Ezekiel 44:21

21 The priests are not to take wine when they go into the inner square.

Ezekiel 44:21 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 44:21

Neither shall any priest drink wine
That is, to excess, immoderately, so as to be inebriated with it, ( Leviticus 10:9-11 ) , should not be given to it, and greedy of it, and drink it so as to disguise themselves: this is reckoned among the qualifications of a Gospel minister, ( 1 Timothy 3:3 ) , otherwise it is not forbidden good men, or ministers of the word, to drink wine, for health's sake, and for the refreshment of nature, provided it is done in moderation, ( 1 Timothy 5:23 ) , and particularly care should be taken that they drink it in such a manner, when they enter into the inner court:
to attend divine service, since immoderate drinking affects the memory; and such may forget the law and doctrines of the Lord they are to deliver or hear; and may put them upon saying and doing that which is improper and indecent: drunkenness in any Christian professor is abominable, especially in a minister of the word; and when it appears in his ministration, it is scandalous to the last degree.

Ezekiel 44:21 In-Context

19 And when they go out into the outer square to the people, they are to take off the robes in which they do the work of priests, and put them away in the holy rooms, and put on other clothing, so that the people may not be made holy by their robes.

20 They are not to have all the hair cut off their heads, and they are not to let their hair get long, but they are to have the ends of their hair cut.

21 The priests are not to take wine when they go into the inner square.

22 And they are not to take as wives any widow or woman whose husband has put her away: but they may take virgins of the seed of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.

23 And they are to make clear to my people the division between what is holy and what is common, and to give them the knowledge of what is clean and what is unclean.