Mon.’s Devo - The Future for Israel

Read: Ezekiel 47, 48; 29:17-21; 30:1-19; 2 Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34
If you have been to Israel, then you have seen the Dead Sea. Nothing can grow in or around it because of its amount of salt. Nothing can drown in it either and it is healing for your body. It is an enigma, but according to Ezekiel’s prophecy, it will one day team with fresh water and be flowing instead of still. Fish will live in it and trees with fruit and healing leaves will spring up around it. No doubt this will really happen in the natural, but it is a picture of what a flow of the Holy Spirit will do to a place that is dead. God’s spirit brings life, healing and nourishment.
Next, God gave Ezekiel the boundaries of the land of his kingdom. The Levites will be in the middle with the Lord’s Temple as their center. The gates are on the north, south, east, and west with three names on the gates. Revelation 21:12-13 speaks of these gates and says that there are three on each side with the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Verse 21:21 says that the gates are made of one pearl and verse 25 says that the gates remain open always. The name of the city will be “The Lord Is There!” Ezekiel was given a glimpse of the Millennium where we will rule and reign with Christ after his appearing.
It is impossible to read the Old Testament and not realize that God is in total control of all the nations. Today, we see God reward Egypt for destroying Tyre, then destroying Egypt for its idols. We also see the king of Babylon whose name is Evil-merodach, show kindness to the king of Israel. (If I was going to name a villain, it would be Evil-merodach.) Evil-merodach’s name means “foolish is thy rebellion”. It was foolish for Israel to rebel. He brought King Jehoiachin out of prison, exalted him and gave him new clothes and had him eat at his table. What a picture of Psalms 23: “you prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil”.
Lord, you are the one who bring us out of rebellion and give us new garments of praise and worship and exalt us to sit with you in heavenly places. You invite us to dine at your table everyday. Great is our God!