Faithfulness Rewarded

Ezekiel 44 begins at the outer east gate, now shut. Because Yahweh's glory had entered through it, no human would walk through it again. The closed gate declared that God had come to stay, never to depart as he had in chapter 10. Only the prince in the vision could sit in the gateway to eat a sacred meal before Yahweh.

Ezekiel again saw Yahweh's glory fill the house and fell on his face. God then laid out who could serve in the sanctuary. In the past, Israel had brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, to serve in God's holy place. The Levites who had led Israel into idolatry would bear their shame. They would still serve as gatekeepers and slaughter offerings for the people, but they would not come near the most holy things.

By contrast, the sons of Zadok had kept charge of the sanctuary when Israel went astray. They would draw near to minister before God, wearing linen and keeping strict rules of holiness. Their task included teaching. God says: They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. This corrected the very failure condemned in chapter 22. They would receive no land, for God said he would be their inheritance. In the New Testament, 1 Peter 2:9 calls believers a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.