EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 36:1-38
Ezekiel: “They shall know that I am God”
God’s Plans for *Israel and the Nations
Ezekiel Chapter s 25 to 39
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 36
The *Lord encourages *Israel – Ezekiel 36:1-15
v1 ‘*Son of man, *prophesy to the mountains of *Israel. Say, “Mountains of *Israel, hear the word of the *LORD. v2 This is what the *LORD your King says. The enemy said about you, ‘We now possess the old high places. They are ours.’ ” v3 So *prophesy, “The *LORD your King says this. Your enemies have ruined you and they have made you empty like a desert. They came from all directions. You became the possession of the rest of the nations. People talked and they whispered against you. v4 So, mountains of *Israel, hear what the *LORD your King says. The *LORD your King speaks to the mountains, hills, streams, and valleys. He speaks to the places that the enemy has ruined. He speaks to the empty cities. The nations robbed them and laughed at them. v5 Therefore, this is what the *LORD your King says. I speak in my fierce anger against the other nations. I speak against the people in Edom, who took my country for themselves. They did it with joy and they did it with hate in their hearts for my people. They forced out the people and they took their country.” v6 So, *prophesy about the country called *Israel. Speak to the mountains, hills, streams and valleys. “The *LORD your King says this: You have suffered the insults of the nations. That is why I have spoken in my fierce anger. v7 So, this is what the *LORD your King says. I raise my hand and I make this promise to you. As you have suffered insults, so the nations about you will suffer.
v8 But you, mountains of *Israel, your trees will grow branches. They will yield fruit for my people, *Israel, who will soon come home. v9 I care about you and I will be with you. My people will dig your soil and they will plant crops. v10 I will increase the number of people who live in the country. All the *Israelites will come to you. They will build the cities that the enemy ruined. They will live in the places that are now empty. v11 I will cause many more people and animals to live in you. They will increase and they will have many young ones. People will live in you as they did before. And I will make things better for you than at the beginning. Then you will know that I am the *LORD. v12 I will cause my people *Israel to walk on you. They will own you, and you will belong to them. You will never again take their children from them.
v13 The *LORD your King says that people accuse you, the mountains. They say, ‘It is as if you eat people. You take children from your nation.’ v14 But you will not still eat people or take away the children. This is what the *LORD your King declares. v15 From now on, I will not let you hear the insults from the nations. In the future, you will not suffer the shame of the people. You will not cause your nation to *fall again, says the *LORD your King.” ’
Verses 1-7 The mountains of *Israel represent the country and the *Israelites. In other words, the mountains appear in this passage on behalf of the country and the *Israelites. The enemy was Edom. More than the other nations, they had hated *Israel. But they were not the only ones. The rest of the nations were also in the country. These nations were the *Ammonites, the *Moabites and the *Philistines.
These foreigners ruled the country. And they said that they now owned it. They had removed the *Israelites. And the land was like a desert. The nations round about spoke evil words about the nation called *Israel.
The *Lord loved this country. He had given it to the *Israelites. The country will be theirs for all time. So, God was very angry against the nations. He was angry with the *Edomites who took the country for themselves. He was angry because they had forced his people out of the country. The *Edomites were happy when the *Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. God was angry because Edom hated *Israel. The *Lord promised to punish Edom and the rest of the nations. As they had dealt with *Israel, so the *Lord would deal with them.
Verses 8-12 The country called *Israel was empty like a desert. But God’s people will return to the country. When they come, the land will produce food for them. They will plant crops and they will have good harvests. The trees will grow and they will have good fruit. All of this will be better than it was before the *exile.
The *Lord loves his people and he loves the country called *Israel. He will bring the *Israelites back to their country. They will build the cities again. They will own the country and it will belong to them. The nation called *Israel will increase and they will be strong again.
Then they will know that God is their *Lord.
When the *exiles came back some of this did happen. But at a future time, God promises to bring his people back to *Israel. The *Jews are now returning to *Israel. Israel became a nation again in 1948 *AD. Many of these things are happening now.
