Ezekiel 45 is a chapter about land, justice and worship. Ezekiel describes how the land of Israel is to be divided, how a holy portion is set apart for the Lord, and how the prince and the people are to handle weights, offerings and the great festivals. These questions are written for a small group, a Sunday class, or a person studying the chapter alone, and they can be used in that order or chosen one at a time.
Ezekiel 45 at a Glance
The chapter moves in three broad movements. First, verses 1 to 8 describe a holy district set apart for the Lord, with space for the priests, the Levites, the city and the prince. Second, verses 9 to 12 turn to the conduct of leaders: they are told to stop violence and oppression and to use honest weights and measures. Third, verses 13 to 25 set out the offerings the people must bring and the feasts the prince must provide for, including the Passover and the feast in the seventh month.
A leader can read the chapter in two sittings, one for the land and one for the justice and worship, or take the whole in a single session if the group is comfortable with a longer reading.
Observation Questions
Use these questions at the start of the session to slow the group down and make sure everyone is looking at the same words before anyone offers an interpretation. Ask people to point to the verse before they answer, and resist the urge to explain too early.
Ezekiel 45:1-4
1 “‘“Moreover, when you divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer an offering to the LORD, a holy portion of the land. The length shall be the length of twenty-five thousand reeds, and the width shall be ten thousand. It shall be holy in all its border all around. 2 Of this there shall be a five hundred by five hundred square for the holy place; and fifty cubits for its suburbs all around. 3 Of this measure you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand, and a width of ten thousand. In it shall be the sanctuary, which is most holy. 4 It is a holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the LORD. It shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.
(WEB)
Reading this opening passage first establishes the holy portion as the foundation of everything that follows. It is worth lingering on the phrase that the land is an offering to the Lord, since that framing shapes how the rest of the chapter should be heard.
Ezekiel 45:8-9
8 In the land it shall be to him for a possession in Israel. My princes shall no more oppress my people; but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.” 9 “‘Thus says the Lord the LORD: “Let it suffice you, princes of Israel: remove violence and plunder, and execute justice and righteousness; dispossessing my people,” says the Lord the LORD.
(WEB)
These verses carry the chapter’s sharpest call to the leaders, telling them to stop oppressing the people and to remove violence. Reading them aloud gives the group a chance to hear the direct address to power before discussing what it requires today.
Ezekiel 45:10-12
10 “You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath. 11 The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain one tenth of a homer, and the ephah one tenth of a homer. Its measure shall be the same as the homer. 12 The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
(WEB)
This short passage on just balances and measures is concrete and easy to picture. It helps the group move from abstract principles of justice to the everyday question of how honest dealing is carried out in ordinary trade.
Ezekiel 45:15
And one lamb of the flock, out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel—for a meal offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them,” says the Lord the LORD.
(WEB)
This verse names the purpose of the offerings as making atonement for the people. Reading it in the session anchors the discussion of sacrifice in the chapter’s stated aim of reconciliation rather than ritual for its own sake.
Ezekiel 45:21-22
21 “‘“In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 On that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.
(WEB)
These verses introduce the Passover and the prince’s responsibility to provide a sin offering for himself and the people. Reading them shows the group how the festival calendar and the theme of atonement are woven together across the chapter.
Memory Verse for Ezekiel 45
Ezekiel 45:9
“‘Thus says the Lord the LORD: “Let it suffice you, princes of Israel: remove violence and plunder, and execute justice and righteousness; dispossessing my people,” says the Lord the LORD.
(WEB)
This verse is short enough to memorize and pointed enough to stay with people. Encourage the group to repeat it together and to recall it when they next face a decision about how they treat others under their care or influence.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who want to honor you in how we handle what we have and how we use what authority we hold. Thank you for the picture of a holy center around which the whole of life is ordered, and for the reminder that your justice reaches into the markets and the homes we share. Show us where we have been careless with measures, unkind with power, or forgetful of the rhythms that keep us close to you. Forgive what we have done wrong, and give each of us a willing heart to act with honesty and mercy this week. Keep us faithful in the ordinary things, and draw us back to yourself whenever we drift. Amen.
