241. Restoration and a New Heart.

Restoration and a New Heart. (In brackets mine)

Reading from the King James Version.

Eze 36:16 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 36:17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.

Eze 36:18 Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:

Eze 36:19 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.

Eze 36:20 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 his land.

Eze 36:21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.

Eze 36:22 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.

Eze 36:23 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.

Eze 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and (will) gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

Eze 36:25 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.

Eze 36:26 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 an heart of flesh.

Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and (will) cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Eze 36:28 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.

Eze 36:29 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.

Eze 36:30 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.

Eze 36:31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

Eze 36:32 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.

Eze 36:33 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.

Eze 36:34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.

Eze 36:35 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.

Eze 36:36 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.

Eze 36:37 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.

Eze 36:38 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.

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What wonderful God we serve.
He is sinned against, His name is blasphemed, His name is taken in vain, He is cheated on by His own and still He is a God of mercy.
This passage of scripture in Ezekiel 36, shows us how compassionate God is. How rich in mercy and how He is willing to pour out grace upon the unlovely.
Even though Israel had profaned His name, God was to bless them with a threefold blessing.
In this passage there are twenty one “I will or I shall”. A multiple of seven by three.

16 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

17 "Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity.

18 Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it.

19 So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds.

20 When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name--when they said of them, 'These are the people of the Lord, and yet they have gone out of His land.'

God was angry at the people of Israel and we have seen that He did what He said He would do. Because of their sin and idolatry, He scattered them amongst the nations. Even then they continued to profaned His name.
The nations were looking at Israel and were mocking them and bringing reproach on the name of the Lord.

'These are the people of the Lord, and yet they have gone out of His land.'

A sevenfold profanity which roused the fury of the Lord.

They defiled their own land.
They defiled it by their ways.
They defiled it by their deeds
They defiled by their uncleanness.
They defiled it by the bloodshed.
They defiled it by their idols.
They defiled it by profanity.

A Twenty one fold blessing for His holy names sake.

I will sanctify my great name
I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
I will take you from among the heathen,
(will) gather you out of all countries, and
will bring you into your own land.
will I sprinkle clean water upon you,
will I cleanse you.
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.
I will put my spirit within you, and
(will) cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
I will be your God.
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.
I will multiply the fruit of the tree,
I will also cause you to dwell in the cities,
I will do it.
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.

The people of Israel were giving God a bad name and He did not like it.

21 But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.

God is concerned about His holy name and because of this, God would take this sevenfold profanity and multiply it threefold into blessing. Twenty one times God says, I will and I shall.

Eze 36:22 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.

God was going to do something that would bring glory to Himself and restore His name amongst the nations..

In their sin, Israel would not think that God would act on their behalf and neither would the heathen nations.
Why would God help sinners?
God was going to deliver Israel in spite of their sin.
He was not doing for their sake but for the sanctity of His holy name.

God loved Israel and God loved us but His holiness and sovereignty comes first.
God is love and He acts out of His love. His love is in concord with His perfect will and what He has willed will come to pass.

God’s plan is to save a people for Himself and nothing will frustrate His sovereign will.

Isaiah 46:9-11 Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.
10 I distinguish the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come, saying: ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’
11 I summon a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, I will surely do it.

Here is a cyclical prophecy. For Ezekiel’s time, and for the time of the end.

Eze 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and (will) gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

Eze 36:25 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.

God did this at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah and He is doing it today.

With all the prophecies relating to the doom and gloom of a disobedient Israel it’s easy to come away with the feeling that all hope was lost for God’s chosen people.
God not only fulfilled their scattering into all lands exactly as predicted, He also prophesied of a future regathering of Israel, which would happen at the end of the age.

Not only was this prophesied by Ezekiel but by Jeremiah, Isaiah and Moses.

Jeremiah 30:3 “For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people, Israel and Judah, saith the Lord; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.”

Isaiah 43:5-6 “Fear not; for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west.
“I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back; bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, even every one that is called by my name…”

Ezekiel 34:11-13 “Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
“As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
“And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land…”

Deut. 30:1-4 “And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, to which the Lord thy God hath driven thee,
“And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul,
“That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations where the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
“If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from there will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from there will he fetch thee.”

Again this is a wonderful picture of our salvation.
There was nothing in us that God should love us. We were sons and daughters of the devil.
Lost in sin and alienated from God.

Colossians 1:21 Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds because of your evil deeds.

Salvation is an amazing gift from our heavenly Father, and since we are the recipients, it might appear that we’re the primary reason He sent His Son to save us. After all, He loved us so much He didn’t want us to perish. And though this is certainly true, the greater reality is that He saved us for “the praise of the glory of His grace”.

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

There are those that believe that these promises in the prophets are only relating to the church and not to the physical nation of Israel.
They believe that Israel sinned against God and ultimately rejected their Messiah Jesus. Because of this, God has cut them off and the church has replaced Israel. This is known as “Replacement Theology”.

There are others that believe that though God has set the nation of Israel to one side, it is only for a time.

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

The whole of Romans 11 talks about this very thing. God has not cast away His people Israel.
He will one day return His attention to Israel.

God is a covenant keeping God and He is not slack concerning His promises.

Eze 36:25 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.

Eze 36:26 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 an heart of flesh.

Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and (will) cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Eze 36:28 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.

Eze 36:29 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.

This a promise to believing Israel.

This promise has been realised in the church and we experience it now.
One day in the future this prophecy will be fulfilled for the remnant of Israel.
However, God will only respond when Israel calls on His name and returned to Him in repentance and faith.

One day Jesus will return and they shall look on Him whom they pierced and believe.

Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

These promises have a dual meaning. A literal fulfilment to Israel and spiritual promises to those in Christ.