And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
The verse assigns Judah its own allotment in the division of the land, lying alongside the border of Reuben and stretching from the east side to the west side. It belonged to a promised restoration of sanctuary, city, temple and land offered on condition that Israel would be ashamed of iniquity, put away sin and return to God wholeheartedly from captivity, but Israel did not meet the condition and loved Babylon more than Jerusalem, so the earthly Jerusalem with God dwelling in glory in her midst was never built. Because of that failure the sanctuary with its tribal portions was never erected in the form described, and the best Israel had was only a weak shadow in the temple built by Zerubbabel and Ezra, which fell far short of the pattern. The division cannot be fulfilled literally in the future or in the immortal state, since it requires a mortal prince offering sin-offerings, circumcision, distinction of clean and unclean meats, and the Levitical priesthood with bulls and goats abolished at the cross. What God would have given literally then will instead be more than made good in a more glorious form to His Israel in Christ, when the redeemed receive their portions in the new heaven and new earth as a permanent, eternal inheritance, where Gentiles are fellow heirs with Jews and there cannot be Greek and Jew.
Words and Vision Setting
Ezekiel 48:7 assigns Judah one allotment in the division of the land among the tribes, a portion lying by the border of Reuben and extending from the east side to the west side. It belongs to the prophesied distribution of the land after return from Babylonian captivity, the restoration God was prepared to accomplish for Israel. No further separate meaning or application is given to Judah's portion beyond its place in that visionary division.
The verse belongs to the sanctuary, temple, city and land vision of Ezekiel's closing chapters, chapters 36 to 48 and especially chapters 40 to 48. It is part of the pattern of a city and sanctuary with tribal portions, a very remarkable sanctuary and a temple vision with its service, shown to Ezekiel among the captives of Israel. The showing came fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple and the sanctuary were destroyed in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in B.C. 588 to B.C. 574. Its specifications place its designed fulfillment in the past dispensation, and its temple and service were not to be established after the Christian dispensation began.
The allotment joins the sanctuary pattern for the twelve tribes on their restoration to the abundant blessing promised in Ezekiel 47-48, with a new and larger city and temple, the restoration of the land, and the rebuilding of the temple and sanctuary described from Ezekiel 40 onward. It stands with the promise beginning in Ezekiel 36 to bring the scattered people home upon the mountains of Israel, cleanse them from sins, make them great, accomplish for them the resurrection of Ezekiel 37, destroy the enemies coming from the north in Ezekiel 38 and 39 by plagues, conquer all enemies far and near, and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. God's presence would dwell among them in overpowering glory, and His presence would heal all barren land, all salt marshes, deserts and impure waters by the water of life and give life to all. The pattern was given to impress that the only holy, worthy thing is that in which God dwells, summed up in Jehovah is there, with Jerusalem ultimately becoming the house of prayer for all nations.
Conditional Promise Unfulfilled
The division of the land with a portion for Judah by the border of Reuben from the east side to the west side was offered as a conditional prophecy of a new division with a city and sanctuary for the tribes. It was to be shown to the house of Israel that they might be ashamed of iniquity, and its details made known only if they were ashamed of all they had done, put away sins, turned from wickedness, returned wholeheartedly from Babylonian captivity, yielded themselves wholly to God and lived as His children. Under the universal principle that promised blessing depends on obedience, the promised restoration with its temple and sanctuary from Ezekiel 40 onward would have been built if Israel had been faithful and complied with being ashamed and confounded for their ways.
Israel did not turn from wickedness as required, was not ashamed and did not put away sin, but continued in apostasy and loved Babylon more than the Jerusalem they professed to love. When the decree of Cyrus went forth all Israel could have gone up to receive the blessing, but the ten tribes slighted the offer and the promised blessings of God, and only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin with a portion of Levi and a few others responded to the three calls to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem. So the house of Israel rejected the gracious offer of the Lord, failed to do their part, and the glorious earthly Jerusalem with God as a wall of fire and glory in her midst was never built on earth, and Jerusalem was destroyed.
