Ezekiel 48:1-29 contain the instruction of how the land was to be
distributed to the twelve tribes. The middle of the whole land would be the
holy district. This had been dealt earlier in Ezekiel 45:1-8. This holy
district would be sandwiched between the seven tribes in the north and five
tribes in the south.
The fair and impartial God is demonstrated on how the land would be equally divided and distributed to the twelve tribes. Verses 1-7 show us that the northern portion was divided and given to the tribes of Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and Judah in the respective order. Verses 23-29 show that the rest of the five tribes namely, Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad respectively took the portion of land south of the holy district. Notice that the holy district was sandwiched between the two tribes of Israel’s sons born to him by his wife Rachael.
Here in this land division, we see an indication that worship of God must be central in the life of the nation. Right smack in the centre of the nation was a whole district dedicated for the purpose of honoring God. This was where the Temple would be located and where the priests and the Levites who serve God in the Temple would be given dwelling places.
Worship of God would be the one thing by which the nation would be unified. For God to take centre place in a community, every individual of that community must personally make God central in their lives. This one critical thing brings us to two important questions we must ask ourselves. Is God central in our lives? Do we love Him with all our hearts and minds, souls and strength? May God always take first place in our lives.
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