Morning Light – September 12th, 2017 – Ezekiel 45: Just Civil Principles Under Theocratic Rule

Morning Light – Ezekiel 45
Today: [Ezekiel 45] Just Civil Principles Under Theocratic Rule. Have you ever wondered God’s heart is toward the issue of taxes and the character of local or national government? In chapter 45 Ezekiel receives very exact instructions about the layout of the land, the specific areas to be set aside for each municipality, and how much the princes of the land were allowed to exact upon the people in taxation and other responsibility. In this we see an exact percentage specified by God himself that government is allowed under a just administration to extract from the people in terms of taxes. What is the percentage? It might surprise and in fact shock you.
Streaming live daily at: http://bit.ly/2luPMYU
[Eze 45:1-25 KJV] 1 Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length [shall be] the length of five and twenty thousand [reeds], and the breadth [shall be] ten thousand. This [shall be] holy in all the borders thereof round about. 2 Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred [in length], with five hundred [in breadth], square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof. 3 And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary [and] the most holy [place]. 4 The holy [portion] of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the LORD: and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary. 5 And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers. 6 And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy [portion]: it shall be for the whole house of Israel. 7 And a [portion shall be] for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy [portion], and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy [portion], and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length [shall be] over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. 8 In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and [the rest of] the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes. 9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD. 10 Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. 11 The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer. 12 And the shekel [shall be] twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh. 13 This [is] the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of barley:
This chapter of Ezekiel presents God’s plan for the ideal division of the land, the cities and the service of the Levites that will serve throughout the restored kingdom. In verse 1 when the land was divided throughout the nation, an entire area in each lot was to be set aside totaling 20,000 square cubits, set apart for the Lord and owned by no tribe. Within this portion in each lot was a 5000 square foot sanctuary rendered holy by an oblation unto the Lord. These oblations were usually equivalent to a heave offering comprised of the shoulder of the sacrificial land. This speaks to us of the overarching governance of God not only in general over all the nation but central to every city, as the shoulder represents the very heart or government of God:
[Isa 9:6-7 KJV] 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
This set aside land was not primarily for government administration but for providing each area access to the priesthood for the purposes relating to their assigned roles among the people when not attending to temple duties. This included teaching, instruction, rendering judgment in civil matters from the perspective of the divine law of God. In essence then what we see hear is the ideal administration of the theocratic rule of God that He would have brought the people into (some form thereof) had they not clamoured for a king in Samuel’s day.
Verse 7 tells us in addition to providing for the priesthood in the center of the city that was a place set aside for the princes in each of these areas throughout the nation. The princes were commanded to no more oppress the people, but were to be content with the portion of land given to them by the priests and that all the remainder of the land the princes themselves were to give over to the rest of the house of Israel and their tribes. The princes v. 9 instructs, are to be content with the lot given to them by God and not to remove by violence and spoil the rights of the people or the fruits of their labors. Thus were the limits placed upon the governance of the land by the Lord concerning the princes of the people. Here we see the heart of God concerning the limitations and boundaries imposed upon government to restrict their encroachment into the live and the liberties of God’s people. Human government in God’s eyes, is not unrestricted. It must not encroach upon the livelihood or enjoyments by the people of the fruits of their labors. These are the verses that the founding fathers of our nation would have included in the pretexts by which they chose to cast of the heavy burdens of taxation and regulation enforced upon them by king George in the days leading up to the founding of our nation.
The require was (v. 10) that there would be just balances, and a just ephah and just bath – all measurements used in commerce of that day to promote a healthy economy. When our country and consequently the economies of the modern world went off the gold standard they violated this edict and principle of God. What is the gold standard? The gold standard speaks of a monetary system whose currency is directly linked to the value of gold. That country cannot increase the amount of money in circulation without increasing the amount of gold in its reserves. When did we go off the gold standard? Depending who you ask, most accept that we went off the gold standard in 1933 during FDR’s administration when they completely abandoned any link between the amount of cash being printed and the inventory of gold in federal depositories such as Fort Knox. Others point to the time in August of 1971 that Nixon announced that dollars would no longer be convertible to gold in international markets. Regardless by any reasonable person’s estimation, a paper currency without any quantifiable link to anything of actual value is an unjust ephah and an unjust bath by which the princes of this world hold the reins of its value in order to financially enrich themselves at the expense of the working class. God’s blessing will never linger upon such a system – from the standpoint of the economy of the kingdom.
14 Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, [ye shall offer] the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, [which is] an homer of ten baths; for ten baths [are] an homer: 15 And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord GOD. 16 All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel. 17 And it shall be the prince’s part [to give] burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel. 18 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first [month], in the first [day] of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary: 19 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put [it] upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 And so thou shalt do the seventh [day] of the month for every one that erreth, and for [him that is] simple: so shall ye reconcile the house. 21 In the first [month], in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock [for] a sin offering. 23 And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily [for] a sin offering. 24 And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah. 25 In the seventh [month], in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil.
Verse 14 continues the exacting specifications by which various commodities of exchange would be valued, just as a reading of the constitution of the United States will reveal that the value of the dollar at the time the constitution was written was specified in an exact number of grains of gold per dollar. Verse 15 tells Ezekiel how many lambs a prince could demand out of a flock and how many sheep made up a flock. This actually implies a percentage of individual income from a scriptural standpoint by which a prince could tax his people – 1 out of 200. That represents a 0.5 percent total tax burden by the princes upon the population. As of 2015 the total percentage of the GDP of the United States siphoned off in tax revenue is 26%, with many, including the majority of the so-called middle class paying much, much more. This is an unjust ephah. This is a polluted balance that is an abomination unto the Lord.
This is not to say that the people do not render up the prince. Verse 16 instructs that the people will give oblation (or tax revenue) to the princes, or governors who are responsible to administrate the nation. The people render up to the prince and as verse 17 states the princes will render up the solemnities of their responsibilities in behalf of the people, all proceeding in the fear of God.
In the divine economy, under a theocratic rule as the Father reveals to Ezekiel, in verse 19 the priests have their role as well, to maintain in their precincts the discharge of their holy duties in behalf of the people. In other words each ruling priest in each sector of land of the land apportionment system described in this chapter was to periodically in the first month hand the first day of the month, go to the temple and sprinkle the blood of sanctification for their specific precinct upon the altar of God in the sanctuary of the Restoration temple. Now bear in mind that YOU are a priest. The people may not be doing their job, and the princes might be ruling by oppression but what are you doing? You are priest unto God and you have a responsibility to go before God and pray for the peace of your city and ask the Father to remit the sins of your city, on a regular basis. This is part of your ministry and the responsibilities commensurate with the priesthood of the believer.