Because Israel never complied with the conditions, that sanctuary with all its blessed fullness, including its tribal portions, was never erected in the form described. If they had been faithful He would have brought them back upon the mountains of Israel, cleansed them from sins, made them great, accomplished for them the resurrection of Ezekiel 37, destroyed the enemies coming from the north in Ezekiel 38 and 39 by plagues, enabled them to build that marvelous sanctuary with His presence dwelling among them in overpowering glory, and made Israel a light to the world. The best they had was only a weak realization and shadow of it in the temple built by Zerubbabel, Ezra and others, which fell far short of Ezekiel's pattern and never saw the glory of Solomon's temple except in the person of Jesus Christ, whom the temple-keepers rejected.
That division cannot belong to the immortal state, for the vision includes a mortal prince who offers sin-offerings and all offerings for himself, has sons and servants to receive inheritance, takes away exactions and must not oppress the people. Christ alone is King over Israel in glory, and His reign has peace and righteousness with no oppression, so the specifications of the prophecy place its designed fulfillment in the past dispensation, not in the present dispensation and not in the future immortal state. It was shown among the captives in B.C. 574, fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple and the sanctuary were destroyed in the eleventh year of Zedekiah in B.C. 588, as a very remarkable sanctuary Israel was to come into possession of if they complied with certain conditions, and that sanctuary has never been built.
It cannot belong to the gospel dispensation and will never be fulfilled literally nor have its sanctuary with sacrifices restored in the future. It requires literal circumcision, permission of divorce, distinction of clean and unclean meats, burnt-offerings and sin-offerings of bulls and goats, and the Levitical priesthood, all abolished at the cross and superseded by the priesthood of Melchizedek. That sanctuary with its tribal portions for Reuben and Judah and the rest will never be built under the old covenant, for to offer those sacrifices now would annul Christ's offering and make of none effect the offering made once for all by Jesus Christ, who fulfilled all types.
Greater Future Inheritance
What would have been given literally to Israel then, including the portion for Judah by the border of Reuben, the burning of weapons seven years, and the building of the temple with its attendant sacrifices, will instead be more than made good in a different and more glorious form without the local conditions of Ezekiel's time. The division of the land among the tribes was part of the conditional promise beginning in Ezekiel 36 and described from Ezekiel 40 onward, calling Israel to return to God, give themselves wholly to Him, forsake sin, put away iniquity and live as His children in order to receive the city, the restoration of the land, and the rebuilding of the temple and sanctuary. The vision was to be shown that they might be ashamed of iniquity and be confounded for their ways, with its details made known if they were ashamed of all they had done, but because they were not ashamed and sin was not put away it could not be fulfilled to them in its glorious form as presented, and was fulfilled only in small part. Had ancient Israel met the conditions of blessing this portion for Judah would have been fulfilled in fullest literal detail, but because Israel did not meet them this land division will never be fulfilled literally. All the precious promises to Israel will be more than made good to His Israel in Christ Jesus, to true Israel and the faithful, in the new heaven and the new earth described in Revelation 22 and the earth made new where the Spirit of absolute peace presides. They forfeited the promised earthly realization, yet the purposes shown will instead be realized in the New City for God's true Israel, whose capital city is the New Jerusalem and the New City now ready in heaven to descend, with the faithful receiving the future glory and the full immortal inheritance. They point also to a greater fulfillment at Christ's second coming, to be fulfilled under greater conditions with much of the former detail left aside, while God's purpose toward wicked nations and true Israel remains the same though times and environment vary, with true Israel redeemed and given a more glorious inheritance even the earth made new, and Gog and Magog representing the northern nations punished in part in this world and in full before and when Christ comes and ultimately at the end of the 1,000 years.
These chapters also stand as a spiritual prophecy of greater things God will do for His people through Christ, and as a faint type of God's future promises to His people, not a detailed prediction of their fulfillment. The promised restoration would have been fulfilled then if Israel had yielded to God and returned wholeheartedly from Babylonian captivity, but their unwillingness and failure to repent meant the future promises would be fulfilled for true Israel in a different form, not in every detail of Ezekiel's description.
