Introduction
Since chapter 40, Ezekiel has been writing about the vision he received from the Lord of a new temple. In chapters 40 to 42 he described the temple complex with the outer court and the inner court and the Most Holy Place and the various rooms and the altar and the wall which went around the whole complex to keep out everything that was not holy. And then, in chapter 43, he told us that he saw the glory of the Lord enter the temple. In other words, God — who left the temple back in chapter 10 — was returning to the temple. God was coming to dwell among his people once again. In chapter 44 he told us about the priests and Levites who serve in the temple. And in chapters 45 and 46, which we studied last week, he wrote about the land around the temple and how a strip of land was to be set apart for the Lord’s temple and for the Lord’s priests. And then there was to be another strip of land which was for the Levites. And then there was to be another strip of land where the city would be built. And the three strips of land would form a perfect square and the temple was at the centre of the square to signify once again that God was going to dwell among his people. And then Ezekiel went on to write about the offerings which the prince and people were to offer to the Lord to cleanse themselves and the temple; and the religious festivals which they were to observe. And he made clear that the prince wasn’t allowed to take the land from the people, because they had received it from the Lord as their inheritance. And Ezekiel also told us that he saw rooms where the priests could eat their food and he saw rooms where the Levites could cook food for the people.
And I’ve said before that the purpose of the vision was to reveal to Ezekiel and to the exiles and to believers in every generation what eternal life in the presence of God will be like. And in order to reveal these things to us, the Lord had to use images and ideas which were familiar to Ezekiel and to God’s people at that time. So, Ezekiel was a priest who was familiar with the temple in Jerusalem and with the people who worked there and with the worship that went on there. And since he was familiar with these things, God used the image of the temple and the priests and Levites and the sacrificial offerings to make clear that eternal life in the presence of God means that God will dwell with his people for ever and that we will serve him and worship him and we’ll never have to leave him. And eternal life is only for those who have been washed and cleansed and made holy. For Ezekiel, that meant it was for people who had been washed and cleansed by the blood of an animal sacrifice. But what Ezekiel didn’t yet know, but what we now know is that those Old Testament animal sacrifice were to make do until Christ came into the world to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice for sins so that everyone who believes in him is washed and cleansed and made holy in God’s sight. And because of his Spirit, who works in us, we are being made holy so that we’re able to resist sin more and more and do God’s will more and more. And when we come into God’s presence in the life to come, we will become perfectly holy for ever and for ever. And in the presence of God, we will enjoy fellowship with the Lord and we will celebrate in his presence just as the Israelites used to do when they went up to the temple in Jerusalem.
Eternal life is life lived in the presence of God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We will live with him and we’ll worship him without weariness for ever and for ever.
And today we come to the final two chapters of this book. And we can divide the two chapters into three main parts. The first part is about the healing of the land because of this wonderful river which flows from the temple. The second part is about the division of the land among God’s people. And the third part is about a new city. And the name of the city is ‘The Lord is there.’
47:1–12
Let’s turn, first of all, to verses 1 to 12 of chapter 47 and to the healing of the land. And it’s a wonderful vision of a wonderful river. Ezekiel’s tour-guide is still with him and the guide brought Ezekiel back to the entrance of the temple. He’s referring here to the entrance to the temple building itself within the inner court of the temple complex. The Most Holy Place — which was God’s throne room — is within the temple building. And Ezekiel saw water coming from under the temple’s threshold. And Ezekiel’s tour-guide then took him out of the temple complex by means of the north entrance and around the side of the wall until he could see the gate facing east. And there he saw the water coming out of the temple. The NIV says it was ‘flowing’ from the south side of the gate. More literally, it says that it was ‘trickling’ out. The point of the word ‘trickle’ is that there was very little water at this stage of its route. It wasn’t yet a flowing river which might have filled the whole of the gateway. No, it was only a trickle or dribble of water, which doesn’t fill the gateway, but only trickles out of the south side of the gate.
