Ezekiel 44 commentary

This chapter contains ordinances relative to the true priests. The prince evidently means Christ, and the words in 2, may remind us that no other can enter heaven, the true sanctuary, as Christ did; namely, by virtue of his own excellency, and his personal holiness, righteousness, and strength. He who is the Brightness of Jehovah's glory entered by his own holiness; but that way is shut to the whole human race, and we all must enter as sinners, by faith in his blood, and by the power of his grace.

CHAPTER 44

Eze 44:1-31. Ordinances for the Prince and the Priests.

2. shut ... not be opened--(Job 12:14; Is 22:22; Re 3:7). "Shut" to the people (Ex 19:21, 22), but open to "the prince" (Eze 44:3), he holding the place of God in political concerns, as the priests do in spiritual. As a mark of respect to an Eastern monarch, the gate by which he enters is thenceforth shut to all other persons (compare Ex 19:24).

3. the prince--not King Messiah, as He never would offer a burnt offering for Himself, as the prince is to do (Eze 46:4). The prince must mean the civil ruler under Messiah. His connection with the east gate (by which the Lord had returned to His temple) implies, that, as ruling under God, he is to stand in a place of peculiar nearness to God. He represents Messiah, who entered heaven, the true sanctuary, by a way that none other could, namely, by His own holiness; all others must enter as sinners by faith in His blood, through grace.

eat bread before the Lord--a custom connected with sacrifices (Ge 31:54; Ex 18:12; 24:11; 1Co 10:18).

4-6. Directions as to the priests. Their acts of desecration are attributed to "the house of Israel" (Eze 44:6, 7), as the sins of the priesthood and of the people acted and reacted on one another; "like people, like priest" (Jr 5:31; Ho 4:9).

7. uncircumcised in heart--Israelites circumcised outwardly, but wanting the true circumcision of the heart (De 10:16; Ac 7:51).

uncircumcised in flesh--not having even the outward badge of the covenant-people.

8. keepers ... for yourselves--such as you yourselves thought fit, not such as I approve of. Or else, "Ye have not yourselves kept the charge of My holy things, but have set others as keepers of My charge in My sanctuary for yourselves" [Maurer].

10-11. Levites ... shall ... bear--namely, the punishment of

their iniquity ... Yet they shall be ministers--So Mark, a Levite, nephew of Barnabas (Ac 4:36), was punished by Paul for losing an opportunity of bearing the cross of Christ, and yet was afterwards admitted into his friendship again, and showed his zeal (Ac 13:13; 15:37; Col 4:10; 2Ti 4:11). One may be a believer, and that too in a distinguished place, and yet lose some special honor--be acknowledged as pious, yet be excluded from some dignity [Bengel].

charge at the gates--Better to be "a doorkeeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Psa 84:10). Though standing as a mere doorkeeper, it is in the house of God, which hath foundations: whereas he who dwells with the wicked, dwells in but shifting tents.

15. Zadok--The priests of the line of Ithamar were to be discharged from ministrations in the temple, because of their corruptions, following in the steps of Eli's sons, against whom the same denunciation was uttered (1Sa 2:32, 35). Zadok, according to his name (which means "righteous") and his line, were to succeed (1Ki 2:35; 1Ch 24:3), as they did not take part in the general apostasy to the same degree, and perhaps [Fairbairn] the prophet, referring to their original state, speaks of them as they appeared when first chosen to the office.

17. linen--symbolical of purity. Wool soon induces perspiration in the sultry East and so becomes uncleanly.

18. bonnets--turbans.

19. not sanctify the people with their garments--namely, those peculiarly priestly vestments in which they ministered in the sanctuary.

20. Neither ... shave ... heads--as mourners do (Le 21:1-5). The worshippers of the Egyptian idols Serapis and Isis shaved their heads; another reason why Jehovah's priests are not to do so.

nor suffer ... locks to grow long--as the luxurious, barbarians, and soldiers in warfare did [Jerome].

21. Neither ... wine--lest the holy enthusiasm of their devotion should be mistaken for inebriation, as in Peter's case (Ac 2:13, 15, 18).

28. I am their inheritance--(Nu 18:20; De 10:9; 18:1; Jos 13:14, 32).

30. give ... priest the first ... that he may cause the blessing to rest--(Pr 3:9, 10; Mal 3:10).

The outward sanctuary - In opposition to the temple itself, which was the inner sanctuary.

This gate shall be shut - It was not to be opened on ordinary occasions, nor at all on the week days: but only on the Sabbaths and the new moons. See the account of the gates (4) in the explanation of the plan.

This verse has been adduced by the Roman Catholics to prove the perpetual virginity of the mother of our Lord; and it may be allowed to be as much to the purpose as any other that has been brought to prove this very precarious point, on which no stress should ever be laid by any man. Mary was a virgin when she brought forth Jesus.

Mark well, and behold - Take notice of every thing; register all so fully that thou shalt be able to give the most minute information to the children of Israel.

The fat and the blood - These never went into common use; they were wholly offered to God. The blood was poured out; the fat consumed.

Because of all your abominations - Several MSS. of Kennicott's and De Rossi's read their abominations, referring to the strangers mentioned before.

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, etc.; see Eze 44:11-15. The whole of these passages refer to the period of time when the second temple was built.

Come near to my table - To place the shew-bread there, and to burn incense on the golden altar in the holy of holies.

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.

Neither shall they shave their heads - The priests of Isis shaved their heads close to the skin; the priests of Budhoo do so still, their ordinances oblige them to shave their heads every tenth day. To let the hair grow long would have been improper; therefore the Lord commands them to poll - cut the hair short, but not to shave.

Neither shall they take for their wives a widow - This was prohibited to the high priest only, by Moses, Lev 21:13, Lev 21:14.

And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves - Touching the dead defiles a Hindoo now, as it formerly did a Jew; and they must bathe to become clean again.

I am their inheritance - Those who affect to form their ecclesiastical matters on the model of the Jewish Church have with one consent left this out of the question. They will not live on the free-will offerings of the people; but must have vast revenues, and these secured to them by law. That every minister of God should be supported by the altar I grant; but I think, instead of that method of paying the parochial clergy which I see is so much objected to, and breeds so much dissension between the pastors and their flocks, it would be better, on these accounts, to assign them a portion of land adequate to their supply, or let the state maintain them as it does its other officers. In Israel God was their inheritance and their possession; but they had the breast and shoulder of all sin-offerings and trespass-offerings, and all dedicated things were theirs; and they had a portion of all the dough that was prepared for bread. These were considered as the Lord's property, and these he gave to them; and this is always implied in the Lord's being their inheritance and their possession. They had a plentiful support.

Hitherto tithes have been thought the best mode of paying the clergy, and providing for the poor of each parish; but these matters have undergone such alterations since the time of their institution, that some emendation of the system is at present absolutely necessary.

There should be a public acknowledgment of God in every nation, and this should be provided for by the state in a way the least burdensome to the people, that all may rejoice in the benefit. Happy the nations that have a Bible so correct, and a Liturgy so pure, as those in the British empire! In such cases, a religion established by the state is an unutterable blessing to the nation; only keep it to the Bible, and to the Liturgy, and all, under God, will be well; but when the sermon is against these, all is bad.

Shall not be opened - Shall not ordinarily stand open. No man - None of the common people. The Lord - That glory which was the visible sign of his presence.

He - The king might sit before the Lord, others might not. Bread - That part of the sacrifice, which was allowed to the offerer.

He - Christ in the appearance of a man.

The entering - The persons who may, and who may not enter. The sanctuary - Taken here for the courts, rather than the house itself.

Let it suffice - Let the time you have spent on your sins suffice.

Bread - Either the meal - offering or first - fruits of corn and dough, and the shew - bread. They - The whole nation of the Jews.

Have not kept - You have not observed the laws I gave you for the keeping of my holy things, house, sacrifices, and worship. Have set - You have substituted others in your rooms.

Are gone away - By their idolatry.

Ministers - Servants employed in the lowest work. Sanctuary - Not the temple itself, but about the courts of it. Having charge - They shall be porters to open and shut, and sweep, and go on errands. To minister - To wait on the priests.

Iniquity - The punishment of it.

Shall bear their shame - They shall be dealt with according to their abominations, and bear the punishment thereof.

That kept the charge - Were constant, zealous, and faithful in their priestly office.

Into my sanctuary - Both to the altar, to the temple, and the high - priest into the holy of holies. Come near - To set the shew - bread on, and to take it off. To minister - To offer sacrifice at the altar, and incense in the house. God will put marks of honour upon those who are faithful to him in trying times, and will, employ those in his service, who have kept close to it, when others drew back.

And within - In the temple.

Shall not sanctify - By the law, common things, touching holy things, became consecrated, and no more fit for common use.

To grow long - Priding themselves in it, as Absalom. Shall only poll - When the hair is grown, they shall cut the ends of their hair, and keep it in moderate size.

Drink wine - Or any other strong liquor, when they go either to trim the lamps or set the shew - bread in order, or to offer incense in the temple, or when they go to the altar to offer a sacrifice, which stood in the inner court.

Shall judge - Shall determine the controversy. Assemblies - Publick congregations.

Cleansed - After for seven days he hath kept from the dead. They - The priests, who are about the house of God, shall appoint seven days more to this defiled person for his cleansing before he is admitted into the sanctuary.

It - The sin - offering: but under this one, all other offerings are couched. For an inheritance - Instead of lands and cities.

And the first - So soon as the first - fruits are ripe in the field, your vineyards, and olive yards. Every oblation - Whether free - will offering, or prescribed. The first of your dough - 'Tis conceived this was of every mass of dough they made, and of the first of the dough, which every year they first made of the new corn, as by the custom of the Jews at this day appears. That he - The priest may bless, and pray for thee.

1 THen he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east, and it was shut .

When the Altar was measured, and directions given for Consecrating it at first, and for the perpetual use of it for future.

From the inner Court, where he had been viewing the Altar to the outer part of the same Court, and to the East gate thereof; Others say, 'twas to the Temple gate Eastward, and that the Temple is called outward Sanctuary, in respect of the Holy of Holies.

When, or by whom the Prophet sayes not, but he found it shut.

2 Then said the LORD unto me, this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened , and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD the God of Israel hath entred in by it, therefore it shall be shut .

Likely the Prophet was surprised somewhat, and wonder'd, that the door should be shut, and while he museth on it.

The Lord speaks to him out of the Temple, and informs him, and satisfieth him.

i. e. Shall not ordinarily stand open, but be shut till occasion requires it should sometimes be opened.

None of the common ordinary sort of people, or none but the Prince, Gods Vicegerent, and the ministring Priests.

What was the Glory of the God of Israel, chap. 43. ver. 2. is here the Lord God of Israel, that glory was the visible sign of his presence. His Glory is himself, and where that entred, he entred, i. e. gave evidence of a more then ordinary presence there.

Either kept shut with bars, or by a prohibition, be as if 'twere shut, that none should enter thereby.

3 It is for the prince ; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

For the King say some, if so, then the door shut was the door, not of the Temple, but of the East Gate of the Priests Court. The high Priest, and the second Priest, say others, and indeed this most likely.

The King might sit before the Lord, others might not, and the Priests stood ministring, as Hebrews 10.11. Perhaps the High Priest might have some priviledge to sit, when others might not.

If understood of the King, 'twas his eating of the Sacrifice, that part of it which was allowed to the offerer, if this Prince be the High Priest, this bread was the shew bread, which it seems he might sit and eat in or near the Porch of the Gate, whereas other Priests were bound to eat in the common refectory, as appears, chap. 42. verse 13. let. s.

