Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Ezekiel
Chapter 45: Just Balances and the Passover
As the land is portioned, God claims the first and central share for Himself, 'an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land,' with the sanctuary at its heart. Then, strikingly, the vision turns from architecture to justice: the princes are commanded, 'remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice,' and the people, 'Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath.' True worship of a holy God is inseparable from honest scales and fair dealing. The chapter closes with the offerings that 'make reconciliation for the house of Israel' and the appointed feasts, the passover with its unleavened bread, and the feast of tabernacles, all of which find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, our Passover, sacrificed for us.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Ezekiel chapter 45, the holy portion of the land, the call to justice, and the feasts. For each section you will find the KJV text, key word studies, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Notice how this chapter joins worship to justice, and points forward to Christ our Passover. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
A Holy Portion First
The first and central share of the land is set apart for the LORD.
Just Balances
Rulers to do justice; the people to keep honest weights and measures.
To Make Reconciliation
Offerings to reconcile the house, even for sins of ignorance.
The Passover
The feasts of redemption and dwelling, fulfilled in Christ.
Ye Shall Have Just Balances (Ezekiel 45:1-12)
God claims a holy portion of the land for His sanctuary, priests, and Levites, gives the prince his own share so he will not oppress, and commands the rulers to do justice and the people to keep honest weights and measures.
Execute Judgment and Justice
"Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof. And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place. The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the LORD: and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary. And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers. And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel. And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD. Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer. And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh."
Word Study
"an oblation unto the LORD," terumah (תְּרוּמָה). A portion lifted up and set apart for God, a contribution. Before the land is divided among the tribes, a holy strip is first "offered" to the LORD, with the sanctuary at its center. God receives the first and central share, not the leftovers. This is the abiding principle of giving: "Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase" (Proverbs 3:9). God comes first, and everything else is arranged around Him.
"just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath," tzedeq (צֶדֶק). The word means "righteous, just." God demands honest weights and measures in the marketplace. This is not a small matter to Him: "A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight" (Proverbs 11:1). Right worship at the sanctuary and right dealing at the scales belong together; a holy God will not accept devotion from cheating hands.
Explanation
As the land is parceled out "by lot" for the tribes, the very first act is to set aside "an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land." At its center is "the sanctuary and the most holy place," surrounded by land for "the priests" and "the Levites," a portion for "the city," and portions for "the prince" on either side. God's dwelling is literally central; everything else is measured out around it.
Then the vision makes a striking turn from real estate to righteousness. The prince is given his own defined land so that "my princes shall no more oppress my people", no more seizing what is not theirs. God commands the rulers, "remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people." And the people are told, "Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath", honest weights and honest measures in every transaction. In the very blueprint of the holy temple, God insists that holiness includes justice and honesty in daily life.
Gospel Focus
Two abiding truths press on us here. First, God comes first. The holy portion is set apart before the tribes take their inheritance, and God's sanctuary sits at the center of the whole land. So it must be in a believer's life: God is not given the leftover time, money, and energy, but the first and the central place, "seek ye first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33). Second, and just as important, real worship is inseparable from just dealing. It is easy to be religious at the sanctuary and crooked at the scales, but God will not have it. He demands "judgment and justice," honest balances, no oppression of the weak. The prophets thunder the same thing, "do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God" (Micah 6:8), and Jesus rebuked those who tithed their herbs but "omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith" (Matthew 23:23). A holy God is honored not only by our worship but by our honesty. Give God the first place, and let His righteousness reach all the way to your balances.
Ye Shall Have the Passover (Ezekiel 45:13-25)
God appoints the offerings that "make reconciliation for the house of Israel," the cleansing of the sanctuary by blood even for sins of ignorance, and the great feasts, the passover and the feast of tabernacles, all pointing to Christ.
To Make Reconciliation for the House of Israel
"This is the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of barley: Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are an homer: And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord GOD. All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel. And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary: And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye reconcile the house. In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering. And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering. And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah. In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil."
Word Study
"to make reconciliation," kaphar (כָּפַר). To cover, to atone, to reconcile. The offerings are given "to make reconciliation for the house of Israel", to restore a broken relationship with God through sacrifice. Even the sanctuary itself is cleansed with blood "for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple," atoning for sins of ignorance and weakness. All of it points to the one who came "to make reconciliation for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17), for in Christ "God was... reconciling the world unto himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19).
"the passover," pesach (פֶּסַח). The feast of redemption, when the lamb's blood spared Israel and God brought them out of Egypt, kept with "unleavened bread." It is the clearest of all the feasts in pointing to Christ: "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast... with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). Every Passover lamb was a signpost to the Lamb of God, and the seven days of unleavened bread call His redeemed to a life purged of the old leaven of sin.
