Ezekiel Chapter 45
Ezekiel 45:1 "Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, a holy portion of the land: the length [shall be] the length of five and twenty thousand [reeds], and the breadth [shall be] ten thousand. This [shall be] holy in all the borders thereof round about."
The Promised Land had been divided to the tribes of Israel. They were wonderful record keepers, and they knew where their land was located. Each family had an inheritance of the land of their forefathers. This is a different allotment. The land for the temple was not to be allotted to anyone.
This sacred land, set apart at the heart of Palestine, is separate from allotments designated for various tribes, seven to the North and five to the South. Though the whole earth is the Lord’s, this area is meaningful to Him in a special sense, as providing for special purposes which (45:2- 8), goes on to define.
This holy rectangle (8.5 miles by 3.3 miles; verses
Ezekiel 45:2 "Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred [in length], with five hundred [in breadth], square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof."
At the heart of the special allotment is the temple area (48:10), which serves all Israelite tribes, and also is the worship center for those of the whole world, who visit. It is approximately one mile square. As a center, not only for those in Palestine but for the world, the area is appropriately larger than past temples that served Israel.
Ezekiel 45:3 "And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary [and] the most holy [place]."
This is the area of the Zadokian priests and the temple area is in this larger area.
Ezekiel 45:4 "The holy [portion] of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the LORD: and it shall be a place for their houses, and a holy place for the sanctuary."
This holy portion of land, we read about in verse one, is explained here. To belong, not only to the temple area, but to the families of the priests, and High Priest where they can build homes. This includes all of the Levitical tribe. Some are not priests, but ministers.
Ezekiel 45:5 "And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers."
Distinct from the land devoted to temple and priestly homes is another portion for Levites, who assist in temple service. This portion is also about (8.5 x 3.3 miles), and lies North of the temple/priest allotment.
Ezekiel 45:6 "And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy [portion]: it shall be for the whole house of Israel."
On the South of the central sanctuary plot is the city of Jerusalem with an area of about (8.5 x 1.65 miles; see chapter
Ezekiel 45:7 "And a [portion shall be] for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy [portion], and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy [portion], and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length [shall be] over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border."
This "prince" is speaking of the leader in the land, whoever he might be. This administrator of the kingdom under Christ will have his territory in two parts, one to the West and the other to the East of the temple/priest and city portions (see
Ezekiel 45:8 "In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and [the rest of] the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes."
“My princes shall no more oppress”: God pledges a kingdom era free from civil leaders selfishly taking advantage of the people, such as seizing their land. The princes most likely are the leaders of each tribe. No one will be deprived of his possession under Messiah’s rule.
Ezekiel 45:9 "Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD."
The leaders of the land are urged to be thoroughly honest in their commercial dealings. This warning shows that there will be sin in the Millennium. The believing Jews who entered into the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth and inherited the promised kingdom will be fully human and capable of such sins. There also will be children who do not necessarily believe, as the final rebellion against King Messiah and His temple proves.
Ezekiel 45:10 "Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath."
Balances are referring to selling by weight. Ephah relates to selling by dry volume and both relates to selling by liquid volume.
Ezekiel 45:11 "The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer."
An Ephah is about (.75 bushel). A bath is about (6 gallons). A homer in liquid volume is about (60 gallons), and in dry volume (about 7.5 bushels).
Ezekiel 45:12 "And the shekel [shall be] twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh."
By weight about (.4 ounces) made up of 20 gerahs (.02 ounces each). Sixty shekels equal a “mina’ or about (24 ounces or 1.5 pounds).
Ezekiel 45:13 "This [is] the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah of a homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of a homer of barley:"
(Verses
Ezekiel 45:14 "Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, [ye shall offer] the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, [which is] a homer of ten baths; for ten baths [are] a homer:"
They will give (1%), of their oil.
Ezekiel 45:15 "And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord GOD."
They will give one lamb for every 200 in the flocks on (one half of one percent).
Ezekiel 45:16 "All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel."
As we discussed (in 44:3), this “prince” is not the Messiah. There we said that most likely “the prince” is not the king, but rather one who administrates the kingdom, representing the King, Possible the princes who individually lead the 12 tribes. He may even be a descendant of David.
Ezekiel 45:17 "And it shall be the prince's part [to give] burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel."
We may assume from this, that the prince is head of the government, while still holding a ministerial office in the church. It is almost as if church and state are working together. It would not be unusual for that to be the case in Israel. For many years, they did not have a king. Their first king was Saul.
The annual feasts for the nations are outlined (in verses
Pentecost, (the feast celebrating the promised descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles).
