Ezekiel 48:6-12: a reflection

6“By the border of Ephraim, from the east side even to the west side, Reuben, one portion. 7“By the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion. 8“By the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the offering which you shall offer, twenty-five thousand reeds in width, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the middle of it. 9“The offering that you shall offer to the LORD shall be twenty-five thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in width. 10For these, even for the priests, shall be the holy offering: toward the north twenty-five thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in width, and toward the east ten thousand in width, and toward the south twenty-five thousand in length; and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the middle of it. 11It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept my instruction, who didn’t go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. 12It shall be to them an offering from the offering of the land, a most holy thing, by the border of the Levites.

In the vision of the restored land, a special, holy portion is set aside, and it is given to a particular group: the priests of the line of Zadok, who kept my charge and did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. In a time when many, even among the priests and Levites, had wandered into unfaithfulness, this family had stayed true, and now, in the allotment of the holy land, their faithfulness is remembered and honored with the holiest portion.

Notice what is singled out for honor: not spectacular achievement, but simple faithfulness in a time of widespread wandering. When others went astray, the sons of Zadok kept their charge, stayed at their post, remained faithful to God. It was not dramatic; it was steadfast. And God does not forget it. In the great reordering, their quiet, costly faithfulness during the general drift is specifically remembered and rewarded.

There is encouragement here for those who try to stay faithful when many around them are drifting. Faithfulness in a time of widespread compromise can feel unnoticed, even foolish, when so many are going another way. But God notices. He remembers those who kept his charge when others went astray, and he honors them. If you are trying to stay true in a season or setting where faithfulness feels lonely and unrewarded, take heart from the sons of Zadok. Your steadfastness in the midst of drift is not unseen. God remembers those who did not go astray, and he honors them.

Lord, when many went astray, the sons of Zadok kept your charge and stayed faithful, and you remembered and honored them. When faithfulness feels lonely and unrewarded, when many around me are drifting, help me keep my post and stay true to you. Thank you that you notice the quiet, costly faithfulness that others overlook. Let me be found among those who did not go astray, and leave the honoring to you.