Ezekiel 44:28

Ezekiel 44:28 says, And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.  God said that priests were to be given no possession of land for an inheritance, since He was their inheritance and would provide for their needs.  Today, I believe that it is okay for preachers to own property, but it should never become more important than following God.  If a house keeps preacher from leaving a certain area if God calls him somewhere else, it is then not okay.  

Verse twenty-nine adds, They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering: and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.  The duty of the priest was to proclaim God's word, present the offerings, and keep the temple clean, so they didn’t have time to grow their own food nor the land to grow it on, so God provided food for them.  They were to eat what was left of the meat, sin, and trespass offerings, and everything left that was dedicated to God would be there for them to use.  Since our tithes and offerings are now money mostly, I don’t believe that this means that preachers are to receive what is left over after we pay everything that the church may owe, but it does mean that we are to pay the pastor.  Of course, smaller churches often cannot pay the preacher enough to live on, so he has to work in a secular job as well.  

Verse thirty continues, And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.  God continued by saying that the first fruits and oblations, or things given to God by a vow, would be there for the priests to use.  I believe this would be things that were not given as burnt offerings.  God provided for the need of the priests then by working through the people of Israel, and I beleive that He will meet the needs of preachers today, even if the congregation is unable to meet all their needs.  

Verse thirty-one concludes, The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.  God said that the priests were not to eat of anything that just died or was torn apart by another animal.  This would make these things unclean according to God’s law and therefore could not be eaten by the priests since eating them would make them unclean.  A preacher should never provide for his family and himself by doing anything that is against God’s law, since doing so would bring dishonor to God.

Ezekiel 44:24

Ezekiel 44:24 says, And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.  God said the priests would once again stand and judge people according to His commandments when there was a controversy between them, and that they would keep His sabbath Holy.  If there is a controversy in the church today, the pastor needs to settle it according to God’s commandments.  I believe that he should consult with the deacons about it and then bring it before the whole congregation it warranted in the situation, but ultimately it would be his responsibility to not let a controversy between members harm the church.   Preachers are also to keep the sabbath, or the Lord’s Day which we set aside to worship God today holy unto God, especially when we gather together to worship Him. 

Verse twenty-five adds, And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.  Priests were not to come near a dead person, except for those of their closest relatives, and even then, if they did, they had to purify themselves before they could serve as a priest again.   We as followers of Christ are not prohibited from touching a dead person because it would defile us spiritually, but if we have done anything that would, we need to confess it and ask God’s forgiveness before we gather to worship Him so that we will not defile His holy day.  This is especially true for pastors since they are to lead the congregation in worshipping God by proclaiming the message He has given them.  

Verse twenty-six continues, And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.  When the priest was cleansed after touching a dead person, he was still to wait seven days before performing his duties as a priest once more.  Since touching a dead person or even being to close to one was considered to make a person spiritually unclean, it had to be dealt with seriously, and if we, or a preacher or teacher, become spiritually unclean today, we must take it seriously and ask God for forgiveness before we can be effective in serving Him.   

Verse twenty-seven concludes, And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord God.  God said that after the seven days, when the priest went into the sanctuary, that he was to offer sacrifice for his sin.  As Christians, Jesus Christ has already offered the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins, but if we do sin once more, we must confess our sins and ask for His forgiveness before we can effectively serve Him once more.   

Ezekiel 44:17

Ezekiel 44:17 says, And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.  God said that when these priests were serving Him that they would be clothed in linen and not wool.  Matthew Henry said that they were not to wear wool because it could cause them to sweat.  It may have also been to set them apart from the rest of the people.  I do know that when we approach God today that it must be through the righteousness of Christ.  Nothing that we wear physically will make us more fit to serve God than anything else we might wear.   

Verse eighteen adds, They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.  God here states that the priests were to wear linen basically from head to foot and were to wear nothing that would cause them to sweat.  When we gather in God’s name today, we should be as spiritually clean as we can be by confessing any sin that we are aware of and asking God’s forgiveness for it.  

Verse nineteen continues, And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.  God also told Ezekiel that when the priests went into the outer chamber that they were to remove the linen garments and leave them in the chamber that was there for them and put their regular clothes back on.  This was to keep the people from thinking they could be sanctified by touching the garments.  We should never believe that we can be made righteous or spiritually clean simply by touching some item that is seen as being holy.  

Verse twenty states, Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.  God said the priests were not to shave their heads or allow their hair to grow long but wear to cut modestly.  Matthew Henry said that they weren’t to wear it long because they might be thought to be a Nazarite, which they weren’t.  I don’t beleive the length of the hair of preachers today has any significance to their calling, but it should not be worn in a way that they personally feel would dishonor God.  

Verse twenty-one adds, Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.  This does not say that they shouldn’t drink wine at all, but that they shouldn’t when they entered the inner court where they would be closer to the presence of God.   When a preacher is preaching today, he certainly shouldn’t have been drinking wine beforehand, nor should Christians who are there to hear him and worship God.  If a Christian does drink wine at other times, it should never be enough to make them drunk.  

Verse twenty-three continues, Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.  God said priests were not to marry a widow or a divorced woman but were to marry a woman who had never been married.  The exception was the widow of a priest, and if she was an Israelite, the priest could marry her.  I don't believe that preachers today are forbidden to marry a widow, but if he does, she should be a Christian.  Of course, all believers should marry Christians according to God’s word.   

Verse twenty-three concludes, And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.  God said that priests were to teach the people the difference between the holy and profane and the clean and unclean.  Preachers today are to teach the people the difference between what is profane and what is holy and what is clean and unclean, not physically but spiritually based on God’s word.