Commentary - Ezekiel 36:22-38

Bird's-eye view

In this glorious section of Ezekiel, we are given one of the clearest articulations of the New Covenant in all the Old Testament. The prophet lays out the bedrock foundation of our salvation, and it is this: God saves sinners for the sake of His own name. This is not a peripheral point; it is the central engine of the entire affair. Israel had profaned God's name among the nations, making Him look like a petty tribal deity who could not protect His own people. In response, God declares that He will act, not because Israel deserves it, but to vindicate the holiness of His own great name. This vindication takes the form of a radical, sovereign, and monergistic work of grace. He will gather His people, cleanse them, and perform spiritual heart surgery, replacing their dead heart of stone with a living heart of flesh. He will put His own Spirit within them, causing them to walk in holiness. This spiritual restoration then overflows into the material world, transforming a desolate wasteland into a new Eden, all so that the surrounding nations would look on and know that Yahweh is God. This is the gospel, from start to finish.

Outline

Verse by Verse Commentary

Ezekiel 36:22-23

22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says Lord Yahweh, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations, to which you have come. 23 I will prove the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh," declares Lord Yahweh, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight."

The prophecy begins with a foundational demolition of all human pride. God is about to unveil the glories of the New Covenant, but before He does, He makes one thing startlingly clear: "It is not for your sake." All man centered religion begins with man's need, man's desire, or man's worth. True religion begins with God's glory. Israel had dragged God's name through the mud. Their sin and subsequent exile made it appear to the pagan nations that Yahweh was either unrighteous or impotent. He was just another god who could not deliver. God's reputation was on the line. Therefore, the great work of salvation that He is about to perform is, at its root, a public relations campaign for His own holiness. He is going to save His people in such a spectacular way that the onlooking world will have no choice but to conclude that Yahweh, He is God. He will prove Himself holy in them, using them as the display case for His glory. Our salvation is always a means to a greater end, which is the magnification of the name of God.

Ezekiel 36:24-25

24 "And I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols."

Here the action begins, and notice the pronoun: "I will... I will... I will." This is the sovereign work of God from beginning to end. He begins with the promise of a new exodus, a gathering of His elect from all the nations of the world, not just from Babylon. This is fulfilled in the great commission, as the gospel goes out and gathers a people for God's name. Once gathered, the first order of business is cleansing. The imagery of sprinkling with clean water is a direct foreshadowing of Christian baptism. This is not a mere external washing. God promises to cleanse them from "all your uncleanness and from all your idols." This is a deep, internal, moral purification. It is the washing of regeneration spoken of in Titus 3:5. This is the application of the blood of Christ to the guilty conscience, rendering it clean. It is a definitive break with the filth of the old life.

Ezekiel 36:26

26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

This verse is the very heart of the New Covenant promise. The fundamental problem with man is not his environment, his education, or his external behavior. The problem is his heart, which is by nature a "heart of stone," dead, cold, unresponsive, and rebellious toward God. God's solution is not to polish the stone, or to give it a list of rules to follow. His solution is a transplant. He says, "I will remove" it. This is divine surgery. In its place, He gives a "heart of flesh," one that is alive, soft, warm, and responsive to His touch. He gives a "new spirit," which is to say a new disposition, a new nature. This is what Jesus called being "born again." It is not something we do; it is something that is done to us. It is a sovereign, creative act of God, and without it, no one can see the kingdom of God.

Ezekiel 36:27-28

27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to do My judgments. 28 And you will inhabit the land that I gave to your fathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God."

How does the new heart beat? How does it live? God answers that He will put His own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, within His people. The result of this indwelling is not mystical inactivity but rather righteous living. The Spirit will "cause you to walk in My statutes." This is the engine of Christian sanctification. Obedience to God's law is not the means of getting the new heart, but rather the inevitable fruit of having received it. The law is not abolished; it is now internalized. We are empowered from within to do what the law requires. This radical spiritual transformation then results in the restoration of covenant fellowship. "You will be My people, and I will be your God." This is the goal of everything. To dwell in His land, in His presence, as His treasured possession, forever.

Ezekiel 36:29-32

29 "Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you. 30 I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field so that you will not receive again the reproach of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves to your own faces for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 I am not doing this for your sake," declares Lord Yahweh, "let it be known to you. Be ashamed and feel dishonor for your ways, O house of Israel!"

Spiritual renewal overflows into creational renewal. Salvation is comprehensive. God saves us from our uncleanness, and this salvation has tangible effects in the world He made. He promises to replace the curse of famine with the blessing of abundance. The land itself will become fruitful. This removes the "reproach" among the nations. The world will see that the people of God are a blessed people. And what is the psychological effect of all this grace on the recipient? Arrogance? Pride? No, just the opposite. "Then you will remember your evil ways... and you will loathe yourselves." True, godly repentance is not the precondition for grace, but the result of it. When we see the magnitude of God's unmerited favor, it causes us to see the ugliness of our sin in stark relief. Lest they forget, God hammers the point home one last time: "I am not doing this for your sake... Be ashamed." God's grace does not puff us up; it humbles us to the dust.

Ezekiel 36:33-36

33 "'Thus says Lord Yahweh, "On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. 35 And they will say, 'This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate, and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.' 36 Then the nations that remain all around you will know that I, Yahweh, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate; I, Yahweh, have spoken and will do it."'"

The gospel does not just transform individual hearts; it transforms cultures and landscapes. The promise here is one of total restoration. Ruined cities will be rebuilt and inhabited. Desolate land will be cultivated until it is like the Garden of Eden. This is a picture of Christendom. It is the vision of the kingdom of God advancing in history, pushing back the effects of the curse and making all things new. This transformation is not done in a corner. It is a public spectacle "in the sight of everyone who passes by." And the effect is evangelistic. The pagan nations round about will see this undeniable evidence of God's power and goodness and will be forced to conclude that "I, Yahweh, have rebuilt the ruined places." God's reputation is vindicated not just by saving souls, but by rebuilding civilizations. He speaks, and it is done.

Ezekiel 36:37-38

37 "'Thus says Lord Yahweh, "This also I will let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do for them: I will increase their men like a flock. 38 Like the flock for holy offerings, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed times, so will the waste cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they will know that I am Yahweh."'"

After promising to do all these things by His sovereign power, God graciously invites His people to participate through prayer. "I will let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do for them." He ordains the ends, and He ordains the means, and prayer is one of the chief means. What should they ask for? Explosive growth. He promises to increase their population "like a flock." The imagery is of the holy city of Jerusalem, teeming with sheep brought for sacrifice during the great feasts. In the same way, the restored cities will be teeming with people, with "flocks of men." This is a vision of a thriving, populous, and vibrant Christian society. And it all culminates, for the third time in this passage, with the ultimate goal of all history: "Then they will know that I am Yahweh."

Application

This passage ought to radically reorient our understanding of salvation, the Christian life, and the future. First, our salvation is entirely of God, for the glory of God. We contribute nothing to it but the sin that made it necessary. This should produce in us a profound humility and a deep, abiding gratitude. We were saved not for our sake, but for His. Second, the Christian life is not one of grim, white knuckled effort to please God. It is the supernatural result of a heart transplant, empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Our obedience flows from a new nature, not from a desire to create one. Third, the gospel is not a private, spiritual matter with no effect on the outside world. The gospel is God's power to make all things new. It saves souls, and saved souls build new civilizations. The promise that the desolate land will become like Eden is a promise that the kingdom of Christ will advance in history, bringing healing and restoration to every area of life. We should therefore be filled with a robust and optimistic faith, laboring and praying for the rebuilding of the waste places, confident that Yahweh has spoken, and He will do it.