shall have linen undergarments upon their loins; they shall not gird
themselves with anything that causes sweat. In the new temple, the Zadokite priests were to
serve clothed only in linen. They would not be permitted to wear the partly woolen garments
worn by priests in the former temple. Linen is light and clean in appearance. The heavier wool
would cause perspiration that in turn would result in ritual defilement.
2. Garments must be removed (44:19): When they go forth into the outer court, even into the
outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they minister, and lay them
in the holy chambers; and they shall put on other garments, that they sanctify not the people
with their garments. The holy linen garments were to be removed and stored in the holy
chambers before the priests joined the lay people in the outer court. Holiness was communicated
by direct contact (cf. Exod 29:37; Lev 6:20). If the priests mingled with the lay people in those
holy garments, they too would be sanctified. Holy and profane were never to meet in the new
age.
3. Personal grooming (44:20): Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow
long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads. The priests were to be examples of holiness
to the people of God. They were not permitted to shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long.
Those customs were associated with heathen practice (cf. Lev 21:5, 10).

C. Ministerial Restrictions (44:21-22): Neither shall any of the priests drink wine, when they enter
into the inner court. (22) They shall not take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away; but
they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that is the widow of a priest.
As in the law of Moses, priests were not allowed to drink wine before performing their sacrificial
ministry in the inner court (v 21).
Rigid marriage restrictions prohibited a priest from marrying anyone but an Israelite virgin 778 or
the widow of a fellow priest (v 22). These strict marriage regulations were perhaps designed to
preserve the purity of the priestly families.

D. Ministerial Responsibility (44:23-24): They shall teach my people the difference between the holy
and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. (24) In a
controversy they shall stand to judge; according to my ordinances shall they judge it: and they
shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.
Verses 23-24 outline some of the responsibilities of the priests. They were teachers, 779 and as such
they were responsible, by word and example, for constantly reminding the people of the difference
between the holy and the common, the clean and the unclean (v 23). In civil law cases, the priests
acted as judges.780 In this capacity they were to render each verdict in accordance with the law of
God.

777
Vawter and Hoppe, ENH, 200.
778
In the law of Moses this regulation applied only to the high priest (Lev 21:13f.).
779
Cf. Deut 33:10; Mal 2:7.
780
Cf. Deut 17:8ff.; 19:17; 21:5.

254
 The primary function of the priests was strictly to observe the regulations concerning the
sacrifices that were to be offered on special festivals and sabbaths (v 24).

E. Ministerial Defilement (44:25-27): They shall go in to no dead person to defile themselves; but
for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that has had no
husband, they may defile themselves. (26) After he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven
days. (27) In the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the
sanctuary, he shall offer his sin-offering (oracle of the Lord GOD). As in the law of Moses, the
priests of the new temple age must avoid contact with dead bodies. Exceptions were made in the
case of close relatives (v 25). Contact with a corpse defiled priests and rendered them temporarily
unfit to perform their priestly function. A seven-day separation and ritual washing were necessary to
cleanse a priest defiled by death in the law of Moses. Ezekiel's regulations call for an additional
seven-day period after the cleansing (v 26). Upon resuming his ministry in the inner court, the priest
was to offer a sin-offering for his defilement (v 27). These additional regulations are intended to
portray the greater sanctity of the future temple.

PRIESTLY PROVISIONS
44:28-31

A. Priestly Inheritance (44:28): They shall have an inheritance: I am their inheritance; and you
shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. Whereas other tribes received
their inheritance in land tracts, the priesthood itself was the inheritance of the Zadokites. 781
Spiritual privilege is greater blessing than material possession.

B. Priestly Sustenance (44:29-31): They shall eat the meal-offering, the sin-offering, and the trespass-
offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. (30) The first of all the first- fruits of every
thing, and every oblation of everything, of all your oblations, shall be for the priest: you shall also
give unto the priests the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on your house. (31) The
priests shall not eat of any thing that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or beast. The priests
received a portion of the various offerings for their daily maintenance. Every devoted thing
(}:erem)-any property consecrated to God-belonged to the priests (v 29).
The first-fruits of the land-a token portion of the crop-belonged to the priests.782 The
oblation or heave-offering was the priest's portion of first-born clean animals that were killed
and sacrificed to God. The first cakes baked with the grain from the threshing floor were also to
be given to the priests (cf. Num 15:20). Those who were faithful in presenting these offerings to
the priests receive a special blessing (v 30; cf. Mal 3:10).
Appended to the list of what priests could eat is a prohibition. No Israelite could eat any animal
that died a natural death or that had been killed by wild beasts (cf. Exod 22:30; Lev 7:24; Deut
14:21). It is not clear why the regulation is repeated here in connection with the priests (v 31).

EZEKIEL 45
SPECIAL OFFERINGS TO TffE LORD

781
The Pentateuch gives this spiritual inheritance to the Levites in general (Deut 10:9; 18:2). Pointing to the greater sanctity of the future age,
Ezekiel limits this inheritance to the priests.
782
Cf. Deut 8:8 and Num 18:13.

255