Regulations as to the priests services. The garments of the priests are defined and various rules prescribed in the Law are repeated with some additions in order to denote additional care to avoid uncleanness.<\/P>
Eze 44:18<\/B><\/span><\/P> The material of which the four vestments of the ordinary priest were made was linen, or, more accurately, byssus, the cotton stuff of Egypt. The two special qualities of the byssus – white and shining – are characteristic, and on them part of the symbolic meaning depended. Compare Rev 19:8<\/span>.<\/P> Eze 44:19<\/B><\/span><\/P> They shall not sanctify the people – <\/B>They shall not touch the people with their holy garments. The word sanctify is used because the effect of touching was to separate as holy the persons or things so touched (Exo 29:37<\/span>; Exo 30:29<\/span>; compare Lev 6:18<\/span>). The priests wore the distinctive dress, only while performing in the temple strictly sacrificial services.<\/P> The holy chambers; see Eze 42:1<\/span> ff.<\/P> Eze 44:22<\/B><\/span><\/P> Restrictions and exceptions intended to mark the holiness of the office of a priest, imposing on him additional (compare the marginal reference) obligations to purity, and communicating it in some degree to his wife. In the Christian Church all the members are priests 1Pe 2:5<\/span>; Rev 1:6<\/span>; Rev 20:6<\/span>. Hence, the directions for maintaining the holiness of the priesthood in the new order, represent the necessity for holiness in all Christians, and the exclusion of the uncircumcised in heart and in flesh is equivalent to the exclusion of all that defileth from the New Jerusalem Rev 21:27<\/span>.<\/P> Eze 44:24<\/B><\/span><\/P> There was in Herods Temple a council of priests, whose special duty it was to regulate every thing connected with the sanctuary. They did not ordinarily busy themselves with criminal questions, although they took a leading part in the condemnation of Jesus Mar 15:1<\/span>.<\/P> Eze 44:28<\/B><\/span><\/P> It shall be unto them – <\/B>The remains of the sacrifices were a chief source of the priests support. The burnt-offerings being entirely consumed, the priests had the skins, which yielded a considerable revenue; meat-offerings and drink-offerings belonged entirely to them. sin-offerings and trepass-offerings, except in particular cases, also belonged to the priests and were partaken of in the temple. Of the peace-offerings a portion dedicated to the Lord by waving was left for the priests, and the rest eaten by the officers and their friends, either in the courts of the temple, or at least within Jerusalem. The kitchen-courts (K, Plan II Ezek. Eze 46:21-24<\/span>), were provided in order to prepare these public meals.<\/P> Eze 44:30<\/B><\/span><\/P> Oblation – <\/B>Offering, margin heave-offering (see Eze 45:1<\/span>; Exo 25:2<\/span>; Exo 29:27<\/span>; Notes and Pref. to Leviticus).<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 17<\/span>. No wool shall come upon them<\/B><\/I>] The reason is plain; wool is more apt than linen<\/I> to contract dirt<\/I> and breed insects<\/I>; linen breeds none; besides, this is a vegetable<\/I>, and the other an animal<\/I> substance. It was an ancient maxim, that whatever was taken from a dead body<\/I> was impure in matters of religion, and should not be permitted to enter into the temple. The Egyptian priests always wore linen<\/I> on their bodies, and shoes of matting<\/I> or rushes<\/I> on their feet. The Mohammedans never write the Koran upon vellum<\/I> or skin<\/I> of any kind, as they would consider that as a defilement.<\/P> <\/p>\n When they enter:<\/B> they must put on their priestly garments in the chambers that are appointed for vestries to them, where they put off the garments when the service was done, and where they put them on when they approached to the altar, Eze 42:14<\/span>. <\/P> At the gates of the inner court; <\/B>where the altar of burnt-offering stood, and where the temple, which is included, stood. <\/P> @With linen garments; <\/B>according to the law, Exo 28:42<\/span>,43<\/span>. <\/P> No wool; <\/B>the reason hereof is given in the next verse. <\/P> In the gates of the inner court; <\/B>about the altar of burnt-offering. <\/P> And within; <\/B>in the temple itself, in every service of both. <\/P> <\/p>\n 17. linen<\/B>symbolical ofpurity. Wool soon induces perspiration in the sultry East and sobecomes uncleanly.