In Ezekiel 43:18-27 are God’s instructions on the procedure of cleansing and consecration of the altar seen in the previous paragraph. Within these verses, God also specifies the priests he wants for service. Remember Ezekiel was first a priest before he was reassigned as a prophet. Thus, he was qualified to conduct the cleansing and consecration ceremony that would be conducted for seven days.
In these verses, details of how to conduct the ceremony are given.
Here God leaves instruction even on the animals for the specific offerings and
sacrifices. He even details the priests He wants for ministry in the
Temple.
The cleansing and consecration of the altar would begin with a
burnt offering followed by the sprinkling of blood. The burnt offering was for
cleansing and the sprinkling of blood was for consecration. Only after the
seven days of the ceremony of cleansing and consecration then could the altar
be used for the normal sacrificial offerings.
The Levitical priests from the offspring of Zadok were selected to
minister to the Lord. Why only the sons of Zadok? The reason can be seen in
Ezekiel 44:15 which says, “But the Levitical priests, the
sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of
Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they
shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God.”
The cleansing and consecration of the altar and even the
assignment of the type of priests indicate the importance of approaching God
rightly. Holiness, faithfulness, and obedience must not be overlooked in our
worship and service to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment