Ezekiel 44:17 - Meaning and Application

God’s priests were meant to be serious, not worldly. So God gives them rules to guide their conduct and encouragement to keep them. First, he speaks about their clothes. When they went in to minister in the inner court or the sanctuary, they had to wear linen garments, not wool, because wool would make them sweat (Ezekiel 44:17-18). They were to dress lightly and cleanly, fitting for holy work and for service at the altars, where fire was always burning. Their clothing also pointed to the inward purity that should mark worshipers of God.

When they finished their service, they had to change back into ordinary clothes and store the holy linen garments in the special chambers (Ezekiel 44:19). They were not to go among the people wearing those garments, so that no one would think holiness could be passed on by touch. Or, as the meaning seems to be explained earlier, they were to wear ordinary clothes when they came out to meet the people.

Second, God gives directions about their hair. They were not to shave their heads, as pagan priests did, and they were not to let their hair grow long either (Ezekiel 44:20). They were to be sober and modest, with their hair kept short and neat. Long hair was not fitting for a man, especially for a minister (1 Corinthians 11:14).

Third, he rules their drinking. They must not drink wine when they went in to minister, lest they drink too much and forget the law (Ezekiel 44:21). Priests were to be careful and clear-minded. If kings should not drink beyond what does them good, priests should be even more careful (Leviticus 10:9; Proverbs 31:4-5).

Fourth, their marriages were to match the honor of their office (Ezekiel 44:22). They were not to marry a woman who had been divorced, since that would raise questions about her character. They were also not to marry a widow, unless she was the widow of a priest and already used to priestly life. Other people may do things that ministers should avoid for the sake of their calling.

Fifth, God speaks of their teaching and their work in judgment. It was part of their duty to teach the people the difference between what is holy and what is common, between good and evil, and between lawful and unlawful (Ezekiel 44:23). They had to help people understand right and wrong clearly, so they would not confuse truth with error or treat clean and unclean things as if they were the same.

They were also to judge cases brought before them and stand firm in what was right (Deuteronomy 17:8-9; Ezekiel 44:24). Their judgments were not to come from personal preference, selfish gain, or human bias, but from God’s judgments. Ministers must settle disputes by the word of God, according to the law and the testimony. They were to oversee God’s gatherings and keep his statutes in all his assemblies. They also had to keep God’s Sabbaths holy, doing the public work of that day with reverence and making sure the people did not profane it.

Sixth, God gives rules about mourning for dead relatives. This agrees with the law of Moses (Leviticus 21:1, 11). A priest was not to go near a dead body, since he was to be kept from dead works, except in the case of his nearest relatives (Ezekiel 44:25). Even so, proper sorrow for close family members is not wrong for a minister. Still, by touching a dead body they became ceremonially unclean, and they had to be cleansed with a sin offering before serving again (Ezekiel 44:26-27). Sorrow for the dead is right, but even in grief people may fall into sin, either by going too far or by pretending feelings they do not truly have.

Seventh, God speaks about their support. They were to live from the altar where they served, and live comfortably (Ezekiel 44:28). They were given no property in Israel, no land or estates, so they would not become tangled in the affairs of ordinary life. God says, “I am their inheritance,” meaning he himself would be their lasting portion. Some land was later allowed to them (Ezekiel 48:10), but their main support came through their office.

What God set apart for himself, he allowed them to receive for their own use. They lived on holy things, and so God himself was their share and their cup. Those who have God as their inheritance can be content with little and should not crave great earthly possessions. If we have God, we have all we truly need.

The priests were to receive their support from the people in several ways. They were to have the meat from many offerings, including the sin offering and the guilt offering, which would provide meat for them and their families, and the grain offerings, which would provide bread. What is given to God does not end up lost, because it returns to bless those who serve him. They were also to receive every devoted thing in Israel, which in many cases was to be turned into money and given to the priest.

This is explained in Ezekiel 44:20. Every offering, whether it was a regular gift or a freewill offering, and every kind of offering, belonged to the priests. The law about these offerings is given in Leviticus 27. In times of revival and devotion, such gifts would likely be many and large. Since God comes first, what is first belongs to him, and if it belongs to him, it must also support his priests.

We can enjoy what we have more peacefully when we first set aside part of it for worship and for helping others. Paul gives a similar rule when he tells believers to put something aside at the beginning of the week for holy use (1 Corinthians 16:2). The priests were well provided for, so they had no excuse if they ate anything torn by wild animals or that had died naturally, which the law forbade (Ezekiel 44:31). People who are short of food may be tempted to overlook such commands, but the priests had no such excuse.

There is also a lesson here about what the people could expect from the priest in return. Those who show kindness to a prophet or a priest will receive a prophet’s or priest’s reward: “He may cause the blessing to rest in your house” (Ezekiel 44:30). God gives the blessing, and the priest asks for it in prayer. It was part of the priest’s work to bless the people in the Lord’s name, not only in public worship but also in their homes.

It is a great comfort to any home when God’s blessing rests on it and remains there for the next generation. The way to have that blessing stay on our property is to honor God with it and give him, and his ministers and poor people, their share. God surely blesses the home of those who live rightly (Proverbs 3:33). Ministers also do their part when they teach and pray for the families who are kind to them. “Peace be to this house.”