Commentary - Ezekiel 39:25-29

Bird's-eye view

In this concluding section of the Gog and Magog prophecy, the Lord pivots from the destruction of Israel's enemies to the glorious restoration of His own people. This is not a mere political restoration, but a profound, covenantal renewal rooted in the very character of God. The central engine of this entire movement is God's jealousy for His own holy name. He had allowed His people to go into exile because of their sin, which profaned His name among the nations. Now, for the sake of that same name, He will act decisively to gather, cleanse, and bless them, demonstrating His holiness and sovereignty to a watching world.

The passage outlines a complete and final restoration. It is a return from all the lands of their enemies, leaving none behind. It is a spiritual restoration, where they will forget their past shame because they are secure in God's grace. And climactically, it is a restoration empowered by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the whole house of Israel. This is the New Covenant promise breaking through in Old Testament language, a promise that finds its ultimate fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His church, the true Israel of God.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 25 Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Now I will return the fortunes of Jacob and have compassion on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name.

The word "Therefore" links this great promise of restoration directly to the preceding judgment upon Gog. God's destruction of His enemies and the restoration of His people are two sides of the same coin. He is not arbitrary. His actions flow from His character. The word "Now" signals a decisive turning point. History is not a flat line; God intervenes at appointed times. He is about to do something new.

To "return the fortunes of Jacob" is a classic biblical idiom for comprehensive restoration. It's not just about bringing them back to the land; it's about restoring their prosperity, their dignity, their covenant standing. And notice, this is for the "whole house of Israel." The division between Judah and Israel, that long-standing schism, is healed in this restoration. This points to the unity of God's people in Christ, where Jew and Gentile are made one new man.

But the ultimate reason for all this is not Israel's merit, but God's own character. "I will be jealous for My holy name." God's jealousy is not like our petty, sinful envy. It is the righteous zeal of a husband for his wife, of a creator for His own reputation. His name had been profaned among the nations when Israel, His covenant people, were driven into exile (Ezek. 36:20-21). The pagans looked on and concluded that Yahweh was a weak god, unable to protect His own. God's jealousy means He will not tolerate this slander against His character. He acts to vindicate His own honor, and the restoration of His people is the means by which He does it.

v. 26 So they will forget their dishonor and all their unfaithfulness which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them tremble.

This is a beautiful picture of the fruit of true forgiveness. The shame of their past sin and the dishonor of their exile will be forgotten. This isn't a simple case of amnesia. It is the kind of forgetting that happens when a greater reality eclipses a lesser one. When you are truly secure in God's love and provision, the memory of your past failures loses its power to condemn you. This is what Paul talks about in Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Their security is total: "with no one to make them tremble." This is the peace, the shalom, that God promises His people. It is not just the absence of war, but a state of complete well being under the blessing of God. This security is the context for forgetting their shame. You cannot deal with your past sin when you are constantly looking over your shoulder. But when God establishes you in His grace, you are free to look forward, not back.

v. 27 When I return them from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall prove Myself holy through them in the sight of the many nations.

Here again, the action is all God's. "When I return them... and gather them." The exile was a scattering, but God is a gathering God. He brings His people back from every direction. This has a partial fulfillment in the return from Babylon, but the scope here is far grander, pointing to the great ingathering of the nations through the gospel.

And the purpose of this gathering is explicit: "I shall prove Myself holy through them in the sight of the many nations." The holiness of God is His transcendent otherness, His absolute moral purity and power. By rescuing and restoring a sinful and broken people, God puts His unique character on display for the whole world to see. The church, the restored Israel, is meant to be God's exhibition to the world. When the world looks at us, they are supposed to see a people so radically changed by grace that they can only conclude our God is holy and mighty to save.

v. 28 Then they will know that I am Yahweh their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then collected them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer.

The great goal of all God's work in history, both in judgment and salvation, is that His people would "know that I am Yahweh their God." This is not mere intellectual assent. It is a deep, personal, covenantal knowledge born of experience. And notice the basis of this knowledge: it includes both the exile and the restoration. They will look back and see God's sovereign hand in both the bitter and the sweet. They will understand that the God who judged their sin is the same God who graciously restored them. This is crucial. We cannot truly know God's grace until we understand His righteous judgment against our sin.

The promise that He will "leave none of them there any longer" speaks of the completeness of this salvation. In Christ's atonement, nothing is left undone. All for whom He died will be gathered in. Not one of His sheep will be lost. This is the security of the believer, grounded in the exhaustive and successful work of God.

v. 29 And I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares Lord Yahweh.

This is the climax of the passage and the ultimate source of this permanent restoration. To have God's face hidden was a sign of judgment and curse (Deut. 31:17). To have His face shine upon you is the essence of blessing (Num. 6:25). God promises that this restoration will not be temporary; His favor will rest upon His people forever.

And why? What is the guarantee? "For I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel." This is the promise of the New Covenant. The problem under the Old Covenant was not the law, but the hard hearts of the people. The solution is a radical, internal transformation wrought by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives a new heart, writes the law on that heart, and empowers obedience from within (Ezek. 36:26-27). This outpouring of the Spirit was fulfilled at Pentecost and is the defining reality of the church age. It is the Spirit who unites us to Christ, who assures us of our adoption, and who guarantees our final inheritance. The entire glorious future described in these verses rests on this one foundational promise: the gift of the Spirit.

Application

The central lesson here is that God's ultimate commitment is to the glory of His own name. Our salvation is not ultimately about us; it is about Him. He saves us and restores us and blesses us in order to put His own character on display. This should humble us profoundly. We bring nothing to the table but our sin and shame. He brings everything: the plan, the power, and the purpose.

This passage is also a massive encouragement for the church. We live in a world that, like Gog, often seems arrayed against the people of God. But God has promised to act. He has promised to gather His people, to cleanse them, and to secure them. Our hope is not in our own strength or cleverness, but in the jealousy of God for His own name and the power of His poured-out Spirit. We are part of a project that cannot fail because God's own reputation is on the line.

Finally, the promise of the Spirit is the engine of our Christian life. The security, the freedom from shame, the knowledge of God, all of it flows from the work of the Spirit within us. We are not called to live the Christian life in our own strength. We are called to walk in dependence on the Spirit whom God has so lavishly poured out upon us through Christ. This is how we live securely, with no one to make us tremble, to the praise of His holy name.