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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E Z E K I E L.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XLIV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have,
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I. The appropriating of the east gate of the temple to the prince,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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II. A reproof sent to the house of Israel for their former profanations
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of God's sanctuary, with a charge to them to be more strict for the
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future,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:4-9">ver. 4-9</A>.
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III. The degrading of those Levites that had formerly been guilty of
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idolatry and the establishing of the priesthood in the family of Zadok,
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which had kept their integrity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:10-16">ver. 10-16</A>.
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IV. Divers laws and ordinances concerning the priests,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:17-31">ver. 17-31</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Eze44_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Message of the House of Israel.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 574.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward
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sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it <I>was</I> shut.
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2 Then said the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall
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not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>,
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the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be
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shut.
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3 <I>It is</I> for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat
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bread before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; he shall enter by the way of the porch of
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<I>that</I> gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The prophet is here brought to review what he had before once surveyed;
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for, though we have often looked into the things of God, they will yet
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bear to be looked over again, such a copiousness there is in them. The
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lessons we have learned we should still repeat to ourselves. Every time
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we review the sacred fabric of holy things, which we have in the
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scriptures, we shall still find something new which we did not before
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take notice of. The prophet is brought a third time to the east gate,
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and finds it shut, which intimates that the rest of the gates were open
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at all times to the worshippers. But such an account is given of this
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gate's being shut as puts honour,
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1. Upon the God of Israel. It is for the honour of him that the gate of
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the inner court, at which his glory entered when he took possession of
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the house, was ever after kept shut, and no man was allowed to enter in
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by it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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The difference ever after made between this and the other gates, that
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this was shut when the others were open, was intended both to
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perpetuate the remembrance of the solemn entrance of the glory of the
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Lord into the house (which it would remain a traditional evidence of
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the truth of) and also to possess the minds of people with a reverence
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for the Divine Majesty, and with very awful thoughts of his
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transcendent glory, which was designed in God's charge to Moses at the
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bush, <I>Put off thy shoe from off thy foot.</I> God will have a way by
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himself.
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2. Upon the prince of Israel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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It is an honour to him that though he may not enter in by this gate,
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for no man may, yet,
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(1.) He shall <I>sit in this gate</I> to <I>eat</I> his share of the
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peace-offerings, that sacred food, <I>before the Lord.</I>
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(2.) He shall <I>enter by the way of the porch of that gate,</I> by
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some little door or wicket, either in the gate or adjoining to it,
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which is called the <I>say of the porch.</I> This as to signify that
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God puts some of his glory upon magistrates, upon the princes of his
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people, for he has said, <I>You are gods.</I> Some by the prince here
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understand the high priests, or the sagan or second priest; and that he
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only was allowed to enter by this gate, for he was God's
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representative. Christ is the high priest of our profession, who
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entered himself into the holy place, and <I>opened the kingdom of
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heaven to all believers.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Eze44_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Idolatry of the Levites.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 574.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the
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house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> filled
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the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: and I fell upon my face.
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5 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold
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with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto
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thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and
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all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house,
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with every going forth of the sanctuary.
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6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, <I>even</I> to the house of
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Israel, Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; O ye house of Israel, let it
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suffice you of all your abominations,
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7 In that ye have brought <I>into my sanctuary</I> strangers,
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uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my
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sanctuary, to pollute it, <I>even</I> my house, when ye offer my
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bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant
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because of all your abominations.
