Ezekiel 36:25

Ezekiel 36:25 says, 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.  God then added that once He restored the nation of Israel that He would cause them to be cleansed spiritually.  I don’t believe that this was because of their own professed righteousness but would be after they repented and put their faith in Him once more.  God will never just make some spiritually clean simply because they call themselves a Christian but have not put their faith in Him.   To be spiritually washed clean, we must have a personal relationship with God by accepting His gift of salvation.   

Verse twenty-six adds, 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.  God said that when He restored the people of Israel, He was going to give them a new heart that would be dependent on Him and take away their old stony heart and that He would also give them a new Spirit, which I believe refers to the Holy Spirit.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we will be washed clean spiritually and have a new heart that is guided by the Holy Spirit.   

Verse twenty-seven continues, 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.  God said that when He called the people of Israel to Himself once more that He would give them His spirit to live within them.  When He did this, they would walk in accordance to His word and keep His commandments.  Once we accept God’s gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit indwells us, and we should then live by His guidance and follow the laws of God.   

Verse twenty-eight states, 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.  God said that after the people of Israel began to live by faith in Him that He would give them the promised land to live in once more.   When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are assured of a home in heaven, the final promised land.   

Verse twenty-nine adds, 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.  God said that when the people lived by faith in Him that He would cleanse them from all unrighteousness and that they would no longer suffer from famine.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are cleansed of all unrighteousness and will never be spiritually hungry again because of a lack of spiritual food, as long as we live by faith since Jesus is the bread of life.   

Verse thirty continues, 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.  God said He was going to bless them with an abundance of crops so that the heathen would no longer reproach the people of Israel for their famine.  The heathen, or the unsaved people, wanted to use material blessings as a sign that God is Who He says He is.  There are still lost people today, and even some Christians, who believe that salvation also means that Christians should be materially blessed and this has never been the case.  Still, they believe the lack of material wealth is a sign that God either doesn't exist or doesn’t have much power if He does, but this is because they are wrong about Christianity being a means of material blessings.  God only promises us that we will be spiritually blessed when we accept His gift of salvation and instead of being materially blessed, we may be persecuted because of our faith.  This does not mean that He isn’t in charge if we are. 

Ezekiel 36:21

Ezekiel 36:21 says. But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.  God said He would have pity on the nation of Israel because they were known as His people.  If the world was judging God’s power based on how the people of Israel fared in the world, and they were being allowed to be defeated because of their sin, then people might believe that God was powerless.  For this reason, He was going to restore them.  God may allow people who are called Christian to prosper for His glory, but if they are Christians in name only, they will never prosper spiritually.   

Verse twenty-two adds, 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.  Again, God said that when He restored the house of Israel, it would be for His glory and not theirs.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, it will always be for His glory and not our own, yet we too often seem to believe that if we profess to be a follower of Christ that the world should glorify us instead of our calling on them to give Him the glory.   

Verse twenty-three continues, 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.  God said that even though the heathen had profaned His name, and I believe that ths means the people of Israel when they turned away from living in obedience to God as well, would see God’s name glorified once more.  He was not doing this so that the people of Israel would be glorified but so that the people of around them would know that He is God.  Still, this would only be a physical restoration and not a spiritual one if the people of Israel didn’t repent and put their faith in God once more.  If we profess to be a Christian nation or even a Christian personally and are not truly putting our faith in Him, He may allow us to prosper materially for a period of time to keep us from profaning His name, but this will always be a physical restoration and not a spiritual one.   

Verse twenty-four concludes, For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.  God said to keep His name from being profaned that He was going gather the people of Israel from all nations and bring them back to the promised land.  Still, this did not mean that the people of Israel by their own merit were better than anyone else, but since they were known as God's people, He was going to restore them physically as a nation for His glory.  God may bless those who profess to be Christians today materially if the world is profaning His name by their defeat, but if they do not repent and return to Him, it will be but a temporary restoration.  It is only when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord that we can be restored to God spiritually, and until we do, no matter how much He may bless us because we claim to be His people, it will only be a temporary blessing.     

Ezekiel 36:16

Ezekiel 36:16 says, Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  God’s word continued to come to Ezekiel, just as I believe it will to Christians today.  We should hear God’s directions for us not just once or occasionally but every day.   

Verse seventeen adds, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. God told Ezekiel that when the people of Israel lived in their own land, the land that He had given them, that they defiled it by doing what they wanted to do instead of living up to their covenant relationship with Him.  If we are defeated spiritually today, it will be because we have chosen to go our way instead of following God's guidance.   

Verse eighteen continues, Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:  God said that their defeat had come because He had poured out His fury on their disobedience and failure to repent and return to following Him in obedience to their covenant relationship with Him..  Even as followers of Christ, if we don’t live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can find ourselves temporarily defeated spiritually today, but we will still be a part of God’s people.  The people of Israel still continued to be God’s chosen people through which He would reveal Himself to the world, but when they turned away from doing this, that didn’t keep them from being defeated.  If we are going to be spiritually successful in the world today, we must always be obedient to God.   

Verse nineteen states, And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.  God said He allowed the people of Israel to be scattered throughout the other nations, but He still judged them according to their actions;  Even if they were scattered, those who still remained true to their covenant relationship with God were still His people.  It doesn’t matter where we are in the world today, and even if we are defeated physically or even imprisoned, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are still a part of God’s kingdom and already have the everlasting victory through our faith in Him.    

Verse twenty adds, 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.   God said that those people of Israel who had followed the way of the heathen had profaned His holy name.  If we who profess to be followers of Christ follow the ways of the world, especially in times of adversity, we profane the name of God and He will not overlook this.