A Once and Future Priesthood

By Dan & Brenda Cathcart

The video version of this teaching is at: https://youtu.be/CJ7u6HLGafQ

The Scripture reading is Ezekiel 44:15-31

Our Haftarah this week concerns the priesthood in a future Temple envisioned by the prophet Ezekiel.  The description of the duties of this future priesthood closely match those described in Leviticus as recorded by Moses.  As we have learned earlier, Ezekiel was both a priest and a prophet of God. He was among the first to suffer exile to Babylon and witnessed the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

But God gave Ezekiel a vision of a future priesthood and a grand, new Temple far exceeding the beauty and majesty of Solomon’s Temple. Ezekiel records his vision beginning in chapter 40.

Ezekiel 40:4 NKJV 4 And the man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see."

The opening verses of chapter 40 say that this vision of this beautiful and grand temple was given to Ezekiel at the time when the children of Israel were in captivity in Babylon and Assyria.  Why was Ezekiel given this vision at this time?  We know now that the Second Temple, built after a remnant returned from Babylon, did not fulfill this vision, so what was God’s purpose in revealing this Temple to Ezekiel at this time?

Before we dig into our Haftarah portion this week, a little historic perspective is in order. In addition to this background, you might want to review our previous teaching titled “Proclaim the House of the LORD” from last February 13th.  Links to both video and printed versions of this teaching are listed below or in the endnotes of the printed version of this teaching.

Our portion today deals with a very narrow part of a multi chapter recording of Ezekiel’s vision of the restoration or rebuilding of the Temple, the priesthood, and the nation of Israel. Why was Ezekiel given this vision at that time, some 25 years into their captivity?

Ezekiel 40:1-2 NKJV 1 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was captured, on the very same day the hand of the LORD was upon me; and He took me there. 2 In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city.

The memory of Solomon’s Temple must have been fresh in the minds of the people. They had witnessed its glory and its destruction.  The vision of this grand and holy future Temple would certainly give the people much needed comfort in their captivity. But just a couple of generations later a new Temple was being constructed that bore little to no resemblance to Ezekiel’s vision. Ezekiel was looking much farther ahead to the Messianic age yet to come.  Messiah Himself will build the Temple in Ezekiel’s vision and oversee its functions!

One interesting observation from our reading is that at the time of this Messianic Temple, the Levitical priesthood will be re-established and function in much the same way as commanded in the Torah. But not all the sons of Aaron will return as priests. Ezekiel tells us there is a special linage of Aaron who will serve.

Ezekiel 44:15 NKJV 15 "But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood," says the Lord GOD.

It was the sons of Zadok who were perpetually faithful throughout the history of Israel and Judah.  When the kings and people of Israel strayed away from God, committing abominations and adulteries in the land, there was one line of Aaron who were always faithful to God, that being the line of Zadok, a descendant of the house of Aaron’s son Eleazar. The name Zadok is number 6659 in the Strong’s concordance meaning just. It is from the root word, number 6663 meaning to be right, to do justice or be righteous. During the reign of king David, Zadok stood by David when David’s son Absalom rebelled against him and David rewarded Zadok for his faithfulness.

1 Kings 2:35 NKJV 35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.

Zadok was the priest to anoint David’s son Solomon as king after David.

1 Kings 1:33-34 NKJV 33 The king also said to them, "Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon. 34 "There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, 'Long live King Solomon!'

A carful reading of Ezekiel 44:15 also reveals that in addition to being descendants of Zadok, the priests who serve in this future temple are the ones who have remained faithful, taking care of the inner sanctuary of the Temple.  I can imagine that even during many of the darkest times, even when the Temple doors were shut and no services or sacrifices were offered, that there was always a descendant of Zadok who would care for the sacred things.

In this future temple, in the Messianic age of Ezekiel’s vision, the sons of Zadok will perform the normal duties of the priesthood. Verses 15 and 16 reveals that they will minister to God, indicated by God speaking and using the personal pronouns “my” and “me”.

Ezekiel 44:16 NKJV 16 "They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge.

The priests will have certain personal responsibilities in the Messianic Temple.  First, they must dress in an appropriate manner and with clothing made specifically for their service.

Ezekiel 44:17-18 NKJV 17 "And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. 18 "They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.

They were to wear these priestly garments only in the inner sanctuary and never in the outer courts or when off duty. 

Ezekiel 44:19 NKJV 19 "When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, they shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall not sanctify the people.

The Torah also mentions that the priests were to wear only white linen.

Exodus 28:39,42 NKJV 39 "You shall skillfully weave the tunic of fine linen thread, you shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the sash of woven work… 42 "And you shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs.

Why were they not to wear these special garments outside of the sanctuary?  Isn’t it a common practice in today’s body of believers to wear special clothing or other items which identify one’s self as a Pastor, Rabbi or Priest? Verse 19 gives us the reason.

All of the items within the Temple and the inner courts as well as the Temple itself were sacred; this includes the priests while on duty and all the clothing they wear. The sacred things and the common things were not to be mixed.

By not wearing their priestly garments outside the inner courts, we get an illustration of the set apart and holy nature of God. Rabbi J.H. Hertz in his commentary, Pentateuch and Haftarah writes:

“They are not to mingle with the people in their sacred garments lest the thoughtless among the people might consider themselves qualified to perform duties of Temple Service”[i]

We read in verse 20 that the there are special grooming requirements for the priests who serve in the Messianic Temple.

Ezekiel 44:20 NKJV 20 "They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long; but they shall keep their hair well trimmed.

Having a shaved head was a common practice among the priests of foreign gods and idol worshipers. The priests of the God of Israel were to look different than those of the world. Not only were they to be concerned with how they dressed and looked, but there are specific dietary requirements as well.

