In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the city – on that very day the hand of the Lord was on me and he took me there. In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city.. “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.”

(Ezek 40.1-4)

Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.. The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. He said, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites for ever..”

(Ezek 43.1-7)

And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE.

(Ezek 48.35)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God..” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

(Rev 21.1,3&5)

The book of the words of the prophet Ezekiel is a challenging read, containing some visions which we find almost impossible to picture, let alone interpret.. It is nonetheless encouraging, closing as it does with a detailed description of a new temple, a new centre of worship of the the Almighty God, where his presence returns to dwell among his restored people. That vision came to encourage a people in exile, a people whose national identity was on the point of vanishing under Babylonian rule.

Because those people were not just any ethnic group, they were the chosen ones, the covenant people of the Almighty God and the objects of his faithful love. They were to play their part in his plan for the salvation of the world, and the inauguration of a new kingdom, and so although in human terms, they had no hope, yet God – through Ezekiel – is speaking to them of a purpose, dignity and identity as his people. There would in time be a restoration, a return to Jerusalem and a pattern of worship would be re-established.. but the return of the glory of the Lord – his presence – remained in the future. Devout Jews looked for this return, this coming of the Lord to his people, to dwell among them, and the writers of the New Testament recognise that Jesus, as God incarnate, was the initial fulfilment of the prophecy.

Ezekiel then speaks to a future restoration which is yet to be completed, to a full indwelling of God with his people. This is what we – as believers in Jesus – have experienced in our part as we live by faith and by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus teaches that as we trust in him, so we become the dwelling place of God. We have been made fit for that purpose through the powerful atoning work of the cross, and – whatever we may feel – the truth is that the global church is now the place where the divine is at home.. We, like the exiled Israelites, have dignity, purpose and identity because we are the object of God’s covenant love. We too, look forward to a day when the full glory of God will dwell with his people and because of Jesus, we can be confident that it will come to pass.

The prophet’s vision is one of perfect communion and intimate connection, of proper worship and pure devotion. Only God himself, whose name and glory his people have defaced and dishonoured, can restore and make this a reality. God is committed to the realisation of this communion, a relationship where his glory will be perfectly seen in all its fulness, and seen as He dwells with us. How marvellous, how far beyond our comprehension this is!

To see this vision, is to worship and bow in awe before unimagined love and power, confessing my own insignificance and unworthiness, yet exulting to know myself chosen to share it!

That you, O God, should be glorified is only right.. But that your glory should be seen by your indwelling of your people is astonishing! Let me grow in understanding of this truth, let it inspire and motivate me to love, obedience and glad-hearted service. O Lord, be glorified in me!