After Being Led Astray, Who Shall Minister in the Lord's House |
Ezekiel 44:1-31 The Book of Ezekiel [in Smaller Chunks] |
Then, He brought me back [to] the [road] by the gate of the [outer] sanctuary, which [faces] East: [that] was shut. [Ezekiel 40:3-4 He brought me [there] & [I saw] there was a man, whose appearance was like the [resemblance] of brass, with a flax [measuring] line & a measuring reed in his hand & he stood in the gate. |
And the man said to me, Son of man, [look] with your eyes & hear with your ears. And [focus] your heart upon all that I shall [declare] to you, [in order] that I might [show] them to you. [That's why] you are brought [here.] Declare all you see to the house of Israel.] |
Then, the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut & shall not be opened. And no man shall enter in by it, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered in [through] it. Therefore, it shall be shut. |
It is for the prince, because the prince shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord & he shall enter in by the [pathway] of the [gate's] porch, [a.k.a. portico, vestibule, or covered porch,] & shall go out [by] the same way. Then, He brought me to the [road] of the North Gate, [in front of] the [Lord's] house. |
And I looked & [saw,] the glory of the Lord filled the [Lord's] house, & I fell upon my face. And the Lord said to me, Son of man, [note this] well & [see] with your eyes & hear with your ears, all that I say to you [about] all the [rules] & Laws of the [Lord's] house. |
And [record this] well: the [entrance] of the house, with every [exit] going [out] of the sanctuary. And you shall even say to the rebellious house of Israel, The Lord God says [this,] O you house of Israel. Of all your abominations, let [them no longer satisfy] you. |
In that you have brought into My sanctuary, strangers, [with] uncircumcised [hearts] & flesh, to be in My sanctuary, to [defile] it, even My house, when you offer My bread, the fat & the blood. And they have broken My covenant, because of all your abominations. |
[Acts 7:51-52 You stiff-necked, [a.k.a. stubborn,] uncircumcised in heart & ears. You always resist the Holy Ghost, [like] your [forefathers] did, so do you. Which of the prophets haven't your [forefathers] persecuted? They have slain [those, who declared earlier,] of the coming of the Just One, of Whom you have now [betrayed & murdered.] |
And you haven't kept the [responsibility] of the Holy things, but you have [put] [other] keepers of My [command,] in My sanctuary, [instead of] yourselves. The Lord God says this, No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary, [or] any stranger, [who] is among the children [people] of Israel. |
And the Levites, [who have] gone away, [a.k.a. gone astray,] far from Me after their idols. They shall even [carry] their [sins.] [Ezekiel 48:11 It shall be for the priests, [who] are sanctified [from] the sons of Zadok, [who] have kept My [responsibilities & who didn't go] astray, [like] the children [people] of Israel & Levites went astray.] |
[Still,] they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, [being responsible for] the gates of the [Lord's] house, & [taking care of the needs] of the [Lord's] house. They shall [slaughter] the burnt offering & the sacrifice for the people. And they shall stand [in front of] them to minister to them. |
[Number 16:9 [Does] it seems [like] a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord & to stand [in front of] the congregation to minister to them?] |
[It's] because they ministered to them, [in front] of their idols & caused the house of Israel to fall into [sinfulness.] Therefore, I have lifted up [My] hand against them, says the Lord God. And they shall bear their [the guilt of] their [sins.] |
[2 Kings 21:4-7 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which, the Lord said, I will put My Name in Jerusalem. And he built altars for all the host, [a.k.a. stars or constellations,] of heaven; in the 2 courts of the [Lord's] house. |
And he made his son pass through the fire & observed times, [a.k.a. astrology or horoscopes;] used enchantments; & dealt with familiar spirits, [a.k.a. talking with the dead;] & wizards. He [brought about] much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. |
And he [put from] the grove, a [carved] image that he had made, [into] the [Lord's] house, of which the Lord said to David & Solomon, his son, I will put My Name forever in this house & in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all [the] tribes of Israel.] |
And they shall not come near to Me to do the office of a priest [for] Me, nor come near to any of My Holy things, in the Most Holy Place. But they shall [carry] their shame, [for] their abominations, [that] they have committed. |
[Numbers 18:3 And they shall keep your [responsibilities,] & [be in] charge of all the tabernacle. Only, they shall not come [close] [to] the vessels of the sanctuary & the altar, [so] that neither they, nor you die, also.] |
But I will make them keeper [in] charge of the [Lord's] house, for all [its] service & all that shall be done [in it.] But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, [who] [faithfully] kept the [responsibility] of My sanctuary, when the children [people] of Israel went astray from Me & they shall come near to Me to minister to Me. |
And they shall stand before Me to offer the fat & the blood to Me, says the Lord God. They shall enter into My sanctuary & they shall come near My table, to minister to Me. And they shall keep My [command.] |
[Deuteronomy 18:8 And the Lord [spoke] to Aaron, [Look,] I have also given you the [responsibility] of [My] heave offerings of all the [holy] things of the children [people] of Israel. I have given them [to you,] [because] of your & your sons' anointing, by an ordinance forever.] |
It shall [happen,] that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments. And no wool shall [be worn] upon them, [while] they minister in the gates of the inner court & [inside] [the Lord's house.] |
They shall have linen [hats,] upon their heads & they shall [wear] linen [britches, around their waist.] They shall not [clothe] themselves with anything that causes sweat. |
And when they go [out] into the [outer courtyard,] even to the [outer courtyard] to the people, they shall [take] off their garments, [in which] they ministered & lay them in the Holy chambers. And they shall put on other garments & they shall not sanctify the people, [while wearing these] garments. |
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor [allow] their locks to grow long. They shall only [cut the hair on] their heads. Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. |
Neither shall they take a widow for their wives, nor her, [who is divorced.] But they shall take maidens [from] the [descendants] of the house of Israel, or a widow [that was married to a] priest before. |
And they shall teach My people the difference between the Holy & profane. And cause them to [distinguish] between the unclean & the clean. And they shall stand in judgment in a controversy. And they shall judge it according to My judgments. And they shall keep My Laws & My [mandates] in all [My] assemblies. And they shall hallow My Sabbaths. |
And they shall [not approach any] dead person, to defile themselves, [except] they may defile themselves for [a:] father; mother; son; daughter; brother; or sister, [who hasn't] had [any] husband. |
And after he is cleansed, they shall [count] 7 days for him. And [on] the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord God. |
And it shall be for an inheritance to them. I Am their inheritance & you shall give them no [possessions] in Israel. I Am their possession. They shall eat the meat/grain offering; the sin offering; the trespass offering; & every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. |
And the first of all the first fruits of all things & every [offering] of every [type] of your [sacrifices] shall be the priest's. You shall also give to the priest, the first of your dough, [so] that he may cause [a] blessing to rest in your house. |
[Numbers 18:9-12 This shall be yours of the Most Holy things, reserved from the fire: every [offering] of theirs; every meat/grain offering; every sin offering; & every trespass offering, which they shall [give] to Me, shall be Most Holy for you & your sons. |
You shall eat it in the Most Holy Place. Every male shall eat it & it shall be holy to you. And this is yours: their gift of [a] heave offering & all the wave offerings of the children [people] of Israel. I have given them to you, your sons & to your daughters with you, by a [mandate] forever. |
Everyone, [who] is clean in your house shall eat of it. All the best of the: oil; wine; wheat; & first fruits, of [what] they shall offer to the Lord, I have given them [to] you.] |
The priests shall not eat anything that is dead [naturally,] or torn, whether [they are birds] or [animals.] |