Ezek. 36 The land of Israel is comforted with a prospect of the ruin of its spiteful neighbours, and of its own blessings promised by God, Ezek. 36:1–15. Israel was rejected for their sin, and shall be restored with blessings for the sake of God’s name only, Ezek. 36:16–38.

Also, Heb. And. Prophesy, declare from me, and in my word, unto the mountains of Israel; the inhabitants wasted or in captivity, speak concerning the mountains, that is, the land of Judah and Israel, which was a country full of mountains, which were now horrid, unplanted.

Many were the enemies of God’s people, but they so conspired in one design, with one consent, and were so one in their humours, and enmity, and carriage, that the prophet speaks of them as one, and particularly of Edom. Aha; rejoicingly and with insulting pride, as Ammon did, Ezek.

Because they, Edomites, and others with them, have made you desolate; first broken your strength, wasted your cities, and burnt the temple, and waylaid you, to cut off them that were escaped at last. Swallowed you up; devoured you, as hungry beasts devour the prey.

To the hills: now is added a particular of hills, valleys, &c., whereas before only the mountains were mentioned, but by them the whole land was understood; and to assure them thereof, all parts are here particularly mentioned: all that the enemy wasted shall be repaired, all that he took away…

Surely; in the Hebrew it is in the form of an oath. In the fire; in my hot displeasure. Spoken against; threatened ruin and desolation to all the nations that are and have been enemies to Israel. Idumea; the land in which the Edomites dwelt; the Hebrew is Edom.

Say unto the mountains: see Ezek. 36:4. In my fury: see Ezek. 36:5, where is no difference in the thing expressed, though a little difference in the expressing of it; there it was the fire of my jealousy, here in my jealousy and in my fury. Have borne the shame of the heathen; which in Ezek.

Lifted up mine hand; sworn in my wrath, but in my truth also, Deut. 32:40; and when men did swear solemnly, they did heretofore use this rite, Gen. 14:22.

Shall shoot; shall be fruitful, and send forth the branches, trees, plants, herbs, and grass, that are proper for you, and these branches shall not have leaves only, but they shall bring forth their fruit.

I am for you; favour you, and am pacified towards you, or I come towards you with redemption, that your old inhabitants may return to you with singing.

These verses contain much the same promise of future good which God engageth to do for Israel after their return out of Babylon. He will multiply men upon the mountains of Israel, he will increase them; now, lest any should reply there had been too many men on the mountains, even all the heathen,…

For years past since your captivity wild devouring beasts ranged up and down, but now, instead of such, men shall walk up and down in the mountains of Israel; I will take away the beasts from off you, and bring men upon you.

They say; the heathen round about, the enemies of Israel, accuse the land of destroying its natives, and bring an evil report on it. Devourest up men; either by intestine wars, or foreign invasions, or by unhealthful air, or by multitude of wild beasts, or by barrenness and famine, thou killest…

I will so bless thee, O land, that thou shalt bring forth and breed up many sons and daughters, thou shalt see thy children’s children increase, and this reproach shall cease for ever.

This verse is a confirmation of what was promised in Ezek. 36:12–14, all which is doubled for more assurance, and each part already explicated. See Ezek. 36:6.

In their own land; in fullness, case, and security, as in days past they did. They defiled it; brought in much sin and great guilt upon the land, i.e. on themselves who dwelt there, and sinned greatly. By their own way; leaving my law, despising my counsel, forsaking my worship and temple.

Wherefore; these and other sins were the true cause that the land was emptied of men, there was no ground for the heathen’s calumny. I poured my fury; I was angry with them, and the effects of my anger were such as made the land and cities desolate.

My hand scattered them, and what hand can retain the inhabitants that God will fling out? They were driven away, as chaff before the wind. As their ways and doings provoked me, and deserved what I brought on them, so I judged them, and punished them with desolation.

When they entered; when they were come into Babylon, and entered into familiarity with the inhabitants as neighbours. Profaned my holy name; did profanely sin against those precepts of my law, which heathens did know, venerate, and observe better than the Jews; or it may include the misery their…

I had pity; I spared them, who in captivity continued to sin greatly against me, and for which sins I had just cause to cut them off; but I had pity. For mine holy name; for my own sake, and for the glory of my name: had I destroyed them, the heathen would have concluded against my omnipotence and…

I do not this, which I have done, sparing you and preserving you, and giving you favour in the sight of the heathen; nor do I that I am about to do for you, returning you to Judea, planting you, increasing you, and establishing you, and making you a blessing; I do not this for your sake, you…

Will sanctify, by clearing it up, and removing the objection that the Jews’ sufferings and sins among the Babylonians had raised. My great name; they gave the heathen occasion to think meanly and contemptibly of me, but I will show I am as great as good, in both infinite. Was profaned: see Ezek.

The heathen purpose, as Pharaoh did, to detain you servants, and think it impossible any power should take you out of their hand or break the yoke; but I will do it. I will by my omnipotent hand rescue you from their power.

He alludes to the sprinklings under the law, perhaps to that Num. 19:9, which was for purification of sin; and Ezek. 36:19–20. So God will purify them from their guilt.

A new heart; a renewed frame of soul, a disposition and mind changed from sinful to holy, from evil to good, from carnal to spiritual. See Ezek. 11:19. A heart in which the law of God is written, as Jer. 31:33.

Put, elsewhere pour out; God will give freely and abundantly. My spirit; the Holy Spirit of God, which is the immediate principal cause of that change of an old heart into new, and of hard into soft.

Spiritual blessings, promised in Ezek. 36:25–27, are now followed with temporal blessings; so earth doth follow heaven. Ye shall dwell: God adds this to his taking, gathering, and bringing into the land, Ezek.

Perhaps the former part of this verse would have been better joined with the former verse, as a glorious fruit of God’s taking them to be his people, and his condescending to be their God.

The former part of this verse is explained Ezek. 34:27, Ezek. 36:8–10 of this chapter. The latter part is explained in Ezek. 36:29.

Then, when I have given you my Spirit, renewed your hearts, brought you by miraculous mercy out of captivity in a strange land unto liberty in your own, ye shall call to mind, review, and examine all your past life, your ways opposite to God’s; therefore both their own by choice, and also evil in…

Not for your sakes: to a self-exalting people, who have too high thoughts of themselves, this is a necessary monition; we are all like the Jews, proud of somewhat we have not; see ver. Ezek. 36:22; an old disease, and we are long since warned of it, as well as they, Deut. 9:5–6.

Committed sin, that deserveth, and imputed sin, that doth bring down, judgments on the sinner, so did the Jews’ sins, and continued the punishment in those judgments, until a pardon take away guilt, and then judgments will be removed; so here, pardoned captives return to and dwell in their own…

They shall say; strangers or foreigners, who had heard or seen the sad wastes, and now either hear or see the replanting of it, and how it succeedeth. Like the garden of Eden; see the phrase Ezek. 28:13; most fruitful, pleasant, and desirable.

That are left; that were not carried away and dispersed, whether they were Tyrians, Zidonians, on the north, or Ammon, and Moab, and the Philistines, and Edomites, eastward and southward, these remnants of the heathen shall see and confess a peculiar providence of God toward the Jews, in their…

Though I have repeated so often my promise to return them, to rebuild, to multiply them, yet they shall know it is their duty to entreat it, to wait on me, and then I will give a merciful answer and do it. Thus Daniel prayed, when he knew the return was sure and near.

The holy flock; flocks designed to holy uses, as sacrifices, and therefore further described by the place where they are, Jerusalem. Her solemn feasts; the occasion and time, solemn feasts, either the three annual great feasts, or you may hake in the daily sacrifices.