But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Sovereign LORD. – Ezekiel 44:15

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 6, 2014): Ezekiel 44

Henry the VIII is probably most remembered for two things – his wives and the separation of the Church of England from the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. But what we sometimes forget is that before he decided to separate from the Pope, Pope Leo X bestowed on the king the title of Defender of the Faith. Henry started off his reign as a devout Catholic. His promotion to defender of the faith was due to his 1521 publication of his “Defence of the Seven Sacraments.” But all of that seemed to disappear as Henry began to want to dissolve his marriage with Catherine.  

It was not the first time that the monarchy and the leaders of the faith disagreed with each other, but it was also not the way that it had to be. Sometimes kings and leaders of faith had agreed. But often when there were disagreements between the political power and faith, the ground – and even who is in the right – is hard to find. For Henry VIII, it is very likely that Henry believed (or was self-deceived into believing) that his marriage to Catherine, the former wife of his brother, was in direct conflict with Leviticus 20:21. Henry believed that the Pope had allowed a marriage (because of pressure from Henry) that he did not have the power to allow. But for the papacy, it could not admit that it had been wrong, and there were strong political pressures that wanted to keep Catherine married to Henry. The result was a divide between church and state that could not be healed.

The story of the descendants of Zadok would seem to be the reverse of the story of the Pope and Henry VIII. When Absalom, David’s son, rebelled against David – and it seemed that most of the nation was backing Absalom over the aging David - it was Zadok that supported the king. And according to Ezekiel, the descendants of Zadok continued to support the purposes of God.

And for that reason, Ezekiel decrees that it will be the descendants of Zadok that would continue to minister before God in the third temple. God would continue to reward the faithfulness of the family of Zadok. Zadok and his descendants were willing to put their personal biases behind them and simply chase after the things of God – no matter where that path might take them.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 45