These prophetic words from Ezekiel weren’t spoken in a vacuum. He preached to people who had literally lost everything representing God was with them. Jerusalem had fallen, the temple is in ruins, and earlier in the book, Ezekiel watched the glory of the LORD leave the temple. I’m sure the people wondered if God had abandoned them.

In chapter 37, we find God’s answer. As the passage opens, we find a valley full of dry bones that God miraculously breathes back to life, then moves two sticks joined into one, a picture of a divided people made whole again at last. Our Key Verse picks up at the end where all of it comes together. God promises one king, “my servant David,” one shepherd over all His people. Now, David had been dead for centuries when this prophecy was written, so this promise was for David’s greater Son, the Good Shepherd Jesus would later claim to be in John 10.

What’s awesome about this passage is that Ezekiel doesn’t just give one promise; the promises start piling up! He speaks of a covenant of peace, a permanent covenant with God. He says He “will set my sanctuary among them forever.” It’s like Ezekiel can’t stop repeating it: they’ll live in the land forever, David will be their prince forever, and God’s sanctuary will be among them forever. Right in the middle of it all we have verse 27: “My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

As you know, on Tuesdays we see how our passage and the week’s storyline impacts how we see reality … how Scripture sees reality. The goal of redemption is for God to be at home with His people, to live and dwell with them, with US, forever. As we read this passage, I hear the echoes of John’s voice from yesterday as he hears the voice from the throne in Revelation 21:3. He’s hearing the same covenant promise, the one God had spoken over Israel for generations, but finally fulfilled and kept in full.

There’s one more important detail to take note of today. God says that when His sanctuary is among His people, “the nations will know” that He is the LORD. His dwelling place was never meant to be a private blessing; it’s a light for the entire world to see.

Today, you and I live between Ezekiel’s promise and John’s vision. Jesus, the Shepherd King, has come, and by His marvelous Spirit God already makes His home with His people. But the day is coming when His dwelling with us will be complete, embodied, unbroken, and everlasting!

Think of a time (it may be right now) when it felt like God has moved on beyond your circumstances? What does it mean for you today that God’s goal has always been to make His dwelling with His people?

Father, You have kept Your promises to a people in exile, and You will keep them to me as well. Thank you for sending Jesus, and for giving Your Spirit to dwell with Your people now. When we feel far from You, remind me that Your plan has always been to live among us and let my life help others who know that You are the LORD. Amen.

“Knowing God’s plan has always been to dwell with His people helps me see __________________ differently.”