Ezekiel 47:13-48:29 Land Division
The Lord spoke to Ezekiel regarding the land division between the tribes. The initial divisions were NOT even. They will be even, and in God’s order.
Because of how my mind works, I had to do a little comparison of the order God gives for the land division with how He had the tribes camp in the wilderness. I also put the brothers in birth order. NONE of these three configurations line up with one another. I will share a couple of interesting things I noticed while doing this though.
Here are a few pieces I notice in our text first. The divisions of the land will be equal. No one tribe will have a larger section that another. ALL of them will touch the sea too. The territory within their boundaries won’t ONLY be for native born Jewish people. Those who “sojourn” within the boundaries of Israel AND have children; their children will have an inheritance as if they were native born children of Israel. They will be grafted in.
By now, you know that I am NOT a student of geography. I’ve tried locating the cities and boundaries God lays out for Israel and have failed miserably. I do know that Israel will be a coastal nation. It won’t stretch beyond the Jordan; no eastern tribes this time. I don’t know the measurement of this section of land. As far as I can tell, we aren’t given those numbers; only the ‘from here to there’ references.
For the northern and southern lines, I’m relying on others to fill in those boundaries for me. So I don’t get myself in trouble, I’ll provide a link to the page I’ve found with the maps drawn up. I WON’T attest to their accuracy though.
The Holy portion of land that is set aside does not reach from the sea to the Jordan. Its breadth is established but not its length. The length beyond the central 25,000 cubits will belong to the prince. The Holy portion will be smack-dab in the middle. The prince will have his portions on both the east and west sides of God’s portion. The portion that will belong to ALL the tribes will be on the southern side of the Holy portion. The priests ministering to God will have the portion that buts up against Judah’s portion. The rest of the Levites will have their portion between the priests of Zadok’s line and the portion for all the tribes.
Ok. So now onto the things I noticed while making my comparative lists. Dan is on the outside of both lists; last in marching order and first in settling order. Dan is the farthest away from God’s portion. Dan is also the territory that one of the golden calves Jeroboam made was put. Dan was not able to conquer the territory they were originally given, so they chose a territory that was the farthest north to inhabit instead. Apparently, they won’t be far from their final territory.
Judah is the one touching God’s most Holy portion. Judah is also the tribe with Jesus’ lineage. Ruben in right above Judah. Ruben was Jacob’s oldest and should have been the leader but his sin let Judah take over that spot. The two ‘leaders’ are placed beside one another.
I noticed that there are two pairs of tribes that come in the same order in both line-ups. Manasseh and Ephraim are together in both lists and in the same relationship to each other. Issachar and Zebulun follow this same setup. Issachar and Zebulun are also in their birth order among themselves.
Benjamin follows Levi in both lists. God’s portion moves one position down in the number, which also brings Benjamin down in order. Interestingly enough, the second golden calf was in between Ephraim and Benjamin’s territory; at Bethel. Bethel first belonged to Benjamin but was taken away by Ephraim when all Israel went against the tribe of Benjamin at Gibeah (Judges 20). Bethel was the site where the Ark was kept during that time of battle. And Benjamin was also the only tribe who stayed with the house of David when the kingdom split. Judah and Benjamin against the rest of the people. Judah and Benjamin are at the boarders of God’s Holy portion.
The last thing I noticed is that the last is first. We already established that Dan fit this pattern but those preceding him follow right behind, all the way up to Manasseh and Ephraim. The first is, however, NOT the last. Judah was originally first but they will eventually lie right next to God’s portion.
I would LOVE to hear how God chose His order; both in the wilderness travels and in the future Temple. I always had specific reasons for putting my kids in order. When it came to “duck line” is was smallest to tallest so the littler ones didn’t lose sight of me. In the car, it had to do with who played best with whom. With bedrooms, it was age, maturity and personality compatibility. What was God’s reasons?
Father God, thank You for giving me an inquiring mind. I LOVE looking into Your word and finding the parts I can ‘plot out’ and see. You get me thinking and wondering what Your mind is thinking. I hope You share some of Your thoughts on this issue with me someday.
