And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
The verse assigns Manasseh a strip of the promised land beside Naphtali, running from the east side to the west side as part of the division among the twelve tribes. It belongs to the closing vision of a sanctuary and temple with its rites, a city, and a divided land. That division and sanctuary were a conditional offer to the whole house of Israel in captivity, to be fulfilled only if they repented and returned wholeheartedly, and because they loved Babylon more than Jerusalem it was never built and never fulfilled in detail. Its literal details will never be fulfilled, including the tribal allotments in fullest literal detail and the temple with its sacrifices, since that old sacrificial service cannot be ordained again without making void Christ's once-for-all offering. It stands as a spiritual prophecy whose purposes will be realized more gloriously through Christ at his second coming, when the true Israel inherits the earth made new and each redeemed person receives a lasting, permanent individual inheritance.
Portion and Its Setting
The portion assigns Manasseh a share beside Naphtali, running from the east side to the west side, as part of the promised division of the land among Israel's twelve tribes. It belongs to the promised new division offered to Israel after the exile in connection with the sanctuary, to be possessed when all Israel would return to a land of abundant blessing. It was part of the blessings promised in Ezekiel 47-48 to the whole house of Israel in captivity, and of the detailed sanctuary, city, and land arrangements God would have literally fulfilled if the conditions had been met. Because Israel did not turn from iniquities and repent, that promised restoration was not fulfilled as described.
The verse belongs to the closing vision of sanctuary, temple with its rites and offerings, city, and divided land in Ezekiel 40-48, also described as Ezekiel 36-48, 37-48, and 47-48. It is part of the prophecy about the new sanctuary and the future glory of the land, including the vision of the city and sanctuary, the temple and its arrangements for Israel, and the division of the land. That vision presented a very remarkable sanctuary Israel was to possess if it complied with certain conditions, offered on condition that the people would be ashamed of sins, turn from iniquities, and return wholeheartedly from Babylonian captivity. Had they been willing, God would have worked for them as He had intended to work for Israel after the exodus.
The vision was given in B.C. 574, fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple and sanctuary were destroyed in B.C. 588 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, while Ezekiel was among the captives of Israel. It was shown when Israel had been in Babylonian captivity only twenty-five years, revealing the city and the division of the land as Jerusalem would have been built. It revealed God's desire to make Jerusalem a wonder with Himself as a wall of fire round about and the glory in her midst.
The verse was offered as abundant blessing to the whole house of Israel in captivity when all Israel would return, promising a restored Palestine and glory. It belonged to the sanctuary plan in Ezekiel 40-48 which would have been built as the Messiah's kingdom was gradually established on earth had God's people met the conditions. It described in detail a grand and magnificent temple which Israel might build at Jerusalem after exile and which would ultimately be the house of prayer for all nations. That kingdom was not established in this way then, but its peace will be fulfilled more gloriously in the new earth.
Conditional Prophecy Unfulfilled
The division of the land with its sanctuary in Ezekiel 40–48 was a conditional prophecy and provisional plan, offered only if Israel turned from iniquities, was ashamed and confounded for sins, repented, returned wholeheartedly from Babylonian captivity, and fully obeyed and yielded to God. The vision of temple with its rites and offerings, city, and redivided land was given fourteen years after Jerusalem and its sanctuary were destroyed, while Ezekiel was among the captives, twenty-five years into the captivity, as the restoration they were to possess on those conditions. Because Israel did not turn, repent, and meet the condition, the promised restoration was not fulfilled as described, but stands as a spiritual prophecy of greater things to be realized through Christ. The ten tribes slighted the offer of Cyrus, and only Judah and Benjamin with a portion of Levi and a few others went up, failing the three calls of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes because they loved Babylon more than Jerusalem they professed to love.
The sanctuary therefore was never erected and the division of the land among the twelve tribes, including the portion for Manasseh beside Naphtali from east to west, was never fulfilled in detail. What was built at the restoration by Zerubbabel, Ezra and others was only a feeble shadow and inferior pattern that fell far short of the pattern, never seeing the glory of Solomon's temple except in the person of Jesus Christ. By its own specifications it was designed to be fulfilled in the past, not in the present gospel dispensation nor in the future dispensation which is the immortal state, and the land division does not belong to the future reign of Christ and his saints.
Its literal details will never be fulfilled, including the division of the land by tribes in fullest literal detail, the burning of weapons seven years, and the building of the temple with its sacrifices. That temple was never built and never will be built, because Israel would not yield all to God and continued in apostasy so God could not come in and dwell among them in overpowering glory. It is not a description of the New Jerusalem nor a prediction that the Jewish people would restore the Levitical sacrificial system. Its old sacrificial service cannot continue or be ordained again without making void and of none effect Christ's once-for-all offering, since Christ's sacrifice fulfilled the types represented by its sacrifices.
