Commentary - Ezekiel 36:1-15

Bird's-eye view

In this glorious chapter, the prophet Ezekiel is commanded to turn from pronouncing judgment on the foreign nations (like Edom in the previous chapter) and to speak a word of pure gospel comfort to the land of Israel itself. The land had been judged, made desolate, and turned into an object of scorn for its enemies. But God, motivated by a fierce and holy jealousy for His own name and reputation, which are tied to His land and His people, promises a complete reversal. This is not just a restoration; it is an upgrade. The mountains of Israel, once barren because of sin, will be made extravagantly fruitful. The people of Israel will be brought back, multiplied, and established in a state that is better than their beginning. The central theme is God's zeal for His own glory. The nations mocked the land, thinking Yahweh was a defeated god. In response, Yahweh declares that He will make His land and His people the envy of the world, not for their sake alone, but so that everyone will know that He is Yahweh.

This prophecy finds its initial fulfillment in the return from the Babylonian exile, but its scope is far grander. This is a picture of the new covenant. The "mountains of Israel" are a figure for the people of God, the Church. The barrenness is the state of sin and death. The promised fruitfulness is the explosive, worldwide growth of the gospel. The multiplication of men and beasts is the ingathering of the elect from every tribe and tongue. God is taking a world that was a desolate waste and turning it into His new Eden, all because He is jealous for the honor of His name.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

Ezekiel 36 is a pivotal turning point in the book. The first 24 chapters largely contain prophecies of judgment against Judah and Jerusalem before the fall of the city in 586 B.C. Chapters 25-32 contain oracles against the surrounding pagan nations who gloated over Israel's demise. Chapter 33 marks the transition, with the news of Jerusalem's fall finally reaching the exiles, and Ezekiel's role shifting from a prophet of doom to a watchman of hope. Chapters 34 and 35 continue the theme of judgment on Israel's false shepherds and on Edom, the representative enemy of God's people. Now, in chapter 36, the light of the gospel breaks through in full force. The judgment is past, and God now lays out His plan for radical restoration. This chapter, with its promise to restore the land (vv. 1-15) and cleanse the people with a new heart and spirit (vv. 16-38), forms the foundation for the vision of the valley of dry bones coming to life (ch. 37) and the final vision of the new temple (chs. 40-48). It is the theological heart of the book's second half.

Key Issues

God's Jealousy for His Real Estate

It is striking that this great promise of restoration is addressed not to the people, but to the mountains of Israel. The land itself is personified and called to hear the word of the Lord. This is because, in the biblical worldview, the land of Israel was never just a patch of dirt. It was, as God says in verse 5, "My land." It was the stage upon which the entire drama of redemption was to be played out. It was the Lord's inheritance, which He had graciously given to His people as their inheritance. Therefore, when the people sinned, the land itself was defiled and vomited them out (Lev. 18:28). And when the nations came in to plunder and possess the empty land, they were not simply conquering a territory; they were trespassing on God's holy ground and, in so doing, mocking His name.

God's response is one of fiery jealousy. We must not mistake this for the petty, sinful envy of men. Divine jealousy is the righteous and holy zeal of a creator for His creation, of a king for His kingdom, and of a husband for His bride. God's honor was at stake. The nations concluded that Yahweh was a weak, regional deity who could not protect His own property. God's jealousy is His determination to vindicate His own name and prove to a watching world that He, and He alone, is the sovereign Lord of all. The restoration of the land and the people is the evidence presented in this great cosmic court case.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1-2 “Now as for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh. Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Because the enemy has spoken against you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The everlasting heights have become our possession,’”

The Lord commands Ezekiel to speak directly to the topography of the promised land. This is a dramatic personification. The mountains, hills, and valleys had witnessed the idolatry of Israel, had suffered the judgment of God, and now were enduring the taunts of the enemy. The enemy's cry is one of pure triumphalism. "Aha!" is a guttural cry of satisfaction at a rival's downfall. They claim the "everlasting heights," a term for Israel's mountainous terrain, as their own. They believe the transfer of ownership is permanent. They are not just seizing property; they are seizing a covenantal inheritance, and in so doing, they are mocking the God who promised it.

3 “therefore prophesy and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “For good reason they have made you desolate and bruised you from every side, that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations, and you have been taken up in the speech of their tongue and the rumors of the people.” ’ ”

God begins by acknowledging the reality of the situation. The desolation was not an accident. There was a "good reason" for it, namely Israel's sin and God's subsequent judgment. The land was crushed, made into a possession for the pagan nations, and became the subject of gossip and slander. The land's shame was a public spectacle. God does not sweep the reasons for judgment under the rug; He states them plainly as the dark backdrop against which His grace will now shine all the more brightly.

4-5 Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of Lord Yahweh. Thus says Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the forsaken cities which have become plunder and objects of scoffing to the rest of the nations which are round about, therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Surely in the fire of My jealousy I have spoken against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted gladness and with scorn of soul, to drive it out for plunder.”

