Ezekiel 48:13-20: a reflection

13“Alongside the border of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. All the length shall be twenty-five thousand, and the width ten thousand. 14They shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first fruits of the land be alienated, for it is holy to the LORD. 15“The five thousand cubits that are left in the width, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for pasture lands; and the city shall be in the middle of it. 16These shall be its measurements: the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred. 17The city shall have pasture lands: toward the north two hundred fifty, and toward the south two hundred fifty, and toward the east two hundred fifty, and toward the west two hundred fifty. 18The remainder of the length, alongside the holy offering, shall be ten thousand eastward and ten thousand westward; and it shall be alongside the holy offering. Its increase shall be for food to those who labor in the city. 19Those who labor in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. 20All the offering shall be a square of twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand. You shall offer it as a holy offering, with the possession of the city.

In the vision of the restored land, God lays out how it is to be divided among the tribes, and at the center of the whole arrangement is a portion set apart as holy to the LORD. Before the land is parceled out for ordinary use, for the city, for dwelling, for pasture, a holy district is reserved, set apart, not to be sold or exchanged, for it is holy to the LORD. The holy portion is given the central place in the ordering of the whole.

Notice that the holy portion comes first and stands at the center. The land was not simply divided for use, with a bit left over for God; rather, a holy portion was set apart at the heart of it all, and everything else was arranged around it. God's portion was not an afterthought or a leftover; it was central, given the place of honor at the center of the whole design.

That is a pattern for the ordering of our own lives. We can arrange our lives around our work, our interests, our comforts, and leave God a portion of whatever is left over, if anything. But the pattern here is to set apart a portion for God first, at the center, and arrange the rest around it. Give God the central place in your life, not the leftovers. Set apart, at the heart of your time, your attention, your resources, a portion that is holy to him, reserved for him, not to be given over to other uses; and order the rest of your life around that center. Let God's portion come first and stand at the center, as the holy district did in the land, so that your whole life is arranged around what is holy to him.

Lord, in the vision of the restored land, a holy portion was set apart to you at the very center, before the land was divided for ordinary use; your portion was not a leftover but central, given the place of honor. Teach me to order my life that way. I can arrange my life around my work, my interests, my comforts, and leave you a portion of whatever is left over, if anything. But your pattern is to set apart a portion for you first, at the center, and arrange the rest around it. Help me give you the central place in my life, not the leftovers. Help me set apart, at the heart of my time, my attention, my resources, a portion that is holy to you, reserved for you, not given over to other uses, and to order the rest of my life around that center. Let your portion come first and stand at the center, so that my whole life is arranged around what is holy to you. Have the central place, Lord.