Ezekiel 48:35

The name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there - It would have been better to have retained the original words: - יהוה שמה Yehovah Shammah. This is an allusion to the shechinah, or symbol of the Divine Presence, which was in the first, but most certainly was not in the second temple; but Ezekiel tells us that the Divine Presence should be in the city of which he speaks; and should be there so fully and so powerfully, that it should give name to the city itself; and that the very name, Jehovah shammah, should remind all men of the supereminently glorious Being who had condescended to make this city his habitation. Two points must be considered here: - 1. That the prophet intended that, when they should be restored, they should build the temple, and divide the land as he here directs, if the thing could be found to be practicable. 2. That he had another temple, another holy city, another Promised Land, in view. The land of Immanuel, the city of the New Jerusalem; and his temple, the Christian Church, which is the house of the living God, Ti1 3:15, in which the presence of Christ shall ever be found; and all its inhabitants, all that believe on his name, shall be temples of the Holy Ghost. Nor can there be any reasonable doubt that the prophet here, by the Spirit of God, not only points out the return of the Israelites from the Babylonish captivity, and what was to befall them previously to the advent of Jesus Christ; but also the glorious spread of the Gospel in the earth, and the final conversion of the tribes of Israel by the preaching of that Gospel. In conclusion, I think it necessary to state, that there are but few of the prophets of the Old Testament who have left a more valuable treasure to the Church of God than Ezekiel. It is true, he is in sever…

Lord is there--Jehovah-Shammah. Not that the city will be called so in mere name, but that the reality will be best expressed by this descriptive title (Jer 3:17; Jer 33:16; Zac 2:10; Rev 21:3; Rev 22:3). Next: Daniel Introduction

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 48 In this chapter an account is given of the portions of the twelve tribes in the land of Israel; seven to the north of the sanctuary, Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, and Judah, Eze 48:1, between which and Benjamin lay the holy portion of the land, for the sanctuary and the priests of it, and for the Levites, and for the city and its suburbs, and for the prince, Eze 48:8 then the portions of the other five tribes to the south of the sanctuary, Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad, Eze 48:23, after which the city is described by its outlets, north, east, south, and west; by its twelve gates, three at each point; by its circumference and by its name, Eze 48:30.

In this chapter we have particular directions given for the distribution of the land, of which we had the metes and bounds assigned in the foregoing chapter. I. The portions of the twelve tribes, seven to the north of the sanctuary (Eze 48:1-7) and five to the south (Eze 48:23-29). II. The allotment of land for the sanctuary, and the priests (Eze 48:8-11), for the Levites (Eze 48:12-14), for the city (Eze 48:15-20), and for the prince (Eze 48:21, Eze 48:22). Much of this we had before, ch. 45. III. A plan of the city, its gates, and the new name given to it (v. 30-35), which seals up, and concludes, the vision and prophecy of this book.

48:35 To cap off the whole vision, the city was given a new name, The Lord Is There. Although the Lord had once departed from Jerusalem and ordered its destruction because of its gross idolatry and bloodshed, the new city was so much a part of the new order of things that it could receive that name. This also implied that the bloody city condemned in earlier chapters had now been replaced by a holy city, fit for God to dwell among representatives of all twelve of Israel’s tribes (cp. Isa 4:2-6; Zech 14:20-21). Thus the prophecy of Ezek 37:26-27 finally reaches its conclusion and its fulfillment, as God establishes his sanctuary in the midst of his people forever, just as he promised.