The pattern of a glorious temple for the center of a restored Jerusalem was given to impress that the only holy, worthy thing is that in which God dwells, summed up in Jehovah is there, to lead man to yield himself as a dwelling-place, temple and sanctuary of God so that His presence would give life to all. His presence would heal all barren land, all salt marshes and all impure waters, yet Jerusalem was never thus restored and that temple was never built and never will be built, because Israel would not yield all to God and God could not come in and dwell among them nor build a temple for His name for a half-hearted people to dishonor. The temple built at the restoration from Babylon fell far short of Ezekiel's pattern and never saw the glory of Solomon's temple except in the person of Jesus Christ, whom the temple-keepers rejected.
The temporary allotment of the promised land to the tribes, with Judah receiving a portion beside Reuben's stretching from the eastern border to the western border, was meant to teach God's purpose for the future world. The land being called married points to each person's inheritance being permanent: the redeemed will receive their portions in the promised land as a permanent, eternal inheritance, will possess it eternally and enjoy the work of their hands.
The vision of the last nine chapters was given when Israel had been in Babylonian captivity only twenty-five years, showing the city and its tribal divisions including Judah's portion as they would have been built if all Israel had responded to the three calls to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem for a glorious earthly Jerusalem with God as a wall of fire and glory in her midst. The city was never built on earth, not because God's mind changed but because Israel loved Babylon more than the Jerusalem they professed to love and failed to do their part, so Jerusalem was destroyed. In order to have a holy city God prepared one in heaven, which is now ready and will descend upon the earth, while the ancient calls out of Babylon stand as an object-lesson of the last call now sounding to come out of Babylon before utter destruction falls on those who linger.
The sanctuary prophecy of Ezekiel 37 to 48 with its tribal portions for Reuben and Judah and the rest was conditional upon Israel's acceptance or rejection, and that literal sanctuary will never be built. The verse must be read in the light of the clearer New Testament revelation that Gentiles are fellow heirs and partakers of the promise in Christ by the gospel, in whom there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian and Scythian, so it cannot support an exclusive work for literal Israel. The vision of the city described in Ezekiel 40 to 48, including this allotment, is applied by advocates of a future age to a city to be built during Christ's reign, with sacrifices continuing there and the city taking the place of the heavenly Jerusalem. The allocation of a portion for Judah is not explained separately in that application.
The verse assigns Judah its own allotment in the division of the land, lying alongside the border of Reuben and stretching from the east side to the west side. It belonged to a promised restoration of sanctuary, city, temple and land offered on condition that Israel would be ashamed of iniquity, put away sin and return to God wholeheartedly from captivity, but Israel did not meet the condition and loved Babylon more than Jerusalem, so the earthly Jerusalem with God dwelling in glory in her midst was never built. Because of that failure the sanctuary with its tribal portions was never erected in the form described, and the best Israel had was only a weak shadow in the temple built by Zerubbabel and Ezra, which fell far short of the pattern. The division cannot be fulfilled literally in the future or in the immortal state, since it requires a mortal prince offering sin-offerings, circumcision, distinction of clean and unclean meats, and the Levitical priesthood with bulls and goats abolished at the cross. What God would have given literally then will instead be more than made good in a more glorious form to His Israel in Christ, when the redeemed receive their portions in the new heaven and new earth as a permanent, eternal inheritance, where Gentiles are fellow heirs with Jews and there cannot be Greek and Jew.
Words and Vision Setting
Ezekiel 48:7 assigns Judah one allotment in the division of the land among the tribes, a portion lying by the border of Reuben and extending from the east side to the west side. It belongs to the prophesied distribution of the land after return from Babylonian captivity, the restoration God was prepared to accomplish for Israel. No further separate meaning or application is given to Judah's portion beyond its place in that visionary division.
The verse belongs to the sanctuary, temple, city and land vision of Ezekiel's closing chapters, chapters 36 to 48 and especially chapters 40 to 48. It is part of the pattern of a city and sanctuary with tribal portions, a very remarkable sanctuary and a temple vision with its service, shown to Ezekiel among the captives of Israel. The showing came fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple and the sanctuary were destroyed in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in B.C. 588 to B.C. 574. Its specifications place its designed fulfillment in the past dispensation, and its temple and service were not to be established after the Christian dispensation began.
