And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon one.
Ezekiel's closing vision hands out the land tribe by tribe, in strips that run from the eastern border to the sea. Verse 24 gives such a strip to Simeon, set next to Benjamin and south of the sanctuary — a full portion for the one tribe Jacob had sentenced to be scattered.
Nothing in Israel's past matches these borders. One commentator presses the point:
reason: Splits very hard sentence; adds the Benjamin anchor of v24 — instead of its old position, south-west of the Sea of Galilee and north of Samaria — follows Simeon. Then comes Zebulun, which used to lie north of Issachar.
Long before Ezekiel wrote, Simeon had faded out of Israel's history:
Simeon's lot was in the far south, with the Philistines on their west and the desert of Paran on their east. When the kingdom divided, they belonged in name to the ten tribes, but they were completely cut off from the other nine. So they would have had either to merge with the two tribes — and of this we read nothing — or, as Jacob had prophesied, be scattered in Israel. They were, in a sense, lost in the land. In the future day that Ezekiel prophesies about, when the twelve tribes will be restored and the land re-divided, the tribe of Simeon has its portion. They are also mentioned in Revelation 7:7, when a remnant of them will be sealed for blessing.
Issachar's place south of Simeon belongs to a pattern that runs outward from the temple in both directions. One writer traces it by family line:
The sons of the true wives are closest to the sanctuary, and those of the maidservants at the farthest ends. Judah and Benjamin, the "Lawgiver" and the "Son of my right hand," take the places closest to the sanctuary, to the north and to the south, because here it is a matter of government, and they represent it. Then, on the one side and on the other, follow Reuben and Simeon, who in this way lose their natural rights.
Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh once settled east of the Jordan, outside the land proper. In this new map every tribe, including Issachar's neighbours, lies west of the river in one unbroken sequence:
First, Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh come over from the east side of Jordan. That removes an element of division which used to exist in the nation, a feature that was not part of God's order at the start. So national unity and solidarity are established — divided interests and natural barriers overcome.
Commentators who read the southern group in order find the meaning of the names instructive. Simeon's name comes first:
We pass easily to Simeon, which means "hearing." This suggests communion — Mary's place at the feet of Jesus, hearing His word.
The tribe named next carries a different idea, and the same writer reads the order of the two as deliberate:
Issachar means "There is reward." […] And this is always God's order: communion (Simeon) leads on to such service. A heart full of the Word must overflow in ministry to others, calling them to the place where the fullness of God is found.
Joshua divided these same tribal lands once. A different hand will do it next time:
As in the days of Joshua, the land was divided by lot. So it will be in the day when a greater than he takes the kingdom. The holy portion set apart for the Lord is a completely new feature of this redistribution of Israel. He comes whose right is the crown, and His first care is the sanctuary of Jehovah.
- Unfulfilled. No period of Israel's history matches this map, so Simeon's portion beside Benjamin is still future.
- Restored. Jacob had sentenced Simeon to be scattered, and the tribe was lost among its neighbours. Here it receives a portion of its own, and Revelation 7:7 shows a remnant of it sealed for blessing.
- Reunited. The tribes that once settled east of the Jordan come back across it, so the nation holds one unbroken block of land with no natural barrier through it.
- Placed. Judah and Benjamin hold the ground nearest the sanctuary; Simeon comes just beyond Benjamin, its natural rights gone but its portion secure.
- Allotted. Joshua divided this land by lot once. A greater than Joshua will divide it again, and His first care will be the sanctuary at its centre.
And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar one.
Ezekiel's closing vision ends with a map. Tribe after tribe receives a belt of land, and Issachar's belt lies next to Simeon's, south of the holy central portion. The names are old, but the arrangement is new. So why does God redraw Israel's map, and what does the new order say?
The whole section follows one plan. Every tribe gets a band of land running east to west. God's own portion cuts across the middle.
The close of the Book of Ezekiel describes a fresh division of the land among the twelve tribes of Israel (Ezek. 47:13 – 48:35). In the millennial kingdom, each tribe's inheritance will be a parallel strip of territory. Each strip runs eastward from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan. The whole land from north to south will be made up of twelve belt-like portions. Near Jerusalem these are divided by Jehovah's own portion, the holy offering set apart for Him. That portion will be for the prince, the priests and the Levites, with the sanctuary in the middle (Ezek. 48:8-22).
