The Geometry of Grace: Your Allotted Inheritance Text: Ezekiel 48:23-29
Introduction: God's Real Estate
We live in an age that is allergic to lines on a map. We are told that boundaries are a form of bigotry, that distinctions are discriminatory, and that definitions are oppressive. Our entire culture is in a mad dash to erase every line God ever drew, whether it is the line between man and woman, good and evil, or the sacred and the profane. The world wants a blurry, smudged, gray reality where nothing is fixed and everything is negotiable. Into this chaotic finger painting, the Word of God comes with the sharp, clean lines of an architect's blueprint.
The final chapters of Ezekiel are a detailed, meticulous, and glorious layout of God's new world. To the modern reader, and particularly to the dispensationalist with his charts and diagrams of a future Jewish state, this can seem like a tedious exercise in ancient surveying. But that is to fundamentally misread the genre. This is not a literal real estate prospectus for a future millennium. This is a typological vision of the Christian church, the new Israel of God, and its inheritance of the entire world. Ezekiel's temple is the Church. The river flowing from it is the Holy Spirit, healing the nations. And this meticulous allotment of land is a picture of the glorious, ordered, and certain inheritance that belongs to all who are in Christ Jesus.
God is not being fussy here. He is being faithful. He is showing his exiled people, and us, that His promises are not vague, ethereal hopes. They are concrete, measured, and guaranteed. Every tribe has its portion. Every border is defined. Every inheritance is secure. This is a prophecy about the certainty and the structure of the Kingdom of God. It is a declaration that our God is a God of order, not of chaos, and that the inheritance He gives is not a flimsy wish, but a surveyed and deeded reality. He is teaching us the geometry of grace.
The Text
"Now as for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion. And beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion. And beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion. And beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion. And beside the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion. And beside the border of Gad, at the south side toward the south, the border shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the Great Sea. This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for an inheritance, and these are their several portions,” declares Lord Yahweh."
(Ezekiel 48:23-29 LSB)
The Unbroken Inheritance (vv. 23-27)
We pick up the surveyor's chain as it moves south from the holy district, allotting land to the remaining tribes.
"Now as for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion. And beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion. And beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion. And beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion. And beside the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion." (Ezekiel 48:23-27)
Notice the relentless, rhythmic repetition. "From the east side to the west side... one portion." This is not sloppy writing; it is covenantal certainty. Each tribe gets its strip of land. No one is left out. The portions are laid out side-by-side, contiguously. This is a picture of the unity and completeness of the people of God. In the original conquest under Joshua, the tribal allotments were scattered and irregular. Simeon's portion was inside Judah's. Dan had to relocate. But here, in this perfected vision, there is a divine and beautiful order. All the portions run neatly from the eastern desert to the "Great Sea," the Mediterranean. This signifies the scope of our inheritance in Christ, which is global. The gospel goes to all nations, from east to west.
Let's consider the tribes themselves. Benjamin, the "son of my right hand," is placed right next to the holy portion, bordering Judah to the north. This is fitting, as Benjamin was loyal to the Davidic house and Jerusalem was on its border. It speaks of a place of honor and proximity to the presence of God.
Then we have Simeon and Issachar and Zebulun. These were sons of Leah. In the original arrangement, their inheritance was in the north. Here they are brought into this new, southern configuration. Then comes Gad, another son of a handmaid, who originally settled east of the Jordan. In this vision, all the old geographical divisions and historical accidents are smoothed over. All tribes, regardless of their maternal ancestry or their previous location, are brought into this unified, ordered inheritance. This is a picture of the gospel's power to break down all dividing walls of hostility. In Christ, there is no Jew or Greek, no slave or free, no male and female, and we could add, no son of Rachel or son of Leah. All are one, and all receive a full portion.
This is a direct refutation of any theology that sees God's people as a fragmented or defeated remnant. The vision is one of completeness. Every tribe is named, every portion is allotted. God does not lose any of His own. The inheritance is not partial; it is total. This is a postmillennial vision. It is a picture of the successful evangelization of the world, where the kingdom of God is a visible, ordered, and comprehensive reality in history, before the final consummation.
The Southern Border of the Kingdom (v. 28)
Verse 28 gives us the southern boundary of this entire inheritance, and it is packed with theological significance.