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8 And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye
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have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
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9 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart,
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nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any
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stranger that <I>is</I> among the children of Israel.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This is much to the same purport with what we had in the beginning of
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+43:1-31"><I>ch.</I> xliii.</A>
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As the prophet must look again upon what he had before seen, so he must
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be told again what he had before heard. Here, as before, he sees the
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house <I>filled with the glory of the Lord,</I> which strikes an awe
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upon him, so that he falls prostrate at the sight, the humblest posture
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of adoration and the expression of a holy awe: <I>I fell upon my
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face,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Note, The more we see of the glory of God the more low we shall lie in
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our own eyes. Now here,</P>
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<P>
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I. God charges the prophet to take a very particular notice of all he
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saw, and all that was said to him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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"<I>Behold with thy eyes</I> what is <I>shown</I> thee, particularly
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the <I>entering in of the house</I> and <I>every going forth</I> of it,
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all the inlets and all the outlets of the sanctuary;" those he must
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take special notice of. Note, In acquainting ourselves with divine
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things we must not aim so much at an abstract speculation of the things
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themselves as at finding the plain appointed way of converse and
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communion with those things, that we may <I>go in and out and find
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pasture.</I>
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2. <I>Hear with thy ears all that I say unto thee</I> about <I>the
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laws</I> and <I>ordinances </I>of <I>the house,</I> which he was to
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instruct the people in. Note, Those who are appointed to be teachers
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have need to be very diligent careful learners, that they may neither
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forget any of the things they are entrusted with nor mistake concerning
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them.</P>
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<P>
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II. He sends him upon an errand to the people, <I>to the rebellious,
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even to the house of Israel,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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It is sad to think that the house of Israel should deserve this
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character from him who perfectly knew them, that a people in covenant
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with God should be rebellious against him. Who are his subjects if the
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house of Israel be rebels? But it is an instance of God's rich mercy
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that, though they had been <I>rebellious,</I> yet, being the <I>house
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of Israel,</I> he does not cast them off, but sends an ambassador to
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them, to invite and encourage them to return to their allegiance, which
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he would not have done if he had been pleased to kill them. The whole
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race of mankind has fallen under the character here given of the house
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of Israel; but our Lord Jesus, when he ascended on high, received gifts
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for men, <I>yea, even for the rebellious also, that,</I> as here,
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<I>the Lord God might dwell among them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+68:18">Ps. lxviii. 18</A>.</P>
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<P>
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1. He must tell them of their faults, must show them their rebellions,
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must show the house of Jacob their sins. Note, Those that are sent to
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comfort God's people must first convince them, and so prepare them for
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comfort. <I>Let it suffice you of all your abominations,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Note, It is time for those that have continued long in sin to reckon it
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long enough, and too long, and to begin to think of taking up in time,
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and leaving off their evil courses. "<I>Let the time past of your lives
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suffice,</I> for by this time, surely, you have surfeited upon your
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abominations and have become sick of them,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+4:3">1 Pet. iv. 3</A>.
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That which is here charged upon them is,
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(1.) That they had admitted those to the privileges of the sanctuary
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that were not entitled to them; whereas God had said, <I>The stranger
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that comes nigh shall be put to death,</I> they had not only connived
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at the intrusion of strangers into the sanctuary, but had themselves
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introduced them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>You brought in strangers uncircumcised in flesh,</I> and therefore
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under a legal incapacity to enter into the sanctuary, which was a
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<I>breaking of the covenant</I> of circumcision, throwing down the
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hedge of their peculiarity, and laying themselves in common with the
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rest of the world. Yet if these strangers had been devout and good,
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though they were not circumcised, the crime would not have been so
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great; but they were <I>uncircumcised in heart</I> too, unhumbled,
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unreformed, and strangers indeed to God and all goodness. When they
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came to offer sacrifice they brought these with them to feast with them
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upon the sacrifice, because they were fond of their company, and this
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was one of their abominations, wherewith they <I>polluted God's
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sanctuary;</I> it was <I>giving that which was holy unto dogs,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+7:6">Matt. vii. 6</A>.
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Note, The admission of those who are openly wicked and profane to
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special ordinances is a polluting of God's sanctuary and a great
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provocation to him.
