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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Ezekiel 36:1 - 36:15
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The Mountains of Israel Comforted
v. 1. Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, here representing the entire country, as Mount Seir stood for Idumea in the foregoing section, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, formerly the places of idol worship and as such made prominent in this connection, hear the word of the Lord:
v. 2. Thus saith the Lord God, Because the enemy hath said against you, Edom, as the representative of all God's foes, Aha! even the ancient high places are ours in possession, believing that they would surely be masters of the land if they held the places of worship,
v. 3. therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Because they have made you desolate, all the enemies round about having combined to make the Land of Promise a desert waste, and swallowed you up on every side, literally, "panted after you," like a beast trying to reach its prey, snorting and snapping in its eagerness, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, those remaining after their own countries had felt the devastating might of the conquerors, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, to be bandied about in blasphemous jest and slander, and are an infamy of the people, objects of calumny and derision,
v. 4. therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God, who is ever the Defender of His people, Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers, or ravines, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, the ruins scattered throughout the country, and to the cities that are forsaken, as a result of the Chaldean conquest, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about, the inanimate objects throughout the country being representative, with great emphasis, of the former inhabitants and of those who would dwell there in the future;
v. 5. therefore thus saith the Lord God, Surely in the fire of My jealousy, burning with a jealous anger, have I spoken against the residue of the heathen and against all Idumea, which was particularly prominent in its covetous jealousy of Israel, 35:10-15, which have appointed My land into their possession, calmly claiming it for themselves, with the joy of all their heart, with vindictive gladness, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey, emptying it of all its wealth and thereby making it a prey, or tossing it away like a morsel left for the beasts of the desert.
v. 6. Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel and say unto the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers, or ravines, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and In My fury, in the fierce anger caused by His jealousy, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen, that which the heathen poured out upon Israel,
v. 7. therefore thus saith the Lord God, I have lifted up Mine hand, in token of the solemn oath which He was swearing, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame, a perpetual load of disgrace, forever under the curse of Jehovah.
v. 8. But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, like a fruitful tree bringing forth leaves and bearing food in abundance, and yield your fruit to My people of Israel, Isa_56:1; for they are at hand to come, that is, this maturing of fruit might be expected very soon.
v. 9. For, behold, I am for you, the Lord still addressing the mountains of Israel, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown, the return of the inhabitants thus being indicated,
v. 10. and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it, that is, the entire spiritual people of the Lord, for the spiritual significance of the entire passage is obvious; and the cities shall be inhabited, after being forsaken for so many years, and the wastes shall be builded, the ruins once more being cleared away and houses erected in their stead,
v. 11. and I will multiply upon you man and beast, the cultivated land thus being strongly populated, and they shall increase and bring fruit, both of them multiplying under the blessing of the Lord; and I will settle you after your old estates, not only in ancient times, but according to the ancient promises, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Although the description is entirely on the physical plane and the picture is that of Israel's glory, yet the context requires its application to the spiritual blessings of the Messianic period.
v. 12. Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, on the mountains of Israel, even My people Israel, the elect nation of the Lord in the fullest and highest sense of the term; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, whose blessings they should enjoy, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men, namely, on account of the fact that famine, pestilence, and war would be brought on by the apostasy of the inhabitants of the land.
v. 13. Thus saith the Lord God, Because they say unto you, Thou, land, devourest up men and hast bereaved thy nations, literally, "A devourer of men art thou and hast made thy people childless," the land being personified as an unnatural mother and charged with the sins committed in it, with their consequences,
v. 14. therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord God, the explanation in this case being contained in the Hebrew term, which means to cause to stumble and fall.
v. 15. Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, namely, the scorn which other nations heaped upon the Lord's people, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, all the reasons for mockery on the part of the enemies being removed, neither shalt thou cause thy nations, the people inhabiting the land, to fall any more, saith the Lord God. This change is represented as having been brought about entirely by the Lord, and it is impossible to confine its consequences to the children of Israel according to the flesh, for the returned exiles continued under the rule of the heathen and were obliged to bear their scorn and mockery. The fulfillment of this prophecy is therefore properly to he found only in the establishment of the Messianic kingdom.