Tyndale Open Study NotesEzekiel 45

Ezekiel 47–48 describes how the restored promised land was divided among the tribes. This section focuses on the central sacred area, which included land for the priests.

The exiles were eager to regain land, as they had none. Ezekiel's goal was not just to ensure fair land distribution. He wanted to remind them of the promised land's true purpose. It was a place where God would live among his people. Therefore, the central part of the land was assigned to the Lord as his holy portion. This created a zone of holiness and protection around the temple.

Within this holy portion, the temple complex would form the Most Holy Place at the center of a sacred square. Like the Most Holy Place in the temple, which was protected by an inner court for priests only, the temple complex was also surrounded by a section reserved for priests.

To the north of this priestly strip was an area reserved for the Levites; to the south (48:15).

Together, these areas formed a square. Each side was about 13.4 kilometers long (8.3 miles).

On both sides of the larger sacred area (Ezekiel 45:1–6), the rest of the holy portion was given to the prince. The same pattern of limited access that applied in the temple also applied to the land around it. Not everyone had the same level of access to the holy space.

The temple would be the geographic and spiritual center of the new Israel. The land would be divided into sections that ran from east to west. This layout arranged the whole nation around the temple’s east–west line.

The city and the prince would still have important roles. However, they would no longer stand at the center. The Lord himself was Israel’s true King. His dwelling place would be the center of their life as a people.

A clear sign of the Lord's rule was giving land to both the prince and the people. The prince received enough land to meet his needs and support the temple's ministry without oppressing or robbing the people.

When the prince collected the people's offerings for the temple (see Ezekiel 45:13–17), he should not alter the scales to gain from the difference between what he received and what he provided for the temple's ministry.

The people had to pay a tax to the prince for daily offerings at the new temple. The prince provided offerings for special occasions like religious festivals, new moon celebrations, and Sabbath days. Both daily and special offerings purified the people of Israel, making them right with the Lord.

Like the offerings, the annual festivals in the new temple were meant to purify the people and the land. Instead of the three main festivals of the time of Moses (the feasts of Passover, Harvest, and Tabernacles), there were now only two. These two, Passover and Tabernacles, were almost the same and took place six months apart.

The Passover festival still happened on the fourteenth day of the first month. It was similar to the earlier Passover in many ways, but it required many more sacrifices than those listed in Numbers 28. The Feast of Tabernacles is not directly named in the Hebrew text. It no longer had special customs or symbols, except that the prince offered the same sacrifices as he did for Passover. This festival still took place in the seventh month.

Throughout these descriptions, a main theme becomes clear: the land must be kept pure and free from sin.