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(2.) That they had employed those in the service of the sanctuary who
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were not fit for it. Though none but priests and Levites were to
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minister in the sanctuary, yet we may suppose that all who were priests
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and Levites did not immediately attend there, but chosen men of them,
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who were best qualified, who were most wise, serious, and
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conscientious, and most likely to keep the charge of the holy things
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carefully; but, in making this choice, they had not regard to merit and
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qualification for the work: "<I>You have set keepers of my charge in my
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sanctuary for yourselves,</I> such as you had some favour or affection
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for, such as you either had got, or hoped to get, money by, or such as
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would comply with your humours and would dispense with the laws of the
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sanctuary to please you; <I>thus you have not kept the charge of my
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holy things.</I>" Note, Those who have the choice of the keepers of the
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holy things, if, to serve some secular selfish purpose, they choose
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such as are unfit and unfaithful, will justly have it laid at their
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door, that they have betrayed the holy things by lodging them in bad
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hands.</P>
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<P>
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2. He must tell them their duty
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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"<I>No stranger shall enter into my sanctuary</I> till he has first
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submitted to the laws of it." But, lest any should think that this
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excluded the penitent believing Gentiles from the church, the stranger
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here is described to be one that is <I>uncircumcised in heart,</I> not
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in sincerity consenting to the covenant, nor putting away the filth of
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the flesh; whereas the believing Gentiles were <I>circumcised with the
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circumcision made without hands,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+2:11">Col. ii. 11</A>.
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This circumcision of the heart, in the <I>spirit, not in the
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letter,</I> was what the unbelieving Jews were strangers to and
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unconcerned about, while yet they were zealous to keep out of the
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sanctuary uncircumcised Gentiles, witness their rage against Paul when
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they did but suspect him to have brought <I>Greeks into the temple,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+21:28">Acts xxi. 28</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Eze44_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze44_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Idolatrous Priests Degraded.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 574.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>10 And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel
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went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols;
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they shall even bear their iniquity.
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11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, <I>having</I> charge
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at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they
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shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people,
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and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.
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12 Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and
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caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have
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I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>, and they
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shall bear their iniquity.
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13 And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a
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priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the
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most holy <I>place:</I> but they shall bear their shame, and their
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abominations which they have committed.
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14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for
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all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
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15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept
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the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went
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astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me,
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and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the
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blood, saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>:
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16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near
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to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The Master of the house, being about to set up house again, takes
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account of his servants the priests, and sees who are fit to be turned
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out of their places and who to be kept in, and takes a course with them
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accordingly.</P>
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<P>
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I. Those who have been treacherous are degraded and put lower those
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Levites--or priests who were carried down the stream of the apostasy of
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Israel formerly, who <I>went astray from God after their idols</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
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who had complied with the idolatrous kings of Israel or Judah, who
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<I>ministered to them before their idols</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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bowed with them in the house of Rimmon, or set up altars for them, as
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Urijah did for Ahaz, and so <I>caused the house of Israel to fall into
|
|
iniquity,</I> led them to sin and hardened them in sin; for, if the
|
|
priests go astray, many will follow <I>their pernicious ways.</I>
|
|
Perhaps in Babylon some of the Jewish priests had complied with the
|
|
idolaters of the place, to the great scandal of their religion. Now
|
|
these priests who had thus prevaricated were justly put under the mark
|
|
of God's displeasure; or, if they were dead (as it is probable that
|
|
they were, if the crime were committed before the captivity), the
|
|
iniquity was visited upon their children. Or perhaps it was the whole
|
|
family of Abiathar that had been guilty of this trespass, which was now
|
|
called to account for it. And,
|
|
|
|
1. They are sentenced to be deprived, in part, of their office, and
|
|
from the dignity of priests are put down into the condition or ordinary
|
|
Levites. God has <I>lifted up his hand against them,</I> has said it,
|
|
and sworn it, that <I>they shall bear their iniquity</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>);
|
|
|
|
assuredly they shall suffer for it, shall suffer disgrace for it;
|
|
<I>they shall bear their shame</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
for though they have (we charitably hope) repented of it, <I>yet they
|
|
shall not come near to do the office of a priest,</I> that is, those
|
|
parts of the office that were peculiar to them, they shall not come
|
|
near to <I>any of the holy things</I> within the sanctuary,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, those who have robbed God of his honour will justly be deprived
|
|
of their honour. And it is really a great punishment to be forbidden
|
|
to come near to God; and justly might those who have once gone away
|
|
from him be rejected as unworthy ever to come near to him and put at an
|
|
everlasting distance.
