Ezekiel 47

REVIEW QUESTIONS

What stood at the center of Old Testament worship? What is the New Testament altar? (See Hebrews 13:10.)

What were the horns of the altar?

To what two uses was the Old Testament altar put?

What was the significance of the burnt-offering? the peace-offering? the meal-offering? Why was salt sprinkled on the burnt-offering?

Why were the Levites demoted in privilege in Ezekiel’s Temple?

What restriction would be put on aliens in the new Temple age?

How were the Zadokite priests to be dressed when they served in the Temple? What is the significance of this dress?

What duties did Ezekiel envision being performed by priests in the new Temple age?

Why did God require such strict ritual regarding priests who contacted dead bodies?

Why would the Zadokite priests receive no inheritance?

In the new apportionment of Canaan who would possess the central section of the land?

What appeal does Ezekiel make to future rulers of Israel?

What responsibility would the prince have in reference to the Temple offerings?

What various festival days does Ezekiel mention in connection with the new age?

Why was the eastern gate of the Temple forever to remain shut?

What restrictions were placed on the prince in reference to the disposition of his property?

What is symbolized by the river which flowed forth from the Temple of God? What problems do literalists have in dealing with Ezekiel’s river?

How does the original apportionment of land to the twelve tribes differ from that described by Ezekiel?

What inheritance rights would aliens have in the new Canaan?

How is Ezekiel’s description of the new Jerusalem similar to that of John in Revelation?

Ezekiel 47:1-12

III. THE FUTURE LAND 47:1-48:35

In his last vision Ezekiel observes the blessing which the people of God would enjoy in the new Temple age. In that blessed land the tribes of Israel would have eternal possession. Here he discusses (1) the transformation of the promised land (Ezekiel 47:1-12); (2) the boundaries of the promised land (Ezekiel 47:13-21); (3) the place of aliens in the land (Ezekiel 47:22-23); (4) the apportionment of the land among the tribes (Ezekiel 48:1-35).

The Transformation of the Promised Land

47:1-12

TRANSLATION

(1) And he brought me back unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; (for the forefront of the house was toward the east); and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar. (2) Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way without unto the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looks toward the east; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. (3) When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles. (4) Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the loins. (5) Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. (6) And he said unto me, Son of man, have you seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river. (7) Now when I had returned, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. (8) Then he said unto me, These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and they shall go toward the sea; into the sea shall the waters go which were made to issue forth; and the waters shall be healed. (9) And it shall come to pass, that every living creature which swarms in every place where the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come thither, and the waters of the sea shall be healed, and every thing shall live wheresoever the river comes. (10) And it shall come to pass, that fishers shall stand by it: from En-gedi even unto Eneglaim shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. (11) But the miry places thereof, and the marshes thereof, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt. (12) And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall the fruit thereof fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because the waters thereof issue out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for healing.

COMMENTS

The angelic guide brought Ezekiel back to the inner court and the door of the house. There he saw a stream issuing forth from under the threshold of the house. The waters were flowing in a south-easterly direction, past the altar, out into the outer court (Ezekiel 47:1). Ezekiel was led out the north gate of the inner court (the nearer east gate was closed; cf. Ezekiel 44:2; Ezekiel 46:1), around the outside wall of the Temple complex to the east gate of the outer court. There he saw the waters trickling[539] forth (Ezekiel 47:2).

[539] The Hebrew word is found only here and its exact meaning is doubtful.

A thousand cubits east of the eastern gate Ezekiel was directed to wade into the waters. They were ankle deep (Ezekiel 47:3). At two thousand cubits the waters were knee deep; at three thousand cubits, waist deep (Ezekiel 47:4); at four thousand cubits (about a mile and a third) the waters were so deep that the prophet could not get across them without swimming (Ezekiel 47:5). By means of a rhetorical question the angelic guide underscored the amazing increase in the depth of the water. No mention is made of any tributaries, yet the river increased in volume as it descended eastward through the mountains toward the Dead Sea (Ezekiel 47:6).

Apparently the banks of the river were bare when Ezekiel tested the depth of the water. Now he observed a thick growth of trees shooting up on both banks of the river (Ezekiel 47:7). These were no ordinary trees. They would bear a new crop every month. Furthermore, the leaves of these trees had curative powers (Ezekiel 47:12).

