Lesson sequence
Ezekiel 45: Worship and Service in the Vision
Ezekiel 45:1–6; Ezekiel 45:7–9; Ezekiel 45:10–12; Ezekiel 45:13–25
Ezekiel 45:1–6 describes a part of the land set apart for Yahweh when the land is divided for inheritance. The passage lists measured areas for the holy place, the sanctuary, the priests, the Levites, and the city. This lesson also brings together The Prince’s Portion, Honest Scales, Offerings and Feasts.
Before you teach
These verses give prophetic teaching about how the land is to be arranged. The focus is on a holy offering from the land, exact measurements, and the people each portion is for. The passage stays centred on holiness, ministry, and an ordered place for Israel.
Explain the central teaching of Ezekiel 45: Worship and Service in the Vision, using two details from the reading. This passage teaches that part of the land is to be set apart as holy to Yahweh, with ordered portions for sanctuary service and for the people. This passage teaches that a prince may hold land in Israel, yet must stop violence, stop taking from the people, and act with justice and righteousness. This passage teaches that justice includes using clear, consistent and honest standards for what is measured and counted. This passage teaches that Israel’s worship was to follow ordered gifts, appointed times, and shared responsibilities connected with atonement before the Lord Yahweh.
Your lesson sequence
Use the teaching outline below for each session, with these reading and activity choices.
Consecration of the Land
Ezekiel 45:1–6
This passage teaches that part of the land is to be set apart as holy to Yahweh, with ordered portions for sanctuary service and for the people.
Try together: Use the evidence sheet for Ezekiel 45:1–6. Record key details, compare the opening and closing of this reading, and prepare a short explanation with a supporting Bible reference for each point.
The Prince’s Portion
Ezekiel 45:7–9
This passage teaches that a prince may hold land in Israel, yet must stop violence, stop taking from the people, and act with justice and righteousness.
Try together: Use the evidence sheet for Ezekiel 45:7–9. Record key details, compare the opening and closing of this reading, and prepare a short explanation with a supporting Bible reference for each point.
Honest Scales
Ezekiel 45:10–12
This passage teaches that justice includes using clear, consistent and honest standards for what is measured and counted.
Try together: Use the evidence sheet for Ezekiel 45:10–12. Record key details, compare the opening and closing of this reading, and prepare a short explanation with a supporting Bible reference for each point.
Offerings and Feasts
Ezekiel 45:13–25
This passage teaches that Israel’s worship was to follow ordered gifts, appointed times, and shared responsibilities connected with atonement before the Lord Yahweh.
Try together: Use the evidence sheet for Ezekiel 45:13–25. Record key details, compare the opening and closing of this reading, and prepare a short explanation with a supporting Bible reference for each point.
Welcome: Ezekiel 45: Worship and Service in the Vision
5 minIntroduce “Consecration of the Land”, “The Prince’s Portion”, “Honest Scales”, “Offerings and Feasts” and locate Ezekiel 45:1–6; Ezekiel 45:7–9; Ezekiel 45:10–12; Ezekiel 45:13–25. This passage teaches that part of the land is to be set apart as holy to Yahweh, with ordered portions for sanctuary service and for the people. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for. Choose the reading for today’s session from the sequence above.
Ezekiel 45:1, Ezekiel 45:4, Ezekiel 45:6
Read and explain the passage
12 minConsecration of the Land (Ezekiel 45:1–6): When the land is divided by lot for inheritance, one portion is first offered to Yahweh. It is called a holy portion of the land and is given clear dimensions. The whole border around it is holy, showing that this part is set apart for Yahweh.
The Prince’s Portion (Ezekiel 45:7–9): Verse 7 carefully places what belongs to the prince on both sides of the holy allotment and the city’s possession. It is described by direction and length, stretching from west border to east border. The wording shows that the prince’s land is defined, measured and located in relation to other allotted places.
Honest Scales (Ezekiel 45:10–12): The passage begins with a command: “You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath.” One weighing tool and two named measures are listed together. The repeated word “just” makes the main point plain. These standards are meant to be fair and reliable, not uncertain or distorted.