|
|
|
|
2. Yet there is a mixture of mercy in this sentence. God deals not in
|
|
severity, as he might have done, with those who had dealt treacherously
|
|
with him, but mitigates the sentence,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:11,14"><I>v.</I> 11, 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
They are deprived but in part, <I>ab officio--of their office,</I> and,
|
|
it should seem, not at all <I>à beneficio--of their
|
|
emoluments.</I> They shall help to <I>slay the sacrifice,</I> which the
|
|
Levites were permitted to do, and which in this temple was done, not at
|
|
the altar, but <I>at the tables,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+40:29"><I>ch.</I> xl. 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
They shall be porters <I>at the gates of the house,</I> and they shall
|
|
be <I>keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service
|
|
thereof.</I> Note, Those who may not be fit to be employed in one kind
|
|
of service may yet be fit to be employed in another; and even those who
|
|
have offended may yet be made use of, and not quite thrown aside, much
|
|
less thrown away.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Those who have been faithful are honoured and established,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:15,16"><I>v.</I> 15, 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
These are remarkably distinguished from the other: "<I>But the sons of
|
|
Zadok,</I> who kept their integrity in a time of general apostasy, who
|
|
<I>went not astray</I> when others did, <I>they shall come near to me,
|
|
shall come near to my table.</I>" Note, God will put marks of honour
|
|
upon those who give proofs of their fidelity and constancy to him in
|
|
shaking trying times, and will employ those in his service who have
|
|
kept close to his service when others deserted it and drew back. And
|
|
it ought to be reckoned a true and great reward of stability in duty to
|
|
be established in it. If we keep close to God, God will keep us close
|
|
to him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze44_31"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Directions Concerning the Priests.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 574.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>17 And it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> when they enter in at the
|
|
gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen
|
|
garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister
|
|
in the gates of the inner court, and within.
|
|
18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall
|
|
have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird
|
|
<I>themselves</I> with any thing that causeth sweat.
|
|
19 And when they go forth into the utter court, <I>even</I> into the
|
|
utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments
|
|
wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and
|
|
they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the
|
|
people with their garments.
|
|
20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks
|
|
to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.
|
|
21 Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into
|
|
the inner court.
|
|
22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her
|
|
that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the
|
|
house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.
|
|
23 And they shall teach my people <I>the difference</I> between the
|
|
holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean
|
|
and the clean.
|
|
24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; <I>and</I> they
|
|
shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my
|
|
laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall
|
|
hallow my sabbaths.
|
|
25 And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves:
|
|
but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for
|
|
brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile
|
|
themselves.
|
|
26 And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven
|
|
days.
|
|
27 And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the
|
|
inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin
|
|
offering, saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
|
|
28 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I <I>am</I> their
|
|
inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I
|
|
<I>am</I> their possession.
|
|
29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and
|
|
the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall
|
|
be theirs.
|
|
30 And the first of all the firstfruits of all <I>things,</I> and
|
|
every oblation of all, of every <I>sort</I> of your oblations, shall
|
|
be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of
|
|
your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine
|
|
house.
|
|
31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of
|
|
itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
God's priests must be <I>regulars,</I> not <I>seculars;</I> and
|
|
therefore here are rules laid down for them to govern themselves by and
|
|
due encouragement given them to live up to those rules. Directions are
|
|
here given,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Concerning their clothes; they must wear <I>linen garments</I> when
|
|
they <I>went in to minister</I> or do any service in the inner court,
|
|
or in the sanctuary, and nothing that was <I>woollen,</I> because it
|
|
would <I>cause sweat,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
They must dress themselves cool, that they might go the more readily
|
|
about their work; and they had the more need to do so because they were
|
|
to attend the altars, which had constant fires upon them. And they must
|
|
dress themselves clean and sweet, and avoid every thing that was sweaty
|
|
