Ezekiel 48, Job 17, John 12:12-19, 1 John 5:6-12 Ezekiel 48: The land is now divided up between the different tribes, much of which we had heard before in chapter 45. There is also a plan given for the city itself, and its new name. All this is written to encourage the exiles and assure them of God’s continued plan for them, his people, and to cast a wide vision for the fulfillment of all God’s promises, ultimately in Christ in whom all the promises of God are Yes and Amen, and to urge us to therefore be diligent in the pursuit of God’s kingdom, and to be prepared for the vision of heaven where God’s promises are finally fulfilled and his presence fully experienced. This last—God’s presence—is here wonderfully intimated, and more than suggested, but claimed and declared by the new name given to God’s city. “And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There” (48:35). God’s presence with his people is then the great heritage of God’s people, their hope and their destiny. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God’” (Revelation 21:3) Let us then make sure that through faith in Christ, perseverance and persistence in that faith, and faithfulness to Christ, we do enter that eternal kingdom and enjoy his presence forever. What a glorious hope! In Christ, God is with us, and in the proclamation of the gospel we declare that we can know God and boldly enter his presence through grace by faith, and one day we will be fully and finally in his presence—when God shall dwell with us, and we will be his people, and God himself will be with us as our God. For the name of the city from that time on shall be “The Lord Is There.” To receive God Centered Bible devotionals directly in your inbox, sign up here.]]>