The allotment joins the sanctuary pattern for the twelve tribes on their restoration to the abundant blessing promised in Ezekiel 47-48, with a new and larger city and temple, the restoration of the land, and the rebuilding of the temple and sanctuary described from Ezekiel 40 onward. It stands with the promise beginning in Ezekiel 36 to bring the scattered people home upon the mountains of Israel, cleanse them from sins, make them great, accomplish for them the resurrection of Ezekiel 37, destroy the enemies coming from the north in Ezekiel 38 and 39 by plagues, conquer all enemies far and near, and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. God's presence would dwell among them in overpowering glory, and His presence would heal all barren land, all salt marshes, deserts and impure waters by the water of life and give life to all. The pattern was given to impress that the only holy, worthy thing is that in which God dwells, summed up in Jehovah is there, with Jerusalem ultimately becoming the house of prayer for all nations.
Conditional Promise Unfulfilled
The division of the land with a portion for Judah by the border of Reuben from the east side to the west side was offered as a conditional prophecy of a new division with a city and sanctuary for the tribes. It was to be shown to the house of Israel that they might be ashamed of iniquity, and its details made known only if they were ashamed of all they had done, put away sins, turned from wickedness, returned wholeheartedly from Babylonian captivity, yielded themselves wholly to God and lived as His children. Under the universal principle that promised blessing depends on obedience, the promised restoration with its temple and sanctuary from Ezekiel 40 onward would have been built if Israel had been faithful and complied with being ashamed and confounded for their ways.
Israel did not turn from wickedness as required, was not ashamed and did not put away sin, but continued in apostasy and loved Babylon more than the Jerusalem they professed to love. When the decree of Cyrus went forth all Israel could have gone up to receive the blessing, but the ten tribes slighted the offer and the promised blessings of God, and only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin with a portion of Levi and a few others responded to the three calls to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem. So the house of Israel rejected the gracious offer of the Lord, failed to do their part, and the glorious earthly Jerusalem with God as a wall of fire and glory in her midst was never built on earth, and Jerusalem was destroyed.
Because Israel never complied with the conditions, that sanctuary with all its blessed fullness, including its tribal portions, was never erected in the form described. If they had been faithful He would have brought them back upon the mountains of Israel, cleansed them from sins, made them great, accomplished for them the resurrection of Ezekiel 37, destroyed the enemies coming from the north in Ezekiel 38 and 39 by plagues, enabled them to build that marvelous sanctuary with His presence dwelling among them in overpowering glory, and made Israel a light to the world. The best they had was only a weak realization and shadow of it in the temple built by Zerubbabel, Ezra and others, which fell far short of Ezekiel's pattern and never saw the glory of Solomon's temple except in the person of Jesus Christ, whom the temple-keepers rejected.
That division cannot belong to the immortal state, for the vision includes a mortal prince who offers sin-offerings and all offerings for himself, has sons and servants to receive inheritance, takes away exactions and must not oppress the people. Christ alone is King over Israel in glory, and His reign has peace and righteousness with no oppression, so the specifications of the prophecy place its designed fulfillment in the past dispensation, not in the present dispensation and not in the future immortal state. It was shown among the captives in B.C. 574, fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple and the sanctuary were destroyed in the eleventh year of Zedekiah in B.C. 588, as a very remarkable sanctuary Israel was to come into possession of if they complied with certain conditions, and that sanctuary has never been built.
It cannot belong to the gospel dispensation and will never be fulfilled literally nor have its sanctuary with sacrifices restored in the future. It requires literal circumcision, permission of divorce, distinction of clean and unclean meats, burnt-offerings and sin-offerings of bulls and goats, and the Levitical priesthood, all abolished at the cross and superseded by the priesthood of Melchizedek. That sanctuary with its tribal portions for Reuben and Judah and the rest will never be built under the old covenant, for to offer those sacrifices now would annul Christ's offering and make of none effect the offering made once for all by Jesus Christ, who fulfilled all types.
