Welcome to Bible Fiber, where we explore the textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through Twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers, and one exile. I’m Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization dedicated to sharing the story of Israel’s people, both ancient and modern. I’m also the author of the Bible Fiber book, a 52-week study of the Twelve Minor Prophets, available on Amazon.
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This week we are studying Ezekiel 45–46. These two chapters outline specific regulations for land allotments, sacred offerings, festivals, and the role of the mysterious prince in the future Jerusalem.
Holy District
In Chapter 45, God instructs Ezekiel, “When you allot the land as an inheritance, you shall set aside for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district” (45:1). He gives specific measurements for a consecrated allotment of land that will be dedicated to the Lord as an offering. The temple will be at the center, and a perimeter of priestly and Levitical houses will surround it. To separate the sacred from the profane, an empty strip of “open space” will be the buffer zone between the temple and the rest of the city (45:2). Beyond the open space, the Zadokite priests can build their living quarters, and beyond that, the Levites can establish their cities and build homes.
The First Temple was also built with the idea of concentric zones of varying levels of sacredness. At the very center of the First Temple lay the Holy of Holies. From there, holiness diminished as one moved outward through the Temple’s various courts and the city of Jerusalem. God’s instruction to Ezekiel extending it beyond the Temple walls. Within this vast, dedicated area, the same graded system of holiness applied: the Temple was in the most sacred inner portion, surrounded by the lands of the priests, followed by the lands of the Levites.
A distinctive feature of Ezekiel’s Jerusalem is the specific land allocation for the priests and Levites. In the future Jerusalem, the Levites will have a contiguous and concentrated land area surrounding the temple (45:5). This was a complete break from the old system where Levites had no land of their own. The Torah built a system where the tribes with land had to support the Levites with tithes and offerings (Deut. 10:9). That allowed them to stay focused on their spiritual duties rather than on cultivating land. However, it also made them vulnerable to the people’s charity. In times of obedience, the Levites were taken care of through the offerings (Num. 18:21). In other times, the Levites had to leave their temple duties to go farm and try to feed themselves (Neh. 13:10).
Prince’s Land Allotment
Ezekiel then presents a figure known as “the prince” from the previous vision. The prince was to receive a significant land allotment in the future Jerusalem (45:7-9). The prince’s role differs from the kings of Israel’s past. His allotted land straddles the holy district, extending from the western edge to the eastern edge of Israel. If we imagine spheres of sanctity around the temple, the closest rings are the holiest, and the sanctity decreases going outward. The prince’s allotment is well outside the sacred area, but in front of the tribal lands.
Weights, Measurements, and Offerings
Ezekiel outlines specific offerings that the people of Israel are required to provide as part of their worship and support for the newly reestablished temple (45:13-17). These verses describe a series of contributions that the people must give to the prince, who apparently oversees the temple operations. The offerings include a portion of wheat, barley, olive oil, and a specified number of sheep. The prince gives these contributions to the temple staff for burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings.
While these regulations share similarities with the Mosaic Law in requiring offerings to support temple functions, the specific numbers and measurements distinguish them from prior Torah instructions. In the future Jerusalem, the offerings, rituals, and festivals diverge from the Torah laws. According to Jewish tradition, a rabbi named Hananiah ben Hezekiah locked himself in an attic until he could figure out how to reconcile Ezekiel’s vision with the Torah laws.
Festivals
In addition to sacrifices, the future temple will also follow the ritual calendar of feasts and festivals, Sabbaths and new moon celebrations (45:18-25). One of the key observances is Passover.
Ezekiel’s festival regulations are mainly concerned with the role of the prince and the purification of the temple. On regular days, the people provided the offerings, but on festivals, the prince is responsible for providing all the offerings from his own resources. These include a sin offering to atone for the people, as well as burnt offerings and grain offerings. Interestingly, the prince orchestrates the purification offering for “himself and all the people of the land” (45:22).
