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. ²⁴ I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. ²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. ²⁸ You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ And I will deliver you from all your uncleanness. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. ³⁰ I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. ³² It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

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.³⁵ And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

³⁷ “Thus says the Lord God: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. ³⁸ Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

1) What do v. 22-23 tell us about God and His character?
God is a holy God. He desires to be regarded as a holy God. He does not simply turn a blind eye to those who are defaming His character nor does He turn a blind eye to the sin of man. He will use His people to show Himself a holy God.

2) Why is God acting on behalf of the Israelites despite their disobedience?
It is important to understand this message comes to Ezekiel in the midst of exile. God loves His children, but because of their disobedience and defamation of His name, He has punished them as a nation. They were to be the voice of God’s message and they failed to do that. They did the exact opposite of that while continuing in idolatry and sin. So why would God act on their behalf? God is a holy God and He chooses to restore His people in order to prove to them, and other nations, that He is God. Ezekiel tells us that God will gather them, restore them, transform them, and increase them for His name’s sake….”so they will know that I am the LORD.” (38)

3) What impact does God’s restoration have on the nation of Israel?
According to verses 24-38, the nation of Israel will become an entirely different people. They will be cleansed and restored from their sin and idolatry. As a people, they will follow God and their inheritance will be restored in the form of population, land, and wealth. It is important to understand this passage for the prophecy that God is giving through the Ezekiel. In v. 27, God tells the Israelites, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” The Holy Spirit had not been given yet to everybody. At this point in history, only a select few throughout the Old Testament had been filled with God by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was not until Christ’s return to Heaven after His resurrection that we see the Holy Spirit given and an opportunity for all to have Him. (Acts 1-2) Ezekiel is speaking about a time when God will restore fully what sin has torn asunder. The giving of the Holy Spirit is one piece of that restoration that gives us hope for the final redemption of all of creation.

4) What does it mean in verse 35 that “the desolate lands will become like the garden of Eden”?
Ezekiel was a prophet telling of God’s future restoration in the midst of the current exile. They were a torn and worn people without inheritance, without land, and without their own people. Ezekiel is telling of time in the future that will come when God restores all. A time in the future that all will be made right and sin will be no more. A time when the Garden as described in Genesis 1 will be once more and the full redemption of man and creation will be complete. (Romans 8:18-23)

1) What do v. 22-23 tell us about God and His character?
God is a holy God. The holiness of God tells us we must not stay the same. When we encounter God for the first time, our knowledge of sin is overwhelming in light of His radiant holiness, BUT He doesn’t leave us in that state. He washes us clean and makes our blind eyes see. He takes us out of that sin and continually renews us as we pursue Him. He pursues us with His holiness, and in the power of His Holy Spirit, we look more like Him and less like sin.

2) Why is God acting on behalf of the Israelites despite their disobedience?
“For God so loved the world He gave….” Is just the first part of John 3:16 and most of us could finish that passage. The answer to why God does what He does lies in the words of John 3:16: God does because He loves. He desires His holiness in our lives, He desires us to look more like Him every day, and He desires us to love like Him and be His gospel on display. Why did God act thousands and thousands of years ago? The same reason He acts and moves today, for His glory…so His name would be great!

3) What impact does God’s restoration have on my everyday life?
Restoration then or restoration now, it simply shows God’s character and desire for His people to know Him and act as if they know Him. “They will know that I am the LORD” is God’s motivation. The result of that knowledge is a life-changing transformative relationship creating new eyes to see differently and a new heart to act differently with family, friends, and a world that doesn’t know Him. Our transformation is not just about us, it is about putting God on display!

4) What does it mean in verse 35 that “the desolate lands will become like the garden of Eden”?
Our assured hope is that there is more to this life than what we presently see, that our suffering in this present life is worth something and has meaning. Ezekiel tells of a time when God will vanquish sin once and for all. Wars will cease, famine will be no more, and death and sin will be eradicated. The desolation of this world will be wiped away and the Garden will be restored with the second coming of Christ!

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