“‘Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.”-Ezekiel 36:22
We are following on the heels of yesterday’s post concerning Ezekiel Chapter 36 which prophecies the return of the Jews back to their land inheritance.
Recall that this return was NOT contingent on the Jews having to repent and return back to God and His Torah.
In the most astonishing twist of events HASHEM tells Israel…
‘As my set-apart people, while in exile it was your job to take my Word to the nations because I have set you apart to be a witness to Me, yet instead you have profaned my Name!’
Indeed, as much as it pains me to say this, the Jews profaned the Lord’s name to the point where the surrounding gentiles said to themselves in amazement…
“Are these folks REALLY the people of God?!”
And unfortunately, that seems to be the general attitude of the world today towards the Jewish people.
God makes it clear that while His Holy Name should have been raised high by the Jews when they were living among the gentiles, they instead profaned it.
Therefore, the Lord had no choice but to rescue His Holy Name.
And how did He decide to do this?
By bringing His people out of the nations where He scattered them and returning them back to the Promised Land.
That’s right.
Because His Chosen People were misrepresenting Him, the Lord had no choice but to bring them back to the homeland to stop the apostasy and then do something so incredible that His Name would once again be set high among the nations.
This time around, God would not apply the IF/THEN formula in Deuteronomy 30 as He did with the Babylonian and Assyrian exiles.
Recall, the Jews in the Babylonian exile did repent and as result were returned to the land.
And recall, the 10 tribes who were scattered throughout Assyria did NOT repent and as a result did NOT return.
In other words, repentance was a necessary ingredient for being restored in both of these cases.
However, Ezekiel 36 is talking about a whole new ball game folks.
Read verses Ezekiel verses 24-31.
“‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!”
This is incredible!!!
The Lord will first gather the Jews just as they are from wherever they are in the world no matter how far or remote the location AND THEN…
…He will sprinkle clean water on them and cleanse them of all their sins and impurities.
And God is going to do this for His People whether they reach out to Him or not or whether they repent or not!
This could be the most incredible demonstration of grace we encounter in all of Scripture!
And it ain’t in the New Testament!
We’ll finish up this discussion the next time we meet.
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