LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Message 27
THE HOLY LAND AND THE HOLY CITY
WEEK 14 - SUNDAY
Scripture Reading: Ezek. 48:1-15, 21, 23-28; Rev. 1:6, 20:6; 22:3b-5
Read and pray: “and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:6)
The Central Portion
Ezekiel tells us that the entire land of Canaan was divided into three portions. The northern part was for seven tribes (48:1-8), the southern portion was for five tribes (vv. 23-28), and the central portion, the holy portion, was an offering to God.
Because the Lord gave the people of Israel the entire land of Canaan as their possession, He asked them to lift up the central portion back to Him as an offering. Therefore, the central part of the land was a heave offering, lifted up by the people to God (vv. 8-12).
In the central portion there was a square of twenty-five thousand reeds in length and twenty-five thousand reeds in width. One reed equals six cubits. The twenty-five thousand reeds indicate five, the number of responsibility, multiplied by five thousand. What a great amount of responsibility this indicates!
This square is called the holy heave offering and is divided into three strips. The central strip is twenty-five thousand reeds in length from east to west and ten thousand reeds in width from north to south. This was the portion for the temple; it was also the portion given to the priests, especially to the sons of Zadok, because of their faithfulness (v. 11).
This central part became their inheritance, in which was the ground for the temple. This indicates that the priests, the sons of Zadok, were those who were closest to the Lord. The Lord Himself dwelt in their inheritance, their lot. Their inheritance was the dwelling place of the Lord.
The second strip, in the south, was also twenty-five thousand reeds in length and ten thousand reeds in width. This strip belonged to the Levites who ministered to the house and to the people and helped in all the activities of service with the offerings.
The Levites were near to the Lord, but not as near as the priests (v. 13). The third strip, on the north side, measured twenty-five thousand reeds by five thousand reeds. This portion was for the city (v. 15). The city was in the central strip of this northern portion.
The rest of this strip belonged to the workers, the laborers in the city. From all this, we see that the land for the holy heave offering was divided into three parts: one part for the priests, one part for the Levites, and one part for the city with all its workers.
The map that shows the distribution of the holy land indicates that, besides the land for the holy heave offering, there was still some remainder of land on the west and on the east. These two remaining portions of land were assigned and distributed to the king, to the royal family (v. 21).
The Proximity of the Tribes to Christ Is Not the Same
The distribution of the land and the allocation of the tribes to their specific portion of the land are very significant. This picture shows us that, from Dan in the north to Gad in the south, all the Israelites enjoyed Christ, but their proximity to Christ was not the same.
The ones closest to Christ were the priests, the faithful sons of Zadok. With them were the Levites and those who worked in the city. Near to these were the royal family. Therefore, each tribe enjoyed Christ, but their distance from Christ varied.
The proximity of the tribes to Christ determined their importance. The most important people were the priests, who were closest to Christ and who maintained the fellowship between the people and the Lord. The Levites were next in their closeness to the Lord, and they maintained a service to the Lord. The service to the Lord is good, but it is not as good as the fellowship. Their service, which was necessary, was not as esteemed and precious as the fellowship.
Next, the workers of the city were the third group closest to the Lord. The city is the symbol of the divine government, so there was a work to maintain God’s government. Here we can see the fellowship, the service, and the work to maintain the divine government. In addition, there was the royal family with the king and the royalty.
The record of Ezekiel indicates that the temple was not within the city; rather, it was separate. Considering that the city signifies God’s government, the temple signifies God’s fellowship. The temple is the house of God, the dwelling place of God for His rest, and the city is the kingdom of God for His authority.
It is crucial for us to realize that all these things—the fellowship of the priests, the service of the Levites, the work to maintain God’s government, and the royalty—result from the riches of the land. This means that all the fellowship, service, work, government, rights, sovereignty, and royalty result from the enjoyment of the riches of Christ.
The more we enjoy Christ, the closer we are to Him, and the closer we are to Him, the more important we will be in His purpose. We may be like Dan or Gad, far from His presence, yet we still enjoy His riches. However, we are not as important to His economy because of the distance between us and Him.
The priests, on the contrary, are extremely crucial. Their portion is the dwelling place of the Lord. We should all aspire to be in the position of the priests. There is no need to be concerned about who will be in Dan’s place. The Lord will take care of that.
We should desire and exercise not only to be priests but also kings. Revelation 1:6 says that the Lord has made us a kingdom, priests to God and His Father. As kings and priests, we were predestined to be very close to the Lord. Therefore, we should not be content to be like Dan, far away, at the extreme north of the land.
We should be priests, the sons of Zadok, and kings who are very close to the Lord. In eternity, we will all be kings and priests (20:6; 22:3b-5). We will enjoy milk and honey—all the riches of Christ.
Today we need to learn to enjoy Christ. Instead of being so concerned with teachings and gifts, we should care for the riches of Christ. We were not predestined for teachings and gifts; we were predestined to enjoy Christ. Therefore, we need to learn to enjoy the riches of Christ as the good land. Daily we should enjoy Christ by eating Him, drinking Him, and breathing Him. This is the way to go on.
🌿Enjoy more:
Hymn: "All the types of old portray You, O Lord"
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