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; & [the gate] 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 [within the gate] 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 into] the [Lord's] 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, [no longer,] let all of your abominations [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, [a.k.a. contract,] 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 [My] Holy things, but you have [put] [other] keepers of My [command,] in My sanctuary, [instead of] yourselves. The Lord God [says this,] No stranger, [with] uncircumcised: [hearts], nor flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary, [or] any stranger, [who] is among the children, [a.k.a. people,] of Israel. |
And the Levites, [who have] gone far away from Me, when Israel went astray, [who] went astray from Me, after their idols. They shall even [carry] their [sins.] [Ezekiel 48:11 [The sanctuary of the Lord,] 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, [a.k.a. 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 16:9-10 [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? And He [has] brought you, & all your brethren, the sons of Levi with you, [to be] near to Him. And [do] you also seek the priesthood?] |
[That'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 [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 [courtyards] 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 also die.] |
But I will make them keepers [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, [a.k.a. 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, [a.k.a. 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 court,] 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 seed, [a.k.a. descendants,] of the house of Israel, or a widow [who was married to] a priest before. |
And they shall teach My people the difference between the Holy & profane. And cause them to discern, [a.k.a. 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 [within 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, [a.k.a. 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.] |