Study 33 From the Book of
Ezekiel is: Ezekiel 45 and 46
Not only was the Temple
different in many respects from that of Solomon, but the whole land was to be
divided up in a new way. A broad strip of land, extending right across the
country from the Mediterranean to the Jordan and including the Temple, was to
be set apart for the Lord (45:1-8). Verses 9-17 lay down regulations as
regards, weights and measures, and the dues to be paid by the people to the
prince. The remainder is chiefly
concerned with the feasts and offerings (45:18-46:15), but at the end are two
notes, one about the right of the prince to bestow part of his territory upon
his sons or servants (46:16-18), and the other about rooms in the Temple courts
to be used as kitchens for boiling the flesh of the sacrifices (46:19-24).
1.
How
does 45:8-12 show that the holiness which Jehovah requires is not only
religious but moral? What light do these verses throw upon God’s attitude to
injustice and oppression, and to commercial dishonesty? Cf. 46:18; Lv. 19:35,
36; Pr. 11:1; 1 Pet. 1:14-16.
2.
What
is said three times in 45:15-20 to be the purpose of the sacrifices? If they
had not been offered, could the people have had any assurance in drawing nigh
to God? What in the New Testament is revealed as the true ground of atonement?
Cf. Heb. 10:4-10; 1 Jn. 2:1, 2.
Notes
1.
45:1.
The holy district consisted of 25, 000 cubits was about eight miles
2.
45:10-12.
There was a vast amount of local variation in ancient Israel regarding weights
and measures, and this was the cause of much commercial malpractice. Ezekiel is
here demanding in God’s name strict standardization.
3.
46:19
defines the positions of the priest’ kitchens, as verses 21-24 do the position
of the people’s kitchens
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