804_The LORD is there (Ezekiel 47-48)
Ezekiel 47:6 And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. 9 And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. 10 Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
How reassuring to know that someone you trust is with you. A child walking through a dark room may be afraid, but when he hears his father’s voice saying, “I am here,” the darkness suddenly feels different. The circumstances have not changed. But the presence of someone he trusts brings courage.
This is where the book of Ezekiel finally brings us. Ezekiel began his ministry in a place where everything seemed to have gone wrong. He was a priest who found himself in exile in Babylon. Jerusalem had been destroyed, the temple had been defiled, and the people had been scattered. Worst of all, Ezekiel had seen the glory of God depart from the temple. It seemed as though everything that represented God’s presence among His people had been lost.
And yet, as we come to the final chapters of Ezekiel, everything speaks of a greater future. God gathers His people, restores them, gives them a new heart and a new spirit, brings them together under one Shepherd, and shows Ezekiel a temple filled with His glory. And in Ezekiel 47 the prophet describes something beautiful and hope-filled.
Ezekiel says, “Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east.” The river begins as a small stream, but as Ezekiel follows it, it rapidly deepens, until very soon it has become a river that he cannot cross.
The river reaches the Dead Sea, waters so salty and lifeless that nothing could ordinarily live there. But the prophet goes on with the wonderful words, “And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live.” When the river enters those waters, they become fresh. Fish multiply. Life appears. Trees grow along the banks, of which Ezekiel says, “Their leaves shall not wither, nor their fruit fall, but they shall bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary.”
The message is wonderfully simple: the presence of God brings life from the dead. Holiness is not dead formalism or grim religion. It is eternal health and fruitfulness rising from the life of God within.
The Dead Sea could not make itself alive. It needed the living water from the sanctuary to become fresh and a home for living creatures. Our spiritual lives are like this as well. There are places within us that cannot be renewed by ourselves. There are disappointments we cannot pull ourselves out of by determination. There are wounds that refuse to heal. There are dry areas that refuse to be transformed by religious duties.
And Ezekiel’s vision points us toward the words of Jesus. Speaking about the Spirit, the Lord cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
So the river in Ezekiel’s vision is a picture of God’s life-giving Spirit. God does not merely revive us so that we may live for ourselves. His life within us is meant to flow out in righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. For the river begins in the sanctuary but moves outwards, bringing life wherever it goes.
And Revelation 22 presents us with the culmination of the vision, where the water of life is seen flowing out of the throne of God and the Lamb, planted with the tree of life on both banks, bearing different fruit each month. Where God is, there is the fountain of the water of life. And we are called to be planted by the river, strong in his strength, fruitful through his life.
This leaves us with the searching question: what flows out from our lives into the lives of the people around us? When people encounter us, are they blessed by encountering the Spirit of grace and truth? Does the life of Christ flow out through our words and attitudes, filling our homes and workplaces, and shaping our relationships, with his patience, gentleness, justice, mercy and love?
From the river of life, Ezekiel moves to assure the exiles that they would regain their lost inheritance. They had been displaced from their land. They had lost their homes and possessions. But they are shown that God has not forgotten them. The land is again divided among the tribes of Israel, and the scattered people are given a place of their own to dwell in.
For restoration is not simply about making ruined things look better. It is about coming back to where you belong. God was bringing His people home to himself.
God does not merely save us from our sin and our troubled past. He brings us into his land of rest, his heavenly inheritance. He calls us his people, and brings us into his household. Those who belong to Christ are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.”
And finally, Ezekiel sees the city. It has twelve gates, bearing the names of the tribes of Israel. No tribe is forgotten. Nobody is overlooked or excluded. Full restoration is followed by the presence of God among them once again. But the relationship is now better than ever before. God’s people now know and remember what he has done, despite their abominations, and deeply love him.
And then comes the final word. After all the judgment, all the exile, all the visions, all the restoration, Ezekiel hears this: “And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There.”
He does not call the city “The LORD Has Given Us Prosperity.” He does not call it “The LORD Has Restored Everything We Lost.” He does not even name it after the magnificent temple or the river flowing from it.
The defining reality is simply this: The LORD is there.
This is our greatest hope. God’s greatest gift is not what He gives us. The promise and the call to all who are thirsty, is to come that he may give of the fountain of the water of life. His greatest gift is Himself.
And again, Revelation echoes this final vision of Ezekiel. John hears 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.”
The story that began with God making man in love, and seemed to be broken by the fall, when man separated themselves from their God, ends with God dwelling among His people forever in the new creation.
When we look at our own lives, we may not always understand what God is doing. We may see broken pieces and wonder how they could possibly fit together. We may not know how He will restore us or answer our prayers.
But Ezekiel teaches us that our story is always moving towards the presence of our God.
Let us remember that we follow the Lord of life. When we cannot see the river, let us trust the One who sends the water. When we feel like the Dead Sea, let us trust him who makes it fresh and fruitful again. When we feel uprooted, let us remember that he is preparing a place for us to be with him forever. When nothing makes sense, let us remind ourselves that he means, not just to give us things, but to bring us into His presence.
Because when the Lord is there, there is life, and belonging, and restoration. And when we see him, we will know that the greatest blessing was not having our prayers answered. Rather, it is that the LORD is there. God bless.
Take a few moments to reflect on these questions
What areas of your life currently feel like the lifeless waters of the Dead Sea, and how does the picture of God’s life-giving river speak to those areas?
How can the life of the Holy Spirit flow through your words, attitudes, relationships, and actions so that others experience something of Christ through you?
Why do you think Ezekiel’s vision ends not by emphasizing the restored city or its blessings, but by giving it the name “The LORD Is There”? What does this teach you about your greatest hope?
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, Your presence is greater than our circumstances. You bring life where we see only death, hope where we see only ruins, and belonging where we feel scattered and alone. Help me to trust Your presence even when I cannot understand Your ways. I will follow you so that your Spirit may flow out as the water of life into parched places. I know that whatever you give or take away, whatever be my path, you are there. And where you are is my true inheritance and my home. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen
And perhaps this is the prayer we should carry with us: “Lord, whatever You give me, whatever You take away, whatever path You lead me through, let the greatest desire of my heart be that You are there.”