He may, 'tis his priviledge, or he shall, that is, 'tis his duty to enter at this, and to come out at it, that the people may know which way to look, when they would see their High Priest enter to make atonement, which may be mystical, and include our looking to the great High Priest.

4 Then brought he me 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.

When he had been informed of the reason why the East Gate was shut, and when he perceived, he must not go out thereby.

The Angel, or Christ in the appearance of Man.

To the North Gate of the inner Court, whence he had a prospect of the Temple, though no door to it on that side.

Through the Windowes of the Temple he did discern that brightness and lustre which filled the Temple.

Vid. chap. 1. verse 28. let. i. k. l. m. and chap. 43. verse 2. let. c.

Vid. chap. 1. verse 28. let. l.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 letter]hap. 3.12. [illegible: 1 word] 43.5.

5 And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the lawes thereof, and mark well the entring in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary .

The prescribed rules for persons, and things in and about the Temple, these Ordinances are called Laws in this verse.

Set thy mind, that thou mayst compreprehend them all.

Not so much the Gates and Porches, through which the entrance is to the house, as the persons who may, and who may not enter.

Taken here largely for the Holy Courts rather, then for the house it self.

The whole of the first part of this verse is chap. 40. verse 4. where 'tis explained.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 letter]eb. Set thine [illegible: 1 word].

6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious , even to the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD, O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations.

Vid. chap. 2. ver. 3. let. f. and ver. 6, 7, 8. of that third Chapter.

Let the time you have spent on your sins, your many great sins and abominations, let them be thought enough, nay too much, as 1 Pet. 4.3. do so no more.

7 In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers , uncircumcised in heart , and uncircumcised in flesh , to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it; even my house, when ye offer my bread , the fat and the blood , and they have broken my covenant , because of all your abominations.

Either by abusing your power you have licensed, or by conniving, you have permitted to come into my Holy Courts.

Forreigners and Heathen, who had their Idols in the very Courts of the Temple, and there worshipt their Idols, as chap. 8. ver. 5.10, 14, 16.

The worst of them, profane and impious.

No uncircumcised one should come into the Court of the people, but you have brought them in to the very Sanctuary at the times of publick Worship, and when you have been offering my bread, &c. Some think, that the profane carelesness of the Iewish Rulers was such, they suffered uncircumcised ones to be Priests among them, and to approach to God's Altar, this done, in Solomon's degenerate dayes, and in the dayes of Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon.

Either the Meat-offering, or first fruits of Corn and Dough, and the shew-bread.

Which was taken off the Sacrifices, and burnt.

How let out, received into Vessels, sprinkled and poured out, the Priests and Rulers of my house, through a sinful familiarity with Heathens, have given them courage to aske, and you have not zeal and courage enough to refuse them, but you have satisfied their forbidden curiosity, and shewed them all these things; Or, as was said, have advanced some to be Priests in my house, and suffered others to be Priests of Idols standing, and worshipt in my Courts.

The whole Nation of the Iewes, the people of the Land.

Turn'd Idolaters, mixt with Heathens, forsaken me and my Law.

Taking example from your practices, or complying with your Superstitious and Idolatrous inventions.

Marginal references: Heb. children of a stranger.; Lev. 26.41.

8 And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for your selves.

You have not observed the Lawes I gave you for the careful, and exact keeping of my Holy things; House, Sacrifices, and Worship.

You have substituted others in your rooms, made Officials, and Surrogates, and Curats to look to the Gates, and these have let in the profane and unclean, your pride, or covetousness, or laziness, hath taken you off from your duty, and your charge, or you have, as you saw good, consecrated persons, whether fit or unfit, whether approved or not approved by me, so you have profaned my Name, and violated my Law, Numb. 18.4.

Marginal references: Or, ward, or, ordinance. So ver. 14. and 16.

9 ¶ Thus saith the Lord GOD, No stranger uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.

Now God renews his former Law against the permitting of the wicked, and Heathens to enter his Sanctuary. None, of what quality soever, what interest soever they make, though Princes, Nobles, Learned, Travellers, that come to view Nations, and the rarities of them: None of these, or such like, shall on any colour of pretence be brought in to my Sanctuary. Perhaps Solomon shewed Sheba's Queen too much, we are sure Hezekiah shewed the Embassadors too much, yet we read not, that either of them shew'd the Sanctuary.

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.

Priests intended here, and indeed the sons, or posterity of them is here intended; for this Apostacy among them was elder then the eldest of them all.

Idolaters go far from God, for they depart as an Adulterous Wife from her Husband, their hearts, and affections are far from God, they fell to heathenish Idolatry.

It may be worth our while to enquire what time, or near what time this was, I doubt Baal P[illegible: 2 letters]r▪ Num. 25. or from Solomons time, when there was somewhat of this sin among the Priests. But of Re[illegible: 1 letter]oboams time 'tis said 2 Chron. 12.1. All Israel forsook the Law of the Lord. And in Ahaz his time, when the Altar at Da[illegible: 1 letter]ascus so pleas'd him, and the High-Priest U[illegible: 1 letter]iah, that presently an Altar, like that is made, and set up between Gods House and Altar; and Orders, or, in our Language, injunctions from the King to the High Priest, and from him to the inferior Priests and Levites, who obey, 2 King. 16.16. and Manasseh carried the Apostacy higher. Now account from any of these, from the last of them to the first return out of Captivity, is 114 years, to which we must add the 25 years, which each Priest must be ere they enter the Priests Office, 'twil amount to 139 years, and to these add 44 ere this Temple was repair'd, 'twill be 183 years, too great an age for any of the Priests to be of, therefore, as I said, the Preists that are now degraded, are the children of those Apostate Preists who were (as Zech. 1.5, 6. said of the Fathers) dead.

Shall bear the punishment of this their Apostacy, be debased to meanest Services, subjected to others, and be deprived for ever ministring at the Altar. So 2 King. 23.8, 9. and so God executed his threat against Eli's House. 1 Sam. 2.13.

11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary , having charge at the gates of the house, and ministring to the house: they shall slay the burnt-offering, and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them .

Servants, employ'd in the lowest, and least honourable work.

Not the Temple it self, but about the courts of it.

Shall be Porters to open and shut, and sweep, and ready to go on errands.

Probably made learn the Arts of Mason or Smith to mend and repair, to fetch Wood and Water with Iehusites.

Do that servile work for the sacrificing Priest.

All the sacrifices the People bring.

Heb. expression of Servants attendance.

To wait and obey the Priests.

12 Because they ministred unto them before their Idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lift up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity .

Acted, as Priests to Idols, and in the name of Idolatrous Worshippers, sacrificed to the Idols.

Were first occasion of fall to some, when their Example was follow'd, and in after times they seduced, perswaded, and urged them to serve their Idols, and sacrifice to them for this was the gain of the Idol Priests.

Sworn against them, that they shall suffer for this their Iniquity. This lifting up the hand is the form of an Oath, Exod. 6.8. Deut. 32.40. chap. 20.5. let. r.

The punishment of this Sin, so 'tis chap. 14.10. and chap. 18.19, 20. and 23.35, 49.

Marginal references: Heb. were for a stumbling-block of iniquity unto, &c.

13 And they shall not come near unto me to do the office of a Priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame , and their abominations which they have committed.

They shall never be admitted to the office, nor employ'd in the proper work of a Priest, that ministers to me.

They shall not come into the Temple, much less into the Oracle, nor have any part in the offering up of Sacrifices on the Altar, tho' they have meat, drink, and lodging about the Temple, yet as discarded Servants, that are retained lest they starve.

They shall be little regarded, but disesteem'd, and put to shame, and this shall be part of their punishment.

They shall be dealt with according to their abominations, i. e. their Apostacy, and Idolatry, and bear the punishment hereof.

14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

Vid. ver. 11. let. t. x. y. z.

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, saith the Lord GOD.

So called from their office.

By descent from Levi, Iacob's son.

Who was of Eleazar's Family, to whose father Phineas a covenant of Salt ensur'd the High-Priesthood, and all the honour, priviledges and advantages thereof Num. 25 12, 13.

Were constant, zealous and faithful in their Priestly office, and their duties in it.

This may possibly refer to that transgression in the matter of Baal P[illegible: 1 letter]or, of which Num. 25.3. and Psal. 106.28, 29, 30. Vid. ver. 10. let. r.

Vid. chap. 40.46.

To offer exp[illegible: 1 letter]atory Sacrifices, to make atonement, and intercede for the People, this honour God put upon them for their integrity, and constancy in the things of God.

Marginal references: chap. 43.19.

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 .

The High Priest and the other Priests shall have right and liberty of entring▪

Both to the Altar, to the Temple, and the High-Priest into the Holy of Holies.

To set the shew-bread on, and to take it off.

To offer Sacrifice at the Altar, and incense in the House, this the Priests did in their Course, and of this line, the High Priest alone once a year in the day of Expiation went in to Minister to the Lord in the Holy of Holies.

See ver. 8. let. n.

17 And it shall come to pass that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court , they shall be clothed with linnen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court , and within .

They must put on their Priestly garments in the chambers, that are appointed for Vestryes to them, where they put off the Garments, when the service was done, and where they put them on when they approached to the Altar, chap. 42.14.

Where the Altar of Burnt-offering stood, and where the Temple, which is included stood.

According to the Law, Exod. 28, 42, 43.

The reason hereof is given in the next verse.

About the Altar of burnt-offering.

In the Temple it self, in every service of both.

Marginal references: Exod. [illegible: 3 letters]

18 They shall have linnen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linnen breeches upon their loines: they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.

This Verse recounts but two Garments of linnen, the Bonnet and the Breeches, but Exod. 28.39. and 1 Sam. 2.18.28. and 14.3. mention a linnen Coat, or Ephod, so they had three linnen Garments, and a Girdle of fine twined linnen about to gird the Coat fast, yet so, as not to make them sweat, or smell offensively.

Marginal references: Or, [illegible: 1 span].; Heb. [illegible: 1 word] with [illegible: 1 word].

19 And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their Garments wherein they ministred, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctifie the people with their garments.

This tells us in which court stood the chambers, wherein the Priests did attire themselves, into which also they retir'd, to unclothe themselves of the Priestly Garments. The chambers were in the court next to the court of the people, as chap. 42, 14. let. f. g.

By the Law, common things, touching holy things, became consecrate, and to be no more for common use. If the Priests consecrated clothes touch'd the peoples, they must part with them, this would be inconvenient; so some. Or least the people should think themselves the holier for such contact, and grow proud of it; so others. The Chaldee Paraphrast frames it to the last clause of the 14 ver. of the 42, chap. they in holy Vests shall not intermix with the people, this would be a profaning the holy Vests. Or else thus, they shall not come out to bless the People in their Priestly garments, but, having finish[illegible: 1 letter] the Sacrifice, and all belonging thereto, they should change garments, and in their ordinary garments come out to the People, and bless them in that form, Num. 6.23, 24.

Vid. Chap. 42.14. tot. where this verse is explained, yet here are two things, that verse hath not, of which a word.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 paragraph]

20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long they shall onely poll their heads.

It was forbidden, Lev. 19.27. & 21.5. Hair is given for an Ornament, and the Priests should not disfigure themselves nor imitate Idolatrous Heathens.

Priding themselves in it, as Absolom, giving ill Example by such excess.

