Ezekiel almost did me in, in my effort to read through the Bible.  Ezekiel reminded me of an organ recital I attended at Valparaiso University years ago.  The recital featured J.S. Bach’s 14 or 17 variations on a theme.  By the time we got to the no. 10, I thought, “alright Johann, I get it, now you’re just showing off.”  Well, by the time I got to about chapter 30 in Ezekiel I was ready to say, “Enough, already, Ezekiel.”

Reading Ezekiel is something like ploughing a field on our home farm.  Every once in while we would find an arrow head or a nice Lake Superior Agate.  Occasionally, Ezekiel reveals a nugget, like the valley of the dry bones, or that the Lord himself will be our shepherd, or the vision of a river running out of the temple like the rivers out of Eden and developed in Revelation 22.

Then at the end of the last furrow in the field of Ezekiel came the biggest find of all.  Yahweh-Shammah.  The name of the new Jerusalem (Jahweh’s peace) is The Lord is There, (Yahweh – Shamma.)  Yahweh is not only in the temple in this new city, but in the whole city.  All twelve tribes of Israel have a gate by which to enter into the presence of the Lord.

We too all have a gate giving access into God’s presence, that gate has multiple names, Immanuel, (God with us), Jesus, (God’s Savior), Christos, (Anointed One), Uios Theos, (Son of God) to mention a few.  The gate is always open.