Ezekiel 36

This chapter belongs to the latter part of Ezekiel, among the prophecies of restoration given after the fall of Jerusalem. The preceding chapter, Ezekiel 35, prophesies judgment on Mount Seir (Edom); this chapter, by contrast, prophesies the restoration of the mountains of Israel.

Outline

• Verses 1–7 The enemy has seized the high places of Israel and taunts them. The LORD swears that He will strike the rest of the nations and Edom, and that they will bear their shame.
• Verses 8–15 The mountains of Israel will again shoot forth branches and yield fruit. People and animals will multiply, the cities will be rebuilt, and the land will no longer bereave the nation of its children.
• Verses 16–21 Israel defiled the land with bloodshed and idols and was scattered among the nations, and as a result God's holy name was profaned among the nations.
• Verses 22–32 God gathers His people to their own land, not for their sake but for the sake of His name. He cleanses them with clean water, removes their heart of stone, gives them a new spirit and a heart of flesh, and puts His Spirit within them so that they walk in His statutes. The people remember their evil ways and loathe themselves.
• Verses 33–38 The land that lay desolate becomes like the Garden of Eden, and the cities are filled with people like the flocks at the appointed feasts.

Key Verses

• Ezekiel 36:22 "I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake" — shows that the motive for restoration lies in God Himself.
• Ezekiel 36:26 "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you" — the best-known verse promising inward transformation.
• Ezekiel 36:35 "This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden" — compares the restored land to paradise.

People and Places

• Ezekiel: The prophet, addressed in the text as "son of man."
• Edom: A neighboring nation that plundered the land of Israel.
• Garden of Eden: Used as an image for the restored land.
• Jerusalem: Mentioned as the place where flocks gathered at the appointed feasts.

Points for Reflection

• Ezekiel 36:25–27 is read, together with Ezekiel 11:19–20 and Jeremiah 31, as a promise of the New Covenant. Many interpreters also regard this passage as the background to the "fleshy tables of the heart" in 2 Corinthians 3:3–6 and to being "born of water and of the Spirit" in John 3:5.
• The Reformed tradition frequently cites this passage as a basis for regeneration (the new birth) initiated by God. Some traditions connect the sprinkling of water in verse 25 with baptism, while others view it as a symbol pointing to the purification rites of the Old Testament.
• Regarding the restoration of the land and the people, dispensationalism tends to read the passage literally as a future restoration of national Israel, whereas covenant theology tends to read it as fulfilled in Christ and the church.

In the Korean Church

Verse 26 is frequently cited in sermons on the new birth and the Holy Spirit, and it is also widely used as a memory verse.