Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 44:24
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.
24. They shall also act as judges in causes that arise among the people. It is not certain that Ezek. commits the office of judge to the priests exclusively, cf. Eze 45:9. In Deu 17:8 seq., Deu 19:17, Deu 21:5 the priests sit in difficult cases along with the judges who shall be in those days (cf. Deu 21:19; Deu 22:15; Exo 18:21-22). In Ezekiel’s final state of the kingdom of the Lord, however, only cases of misunderstanding, not of wrong, would arise. Finally it is the duty of the priests to see that the laws and statutes of the Lord be observed at all the appointed seasons (A.V. assemblies), or sacred occasions (Eze 45:17 seq.), and that the sabbath be sanctified, cf. Eze 22:26.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
In controversy; in doubts about lawful and unlawful, in pretences of right and wrong in all contests.
They shall stand in judgment; if the controversy be brought to them, they shall hear and consider.
Shall judge it; shall determine, end the controversy, and reconcile parties.
According to my judgments; not as they favour and affect, or disaffect and hate, but according to what God hath by his laws in that behalf directed.
They shall keep; priests first, and people with them.
Mine assemblies; public congregations for worshipping of God.
Shall hallow my sabbaths; with holy care observe the sabbaths, as days of holy work, to be spent in secret, family, and public worship of God, as he requires.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And in controversy they shall stand in judgment,…. When any controversy arises among the saints concerning civil things, this shall not be carried into a court of judicature, of the men of the world; but it shall be brought before the church, and there heard, tried, judged, and determined; the ministers of the word there presiding, who shall give the definitive sentence, and stand to it, and abide by it, 1Co 6:1 and when any controversy arises about the doctrines of the Gospel, or modes of worship, or rules of discipline, they shall rise up, discuss the point, determine the question, pass the sentence, and not depart from it:
and they shall judge it according to my judgments; not according to their own judgments, or according to their own fancies, or the reasonings of their own minds, but according to those directions and rules given in the word of God; which is profitable for the settling and establishing true doctrine, and the reproof and correction of error, and for the instruction of men in the paths of righteousness:
and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; which assemblies are the churches of Christ, gathered according to Gospel order; where the saints assemble together for divine worship, and where the Lord grants his presence; and where his word is preached, and his ordinances administered, and so called his; and of which assemblies Gospel ministers are the masters, and where they preside; and whose business is to observe the laws and statutes the Lord has made, and to interpret them unto the people, and enforce them on them, and see that they are kept by them:
and they shall hallow my sabbaths; such times as are appointed for divine worship; these they shall keep holy themselves, in the exercise both of private and public worship, and shall exhort and stir up all with whom they are concerned to do the same.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Eze 44:24 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.
Ver. 24. They shall stand in judgment, ] i.e., Stand to the right, and not stir from it; in matters of religion especially, accounting every parcel of truth precious.
They shall keep my laws.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
And in controversy, do. Ref to Pentateuch (Deu 17:9). App-92.
controverey = strife.
assemblies = appointed seasons.
they shall hallow, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Lev 19:30),
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
in controversy: This seems to intimate, that controversies, in the period predicted, will be generally decided by arbitration, according to the law of God; and not by litigations before human tribunals, according to the laws of man. Deu 17:8-13, 1Ch 23:4, 2Ch 19:8-10, Ezr 2:63
they shall keep: 1Ti 3:15
in all: Lev 23:1-44, Num 28:1 – Num 29:40, Neh 8:1-18
and they shall hallow: Eze 22:26, Isa 58:13, Isa 58:14
Reciprocal: Exo 31:13 – a sign Exo 31:14 – keep Deu 17:9 – they shall Deu 25:1 – General Deu 33:10 – They shall teach Eze 20:20 – General Hag 2:11 – General Zec 7:3 – speak Mal 2:6 – law Col 4:17 – Take
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 44:24. The priests were to render decisions when a controversy arose between the people, but it wa3 to be according to my judgments. They were not to make laws regarding the conduct of the people, for their authority consisted only in making the application of the law of the Lord.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 44:24. And in controversy they shall stand in judgment The priests were to determine all controversies relating to the law, as well the judicial as the ceremonial part of it, which were brought before them, Deu 17:8-9; and the people were to seek the law at their mouths, (Mal 2:7,) that is, to inquire of them what was the purport and meaning of it, and to abide by their determination. And they shall judge according to my judgments Which I have declared, and not according to their own fancies, inclinations, or secular interests. Thus ministers must decide controversies among the people of God according to his word; and must take care that they give no countenance to any false or perfidious, fraudulent or dishonest practices, but must set their faces against them. And they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies, &c. As well upon the solemn festivals, and the assemblies proper to them, as at other times, and on ordinary occasions. And they shall hallow my sabbaths Whereas the priests before the captivity profaned them: see Eze 22:26.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Zadokite priests were also to serve as judges for the people and to make decisions in harmony with the Lord’s laws (cf. Deu 17:9; Deu 19:17; Deu 21:5). Not only will the prince serve as an administrator under Messiah (Eze 44:3), but the priests will also serve under His authority. [Note: See Douglas K. Stuart, "The Prophetic Ideal of Government in the Restoration Era," in Israel’s Apostasy and Restoration: Essays in Honor of Roland K. Harrison, pp. 283-305.] They themselves would have to keep His laws and His rules concerning the appointed feasts, and they would have to observe the Sabbath Day. While observance of the Sabbath Day is not part of the New Covenant law of Christ, God will reinstitute it during the kingdom dispensation.
What God told people they could eat in various dispensations also differed. Before the Fall, God told Adam and Eve that they could eat any plants in the Garden of Eden except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 1:29; Gen 2:17-18). After the Fall, they and their descendants continued to be vegetarians. Then He told Noah that he and his descendants could eat animals as well as plants (Gen 9:3). Under the Mosaic Law God proscribed certain foods as unclean. But later Christ declared all foods clean (Mar 7:19; cf. 1Ti 4:3). Even though the Sabbath Day was the sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exo 31:13; Exo 31:17), reinstatement of Sabbath observance does not necessarily involve reinstatement of the whole Mosaic Covenant.