Ezekiel 46:16-24: a reflection

16“‘The Lord GOD says: “If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons, it is his inheritance. It shall belong to his sons. It is their possession by inheritance. 17But if he gives of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons. 18Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession. He shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession, that my people not each be scattered from his possession.”’” 19Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy rooms for the priests, which looked toward the north. Behold, there was a place on the back part westward. 20He said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the meal offering, that they not bring them out into the outer court, to sanctify the people.” 21Then he brought me out into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. 22In the four corners of the court there were courts enclosed, forty cubits long and thirty wide. These four in the corners were the same size. 23There was a wall around in them, around the four, and boiling places were made under the walls all around. 24Then he said to me, “These are the boiling houses, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.”

In the vision of the restored temple, God gives a law for the prince, the ruler of his people, and it includes a striking limit: The prince shall not take any of the people's inheritance, thrusting them out of their property. If he wishes to give his sons an inheritance, he must give from his own possession, not seize the people's. The ruler is forbidden to enrich himself or his family by dispossessing those under his authority. His power is to be used to give, not to take.

Notice the principle laid on the prince: he must not use his position to exploit the people. Rulers had the means to seize, to enrich themselves at their subjects' expense, to take the inheritance of the weak. God forbids it. The prince is to provide for his own from his own, never robbing the people of their portion. Authority, in God's design, is not a license to take from those under it, but a responsibility to protect and not exploit them.

That is a word for anyone who holds authority over others, in any sphere. The temptation of authority is to use it for our own advantage, to take from those under us, to enrich ourselves at their expense. God's design is the opposite: those with authority are to use it to give and protect, never to exploit the vulnerable in their charge. If you have authority over others, in your work, your family, your community, use it as a trust to serve and protect them, not as a means to take from them. God holds those in authority accountable to give, not to take, and to guard the portion of those under their care rather than seizing it.

Lord, you forbade the prince to seize the people's inheritance, commanding that he provide for his own from his own and never dispossess those under his authority. Teach me that principle wherever I hold authority over others. The temptation of authority is to use it for my own advantage, to take from those under me, to enrich myself at their expense. Keep me from it. Help me use whatever authority you give me, in my work, my family, my community, as a trust to serve and protect, never to exploit the vulnerable in my charge. Make me one who gives and guards rather than takes, and hold me accountable to use my position for the good of those under it, not for my own gain.