Ezekiel
48 reminds me of families. The tribes listed in the last chapter of
the book are the 12 sons of Jacob. Papa Jacob favored some of his
boys over others and that fueled rivalries. Like all siblings, some
got along better than others. When the land was originally divided,
family size and birth order and loyalties impacted the portions. I
have seen families torn apart squabbling over inheritance. In this
future distribution, God will assign the land. Two things stand out
to me. First, each brother received an allotment that spanned the
whole nation from east to west, meaning they each had hills and
valleys. And second, God was in the center of the nation. There was
no longer a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom; now the Temple
was set in the middle. The deed lists each brother by name, “These
are the tribes, listed by name… Dan… Asher…Naphtali…
Manasseh… Ephraim… Reuben… Judah“.
It is important to note that it is always referred to as the twelve
tribes. Joseph is rarely included, but his two sons, Manasseh and
Ephraim are listed instead. Since Levi is given the priestly
responsibilities, the land still has twelve divisions. The chapter
pauses here to explain a key point. The most valuable land was not
the waterfront, but the land surrounding the Temple. Which brother
would possess the land on which the Temple was built? None of them,
the Holy portion is “a special
gift… its length from east to west will equal one of the tribal
portions; the sanctuary will be in the center of it“.
What is in the center of your family?
We
read, “This will be the sacred
portion for the priests… In the center of it will be the sanctuary
of the Lord“. This area
surrounding the Temple includes a small district for “the
territory of the Levites“. It
is unique, “This is the best of
the land and must not pass into other hands, because it is holy to
the Lord“. Also bordering the
Temple area “will be for the
common use of the city, for houses and for pastureland… Its produce
will supply
food for the workers of the city“.
Who owns this swath of land? “What
remains on both sides of the area formed by the sacred portion and
the property of the city will belong to the prince… 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“.
Is the Prince of Peace living nearby?
The
deed continues with the inheritance for rest of the brothers,
“Benjamin…
Simeon…
Issachar…
Zebulun…
Gad… This is the land you are
to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be
their portions“. The chapter
closes with another interesting note. When my children were very
young, we put up a fence, but we included gates leading to our
neighbors’ yards, because they had friends living on all sides. We
wanted the kids to play in our yard and the gates encouraged that.
They could easily come and go, without having to go all the way
around the block. Ezekiel’s holy city has 3 gates on each side,
“the gates of the city will be
named after the tribes of Israel“.
The gates are there to be used. Finally the chapter tells us the
city has a new name, “And the
name of the city from that time on will be: the
Lord is there“. This
is literally His name, “Jehovah-Shammah”.
Jesus promised believers today, “For
where two or three gather in My name, there am I with them”
(Matthew 18:20). Friend, no matter what you are going through right
now, the Lord is there. Please receive your inheritance.