The New Jerusalem: The Lord is There

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.
Ezekiel 48:35

The book of Ezekiel ends with a description of a new Israel. The physical boundaries of the nation change. The allotment of the territories for the tribes changes. The whole layout of the map is centered on the new temple and the New Jerusalem. All there is known about this new way of seeing the nation is referenced from the temple outward.

One is struck by the neatness of the arrangement of these allotments. The city is a perfect square. The allotments for each tribes is a perfect geometric arrangement. The nation is arranged in a futuristic, orderly gridwork that works out from the Temple Mount to all the borders of Israel. This was a big vision meant to encourage and embolden a broken people. Their lives were chaotic in exile. The order of the future yet to be filled them with hope and with wonder at what God would yet do among them.

And the key feature of the new city was the presence of God. It was such a strong focus that the city would be known, not by a name, but by His dwelling. People would just call the city: The LORD is There. That's how moving the presence of The Lord should be. It should fill our lives and be the remarkable thing about God's people!