And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
The verse assigns Zebulun its portion beside the border of Issachar running from the east side to the west side as part of the division of the land among the twelve tribes and their families. It belongs to the pattern of a new and larger city, sanctuary, temple and land shown to Ezekiel among the captives fourteen years after Jerusalem was destroyed, to encourage the exiles, offered as a provisional and conditional promise to literal Israel at the restoration that would have been fulfilled literally only if they were ashamed of their iniquities, put away sin, and returned to God in faith and obedience. Israel did not meet the conditions but loved Babylon more than Jerusalem, so the portion for Zebulun was never set apart and the sanctuary described was never built, and its literal details of temple, sacrifices and land divisions belong to the past dispensation and will never be fulfilled literally. What was forfeited earthly will be realized more gloriously for God's true Israel in Christ, not in those old details but in the fulness of the immortal inheritance in the new heavens and new earth whose capital is the New Jerusalem, where each inheritance will be permanent and individual.
Vision Setting Explained
Ezekiel 48:26 assigns Zebulun a portion lying by the border of Issachar, running from the east side to the west side, as one share in the division of the land among the twelve tribes and their families. It belongs to the promised division of the land among the twelve tribes after the return from Babylon, laid out on a different plan with each tribal allotment placed beside the next. It is one tribal allotment in the restoration of the land promised to Israel, Zebulun by Issachar from east to west, with its surrounding city, sanctuary, temple and land.
The verse belongs to the pattern of another city and sanctuary given to Ezekiel among the captives in Babylonia, fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple and the sanctuary were destroyed in the eleventh year of Zedekiah in B.C. 588, offered in B.C. 574 about twenty-five years into the captivity. It is recorded in Ezekiel 40-48 and was to be shown to the house of Israel in captivity. It was given during the Babylonian captivity to encourage the exiles with God's future kingdom, describing the city and its tribal divisions as they would have been built if all Israel had responded.
The vision describes a very remarkable sanctuary, a new and larger city and temple than Israel had yet known, with its service, worship and surrounding land set forth in great detail. The wonderful glory of God was to be manifest in it, more glorious than what Israel had received before. It would have been built as part of the Messiah's peaceful kingdom on earth, and that grand and magnificent temple at Jerusalem, laid out portion by portion tribe by tribe, would ultimately be a house of prayer for all nations under the prosperity of the reign of the coming Messiah, the promised Seed.
The whole pattern, including this allotment, was a provisional and conditional offer to literal Israel at the restoration from the seventy years in Babylon. It was to be established in fullest detail and its promised allotment fulfilled literally only if they were ashamed of their iniquities and of all they had done, put away wickedness and sin, truly and fully repented, trusted God's promises, yielded to God in faith and obedience, and returned wholeheartedly. Ezekiel 36 onward is a conditional prophecy calling Israel to return to God and give themselves wholly to Him, and the form of the city, sanctuary, land division and temple was to be made known to them only if they were ashamed. If they had met the conditions God would have caused this building to be established and would have caused the twelve tribes to return with abundant blessing.
Conditional Promise Forfeited
Ezekiel 48:26 belongs to the pattern of another city and sanctuary in Ezekiel 40-48, shown to the house of Israel to make them ashamed of their iniquities, whose form was to be made known only if they were ashamed of all they had done and put away wickedness and sin. The promised division of the land among the twelve tribes with abundant blessing, including Zebulun's portion by the border of Issachar from the east side to the west side, was offered on condition that Israel in captivity would be ashamed, truly and fully repent, yield wholly to God, and return. The decree of Cyrus opened the way for all Israel to go up, but Israel did not fulfill the conditions, did not yield fully, loved Babylon more than Jerusalem, and the ten tribes slighted the offer and its blessings. Only Judah and Benjamin with a portion of Levi and a few others, about forty thousand, went up, so the house of Israel rejected the gracious offer.
Hence Zebulun's allotment beside Issachar's was never set apart, God did not dwell among them, and the sanctuary with all its blessed fullness was never erected. What was built after the return by Zerubbabel, Ezra and others fell short of the pattern and was only a feeble shadow of it, with the temple and land order remaining unfulfilled. The vision was designed to be fulfilled in the past dispensation under the first covenant, not in the present dispensation, not after the Christian dispensation began, and not in the future immortal state. It does not belong to the future reign of Christ and His saints, its city is not the New Jerusalem, and its sacrificial system does not foretell a restoration of Levitical worship.
