Ezekiel 48:1-7

In this passage, God explains what land each *tribe will receive. He begins at *Israel’s northern border and continues to the *holy area. Verses 8-22 are about the *holy area and the land by it. Then verses 23-29 continue the list of the *tribes and their new land.

This has not been the actual arrangement at any time in history. It is God’s ideal plan. It is good to consider why this is the ideal plan.

The northern and southern borders in verses 1 and 28 are the same as in 47:15-20. The idea is that each *tribe would receive one share of the land.

There were 12 *tribes. Each *tribe was the family of one of Jacob’s sons. Of course, those sons were brothers. The 12 brothers should have loved each other (Psalms 133:1). And the 12 *tribes should have supported each other (Psalms 122:4). But from the beginning, they argued and they fought. There were wars between the *tribes. *Israel became a divided nation. That is what happened. But that is not what God wanted.

God told Ezekiel his perfect plan for *Israel. And all the *tribes were there. None was missing. Each *tribe had an equal share of the land. No *tribe could pretend that it was greater than another *tribe. Each *tribe’s land reached across the whole country, from east to west. That may be a word picture to show that each *tribe received the benefits of the whole country. In other words, no *tribe would have worse land than another *tribe.

The *tribes are all next to each other. That may be another word picture to show that they are all friends. (Even in English, we have a similar word picture today. We say that enemies are ‘against’ each other.) The *tribes are not still enemies – they are not still against each other. Instead, they are next to each other. That is, they support each other.

In verses 4 and 5, we see Manasseh and Ephraim. They were the sons of Joseph. As God promised in 47:13, Joseph’s *tribe receives two shares of the land. And in this perfect plan, the *tribes of these two brothers are next to each other. So they are in perfect agreement. They support each other.

Only one *tribe, Levi’s *tribe (called the *Levites), is not in this list. That is because the *Levites have a special relationship with God. So they receive land in the *holy area (verses 13-14).

Judah’s *tribe receives the share next to the *holy area. This was the royal *tribe. *Israel’s rulers came from this *tribe.

The *temple is in the middle of the *tribes’ land. That is a word picture to show that God has the most important place in the *Israelites’ lives. The *Israelites surround the *temple. Once an evil king said that it was too far to go to the *temple to *worship (1 Kings 12:28). He made images which the northern *tribes could *worship. But in the *vision that Ezekiel saw, it was not too far for any *tribe to *worship at the *temple. They were all round the *temple.

The *holy area – Ezekiel 48:8-12

v8 ‘South of Judah will be the *holy area of land which you are to give to the *LORD. It will be 25 000 *cubits wide, and its length from east to west will be equal to one share of land for the *tribes. The *temple will be in the centre of it.

v9 The share that you will give to the *LORD will be 25 000 *cubits long and 10 000 *cubits wide. v10 This will be the *holy area for the priests. It will be 25 000 *cubits long on the north side. It will be 10 000 *cubits wide on the west side. It will be 10 000 *cubits wide on the east side. And it will be 25 000 *cubits long on the south side. The *temple of the *LORD will be in the centre of it. v11 This land is for the *holy priests who serve the *LORD. Their *ancestor is Zadok. These priests remained loyal to me. They did my work. They did not *turn away from me when the *Israelites and the *Levites *turned away from me. v12 They will have a special share in the *holy area of the land. It will be a very *holy share. It will be next to the land that belongs to the *Levites.’