Ezekiel 47:22 Kommentar

In this chapter we have, I. The vision of the holy waters, their rise, extent, depth, and healing virtue, the plenty of fish in them, and an account of the trees growing on the banks of them (Eze 47:1-12). II. An appointment of the borders of the land of Canaan, which was to be divided by lot to the tribes of Israel and the strangers that sojourned among them (Eze 47:13-23).

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 47 This chapter gives an account of the vision of the holy waters, and of the borders of the holy land, and the division of it to Israelites and strangers. The waters are described by the original and spring of them, Eze 47:1, by the progress and increase of them, Eze 47:3, by the healing and quickening nature of them, and the places where they were so, and were not, Eze 47:8, and by the trees which grew upon the banks of them, Eze 47:6. The borders of the holy land are fixed, Eze 47:13, the northern border, Eze 47:15, the eastern border, Eze 47:18, the southern, Eze 47:19, and the western, Eze 47:20, which is to be divided by lot to the tribes of Israel, and the strangers that sojourn among them, Eze 47:21.

And it shall come to pass,.... In the last days, under the Gospel dispensation: that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you; who were Israelites, both by natural descent, and by the Spirit and grace of God: the Gospel was first preached to Israel after the flesh, and made effectual to the conversion of many of them; and the first churches were made up of them, and they shared all the blessings and privileges thereof; as they also will in the latter day, when converted: and to the strangers that sojourn among them; not such as were strangers to spiritual and divine things; for this would contradict the rule in Eze 44:9, but converted Gentiles, so called because of their natural descent and civil state, being, with respect to both, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel; yet were to be, as they have been, and will be, taken into the same Gospel church state with the believing Jews: which shall beget children among you; not only in a natural, but in a spiritual sense; be the means of begetting many souls again to the lively hope of a glorious inheritance: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; that is, the children begotten by the Gentiles shall be considered all one as those of the children of Israel, being born again of the same Spirit and grace; and so have an equal right to the same privileges, and to which they shall be admitted: they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel; this is a new thing, and what in a literal sense was never granted; for though in the times of Moses and onward, and by his direction from the Lord, such as have been called proselytes of the gate, and proselytes of righteousness, have been admitted to various privileges, by conforming to certain rules, rites, and ceremonies, yet never were allowed to have any inheritance in the land; and, after the captivity, Ezra and Nehemiah drove out the strangers, who by affinity with some had got among them: but this respects Gospel times, and the coalition of Jews and Gentiles in the same church state; where there is no difference, but Christ is all in all; where they are admitted to the same ordinances of baptism and the Lord's supper; partake of the same blessings of grace, and promises of the word, and have an equal right to the heavenly inheritance: Eph 3:6, is the best commentary on this passage; which contains the same mystery the Apostle Paul was acquainted with, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel; See Gill on Eph 3:6. See Eph 2:12.

(Verse 21 onwards) And you shall divide this land among yourselves into the tribes of Israel, and you shall allocate it as an inheritance to yourselves and to the foreigners who have joined you and have children born among you. They shall be considered as natives among the children of Israel and shall share in the possession with you among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe a foreigner resides, you shall give them an inheritance there, says the Lord God. By this chapter, we learn (and it is a refutation of the Jewish objections) that there is no distinction between the people of Israel and the Gentiles. For if the foreigners and strangers come with those who are from the people of Israel, that is to say, with the indigenous people, the land is divided; there is no doubt that it is the same inheritance of the people of the Gentiles and the people of the Jews: however, if they have converted to the worship of the God of Israel, which is properly called Christian, having the Jews as possessors of the letter of the Law, and us of the spirit: they hold on to the membranes, and we to him who is written in the membranes. And with Moses the land is divided by lot; but here, as we have said, it is delegated by the judgment of the Lord: and there is one possession for the stranger and the Israelite, and an inheritance is given in each tribe, at the command of the Lord God.

The vision of the holy waters issuing out of the temple, and their virtue; an emblem of the power of God's grace under the Gospel, capable of healing all but the incorrigibly impenitent, represented by the marshy ground that cannot be healed, Eze 47:1-12. Also a description of the several divisions of the Holy Land indiscriminately shared betwixt Jews and proselytes; to denote that in after times the privileges now enjoyed by the Jews should be also extended to the Gentiles, Eze 47:13-23.

And to the strangers that sojourn - In former divisions of the land, no place was given to strangers; but in this division, (which seems to have no other reference than to the Gospel, for literally such a division never took place), the strangers are to have an inheritance; intimating the calling of the Gentiles into the Church of Christ, to an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. Glory be to God for his unspeakable gift! Amen. Amen.

VISION OF THE TEMPLE WATERS. BORDERS AND DIVISION OF THE LAND. (Eze. 47:1-23) waters--So Rev 22:1, represents "the water of life as proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." His throne was set up in the temple at Jerusalem (Eze 43:7). Thence it is to flow over the earth (Joe 3:18; Zac 13:1; Zac 14:8). 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. The fountains in the vicinity of Moriah suggested the image here. The waters flow eastward, that is, towards the Kedron, and thence towards the Jordan, and so along the Ghor into the Dead Sea. The main point in the picture is the rapid augmentation from a petty stream into a mighty river, not by the influx of side streams, but by its own self-supply from the sacred miraculous source in the temple [HENDERSON]. (Compare Psa 36:8-9; Psa 46:4; Isa 11:9; Hab 2:14). Searching into the things of God, we find some easy to understand, as the water up to the ankles; others more difficult, which require a deeper search, as the waters up to the knees or loins; others beyond our reach, of which we can only adore the depth (Rom 11:33). The healing of the waters of the Dead Sea here answers to "there shall be no more curse" (Rev 22:3; compare Zac 14:11).

to the strangers--It is altogether unprecedented under the old covenant, that "strangers" should have "inheritance" among the tribes. There would not be room locally within Canaan for more than the tribes. The literal sense must therefore be modified, as expressing that Gentiles are not to be excluded from settling among the covenant-people, and that spiritually their privileges are not to be less than those of Israel (Rom 10:12; Gal 3:28; Eph 3:6; Col 3:11; Rev 7:9-10). Still, "sojourneth," in Eze 47:23, implies that in Canaan, the covenant people are regarded as at home, the strangers as settlers. Next: Ezekiel Chapter 48