Ezekiel 45:9, commentary and pictures

God calls the rulers of Israel to have done enough with oppression, to put away violence and robbery and unjust demands from His people, and to govern with fair judgment and justice.
The rebuke itself shows the prince addressed is a fallible mortal ruler who must stop seizing the people's inheritance for his sons and provide for his own house from his own possession, not the sinless Messiah in His righteous and peaceful reign.
The command stands within the closing vision of a new sanctuary, city, and divided land as God's conditional offer to captive Israel of restoration, return of the tribes, and wonderful glory if they were ashamed of iniquity, turned wholeheartedly from evil, and rulers forsook sin.
Because Israel did not repent and meet the conditions, only about forty thousand returned to build a lesser house far short of the pattern, and that temple with its thousands of sheep and oxen will never be built literally, for to renew animal blood would make Christ's once-for-all offering of no effect and return from sunlight to shadow.
In a spiritual sense what failed for old earthly Jerusalem stands as a faint type of greater things God will do through Christ, to be grandly realized for the true Israel in the new heavens and new earth with His manifest presence, healing, and peace.

Princes' Just Rule

The command is spoken to the princes of Israel that their oppression has gone far enough and must now suffice and cease. They are to remove violence and spoil, to stop seizing property by force, and to execute fair judgment and justice. They are to take away their imposed exactions from the people and rule without burdening them. That putting away of wickedness is the forsaking of sin and submission to the divine plan required for the promised restoration.

The prince must not oppress the people by taking their property to give to his sons, but is to provide his sons' inheritance from his own possession. Just government is thus a ruler's duty to protect the people from oppression by ending violence and seizure, removing unjust exactions, and administering judgment and justice. Such ordered and righteous rule shows God to be a God of order.

Conditional Sanctuary Vision

Ezekiel 45:9 belongs to the detailed vision of Ezekiel 40 to 48, the last nine chapters, concerning the new sanctuary with its holy places and most holy place of stated size, its offerings and service with their ceremonies and rites, its glory, the city and its ordinances, the division of the land, and related things. It stands in the description of another sanctuary offered to the house of Israel where they then were, a building to which the word sanctuary is applied a stated number of times. It is included in the vision of the future kingdom of God shown to Ezekiel in those chapters. That prophecy has not been fulfilled, for no such city or sanctuary stands today.

The vision was God's offer to Israel in Babylonian captivity to restore them to their own land and give them again a city and a temple under circumstances of wonderful glory. It promised the return of the twelve tribes including those scattered among the nations, the raising of their righteous dead, the subjection of the kings of the North and enemies far and near with victory over them, a new temple with a new division of the land, and the life and healing power of God coming down on the land as never before. It was the city God intended Israel to build if they had responded to the calls to leave Babylon.

The offer was conditional on Israel being ashamed of iniquities, putting away wickedness and iniquities, turning from evil, returning wholeheartedly from captivity, and coming up to the full measure of children of God, with rulers forsaking sin and submitting to God's plan. The verse itself states the putting away required for fulfillment, commanding the princes of Israel to have enough of oppression, to remove violence and spoil, to execute judgment and justice, and to take away their exactions from the people. The sanctuary was offered to the captives on those stated conditions with a promised act of God if they fulfilled them, exhorting them to become ashamed for their iniquities. Because they continued in apostasy, were unwilling, and did not repent and comply, the glorious temple was not built and the offered glory was never inherited.

If the people had met its conditions the promises would have been fulfilled literally during the Mosaic dispensation, and God would have established the sanctuary, brought back the tribes, restored all His people, and given them a greater sanctuary. Since they did not, only about forty thousand returned and only a lesser house with a shadow of its greatness was erected by Zerubbabel, weakly realizing its sanctuary and promises and falling far short of the pattern. In a spiritual sense the chapter stands as a prophecy of greater things God would do for His people through Christ, faintly typical of what He will restore in the new heavens and new earth. That temple with its sacrifices will never be built literally, for renewing thousands of sheep and oxen and the blood of animals would make Christ's once-for-all offering of no effect, building again what was destroyed and returning from sunlight to shadow, since the offerings of the past belonged to the time then present and shadowed forth Jesus Christ, who fulfilled all sacrifices by His death on the cross.

The vision is connected with the decree for Israel's restoration under Cyrus when all who chose could have gone up, and with the scriptures where the decree of Cyrus is found. What failed for old earthly Jerusalem then because the people forfeited its privileges will be grandly realized in the New City that awaits the true Israel of God.

Failure And Future Fulfilment

Had Israel met the conditions, the promises of Ezekiel 40 to 48 would have been fulfilled literally and in fullest detail during the Mosaic dispensation at the restoration from Babylon, before Christ when type met antitype. That literal fulfillment would have included together the burning of weapons seven years and the building of the temple with its attendant sacrifices. The detailed vision of sanctuary, city, and land division was God's offer of what He would have given if the people had met His conditions of faith and obedience, blessing offered over and over on conditions they did not meet.

