THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Ezekiel: Effective Ministry To The Spiritually Rebellious

Part LXIV: The Millennial Kingdom Offerings: The Contributions Of The People

(Ezekiel 45:13-17)

I. Introduction

A. Ezekiel chapters 40-48 predict God's restoration of Israel following His many prophecies of judgment on the nation for sin, and Ezekiel 44:1-46:24 predicts the temple ministers and their service in the restored Kingdom.

B. This section reveals God's great holiness in the realm of the temple ministries to the Hebrew people of Ezekiel's day in sharp contrast to the way they had profaned and desecrated the temple ministries in Jerusalem.

C. We thus view Ezekiel 45:13-17 on the contributions of God's people to His temple ministries for insight:

II. The Millennial Kingdom Offerings: The Contributions Of The People, Ezekiel 45:13-17.

A. Immediately following the Ezekiel 45:9-12 parenthesis containing God's admonition to Israel's current religious and civil rulers regarding their greedy abuse of the people, Ezekiel 45:13-17 provides God's requirements for the people's donations toward the sacrificial system in the Millennial Kingdom temple.

B. Ezekiel 45:13-15 reports the contributions the people of Israel were to make for the temple ministries:

1. The people of Israel in the Messianic Kingdom will be required to give a sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat and a sixth of an ephahs from each homer of barley, what amounts to a 60th of their wheat and barley harvests, for the temple sacrificial ministries, Ezekiel 45:13; Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 1311.

2. The people will be required to give a tenth of a bath from each cor of olive oil, what amounts to "one percent of their olive oil," for the temple ministries, Ezekiel 45:14; Ibid.

3. The people of Israel will be required to give 1 sheep from every 200 of their flocks, Ezekiel 45:15a; Ibid.

4. These donations would go to the grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the people, Ezekiel 45:15b.

C. Ezekiel 45:16 reveals that these contributions would be delivered over to the Prince, whom we believe will be the resurrected king David, who in turn was responsible to give them to the temple ministries.

D. The Prince David would then be responsible to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, New Moons and Sabbaths at all the appointed feasts of Israel, and to provide for the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for Israel, Ezek. 45:17.

E. Significantly, these stipulations on the required donations of the people to the temple ministries stand in sharp contrast to the greedy abuse of the people by Israel's religious and civil leaders as critiqued in Ezekiel 45:9-12:

1. First, there was no graduated income tax rate, but each man's obligation will be in proportion to his degree of ownership. Every man will owe 1.667% of his wheat and barley, 1% of his olive oil and .5% of his sheep. Whether wealthy or poor, the rate one owes to the Lord's temple ministries will be the same.

2. Second, the rates owed will be easily affordable for two reasons:

a. First, God's abundant provisions of rain and harvest production will make the cost of these donations easily affordable for all, cf. Amos 9:13.

b. Second, not one of these required donations even adds up to the ten percent tithe in Ezekiel's era: a 60th of the wheat and barley amounts to 1.667%, the olive oil comprises only 1% of what is harvested and 1 out of every 200 sheep amounts to half of one percent of one's flock, what is easily affordable for every man.

3. These donations will be given to Prince David who will be over the people, a man in his earthly life who did not use his office to abuse subordinates, but was known for his generosity, 1 Chron. 16:1-3; 22:1-16.

4. Thus, in great contrast to the people losing much of their possessions to oppressive religious and civil rulers in Ezekiel's era, in the Millennial Kingdom when God provides with material abundance, the people will have even a far less burden of donations than what they were to give under the Law in Ezekiel's time!

Lesson: In great contrast to the material oppression Judah's people faced under godless religious and civil rulers in Ezekiel's day, in the coming Millennial Kingdom when the people will be materially well endowed by God's rich blessing, their required donations will be even far less than what God rightly required of them under the Law, indicating the great emphasis God will place on His GRACE toward His people in the Kingdom!

Application: (1) As participants in the coming Millennial Kingdom ourselves, may we in the Church today not oppress fellow believers on the amount they give, but let every man give as he desires in his heart, 2 Corinthians 9:7. (2) May we leaders in the Church NOT pressure the congregation to give, but let God move them to donate.