Verses 13-15 Through all their history, people have hated the *Jews. All over the world, the *Jews have suffered insults. People have been cruel to them and some of those enemies even killed them. When the *Lord completes his plan to bring his people home to *Israel, all this will stop. At that future time, they will no longer suffer shame.
*Israel returns to the country – Ezekiel 36:16-37
When the *Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, *Israel’s future seemed hopeless. The *Israelites who were still alive went to live in many different countries. It seemed as if *Israel would never be a nation again. But God told Ezekiel that he still had plans for *Israel. And God’s plans are wonderful. They are very much better than anything that has happened in the past. God has already started to carry out some of these things. But most of them are still in the future.
The *Lord will bring the *exiles back to the country called *Israel – Ezekiel 36:16-38
v16 The *LORD spoke to me again. v17 ‘*Son of man, when the *Israelites lived in their own country, they spoiled it. They did not live good lives and they did bad things. As the blood of a woman at her time of the month, so their ways were not *clean. v18 So, I *poured out my anger against them. They murdered in the country and they spoiled the country by their false gods. v19 So, I scattered them among the nations. I sent them to foreign countries. I punished them because of how they lived. I punished them because of their wicked deeds. v20 They insulted my holy name in the nations where they went. The people in those nations said about them, “They are the people of the *LORD. But they had to leave the country that he gave to them.” v21 My holy name is important to me and I care about it. The *Israelites have insulted my name in the nations where they went.
v22 So, speak to the *Israelites. “The *LORD your King says this: I will act. What I will do is not for your benefit, *Israelites. But I will act for the benefit of my holy name. You insulted my name in the nations where you went. v23 I will show them that my great name is holy. You insulted my name in the nations where you went. But I will use you to prove myself holy among them, says the *LORD your King. Then the nations will know that I am the *LORD.
v24 I will take you out of the nations. I will gather you out of all the countries. I will bring you back into your own country. v25 Then I will wash you with clean water. You will be *clean. I will remove all your *sins and I will remove your false gods. v26 I will give a new heart to you and I will put a new spirit in you. I will remove the hearts that seem as hard as stone. I will give to you new hearts that will obey me. v27 I will put my Spirit in you. Then you will want to do what I tell you. You will be eager to obey my rules. v28 You will live in the country that I gave to your *ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God. v29 I will save you from your *sins. I will order the grain to grow. I will make it plentiful. I will not let you suffer hunger. v30 I will increase the fruit on the trees and the crops in the fields. You will never feel shame again among the nations because of the lack of food. v31 Then you will remember your evil behaviour and your wicked deeds. And you will hate yourselves because of all these wicked and disgusting things. v32 What I am doing is not for you. I want you to know this, says the *LORD your King. *Israelites, you should be ashamed because of the disgusting things that you have done.
v33 This is what the *LORD your King says. This will happen on the day when I remove your *sins from you. I will cause people to live in the cities again. They will build again the places that the enemy ruined. v34 They will cultivate the land that was empty. Then it will not be empty for everyone who passes by to see. v35 They will say, ‘This country was empty. Now it has become like the garden called Eden. The cities were empty, as their enemies had ruined them. Now the people have rebuilt them with strong defences. They live in the cities that were empty.’ v36 Those nations that are still about you will see this. And they will know that I, the *LORD, have done this. I have built what the enemy destroyed. I have planted the land that was empty. I, the *LORD, have spoken, and I will do it.”
v37 The *LORD your King says this: I will hear the requests of the *Israelites. I will act for them again. As a *shepherd looks after his sheep, I will make my people increase in number. v38 They will be as many as the sheep that people brought to Jerusalem during its holy weeks. A large number of people will live in the empty cities. Then they will know that I am the *LORD.’
Verses 16-21 The *Israelites had spoiled their country. They had not done what the *Lord told them to do. They were guilty of many crimes. And they even killed people.
In the country that God gave to them, they *worshipped false gods. They *turned away from the *Lord their God. He was angry with his people and he punished them. He sent the *Babylonians to destroy the cities. The *Babylonians killed most of the people. And the *Lord sent those people who were still alive out of the country.