and filthy, to signify the purity of mind with which the service of God
|
|
is to be attended to. Sweat came in with sin and was part of the
|
|
curse. <I>In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.</I> Clothes
|
|
came in with sin, coats of skins did; and therefore the priests must
|
|
use as little and as light clothing as possible, and not such as caused
|
|
sweat. When they had finished their service they must change their
|
|
clothes again, and lay up their linen garments in the chambers
|
|
appointed for that purpose,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>,
|
|
|
|
as before,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+42:14"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
They must not go among the people with their holy garments on, lest
|
|
they should imagine themselves sanctified by the touch of them; or,
|
|
<I>They shall sanctify the people,</I> that is (as it is explained,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+42:14"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
they shall <I>approach to those things which are for the people,</I> in
|
|
their ordinary <I>garments.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Concerning their hair; in that they must avoid extremes on both
|
|
hands
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They must not shave their heads,</I> in imitation of the Gentile
|
|
priests, and as the priests of the Romish church do; nor, on the other
|
|
hand, must they <I>suffer their locks to grow long,</I> as the
|
|
<I>beaux,</I> or that they might be thought Nazarites, when really they
|
|
were not; but they must be grave and modest, must <I>poll their
|
|
heads</I> and keep their hair short. If a <I>man,</I> especially a
|
|
minister, wear <I>long hair,</I> it is not becoming
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+11:14">1 Cor. xi. 14</A>);
|
|
|
|
it is effeminate.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Concerning their diet; they must be sure to <I>drink no wine</I>
|
|
when they went in to minister, lest they should rink to excess, should
|
|
drink and forget the law,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>It is not for kings to drink wine,</I> more than will do them good,
|
|
much less for priests. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+10:9,Pr+31:4,5">Lev. x. 9; Prov. xxxi. 4, 5</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. Concerning their marriages,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here they must consult the credit of their office, and not marry one
|
|
that had been <I>divorced,</I> that was at least under the suspicion of
|
|
immodesty, nor a <I>widow,</I> unless she were a priest's widow, that
|
|
had been accustomed to the usages of the priests' families. Others may
|
|
do that which ministers may not do, but must deny themselves in, in
|
|
honour of their character. Their wives as well as themselves must be of
|
|
good report.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. Concerning their preaching and church-government.
|
|
|
|
1. It was part of their business to teach the people; and herein they
|
|
must approve themselves both skilful and faithful
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the
|
|
profane,</I> between good and evil, lawful and unlawful, that they may
|
|
neither scruple what is lawful nor venture upon what is unlawful, that
|
|
they may not pollute what is holy nor pollute themselves with what is
|
|
profane. Ministers must take pains to cause <I>people to discern
|
|
between the clean and the unclean,</I> that they may not confound the
|
|
distinctions between right and wrong, nor mistake concerning them, so
|
|
as to <I>put darkness for light and light for darkness,</I> but may
|
|
have a good judgment of discretion concerning their own actions.
|
|
|
|
2. It was part of their business to judge upon appeals made to them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:8,9">Deut. xvii. 8, 9</A>);
|
|
|
|
and <I>in controversy they shall stand in judgment,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
They shall have the honesty to stand up for what is right, and, when
|
|
they have passed a right judgment, shall have the courage to stand to
|
|
it and stand by it. They must judge, not according to their own
|
|
fancies, or inclinations, or secular interests, but <I>according to my
|
|
judgments;</I> that must be their rule and standard. Note, Ministers
|
|
must decide controversies according to the word of God, <I>to the law
|
|
and to the testimony. Sit liber judex--Let the judge be unbiased.</I>
|
|
Their business is to keep courts in God's name, to preside in the
|
|
congregations of his people. And herein they must go to the
|
|
statute-book: They shall <I>keep my statutes in all my assemblies.</I>
|
|
God calls the assemblies of his people <I>his</I> assemblies, because
|
|
they are held in his name, to his glory. Ministers are the masters of
|
|
those assemblies, are to preside in them, and in all their acts must
|
|
keep close to God's laws. Another part of their work, as church
|
|
governors, is to <I>hallow God's sabbaths,</I> to do the public work of
|
|
that day with a becoming care and reverence, as the work of a holy day
|
|
should be done, and to see that God's people also sanctify that day and
|
|
do nothing to pollute it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VI. Concerning their mourning for dead relations; the rule here agrees
|
|
with the law of Moses,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+21:1,11">Lev. xxi. 1, 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
A priest shall not come near any <I>dead body</I> (for they must be
|
|
purified <I>from dead works</I>) except of his next relations,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
Decent expressions of a pious sorrow for dear relations, when they are
|
|
removed by death, are not disagreeable to the character of a minister.
