Tyndale Open Study NotesEzekiel 44

Now that the glory of the Lord had returned to the temple, access was critical. Who could approach this holy God? Like Ezekiel 43, this chapter focuses on the temple’s entrances and exits, as well as the duties and procedures for its use.

The outer east gate must always stay closed because the Lord has returned to his temple and will never leave it again. He made this gate holy by passing through it, so no one else should use it.

The prince had the special privilege of being the only one allowed to feast in the Lord’s presence inside the east outer gateway. However, he could only enter and leave the portico from the outer court. He was not to enter from outside the temple complex through the gate, as the Lord had. The earthly ruler is a man, not God, and he must submit to God. The prince must also remember that the temple is God’s palace, not his own private chapel.

The people of Israel were called rebels because they did not control access to the sanctuary. They hired uncircumcised foreigners as temple guards and gatekeepers. The Levites should have done this job, as the Lord assigned it to them (compare Ezekiel 44:10).

No foreigner: This was not a complete ban on non-Israelites entering the sanctuary. It only applied to those who were uncircumcised and had not dedicated themselves to the Lord. True converts could join the new Israel (see Ezekiel 47:22–23).

when Israel went astray, and who wandered away from Me after their idols: The people often turned away from the Lord and worshiped idols instead. They did not keep the instructions God had given them for temple worship.

One specific example was the use of foreigners as temple guards (Ezekiel 44:8). God had given clear directions about who should serve in the temple. By ignoring these instructions, the people showed their unfaithfulness.

• The Levites had led Israel into serious sin. The people turned away from the Lord and worshiped idols.

  Because of this sin, the Levites could no longer enter the inner court of the temple as the priests did. This was one result of their disobedience. However, God still showed them grace. They would continue to serve by helping the people and by killing the animals offered as sacrifices.

• The people as a whole were now kept at a greater distance from God because of their idolatry. Before the exile in Babylon, they killed their own sacrifices(see Leviticus 1:5, 11). Now they had to give the animals to the Levites, who would kill them on their behalf.

Unlike the Levites and others who turned to idols, the Levitical priests from Zadok's family stayed loyal to the Lord.

Zadok was the high priest during Solomon's time. His family was rewarded with access to the inner courtyard to perform important sacrifices closer to God.

These chapters often highlight that those who were faithful in the past would be rewarded with closer access to God and more privileges, while the unfaithful would remain farther away.

• The priests had special access to God. Because of this privilege, they also had greater responsibility to live in holiness. Their behavior was more restricted than that of the people.

  They had to wear linen clothing instead of wool. This helped prevent sweat, which would make them ritually unclean (see study note on Ezekiel 36:17). They also had to keep separate garments that were used only for sacred service.

• transmit holiness to the people with their garments: The priests had to be careful not to endanger others by passing on holiness. In the Old Testament, holiness was understood as something that could spread through contact. If a sacred object made an ordinary object or person holy, serious consequences could follow (compare Leviticus 10:1–3; 1 Samuel 6:19; 2 Samuel 6:6–7).

The priests had to avoid contact with death. They could not enter a place where a dead body was present. They also could not follow certain mourning customs, such as shaving their heads or letting their hair grow wild.

They were not allowed to drink wine before entering the inner courtyard. This rule helped prevent serious mistakes that could lead to death (see Leviticus 10:9).

The priests also had rules about marriage. They could marry only a virgin from Israel or the widow of a priest. These limits helped protect the purity of the priestly family line.

In all these ways, the priests were to show the people the clear difference between what was holy and what was common, and between what was clean and what was unclean.

The priests belonged to the Lord and received support from a share of the temple's sacrificial offerings. They did not own land or property. The Lord was their inheritance. The people supplied their needs with the firstfruits of harvests and various temple offerings.

They could not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was attacked by another animal because they separated themselves from death.