Ezekiel 36:16-21

C. The Purification of the Land 36:16-21

TRANSLATION

(16) And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (17) Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt upon their land, they defiled it by their way and by their deeds; like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman was their way before Me. (18) And I poured out My fury upon them because of the blood which they poured out upon the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols. (19) And I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through lands according to their way and according to their deeds I judged them. (20) When they came unto the nations to which they came, they profaned My holy name; men said of them: These are the people of the LORD, and from His land they have gone forth. (21) But I had pity upon My holy name which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they had come.

COMMENTS

In order to set forth clearly the magnificent goodness and grace of God in bringing Israel back to her land, Ezekiel reviews the circumstances which brought about her dispersion among the nations. Israel, the wife of God, had defiled the land by her general course of conduct and by her specific deeds. The divine Husband temporarily avoided the impure wife just as any ancient Israelite male was required to avoid intimacy with his wife during her monthly period (Ezekiel 36:17). God poured out His wrath upon His people because of their inexcusable impurity manifested especially in bloodshed and idolatry (Ezekiel 36:18). The wayward people were judged according to their deeds and were sentenced to exile among the nations (Ezekiel 36:19).

In those foreign lands Israel unwittingly profaned the name of the Lord. The nations did not realize that Israel's punishment was just retribution for moral and religious shortcomings. They saw the condition of Yahweh's people and they concluded that the God of Israel was unable to protect His own devotees (Ezekiel 36:20). According to pagan logic, the gods of Babylon had to be superior to Yahweh since the Babylonians had made the land of Israel desolate and dispersed the people of the Lord. Thus the divine name had suffered indignity without cause. God took pity upon His holy name, His reputation, which was being unjustly attacked. God does not take kindly to slanderous accusations concerning His name (Ezekiel 36:21).