The Future Blessings of a Faithful God

Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
Ezekiel 37:5  

Ezekiel 34:1–39:29 – Ezekiel: Renewing God’s Glory
Ascension of the Lord (Observed)  – May 12, 2024 (am)    

God’s creation is all about the manifestation of His glory, right up to and including His providing salvation to a select number of rebellious sinners like us, leaving the rest in their sin, rather than just wiping out this fallen world and starting anew.

We learned that in our study of Romans and discovered it to be an almost dizzying reality, that if God didn’t select some to receive His salvation, no one would ever receive it, that Rom.3:10 … [no one] is righteous…; 11 … no one seeks after God. 12 … not even one, that when it comes to why some receive His salvation and others don’t, Paul didn’t say anything in the direction of: some had the opportunity to hear and others didn’t; or some heard a good preacher of the gospel and others didn’t; or some are just more open to spiritual realities and others aren’t. Rather, he asked: Rom.9:22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make know his power, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make know the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? God’s salvation is all about the manifestation of His power and rich glory before all His creation, calling in some from every tribe and language and people and nation (Rev.5:9) to enjoy it with Him!

This can come to us as such a startling reality that we can wonder, has it really been this way all along? Has God’s salvation always been more about the manifestation of His glory than the rescue of His people—meaning, is the primary purpose in His rescuing His people the display of His glory even ahead of delivering them from judgment?

Not only is my answer to that: O, yes, that’s precisely it! But in this present study I’m quite tempted to add: It’s almost like the prophet Ezekiel wrote in order to prove that very truth! Ezekiel, very much like Romans, is all about the display of God’s power and great glory in the salvation of His people. And that becomes all the more evident as we begin this final section, the good good-news (cc.34-48) (Block 2024). Renewing God’s glory is our series title. And the future blessings of a faithful God is today’s installment—His salvation granted, to the exiles, yes, as we’ll see, but also to many more than that.

Although [cc.34-48] divide… into two major [sections], the first (cc.34-39) concerned with proclaiming the good news, and the second (cc.40-48) with envisioning the good news, the singular focus is on [God’s saving] actions, for the glory of his name (Block 1997 272). So, the very props that were kicked out from under His people in cc.4-24 (the four pillars of the covenant, the land, David’s throne, and the temple) are resurrected [here] and presented as the certain and only reasons for [future hope]. The nation’s earlier problem had not been its theology [per se], but the misapplication of its theology (Block 1997 271, edited). God had indeed made unconditional promises to His people. And He would surely fulfill them. But His people had no entitlement to His promises if they didn’t live according His covenant stipulations like they’d promised to do.

Thus, we get not only a good view of God’s salvation in this passage, but we also get some pretty clear instruction on how it works and how it plays out. Let’s walk through cc.34-39 in six steps (Block 1997 272), knowing we’ll add in two more next week for cc.40-48.

Restoring God’s Role 34:1-31

The good news begins with a rebuke of what’s been lacking all along—a casualty, we might say, of the rebellious and idolatrous actions of the elders and shepherds of Israel—namely, faithful guarding of the best interest of the sheep. Bringing in strays is spotlighted particularly, followed by feeding, giving rest (34:8-10, 11-16), just not protecting God’s people from danger. 2 … Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, so you use them, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. … 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? 19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet? Such vivid imagery! So, is this another judgment passage? No, it’s a set-up for what follows, a summary assessment of what’s been happening in Israel that has led up to God’s judgment in order to appreciate what follows.

20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God … 22 I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. … 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them…. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. The Davidic dynasty will be restored (Duguid 404). The covenant promises will be kept. I am the Lord; I have spoken. … 30 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they… are my people, declares the Lord God.

Restoring God’s Land 35:1-36:15

With the monarchy addressed, Ezekiel turns his attention to the land. And this next section is structured similarly to the last: a [critique] of the existing bad situation, announcing judgment on it, [followed by] a message of the reversal of the situation, so here first comes the doom pronounced on Mount Seir (Edom) (35:1-15), followed by salvation pronounced on the mountains of Israel (36:1-15). The judgment of Edom is [necessary] for the restoration of Judah (Duguid 404).

