Chapter 36

A new prophecy, addressed to the mountains of Israel.  To the land itself.  Because the land of Israel has become a reproach, because Edom and others came in a possessed it, and made the land of Canaan their possession while knowing God had given it to Israel, and many other nations also took advantage, therefore all these nations around Israel "...shall themselves suffer reproach."  And what a mess they are today.  Constantly at war, constantly filled with internal upheaval, over run by nations still further away.  No one safe from men, soldiers, or war.  They are a mess.  This verse, though, to the mountains:

11 And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. [Eze 36:11 ESV]  Israel is an amazing place today, prospering in the middle of the mess that characterizes the region, but I think the true, whole fulfillment of this passage is yet future.  This is the thousand year reign in view.  This is about the restoration of the land, polluted by the offering of children to idols and the shedding of innocent blood in the name of greed and corruption.  It is not just the people who had to be purged, the land itself must be cleansed and this is yet to come.  We see this as the chapter continues...

Starting in 16, a new prophecy.  God notes that He judged Israel for their deeds.  For the blood spilled in their own land and for the idols that they set up.  So God scattered them.  But when they went into exile, still they didn't turn back to him.  They still profaned the name of God, and though the exiles were recognized as God's own people, the nations noticed that they didn't worship God.  This concerned God because their neglect tarnished His name among the nations.  God says for the sake of His name, and most definitely not because they deserve anything good, that He will Himself act to vindicate His own name.  For the sake of His Holy Name, He will bring them back to the land He gave them.  These verses:

22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. [Eze 36:22-23 ESV]

2023 - As in Jer 31, this is about the Millennial reign.  While the Jews returning to Israel today may be foundational, they are far and away apostate Jews, secular Jews, with no thought or loyalty to the Bible or to God.  They are unbelievers, still laboring under the blindness that God has put on them.  They don't come home with a new heart, with a new dedication, with recognition of the work of Christ, their Messiah, UNTIL during and after tgt.  This is NOT about the return from Babylon.  The New Covenant is still far, far in the future.  And while the NC is available to the Jews, I believe only a tiny remnant is elect.  Just a necessary few. 

2023 - And then 32 repeats for emphasis that this is not for Israel's sake, but so God may honor his own name.  They are his, and he promised them, and THAT ALONE is why they will be blessed.

The prophecy in Jer 31:31-34 is pretty much repeated word for word.  God will make a new covenant with Israel.  He will sprinkle water on them and they will be clean.  They will in essence be "reborn" as a nation, and they will have a special relationship with God because inside them they will have a new heart - a faithful heart - and they will have God's own Spirit within them, so that they know His will and do it.  This is not about baptism, but certainly this is the symbolism of baptism.  Once restored, we are washed, as a newborn into a new life, and we come up from the water as one resurrected from the dead.  Baptism is symbol, a very powerful symbol, and unmistakable identification with the resurrected Jesus and a newly born infant in His kingdom.  These are a good core study for baptism.  It isn't about the water, but about something much larger.

Once restored to Israel, the land will support them.  They will never again suffer the "disgrace of famine".  What does this say about current famines - like the terrible ones in Ethiopia, or North Korea.  Are these famines also about disgrace because of God's enmity?  Are we to interpret famine this way always?  The last few verses of this chapter, 37 and 38, seem to me to imply a veritable explosion of population in Israel.  They will increase as a flock of sheep increases, as the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts.  Many will the Jews be.

So.  When God restores Israel, they will indeed worship Him as they were intended to worship.  Perhaps this explains the restoration of the sacrificial system.  While it will no long look forward to the coming Lamb of God, they will understand that it looks backward now to Jesus as the Son of David, the promised King, who is their shepherd, and who was sacrificed and died to save them.  The new heart, the indwelling Spirit of God, will "explain" all this to them, and they will understand, and truly worship in their hearts.

2024 - This:

33 "Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. [Eze 36:33-34 ESV].  This unmistakably tells us when all this things are going to happen. "On the day that I cleanse you...".  Well who could ever say that we are at that point?  I tried to find out what percentage of the Jews are "practicing" Jews, but didn't have much luck. CIA Factbook says 73.5% of population is Jewish, 18% Muslim, 1.9% Christian.  But I don't know if this is "everyone" or just the ones who first classify themselves as having a religion.

God will do this.  They are just too rebellious a house to ever change on their own.  Like we are.  We are so corrupt by our blood and by our intentions, that we can never come to God.  Perhaps the times of Noah, the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC and 70 AD, and the future judgement of the universe and remaking of all that is, shows that man is not capable of being his own god.  We cannot build ourselves up - we cannot evolve into something better than we are - but because God made us, He will perfect us.  He will perfect Israel with a new heart and spirit, He will also perfect His church, cleansing it with the blood of Christ, efficacious to the perfection of both Jew and Gentile.  He does it.  We do not.

To those who say God created an imperfect being, and then punished him for his imperfection, this is a further answer.  Man - flesh and blood - is not capable of divinity.  We are less than God, and all the pain, suffering and injustice in the world shows that we cannot create perfection.  Only God can.  And in the end, that is exactly what He will do.  He will perfect us despite our failure, despite our sin, despite our helplessness to become Holy as He is Holy, God will perfect us in the end.  Adam was made perfect.  Satan tempted Adam.  Adam failed.  So all mankind was shown incapable of perfection afterward.  Adam could have, but with a true free will given to him by God, he still chose poorly.  Because man is not God.  Man is not Holy.  Only God is Holy, and therefore only He can perfect us and make us Holy.