Amen. Amen. Let us turn to Ezekiel and we'll be reading the final verse of Ezekiel this evening. As we do have a a split reading, which we've done just a couple of times as we've worked through Ezekiel, about one sermon for every two chapters. And so we'll be looking at verses 13 to 23 of chapter 47. And then we will jump over to verse 30 of chapter 48, And then we'll also read and look at the last six verses of Ezekiel there, Ezekiel 48, verse 30 to 35. And basically, this second half of chapter 47 will be our first point. And the last verses of the book will be our second point for anyone following the outline this morning. And so let's begin our reading, page 932. in Ezekiel, which may be a little easier to find than it was some time ago. Ezekiel chapter 47, we'll begin our reading at verse 13, and we'll read to the end of that chapter, and then we'll go to chapter 48 verse 30. So 47 verse 13, Thus says the Lord God, This is the boundary by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions, and you shall divide equally what I swore to give to your fathers. This land shall fall to you as your inheritance. This shall be the boundary of the land on the north side from the great sea by way of Hethelon to Labohemoth and on to Zadad, Barothah, Sibraim, which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath, As far as Hazar-Hadikon, which is on the border of Hauron, so the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazar-Anon, which is in the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north. This shall be the north side. On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauron and Damascus, along the Jordan, between Gilead and the land of Israel, to the eastern sea, and as far as Tamar, This shall be the east side. On the north side, it shall run from Tamar, as far as the waters of Meribah Kadesh, and from there along the brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side. On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebohemoth. This shall be the west side. So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for your sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, There you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God. And then we move over to chapter 48, verse 30, reading to the end of the book of Ezekiel. These shall be the exits of the city. On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi. the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulon. On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits, and the name of the city from that time on shall be the Lord is there. So far, the reading of the holy word of God. Well, dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we come to the end of the book of Ezekiel, let us remember once more some of the details of these first hearers of the fellow exiles of Ezekiel. This is 25 years after that exile, this last vision as we read in the beginning of chapter 40. Many of them are forgetting at this point what the Promised Land looked like. Many of them by this time have been born in exile and don't know what the promised land looked like. And if we think in terms of the return from exile, still some decades in the future, only a very few of these would be among that number. They are allowed to have their own community to some degree, but they are slaves in Babylon. They do not own their own land and their own home. They are slaves, they are servants of that Babylonian empire. These are, in short, people without a home or a land of their own. And for those who remember their home and their land, it is many years now, 25 years in the past, and some of them have never known their own home, their own land. And so the promise of restored land is going to be immediately meaningful and precious to these exiles. They would recognize the literal impossibility of some of the things that Ezekiel is speaking about here. This is, as one commentator often quoted said, this is theological geography. But even as this is a theological map within this great vision, which goes all the way from chapter 40 to the very end of this book, it would be a great comfort to these exiles to hear this promise, this visionary promise of restored land, restored homes. And so that is the background, the immediate background, and the immediate meaning and preciousness of these words to the first hearers, which leads to this theme for us this evening. God is present with his people in his land of restoration. And for those following the outline, we have two points. The land of fair inheritance, and we're looking at chapter 47, 13 to 23. And then our second point will take us to chapter 48, 30 to 35. And our second point is this, the land of full access. Well this vision of the land is a little bit different in the last two chapters. Chapters 40 to 46 were focused upon the temple and everything about the temple and all the ins and outs and all the sacrifices and the prince who is within the temple. Chapter 47 and 48 are focused on the land with this river of life that we looked at last week in the beginning of chapter 47, this river of life that flows out from the temple, but then now these last two chapters are focused on that river of life going out and then all of the land and the city also. And so there's a different focus in these last two chapters. It's only going to briefly mention the temple one more time in chapter 48, verse 10, where there's a brief mention of the sanctuary within the holy portion of the land. But really, the last two chapters, they broaden our scope. We're not really looking at the temple anymore. We're looking at this whole restored land. And at this point, we can stop and say that there is something especially difficult about these two chapters for us today. Because we have all these places and names, we read some of those, especially in verses 15 to 17, and we didn't read through the whole list with many more names and many more places in 48 verses 1 to 29. And we look at all those names, and many of them are very unfamiliar to us. And indeed, many of them are now lost to us. We don't know exactly where they are. And it's not surprising. In fact, some of these places, the exiles were starting to forget where they were. Notice this in verse 16. Do you see the second place