The Jewish people forgot that the land belonged to the Lord, for He said, “The land is mine” (Lev. 25:23). In fact, the whole earth belongs to the Lord (Ex. 19:5; Ps. 24:1), and we have no right to abuse the natural resources He shares with us.
God’s indictment against His people (vv. 16–23). Israel was guilty of two great sins, the first of which was polluting God’s land (vv. 16–19). Long before the Babylonians had swept through the kingdom of Judah, the sins of the leaders and the people had polluted the so-called Holy Land. When God’s people disobeyed God’s law and behaved like the heathen nations around them, they defiled the land and broke the covenant (Lev. 18:26–30). Not only did they worship idols and sacrifice their children’s innocent blood, but they also shed blood when they falsely accused the poor and needy in court and led them out to die. Each act of disobedience only polluted the land more, until the Lord was so grieved by their rebellion that He had the land vomit them out, and He sent them to Babylon. In our contemporary world, we wonder how much land is being polluted by the destruction of innocent babies, the murders of innocent people, including children in school, and the general disregard for both the laws of man and the law of God.
Their second sin was that of profaning God’s name before the Gentiles (Ezek. 36:20–23). It was bad enough that they had polluted the land God allowed them to enjoy, but they also profaned God’s holy name instead of being godly witnesses in the Gentile lands where He sent them (vv. 20–23). They had imitated the pagans for so long that they felt right at home among them and adopted more of their ways. During the exile, there was a godly remnant that remained true to the Lord, but in general, the Jews tended to forget their calling as the people of God. Five times in this paragraph we’re told that the Jews profaned the name of God before the pagans before whom they had been sent to be a light (Isa. 42:6; 49:6). In spite of their disobedience, what an opportunity the Lord gave the Jews to introduce the Gentiles to the true and living God!
The Jews were separated from their temple, now destroyed, and from the things necessary for Jewish worship, but the Lord was still with them and could see their hearts. The Jews had profaned God’s name by defiling the sanctuary (Ezek. 5:11; 22:26), but He had promised to be “a little sanctuary” for them there in Babylon (11:16). They had profaned the Sabbaths (22:8; 23:38), but they knew what day it was in Babylon and could still seek to obey God. The still had the law and the Prophets and could meditate on the Word and praise the Lord. Instead of the Jews sanctifying God’s name among the heathen, they profaned His name by their lack of separation and godly witness; but is the church today any different? Do we live in such commitment to Christ that the world sits up and takes notice and wants to hear what we have to say?
The Lord promises to change the people only because He desires to sanctify and glorify His great name (36:22). In the last days, when the Lord gathers His people back to their land, everything the Lord will do for them will be because of His grace and not because they deserve it. God didn’t give them the land because of their righteousness (Deut. 9:6), and He won’t restore the land because of anything good they have done. God in His grace gives us what we don’t deserve, and in His mercy He doesn’t give us what we do deserve! All that we have in Christ comes from God’s grace (Eph. 1:7; 2:8–10) and was designed for God’s glory (1:6, 11, 14).
God’s transformation of His people (vv. 24–38). In the last days, when God brings His chosen people back to the Promised Land (v. 24), He will change them spiritually; for, after all, only a transformed people can enjoy a transformed land. The spiritual experience described in this section illustrates what happens to every sinner who trusts Jesus Christ.
First, God will cleanse them from their sins, and this is pictured by “sprinkling” (vv. 25, 29; 37:23). According to the Mosaic law, every Jew who became defiled had to be cleansed before he or she could return to the camp and the blessings of the covenant community. This was accomplished either by bathing in running water or by being sprinkled with water prepared for that purpose (Lev. 14:1–9; Num. 19; 8:5–7; Heb. 10:22). Of course, water can never change the heart, but this is only a picture of the gracious forgiveness we have through faith. God forgives trusting sinners because of the death of Jesus on the cross (Eph. 1:7). When believers confess their sins to the Lord, they are cleansed because of Christ’s blood (1 John 1:9).
Second, the Lord will give them a new heart (Ezek. 36:26). Ezekiel had already spoken about this inward change (11:18–20; 18:31), the kind of change that the Lord yearned for Israel to experience before they entered the Promised Land. “Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments” (Deut. 5: nkjv). The prophet Jeremiah shared the same promise that Ezekiel gave: “Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God” (Jer. 24: nkjv). Jeremiah spoke about the new covenant God would make with the Jews, a covenant not written on stones but on their hearts and in their minds (31:31–33; 32:29; see Isa. 59:21; Heb. 8:8–13). A “stony heart” is a hard heart, one that doesn’t receive God’s Word and nurture spiritual growth (Ezek. 2:4; 3:7).