A temple stands at the centre of this land. That settles where the vision belongs.
This is not about heaven, or about the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from God. It is about the earth and the land. The temple stands out here just as plainly as it is missing in Revelation 21.
Issachar no longer sits where it once did. Its old home lay far to the north, so this arrangement is still future.
Simeon comes next, and Issachar follows Simeon — instead of its old position, south-west of the sea of Galilee and north of Samaria. Then comes Zebulun, which of old lay north of Issachar. And Gad, instead of its ancient place in the east, now lies the furthest south of all.
Each tribe here gets "one portion". But no lottery decided which one.
The land being 'divided by lot' in a future day really means that the land will be 'allotted', for God Himself has directed where each of the twelve tribes will live.
Issachar's land begins at Simeon's border. Yet Simeon was the tribe that had all but disappeared among the others.
When the kingdom divided, Simeon belonged to the ten tribes in name only. They were cut off from the other nine. So they would have had either to join with the two tribes — and we read nothing of that — or, as Jacob's prophecy said, be 'scattered in Israel.' In a way, they were lost in the land. In the future day Ezekiel speaks of, when the twelve tribes return and the land is divided again, the tribe of Simeon has its portion.
Some writers find a pattern in the order of the list. It turns on what stands at the centre.
Here the temple and the city, the priests, Levi, and the Prince form the centre of the land, and their position decides the order of the tribes... Notice that the sons of the wives are closest to the sanctuary, and the sons of the servant women are at the farthest edges... Issachar and Zebulun, sons of Leah, to the south, match Manasseh and Ephraim, sons of Rachel, to the north.
Other writers draw a lesson from the names themselves. Issachar's name carries a promise.
Issachar means, "There is reward."... From Jacob's prophecy we see that Issachar stands for yoke-bearing, though clearly a slavery that speaks of indulging the flesh and the empty reward of sin's pleasure for a season. Here, however, we are to think instead of rescue by grace from that slavery... And this is always God's order: communion (Simeon) should lead to such service.
- Measured — Every tribe, Issachar included, gets one belt of real land from sea to river. God's holy portion and sanctuary sit at the centre.
- Assigned — The "lot" is God's own decision. He fixes where every tribe will live, so no border here is an accident.
- Rewritten — Issachar's old ground lay in the north. Its new place south of Simeon shows that no past division of the land matches this one.
- Restored — Simeon was once scattered and lost among the other tribes. Now he has a border of his own for Issachar to measure from.
- Rewarded — Read as a lesson, the pair puts communion (Simeon) first. Service follows, and with it the reward that Issachar's name means.
And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun one.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad one.
Ezekiel's closing vision draws a fresh map of the land. Verse 27 puts Gad at the very bottom of it, the last tribe in a list of strips running from east to west. Why does Gad, who once lived east of the river, now stand furthest south inside the land?
Gad's portion is one strip, the last piece of a plan that covers the whole land.
Ezekiel 48 describes how the land of Israel will be shared out among the tribes. It will be divided into rectangular areas, or strips, starting with Dan in the north and ending with Gad in the south. Towards the centre there will be an area for the Levites and the princes, with seven tribes to the north of it and five to the south. At the centre of that area will stand the millennial temple.
This tribal order has never existed in Israel. One writer compares it with the past:
It must be clear to every fair-minded person that the way the tribes were placed in the land, from Joshua to the ruin of the kingdom, is completely different from what this passage predicts. And nothing matching the prophecy can be pointed to since then. So Dan is in the extreme north, not Naphtali, as of old... Then comes Zebulun, which long ago lay north of Issachar. And Gad, instead of its old place in the east, now lies furthest south of all.
Gad's history explains why the move is so striking. The tribe had held rich grazing land across the Jordan, and lost it early.
Gad had a large district. It stretched from a little above the north corner of the Dead Sea to near the south corner of the Sea of Galilee. At that time it was a very fertile plain, suited to their flocks and herds, and it included the highlands of Gilead. The king of Assyria carried away the tribes east of the Jordan first, about 740 B.C., and the Ammonites took over the territory of Gad... Twelve thousand of this tribe will in a future day be sealed for blessing. Revelation 7:5. Their allotment will be in the extreme south in the restoration of Israel. Ezekiel 48:27.
Gad's old land east of the Jordan does not appear on this map at all.
