Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 36:38

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 36:38. As the holy flock — The Church of Christ, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.

The flock of Jerusalem — The Jerusalem that is from above, the city of the living God, the place where his Majesty dwells. As they came in ancient times to the solemn national feasts so shall they come when they have fully returned unto the Lord, and received his salvation by Christ Jesus.

I do not ask my reader's pardon for having considered this most beautiful chapter as relating, not to the restoration from the Babylonish captivity, but to the redemption under the new covenant by Jesus Christ. There is no period of the Jewish history from that time until now, to which it can be applied. It must belong to the Gospel dispensation; and if the Jews will still refuse, contradict, and blaspheme, let no Christian have any fellowship with them in their opposition to this Almighty Saviour. Let none be indifferent to his salvation; let all plead his promises; and let the messengers of the Churches proclaim to the Christian world a FREE, a FULL, and a PRESENT SALVATION! And may great grace rest upon themselves, and upon all their flocks!

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

For the sake of God’s holy name (36:16-38)

God had driven the people of Israel out of their land because their sins had made them unclean in his sight (16-19). Onlooking nations, however, did not see it that way. They mocked God, saying that the removal of Israel from its land showed that he was weak. He could not save his people from the superior gods of the nations (20-21).
Therefore, God will correct this misunderstanding and restore his honour by bringing Israel back to its land (22-24). He will cleanse his people from their idolatry and put a new spirit within them. Then, instead of being stubborn as in former days, they will have a readiness to do God’s will (25-27). The land will give them the best of agricultural blessings (28-30). They will be ashamed when they remember their bad conduct in the past, whereas God will be honoured by the nations that once mocked him (31-32).
These nations will be amazed when they see the fertility of the formerly desolated land and the prosperity of the formerly conquered people. They will realize that God is not weak as they supposed, but is working in Israel’s history according to his plan (33-36). As flocks of sacrificial animals once filled Jerusalem at festival times, so will multitudes of Jews fill Israel’s cities again (37-38).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Not for your sake do I this, saith the Lord Jehovah, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In the day that I cleanse you from your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, whereas it was a desolation in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited. Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I, Jehovah, have builded the ruined places, and planted that which was desolate: I, Jehovah, have spoken, and I will do it. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: For this, moreover, will I be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them: I will increase them with men like a flock. As the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of. Jerusalem in her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with the flocks of men: and they shall know that I am Jehovah."

THE GREAT OBJECTIVE IS GOD'S GLORY

"In the day that I cleanse you from your iniquities" This means that all of the great temporal blessings promised for Israel will come after the New Covenant has been established, and after Israel has accepted it, that at that time God will pour out all of these rich blessings upon Israel. Of course, that is not the way it turned out; but it is the way that it would have turned out if Israel had only accepted the Lord when he came.

What really happened was that Israel not only rejected the Saviour, they contrived his crucifixion by a cunning combination of suborned testimony, political pressure, and mob violence. They manufactured lies about his resurrection, they opposed with the bitterest hatred the work of the holy apostles and successfully enlisted the power of Rome itself against the Church. In that last sin, they also accomplished their own destruction. For Rome learned that the Church of Christ was a legitimate offspring of Judaism; and having been set against the Church through Judaistic efforts, Rome decided to destroy Judaism also. This resulted in the war against Jerusalem itself, the destruction of the Temple and the City, the murder of 1,100,000 of the Jewish people, the sending of 30,000 of them back into Egypt as captives, and a bitter campaign against Jews throughout the ancient Roman empire.

The contrast between this tragic record of what really happened and what God had intended emphasizes the awful consequences of Israel's refusal to accept Christ, not merely for Israel, but for the Church and for all mankind.

