Yahweh Shammah

Some of these verses today have been difficult for me to understand. There are many interpretations as Amy pointed out on Tuesday. I think I choose to go with her numbers 2 & 4! Perhaps you were able to grasp the meanings better than I. If so - feel free to jump or "wade" right in!
In Chapter 46 we are given many details relating to offerings, feasts, priests, holy days and various regulations pertaining to the new Temple. The "prince" mentioned here is identified earlier in Ezekiel as the ideal Davidic ruler, or Messiah, whom the Lord would raise up to lead His people(from the Holman Bible Dictionary). Then in Chapter 47:

Soon we'll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river.

Gather with the saints at the river, that flows from the throne of God.

Ezekiel's vision described in elaborate detail the new Temple and a new Jerusalem. The hymn Shall We Gather at the River immediately came to my mind when I read what God showed Ezekiel in these verses. In this vision, Ezekiel describes the river flowing east (recall Natalie's post from yesterday) from the throne of God in the Temple). It becomes deeper and deeper as it flows through the desert on the way to the Dead Sea. This sea is so salty that nothing can live in it now. But here it will be filled with fresh water and fish, and fishermen will be lining the shores with their nets. It also describes the river banks that were lined with fruit trees on each side. These trees will bear fresh fruit every month for food, and the leaves of the trees will have healing properties. The leaves will be for the healing of the nations. (My, could we ever use those leaves in today's times, but we will have to wait.)

This river also reminded me of the river that ran through the Garden of Eden as well as the river that is described in Revelation 22:1,2. Perhaps this river is a symbol of the life that flows from God and the blessings He pours into our own lives.

The book concludes with detailed descriptions of the land's future boundaries and which portions are allotted to each of the twelve tribes plus a section that will be set apart for a "sacred" district. Don't you just love the description of the walls and gates around the Temple - where each of the twelve tribes have a gate with their name inscribed? But what is the most descriptive portion here is that the city has a new name - no longer "Jerusalem" but Yahweh Shammah which means the Lord is there. What could be a more descriptive name for heaven on earth that that!

We began Ezekiel with words of lamentation, warnings, and prophesies of war and woe. It ends with Ezekiel prophesying to the people of God about hope and assurance. After God's glory has returned to the Temple and to the New Jerusalem, there is hope. Hope in a new place of worship, hope in a return to their land, hope in a new heart. That is what our world definitely needs today - a message of hope . . . a message of assurance. And that is what we can offer everyone through Jesus, the Savior of the World.