Introduction
This chapter can be subdivided as follows:
1. The land that is for the LORD (verses 1-8).
2. Admonitions for the princes to act justly (verses 9-12).
3. The sacrifices of the people for the prince (verses 13-17).
4. The sin offerings in the first month (verses 18-20).
5. The celebration of the Passover and the Feast of Booths (verses 21-25).
1 - 8 The Land That Is for the LORD
1 “And when you divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer an allotment to the LORD, a holy portion of the land; the length shall be the length of 25,000 [cubits], and the width shall be 20,000. It shall be holy within all its boundary round about. 2 Out of this there shall be for the holy place a square round about five hundred by five hundred [cubits], and fifty cubits for its open space round about. 3 From this area you shall measure a length of 25,000 [cubits] and a width of 10,000 [cubits]; and in it shall be the sanctuary, the most holy place. 4 It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the LORD, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. 5 [An area] 25,000 [cubits] in length and 10,000 in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the house, [and] for their possession cities to dwell in. 6 “You shall give the city possession of [an area] 5 [An area] 25,000 [cubits] in length and 10,000 in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the house, [and] for their possession cities to dwell in. 6 “You shall give the city possession of [an area] 5,000 [cubits] wide and 25,000 [cubits] long, alongside the allotment of the holy portion; it shall be for the whole house of Israel. 7 “The prince shall have [land] on either side of the holy allotment and the property of the city, adjacent to the holy allotment and the property of the city, on the west side toward the west and on the east side toward the east, and in length comparable to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border. 8 This shall be his land for a possession in Israel; so My princes shall no longer oppress My people, but they shall give [the rest of] the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.”
Before the land is given to the tribes of Israel for inheritance, a holy portion of it must be offered to the LORD as an allotment or a heave-offering (Darby Translation; verses 1-4). A more detailed discussion follows later, in Ezekiel 48. The subject is already mentioned here to show the place of the temple in the whole surrounding area. The sacred area of the land is a collection that the people must remit to the LORD.
It is a holy levy. Always the LORD must receive His portion first (verse 1). That portion is 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. That whole area is holy portion. In that area is also the sanctuary, which has a size of five hundred cubits square (verse 2). Around it is fifty cubits of pasture land.
Again, the measurements of the piece of land are given and it is added that on this piece of land is the most holy place (verse 3). That piece of land, which is holy, that is, set apart for the LORD, is what the LORD is reserving for the priests, the sons of Zadok (verse 4). They will live there, close to the sanctuary.
The next portion, also of 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide, is intended for the Levites (verse 5). It is their possession and serves to place twenty chambers on it, where they can dwell.
A third portion, of 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, is designated for the city (verse 6). This area is for all the tribes of Israel.
Thus, the entire area is 25,000 cubits long and 25,000 cubits wide, divided in width into three areas: two of 10,000 cubits and one of 5,000 cubits.
The areas west and east of the square, along the three areas, belong to the prince (verse 7). As shown at Ezekiel 44:3, this prince is not the Lord Jesus, but His representative and in that capacity does represent Him. In addition to this prince, there will be other princes (verse 8). Perhaps we can think of religious and political leaders here. These princes will not, as has often happened in the past, want to enlarge their territory at the expense of the portion given to others (1Kgs 21:7-10,15-16; Isa 5:8).
9 - 12 Righteous Weights and Measures
9 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Enough, you princes of Israel; put away violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Stop your expropriations from My people,” declares the Lord GOD. 10 “You shall have just balances, a just ephah and a just bath. 11 The 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; their standard shall be according to the homer. 12 The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, [and] fifteen shekels shall be your maneh.
It is characteristic of the realm of peace that there will be acted in absolute righteousness in a mind that is in stark contrast to the mind of the princes in Ezekiel’s day. The people have been taken into exile, but the mind of the princes has not changed. They still act violently and destructively. We also see this mind in the time of the Lord Jesus (verse 9; cf. Num 7:2; 7:84; Eze 21:12; 22:6).
Ezekiel, in the light of what he has seen of the future so far, calls upon the princes of his day and those yet to come to cease their violence and to practice justice and righteousness. In this the LORD finds joy, for this is how He Himself acts and this is how Abraham, King David and King Solomon acted in the past (cf. Gen 18:19; 2Sam 8:15; 1Kgs 10:9; Jer 9:24; 22:3; 23:5; 33:15). Let them think of how it has been in the past and how it will be in the future and let them change their mind and actions. They should already be acting righteously now. The same applies to us (Rom 14:17-18).