Greater Fulfillment and Application
Had Israel been willing to return wholeheartedly and meet the conditions, God would have gathered the scattered people and worked for them as He had intended to work for Israel after the exodus. He would have brought them back upon the mountains of Israel, made them shoot forth branches and yield fruit, done better to them than at their beginnings, cleansed them from sins and made them great. He would have fulfilled the resurrection of Ezekiel 37, destroyed the enemies coming from the north in Ezekiel 38 and 39 with plagues upon them, and enabled Israel to build the marvelous sanctuary. His overpowering glory would have dwelt among them in the city whose name would be Jehovah Is There, at the center of a restored Jerusalem teaching that Jehovah is there. That presence would have healed all barren land, all salt marshes, and all impure waters and would have given life to all, with the division of the land by tribes fulfilled in fullest literal detail along with the burning of weapons seven years and the building of the temple with its sacrifices.
Because Israel was unwilling and failed to yield all to God, the section stands as a spiritual prophecy of greater things God will do for His people through Christ. Its purposes will be realized more gloriously at His second coming and related events, in the new heaven and new earth whose capital is the New Jerusalem. The true Israel will be redeemed and given a more glorious inheritance, even the earth made new, in the future glory and immortal inheritance of the faithful as described in later revelations. Gog and Magog representing the northern nations will be punished in part in this world before and when Christ comes and in full at the end of the 1,000 years. The prophecy is therefore a type of the general promises God will fulfill for His people at the second coming, not a detailed description of their future inheritance, and the exact details of Ezekiel's local conditions will not be fulfilled.
Though temporary in their historical setting, the land allotments to Israel's families, with Manasseh's portion beside Naphtali's extending from the east side to the west side, were designed to show God's purpose for the future world. Each redeemed person will have a lasting individual inheritance, not temporary, and will enjoy it permanently. God's desire was to make Jerusalem a wonder in the earth with Himself as a wall of fire round about and the glory in her midst, but the city was never built on earth because Israel loved Babylon more than the Jerusalem it professed to love and failed to do its part. So God had to prepare the holy city in heaven instead, and that prepared city will descend upon the earth. The ancient calls out of Babylon are an object-lesson of the last call out of Babylon now sounding through the earth, while utter destruction awaits those who linger in Babylon today.
The closing chapters predict the building of a greater temple, though the verse itself, belonging to that prophetic vision, does not reveal how the building would be carried out.
The verse assigns Manasseh a strip of the promised land beside Naphtali, running from the east side to the west side as part of the division among the twelve tribes. It belongs to the closing vision of a sanctuary and temple with its rites, a city, and a divided land. That division and sanctuary were a conditional offer to the whole house of Israel in captivity, to be fulfilled only if they repented and returned wholeheartedly, and because they loved Babylon more than Jerusalem it was never built and never fulfilled in detail. Its literal details will never be fulfilled, including the tribal allotments in fullest literal detail and the temple with its sacrifices, since that old sacrificial service cannot be ordained again without making void Christ's once-for-all offering. It stands as a spiritual prophecy whose purposes will be realized more gloriously through Christ at his second coming, when the true Israel inherits the earth made new and each redeemed person receives a lasting, permanent individual inheritance.
Portion and Its Setting
The portion assigns Manasseh a share beside Naphtali, running from the east side to the west side, as part of the promised division of the land among Israel's twelve tribes. It belongs to the promised new division offered to Israel after the exile in connection with the sanctuary, to be possessed when all Israel would return to a land of abundant blessing. It was part of the blessings promised in Ezekiel 47-48 to the whole house of Israel in captivity, and of the detailed sanctuary, city, and land arrangements God would have literally fulfilled if the conditions had been met. Because Israel did not turn from iniquities and repent, that promised restoration was not fulfilled as described.
The verse belongs to the closing vision of sanctuary, temple with its rites and offerings, city, and divided land in Ezekiel 40-48, also described as Ezekiel 36-48, 37-48, and 47-48. It is part of the prophecy about the new sanctuary and the future glory of the land, including the vision of the city and sanctuary, the temple and its arrangements for Israel, and the division of the land. That vision presented a very remarkable sanctuary Israel was to possess if it complied with certain conditions, offered on condition that the people would be ashamed of sins, turn from iniquities, and return wholeheartedly from Babylonian captivity. Had they been willing, God would have worked for them as He had intended to work for Israel after the exodus.
The vision was given in B.C. 574, fourteen years after Jerusalem, the temple and sanctuary were destroyed in B.C. 588 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, while Ezekiel was among the captives of Israel. It was shown when Israel had been in Babylonian captivity only twenty-five years, revealing the city and the division of the land as Jerusalem would have been built. It revealed God's desire to make Jerusalem a wonder with Himself as a wall of fire round about and the glory in her midst.