When the hair is grown somewhat, they shall trim, cut the ends of their hair, and keep it in moderate size; Beside long hair was token of a Nazarites Vow, and God would have all Holy Things and Persons kept unmixt and distinguish'd from other common things.

21 Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.

Any one, on any pretence.

Or any other strong intoxicating Liquor.

When they go, either to trim the Lamps, or set the shew-bread in order, or to offe[illegible: 1 letter] Incense in the Temple, or when they go to the Altar to offe[illegible: 1 letter] a Sacrifice, which stood in the inner court; this prohibition you have Lev. 10.9. which see, and 'twas to prevent all indecencies in the Service.

22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, or her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.

God allow'd them to marry, onely directs, it be not one of ill fame or divorced, Lev. 21.13, 14. nor the widow of any deceased common person, yet a Priest might marry. a Priests widow, but a Virgin rather commended to their choice; and whether Widow, or Virgin, it must not be as Moses married a daughter of a strange people, or as they did in Babylon, Ezra 10.18. &c. and possibly this of Ezekiel was design'd, as a rule to direct Ezra in reforming this disorder, when they came from Babylon; Nor were they at liberty to marry any of any Tribe, but it must be one of their own Tribe too.

Marginal references: Lev. 21.7.; Heb. thrust [illegible: 1 span].; Heb. from a [illegible: 2 letters]iest.

23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean r and the clean.

By their place they were bound to instruct the People, Lev. 10.10, 11. this was part of their work to read the Law, expound it, and resolve questions arising about it. They were to be as Ministers ought now to be, apt to teach, 1 Tim. 3.2.

Whether Legally, and Ceremonially so, or Morally and Really so, that they might keep the people from pollutions.

The same thing in other words, onely this seems to require Priests patient instructing, till the people have learnt to difference unclean and clean.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 letter]hap. 22.26. [illegible: 1 word]. 2.7.

24 And in controversie they shall stand in judgment, and they shall judge it according to my judgments : and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies ; and they shall hallow my Sabbaths .

In doubts about lawful and unlawful, in pretences of right and wrong in all contests.

If the controversie be brought to them, they shall hear and consider.

Shall determine, end the controversie, and reconcile parties.

Not as they favour and affect, or disaffect and hate, but according to what God hath by his Laws in that behalf directed.

Priests first, and people with them.

Publick congregations for worshipping of God.

With Holy care observe the Sabbaths, as days of holy work, to be spent in secret Family and Publick Worship of God, as he requires.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 letter]eut. 17.8. [illegible: 1 letter]hro. 19.10.

25 And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father or for mother, or for son or for daughter, for brother or for sister that had no husband, they may defile themselves.

The Priests, who come near to minister before the Lord.

Neither touch, nor come into the room, or attend the funeral of the dead:

For this would be a legal and ceremonial defilement, and it is prohibited Lev. 21.1. the Iews tell us, that who comes within four cubits of the dead is defiled, and the Law, tho' it determine not at what distance such are defil'd, it doth determine, that they are unclean, till evening by touch, or coming near the Carcass of any but man, and the defilement by coming near a dead man lasted 7 dayes.

The Priest was indulged in the death of so near Relations, as Lev. 21.2, 3. where they are reckon'd up as in this verse.

Mourn for them, touch them, be at their Funerals, and shew their natural affections to them.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 21[illegible: 1 letter] 11.

26 And after he is cleansed they shall reckon unto him seven dayes.

After that for seven dayes he hath kept from the dead, by which the Iews accounted a man was cleansed, for, as nearness did defile, so absence did cleanse in this case.

The Priests, who are about the house of God.

Shall appoint seven days more to this defiled person for his cleansing before he is admitted into the Sanctuary.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 letter]um. 6.10.[illegible: 1 letter]9.11.

27 And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary , unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin-offering , saith the Lord GOD.

During the dayes of his uncleanness he kept out of the sanctuary, when the dayes of purifying are fulfilled, he then may go in.

Not the Temple it self, but, as the next words have it, the inner Court.

To execute the Priests Office.

'Tis not said what this should be, nor doth that Lev. 6.21. refer to this. I think rather that Lev. 4.3. a young Bullock was to be this Sin-offering in purifying as it was in consecrating him, chap. 43.19.

28 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance : I am their inheritance . And ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession .

Sin-offering being mention'd immediately before gives the occasion of repeating the Provision made for the Priests, for under this one, all other offerings are couched, and if the Lord do so expresly require a defil'd Priest to bring his sin-offering, in which the ministring Priests had their share, he would expect the same of all Israel, which would amount to a great summe.

Instead of Lands and Cities.

God is the inheritance of all his people, but specially of his Priests, and so what is given to God by him is assign'd to his Officers.

As the rest of the Tribes had.

the peculiar blessing of God on them, and their share in his offerings, was a very rich possession.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 letter]um. 18.20. [illegible: 1 word]. 10.9. & [illegible: 1 letter]1, 2. Josh. 14.33.

29 They shall eat the meat-offering , and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering: and every dedicate thing in Israel shall be theirs.

We must not think, that the whole of these were eat, God had his part, and the Priest his part too; somewhat of each came to the Priest.

As first fruits, and tithes, &c. the Priest had part of them.

Marginal references: Or, devoted.

30 And the first of all the first fruits of all things, and every oblation of all of every sort x of your oblations shall be the priests: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough , that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.

So soon as the first fruits are ripe in the field, your Vineyards and olive yards, &c. Nay Redemption money for the first-born of man was theirs.

Whether Free-will offering, or prescribed. Of what sort soever, whether of flock, or herd, &c.

'Tis conceiv'd, this was of every Mass of dough they made, and of the first of the dough, which every year they first made of the new Corn, as by the custom of the Iewes at this day, appears; who since they cannot give to the Priest, will burn a little cake of every bach in the Oven.

The Priest may bless and pray for thee.

Marginal references: Or, chie[illegible: 1 letter].; Exod. 13.2. & 22.29, 30. Num. 3.13. & 18.12.; Num. 15.20. Neh. 10.37.

31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of it self, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.

This forbidden to all the Iews much more to the Priests, Exod. 22.31. and Lev. 22.8.

Position of the Different Classes of the People in Relation to the New Sanctuary

With the consecration of the altar of burnt-offering the way is opened for the congregation of Israel to appear in the sanctuary before the Lord, to serve Him with sacrifices. If, however, the use of the new house of God was to be in harmony with the holiness of the God who dwelt therein, it was requisite that still further directions should be given concerning the entering of the people into it, and the character of the servants of both the altar and the sanctuary. These directions follow in the chapter before us-first, as to the place which the prince was to occupy at the service in the temple (Eze 44:1-3); secondly, as to the admission of foreigners and the appointment of Levites and priests for the service (Eze 44:4-16); and lastly, as to the conditions requisite for the administration of the priest’s office, and the duties and privileges of that office (Eze 44:17-31).

The Place of the Prince in the Sanctuary. - Eze 44:1. And he brought me back by the way to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looked toward the east; and it was shut. Eze 44:2. And Jehovah said to me, This gate shall be shut, shall not be opened, and no one shall enter thereby; because Jehovah, the God of Israel, has entered by it, it shall be shut. Eze 44:3. As for the prince, as prince he shall sit therein, to eat bread before Jehovah; from the way to the porch of the gate shall he go in, and from its way shall he go out. - From the inner court where Ezekiel had received the measurements of the altar of burnt-offering and the instructions concerning its consecration (Eze 43:5.), he is taken back to the east gate of the outer court, and finds this gate, which formed the principle entrance to the temple, closed. Jehovah explains this fact to him through the angel (ויּאמר is to be understood according to Eze 43:6 and Eze 43:7) thus: “this gate is to be shut, because Jehovah, the God of Israel, has entered into the temple thereby,” as we have already learned from Eze 43:2. Only the prince, as prince, was allowed to sit in it for the purpose of holding sacrificial meals there. So far the meaning of the words is clear and indisputable. For there can be no doubt whatever that Eze 44:3 introduces a more precise statement concerning the closing of the gate; in other words, that the right of sitting in the gate to eat bread before Jehovah, which is conceded to the priest, is intended as an explanation, resp. modification and limitation, of the statement והיה  (Eze 44:2). On the other hand, the more precise definition of the prerogative granted to the prince in Eze 44:3 is not quite clear, and therefore open to dispute. Such a prerogative is already indicated in the prominence expressly given to the prince, consisting partly in the fact that  את־הנּשׂיא is written first in an absolute form, and partly in the expression נשׂיא הוּא, which is repeated in the form of a circumstantial clause, “prince is he,” equivalent to “because he is prince, he is to sit there.” נשׂיא is neither the high priest, as many of the older commentators supposed, nor a collective term for the civil authorities of the people of Israel in the Messianic times (Hävernick), but the David who will be prince in Israel at that time, according to Eze 34:23-24, and Eze 37:24. “To eat bread before Jehovah” signifies to hold a sacrificial meal at the place of the divine presence, i.e., in the temple court, and is not to be restricted, as Kliefoth supposes, to that sacrificial meal “which was held after and along with the bloodless sacrifices, viz., the minchoth, and the shew-breads, and the sweet loaves of the Passover.” There is no authority in the usage of the language for this literal interpretation of the expression “to eat bread,” for אכל לחם means in general to partake of a meal, compare Gen 31:54, etc., and especially Exo 18:12, where Jethro “eats bread before God” with Aaron and the elders of Israel, that is to say, joins in a sacrificial meal composed of זבחים or slain-offerings. According to this view, which is the only one supported by usage, the prerogative secured to the נשׂיא of the future is not “that of participating in the sacrificial meals (of the priests), which were to be held daily with the minchoth and shew-bread, in opposition to the law which prevailed before” (Kliefoth), but simply that of holding his sacrificial meals in the gate, i.e., in the porch of the gate, whereas the people were only allowed to hold them in the court, namely, in the vicinity of the sacrificial kitchens.

There is also a difference of opinion concerning the meaning of the second statement in Eze 44:3 : “from the way of the porch of the gate shall he enter in, and thence shall he go out.” The suffix in מדּרכּו can only refer to אוּלם, “from the way from which he came (entered), from this way shall he go out again.” Hitzig follows the Rabbins, who understand the passage thus: “as the gate is to remain shut, he must go by the way to the porch which is directed inwardly, toward the court (Eze 40:9). He must have gone into the outer court through the north or the south gate, and by the way by which he came he also went back again.” But Kliefoth argues, in objection to this, that “if the prince was to eat the bread in the porch, the entrance through the south or the north gate would be of no use to him at all; as the gate which could be shut was at that door of the porch which was turned toward the outer court.” Moreover, he affirms that it is not at all the meaning of the text that he was to eat the bread in the porch, but that he was to eat it in the gate-building, and he was to come thither מדּרך אוּלם השּׁער, i.e., “from the place which served as a way to the gate porch, that is to say, the walk from the eastern entrance of the gate-building to the front of the porch, and from that was he to go out again.” The prince, therefore, was “to go into the gate-building as far as the front of the porch through the eastern entrance, there to eat his bread before Jehovah, and to come out again from thence, so that the gate at the western side of the gate porch still remained shut.” But we cannot regard either of these views as correct. There is no firm foundation in the text for Kliefoth’s assertion, that he was not to eat the bread in the porch, but in the gate-building. It is true that the porch is not expressly mentioned as the place where the eating was to take place, but simply the gate (בּו); yet the porch belonged to the gate as an integral part of the gate-building; and if דּרך אוּלם is the way to the porch, or the way leading to the porch, the words, “by the way to the porch shall he enter in,” imply clearly enough that he was to go into the porch and to eat bread there. This is also demanded by the circumstance, as the meaning of the words cannot possibly be that the prince was to hold his sacrificial meal upon the threshold of the gate, or in one of the guard-rooms, or in the middle of the gateway; and apart from the porch, there were no other places in the gate-building than those we have named. And again, the statement that the gate on the western side of the gate porch was to be shut, and not that against the eastern wall, is also destitute of proof, as דּרך אוּלם, the way to the porch, is not equivalent to the way “up to the front of the porch.” And if the prince was to hold the sacrificial meal behind the inner gate, which was closed, how was the food when it was prepared to be carried into the gate-building? Through a door of one of the guard-rooms? Such a supposition is hardly reconcilable with the significance of a holy sacrificial meal. In fact, it is a question whether eating in the gate-building with the inner door closed, so that it was not even possible to look toward the sanctuary, in which Jehovah was enthroned, could be called eating לפני.