Its literal details, including the land divisions, the building of the temple with its attendant sacrifices, and Ezekiel 39:9-15, will never be fulfilled literally, and the sanctuary described will never be built. It cannot be built in a future glorified state because its prince is a poor frail mortal who offers sin-offerings and all kinds of offerings for himself, has sons and servants and an inheritance for them, must end exactions and is forbidden to oppress, whereas Jesus alone shall be King over Israel in the glorified state and there will be no oppression. It cannot refer to the gospel dispensation because it belongs to the time while literal circumcision was in force, divorce was permitted, distinction between clean and unclean meats was recognized, burnt-offerings and sin-offerings of bulls and goats were in force, and the Levitical priesthood existed.
That Levitical priesthood was superseded when Christ became the eternal priest after the order of Melchisedek, so this temple was not to be built after the Christian dispensation began. Its prescribed typical sacrifices pointed to Jesus, and to set them up again literally would annul Christ's offering made once for all, make His sacrifice void, and conflict with God's plan. Ezekiel 48 belongs to that city plan with continuing offerings and sacrifices which some expect to be built in a future age, but it does not establish that ancient Jerusalem must be rebuilt in the future or that pardon for sin will be offered then.
Greater Fulfillment Expected
Though forfeited on earth, what was shown will be realized far more gloriously for God's true Israel, the faithful in Christ Jesus. It will not be fulfilled according to those old details but according to later revelation, on greater terms, with some of its former details left out. The promised arrangement of a new division of the land among the tribes, with Zebulun by Issachar from east to west, was not carried out because Israel did not put away wickedness and sin and did not give themselves wholly to God. The city, the restoration of the land, and the rebuilding of the temple in the glorious form shown in Ezekiel 40-48 therefore remained unfulfilled. Those promises faintly represent and stand in spiritual form as a prophecy of greater things God will do for His people through Christ, the full glory and fulness of the immortal inheritance, the new heavens and the new earth and its peace, whose capital city is the New Jerusalem prepared in heaven to descend upon the earth.
If Israel had yielded and been ashamed for their ways, they would have been brought back upon the mountains of Israel in far greater measure. They would have become a light to the world, had their northern enemies destroyed by plagues, and built that marvelous sanctuary with the overpowering glory of God's presence dwelling among them under the Messiah, the promised Seed as a house of prayer for all nations under His prosperous reign. Because they did not forsake sin and return wholeheartedly, only about forty thousand returned and the promises were not realized in full, and the best they had was only a shadow of it in the temple built by Zerubbabel, Ezra and others. As it is, the vision was only faintly fulfilled after the restoration, and its greater fulfillment is connected with the glory of Christ's second coming, not with a return to the local conditions of Ezekiel's time. The sacrifices ordered in that sanctuary cannot now be set up literally, because to offer them would make of none effect the offering made once for all by Jesus Christ.
That temporary inheritance allotted in Ezekiel 48 among the tribes and their families, with Zebulun's portion beside Issachar's, was designed to show God's purpose for the future world. Each person's inheritance there will be permanent and individual, and the redeemed will enjoy the work of their hands throughout eternity.
The city with its tribal divisions would have been built if all Israel had responded to the three calls to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem, but Israel loved Babylon more than the Jerusalem they professed to love and failed to do their part, so Jerusalem was destroyed and the city was never built, not because God changed His mind. Because Israel failed, God had to prepare the holy city in heaven instead, and that prepared city will descend upon the earth. Those ancient calls out of Babylon that would have fulfilled the vision are an object-lesson of the last call to come out of Babylon now sounding through the earth, and utter destruction awaits those who linger in Babylon today. God's purposes toward wicked nations and toward the true Israel remain just the same though times and environment vary, the true Israel to be redeemed and given a more glorious inheritance, even the earth made new, while Gog and Magog representing the northern nations are punished in part in this world before and when Christ comes and ultimately at the end of the 1,000 years.