<\/P><\/p>\n And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court<\/strong>,…. The priests before described; when they enter the right way into a true Gospel church, consisting of such who are internally renewed, and have an inward work of grace upon their hearts, and are inward court worshippers; either as private Christians, to pray together, to praise the Lord, to hear his word, and sit down at his table; or as public ministers, to preach the Gospel, and administer ordinances:<\/p>\n they shall be clothed with linen garments<\/strong>; meaning not the outward conversation garments of the Lord’s people; nor their inward garment of sanctification; but the robe of Christ’s righteousness, and garments of salvation; that fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of the saints; and which, though but one, serves for many; and answers not only all the purposes of a garment, but even of many, of change of raiment: like a garment, it is on, and not in, the saints; it is put upon them by imputation; and, like a garment, it covers them, protects them from all injuries, keeps them warm and comfortable, and beautifies and adorns them; and is compared to linen for its whiteness and purity; see Re 3:18<\/span> and in this all the people of God, ministers and private Christians, perform all their services in the house of God; making mention of this, and of this only, whereby they become acceptable unto God, Ps 71:16<\/span>:<\/p>\n and no wool shall come upon them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within<\/strong>; it is certain that the priests under the law had wool upon them in the time of their ministry; for the purple, blue, and scarlet, as the Jewish writers k observe, were all of them dyed wool; of which, with other things, the girdle common to all the priests, and the ephod and breast plate of the high priest, were made,<\/p>\n Ex 28:5<\/span>, and which they wore in their common service: to the Jews in general it was not lawful to wear a garment of linen and woollen, Le 19:19<\/span> and therefore, as Josephus says l, to the priests only it was allowed to wear such a garment; and it is common with the Jewish doctors m to observe, that<\/p>\n “the priests were not clothed to minister in the temple but with wool and linen;”<\/p>\n indeed, on the day of atonement, the high priest, when he went into the holiest of all, had only linen garments on him; and of the service of this day Jarchi interprets the text; but Kimchi rightly objects, that the holiest of all cannot be called a court; and besides, it is said in the plural number,<\/p>\n they shall be clothed, and minister<\/strong>; whereas only the high priest went into the most holy place; and therefore he truly observes, that this is a new thing to be done in future times: and this is true of the spiritual priesthood of saints and ministers of the Gospel, who are to have no wool upon them in their ministrations, whether in a more private or public way; who are, and should profess to be, justified by the righteousness of Christ only, without any works of their own to be joined with it; which to do is unnecessary, indecent, and dangerous: wool is observed to be the clothing of brute beasts, and therefore not a fit emblem of the clothing of saints; and likewise of such as are most slow, and sluggish, and inactive n, and so an emblem of sloth; and which ought not to be in any of the people of God, and especially in ministers, who of all men should not be slothful in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. It may be further observed, that clothes made of wool are heavy, and render unfit for business, and cause sweat, which is offensive; and which seems to be a reason,<\/p>\n Eze 44:18<\/span>, why wool should not be upon them, only linen garments wore by them; that they might be more quick and expeditious in the dispatch of business, and avoid everything that gives offence, that the ministry may not be blamed: woollen clothes are also liable to moths, and worms, and to contract filth; and may signify that the priests of the Lord should be clear of carnal and sensual lusts; these should not be upon them, or they under the predominance of them, and particularly avarice; they should feed the flock, and not fleece it and clothe themselves with the wool of it, Eze 34:2<\/span>. The phrase, “and within”, or “in the house”, seems to denote some place distinct from the inner court, even the more inmost place of the temple, the holy of holies; which signifies heaven itself, into which only the high priest entered once a year, typical of Christ’s entering into heaven; and who has opened a way, and given all his people, who are priests unto God, boldness to enter there also by prayer, in the exercise of faith and hope; and which service they perform in the righteousness of Christ, and that only; see Heb 9:8<\/span>.<\/p>\n k Jarchi and Aben Ezra in Exod. xxv. 4. l Antiqu. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 11. m Misna Kilaim, c. 9. sect. 1. Maimon. Hilchot Cele Hamikdash, c. 8. sect. 12. n “Lana segnissimi corporis excrementum est et prophanus vestitus, itaque lanea vestis videtur desidiam, et segnitiem indicare”, Apuleius.