Ezekiel 44:31

This is the same rule as Leviticus 22:8.

vision ~ something that God shows to a person but not with the physical sight. Visions are often in the form of dreams.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means, ‘He is always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
sacrifice ~ something that people gave to God. (or, something that people gave to a false god). It could be an animal, or grain, or oil, or wine. The priest burned all or part of the sacrifice on an altar. Sometimes people gave sacrifices in order to thank God. And sometimes people gave sacrifices so that God could forgive sin (Leviticus 4:35).
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.
cherubim ~ the group of cherubs.
cherub ~ a special angel who was in the most holy place in the temple.
angel ~ God’s special servants in heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
holy ~ what God is like. He is completely different from people. He never does anything wrong. The word ‘holy’ also describes something that is separate, for God’s use only. People must never use a holy thing for ordinary purposes.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
vision ~ something that God shows to a person but not with the physical sight. Visions are often in the form of dreams.
Babylonian ~ a person from the nation called Babylon or anything that has a relationship with Babylon.
holy ~ what God is like. He is completely different from people. He never does anything wrong. The word ‘holy’ also describes something that is separate, for God’s use only. People must never use a holy thing for ordinary purposes.
Messiah ~ The Jews expect a king to come who will save them. That king, called the Messiah, will rule both them and all people.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.

'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
circumcision ~ the act or result when someone circumcises a man.
circumcise ~ to cut off skin from the end of a male’s private parts. This showed that the man had joined God’s people. And so the man would benefit from God’s promises (Genesis chapter 17).
Levites ~ members of the tribe whose ancestor is Levi, son of Jacob.
tribe ~ The Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of Israel.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
turn ~ to change your behaviour, your friends, or your God; or, to carry out actions in order to oppose someone.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
prophet ~ person who speaks for God. He can sometimes say what will happen in the future. However, false prophets are people who merely pretend to speak God’s words.
clean ~ acceptable to God.
Sabbath ~ The Sabbath was the 7th day of the week. God told the Israelites to keep it as a special day.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.'

Ezekiel: “They shall know that I am God”

The Future *Temple and *Sacrifices

Ezekiel Chapter s 40 to 48

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 44

The East Gate – Ezekiel 44:1-3

v1 Then the man brought me back to the outer gate east of the *temple. But the gate was closed. v2 The *LORD said to me, ‘This gate must remain closed. Nobody may open it or enter by it. The *LORD, the God of *Israel, has entered by it so it must remain closed. v3 Only the prince may enter this gate. He will sit there and he will eat in front of the *LORD. The prince will enter through the hall of this gate. And he will go out the same way.’

Verses 1-3 The East Gate was a special gate. The *Lord had entered the *temple by this gate. Only the prince could go into this gate. There he could eat bread in front of the *Lord.

The prince will be the leader of the people. He will not be Christ because the prince needs to make a *sacrifice because of his own *sins (45:22). Christ does not need such a *sacrifice because he has no *sin. Unlike Christ, the prince has natural children (46:16). He will not be a priest but Christ will be the chief priest. Christ will be the king. So, this man will lead the people as Christ orders him.

The prince will be from the family of David. He will be a man who will be like David. The prince will love the *Lord as David did. And he will serve the *Lord as David did. God promised David that his family would rule his people (see 2 Samuel 7:16).

The priests who work in the *temple – Ezekiel 44:4-16

v4 Then the man brought me through the outer north gate to the front of the *temple. As I looked, I saw the *LORD’s *glory. It filled the *temple of the *LORD. And I fell down with my face to the ground.

v5 The *LORD said to me, ‘*Son of man, concentrate your mind. Look carefully. Listen well. Listen to all that I say to you. I will tell you all about the rules and regulations of the *LORD’s *temple. Look carefully at the entrance to the *temple and all the exits from the *temple area. v6 Then speak to those people who refuse to obey me. Say to the *Israelites: This is what the *LORD your King says to you. *Israelites, you must not do all those evil things that I hate. v7 You brought foreigners into my *holy place where they should not be. They have not received *circumcision in either their hearts or their bodies. They do not *worship me. You have ruined the honour of my *temple. You made *sacrifices of food, fat and blood to me. But you have not obeyed me. v8 You did not take care of my *holy things. But you gave foreigners control over my *temple. v9 This is what the *LORD your King says. Foreigners, who have not received *circumcision in their hearts and bodies, must not enter my *temple. Not even those foreigners who live among the *Israelites can enter.

v10 Some *Levites went far away from me when *Israel *turned from me. They followed their false gods. I will punish these *Levites because of their *sin. v11 These *Levites will be servants in my *holy place. They will guard the gates of the *temple. They will serve in the *temple area. They will kill the animals for the *burnt *sacrifices. They will make *sacrifices on behalf of the people. They will stand in front of the people to serve them. v12 But these *Levites helped the people to *worship their false gods. They caused the *Israelites to *sin. So, I have lifted up my hand as I made this judgement against them. I, the *LORD your King, will cause them to suffer the punishment because of their *sin. v13 They will not come near me to serve as priests. They will not come near any of my *holy things. They will not come near my most *holy *sacrifices. They will be ashamed of the things that they did. I hate those things. v14 But, I will appoint them so that they will be responsible for the duties in the *temple. They will take care of all the work that they must do in it.

v15 But some priests who are *Levites by Zadok their *ancestor were loyal to me. These *Levites did their duty to me in my *temple when the *Israelites *turned away from me. They will come near to serve me. They will stand in front of me to offer the fat and blood of the animals. They will make the *sacrifices to me, says the *LORD your King. v16 They are the only ones who may enter my *holy place. Only they may come near my table to serve me. They will take care of the things that I give to them to do.’

