What is the meaning of Ezekiel 47:21? You are to divide - God speaks in the imperative, not offering a suggestion but issuing a direct command, just as He did when He told Moses, “‘This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance’ ” (Numbers 34:13). - The verb underscores stewardship. Israel must actively participate in God’s plan rather than wait passively. Compare Joshua 13:7, where Joshua is told, “Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance.” - The same divine authority reverberates through Ezekiel’s vision of the coming age (Ezekiel 45:1), reminding readers that God’s covenant purposes remain on schedule. this land - Ezekiel has just traced detailed boundaries (Ezekiel 47:15-20), marking out real geography from the Mediterranean to the Jordan. As in Genesis 15:18-21, the promise is concrete, not symbolic. - The phrase links to earlier prophecies: “I will restore them to the land I gave their fathers” (Jeremiah 30:3). Restoration is literal—Amos 9:15 predicts Israel will “never again be uprooted.” - Because the land is God’s (Leviticus 25:23), He alone decides its borders and future use. among yourselves - The inheritance is internal to Israel: the nation shares the blessing, reflecting family responsibility (cf. Deuteronomy 19:8-10). - Yet God’s generosity spills over. Immediately after our verse, He says, “You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners who reside among you” (Ezekiel 47:22). - Inclusion of resident aliens mirrors Isaiah 56:6-7, where foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD are welcomed. Paul later notes that Israel possessed “the adoption, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the worship, and the promises” (Romans 9:4), but Gentiles are grafted in (Romans 11:17-18). according to the tribes of Israel. - God honors the patriarchal structure He established in Numbers 26:52-56, where land was divided “by lot, according to the names of the tribes of their fathers.” - In Ezekiel’s future allotment each tribe receives a parallel strip across the land (Ezekiel 48:1-29), emphasizing equality—no tribe is left out, just as Revelation 7:4-8 lists twelve tribes sealed for protection. - The phrase reaffirms the permanence of Israel’s tribal identity; God vows He will “never reject the descendants of Jacob…for I will restore their fortunes” (Jeremiah 33:23-26). summary Ezekiel 47:21 is God’s unmistakable instruction for Israel’s future: He commands the nation to apportion a literal, promised territory, actively sharing it among themselves while maintaining tribal distinctions. The verse confirms that God’s ancient covenants stand firm and will be fulfilled in detail during the coming kingdom. |
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