EZEKIEL’S LAST *VISION EZEKIEL CHAPTER S 40 TO 48 _COMMENTARY: KEITH SIMONS; TRANSLATION: IAN MACKERVOY._ CHAPTER 45 THE *LORD’S PART OF THE COUNTRY – EZEKIEL 45:1-8 V1 ‘You will divide the country between the *tribes of *Israel. You must also give to the *LORD a part of the country for a *ho... [ Continue Reading ]
God’s plan for the *temple was part of a much larger plan. In the end, this *vision will include the whole country called *Israel. But here, God describes the district round the *temple. The main principle in this chapter is that everything belongs to God. And God’s people show this when they give... [ Continue Reading ]
The ideal *temple was in the middle of the square area. And the square area was in the middle of *Israel. This position showed its importance. God wants to be central (most important) in the lives of his people. Round the section that contained the *temple, there was an open area. This separated th... [ Continue Reading ]
Round the open area were the houses for the priests. Their duties brought them closer to God than anyone else. So their houses should be closer to the *temple than anyone else. The purpose of their lives was to serve God. The position of their homes meant that they were always ready to serve God. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
The *Levites also had homes near the *temple. But they were not as near as the priests. Some *Levites had offended God in the past. So now they had to be humble. They acted as servants in the *temple. They could not live in the homes that were closest to the *temple. But there was still a place for... [ Continue Reading ]
In fact, any *Israelite who so desired could live close to the *temple. Nobody appointed them to live in those homes. But if they wanted to *worship regularly, they could live there. And if they loved God, they could live there. God always wants people to love him more.... [ Continue Reading ]
The prince (ruler of *Israel) had the land next to the *holy area. Rulers have special duties. And one of those duties is to lead the people to serve God in the right manner. So the prince’s land had to be close to the *temple. Like King David, the prince must love God. On the east and west, the pr... [ Continue Reading ]
The prince could not own any other property. In the past, evil kings stole other people’s property (1 Kings 21:16). But this could not happen in Ezekiel’s *vision. Each *tribe had its own share of the land. And the prince’s land was separate. RULERS MUST BE HONEST – EZEKIEL 45:9-12 V9 ‘The *LORD... [ Continue Reading ]
God explains the lesson that the rulers must learn from this plan. God opposes evil leaders who are cruel to poor people (Micah 2:1-2). He wants the rulers to issue fair judgements (Micah 4:2-3). Then the people in *Israel will have peace. They will have calm and quiet lives. And nobody will disturb... [ Continue Reading ]
False measurements were a frequent *sin in *Israel (Micah 6:11). The true standards come from God (Proverbs 16:11). He is angry when traders cheat their customers. But these rules were not just for traders. They were also important so that people gave the proper gifts to God (verses 13-14). *SACRIF... [ Continue Reading ]
Here, God starts to explain the sacred duties of the prince. The passage about the prince continues until 46:18. The prince was *Israel’s ruler. He was not a priest. He had duties at the *temple. But he could not burn the *sacrifices or enter the inner areas. Only priests could do those things. Ins... [ Continue Reading ]
This is the oil that one makes from the oily fruit called the olive. People would use it in food and as lamp fuel. Olives are still an important harvest round the Mediterranean area. In the *temple, people would add the oil to the grain in order to make cakes. They would offer these cakes to God. T... [ Continue Reading ]
Also, the people gave sheep for use in the regular *sacrifices. God mentions different types of *sacrifices here. You can read more about these *sacrifices in Leviticus Chapter s 1 to 7.... [ Continue Reading ]
The prince collected these gifts from the people. He used them to provide regular *sacrifices on behalf of the *Israelites. God explains when the prince should offer these *sacrifices: * the *Sabbath – that is, at the end of each week. * the new moons – that is, at the start of each month in t... [ Continue Reading ]
The *Jewish new year holiday is actually at the beginning of the 7th month. (That is, in September or October by our calendar.) But this special day is in the first month (that is, March or April by our calendar). So these verses describe a new holiday. The purpose of this special day was to offer... [ Continue Reading ]
The priests repeated the ceremony 6 days later. This extra ceremony was for *sins that people did not intend to do. ‘*Sin’ here does not have its usual meaning, that is, evil deeds. Instead, it means matters which would cause *worship to be unacceptable to God. For example, a person might touch some... [ Continue Reading ]
God’s law ordered the people to gather in Jerusalem for the *Passover holiday. It was the most important holiday in *Israel and it lasted for a week. During this holiday, the people remembered how God freed their families. They were slaves in Egypt. (By ‘slaves’, we mean that they had to work very h... [ Continue Reading ]
On the *Passover, the prince first had to offer a *sacrifice because of *sin. The purpose of this *sacrifice was to mend people’s relationship with God. Such *sacrifices were only acceptable for the *Israelites to offer. Foreigners could not offer *sacrifices because of *sin. It is only possible to... [ Continue Reading ]
These 7 *bulls and 7 sheep were *sacrifices by fire. The priests burned the whole animals on the *altar. By means of such *sacrifices, people gave themselves completely to God. They were an act of *worship and love to God. (See Leviticus chapter 1). The number 7 is often a word picture in the Bible... [ Continue Reading ]
The *Israelites did not only give animal *sacrifices. They also gave grain *sacrifices (Leviticus chapter 2). These *sacrifices showed that they were offering their work and their possessions to God. They put the oil on the grain.... [ Continue Reading ]
This was called the Holiday of Shelters. This holiday was an opportunity to remember the time when the *Israelites lived in tents. For 40 years, God provided for them as they travelled round the desert (Leviticus 23:43). Again, the people had to go to Jerusalem for the holiday. And again they offer... [ Continue Reading ]