EZEKIEL LESSON 46


     We will begin this lesson in Ezekiel 44:1 "Then he brought me
back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward
the east; and it [was] shut."

     This eastern gate was, also, called the golden gate. This
prophecy is fulfilled. In the city of Jerusalem today, this gate is
blocked up. "Gold" means the purity of God, so it is proper for it to
be called the golden gate. This is the gate that Jesus will enter,
when He comes back to the earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.
The Mount of Olives will cleave in two and Jesus will walk through
this gate into Jerusalem.

     Ezekiel 44:2 "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."

     This gate is set aside for the purpose of God. The gate is holy,
since the LORD, the God of Israel, entered in by it. This is the
LORD's private gate. No one else is to use it.

     Ezekiel 44:3 "[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 "Prince", spoken of here, is Messiah. Jesus Christ was in the
flesh of man for His stay upon the earth. Many even thought Him to be
the son of Joseph, when in fact, He was the Son of God.

     Ezekiel 44:4  "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."

     The north gate that Ezekiel was taken to, was very near the holy
of holies, so it had to be the north gate of the inner court. We see
that Ezekiel was in the near presence of the glory of the LORD, and he
was so overwhelmed, that he fell on his face before the LORD.

     Ezekiel 44:5 "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."

     The LORD was cautioning Ezekiel to get all of the details solidly
into his memory, so he would not forget. This is the most important
thing in his life, so he must give it his full undivided attention.
Each little detail had great spiritual significance. He must get it
exact. I am just sure that God gave Ezekiel the gift of comprehending
what was here, and then remembering it. God does not ask us to do
anything that He does not equip us to do. This is what I am saying
about the Bible, as well. We should not read it with just our natural
eyes. Our spirit of understanding must be quickened, to truly realize
what it is saying.

     Ezekiel 44:6 "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,"

     Some of the idolatries had taken place at this very gate in the
past. God wants them to put all of that behind them.

     Ezekiel 44:7 "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."

     This is, probably, speaking of those priests who brought the
idolatries into the temple. Notice above, that uncircumcised in heart
is mentioned, even before uncircumcised in flesh. Christians who truly
belong to God are circumcised in the heart. The abominations ranged
from committing spiritual adultery, to not keeping God's covenant.

     Ezekiel 44:8 "And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy
things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for
yourselves."

     This reminds me very much of when the priesthood had sunk so low,
they worshipped false gods themselves. God had set the Levitical tribe
aside for working in the temple. They had brought in strangers to do
the work of the sanctuary.

     Ezekiel 44:9  "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."

     The "stranger" is speaking of those who do not know God.

     Ezekiel 44:10 "And the Levites that are gone away far from me,
when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their
idols; they shall even bear their iniquity."

     The Levites knew more about God, because that was their job every
day. They were in the near presence of God. They were supposed to know
His law and commandments, better than the average person. This was
their duty to God. We see in the following Scripture, spoken by Jesus,
why they were more responsible for their sins. Luke 12:48 "But he that
knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten
with few [stripes].  For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall
be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they
will ask the more."

     Ezekiel 44:11 "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."

     They will now do the lesser jobs in the sanctuary. They have been
demoted. There were different positions of work in the temple. Some
saw to the servile duties, and others were called priests and the high
priest to work with the holy things.

     Ezekiel 44:12 "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."

     It appears, these apostate priests had led them in the worship of
false gods. They had not been good watchmen. God holds those in
ministry more responsible for idolatry, than He does the people who
are just following.

     Ezekiel 44:13 "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."

     It appears, those He is speaking to here, had been in near
association with God. Perhaps, this is even speaking of the high
priest, as well as the priests. God will no longer allow them to
handle the holy things in the temple. They will be reduced to
servitude.

     Ezekiel 44:14 "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."

     They will not be released from their obligation to serve. They
will just do the things preparing for the priests and high priest.

     Ezekiel 44:15  "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:"

     There were some who had not committed spiritual adultery with
these idols and false gods. They will, now, take the offices of priest
and high priest. The fat and the blood were God's alone. They were
burned for the sweet smelling savour.

     Ezekiel 44:16 "They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall
come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my
charge."

     This group of priests and high priest, that had not sinned, are
welcomed into the sanctuary. They have clean hands and a pure heart.
Notice, that they minister to God.
     Ezekiel 44:17  "And it shall come to pass, [that] when they enter
in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen
garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in
the gates of the inner court, and within."

     These linen garments speak of the righteousness they are clothed
in. They wore very plain linen clothes, when they came before God. The
fancy clothes were worn when the high priest represented God to the
people. The linen garment was worn, when the high priest represented
the people to God. We have nothing to offer God, but ourselves.

     Ezekiel 44:18 "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."

     The head has to do with the mind of man. The linen bonnet shows
that man's mind offers nothing to God. The linen breeches covering the
loins show extreme modesty. God did not want them wearing wool at all.
The wool would cause them to sweat.

     Ezekiel 44:19 "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."

     These linen garments were to be worn only in the most holy place.
They were to be immediately taken off, after ministering in the most
holy place. This was the reason for having the chambers close to the
most holy place. They were to wear other garments, when they went out
to the people.

     Ezekiel 44:20 "Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer
their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads."

     "Poll" means to shear. It is not alright to shave their heads, or
to grow their hair long. Shear would mean to cut neatly.

     Ezekiel 44:21 "Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they
enter into the inner court."

     Many people believe that this is what was spoken of as strange
fire. Aaron's two sons carried strange fire into the temple, and fire
came from the altar, and killed them both. You can see, this would be
a terrible offence. It does not say that he is to never drink a glass
of wine. It says he must not come into the sanctuary, after drinking a
glass of wine.

     Ezekiel 44:22 "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."

     The priests were not forbidden to marry. They were to be very
careful who they married. We see this was forbidden in the Levitical
law. Leviticus 21:7 "They shall not take a wife [that is] a whore, or
profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband:
for he [is] holy unto his God."  Leviticus 21:13 "And he shall take a
wife in her virginity." There are more Scriptures on this, but I
believe this is sufficient. The wife of a priest must live a holy
life, as well as the priest.

     Ezekiel 44:23 "And they shall teach my people [the difference]
between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the
unclean and the clean."

     God is holy, and He wants His people to be holy. The priest, or
high priest, must live in such a way as to set an example for the
people. The best way to teach holiness, is to live holy before them.

     Ezekiel 44:24 "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."

     Controversy, in the verse above, means contest, or pleading. The
priests and the high priest are to keep the people holy. The high
priest is to judge his people, and keep them straight.

     Ezekiel 44:25 "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."

     The priesthood was to be held above defilement. The priest and
high priest were to proclaim life, and not death. The only time it was
permissible for a priest to touch a dead body, was when it was a near
member of his family. They would be unclean to serve in the temple for
a period of 7 days. They were to have no close contact with any corpse
other than the closest of relatives. The wife is not mentioned as a
close relative, because she and her husband are one.

     Ezekiel 44:26 "And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto
him seven days."

     He was cleansed by a blood sacrifice.

     Ezekiel 44:27 "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."

     The high priest first should offer for himself, and then offer
for the people. He had to carry the blood for sprinkling. It is the
blood that does away with sin.

     Ezekiel 44:28 "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."

     When the land was divided among the children of Israel, the
Levitical tribe received no land. They were to live of the gifts of
the sanctuary. They shared with the altar. In that sense, God provided
for their day to day needs. They were not to get caught up in worldly
commerce.

     Ezekiel 44:29 "They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin
offering, and the trespass offering: and every dedicated thing in
Israel shall be theirs."

     This is an explanation in detail of where their food came from.
The meat offering was actually bread, symbolizing the Lord Jesus, the
Bread of life. The burnt offering is omitted, because it was all
burned up. The skin was the only thing saved. This symbolizes the robe
of righteousness that Jesus clothes all the believers in.

     Ezekiel 44:30 "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."

     All of the offerings made unto God, except the things that were
burned for the sweet savour {the inward parts and the fat}, were to be
shared by the priests and the high priest. This teaches more than
tithe. Christians give before they receive and that is what
firstfruits teaches.

     Ezekiel 44:31 "The priests shall not eat of any thing that is
dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast."

     Something dead of itself could be diseased, and you can see why
that would not be eaten. It was, also, a dead carcass. This particular
ordinance was for all the people, including the priests and high
priest.



















                         Ezekiel 46 Questions


1.  What unusual thing had happened to the eastern gate?
2.  What is another name for the eastern gate?
3.  What do you see today in Jerusalem, if you look at this gate?
4.  Which gate will Jesus enter Jerusalem by, when He comes back as
    King?
5.  What will open the gate?
6.  Why was this gate to be shut?
7.  Who is the gate reserved for?
8.  Who is the "Prince" in verse 3?
9.  When Ezekiel was taken to the north gate, what did he see?
10. Ezekiel was so overwhelmed, he did what?
11. What did the LORD caution Ezekiel about?
12. How could Ezekiel do what God wanted him to do?
13. What had happened at this same gate, before Jerusalem fell?
14. Who is verse 7 speaking of?
15. Who had they allowed to work in the temple?
16. Who are the "strangers"?
17. Quote Luke chapter 12 verse 48.
18. What happened to the priests who had sinned?
19. What had they caused the house of Israel to do?
20. What were the apostate priest forbidden to do again?
21. Which priests did God elevate to work in the holy place, and in
    the most holy place?
22. These priests and high priest, who have not sinned, have _______
    hands and  _______ hearts.
23. When they went into the most holy place, what did they wear?
24. What was meant about them not sweating?
25. They shall not shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to ______
    _______.
26. When were they forbidden to drink wine?
27. Who could they marry?
28. What were they to teach the people?
29. They should come near no dead person, but whom?
30. If he came near the dead persons not forbidden to him, how many
    days was he unclean?
31. When the high priest carried blood into the most holy place, who
    did he sacrifice for?
32. What was the priest's inheritance?
33. What did they eat of?
34. What was forbidden them to eat?
35. Who, besides the priests, were forbidden to eat this same thing?