Hitzig’s explanation of the words is not exposed to any of these difficulties, but it is beset by others. At the outset it is chargeable with improbability, as it is impossible to see any just ground why the prince, if he was to hold the sacrificial meal in the porch of the east gate, should not have been allowed to enter through this gate, but was obliged to take the circuitous route through the south or the north gate. Again, it is irreconcilable with the analogous statements in Ezekiel 46. According to Eze 46:1., the east gate of the inner court was to be shut, namely, during the six working days; but on the Sabbath and on the new moon it was to be opened. Then the prince was to come by the way of the gate porch from without, and during the preparation of his sacrifice by the priests to stand upon the threshold of the gate and worship. This same thing was to take place when the prince desired to offer a freewill offering on any of the week-days. The east gate was to be opened for him to this end; but after the conclusion of the offering of sacrifice it was to be closed again, whereas on the Sabbaths and new moons it was to stand open till the evening (Eze 46:12 compared with Eze 44:2). It is still further enjoined, that when offering these sacrifices the prince is to enter by the way of the gate porch, and to go out again by the same way (Eze 44:2 and Eze 44:8); whereas on the feast days, on which the people appear before Jehovah, every one who comes, the priest along with the rest, is to go in and out through the north or the south gate (Eze 44:9 and Eze 44:10). If, therefore, on the feast days, when the people appeared before Jehovah, the prince was to go into the temple in the midst of the people through the north or the south gate to worship, whereas on the Sabbaths and new moons, on which the people were not required to appear before the Lord, so that the prince alone had to bring the offerings for himself and the people, he was to enter by the way of the porch of the east gate, and to go out again by the same, and during the ceremony of offering the sacrifice was to stand upon the threshold of the inner east gate, it is obvious that the going in and out by the way of the porch of the gate was to take place by a different way from that through the north or the south gate. This other way could only be through the east gate, as no fourth gate existed. - The conclusion to which this brings us, so far as the passage before us is concerned, is that the shutting of the east gate of the outer court was to be the rule, but that there were certain exceptions which are not fully explained till Ezekiel 46, though they are hinted at in the chapter before us in the directions given there, that the prince was to hold the sacrificial meal in this gate. - The outer east gate, which was probably the one chiefly used by the people when appearing before the Lord in the earlier temple, both for going in and coming out, is to be shut in the new temple, and not to be made use of by the people for either entrance or exit, because the glory of the Lord entered into the temple thereby. This reason is of course not to be understood in the way suggested by the Rabbins, namely, that the departure of the Shechinah from the temple was to be prevented by the closing of the gate; but the thought is this: because this gateway had been rendered holy through the entrance of the Shechinah into the temple thereby, it was not to remain open to the people, so as to be desecrated, but was to be kept perpetually holy. This keeping holy was not prejudiced in any way by the fact that the prince held the sacrificial meal in the gate, and also entered the court through this gateway for the purpose of offering his sacrifice, which was made ready by the priests before the inner gate, and then was present at the offering of the sacrifice upon the altar, standing upon the threshold of the inner gate-building. דּרך אוּלם  is therefore the way which led from the outer flight of steps across the threshold past the guard-rooms to the gate porch at the inner end of the gate-building. By this way the priest was to go into the gate opened for him, and hold the sacrificial meal therein, namely, in the porch of this gate. That the offering of the sacrifice necessarily preceded the meal is assumed as self-evident, and the law of sacrifice in Ezekiel 46 first prescribes the manner in which the prince was to behave when offering the sacrifice, and how near to the altar he was to be allowed to go.

Eze 44:4-16

The Position of Foreigners, Levites, and Priests in Relation to the Temple and the Temple Service. - The further precepts concerning the approach to the sanctuary, and the worship to be presented there, are introduced with a fresh exhortation to observe with exactness all the statutes and laws, in order that the desecration of the sanctuary which had formerly taken place might not be repeated, and are delivered to the prophet at the north gate in front of the manifestation of the glory of God (Eze 44:4-8). - Eze 44:4. And he brought me by the way of the north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah, and I fell down upon my face. Eze 44:5. And Jehovah said to me, Son of man, direct thy heart and see with thine eyes and hear with thine ears all that I say to thee with regard to all the statutes of the house of Jehovah and all its laws, and direct thy heart to the entering into the house through all the exits of the house, Eze 44:6. And say to the rebellious one, to the family of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Let it be sufficient for you, of all your abominations, O house of Israel, Eze 44:7. In that ye brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to desecrate it, my house, when ye offered my food, fat and blood, and so they broke my covenant to all your abominations, Eze 44:8. And so ye did not keep the charge of my holy things, but made them keepers of my charge for you in my sanctuary. - From the outer gate to which Ezekiel had been taken, simply that he might be instructed concerning the entering thereby, he is once more conducted, after this has been done, by the way of the north gate to the front of the temple house, to receive the further directions there for the performance of the worship of God in the new sanctuary. The question, whether we are to understand by the north gate that of the outer or that of the inner court, cannot be answered with certainty. Hitzig has decided in favour of the latter, Kliefoth in favour of the former. The place to which he is conducted is אל־פּני הבּית, ad faciem domus, before the temple house, so that he had it before his eyes, i.e., was able to see it. As the gateway of the inner court was eight steps, about four cubits, higher than the outer court gate, this was hardly possible if he stood at or within the latter. הבּית, i.e., the temple house, could only be distinctly seen from the inner north gate. And the remark that it is more natural to think of the outer north gate, because the next thing said to the prophet has reference to the question who is to go into and out of the sanctuary, has not much force, as the instructions do not refer to the going in and out alone, but chiefly to the charge of Jehovah, i.e., to the maintenance of divine worship.

At the fresh standing-place the glory of the Lord, which filled the temple, met the sight of the prophet again, so that he fell down and worshipped once more (cf. Eze 43:3, Eze 43:5). This remark is not intended “to indicate that now, after the preliminary observations in Ezekiel 43:13-44:3, the true thorah commences” (Kliefoth), but to show the unapproachable glory and holiness of the new temple. For Eze 44:5, see Eze 40:4; Eze 43:11-12. In Eze 44:6 אל־מרי is placed at the head in a substantive form for the sake of emphasis, and בּית־ישׂראל is appended in the form of an apposition. For the fact itself, see Eze 2:8. רב־לּכם followed by מן, a sufficiency of anything, as in Exo 9:28; 1Ki 12:28, is equivalent to “there is enough for you to desist from it.” The תּועבות, from which they are to desist, are more precisely defined in Eze 44:6. They consisted in the fact that the Israelites admitted foreigners, heathen, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, into the sanctuary, to desecrate it during the offering of sacrifice. It is not expressly stated, indeed, that they admitted uncircumcised heathen to the offering of sacrifice, but this is implied in what is affirmed. The offering of sacrifice in the temple of Jehovah is not only permitted in the Mosaic law to foreigners living in Israel, but to some extent prescribed (Lev 17:10,Lev 17:12; Num 15:13.). It was only in the paschal meal that no 'בן was allowed to participate (Exo 12:43). To do this, he must first of all be circumcised (v. 44). Solomon accordingly prays to the Lord in his temple-prayer that He will also hearken to the prayer of the foreigner, who may come from a distant land for the Lord’s name sake to worship in His house (1Ki 8:41.). The reproof in the verse before us is apparently at variance with this. Raschi would therefore understand by בּני־נכר, Israelites who had fallen into heathen idolatry. Rosenmüller, on the other hand, is of opinion that the Israelites were blamed because they had accepted victimas et libamina from the heathen, and offered them in the temple, which had been prohibited in Lev 25:22. Hävernick understands by the sons of the foreigner, Levites who had become apostates from Jehovah, and were therefore placed by Ezekiel on a par with the idolatrous sons of the foreigner. And lastly, Hitzig imagines that they were foreign traders, who had been admitted within the sacred precincts as sellers of sacrificial animals, incense, and so forth. All these are alike arbitrary and erroneous. The apparent discrepancy vanishes, if we consider the more precise definition of בּני , viz., “uncircumcised in heart and flesh.” Their being uncircumcised in heart is placed first, for the purpose of characterizing the foreigners as godless heathen, who ere destitute not only of the uncircumcision of their flesh, but also of that of the heart, i.e., of piety of heart, which Solomon mentions in his prayer as the motive for the coming of distant strangers to the temple. By the admission of such foreigners as these, who had no fear of God at all, into the temple during the sacrificial worship, Israel had defiled the sanctuary. את־בּיתי is in apposition to the suffix to חלּלו. The food of Jehovah (לחמי) is sacrifice, according to Lev 3:11; Lev 21:6, etc., and is therefore explained by “fat and blood.” ויּפרוּ, which the lxx changed in an arbitrary manner into the second person, refers to the “foreigners,” the heathen. By their treading the temple in their ungodliness they broke the covenant of the Lord with His people, who allowed this desecration of His sanctuary. אל כּל־תּועבות, in addition to all your abominations. How grievous a sin was involved in this is stated in Eze 44:8. The people of Israel, by their unrighteous admission of godless heathen into the temple, not only failed to show the proper reverence for the holy things of the Lord, but even made these heathen, so to speak, servants of God for themselves in His sanctuary. These last words are not to be understood literally, but spiritually. Allowing them to tread the temple is regarded as equivalent to appointing them to take charge of the worship in the temple. For שׁמר , see Lev 18:30; Lev 22:9, and the commentary on Lev 8:35.