Despite this dismal tragedy which is verified not only by the New Testament but by the full history of the first century of this era, there are still people on earth who suppose that all of the wonderful things God promised to Israel in this chapter with reference to the vast population, the great cities, and the abundant prosperity are still going to happen. Feinberg caught the spirit of this expectation in these words: "The words of this chapter should fill us with joy. Is there not something the Lord wants you to do to work toward the day of Israel's deliverance and glory."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Moody Press), p. 211.

Our Saviour wept aloud over the failure of Israel to receive the glory God intended, saying:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, but ye would not (Matthew 24:37). If thou hadst known in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, when thine enemies shall cast a bank about thee, and compass thee round and keep thee in on every side, and they shall dash thee to the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation (Luke 19:42-44)."

This is exactly what happened to the old Israel and it affords a dramatic contrast with what Ezekiel prophesied and what could have happened except for Israel's apostasy and judicial hardening.

Now should we pray for the day to come when the old racial Israel is going to be restored to glory? No! All of the glorious promises that once belonged to racial Israel now pertain exclusively to the New Israel. There is no revealed formula by which ancient peoples who missed their opportunities shall be able to find them again. The Saviour wept over their loss, but he could do nothing about it, and neither can we.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

As the holy flock - A reference to the flocks and herds brought up to Jerusalem to be consecrated and offered unto the Lord 2 Chronicles 35:7. Thus, the idea is brought out:

(1) of the multiplication of the people,

(2) of their dedication to the service of God.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn in our Bibles now to Ezekiel 36:0 as we continue our study in this very fascinating prophecy.

In chapter 36 Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy to the mountains of Israel. Now this is the second time he prophesied to the mountains of Israel. The first time was back in chapter 6, and he was prophesying the desolations that would come to the mountains of Israel and to the cities because they had built the high places on the mountains and worshipped the false images, idols, and gods. And thus he spoke about the mountains being made desolate. That prophecy was fulfilled and the mountains of Israel remained desolate for nineteen centuries. Now again he prophesies to the mountains of Israel, but this prophecy has to do with a work of God in making now the desolate mountains inhabited. And so there is quite a contrast between this prophecy in chapter 36 and the prophecy in chapter 6 where the desolation of the mountains was described and now the restoration from the desolation.

Say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession: Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and they have swallowed you up on every side, that you might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are the infamy of the people: Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, and to the rivers and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, against all of Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, say to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because you have borne the shame of the heathen: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up my hand, Surely the heathen that are round about you, shall bear their shame. But ye, O mountains ( Ezekiel 36:2-8 )

It took him quite a while to get to the message to the mountains, but he finally made it.

But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: And I will multiply men upon you, all of the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginning: and ye shall know that I am the LORD ( Ezekiel 36:8-11 ).

And so the restoration of the nation Israel is here being prophesied. And if you go over to Israel today, surely you can see the fulfillment of these prophecies as the waste places are now inhabited. As they have built so many cities, as they have planted so many beautiful orchards and cultivated the fields, and this land that laid wasted and desolate for many centuries has now been reclaimed. The marshy valleys have been drained and have become very fertile, fruitful fields. And so, it's exciting to take this thirty-sixth chapter of Ezekiel in your lap and go over to Israel and see how God has fulfilled this particular prophecy concerning the mountains of Israel.

Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; they shall possess thee, thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men. For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations; therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave the nations any more, saith the Lord GOD. Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land ( Ezekiel 36:12-17 ),

And now God is telling the reason why the land became desolate for so long.

they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore I poured out my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of the land. But I had pity for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 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 my holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went ( Ezekiel 36:17-22 ).

Now the Lord is telling the reason why the dispersion took place and they were scattered is because of the blood that they had shed in the land, because of their worship of idols, and God had scattered them into the many different countries. But God said when they were scattered they profaned God's name. That is, because of their actions and attitudes they caused people to hate and curse God. They said, "Oh, these are the people of God and look at what they are doing."

