Chapter xlvii.

The preceding chapters of this final section of the Book of Ezekiel contain the vision of the Temple and its worship. The last two chapters give a vision of Israel's land as it will be during the coming age.

I. The Temple Stream and its Healing Waters.

Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house was the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, from the south of the altar. Then brought he me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the outer gate toward the gate that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. And when the man went forth eastward, he had a line in his hand, and he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. But the marshes thereof and the pools thereof shall not be healed: they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine (verses 1-12).

This great vision of the Temple stream has been variously interpreted. The critical school has treated it only as an imagery of the prophet and speaks of the physical impossibility that such a stream could ever be in existence.[56] Others have spiritualized the vision. A leading annotator states, "Messiah is the temple and the door; from His pierced side flow the living waters, ever increasing, both in the individual believer and in the heart." In this spiritualizing method the waters are also applied to the reading and study of the Word of God. The same commentator says "some things in the Bible are easy to understand, as the water up to the ankles; others more difficult, which require deeper search, as the waters up to the knees and the loins; and others beyond our reach." Such applications can be made in different ways. The stream which Ezekiel saw is more than typical of the blessings which the land and all the earth will enjoy in the coming age. It is a literal stream. There will be a great outpouring of the Spirit of God for the age to come, and spiritual blessings will abound everywhere. But the stream Ezekiel beholds tells of the physical blessings which are in store for the earth in that coming day of the restoration of all things. We do not need to trouble ourselves about the manner in which the temple stream is to flow forth, nor do we need to solve the physical difficulties. When the Lord of Creation was on earth in humiliation, and walked among men garbed in servant's form, nature acknowledged Him and He manifested the Creator's power. What will it be when He comes again, not as a servant to die, but as the King and Lord of all! Omnipotence will then be displayed to the full. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? (Jere. xxxii:27). He who bore the thorns on His brow, the symbol of the curse which on account of man's sin rests upon Creation, will remove that curse in the day of His power. He paid for it on the cross.

[56] One says: "The double impossibility of the rapid rise of water in the stream and the course of the river across the steep limestone range east of Jerusalem into the Dead Sea does not occur to the prophet." As if Ezekiel had invented this vision.

And Ezekiel was not the only prophet to whom was revealed the physical blessing of the earth in the life and health giving stream. Isaiah had the same vision. "And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals where each lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes" (Is. xxxv:7). "I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Is. xliii:19). "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree" (Is. lv:13). "The desert shall blossom like the rose" (Is. xxxv:1). Joel at the close of his great vision concerning the still future day of Israel's tribulation and the judgment of the nations following the time of trouble, and the Lord's visible manifestation, also speaks of the blessings of the Millennium. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim" (Joel iii:18). Joel, one of the earliest prophets, living centuries before Ezekiel, saw water coming forth from the house of the Lord for earthly blessings. Still more definite is the great post-exilic prophet Zechariah. "And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea; in summer and in winter shall it be" (Zech. xiv:8).

The waters Ezekiel saw issued out from under the threshold, from the right side of the house, the south side of the altar. Of the heavenly Jerusalem a similar scene is recorded by John in the Revelation. "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Rev. xxii:1). The stream has its origin in the midst of the millennial temple. There is no use in speculating about the source of the water supply. It is super-natural. He who said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters" (Gen. i:6) and He who broke open all the fountains of the deep when His judgment came on the earth (Gen. vii:11) by whose power also the smitten rock in the wilderness supplied the water for His people, He will provide from His inexhaustible resources the life giving stream. And the waters which gush forth are increasing in volume; the stream does not become shallower but deepens in its flow. It is not like a natural river which has its source in a spring and is fed by brooks and rivers. It is a miraculous, unexplainable self-supply which occasions this increase. A thousand cubits are measured and the waters come to the ankles of the prophet. The next thousand cubits bring the waters to the knees; then advancing another thousand cubits the waters come to the loins, and with the fourth thousand they become so deep that the prophet could not fathom them. The four thousand cubits make about a mile and a half, so that the prophet had advanced, under the guidance of the man, this distance from Jerusalem in a southeastern direction.