in verse 16, Sobriah? Ezekiel has to give a little explanation for where that is. It's between the border of these two places. In other words, at a time when the Babylonians and other powers are taking over the promised land, other people are living in these places, they're probably already receiving new names, And so in Ezekiel's day already, it was getting difficult to remember where these places were. And certainly for us, even with all kinds of scholarship and then digging up as many old things as we can, we don't know where all of these cities even are. But providentially, we certainly know enough to get the big picture. And the big picture is this, that The whole border of the land is described to us, especially in the verses that we read. And then the individual tribal allotments are described in 48 verse 1 to 29, which we jumped over and did not read. And there are a number of things which this teaches to us. And I'm just going to focus on two places as we work through verses 15 to 20 and the overall border of the land. So as we're working through this, I'm just going to ask you to remember two places and then it will become clear why we're doing that. So what's going on in verses 15 to 17? The northern boundary of the whole land is being described. And there's one place that I especially want you to see there. It's Labo Hamath in verse 15. Then in 47 verse 18, we are told about the east boundary of the land. And the east boundary of the land works down from where it meets the northern boundary. down southward, starting in the area of the Sea of Galilee, which is not named, then working down the Jordan River, which is named. It's simply called the Jordan in the middle of verse 18. And then down to the Eastern Sea. And at this point, I'll just stop and we'll say, what is the Eastern Sea? Well, that's the Salt Sea. And it's almost never called the Eastern Sea. But if you were here last week, you know why it's called the Eastern Sea now. It's not the Salt Sea anymore. It's now the place of fresh water and life. So it's, Ezekiel is consistent with his theological vision of this restored land. We're not going to call the Salt Sea the Salt Sea anymore. Now we're going to call it by that very unusual name that it was sometimes called by the Eastern Sea. So it works us down, and that is, it is a natural boundary, but it's basically a straight line. I mean, the Jordan River basically runs straight north down to south. And then we have the western boundary in verse 20. I'm jumping ahead to verse 20. And notice that if you have a map of the promised land in your head, the western boundary is exactly what we would expect. It's that basically straight line, natural boundary of the Great Sea, which today we call the Mediterranean Sea. Now we're going to jump back to verse 19. And here is the southern boundary. And notice a couple of things mentioned here. The brook of Egypt. Okay, I told you I would ask you to remember two places of all these places, Labo Hamath in the north, and now the brook of Egypt, which is part of the southern boundary described in verse 19. I'm going to read from 1 Kings chapter 8, verse 65. And you may turn with me, or you can just listen. I'm just going to read one verse. 1 Kings chapter 8, verse 65. tells us something about the Kingdom of Israel, the United Kingdom of Israel in the days of King Solomon. And listen to this in 1 Kings 8, verse 65. So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from Labo-hamath to the brook of Egypt before the Lord our God, seven days. Now what is the Kingdom of Israel in the days of Solomon? It is the United Kingdom and it is the farthest reaches that the Kingdom of Israel ever came to. And so we have Ezekiel is really stretching the biblical memory and the historical knowledge of his fellow exiles. Because these places are basically not mentioned other than this verse and Ezekiel chapter 47. You may be familiar with a phrase like this, from Dan to Beersheba. Now what is Dan to Beersheba? That was where the kingdom of Israel normally found its northern part and its southern part. And talking about Dan to Beersheba is a way of speaking about from the north to the south and everything in between. There's this one time in the reign of Solomon when the United Kingdom, not that Dan to Beersheba with a kingdom, you know, the 12 tribes divided against each other in between. No, this one time when it went farther north and farther south and it was the United Kingdom. And there's this really, this one place we have these two, this Brook of Egypt and Labelhameth mentioned together. And now many years later, Ezekiel is stretching his fellow exiles and he's saying, do you remember the golden age of Solomon? Do you remember the farthest expanse of the promised land and that too shortly united kingdom of Israel? In my vision of the restored land, I'm taking you back to those places. Or we could just say it this way. Ezekiel is saying, my vision of the restored land is the golden age, but even better because we have the river of life running through it. This is the golden age of my people. Now, how does that apply to us? Well, brothers and sisters, We're going to get to the application as we look at the fairness of this land with just a couple more details. Now, please look at verse 14 with me. And you shall divide equally what I swore to give to your fathers. This land shall fall to you as your inheritance. of verse 21. So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. This wondrous golden age remembering huge land is going to be divided equally. So we did not read 48.1-29 and we're not going to read it now. I'm just going to give you the very quick summary of it. It is this huge land from north to south, divided for each tribe by perfectly straight east to west lines. Now, practically speaking, that's a mess. I mean, there's all kinds of hills and valleys in the Promised Land. You don't just divide a map by perfectly straight lines in the Promised Land. Literally speaking, this is never gonna happen. You are not gonna have the 12 tribes in a restoration to the full golden age with a river of life flowing through it. It's practically, it's literally, it's not going to happen. But visually, remember, this is all a vision, as we were told at the beginning