The tour-guide then went eastwards, with a measuring line in his hand. And every 1,000 cubits or every 500 metres or so, he would test the water to see how deep it was. After the first 500 metres, it was ankle-deep. After another 500 metres it was knee-deep. After another 500 metres it was waist-deep. After another 500 metres it was now deep enough to swim in. And Ezekiel’s tour-guide asked him, ‘Son of man, do you see this?’ He’s pointing out to Ezekiel how remarkable this is that this river, which was once only a trickle or a dribble, has become so deep so quickly.
And Ezekiel’s tour-guide then brought him to the bank of the river where he saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. And the significance of the trees is that they’re able to grow there because the river makes the land fertile. Land that was once barren is transformed because of this river which comes from the temple of the Lord. And Ezekiel’s tour-guide explains to him that the river flows through the Arabah, which was a barren desert, but presumably it’s now being transformed by the river. And the river flows then into the Sea. And he’s referring here to the Dead Sea. And the Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea because nothing can live in it. Streams from sulphurous springs flow into it continually. And then’s no outlet from the sea, so that all the minerals that flow into it from these sulphurous streams are trapped. And because the area is so warm, water evaporates from the sea. And the result is that the sea is so full of various minerals and chemicals that nothing can live in the sea. And because it’s salty, it’s also called the Salt Sea.
That’s what the Dead Sea is normally like. But look at the effect this miraculous river which comes from the temple of the Lord has on the Dead Sea. Verse 8: ‘When it empties into the Sea, the water there became fresh.’ More literally, it is healed. It is healed of its death-inducing qualities so that swarms of living creatures will live there. There will be large numbers of fish there, because the water from the temple has made the water fresh. And it says in verse 9 that where the river flows, everything will live. Isn’t that marvellous? Where the river flows, everything will live. And so, the Dead Sea will teem with life and fishermen will stand along the shore on both sides of the Sea and they will spread their nets. Go to the Dead Sea today and you won’t find any fishermen, because there’s nothing for them to catch. But Ezekiel is seeing a transformed Dead Sea which is teeming with life. And the Dead Sea will become like the Great Sea — which is the Mediterranean Sea — because it will be filled with a great variety of fish.
And since salt is still useful for us, then there will still be some salt available in various swamps and marshes. But everywhere else, there will be abundant life. And so, fruit trees will grow along the banks of the river and remarkably their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. Look around us and you’ll see the leaves of the trees in Belfast turn brown and they’ll fall from the trees and wither. But the leaves on these trees will not wither and there won’t be a bad apple or pear among them. And the trees will bear fruit not annually but monthly. And the fruitfulness of the trees is caused by the river and by the river alone. And the fruit they produce will be used for food; and their leaves will be used for healing.
Application
This is a picture of eternal life. And it’s telling us that eternal life is abundant life.
This matches what we read in the book of Revelation where the Apostle John records for us the vision he received of eternal life. And in his vision, he saw what he described as the river of the water of life which was as clear as crystal. And so, it was pure and good and refreshing. And it flowed from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In Ezekiel’s vision, it flowed from the temple building, which contained God’s throne room. And so, it too flowed from God’s throne. And John said that on either side of the river stood the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden. And it too yielded its fruit every month and its leave are for the healing of the nations. People from every nation of the world, who trusted in Christ the Saviour, will be brought into the presence of God in the life to come where they will be healed of all their sorrow and sadness and heartache and sickness and persecution and all the pains of this life. God will take away all our sorrow and he will make us perfectly happy and we will not lack anything.
In this life, people are often in need. In this life, there are droughts and food shortages and famines. In this life, there is poverty. In this life, where people have plenty, they lack satisfaction and peace of mind. But in the life to come, God will fill his people with abundant life and we will live with him for ever and for ever and we’ll be perfectly happy.
That’s what Ezekiel’s vision and John’s vision convey to us. Because of Adam’s fall in the beginning, we live in this world under God’s curse. But in the world to come, there will only be blessing and abundance and life and peace and joy and fruitfulness. And it all flows from the wonderful goodness of our Triune God, who is an inexhaustible fountain of good things.
And we’ll be able to drink from the water of life and eat from the Tree of Life because of Christ our Saviour, who was nailed to the cross, which was a Tree of Death, and he drank, not from the water of life, but from the cup of God’s wrath for us and for our salvation. He bore the punishment we deserve and took the blame for us so that, trusting in Christ for salvation, we have peace with God and the hope of everlasting and abundant life.
