Read Ezekiel 36
Hope for the Mountains of Israel
36 “Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2 This is what the Sovereign Lord says:The enemy said of you, “Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession.”’ 3 Therefore prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because they ravaged and crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander, 4 therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you— 5 this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my burningzeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.’ 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations.7 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I swear with uplifted handthat the nations around you will also suffer scorn.
8 “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, 10 and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. 11 I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 12 I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children.
13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because some say to you, “You devour people and deprive your nation of its children,” 14 therefore you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless, declares the Sovereign Lord. 15 No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
Israel’s Restoration Assured
16 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness in my sight. 18 So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. 19 I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. 20 And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’ 21 I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.
22 “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!
33 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.” 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’
37 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Once again I will yield to Israel’s plea and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep,38 as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Go Deeper
Ezekiel 36 contains prophecies of restoration and hope for both the land of Israel and the people of Israel, but here we will focus on the specific promises to Israel in 36:25-28. Notice the following highlights: a cleansing; a heart-replacement; God will put his Spirit in them and move them to follow God’s laws; they will live in the land God gave their ancestors, and they will be his people and God will be their God. Even though these promises are to the Isrealites during the time of the old covenant under the law, they have everything to do with us under the new covenant of Jesus’ blood.
Under the Old Covenant between God and Israel, the Israeltes were required to perform daily sacrifices to atone for sin, but now Jesus has come to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17) and establish the new covenant by shedding his blood (Luke 22:20). Now under the New Covenant between God and all of mankind–not just Israel (Acts 10, Ephesians 2:13-14). There would be a cleansing, a heart change, God’s Spirit would live in us, and access to this restored relationship would be granted through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Another way to say this is that those who believe in Jesus will be reborn, regenerated deep on the inside. This promise is for us.
If we fast forward to John 3:3, Jesus tells Nicodemus that “no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Nicodemus doesn’t get it, and so Jesus explains, “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” This sounds a lot like the New Covenant promises in Ezekiel 36. There is a cleansing from sin and God’s Spirit is put in us. How does this rebirth happen? It’s not by physical ritual with water or keeping up with righteous acts (Titus 3:3-7, Philippians 3:9), but instead Jesus emphasizes again and again that we must “believe” (John 3:12; 3:15; 3:16; 3:18).
So the key to rebirth isn’t something we create ourselves by self-help books or even sheer discipline. There’s a dependence, a desperation, and need we have for God to do the decisive work in us who believe in Jesus. We can’t cleanse ourselves with our own rituals, perfectly sincere prayers, or lengthy, repetitive confessions, nor can we do our own heart replacement. Our stone-hard, unreceptive, insensitive hearts in their unreplaced state didn’t even want to obey God. We were dead, and dead people can’t do anything for themselves (Ephesians 2:1-9). We depend on God to save us and work in us, and all our efforts to be made new must be in line with that truth.
If we have put our faith in Jesus, though we still battle sin, we battle with a new hatred for sin and a new love for God. We develop new desires for God rather than the world, and we begin to release our grip on worldly things. We start to find freedom so we are no longer under the mastery of anything but Jesus, no longer ruled by our past, our sin struggles, or sins against us. And on days when when we are weary in the battle against darkness, and we question whether victory is really ours, that’s when we cling tightly to these truths: We are cleansed from all our sin even when we feel condemned, we have new heart even when we feel like damaged goods, the Holy Spirit is right here in us even when we feel helpless or alone, and our relationship with God is secure in Christ apart from our feelings or performance. We fight against the darkness of sin, and though we may experience varying degrees of healing on this earth, we know that total restoration in every way is coming on that Day, and in the meantime God is right here to help us and walk with us daily (Revelation 21:4, Philippians 1:6, 1 John 3:2; Romans 8:30, Colossians 3:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
Questions
- All the promises of rebirth flow from that first step of believing in Jesus. Is your heart longing for these promises to be reality in your life? Is your heart crying out for cleansing, for newness, and for the loving and powerful presence of God? If so, you can choose to take a new step of belief in Jesus today.
- Is there an area of your life that you’re holding back from fully surrendering to God? What is it? Confess that to your Life Group this week.
- Consider any areas of your life where you long for more of God’s redemptive work in your heart. In the following passages, write down and savor God’s promises for you as you go to war against the darkness from a place of victory secured by Christ.
- Romans 8
- 2 Corinthians 4
Listen Here
Listen to the song “You’ve Already Won” by Shane and Shane to remind yourself of the truth that God is in control.
6 thoughts on “Ezekiel 36”
This was so good. I feel like today’s reading and commentary just gave me a fresh wind I needed
I used to have taped all over my house and office the verses of a new heart. For some really discouraging reason I cannot seem to escape my hard heart. A hard past is so difficult to then experience a tender pure heart. Mine is distrusting and hurt and often times so mad. I cry out please Lord give me a new soft heart Anyway this was so needed today!
Yes, we live in a broken world! I give give you a new heart and spirit!! Believing for this!! I feel your pain!
We must believe ♥️🙏🏼
V31 especially captured my attention in this chapter: “Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.” It starts in the remembering—
first, by detesting our sinful ways and refusing to tolerate them one more second. Are we so calloused by sin that we feel no shame? Foremost, we must acknowledge the “perfect lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” and bow our knees in submission and humble repentance. May we be hypersensitive to sin, be truly sorry for displeasing God, and ask his forgiveness. Then, he promises to hear our prayers and heal our land.
This passage says ten times= This is what the Sovereign Lord says:, I believe He wants our/their attention. God gave Israel to the Jews as part of the Abrahamic Covenant. Their part of this was dependent on their faith and obedience. Our walk with God is also dependent on our faith and obedience in Christ, following his promises and obeying His will. Disobedience is followed by chastisement and Israel got that. We have a much greater opportunity due to Jesus fulfilling the law for us, in our place. God cleansed us from our sins, then He gave us a new heart with His Holy Spirit within. (My amazement is that we have a divine nature evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit and therefore we should want to obey His divine will.) God says we are His people and we will/should abhor our sins so that we have fellowship with Him, if that is not a WOOHOO!! moment!!
We have to be in that transformative moment all the time. When we stumble we do not have to go through all the rituals that they did, we just repent and turn away (maybe minutely) but let God have it and put His word on in our heart and mind constantly. God’s grace, He is so good, tell the world around you today. We are to glorify His name here now on this earth.
God thank You for grace and mercy. Thank You for letting it be new every morning. God help me to see others through Your love goggles, help me have Your words to speak. God thank You for daily helping me control/overcome my pride, self control, ect so that I am pleasing to You and to You alone. God I worship You, give You glory, honor and adoration. But I am a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that I may declare the praises of Him who called me out of darkness into His wonderful light. (1 peter 2:9) in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!
God speaks.
God feels.
God promises.
God provides.
God is glorified.
God does this Israel.
God does this for ME.
In recent months I have been my own “Israel.“ Their rebellion and sin is mine. I’ve experienced the loneliness and grief of life in isolation. I have felt the firm hand of God‘s just discipline … although I did not recognize it as such at the time.
Through humility, confession and repentance, I find hope and freedom as I accept God’s deliverance. I, too, receive His promises for provision, redemption and restoration.
This is what the Sovereign Lord says.
Then we will know that He is the Lord.
I, sister in Christ am walking the same journey and I am grateful that God’s love for me is unrelenting. He’s, my Rock. He’s my Deliverer.