Ezekiel 45:7–8

We have already looked at how the land is allotted and how the heave offering, which includes the Sanctuary, is arranged. Little more needs to be said here, except to notice that the Lord's portion is especially in view… It is given first place, and the order of the parts within this heave offering emphasises the Lord's pre-eminence. That of the priests and Levites comes first, for what has to do with the Sanctuary is of chief importance.

The Lord will have a representative on earth — the prince. He is not a priest but the earthly chief of Israel. We shall learn from chapters 45 and 46 a little more about the prince. It is enough to say that he is certainly not the Messiah. Although he is completely distinct from a priest, he still needs to offer a sin offering, and he may have sons. No doubt it is a future prince of the house of David.

It seems clear that he holds a representative position. But it is not the position of the high priest, whom Ezekiel never mentions, nor that of the king Israel knew in the past. He is not given the privileges or the power of either. He seems to hold a middle place between the people and the priesthood… He must supply the various offerings at the feasts, the new moons and the sabbaths, at all the solemn gatherings of the house of Israel… Then he is given his own special portion in the land, and he is told not to take any of the people's inheritance. The holy portion and the Sanctuary lie in the middle of the prince's land.

A prince of the house of David is to be appointed as the special representative of the Lord during the Millennium. He will have for his possession the land east and west of the holy portion, an immense stretch of territory. It speaks of the greatness and glory of his position.

Verse 8 shows that moral concerns govern the whole arrangement. The possession given to the Prince is meant to correct past abuses, when those who ruled in Israel took for themselves the possession of others, as in the case of Naboth's vineyard (1 Kings 21). Naboth based his refusal on the Lord's word… God cared that each of His people should keep the inheritance allotted to him. This teaches us the unchangeable character of His giving, for all was decided by lot, which He controlled. It also teaches that He means each person's own portion to be kept distinct.

So Israel has its portion in the possession of the city. The prince has his, and the tribes have theirs, in the land as a whole. The LORD ties the whole system of His people, civil and religious, to His own name. From then on, selfish oppression will be as unknown as corruption in worship. But this is just as clearly the earth and the earthly people. Heavenly things have no place here. Some believers leave no room for such a change on earth to the praise of the LORD's name. What a gap that leaves in their thinking!

So Israel have their portion in the possession of the city. The prince has his, and the tribes have theirs, in the land as a whole. Jehovah binds up the entire system of His people, civil and religious, with His own name. From then on, selfish oppression will be as unknown as corruption in worship. But it is no less clearly the earth and the earthly people. Heavenly things have no place here. What a blank there must be in the thoughts of believers who leave no room for such a change in the earth! And such a change is to the praise of Jehovah's name.

God will have a representative on earth — the prince. He is not a priest but the prince, the earthly chief of Israel. Chapters 45 and 46 tell us a little more about him. It is enough to say that he is certainly not the Messiah. He is clearly distinct from a priest, yet he must offer a sin-offering, and he may have sons. Without doubt he is a future prince of the house of David.

Verse 8 shows how moral considerations govern throughout. The possession given to the Prince is meant to correct past abuses. Those who ruled in Israel took for themselves the possession of others, as in the case of Naboth's vineyard (1 Kings 21). Naboth refused because of the Lord's word. God had made His mind on the transfer of possessions known in Numbers 36:7-9. The inheritance was not to move from tribe to tribe. Each one was to hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. The law also made a way to redeem any possession sold because of poverty (Lev. 25:25-28).

The prophets condemned abuses such as Ahab's (Isa. 5:8). Micah declares, "Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds!… They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance" (Micah 2:1-2). Hosea says, "The princes of Judah have become like those who remove the landmark" (Hosea 5:10). The oppression of the ruling classes had grown worse since the days of Solomon. Ezekiel found the princes of the land "like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain" (Ezek. 22:27)… How good to know that this evil will not darken the day of restoration — "My princes shall no more oppress My people."

The land is not the limited portion the Israelites of old took. It matches far more closely the large promise given to Abraham. The spread of the tribes over this wider area is completely different from the division Joshua and those with him made. What meaning has all this when applied to the Church? Take it literally, as every spiritual Israelite must have taken it, and there is no difficulty at all.

The lesson of this history is plain. Men leave God's order and the ways of truth and righteousness which His Word directs. Then oppression, tyranny and violence come in to establish man's unrighteousness and its evil offspring. This marks the line of Cain at the very beginning. Human history bears sad and solemn witness to what always follows when men reject the revealed knowledge of God — in the individual, the family, the Church or the nation. Creation groans under this burden. It will go on groaning until He comes whose rod of iron will strike and break the oppressor in pieces.