NOTES for Eze 44:28

Since the time of Moses, the Levites, that is, representatives of the tribe (or, as is sometimes said, clan) of Levi, had been entrusted with everything connected with the Tabernacle and the cult. Here a role was played both by the traditional idea, typical for clan and tribal society, of hereditary family and tribal occupations that often became the exclusive prerogative of one tribe or clan, and by the authority of Moses and Aaron as the spiritual leaders of the people. The exclusive right of the Levites to everything in one way or another connected with the Tabernacle, and later with the Temple, goes back precisely to those times.

At the same time the Levites were not supposed to have any material support other than what they could receive from the altar: they were assigned a certain portion of each sacrifice, at whose expense they were expected to live. In addition, they had special settlements where houses belonging to representatives of their tribe were located, but they never had ancestral allotments of their own, like those held by representatives of all other Jewish tribes: by law such allotments were not assigned to them.

On the one hand, a certain purely professional division was presumed here: the cult and everything connected with it were also regarded as a profession, an occupation that was to feed those who devoted their lives to it. On the other hand, the issue was protecting those who devote their lives to serving God from everything connected with the inevitable consequences of owning sufficiently significant real estate, especially land, which requires close attention and constant care.

A person who had dedicated himself to God and the altar had to be free from such cares; he could have a house and household property, but a large plot of land would inevitably require such attention and such involvement in the life of "this world" that it would have a negative effect on the main work of his life.

And Ezekiel, speaking on God's behalf, only confirms the correctness of this approach and the truth of such a position: God wants the whole person. He wants his heart, soul, and body for Himself. Of course, He does not want to deprive His servants of what they need for life, but He is against this world absorbing the greater part of their strength and time. For, as is known, a person's heart is where his treasures are.