Ezekiel 44:3

The prince in this *vision was the ruler of *Israel’s government. He had important duties at the *temple. But he was not a priest. And he did not control what happened at the *temple.

Only the prince had the right to use the outer east gate. But he would not walk through the actual gate. He could not, because the gate was closed. Instead, he used the entrance hall of the gate. This was his royal room. The people could eat some parts of the peace *sacrifices that they brought. And so the prince would eat his peace *sacrifice in the room at the outer east gate. This was his special right. But it was not just a meal. It was a type of *worship. This act would remind the prince about his relationship with God.

As the prince ate there, he would be in front of the *temple building. But he would not be near to that building. He was not in the *temple’s inner area, nor even in the outer area. His place was far from the areas that the priests used. Sometimes in the past, kings had acted as if they were priests (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). God did not want this to happen. His *Messiah would be the only king who was also priest. And he would be a different type of priest (Hebrews 7:11-28).

So this is the law for the prince: ‘The prince will enter through the hall of the gate. And he will go out the same way.’ This is the law at the outer east gate. And it is the same law as at the inner east gate (46:8). The inner and outer gates had similar but opposite designs. In other words, the halls of all the gates were on the side of the outer area. So even the prince had to enter the outer area by the same gates as everyone else. He would be in the outer area like everyone else. He could not ever enter the special areas that were for the priests. He had special rights and duties because of his royal authority. But he must remember that he is human, like everyone else. He only had his special rights because of God’s kindness. The prince too can only serve God because of *sacrifice. So the prince too must be humble in front of God.

The priests who work in the *temple – Ezekiel 44:4-16

v4 Then the man brought me through the outer north gate to the front of the *temple. As I looked, I saw the *LORD’s *glory. It filled the *temple of the *LORD. And I fell down with my face to the ground.

v5 The *LORD said to me, ‘*Son of man, concentrate your mind. Look carefully. Listen well. Listen to all that I say to you. I will tell you all about the rules and regulations of the *LORD’s *temple. Look carefully at the entrance to the *temple and all the exits from the *temple area. v6 Then speak to those people who refuse to obey me. Say to the *Israelites: This is what the *LORD your King says to you. *Israelites, you must not do all those evil things that I hate. v7 You brought foreigners into my *holy place where they should not be. They have not received *circumcision in either their hearts or their bodies. They do not *worship me. You have ruined the honour of my *temple. You made *sacrifices of food, fat and blood to me. But you have not obeyed me. v8 You did not take care of my *holy things. But you gave foreigners control over my *temple. v9 This is what the *LORD your King says. Foreigners, who have not received *circumcision in their hearts and bodies, must not enter my *temple. Not even those foreigners who live among the *Israelites can enter.

v10 Some *Levites went far away from me when *Israel *turned from me. They followed their false gods. I will punish these *Levites because of their *sin. v11 These *Levites will be servants in my *holy place. They will guard the gates of the *temple. They will serve in the *temple area. They will kill the animals for the *burnt *sacrifices. They will make *sacrifices on behalf of the people. They will stand in front of the people to serve them. v12 But these *Levites helped the people to *worship their false gods. They caused the *Israelites to *sin. So, I have lifted up my hand as I made this judgement against them. I, the *LORD your King, will cause them to suffer the punishment because of their *sin. v13 They will not come near me to serve as priests. They will not come near any of my *holy things. They will not come near my most *holy *sacrifices. They will be ashamed of the things that they did. I hate those things. v14 But, I will appoint them so that they will be responsible for the duties in the *temple. They will take care of all the work that they must do in it.

v15 But some priests who are *Levites by Zadok their *ancestor were loyal to me. These *Levites did their duty to me in my *temple when the *Israelites *turned away from me. They will come near to serve me. They will stand in front of me to offer the fat and blood of the animals. They will make the *sacrifices to me, says the *LORD your King. v16 They are the only ones who may enter my *holy place. Only they may come near my table to serve me. They will take care of the things that I give to them to do.’