And to encourage us to persevere in the faith through all the troubles and trials of this life, God gives us this vision of the glory to come. And so, for the joy set before us, we should endure all things in this life, so that, when this life is over, we’ll be able to enjoy all good things in the life to come.
47:13–48:29
This wonderful passage is not over yet, because from verse 13 of chapter 47 to verse 29 of chapter 48, Ezekiel tells us about the division of the land.
And so, in verse 13 of chapter 47 the Lord announces to Ezekiel what the boundaries of the land will be. And notice that he’s describing the boundaries of the land which will be for the twelve tribes of Israel. Do you see that in verse 13? You’ll probably remember that the one kingdom of Israel was divided into two kingdoms after the death of King Solomon. There was the northern kingdom which kept the name Israel and there was the smaller southern kingdom which was known as Judah. But the Lord envisages a time when there will only be one kingdom and his once-divided people will be united again.
He also refers in verse 13 to the way the land will be divided and there will be two portions for Joseph. When the land was originally divided among the tribes in the days of Joshua, the priests and Levites, who were from the tribe of Levi, didn’t receive any land and a special arrangement was made for them. And that meant the land was to be divided among the remaining eleven tribes. However, the tribe of Joseph was always treated as two tribes. One tribe was named after one of his sons: Ephraim. And another tribe was named after his other son: Manasseh. And that arrangement is still in place in this vision. And the reason of mentioning the two tribes of Joseph in verse 13 is to make the point that none of God’s people will be missing. In Old Testament times, land was given to the twelve tribes; and the same twelve tribes are included here: none is forgotten and none is overlooked. They’re all there.
According to verse 14, they are to divide the land equally among the tribes. In the days of Joshua, some tribes receive bigger portions than others, but now the portions will be equal. And the land will be their inheritance from the Lord, which will be theirs for ever.
And from verse 15, the Lord describes the boundary of the land. And he describes first the northern boundary and then the eastern boundary and then the southern boundary and finally the western boundary. This is all the land which the Lord promised to give to his people in the days of Moses. And according to verses 21 to 23, the land is to be distributed not only to the tribes of Israel, but also to the aliens who had settled among them and who have had children. In the past, foreigners were allowed to live among God’s people, but they weren’t allowed to possess any of the land. The land was for the Israelites only. However, the Lord now envisages a time when non-Israelites will be allowed to possess some of the land. Foreigners are to be given a permanent place in the Promised Land. It’s remarkable.
In verses 1 to 7 of chapter 48, the Lord specifies what land should be given to seven of the tribes. And in verses 23 to 29 he specifies what land should be given to the remaining five tribes. And then in the middle — between the group of seven and the group of five — there’s the area we read about last week which he describes for us again in verses 8 to 22. And so, that’s the square-shaped area containing a strip of land for the priests and a strip of land for the Levites and a strip of land for the city. And then, on either side of this square-shaped area there’s land reserved for the prince.
And so, we’re to imagine Dan at the top and then Asher and then Naphtali and then Manasseh and then Ephraim and then Reuben and then Judah. And then there’s the sacred area. And then there’s Benjamin and Simeon and Issachar and Zebulun and Gad. And among the tribes of Israel, there are resident aliens, foreigners, who have joined themselves to the Lord and his people and who have been given land to possess.
And the temple of the Lord is in the strip of land which was reserved for the priests. And so, the Lord’s dwelling place is in the centre of the Promised Land and his people — comprising Israelites and the prince and resident aliens — are arranged around him, living on land that the Lord has given them as their inheritance. And so, it’s his gift to them for ever.
Application
This is a picture of eternal life. And it’s telling us that all of God’s people will be there. And among God’s people will be people from other nations. In the past, life in the Promised Land was for the Israelites only. But in the Promised Land to come, people from other nations will live there and belong there and all of God’s people will live with God for ever.