The Lord would guard against such desecration of His sanctuary in the future. To this end the following precepts concerning the worship in the new temple are given. - Eze 44:9. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall come into my sanctuary, of all the foreigners that are in the midst of the sons of Israel; Eze 44:10. But even the Levites, who have gone away from me in the wandering of Israel, which wandered away from me after its idols, they shall bear their guilt. Eze 44:11. They shall be servants in my sanctuary, as guards at the gates of the house and serving in the house; they shall slay the burnt-offering and the slain-offering for the people, and shall stand before it to serve them. Eze 44:12. Because they served them before their idols, and became to the house of Israel a stumbling-block to guilt, therefore I have lifted my hand against them, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah, that they should bear their guilt. Eze 44:13. They shall not draw near to me to serve me as priests, and to draw near to all my holy things, to the most holy, but shall bear their disgrace and all their abominations which they have done. Eze 44:14. And so will I make them guards of the charge of the house with regard to all its service, and to all that is performed therein. Eze 44:15. But the priests of the tribe of Levi, the sons of Zadok, who have kept the charge of my sanctuary on the wandering of the sons of Israel from me, they shall draw near to me to serve me, and stand before me, offer to me fat and blood, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. Eze 44:16. They shall come into my sanctuary, and they draw near to my table to serve me, and shall keep my charge. - In order that all desecration may be kept at a distance from the new sanctuary, foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh are not to be admitted into it; and even of the Levites appointed for the service of the sanctuary according to the Mosaic law, all who took part in the falling away of the people into idolatry are to be excluded from investiture with the priests’ office as a punishment for their departure from the Lord, and only to be allowed to perform subordinate duties in connection with the worship of God. On the other hand, the descendants of Zadok, who kept themselves free from all straying into idolatry, are to perform the specifically priestly service at the altar and in the sanctuary, and they alone. The meaning and design of the command, to shut out the foreigners uncircumcised in heart from all access to the sanctuary, are not that the intermediate position and class of foreigners living in Israel should henceforth be abolished (Kliefoth); for this would be at variance with Eze 47:22 and Eze 47:23, according to which the foreigners (גּרים) were to receive a possession of their own in the fresh distribution of the land, which not only presupposes their continuance within the congregation of Israel, but also secures it for the time to come. The meaning is rather this: No heathen uncircumcised in heart, i.e., estranged in life from God, shall have access to the altar in the new sanctuary. The emphasis of the prohibition lies here, as in Eze 44:7, upon their being uncircumcised in heart; and the reason for the exclusion of foreigners consists not so much in the foreskin of the flesh as in the spiritual foreskin, so that not only the uncircumcised heathen, but also Israelites who were circumcised in flesh, were to keep at a distance from the sanctuary if they failed to possess circumcision of heart. The ל before  כּל־בּן  serves the purpose of comprehension, as in Gen 9:10; Lev 11:42, etc. (compare Ewald, §310 a). Not only are foreigners who are estranged from God to be prevented from coming into the sanctuary, but even the Levites, who fell into idolatry at the time of the apostasy of the Israelites, are to bear their guilt, i.e., are to be punished for it by exclusion from the rights of the priesthood. This is the connection between the tenth verse and the ninth, indicated by כּי אם, which derives its meaning, truly (imo), yea even, from this connection, as in Isa 33:21. הלויּם are not the Levites here as distinguished from the priests (Aaronites), but all the descendants of Levi, including the Aaronites chosen for the priests’ office, to whom what is to be said concerning the Levites chiefly applied. The division of the Levites into such as are excluded from the service and office of priests (כּהן, Eze 44:13) on account of their former straying into idolatry, and the sons of Zadok, who kept aloof from that wandering, and therefore are to be the only persons allowed to administer the priests’ office for the future, shows very clearly that the threat “they shall bear their guilt” does not apply to the common Levites, but to the Levitical priests. They are to be degraded to the performance of the inferior duties in the temple and at divine worship. The guilt with which they are charged is that they forsook Jehovah when the people strayed into idolatry. Forsaking Jehovah involves both passive and active participation in idolatry (cf. Jer 2:5). This wandering of the Israelites from Jehovah took place during the whole time that the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple were in existence, though at different periods and with varying force and extent.

Bearing the guilt is more minutely defined in Eze 44:11-13. The Levitical priests who have forsaken the Lord are to lose the dignity and rights of the priesthood; they are not, indeed, to be entirely deprived of the prerogative conferred upon the tribe of Levi by virtue of its election to the service of the sanctuary in the place of the first-born of the whole nation, but henceforth they are merely to be employed in the performance of the lower duties, as guards at the gates of the temple, and as servants of the people at the sacrificial worship, when they are to slaughter the animals for the people, which every one who offered sacrifice was also able to do for himself. Because they have already served the people before their idols, i.e., have helped them in their idolatry, they shall also serve the people in time to come in the worship of God, though not as priests, but simply in non-priestly occupations. The words 'המּה יעמדוּ  are taken from Num 16:9, and the suffixes in לפּניהם and לשׁרתּם refer to עם. מכשׁול עון .עם ot ref, as in Eze 7:19; Eze 14:3; Eze 18:30. נשׂא יד, not to raise the arm to smite, but to lift up the hand to swear, as in Eze 20:5-6, etc. לגשׁת על כּל־קדשׁי, to draw near to all my holy things. קדשׁים are not the rooms in the sanctuary, but those portions of the sacrifices which were sacred to the Lord. They are not to touch these, i.e., neither to sprinkle blood nor to burn the portions of fat upon the altar, or perform anything connected therewith. This explanation is required by the apposition אל־קדשׁי הקּדשׁים, which (in the plural) does not mean the most holy place at the hinder part of the temple, but the most holy sacrificial gifts (cf. Eze 42:13). נשׂא , as in Eze 16:52. In Eze 44:14 it is once more stated in a comprehensive manner in what the bearing of the guilt and shame was to consist: God would make them keepers of the temple with regard to the inferior acts of service. The general expression שׁמר משׁמרת הבּית, which signifies the temple service universally, receives its restriction to the inferior acts of service from 'לכל עבדתו וגו, which is used in Num 3:26; Num 4:23, Num 4:30,Num 4:32, Num 4:39, Num 4:47, for the heavy duties performed by the Merarites and Gershonites, in distinction from the עבדה of the Kohathites, which consisted in שׁמר משׁמרת הקּדשׁ  (Num 3:28) and עשׂות מלאכה  (Num 4:3). The priestly service at the altar and in the sanctuary, on the other hand, was to be performed by the sons of Zadok alone, because when the people went astray they kept the charge of the sanctuary, i.e., performed the duties of the priestly office with fidelity. Zadok was the son of Ahitub, of the line of Eleazar (1 Chr. 5:34; 1Ch 6:37-38), who remained faithful to King David at the rebellion of Absalom (2Sa 15:24.), and also anointed Solomon as king in opposition to Adonijah the pretender (1Ki 1:32.); whereas the high priest Abiathar, of the line of Ithamar, took part with Adonijah (1Ki 1:7, 1Ki 1:25), and was deposed from his office by Solomon in consequence, so that now the high-priesthood was in the sole possession of Zadok and his descendants (1Ki 2:26-27, and 1Ki 2:35). From this attitude of Zadok toward David, the prince given by the Lord to His people, it may be seen at once that he not only kept aloof from the wandering of the people, but offered a decided opposition thereto, and attended to his office in a manner that was well-pleasing to God. As he received the high-priesthood from Solomon in the place of Abiathar for this fidelity of his, so shall his descendants only be invested with the priestly office in the new temple. For the correct explanation of the words in these verses, however, we must pay particular regard to the clause, “who have kept the charge of my sanctuary.” This implies, for example, that lineal descent from Zadok alone was not sufficient, but that fidelity in the service of the Lord must also be added as an indispensable requisite. In Eze 44:15 and Eze 44:16 the priestly service is described according to its principal functions at the altar of burnt-offering, and in the holy place at the altar of incense. שׁלחני is the altar of incense (see Eze 41:22).

Eze 44:17-31

Requisites for the Administration of the Priests’ Office, and the Obligations and Privileges of that Office. - Eze 44:17. And it shall come to pass, when they go to the gates of the inner court, they shall put on linen clothes, and no wool shall lie upon them, when they serve in the gates of the inner court and serve toward the house. Eze 44:18. Linen turbans shall be upon their head, and linen drawers upon their hips; they shall not gird themselves in sweat. Eze 44:19. And when they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall take off their clothes in which they have ministered, and put them in the holy cells, and put on other clothes, that they may not sanctify the people with their clothes. Eze 44:20. And they shall not shave their head bald, nor let their hair grow freely; they shall cut the hair of their head. Eze 44:21. And they shall not drink wine, no priest, when they go into the inner court. Eze 44:22. And a window and a divorced woman they shall not take as wives, but virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, and the widow who has become the widow of a priest they may take. Eze 44:23. And they shall teach my people, make known to them the difference between holy and common, and between unclean and clean. Eze 44:24. And they shall stand to judge concerning disputes; and they shall observe my laws and my statutes at all my feasts, and sanctify my Sabbaths. Eze 44:25. And one shall not go to any corpse of a man to defile himself; only for father and mother, for son and daughter, for brother, for sister who had no husband, may they defile themselves. Eze 44:26. And after his purification shall they reckon seven days more to him; Eze 44:27. And on the day when he comes to the holy place, into the inner court, to serve in the holy place, he shall offer his sin-offering, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. - Eze 44:28. And so shall it be with their inheritance, that I am their inheritance, ye shall not give them a possession in Israel: I am their possession. Eze 44:29. The meat-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering, these shall they eat, and everything banned in Israel shall belong to them. Eze 44:30. And the firstlings of all the first-fruits of everything, and every heave-offering of everything, of all your heave-offerings, shall belong to the priests; and the firstlings of all your ground meal shall ye give to the priest, that a blessing may come down upon thy house. Eze 44:31. No carrion nor anything torn in pieces of fowl and of beast shall the priests eat. - To the directions, who are to perform the service in the new temple, there are appended corresponding instructions concerning the bodily condition in which this service is to be performed, as the bodily condition shadows forth the state of the soul, or the spiritual constitution of the servants of God. The dress prescribed in Ex 28 for the priests to wear during the holy service had this signification. The same rule is here presupposed as still in force; and it is simply renewed and partially emphasized by the enumeration of some of the leading points. At the service at the altar and in the holy place the priests are to wear linen clothes, and, after the performance of the service, they are to take them off again when they go into the outer court (Eze 44:17-19). In the Mosaic law, שׁשׁ, white byssus, or בּד, white linen, is mentioned as the material used for the priests’ clothing (Exo 28:39, Exo 28:42); here the material is more distinctly designated as פּשׁתּים, flax linen; and צמר, animal wool, is expressly forbidden, the motive being assigned for this regulation, namely, that the priest is not to cause himself to sweat by wearing woollen clothing. Sweat produces uncleanness; and the priest, by keeping his body clean, is to show even outwardly that he is clean and blameless. With regard to the putting on and off of the official clothes, the new thorah accords with the Mosaic. For we cannot agree with Kliefoth, who detects a deviation in the fact that, according to Exo 28:43, the priests were to wear the official clothes only when they entered the tabernacle and when approaching the altar, and, according to Lev 6:4; Lev 16:23, were to take them off when the service was ended; whereas, according to Eze 44:17 of the chapter before us, they were to put them on as soon as they entered the inner court, and were never to come before the people in the official costume. If, according to the Mosaic law, the priests were to go before the altar of burnt-offering in the court in their holy official dress, and not otherwise, they must have put on this dress on entering the court; for they could not wait till they were in front of the altar before they changed their clothes. For the expression צאת אל העם does not imply that, according to Ezekiel, they were never to appear in the presence of the people in their official costume, as it does not mean “come before the people,” but “go out to the people,” or “walk among the people;” nor is this involved in the words 'ולא יקדּשׁוּ , they shall not sanctify the people in their clothes (by their clothes). The latter by no means affirms that they are to sanctify the people by intercourse with them, but are not to do this in official costume; the meaning is simply that they are not to move among the people in the outer court while wearing their official clothes, that they may not sanctify them by their holy clothes.