<\/p>\n Requisites for the Administration of the Priests’ Office, and the Obligations and Privileges of that Office. – Eze 44:17<\/span>. And it shall come to pass, when they go to the gates of the inner court, they shall put on linen clothes, and no wool shall lie upon them, when they serve in the gates of the inner court and serve toward the house. <\/em> Eze 44:18<\/span>. Linen turbans shall be upon their head, and linen drawers upon their hips; they shall not gird themselves in sweat. <\/em> Eze 44:19<\/span>. And when they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall take off their clothes in which they have ministered, and put them in the holy cells, and put on other clothes, that they may not sanctify the people with their clothes. <\/em> Eze 44:20<\/span>. And they shall not shave their head bald, nor let their hair grow freely; they shall cut the hair of their head. <\/em> Eze 44:21<\/span>. And they shall not drink wine, no priest, when they go into the inner court. <\/em> Eze 44:22<\/span>. And a window and a divorced woman they shall not take as wives, but virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, and the widow who has become the widow of a priest they may take. <\/em> Eze 44:23<\/span>. And they shall teach my people, make known to them the difference between holy and common, and between unclean and clean. <\/em> Eze 44:24<\/span>. And they shall stand to judge concerning disputes; and they shall observe my laws and my statutes at all my feasts, and sanctify my Sabbaths. <\/em> Eze 44:25<\/span>. And one shall not go to any corpse of a man to defile himself; only for father and mother, for son and daughter, for brother, for sister who had no husband, may they defile themselves. <\/em> Eze 44:26<\/span>. And after his purification shall they reckon seven days more to him; <\/em> Eze 44:27<\/span>. And on the day when he comes to the holy place, into the inner court, to serve in the holy place, he shall offer his sin-offering, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. – <\/em> Eze 44:28<\/span>. And so shall it be with their inheritance, that I am their inheritance, ye shall not give them a possession in Israel: I am their possession. <\/em> Eze 44:29<\/span>. The meat-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering, these shall they eat, and everything banned in Israel shall belong to them. <\/em> Eze 44:30<\/span>. And the firstlings of all the first-fruits of everything, and every heave-offering of everything, of all your heave-offerings, shall belong to the priests; and the firstlings of all your ground meal shall ye give to the priest, that a blessing may come down upon thy house. <\/em> Eze 44:31<\/span>. No carrion nor anything torn in pieces of fowl and of beast shall the priests eat.<\/em> – To the directions, who are to perform the service in the new temple, there are appended corresponding instructions concerning the bodily condition in which this service is to be performed, as the bodily condition shadows forth the state of the soul, or the spiritual constitution of the servants of God. The dress prescribed in Ex 28 for the priests to wear during the holy service had this signification. The same rule is here presupposed as still in force; and it is simply renewed and partially emphasized by the enumeration of some of the leading points. At the service at the altar and in the holy place the priests are to wear linen clothes, and, after the performance of the service, they are to take them off again when they go into the outer court (Eze 44:17-19<\/span>). In the Mosaic law, , white byssus, or , white linen, is mentioned as the material used for the priests’ clothing (Exo 28:39<\/span>, Exo 28:42<\/span>); here the material is more distinctly designated as , flax linen; and , animal wool, is expressly forbidden, the motive being assigned for this regulation, namely, that the priest is not to cause himself to sweat by wearing woollen clothing. Sweat produces uncleanness; and the priest, by keeping his body clean, is to show even outwardly that he is clean and blameless. With regard to the putting on and off of the official clothes, the new thorah <\/em> accords with the Mosaic. For we cannot agree with Kliefoth, who detects a deviation in the fact that, according to Exo 28:43<\/span>, the priests were to wear the official clothes only when they entered the tabernacle and when approaching the altar, and, according to Lev 6:4<\/span>; Lev 16:23<\/span>, were to take them off when the service was ended; whereas, according to Eze 44:17<\/span> of the chapter before us, they were to put them on as soon as they entered the inner court, and were never to come before the people in the official costume. If, according to the Mosaic law, the priests were to go before the altar of burnt-offering in the court in their holy official dress, and not otherwise, they must have put on this dress on entering the court; for they could not wait till they were in front of the altar before they changed their clothes. For the expression does not imply that, according to Ezekiel, they were never to appear in the presence of the people in their official costume, as it does not mean “come before the people,” but “go out to the people,” or “walk among the people;” nor is this involved in the words ‘ , they shall not sanctify the people in their clothes (by their clothes). The latter by no means affirms that they are to sanctify the people by intercourse with them, but are not to do this in official costume; the meaning is simply that they are not to move among the people in the outer court while wearing their official clothes, that they may not sanctify them by their holy clothes.