He is caused to return to the bank of the river, and saw there on both sides many trees. These trees testify of the great fertility which this stream will produce in nature. Expositors who give the vision a purely spiritual meaning explain the trees as being the righteous who shall flourish at the waterbrooks (Psalm i).

The man informs the prophet that these waters go toward the east country and go down into the desert. The word desert in Hebrew is "Arabah" and means "plain," which is the plain of Jordan. It signifies a parched, dry place. Jordan is the type of death, and the sea of salt, the Dead Sea, into which Jordan flows, also signifies death.[57] And now in the Dead Sea this living water from the temple flows, and healing is the blessed result. Where death has reigned so long abundant life now is manifested. Sodom is restored to its former estate (See chapter xvi). Wheresoever the waters go life follows at once. "There shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither, for they shall be healed; and everything shall live whither the river cometh. The fishers shall stand up from En-gedi unto En-eglaim." En-gedi is on the one end and En-eglaim at the other end of the Dead Sea. Yet there will be marshes and pools which remain unhealed; their former condition is unchanged. It has been suggested that this is done for the production of salt. But it is rather a reminder that while the coming age is an age of wonderful blessing, that it is not yet the perfect, eternal age. And the trees will be ever green, never failing, providing meat by their abundant fruit and the leaf is for medicine. It shows the gracious provision made for man living on the earth during the age to come. Poverty, famine and sickness will be banished.

[57] Ps. lxviii:4 has this word "Arabah;" in the Authorized Version it is translated "heaven." It is in the plural, "Araboth"--"Cast up the way for him that rideth in Araboth"--the places of death. Christ is seen prophetically as the Conqueror of death and Sheol.

II. The Borders of the Land.

Thus saith the Lord God; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad: Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazar-hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran. And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side. And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side. And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward. The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side. So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel (verses 13-21).

Little comment is needed on these verses. That the literal land and the literal tribes are meant, no intelligent readers can deny. The twelve tribes are then back in the land. The so-called "lost tribes" are united with the house of Judah. Here the borders are given. Joseph has two portions. God is faithful. He has not forgotten His gracious promises of old. "And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another, concerning which I lifted up mine hand (in oath) to give it unto your fathers; and this land shall fall unto your inheritance." The whole land is to be divided according to the tribes of Israel.

III. Concerning the Stranger in the Land.

And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord God (verses 22-23).

Here is a provision for the strangers. They are no longer to be treated as outcasts, as aliens from the commonwealth of Israel; they are seen fully identified with Israel and share the inheritance. This again confirms other prophecies (See Isaiah lx:1-10.) The strangers shall come and build the walls, and join themselves to Israel. The singing times for Israel have come. No longer will the chosen people be the tail of nations, but the head of all nations. "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day and shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee."... (Zech. ii:10-12). No longer will the Jew be despised, but the strangers, the nations, will beseech him to take them to the glory land. "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men out of all languages of the nations shall take hold, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you" (Zech. viii:23).

PLAN OF THE DIVISION OF THE LAND.

NORTH +---------------------------------------------+ | DAN | +---------------------------------------------+ | ASHER | +---------------------------------------------+ | NAPHTALI | +---------------------------------------------+ | MANASSEH | +---------------------------------------------+ | EPHRAIM | +---------------------------------------------+ | REUBEN | +---------------------------------------------+ | JUDAH | +-------+-----------------------------+-------+ | D | | D | | | LEVITES | | | | | | | +-----------------------------+ | | | a | | | C | PRIESTS O PRIESTS | C | | | a c | | | +--------+-----------+--------+ | | | | +---+ | | | | | | | B | | | | | D | b | +---+ | d | D | +-------+--------+-----------+--------+-------+ | BENJAMIN | +---------------------------------------------+ | SIMEON | +---------------------------------------------+ | ISSACHAR | +---------------------------------------------+ | ZEBULUN | +---------------------------------------------+ | GAD | +---------------------------------------------+ SOUTH

A = The Sanctuary and its Area. B = The City of Jerusalem. C = The Possession of the Prince. D = The Entire Oblation. a-b-c-d = Territory belonging to City.

THE PORTION OF THE TRIBES; THE TERRITORY OF THE OBLATION; THE CITY, ITS GATES AND NEW NAME.