The purity of their actions is reflected in the use of pure measures and weights (verses 10-12). This is what the LORD has always insisted on. The people in their desire for more, throughout their history, have always had a lax attitude toward this (Lev 19:35-36; Deu 25:13-16; Pro 11:1; 16:11; 20:10,23; Hos 12:8; Amos 8:5; Mic 6:10-11). Everything must be stable in value. Fair, fixed measures must be used. Likewise, we must be fair in our consideration of things and not disadvantage one and favor another based on our antipathy or sympathy.
13 - 17 Sacrifice for the Prince
13 “This is the offering that you shall offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley; 14 and the prescribed portion of oil ([namely], the bath of oil), a tenth of a bath from [each] kor ([which is] ten baths [or] a homer, for ten baths are a homer); 15 and one sheep from [each] flock of two hundred from the watering places of Israel—for a grain offering, for a burnt offering and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them,” declares the Lord GOD. 16 “All the people of the land shall give to this offering for the prince in Israel. 17 It shall be the prince’s part [to provide] the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the drink offerings, at the feasts, on the new moons and on the sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he shall provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”
The reason for taking care to use righteous measures and weights of the previous verses is now mentioned. Righteous weights and measures are to be used first and foremost to weigh before the LORD the portion due Him. If we are not to shortchange anyone, then certainly not God. The people are to bring the prince a measured offering, i.e. a heave-offering (verses 13-16). The prince is to use that heave-offering to serve in the temple and to offer to the LORD on behalf of the whole people (verse 17).
The first part of the heave-offering is a grain offering of wheat and barley. Of both grains, a sixth of an ephah from a homer must be brought (verse 13). An ephah is a tenth part of a homer (verse 11). Oil must also be brought, and again the amount is accurately indicated (verse 14). Wheat and barley point to the life of the Lord Jesus. The oil points to the Holy Spirit by Whom He was perfectly led.
For the portion of oil to be used, reference is made to a prescription. This does emphasize the importance of not deviating from that quantity. It is so important, in fact, that the measure of content to be used is confirmed in a double way: it is “ten baths [or] a homer, for ten baths are a homer”. It is impossible here to use any other measure than the one indicated. In connection with the life of the Lord Jesus – of Whom we see in the prince a representation, He represents the Lord Jesus – it shows that He was always full of and always filled with the Holy Spirit. There should be no misunderstanding about that.
Then follows the instruction as to which animal sacrifices are to be brought as a heave-offering (verse 15). Of every two hundred lambs, one lamb, that is half a percent, is to be brought. An additional feature of the lamb’s origin is that it must come “from the watering places of Israel”. The lamb has had a good pasture. It is a healthy lamb. The spiritual application is that we offer our sacrifices in connection with the water of the Word. By drinking from the Word, that is, by contemplating what we have seen of the Lord Jesus in it, we will express ourselves about Him in words that come from “sound doctrine”.
The grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings are offered to make atonement. Atonement is the overall purpose of all these sacrifices. On the basis of this atonement, the LORD can dwell in His sanctuary in the midst of His people. The heave-offering that the people of the land make available to the prince is to be offered by “all the people of the land” (verse 16), no one excepted.
The prince has the responsibility to offer those sacrifices on the annual feasts, the monthly new moons, and the weekly sabbaths, meaning on all the feast days of the house of Israel (verse 17). The sacrifices consist of “burnt offerings, the grain offering and the drink offering”. It is notable that in the original text the “burnt offerings” is in the plural and the other offerings are in the singular. The emphasis is on the burnt offerings, while the other offerings are not to be absent, but are to be offered together with the burnt offerings.
All of these sacrifices speak of Christ and His work. The burnt offerings represent His complete surrender to God on the cross. The grain offering refers to His life on earth that was completely devoted to God. The drink offering is an offering of wine, which speaks of the joy God found in His Son, in His work and His life. All these sacrifices serve, it is said again, to make atonement for the whole people, “the house of Israel” (cf. verse 16).
18 - 20 Offering on New Year
18 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “In the first [month], on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse the sanctuary. 19 The priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put [it] on the door posts of the house, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 Thus you shall do on the seventh [day] of the month for everyone who goes astray or is naive; so you shall make atonement for the house.
The Lord GOD has another precept regarding the beginning of a new year, “the first [month], on the first of the month” (verse 18). This expression is also found in Genesis 8 (Gen 8:13). There it refers to the earth that has emerged after the waters of the flood have dried up, that is, an earth cleansed by judgment. God has renewed “the face of the ground” (Psa 104:30b). That is the situation we have here as well, that of the realm of peace.