This sanctification cannot be understood in any other way than as analogous to the rule laid down in the law, that touching most holy sacrificial flesh would sanctify (Lev 6:11, Lev 6:20), which Ezekiel repeats in Eze 46:20, and which does not stand in anything like an isolated position in the law, but is also affirmed in Exo 29:37 and Exo 30:29 of the altar of burnt-offering and the vessels of the sanctuary. The same thing which applied to these vessels - namely, that their holiness passed from them to any one who touched them - is here predicated of the holy dresses of the priests; and the moving of the priests among the people in their holy clothes is forbidden, because such holiness, acquired by contact with holy objects, imposed upon the person to whom it had passed the obligation to guard against all defilement (Lev 21:1-8), which the people could not avoid in the ordinary relations of life, and thus a weakening or abolition of the distinction between things holy and common would inevitably have ensued. לשׁכות הקּדשׁ are the holy cell-buildings described in Eze 42:1-14. - To the clothing there is simply appended in Eze 44:20 the direction concerning the hair of the head, the natural covering of the head, in relation to which excess on either side is prohibited, either shaving the head bald or wearing the hair uncut. Both of these were forbidden to the priests in the law: shaving in Lev 21:5, and letting the hair grow freely in Lev 10:6; and the latter was simply imposed upon the Nazarites for the period of their vow (Num 6:5). כּסם only occurs here; but its meaning, to cut the hair, is obvious from the context. - Eze 44:21. The prohibition of the drinking of wine when performing service agrees with Lev 10:9; on the other hand, the instructions concerning the choice of wives are sharpened in Eze 44:22, as that which only applied to the high priest in the law is here extended to all the priests. In fact, Ezekiel throughout makes no distinction between the high priest and the common priests. In Lev 21:14, marrying a widow is only forbidden to the high priest, who was to marry a virgin of his own people, whereas no such restriction is laid down for the ordinary priests. Here, on the other hand, marrying a widow is forbidden to all the priests, marriage with the widow of a priest being the only one allowed. מכּהן belongs to תּהיה, who has become the widow of a priest.The Rabbins (Targ. Talm. and Masor. according to their accentuation) have endeavoured to obliterate this distinction, by applying the first hemistich to the high priest alone, and explaining the second thus: “The widow, who is really a widow, the priest may take,” interpreting מכּהן by quidam sacerdotum, or aliqui ex ordine sacerdotali, or ceteri sacerdotes. But this is contrary to the usage of the language, as מכּהן cannot possibly be understood in a partitive sense in this passage, where the priests generally are spoken of, and the plural יקּחוּ follows.

In Eze 44:23 and Eze 44:24 the general official duties of the priests are mentioned, viz., to teach the people, and to instruct them concerning the difference between the holy and the unholy, the clean and the unclean, as in Lev 10:10 (cf. Deu 33:10 and Eze 22:26); also to administer justice in questions in dispute according to the rights of God-a duty which had already been committed to the priests in its highest form in Deu 17:8., Deu 19:17, and Deu 21:5. על ריב, concerning, in the case of, matters in dispute. עמד , to stand to judge, i.e., to appear or act as judge (compare העמיד שׁפטים, to appoint or institute judges, in 2Ch 19:5). The Keri למשׁפּט is a needless emendation after 2Ch 19:8. The Chetib ושׁפטהוּ, on the other hand, is a copyist’s error for ישׁפטהוּ. Lastly, at all the feasts they are to observe the laws and statutes of Jehovah, that is to say, to perform all the priestly duties binding upon them at the feasts, and to sanctify the Sabbaths, not merely by offering the Sabbath sacrifices, but also by maintaining the Sabbath rest (cf. Lev 23:3). - In Eze 44:25-27 there follow regulations concerning defilement from the dead, and its removal. Eze 44:25 is a simple repetition of Lev 21:1-3. But the instructions concerning the purification from defilement from the dead are sharpened, inasmuch as not only is the purification prescribed by the law (Num 19:1.), and which lasted seven days, required (this is meant by טהרתו), but a further period of seven days is appointed after these, at the expiration of which the presentation of a sin-offering is demanded before the service in the sanctuary can be resumed. By this demand for a heightened purification, the approach to a corpse permitted to the priests, which was prohibited to the high priest in the Mosaic law, even in the case of father and mother (Lev 21:11), is tolerably equalized.

For these duties and obligations of service the priests are to receive corresponding emoluments. These are treated of in Eze 44:28-31. They are not, indeed, to receive any share of the land as their property in time to come any more than in former times; but in the place of this Jehovah will be their property and possession, and give them the necessary room for their dwellings from His own property in the land (Eze 45:4), and let them draw their maintenance from His altar (Eze 44:29 and Eze 44:30). The promise that Jehovah will be the נחלה and אחזּה of the priests is a simple repetition of the regulation in the law (Num 18:20; Deu 18:1; Deu 10:9). So far as the construction in Eze 44:28 is concerned, the words אני נחלתם are really the subject to 'והיתה להם לן, which we are obliged to render obliquely, “the inheritance for them shall be, I am their inheritance.” For the proposal of Hitzig to take the words from אני נחלתם to the close of the verse as a parenthesis, and to regard 'המּנחה וגו in Eze 44:29 as the subject to 'והיתה, is untenable, not only on account of the great harshness which such a parenthesis would involve, but principally because these portions of the sacrifices and heave-offerings which belonged to the priest were not a נחלה, and are never designated as נחלה, inheritance, i.e., property in land. Eze 44:28 treats of the property in land, which God assigned to the Levites and priests under the Mosaic economy, by appointing them towns to dwell in, with meadows for the feeding of their cattle, within the territory of the other tribes, but would assign to them in future from the heave-offering set apart from the land for the sanctuary (Eze 45:4). It is not till Eze 44:29 and Eze 44:30 that the means of support for the priests are spoken of. They are to be supported from the sacrifices and the tithes and first-fruits which Israel has to pay to Jehovah as the lord of the land, and which He transfers to His servants the priests. For the priests’ share of the meat-offering, sin-offering, and trespass-offering, see Lev 2:3; Lev 6:9, Lev 6:11, Lev 6:19; Lev 7:6-7; for that which is put under the ban, Lev 27:21; for the first-fruits, Exo 23:19; Exo 34:26; Deu 18:4; Num 18:13; for the תּרוּמות, Num 15:19; Num 18:19; for the ראשׁית עריסות, Num 15:20-21. In 'להניח, “to cause a blessing to rest upon thy house,” the individual Israelite is addressed. For the fact itself, see Mal 3:10. - To the enumeration of the means of support there is appended in Eze 44:31 an emphatic repetition of the command in Lev 22:8, not to eat of any dead thing (i.e., anything that has died a natural death), or anything torn to pieces, either of birds or beasts, on account of its defiling (Lev 17:15).

Message of the House of Israel. (b. c. 574.)

1 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. 2 Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord , the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. 3 It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord ; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

The prophet is here brought to review what he had before once surveyed; for, though we have often looked into the things of God, they will yet bear to be looked over again, such a copiousness there is in them. The lessons we have learned we should still repeat to ourselves. Every time we review the sacred fabric of holy things, which we have in the scriptures, we shall still find something new which we did not before take notice of. The prophet is brought a third time to the east gate, and finds it shut, which intimates that the rest of the gates were open at all times to the worshippers. But such an account is given of this gate's being shut as puts honour, 1. Upon the God of Israel. It is for the honour of him that the gate of the inner court, at which his glory entered when he took possession of the house, was ever after kept shut, and no man was allowed to enter in by it, v. 2. The difference ever after made between this and the other gates, that this was shut when the others were open, was intended both to perpetuate the remembrance of the solemn entrance of the glory of the Lord into the house (which it would remain a traditional evidence of the truth of) and also to possess the minds of people with a reverence for the Divine Majesty, and with very awful thoughts of his transcendent glory, which was designed in God's charge to Moses at the bush, Put off thy shoe from off thy foot. God will have a way by himself. 2. Upon the prince of Israel, v. 3. It is an honour to him that though he may not enter in by this gate, for no man may, yet, (1.) He shall sit in this gate to eat his share of the peace-offerings, that sacred food, before the Lord. (2.) He shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, by some little door or wicket, either in the gate or adjoining to it, which is called the way of the porch. This is to signify that God puts some of his glory upon magistrates, upon the princes of his people, for he has said, You are gods. Some by the prince here understand the high priests, or the sagan or second priest; and that he only was allowed to enter by this gate, for he was God's representative. Christ is the high priest of our profession, who entered himself into the holy place, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

Idolatry of the Levites. (b. c. 574.)

4 Then brought he me 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 And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord , and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. 6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God ; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, 7 In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. 8 And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. 9 Thus saith the Lord God ; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.

This is much to the same purport with what we had in the beginning of ch. xliii. As the prophet must look again upon what he had before seen, so he must be told again what he had before heard. Here, as before, he sees the house filled with the glory of the Lord, which strikes an awe upon him, so that he falls prostrate at the sight, the humblest posture of adoration and the expression of a holy awe: I fell upon my face, v. 4. Note, The more we see of the glory of God the more low we shall lie in our own eyes. Now here,

I. God charges the prophet to take a very particular notice of all he saw, and all that was said to him (v. 5): "Behold with thy eyes what is shown thee, particularly the entering in of the house and every going forth of it, all the inlets and all the outlets of the sanctuary;" those he must take special notice of. Note, In acquainting ourselves with divine things we must not aim so much at an abstract speculation of the things themselves as at finding the plain appointed way of converse and communion with those things, that we may go in and out and find pasture. 2. Hear with thy ears all that I say unto thee about the laws and ordinances of the house, which he was to instruct the people in. Note, Those who are appointed to be teachers have need to be very diligent careful learners, that they may neither forget any of the things they are entrusted with nor mistake concerning them.

II. He sends him upon an errand to the people, to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, v. 6. It is sad to think that the house of Israel should deserve this character from him who perfectly knew them, that a people in covenant with God should be rebellious against him. Who are his subjects if the house of Israel be rebels? But it is an instance of God's rich mercy that, though they had been rebellious, yet, being the house of Israel, he does not cast them off, but sends an ambassador to them, to invite and encourage them to return to their allegiance, which he would not have done if he had been pleased to kill them. The whole race of mankind has fallen under the character here given of the house of Israel; but our Lord Jesus, when he ascended on high, received gifts for men, yea, even for the rebellious also, that, as here, the Lord God might dwell among them, Ps. lxviii. 18.

1. He must tell them of their faults, must show them their rebellions, must show the house of Jacob their sins. Note, Those that are sent to comfort God's people must first convince them, and so prepare them for comfort. Let it suffice you of all your abominations, v. 6. Note, It is time for those that have continued long in sin to reckon it long enough, and too long, and to begin to think of taking up in time, and leaving off their evil courses. "Let the time past of your lives suffice, for by this time, surely, you have surfeited upon your abominations and have become sick of them," 1 Pet. iv. 3. That which is here charged upon them is, (1.) That they had admitted those to the privileges of the sanctuary that were not entitled to them; whereas God had said, The stranger that comes nigh shall be put to death, they had not only connived at the intrusion of strangers into the sanctuary, but had themselves introduced them (v. 7): You brought in strangers uncircumcised in flesh, and therefore under a legal incapacity to enter into the sanctuary, which was a breaking of the covenant of circumcision, throwing down the hedge of their peculiarity, and laying themselves in common with the rest of the world. Yet if these strangers had been devout and good, though they were not circumcised, the crime would not have been so great; but they were uncircumcised in heart too, unhumbled, unreformed, and strangers indeed to God and all goodness. When they came to offer sacrifice they brought these with them to feast with them upon the sacrifice, because they were fond of their company, and this was one of their abominations, wherewith they polluted God's sanctuary; it was giving that which was holy unto dogs, Matt. vii. 6. Note, The admission of those who are openly wicked and profane to special ordinances is a polluting of God's sanctuary and a great provocation to him. (2.) That they had employed those in the service of the sanctuary who were not fit for it. Though none but priests and Levites were to minister in the sanctuary, yet we may suppose that all who were priests and Levites did not immediately attend there, but chosen men of them, who were best qualified, who were most wise, serious, and conscientious, and most likely to keep the charge of the holy things carefully; but, in making this choice, they had not regard to merit and qualification for the work: "You have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves, such as you had some favour or affection for, such as you either had got, or hoped to get, money by, or such as would comply with your humours and would dispense with the laws of the sanctuary to please you; thus you have not kept the charge of my holy things." Note, Those who have the choice of the keepers of the holy things, if, to serve some secular selfish purpose, they choose such as are unfit and unfaithful, will justly have it laid at their door, that they have betrayed the holy things by lodging them in bad hands.