The verse was offered as abundant blessing to the whole house of Israel in captivity when all Israel would return, promising a restored Palestine and glory. It belonged to the sanctuary plan in Ezekiel 40-48 which would have been built as the Messiah's kingdom was gradually established on earth had God's people met the conditions. It described in detail a grand and magnificent temple which Israel might build at Jerusalem after exile and which would ultimately be the house of prayer for all nations. That kingdom was not established in this way then, but its peace will be fulfilled more gloriously in the new earth.
Conditional Prophecy Unfulfilled
The division of the land with its sanctuary in Ezekiel 40–48 was a conditional prophecy and provisional plan, offered only if Israel turned from iniquities, was ashamed and confounded for sins, repented, returned wholeheartedly from Babylonian captivity, and fully obeyed and yielded to God. The vision of temple with its rites and offerings, city, and redivided land was given fourteen years after Jerusalem and its sanctuary were destroyed, while Ezekiel was among the captives, twenty-five years into the captivity, as the restoration they were to possess on those conditions. Because Israel did not turn, repent, and meet the condition, the promised restoration was not fulfilled as described, but stands as a spiritual prophecy of greater things to be realized through Christ. The ten tribes slighted the offer of Cyrus, and only Judah and Benjamin with a portion of Levi and a few others went up, failing the three calls of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes because they loved Babylon more than Jerusalem they professed to love.
The sanctuary therefore was never erected and the division of the land among the twelve tribes, including the portion for Manasseh beside Naphtali from east to west, was never fulfilled in detail. What was built at the restoration by Zerubbabel, Ezra and others was only a feeble shadow and inferior pattern that fell far short of the pattern, never seeing the glory of Solomon's temple except in the person of Jesus Christ. By its own specifications it was designed to be fulfilled in the past, not in the present gospel dispensation nor in the future dispensation which is the immortal state, and the land division does not belong to the future reign of Christ and his saints.
Its literal details will never be fulfilled, including the division of the land by tribes in fullest literal detail, the burning of weapons seven years, and the building of the temple with its sacrifices. That temple was never built and never will be built, because Israel would not yield all to God and continued in apostasy so God could not come in and dwell among them in overpowering glory. It is not a description of the New Jerusalem nor a prediction that the Jewish people would restore the Levitical sacrificial system. Its old sacrificial service cannot continue or be ordained again without making void and of none effect Christ's once-for-all offering, since Christ's sacrifice fulfilled the types represented by its sacrifices.
Greater Fulfillment and Application
Had Israel been willing to return wholeheartedly and meet the conditions, God would have gathered the scattered people and worked for them as He had intended to work for Israel after the exodus. He would have brought them back upon the mountains of Israel, made them shoot forth branches and yield fruit, done better to them than at their beginnings, cleansed them from sins and made them great. He would have fulfilled the resurrection of Ezekiel 37, destroyed the enemies coming from the north in Ezekiel 38 and 39 with plagues upon them, and enabled Israel to build the marvelous sanctuary. His overpowering glory would have dwelt among them in the city whose name would be Jehovah Is There, at the center of a restored Jerusalem teaching that Jehovah is there. That presence would have healed all barren land, all salt marshes, and all impure waters and would have given life to all, with the division of the land by tribes fulfilled in fullest literal detail along with the burning of weapons seven years and the building of the temple with its sacrifices.
Because Israel was unwilling and failed to yield all to God, the section stands as a spiritual prophecy of greater things God will do for His people through Christ. Its purposes will be realized more gloriously at His second coming and related events, in the new heaven and new earth whose capital is the New Jerusalem. The true Israel will be redeemed and given a more glorious inheritance, even the earth made new, in the future glory and immortal inheritance of the faithful as described in later revelations. Gog and Magog representing the northern nations will be punished in part in this world before and when Christ comes and in full at the end of the 1,000 years. The prophecy is therefore a type of the general promises God will fulfill for His people at the second coming, not a detailed description of their future inheritance, and the exact details of Ezekiel's local conditions will not be fulfilled.
Though temporary in their historical setting, the land allotments to Israel's families, with Manasseh's portion beside Naphtali's extending from the east side to the west side, were designed to show God's purpose for the future world. Each redeemed person will have a lasting individual inheritance, not temporary, and will enjoy it permanently. God's desire was to make Jerusalem a wonder in the earth with Himself as a wall of fire round about and the glory in her midst, but the city was never built on earth because Israel loved Babylon more than the Jerusalem it professed to love and failed to do its part. So God had to prepare the holy city in heaven instead, and that prepared city will descend upon the earth. The ancient calls out of Babylon are an object-lesson of the last call out of Babylon now sounding through the earth, while utter destruction awaits those who linger in Babylon today.
The closing chapters predict the building of a greater temple, though the verse itself, belonging to that prophetic vision, does not reveal how the building would be carried out.