The land of Gilead and Bashan lies east of the Jordan. The Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh first occupied it (Joshua 22), but Jehovah does not include it. These tribes made a mistake at the start in settling too soon outside the Holy Land. Their mistake will be put right when the millennial kingdom is set up.
The move does more than change Gad's address. It closes a split in the nation.
First, Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh are brought over from the east side of Jordan. This removes an element of division that used to exist in the nation, a feature that was not originally part of God's order. So national unity and solidarity are established — divided interests and natural barriers overcome.
Gad's name means increase, and that increase has a source.
So we reach Gad, the place of increase, for that thought is associated with the meaning of his name. Our truest and fullest enlargement must be found in being with God, who did not spare His own Son so that with Him we might receive all things. It is of His fulness that we receive, and grace upon grace.
- Still future. No period of Israel's history matches this map. The order belongs to the millennial kingdom.
- Moved. The tribe that once lived east of the Jordan now lies furthest south, and twelve thousand of Gad will be sealed for blessing (Revelation 7:5).
- Corrected. Gad settled outside the promised territory too soon; God brings the tribe inside.
- United. Bringing Gad, Reuben and half of Manasseh across the river removes the split that once ran through the nation.
- Increased. Gad means increase. Real increase comes from being with God, not from the best pasture.
And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be from Tamar [to] the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, by the torrent, unto the great sea.
Ezekiel 48 ends the prophet's vision by naming, tribe by tribe, the land Israel will hold when the kingdom comes. Verse 28 draws the last line — Gad's southern edge — and it runs past a place where Israel once quarrelled with God.
No period of Israel's history matches this map. Gad is one of the clearest proofs.
Any fair-minded person must see it. The way the tribes were placed in the land, from Joshua to the ruin of the kingdom, was nothing like what this prophecy predicts, and nothing since can be claimed to match it. So Dan is in the extreme north, not Naphtali as of old... Manasseh, instead of being divided by the Jordan, is just like the other tribes, and Reuben is no longer east of the Jordan... And Gad, instead of its ancient place in the east, is the most southern of all.
Gad, Reuben and half of Manasseh had lived east of the Jordan. In this vision all three are inside the land.
First, bringing Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh over from the east side of Jordan removes something that used to divide the nation — a feature that was never part of God's original order. So national unity and solidarity follow: divided interests and natural barriers overcome.
The border landmark in this verse carries a name from Israel's wilderness years. It is the spot where the people quarrelled and Moses struck the rock.
At the end of the thirty-eight years of wandering they returned to Kadesh, and Miriam died and was buried there. It was here also that Moses struck the rock when the people complained for lack of water. Scripture calls the water he got both the "water of Meribah," or "strife," and the "waters of strife in Kadesh" (Ezekiel 47:19; Ezekiel 48:28). It was in the wilderness of Paran, in the far south of the land. Joshua struck its people from there, and it became the border of Judah's possession.
Moses and Aaron failed at that rock. God did not.
Moses and Aaron did not treat Him as holy. They gave up grace in order to defend their own injured authority. Jehovah was sanctified; but it was in maintaining His own word, His own grace, despite the failure of Moses and Aaron.
These chapters say the land is divided by lot. The result is not left to chance.
The land being "divided by lot" in a future day means instead that the land will be "allotted." God has Himself directed where each of the twelve tribes will live.
There is more to the last name on the list than a spot on the map.
And so we end this series with Gad, "a gatherer." It is a glorious fifth, in which God supplies the need of the creature out of the inexhaustible treasuries of His glory!
This map belongs to real ground, and to a time still ahead.
Notice that, as in the days of Joshua the land was divided by lot, so it will be in the day when a greater than he takes the kingdom... This is no question of heaven or the heavenly city, new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from God. The question is the earth and the land. The temple stands out here as clearly as it is absent from Revelation 21.
- Border redrawn. Gad once held ground east of the Jordan. In this vision Gad is the most southern tribe of all, and no past map fits.
- Border gathers. Bringing the eastern tribes inside the land ends a division God never designed.
- Border remembers. The line runs past the waters of strife at Kadesh. There Israel quarrelled, and God still kept His word and His grace.
- Border assigned. Though called a lot, the placing is God's own decision about where each tribe will live.
- Border overflows. The list ends with Gad, "a gatherer." The creature's need is met out of the treasuries of divine glory — and all on real earth, under the reign of one greater than Joshua.
