Ezekiel 44:21

21 And no priest shall drink wine when they come into 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 When they go out to the outer courtyard to the people, they must take off their garment in which they [were] serving, and they must place them {in the holy chambers}, and they must put on other [garments], so that they will not make the people holy with their garments.

20 And their head they shall not shave, or long hair they shall not let grow; short they shall clip their heads.

21 And no priest shall drink wine when they come into the inner courtyard.

22 And a widow or divorced [woman] they shall not take for themselves as wives, {but only} a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, or the widow who is a widow for a priest they may take.

23 And they will teach my people [the difference] between what is holy and what is unholy, and [the difference] between unclean and clean they must show them.