Ezekiel 44:10

And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. the Levites that are gone away far from me ... they shall even bear (namely, the punishment of) their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary. SO MARK, A LEVITE, NEPHEW OF BARNABAS ( ), was punished by Paul for departing at Perga from Paul and Barnabas in their missionary tour among the Gentiles, and thereby losing an opportunity of bearing the cross of Christ in the face of the Jewish opponents to the admission of Gentiles, and yet was afterward admitted into his friendship again, and showed his zeal (; ; as is shown by Paul's favourable notices of him subsequently,...

Verse Ezekiel 44:10. _AND THE LEVITES THAT ARE GONE AWAY FAR FROM ME_] This refers to the schism of Jeroboam, who, when he set up a new worship, got as many of the priests and Levites to join him in his idolatry as he could. These, on the return from the captivity, should not be permitted to perform the functions of _priests_ in the new temple; but they might be continued as _keepers of all the_ _charge of the house_-be treasurers, guards of the temple, porters, c. see Ezekiel 44:11. The whole of these passages refer to the period of time when the second temple was built....

Admonition to the ministering priests, grounded upon former neglect. Ezekiel 44:4 THE NORTH GATE BEFORE THE HOUSE - The north gate of the inner court. God expostulates with His people in the seat of their former idolatries Ezekiel 8:3. Ezekiel 44:5 MARK WELL - The careful arrangements made had all been intended to keep the temple and its surroundings from profanation. Hence, attention to these particulars is enjoined. Ezekiel 44:7 STRANGERS - This refers especially to the

EXPOSITION The prophet, having finished his account of the temple, or place of worship, proceeds, in the second section of his vision (Ezekiel 44-46.), to set forth the culture, or ritual, to be performed in the temple; treating first of the several classes in the new community, and of their relation to the sanctuary (Ezekiel 44:1.); next of the regulations to be observed in the maintenance of worship (Ezekiel 45:1.); and, thirdly, of certain supplementary orders for the prince, the people, and the priests, when engaged in the solemnities of their religion (Ezekiel 46:1.). In particular, the present chapter deals (1) with the relation of the prince to the sanctuary ...

AND THE LEVITES THAT ARE GONE AWAY FAR FROM ME,.... These Levites were priests, as appears from Ezekiel 44:13, who professed themselves Gospel preachers, ministers of the reformed churches; but departed from the reformation principles; erred from the faith; and either mixed it with the doctrines of men, or wholly dropped, concealed, or dissembled it; departed from the word of God, as the rule of faith and practice; and set up their own reason as their guide in matters of religion; were gone off from the pure worship of God and his ordinances, and entirely neglected the discipline of his house: WHEN ISRAEL WENT ASTRAY, WHICH WENT ASTRAY AWAY FROM ME AFTER THEIR IDOLS; though there may be an allusion to some apostasy of literal Israel, under the Old Testament, and from whence language may be borrowed to express this; either to the Israelites joining themselves to Baalpeor

CHAPTER 44 _ 1. The outward eastern gate for the prince (Ezekiel 44:1) _ 2. The charge concerning the strangers and the rebellious tribes (Ezekiel 44:4) 3. The charge concerning the priests, the sons of Zadok (Ezekiel 44:15) 4. The inheritance of the priests (Ezekiel 44:28)...

THE LEVITES. The regulations that follow are among the most important in the book, and they have played a great part in the critical rearrangement of OT literature and the consequent reconstruction of OT history (p. 129). The drastic character of the innovation about to be described is forcibly suggested by the solemn introduction in Ezekiel 44:5. In the past the menial offices of the sanctuary _had_ been discharged by aliens often probably prisoners of waruncircumcised in flesh and therefore, from Ezekiel's point of view, also uncircumcised in heart. That is an abomination, to be tolerated no more within Yahweh's holy house. But who is henceforth to discharge those duties? The Levites, Ezekiel answers; and by that he means those who had officiated at the worship of the high places, nominally no doubt a Yahweh worship, but in reality, and especially to a man like Ezekiel, idolatrous. Whe

THE LEVITES. These are distinguished here from the priests (15-27); see S2 and S1, above and consult note on Ezekiel 43:19. and Deuteronomy 17:2. ARE GONE AWAY. went astray. IDOLS. dirty idols. INIQUITY. Put by Figure of speech _Metonymy_ (of Cause), App-6, for the punishment due to it. Reif, _'avah_. App-44....

Such services shall not be performed by foreigners any more, but by the Levites who formerly ministered at the high-places. Because of their sin in leading the house of Israel astray they shall bear their iniquity and be excluded from the priesthood....

THE LEVITES THAT ARE GONE AWAY, &C.— Many of these desisted from attending upon God's service, and fell into idolatry, first in the general apostacy of the ten tribes, afterwards under Ahaz and other wicked kings. These should be degraded from attending upon the higher offices belonging to the priesthood; God having particularly threatened to punish the sin of idolatry unto the third and fourth generation; idolatry being, according to the law of the Jews, one of the crimes which was punished with the deprivation of the priesthood. See Lowth and Calmet. Houbigant renders the verse thus, _And the Levites also who departed from me, and who drew astray those of the children of Israel who went after their Gods, shall bear their iniquity._...