Third, the Lord will give them the Holy Spirit within (Ezek. 36:27). It is the Spirit who accomplishes these divine miracles in the hearts of those who trust the Lord for salvation. He gives us a new heart and a new spirit and also a new desire to love the Lord and obey Him. The Holy Spirit is given like refreshing water upon parched ground, and this produces the “fruit of the Spirit” in our lives (Isa. 44:3; Gal. 5:22–23). The witness of the Spirit in the heart is proof that the person has been born of God (Rom. 8:9, 14–17; Eph. 1:13–14). Because you have God’s Spirit within, you share in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:1–4) and therefore want to obey the divine will. It is nature that determines conduct. Dogs act like dogs because they have a dog’s nature, and God’s people act like they belong to God because they have God’s nature within (1 John 3:9). Ezekiel will deal again with this gift of the Spirit in Ezekiel 37: and 39:29.
Fourth, the Lord will claim them again as His people (Ezek. 36:28). It will be like a renewal of the covenant, for they will live in the land, He will be their God and they will be His people. This will be a permanent arrangement, for they will no longer rebel against the Lord and disobey His will.
Fifth, the Lord will cause the land to flourish (vv. 29–30, 33–35). Under the covenant God made with Israel before they entered Canaan, He agreed to bless them and meet their needs if they would obey Him (Lev. 26:1–13; Deut. 28:1–14). When you read these promises, you are amazed at what the Jews gave up when they turned from serving God to serving idols. But when Israel enters into the promised kingdom, God will bless them and make the land like the Garden of Eden (Ezek. 36:35). The land will yield its harvests and the people will be enriched by the blessing of the Lord. The cities will be rebuilt and the ruins removed. It will be a wonderful new land for the new people of God. The beauty and fruitfulness of the land will be a testimony to the nations (v. 36).
Sixth, the people will abhor their sins (Ezek. 36:31–32). When some people remember their sins, they enjoy them again in the dirty depths of their imagination. This is evidence that they really haven’t judged them and repented. When true children of God remember their past disobedience, they’re ashamed of themselves and abhor themselves because of what they have done to the Lord, themselves, and others. “You who love the Lord, hate evil” (Ps. 97: nkjv). “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (Rom. 12:9). One of the evidences of the Spirit’s presence within is a growing sensitivity to sin and a strong desire to turn away from it.
A seventh blessing will be fellowship with the Lord (Ezek. 36:37). In Ezekiel’s day, the people couldn’t inquire of the Lord or pray and be heard because they had sin in their hearts (14:1–5; 20:1–3, 30–31). God even told the prophet Jeremiah not to pray for the people (Jer. 7:16; 11:14; 14:11). But under the new covenant, the people will have fellowship with the Lord and be able to pray to Him.
The eighth blessing will be the multiplication of the population (Ezek. 36:37–38). As in chapter 34, God pictures His people as a flock of sheep, and every shepherd wants to see his flock increase. The Jewish population was greatly reduced during the Babylonian invasion, but the Lord will bless His people and cause them to be fruitful and multiply (see 36:12–13). The picture here is of the men going to Jerusalem for the annual Passover feast, bringing animal sacrifices with them. The number of animals in Jerusalem would increase greatly, and that’s the way the Jewish people will increase in their kingdom.
Finally, as the result of all these blessings, the Lord will be glorified. Israel didn’t glorify God in their land or the temple, nor did they glorify Him in the countries to which they were scattered. But the day will come when God will be glorified by His people and the glory of the Lord will return to the land.
Every born-again believer sees a parallel here with his or her own experience of faith in Christ. The Lord has washed us (1 Cor. 6:9–11), given us new hearts and His Holy Spirit within, and because of this, we should have a holy hatred for sin. We have the privilege of communion with God and prayer for our needs, plus a desire within to do His will. God wants to make our lives abundantly fruitful so we will glorify His name. The Lord has made us a part of His new covenant (Heb. 8; 10) so that our union with Him through Christ is eternal and unchanging. Hallelujah, what a Savior!