<\/p>\n This sanctification cannot be understood in any other way than as analogous to the rule laid down in the law, that touching most holy sacrificial flesh would sanctify (Lev 6:11<\/span>, Lev 6:20<\/span>), which Ezekiel repeats in Eze 46:20<\/span>, and which does not stand in anything like an isolated position in the law, but is also affirmed in Exo 29:37<\/span> and Exo 30:29<\/span> of the altar of burnt-offering and the vessels of the sanctuary. The same thing which applied to these vessels – namely, that their holiness passed from them to any one who touched them – is here predicated of the holy dresses of the priests; and the moving of the priests among the people in their holy clothes is forbidden, because such holiness, acquired by contact with holy objects, imposed upon the person to whom it had passed the obligation to guard against all defilement (Lev 21:1-8<\/span>), which the people could not avoid in the ordinary relations of life, and thus a weakening or abolition of the distinction between things holy and common would inevitably have ensued. are the holy cell-buildings described in Eze 42:1-14<\/span>. – To the clothing there is simply appended in Eze 44:20<\/span> the direction concerning the hair of the head, the natural covering of the head, in relation to which excess on either side is prohibited, either shaving the head bald or wearing the hair uncut. Both of these were forbidden to the priests in the law: shaving in Lev 21:5<\/span>, and letting the hair grow freely in Lev 10:6<\/span>; and the latter was simply imposed upon the Nazarites for the period of their vow (Num 6:5<\/span>). only occurs here; but its meaning, to cut the hair, is obvious from the context. – Eze 44:21<\/span>. The prohibition of the drinking of wine when performing service agrees with Lev 10:9<\/span>; on the other hand, the instructions concerning the choice of wives are sharpened in Eze 44:22<\/span>, as that which only applied to the high priest in the law is here extended to all the priests. In fact, Ezekiel throughout makes no distinction between the high priest and the common priests. In Lev 21:14<\/span>, marrying a widow is only forbidden to the high priest, who was to marry a virgin of his own people, whereas no such restriction is laid down for the ordinary priests. Here, on the other hand, marrying a widow is forbidden to all the priests, marriage with the widow of a priest being the only one allowed. belongs to , who has become the widow of a priest.<\/p>\n (Note: The Rabbins (Targ. Talm. and Masor. according to their accentuation) have endeavoured to obliterate this distinction, by applying the first hemistich to the high priest alone, and explaining the second thus: “The widow, who is really a widow, the priest may take,” interpreting by quidam sacerdotum, or aliqui ex ordine sacerdotali, or ceteri sacerdotes <\/em>. But this is contrary to the usage of the language, as cannot possibly be understood in a partitive sense in this passage, where the priests generally are spoken of, and the plural follows.)<\/p>\n In Eze 44:23<\/span> and Eze 44:24<\/span> the general official duties of the priests are mentioned, viz., to teach the people, and to instruct them concerning the difference between the holy and the unholy, the clean and the unclean, as in Lev 10:10<\/span> (cf. Deu 33:10<\/span> and Eze 22:26<\/span>); also to administer justice in questions in dispute according to the rights of God-a duty which had already been committed to the priests in its highest form in Deu 17:8<\/span>., Deu 19:17<\/span>, and Deu 21:5<\/span>. , concerning, in the case of, matters in dispute. , to stand to judge, i.e., to appear or act as judge (compare , to appoint or institute judges, in 2Ch 19:5<\/span>). The Keri<\/em> is a needless emendation after 2Ch 19:8<\/span>. The Chetib<\/em> , on the other hand, is a copyist’s error for . Lastly, at all the feasts they are to observe the laws and statutes of Jehovah, that is to say, to perform all the priestly duties binding upon them at the feasts, and to sanctify the Sabbaths, not merely by offering the Sabbath sacrifices, but also by maintaining the Sabbath rest (cf. Lev 23:3<\/span>). – In Eze 44:25-27<\/span> there follow regulations concerning defilement from the dead, and its removal. Eze 44:25<\/span> is a simple repetition of Lev 21:1-3<\/span>. But the instructions concerning the purification from defilement from the dead are sharpened, inasmuch as not only is the purification prescribed by the law (Num 19:1<\/span>.), and which lasted seven days, required (this is meant by ), but a further period of seven days is appointed after these, at the expiration of which the presentation of a sin-offering is demanded before the service in the sanctuary can be resumed. By this demand for a heightened purification, the approach to a corpse permitted to the priests, which was prohibited to the high priest in the Mosaic law, even in the case of father and mother (Lev 21:11<\/span>), is tolerably equalized.<\/p>\n For these duties and obligations of service the priests are to receive corresponding emoluments. These are treated of in Eze 44:28-31<\/span>. They are not, indeed, to receive any share of the land as their property in time to come any more than in former times; but in the place of this Jehovah will be their property and possession, and give them the necessary room for their dwellings from His own property in the land (Eze 45:4<\/span>), and let them draw their maintenance from His altar (Eze 44:29<\/span> and Eze 44:30<\/span>). The promise that Jehovah will be the and of the priests is a simple repetition of the regulation in the law (Num 18:20<\/span>; Deu 18:1<\/span>; Deu 10:9<\/span>). So far as the construction in Eze 44:28<\/span><\/em> is concerned, the words are really the subject to ‘ , which we are obliged to render obliquely, “the inheritance for them shall be, I am their inheritance.” For the proposal of Hitzig to take the words from to the close of the verse as a parenthesis, and to regard ‘ in Eze 44:29<\/span><\/em> as the subject to ‘ , is untenable, not only on account of the great harshness which such a parenthesis would involve, but principally because these portions of the sacrifices and heave-offerings which belonged to the priest were not a , and are never designated as , inheritance, i.e., property in land. Eze 44:28<\/span> treats of the property in land, which God assigned to the Levites and priests under the Mosaic economy, by appointing them towns to dwell in, with meadows for the feeding of their cattle, within the territory of the other tribes, but would assign to them in future from the heave-offering set apart from the land for the sanctuary (Eze 45:4<\/span>). It is not till Eze 44:29<\/span> and Eze 44:30<\/span> that the means of support for the priests are spoken of. They are to be supported from the sacrifices and the tithes and first-fruits which Israel has to pay to Jehovah as the lord of the land, and which He transfers to His servants the priests. For the priests’ share of the meat-offering, sin-offering, and trespass-offering, see Lev 2:3<\/span>; Lev 6:9<\/span>, Lev 6:11<\/span>, Lev 6:19<\/span>; Lev 7:6-7<\/span>; for that which is put under the ban, Lev 27:21<\/span>; for the first-fruits, Exo 23:19<\/span>; Exo 34:26<\/span>; Deu 18:4<\/span>; Num 18:13<\/span>; for the , Num 15:19<\/span>; Num 18:19<\/span>; for the , Num 15:20-21<\/span>. In ‘ , “to cause a blessing to rest upon thy house,” the individual Israelite is addressed. For the fact itself, see Mal 3:10<\/span>. – To the enumeration of the means of support there is appended in Eze 44:31<\/span> an emphatic repetition of the command in Lev 22:8<\/span>, not to eat of any dead thing (i.e., anything that has died a natural death), or anything torn to pieces, either of birds or beasts, on account of its defiling (Lev 17:15<\/span>).<\/p>\n Directions Concerning the Priests.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 574.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 17 And it shall come to pass, that<\/I> 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. 18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves<\/I> with any thing that causeth sweat. 19 And when they go forth into the utter court, even<\/I> 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. 20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads. 21 Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. 22 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. 23 And they shall teach my people the difference<\/I> between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and<\/I> 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. 25 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. 26 And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days. 27 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<\/B>. 28 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am<\/I> their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am<\/I> their possession. 29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 And the first of all the firstfruits of all things,<\/I> and every oblation of all, of every sort<\/I> 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. 31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.<\/P> God’s priests must be regulars,<\/I> not seculars;<\/I> and therefore here are rules laid down for them to govern themselves by and due encouragement given them to live up to those rules. Directions are here given,<\/P> I. Concerning their clothes; they must wear linen garments<\/I> when they went in to minister<\/I> or do any service in the inner court, or in the sanctuary, and nothing that was woollen,<\/I> because it would cause sweat,<\/I>Eze 44:17<\/span>; Eze 44:18<\/span>. They must dress themselves cool, that they might go the more readily about their work; and they had the more need to do so because they were to attend the altars, which had constant fires upon them. And they must dress themselves clean and sweet, and avoid every thing that was sweaty and filthy, to signify the purity of mind with which the service of God is to be attended to. Sweat came in with sin and was part of the curse. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.