LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Read and pray: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Not Drinking Wine
“No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court” (Ezek. 44:21). Here we are told that the priests who minister directly to the Lord in the inner court were not permitted to drink wine. Wine signifies worldly, physical pleasure and joy. Those who serve the Lord in a direct way should have nothing to do with the “wine” of worldly pleasures.
Verse 22 says, “They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but shall take virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel or a widow who is the widow of a priest.” This means that in our contact and relationship with others, we need to be pure and simple. However, if we contact others in an impure way, we will be contaminated with an impure element.
Verse 23 continues, “They shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the common and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.” A priest must be able to teach God’s people what is holy and what is common, and what is clean and what is unclean. One who approaches God as a priest must be able to discern these things and also be able to teach others to discern.
Verse 24a says, “In a dispute they shall stand to judge it.” When there was a dispute, the parties involved came before the priest. The priest then made a judgment, not according to his own opinion, but according to God’s judgments.
If, as those who fear God and draw near to Him, we are invited to resolve a dispute, we need to ask God what He would say concerning this matter and then judge according to God’s will. This means that, in helping to resolve difficult matters, we need to be before the Lord with a fearing heart. Then we need to touch the Lord’s feeling and judge accordingly.
“My laws and My statutes they shall keep in all My appointed feasts” (v. 24b). All the feasts, or “assemblies,” are related to the gracious history of God’s salvation. Thus, if we want to serve God as priests, we need to remember the gracious history of God’s salvation, including His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Sanctifying God’s Sabbaths
“And they shall sanctify My Sabbaths” (v. 24c). The Sabbath indicates that God has done everything; therefore, God rests. To keep or sanctify the Sabbath means that we accept all that God has done and rest in all that God has accomplished.
Instead of trying to do something in addition to what God has done, we should simply enjoy what God has done and take what He has accomplished as our satisfaction and rest. This means that we do not depend on what we do, but on what God has done.
Not Being Defiled by the Dead
A priest who served the Lord directly in His presence could not be defiled by any dead person (v. 25). This means that we should not contact those who are spiritually dead. We should not touch any “corpse.”
Spiritually speaking, many Christians are dead, even to the point of stinking. If you contact them and listen to them, they will make you dead, partially if not totally. Having nothing positive to say, they will speak only negative things, perhaps criticizing the elders, the co-workers, or various saints. Contact with such dead persons can make us dead and negative.
Thus, when we realize that we are in the presence of this kind of person, we should avoid contact with them. Otherwise, we will be defiled by their death. To be defiled by death is more serious than to be defiled by something sinful.
If we are defiled by something sinful, we can confess, receive the application of Christ’s blood, and be immediately cleansed (1 John 1:9, 7). However, if we are defiled by death, it will take a period of time before we can be washed and cleansed from that impurity (cf. Num. 19:11).
Some of us have had this kind of experience. After spending a short time with a spiritually dead and negative believer, we find that we cannot pray or function in the meetings for a period of time, perhaps for several days. This should warn us about spending time with dead persons. Stay away from them!
Do not think that you can help them. Rather, their death will spread to you. Those who are spiritually dead may be very alive with respect to worldly or negative things, but with respect to the church, they are dead. As far as the church life is concerned, they are dead. If we want to serve the Lord in a direct way, we must keep ourselves away from dead persons and thus keep ourselves away from the impurity of death.
Offering the Sin Offering
“On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord God.” (Ezek. 44:27). Whenever we come to God, we need to offer the sin offering, even if we are not conscious of any impurity. Every time we come to God, we need to apply the Lord’s redemption and receive the cleansing of His precious blood.
🌿Enjoy more:
Hymn: Experience of God - “By Exercising the Spirit”
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