(REFLECTIONS ON EZEKIEL 36:1-38)

Just as we saw in the previous chapter, the Lord through Ezekiel speaking against Mount Seir, we see in today’s Scripture Ezekiel speaking to the mountains of Israel. This reminds us of Jesus’ words in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world…” We are reminded that God’s creation does not only include the people of the world, but the world itself, including the animals, the plants, the land, and all of creation. The Lord cares not only about the people of the land, but the land itself.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and so the story of the Israelites is more than just about the people, but also about the land, the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey. This land is the land that the Lord chose and His name and glory filled the land. That is one of the reasons why Israel having “defiled it by their conduct and their actions” were exiled. The exile allowed the Lord to give His land rest, to repair and restore His land, and to prepare it once again for His name, His glory, and His people.

The Lord, through Ezekiel, speaks blessings to the land, His land, saying,

8 “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, 10 and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. 

Yes, all will be restored, the land, and His people, for the name of the Lord,

22 “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.

Today’s Scripture reminds us about what happens when we make ourselves the center of the universe. When we think that everything was created for us, and that our name is greater and more important than the holy name of God, we end up making decisions not for the good of the land, or God’s name, but for ourselves. Yes, just like Israel, we defile the land, pollute the land, destroy the land, and profane God’s name, all because we have shifted the order of God’s created universe, into our created universe.

May we remember today that we are God’s creation, just like the land is God’s creation, and all was created for God’s holy name. It is as the Lord speaks through Ezekiel saying, “I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord,” but it is for His name, for His land, and for His glory.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Ezekiel 36