And so, you remember when David sinned with Bathsheba, when the prophet rebuked David for this sin, one of the indictments that the prophet made against him is he said, "You have caused the enemies of God to blaspheme." You see, these people were to be God's representatives. God intended that they represent Him. But they misrepresented Him. And thus, people were cursing God because of their actions. You say, "Oh, that's terrible." But wait a minute. You are now God's representatives. You see, you go by the name of a Christian and as a Christian you represent God. But if you're out there ripping off people or cheating people or you're out there lying or deceiving or getting involved in these kind of things, then you are misrepresenting God and people are cursing God and blaspheming God because of what you are. You see, God has been so misrepresented by those people who were called by His name. All the way through people have a false concept of God because people supposedly representing God have so misrepresented God that people say, "Well, if they're a Christian then I don't want anything to do with it. I don't need it." It is an awesome thing to realize that we are God's representatives and people are drawing their opinions of God from what they see in us.

Now as a representative of God, God holds me responsible for how I represent Him. God doesn't appreciate being misrepresented. As Moses found out. For when Moses went out before the people angry and struck the rock with his rod and said, "Must I strike this rock again and give you water?" Though the water came, God said, "Moses, I want to talk to you. Moses, I can't let you go into the Promise Land." "Why, Lord? That's been the ambition of my life." "Moses, you failed to represent Me before the people. You misrepresented Me out there. You went out there all angry in a huff, smiting the rock in anger. I'm not angry with them, Moses. They think I am because of what you did. They think I'm upset with them and angry. I'm not upset and angry with them, Moses. I know they need water. I want to give them water. But they think I'm angry and upset because you're My representative and you went out there in a huff and did your little thing. And so, Moses, I just can't let you take the people into the land." And Moses was robbed of his lifelong ambition because he failed to represent God there at the water of Meribah.

Now you are God's representative and that's a heavy responsibility to be God's representative, but that's what we are. And the people are drawing their conclusion of Christianity, of Jesus Christ, from what they see you do. That's heavy. God help us that we will be proper representatives of our Lord. That people will come to know that He is so loving, that He is so kind, that He wants to help, that He will go out of His way to help. And let us, O God, be a true representation of what You are to the world around us who so desperately need to know the truth about God.

Paul writing to the Corinthians said, "You are my living epistle, and you are known and read of all men" ( 2 Corinthians 3:2 ). People may never pick up a Bible to crack its pages, they may never read the Bible, but they're reading your life. And they're drawing their opinions of Jesus Christ by what they see in you.

Now, God said when Israel was scattered into the nations, they profaned the name of the Lord. They caused people to hate God. They didn't represent God in those nations where they were scattered, and so people were cursing God and cursing the name of God. And so God now declares, "Look, not for your sake I'm going to bring you back. Not because you're so good or you're deserving, but for My name's sake I'm going to do it. My name that has been profaned among the heathen."

"And thus saith the Lord God," verse Ezekiel 36:22 , "I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake which you have profaned."

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 ( Ezekiel 36:23 ).

So He refers to this time when He will be sanctified in them before the eyes of the world. We'll get to that when we get to chapter 38.

Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all of your filthiness, from all of your idols, I will cleanse you. Also I'll give you a new heart, 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 a heart of flesh ( Ezekiel 36:25-26 ).

Jeremiah prophesied the day was going to come when God would no longer write His law upon tables of stone but upon the fleshly tablets of our heart. God is saying, "I'm going to take out the stony heart. I'm going to put in a heart of flesh." That is, God will make His will known to us by planting in our heart His desires and His purposes. Now you know the glorious thing about serving the Lord and following the Lord that you find that this particular psalm is true. The Bible said, "Delight thyself also in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" ( Psalms 37:4 ). Well, what that psalm doesn't say, but what is also true, that as you begin to delight yourself in the Lord, the Lord begins to redirect the desires of your heart. According to that which He wants and according to that which He has purposed. So that doing the will of God becomes really the most glorious thing of your entire existence. It becomes the fulfillment of your dreams and of your desires. And it's marvelous.