This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord Jehovah.
This last verse seals all the measuring that came before it. The land is an inheritance, and God assigns it tribe by tribe on His own authority — so who decides which tribe gets what, and has this division ever happened?
The ESV says "allot." Older translations say the land is divided "by lot." That could sound like a draw nobody controls.
The land being 'divided by lot' in a future day really means that the land will be 'allotted.' God Himself has directed where each of the twelve tribes will be placed.
If this chapter described Israel's past, verse 29 would be a record. The list of tribes shows it is not.
Any fair-minded person must see it. The way the tribes were spread through the land, from Joshua down to the fall of the kingdom, differs completely from what this chapter foretells. And no one can point to anything since that matches the prophecy. So Dan is in the far north, not Naphtali, as it used to be; next Asher, and only then Naphtali... And Gad, instead of its old place in the east, is the most southern of all.
The size of the land points the same way.
Ezekiel gives the limits of the land occupied, and how it is divided among the various tribes. This land is not the small portion the Israelites of old took for themselves. It matches far more closely the large promise given to Abraham... Take it literally, as every spiritual Israelite must have taken it, and it raises no difficulty at all.
"These are their portions" points back to the layout set out in the earlier verses.
In the millennial kingdom, the tribal inheritances will lie in parallel strips of land running east from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan. From north to south, the whole land will consist of twelve belt-like portions. Near Jerusalem these are divided by Jehovah's portion... with the sanctuary in the middle. In dividing the land among the tribes, Jehovah said, "Joseph shall have two portions," that is, one for Manasseh and one for Ephraim. Levi is not counted with the twelve, but has his share in the sacred offering, the land devoted to Jehovah's service. The land of Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan, first occupied by the Reubenites, the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh, Jehovah does not include. These tribes made a mistake at the start in seeking an early settlement outside the Holy Land. Their error will be put right when the millennial kingdom is established.
The order of the tribes on this map is not random.
Here the temple and the city, the priests, Levi, and the Prince form the center of the land. Their position determines the order of the tribes... Notice that the sons of the lawful wives are closest to the sanctuary, and the sons of the servant-women at the furthest edges. Judah and Benjamin, the "Lawgiver" and the "Son of my right hand," hold the places nearest the sanctuary, to the north and to the south. Here it is a matter of government, and they represent it.
Israel once held the land and lost it. A fresh allotment says something about how God gives.
God takes care that each of His people keeps the inheritance allotted to him. This teaches us that His giving never changes, for He controlled every lot that decided it. It also teaches that He means to preserve each person's own place in the inheritance... Israel lost her inheritance, and the land went back to Him who had given it and who claims it as His. But God will bring Israel back, and He will divide the land by lot again according to this vision of Ezekiel.
Verse 29 speaks of soil, borders and tribes, not heaven.
As in the days of Joshua the land was divided by lot, so it will be in the day when a greater than he takes the kingdom... This is not a question of heaven, or of the heavenly city, new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from God. It is a question of the earth and the land. The temple is as marked here as it is emphatically absent in Revelation 21.
- Promise. The borders here go far beyond anything Israel ever held. They match the large promise given to Abraham.
- Allotment. "By lot" does not mean chance. God Himself has already decided where every tribe will sit. The lot only announces His choice.
- Arrangement. The portions run as parallel strips, east to west. Joseph is counted twice, as Manasseh and Ephraim. Levi's share lies in the land set apart for God's service.
- Centre. Nearness to the sanctuary sets the order, not a tribe's age. Judah and Benjamin stand closest. The sons of the servant-women lie furthest out.
- Permanence. Israel lost this land once. The new allotment is God's unchangeable giving, handed back to a restored people to keep.
And these are the goings out of the city. On the north side, four thousand and five hundred [cubits] by measure.
Ezekiel's long vision of the restored land ends with the city itself. The closing section measures the city side by side and names its gates after Israel's tribes. Verse 30 opens that final section. Everything in it moves toward the name given to the city in the last line.
The verse begins a short, self-contained unit. One outline of the chapter marks the break:
(48:23-29) The tribes south of the sacred portion set apart for the LORD. (30-35) The gates of the city. (35) The name of the city.
