And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
The verse assigns Asher its own strip of land next to Dan, running from the east side to the west side as one share in the division of the restored land among the twelve tribes. It belongs to the sanctuary, city and land arrangement of Ezekiel 40-48, with its temple and ceremonies, restoration of the land and tribal portions. It was part of a conditional offer to restored Israel, conditioned on turning from iniquity and returning to God in faith and obedience under the principle of Jeremiah 18:8-10. Israel did not meet the condition and rejected the offer, so the promised glory was never inherited and the sanctuary, city and tribal division were never built as described. It will never now be fulfilled literally in detail, for its old sacrificial service would deny the sufficiency of Christ's once-for-all offering. Because Israel failed, the promises stand as a faint type and spiritual prophecy of greater things God will do through Christ for the true Israel, more than made good in the new heavens and the new earth whose capital is the New Jerusalem at Christ's second coming.
The Portion for Asher
The verse gives Asher one share in the coming division of the restored land among the twelve tribes, lying beside the border of Dan as a single strip running from the east side to the west side. That strip adjoins Dan on its border and stretches from the eastern boundary to the western boundary. In the renewed land each person's inheritance will be permanent and lasting, so that the redeemed enjoy their land and the work of their hands throughout eternity.
The allotment belongs to the sanctuary, city, and land arrangement set forth in Ezekiel 40–48, also reckoned as Ezekiel 36 to the close of the book and as Ezekiel 37–48. That arrangement embraces the temple with its ceremonies, rites and offerings, the city, the restoration of the land, the rebuilding of the temple in glorious form, and the tribal portions. The sanctuary plan with its associated allotments was never built, and its old sacrificial service cannot be restored.
The vision was shown in B.C. 574, fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple and the sanctuary were destroyed in B.C. 588 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, while Ezekiel was among the captives away from the land. It came twenty-five years into the Babylonian captivity, showing the city as it would have been built and the tribal portions as they would have been divided. The land was to be apportioned among Israel's families by lot, and had the conditions been met the portion for Asher by Dan from east to west would have been fulfilled literally in fullest detail, together with the building of the temple with its attendant sacrifices and the burning of weapons.
Beyond its place in that land-division description no specific meaning for the portion assigned to Asher is given. The description of Israel's restoration and glorious kingdom with God's presence manifest does not explain this portion for Asher in itself.
A Conditional Prophecy Unfulfilled
The allotment for Asher beside Dan from east to west belongs to a gracious offer of restoration to Israel that was conditional throughout on turning from iniquities, being ashamed and confounded for their ways, returning wholeheartedly from captivity, and meeting God's conditions of faith and obedience under the universal principle of Jeremiah 18:8-10. The sanctuary, city, temple in glorious form, restoration of the land, and new division among the twelve tribes from Ezekiel 36 onward and especially Ezekiel 40-48 would have been built and carried out as described if Israel had thus yielded and put away sin. Because Israel did not turn and was not ashamed, the promised restoration was not carried out as described.
When the decree for restoration went forth all Israel could go up, yet the ten tribes slighted the offer of Cyrus, only Judah and Benjamin with a portion of Levi and a few others went up, only about forty thousand returned, and Israel as a whole loved Babylon more than Jerusalem and failed to answer the three calls of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, not because God changed His mind. The house of Israel was not ashamed and rejected the abundant blessing promised together with the erected sanctuary. For that reason the promised glory was never inherited and the sanctuary, city, and tribal division were never built or erected as described. What was realized at best was only a weak, feeble, shadowy, inferior and small-measure realization in the temple built by Zerubbabel, Ezra and others. One reading identifies the greater temple predicted in the closing chapters with the temple rebuilt under Herod.
The plan was designed to be fulfilled in the past dispensation then current, not in the future immortal state, not in the present dispensation, and not in the future reign of Christ and His saints. It will never now be fulfilled literally in detail, and its details are not to be fulfilled literally, the promised restoration having never been literally fulfilled. Had Israel met the conditions it would have been fulfilled in fullest detail as a literal portion for Asher by Dan from east to west, together with the burning of weapons and the building of the temple with its attendant sacrifices.
