DAY 249 Read Ezekiel 47; 48; 49:17-21.
Today's reading: As we read the end of Ezekiel's prophecies, the vision of the temple and the new nation closes on an assuring note. The last prophecy concerns a somewhat cryptic message to Nebuchadnezzar.
Memory gem: "The name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there" (Ezekiel 48:35).
Thought for today:
Several times in the Old Testament the name of God--transliterated as "Jehovah"--is combined with another word to picture some aspect of God's character as meeting human need. One of these appears in the last verse of Ezekiel 48: "The name of the city from that day shall be [Jehovah Shammah], The Lord is there."
Turning to the "shepherd's psalm," we read the words that appear to go with this divine title: "I will fear no evil: for thou art with me."
In the sunshine and in the shadows, in life and in death, the Lord is there; He is with us. We fear no evil when the Lord is there.
Jesus is called "Immanuel," "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14); Matthew 1:23). The apostle Paul says of Christ that "in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Colossians 1:19, RSV). Of the true church, it can also be said that the Lord is there (see Ephesians 2:19-22).
But the final and supreme fulfillment of the prophecy will come in the earth restored, when John's vision will at long last be a glorious reality. We read in Revelation 21:2-4:
"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven....And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
Then we shall fear no evil, for "the Lord is there"--Jehovah Shammah.
Today's reading: As we read the end of Ezekiel's prophecies, the vision of the temple and the new nation closes on an assuring note. The last prophecy concerns a somewhat cryptic message to Nebuchadnezzar.
Memory gem: "The name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there" (Ezekiel 48:35).
Thought for today:
Several times in the Old Testament the name of God--transliterated as "Jehovah"--is combined with another word to picture some aspect of God's character as meeting human need. One of these appears in the last verse of Ezekiel 48: "The name of the city from that day shall be [Jehovah Shammah], The Lord is there."
Turning to the "shepherd's psalm," we read the words that appear to go with this divine title: "I will fear no evil: for thou art with me."
In the sunshine and in the shadows, in life and in death, the Lord is there; He is with us. We fear no evil when the Lord is there.
Jesus is called "Immanuel," "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14); Matthew 1:23). The apostle Paul says of Christ that "in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Colossians 1:19, RSV). Of the true church, it can also be said that the Lord is there (see Ephesians 2:19-22).
But the final and supreme fulfillment of the prophecy will come in the earth restored, when John's vision will at long last be a glorious reality. We read in Revelation 21:2-4:
"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven....And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
Then we shall fear no evil, for "the Lord is there"--Jehovah Shammah.
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