There is water in Ezekiel 47:1 “coming out from under the threshold of the temple eastward” and it brings life wherever it flows. There is an abundance of fish and trees “its fruit will be as food, and its leaf for healing.” in Ezekiel 47:12. And, there is a design for the temple, the place of the Lords habitation and a city, and a government, and land for the people, a vision that is yet to be realized. Now, though, there is a cry that rises to the Lord from his people and the oppressed, and it represents the great tension of our age, in Revelation 6:10 “they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, holy and true Lord, will you not judge and avenge our blood”. But the answer from the Lord in Revelation 6:11 “rest yet a short time” and we endure a little longer until the harvest is complete.
Waters Are Going Out From the Sanctuary
Ezekiel 47:1–12
There is an unexpected flow of water in Ezekiel 47:1 “coming out from under the threshold of the temple eastward, because the face of the temple was eastwards; and the water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, from south of the altar”. It is clear from Ezekiel 43:7 that it is the Lord that is leading and as they follow away from the sanctuary, the flow of water becomes a stream and then a river. The water is “ankle deep in Ezekiel 47:3 then “knee deep … (and) waist deep” in Ezekiel 47:4 and “a stream that could not be crossed” in Ezekiel 47:5. This water brought with it healing to the sea in Ezekiel 47:8 and “everything will be alive everywhere that the stream will come” in Ezekiel 47:9 and the trees along its banks “its fruit will be as food, and its leaf for healing.” in Ezekiel 47:12
Divide This Land According to the Tribes of Israel
Ezekiel 47:13–23
We can learn something about how to treat immigrants from the Lords command to Israel in
Ezekiel 47:22 And then you shall allocate it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens dwelling as aliens in the midst of you who have children in the midst of you, and so they shall be to you just like full citizens among the Israelites. With you they shall be allotted with an inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel.
The Holy District
Ezekiel 48:1–13
There is a holy district, land for the Lord and for the sanctuary in Ezekiel 48:8-9. Next to it is also a portion of land for the priests in Ezekiel 48:11-12 “a most holy object”. Then another portion for the Levites in Ezekiel 48:13.
For the City and the Prince
Ezekiel 48:14–35
In this vision, there is a layout of the sanctuary and temple and the surrounding holy ground, but the Lord also lays out the city of God and the lands for the prince and the people by their tribes. Now, the city is described as unholy in Ezekiel 48:15 but there is pastureland for animals and the land in Ezekiel 48:18 “its yield shall be as food for the workers of the city”. But around the holy portion and the city portion lies the portion of the prince in Ezekiel 48:21-22 and then the rest of the land is divided among the tribes, but in the order given by the Lord with Benjamin and Judah the closest in Ezekiel 48:22. In this section the Lord covers the most holy ground, where he resides in the sanctuary of the temple, then the place of the priests, then the Levites. And the Lord also includes the city around where men of Israel and their families will come and pass through as they gather for the feasts. And there is provision for government and more than enough for each of the tribes and their inheritance from generation to generation.
Yahweh is King
Rise Up O Judge of the Earth
Psalm 94:1-11
There is a message that comes from the Lord, and that is his desire in
1 Timothy 2:3–4 This is good and acceptable before God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
And there is a cry going up to him to avenge the people that are oppressed and crushed by the wicked. The cry is in Psalm 94:2 “repay the proud”, in Psalm 94:5 “They crush your people … they oppress your inheritance”, in Psalm 94:6 ” They kill widow and stranger, and they murder orphans”.
This is the great tension of our age, some will turn to the Lord, but at a cost as others endure oppression. This is the great cry in
Revelation 6:9–10 And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had, 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, holy and true Lord, will you not judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth?”
Blessed is the Man O Yah Whom You Instruct
Psalm 94:12–23
Study Verses
- Ezekiel 47:1–12 Waters Are Going Out From the Sanctuary
- Ezekiel 48:14–35 For the City and the Prince
- Psalm 94:1-11 Rise Up O Judge of the Earth
Today’s Reading
- Ezekiel 47:1-23
- Ezekiel 48:1-35
- Psalm 93:1-5
- Psalm 94:1-23