Verses 4-5 The *Lord’s *glory filled the *temple. The effect on Ezekiel was very powerful. The *glory was so great that it caused him to fall down with his face to the ground. Then the *Lord spoke to him. Ezekiel would see and hear the rules for the new *temple. God would tell to Ezekiel the rules for the priests. Ezekiel must tell these rules to the people.

Verses 6-9 Foreigners and strangers could bring their gifts to the *Lord. But they could not act as priests in the *temple. Neither could they be servants in the *temple. The priests and *temple servants had to be from the family of Levi.

In the old *temple, foreigners did come in. The priests of *Israel let them come in. The priests even let foreigners serve in the *temple. This was against the law that God gave to Moses. In the end, the *Israelites were even *worshipping foreign gods in the *temple (Ezekiel chapter 8). Such things must never happen in the *temple that Ezekiel saw.

God told Abraham to *circumcise all the males in his family. Afterwards, *circumcision was the sign of the special promise that God had made to *Israel. Every boy had to receive *circumcision when he was 8 days old. No male could be an *Israelite without *circumcision. All the foreigners who joined *Israel had to receive *circumcision. In this act, they had to obey God. But this is only a physical sign. It is even more important to obey God from the heart. Ezekiel calls this the *circumcision of the heart. Those who would enter the *temple to *worship God must receive *circumcision of heart and body. Christians do not need *circumcision in the body. But they must have the heart attitude that obeys God.

Verses 10-14 As a group, the *Levites had *turned away from God. They had served false gods. In this, they led the *Israelites to *sin. So, the *Lord will punish them. And they will be ashamed of what they did. In future, the families of these *Levites will not be priests. They will not serve at the *altar. They will not go into the *holy place.

The *Levites will guard the *temple gates. There will be strict rules about the people who may come into the *temple. And the *Levites will make sure that the people obey those rules.

The *Levites will be the servants in the *temple. They will be responsible for all the work in the *temple. Also, the *Levites will kill the animals that the people bring to them for *sacrifices.

Verses 15-16 When all the *Israelites *turned from God, some priests remained loyal to God. The *ancestor of these priests was Zadok. Zadok was a priest at the time of David. He remained loyal to David when David’s sons, Absalom and Adonijah, tried to oppose their father (2 Samuel 8:17; 2 Samuel 15:24-29; 1 Kings 1:8). David’s son Solomon appointed Zadok to be the chief priest (1 Kings 2:35).

Because they were loyal, the *Lord will reward the Zadok priests in the new *temple. Only they will be able to serve the *Lord in the *holy place. They will make the *sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. The *Lord will not allow other people to come into the *holy place.

Rules for the priests from Zadok’s family – Ezekiel 44:17-31

v17 ‘When the priests enter the gates of the inner area, they must wear special clothes. The material of the clothes must be the material called linen. They must not wear any wool. So, they may serve me at the gates of the inner area, or inside the *temple. v18 They must wear special hats on their heads. These hats must also be of the material called linen. And the clothes that they wear round their bodies must also be linen. They must not wear anything that will make them damp. v19 When they go out from the inner area, they must remove the special clothes. They must leave these clothes in the *holy rooms and they must put on other clothes. Then they may go out to the people in the outer area. Their special clothes are *holy, and the people must not touch those clothes.

v20 The priests must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long. They must only cut their hair to keep it at a proper length. v21 None of the priests may drink wine when he enters the inner area. v22 The priests must not marry widows. And the priests must not marry women who have received a divorce from their husbands. Priests may marry only women who have not had sex. And these women must be from the *Israelites. But they may marry the widow of a priest. v23 They must teach my people the difference between *holy things, and things that are not *holy. They must help my people to know what is not *clean. And they must show them what is *clean.

v24 When there are legal arguments, the priests shall be the judges. They must decide these arguments by the rules that I have taught. They must obey my laws and my rules for all my special meals. They must keep my *Sabbath days *holy.

v25 Priests must not go near a dead person. If they do, they will not be *clean. If the dead person belonged to the priest’s close family, the priest may go near. The priest may do this for his father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or for his unmarried sister. The priest will not be *clean but he may do this. v26 After a priest has become *clean again, he must wait for 7 days. v27 Then he may go into the inner area to serve in the *temple. But he must make a *sacrifice because of his *sin’, says the *LORD your King.

v28 ‘The priests will have no land to own in *Israel. They will have me instead of property. I will be their possession. v29 They will eat the grain, *sin and blame *sacrifices. Everything that *Israel gives to me, the *LORD, will be theirs. v30 The best fruits of all the first harvests will belong to the priests. And all the special gifts that you give to me will belong to the priests. You will also give to the priests the first part of the flour from your mill. If you do this, God will show his kindness to your family. v31 The priests must not eat any bird or animal that they find dead already. They must not eat anything that wild animals have killed.’