The same figure of 4,500 covers each of the other three sides, so the city forms a square. One writer works out what that means on the ground:
The city itself is to fill a square of 4,500 cubits each way, with a border of 250 cubits all round, and large suburbs east and west. The 4,500 cubits equal about 1.8 miles, and give about three and a quarter square miles. That is very much larger than the present Old City. The new city will have twelve gates, three on each of its sides.
The description sounds like the city in Revelation 21, so readers often treat the two as one. Commentators keep them apart. They point to who serves in this city, and to a feature that one has and the other does not:
Prince, priests, and Levites will be there, each in his proper place in relation to the city and the sanctuary. For this is not about heaven or the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from God. It is about the earth and the land. The temple stands out here just as strongly as it is absent in Revelation 21. So there are not, and could not be, priests or Levites, feasts or sacrifices in the heavenly city of Revelation, any more than there are in Christianity now.
The gates are named, not numbered. The names say something about the people who will use them:
We are now told about the gates of the city. They are named after the twelve tribes. It is a city in which all have their part and special interest. All the old jealousies, all the fighting over position, are over. Unity and harmony prevail, with each one in his appointed place.
The twelve names on the gates do not match the twelve land portions earlier in the chapter. Two tribes share one name, and a tribe with no land of its own gets a gate:
We may note that Manasseh and Ephraim have their gate in Joseph. This permits Levi to have a gate bearing his name. Here, too, the grouping of the tribal names differs from the order they follow in the land. The main lesson here seems to be connected with the side on which they occur — north, east, south, or west. In placing the names, it seems clear that we begin at the west corner of the north side and move eastward, going right around the entire city.
The likeness to the heavenly Jerusalem is real and worth tracing. But keep one difference in view:
In Ezekiel the city is also four-sided, with twelve gates, three on each side, named after the twelve tribes of Israel (Ezek. 48:30-35). In both cases there is complete order and symmetry. In both cases there is a connection between the city and Israel. But in Ezekiel's city the connection is earthly. In the city in Revelation it is heavenly, for twelve angels stand at the gates.
The gates and their measurements are not the climax. They lead to the name given in verse 35:
This then is the last and chief glory — the presence of Jehovah in the city of His choice. Israel will boast in this above all their privileges, and rightly so, for it completes and crowns everything else. What a bright end to their long wanderings and their many sorrows!
- Measured. Verse 30 starts the closing unit of the prophecy: the exits, then the gates, then the name. Each side runs 4,500 cubits — a square of about three and a quarter square miles.
- Named. The gates carry tribal names, not numbers. The list also differs from the land list. Ephraim and Manasseh share Joseph's gate, so Levi, who held no territory, has one of his own.
- Shared. Twelve gates mean every tribe has a way in. Old rivalries end. Each one stands in his appointed place.
- Mirrored. Revelation's city is also square, with three gates a side bearing Israel's names. The order and symmetry match. But the connection there is heavenly and here it is earthly, and this city has a temple that Revelation's city lacks.
- Indwelt. The gates lead up to the real climax in verse 35. The city's glory is not its size but its Occupant. Its name will be "The LORD Is There," and that presence is the crown of all Israel's privileges.
And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel three gates northward the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one.
Ezekiel's long vision closes with a look at the city itself. Three of its twelve gates stand on the north side, named for Reuben, Judah and Levi. Two questions follow: why the gates carry tribal names at all, and why Levi has a gate here, when the land list runs differently.
The names on the gates settle who belongs in this city:
Now we are told about the gates of the city. They carry the names of the twelve tribes. It is a city in which all have their part and their own special interest. All the old jealousies, all the fighting for place, are over. Unity and peace rule, and each one stands in his appointed place.
The gate list counts the twelve differently from the land list:
Note that Manasseh and Ephraim have their gate in Joseph. This lets Levi have a gate bearing his name. Here too the tribal names are grouped in a different way from the order they follow in the land. The main lesson here seems to lie in the side on which each name occurs — north, east, south, or west. In placing the names it seems clear that we begin at the west corner of the north side and move eastward, so going right around the city.
The side comes first, and the north carries a meaning of its own:
The north (tsaphon) means "what is hidden." It is called that because, for people living in the northern half of the world, the sun travels through the southern sky, so the north side of anything is the dark side. Naturally the north itself would be thought of as the seat of darkness, the home of gloom and mystery... From the north come the most frequent attacks on the land, and from it will come the final attack (Ezek. 38, 39)... So the north tells of mystery, the power of evil, and the judgment of God. It tells of His ways in providence too, which so often search the heart and leave man baffled for all his wisdom. As we have also seen, it is the place where the sacrifice was killed. That speaks of the cross, with all its horror of great darkness. Yet through the cross we come, after all, into the knowledge of the wisdom and power of God.
