Ezekiel 44:15-31--Rules for Levitical Priests

Ezekiel 44:15-31
English Standard Version

Rules for Levitical Priests
15 “But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord GOD. 16 They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge. 17 When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. 19 And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers. And they shall put on other garments, lest they transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20 They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads. 21 No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22 They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy. 25 They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves. 26 After he has become clean, they shall count seven days for him. 27 And on the day that he goes into the Holy Place, into the inner court, to minister in the Holy Place, he shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD.

28 “This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. 29 They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 And the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, that a blessing may rest on your house. 31 The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by wild animals.

---

The Levitical priesthood will be restored.  It would seem that one day, there would be a Temple with no distinction or division between the Holy Place and The Most Holy Place, and Levitical priests would always wear the linen garments that were worn by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement--they will never wear their wool garments again.  From head to toe, they will all be dressed in white linen (unlike their Old Testament garments which were robes of darker, royal colors).  They are only to wear these linen garments when ministering before the LORD, but they are to change clothes before they go out to minister to the people unless they transmit the holiness of God to the people (part of me wonders why this is an issue if the people have already been glorified).

They will keep the dress code for the priests including how they keep their hair and beards.  They will refrain from drinking wine while they are ministering in the Temple so that they will not be intoxicated before the LORD, and they will be restricted on who they can marry--they can only marry unmarried virgins from among the Twelve Tribes with the exception of one who is a widow of a priest who died.  Since death is abolished in the New Heavens and the New Earth, this leads me to believe that these instructions were for the priests when they returned from Exile.

After the return from Exile, the priests would again need to teach the people that Law of the LORD and teach them morality and values and they will teach the people the difference between what is holy and what is common and how to distinguish between what is clean and unclean.  They are to teach the people to keep the Sabbath Day holy, and to celebrate all the appointed feasts and festivals.  The priests are to keep themselves from being defiled by anything unclean, especially a dead body.  However, exceptions will be made for close family members (except for the High Priest who was never to defile himself, even for close family members).  Once a priest has buried his close family member and his period of uncleanliness is over, he must wait an additional seven days before serving before the LORD to make absolutely sure that He does not defile the holy things in the Holy Place.  At this time he will offer a sin offering for himself, for He has become unclean and atonement must be made for him (again, this is a sign that this is not the eternal Temple).

The Levites and priests were to receive no portion of the Land as an inheritance save the Cities of Refuge and the cities that served as storehouses for the tithe that the Levites might distribute to the people.  They should always be looking for their eternal portion that would given to them by the LORD, for He was their portion and their inheritance, and He gave them the tithe and firstfruits as their portion as well.  He also gave them the best portions of the sacrifice (after the fatty portions where burned and given to the LORD).  They thigh and breast were given to the priests (I think you would agree these are the best potions of dark meat and white meat).  The priest were not to eat of anything that died of natural causes or that was killed by other animals--they were only to eat their portion which came from the LORD's altar and they were to depend on the LORD's people to make their regular sacrifices and tithes to provide for them.  As the people were obedient, the LORD's servants and ministers were provided for by way of that obedience.  The same is true today.  Though our pastors and lay ministers do not eat from the altar of the LORD, they are provide for by the faithful, generous giving of the people of God.  The more generous and obedient the congregation is to the calling of New Testament giving, the more the needs of the pastor and other staff are met so that it brings glory to God as others see that He cares for those who have given their lives in service to Him.