Verses 17-19 God is *holy. Before the priests approach God in the inner area, they must put on special clothes. The material of these clothes must not make the priests hot. They could not be of wool because it would cause them to sweat. (That is, to be damp from the warmth.) So, the material must be linen. Linen is a good quality cloth.

As soon as the priests go out from the inner area, they must change their clothes. These clothes are *holy. The priests must wear them in the inner area only. They must take off these clothes in special *holy rooms (42:13-14). Then other people cannot touch these clothes by accident. People who are not priests must not even touch these clothes.

Verses 20-22 There are several extra rules for the Zadok priests (that is, the priests from Zadok’s family). They must not shave their heads. The priests of false gods often shaved their heads. They gave their hair as a gift to the gods. This may be one of the reasons for this rule.

They must not have long hair. Long hair could mean that a person was sad at the death of someone. The Zadok priests will not be sad. They will serve the *Lord with joy.

These rules about hair are to show that the Zadok priests are *holy to the *Lord.

When the Zadok priest serves in the *temple, he must have complete control of himself. Therefore, while he is on duty he must not drink wine.

He can marry. But his bride must be a woman who has not had sex with a man. But he can marry the widow of another priest. He must not marry any other widow. He must not marry a woman who has left her husband.

These rules are like the rules for the chief priest in the old *temple. But here the rules apply to all the priests from Zadok’s family. This passage does not mention a chief priest because the *Messiah will be the chief priest.

Verses 23-24 These rules show what it means to be *holy. The priests must teach the people to be *holy. They themselves must be *holy. And by their own lives, they must show the people how to live. They must help people to know what is right.

The priests will be the experts in God’s laws. They will be the judges of any problems among the people. They will decide what is right. The *Lord will teach them his laws. And they must use those laws when they make decisions.

They must obey God’s laws themselves. They must obey all the rules about special meals. And they must obey the rules for the *Sabbaths.

Verses 25-27 A priest should not go near to a dead person. He could not go into the *temple’s inner area if he had been near a dead person. He would not be *clean. He could not serve the *Lord as a priest.

He could go near if the dead person belonged to his family. Family here means his parents, his children, his brothers and his sisters. But if his sister is married, she is not part of his family. He must not go near to her body when she dies.

If he did go near a dead relative, he would not be *clean. So, he must get himself *clean. (There are rules about this in Numbers 19:11-13.) When he is *clean again, he must wait 7 days. At the end of the 7 days, he must make a *sacrifice. To go near a dead person is like *sin because by it the priest is not *clean. After he is *clean then he may serve the *Lord in the inner area.

Verses 28-31 The priests will own no property in *Israel. They will depend on the *Lord for all that they need. Their food will come from the *sacrifices that the people give to the *Lord. But they must not eat the meat from birds or animals that they find dead already. And they must not eat anything that wild animals have killed. All that the people give to the *Lord will belong to the priests.

The people must give to the *Lord the first part of their harvests. That part under the old rules would be a 10th of the harvest. Then the *Lord will show his kindness to their families.

temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
sacrifice ~ The priests killed a special animal and they burned it on an altar. That animal was called a sacrifice. They offered a sacrifice when they asked God to forgive sins. When Jesus died, he was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Animals or people whom God or other people kill for a purpose are also sacrifices (see Ezekiel 39:17). And people also made sacrifices to false gods.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
sacrifice ~ The priests killed a special animal and they burned it on an altar. That animal was called a sacrifice. They offered a sacrifice when they asked God to forgive sins. When Jesus died, he was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Animals or people whom God or other people kill for a purpose are also sacrifices (see Ezekiel 39:17). And people also made sacrifices to false gods.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
holy ~ a holy object is special; it is only for religion. God himself and his name are also called ‘holy’. This means that God and his name are perfect, in fact, even more than perfect.
circumcision ~ the act or result when someone circumcises a man.
circumcise ~ to cut off skin from the end of a male’s private parts.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Levites ~ members of the tribe whose ancestor is Levi, son of Jacob.
tribe ~ The Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of Israel.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
turn ~ to change your behaviour, your friends, or your God; or, to carry out actions in order to oppose someone.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
circumcise ~ to cut off skin from the end of a male’s private parts.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
clean ~ acceptable to God.
Sabbath ~ The Sabbath was the 7th day of the week. God told the Israelites to keep it as a special day.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Messiah ~ The Jews expect a king to come who will save them. That king, called the Messiah, will rule both them and all people.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.