But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall approach unto me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to present unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Ezekiel's last vision describes the temple and worship of a future day. Here the prophet names the one family allowed to come near to God: the sons of Zadok. Their qualification is not talent or rank. They kept God's charge while everyone else drifted.
The chapter sits inside a block of prophecy about Israel's restoration, and one commentator reads its details as things that will actually happen rather than pictures only.
All of these will take place literally. Literal Israel will be brought into its literal land, a literal temple will be built and literal sacrifices offered to God. These sacrifices which the sons of Zadok will present are commemorative. In the past, Levitical sacrifices pointed forward to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross; the sacrifices brought in the millennium will commemorate the same work of Christ.
The name points back to the priest who served in David's reign. His family line and his name both carry weight.
There are eight or nine men called Zadok in the Old Testament. But there can be little doubt that the Zadok referred to by Ezekiel is the priest who lived at the time of David. He was a descendant of Aaron, Eleazar and Phinehas (1 Chr. 6:50–53). His name comes from the verb 'to justify' and his father was called Ahitub, which means 'brother of goodness'.
Zadok made his choice at a moment when the mood of the nation ran the other way.
It was a time of decision. The current of the day was in Absalom's favour — but Zadok was one of those who swam against the current.
One writer finds two reasons behind the choice of this family. The verse gives only one of them.
We can see the reason for this. They were faithful. But there is another reason too, which does not appear in the prophecy. They were the proper descendants. They were the direct descendants of Phinehas, and God had sworn in the wilderness — it goes back that far, long before David — that there should be an everlasting covenant with the priesthood and the family of Phinehas. If God remembers His promises, He also does not forget His covenant with man. So it is not only the promise to the fathers. The Lord also never forgets what comes in because of the faithfulness of His people in any great time of trouble.
The word "but" looks back to the other Levites earlier in this chapter. They had followed the people into idolatry. They keep their service, but they lose the priestly place.
In His government God shuts them out of this higher place because of their past. They had followed the people into idolatry, and they became a stumbling block leading others into sin instead of resisting the evil coming in... The day of loss and reward is certain, and God's grace does not set that aside. The future will bring out results which flow from the past, for as we sow we reap. If our work is good, we will receive a reward. If it is bad, we will suffer loss, though we ourselves are saved.
The same test reaches the next generation.
Past reputation will not be enough. If their sons have walked unfaithfully before Jehovah appears in glory, they must bear the consequences. Jehovah will be exalted in that day, and those who have humbled themselves He will exalt in due time.
"Come near," "minister," "the fat and the blood" — each phrase is a privilege, and each is refused to the demoted Levites.
First, the sons of Zadok will be near to God, able to approach Him. This is in contrast with the Levites who had fallen into idolatry... In commemoration of the work of Christ on the cross, they will offer blood and the fat of the sacrifices. The blood speaks of the immense price paid for the redemption of His people. The fat speaks of the holy energy and devotion of Christ in offering Himself spotless to God.
One writer sums up where each service points:
The Levites stand before the people and minister to them. The priests minister to Jehovah, stand before Him, and enter the Sanctuary. The holy privilege of going into God's presence and of fellowship with Him at His table is characteristic of the priestly place.
reason: two very hard sentences; church jargon "dispensation"; placeholder author label
- Kept — Zadok's line held God's charge while the nation drifted. That is their one credential.
- Covenant — behind their faithfulness stands God's older oath to Phinehas. He forgets neither His promise nor their loyalty.
- Contrast — the Levites who joined the idolatry keep their service but lose nearness. Loss and reward are real even for the saved.
- Near — the reward is access. They enter the sanctuary, stand before God, and share His table.
- Christ — what they bring is the blood and the fat. These speak of the price of redemption and the devotion of Christ in giving Himself to God.
They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall approach unto my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
Ezekiel's final vision ends with worship restored. God shuts one group of Levites out of priestly service, and calls one family in to enter His sanctuary, serve at His table and keep His charge. Three questions follow. When does this happen? What does the service mean? And why this one family?
The chapters around this verse describe Israel's restoration. Commentators take the temple and its service as a real building and real service, set after God gathers the nation again.
All of these will take place literally. Literal Israel will be brought into its literal land, a literal temple will be built and literal sacrifices offered to God. These sacrifices which the sons of Zadok will present are commemorative. In the past, Levitical sacrifices pointed forward to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The sacrifices brought in the millennium will commemorate the same work of Christ.
That reading rules out treating the passage as a description of Christian ministry.
If you want evidence for the right application of this final vision (Ezekiel 40-48), nothing is plainer or more decisive than the closing verses of our chapter. This is not at all a ministry to preach the good news of God in grace that makes no distinction. It is not a ministry to ground the children of God in His truth and their privileges.
The verse before this one shuts certain Levites out from drawing near. What separates the two groups is the direction each one faces.
The Levites stand before the people and minister to them. The priests minister to Jehovah, stand before Him, and enter the Sanctuary. That is the difference between them. One holy privilege marks out the priestly place: going into God's presence and having fellowship with Him at His table.
The previous verse names what these priests bring to God. Those items, and the word "table", already had a settled meaning in Israel.
Under the law, "the fat" and "the blood" were Jehovah's portion. The directions for the peace-offering claim them for Him with great care (Leviticus 3, 7). We have already seen this: the Old Testament calls the altar the table of Jehovah, but the New Testament never calls the Lord's table His altar. In the New Testament there is no such offering. There it is the church's communion in the remembrance of Christ, and so in showing forth His death.
Each of the two speaks of something in Christ's death.
They will offer blood and the fat of the sacrifices to commemorate the work of Christ on the cross. The blood speaks of the immense price paid to redeem His people. The fat speaks of the holy energy and devotion of Christ in offering Himself spotless to God.
The order of the words matters. The verse names sacrifice before fellowship.
The Sanctuary, then, is in their charge. This brings to them an access that others do not share, and with it a ministry that belongs to them alone. The verse mentions the fat and the blood first, and then the table. Communion can only follow what the fat and the blood speak of.
The choice of this one family reaches back to a break in the priestly line centuries earlier.
In that day Jehovah will choose the sons of Zadok to draw near to Him in ministry. This was the branch of Aaron's line that came forward in the day of David. For hundreds of years the wrong line had seized the high priesthood... But restoration came in Zadok, in David and Solomon's time, for Jehovah is faithful despite man's failure and hatred.
The blessing on this family looks back to an earlier generation.
At this point Ezekiel mentions the sons of Zadok, and God grants them special blessing. This recognises the faithfulness of their forefather at a time of rebellion and unfaithfulness.
Because the verse marks off a favoured few, some use it to argue for ranks of nearness among Christians today.
It is useless to argue that Christianity has priests. Priesthood here does not mean a class of Christian officials who represent their brothers and enjoy a greater nearness to God than the rest. It is the spiritual priesthood of all who believe in Christ. They are all free to draw near to God, since the blood of Jesus has brought them equally near. To claim a relationship of greater nearness for some is to deny the gospel, not only for the others but for all.
- Faithfulness — Zadok stayed faithful while others rebelled, and generations later God answers that with blessing on his sons.
- Nearness — the reward is access. Priests face God and enter the sanctuary; the shut-out Levites face only the people.
- Portion — the fat and the blood were always God's own share. Here they commemorate the price Christ paid and the devotion with which He gave Himself.
- Communion — the table comes after the offering, never before. Fellowship rests on the sacrifice.
- Reach — the setting is Israel's future temple, not a ladder of rank for Christians. The blood of Jesus already brings every believer equally near.