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1) Ezekiel 44:1 - 3 NKJV
1Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, "This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way."
a. Why is only God allowed to enter the sanctuary through the east gate?
b. Who is the prince and why does he get special access to the sanctuary?
c. What is the sanctuary in New Covenant times?
2) Ezekiel 44:4 - 5
4 Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; so I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; and I fell on my face. 5 And the Lord said to me, "Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.
a. Why did Ezekiel fall on his face? What does this mean to us?
b. What does the north gate mean?
c. Why does God tell him to mark well what he sees and hears and who may enter the sanctuary?
3) Ezekiel 44:6 - 9
6 "Now say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: "O house of Israel, let Us have no more of all your abominations. 7 When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it-My house-and when you offered My food, the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations. 8 And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you." 9 Thus says the Lord God: "No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.
a. If the sanctuary is now our hearts, what does it mean to be rebellious?
b. If rebellion is going a different way than God's design, how did Adam and Eve rebel? Do we do the same today? How?
c. What does it mean to set others to keep charge of the sanctuary for us?
4) Ezekiel 44:10 - 14
10 "And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have raised My hand in an oath against them," says the Lord God, "that they shall bear their iniquity. 13 And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Nevertheless I will make them keep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.
a. Who shall bear the iniquity of the Levites who rebelled against God?
b. Are the Levites who rebelled still allowed to minister to the people?
c. Are these ministers allowed to minister to God in His holy things? What is the significance of this for us?
5) Ezekiel 44:15 - 18
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. 16 "They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. 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.
a. Where do the sons of Zadok minister?
b. What has qualified them for this ministry? What does this mean for us?
c. What does it mean that there will be no sweat within God's house?
d. Based on what we have studied, what are the two main ministries available to us?