Ezekiel 44:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The directives for priests continue, and it is crucial to note that it states, They shall keep My sabbaths holy—not simply any sabbaths, as stated by Isaiah, Your new moons and sabbaths my soul abhors (Isaiah 1:14). Instead, it refers specifically to My sabbaths. Thus, the Gospel states that ‘the priests in the temple break the sabbath, and are blameless’ (Matt. 12:5); it speaks not of God's sabbath, but the literal Sabbath observed by the Jews, which those chosen from the royal priestly lineage may justly transgress. Furthermore, to observe the holy Sabbath indicates the rest that the apostle refers to, which remains for the people of God, as it is said, If they shall enter into My rest (Psalms 94:11), a concept recognized in Hebrew as the Sabbath. The one who does not carry the weight of sin on the Sabbath and does not proclaim, ‘The burden is heavy upon me’ (Psalm 37:5), truly maintains the holiness of God’s Sabbath. Such an individual avoids gathering wood on the Sabbath and, through Christ Jesus, doesn’t construct with wood, hay, or stubble (1 Cor. 3). He refrains from igniting a fire that leads to destruction, remaining stationary on the Sabbath, likened to a pillar in God's temple. John mentions in Revelation, I will make him who overcomes a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall not depart from there (Rev. 3:12).

Regarding the instruction that they shall not approach a corpse, to prevent defilement, the priest is to avoid touching a dead person so that he can pray for the transgressions of others while remaining pure before the altar (Matthew 8:22). They become impure through a deceased father by abandoning their Creator, and through a dead mother by turning away from the Church; similarly, a son and a daughter signify thoughts and actions, the latter referred to expressively in Greek as τὰ νοητὰ καὶ αἰσθητα. If a brother and sister are deemed dead by the same Spirit, the priest is defiled, although only by the sister if she is still a virgin and has not become impure through union with any husband. This highlights the significance of virginity, signifying that any contact with a man compromises perfect purity. Whether this assessment holds true, we leave to the reader’s discernment. Additionally, this aligns with the natural order of love, as it is written, ‘Begin to love me’ (Song 2:4); after loving the Almighty Creator, one’s earthly father and mother, son and daughter, brother and sister should be loved, only if they have not left their home to enter into the possession of another. Upon the priest's purification, as outlined in Moses' law, seven days are counted either as a completion of repentance or as preparation for entering the holy of holies, denoting the inner sanctum, where he may serve in the sanctuary and present sacrifice for the sin of consciousness. He must constantly remember any impurity arising from father, mother, son, daughter, brother, and sister. Living under the constraints of this world obliges us to confront many matters, influenced either by fleshly desires or corruption of nature. However, those who serve in the sanctuary and enter the inner court, consistently offering sacrifices to God, embody true priests, imitating Him of whom it is said, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Psalms 109:4). He shall not receive an earthly inheritance but instead God shall be his inheritance, and he will not possess land among the people of Israel, but shall hold a priestly legacy, as the Lord declares, I am their inheritance and their possession. Once they have Him, they will proclaim, ‘I will grasp Him and will not let Him go,’ rejoicing with the prophet who sings, ‘The Lord is my portion’ (Psalm 72:26).