<\/I> Clothes came in with sin, coats of skins did; and therefore the priests must use as little and as light clothing as possible, and not such as caused sweat. When they had finished their service they must change their clothes again, and lay up their linen garments in the chambers appointed for that purpose, v.<\/I><\/span> 19<\/span>, as before, ch.<\/I><\/span> xlii. 14<\/span>. They must not go among the people with their holy garments on, lest they should imagine themselves sanctified by the touch of them; or, They shall sanctify the people,<\/I> that is (as it is explained, ch.<\/I><\/span> xlii. 14<\/span>), they shall approach to those things which are for the people,<\/I> in their ordinary garments.<\/I><\/P> II. Concerning their hair; in that they must avoid extremes on both hands (v.<\/I><\/span> 20<\/span>): They must not shave their heads,<\/I> in imitation of the Gentile priests, and as the priests of the Romish church do; nor, on the other hand, must they suffer their locks to grow long,<\/I> as the beaux,<\/I> or that they might be thought Nazarites, when really they were not; but they must be grave and modest, must poll their heads<\/I> and keep their hair short. If a man,<\/I> especially a minister, wear long hair,<\/I> it is not becoming (1 Cor. xi. 14<\/span>); it is effeminate.<\/P> III. Concerning their diet; they must be sure to drink no wine<\/I> when they went in to minister, lest they should rink to excess, should drink and forget the law, v.<\/I><\/span> 21<\/span>. It is not for kings to drink wine,<\/I> more than will do them good, much less for priests. See Lev 10:9<\/span>; Pro 31:4<\/span>; Pro 31:5<\/span>.<\/P> IV. Concerning their marriages, v.<\/I><\/span> 22<\/span>. Here they must consult the credit of their office, and not marry one that had been divorced,<\/I> that was at least under the suspicion of immodesty, nor a widow,<\/I> unless she were a priest’s widow, that had been accustomed to the usages of the priests’ families. Others may do that which ministers may not do, but must deny themselves in, in honour of their character. Their wives as well as themselves must be of good report.<\/P> V. Concerning their preaching and church-government. 1. It was part of their business to teach the people; and herein they must approve themselves both skilful and faithful (v.<\/I><\/span> 23<\/span>): They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane,<\/I> between good and evil, lawful and unlawful, that they may neither scruple what is lawful nor venture upon what is unlawful, that they may not pollute what is holy nor pollute themselves with what is profane. Ministers must take pains to cause people to discern between the clean and the unclean,<\/I> that they may not confound the distinctions between right and wrong, nor mistake concerning them, so as to put darkness for light and light for darkness,<\/I> but may have a good judgment of discretion concerning their own actions. 2. It was part of their business to judge upon appeals made to them (Deu 17:8<\/span>; Deu 17:9<\/span>); and in controversy they shall stand in judgment,<\/I> v.<\/span> 24<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. They shall have the honesty to stand up for what is right, and, when they have passed a right judgment, shall have the courage to stand to it and stand by it. They must judge, not according to their own fancies, or inclinations, or secular interests, but according to my judgments;<\/I> that must be their rule and standard. Note, Ministers must decide controversies according to the word of God, to the law and to the testimony. Sit liber judex–Let the judge be unbiased.<\/I> Their business is to keep courts in God’s name, to preside in the congregations of his people. And herein they must go to the statute-book: They shall keep my statutes in all my assemblies.<\/I> God calls the assemblies of his people his<\/I> assemblies, because they are held in his name, to his glory. Ministers are the masters of those assemblies, are to preside in them, and in all their acts must keep close to God’s laws. Another part of their work, as church governors, is to hallow God’s sabbaths,<\/I> to do the public work of that day with a becoming care and reverence, as the work of a holy day should be done, and to see that God’s people also sanctify that day and do nothing to pollute it.<\/P> VI. Concerning their mourning for dead relations; the rule here agrees with the law of Moses, Lev 21:1<\/span>; Lev 21:11<\/span>. A priest shall not come near any dead body<\/I> (for they must be purified from dead works<\/I>) except of his next relations, v.<\/I><\/span> 25<\/span>. Decent expressions of a pious sorrow for dear relations, when they are removed by death, are not disagreeable to the character of a minister. Yet by this approach to the dead body of a relation they contracted a ceremonial pollution, from which they must be cleansed by a sin-offering<\/I> before they went in again to minister, Eze 44:26<\/span>; Eze 44:27<\/span>. Note, Though sorrow for the dead is very allowable and commendable, yet there is danger of sinning in it, either by excess or dissimulation; and those tears have too often need to be Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n