Ezekiel 45:13

 Ezekiel 46:13 says, This is the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of barley:  God then specified what the people were to offer to Him as a sacrifice, starting with the wheat and barley.  They had given God a portion of the land, and now they were to give Him a portion of their goods, since He had blessed them with it to start with.  Matthew Henry said part of this would be used to help the needy, and I believe that it would also be used by the priests to prepare food for themselves.  We as Christians should recognize that everything already belongs to God, and when He blesses us with material things, we should want to return a portion to Him so that His work can be done.  We should also want to help those in need when God blesses us with an abundance.   

Verse fourteen continues, Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are an homer:  After the grain, God specified the amount of oil that was to be given as an oblation to Him.   

Verse fifteen continues, And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord God.  God then specified that they were to give one lamb out of two hundred for meat, burnt, and peace offerings to make reconciliation between the people of Israel and God.  He said this was to be done out of the fat of the land, or of the best of the lambs.  As followers of Christ, He is our sacrifice for sin, but we are to give Him the best that we have so His work can continue today.  

Verse sixteen states, All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel.  All the people were to give this oblation to the prince in Israel.  We as Christians are to give all that we have to the Prince of Israel, and then out of what He blesses us with, we are to give a portion to the church so that His work may continue.  This is to be done not because God needs anything, but it is to be done to show our thanksgiving and obedience to Him.   

Verse seventeen adds, And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.  It says that the prince was to prepare and offer these offerings to God, but I believe that he likely presented them to the priests so that they might do so.  I do know that all we can do is offer ourselves as living sacrifices to Jesus Christ, and He is the only One Who can offer an acceptable sacrifice for us.  

 

Ezekiel 45:6

Ezekiel 45:6 says, And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.  The area that the whole house of Israel would gather in was specified next.  This area was not designated for just some of the people to gather but for all of them. There are no places today where only a few of God's people are allowed to enter and others are prohibited from entering, and there will always be room for everyone.  

Verse seven adds, And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border.  Next God specified the area for the princes.  This area was to be to the west side and the east side of the temple.  This area was for those who ruled the people administratively. Mattheew Henry says there are differing opinions about how large this area was, but we can be sure that it was large enough to fulfill its purpose.  God still expects those who are in charge of the government today to obey His word, and He will always give them th ability and means to do so if they will only be obedient to Him.    

Verse eight continues, In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes.  God said that this land would be the possession of the prince but also said that the prince was not to oppress His people and the rest of the land was to be given to the house of Israel according to their tribes.  As Christians, we all have a home in heaven, and none will be above the other.

Ezekiel 45:1

Ezekiel 45:1 says, Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the Lord, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about.  God told Ezekiel to tell the people how the land was to be divided even before they returned.  This was an act of faith, and we today must act from faith even if we cannot see the result of that faith.  If God tells us to do something, we just need to be faithful to do it, and God will bring about success.  The first portion of land was assigned to the sanctuary and God specified that width and breadth of the whole area. We should set aside the things that God calls on us to give to Him before we do anything else.   

Verse two adds, Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof.  Then, God specified the area that the sanctuary would take up in this dedicated land.  This would be the area set aside for the people to come closer to God. We today do not have any limitation on where we can meet God if we are a follower of Christ.  Of course, the first way we come into God’s presence is by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.   

Verse three continues, And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place.  God then specified the area of the sanctuary and the most holy place.  We no longer have a most holy place where only certain priests can come into God’s presence, but as a part of the priesthood of believers, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us at all times.   

Verse four states, The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the Lord: and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary.  God said that the priests would live in this land set aside as a holy portion of the land.  The priests would no longer have cities with the twelve tribes, but would all have this holy area set aside for them.  We already have a home in heaven after this life is over, but even if we are separated physically today, we need to be united in faith.  

Verse five continues, And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers.  This verse restates the size of the land that was to be set aside for the priests.  As Christians, all that we possess should be set aside to be used as God directs us to use it. 

Ezekiel 44:28

Ezekiel 44:28 says, And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.  God said that priests were to be given no possession of land for an inheritance, since He was their inheritance and would provide for their needs.  Today, I believe that it is okay for preachers to own property, but it should never become more important than following God.  If a house keeps preacher from leaving a certain area if God calls him somewhere else, it is then not okay.  

Verse twenty-nine adds, They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering: and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.  The duty of the priest was to proclaim God's word, present the offerings, and keep the temple clean, so they didn’t have time to grow their own food nor the land to grow it on, so God provided food for them.  They were to eat what was left of the meat, sin, and trespass offerings, and everything left that was dedicated to God would be there for them to use.  Since our tithes and offerings are now money mostly, I don’t believe that this means that preachers are to receive what is left over after we pay everything that the church may owe, but it does mean that we are to pay the pastor.  Of course, smaller churches often cannot pay the preacher enough to live on, so he has to work in a secular job as well.  

Verse thirty continues, And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.  God continued by saying that the first fruits and oblations, or things given to God by a vow, would be there for the priests to use.  I believe this would be things that were not given as burnt offerings.  God provided for the need of the priests then by working through the people of Israel, and I beleive that He will meet the needs of preachers today, even if the congregation is unable to meet all their needs.  

Verse thirty-one concludes, The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.  God said that the priests were not to eat of anything that just died or was torn apart by another animal.  This would make these things unclean according to God’s law and therefore could not be eaten by the priests since eating them would make them unclean.  A preacher should never provide for his family and himself by doing anything that is against God’s law, since doing so would bring dishonor to God.