Trumpets (This festival is a particularly joyous occasion, as it celebrates the marriage of the Lamb (Christ), to the Church (the ascended saints), having been resurrected at Pentecost as spirit beings into the family of God. However, there is a much deeper meaning to the Feast of Trumpets, which goes to explain the reason why the Day is commanded to be a memorial (Lev 23:24).
This festival, the Feast of Trumpets, is a memorial of the foundation of God's plan of creation. This is a living, dynamic foundation and is at the heart of the whole plan of creation as well as being its beginning and its future.
And Atonement (Jesus died so that humanity may, upon repentance and baptism, be reconciled to the Father). Symbolized by the goat sacrifice (Lev 15:16). It symbolizes the OFFER of redemption spelling out what Christ has done for humanity.
Most likely they are excluded because what they had looked forward to prophetically have been fulfilled at this point and now serve no significant remembrance purpose such as Passover and Tabernacle would continue to provide.
Ezekiel 45:18 "Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first [month], in the first [day] of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary:"
It is the blood from the bullock that would be used to cleanse the sanctuary. The month we call April, would be about their first month. Their first month is Abib. Their months change with the moon. Notice, the bullock must be without blemish, because it is a type of the sacrifice Jesus made for us all.
The Day of Atonement is never mentioned, but God institutes a never before celebrated festival to start the “new year” with an emphasis on holiness in the temple. The feast appears to last 7 days (verse 20). It indicates that there will be sin in the kingdom, committed by those who entered alive (born into the millennium), and their offspring.
Ezekiel 45:19 "And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put [it] upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court."
This is cleansing the entire court. The altar itself, must be cleansed before any offering could be made on it.
Ezekiel 45:20 "And so thou shalt do the seventh [day] of the month for every one that erreth, and for [him that is] simple: so shall ye reconcile the house."
"Those that err" are speaking of those who have committed sin. The "simple" are speaking of the simple minded who do not even know when they do sin.
Ezekiel 45:21 "In the first [month], in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten."
Passover and Unleavened bread are combined as in the New Testament and focus on remembering God’s deliverance of the nation from Egypt and Christ’s death providing deliverance from sin. They continue on into the Millennium as a week long feast of remembrance, which will serve much the same purpose then as the bread and cup do now.
The 3 annual pilgrimage feasts with required attendance under Mosaic legislation were:
(1)Unleavened Bread;
(2)Pentecost; and
(3)Tabernacles.
They have been modified with the 3 (in
Ezekiel 45:22 "And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock [for] a sin offering."
We discussed in a previous lesson, how the High Priest went into the Most Holy Place, dressed in linen, from head to toe, and carried blood for his sins, and the sins of the people. This is what this is speaking of.
Ezekiel 45:23 "And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily [for] a sin offering."
This is not the same as the offerings in the Levitical law. The requirement had been 2 bullocks, and one ram, and seven yearling lambs. This required 7 each day. It also required a kid of the goats daily.
Ezekiel 45:24 "And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil for an ephah."
We must remember that the meat offering is really the makings for bread. This symbolizes Jesus, who is the Bread of life.
A “hin” is about one gallon.
Ezekiel 45:25 "In the seventh [month], in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil."
This same ceremony is to be repeated in the seventh month on the 15th day. This celebration also, will last 7 days. We must remember in this that Ezekiel had been instructed of God to bring this message. He would not, of his own will change anything in the Mosaic Law.
The Feast of Tabernacles continues on into the Millennium as confirmed by (Zechariah 14:16- 21). This would be a remembrance of God’s sustaining provision in the wilderness. The seventh month, Tishri, would be in Sep. / Oct. and this feast will last for one week, as do the previous two. The prince (“he”; verse 25), once again offers sacrifice.
Ezekiel Chapter 45 Questions
1.How large was the portion of land that was allotted for the oblation to the LORD?
2.The actual sanctuary had how much area in it?
3.How large were the suburbs that surrounded the sanctuary?
4.Who was the holy portion for?
5.What does "oblation" mean?
6.Why did they get this extra portion of land in verse 5?
7.What are the 20 chambers speaking of, probably?
8.What was the allotment for the city?
9.What will be the portion for the rest of Israel?
10.What does "suffice" mean?
11.What are they cautioned about in verse 10?
12.What is a "bath"?
13.What is an "ephah"?
14.How do they differ?
15.What is a "homer"?
16.Why is Ezekiel giving them the scale of weights and measures?
17.One tenth is a ________.
18.What were the animals for?
19.What can we assume about the prince?
20.What is the first month for Israel?
21.How were they to cleanse the sanctuary?
22.Who are "those that err"?
23.When were they to celebrate Passover?
24.Who could go into the Most Holy Place?
25.How was he dressed?
26.How many days of the feast must he prepare a burnt offering?
27.How does this vary from the Levitical law?
28.What must we remember about the meat offering?
29.What is their seventh month on our calendar?