2. He must tell them their duty (v. 9): "No stranger shall enter into my sanctuary till he has first submitted to the laws of it." But, lest any should think that this excluded the penitent believing Gentiles from the church, the stranger here is described to be one that is uncircumcised in heart, not in sincerity consenting to the covenant, nor putting away the filth of the flesh; whereas the believing Gentiles were circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, Col. ii. 11. This circumcision of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, was what the unbelieving Jews were strangers to and unconcerned about, while yet they were zealous to keep out of the sanctuary uncircumcised Gentiles, witness their rage against Paul when they did but suspect him to have brought Greeks into the temple, Acts xxi. 28.

Idolatrous Priests Degraded. (b. c. 574.)

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. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to 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 caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord God , and they shall bear their iniquity. 13 And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. 14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. 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, saith 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.

The Master of the house, being about to set up house again, takes account of his servants the priests, and sees who are fit to be turned out of their places and who to be kept in, and takes a course with them accordingly.

I. Those who have been treacherous are degraded and put lower than those Levites—or priests who were carried down the stream of the apostasy of Israel formerly, who went astray from God after their idols (v. 10), who had complied with the idolatrous kings of Israel or Judah, who ministered to them before their idols (v. 12), bowed with them in the house of Rimmon, or set up altars for them, as Urijah did for Ahaz, and so caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, led them to sin and hardened them in sin; for, if the priests go astray, many will follow their pernicious ways. Perhaps in Babylon some of the Jewish priests had complied with the idolaters of the place, to the great scandal of their religion. Now these priests who had thus prevaricated were justly put under the mark of God's displeasure; or, if they were dead (as it is probable that they were, if the crime were committed before the captivity), the iniquity was visited upon their children. Or perhaps it was the whole family of Abiathar that had been guilty of this trespass, which was now called to account for it. And, 1. They are sentenced to be deprived, in part, of their office, and from the dignity of priests are put down into the condition or ordinary Levites. God has lifted up his hand against them, has said it, and sworn it, that they shall bear their iniquity (v. 12); assuredly they shall suffer for it, shall suffer disgrace for it; they shall bear their shame (v. 13), for though they have (we charitably hope) repented of it, yet they shall not come near to do the office of a priest, that is, those parts of the office that were peculiar to them, they shall not come near to any of the holy things within the sanctuary, v. 13. Note, those who have robbed God of his honour will justly be deprived of their honour. And it is really a great punishment to be forbidden to come near to God; and justly might those who have once gone away from him be rejected as unworthy ever to come near to him and put at an everlasting distance. 2. Yet there is a mixture of mercy in this sentence. God deals not in severity, as he might have done, with those who had dealt treacherously with him, but mitigates the sentence, v. 11, 14. They are deprived but in part, ab officio—of their office, and, it should seem, not at all à beneficio—of their emoluments. They shall help to slay the sacrifice, which the Levites were permitted to do, and which in this temple was done, not at the altar, but at the tables, ch. xl. 29. They shall be porters at the gates of the house, and they shall be keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof. Note, Those who may not be fit to be employed in one kind of service may yet be fit to be employed in another; and even those who have offended may yet be made use of, and not quite thrown aside, much less thrown away.

II. Those who have been faithful are honoured and established, v. 15, 16. These are remarkably distinguished from the other: "But the sons of Zadok, who kept their integrity in a time of general apostasy, who went not astray when others did, they shall come near to me, shall come near to my table." Note, God will put marks of honour upon those who give proofs of their fidelity and constancy to him in shaking trying times, and will employ those in his service who have kept close to his service when others deserted it and drew back. And it ought to be reckoned a true and great reward of stability in duty to be established in it. If we keep close to God, God will keep us close to him.

Directions Concerning the Priests. (b. c. 574.)

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. 18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat. 19 And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments. 20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads. 21 Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. 22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before. 23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. 25 And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves. 26 And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days. 27 And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord God . 28 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. 29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house. 31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.

God's priests must be regulars, not seculars; and therefore here are rules laid down for them to govern themselves by and due encouragement given them to live up to those rules. Directions are here given,

I. Concerning their clothes; they must wear linen garments when they went in to minister or do any service in the inner court, or in the sanctuary, and nothing that was woollen, because it would cause sweat, v. 17, 18. They must dress themselves cool, that they might go the more readily about their work; and they had the more need to do so because they were to attend the altars, which had constant fires upon them. And they must dress themselves clean and sweet, and avoid every thing that was sweaty and filthy, to signify the purity of mind with which the service of God is to be attended to. Sweat came in with sin and was part of the curse. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. Clothes came in with sin, coats of skins did; and therefore the priests must use as little and as light clothing as possible, and not such as caused sweat. When they had finished their service they must change their clothes again, and lay up their linen garments in the chambers appointed for that purpose, v. 19, as before, ch. xlii. 14. They must not go among the people with their holy garments on, lest they should imagine themselves sanctified by the touch of them; or, They shall sanctify the people, that is (as it is explained, ch. xlii. 14), they shall approach to those things which are for the people, in their ordinary garments.

II. Concerning their hair; in that they must avoid extremes on both hands (v. 20): They must not shave their heads, in imitation of the Gentile priests, and as the priests of the Romish church do; nor, on the other hand, must they suffer their locks to grow long, as the beaux, or that they might be thought Nazarites, when really they were not; but they must be grave and modest, must poll their heads and keep their hair short. If a man, especially a minister, wear long hair, it is not becoming (1 Cor. xi. 14); it is effeminate.

III. Concerning their diet; they must be sure to drink no wine when they went in to minister, lest they should drink to excess, should drink and forget the law, v. 21. It is not for kings to drink wine, more than will do them good, much less for priests. See Lev. x. 9; Prov. xxxi. 4, 5.

IV. Concerning their marriages, v. 22. Here they must consult the credit of their office, and not marry one that had been divorced, that was at least under the suspicion of immodesty, nor a widow, unless she were a priest's widow, that had been accustomed to the usages of the priests' families. Others may do that which ministers may not do, but must deny themselves in, in honour of their character. Their wives as well as themselves must be of good report.

V. Concerning their preaching and church-government. 1. It was part of their business to teach the people; and herein they must approve themselves both skilful and faithful (v. 23): They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane, between good and evil, lawful and unlawful, that they may neither scruple what is lawful nor venture upon what is unlawful, that they may not pollute what is holy nor pollute themselves with what is profane. Ministers must take pains to cause people to discern between the clean and the unclean, that they may not confound the distinctions between right and wrong, nor mistake concerning them, so as to put darkness for light and light for darkness, but may have a good judgment of discretion concerning their own actions. 2. It was part of their business to judge upon appeals made to them (Deut. xvii. 8, 9); and in controversy they shall stand in judgment, v. 24. They shall have the honesty to stand up for what is right, and, when they have passed a right judgment, shall have the courage to stand to it and stand by it. They must judge, not according to their own fancies, or inclinations, or secular interests, but according to my judgments; that must be their rule and standard. Note, Ministers must decide controversies according to the word of God, to the law and to the testimony. Sit liber judex—Let the judge be unbiased. Their business is to keep courts in God's name, to preside in the congregations of his people. And herein they must go to the statute-book: They shall keep my statutes in all my assemblies. God calls the assemblies of his people his assemblies, because they are held in his name, to his glory. Ministers are the masters of those assemblies, are to preside in them, and in all their acts must keep close to God's laws. Another part of their work, as church governors, is to hallow God's sabbaths, to do the public work of that day with a becoming care and reverence, as the work of a holy day should be done, and to see that God's people also sanctify that day and do nothing to pollute it.

VI. Concerning their mourning for dead relations; the rule here agrees with the law of Moses, Lev. xxi. 1, 11. A priest shall not come near any dead body (for they must be purified from dead works) except of his next relations, v. 25. Decent expressions of a pious sorrow for dear relations, when they are removed by death, are not disagreeable to the character of a minister. Yet by this approach to the dead body of a relation they contracted a ceremonial pollution, from which they must be cleansed by a sin-offering before they went in again to minister, v. 26, 27. Note, Though sorrow for the dead is very allowable and commendable, yet there is danger of sinning in it, either by excess or dissimulation; and those tears have too often need to be wept over again.

VII. Concerning their maintenance; they must live upon the altar at which they served, and live comfortably (v. 28): "You shall give them no possession in Israel, no lands or tenements, lest they should be entangled with the affairs of this life;" for God has said, I am their inheritance, and they need no other in reserve; I am their possession, and they need no other in hand. Some land was allowed them (ch. xlviii. 10), but their principal subsistence was by their office. What God appropriated to himself they were the receivers of, for their own proper use and behoof; they lived upon the holy things, and so God himself was the portion both of their inheritance and of their cup. Note, Those who have God for their inheritance and their possession may be content with a little, and ought not to covet a great deal of the possessions and inheritances of this earth. If we have God, we have all; and therefore may well reckon that we have enough. Observe,

1. What the priests were to have from the people, for their maintenance and encouragement. (1.) They must have the flesh of many of the offerings, the sin-offering and trespass-offering, which would supply them and their families with flesh-meat, and the meat-offerings, which would supply them with bread. What we offer to God will redound to our own advantage. (2.) They must have every dedicated devoted thing in Israel, which was in many cases to be turned into money and given to the priest. This is explained, v. 20. Every oblation or free-will offering (which in times of reformation and devotion would be many and considerable) of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's. We have the law concerning them Lev. xxvii. (3.) They were to have the first of the dough when it was going to the oven, as well as the first of their fruits when they were going to the barn. God, who is the first, must have the first; and, if it belong to him, his priests must have it. We may then comfortably enjoy what we have, when a share of it has been first set apart for works of piety and charity. To this the apostle's rule bears some analogy, to begin the week with laying by for pious uses, 1 Cor. xvi. 2. The priests being so well provided for, it would be inexcusable in them if they (contrary to the law which every Israelite is bound by) should eat that which is torn or which died of itself, v. 31. Those that were in want of necessary food might perhaps expect to be dispensed with in such a case. Poverty has its temptations, but the priests were so well provided for that they could have no pretence for it.

2. What the people might expect from the priest for their recompence. Those that are kind to a prophet, to a priest, shall have a prophet's, a priest's reward: That he may cause the blessing to rest in thy house (v. 30), that God may cause it by commanding it, that the priest may cause it by praying for it; and it was part of the priest's work to bless the people in the name of the Lord, not only their congregations, but their families. Note, It is all in all to the comfort of any house to have the blessing of God upon it and to have the blessing to rest in it, to dwell where we dwell and to attend the entail of it upon those that shall come after us. And the way to have the blessing of God abide upon our estates is to honour God with them, and to give him and his ministers, him and his poor, their share out of them. God blesses, he surely blesses, the habitation of those who are thus just, Prov. iii. 33. And ministers, by instructing and praying for the families that are kind to them, should do their part towards causing the blessing to rest there. Peace be to this house.