|
|
Yet by this approach to the dead body of a relation they contracted a
|
|
ceremonial pollution, from which they must be cleansed by a
|
|
<I>sin-offering</I> before they went in again to minister,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:26,27"><I>v.</I> 26, 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, Though sorrow for the dead is very allowable and commendable, yet
|
|
there is danger of sinning in it, either by excess or dissimulation;
|
|
and those tears have too often need to be <I>wept over again.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VII. Concerning their maintenance; they must live upon the altar at
|
|
which they served, and live comfortably
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>You shall give them no possession in Israel,</I> no lands or
|
|
tenements, lest they should be entangled with the affairs of this
|
|
life;" for God has said, <I>I am their inheritance,</I> and they need
|
|
no other in reserve; <I>I am their possession,</I> and they need no
|
|
other in hand. Some land was allowed them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+48:10"><I>ch.</I> xlviii. 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
but their principal subsistence was by their office. What God
|
|
appropriated to himself they were the receivers of, for their own
|
|
proper use and behoof; they lived upon the holy things, and so God
|
|
himself was the portion both of their inheritance and of their cup.
|
|
Note, Those who have God for their inheritance and their possession may
|
|
be content with a little, and ought not to covet a great deal of the
|
|
possessions and inheritances of this earth. If we have God, we have
|
|
<I>all;</I> and therefore may well reckon that we have enough.
|
|
Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. What the priests were to have from the people, for their maintenance
|
|
and encouragement.
|
|
|
|
(1.) They must have the flesh of many of the offerings, the
|
|
<I>sin-offering and trespass-offering,</I> which would supply them and
|
|
their families with flesh-meat, and the <I>meat-offerings,</I> which
|
|
would supply them with bread. What we offer to God will redound to our
|
|
own advantage.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They must have every dedicated devoted thing in Israel, which was
|
|
in many cases to be turned into money and given to the priest. This is
|
|
explained,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Every oblation</I> or free-will offering (which in times of
|
|
reformation and devotion would be many and considerable) <I>of all, of
|
|
every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's.</I> We have the
|
|
law concerning them
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+27:1-34">Lev. xxvii</A>.
|
|
|
|
(3.) They were to have <I>the first of the dough</I> when it was going
|
|
to the oven, as well as the first of their fruits when they were going
|
|
to the barn. God, who is the first, must have the first; and, if it
|
|
belong to him, his priests must have it. We may <I>then</I> comfortably
|
|
enjoy what we have, when a share of it has been first set apart for
|
|
works of piety and charity. To this the apostle's rule bears some
|
|
analogy, to <I>begin the week</I> with laying by for pious uses,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+16:2">1 Cor. xvi. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
The priests being so well provided for, it would be inexcusable in them
|
|
if they (contrary to the law which every Israelite is bound by) should
|
|
<I>eat that which is torn or which died of itself,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that were in want of necessary food might perhaps expect to be
|
|
dispensed with in such a case. Poverty has its temptations, but the
|
|
priests were so well provided for that they could have no pretence for
|
|
it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. What the people might expect from the priest for their recompence.
|
|
Those that are kind to a prophet, to a priest, shall have a prophet's,
|
|
a priest's reward: <I>That he may cause the blessing to rest in thy
|
|
house</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>),
|
|
|
|
that God may cause it by commanding it, that the priest may cause it by
|
|
praying for it; and it was part of the priest's work to <I>bless the
|
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people in the name of the Lord,</I> not only their congregations, but
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their families. Note, It is all in all to the comfort of any house to
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have the blessing of God upon it and to have the blessing to rest in
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it, to dwell where we dwell and to attend the entail of it upon those
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that shall come after us. And the way to have the blessing of God abide
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upon our estates is to honour God with them, and to give him and his
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ministers, him and his poor, their share out of them. God blesses, he
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surely blesses, the habitation of those who are thus just,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+3:33">Prov. iii. 33</A>.
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And ministers, by instructing and praying for the families that are
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kind to them, should do their part towards causing the blessing to rest
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there. <I>Peace be to this house.</I></P>
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