The prophet is informed that the river of life flowed far beyond the range of vision to the Arabah[540] and the Dead Sea. The lifeless waters of that body of water would be healed, i.e., purified by the fresh flowing water of life (Ezekiel 47:8). Where previously no aquatic creatures could exist, swarms of fish would be found (Ezekiel 47:9). Commercial fishermen would flock to the shore of the once dead sea, and they would find the catch as abundant as that to which they were accustomed on the Great (Mediterranean) Sea. Along the shoreline of the Dead Sea they would spread their nets from En-gedi (mid-point on the western shore of the Dead Sea) to En-eglaim (exact location unknown; Ezekiel 47:10), But even though the waters of the sea would be healed, the marshy areas about the sea would remain in their former state so as to provide the people with salt (Ezekiel 47:11).

[540] Arabah is the technical name for the deep depression through which the Jordan river flows and in which the Dead Sea is situated.

Those who try to interpret the vision of the life-giving stream physically have completely missed the point of the passage. This is a clear instance of symbolism. Fertility and water are virtually interchangeable (See Psalms 46:4; Psalms 65:9; Isaiah 33:20 f.). The sheer physical impossibility of a stream increasing in volume without aid of tributaries should be a clue to the symbolic import of the text. Furthermore, fruit trees which bear a new crop every month would be hard to interpret physically. The main point being made is that in the new age the Temple of God would be the source of life, healing and fruitfulness.

Ezekiel 47:13-21

B. The Boundaries of the Promised Land 47:13-21

TRANSLATION

(13) Thus says the Lord GOD: This shall be the border whereby you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. (14) And you shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I sware to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. (15) And this shall be the border of the land: On the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, unto the entrance of Zedad; (16) Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. (17) And the border from the sea, shall be Hazarenon at the border of Damascus; and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. (18) And the east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border unto the east sea shall you measure. This is the east side. (19) And the south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribathkadesh, to the brook of Egypt, unto the great sea. This is the south side southward. (20) And the west side shall be the great sea, from the south border as far as over against the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side. (21) So shall you divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.

COMMENTS

In the new age the land of promise is to be divided fairly between the twelve tribes. It has already been noted the Levites were to receive no land inheritance (Ezekiel 44:28) because God had provided for their needs in the Temple offering system. Joseph was given two portions, because his sons Ephraim and Manasseh were reckoned as separate tribes. Thus was retained the number twelve for the tribes of Israel (Ezekiel 47:13). In this new allocation each tribe was to receive an equal portion of land.[541] God had made promises to the Patriarchs had lifted up His hand in the gesture of an oath that the land would belong to their descendants. So God would keep His promise. The land of promise would finally and forever belong to His people (Ezekiel 47:14).

[541] By contrast in the first apportionment of the promised land numerical strength of the tribes was taken into account (c f. Numbers 26:54).

In Ezekiel 47:15-20 the borders of the promised land are listed. Not all the towns mentioned can be located with certainty. The Mediterranean Sea (the great sea) was to be the western boundary (Ezekiel 47:20) and the Jordan river the eastern (Ezekiel 47:18). The northern boundary stretched roughly from Tyre on the west to the head waters of the Jordan. Hamath (i,e., the entrance of Hamath, Ezekiel 47:20)[542] would mark the northern-most point (Ezekiel 47:16). The southern boundary extended from Tamar near the southern end of the Dead Sea to Meribath-kadesh (lit., the waters of strife, i.e., Kadesh-barnea), to the Brook (i.e., the Brook of Egypt) which ran into the Mediterranean Sea.

[542] Cf. Numbers 34:8. The entrance of Hamath is generally thought to refer to the one-hundred-mile long valley leading up to Hamath. In Solomon’s day the entrance of Hamath actually served as the north border of Israel (1 Kings 8:65).

Ezekiel 47:22-23

C. The Place of Aliens in the Land 47:22-23

TRANSLATION

(22) And it shall come to pass, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you and to the strangers that sojourn among you, who shall beget children among you; and they shall be unto you as the home-born among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. (23) And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourns, there shall you give him his inheritance, (oracle of the Lord GOD.

COMMENTS

Aliens who lived among the Israelites would receive an inheritance within the restored Israel of the future (Ezekiel 47:22-23). Proselytes who embraced the worship of the true God would have the same privileges as native-born Israelites. Similar broadminded statements are found in Ezekiel 14:7 and Ezekiel 22:7. The unification of Jew and Gentile in the kingdom of Jesus Christ is thus foreshadowed.