Ezekiel 46:17, commentary and pictures

The verse lays down that a prince may grant part of his inheritance to one of his servants, but the grant holds only until the year of liberty when it reverts to the prince, while what is given to his sons remains theirs permanently. The year of liberty is the Jubilee, and its rules on inheritance, service, priesthood, offerings, and festivals place this order within the Mosaic dispensation. The prince is a mortal ruler with sons and servants under earthly limits against oppression, not Christ reigning in the immortal state where there is no marriage or death and the priesthood is forever after the order of Melchisedec. The rule belongs to the sanctuary, city, and land vision of Ezekiel 40-48 offered to captive Israel as a conditional restoration, which was fulfilled only in small part because Israel did not repent and return wholeheartedly, so the glorious temple described was never built in fullness and Zerubbabel's temple was only a lesser and feeble realization. In its broad outline it points in type to greater things through Christ to be more gloriously realized at the second coming for the true Israel in the New City and new earth, yet the literal Levitical system with blood of bulls and goats can never be restored, since Christ's once-for-all offering fulfilled all sacrifices.

Conditional Sanctuary Vision

Ezekiel 46:17 belongs to the sanctuary, city, and division-of-the-land vision in Ezekiel 40-48, covering the same period and purpose as Zechariah 2. It was offered while the Hebrews were captive in Babylon as a restoration to their own land with a city, a temple, worship, and wonderful glory. The sanctuary would be established and the twelve tribes would return, with several allusions to the Sabbath of the Lord and to the festivals of the Hebrews contained in the chapters of that offer.

The vision was conditional and would have been fulfilled fully, including at the end of the seventy years in Babylon, only if Israel was ashamed of iniquities, put away wickedness, returned wholeheartedly to God, and met His conditions for restoration and the Messiah's kingdom. The promised restoration, including the arrangements in Ezekiel's closing chapters, depended on Israel turning from its sins and coming up to the full measure of children of God. The sanctuary plan in Ezekiel 40-48 was conditional on the people being ashamed of their sins and returning to God, calling Israel to return to God and receive His promised blessings.

Because Israel was not ashamed, did not put away iniquities, did not fully repent and return, and only about forty thousand returned, the promised restoration was fulfilled only in small part. The glorious temple as described was never built in its fullness and never will be built literally. What was erected by Zerubbabel was only a lesser, shadow-like, feebly realized temple, only one with a shadow of its greatness and only weakly realized because they continued in apostasy. Though had Israel yielded the Levitical offerings described in Ezekiel 45-46 would still have been made.

In its spiritual aspect and broad outline the prophecy is a type pointing to greater things God would do through Christ. Wherein it failed for old earthly Jerusalem it will be grandly and even more gloriously realized in the New City that awaits the true Israel of God, for the true Israel and the faithful at the second coming in the new heavens and new earth and the kingdom of Christ. That greater fulfillment will not be in every local detail or under the local conditions of Ezekiel's day, with more or less of the former detail eliminated. The faithful will receive the future glory and the fullness of the immortal inheritance.

The full conditional promise included gathering all the scattered people back to the mountains of Israel, victory and subjection of enemies far and near, and dwelling among them with glory never before seen. It included a new and far greater sanctuary and a new temple with a new division of the land, with the raising of their righteous dead and the manifest presence of God and His glory before the nations. It included lengthened life and the coming of God's life and healing power upon Palestine and the earth as never before, bringing unsurpassable and inconceivable glory to Palestine. It included a true-hearted people whose character would take hold upon the animals themselves, and absolute joy, peace, and harmony with no hurt or destroying in all His holy mountain, leaving for the new earth state only absolute joy and peace and harmony among all God's creatures.

Prince, Inheritance and Liberty

A prince may give part of his inheritance to one of his servants, but the servant holds it only until the year of liberty, when it returns to the prince, while what is given to sons as inheritance remains theirs for them.

The year of liberty is the Jubilee, and its return of the granted land to the prince shows the Jubilee and its regulations still in force in the order described. That Jubilee order stands together with circumcision, divorce, distinctions in meats, offerings of beasts, the Levitical priesthood, and allusions to the Sabbath of the Lord and the Hebrew festivals, which places the whole system in the Mosaic dispensation and not in the future glorified state.

The holder of sons and servants under this temporary transfer of property is a mortal ruler within an earthly system of inheritance and temporary service, not Christ reigning in the immortal state. He is restrained by the command not to oppress the people or take their possessions, and is required to give inheritance to his sons from his own possession, whereas Christ will have the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession. In the future state under Christ as Prince and Shepherd marriage and death are unknown and no poor frail mortal offers a sin offering for himself, so this prince is distinguished from Christ. When Christ was crucified and ascended the law of the priesthood was changed, Levi ceased to be priest, and Christ became priest forever after the order of Melchisedec with an unchangeable priesthood that does not pass to another, contemporary with the everlasting gospel.

The literal temple with its former sanctuary service, Levitical sacrifices, and blood of bulls and goats will never be built or offered again in any period after the opening of the Christian dispensation. To restore those sacrifices would make Christ's once-for-all offering ineffective and void, return from reality to earlier symbols, preach another gospel, and annul His offering. His death on the cross fulfilled all sacrifices, so such blood is no longer acceptable even as a type.