Commentary - Ezekiel 48:15-20

Bird's-eye view

As we come to the end of Ezekiel's monumental vision, we are given the blueprints for the city of God. Now, the first mistake a modern evangelical is tempted to make is to roll this up like an architectural drawing, stick it in a tube, and save it for a future millennial kingdom where someone is going to start laying out literal property lines with literal measuring tapes. But that is to miss the point entirely. The book of Revelation is a Christian rewrite of Ezekiel, and the New Jerusalem described there is identified for us as the Bride of Christ, which is to say, the Church (Rev. 21:2, 9-10). Therefore, Ezekiel's temple and city are glorious, symbolic portraits of the Christian Church. God is not giving us a zoning map; He is giving us a theological reality.

In these verses, we see the provision for the "common" part of the holy district. This is the city proper, where the people of God live, work, and have their being. What we find is that nothing in God's economy is truly "common" in the sense of profane. The city is meticulously measured, perfectly symmetrical, and completely integrated into the holy district. It is provided for by the land, worked by all the tribes, and stands as a testimony to the fact that in the New Covenant, all of life, from the sanctuary to the suburbs, is brought into the service and worship of the living God. This is a picture of the Church, holy and ordered, at the center of the world.

Outline

The City of God

The vision in Ezekiel 40-48 presents a restored and perfected Israel, centered around the worship of God in a new temple. The climax is the description of the land's apportionment, with God's sanctuary at the very heart. This passage, describing the city, is not an afterthought but a crucial part of the vision. It shows how the presence of God transforms every aspect of life for His people. The Old Testament distinction between the holy (temple), the clean (Israel), and the unclean (Gentiles) is being reconfigured. Here, the city itself, the place of daily life, is part of the terumah, the holy contribution. This is a trajectory that finds its ultimate fulfillment in the New Covenant, where the people of God themselves are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and every sphere of life is to be claimed for Christ. The city is not secular space; it is sanctified space.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 15 “And the remainder, 5,000 cubits in width and 25,000 in length, shall be for common use for the city, for places of habitation, and for open spaces; and the city shall be in its midst.”

After delineating the holy portions for the priests and Levites, we get to the remainder. This is land designated for "common use." The Hebrew word for common here can mean profane or unconsecrated, which sets up a contrast with the sanctuary district. However, we must not think of this as "secular" land in our modern sense. This is the space for the ordinary life of God's people, their homes and their public squares. But because it is part of this divine schematic, this common life is itself brought into a holy order. The city is where the worship of the sanctuary spills out into the streets. God is concerned with the precise measurements of the living quarters of His people. He cares about their homes, their neighborhoods, their public life. The city is right in the middle of this strip of land, indicating a well-ordered, central community.

v. 16 “And these shall be its measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits.”

Here is a central detail. The city is a perfect square. Whenever we see a perfect cube or a perfect square in Scripture in relation to God's dwelling, our minds should go immediately to the Holy of Holies (1 Kings 6:20). The New Jerusalem in Revelation is a perfect cube (Rev. 21:16). What Ezekiel is showing us is that the city itself has the shape of the most holy place. The dwelling place of the people of God is itself a sanctuary. In the new covenant, this is fulfilled in the Church. We, the believers, are the city of God. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16). The Church is God's sanctuary in the world, and the life of every believer is to be marked by this holy symmetry and order.

v. 17 “And the city shall have open spaces: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250 cubits, on the east 250 cubits, and on the west 250 cubits.”

The city is not a cramped ghetto. It has open spaces, pasturelands, or suburbs surrounding it. This speaks of life, health, and room to breathe. A city with green space is a pleasant place to live. Theologically, this shows that the holy city is not sealed off hermetically from the world. It has a border, a boundary, but it is a living one. These open spaces act as a transition, mediating between the city and the surrounding farmland. It is a picture of the Church's engagement with the world. We are in the world but not of it. We have these open spaces where we interact, where we are a blessing to the surrounding country. The perfect symmetry continues, 250 cubits on each side, reminding us again that this is all part of God's perfect design.

v. 18 “And the remainder of the length alongside the holy contribution shall be 10,000 cubits toward the east and 10,000 toward the west; and it shall be alongside the holy contribution. And its produce shall be food for the workers of the city.”

The city is flanked by two large tracts of farmland, 10,000 cubits on each side. And the purpose of this land is stated plainly: its produce is to be food for the workers of the city. This is the divinely ordained economic engine for the city of God. The city does not live on abstract spirituality; it requires food. God makes provision for the practical needs of His people. Those who work in the city are to be fed by the land God has allotted. This is a foundational principle of kingdom economics. God's work, done in God's way, will be sustained by God's provision. The Church is not a beggar institution; she has been given ample land, and the fruit of that land is for the nourishment of her workers.

v. 19 “The workers of the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.”

And who are these workers? It is not a special class, not a designated guild of farmers. It is the workers "out of all the tribes of Israel." This is a democratic, or better, a covenantal workforce. In the new covenant, the division between the twelve tribes is fulfilled in the one international body of Christ. This means that every believer, from every nation, tribe, and tongue, has a hand in cultivating the land that feeds the city. We are all workers of the city. We are all called to the task of cultivating the life of the Church, of producing the fruit that will nourish the people of God. There are no spectators in the city of God; everyone is a worker, and everyone has a share in the responsibility and the reward.

v. 20 “The whole contribution shall be 25,000 by 25,000 cubits; you shall contribute the holy contribution, a square, with the city’s possession of land.”

This verse serves as a summary of the entire central district. The whole thing, the sanctuary, the priestly lands, the Levitical lands, and the city with its farmlands, forms one massive, perfect square. It is a "holy contribution," a portion set apart for God. This is the central point. At the heart of the restored world is this great square, a massive Holy of Holies, dedicated entirely to God. But this holy portion is not empty; it is teeming with life. It contains the sanctuary, the ministers, and the city of God's people. This is a picture of the Kingdom of God. It is a holy reality, set apart from the world, and yet it is the center of the world, the source of its life and healing. It is the Church, in all her God-designed glory, a holy contribution to the Father.

Application

First, we must see that God is intensely interested in order, design, and symmetry. Our lives, our families, and our churches should not be chaotic messes. We serve a God who measures things down to the cubit. This should encourage us to pursue order and beauty in all that we do, seeing it as a reflection of our Creator's character.

Second, the line between the sacred and the secular is obliterated in Christ. This vision places the "common" city for habitation squarely within the "holy contribution." Your home, your job, your neighborhood, these are not secular zones where Christ has no claim. They are part of the city of God, and they must be ordered according to His perfect measurements. All of life is to be lived as worship.

Finally, we are all workers. The Church is not a cruise ship with a small crew catering to a large group of passengers. It is a battleship, and everyone has a station. We are all called, from every tribe and nation, to cultivate the land, to work for the good of the city, and to find our sustenance in the provision God gives. We must take up our tools and get to work, building this holy city, knowing that its design is divine, its provision is certain, and its destiny is to be the place where God dwells with man, and the name of that city is Yahweh Shammah, The Lord is There.