The gate will be shut after the Lord enters the Temple through it. It will not be shut so that He cannot go out again: He cannot be held by such naive devices. The prohibition against entering through the same gate as the Lord emphasizes...
The gate will be shut after the Lord enters the Temple through it. It will not be shut so that He cannot go out again: He cannot be held by such naive devices. The prohibition against entering through the same gate as the Lord emphasizes the immeasurable difference between His ways and human ways. Yet although we are unable to walk His ways, we can follow Him.
The first thought that comes to mind after reading the Lord's words forbidding the son of a foreigner to enter the sanctuary is that He is speaking of foreigners. We then recall the measures Ezra would take after returning to Jerusalem to separate people according to their origin. But should the meaning of these words be reduced only to such a “factual” reading? Do we not all become like the “son of a foreigner” intruding into the sanctuary whenever we refuse to notice our sins and, proud of our own piety, stand up to pray?
The command to teach the people to distinguish the sacred from the profane may seem so elementary and natural that it is surprising to see it singled out. Yet this simple instruction conceals an important difference between the biblical view of priests and the pagan perception of altar servants as a priestly caste raised above the people and fundamentally different from the “profane.” Although the Lord's priests are likewise set apart from among the people for a special ministry, they remain part of the people and inseparable from them. Moses did not give different laws to the laity and the clergy: the one Law of Moses, including both rules of conduct and the order of worship, was given to the whole people. The priests' duty is therefore to share with the people what has been entrusted to them, rather than conceal “sacred knowledge,” as pagans and occultists do.
44 The appropriating the east - gate of the temple to the prince, Eze 44:1-3.
A reproof to Israel for their former profanations of the sanctuary, and a caution, Eze 44:4-9.
The degrading of one part of the Levites, and establishing of the family of Zadock in the priesthood, Eze 44:10-16.
Laws and ordinances concerning the priesthood, Eze 44:17-31.
44:28 It - The sin - offering: but under this one, all other offerings are couched. For an inheritance - Instead of lands and cities.