Ezekiel 48:17

Ezekiel 48:17 says, And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.  God then specified the size and location of the suburbs of the city.  Not everyone could live near the temple, since they were a large group of people.  As followers of Christ, none of us is farther from Him or away than anyone else, since the Holy Spirit dwells in each of us.  

Verse eighteen adds, And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.  This verse simply gives the size of the rest of the city area in relationship to the holy place.  We can be certain that there is room enough for all Christians in God’s kingdom.  

Verse nineteen continues, And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.  God said that those who served in the city would not serve in all of the tribes.  As Christians, we are called to serve in a particular place and cannot serve in the whole world. God has other Christians to serve in areas that we cannot serve in.  

Verse twenty says, All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.  This seems to refer once more to the area set aside for worshipping God.  

Verse twenty-one adds, And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.  God said that one side would be for the prince and the other side for the sanctuary, once more specifying the size of both areas.  

Ezekiel 48:13

 Ezekiel 48:13 says, And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.  God then specified the location and size of the land the priests who were Levites would possess.  They were te ones who were to keep the temple clean and in order for the sacrifices to be presented to God.  Wherever we as followers of Christ are today, we should consider it to be an area that we dedicate to God, and since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we should do our best to keep ourselves spiritually clean and dedicated to doing His will.  

Verse fourteen adds, And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the Lord.  God said the Levites were not to sell, exchange, or alienate the first fruits of the land, since it belonged to God.  As Christians, we should not try to sell, exchange or alienate from God our lives or the things that He blesses us with because all that we are or possess already belongs to Him.  We should never try to use Christianity to enrich ourselves.  

Verse fifteen continues, And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.  God said the area left in the breadth would be considered profane, or not exclusively dedicated to worshipping and serving God, but as followers of Christ, as I have said before, wherever we are should be dedicated to God, even if we are in a profane place.  This area would be for the city's dwelling places and for the suburbs of the city.  Still, as followers of Christ, we should never divide the world into two realms, the spiritual and the secular, but need to acknowledge that it all belongs to God.  

Verse sixteen concludes, And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.  God then gave the overall measurement of the land that the city would occupy.  

Ezekiel 48:9

Ezekiel 48:9 says, The oblation that ye shall offer unto the Lord shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.  After specifying the distribution of the land to the north of the temple, God once more specified the area to be set aside for the temple and the use of the priests.  As Christians, we are all a part of the priesthood of believers and we worship through faith in Jesus Christ, Who replaced the physical temple when He died for our sins.   

Verse ten adds, And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the midst thereof.  Here it is repeated that this land would be set aside for the priests and the temple.  The land was actually for the temple, but the priests were allowed to live there in order to maintain the temple and offer the sacrifices to God.  As followers of Christ, everything we have belongs to God, but when we put our faith in Him, we are given the right and the responsibility to use and care for His land.   

Verse eleven continues, It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.  This land would be for the priests who had not gone astray during the captivity.  As Christians, we have all gone astray, but we put our faith in the High Priest, Jesus Christ, Who never did.   

Verse twelve concludes, And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.   God said that this area of the temple was to be an area considered to be most holy.  When we are in the presence of Jesus Christ, which by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is at all times, we should consider anywhere we are to be a place most Holy. 

Ezekiel 48:1

Ezekiel 48:1 says, Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.  God then began to specify what portion of the land the tribes would possess, starting with Dan.  The first seven tribes were to be located to the north of the temple.  The allotment of the other five tribes would be specified in the last few verses of the chapter.  I will simply list these allotments, but we as followers of Christ will not be divided in heaven.   

 Verse two adds, And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.   

Verse three continues, And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.  

Verse four states, And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.   

Verse five adds, And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.   

Verse six continues, And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.   

Verse seven says, And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.   

Verse eight adds, And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.