Commentary - Ezekiel 45:1-6

Bird's-eye view

In these closing chapters of Ezekiel, we are not being given architectural blueprints for a future stone temple to be built by returning exiles. To read it that way is to miss the staggering glory of what the prophet is seeing. This is a symbolic vision of the New Covenant age, the age of the Spirit. It is a portrait of the world remade and reordered around the reality of the risen Christ. After the vision of the life-giving river flowing from the temple (Ezekiel 47), we are now shown how the land itself, the inheritance of God's people, is to be structured. The central, non-negotiable principle is this: God gets His portion first. Before anyone receives their personal inheritance, a great, holy district is set apart for Yahweh. All of life, for priests, for Levites, and for the common people in the city, is then organized and oriented around this central reality of worship. This is a vision of a thoroughly Christianized social order, where the sanctuary is not a building you visit on weekends, but the geographical and spiritual center of the entire commonwealth.

The specific measurements, while seemingly tedious, are drenched in meaning. They communicate perfection, order, and divine design. The layout establishes a hierarchy of holiness and function, with the sanctuary at the heart, surrounded by the priests, then the Levites, and then the civil realm. It is a picture of a society where every sphere of life, sacred and secular, finds its proper place in relation to the worship of the true and living God. This is not about a future Jewish state, but about the glorious reality of the Kingdom of God, which starts as a mustard seed and grows to fill the whole earth.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

This passage comes in the final section of Ezekiel's prophecy (chapters 40-48), which is a grand, detailed vision of a restored Israel. This vision follows the foundational promises of the New Covenant in chapter 36 (a new heart and a new spirit) and the vision of the valley of dry bones in chapter 37 (the resurrection of the nation). The glory of God, which had departed from the old temple in judgment (Ezekiel 10), is seen returning to this new, visionary temple (Ezekiel 43). Therefore, what we are reading in chapter 45 is the practical, governmental outworking of God's restored presence among His people. The land is being reconstituted, not as it was before, but in a new, perfected, and idealized form. The division of the land described here is the necessary consequence of the return of God's glory. When God is in the center, everything else must be realigned around Him.

Key Issues

God's Real Estate

When God redeems a people, He also redeems the land they inhabit. The two are inseparable. The inheritance promised to Abraham was a place, a patch of ground. The tragedy of the exile was being cast out of that land. So, in this vision of ultimate restoration, the reorganization of the land is of paramount importance. But the foundational principle of this new Christian real estate is that God is the ultimate landlord, and He gets paid first. Before any tribe gets its allotment, before any family sets up its homestead, a massive portion of the land is set aside as a terumah, a holy contribution or offering to Yahweh. All property rights, all economics, all civil government, begins with this glad acknowledgment that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. This is not a tax reluctantly paid to a distant ruler; it is the joyful, foundational act of a redeemed people who know that their entire existence is ordered by and for the worship of God. Everything else will flow from this. Get this right, and the nation will be blessed. Get this wrong, and you are on the fast track back to exile.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 “And when you divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer a contribution to Yahweh, a holy portion of the land; the length shall be the length of 25,000 cubits, and the width shall be 20,000. It shall be holy within all its boundary round about.

The division of the land is a new beginning, a reset. It echoes the original conquest under Joshua. But the first action in this new settlement is an act of worship. Before you take, you must give. You must "offer a contribution to Yahweh." The Hebrew word is terumah, which often refers to the portion of a sacrifice or tithe that was lifted up and set apart for the priests. Here, it is an enormous tract of land itself that is lifted up and dedicated to God. This act establishes the fundamental truth of the new commonwealth: God is not an afterthought. He is the first thought. The dimensions are large and symbolic, likely representing governmental perfection and completeness. This entire district, from border to border, is declared "holy." It is set apart from common use for a sacred purpose.

2 Out of this there shall be for the holy place a square round about five hundred by five hundred cubits, and fifty cubits for its open space round about.

