The Bible says in Ezekiel 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. For believers even disasters can turn into blessings, if we
will turn everything over to the Lord. The Jewish people were captured and
chased out of their land. It was the worst event of their entire history. But
it could have had at least one good result if they had taken the truth with
them and started to live for God wherever they went. They could have glorified
the name of the Lord by the way that they accepted their fate as God allowed to
happen to them, or we can say as God caused to happen to them. If you are a
believer, the following is part of Gods will for your life. Jesus said, Let your
light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your
Father who is in heaven. The testimony that you have before the people who know you and
who see you is your service to God. Do not do anything that will hurt your
testimony.
The Bible says in Ezekiel 36:21-24, But I had
pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the
heathen, whither they went.[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.[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.[24] For I will take you from among the heathen, and
gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
In verse 22 God made a statement that is important to know if you want to know
what motivates God. He said, I do not this
for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake. Often God does what He does for His names sake. God has
many names. His names reveal who He really is. His name is tied to His
character and to His holiness. In the age in which we live His name is manifest
as Jesus Christ: Savior Messiah. God wants human beings to recognize the
importance of His name. God put into the Ten Commandments: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. God honors those who honor His name. If you want your
prayers to be answered, you might want to add to your prayers the following: O
Lord, may your name be honored and glorified. Jesus told us to pray, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. And of course, we are told to always pray in the name of
Christ.
God scattered the Israelite people,
but He has a plan to regather them. When God regathers Israel, it will be to
glorify His name. God said in verse 24, For I will take you from among the
heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your
own land. Notice that God called the Holy land your own land. In verse
20 the Bible says, These are the people of
the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land. First it is called his land. Everything belongs to God.
And then God gives parts of the land to different people at different times.
God gave the Holy land to the Jewish people. God will use that land to glorify
His name through what He does with the Jewish people. Now that the Jews have
been scattered about the earth, the next big thing that God is going to do with
the Jews is to regather them into their land.
The Bible says in Ezekiel 36:25-28, 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.[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.[27]
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and
ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.[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. In verse 25 God mentions the sprinkling of water. God is
not literally talking about water. God sprinkles us with water every time it
rains. But since water is a cleansing agent, water symbolizes cleansing from
sin. This cleansing from sin only God can do. John the Baptist was also using
water to symbolize cleansing from sin, but then John said, I baptize with water, but one is coming after me who will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Which one
do you think is important?
The Israelites had a sin problem, but
God had the answer. The answer is forgiveness. We all have that same problem.
As it says in Romans 10:13, For all have sinned and come short of the glory
of God. The sin problem is not a problem with the outside of man: water
only cleanses the flesh. The problem is the inside of man: the heart. That is
why God said in verse 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. If you become converted to
the Lord Jesus Christ, your life is changed because your heart is changed. It
says in Romans 10:9, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe
in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Notice that the cleansing from sin and
the obtaining of a new heart as described in Ezekiel is entirely the work of
God. Salvation is of God. In verse 25 God says, Then will I sprinkle, and will I
cleanse you. Verse 26 God makes it very clear by saying over and over that He
will do this: 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. Once you
call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, God does everything to accomplish your
salvation. That is why your good works is not involved in any way in getting
you saved. It all of grace: Gods free gift through Christ.
The Bible says in Ezekiel 36:29-31, 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.[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.[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.
First you get saved from your sins by turning to Jesus, and that gives you the
greatest of all blessings from God when God save you from all your uncleannesses. After that many, many other blessings follow. It happens
just like Jesus said, I am come that you
might have life, and that you might have it ore abundantly. Once you come to know Jesus as Savior, then you can
trust in Him to supply your needs. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Of course, you will also be able to trust in Jesus for
everything else that you need in this life: protection, wisdom, strength,
faith, hope, love, and a thousand other things. Jesus will be your everything.
You are blessed of God if the
following happens to you as God said in Ezekiel 36:31, Then shall
ye remember your own evil ways. You must know this about yourself, if you are
going to come to know Jesus as your Savior. One of the main impediments to
people coming to know Jesus as their Savior, is first of all coming to know
themselves as a sinner. If you think you are a good person, how can you be
saved? For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
The Bible says in Ezekiel 36:32-38, 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.[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.[34]
And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of
all that passed by.[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.[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.[37]
Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of
Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.[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. In these verses God continues with the theme that He is
going to wake up the people of Israel to their sinfulness, so that they will
turn to Him and be forgiven and be restored to their rightful place as the
people of God. In its ultimate fulfillment, this means that the people of
Israel will one day all turn to Jesus and believe of Him. But before they do
that, they must see their need of a Savior. And that is one of the reasons for
the Great Tribulation: so that the nation of Israel will wake up and finally
once and for all repent of their sins and turn to Jesus. It is going to happen
because God Himself will make it happen. God can do anything. He can work in
anyones heart, and He will work in the heart of the Jewish people. God gave
this great prophesy through Ezekiel concerning the future and what He will do
for Israel. Notice carefully how God will make it happen. He says in verse 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. God will simply issue a
command, and as soon as He does it, the spirit of prayer and of supplication
will come over all the people of Israel, and they will all look to Jesus and
believe on Him. By the way, this event will take place at the Second Coming of
Christ. That is when all Jews will become Christians, because the ones that are
still alive after the Great Tribulation will call upon the name of Jesus
together and Jesus will save them: everyone.
Of course, God is once and for all
going to restore Israel to the land, as He will say in the future in verse 36,
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: I the LORD
have spoken it, and I will do it. Some people look at the many
improvements that took place in the present day Israel as a result of the
Jewish people being given the land that they currently have. There are several
reasons why Israels current situation is not a fulfillment of the many
prophesies about Israels future restoration. For one thing, more Jewish people
still live outside of Israel in other countries than live in Israel. The final
regathering has not taken place. For another thing, the land mass that Israel
now has is much smaller than was promised to Israel. Guess what it will take to
get 2 or 3 times the land that Israel now has: a major war. Its called the
Battle of Armageddon. And one more thing as we see from these prophesies in
Ezekiel and in other prophesies: all Israel will be saved and will believe on
the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This has not happened yet. It will happen at
the return of Christ.
God has great plans for Israel. God
will do wonderful things for them. God will do things for Israel that He will
not do for any other nation. Why? God said in verse 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. The situation of the Jews
will be so desperate, that the only chance for them is that God intervenes and
does miracles on their behalf. And then people will know that God did those
things, and Gods name will be glorified. God is always glorified when He takes
someone who cannot save himself or herself, and God saves them. That is what
Jesus does. Jesus is the Savior.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2017 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved