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.
In these verses, the
Lord tells Ezekiel that there is to be a difference in the duties given to
priests who participated in idolatry versus priests who kept themselves from
idolatry. The unfaithful priests
are still mercifully allowed to serve in the temple… but their duties are
limited and they are not permitted to participate in the most sacred parts of
the service. It is interesting to
see what they are permitted to do.
Less faithful priests
are to:
· Have
charge at the gates of the house (v11)
· Minister
to the house (v11)
· Slay
the animals for the sacrifices (v11)
· Stand
to minister for the people (v11)
· Not
come near to God (v13)
· Not
come near the holy things (v13)
· Not
come in the most holy place (v13)
· Keep
the charge of the house (v14)
Faithful priests have
much greater privileges, and the list continues to verse 31. They are to:
· Come
near to God to minister to God (v15)
· Stand
before God to offer the fat and blood as sacrifices (v15)
· Enter
the sanctuary (v16)
· Come
near the table to minister to God (v16)
· keep
the charge (v16)
· Clothe
themselves in linen garments as they enter the inner court (v17)
· wear
the linen bonnet, breeches, and girdle (v18)
· Remove
the linen garments (and put ordinary clothes on) before they go to the outer
court to minister to the people (v19)
· Teach
Israel to know the difference between good and evil, sacred and profane (v23)
· Render
judgment in controversy (v24)
·
not touch the dead (v24)
·
inherit the Lord instead of land (v28)
·
eat the sacrifice offered in the temple (v29-30)
When I was reading these verses with the description of the
separate roles, it seemed to indicate to me how the Lord wants to show there
are consequences for being unfaithful and they consist of losing privileges of
doing the holiest service in the temple.
And yet another way of looking at it is to see how a subtle
lesson about degrees of glory is taught here. The priests who stayed faithful even when the rest of Israel
was worshipping idols were in effect valiant in the testimony of Jesus. Their privileges in the temple are
celestial. They can minister
in the presence of God in the most holy place, while the priests who were not
faithful can’t go into the sanctuary at all. Faithful priests can offer sacrifices for the people, while
unfaithful priests must kill the animals for the sacrifices. Faithful priests can minister to God
and the people, while unfaithful priests only minister to the people. Faithful priests wear priestly robes in
the inner courts, while the unfaithful priests seem to have no such privilege.
This reminds me of how important it is to make sure that I
keep myself from sin in order to be worthy to go to the temple. It reminds me to think about the
questions that I’m asked during my recommend interviews to gauge myself and how
I’m doing. God is not mocked. If
we are not worthy to go to the temple, we pollute the Lord’s house and He knows
it, and He will remove our spiritual privileges. But if we go worthily, we will be blessed with the Lord’s
power and revelation.
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