Ezekiel 46:16-18

God intended that every family in *Israel should have its own land. Of course, a family might become poor. It might be necessary to sell the land. But that family would not lose its land permanently. Every 50th year would be a ‘year of freedom’. And then the family would receive its property back (Leviticus 25:23-28).

This arrangement became impossible because of the actions of rulers and other wealthy people. They were already wealthy, but they wanted even more property. God had warned the kings about this attitude (Deuteronomy 17:16-17). But even Solomon did not obey these rules (1 Kings 4:26). And the worst kings behaved in a much more evil manner. Naboth died because King Ahab wanted Naboth’s land (1 Kings 21:18-19).

So in Ezekiel’s *vision, there were limits on the prince’s property. The prince had his own property. And he could own no other land. The families in *Israel would each have their own property. Even a gift of land would not be permanent, unless the same family still owned that land.

The priests’ kitchens – Ezekiel 46:19-24

v19 The man led me through the entrance at the side of the gate to the rooms of the priests. These *holy rooms are toward the north. He showed me a place at the west end. v20 The man said to me, ‘Here the priests prepare the *sacrifices. Here they will boil the meat for the blame *sacrifice and for the *sacrifice because of *sin. Here they also bake the grain for the *sacrifices. They will not need to bring these *holy *sacrifices into the outer area. The *sacrifices are *holy and the people must not touch them.’

v21 Then the man brought me into the outer area. He led me to its four corners. In each corner of the outer area was a smaller area. v22 These small areas were in the 4 corners of the outer area. Each small area was the same size. They were 40 *cubits long and 30 *cubits wide. v23 And there was a stone wall round the inside of each of the 4 small areas. There were places in which to cook. They were at the base of the walls. v24 The man said to me, ‘These places are the kitchens. Here those who work in the *temple will cook the *sacrifices. These kitchens are for the *sacrifices that the people offer.’