Against that dark side stand these three names, and each one carries its own meaning:
On this side we get Reuben, the excellence of sonship, and with it the blessed unfolding of God's purposes. We get Judah too, for all of this is to the praise of His glory — yes, the glory of His grace — making His people a people who always give thanks and praise. They have a song of triumph to sing in the face of the north, for God is for us, and who can separate us from His love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? Then we have Levi, which means "joined." For ever it is Christ and those who are His: His companions, co-heirs, always together with Him who is the Firstborn among many brothers.
Is this the heavenly Jerusalem of Revelation? One detail settles it — the temple:
This is not a question of heaven, or of the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from God. It is a question of the earth and the land. The temple stands out here just as plainly as it is missing in Revelation 21. So there are not, and could not be, priests or Levites, feasts or sacrifices, in the heavenly city of Revelation, any more than there are in Christianity now.
Commentators still set the two cities side by side:
In his last vision of the future (chapter 48), Ezekiel shows us what matches this more closely, though he is speaking of the earthly city restored, not the heavenly one. There each gate is given to one particular tribe. Here Israel seem to stand for themselves... and we are reminded that on earth they are in the closest connection with the heavenly city.
Twelve keeps repeating in both cities, and the number carries its own sense:
Twelve, the number of administration, runs right through this description... The Jerusalem of the coming thousand-year kingdom on earth has its twelve gates (Ezek. 48:31-34). Twelve stands for the perfection of government on or towards the earth.
- Named — Every gate carries a tribal name. No tribe is a guest here. All have their part, and the old jealousies and fights over place are over.
- Counted — Manasseh and Ephraim share one gate under Joseph. That frees a gate for Levi, so the twelve stay twelve.
- Placed — The lesson lies in the side, not only in the name. These three stand on the north — the side of darkness, attack and judgment.
- Meant — The three names answer that darkness. Reuben speaks of sonship, Judah of praise, and Levi means joined: Christ and His own together for ever.
- Earthly — This is the restored city on earth, with its temple and its tribes. The heavenly Jerusalem of Revelation 21 has no temple at all.
And at the east side four thousand and five hundred, and three gates the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And at the south side four thousand and five hundred [cubits] by measure, and three gates the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one.
Ezekiel's long vision closes by turning from the division of the land to the gates of the future city. This verse names the three gates on the south side: Simeon, Issachar and Zebulun. Why should a city's gates carry tribal names at all, and does the choice of side carry meaning?
The twelve names spread over four walls say something about the people who will live in the city.
We are now told about the gates of the city. They are named after the twelve tribes. It is a city in which all have their part and special interest. All ancient jealousies, all strife for place, are over; unity and concord prevail with each one in his ordered place.
The gate list is not the land list repeated. It makes two changes worth noticing.
We may note that Manasseh and Ephraim have their gate in Joseph. This permits Levi to have a gate bearing his name. Here too, the tribal names are grouped differently from the order they follow in the land. The main lesson here seems to be connected with the side on which each name occurs — north, east, south, or west.
So the south deserves its own look. The Hebrew word for south, and the three names placed there, together trace a path of experience.
We have spoken of the south as a picture of relaxing influences — of the way of the world and the pleasures of sin. By these men try to escape from dependence on God and from His testing hand. But this only brings spiritual drought. The soul goes dry and barrenness follows. In keeping with this, the word for south is negeb, which means "to be parched." The name fits the south because of its dryness. Here we may well think of God's discipline over His people. By it they come to know Him better, share in His holiness, and serve Him in righteousness… So here we first have Simeon, "hearing"… Submission leads into communion, which Simeon speaks of. That leads on to the obedient, willing service that brings reward (Issachar). Then we find the green pastures and still waters where our Shepherd leads by rod and staff, and where we rest with Him (Zebulun).
The third name carries more than the idea of living nearby.
The Lord promises rest for the souls of those who take His yoke and learn from Him. So we pass into Zebulun, "dwelling with" — and dwelling in intimacy, as Leah's words suggest when she gave this name. Is this not John 14? "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word (this indeed is what the communion of Simeon and the service of Issachar involve), and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."