C.36 is addressed to the mountains of Israel (36:1) likely in contrast to the mountain of Seir (35:2, a parallel statement in Hebrew) (Block 1997 309). The key idea to be proclaimed is God Himself saying: 36:6 … Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I swear that the nations… all around you shall themselves suffer reproach. 8 But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. … 15 And to His people, I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord God. The land will be restored.

Restoring God’s Honor 36:16-38

Next comes the big one, a whole new covenant! (cf. Jer.31:31) God had to judge the sins of His people (36:16-18), and as part of that, He said, 36:19 I scattered them among the nations…. 20 But when they came to the nations…, they profaned my holy name…. 21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned …. 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. Do you hear it? The new covenant, God’s salvation plan, His intervention into the story to set all things right, isn’t pursued primarily for our rescue but for His glory! 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations…. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. …

How will He do it? 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 (remember His sprinkling the city with fire? [10:2]), and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. This is precisely what His people have needed all along, since the Garden of Eden! (cf. 36:35) But the utterly inescapable need for it had to be established beyond question, namely, that salvation, covenant obedience, can only be enabled by God alone, so that it reflects only and entirely His glory! The time has now arrived for this clear and direct announcement! 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 (reflecting cold, hard lifelessness, but also the tablets of the law) from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (pulsing with true life). 27 And I will put my Spirit within you (you will be the temple!), and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules (I will reorient you toward obedience!). But this still doesn’t spotlight the redeemed. It glorifies God alone: 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. You’ll kick yourselves for resisting covenant obedience all along! Still: 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.

When all of this is done (the restoration of both His people [36:33] and the land [36:34-35]): 36 Then the nations… 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.

Restoring God’s People 37:1-14

And that is what opens the way for the completion of God’s salvation story (cc.37-48). From the mountains (35:5; 36:1) and lush garden (36:35) of cc.35-36, we enter the haunting valley (37:1) of c.37, full of bones (37:1), very dry (37:2). 3 And [the Lord] said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” If this was the Lord’s judgment, who was he to say it could be reversed? 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Preach to the cemetery! That’s what we do each time we proclaim the gospel to the unsaved. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord. I should say! This is resurrection! It isn’t just the return of the exiles, it’s the aim and outcome of the new covenant!

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath (the same word as spirit) in them. 9 Then he said to me, here it is,“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds (same word), [Come,] O breath, [Come, O Spirit,] and breathe on these slain, that they may live” recalling the very creation of the man [out] of the dust of the ground (Gen.2:7). 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

What’s the meaning of this? It comes in two parts. First, Israel, as good as dead in exile—37:11 … Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off—hears the prophet 12 … say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 … I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord. So, first, God’s people will be restored. But the closing half of this chapter adds even more—salvation!

Restoring God’s Covenant 37:15-28

Next comes a vivid illustration (37:15-19) of the northern and southern kingdoms reunited under one king (37:20-23), one shepherd, David (37:24-25). How would this even be possible, given that the northern kingdom… had been dispersed among the nations? Are the nations folded in? That aside, the impossibility is the point. If Judah thought it would be all but impossible for her to return to the land and enjoy the presence of God, how much more would it mean to hear that God intended to do an even greater work than that? (Block 1997 393, 395) God says: 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them, Israel and Judah reunited. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore (this will be explained more fully in cc.40-46). 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore. So, God’s covenant will also be restored.

Restoring God’s Supremacy 38:1-39:29

That leads us into the final section where God’s supremacy is established over all opposition. Who is Gog? Where is Magog? Answers: Although each of the names and countries listed here (38:1-6) can tie off to historical people and places, the way these two chapters progress present them like mythic opponents of God and His people intended to represent the ultimate expression of opposition that, in the end, will still pose no genuine threat to His plans and purpose at all.