Jesus said, "My yoke is easy, My burden is light" ( Matthew 11:30 ). We see people going around talking about, "Oh, God laid this heavy burden on me. I don't know if I'm going to be able to stand up under it." Wait a minute. If you've got a heavy burden that's pushing you down into the ground, you better take a close look at that burden. It didn't come from Him. He said, "My burden is light." We take upon ourselves, many times, things that the Lord didn't really put on us. Or we let men put things on us and pressure us into things that aren't really of God. I think of all of the poor people who have been pressured by their churches in pledges. Especially if they say, "Let's make a faith pledge." That's even worse, because there are many people who are straining under a sense of obligation to God because I made a pledge and they're straining and being pressed by it, and it's become a heavy yoke on them. A heavy burden. It's not of the Lord. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. Peter said, "Let's not put a heavy yoke on the people, which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear." And yet the heavy yokes that men will put on you. But when the yoke gets hard and the burden is heavy, know that it's not the Lord's. It's something that you have taken on yourself, or you have allowed people to put on you, but not really from God.

God puts His desires now in our heart so that we can honestly say with Jesus, "I delight to do thy will, O Lord." I don't know how many times during the week I just kick back and just start praising the Lord and thanking the Lord for all that He's done for me. For the joy and blessedness of the life that I have. It's just overwhelming to me. The goodness and the blessing of God. And every once in a while I'll just go, "Oh no!" And if anybody's around, they say, "What's happening?" "Oh, I'm just thinking about how good God is. Unreal, beautiful, you know." My son said, "Dad, why don't you retire? You don't have to keep going sixteen hours a day. Why don't you retire? Kick back, Dad. Why don't you move to Hawaii and retire? You can do it." I said, "But what would I do?" I love so much doing what I'm doing. My wife gets after me because I want to come out here on my day off. She says, "You always figure out a way to go out there on your day off." But it's just such a joy, such a blessing. For God has written His law in my heart. It's just the delight and the joy of life to be doing that which God has in mind for you to do. No heavy burden, no big strain. It's a delight; it's a joy.

And so God says, "I will write. I will give them a new heart, a heart of flesh. Take away that heart of stone."

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 ( Ezekiel 36:27 ).

Why? Because God's Spirit is in me. That power of His Spirit to do His statutes, to keep His judgments.

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. I also will save you from all of your uncleanness: I will call for the corn, I will increase it, I won't lay any famine upon you. I will multiply the fruit of the tree, increase the field, and ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD ( Ezekiel 36:28-32 ),

Not because you're so deserving or you're so good, but it's just God's grace.

be it known unto you: be ashamed and be confounded for what you have done, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I also will cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden ( Ezekiel 36:32-35 );

Oh, the Sharon valley, the Sharon plain, the valley of Megiddo, waste desolate marshland, they're like the Garden of Eden, so lush and so beautiful. This prophecy is fulfilled. You can go over and just travel around Israel and see how verdant and productive that little land is.

the ruined cities have become fenced, and inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that which was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it ( Ezekiel 36:35-36 ).

Well, you can't get much stronger than that. And He did, He's done it.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them as men like a flock. As the holy flock, and as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD ( Ezekiel 36:37-38 ).

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The results of Israel’s return 36:33-38

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The Lord also promised to respond to the prayers of the Israelites to increase their population.

"For the first time in the book he permits himself to be entreated by the house of Israel." [Note: Block, The Book . . . 48, p. 364.]

The Jews would fill the cities like the sheep used to fill Jerusalem during the feasts when the people offered large numbers of them as sacrifices to the Lord. These would not be sheep for slaughter but living sacrifices in God’s service. This increase in the population in the Promised Land would also convince people of Yahweh’s unique deity.