These three names are not new to the south. The same tribes hold land there, and that arrangement leaves the sanctuary at the centre.
Seven of the tribes of Israel … have their share on the north of the holy portion; and five tribes on the south — Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad. So the sanctuary is in the very centre of Immanuel's land.
The gates are only the approach. What crowns the city is who lives inside it.
This then is the last and chief glory — the presence of Jehovah in the city of His choice. Israel will boast in this above all their privileges, and rightly so, for it completes and crowns everything else. What a bright end to their long wanderings and their many sorrows!
- Named — Every tribe has a gate, so every tribe has a part. The old rivalries and struggles for position are over, and each one has his ordered place.
- Placed — The gate order is not the land order. The change points to the side each name stands on, not to the sequence.
- Parched — The word for south, negeb, means "to be parched." Its dryness turns the thought to God's discipline, by which His people come to know Him better and share His holiness.
- Progression — Simeon is "hearing," Issachar is service that brings reward, Zebulun is "dwelling with." Submission leads to communion, communion to service, and service to rest with the Shepherd.
- Presence — All twelve gates open into one city. Its crowning glory is that the Lord Himself is there — the bright end of Israel's long wandering and sorrow.
At the west side four thousand and five hundred, [and] their three gates the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one.
The west wall completes the circle: three gates here, twelve in all, each carrying a tribal name. Gad, Asher and Naphtali stand on the side facing the sea. With them, the picture of the future city is complete.
The naming is not decoration. It settles who the city belongs to.
We are now told about the gates of the city. They are named after the twelve tribes. It is a city in which all have their part and special interest. All the old jealousies, all the struggle for place, are over. Unity and harmony rule, with each one in his appointed place.
That covers the three gates named here. Not one of the twelve stands as lesser than the rest.
Walter Scott reads the layout as a statement about rule. He sets the earthly city beside the heavenly one.
The number twelve, the number of administration, runs all through this description. So there are twelve gates, twelve angels, twelve names of Israel, twelve names of the apostles, twelve foundations, twelve pearls. The measurements of the wall and the city are multiples of twelve. The millennial Jerusalem on earth has its twelve gates (Ezek. 48:31-34). Twelve signifies the perfection of government on or towards the earth.
In Hebrew, "west" means "toward the sea." One commentator builds the whole meaning of this side on that.
"West" in Hebrew means "toward the sea." In Scripture, as in nature, the sea is above all the picture of trouble and unrest — that is what the word itself means in the original… The west wind is the sea wind, and it is not like the east wind, the wind of the desert. It does not come to wither. It comes loaded with moisture that revives and refreshes the earth. This is heaven's answer to the cry of man's misery, even though that misery is in a sense tied to his sin… It is out of this very thing that we gather our increase (Gad, "a gatherer"), find our real happiness (Asher, "happy"), and overcome in our wrestling, winning victory over all the subtle pull of this world's things.
One writer traces these three names as stages in what God does for Israel at the end.
Gad, Asher and Naphtali show the results of God's salvation in the end time. Enemy troops still threaten Gad (= band), but in the end he wins and drives the enemy out of the land (Micah 5:1-9). Asher (= happy) enjoys an abundance of food and shares it with others. Naphtali (= wrestling) rejoices in the freedom of the victor and sings the song of salvation.
Each of the four sides is given the identical figure, and the repetition is deliberate.
Perhaps we should not pass by the measurement repeated for each side — 4,500… It shows us the character of the city of the Millennium, and the government of the kingdom. This agrees with the general testimony of Scripture. The same thoughts appear in the final measurement, "It shall be 18,000 round about."
No side outranks another. The west wall matches the north, east and south.
William Kelly rules out one common reading: this vision is not heaven. The temple in it settles the question.
This is no question of heaven, or of the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from God. It is a question of the earth and the land. The temple stands out here as clearly as it is missing from Revelation 21… Ezekiel's vision has essential traits that cannot be erased. Only one kind of reader can make sense of them: the one who believes the prophets. He looks for the age to come before eternity, and for prophecy to be fulfilled in the blessing of Israel and the Gentiles under the reign of the Lord Jesus.
Scott also notes that the compass order changes from passage to passage. Here the north is named first, and the west comes last.
