Editor's Note
We had a technical glitch this morning–sorry for the delay! Come back tomorrow as we re-enter the New Testament and read through Paul’s letters to the Corinthians.
Read Ezekiel 48
The Division of the Land
48 “These are the tribes, listed by name: At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion; it will follow the Hethlon road to Lebo Hamath; Hazar Enan and the northern border of Damascus next to Hamath will be part of its border from the east side to the west side.
2 “Asher will have one portion; it will border the territory of Dan from east to west.
3 “Naphtali will have one portion; it will border the territory of Asher from east to west.
4 “Manasseh will have one portion; it will border the territory of Naphtali from east to west.
5 “Ephraim will have one portion; it will border the territory of Manasseh from east to west.
6 “Reuben will have one portion; it will border the territory of Ephraim from east to west.
7 “Judah will have one portion; it will border the territory of Reuben from east to west.
8 “Bordering the territory of Judah from east to west will be the portion you are to present as a special gift. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and its length from east to west will equal one of the tribal portions; the sanctuary will be in the center of it.
9 “The special portion you are to offer to the Lord will be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. 10 This will be the sacred portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center of it will be the sanctuary of the Lord. 11 This will be for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites, who were faithful in serving meand did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray. 12 It will be a special gift to them from the sacred portion of the land, a most holy portion, bordering the territory of the Levites.
13 “Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. Its total length will be 25,000 cubits and its width 10,000 cubits. 14 They must not sell or exchange any of it. This is the best of the land and must not pass into other hands, because it is holy to the Lord.
15 “The remaining area, 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for the common use of the city, for houses and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it 16 and will have these measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits. 17 The pastureland for the city will be 250 cubits on the north, 250 cubits on the south, 250 cubits on the east, and 250 cubits on the west. 18 What remains of the area, bordering on the sacred portion and running the length of it, will be 10,000 cubits on the east side and 10,000 cubits on the west side. Its produce will supply food for the workers of the city. 19 The workers from the city who farm it will come from all the tribes of Israel. 20 The entire portion will be a square, 25,000 cubits on each side. As a special gift you will set aside the sacred portion, along with the property of the city.
21 “What remains on both sides of the area formed by the sacred portion and the property of the city will belong to the prince. It will extend eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the sacred portion to the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. Both these areas running the length of the tribal portions will belong to the prince, and the sacred portion with the temple sanctuary will be in the center of them. 22 So the property of the Levites and the property of the city will lie in the center of the area that belongs to the prince. The area belonging to the prince will lie between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin.
23 “As for the rest of the tribes: Benjamin will have one portion; it will extend from the east side to the west side.
24 “Simeon will have one portion; it will border the territory of Benjamin from east to west.
25 “Issachar will have one portion; it will border the territory of Simeon from east to west.
26 “Zebulun will have one portion; it will border the territory of Issachar from east to west.
27 “Gad will have one portion; it will border the territory of Zebulun from east to west.
28 “The southern boundary of Gad will run south from Tamar to the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then along the Wadi of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
29 “This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions,” declares the Sovereign Lord.
The Gates of the New City
30 “These will be the exits of the city: Beginning on the north side, which is 4,500 cubits long, 31 the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah and the gate of Levi.
32 “On the east side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan.
33 “On the south side, which measures 4,500 cubits, will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar and the gate of Zebulun.
34 “On the west side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher and the gate of Naphtali.
35 “The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits.
“And the name of the city from that time on will be:
the Lord is there.”
Go Deeper
As we finish Ezekiel, this final chapter is filled with details and lists like the names of tribes, the size of territories, and where they all should be placed. But when we look at the book in its entirety, we see that this chapter crowns God’s message throughout Ezekiel and all of scripture: God forgives, redeems, and restores. In the first portion of the book Ezekiel uses unique methods and parables to warn God’s people that if they don’t turn from their sin, there will be consequences and judgment. However, if we remember the theme of Ezekiel 11:19 the Lord declares “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” Even in the midst of their disobedience God was promising and pointing towards a better future where he would not only take away the scars of sin, but restore the hearts of his people.