"In analyzing Ezekiel’s doctrine of the salvation of Israel, the salient factors are as follows: (1) The preeminent motive in their redemption is the glory of God (Ezekiel 36:22; Ezekiel 36:32). (2) Israel will know ultimately that their God is the Lord (Ezekiel 36:38). (3) There will be an abhorrence of their sins (Ezekiel 36:31-32). (4) Forgiveness of their sins will be realized (Ezekiel 36:25). (5) Regeneration will be effected (Ezekiel 11:19; Ezekiel 18:31; Ezekiel 36:26-27). (6) The gift of the Holy Spirit will be granted (Ezekiel 36:27; Ezekiel 37:14). No prophet before him assigns the ministry of the Holy Spirit in regeneration such a precise place as Ezekiel does. (7) Included is obedience to God’s laws (Ezekiel 36:27; Ezekiel 11:20)." [Note: Feinberg, p. 205.]

By faith in Jesus Christ, Gentiles as well as Jews presently experience many of the same blessings that God promised here to bring to the entire nation of Israel in the future. But this should not lead us to conclude that these promises have no future fulfillment with Israel but are only fulfilled spiritually in the church. One writer pointed out that God added blessings to this covenant as He revealed it progressively through history before its ratification at the Cross. [Note: Rodney J. Decker, "The Church’s Relationship to the New Covenant," Bibliotheca Sacra 152:6-7 (July-September 1995):290-305.] Ezekiel added some revelation that Jeremiah did not give, for example.

"It should be clear that the realization of these promises did not come to fruition in the postexilic period, nor have they been fulfilled today. Israel as a nation is not regathered and has not experienced spiritual regeneration, and the land of Palestine is not characterized by the supernatural fecundity described in Ezekiel 36:22-38." [Note: Mark F. Rooker, "Evidence from Ezekiel," in A Case for Premillennialism: A New Consensus, p. 127.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts,.... Like flocks of sheep, which were consecrated and set apart for holy uses, for sacrifices; even like the flocks of sheep, which were brought to Jerusalem to be offered in sacrifice at the three solemn festivals in the year; especially at the passover, when the Jews came from all parts of the country to slay and eat their passover; and every family had a lamb, which in all must be a great number: we read of thirty thousand lambs and three thousand bullocks given at one time for this service by King Josiah, besides what was given by the princes,

2 Chronicles 35:7. The Targum is,

"as the holy people, as a people that is cleansed, and comes to Jerusalem at the feasts of the passover:''

or, "as the flock of the Holy Ones" q; either of the holy God, Father, Son, and Spirit; or of holy men, who are made holy or sanctified by the Spirit of God:

so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; or with men that are like sheep for meekness, harmlessness, patience, cleanness, society, and usefulness; and not with such as are comparable to unclean beasts, or beasts of prey; so it denotes both the quantity of persons that shall inhabit Judea, and dwelt both in the cities and churches there, and the quality of them.

q כצאן קדשים "sicut oves sanctorum", Vatablus, Gussetius, Starckius.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      25 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.   26 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 a heart of flesh.   27 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.   28 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.   29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.   30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.   31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.   32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.   33 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.   34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.   35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.   36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.   37 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.   38 As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

      The people of God might be discouraged in their hopes of a restoration by the sense not only of their unworthiness of such a favour (which was answered, in the Ezekiel 36:1-24, with this, that God, in doing it, would have an eye to his own glory, not to their worthiness), but of their unfitness for such a favour, being still corrupt and sinful; and that is answered in these verses, with a promise that God would by his grace prepare and qualify them for the mercy and then bestow it on them. And this was in part fulfilled in that wonderful effect which the captivity in Babylon had upon the Jews there, that it effectually cured them of their inclination to idolatry. But it is further intended as a draught of the covenant of grace, and a specimen of those spiritual blessings with which we are blessed in heavenly things by that covenant. As (Ezekiel 34:1-31; Ezekiel 34:1-31) after a promise of their return the prophecy insensibly slid into a promise of the coming of Christ, the great Shepherd, so here it insensibly slides into a promise of the Spirit, and his gracious influences and operations, which we have as much need of for our sanctification as we have of Christ's merit for our justification.