Offerings and Feasts (Ezekiel 45:13–25): The opening instructions name exact portions from wheat, barley, oil, and the flock. The offering is carefully measured and specified in this teaching. The gifts are said to be for meal offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, and the passage links these offerings with making atonement.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Consecration of the Land”, “The Prince’s Portion”, “Honest Scales”, “Offerings and Feasts”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Ezekiel 45:1, Ezekiel 45:7, Ezekiel 45:10, Ezekiel 45:13, Ezekiel 45:14, Ezekiel 45:15
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What is to happen when the land is divided for inheritance?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. This passage teaches that Israel’s worship was to follow ordered gifts, appointed times, and shared responsibilities connected with atonement before the Lord Yahweh. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Ezekiel 45:1, Ezekiel 45:12, Ezekiel 45:13, Ezekiel 45:14, Ezekiel 45:15
Make and respond: Vision and message evidence map
12 minWork on “Ezekiel 45: Worship and Service in the Vision: Vision and message evidence map”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Consecration of the Land”, “The Prince’s Portion”, “Honest Scales”, “Offerings and Feasts” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Ezekiel 45:1, Ezekiel 45:13, Ezekiel 45:25
Closing: return to Offerings and Feasts
3 minRevisit Ezekiel 45:13–25. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Offerings and Feasts and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Ezekiel 45:13, Ezekiel 45:19, Ezekiel 45:25
Questions to explore
What is to happen when the land is divided for inheritance?
Notice the first instruction: a holy portion of the land is to be offered to Yahweh before the other details are described.
Ezekiel 45:1
What do the exact numbers in verse 12 add to the teaching of this passage?
The verse defines the shekel and then gives the mina by stated amounts, showing that just standards are expressed through precise relationships.
Ezekiel 45:12
What specific kinds of produce and animals are included in the offering at the start of the passage?
Read the opening list carefully and note both the named items and the measured portions attached to them.
Ezekiel 45:13, Ezekiel 45:14, Ezekiel 45:15
Make, think or respond
Ezekiel 45: Worship and Service in the Vision: Vision and message evidence map
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “What the passage describes”, “What is explained in the text”, “What question remains”.
- Read Ezekiel 45:1–6; Ezekiel 45:7–9; Ezekiel 45:10–12; Ezekiel 45:13–25. Use “Consecration of the Land”, “The Prince’s Portion”, “Honest Scales”, “Offerings and Feasts” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Circle an explanation the passage itself provides. Leave unexplained details as questions for further reading.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Ezekiel 45: Worship and Service in the Vision connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “Consecration of the Land”, “The Prince’s Portion”, “Honest Scales”, “Offerings and Feasts” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Ezekiel 45:1–6; Ezekiel 45:7–9; Ezekiel 45:10–12; Ezekiel 45:13–25. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Ezekiel 45:1–6; Ezekiel 45:7–9; Ezekiel 45:10–12; Ezekiel 45:13–25. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Ezekiel 45
1 “ ‘ “Moreover, when you divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer an offering to Yahweh, 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 pasture lands 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 Yahweh. It shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.
5 Twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the house, as a possession for themselves, for twenty rooms.
6 “ ‘ “You shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand long, side by side with the offering of the holy portion. It shall be for the whole house of Israel.
7 “ ‘ “What is for the prince shall be on the one side and on the other side of the holy allotment and of the possession of the city, in front of the holy allotment and in front of the possession of the city, on the west side westward, and on the east side eastward, and in length corresponding to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border.
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 “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Enough, you princes of Israel! Remove violence and plunder, and execute justice and righteousness! Stop dispossessing my people!” says the Lord Yahweh.
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.
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,
14 and 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),
15 and 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 Yahweh.
16 “All the people of the land shall give to this offering for the prince in Israel.
17 It 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.”
18 “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without defect, and you shall cleanse the sanctuary.
19 The priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the house, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.
20 So you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who errs, and for him who is simple. So you shall make atonement for the house.
21 “ ‘ “In the first month, on 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.
23 The seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to Yahweh, seven bulls and seven rams without defect daily the seven days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering.
24 He shall prepare a meal offering, an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
25 “ ‘ “In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, during the feast, he shall do like that for seven days. He shall make the same provision for sin offering, the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the oil.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.