Just as Noah sacrifices to God after he goes out of the ark, so too here is a sacrifice. A young bull without any blemish is to be taken as a sin offering to cleanse the sanctuary. The cleansing is done by the priest who puts some of the blood on the door posts of “the house”, that is the temple, on the four corners of the circumference of the altar and on the posts of the gates of the inner court (verse 19). These actions are reminiscent of the Passover in Egypt, when a new year begins and where blood was also done on the door posts (Exo 12:2,7).
With the dawning of the realm of peace and the dwelling of the LORD in His temple, a new period in the history of the people begins. The people are now truly the people of the LORD. That new relationship is grounded in the work of the Lord Jesus. But even in the realm of peace people can still sin (Isa 65:20). The work of the Lord Jesus still applies then, especially to someone who cannot have fellowship with God because of unintentional, unconscious sin (Lev 4:13; Num 15:22) (verse 20). Through the blood, reconciliation has been established and God no longer sees the sins. Thus, atonement takes place twice a year: on the first day (verse 18) and on the seventh day (verse 20a) of the first month.
In our time, with every conversion that takes place, a new period in a person’s life begins. The same is true for a child of God who has gone astray, but returns to Him. Every restoration – which is the beginning of a new period – can only happen on the foundation of Christ’s sacrifice.
21 - 25 The Great Annual Feasts
21 “In the first [month], on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. 23 [During] the seven days of the feast he shall provide as a burnt offering to the LORD seven bulls and seven rams without blemish on every day of the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering. 24 He shall provide as a grain offering an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram and a hin of oil with an ephah. 25 In the seventh [month], on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall provide like this, seven days for the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering and the oil.”
The LORD then goes on to speak in these verses about three of the seven feasts that He prescribes in Leviticus 23 for His people to keep for Him. He wants these three feasts also to be kept in the realm of peace when His Messiah reigns. The big difference from the feasts He prescribed for His people through Moses is that the feasts are now prescribed for a people with whom He has fellowship on the basis of the new covenant. They will also keep these feasts wholeheartedly. Of the other feasts mentioned in Leviticus 23, nothing is said here. The three feasts mentioned here are the three great feasts on the occasion of which the people are to go to Jerusalem (Deu 16:16).
God gives His precepts for those feasts. The first feast is the Passover (verse 21). That feast is to be celebrated “seven days”, indicating that the Passover is inseparable from the second feast, the Feast of Unleavened Bread of seven days (cf. Lk 22:1). This feast is the basis of all feasts and of the entire life of God’s people.
The Passover symbolizes that the blessing of the realm of peace can only be enjoyed by virtue of the death of the Lamb of God. This must be borne in mind in order to live a life in which sin has no place, which is represented in the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This has emphasis here because it only speaks of the eating of the unleavened bread and not the slaughtering and eating of a paschal lamb. Leaven is everywhere in Scripture a picture of sin (Mt 13:33; 16:6,11-12; Mk 8:15; Lk 12:1; 13:21; 1Cor 5:7; Gal 5:9).
We too, believers of the church, owe everything to our Passover, Christ. Through Him we are able – and what is also expected of us – to live an “unleavened” life. We see this in the picture of the seven days of unleavened bread, that is a life in which sin has no place (1Cor 5:7-8).
On the fourteenth day, which is the day of the Passover, the prince must provide a young bull as a sin offering (verse 22). That sacrifice is for himself and the entire population of the land (cf. Heb 5:3). Here we see clearly that this prince cannot be the Lord Jesus, for He needs no sacrifice for Himself.
On each day of the seven days of the feast of Passover, the prince must bring a burnt offering to the LORD (verse 23). It is a great burnt offering, consisting each day of seven bulls and seven rams, without blemish. That sacrifice refers to the perfect sacrifice of the Lord Jesus dedicated entirely to God. Also, a male goat must be offered every day as a sin offering. The Lord Jesus is also the sin offering, Who both for God and for His people has put away everything that reminds of sin, so that God can be in the midst of His people.
Added to this is a grain offering along with a hin of oil which the prince must also see to it that it is brought (verse 24). This grain offering with the oil is counted per bull. This combination means that the bloody sacrifice and the non-bloody sacrifice are intimately connected. Spiritually, we also see this in the Lord Jesus, Who lived a perfect life through the Holy Spirit – we see this in the grain offering – and therefore could also be the perfect sacrifice on the cross to open the way to God and allow God to dwell with His people (we see this in the other sacrifices).
In the seventh month, “the feast”, that is the Feast of Booth, is to be celebrated (verse 25). That feast also lasts seven days. On those days the prince must do the same things and offer the same sacrifices as in the first month at the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Feast of Booths is the last feast of the feasts of the LORD (Lev 23:34-43) and speaks of the rest of the realm of peace. That a sin offering must be brought is because sin is still present, though curbed because satan is bound.