      I. God here promises that he will work a good work in them, to qualify them for the good work he intended to bring about for them, Ezekiel 36:25-27; Ezekiel 36:25-27. We had promises to the same purport, Ezekiel 11:18-20; Ezekiel 11:18-20. 1. That God would cleanse them from the pollutions of sin (Ezekiel 36:25; Ezekiel 36:25): I will sprinkle clean water upon you, which signifies both the book of Christ sprinkled upon the conscience to purify that and to take away the sense of guilt (as those that were sprinkled with the water of purification were thereby discharged from their ceremonial uncleanness) and the grace of the Spirit sprinkled on the whole soul to purify it from all corrupt inclinations and dispositions, as Naaman was cleansed from his leprosy by dipping in Jordan. Christ was himself clean, else his blood could not have been cleansing to us; and it is a Holy Spirit that makes us holy: From all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. And (Ezekiel 36:29; Ezekiel 36:29) I will save you from all your uncleannesses. Sin is defiling, idolatry particularly is so; it renders sinners odious to God and burdensome to themselves. When guilt is pardoned, and the corrupt nature sanctified, then we are cleansed from our filthiness, and there is no other way of being saved from it. This God promises his people here, in order to his being sanctified in them, Ezekiel 36:23; Ezekiel 36:23. We cannot sanctify God's name unless he sanctify our hearts, nor live to his glory, but by his grace. 2. That God would give them a new heart, a disposition of mind excellent in itself and vastly different from what it was before. God will work an inward change in order to a universal change. Note, All that have an interest in the new covenant, and a title to the new Jerusalem, have a new heart and a new spirit, and these are necessary in order to their walking in newness of life. This is that divine nature which believers are by the promises made partakers of. 3. That, instead of a heart of stone, insensible and inflexible, unapt to receive any divine impressions and to return any devout affections, God would give a heart of flesh, a soft and tender heart, that has spiritual senses exercised, conscious to itself of spiritual pains and pleasures, and complying in every thing with the will of God. Note, Renewing grace works as great a change in the soul as the turning of a dead stone into living flesh. 4. That since, besides our inclination to sin, we complain of an inability to do our duty, God will cause them to walk in his statutes, will not only show them the way of his statutes before them, but incline them to walk in it, and thoroughly furnish them with wisdom and will, and active powers, for every good work. In order to this he will put his Spirit within them, as a teacher, guide, and sanctifier. Note, God does not force men to walk in his statutes by external violence, but causes them to walk in his statutes by an internal principle. And observe what use we ought to make of this gracious power and principle promised us, and put within us: You shall keep my judgments. If God will do his part according to the promise, we must do ours according to the precept. Note, The promise of God's grace to enable us for our duty should engage and quicken our constant care and endeavour to do our duty. God's promises must drive us to his precepts as our rule, and then his precepts must send us back to his promises for strength, for without his grace we can do nothing.

      II. God here promises that he will take them into covenant with himself. The sum of the covenant of grace we have, Ezekiel 36:28; Ezekiel 36:28. You shall be my people, and I will be your God. It is not, "If you will be my people, I will be your God" (though it is very true that we cannot expect to have God to be to us a God unless we be to him a people), but he has chosen us, and loved us, first, not we him; therefore the condition is of grace, is by promise, as well as the reward; not of merit, not of works: "You shall be my people; I will make you so; I will give you the nature and spirit of my people, and then I will be your God." And this is the foundation and top-stone of a believer's happiness; it is heaven itself, Revelation 21:3; Revelation 21:7.

      III. He promises that he will bring about all that good for them which the exigence of their case calls for. When they are thus prepared for mercy, 1. Then they shall return to their possessions and be settled again in them (Ezekiel 36:28; Ezekiel 36:28): You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. God will, in bringing them back to it, have an eye not to any merit of theirs, but to the promise made to the fathers; for therefore he gave it to them at first, Deuteronomy 7:7; Deuteronomy 7:8. Therefore he is gracious, because he has said that he will be so. This shall follow upon the blessed reformation God would work among them (Ezekiel 36:33; Ezekiel 36:33): "In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, and so shall have made you meet for the inheritance, I will cause you to dwell in the cities, and so put you in possession of the inheritance." This is God's method of mercy indeed, first to part men from their sins, and then to restore them to their comforts. 2. Then they shall enjoy a plenty of all good things. When they are saved from their uncleanness, from their sins which kept good things from them, then I will call for the corn and will increase it,Ezekiel 36:29; Ezekiel 36:29. Plenty comes at God's call, and the plenty he calls for shall be still growing; and when he speaks the word the fruit both of the tree and of the field shall multiply. As the inhabitants multiply the productions shall multiply for their maintenance; for he that sends mouths will send meat. Famine was one of the judgments which they had laboured under, and it had been as much as any a reproach to them, that they should be starved in a land so famed for fruitfulness. But now I will lay no famine upon you; and none are under that rod without having it laid on by him. Then they shall receive no more reproach of famine, shall never be again upbraided with that, nor shall it ever be said that God is a Master that keeps his servants to short allowance. Nay, they shall not only be cleared from the reproach of famine, but they shall have the credit of abundance. The land that had long lain desolate in the sight of all that passed by, that looked upon it, some with contempt and some with compassion, shall again be tilled (Ezekiel 36:34; Ezekiel 36:34), and, having long lain fallow, it will now be the more fruitful. Observe, God will call for the corn and yet they must till the ground for it. Note, Even promised mercies must be laboured for; for the promise is not to supersede, but to quicken and encourage our industry and endeavour. And such a blessing will God command on the hand of the diligent that all who pass by shall take notice of it, with wonder, Ezekiel 36:35; Ezekiel 36:35. They shall say, "See what a blessed change here is, how this land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, the desert turned again into a paradise," Note, God has honours in reserve for his people to be crowned with sufficient to counterbalance the contempt they are now loaded with, and in them he will be honoured. This wonderful increase both of the people of the land and of its products is compared (Ezekiel 36:38; Ezekiel 36:38) to the large flocks of cattle that are brought to Jerusalem, to be sacrificed at one of the solemn feasts. Even the cities that now lie waste shall be filled with flocks of men, not like the flocks with which the pastures are covered over (Psalms 65:13), but like the holy flock which is brought to the courts of the Lord's house. Note, Then the increase of the numbers of a people is honourable and comfortable indeed when they are all dedicated to God as a holy flock, to be presented to him for living sacrifices. Crowds are a lovely sight in God's temple.

      IV. He shows what shall be the happy effects of this blessed change. 1. It shall have a happy effect upon the people of God themselves, for it shall bring them to an ingenuous repentance for their sins (Ezekiel 36:31; Ezekiel 36:31): Then shall you remember your own evil ways and shall loathe yourselves. See here what sin is; it is an abomination, a loathsome thing, that abominable thing which the Lord hates. See what is the first step towards repentance; it is remembering our own evil ways, reflecting seriously upon the sins we have committed and being particular in recapitulating them. We must remember against ourselves not only our gross enormities, our own evil ways, but our defects and infirmities, our doings that were not good, not so good as they should have been; not only our direct violations of the law, but our coming short of it. See what is evermore a companion of true repentance, and that is self-loathing, a holy shame and confusion of face: "You shall loathe yourselves in your own sight, seeing how loathsome you have made yourselves in the sight of God." Self-love is at the bottom of sin, which we cannot but blush to see the absurdity of; but our quarrelling with ourselves is in order to our being, upon good grounds, reconciled to ourselves. And, lastly, see what is the most powerful inducement to an evangelical repentance, and that is a sense of the mercy of God; when God settles them in the midst of plenty, then they shall loathe themselves for their iniquities. Note, The goodness of God should overcome our badness and lead us to repentance. The more we see of God's readiness to receive us into favour upon our repentance the more reason we shall see to be ashamed of ourselves that we could ever sin against so much love. That heart is hard indeed that will not be thus melted. 2. It shall have a happy effect upon their neighbours, for it shall bring them to a more clear knowledge of God (Ezekiel 36:36; Ezekiel 36:36): "Then the heathen that are left round about you, that spoke ignorantly of God (for so all those do that speak ill of him) when they saw the land of Israel desolate, shall begin to know better, and to speak more intelligently of God, being convinced that he is able to rebuild the most desolate cities and to replant the most desolate countries, and that, though the course of his favours to his people may be obstructed for a time, they shall not be cut off for ever." They shall be made to know the truth of divine revelation by the exact agreement which they shall discern between God's word which he has spoken to Israel and his works which he has done for them: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. With us saying and doing are two things, but they are not so with God.

