Allocation of the Lord’s Land

Ezekiel 48:1-29 

1 "Now these are the names of the tribes: From the northern border along the road to Hethlon at the entrance of Hamath, to Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus northward, in the direction of Hamath, there shall be one section for Dan from its east to its west side; 2 by the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, one section for Asher; 3 by the border of Asher, from the east side to the west, one section for Naphtali; 4 by the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, one section for Manasseh; 5 by the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, one section for Ephraim; 6 by the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, one section for Reuben; 7 by the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west, one section for Judah; 8 by the border of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the district which you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits in width, and in length the same as one of the other portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the center.

9 "The district that you shall set apart for the LORD shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. 10 To these—to the priests—the holy district shall belong: on the north twenty-five thousand cubits in length, on the west ten thousand in width, on the east ten thousand in width, and on the south twenty-five thousand in length. The sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the center. 11 It shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadok, who are sanctified, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. 12 And this district of land that is set apart shall be to them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.

13 "Opposite the border of the priests, the Levites shall have an area twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width; its entire length shall be twenty-five thousand and its width ten thousand. 14 And they shall not sell or exchange any of it; they may not alienate this best part of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.

15 "The five thousand cubits in width that remain, along the edge of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for general use by the city, for dwellings and common-land; and the city shall be in the center. 16 These shall be its measurements: the north side four thousand five hundred cubits, the south side four thousand five hundred, the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred. 17 The common-land of the city shall be: to the north two hundred and fifty cubits, to the south two hundred and fifty, to the east two hundred and fifty, and to the west two hundred and fifty. 18 The rest of the length, alongside the district of the holy section, shall be ten thousand cubits to the east and ten thousand to the west. It shall be adjacent to the district of the holy section, and its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. 19 The workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. 20 The entire district shall be twenty-five thousand cubits by twenty-five thousand cubits, foursquare. You shall set apart the holy district with the property of the city.

21 "The rest shall belong to the prince, on one side and on the other of the holy district and of the city's property, next to the twenty-five thousand cubits of the holy district as far as the eastern border, and westward next to the twenty-five thousand as far as the western border, adjacent to the tribal portions; it shall belong to the prince. It shall be the holy district, and the sanctuary of the temple shall be in the center. 22 Moreover, apart from the possession of the Levites and the possession of the city which are in the midst of what belongs to the prince, the area between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall belong to the prince.

23 "As for the rest of the tribes,
from the east side to the west, Benjamin shall have one section;
24 by the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon shall have one section; 25 by the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar shall have one section; 26 by the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun shall have one section; 27 by the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad shall have one section;
28 by the border of Gad, on the south side, toward the South, the border shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the Great Sea.

29 This is the land which you shall divide by lot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions," says the Lord GOD.

The division of the land was prescribed by the LORD and recorded by Ezekiel in detail of the boundaries and conditions for each, as well as for the priests and the people.  God looks for His inheritance to be given according to His will in a divine will for the inheritance of all who are His chosen people.  This speaks much more to us than a simple history of the inheritance of the twelve tribes of Israel and her priests who serve and leaders who govern.  The borders, districts, locations, and dimensions of God’s care are reflected here which we later understand as the height and width and length and depth of His love, mercy, and grace to us all of them and us who are found in Christ that we might know these infinite dimensions of our Father’s love (Ephesians 1:18-20) for us!  We all will inherit a place (John 14:2-4, Acts 20:32, 1 Peter 1:3-5) in the kingdom which cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:27-28, Ephesians 1:11, 13-14) or taken from us!  May we wisely use and invest in that kingdom now to reap for God’s glory there (Matthew 25:14-15, 29, Luke 16:10) according to our God given abilities and spiritual gifts as He chooses to give each of us (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11).  Our portion in Christ ani in Him we find our eternal inheritance with set places and boundaries yet to be seen or imagined (1 Peter 1:8, 1 John 3:2-3) as we worship at His feet by the throne of eternal grace and glory in Him as our temple of worship and sacrifice in the New Jerusalem of the kingdom which cannot fade away (1 Peter 1:4).  To God be all glory, honor, and praise for this indescribable gift and inheritance which He has allocated according to His eternal purpose for the redeemed!  This is a glorious picture of heaven in the allocation of the LORD’s land.  Amen and amen.