LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Read and pray: “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.” (John 12:42, 43)
NOT WEARING WOOL GARMENTS
When the priests came to minister to the Lord, they were not allowed to wear any wool garment (v. 17). Instead, while they were in the Lord’s presence serving Him, they had to wear linen garments. In the Bible, linen typifies a conduct, a living, that is pure, clean, and fine. The linen garments typify a daily life and a walk in the life-giving Spirit by the life of Christ.
The priests could not wear wool garments because they would make them too warm and cause them to sweat. According to Genesis 3:19, sweat is a sign of being under God’s curse. Because fallen man is under God’s curse, he must labor and sweat. Under the curse, without God’s blessing, man must use his energy and strength, which results in sweat.
In serving the Lord there is no need to use our own strength. When we use our own strength to strive and struggle, this proves that we are not under the Lord’s blessing but under His curse.
In the service of the church in the Lord’s recovery, we need to avoid and even flee from any kind of self-sufficiency and self-effort. We should not push anything. If a certain matter is of the Lord, He will surely grant His abundant blessing upon it and act in that matter.
There is no need to push, strive, struggle, or spend our energy to accomplish anything. We should not do anything that causes us to “sweat.” In the service of the church, we all need to be in the life-giving Spirit by the life of Christ and not exercise our natural strength to push anything.
On the contrary, many times we need to step back a little and yield to others. To do this is to yield to the Lord and to put the responsibility for the matter that concerns us upon Him.
Then we may say, “Lord, if this burden is from You, I will stay back and ask You to come. I ask You, Lord, to take this burden. This will confirm my burden so that I may know it truly comes from You.” May we realize that there is no need to struggle or contend with others in our service to the Lord.
IN WHICH THEY MINISTER
Ezekiel 44:19 says: “When they go out into the outer court, to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have ministered and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments, so that they do not sanctify the people with their garments.”
Here we see that when the priests go out to the outer court to the people, they must put off the garments in which they ministered, place them in the holy chambers, and then put on other garments.
This indicates that the priests are not allowed to mix what is holy with what is common, but must maintain a separation between the holy and the common. If today we are in the position of a priest, we must maintain this kind of separation. God does not allow mixture; He requires that we be separated unto Him.
THEIR HAIR IS CUT SHORT
Another matter concerning the priests who draw near to serve the Lord is their hair. “They shall not shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads” (v. 20). This verse says that the priests must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long. Instead, they must trim it, that is, keep it short.
First Corinthians 11:5 indicates that cutting or shaving off all the hair signifies rebellion against the Lord’s authority. In serving the Lord, we should not be rebellious against His authority. Rather, we must submit to the Lord’s authority. For this, we need to have some hair on our head, signifying our submission to the Lord’s authority.
On the other hand, 1 Corinthians 11 tells us that having long hair signifies personal glory and self-dignity (v. 15). We may also say personal enjoyment. In the Bible, long hair represents beauty and glory. If a man keeps his hair long, this indicates that he is maintaining his personal glory and self-dignity and is satisfying his personal enjoyment. He simply likes his long hair¹.
These points concerning hair apply to the church life. Suppose a brother has the attitude that there is no need for him to be under anyone; he is independent and claims that he is equal to all the other members of the Body.
He may even quote the Lord’s word in Matthew 23:8 to defend his attitude. By having such an attitude, he indicates that, spiritually speaking, he has shaved off all his hair and therefore does not submit to the Lord’s authority. Yes, Matthew 23:8 says that we are all brothers, but 1 Peter 5:5 says that the younger ones should submit to the elder ones and that we all should submit to one another. In the church life we need proper submission. Therefore, we should not shave our heads.
Now we need to see that, spiritually speaking, having long hair in the church life signifies personal glory; it is to desire and seek to be a leader. One problem in the church life is the lack of submission, and another is the desire for position and leadership. To seek a position in the church is to seek personal glory and self-dignity.
Some are seeking to be elders or leaders. This kind of seeking is not a glory; it is a shame. It is a shame to seek leadership or any kind of personal glory. This kills us spiritually and disqualifies us from serving the Lord properly.
If we want to be qualified to serve the Lord, we should not shave our heads, which means that we must have proper submission, and we should not let our hair grow long, which means that we should not seek personal glory, self-respect, position, or leadership. Both the lack of submission and the seeking of position damage the church. Whoever seeks leadership in the church life is disqualified and finished for the church life.
I thank the Lord that many brothers have received the Lord’s grace and have no desire to seek leadership. However, some brothers desire not only to be an elder but to be the leading one among the elders. This means letting the hair grow, that is, seeking personal glory.
Spiritually speaking, we need to maintain a moderate haircut. We need to examine our hair, that is, have a balanced trimming. On the one hand, we submit to the Lord’s authority. On the other hand, we do not seek to be leaders. Instead of seeking to be leaders, we should simply minister life to others and sustain the church life by His grace. We should do everything we can for the church without seeking to have a position or to be a leader. Such an attitude is wonderful.
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¹ 2 Sam. 14:25, 26: “Now in all Israel there was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no defect in him. And when he cut the hair of his head (he cut it at the end of every year because it was heavy on him), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels according to the king’s weight.”
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