Explanation
God appoints the offerings the people bring and the prince presents, grain, oil, and lambs, "to make reconciliation for them." It is the prince's charged duty to provide the sacrifices "in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths," so as to "make reconciliation for the house of Israel." At the year's beginning the sanctuary itself is cleansed with the blood of a sin offering, applied to its posts and the altar, "for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple", covering even the sins people commit without knowing, "so shall ye reconcile the house."
Then two great feasts are named. In the first month, the fourteenth day, "ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten", the feast of redemption. And in the seventh month, the fifteenth day, "the feast of the seven days", the feast of tabernacles, the great feast of ingathering and of God dwelling with His people. Both are marked by daily sacrifices and sin offerings. The rhythm of the restored community is set by atonement and by feasts that celebrate redemption and God's dwelling among them.
Gospel Focus
The whole second half of this chapter breathes the gospel. Everything is aimed at reconciliation, the offerings, the cleansed sanctuary, the feasts, all "to make reconciliation for the house of Israel." And every sacrifice pointed to the one who accomplished it once for all: Jesus Christ came "to make reconciliation for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17), so that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19), and through Him "we have now received the atonement" (Romans 5:11). Notice the tender detail that the sanctuary was cleansed even "for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple", atonement reaching to sins we never noticed we committed, "cleanse thou me from secret faults" (Psalm 19:12). The blood of Christ covers not only our known sins but our unknown ones. And the feasts crown it: the passover is fulfilled, for "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7), and we keep the feast now "with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:8), lives purged of the old leaven; while the feast of tabernacles looks to the joy of God dwelling with His people for ever. The temple's calendar was one long pointing finger to the cross and the kingdom.
Chapter 45 in Review
Ezekiel 45 joins worship, justice, and redemption. First, a holy portion of the land is set apart "unto the LORD" with the sanctuary at its center, God's dwelling is central, and He receives the first share. Then the vision turns to righteousness in daily life: the princes must "execute judgment and justice" and stop oppressing, and the people must keep "just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath." Finally God appoints the offerings and feasts that "make reconciliation for the house of Israel", the cleansing of the sanctuary even for sins of ignorance, the passover with its unleavened bread, and the feast of tabernacles.
For the Apostolic reader the chapter teaches three lasting truths. God comes first, the center and the firstfruits are His, not the leftovers. Real holiness reaches all the way to the scales; a God who is worshipped at the altar must be honored in honest business and just government, for "a false balance is abomination to the LORD." And the heart of it all is reconciliation, every offering pointing to Christ, who came "to make reconciliation for the sins of the people," whose blood covers even our secret faults, and who is "our passover... sacrificed for us." The temple's whole rhythm of sacrifice and feast was a long finger pointing to Calvary and to the day God dwells with His people for ever. Give God the first place, deal justly, and rest in the reconciliation Christ has made.
- God receives the first and central portion, not the leftovers (45:1; Proverbs 3:9; Matthew 6:33).
- Rulers must "execute judgment and justice" and not oppress the people (45:8-9; Micah 6:8).
- Holiness reaches to the marketplace: "just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath" (45:10; Proverbs 11:1).
- The offerings are all "to make reconciliation," fulfilled in Christ (45:15, 17; Hebrews 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:19).
- Atonement covers even sins of ignorance, "for every one that erreth" (45:20; Psalm 19:12).
- The passover is fulfilled in Christ; we keep the feast with sincerity and truth (45:21; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8).
Questions for Reflection
- Is God the center and the firstfruits of your life, or does He get what is left over?
- God demands honest scales as part of holiness. Where might He be calling you to greater integrity in daily dealings?
- The sanctuary was cleansed even for sins of ignorance. How does it comfort you that Christ's blood covers your secret faults?
- "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." Are you keeping the feast "with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth"?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Key terms: terumah ("oblation," verse 1); tzedeq ("just," verse 10); kaphar ("make reconciliation," verses 15, 17, 20); pesach ("passover," verse 21). Giving God the first and best: Proverbs 3:9; Matthew 6:33. Justice and honest weights: Leviticus 19:35-36; Deuteronomy 25:13-16; Proverbs 11:1; 20:10; Micah 6:8, 11; Amos 8:5. Reconciliation and atonement fulfilled in Christ: Hebrews 2:17; Romans 5:11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Colossians 1:20. Atonement for sins of ignorance: Leviticus 4:2, 27; Numbers 15:22-29; Hebrews 9:7; Psalm 19:12. The passover and unleavened bread fulfilled in Christ: Exodus 12; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; the feast of tabernacles and God's dwelling: Leviticus 23:33-43; John 7:2, 37-38; Revelation 21:3. The "prince" is the human ruler of the restored community, who provides but also needs the sin offering (verse 22). If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The holy portion set apart for the LORD, and the call to justice and honest measures: Ezekiel 45:1-12; Proverbs 3:9; 11:1; Micah 6:8.
- The offerings that make reconciliation, and the feasts fulfilled in Christ our Passover: Ezekiel 45:13-25; Hebrews 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.