Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us.
Let not my doubts nor my darkness speak to me.
Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us.
Let my heart always welcome your love. Amen.
36:22-38 is another one of the glorious restoration texts. This is our new heart as well!
Look at all of the times God says “I” here and what the “I” will be doing. God is the active agent in his people’s lives.
Ezekiel 37 is a prophecy about “One nation under God.” After all of the trouble we’ve seen between Israel and Judah, this is good news! I can’t help but think of the Church here. We believe in one holy catholic church, but that is not what we see around us. One day that will be the Church’s reality too – one church, one denomination under God.
Much of today’s reading is a vision of the new temple and the new city. God will make things right again. This stands in sharp contrast to the visions we read a few days ago about Ezekiel seeing the leaders desecrate the temple. Then in chapter 43 the glory of the LORD fills the temple again. By now you know that is the best news for God’s people. God dwelling with them. This, of course, is a vision that gets fulfillment in Jesus, the Word who became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
The river at the end of today’s reading is the refreshment and life that comes from God. The most notable comparison is the river in Revelation 22:1-2, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”
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