And this matches what we read in the book of Revelation where the Apostle John records for us the vision he received of eternal life. So, John describes the new heavens and earth and the new Jerusalem which is both a city and a temple where God dwells with his people. And John says that the nations will walk in the city and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it and the glory of the nations will be brought into it as well. And so, there will be people from every nation of the world. People from every nation, who trusted in Christ for salvation, will be brought into the new Jerusalem in the new heavens and earth to live with the Lord for ever. God will be there and his people will be there and we’ll never have to leave, because he gives to all who trust in his Son eternal life as our inheritance which will never be taken from us.
48:30–35
And this wonderful vision is still not complete. There’s still more. And so, in verses 30 to 35 of chapter 48 Ezekiel describes the city. So, in the sacred portion, there was a strip of land for the priests which contained the temple. And there was a strip of land for the Levites. And then there was a strip of land for the city.
The NIV refers to the exits of the city in verse 30, but it’s likely that he’s really referring to the city boundaries or to the sides of the city. And so, he tells us first about the north side and then the east side and then the south side and then the west side. There are four sides to the city. And then, in each of the four sides there are three gates. And that means there are twelve gates in total. And the gates are named after the tribes of Israel. God’s people are to enter through these gates.
And the name of the city is, ‘The Lord is There.’ Isn’t that wonderful? The Lord is in the temple, but he’s also in the city. Whether his people are worshipping him in the temple or whether they’re in the city, God is with them. Wherever they go, whatever they’re doing, God is with them.
Application
This is a picture of eternal life. And it’s telling us that God will be there with his people.
And this matches what we read in the book of Revelation. In John’s vision of eternal life he sees the new heavens and earth and the new Jerusalem. And a wall surrounds the city on four sides and there are three gates on each side which means there are twelve gates in total. And the gates are named after the tribes of Israel. And the gates are for God’s people to go through. And the city, as I’ve already said, is both a city and a temple. It’s like a city, because it’s where God’s people live. But it’s like a temple, because God is there and his glory gives the city light. The glory of his presence radiates throughout the city so that everyone in the city knows that God is there.
Conclusion
Ezekiel received this vision when God’s people were in exile. They were living far away from the city of Jerusalem and far away from the temple. Worse that that, the city and temple has been destroyed. And it had been destroyed because of their persistent sin and rebellion. And so, it must have seemed to them that God was far from there.
But then God appeared to Ezekiel in a vision to reassure his people that the time was coming when he will gather his people into a new and better Promised Land, where there will be a new and better temple and a new and better city and where they will enjoy his presence in their midst like never before. And this vision was not only for his believing people in Israel, but it was his people in every nation who will believe in him. And God announced that he will wash them and cleanse them and make them holy. And they will live with him for ever.
And when the time was right, God came into the world in the person of his Son to lay down his life on the cross to pay for the sins of his people so that all who believe in him are washed and cleansed and made holy in God’s sight so that one day we can live in the presence of a holy God.
And before he laid down his life on the cross, the Lord Jesus explained to his disciples that he would soon be leaving them. He would soon be leaving them because he had to go and get everything ready for his people so that when he comes again, he’ll be able to gather his people together and bring us into the new and better Promised Land and into the new and better temple and into the new and better city where we’ll enjoy God’s presence in our midst like never before. He’ll bring us into the Promised Land of Eternal Life where he’s prepared a place for all his people in the temple-city, where we’ll be filled with inconceivable joys; and we’ll be made perfectly holy and happy in body and soul in the company of God’s holy angels and God’s holy people and in the presence of our God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
And God has revealed these things to us so that we’ll give up our sins and everything else which might make us stumble and fall away from Christ our Saviour. And he has revealed these thing to us so that we will persevere through every trouble and trial in this troubled life, because the glory to be revealed to us in the presence of God far outweighs anything we might have to suffer in this life. And God has revealed these things to us so that we might always worship him and give thanks to him for his kindness to us in Christ Jesus, because none of us deserves to enter the glory to come. We deserve to be condemned and sent out of his presence for ever because we’re sinners who sin against God continually. But because of God’s kindness to us in Christ Jesus, and for no other reason, we can look forward to these things. And so, we should praise the Lord our God today and every day for his indescribable kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Sermons and Stuff 