“They shall not
Come near to me.
They shall not
Serve me
As a priest.
They shall not
Come near to
Any of my sacred offerings,
The things
That are most sacred.
But they shall
Bear their shame.
They shall
Bear the consequences
Of the abominations
That they have committed.
Yet I will appoint them
To keep charge
Of the temple,
To do all its chores.
They shall do
All that is to be done
In it.”
The idol worshiping Levites would be appointed to various menial tasks, so that they would be like Temple servants, rather than ministers. Yahweh, via Ezekiel, listed all the things that they could not do. They could not come near to Yahweh to serve him as a priest. They would not be allowed near any of the sacred holy offerings. They had to bear their shame. They had to suffer the consequences of their abominable actions. However, Yahweh was not going to destroy them. They were to be in charge of all the Temple chores, everything that had to be done around the Temple. They were to become second-class Levite priests or Temple servants.