The verse assigns Zebulun its portion beside the border of Issachar running from the east side to the west side as part of the division of the land among the twelve tribes and their families. It belongs to the pattern of a new and larger city, sanctuary, temple and land shown to Ezekiel among the captives fourteen years after Jerusalem was destroyed, to encourage the exiles, offered as a provisional and conditional promise to literal Israel at the restoration that would have been fulfilled literally only if they were ashamed of their iniquities, put away sin, and returned to God in faith and obedience. Israel did not meet the conditions but loved Babylon more than Jerusalem, so the portion for Zebulun was never set apart and the sanctuary described was never built, and its literal details of temple, sacrifices and land divisions belong to the past dispensation and will never be fulfilled literally. What was forfeited earthly will be realized more gloriously for God's true Israel in Christ, not in those old details but in the fulness of the immortal inheritance in the new heavens and new earth whose capital is the New Jerusalem, where each inheritance will be permanent and individual.
Vision Setting Explained
Ezekiel 48:26 assigns Zebulun a portion lying by the border of Issachar, running from the east side to the west side, as one share in the division of the land among the twelve tribes and their families. It belongs to the promised division of the land among the twelve tribes after the return from Babylon, laid out on a different plan with each tribal allotment placed beside the next. It is one tribal allotment in the restoration of the land promised to Israel, Zebulun by Issachar from east to west, with its surrounding city, sanctuary, temple and land.
The verse belongs to the pattern of another city and sanctuary given to Ezekiel among the captives in Babylonia, fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple and the sanctuary were destroyed in the eleventh year of Zedekiah in B.C. 588, offered in B.C. 574 about twenty-five years into the captivity. It is recorded in Ezekiel 40-48 and was to be shown to the house of Israel in captivity. It was given during the Babylonian captivity to encourage the exiles with God's future kingdom, describing the city and its tribal divisions as they would have been built if all Israel had responded.
The vision describes a very remarkable sanctuary, a new and larger city and temple than Israel had yet known, with its service, worship and surrounding land set forth in great detail. The wonderful glory of God was to be manifest in it, more glorious than what Israel had received before. It would have been built as part of the Messiah's peaceful kingdom on earth, and that grand and magnificent temple at Jerusalem, laid out portion by portion tribe by tribe, would ultimately be a house of prayer for all nations under the prosperity of the reign of the coming Messiah, the promised Seed.
The whole pattern, including this allotment, was a provisional and conditional offer to literal Israel at the restoration from the seventy years in Babylon. It was to be established in fullest detail and its promised allotment fulfilled literally only if they were ashamed of their iniquities and of all they had done, put away wickedness and sin, truly and fully repented, trusted God's promises, yielded to God in faith and obedience, and returned wholeheartedly. Ezekiel 36 onward is a conditional prophecy calling Israel to return to God and give themselves wholly to Him, and the form of the city, sanctuary, land division and temple was to be made known to them only if they were ashamed. If they had met the conditions God would have caused this building to be established and would have caused the twelve tribes to return with abundant blessing.
Conditional Promise Forfeited
Ezekiel 48:26 belongs to the pattern of another city and sanctuary in Ezekiel 40-48, shown to the house of Israel to make them ashamed of their iniquities, whose form was to be made known only if they were ashamed of all they had done and put away wickedness and sin. The promised division of the land among the twelve tribes with abundant blessing, including Zebulun's portion by the border of Issachar from the east side to the west side, was offered on condition that Israel in captivity would be ashamed, truly and fully repent, yield wholly to God, and return. The decree of Cyrus opened the way for all Israel to go up, but Israel did not fulfill the conditions, did not yield fully, loved Babylon more than Jerusalem, and the ten tribes slighted the offer and its blessings. Only Judah and Benjamin with a portion of Levi and a few others, about forty thousand, went up, so the house of Israel rejected the gracious offer.
Hence Zebulun's allotment beside Issachar's was never set apart, God did not dwell among them, and the sanctuary with all its blessed fullness was never erected. What was built after the return by Zerubbabel, Ezra and others fell short of the pattern and was only a feeble shadow of it, with the temple and land order remaining unfulfilled. The vision was designed to be fulfilled in the past dispensation under the first covenant, not in the present dispensation, not after the Christian dispensation began, and not in the future immortal state. It does not belong to the future reign of Christ and His saints, its city is not the New Jerusalem, and its sacrificial system does not foretell a restoration of Levitical worship.
