Q380 : Is David the Prince of Ezekiel 46?

I have a question regarding the prince in Ezekiel. Who is the prince mentioned in Ezekiel 45:7, 17?

The Book of Ezekiel uses the title prince several times but only 2 times it adds the name of David. So, we can’t take for granted that it is automatically David. Plus, in Ezekiel 46:16 the prince has sons.

Is it possible this prince is a descendant of David (survivor of the tribulation) who has a ministry related to the temple?

A380 : by Tony Garland

In a word: yes — that is my view, based on various lines of Scriptural evidence concerning the prince:

• Not the resurrected David - As you’ve observed, the prince has offspring (Eze. 46:16-18),¹ but David will be glorified and will no longer procreate (Mat. 22:30). Also, The prince can commit sin (Eze. 46:2, 4, 12) but, glorified believers like David, are sinless.
• Not the “greater David” (Jesus) - The most straightforward reading of various offering passages imply the prince makes offerings on his own behalf, as if capable of sin (Eze. 46:2, 4, 12), but Jesus is sinless.
• Not a descendant of Joseph - This Davidic descendant cannot be in the line of David leading through Jeconiah culminating in Joseph (due to the blood-curse, Jer. 22:24-30). This would exclude descendants of Jesus’ brothers. The prince would have to be a descendent through a different son of David than Solomon, or a descendent of Solomon, but branching off from a higher point than Jeconiah.

Who is the prince who is prominently mentioned in this chapter [Ezekiel 44] and in every one through the remainder of the prophecy with the exception of chapter 47? The rabbis understood this to be a prediction of the Messiah, but there are cogent reasons why we cannot make this identification. The prince cannot be the Messiah, first because he is distinguished throughout from a priest. He has no priestly rights, as some former kings exercised from a priest (see 1K. 8:22, 54; 9:25; 10:5; 2K. 16:12-13; 2Chr. 26:16). On the other hand, the Scriptures are clear that the Messiah has definite priestly prerogatives in the millennium (cf. Ps. 110:4; Zec. 6:12-13). Second, the prince needs to offer a sin offering for himself. There is no conceivable occasion upon which the stainless Messiah, Son of God, would need to offer a sin offering for Himself. Third, the prince has sons (Eze. 46:16), which is unthinkable in the light of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, the Messiah is definitely ruled out as even a possibility for this role. . . . Some think it is David himself, pointing to such passages as Eze. 34:23-24 and 37:24. But, as we have seen, these Scriptures foretell the Son of David, the Messiah. Though not impossible, such an identification with David is not probably in view of the broad context of prophecy concerning the kingdom. The author believes it is a future scion of David’s dynasty who will represent the Messiah, governmentally in the affairs of earth."²

If this view is correct, a Jewish descendent of David, presently alive today, is in the line leading to this individual!. God will preserve this line through the Tribulation and into the Millennium. This needn’t be surprising, though, when we consider the same is true of the line leading from Zadok to the priests who minister in the Millennium, also mentioned by Ezekiel (Jer. 33:14-22; Eze. 40:46; Eze. 43:19).

For more on the priestly covenant, see The Priestly Covenant and the Millennial Kingdom^a

May God bless you as you continue to search the Scriptures.