The emphasis on the prince’s role in maintaining proper temple worship and making the appropriate sacrifices reflects the monarch’s responsibility to uphold the covenant relationship between God and the people. This represents a shift from the past, where the kings of Israel often failed to fulfill their duty to lead the people in righteous worship. In Ezekiel’s vision of the future Jerusalem, the prince will ensure the temple’s purity and the people’s spiritual well-being by properly observing the ritual calendar.
Traffic Flow
Ezekiel 46 focuses on various aspects of temple protocol. Assuming that the future temple will be bustling with worshippers bringing their sacrifices, the prophet describes the best procedures to ensure a smooth traffic flow and crowd control on holidays and sabbaths. The people are to enter and exit out of opposite gates (46:1).
The chapter is especially concerned with the prince’s coming and goings, and his points of entry (46:2,8, 10). He is allowed to enter through the portico and stand by the threshold of the inner court to witness the ritual activity. The lay people had to stay down the stairs outside the gate. While the priests prepare his offerings, the prince lays prostrate before the Lord. Although he has a privileged status in the temple and may go through the east gate, he is still banned from the inner court because he is a civil leader and not a priest.
The chapter concludes with granular instructions concerning the prince’s royal property (46:16-18). Ezekiel clarified royalty could pass down their land as an inheritance to their children, but they could only pass down what already belonged to them, and they could not take land away from another citizen. This is one more strike against the prince being a messianic figure. A messiah would not need restrictions put in place to prevent him from abusing his own power.
Identity of the Prince
Scholars have proposed several interpretations of the identity of the prince in Ezekiel’s vision. One common view is that the prince represents a messianic figure, a future king from the Davidic dynasty who will rule over the restored nation of Israel. This interpretation is based on the prince’s exalted status, exclusive rights, and patron role at the temple.
The most clarifying statement about the prince indicates that God is using him as a role model. He is a leader who prioritizes the nation’s spiritual growth over his personal gain. God says, “Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. Cease your evictions of my people, says the Lord God” (45:9). The prince may not be a specific individual, but a representation of an ideal Davidic king. He is sacrificial, serving the citizens rather than himself.
Christians are tempted to identify the prince as Jesus in the second coming. However, Jesus would not need to offer a purification offering for himself. He had no sin that required atonement. Also, in the holy district’s arrangement, the prince’s real estate lay outside the priests and Levites, which meant the prince was inferior to them by holiness standards. Jesus is not inferior to priests.
In Ezekiel, the prince plays a mediatorial role between the people and God, but he operates on a practical human level. Jesus is our supernatural mediator. Jesus is not the patron of all the temple sacrifices, like the prince. Jesus is the perfect and last sacrifice who fulfills and brings an end to the sacrificial system, rather than participating in it.
Jesus, the Last Sacrifice
The idea that Jesus Christ was the last and perfect sacrifice is a central tenet of Christian theology. This understanding is grounded in the belief that Jesus, as the incarnate Son of God, offered himself as the ultimate and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of humanity.
The sacrificial system prescribed in the Mosaic Law involved the repeated offering of animal sacrifices, which were seen as mere “copies” or shadows of the true, heavenly reality. These animal sacrifices could never fully atone for human sin or provide lasting redemption. In contrast, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, is the “better sacrifice” that purifies and restores the relationship between God and humanity.
The author of Hebrews emphasizes that Jesus’ death is the culmination and fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrificial system. Hebrews declares, “It is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (10:10). As the perfect, divine-human mediator, Jesus’ self-offering on the cross is sufficient to take away the sins of the world once and for all.
Unlike the repeated animal offerings that could not atone for all sins past and future, Hebrews says, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14). His death renders all other sacrifices unnecessary.
That’s it for Ezekiel 45 and 46. If we were in church, at this point the preacher would give the altar call!
Thank you for listening and please continue to take part in this Bible Reading Challenge. Next week we are reading Ezekiel 47 and 48.
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Shabbat Shalom and Am Israel Chai