The purpose of the *exile was so that the people would learn to obey God. But to the nations, the *exile seemed to prove that God was weak. They supposed that the God of *Israel could not protect his people. This was wrong. In fact, God brought about this punishment because of the *sins of the *Israelites. So, their wicked behaviour caused the people from other nations to have wrong ideas about God’s character. This was a terrible insult to God. God’s holy name describes his perfect character (see Exodus 34:5-7). When the *Israelites insulted his holy name by their wicked behaviour, they offended God greatly. His name is very important to him.
Verses 22-23 In those days, the name meant the person. So, the insult was against the person of the *Lord God. By their wicked behaviour, the *Israelites caused the impression that God was weak. God could not allow such a terrible insult to his name, that is, his person, to continue. So, God would bring his people back to their country. But he would not do this just for their benefit. The main reason was to show that he is God. The nations will see that he has not failed. They will understand that he is holy. And they will know that he is the *Lord God. He is not just the local god of *Israel. He alone is God and he is the *Lord of all.
The *Lord does not show his kindness because people deserve it. We can never earn any reward from God. All that we deserve is death. God will be kind to his people because he loves them.
Verses 24-32 The *Lord will bring the *Israelites from the nations. He will bring them into the country that he gave to them. The country called *Israel belongs to the *Israelites. The *Lord did bring the families of the *exiles back to the country. But this promise was about the future. *Israel has become a nation again. The *Jews are returning to their country.
When the return of the *Jews is complete, God will make them *clean. He will forgive their *sins. He will remove all the false gods. The *Jews will serve the *Lord God. They will be God’s people and he will be their God.
The *Lord will change their *stubborn hearts and he will give to them new hearts. The gift of a new heart means a new birth (John 3:3). Those whom God forgives become as new persons. The *Lord will send his Holy Spirit to make them new. The Holy Spirit will live in the hearts of God’s people. Then they will serve their God. They will obey the *Lord.
The *Jews will live in the country called *Israel. God gave this country to their *ancestors. He will cause the crops in the fields to increase. The trees will have more fruit. The *Israelites will have plenty of food. God will make *Israel into a successful nation.
The *Israelites will remember their past. They will be ashamed of all the evil things that they did. They will appreciate the love of God.
Verses 33-38 God will bring the *Israelites back to their country. Then he will deal with their *sin. The people will build the cities again. They will farm the land. They will plant trees and crops. They will keep animals. The land will be like the garden called Eden because it produces so much food (Genesis 2:8-9).
When this happens, the nations will see it. Then they will know that this is the work of the *Lord God. He has saved his people. He has made their land into good land again. The *Lord has said that he will do this. And the *Lord will do all that he has said.
There was a time when the *Lord would not listen to the people (Ezekiel 20:3). But when they return to him, then he will hear them. He will answer their prayers. He will take care of them as a *shepherd takes care of his sheep. His people will increase in number. That is, they will have large families. And they will all gather to *worship God in Jerusalem, as the *Israelites did in the past.
Then all the people will know that God is the *Lord.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
prophesy ~ to speak a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
fall ~ when enemies destroy a city or a country; when a person dies suddenly.
Ammonites ~ a person from the nation called Ammon or anything that has a relationship with Ammon.
Moabite ~ a person from the nation called Moab or anything that has a relationship with that nation.
Philistine ~ a person from the nation called Philistia or anything that has a relationship with that nation.
Edomite ~ a person from the nation called Edom or anything that has a relationship with Edom.
Babylonian ~ a person from the nation called Babylon or anything that has a relationship with Babylon.
exile ~ When people have to live in a foreign country they are in exile. Such a person is called an exile.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
AD ~ years after Christ was born.
clean ~ acceptable to God.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
shepherd ~ someone who takes care of sheep.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
turn ~ to change your behaviour, your friends, or your God; or, to carry out actions in order to oppose someone.
stubborn ~ to have an attitude that will not change.