Ezekiel 44:21 NKJV 21 "No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.

The Torah, in Leviticus 10:9, it says essentially the same thing. But what is the reason for this?  Leviticus 10:10-11 explains:

Leviticus 10:10-11 NKJV 10 "that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, 11 "and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses."

This brings us to the second charge or duty of this Messianic priesthood; to teach the Torah to the people. Teaching Torah was not a task to be undertaken when affected by alcohol. Ezekiel 44:23 is virtually a quote of Leviticus 10:10

Ezekiel 44:23 NKJV 23 "And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

Just like the instruction Moses gave to the priesthood of his time, Ezekiel says that the same applies to the priesthood in the millennial kingdom! This has interesting implications! This is the millennial kingdom when Messiah Himself is on the throne in Jerusalem and present in the Temple!

What does this tell us about the Messianic kingdom?  It tells us that there will be many things to learn about God at this time, and there will be many people to be taught about those things which are holy and those things which are not. And it certainly implies that even though Messiah is present with us on the earth, he will delegate teaching responsibilities to his qualified priesthood.

Ezekiel goes on to say that in addition to teaching the Torah during the Millennial reign, the sons of Zadok will sit in judgment according to the commandments and statutes.

Ezekiel 44:24 NKJV 24 "In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.

This is not a new duty of the priesthood, but one they have been charged with from the beginning.

Deuteronomy 17:9 NKJV 9 "And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them; they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment.

We can clearly see that the priesthood, the sons of Zadok, during the Millennial reign of Messiah will offer sacrifices, instruct the people in the Torah, and serve as judges over them. This is no different than the proscribed duties of the priesthood as given in the Torah by Moses!

Verses 25 through 27 of our Ezekiel reading reiterates the requirements for the priesthood regarding mourning practices which are also identical to those of the Torah.

In verses 28 through 31 Ezekiel shows us how the priesthood will be provided for.

Ezekiel 44:28-31 NKJV 28 "It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession. 29 "They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 "The best of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest's; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house. 31 "The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that died naturally or was torn by wild beasts.

Throughout this entire Ezekiel passage as well as the entirety of Ezekiel’s vision, we get a glimpse into the details of the Millennial reign of Messiah! Although this Haftarah is about the future priesthood, the sons of Zadok, we see a picture of what daily life may be like when Yeshua rules from Jerusalem. There is a surprising amount of detail about the Millennium and some surprising implications.

Many believers, mostly those of us who come from a traditional Christian background, are at first taken aback by the fact that there will be blood sacrifices in the millennium! Verse 29 specifically mentions the sin offering. Paul tells us that Messiah Yeshua is our sin offering.

Romans 3:23-26 NKJV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Why is the sin offering needed during the millennium? Ezekiel clearly states that the sacrificial system will be in place and practiced during the millennium, so there must be a need for it. The prophet Zechariah tells us that rebellion is still possible among the nations during the millennium.

Zechariah 14:17-19 NKJV 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

We read in Ezekiel 44:23 that the Torah will be taught by the priesthood. This, of course means that there are people during the millennium who need to hear the word of God. Messiah will be on the throne, but God’s word must go forth from Zion!

There will be many things common to our present age, including food and drink items.  People will get married and raise families.  Ezekiel mentions the rules of marriage for the priesthood.

Ezekiel 44:22 NKJV 22 "They shall not take as wife a widow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.

There will be death during the millennium as we read about the rules of mourning. And, very importantly, in verse 24, the feast days will be observed, especially the Sabbaths.

It is apparent from reading Ezekiel’s vision that life in the millennium will be similar to our life today with some key differences.

Number one: because Messiah will be physically present and rule with perfect righteousness, righteousness will dominate the earth. This is difficult at best for us to comprehend give the broken conditions of our society around us today. But Messiah’s judgment will prevail!

Two: there will be great blessings for the righteous in the millennium. The prophet Isaiah has a great deal to say about this.

Isaiah 2:3-4 NKJV 3 Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

Third is the most obvious, Messiah Yeshua will be with us on this earth. Yeshua will be the source of all that is good for us. He will be the source of all Torah teaching through his chosen priesthood. Yeshua will be the source of fair justice and judgment.  Yeshua will be the source of all joy and the object of our praise and worship.

Study Questions:

1.  Discuss the connection of this teaching to the Torah Portion Emor, Leviticus 21:1-24:23.

2. At the very beginning of this vision God gave to Ezekiel, the Bible notes the exact date of the vision, Ezekiel 40:1-2.  What is the significance of this date? How does it relate to the importance of Ezekiel’s overall vision? What is the connection to the timing of events in Yeshua’s ministry?

3. What is the scriptural background of Zadok and his descendants?  How does this background qualify them for the priesthood?

4. In this teaching, we propose that Ezekiel’s vision along with his description of the priesthood and the Temple described in the last few chapters of Ezekiel, is speaking of the millennial reign when Messiah is present in Jerusalem.  What other evidence is there that supports this view?

5. What are some of the other aspects of daily life during the millennium that can be gleaned from this haftarah passage as well as the rest of Ezekiel’s vision?

6. What new insight did you gain from this teaching? How do you respond to this new insight? How will you realign your life based on this new understanding?

Bonus Question: Compare the similarities and differences between the Mosaic priests and the future priests in the millennium as well as the Temple worship practices.  Can you explain the differences?

© 2019 Moed Ministries International. All rights reserved.

Our previous teaching, “Proclaim the House of the LORD” is available at: https://youtu.be/e61vrRzISmk

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[i] Rabbi J.H. Hertz, Petateuch and Haftarah, p. 529