Ezekiel 48:1-35 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goes to Hamath, Hazarenan… I. AN UNVEILED PRESENCE. The imperfection of the medium through which we now receive our knowledge of Him, constitutes the veil between Him and ourselves. It is not any deficiency in the amount of the knowledge communicated; nor any want of clearness in the communication itself, which constitutes the veil spread out between God and ourselves. No: that veil is found in our weakness, and inability to take in the truth in reference to God and spiritual things. But when we reach that heavenly city, whose name will be "The Lord is there," this difficulty will be removed. Then, instead of seeing "through a glass darkly, we shall see face to face." II. A TRANSFORMING PRESENCE. We meet with illustrations of the power of assimilation or transformation, that are highly interesting, both in the animal kingdom and in the world of nature. The chameleon, the tree frog, and various insects among the animal tribes, occur to mind as examples. These assume the colour of the substances on which they feed, or by which they are surrounded. There is a principle of assimilation between themselves and the materials about them. But let us rise a step higher. From the animal kingdom, we look up to the world of nature Yonder is the sun. When he rises in the east, and pours his glorious beams over the clouds that are floating around the horizon, what a marvellous change is wrought upon them! A moment ago they were dark, and gloomy, and unattractive. But look at them now. They are tinted with purple, and scarlet, and gold. The sun is present with them, and what a wondrous power of transformation that presence is exerting! And if, in this lower world, we find processes like these going on, need we be surprised to find the same principle of assimilation at work, only developing results more glorious far, in the heavenly world? And this is just what we do find. For when the redeemed are introduced into that heavenly city, whose name is "The Lord is there," "they shall be like Him, for they shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). The same truth is brought out more clearly and absolutely by St. Paul (2 Corinthians 3:18). And there are two things connected with this transformation which are marvellous to think of. One is the extent to which it will be carried. It will not be the peculiarity of a few of the redeemed, but the privilege of them all. And then it will be no less marvellous when we think of the reality of this change. When the sun spreads his glory over the clouds of the sky, it is only the appearance of a change which the clouds put on. They remain essentially unaltered. They are the same clouds that they were before. But it is different with the heavenly transformation of which we are speaking. The likeness to God, which His presence imparts to the ransomed who stand around His throne, is real, and pervading in its nature. III. A SATISFYING PRESENCE. We see many objects of beauty and grandeur in the world around us; and we find real pleasure in beholding them. But however great this pleasure may be, it is still true that "the eye is not satisfied with seeing." And there are two things which "account for the striking difference that exists between seeing the beauty that appears in this lower world, and seeing the King in His beauty." We look upon the beauties seen in the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the hills, the ocean; but we are not satisfied with seeing, because they are not ours. They do not belong to us. We cannot appropriate them to our own use. But it will be different when we stand and gaze on the glories of the Divine presence as displayed in heaven. It will be our privilege to point to Him and say — "This God is our God." But it is possible to own things which do not meet our necessities, and which, therefore, cannot minister to our satisfaction and enjoyment. We see this illustrated in the case of the traveller in the desert, who was famishing with hunger. Arriving at a well, he saw a sack lying near it. Transported at the thought that he had found a supply of food, he hastened to open it, when he discovered to his intense disappointment that it was only a sack of pearls! He was a jeweller, and understood their value. They belonged to him by discovery. There was no one to dispute his right to claim them as his own. But how gladly he would have exchanged them all for a loaf of bread! And how much of life's experience is in keeping with this! These things were not made to satisfy the soul, and they cannot do it. But in the presence of God, reserved for the redeemed in glory, both these elements meet. There is ownership for the ransomed in that presence, and suitableness to their wants. IV. A PROGRESSIVE PRESENCE. This is a feature of the Divine presence peculiar to itself. It does not belong at all to earthly things. In all earthly possessions or pursuits, we find limits to their ability to interest and gratify; and these limits are soon reached. The things of earth pall upon us, and we soon tire of them. Even as we hold them in our grasp, we feel, in reference to them, "the fulness of satiety." We feel that we have taken their measure. We have sounded their depths. We have scaled their heights, and have gone to the utmost boundaries of their length and breadth. Alexander conquered the world — and then, as tradition says, he wept because there were no other worlds to conquer. In nothing is the contrast more striking between earthly and heavenly things than it is here. There is a littleness about the one that is soon exhausted. There is a fulness about the other which defies exhaustion. Jehovah-Shammah: the glorious Lord, in whose presence we are to stand in heaven, is an infinite God. And all the elements of His character are infinite too. And it is this feature of His character which will afford material forever fresh development or progress in our knowledge and enjoyment of Him. V. AN ETERNAL PRESENCE. We have this assurance when told that the covenant name we are considering will be connected with this heavenly city, "from that day." This means the day when this city shall be revealed, and all the redeemed shall enter on the possession of its joys. "From that day," on, and on, and on through all the ages of eternity, "the name of the city will be Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord is there." The blissful presence of our covenant God and Saviour will be connected with that city, "while life, or thought, or being lasts, or immortality endures." Here, everything is temporary; there, nothing will be so. The life given to those who enter this heavenly city will be everlasting life. The kingdom to which they belong is "a kingdom that cannot be moved"; an everlasting kingdom. And everything belonging to that kingdom, its joys, its honour, its relationship, will be everlasting too. As one has well said: "There will be no hands on the clock of eternity, and no shadow on its dial. The very hours of heaven will be measured by the sunshine — not by the shadow." The life to come will be an eternal progression. It will be the life of the soul — life with God, and life like God's. (R. Newton, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan. |
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