It cannot describe a future sanctuary to be ordained again, because its old sacrificial service would deny the sufficiency of Christ's once-for-all offering and make of none effect the offering made by Jesus Christ. The type cannot follow the fact after atonement in fact has been made and remission granted, God cannot go back to typical sacrifices which pointed forward to Jesus Christ since Christ Himself suffered and fulfilled all types, and in the gospel repentance and confession precede remission. It is not the New Jerusalem of Revelation despite points of similarity, for its priests are all Levites who marry, even widows of priests, implying they can die, while those immortalized at the second advent neither marry nor die, and its ruling prince offers a sin offering for himself and is forbidden to oppress the people or take their possessions for his sons, which cannot apply to Christ, who needs no sin offering and will have the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession.
If Israel had yielded, God would have cleansed them from sin, brought them back upon the mountains of Israel, made them great, and enabled them to build that marvelous sanctuary with His presence dwelling among them in overpowering glory and His glory resting on its city as never before. He would have raised them in the resurrection of Ezekiel 37 with resurrection of the faithful who slept, destroyed the northern enemies of Ezekiel 38 and 39 with plagues, conquered all enemies far and near, healed barren land, salt marshes and impure waters to give life, and made Jerusalem a praise in the earth as the Messiah's kingdom gradually came. Because Israel failed, the promises stand as a faint type and spiritual prophecy of greater things God will do through Christ for the true Israel, more than made good in Christ Jesus in fuller form in later revelations in the new heavens and the new earth whose capital is the New Jerusalem. That future glory and immortal inheritance will come instead at Christ's second coming and related events rather than by return to the local conditions of Ezekiel's time.
In that typical sense the tribal allotments portray God's purpose for the future world, that each person's inheritance will be permanent and lasting rather than temporary, and the redeemed will enjoy their land and the work of their hands throughout eternity. Because Israel failed, God had to prepare the holy city in heaven instead, and that prepared city will descend upon the earth. The three ancient calls out of Babylon were an object-lesson of the last call out of Babylon now sounding through the earth, and utter destruction awaits those who linger in Babylon today.
The verse assigns Asher its own strip of land next to Dan, running from the east side to the west side as one share in the division of the restored land among the twelve tribes. It belongs to the sanctuary, city and land arrangement of Ezekiel 40-48, with its temple and ceremonies, restoration of the land and tribal portions. It was part of a conditional offer to restored Israel, conditioned on turning from iniquity and returning to God in faith and obedience under the principle of Jeremiah 18:8-10. Israel did not meet the condition and rejected the offer, so the promised glory was never inherited and the sanctuary, city and tribal division were never built as described. It will never now be fulfilled literally in detail, for its old sacrificial service would deny the sufficiency of Christ's once-for-all offering. Because Israel failed, the promises stand as a faint type and spiritual prophecy of greater things God will do through Christ for the true Israel, more than made good in the new heavens and the new earth whose capital is the New Jerusalem at Christ's second coming.
The Portion for Asher
The verse gives Asher one share in the coming division of the restored land among the twelve tribes, lying beside the border of Dan as a single strip running from the east side to the west side. That strip adjoins Dan on its border and stretches from the eastern boundary to the western boundary. In the renewed land each person's inheritance will be permanent and lasting, so that the redeemed enjoy their land and the work of their hands throughout eternity.
The allotment belongs to the sanctuary, city, and land arrangement set forth in Ezekiel 40–48, also reckoned as Ezekiel 36 to the close of the book and as Ezekiel 37–48. That arrangement embraces the temple with its ceremonies, rites and offerings, the city, the restoration of the land, the rebuilding of the temple in glorious form, and the tribal portions. The sanctuary plan with its associated allotments was never built, and its old sacrificial service cannot be restored.
The vision was shown in B.C. 574, fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple and the sanctuary were destroyed in B.C. 588 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, while Ezekiel was among the captives away from the land. It came twenty-five years into the Babylonian captivity, showing the city as it would have been built and the tribal portions as they would have been divided. The land was to be apportioned among Israel's families by lot, and had the conditions been met the portion for Asher by Dan from east to west would have been fulfilled literally in fullest detail, together with the building of the temple with its attendant sacrifices and the burning of weapons.
