The Sons of Zadok
We see in the book of Ezekiel that some were given greater access and relationship with the LORD than others.
We need to ask the question why?
“And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary,” Ezekiel 44:5.
Mark well those who enter in:
God limited access for some to his presence and higher purposes.
“And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein,” Ezekiel 44:10-11, 13-14.
They were limited in their access to a level and relationship with God.
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all,” Ecclesiastes 9:11.
“Time and chance happen to everyone” Chance HB 6294. pega’ from H6293; impact (causal):— chance, Opportunity.
Ever heard the question; “Why do some people get all the breaks?”
Well God’s Word tells us that time and opportunity happens to all of us. It is often said and is true that, we are what we are by reason of the choices we have made in life, and the choices we make are largely a product of what we think and believe.
Acceleration is a phenomenon of our times!
It would be accurate to say that because of technology and other modern day innovations, that almost everything around us in our lives is in a state of acceleration. Computers are responsible for speeding up many aspects of our lives.
A negative ripple in the stock market 20 years ago would have taken weeks to filter through, but today it takes only a few hours.
The decisions we make today impact upon us much more quickly than they would have a few years ago.
The process of sowing and reaping is in a state of constant acceleration.
God spoke about this phenomenon in relation to the harvest in these last days in this way.
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt,” Amos 9:13.
Seasons come and go, eras end and new ones begin, during times of major change courses are set for the following years of our lives, and we are in such a change of seasons right now. New alignments we make can affect the rest of our lives.
The importance of making right decisions.
David and Jonathon were great friends, Jonathan knew that God had ordained that David was to become the King of Israel.
Jonathan had some understanding of what God was saying and purposing in his day:
“And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth,” 1 Samual 23:17.
The times in Israel were changing and although Jonathan knew this, he stayed loyal to something that was dead or dying intending to join with David later; he did not have the courage to align himself with David who represented this new era that was dawning in Israel.
This decision cost him his life:
“Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And thePhilistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul’s sons,” 1 Samuel 31:1-2.
Remember Aaron the high priest under pressure sided with the makers of the Golden calf, God forgave him but he never got into the Promised Land.
The Bible talks about the sons of Zadok as having a very special place in the end times and future Purposes of God.
“And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary,” Ezekiel 44:5.
Mark well those who enter in:
God limited access to His presence and purposes to certain individuals.
“And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein,” Ezekiel 44:10-1, 13-14.
We see that these were not allowed into the manifest presence of God.
They were limited to the outer courts of God presence. However there was another category of people who had access to the very presence of God and the higher purposes of God.
“But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the LORD GOD: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my Sabbaths,” Ezekiel 44:15-16, 23-24.
Who were these sons of Zadok and why did they have favour with God?
In 2 Samuel 18-17 we are given a list of people who ruled with David, one of which was a young priest by the name of Zadok. He and another priest Abiathar had left the house of Saul and sided with David crossing over into the new era in Israel.
Both of these men had fruitful ministries but both would face decisions that would determine the rest of their lives.
Shortly after this there was a revolt in the Kingdom, and Absalom who had favour with most of the people sought to take the kingdom from David. This forced the two priests Abiathar and Zadok into making a decision over whom they would side with.
“And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness. And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city,” 2 Samuel 15:23-24.
Both of these priests made the right choice, it must be remembered that if Absalom had prevailed in this struggle both Zadok and Abiathar would have lost their lives.
Time again went by and soon another critical decision was required of both these men. God had purposed that Solomon would become King after the Death of King David, however a man named Adonijah made a move to oust Solomon and make himself King.
This again put these two men in a difficult position which would put their lives in jeopardy.
Sadly this time Abiathar would make a wrong choice.
“Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom. And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him. But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah,” 1 Kings 1:5-8.
This cost Abiathar his priesthood. (1 Kings 2: 27). The consequences of the decision that Abiathar made were far reaching in his life along with his descendants lives.
The testing of these two priests is a graphic remainder to us of the importance of making right decisions.
Zadok along with his descendants found favour with God that was so important it was worth of mention in God’s Word and is used as an example to us all.
“But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the LORD GOD: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge,” Ezekiel 44:15-16.
However those who did not make the right choices were limited to the outer courts of God’s presence.
“And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein,” Ezekiel 44:10-14.
Many years later the prophet Ezekiel spoke of a coming new Temple or Order, this temple has never been physically built but it pictures the Body of Christ in the end times foreshadowing the church which enters the millennium reign of Jesus.
The layout of Ezekiel’s temple was in the shape of the cross and the law of this house was the Law of holiness.
“This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house,” Ezekiel 43:12.
The Sons or descendants of Zadok have a special mention as those who will rule and reign with Jesus.
Time and opportunity happens to us all, choose wisely. Your decisions will determine the direction of the rest of your life. The enemy is deploying deception into the church like never before. This strategy is directed at enticing God’s people into false doctrines and deceptions that will disqualify Christians from moving on into the higher realms in God and Intimacy with the Father.
We see in the book of Ezekiel that some were given greater access and relationship with the LORD than others.
“And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary,” Ezekiel 44:5.
Mark well those who enter in:
God limited access for some to his presence and purposes.
“And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity,” Ezekiel 44:11.
“Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house,” i.e. the outer court Ezekiel 44:10-11.
“Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good,” Job 34:4.
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him,” 2 Chronicles 16:9a.
We are now in a new season and it is time to move on and go to another level in God. If we seek Him and search for Him with our whole heart we will find Him in a new way.
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed,” Romans 13:11.
In this time of great change choose right.
There is no easy path for those who follow the LORD.
He that looseth his life shall save it.
~ Neville Johnson ©
The late Neville Johnson of The Academy of Light. Neville was in full time ministry for over 40 years. During that time he founded two Bible schools training ministers and missionaries who are now serving the LORD in fifteen nations. He was Director of Living Word Academy of Light in Australia. With great effect Neville preached the Gospel and taught the Word of God in over thirty nations and ministered in countless ministers seminars around the world. He was burdened for the lost with an apostolic calling to the nations.
Neville returned to be with The LORD on September 1, 2019.
Phenomenal.