For sheer vividness, imagery, and hyperbole, this oracle has few equals, which cautions against over literalism in interpretation. One may best appreciate the intention of this text by approaching it as a satirical literary cartoon strip consisting of eight frames (Block 1997 431). Its closing frame where birds of every sort and all beasts of the field… gather from all around to… eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of princes of the earth (39:17-18), is picked up by John to describe the final victory of Jesus over all the opponents of God (Rev.19:17-21), and the bringing out of Gog and all [his]army, horses and horsemen (38:4) is compared to the release of Satan when the thousand years are ended, when he gathers the nations for battle (Block 1997 492). John calls that Gog and Magog (Rev.20:7-8). So, [t]he biblical Gog is no mere historical figure, then, but rather a fear-inducing figure of cosmic proportions; and to make matters worse, he is… the commander-in-chief of a coalition of [seven nations] gathered from the ends of the earth (Duguid 447). But he poses no real threat to the power and purpose of God.

Conclusion

This is how Ezekiel presents God’s salvation. Three things we can know, by way of review:

We know that God will establish His covenant community regardless of any and all opposition. His name is at stake and His glory must be revealed. His salvation will be accomplished and His people will be saved!

We know can’t live up to His standard without His intervention. And even with His intervention, a down payment on His full salvation (Eph1:11-14), we still wrestle with the Adam’s nature in us (Rom7). We are needy until we’re with Him!

We know at this stage of history that the only way to enter into His salvation promised here is by faith in Jesus, the descendent of David Who will rule over God’s people for all eternity in a covenant of peace. He is our only hope!

Do you feel unworthy? You are!

Are you fearful that you can’t do it? You can’t!

Do you feel sure you’ll mess up? You will!

But Jesus didn’t. And He won’t.

Let’s now give thanks for His saving work at the Lord’s Table.

 _______________

Resources

Block, Daniel I. 1997. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. The Book of Ezekiel, two vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

                  . 2021. Recording Series: Ezekiel, online recordings and notes. Wheaton: College Church.

                  . 2024. Personal Interview. Wheaton, IL.

Bullock, C. Hassell. 2007. An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books. Ch. 11, Ezekiel: The Merging of Two Spheres, 274-307. Chicago: Moody.

Calvin, John. Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, two vols. Translated by Thomas Myers. Logos.

Carson, D. A. 2116. D. A. Carson Sermon Library. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife.

                  . 2015. The Lord Is There: Ezekiel 40-48. TGC15: YouTube.

                  , R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham, eds. 1994. New Bible Commentary 21st Century Edition. Ezekiel, by L. John McGregor, 716-744. Leicester, Eng.: InterVarsity.

Clendenen, E. Ray, gen. ed. 1994. New American Commentary. Vol. 17, Ezekiel, by Lamar Eugene Cooper, Sr. Nashville: Broadman & Holman.

Collins, C. John, OT ed. 2001. ESV Study Bible. Study notes on Ezekiel, 1495-1580, by David J. Reimer. Wheaton: Crossway.

Craigie, Peter C. 1983. The Daily Bible Study Series. Ezekiel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox.

Dever, Mark. 2006. The Message of the Old Testament. Ch. 26, The Message of Ezekiel: Paradise, 635-650. Wheaton: Crossway.

Duguid, Iain M. 1999. The NIV Application Commentary. Ezekiel. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Heschel, Abraham J. 2001.The Prophets, two vols. Peabody, MA: Prince.

Longman III, Tremper, & David E. Garland, gen. eds. 2010. Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 7, Jeremiah-Ezekiel. Ezekiel, by Ralph H. Alexander, 641-924. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Smith, Gary V. 1994. The Prophets as Preachers. Ch.14, Ezekiel: When Will You Acknowledge God, 251-281. Nashville: Broadman & Holman.

Smith, James E. 1995. The Major Prophets. The Book of Ezekiel, 351-508. Joplin, MO: College.

VanGemeren, Willem A. 1990. Interpreting the Prophetic Word. Ch. 11, The Message of Ezekiel, 321-353. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Walton, John H., gen. ed. 2009. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary, Old Testament. Vol. 4, Isaiah-Daniel. Ezekiel, by Daniel Bodi, 400-500. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Walvoord, John F. & Roy B. Zuck. 1983. The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Vol. 1, Old Testament. Ezekiel, 1224-1323, by Charles H. Dyer. Colorado Springs: Victor.

Wiseman, Donald J., gen. ed. 1969. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Vol. 22, Ezekiel, by John B. Taylor. Downers Grove: InterVarsity.

NEXT SUNDAY: The Temple and the Return of God’s Glory, Ezekiel 40:1–48:33