I finished my current read through Ezekiel this morning. And we end the book of Ezekiel with this beautiful redemption:
“...and the name of the city from that day shall be, 'The LORD is there.'"”
Ezekiel 48:35
At the beginning of the book, God left the temple that the people had desecrated, and at the end, He shows His plan for a city that means "The LORD is there." I can't help but think of Immanuel that means "God is with us." The Savior comes! And one day He will make all things new. There are similarities between the garden of Eden in Genesis and John's vision in Revelation.
When God made the earth, "It was very good." It was perfect and mankind turned from the perfect Creator. Sin entered, and the perfect was shattered. Immediately God began His plan of redemption (right there in Genesis), and that scarlet thread is woven throughout all time. We see pictures/shadows of Jesus all along the way, and then one day, He comes down to dwell with us, Immanuel, to carry out His plan, Savior, Jesus! He doesn't have the birth of an earthly king, but the birth of a humble man. The shepherds are the first to come to worship Him, the lowly shepherds, showing that He comes not just for the elite; He comes for all. These shepherds were probably tending flocks of sheep to be used for sacrifice the coming year, spotless Passover lambs. They leave the field to come adore THE SPOTLESS PASSOVER LAMB! Jesus grows into a man and John the Baptist declares, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) All this time, God's people had been sacrificing innocent lambs to take away their sin. Over and over they went through the necessary steps to try to rid themselves of sin. They needed forgiveness. They needed redemption. They needed to be cleansed. They needed a Savior to be the final Lamb, who could cleanse them once and for all, to bring forgiveness and redemption with Holy God. We need this too! For we all have sinned. We all fall short. We all need Jesus! And at his prime, just like that perfect Passover lamb of a prime age, He went to the cross. Like that Passover lamb, His body was not broken, but His blood was poured out (His blood instead of mine). Like that lamb, He was roasted as He hung on that cross under the scorching sun (instead of my roasting forever in the pits of hell). And like that Passover lamb, we must feed upon Him. We must take in Jesus, not just see Him from afar. Like the wool shorn for clothing, we get to wear His robe of righteousness, and we feast upon Him. He is to be our everything! And He is enough! He is more than enough! He has given us everything we need. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6) That's Jesus! He died, and as evidence of God the Father accepting this perfect sacrifice, He rose again. It is finished. The price for sin has been paid. No more sacrifice is needed. And one day everything will be perfect again! He is undoing the unraveling of the perfect. He is perfect, and He's bringing back perfect.
There were a couple of scriptures in chapter 47 that really stuck out to me, where I saw Jesus jump out at me.
“...so everything will live where the river goes.” Ezekiel 47:9
“but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst;
but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of
water springing up to eternal life."” John 4:14
“By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of
trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail.
They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary,
and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing."” Ezekiel 47:12
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it
abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me." John 15:4
Oh my dear friends, do you know my Jesus? If you do not, call to Him today. He came that we may have life. He gladly exchanges His life for ours. He is full of grace and truth and mercy and love. He came to redeem. Are you redeemed?
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