Ezekiel 36:22-28
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Ezekiel, a descendant of Aaron, was himself a priest as well as a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah. The name, Ezekiel, means “God strengthens” or “May God strengthen.” In 597 BC Ezekiel was one of about 8,000 Judahites taken as exiles to Babylon. Ezekiel’s mission to the exiles in Babylon was to prepare for the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC and 70 years of exile from the Jerusalem.
Psalm 137 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion.
Upon the willows in the midst of it
We hung our harps.
For there our captors demanded of us songs,
And our tormentors mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
How can we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand forget her skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
Ezekiel reminds the exiles that their sufferings are not a result of Jehovah’s lack of fidelity to His covenant … Their exile from the Promised Land and their suffering are a consequence of their sins, both individual and corporate, their refusal to repent of their sins and their failure to keep faith with their covenant with the God of Israel.
Ezekiel 1-32 addresses the destruction of Judah and the surrounding nations … Ezekiel 33-48 speaks of a new exodus, a new conquest of the land and the rebuilding of the Temple. In Ezekiel 36:22ff promises to restore Israel “for mine holy name’s sake … I will sanctify my great name which was profaned among the heathen.”
God promises …
to sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean
from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you
a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you
I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh
I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers
ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
This anticipates the coming Messianic age and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1ff). God’s spirit/breath that gives life (Genesis 2:7 to Adam; John 20:22 to His Body, the Church) will create a new people and fill them with new life. They shall be made new creations by water and the Spirit and be given a heart of flesh. And “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water” … “this he spoke of the Spirit” (John 7:37f). This life-giving water will nourish in God’s people the graces of a faithful people … walking in God’s statutes, keeping of God’s judgments.
JSH+