According to Ezekiel the whole land of Canaan was divided into three portions: the northern portion was for seven tribes (48:1-8), the southern portion was for five tribes (48:23-27), and the middle portion was an offering to God. Because the Lord gave the people of Israel the whole land of Canaan as their possession, He asked them to heave the middle part back to Him as an offering. The middle portion of the land was a heave offering, heaved up by the people to God (48:8-12).
In the middle portion there was a square 25,000 reeds long and 25,000 reeds wide. One reed equals six cubits. The 25,000 reeds indicates the number of responsibility, five, multiplied by 5,000. What a great amount of responsibility this indicates! This square is called the holy heave offering and is divided into three strips. The middle strip is 25,000 reeds long from east to west and 10,000 reeds broad from north to south. This is the part for the temple. This is also the part given to the priests, especially to the sons of Zadok, because of their faithfulness (48:11). This middle part became their inheritance. Within their inheritance was the lot for the temple. This means that the priests, the sons of Zadok, were the Israelites who were the closest to the Lord. The Lord even lived on their portion, their lot. Their inheritance, their lot, was the Lord's dwelling place because they were very close to Him.
The second part, on the south, was also 25,000 reeds long by 10,000 reeds broad. This part belonged to the Levites who ministered to the house, to the people, and who helped in all the business of the service with the offerings. The Levites were close to the Lord, but not as close as the priests (48:13).
The third portion, on the north side, measured 25,000 reeds by 5,000 reeds, and was for the city (48:15). The city was in the middle part of this northern portion. The remainder of this portion belonged to the laborers, the workers in the city. Thus, the holy heave offering land was divided into three parts: one part for the priests, another part for the Levites, and the third part for the city with all of its workers. According to the map, besides this holy heave offering land, there was still some remainder of land on the west and on the east. These two pieces of land as a residue were assigned and allotted to the king, to the royal family (48:21).
The allotment of the land and the placement of the tribes upon their particular portion of land is very meaningful. First, this picture shows us that they all enjoyed Christ. From Dan in the north to Gad in the south all the Israelites enjoyed Christ, but their nearness to Christ was not the same. The closest ones to Christ were the priests, the faithful sons of Zadok. Next to them were the Levites and those who worked in the city. Next to these were the royal family. Each tribe enjoyed Christ, but their distance from Christ varied. One tribe was very close to Christ and another was not close to Christ, yet both were enjoying Christ.
The distance of the tribes from Christ determined their importance. The most important people were the priests who were closest to Christ. They maintained the fellowship between the Israelites and the Lord. The fellowship was maintained by the closest ones. The Levites were next in nearness to the Lord, and they maintained a service unto the Lord. Service to the Lord is good, but it is not as good as fellowship. Their service was not as dear and precious as fellowship. Then the workers for the city were the third closest to the Lord. They maintained a work for the city. Thus, there was the fellowship, the service, and the work for the city.
The city is the symbol of the divine government, so there was a work to maintain God's government. Besides this, there was the royal family with the king and the kingship. According to Ezekiel's record, the temple was not within the city, but was separated from the city. The temple signifies the fellowship of God, and the city signifies the government of God. The temple is the house, and the city is the kingdom. The temple is God's house, God's dwelling place, for His rest, and the city is God's kingdom for His authority.
It is very important to realize that all these things—the fellowship of the priests, the service of the Levites, the work to maintain God's government, and the kingship—come out of the riches of the good land. This means that all the fellowship, service, work, government, royalty, lordship, and kingship come out of our enjoyment of the riches of Christ. The more we enjoy Christ, the closer we are to Him. The closer we are to Him, the more important we are in His purpose. We may be like Dan or Gad, far away from His presence, yet still enjoying some of His riches. But we are not that crucial to His economy because of our great distance from the Lord. Look at the priests. They are extremely crucial. Their lot, their portion, is the Lord's dwelling place. We all must desire to be there. Do not be concerned about who will be in the place of Dan. Let the Lord take care of that. You must aspire and exercise to be a priest. Revelation 1:6 says that Christ has made us all kings and priests unto God and His Father. As kings and priests we have been predestined to be very close to the Lord. We should not be content to be like Dan, far away at the northern extreme of the land. We must be the priests and the kings who are very close to the Lord. We all must be the sons of Zadok.
Revelation 20:6 says that we will be kings and priests for eternity. We will enjoy the milk and the honey—all the riches of Christ. Today we need to learn to enjoy Christ. Do not care that much for teachings and gifts. Care for the riches of Christ. I am bold to tell you this because I have the solid gold in my hands. What you have in your hands is at best copper. I will never exchange my gold for your copper. Sooner or later you will be convinced to drop your copper and pick up my gold. If you will not do it today, you will do it tomorrow. If you will not drop your copper in this age, surely you will drop it in the coming age. If not in the coming age, you will drop it in eternity. We have not been predestined to teachings or gifts. We have been predestined to the enjoyment of Christ. Learn to enjoy the riches of Christ as the good land. Day by day enjoy Him by eating, drinking, and breathing Him. This is the way for us to go on. Praise the Lord!