Ezekiel 48:19

Eze 48:19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.

Ver. 19. Shall serve it out of all the tribes,] i.e., At the common charge, and by a general contribution.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(19) Out of all the tribes of Israel.—The city itself is no longer, as of old, to belong to any particular tribe, but is to be situated on the common oblation, and its labourers are to be taken alike from all the tribes. Thus the old jealousies are to be extinguished, and in this, as in all other respects, each tribe is to be treated like every other.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. that serve the city] Those who render inhabit (Hitz.) consider that the verse states directly who the inhabitants of the city shall be: “and as for the inhabitants of the city, they shall inhabit it (reading fem.) out of all the tribes of Israel.” On the other supposition: “and they that till the city shall till it (the domain of land) out of all the tribes of Israel.” This rendering also states, though indirectly, that the city shall be common to all the tribes of Israel, and that whoever comes to sojourn there shall live by the land belonging to the city. However the words be translated there is no ref. to two classes of persons—citizens and labourers.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion. Close by the border of Benjamin, running east and west, Simeon's part and inheritance in the land shall be; even such true Israelites as "hear", understand, and believe the Gospel, and practise what they hear. This tribe is not now to be divided and scattered in Israel, or to have its inheritance in Judah, as formerly, Gen 49:5, but to be distinct, and have a portion by itself.

, but to be distinct, and have a portion by itself.

Ezekiel 48:25

eze 48:25

eze 48:25

eze 48:25And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion. Next, closely adjoining to Simeon's inheritance, and in the same direction, shall be Issachar's; such Christians as shall have the "rewards" of grace for their services and sufferings in times of tribulation.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Israel. People from all parts might serve the Levites. This tribe was not to engage in labourious or sordid employments, being attached to the service of the Lord, and bound to instruct others. But this was more perfectly fulfilled in the Christian Church, where the clergy enjoy great immunities, and are forbidden to exercise any trade or employment which may take them off from their more important spiritual concerns, or render their ministry contemptible. See Exodus xix. 6.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Either this service is a burden, and if so, it is fit all should bear their part in it; or it is a privilege and advantage, and then it is as fit the advantage should be equally given to all the tribes; all tribes shall be capable of the advantage, and liable to the burden.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Serving the city.

A militia, selected from all the tribes of Israel, is to be marshaled as the garrison of Jerusalem. Thus representatives of the whole nation are to have a share in the service of the city.

I MEN SERVE GOD BY SERVING MAN. They who serve the royal city serve the king. If we love not our brethren whom we have seen, we cannot love God whom we have not seen. (1Jn_4:20) But a truehearted love for God must inspire practical love for man. Obedience to the two great commandments is one common experience in the heart of the servant of God. It is a mistake that any should urge "the service -f man" as a new religion for the age; this is the true ritual of the old religion of Christ. (Jam_1:27) There is no Christianity without it. Christianity is most vigorous and fruitful when ministries of active benevolence are most vigorously maintained. Jesus was the Son of man, who "went about doing good.

II ALL CLASSES SHOULD TAKE PART IN THE SERVICE OF MAN. The one tribe of Levi was told off for the service of the temple; but every tribe was to he represented in the city guard. The special work of the Christian ministry devolves upon those who are specially adapted to it, and called by God to devote their lives to it. It is not every Christian who is required to occupy the post of a minister of a Church or to go out as a missionary to foreign lands. But every man, woman, and child should take part in the Christian work of helping others. Every class in society, every order of mind, every gift, faculty, and opportunity can and should be used for this wide and varied service.

III A CITY HAS PECULIAR CLAIMS ON CHRISTIAN SERVICE. Jerusalem was to be specially provided for as the capital of the land. The metropolis needs to be carefully guarded. But every city has its claims. These depend on several considerations.

