Keeping a Holy District

“When you allot the land as an inheritance, you shall set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent.  Of this a square plot of 500 by 500 cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for an open space around it. And from this measured district you shall measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 broad, in which shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. It shall be the holy portion of the land. It shall be for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to minister to him, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. Another section, 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits broad, shall be for the Levites who minister at the temple, as their possession for cities to live in.

“Alongside the portion set apart as the holy district you shall assign for the property of the city an area 5,000 cubits broad and 25,000 cubits long. It shall belong to the whole house of Israel.” Ezekiel 45:1-6

The instructions here are to allot a portion of the land for those who would serve every tribe throughout the land. It required careful measure and thought and a guarding against encroachment, because the holy place, the sanctuary, and the priests who served there, needed this special place for ministry. For us, we are not so much to separate or compartmentalize the holy from the material, but to ensure that there is a holy place in every square inch of our lives. The sanctuary is paramount. To appoint for it distinguished care and space and time is vital, yet its fruit is meant to encroach upon the whole land of our days.

We may be well-meaning and disciplined, but to order a segment of the week for church, or of personal life for spiritual exploration, but then fail to carry that holy communion into the rest of our plans and activities, we miss God’s intent. He calls us to guard that sanctuary so jealously, so carefully, that what we glean there- the wisdom, God’s countenance, gratitude and grace and a Christ-mind- we appropriate in every aspect of life. Work, family, recreation, service, eating, drinking, and conversation should all be touched by the Almighty with a sacred impression of our holy place.

How will we measure out this portion for the Lord, and where? A devotional life does not just happen. When we set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts, we will always encounter opposition, because the enemy exists to disrupt any sanctuary. When is our time, and what is our place, and plan? The holy district must be a designated in the landscape of our every day. How diligently do we protect this priority and keep this assignment? (John 10:10; 1 Peter 3:15)

Father God, help me value and guard all You’ve entrusted to me, keeping preeminent and permanent Your holy place in my heart. Establish me within to take You into every district of my days, that others see You and are blessed. (Colossians 2:6)