Ezekiel 36
As chapter 35 was occupied with the rebuke of Mount Seir, an equal portion of chapter 36 is taken up with the blessing of the mountains, etc., of rivers of Israel’s land. The blasphemies (or reproaches) of Mount Seir, and their planning with other countries (verses 2 to 5) to make the land of Israel their own, move God to declare what He will do on behalf of that very portion of this world.
We must bear in mind that in Ezekiel’s prophesies, the times of the Gentiles which commenced with the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, and will end at the Lord’s appearing, are passed over; the coming of the Messiah as the lowly Son of Man, and His rejection are not referred to. Ezekiel is concerned with the 12 tribes of Israel, and the state of the neighboring nations, and the execution of judgments by Nebuchadnezzar as the instrument of God, are linked directly with the state of things at the Lord’s second appearance on earth.
God has never given up His purpose of blessing Israel; the promises to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, 7; 13: 14-16; 15:5, and 18-21; 17:7, 8, and 22: 17, 18, will be exactly fulfilled when Israel and the world have been cleansed by judgments far exceeding those of the past.
Verses 2 to 5 point to His full knowledge of what is done and said on earth, for, as Hannah said (1 Samuel 2:3.), “Jehovah is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.”
We need only to turn to the Scriptures to learn why Palestine is, and for many centuries has been, largely uncultivated, its former abundance exchanged for seemingly barren wastes, where the few degraded inhabitants eke out a bare existence.
God’s Word does not mention the present activity in scattered portions of the country, carried on under British protection, because it is neither the work of God, nor of a believing remnant of Israel. That it is directing the thoughts of many, both Jews and Gentiles, to Israel’s ancient land, is clear, and in that way it is moving toward the closing scenes which cannot take their final form until the Church of God is gone from the earth.
In verse 8, the last clause refers to the “branches” and “fruit” of the mountains of Israel. Full blessing is assured to Israel in the day to come, for “I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and you shall be tilled and sown,” is a promise without condition, as is also “I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, yea, I will make it better than at your beginnings” (verse 11, N. T.). What astounding grace this is!
It had been falsely said by the spies sent by Moses into Canaan (Numbers 13:33), that the land ate up its inhabitants, and now that it was emptied and waste, men were saying it of Israel (verse 13), but it will never be true again.
In verses 16 to 20, the cause of God’s dealing with His people and its character are considered, and it is added, that when they came to the nations whither they went, they profaned His holy Name, when it was said of them, “These are the people of Jehovah, and they are gone forth out of His land.” Not for their sakes, then, but for His holy Name will He work among Israel in the coming day.
Verses 24 to 36 forecast the work of grace which God will yet accomplish in Israel, —a passage to which the Lord clearly referred when speaking with Nicodemus in John 3:3-12. It will be seen that the promises to Israel do not extend into eternity; they are occupied with the earth, but faith (as in Hebrews 11:10, etc.) grasped what was not, until New Testament times plainly revealed.
ML 02/09/1936