Consecration of the Land
The division of the restored Promised Land among...
The division of the restored Promised Land among the tribes is described in detail in chs 47–48, but the central sacred section is described here because it included the area set aside for the priests to live in. Regaining a share in the land was a pressing concern for the exiles at a time when they had none. Ezekiel’s interest, however, was not simply in promising that the land would be divided among them in a fair way. He wanted to remind them of what the Promised Land was about in the first place. It was a land in which God would dwell among his people. At the outset, therefore, the central part of the land would be assigned to the Lord as his holy portion. The main purpose of this was to provide a zone of holiness and protection around the Temple.
1“When you divide the land by lot as an inheritance, you are to set aside a portion for the LORD, a holy portion of the land 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide. This entire tract of land will be holy.†
2Within this area there is to be a section for the sanctuary 500 cubits square,† with 50 cubits† around it for open land.
Within this holy portion, the Temple complex would...
Within this holy portion, the Temple complex would form the Most Holy Place at the heart of a sacred square. Just as the Most Holy Place in the Temple was protected by an inner court that only the priests could enter, the Temple complex was surrounded by a section reserved only for priests.
3From this holy portion, you are to measure off a length of 25,000 cubits and a width of 10,000 cubits, and in it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.†† 4It will be a holy portion of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who draw near to minister before the LORD. It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary.
To the north of this priestly strip was...
To the north of this priestly strip was an area reserved for the Levites; to the south (48:15), the city was located on a half-size strip. The result was a square that was 81/3 miles on a side.
5An adjacent area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide shall belong to the Levites who minister in the temple; it will be their possession for towns in which to live.†
6As the property of the city, you are to set aside an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, adjacent to the holy district. It will belong to the whole house of Israel.†
The Prince’s Portion
7Now the prince will have the area bordering each side of the area formed by the holy district and the property of the city, extending westward from the western side and eastward from the eastern side, running lengthwise from the western boundary to the eastern boundary and parallel to one of the tribal portions.
One tangible expression of the Lord’s kingly rule...
One tangible expression of the Lord’s kingly rule was that he distributed the land to the prince as well as to the people. The prince was assigned a large enough piece of his own land to meet his needs and to allow him to support the ministry of the Temple without having to oppress and rob the people.
8This land will be his possession in Israel.
And My princes will no longer oppress My people, but will give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes. 9For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Enough, O princes of Israel! Cease your violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing My people, declares the Lord GOD.’
Honest Scales
(Deuteronomy 25:13–16; Proverbs 11:1–3)
When the prince gathered the offerings of the...
When the prince gathered the offerings of the people for the Temple (see 45:13–17), he was not to adjust the scales so that he profited from the difference between what he took in from the people and what he gave out for the ministry of the Temple.
10You must use honest scales, a just ephah,† and a just bath.†
11The ephah and the bath shall be the same quantity so that the bath will contain a tenth of a homer, and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer will be the standard measure for both.†
12The shekel will consist of twenty gerahs.† Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels will equal one mina.†
Offerings and Feasts
The people were to provide for the regular...
The people were to provide for the regular daily offerings that will make atonement at the new Temple by means of a tax paid to the prince. The prince was to provide all of the offerings for special occasions, such as the religious festivals, the new moon celebrations, and the Sabbath days. Both the regular daily offerings and the special festival offerings functioned to purify the people of Israel, making them right with the Lord.
13This is the contribution you are to offer: a sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and a sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley.† 14The prescribed portion of oil, measured by the bath, is a tenth of a bath from each cor († a cor consists of ten baths or one homer, since ten baths are equivalent to a homer). 15And one sheep shall be given from each flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These are for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement for the people, declares the Lord GOD.
16All the people of the land must participate in this contribution for the prince in Israel. 17And it shall be the prince’s part to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—for all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings,† grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.
18This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘On the first day of the first month you are to take a young bull without blemish and purify the sanctuary. 19And the priest is to take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the inner court. 20You must do the same thing on the seventh day of the month for anyone who strays unintentionally or in ignorance. In this way you will make atonement for the temple.
Like the offerings, the annual festivals in the...
Like the offerings, the annual festivals in the new temple were meant to purify the people and the land. Instead of the three main festivals of the time of Moses (the feasts of Passover, Harvest, and Tabernacles), there were now only two. These two, Passover and Tabernacles, were almost the same and took place six months apart.
The Passover festival still happened on the fourteenth day of the first month. It was similar to the earlier Passover in many ways, but it required many more sacrifices than those listed in Numbers 28. The Feast of Tabernacles is not directly named in the Hebrew text. It no longer had special customs or symbols, except that the prince offered the same sacrifices as he did for Passover. This festival still took place in the seventh month.
Throughout these descriptions, a main theme becomes clear: the land must be kept pure and free from sin.
21On the fourteenth day of the first month you are to observe the Passover, a feast of seven days, during which unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22On that day the prince shall provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land. 23Each day during the seven days of the feast, he shall provide seven bulls and seven rams without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD, along with a male goat for a sin offering. 24He shall also provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, along with a hin of olive oil for each ephah of grain.† 25During the seven days of the feast that begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month,† he is to make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and oil.’