CHAP. XLIV.

Ver. 1. THen he brought me back] From the Eaſtgate which was found ſhut, to the Northgate where the Prophet received large inſtructions, ver. 4. Chriſt muſt be followed, though he ſeem to lead us in and out, backward and forward, as if we were treading a maze.

Ver. 2. This gate ſhall be ſhut] Is, and ſhall be; ſave only to Meſſiah the Prince,Pſal. 118.20. and to whomſoever he (as having the keyes of David) ſhall open it. This gate of the Lord into which the righteous ſhall enter, ſc. by that new and living way which Chriſt (their forerunner, Heb. 6.20.) hath prepared and paved for them with his own blood, Heb. 10.20. See Heb. 7.8, 9, 11, 12, 24.

And no man ſhall enter in it] No meer man, unleſs it be by Emmanuel: See Joh. 3.13.

Ver. 3. It is for the Prince] For Meſſiah the Prince, ſo Chriſt is called, Dan. 9. Or, for the Chief Prieſt, who as he had a ſingular priviledge herein above other Prieſts, ſo hath Chriſt, the High-Prieſt of the Church Chriſtian, ſingular priviledges above all his brethren.

He ſhall ſit in it to eat bread] He ſhall ſit at the right hand of the Majeſty on high, and enjoy heavens happineſs, which is oft compared to a feaſt, as Mat. 8.11. & 22.1, 2. See Eſa. 53.11. He ſhall aſcend up into heaven and therehence come again to judge the quick and the dead, Act. 1.11. Heb. 9.28. Some by Prince here underſtand the Ruler of the people; ſee chap. 46.1, 2. who is peculiarly licenſed to enter in at the Eaſt-gate, and there to ſit and eat and drink his part of the Peace-offering: Confer Exod. 24.11. It is not meant of Peter the Apoſtle (to be ſure) much leſs of the Pope his pretended ſucceſſour, as ſome of his Paraſites would have it.

Ver. 4. Then brought he me] See on ver. 1.

The glory of the Lord] See chap. 43.2, 5.

And I fell upon my face] See chap. 43.3. & 1.28.

Ver. 5. Mark well, and behold with thine eyes] Summon the ſobriety of thy ſenſes before thine own judgement. See chap. 40.4. The refining of the Miniſtery and diſcipline of the Church, with the ſame charge in regard of the excellency of the matter repeated for attention, to ver. 17. and laws preſcribed to that purpoſe, ver. 17. to the end of the Chapter.

Ver. 6. And thou ſhalt ſay to the rebellious] Heb. to rebellion. Vulg. to the exaſperating houſe.

Let it ſuffice you] Ye have ſinned enough and more then enough, 1 Pet. 4.3. Now that I have ſet you up a new Temple, turn over a new leaf for ſhame, as chap. 43.10. when ſhall it once be? Jer. 13. ult.

Ver. 7. Strangers] Your ſelves are no better, Am. 9 7. ſtrangers from the covenants, Eph. 2.12. degenerate children, Eſa. 1.4. alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in you, Eph. 4.18. and through your blind leaders of the blind, Prieſts of your own making, &c.

Ʋncircumciſed in heart] Erroneous in judgment.

Ʋncircumciſed in fleſh] Enormous in practice.

When ye offer my bread] i. e. The fat and the blood (as it followeth) which I ſeem to feed upon as a man doth upon bread.

Becauſe of all your abominations] Or, beſides all your abominations mentioned, ver. 6.

Ver. 8. For your ſelves] Pro veſtro arbitratu, non pro mea voluntate, as beſt ſuited with your own ends, and fitted to your own humours.

Ver. 9. Shall enter into my ſanctuary] See a like prohibition, 1 Tim. 3.3, 8. Tit. 1.7. Such as were the Scribes and Phariſees, the Arrian Biſhops, the Popiſh Prieſts, the cleri (ut vocant) dehoneſtamenta amongſt us, till caſt out.

Ver. 10. And the Levites] The Apoſtate Prieſts, that for fear or favour, have comported with idolaters; ſuch as were the poſterity of Ithamar, thoſe time-ſervers in Ezra, chap. 2.61, 63. thoſe in the books of Macchabees, Demas (if Dorotheus may be believed) Pau us Diaconus, Pendleton, Pflugius & Sidonius, Authours of the Interim in Germany &c.

They ſhall even bear their iniquity] i. e. Degradation, as a puniſhment of their iniquity.

Ver. 11. Yet they ſhall be Miniſters in my ſanctuary] Though lapſed, they ſhall not be altogether diſcarded, (ſee 2 King. 23.9. Neh. 13.28.Capite minuuntur, ſed non Penitus eficiuntur.) partly for the honour of the Prieſthood: but principally, for the encouragement of ſuch as having fallen by infirmity, riſe again by repentance.

Ver. 12. Becauſe they miniſtred unto them before their idols] Being carryed down the ſtream of the times, and hurryed away by violent temptation, which they afterwards regretted and repented of. So did not thoſe Popiſh Biſhops and Prieſts at the coming in of Queen Elizabeth; who were therefore worthily turned out: even fourteen Biſhops, ſix Abbots twelve Deanes, as many Archdeacons,Camd. Eliſ. fifty Prebendaries, fifteen Preſidents of Colledges, many Parſons, and other ſtiffe Maſſe-Prieſts.

Ver. 13. And they ſhall not come near unto me] How great then was the love of the Lord Jeſus to Peter and the reſt of his Diſciples after his reſurrection; as in ſending them that ſweet meſſage, Mark. 16.7. ſo in readmitting them to the work of the Miniſtery after ſo foul a revolt! Joh. 20.21, 22, 23. And doth he not the very ſame ſtill for his poor ſinful ſervants, who deſire indeed to fear his name, but are oft overtaken in a fault through infirmity of the fleſh? Surely, Father Traves, (ſaid Mr. Bradford Martyr in a letter to him) I have clean forgotten God, I am all ſecure, idle, proud-hearted, utterly void of brotherly love: I am envious and diſdain others,Act. & Mon. 1511. I am a very ſtark hypocrite, &c. Thus he, and much more to like purpoſe, in his heavenly letters.

Ver. 14. But I will make them keepers] Which was one of the meaneſt offices.

Ver. 15. But the Prieſts the ſons of Zadok] Who follow their fathers footſteps, and are careful to fulfill the miniſtery that they have received in the Lord: to be beſt in the worſt times as right heires of Moſes his benediction, Deut. 33.9, &c.

Oecol. Saith the Lord God] Them that honour me I will honour, 1 Sam. 2.20. This is a bargain of Gods own making. Hujus rei fides penes Deum tota eſt, we may truſt to it.

Ver. 16. To my Table] i. e. To mine Altar, chap. 41.22. Mal. 1.7, 12. which as oft as they do, they receive a double pledge of the pardon of their own ſins, Joh. 20.23.

Ver. 17. They ſhall be cloathed with linnen garments] As ſo many earthly Angels, Mat. 28.3. (See Rev. 4.4. and 7.13.) for innocency, and victory over their corruptions.

And no wooll ſhall come upon them] No brutiſh and ſenſual luſts and practiſes ſhall be found in them.Lavat. Ex brutorum lana veſtes contexuntur.

Ver. 18. They ſhall have linnen bonnets upon their heads] In token of conſtant ſubjection to God, 1 Cor. 11.

They ſhall have linnen breeches] For honeſty ſake; and to admoniſh them to procure and provide for things honeſt not only in the ſight of the Lord, but in the ſight of men, 2 Cor. 8.21.

With any thing that cauſeth ſweat] That they may not have an ill ſavour, or ſeem to do Gods work to their own trouble: the Lord loveth a cheerful giver.

Ver. 19 They ſhall put off their garments] See chap. 42.14.

They ſhall not ſanctifie the people with their garments] i. e. By the touch of their garments. See Exod. 29.37. & 30.29. Ezek. 46.20. To ſanctifie the people, in this text, is to perſwade them that they are ſanctified by the touch or ſight of the Prieſtly veſtments. The Monkes at this day make the ſilly people beleeve, that they cannot be damned when they dye, if they be buried in a Franciſcans coul.

In orat. pro Roſc. Comado.Ver. 20. Neither ſhall they ſhave their heads] What can the Popiſh ſhavelings ſay to this— qui ne pilum ullum viri boni habere videntur, as Cicero ſaith of Fannius Chaereas; noting it to be a ſign of crafty malice to be ſhaven? And indeed it is ſo bald and heatheniſh a ceremony, that ſome Prieſts in France are aſhamed of the mark:Spec. Eur. and few of them have it, that can handſomely avoid it.

Nor ſuffer their lock[illegible: 1 letter] to grow long] As womens: ſome heathen-Prieſts nouriſhed their heir to a great length. A ſhag-haired Miniſter is an ugly ſight: buſhes of vanity become not ſuch, of any men.

They ſhall only poll their heads] Or, round them. Certainly, ſaith one, the devil forg[illegible: 1 letter]t this text,Mr. Burroughs. when he raiſed up that reproach of Roundheads. To have hairy ſcalpes is the garb of Gods enemies, Pſal. 68.21.

Ver. 21. Neither ſhall any Priest drink wine] Wherein is exceſſe, Eph. 5.18. See Levit. 10.9.

Ver. 22. Neither ſhall they take for their wives] Miniſters of all men ſhould be careful whom they wed, for many reaſons. Hear what good counſel one Miniſter of mine acquaintance gave another; Quaere tebi uxorem quae ſit Pia, Pulchra, Pudica, Mr. Thomas Dugard.Provida, verborum Parca, & Parere parata.

Ver. 23. And they ſhall teach] Miniſters muſt be able and apt to teach, 1 Tim. 3.2. Tit. 1.9. Act. 20.28.

Ver. 24. They ſhall ſtand in judgement] i. e. Stand to the right, and not ſtir from it: in matters of Religion eſpecially; accounting every parcel of truth precious.

They ſhall keep my laws] Not obſerve them only, but preſerve them from the violations of others.

Ver. 25. And they ſhall come at no dead perſon] Not defile their conſciences with dead works. Mens è luctu eluctetur.

They may defile themſelves] So they keep a mean. Something they may yeeld to nature, nothing to impatience.

Ver. 26. And after he is clenſed] This is a new ſanction in the new Temple: as Vatablus obſerveth.

Ver. 27. He ſhall offer his ſin-offering] Becauſe we do eaſily overſhoot our ſelves in things permitted.Licitis perimus omnes.

Ver. 28. And it ſhall be, &c.] This that followeth, ſhall be their inheritance, ver. 29, 30, 31. and whatſoever they want more, ſhall be made up in Me.

Ver. 29. They ſhall eat] See on ver. 28.

Ver. 30. That he may cauſe the bleſſing] Tythe and be rich. See Mal. 3.10. with the Notes.

Ver. 31. The Prieſts ſhall not eat, &c.] They ſhall not be greedy of filthy lucre, nor oppreſſive. Popiſh Prieſts made ſo much gain of the dead, and ſo devoured widdows houſes under a pretence of Dirges, Trentals, Maſſes for the dead, &c. that there was a neceſſity in this Kingdom, of a ſtatute of Mortmain, to reſtrain them.