Ezekiel 44:17

And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall be clothed with linen - symbolical of purity. Wool soon induces perspiration in the sultry East, and so becomes uncleanly....

Verse Ezekiel 44:17. _NO WOOL SHALL COME UPON THEM_] The reason is plain; wool is more apt than _linen_ to contract _dirt_ and breed _insects_; linen breeds none; besides, this is a _vegetable_, and the other an _animal_ substance. It was an ancient maxim, that whatever was taken from a _dead body_ was impure in matters of religion, and should not be permitted to enter into the temple. The Egyptian priests always wore _linen_ on their bodies, and shoes of _matting_ or _rushes_ on their feet. The Mohammedans never write the Koran upon _vellum_ or _skin_ of any kind, as they would consider that as a defilement....

Regulations as to the priests’ services. The garments of the priests are defined and various rules prescribed in the Law are repeated with some additions in order to denote additional care to avoid uncleanness. Ezekiel 44:18 The material of which the four vestments of the ordinary priest were made was “linen,” or, more accurately, “byssus,” the cotton stuff of Egypt. The two special qualities of the byssus - white and shining - are characteristic, and on them part of the symbolic meaning depended. Compare Revelation 19:8. Ezekiel 44:19 THEY SHALL NOT SANCTIFY THE PEOPLE - They shall not touch the p

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 IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT WHEN THEY ENTER IN AT THE GATES OF THE INNER COURT,.... The priests before described; when they enter the right way into a true Gospel church, consisting of such who are internally renewed, and have an inward work of grace upon their hearts, and are inward court worshippers; either as private Christians, to pray together, to praise the Lord, to hear his word, and sit down at his table; or as public ministers, to preach the Gospel, and administer ordinances: THEY SHALL BE CLOTHED WITH LINEN GARMENTS; meaning not the outward conversation garments of the Lord's people; nor their inward garment of sanctification; but the robe of Christ's righteousness, and garments of salvation; that fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of the saints; and which, though but one, serves for many; and answers not only all the purposes of a garment, but even of...

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 PRIESTS. (_Their duties.) The_ only officials qualified to bear the name or discharge the duties of priests especially the duty of sacrifice are the Zadokites, _i.e._ the descendants of the Zadok who had been appointed head of the Jerusalem priesthood by Solomon, when Abiathar, who had sided with Adonijah, was deposed (1 Kings 2:35). Doubtless the Jerusalem priests were, in point of morality and religion, superior, broadly speaking, to the country priests (_cf._ Ezekiel 44:15), though the revelations in ch. 8 show that the Temple worship could be depraved enough; but the high prerogatives are here conferred upon them, just because of their connexion with Jerusalem. Their officiating dress, which was to be of linen, they had to change, before going out to the people in the outer court: ot

THEY SHALL BE CLOTHED, &c. Reference to Pentateuch, (Exodus 28:42). App-92. WITHIN. toward [the house]....

AND WITHIN— _And within the house or temple._...

_3. The regulations for the Zadokite priests (44:15-27_) TRANSLATION (15) 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. (17) And it shall be that, when they enter in at the gates of the inner court they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. (18) They shall have linen tires upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causes sweat. (19) And when they go forth int...