The east is named first when the tribes are listed around the tabernacle. In Ezekiel 48, in the millennial arrangement of the tribes, the north is mentioned first. The order in which the seed of Israel is restored is east, west, north, and south (Isa. 43:5-6). The list in Revelation does not agree with any of these. There are no doubt divine reasons for these variations of the geographical locations in the different passages.
- Gate — Twelve gates, three to a side, each with a tribal name. The whole nation owns the city, and "all the old jealousies, all the struggle for place, are over."
- Grace — The west side answers man's misery: not a withering wind, but rain that revives the earth.
- Gathering — The west faces the sea, the picture of unrest; from that very trouble comes increase (Gad, "a gatherer").
- Gladness — Then Asher, "happy": abundance enjoyed and shared with others.
- Glory — Then Naphtali, "wrestling": victory, and the song of salvation. A real city, on a real earth, under the reign of the Lord Jesus.
Round about it was eighteen thousand [cubits]; and the name of the city from that day, Jehovah is there.
Ezekiel's long book of visions ends by measuring a city and then naming it. The name is Jehovah-Shammah in Hebrew: The LORD Is There. Which city is meant, and when will it carry that name?
The closing chapters measure out the land, the tribes, the temple and the gates. This final clause names something greater than all of them.
This, then, is the last and greatest glory: the presence of the Lord in the city of His choice. Israel will boast in this above all their privileges, and rightly, for it completes and crowns them all. What a bright end to their long wandering and their many sorrows!
The force of the name comes from where the book started. Ezekiel watched the glory of God leave the temple and the city. The closing name tells us what happens when that glory comes back.
It is a fitting finale to this great book. In its beginning, we see the glory of the Lord departing. All through the book we read of Israel's rebellion, the judgments on Jerusalem, the nation's disobedience and rejection. Then come the messages of hope: Israel's conversion, the regathering of the twelve tribes, the final conflict, the returning glory of the Lord. From that day the name of the city will be Jehovah Shammah... He once walked through that city with weary feet, the Son of God dressed as a servant. He was dragged through it with the cross on His shoulders. That city cast Him out, and outside it He endured the cross and despised the shame. That same city will become in that day the glory spot of the earth.
These chapters describe a city of great splendour. The name given to it points elsewhere.
One might have expected the chosen mark to be the surpassing glory that will make everything in the millennial state radiant with the praise of the Lord. But no. It is the Lord's presence that will be the most prominent feature of that day of bliss to come.
Which city is this? Writers separate it from the heavenly Jerusalem of Revelation, and the temple is the clue.
In the new Jerusalem there is no temple. In the earthly city it is prominent — and that city has its own dignity, for its name from that day shall be Jehovah-Shammah, "the Lord is there." He who is there will certainly live up to that glorious name. He will prove that it is no small blessing for a people to have the Lord for their God. Still it is earthly, not heavenly... Never has either land or people, priesthood or sanctuary, answered to the prophet's description. Faith, therefore, is sure that every word must yet come true.
Just before this verse, Ezekiel names the twelve gates of the city.
They are named after the twelve tribes. It is a city in which all have their part and special interest. All ancient jealousies, all strife for place, are over; unity and concord prevail with each one in his ordered place.
Jerusalem's history has been one long struggle. What will finally end it?
What man cannot do by his planning, his parliaments or his armies, our Lord will do in a moment when He takes up the reins of government. Peace is coming to Jerusalem, which has been the scene of the conflict of ages. Once the Prince of peace is present how restful everything will be.
Believers do not have to wait for all of this.
In that day to come this will be known in a national — indeed, a universal — way. In this era, the Spirit's day, it is known in a narrower way. The Lord's people have now the special privilege of anticipating the universal condition of the "world to come." "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them" (Matt. 18:20).
- Departed. Ezekiel opens with God's glory leaving the temple and the city. That loss is what makes the closing name so weighty.
- Returned. The name marks the glory's return — the same city that cast out the Son of God becomes the honoured spot of the earth.
- Presence. Out of all the splendour described, God names the city after Himself being there, not after its beauty.
- Earthly. This is Jerusalem on earth, with a temple at its centre. The heavenly city of Revelation has no temple. Nothing in history has yet matched what Ezekiel describes.
- Now. The presence that will one day fill a city is already the privilege of those gathered in His name.