Within the larger holy portion, a specific parcel is designated for the "holy place," the sanctuary itself. Notice its shape: a perfect square. In Scripture, the square is a symbol of perfection, stability, and divine order. The Holy of Holies in Solomon's temple was a cube, and the New Jerusalem is described as a perfect cube. This is consecrated ground at the highest level. Surrounding this square is an "open space," a fifty-cubit greenbelt. This serves as a boundary, a buffer zone, separating the absolute holiness of God's immediate dwelling place from the surrounding area. It teaches the people about the need for reverence and the distinction between the sacred and the common.

3 And from this area you shall measure a length of 25,000 cubits and a width of 10,000 cubits; and in it shall be the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies.

Now the vision zooms in on a specific part of the larger holy portion. A rectangle of 25,000 by 10,000 cubits is measured out. This will be the priests' portion. And the most important feature is stated plainly: "in it shall be the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies." The dwelling place of God is situated squarely within the inheritance of the priests. Their lives, their homes, their identity are all defined by their proximity to the center of worship. They live where they work, and their work is mediating the presence of God.

4 It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to Yahweh, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.

This verse spells out the purpose of the land described in verse 3. It is the priests' inheritance. In the old covenant, the priests and Levites had no tribal land allotment because Yahweh was their inheritance. Here, that principle is given geographical expression. Their provision is the holy land itself. They are the ones who "come near to minister to Yahweh," and so they are given land near the sanctuary. This is a beautiful picture of integrated living. Their homes are on holy ground, adjacent to the sanctuary. Their domestic life and their vocational life are seamlessly woven together in service to God.

5 And an area 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the house, and for their possession as cities to dwell in.

Next to the priests' portion is another, equally sized portion for the Levites. They are the "ministers of the house," the deacons, if you will, who support the work of the priests and the sanctuary. Their inheritance is also tied directly to the central place of worship. They too are provided for out of the holy contribution. This establishes a clear and ordered system. At the center is God's presence. Immediately surrounding it are the high-ranking ministers (priests), and surrounding them are the supporting ministers (Levites). The entire ecclesiastical structure is provided for and grounded in the land that has been given first to God.

6 “And you shall give the city possession of an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, alongside the contribution of the holy portion; it shall be for the whole house of Israel.

Finally, we come to the civil realm. The city is given its own portion of land. But notice its location: "alongside the contribution of the holy portion." The civil government, the place of commerce and daily life for all of Israel, is not set up in opposition to the sanctuary or in some kind of "neutral" space. It is deliberately placed adjacent to the holy district. Its health, its identity, and its orientation are defined by its proximity to the place of worship. This is a stunning rejection of the modern secular myth of a naked public square. In God's ideal order, the city exists and thrives in right relationship to the sanctuary. The state is not the church, and the church is not the state, but they are close neighbors who share a border and a common orientation toward the glory of God.

Application

We are not called to survey a plot of land in modern Israel and start building. This vision is for us, now. We, the church, are the temple of the living God (1 Cor 3:16). This passage, then, is a blueprint for how our lives and societies should be structured in the New Covenant.

The first principle is the terumah. In every area of your life, God gets the first and the best. In your finances, this is the tithe. It is the first check you write, not what is left over after all your other expenses. In your time, this is the Lord's Day. It is set apart as holy before the rest of the week's activities are planned. In your family, this is the priority of family worship and devotion. God's claim on your household is established first.

Secondly, all of life must be oriented around worship. Your home, your job, your politics, your hobbies, your friendships, all of it is the "city" that must be located "alongside the holy portion." We are not to live compartmentalized lives, with a "religious" bit on Sunday and a "secular" bit the rest of the week. All of it is spiritual. All of it must be brought into submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and ordered by the logic of the gospel. The health of our souls, our families, our churches, and our nations depends entirely on getting this orientation right. When worship is central, everything else finds its proper, God-glorifying place.