Greater Future Inheritance
What would have been given literally to Israel then, including the portion for Judah by the border of Reuben, the burning of weapons seven years, and the building of the temple with its attendant sacrifices, will instead be more than made good in a different and more glorious form without the local conditions of Ezekiel's time. The division of the land among the tribes was part of the conditional promise beginning in Ezekiel 36 and described from Ezekiel 40 onward, calling Israel to return to God, give themselves wholly to Him, forsake sin, put away iniquity and live as His children in order to receive the city, the restoration of the land, and the rebuilding of the temple and sanctuary. The vision was to be shown that they might be ashamed of iniquity and be confounded for their ways, with its details made known if they were ashamed of all they had done, but because they were not ashamed and sin was not put away it could not be fulfilled to them in its glorious form as presented, and was fulfilled only in small part. Had ancient Israel met the conditions of blessing this portion for Judah would have been fulfilled in fullest literal detail, but because Israel did not meet them this land division will never be fulfilled literally. All the precious promises to Israel will be more than made good to His Israel in Christ Jesus, to true Israel and the faithful, in the new heaven and the new earth described in Revelation 22 and the earth made new where the Spirit of absolute peace presides. They forfeited the promised earthly realization, yet the purposes shown will instead be realized in the New City for God's true Israel, whose capital city is the New Jerusalem and the New City now ready in heaven to descend, with the faithful receiving the future glory and the full immortal inheritance. They point also to a greater fulfillment at Christ's second coming, to be fulfilled under greater conditions with much of the former detail left aside, while God's purpose toward wicked nations and true Israel remains the same though times and environment vary, with true Israel redeemed and given a more glorious inheritance even the earth made new, and Gog and Magog representing the northern nations punished in part in this world and in full before and when Christ comes and ultimately at the end of the 1,000 years.
These chapters also stand as a spiritual prophecy of greater things God will do for His people through Christ, and as a faint type of God's future promises to His people, not a detailed prediction of their fulfillment. The promised restoration would have been fulfilled then if Israel had yielded to God and returned wholeheartedly from Babylonian captivity, but their unwillingness and failure to repent meant the future promises would be fulfilled for true Israel in a different form, not in every detail of Ezekiel's description.
The pattern of a glorious temple for the center of a restored Jerusalem was given to impress that the only holy, worthy thing is that in which God dwells, summed up in Jehovah is there, to lead man to yield himself as a dwelling-place, temple and sanctuary of God so that His presence would give life to all. His presence would heal all barren land, all salt marshes and all impure waters, yet Jerusalem was never thus restored and that temple was never built and never will be built, because Israel would not yield all to God and God could not come in and dwell among them nor build a temple for His name for a half-hearted people to dishonor. The temple built at the restoration from Babylon fell far short of Ezekiel's pattern and never saw the glory of Solomon's temple except in the person of Jesus Christ, whom the temple-keepers rejected.
The temporary allotment of the promised land to the tribes, with Judah receiving a portion beside Reuben's stretching from the eastern border to the western border, was meant to teach God's purpose for the future world. The land being called married points to each person's inheritance being permanent: the redeemed will receive their portions in the promised land as a permanent, eternal inheritance, will possess it eternally and enjoy the work of their hands.
The vision of the last nine chapters was given when Israel had been in Babylonian captivity only twenty-five years, showing the city and its tribal divisions including Judah's portion as they would have been built if all Israel had responded to the three calls to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem for a glorious earthly Jerusalem with God as a wall of fire and glory in her midst. The city was never built on earth, not because God's mind changed but because Israel loved Babylon more than the Jerusalem they professed to love and failed to do their part, so Jerusalem was destroyed. In order to have a holy city God prepared one in heaven, which is now ready and will descend upon the earth, while the ancient calls out of Babylon stand as an object-lesson of the last call now sounding to come out of Babylon before utter destruction falls on those who linger.
The sanctuary prophecy of Ezekiel 37 to 48 with its tribal portions for Reuben and Judah and the rest was conditional upon Israel's acceptance or rejection, and that literal sanctuary will never be built. The verse must be read in the light of the clearer New Testament revelation that Gentiles are fellow heirs and partakers of the promise in Christ by the gospel, in whom there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian and Scythian, so it cannot support an exclusive work for literal Israel. The vision of the city described in Ezekiel 40 to 48, including this allotment, is applied by advocates of a future age to a city to be built during Christ's reign, with sacrifices continuing there and the city taking the place of the heavenly Jerusalem. The allocation of a portion for Judah is not explained separately in that application.