Context No. 2523 of 4322 · Ezekiel

Ezekiel 48:1-5: in context

1“Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, Hazar Enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath (and they shall have their sides east and west), Dan, one portion. 2“By the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion. 3“By the border of Asher, from the east side even to the west side, Naphtali, one portion. 4“By the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion. 5“By the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion.

Near the end of Ezekiel's long vision of a restored land, the tribes are given their places again: Dan, one portion; Asher, one portion; Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, each one portion, laid out in orderly bands across the renewed country. After exile and loss, the vision hands each tribe its appointed share.

The repeated phrase is one portion. In the vision of the world God will restore, no tribe is left out and none is left to wander; each has a place marked and assigned. For a people who had lost their land and been scattered, this orderly map of belonging was a promise: there is a future in which everyone is home, everyone has a portion, and the losses are made right. It is a small, patient picture of hope, God assigning each his place in the land he will renew. The scattering will not be the last word; the last word is a portion for each.

Do I trust that God has a place, a portion, appointed for me in the future he is going to restore, even after loss and scattering?

Sources

Ezekiel 48:1: these are the names of the tribes: From the north end... Dan, one portion.
Ezekiel 48:4: By the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion.
John 14:2: In my Father's house are many homes... I go to prepare a place for you.