1. Great needs. A city is a heterogeneous collection of human beings. The energetic are attracted and the helpless are drifted there. In the city human life is lived at its best and at its worst. The poverty, the vice, the degradation, that haunt the purlieus of great cities call for especial attention. The enemies that now attack our cities are not armed men besieging after the old style. But strong drink; gambling; profligacy; cruel oppression of workpeople; fierce competition among traders; selfish inconsiderateness on the part of the public, making this competition almost a necessity of life; overcrowding, rendering common decency a physical impossibility, and infant mortality a frequent occurrence; the tremendously rapid growth of the centers of population overtaking the means of Christian work; the obscurity and loneliness of life in a crowd permitting the unfortunate to perish unheeded; these and other characteristic circumstances of modem city life call for redoubled energy on the part of all Christian people in great fields of work. Christ concentrated his ministry on the densely populated regions round about the Sea of Galilee.

2. Great influence. A city is a center of influence to all the region round about. The metropolis is the heart of the nation. If there is righteousness in the center, righteousness may flow through all the national life. Christianity, which came as a cosmopolitan religion, manifested from the first metropolitan affinities. The apostles concentrated their labors to a great extent on the principal cities of the empire Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Thessalonica, Corinth, Athens, Rome. The country-people were more slow to receive the gospel, and thus the names "pagan" and "heathen" came to stand for "non-Christian." It will be a bad thing for Christendom if the cities are lost to Christ.

The service of the city.

Jerusalem was the metropolis of the Jewish state and of the Jewish Church. Accordingly, it was regarded as the charge of the whole nation. All Israelites had an interest in its peace and prosperity, and all recognized the honorable obligation of providing for its welfare. In his ideal reconstitution of the nation Ezekiel provided that the city lands should be cultivated, and the city service should be fulfilled by Israelites selected from all tribes, who also should serve as a militia for its defense. The principle is a Divine principle which applies to the Church of Christ, the true and spiritual Jerusalem.

I A UNIVERSAL SERVICE. As all the tribes of Israel joined in serving their country"s metropolis, so in the Church of the Divine Redeemer no one is exempt from contribution to the common good. No one is so feeble or so obscure that his aid may be dispensed with. Every age and every land in which Christianity is professed furnishes a contingent to swell the army of the Lord.

II A VOLUNTARY SERVICE. No other is acceptable to the Lord, who desires the heart, and who will accept no mechanical, unwilling labor.

Cordiality is essential, even though power be slight and opportunity be limited. The professional and official element must always be regarded with anxiety and watchfulness, for the motive must be pure or else the work is marred.

III A VARIED SERVICE. Each has his own special gift, and none should be undervalued, far less despised. Young and old, learned and lay, those in public and those in private life, all have their work to do, their part to fulfill. None can be spared. The Church is built upon its Divine Foundation through the labors of many minds, many voices, many hands. The one Master finds work for all.

He has his young men at the war, His little ones at home.

IV A DIGNIFIED AND HONORABLE SERVICE. To do anything at the bidding of such a Master, and for the progress of such a cause, may welt be esteemed a privilege. Our Lord himself, by his incarnation, ministry, and sacrifice, has done more than could have been done in any other way to teach us the true dignity of service. If it be an honor to serve a great nation, a powerful king, how much higher is the honor of serving the Lord Jesus and those for whom he died!

V A SERVICE WHICH IS LIBERALLY RECOMPENSED. Our Lord himself saw of the travail of his soul, and was satisfied. And when the promise is given to his faithful servants and followers, that they shall enter into the joy of their Lord, this is equivalent to an assurance that, sharing his toil, they shall also share his recompense. The safety and the growth, the prosperity and the glory, of the city is an abundant reward to the citizen who works with diligence and self-denial for its good. And the Christian has no greater joy than to witness the increase and the fame of the heavenly Jerusalem, and no brighter hope than to share his Master"s throne. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to the people of Israel.

twenty-five thousand cubits

Each long cubit was about 54 centimeters. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 40:5. AT: "25,000 cubits" or "about 13.5 kilometers" (See: Biblical Distance)

In this way you will make the holy offering of land, together with the land for the city.

"You will offer the holy offering and also the property of the city"

you

This is plural and refers to the people of Israel. (See: Forms of You)

the holy offering

the land that the people of Israel gave to Yahweh for the Levites, the priests, and the temple

translationWords

twelve tribes of Israel

sacrifice

holy

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

of all the tribes of Israel shall serve him for they gave them this as a portion of the land.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.