Chapter xliv.
Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary
which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the Lord
unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man
shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath
entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince;
the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he
shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out
by the way of the same (verses 1-3).
In the previous chapter the prophet was in the inner court (xliii:5). It
was there he heard the voice of the Lord and received the message and
saw the great altar and its ordinances. From the inner court he is led
back by the man to the eastern gate. This gate he finds no longer open.
As they arrived it was shut. The last time that gate was seen it was
open, and the glory of the Lord entered through this eastern gateway.
The reason why this gate is to be shut is stated by the Lord in His
address to Ezekiel. "Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be
shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because
the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore shall it
be shut." The Lord who entered with His glory is the Son of God, the
Lord Jesus Christ, and here His full glory is made known. He is the
Lord, the God of Israel, He "whose goings forth have been from of old,
from everlasting" (Micah v:2). The gate is now to serve another purpose.
"It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread
before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate,
and shall go out by the way of the same." Who is this prince? Some say
that this prince is the Lord Himself. Our Lord is repeatedly called a
prince (Isaiah ix:6, 7, lv:4[51]; Dan. ix:25; Rev. i:5). In chapters
xxxiv and xxxvii Messiah, Christ, is meant by the One Shepherd "My
servant David," who will be King and Prince over them. But now in the
closing chapters of this book a prince is mentioned seventeen times. But
not once is he spoken of as "David" or "my servant David." This prince
is not the Messiah, our Lord; nor is he the high priest as others claim.
The best evidence that this prince is not Christ is learned from the
ordinances he is to observe as revealed in chapter xlvi, where we read
that he is to worship himself and that he must bring burnt offerings and
peace offerings; we also read of this prince having sons. All this shows
that the prince is not identical with the Lord. Who is he then? He is
the viceregent of the King, a future prince of the house of David, who
will represent the Lord on earth. David's throne will be established in
Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus Christ will reign supreme over all; His throne
is above the earth in the New Jerusalem. He will visit the earth and
manifest His glory as King of kings and Lord of lords. This probably
will be during the great celebrations of the feast of Tabernacles, when
the nations send their representatives to Jerusalem to worship the King,
the Lord of Hosts (Zech. xiv:16). Upon David's throne will sit this
prince of David as viceregent. The enemy anticipating this has
counterfeited this vice-regency in the spurious claims of the Roman
pope.
[51] The Hebrew word translated "leader" is "prince."
This prince as the vice-regent, has to enter by the way of the porch of
the eastern gateway, and he must also go out the same way (see also
xlvi:2-8.)
II. Concerning the Strangers and the Levites in Relation to the Temple
Worship.
Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house and I
looked, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the
Lord; and I fell upon my face. And the Lord said unto me, Son of
man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears
all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house
of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in
of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. And thou
shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith
the Lord God; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your
abominations. In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers,
uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my
sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the
fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all
your abominations. And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy
things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for
yourselves.
Thus saith the Lord God; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor
uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any
stranger that is among the children of Israel. And the Levites that
are gone away from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray
away from me after their idols: they shall even bear their iniquity.
Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the
gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay
the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall
stand before them to minister unto them. Because they ministered
unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall
into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them,
saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity. And they
shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me,
not to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place;
but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they
have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the
house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done
therein. (verses 4-14).
Brought again through the north gate of the inner court, the prophet is
face to face with the glory of the Lord which filled the house of the
Lord, and Ezekiel fell on his face. Then the Lord addressed him. He is
to mark well what he sees and what he hears concerning the ordinances
and the laws of the house of the Lord. The temple is now repeatedly
called the house of the Lord, the place where His glory dwells, exalted
above the hills, to which the nations shall come (Isaiah ii:2). Israel
in this message is reminded of the past. They were a rebellious house.
This was the burden of the opening messages of the prophet (chapter ii,
etc.). But now all must be and will be different. The abominations of
the past, the pollution of His house and all else will now be put away.
"Let it suffice you of all your abominations." They will no longer be
tolerated, nor will converted Israel backslide again. He reminds them of
their sinful past and of the demands of holiness for His house; all
abominations and failures will cease. Uncircumcised in heart and in
flesh shall not enter into the sanctuary of the Lord. Zechariah bears
the same testimony: "In that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in
the house of the Lord of hosts" (Zech. xiv:21). His people will then be
holy; their new birth has taken place, the uncircumcised, stony heart is
taken away and His Spirit is poured out upon them (chapter xxxvi:25-27).
Verses 10-14 concern the Levites; they are to bear their iniquity and be
degraded as to their office. What Levites are meant, and when did they
go away from the Lord? It cannot mean past generations of Levites. The
offence must have been committed by them before the Lord appeared in
glory. It must be explained by what happened among the people before the
Lord came, during the days of the false Messiah. At that time Israel
will go far astray from the Lord and turn again to idols. In this
apostasy the Levites have a share. "They ministered unto them before
their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity." When
the Lord comes, when their sins are forgiven and they are cleansed, the
Lord will deal accordingly with these Levites as announced in these
verses. They shall bear their iniquity for their unfaithfulness. "They
shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor
to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy; but they shall
bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed." Yet
there will be service for them. "But I will make them keepers of the
charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall
be done therein."