Year 2, Week 22, Day 5 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 22, Day 5

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Ezekiel 48; Joel 1.

Today’s reading completes the final major section of the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 33-48 can be divided into two segments: Ezekiel 33-39 is composed of prophecies about the judgment upon but also the future restoration of Judah, while Ezekiel 40-48 is composed of Ezekiel’s vision about the new temple and new land. Having completed the description and operations of a future Temple as well as a description of the river that will flow from the Temple, Ezekiel 48 deals with the division of the land among the 12 tribes with emphasis given to the Zadokian priesthood who will occupy a special allotment of land around the Temple area: “This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites” (Ezekiel 48:11-12). But perhaps more importantly, the final words declare the presence of the LORD with His people: “The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There” (Ezekiel 48:35). Today’s reading also begins the Book of Joel: “The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel: Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land!” (Joel 1:1-2a). As Joel begins by announcing a coming invasion upon Judah, he issues a call for immediate repentance: “Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes” (Joel 1:14-15).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was how the ending of Ezekiel ties in with not only the entire Book of Ezekiel, but also an important theme that runs throughout Scripture: “The LORD Is There.” The opening sections of the Book of Ezekiel underscore the departure of the LORD: “Then the glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them” (Ezekiel 10:18-20). Because of idolatry, the LORD departed; He was not there at the Temple. And yet, quite ironically, as the glory of the LORD was departing from the presence of the Temple, the LORD was with His people, while they were in exile: "Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel” (Ezekiel 11:16-17). The exiles were not only comforted by the LORD who was there with them, He would promise that they would be brought back from exile: “I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Ezekiel 37:26-27). The LORD had left, but He would return them to Himself as their sanctuary.

The promise of the LORD’s presence with His people, is not only an important theme from Ezekiel, but also from the entire Scriptures: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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 21:1-3). The LORD would be with His people. This wonderful ending of the Scriptures is simply the fulfillment of a long-standing promise: “I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8); “I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God” (Exodus 29:45); “I am the LORD their God” (Leviticus 26:44); “And you, O LORD, became their God” (2 Samuel 7:24); “I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people…And I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:1,33); and, “they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 37:23). Living in the presence of the LORD, the very thing that was disrupted at the fall in the garden, and disrupted again during the exile, would be restored.

And while the fullest culmination of the LORD being present with His people is still to come, there is already a reality of the LORD’s presence with His people: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The presence of the Holy Spirit now dwells within Christ’s people until the Father sends Christ to collect us: “You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe