But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the
charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from
me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall
stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the
Lord God: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come
near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my
charge.
And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of
the inner court, and 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. They shall have linen bonnets upon
their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they
shall not gird themselves with anything that causeth sweat. And when
they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer 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. Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their
locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads. Neither shall
any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. 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. And they shall teach my people the
difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern
between the unclean and the clean. And in controversy they shall
stand in judgment; and 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. 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. And after he is
cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days. 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 God.
And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their
inheritance; and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am
their possession. They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin
offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in
Israel shall be theirs. And the first of all the first fruits of all
things and every oblation of all of every sort of your oblations,
shall be the priests': ye shall also give unto the priest the first
of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine
house. The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of
itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast (verses 15-31).
The sons of Zadok kept the charge, they were faithful when the children
of Israel went astray, and the Lord is now announcing the reward for
their faithfulness. The earthly priesthood as it was once is
re-established and vested in the sons of Zadok. These are to come near
unto Jehovah and offer in His presence. How they are to come in, the
garments they shall wear, is made known to the prophet. They are not to
shave their heads, "neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter
into the inner court." They are forbidden to take for wives a widow or
one that has been put away. Maidens of Israel or a priest's widow they
could marry. All this will be literally fulfilled and done when this new
and true worship is instituted in the coming age. It has nothing
whatever to do with our age. No such special class of an earthly
priesthood exists during this age of grace. All believers constitute a
holy and a royal priesthood; the priests of ritualistic Christendom are
an invention. But when the Lord has restored Israel to their land and
this great place of worship stands, priestly ministrations will be
resumed. Neither will this be a denial of Him who is priest forever
after the order of Melchizedec. While the spurious, man-made priesthood
of this Christian age denies the Lord and His finished work, the future
priesthood ministering in the millennial temple will glorify Him.
These priests will also be teachers and exercise judicial authority
(verses 23-24). The law of defilement will be enforced, though there
will be less possibility of such defilement, for death during the
millennium will not be the rule as it is now, but a rare and exceptional
occurrence. Finally we read of the inheritance of the priests who
minister before the Lord. "I am their inheritance, and ye shall give
them no possession in Israel; I am their possession." While many of
these appointments in priestly ministry during the millennium are
obscure to us who enjoy the heavenly things, we may rest assured that
the Lord in His own time "in that day" will bring about the
accomplishment of all He has spoken.
Chapter xlv.
I. The Holy Portion of the Land for the Sanctuary, the Priests, the
Levites, the City and the Prince.
Moreover when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye
shall offer an oblation unto the Lord, an holy portion of the land:
the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds,
and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all
the borders thereof round about. Of this there shall be for the
sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth,
square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs
thereof. And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five
and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand; and in it
shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place. The holy portion of
the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary,
which shall come near to minister unto the Lord: and it shall be a
place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary. And the
five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth,
shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for
themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers.
And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad,
and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the
holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.
And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the
other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the
possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and
before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and
from the east side eastward: and the length shall be over against
one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. In
the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no
more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to
the house of Israel according to their tribes (verses 1-8).
The land possessed will be divided by lot for the inheritance of the
people. The special territorial division for the different tribes is
recorded in the last two chapters. They are to bring an oblation of the
land which the Lord so graciously restored unto them. The word
"oblation" is literally an "heave-offering," because when anything was
offered to Jehovah the offerer raised the hand. The dimensions of the
holy portion of the land are, in length 25,000, and in breadth 10,000.
But what? The Hebrew has no definite measure. The authorized version
supplies the word "reeds," which seems to be correct in view of the
statement in chapter xlii:16.[52] This is a very large territory, a
square of some sixty miles on each side. The topography of Palestine
will be entirely changed in the coming age, as we pointed out before.
The land is to be greatly enlarged, while the temple-mountain will be
highly exalted. These changes will make all possible which we read in
these closing chapters. We must take these chapters in faith, knowing
that the omnipotent Lord will accomplish all in his own time. In the
center of this large area, the holy portion of the Lord, will be the
sanctuary; the measurement is given in verse 2. Around this the priests
have their portion; there they will have their houses. The estate of the
Levites comes next; the measurement is given, and that they shall have
for possession twenty chambers. The Septuagint has "cities to dwell in,"
habitations where they will reside. This is undoubtedly the correct
meaning. Then the measurement of the city is given, which is for the
whole house of Israel. Finally the portion of the Prince is recorded.
"And the Prince shall have his portion on the one side and on the other
side of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city over
against the holy oblation, and over against the possession of the city,
from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward; and in
length answering to one of the portions of the tribes from the west
border unto the east border." From this we learn that the estate of the
Prince consists of two halves, the one on the west and the other on the
east of the holy portion. He stands as the head and ruler in closest
connection with the sanctuary. It is all a new order and will be brought
about when the Lord has come back, and when Israel is restored to the
land. They never possessed such a holy portion in the land, nor such a
sanctuary. A spiritual application as to the Church is impossible to
make; the literal interpretation is the only possible one which can be
made.
[52] Read our comment on this verse.