This is part 9 of a 10-part series. View the entire series here.
“And from that day the name of the city will be ‘The Lord Is There.’” – Ezekiel 48:35b NLT
At the time Ezekiel delivered this prophecy to the Israelites, they were exiled in Babylon. Jerusalem and its temple had been destroyed. The Israelites had been taken from their homes and brought to a foreign land with no idea when or if they’d ever be able to return.
Earlier in Ezekiel’s vision, he’d seen God’s glory leaving the temple because of the Israelites’ idolatry and sin. Now, in the middle of so much hardship and despair, Ezekiel shares a hopeful message of the future restoration of Israel. He reassures the Israelites that they will receive from God a softened heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26). Once they’re restored, God will establish a new temple and a new way for His people to worship Him.
This message was God’s reminder to His people that His glory would return. He had not forgotten them, nor would He ever break His promise to them. The name of the city, Jehovah-Shammah (The Lord Is There), is proof of that.
From the very beginning of creation, God’s desire has been to be with His people. He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8), His glory dwelled in the tabernacle as the Israelites wandered the desert (Exodus 40:34-35), and then His glory dwelled in the temple Solomon built (2 Chronicles 7:1).
It’s always been our sin and our idolatry that separates us from God’s presence—never His unfaithfulness.
Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s desire to be with His people, the ultimate fulfillment of Jehovah-Shammah. In Matthew 1:23, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph, saying, “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us’” (NLT).
God’s promise to be with us wasn’t only for the past. It wasn’t only for the Israelites or for first-century Jews. It’s for us, too, right here and now. Because of Jesus’ birth, sinless life on earth, death on the cross for our sins, and resurrection, we are restored to right relationship with God. And until Jesus returns to reestablish His permanent city in the new heavens and new earth, He’s given His Holy Spirit to comfort, teach, guide, and direct us.
The amazing promise of Jehovah-Shammah is that God is with us. We are able to experience His close, personal presence—now and for all eternity.
“Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them.” – Revelation 21:3 NLT