Beyond its place in that land-division description no specific meaning for the portion assigned to Asher is given. The description of Israel's restoration and glorious kingdom with God's presence manifest does not explain this portion for Asher in itself.
A Conditional Prophecy Unfulfilled
The allotment for Asher beside Dan from east to west belongs to a gracious offer of restoration to Israel that was conditional throughout on turning from iniquities, being ashamed and confounded for their ways, returning wholeheartedly from captivity, and meeting God's conditions of faith and obedience under the universal principle of Jeremiah 18:8-10. The sanctuary, city, temple in glorious form, restoration of the land, and new division among the twelve tribes from Ezekiel 36 onward and especially Ezekiel 40-48 would have been built and carried out as described if Israel had thus yielded and put away sin. Because Israel did not turn and was not ashamed, the promised restoration was not carried out as described.
When the decree for restoration went forth all Israel could go up, yet the ten tribes slighted the offer of Cyrus, only Judah and Benjamin with a portion of Levi and a few others went up, only about forty thousand returned, and Israel as a whole loved Babylon more than Jerusalem and failed to answer the three calls of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, not because God changed His mind. The house of Israel was not ashamed and rejected the abundant blessing promised together with the erected sanctuary. For that reason the promised glory was never inherited and the sanctuary, city, and tribal division were never built or erected as described. What was realized at best was only a weak, feeble, shadowy, inferior and small-measure realization in the temple built by Zerubbabel, Ezra and others. One reading identifies the greater temple predicted in the closing chapters with the temple rebuilt under Herod.
The plan was designed to be fulfilled in the past dispensation then current, not in the future immortal state, not in the present dispensation, and not in the future reign of Christ and His saints. It will never now be fulfilled literally in detail, and its details are not to be fulfilled literally, the promised restoration having never been literally fulfilled. Had Israel met the conditions it would have been fulfilled in fullest detail as a literal portion for Asher by Dan from east to west, together with the burning of weapons and the building of the temple with its attendant sacrifices.
It cannot describe a future sanctuary to be ordained again, because its old sacrificial service would deny the sufficiency of Christ's once-for-all offering and make of none effect the offering made by Jesus Christ. The type cannot follow the fact after atonement in fact has been made and remission granted, God cannot go back to typical sacrifices which pointed forward to Jesus Christ since Christ Himself suffered and fulfilled all types, and in the gospel repentance and confession precede remission. It is not the New Jerusalem of Revelation despite points of similarity, for its priests are all Levites who marry, even widows of priests, implying they can die, while those immortalized at the second advent neither marry nor die, and its ruling prince offers a sin offering for himself and is forbidden to oppress the people or take their possessions for his sons, which cannot apply to Christ, who needs no sin offering and will have the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession.
If Israel had yielded, God would have cleansed them from sin, brought them back upon the mountains of Israel, made them great, and enabled them to build that marvelous sanctuary with His presence dwelling among them in overpowering glory and His glory resting on its city as never before. He would have raised them in the resurrection of Ezekiel 37 with resurrection of the faithful who slept, destroyed the northern enemies of Ezekiel 38 and 39 with plagues, conquered all enemies far and near, healed barren land, salt marshes and impure waters to give life, and made Jerusalem a praise in the earth as the Messiah's kingdom gradually came. Because Israel failed, the promises stand as a faint type and spiritual prophecy of greater things God will do through Christ for the true Israel, more than made good in Christ Jesus in fuller form in later revelations in the new heavens and the new earth whose capital is the New Jerusalem. That future glory and immortal inheritance will come instead at Christ's second coming and related events rather than by return to the local conditions of Ezekiel's time.
In that typical sense the tribal allotments portray God's purpose for the future world, that each person's inheritance will be permanent and lasting rather than temporary, and the redeemed will enjoy their land and the work of their hands throughout eternity. Because Israel failed, God had to prepare the holy city in heaven instead, and that prepared city will descend upon the earth. The three ancient calls out of Babylon were an object-lesson of the last call out of Babylon now sounding through the earth, and utter destruction awaits those who linger in Babylon today.