The address to the land is repeated and expanded, emphasizing the totality of the desolation. Then comes the great "therefore." Because of the enemy's arrogant scoffing, God is moved to act. His motive is explicitly stated: the fire of My jealousy. This is not a cool, detached decision; it is a passionate, burning, righteous anger. He specifically names Edom, the brother nation whose hatred was particularly venomous (as detailed in chapter 35). Their sin was not just conquest, but the attitude behind it: "wholehearted gladness" and "scorn of soul." They took deep, malicious pleasure in Israel's fall. And they did it to possess what God calls "My land." This was a personal affront to Yahweh.

6-7 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “Thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My wrath because you have borne the dishonor of the nations.’ Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘I have sworn that surely the nations which are around you will themselves bear their dishonor.

The logic of God's justice is relentless. Because the land has borne dishonor, God, in His jealous wrath, will act. He makes a solemn oath, lifting His hand to swear. The judgment will be perfectly reciprocal. The very nations that heaped dishonor on Israel will be made to bear their own dishonor. The mockers will become the mocked. This is the unwavering principle of God's government: He brings down the proud and gives grace to the humble. The surrounding nations will get a full dose of their own medicine.

8 But you, O mountains of Israel, you will put forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel; for they will soon come.

Here is the glorious turn. The word "But" is one of the hinges of the gospel. In stark contrast to the fate of the scoffing nations, the mountains of Israel are given a promise of life and fruitfulness. The barren land will once again produce a harvest. And for whom? "For My people Israel." The land exists to serve and sustain the people of God. The reason for this sudden burst of life is that the return of the exiles is imminent. "They will soon come." This points first to the return from Babylon, but the language of exuberant fruitfulness points beyond it to the dawning of the Messianic age, when the true Israel of God begins to inherit the earth.

9-11 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you will be cultivated and sown. I will multiply men on you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities will be inhabited, and the waste places will be rebuilt. I will multiply on you man and beast; and they will multiply and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were formerly and will treat you better than at the first. Thus you will know that I am Yahweh.

This section unpacks the promise with a torrent of gracious verbs. The foundation of it all is "I am for you." When God is for us, who can be against us? He will turn His favorable face toward the land. The result is total renewal. The land will be farmed. The population will explode, and it will be "all the house of Israel," signifying a reunification of the fractured kingdom. Cities will be inhabited, ruins rebuilt. The blessing extends to "man and beast," a picture of true creational shalom. And then the stunning promise: God will not just restore things to the way they were. He "will treat you better than at the first." The new covenant era will outstrip the glory of the Davidic kingdom. The purpose of this extravagant blessing is theological: "Thus you will know that I am Yahweh." God's grace is His self-revelation.

12 And I will cause men, My people Israel, to walk on you and possess you so that you will become their inheritance and never again bereave them of children.’

God reaffirms that the land belongs to His people. They will "walk on" it, a term that signifies peaceful, confident possession. The land will become their inheritance once more. The final clause is a direct reversal of the covenant curses found in the Torah. Because of sin, the land had been a place of death and bereavement, swallowing up its inhabitants through famine, plague, and sword. God promises that this curse will be lifted. In the new covenant, the people of God will be a place of life, not death.

13-15 “Thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because they say to you, “You are a devourer of men and have bereaved your nation of children,” therefore you will no longer devour men and no longer bereave your nation of children,’ declares Lord Yahweh. I will not let you hear dishonor from the nations anymore, nor will you bear reproach from the peoples any longer, nor will you cause your nation to stumble any longer,” declares Lord Yahweh.’ ”

God concludes by addressing the specific slander that the nations had leveled against the land. They called it a "devourer of men." This was the bad report the faithless spies brought back in Numbers 13. God promises to silence this ancient lie by His actions. He will make the land so secure and fruitful that the accusation becomes laughable. He will completely remove the dishonor and reproach of the nations. The name of Israel, and by extension the name of Israel's God, will be vindicated. The land will no longer be a cause for the people to stumble in their faith. It will be a source of blessing and a testimony to the faithfulness of their covenant-keeping God. This is a promise of the security and honor that belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ.

Application

This passage is pure gospel encouragement for the Church. We live in an age when the enemies of God look at the Church and say, "Aha! The everlasting heights have become our possession." They see declining numbers in the West, moral compromise, and public irrelevance, and they believe the cause of Christ is a desolate waste which they can now possess for their own secular purposes. They scoff, and they take up the Church's failures in the speech of their tongue.

What must our response be? It is to hear the word of the Lord. God is jealous for His name, and His name is now identified with His Son and with His Son's body, the Church. He has sworn an oath that He will vindicate His people. He has promised that the barren places will bear fruit. He is for us. He will cultivate us and sow His word in us. He will multiply His people, gathering them from every nation. And the glory of the Church throughout history will be greater than its beginning. Our task is not to despair at the desolation or fret over the enemy's taunts. Our task is to be faithful, to trust the promise that God is turning to us, and to get on with the business of bearing fruit for our people, knowing that our King will soon come. The world thinks the Church is a devourer of life, a place of death. God promises to make it so manifestly a place of life and fruitfulness that the reproach of the nations will be silenced forever.