"And beside the border of Gad, at the south side toward the south, the border shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the Great Sea." (Ezekiel 48:28 LSB)
This is not just a line on a map; it is a line drawn through redemptive history. Each of these places echoes with Israel's past failures and God's covenant faithfulness. Let's trace the line. It begins at Tamar, a place associated with the sordid account of Judah's sin with his daughter-in-law. It moves to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, which means "strife at the holy place." This is where Moses, in a moment of angry disobedience, struck the rock and was barred from entering the promised land. It is a place of rebellion and judgment. From there, the border runs to the "brook of Egypt," which was the traditional southern boundary separating the promised land from the land of bondage. Finally, it terminates in the "Great Sea," the Mediterranean, which represented to the Hebrews the chaotic, untamable Gentile world.
What is God doing by drawing the southern border of His perfected kingdom right through these places of sin, rebellion, judgment, and bondage? He is declaring that the kingdom of Christ encompasses and redeems all of it. The inheritance of the saints is established right on the ground of our greatest failures. The line of grace is drawn through Tamar, the place of sexual sin. It is drawn through Meribath-kadesh, the place of leadership failure and rebellion. It runs along the border of Egypt, declaring a final and permanent separation from the house of slavery. And it extends to the Great Sea, signifying that the gospel will conquer the chaos of the Gentile nations.
This is a map of grace. God is not erasing the past. He is redeeming it. He is showing that the boundaries of His kingdom are not limited by our sin but are in fact defined by His victory over our sin. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. The very places that marked Israel's shame are now incorporated as the boundary markers of her glorious inheritance.
The Divine Guarantee (v. 29)
The passage concludes with the ultimate seal of approval, the divine declaration that makes it all certain.
"This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for an inheritance, and these are their several portions,” declares Lord Yahweh." (Ezekiel 48:29 LSB)
The division is "by lot." This does not mean it is by chance. In the Scriptures, the casting of lots was a means of discerning the Lord's sovereign will (Proverbs 16:33). It signifies that this inheritance is not earned by human merit or seized by human strength. It is a gift, divinely apportioned according to God's good pleasure. We do not choose our inheritance; we receive it. Our place in the kingdom is assigned to us by the sovereign grace of God.
And then comes the bedrock foundation for our assurance: "declares Lord Yahweh." This is the signature of the covenant-keeping God on the deed to our inheritance. This whole vision, this whole promise, rests not on the worthiness of the tribes, but on the Word of the Almighty. He is the one who drew the lines. He is the one who assigned the portions. And He is the one who guarantees the title.
This is why we must reject all eschatologies of doubt and retreat. The God who speaks here is not hoping this will happen. He is declaring what shall be. He is not sketching a possibility; He is revealing a certainty. The land is promised, the portions are defined, and the declaration is made by God Himself. Our task is not to question the map, but to go up and possess the land in the name of the one who gave it to us.
Conclusion: Finding Your Portion
So what does this ancient survey map have to do with us? Everything. This is a picture of your inheritance in Christ. You are part of a tribe, the holy nation, the people of God. And you have been given a portion. It is an inheritance that is, as Peter says, "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:4). But it is not just "pie in the sky when you die." It is a present reality.
Your portion, your lot, is the specific place of service and dominion God has assigned to you right now. It is your family, your church, your vocation, your neighborhood. God has drawn the lines of your life. He has given you a portion, a plot of ground to cultivate for His glory. Your task is to be faithful within that portion, to work it, to build on it, to bring it under the joyful dominion of Christ.
And we do this work with the absolute confidence that our southern border is secure. The line of grace has been drawn through all our failures, all our Meribahs, all our Tamars. Our past sins are not a disqualification from our inheritance; they are the very territory that Christ has conquered and redeemed. He has separated us from the Egypt of our bondage, and He is pushing back the Great Sea of chaos in our world and in our hearts.
The Lord Yahweh has declared it. He has surveyed the land, He has assigned the portions, and He has given His word. The geometry of grace is perfect. Therefore, let us stop looking over the fence at someone else's portion with envy. Let us stop doubting whether we have a place in this kingdom. Let us, by faith, pick up our tools and get to work. Your portion is secure. Your inheritance is guaranteed. Go, and possess the land.