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.