      V. He proposes these things to them, not as the recompence of their merits, but as the return of their prayers.

      1. Let them not think that they have deserved it: Not for your sakes do I this, be it known to you (Ezekiel 36:22; Ezekiel 36:32); no, be you ashamed and confounded for your own ways. God is doing this, all this which he has promised; it is as sure to be done as if it were done already, and present events have a tendency towards it. But then, (1.) They must renounce the merit of their own good works, and be brought to acknowledge that it is not for their sakes that it is done; so, when God brought Israel into Canaan the first time, an express caveat was entered against this thought. Deuteronomy 9:4-6, It is not for thy righteousness. It is not for the sake of any of their good qualities or good deeds, not because God had any need of them, or expected any benefit by them. No, in showing mercy he acts by prerogative, not for our deserts, but for his own honour. See how emphatically this is expressed: Be it known to you, it is not for your sakes, which intimates that we are apt to entertain a high conceit of our own merits and are with difficulty persuaded to disclaim a confidence in them. But, one way or other, God will make all his favourites to know and own that it is his grace, and not their goodness, his mercy, and not their merit, that made them so; and that therefore not unto them, not unto them, but unto him, is all the glory due. (2.) They must repent of the sin of their own evil ways. They must own that the mercies they receive from God are not only not merited, but that they are a thousand times forfeited; and therefore they must be so far from boasting of their good works that they must be ashamed and confounded for their evil ways, and then they are best prepared for mercy.

      2. Yet let them know that they must desire and expect it (Ezekiel 36:37; Ezekiel 36:37): I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel. God has spoken, and he will do it, and he will be sought unto for it. He requires that his people should seek unto him, and he will incline their hearts to do it, when he is coming towards them in ways of mercy. (1.) They must pray for it, for by prayer God is sought unto, and enquired after. What is the matter of God's promises must be the matter of our prayers. By asking for the mercy promised we must give glory to the donor, express a value for the gift, own our dependence, and put honour upon prayer which God has put honour upon. Christ himself must ask, and then God will give him the heathen for his inheritance, must pray the Father, and then he will send the Comforter; much more must we ask that we may receive. (2.) They must consult the oracles of God, and thus also God is sought unto and enquired after. The mercy must be, not an act of providence only, but a child of promise; and therefore the promise must be looked at, and prayer made for it with an eye of faith fastened upon the promise, which must be both the guide and the ground of our expectations. Both these ways we find God enquired of by Daniel, in the name of the house of Israel, when he was about to do those great things for them; he consulted the oracles of God, for he understood by books, the book of the prophet Jeremiah, both what was to be expected and when; and then he set his face to seek God by prayer, Daniel 9:2; Daniel 9:3. Note, Our communion with God must be kept up by the word and prayer in all the operations of his providence concerning us and in both he must be enquired of.