Its literal details, including the land divisions, the building of the temple with its attendant sacrifices, and Ezekiel 39:9-15, will never be fulfilled literally, and the sanctuary described will never be built. It cannot be built in a future glorified state because its prince is a poor frail mortal who offers sin-offerings and all kinds of offerings for himself, has sons and servants and an inheritance for them, must end exactions and is forbidden to oppress, whereas Jesus alone shall be King over Israel in the glorified state and there will be no oppression. It cannot refer to the gospel dispensation because it belongs to the time while literal circumcision was in force, divorce was permitted, distinction between clean and unclean meats was recognized, burnt-offerings and sin-offerings of bulls and goats were in force, and the Levitical priesthood existed.
That Levitical priesthood was superseded when Christ became the eternal priest after the order of Melchisedek, so this temple was not to be built after the Christian dispensation began. Its prescribed typical sacrifices pointed to Jesus, and to set them up again literally would annul Christ's offering made once for all, make His sacrifice void, and conflict with God's plan. Ezekiel 48 belongs to that city plan with continuing offerings and sacrifices which some expect to be built in a future age, but it does not establish that ancient Jerusalem must be rebuilt in the future or that pardon for sin will be offered then.
Greater Fulfillment Expected
Though forfeited on earth, what was shown will be realized far more gloriously for God's true Israel, the faithful in Christ Jesus. It will not be fulfilled according to those old details but according to later revelation, on greater terms, with some of its former details left out. The promised arrangement of a new division of the land among the tribes, with Zebulun by Issachar from east to west, was not carried out because Israel did not put away wickedness and sin and did not give themselves wholly to God. The city, the restoration of the land, and the rebuilding of the temple in the glorious form shown in Ezekiel 40-48 therefore remained unfulfilled. Those promises faintly represent and stand in spiritual form as a prophecy of greater things God will do for His people through Christ, the full glory and fulness of the immortal inheritance, the new heavens and the new earth and its peace, whose capital city is the New Jerusalem prepared in heaven to descend upon the earth.
If Israel had yielded and been ashamed for their ways, they would have been brought back upon the mountains of Israel in far greater measure. They would have become a light to the world, had their northern enemies destroyed by plagues, and built that marvelous sanctuary with the overpowering glory of God's presence dwelling among them under the Messiah, the promised Seed as a house of prayer for all nations under His prosperous reign. Because they did not forsake sin and return wholeheartedly, only about forty thousand returned and the promises were not realized in full, and the best they had was only a shadow of it in the temple built by Zerubbabel, Ezra and others. As it is, the vision was only faintly fulfilled after the restoration, and its greater fulfillment is connected with the glory of Christ's second coming, not with a return to the local conditions of Ezekiel's time. The sacrifices ordered in that sanctuary cannot now be set up literally, because to offer them would make of none effect the offering made once for all by Jesus Christ.
That temporary inheritance allotted in Ezekiel 48 among the tribes and their families, with Zebulun's portion beside Issachar's, was designed to show God's purpose for the future world. Each person's inheritance there will be permanent and individual, and the redeemed will enjoy the work of their hands throughout eternity.
The city with its tribal divisions would have been built if all Israel had responded to the three calls to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem, but Israel loved Babylon more than the Jerusalem they professed to love and failed to do their part, so Jerusalem was destroyed and the city was never built, not because God changed His mind. Because Israel failed, God had to prepare the holy city in heaven instead, and that prepared city will descend upon the earth. Those ancient calls out of Babylon that would have fulfilled the vision are an object-lesson of the last call to come out of Babylon now sounding through the earth, and utter destruction awaits those who linger in Babylon today. God's purposes toward wicked nations and toward the true Israel remain just the same though times and environment vary, the true Israel to be redeemed and given a more glorious inheritance, even the earth made new, while Gog and Magog representing the northern nations are punished in part in this world before and when Christ comes and ultimately at the end of the 1,000 years.