Originally posted: 8/08/2021
“My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. 28 And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever,” (37:27-28).
This chapter of Ezekiel is filled with prophecies that promise life, unity, and peace; promises of Hope. And while these promises are certainly applicable to the body of Christ, these prophecies were specifically given to Israel, both the people and the place. And every promise of God will be fulfilled for Israel.
Now, let’s once again put ourselves in the exiles’ shoes. Their hope was completely dried up, lifeless and helpless.
Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off,’” (37:11).
But it was from the nation Israel that God promised His Messiah would come. And if they were completely cut off, the Hope for All of Mankind would be cut off as well. And while God was definitely calling Israel to believe, He was also providing Hope for All of Mankind.
For as destitute, as desolate, as disconnected, as disorderly, as dead as Israel appeared, God would accomplish His Word, miraculously; to do what no man can. And He would do the impossible as He breathed life into the confusion and chaos to bring His Hope for All of Mankind to fruition.
Consider His Hope for All of Mankind
God revealed His miraculous intention for Israel, for the nation, the people, and the land. And all that He has purposed He will accomplish; and in so doing, provide His Hope for All of Mankind
- His Hope for All of Mankind: He will breathe His life into His people.
- “Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. 6 I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”… 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army, (37:5-6, 10).
- His Hope for All of Mankind: He will regather His people in the promised land.
- Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people,’” (37:11-13).
- His Hope for All of Mankind: He will put His Spirit of Life within His people.
- “I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord, (37:14).
- His Hope for All of Mankind: He Will unite His people as one kingdom.
- The word of the Lord came again to me saying, 16 “And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ 17 Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand,” (37:15-17).
- His Hope for All of Mankind: He will set His King over His people forever
- “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. 25 They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever,” (37:24-25).
- His Hope for All of Mankind: He will keep His everlasting covenant of peace and plenty with His people.
- “I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever,” (37:26).
- His Hope for All of Mankind: He will bring His people into personal relationship to know Him as their God.
- “My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people,” (37:27).
- His Hope for All of Mankind: He will dwell in the midst of His sanctified Israel forever.
- “And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever,” (37:28).
How do we respond to His Hope for All of Mankind?
There are days when life seems to be going according to plan. You know, those days when it is just plain easy to believe His promises, those days without bumps in the road. But then there are those days when life tosses us for a loop and it just feels hopeless. We must ever remind ourselves; feelings lie.
And that is why it is important to know His Story that defines our history. So rather than relying on feelings, let us rely on His Word, for His Hope for All of Mankind is established in His promises and in His faithfulness to perform His Word. Every promise to Israel will be fulfilled and every promise to His church He will accomplish through His Son, Christ Jesus, His Hope for All of Mankind.
For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. 20 For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us, (1 Corinthians 1:19-20).
The LORD our God has promised that His Hope for All of Mankind will be fully known when He establishes His eternal dwelling place within the midst of His sanctified Israel forever.
“And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever,” (37:28).
His Hope for All of Mankind was founded in His promise to bless every nation through Abraham, the one who believed God and was thereby credited as righteous (Genesis 15:6). And all those who bless His great nation will be blessed.
Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed,” (Genesis 12:1-3).
If we expect Him to accomplish His promises for us, we should also expect Him to accomplish every promise He has made concerning Israel. Therefore, let us commit to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and seek the good of Israel.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 “May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “May peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good, (Psalm 122:6-9).
And as we pray for Jerusalem, may we be strengthened in our faith as we wait on Him to fulfill His purpose for all His people.
Oh, may we grow to view the circumstances of this life for what they are, temporary; that we would be strengthened to face whatever this temporary life throws at us, determined to walk in the confidence of His Word as we trust the One Who Is Able to guard us until that day when we will know fully His Hope for All of Mankind.
for we walk by faith, not by sight, (2 Corinthians 5:7).
For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day, (1 Timothy 1:12).
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known, (1 Corinthians 13:12).