As we continued through the book, we saw how God’s goodness demands that he bring judgment on evil. We were reminded that we are all sinful, which in turn makes us all subject to judgment. Ezekiel details the judgment on Israel and God’s people, then on the surrounding nations. Then in Ezekiel 33, it all comes to a head as we read about the fall of Jerusalem and how God’s warnings came true.
But the book does not end there. God gives an additional 14 chapters of visions and promises of hope for all the earth! He details how he will raise up a new David, or messianic king (whom we know to be Jesus). He also promises to make not only Israel new, but also the hearts of his people. He gives vision to how God will defeat the evil of all nations and all people. Through the description and stories of Gog, we saw that not even all the forces of evil working together can defeat our God. And lastly, he gave vision to the new temple and living creation–which is where we find ourselves in Ezekiel 48. He has described how his dwelling place is rebuilt and full of his glory and life. But if you notice, he never names this glorious place the “New Jerusalem” which is what the Israelites expect after their beloved city has fallen. Instead, he names the new city “The Lord Is There.”
So often our Old Testament books are believed to be harsh and our view of the Old Testament God is mean or cruel. However, the God that is so good he has to judge evil is the same God that sent his own son to be a sacrifice for our evil nature. He gave us guidelines and commands to follow because He cares for our wellbeing just as a Father cares for a child. He placed messages of hope throughout all of our Old Testament scripture to show us how much he cares. Now we get to look forward to the new city where we will dwell with the One who loves us!
Questions
- What was your favorite takeaway from the book of Ezekiel?
- In what ways do you view God as harsher than He is?
- How can you allow God to be more of a Father to you every day?
Watch This
Now that we have finished the book of Ezekiel, go back and watch this video overview highlighting the key themes of the book from The Bible Project!
3 thoughts on “Ezekiel 48”
1. We will dwell with the One who loves us.
2. When we don’t view God correctly, we risk worshipping Him not as He truly is, but as whom we’ve created Him to be. We
may not brandish a golden calf, but we quietly build more subtle substitutes. “Let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me.” Jeremiah 9:24
3. Be open to change. Spending time with Him alone to truly build relationship. “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” John 17:3
God’s desire is you and me!! If that is not a WOOHOO!!! thought and truth I do not know what is! God wants to dwell with HIs people, me and you. Jesus came to fulfill the law so that we could have life everlasting with God. We have Holy Spirit so that we can commune with God itimatley. God is a giver of good gifts so that we can learn to steward and be givers of His good gift to share the Gospel to others. Our job is to worship our Father in all we say, do, posse, act and think. God is a redeeming God, who is after you, to LOVE you and to be LOVED by you.
Weirsbe states these are the spiritual lessons that are as meaningful to us today as they were to Israel in Ezekiel’s day.
Separation from sin
Worship
Fulfillment
God’s glory and God’s name
The sovereign rule of God
We as the Church are here to help accomplish His will of sharing the Gospel.
God thank You for giving me boldness to share about You. God thank You for it being as easy as breathing to speak of You and what You have done and are doing in my life. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose me in him before the foundation of the world, that I should be holy and blameless before Him In love, He predestined me for adoption to Himself as sons/daughters through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed me in the Beloved (Eph 1:3-6) in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!
Through this book we’ve seen Ezekiel’s focus and audience to be the captives in Babylon. God was in the business of purifying his people for their continual sin and rebellion. Their compromises had resulted in consequences. He used pagan nations as punishment to draw the hearts of the people back to his. Through Ezekiel as his spokesman, God delivered messages of a future hope and restoration of what had been defiled. The 70 years of cleansing would culminate in the building of a new temple and the return of God’s presence and glory. One steady theme and takeaway from this book is that God is holy and empowers us to overcome sin and reflect his holiness. We can anticipate that one day perfect fellowship with God and with one another will be restored through the reign of Christ.