EZEKIEL 48:35 THE LORD IS THERE. YAHWEH SHAMMAH…. THE GOD OF THE PRESENCE.
This is near the end of the Old Testament, and is the last of the Covenant Names of God, unveiling who God is. Earlier Ezekiel had spoken of judgment but now he turns to the promise of the future. He speaks of a coming community. A community which is characterized by the presence of God. The Lord is There… what did that mean? It returns us back to the Garden of Eden. A paradise park. It did not cover the entire earth. It was place in which God’s presence was uniquely known. God walked there! It seems like it remained that way after the fall. That’s why Adam and Eve were put out. It was protected by Cherubim of God, and the Fire of God. (Gen. 3:24). The fall put man out of the immediate Presence of God. However, it seems like Cain and Abel offered here at the entrance to the Garden, in the Presence of the Lord. Echoes from the Cherubim above the Ark of the Covenant. Moses sees the burning bush… the same fire that Adam and Eve saw. A symbol of the self-existent God. Brought out of Egypt from slavery. Not to freedom, but to slavery to a new master. No man is free… we are all slaves to someone. Love slaves of God. As soon as they leave Egypt they are met again with fire. The Presence of God. That Presence lived with them. God was in the midst of His people. They “lived in” the presence of God… the pillar of cloud by day, and pillar of fire by night. Man was moving back to the reason for which he was created… to live and have his being in the Presence of God. In the wilderness, God had them built a tent for Him. They all lived in tents and God lived there in their midst. They were camping with God. That tent was called the Tabernacle. Read Ex. 33:7-15. The glory of God resided over the Ark. Once a year the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies. On the veil in front of the ark were embroidered two Cherubim. Just like Eden. Can you imagine what it was like to have the actual visible Presence of God. In their tent, in the temple. Yet even with that, the people went into idolatry. God was continually calling to them through His prophets, to repent, but they wouldn’t heed. Ezekiel 9:3 The glory of God is leaving. The very meaning of their existence is withdrawing, and nobody noticed. Sense of the passage is that God was loathe to leave… seems to be calling for someone to notice, but no one did. Now Ezekiel introduces the idea of a new Temple. Ch. 47. From that Temple will come rivers of living water. Ezekiel tells them that God will come back in His glory, in a way in which He was never with them before. The next time we hear of the Glory of the Lord is at the birth of Jesus. All the prophets spoke of Jesus. Isaiah referred to Him as Immanuel… God with us. The Presence of the Lord is with us. Yahweh Shammah. John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling (“tented”) among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (NIV) Colossians… “the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form…” Heb. 1:3 “… the radiance of God’s glory…” Illustrated by the sun and the sunshine. There is not sunshine if there is not sun. Cannot separate the two and yet they are distinct. The progression: The glory of Eden… the glory of the bush…. the glory of the tabernacle… the glory in the temple… the glory in Jesus!… He was crucified… resurrected in glory… a cloud received Him out of their sight… (echo from cloud in the wilderness)…. the new “naaos” – temple’s Holy of Holies…. is now in the Church…. What don’t you know that you are the “temple”… The finale is in Revelation when we return to the garden… no more need of the sun, moon, or candle… because He, Himself, is it’s light. When the Church is really the Church… we will know that THE LORD IS THERE!