Ezekiel 44:21

21 No cohen is to drink wine when he enters the inner courtyard.

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 Before going out to the people in the outer courtyard, they are to remove the clothes in which they minister, lay them in the holy rooms, and put on other clothes; so that they won't transmit holiness to the people by means of their clothing.

20 They are not to shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must keep their hair carefully trimmed.

21 No cohen is to drink wine when he enters the inner courtyard.

22 They may not marry a widow or a divorcee but must marry virgins descended from the house of Isra'el or a widow whose deceased husband was a cohen.

23 "'They are to teach my people the difference between holy and common and enable them to distinguish between clean and unclean.