You are to give a young bull as a sin offering to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who come near to minister before me, declares the Sovereign LORD. – Ezekiel 43:19

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 10, 2017): Ezekiel 43

Money is actually an artificial construct. We are the ones who give meaning to the pieces of paper that we place in our wallets. At one point in history, each piece of paper corresponded to a piece of gold that was stored in the national treasury. In the United States, in the late nineteenth, there was a move to make leave the “gold standard” and move to a more plentiful “silver standard” in an attempt to increase the amount of currency in circulation in the country. But the move failed. Currently, most money is tied to the economy of the nation. So the value of the dollar or pound or yen or (insert your local currency here) floats with the vitality of the economy. And if the economy declines severely, the money in people’s pocket becomes virtually worthless, a fact that is often evidenced by skyrocketing inflation. Money is nothing more than a symbol of the buying power of a particular nation’s economy.

The same applies to the sacrificial system in ancient Israel. While sacrifice was commanded, there was no real value in the blood of an animal. The author of the “Letter to the Hebrews” in the Christian Testament makes this clear. “Those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” – Hebrews 10:3-4. The sacrifices were mere symbols of a greater spiritual economy of the faith.

So enters Zadok. Zadok was a priest who is thought to be descended from Eleazar, the son of Aaron. Zadok rises to power within the Davidic kingdom because he supports the King during the rebellion that was started by David’s son Absalom. As a result, the High Priest came from the house of Zadok for the next several centuries. Their reign did not come to an end until the advent of the Hasmonean dynasty around 167 B.C.E. The name Zadok meant “righteous, ” and there is evidence that the descendants of Zadok held a high regard among the people of Judah, even to the time of Ezekiel. The descendants of Zadok took a stand against paganism even when those around them succumbed to the temptations of various religions.

So, in Ezekiel’s vision, the family of Zadok is given a unique responsibility. There had been no sacrifice for sin for several years because the Temple had been destroyed. But in the day of Ezekiel’s Temple, the people will bring a bull to the Zadokites, the family of righteousness, to make the sacrifice for sins. The symbol of the blood of the young bull is made complete by the righteousness of the family of Zadok. The imagery is that the righteousness of the priest completes the sacrificial purpose and symbolically takes away the sin of the people.

Of course, as Christians, we understand that we have a High Priest who is righteous and who has also become the sacrifice for us. In the economy of the family of Zadok, the sin offering was a reminder of sin. But the blood of our priest is effectual to forgive our sin and cleanse us from our unrighteousness. We don’t have to depend on the economy of the High Priest to know that we are forgiven. We are forgiven because the perfect High Priest died on our behalf … and rose again to life.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 44