No sweat! Ezekiel 44

It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and wool shall not be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. Linen turbans shall be on their heads and linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat. Ezekiel 44: 17-18

There is a long history of the temple worship by Israel. The Pentatuch (the first five books of the Bible) outlines all of the practices of temple worship, and at this point Israel had violated them all. They had allowed foreigners into the temple before they were circumcised, they worshiped other gods, and the Levites had forsaken their duties as caretakers of the house of the Lord and made the slaves do the dirty work. That was, all but a couple. There were the sons of Zadok who “kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me.” These guys stood strong, did their service when those around them were violating every law on the books, and won the approval of the Lord Himself. Standing alone together, so to speak. Note that they were not named, nor a number of them, but the name of the father, of the family line. Zadok was faithful, and his line was faithful after him. He was a good father, a teacher of the law, and minister of the Lord. He had to have been quite a guy, blessed by God in the eyes of his children for them to follow after him. Oh, that we, too, would be faithful servants of God, that our children would walk in His presence and be blessed to honor Him with their service, as well!

So in the preceding chapter, the sacrifices were prescribed, and then God's glory showed up. Then He gives them further instructions. All of this goes back to what they should have known...that they were to wear linen when they entered the inner sanctum. Thus far the sacrifices were performed in the outer gates, but now they would be entering the curtains, coming closer to God. The only part of a sheep that would enter would be the blood. No wool. Nothing itchy, scratchy, or sweaty. The fabric was to be white and soft and breathable. No sweat to smell, just the incense. No sweat to stain, just the stain of blood. They were to be covered from head to foot, so they needed garments that would not make them any more uncomfortable than they would already be coming before a Holy God. Linen is whiter, cooler, lighter, and not made of anything that had been on a living creature. These clothes were pure and were to remain as pure as the human body would allow. That is how they were to come before a Holy God.

We look at clothes a whole lot differently these days. Some clothes are considered “holy” like a priest's collar or a nun's habit. Wedding dresses were symbols, but now they can be anything, or the bride will have a “trash the dress” where they purposefully jump in a lake or mud to ruin it after the ceremony. I don't get it. Why take the thing that was supposed to symbolize your pure estate and worthiness as a bride and trash it (other than it really didn't symbolize that at all, but you just adhered to social norms)? This cavalier attitude had gotten Israel in trouble up to this point, so God again lovingly reminded the sons of Zadok that to come before Him worthy, they needed to dress the part outwardly to show their worthiness inwardly. They were worthy to come before God, and He gave them specific instructions to keep them in His will. He is good like that. He didn't want another Usiah incident where things were not done as instructed and the poor guy died trying to save the ark of the covenant. It is a fine balancing act between holiness and mercy that we humans do not take seriously.

And how does one come comfortable before the God who could strike you dead if the sacrifices were not done correctly? I guess the answer is dress in comfortable clothes (that are given to us, which is the righteousness of Christ), know what is expected (read God's word), and do as we are instructed (live the Word, believing God means what He says). And love that God, for perfect love casts out all fear.

Humbly approaching God once we are in His family is different than when we are not part of the family. He is Abba, Daddy, and we can come jump in His lap, give Him a big hug, and talk like a child would to his or her papa. Regardless of state of rich or poor, ruler or pauper, the sons and daughters gain entrance and intimacy that those outside the family will never achieve. You want to talk to daddy? No sweat! You need money to pay the bills? No sweat. You need to confess a sin? No sweat! If we are willing to come, He is willing to hear us out! That's what dads do. Zadok had that relationship with God and with his sons, and therefore, the sons of Zadok were brought in to that relationship as well. Won't you join the family of worshipers? Through the blood of Jesus, who sweat greatly for us, I say, NO SWEAT! Come. Please come.