Because Israel did not repent, accept the conditions, put away iniquities, and yield fully to God, the sanctuary was never built as described and the offered glory was never inherited. Only about forty thousand returned, and only a lesser house with a shadow of its greatness was erected by Zerubbabel, falling far short of Ezekiel's pattern and only weakly realizing the sanctuary and promises because the people continued in apostasy and were not ashamed of their sins. The vision was part of a conditional promise of restoration and a provisional sanctuary conditional on being ashamed of iniquities, and unrepented sins prevented its fulfillment as described.

That temple with its sacrifices will never now be built literally. Renewing the sacrifices of thousands of sheep and oxen and the blood of animals would make the offering of Christ once for all of no effect, building again what was destroyed and returning from sunlight to shadow, and offering sacrifices now would annul Christ's offering. The offerings of the past belonged to the time then present and shadowed forth the only effectual offering, Jesus Christ, whom the prescribed sacrifices show God would not ordain again, for Jesus Christ fulfilled all sacrifices by His death on the cross. The priesthood and sacrificial system as described did not continue after Christ established the Christian dispensation, and the prescribed sacrifices would have pointed to a system that could not make Christ's once-for-all offering ineffective.

In a spiritual sense the chapter stands as a prophecy of greater things God would do for His people through Christ, faintly typical of what He will restore by His mighty power in the new heavens and new earth. What failed for old earthly Jerusalem because the people failed to meet the standard and forfeited its privileges will be grandly realized in the New City that awaits the true Israel of God. God's purposes toward wicked nations and the true Israel remain the same, with Israel redeemed and given the earth made new.

The unfulfilled glory would have included a true-hearted people, lengthened life, character taking hold upon the very animals, the constant manifest presence of God, no hurt or destroying in all His holy mountain where He dwelt, the raising of the righteous dead, subjection of the kings of the North and enemies far and near, a new temple, a new division of the land, and the life and healing power of God coming down on the land as never before. It would have established gradually upon this present earth the peaceful condition of the Messiah's kingdom, with marshes and deserts and salt lands healed by the water of life, wild beasts made mild under the power of righteousness, and the smallest infant safe on the hole of the basilisk or adder. Because God's people did not meet the conditions it was not fulfilled then, but it will be fulfilled under far greater conditions with much of the former detail eliminated, leaving absolute joy and peace and harmony among all God's creatures where the Spirit of absolute peace presides over all nature so no harm comes to the feeblest. Gog and Magog representing the northern nations are punished in part in this world and in full at the end of the 1,000 years.

Mortal Prince Not Christ

The command to have done with oppression, to put away violence and plunder, to carry out right judgment and to lift crushing levies from the people shows the prince to be a mortal ruler in need of rebuke, correction and restraint. Such a ruler could burden the people by unjust exactions, and had to be charged to rule with justice instead of oppression. That is unlike Christ reigning in an immortal state, whose reign is marked by peace, righteousness and justice.

To direct such a rebuke and command to Christ would be wrong. When Christ reigns conditions will be different, with no place for violent and oppressing princes who must be told to cease spoil and exaction. Hence the prophecy is not predicting the future reign of Christ and His saints, but a conditional order offered to Israel at that time.

The verse stands within the vision of the city and its ordinances in Ezekiel 40-48, which some expected to be built in a future age. It is also part of the closing chapters of Ezekiel appealed to for the return of the Jews and for connected views of the reign of Christ and the inheritance of the saints. That use is false, because the saints are taken to heaven at the second coming of Christ when the earth is desolated, which overthrows the return-of-the-Jews theory built on those chapters.

Links To Other Scriptures

The vision beginning in Ezekiel 40 and continuing onward sets forth God's purpose for Jerusalem. It is the counterpart of the vision in Zechariah 2, covering the same period and representing the same purposes toward Jerusalem, so the two should be studied together. It was given on condition that God's people put aside their sins and come up to the full measure of children of God. Because the people of that time failed to meet the standard they forfeited its privileges and the prophecy failed for old earthly Jerusalem then, but what failed there will be grandly realized in the New City that awaits the true Israel of God.

The offer in Ezekiel 40-48 was made while the Hebrews were captive in Babylon to restore them to their own land and give them again a city and a temple under circumstances of wonderful glory. It was conditional, and because the condition was disregarded the offered glory was never inherited by them. This offer contains several allusions to the Sabbath of the Lord and to the festivals of the Hebrews. Ezekiel 45 is part of the detailed description of a grand and magnificent temple at Jerusalem after the exile, a temple Israel might build and that would ultimately become the house of prayer for all nations.