Worthy.Bible » STRONG » Ezekiel » Chapter 45 » Verse 17-20

Ezekiel 45:17-20 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

17 And it shall be the prince's part H5387 to give burnt offerings, H5930 and meat offerings, H4503 and drink offerings, H5262 in the feasts, H2282 and in the new moons, H2320 and in the sabbaths, H7676 in all solemnities H4150 of the house H1004 of Israel: H3478 he shall prepare H6213 the sin offering, H2403 and the meat offering, H4503 and the burnt offering, H5930 and the peace offerings, H8002 to make reconciliation H3722 for the house H1004 of Israel. H3478

18 Thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 In the first H7223 month, in the first H259 day of the month, H2320 thou shalt take H3947 a young H1121 H1241 bullock H6499 without blemish, H8549 and cleanse H2398 the sanctuary: H4720

19 And the priest H3548 shall take H3947 of the blood H1818 of the sin offering, H2403 and put H5414 it upon the posts H4201 of the house, H1004 and upon the four H702 corners H6438 of the settle H5835 of the altar, H4196 and upon the posts H4201 of the gate H8179 of the inner H6442 court. H2691

20 And so thou shalt do H6213 the seventh H7651 day of the month H2320 for every one H376 that erreth, H7686 and for him that is simple: H6612 so shall ye reconcile H3722 the house. H1004

Commentary on Ezekiel 45 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 45

Eze 45:1-25. Allotment of the Land for the Sanctuary, the City, and the Prince.

1. offer an oblation—from a Hebrew root to "heave" or "raise"; when anything was offered to God, the offerer raised the hand. The special territorial division for the tribes is given in the forty-seventh and forty-eighth chapters. Only Jehovah's portion is here subdivided into its three parts: (1) that for the sanctuary (Eze 45:2, 3); (2) that for the priests (Eze 45:4); (3) that for the Levites (Eze 45:5). Compare Eze 48:8-13.

five and twenty thousand reeds, &c.—So English Version rightly fills the ellipsis (compare Note, see on Eze 42:16). Hence "cubits" are mentioned in Eze 45:2, not here, implying that there alone cubits are meant. Taking each reed at twelve feet, the area of the whole would be a square of sixty miles on each side. The whole forming a square betokens the settled stability of the community and the harmony of all classes. "An holy portion of the land" (Eze 45:1) comprised the whole length, and only two-fifths of the breadth. The outer territory in its distribution harmonizes with the inner and more sacred arrangements of the sanctuary. No room is to be given for oppression (see Eze 45:8), all having ample provision made for their wants and comforts. All will mutually co-operate without constraint or contention.

7. The prince's possession is to consist of two halves, one on the west, the other on the east, of the sacred territory. The prince, as head of the holy community, stands in closest connection with the sanctuary; his possession, therefore, on both sides must adjoin that which was peculiarly the Lord's [Fairbairn].

12. The standard weights were lost when the Chaldeans destroyed the temple. The threefold enumeration of shekels (twenty, twenty-five, fifteen) probably refers to coins of different value, representing respectively so many shekels, the three collectively making up a maneh. By weighing these together against the maneh, a test was afforded whether they severally had their proper weight: sixty shekels in all, containing one coin a fourth of the whole (fifteen shekels), another a third (twenty shekels), another a third and a twelfth (twenty-five shekels) [Menochius]. The Septuagint reads, "fifty shekels shall be your maneh."

13-15. In these oblations there is a progression as to the relation between the kind and the quantity: of the corn, the sixth of a tenth, that is, a sixtieth part of the quantity specified; of the oil, the tenth of a tenth, that is, an hundredth part; and of the flock, one from every two hundred.

18. The year is to begin with a consecration service, not mentioned under the Levitical law; but an earnest of it is given in the feast of dedication of the second temple, which celebrated its purification by Judas Maccabeus, after its defilement by Antiochus.

20. for him that is simple—for sins of ignorance (Le 4:2, 13, 27).

21. As a new solemnity, the feast of consecration is to prepare for the passover; so the passover itself is to have different sacrifices from those of the Mosaic law. Instead of one ram and seven lambs for the daily burnt offering, there are to be seven bullocks and seven rams. So also whereas the feast of tabernacles had its own offerings, which diminished as the days of the feast advanced, here the same are appointed as on the passover. Thus it is implied that the letter of the law is to give place to its spirit, those outward rites of Judaism having no intrinsic efficacy, but symbolizing the spiritual truths of Messiah's kingdom, as for instance the perfect holiness which is to characterize it. Compare 1Co 5:7, 8, as to our spiritual "passover," wherein, at the Lord's supper, we feed on Christ by faith, accompanied with "the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Literal ordinances, though not slavishly bound to the letter of the law, will set forth the catholic and eternal verities of Messiah's kingdom.