329. Dwell in the Land
Ezekiel 37:25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and the children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
The promise of Land, and dwelling safely in the land, is vital to our understanding of God and His relationship with humans. God created an inhabitable earth with the Garden of Eden in it. He promised Abraham a land for his descendants (of which he had no hope of either when God promised). He led Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. He led Joshua to conquer the land. He anointed David to secure a kingdom. He prophesied that the Jews would return to The Land from the Exile in Babylon. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is at hand. We have an eternal inheritance in the heavens. The New Jerusalem will come down from heaven to be placed on the new heavens and the new earth. In such a state we will live forever with God in righteousness, innocence, and blessedness for eternity. All of these “land promises” = Eternal Life, which every believers already has by faith in Jesus Christ.
In this land the people of God with their descendants will dwell together in perfect peace and harmony with God, with one another, with the animals, and with the newly created environment created for life. The immediate context of this promise is the return of the Exiles, except the promise includes the word “forever.” The physical, geographical land of Palestine will not last forever, since the physical earth will end.
God’s servant David cannot literally be prince forever, since David is already dead. But the New David, the Son of David, is also the Son of God, and He will live and reign as our prince forever. Only a God-man could make this happen. And He did. This Promised Land (eternal life) is in our hearts now, and we will dwell in the land forever with Jesus graciously ruling for our good, our safety, and our wellbeing. And in the new land there will be no curse, no sin, no devil, no death, no sinful flesh, no tears, no pain, and no problems whatsoever. This is where we live now by faith, but it is continually attacked and corrupted by this temporary world of sin and death. But the promise holds true: the old is gone, the new has come.