Ezekiel 45:1 - Meaning and Application

These verses give directions for dividing the land after the people returned. Since God had authorized the division, it would be an act of faith, not foolishness, to divide it before they actually possessed it. This would be welcome news to the captives, because they were not only promised a return to their own land, but also a great increase in number, so that the land would be filled again.

This promise was never fully carried out in the Jewish state after the return from captivity. It points forward to the pattern of the Christian church, which was entirely new and much larger because Gentiles, people who were not Jews, were brought in. It will be completed in the heavenly kingdom, of which Canaan had always been a picture.

First, there is the portion of land set apart for the sanctuary, with the temple in its midst and its courts around it. The rest of the area nearby was for the priests. This is called an offering to the Lord, because what is given to support worship and the work of religion is accepted by God as given to him, if it is done with a sincere heart. It is a holy portion, set apart first, like the firstfruits that make the whole batch holy.

Setting aside land to support religion and its ministers is a work of devotion that has as much promise of lasting benefit for later generations as any other. This holy portion was to be measured carefully, and its borders fixed, so the sanctuary would not take more than its share and then gradually absorb the whole land. So far the church’s lands were to extend, and no farther. In our own country, gifts of land to the church were once limited by the statute of mortmain.

The land assigned to the sanctuary was 25,000 reeds in length and 10,000 in width, though some think the measurements were cubits instead. By one reckoning, this is about 80 miles by 30 miles, and by another, about 25 miles by 10 miles. The priests and Levites, the Levites being the temple servants who came near to minister, were to live in this portion around the sanctuary so they would be close to their work. In Joshua’s time, the cities of the priests and Levites were spread throughout the nation. This suggests that gospel ministers should live near the people and work they serve.

Next to the sanctuary lands came the city lands. These were for the holy city to be built in, and the city would be supported by the income from those lands (Ezekiel 45:6). It was to belong to the whole house of Israel, not, as before, to one tribe or two. Some from all the tribes were to live there, as we see in Nehemiah 11:1-2. The city’s portion was just as long as the sanctuary’s, but only half as wide, because the city had trade and so needed less land.

After the church lands and the city lands came the lands of the prince, the ruler, in Ezekiel 45:7-8. Their exact size is not given, but they are said to lie on both sides of the church lands and city lands. This shows that the prince, with his wealth and authority, was to protect both. Some think the prince’s share was equal to the sanctuary’s and city’s shares together. Others think it was a thirteenth part of the remaining land, with the other twelve parts for the twelve tribes.

The prince, who had to manage public affairs constantly, needed enough to support his dignity and have plenty, so he would not be tempted to oppress the people. With many rulers, wealth does not always stop oppression, but God’s grace would prevent it here, because he promises, “My princes shall no longer oppress my people.” He will make the officers peace and the tax collectors righteousness. Even so, after the Jews returned to their land, their princes were still accused of taking too much. Nehemiah, however, did not act like the former governors, and still kept an honorable court (Nehemiah 5:15, 18).

This much is said about the prince in this symbolic holy state to show that, in the gospel church, rulers should be like nursing fathers, and Christian princes should protect and support it. The holy religion they profess should, as far as they submit to it, keep them from oppressing God’s people, because those people belong more to God than to them.

The rest of the land was to be divided among the people according to their tribes. They had good reason to feel settled and secure, since they had both the testimony of Israel and the throne of judgment near them.