of chapter 40. Visually, think about that picture. Let me just put it to you this way. Is life on this earth like a straight line of fairness? Is everything perfectly straight east to west fair? Life is not fair on this earth. We are all called to suffer. The only difference is some are called to suffer more and some are not called to suffer quite as much. There's an old expression, a crook in the lot. That means something crooked, something difficult in the lot you are given on this earth. Practically speaking, the map of Ezekiel is a mess. Literally speaking, it never happens on this earth, but visually. In this massive way, Ezekiel is giving us a straightforward, straight line picture of fairness. And it's a little bit hard for us to grasp because we don't know all these place names and it's hard for us to be stretched north and south this way, but just picture, just picture the first exiles hearing first the this whole land described, especially in 13 to 22. And then hearing words like, and you shall divide it equally in verse 14. And then as Ezekiel starts to work through it, they're thinking, wow, this is really divided equally. It's divided in perfectly straight lines. What is this picture of fairness? It doesn't even make sense on this earth. And geographically, it's a mess. It doesn't work with all the hills and the valleys. but pictorally, visually, hold that map of perfectly straight lines and know that there is a time when everything is going to be fair. It is not fair now. There are all kinds of crooks in our lots and the only difference is some have more and deeper crooks than others. But brothers and sisters, there's a time that's coming when everything is going to be perfectly straight and perfectly fair and perfectly equal. This is a massive picture Ezekiel gives to us to communicate visually that truth. And again, you can almost picture the first exiles hearing it like, wait a second, that's That's a perfectly straight line for the tribe of Judah. Wait, that's a perfectly straight line for the tribe of Benjamin. Wait, that's a perfectly straight line for the ten tribes that have been lost for a long time. And it's all equal and it's all perfectly fair. One more thing about the fairness of this land. Our second point is going to be shorter than our first point. Please look at verses 22 and 23. You shall allot, verse 22, as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you, Now, what is that? In the old provisions, a sojourner was allowed to be included in the family of faith. They could receive circumcision. They could be included. In fact, they were called to be included if they did that in things like the Passover feast, but they were never given land. They were never given a permanent home unless they married in. Well, now Ezekiel's saying, look, this land is perfectly fair. And it's perfectly fair not just for the natural Israelites, but also for the sojourner, who is a convert, is a believer, who stays and raises his family in the people of God. And that's what the rest of verse 22 is about. It is beautifully beyond the old provisions in the Levitical law. In this visionary land, everything is perfectly fair, not only for each tribe, but also for every sojourner who comes and joins into God's people. Certainly, brothers and sisters, this takes us into New Testament language, and that one people of God, and that one inheritance for Jew and Gentile alike. And so, we can turn to Ephesians chapter 2. And in Ephesians chapter 2, beginning at verse 19, we read these words and this is spoken to those who are Gentiles in the flesh as they are addressed back in Ephesians 2 verse 11. And to the Gentiles in the flesh the Apostle Paul says this beginning at Ephesians 2 verse 19. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And then jumping down to chapter 3, verse 6, listen to this language of inheritance for Jew and Gentile alike. Ephesians 3, verse 6, this mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel." This perfectly fair land with perfectly straight lines is also drawing the people forward to the New Testament Church as language where the sojourner is fully included, and even has an inheritance in the land, in God's perfectly fair land. And that's the first fulfillment of that is Ephesians 2 and 3. It's that Jew and Gentile have the same inheritance in Jesus Christ as they trust in him. Well, brothers and sisters, let's go now to the last verses of Ezekiel and to our second point. This is the land of full access. Every tribe will be allowed in, all of the people of God and even as Ezekiel is hinting at this with the verses 22 and 23 of chapter 47 that we just looked at at this point, let us see that the full inclusion of the 12 tribes is pictured in that the city, which is near the temple and in this kind of special reserve allotment near the middle, this city has a four-sided city wall And it's perfectly fair, there's three gates on each of the four sides, three plus three plus three plus three, that's one gate for each tribe. Okay, so we have a four squared wall in this city, which is in its own special allotment with its still perfectly straight east to west lines. And in that allotment, there's this city, There's three gates on each side of the wall, one for each of the 12 tribes. Now in Revelation chapter 21, John takes this exact image and builds upon it. Please turn with me to Revelation chapter 21. Revelation chapter 21 beginning at verse 10. And this is the vision of the new Jerusalem. And we're going to hear some things that build exactly off of this image from Ezekiel. Revelation 21 beginning at verse 10. