Ezekiel 45:13-17: a reflection

13“‘“This is the offering that you shall offer: the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of wheat, and you shall give the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of barley, 14and the set portion of oil, of the bath of oil, one tenth of a bath out of the cor, which is ten baths, even a homer (for ten baths are a homer), 15and one lamb of the flock out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel—for a meal offering, for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them,” says the Lord GOD. 16“All the people of the land shall give to this offering for the prince in Israel. 17It shall be the prince’s part to give the burnt offerings, the meal offerings, and the drink offerings, in the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the Sabbaths, in all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He shall prepare the sin offering, the meal offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”

In Ezekiel's vision of a restored order, a particular responsibility falls to the prince: it shall be the prince's duty to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings at the feasts; he shall provide the sin offering to make atonement for the house of Israel. The leader is not merely to be served by the people; he is charged with providing, out of his own portion, what is needed to make atonement for them, to keep them reconciled to God.

Notice the shape of that leadership. The prince's role is not primarily privilege but provision, and specifically provision for the people's reconciliation with God. He bears the responsibility, and the cost, of the offerings that make atonement. A true leader among God's people, this suggests, is one who provides for the people's relationship with God, who takes on the burden of their reconciliation rather than simply enjoying his position.

That points, as so much of the Old Testament does, to Christ, our true Prince. He did not merely provide the offering for our atonement; he became it, bearing the cost of our reconciliation in his own body. The prince who provides the sin offering is a shadow of the Prince who is the sin offering. If you belong to Christ, your reconciliation with God has already been fully provided, at his own cost. Rest in the Prince who bore the whole burden of bringing you back to God, and, wherever you lead, lead as one who provides for others rather than one who is merely served.

Lord Jesus, our true Prince, you did not only provide the offering for atonement; you became it, bearing the cost of my reconciliation in your own body. Thank you that my peace with God has been fully provided at your own cost. Let me rest in you, and wherever I lead, help me lead as one who provides for others and bears their burdens, not one who is merely served.