Ezekiel 36:1

Ezekiel 36:1 says, Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord:  God told Ezekiel he was now to prophesy to the mountains of Israel.  The first fifteen verses seem to apply to the temporal state of Israel and the rest to the spiritual state.  We should never be more concerned with our temporal state than we are with our spiritual state.  We can fail in this life and still be a part of God’s kingdom if we have asked for His forgiveness and have accepted His gift of salvation, but if we fail spiritually by never doing so, then we never will be.  Ezekiel was to speak words of comfort to the people of Israel even if they were currently in a deplorable condition.  If we are spiritually in a deplorable condition by failing to accept God’s gift of salvation or by failing to live in obedience to His word, He still offers us words of comfort if we repent and return to Him.   

Verse two adds, Thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:  God said that the enemies of Israel were boasting that they owned even the mountains of Israel.  Their enemies believed that they had totally defeated Israel and that Israel would never rise again.  As followers of Christ, our enemies may believe that they have defeated us forever if they take control of all our material possessions, but if we are still obedient to God, they will never defeat us spiritually and we will one day rise to glory with God.   

Verse three continues, Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:  Ezekiel was then to tell the people that God was aware of their current state in the world.  Even if we lose everything in the world, even our life, due to being obedient to God, that does not mean that God is not still with us.  God knows what is going on in the world, and He does not always give victory to Christians.  Sometimes, Christians may lose everything they own and even be killed for their faith, but they are forever safe with God spiritually.  This is the good news that we need to share with lost people today as we invite them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Christianity should never be depicted as a way to material blessings today, but as a way to take up our cross daily as we die to wanting the things of this world if it means disobeying God’s word.   

Verse four concludes, Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;   God continued to say that His word was to the broken people of Israel and all their land.  I believe this was to those who were still living by faith in their covenant with God and not just to these who were born in the land of Israel.  The people of Israel were only God's people because of their covenant relationship with Him and not just because they were born in Israel.  If we are followers of Christ today, even if we are broken and desolate in the world, God still has a massage of hope for us.