Ezekiel 44:15,16

Please see my notes on 40:44-46. The priests in this *vision were men who were loyal to God. Because they were loyal, they were already humble. And that was the right attitude to have as they carried out the most important tasks at the *temple. Their special duties were in two places: the *altar and the *holy place.

• At the *altar, they would burn the most important *sacrifices as a gift to God. So these priests were dealing with the *sins of the people.

• The *holy place was inside the *temple building. There, they *worshipped God. The passage mentions again the table in 41:22, which was in the *holy place. Only these loyal priests could serve God there.

The *Levites carried out their tasks on behalf of the people. But only the priests could offer *sacrifices. God chose the priests especially to carry out this task. So they were closer to God.

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

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

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

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

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

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