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper clear as crystal. It had a great high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels. And on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed. On the east, three gates. On the north, three gates. On the south, three gates. And on the west, three gates. What is that? That's exactly the same as the three gates on each side with one tribe for each gate in Ezekiel 48. But notice this addition then in verse 14. And the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. So verse 13, that's exactly what is being described at the end of Ezekiel 48. But we have this addition because now we have it in New Testament language and now it's being brought completely into the new heavens and the new earth. There's still visions of Ezekiel, there's still parts of Ezekiel's vision that are not completely new heavens and new earth yet. But now it's completely new heavens and new earth. And so we have also the angels present there, 12 angels in verse 12. And we have also the 12 apostles and the names of the 12 apostles, which represents the New Testament people of God. And so the vision of Ezekiel is taken into full New Testament language by John. And now how do any of these have access? Well, how are any of us saved? We are saved only by Jesus Christ. And if we were to turn back to Revelation 7, that is exactly what we see. You have the 12 times 12 number. You have all of the Old Testament people represented by the 12 tribes and all of the New Testament people represented by the 12 apostles. And then you have 12 times 12 times 1,000 to represent them all together. And how is it that they're all together? How is it that they're all before the throne? it is because they have salvation in the Lamb. Revelation 7 v. 10, "...and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. And the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power have been given to our God forever and ever. And then one of the elders addressed them saying, Who are these clothed in white robes? And from where have they come? And I said to them, Sir, you know. And he said to me, these are the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. And if we look back Just earlier in that chapter, there's all the tribes listed symbolically in verses 5 to 8. And so we say, where is the fulfillment of Ezekiel 47? How is it all brought together? It's all brought together not because these 12 tribes are going to live with this very impractical but beautiful map. No, it is fulfilled in all those who trust in the blood of the Lamb. And all those who trust in the blood of the Lamb, not only the Twelve Apostles, but also the New Testament, not only the Twelve Tribes, but also the New Testament represented by the Twelve Apostles, all of them are brought together in this perfectly fair land. And by the blood of the Lamb, they are brought before the very throne of God. And so now, we have these gates, we have this city, And what is the very last word of God through His prophet to these people who don't have their own land anymore, who live in slavery, who some of them have never seen Jerusalem and many of them never will see it or never will see it? What is the final word to them? The Lord is there. whatever your earthly lot is, whatever your earthly home is, by the blood of the Lamb, by the work of the Prince, I will bring you to my perfectly fair land, and you will have fellowship with me. Now, in Revelation, John takes this language of the 12 tribes and he takes it one step further. It's not just the 12 tribes, it's all the New Testament people too. Is there anything further than saying the Lord is there? I mean, how can it be any better than that? How can it be any better than that? You know, the New Testament takes the promise that the Lord is there And even this goes one step further. How does the New Testament take the promise that the Lord is there one step further? Well, it's spoken to us in a number of ways. My favorite verse expressing it is 1 Corinthians 13, verse 12. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Oh, the promise that ends the book of Ezekiel to a suffering people is a precious promise. The Lord is there. But even the precious promise which finishes the book of Ezekiel is taken step further for the New Testament people. It is not only that God is there, it is that we will behold Him face to face. How did Jesus say it in the Sermon on the Mount? Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. And when God was on earth, many saw Him in His humble form. But for all those who trust in God on earth, Jesus who came to die for our sins, we will see Him in His glorified form. face to face, a promise that Ezekiel couldn't express yet because God had not yet become man. But even that great and precious promise, the Lord is there. Brothers and sisters, do you hear it? We can even take that one step further and we say, I see now dimly, but I will see in that land of perfect fairness, in that land where every wrong is made right, in that land where everyone who trusts in the blood of the Lamb will have access before the throne of God. I do not only say the Lord is there, I say, Lord, I will see You face to face." And brothers and sisters, we need this promise. We need this promise. Why do we need Ezekiel? Why do we need the Lord is there? Why do we need to take this one step further to the New Testament language? The Lord is there and you will see Him face to face. You know, sometimes out of the mouth of babes, we hear childlike faith and praise the Lord for that. We need that encouragement and we need to hear that. Sometimes out of the mouth of babes, we also hear childlike doubt. You know, we can hear that out of the mouth of babes too. And so, you know, I recently asked a two-year-old, who do we pray to? And I heard an expression of childlike doubt. Nobody. Okay, so that was a reminder to me of two things. Number one, we have to faithfully and repeatedly remind our youngest who we pray to, and that God is there, and that God hears prayer, and that God who made us is who we pray to. But it also reminded me of the reality of childlike doubt. Brothers and sisters, God is spirit. We cannot yet see God. Praise the Lord when we have childlike faith, but can we not also struggle with childlike doubt? Why is it that we don't always come before the Lord in prayer? Because we cannot see Him. We see now dimly, brothers and sisters, We have not only the great Word to the exiles, the Lord is there. We have the further step of that promise in Christ, and you will see me face to face. Amen. Let us pray. Lord, our Lord, You have said, blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Keep the promises of the great inheritance you give to us before us. May we fellowship with you through the ups and downs and the twists and turns of this earth. Encouraged by your presence, though we do not yet see you face to face.