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.

Ezekiel 44:24

Ezekiel 44:24 says, And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.  God said the priests would once again stand and judge people according to His commandments when there was a controversy between them, and that they would keep His sabbath Holy.  If there is a controversy in the church today, the pastor needs to settle it according to God’s commandments.  I believe that he should consult with the deacons about it and then bring it before the whole congregation it warranted in the situation, but ultimately it would be his responsibility to not let a controversy between members harm the church.   Preachers are also to keep the sabbath, or the Lord’s Day which we set aside to worship God today holy unto God, especially when we gather together to worship Him. 

Verse twenty-five adds, And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.  Priests were not to come near a dead person, except for those of their closest relatives, and even then, if they did, they had to purify themselves before they could serve as a priest again.   We as followers of Christ are not prohibited from touching a dead person because it would defile us spiritually, but if we have done anything that would, we need to confess it and ask God’s forgiveness before we gather to worship Him so that we will not defile His holy day.  This is especially true for pastors since they are to lead the congregation in worshipping God by proclaiming the message He has given them.  

Verse twenty-six continues, And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.  When the priest was cleansed after touching a dead person, he was still to wait seven days before performing his duties as a priest once more.  Since touching a dead person or even being to close to one was considered to make a person spiritually unclean, it had to be dealt with seriously, and if we, or a preacher or teacher, become spiritually unclean today, we must take it seriously and ask God for forgiveness before we can be effective in serving Him.   

Verse twenty-seven concludes, And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord God.  God said that after the seven days, when the priest went into the sanctuary, that he was to offer sacrifice for his sin.  As Christians, Jesus Christ has already offered the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins, but if we do sin once more, we must confess our sins and ask for His forgiveness before we can effectively serve Him once more.