Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations;
The verse records the taunt against the land that it eats up its people and robs its nations of children, pictured in failing harvests, drought and famine. It stands within God's promise of restoration and consolation to the mountains, land and people of Israel, calling them to turn wholly to Him in faith and obedience so He may bless the land, city and sanctuary and cause them to build and plant again. That promised restoration was conditional on Israel yielding with all the heart and being ashamed of sin, so at the return from Babylon it was fulfilled only in small part as a faint type, because only about forty thousand returned half-heartedly without true repentance, leaving the temple small and the victory partial. Those who held otherwise taught that the restoration was fully realized under the decree of Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. The weight holds that it was never to be fulfilled literally in its old-covenant detail with animal offerings and a local temple, but belongs to Israel in the spiritual sense, the people of faith under the new covenant, and will be fulfilled in glorious measure at Christ's second coming and in Revelation 20 and 21, when the faithful inherit the land in the renewed world and the land will devour men no more.
Accusation and Setting
The saying set against the land is that it eats up its men and strips its nations bare, a charge of a country consuming its own inhabitants through failing harvests and drought, an image later echoed when famine pressed upon Judea. In connection with verses 12-15, the answering promise that the land will devour people no more finds its fulfillment at the far end of the day of the Lord, after the resurrection and the final destruction of the unjust.
The verse belongs to the prophecies of restoration that make up the latter part of the book, bringing consolation and promise after the earlier warnings and correction. That prophecy concerns the mountains, the land, and the people of Israel, in which God himself pledges great blessings in the salvation of his people and in the glory to be put upon the land, the city, and the sanctuary. No such city or sanctuary stands today, and the renewal of thousands of sheep and oxen offerings would make the once-for-all offering of Christ of none effect, building again what was destroyed and turning from sunlight back to shadow, since the former offerings were only for the time then present, shadowing forth the one effectual offering of Jesus Christ.
The prophecy was given during Judah's captivity in 587 B.C., one year after Jerusalem was destroyed. From chapter 36 onward it stands as God's warning and appeal to lead Israel to turn and return to him, promising good things if they gave themselves wholly to him. The charge that the land devoured its people was to be answered by restored prosperity and renewal, to build and to plant Israel in faith and obedience. That promised restoration was conditional upon Israel's response, so that God would repent of the good he said he would do if they did evil and obeyed not his voice.
Conditional Restoration Fulfillment
The promises from chapter 36 to the close of the book were conditional on Israel yielding to God with all their hearts and obeying His call to return in faith and obedience, being ashamed of their sins. The condition governed all that was offered, including bringing up the sleeping dead and making the captive nation represented by the dry bones alive again, gathering the wandering ones from the nations and restoring them to their own land, dividing the land on a different plan, building the new glorious temple with God's presence among them, and conquering all the northern Scythian foes and their confederacy under Gog in Ezekiel 38 and 39. According to Jeremiah 18:7-10 God fulfills promises only when the nation obeys His voice, and will repent of the good He said He would do if they do evil and obey not His voice. If Israel had met the conditions, all that is recorded there would have been fulfilled to them at the time of the Babylonian restoration, including the subduing of their enemies, in far greater measure.
Because after the return from Babylon only about forty thousand returned, and the return shown in Ezra and Nehemiah was half-hearted with mingling with other nations and doing their deeds, without being ashamed of iniquities or truly repenting, the victory was only partial and the restoration temple was small compared with what was promised. The prophecy was therefore fulfilled only in small part as a faint type rather than in its promised detail and fullness, not as a detailed prediction of its fulfillment. One teaching holds that the restoration concerned in the chapter was fully realized under Artaxerxes' decree in 457 B.C. Another teaching holds that Ezekiel 36 belongs to a prophecy of restoration that was never literally fulfilled and will never be literally fulfilled, which would have included the resurrection of those who had died.
It will not be fulfilled literally because renewing the thousands of sheep and oxen offerings would make Christ's offering once for all of none effect, building again what was destroyed and returning from sunlight to shadow, since the past offerings were only for the time then present shadowing forth the one effectual offering of Jesus Christ. The fulfillment is not reserved for the natural descendants of Jacob under the first covenant but applies to Israel in the spiritual sense, the people of faith under the new covenant and the true Israel according to later revelations. The dispute is whether such promises were fulfilled in Israel's past, apply to Israel in the spiritual sense, or remain for the natural descendants, with the argument that Israel in the spiritual sense should not be excluded. The greater and full restoration will still be fulfilled without the local conditions of the prophet's day in connection with Christ's second coming and related events, in glorious measure in the time described in Revelation 20 and 21.
Then the faithful receive the full immortal inheritance and inherit the land in the renewed world at the resurrection of the just. In connection with verses 12-15 the promise that the land will no longer devour people will be fulfilled at the last end of the day of the Lord after the resurrection and the final destruction of the unjust, when the land will suffer no more utter destruction. The prophecy points to Jerusalem and the surrounding country as the focus of the nations' final attack just before Christ comes.
The verse records the taunt against the land that it eats up its people and robs its nations of children, pictured in failing harvests, drought and famine.
It stands within God's promise of restoration and consolation to the mountains, land and people of Israel, calling them to turn wholly to Him in faith and obedience so He may bless the land, city and sanctuary and cause them to build and plant again.
That promised restoration was conditional on Israel yielding with all the heart and being ashamed of sin, so at the return from Babylon it was fulfilled only in small part as a faint type, because only about forty thousand returned half-heartedly without true repentance, leaving the temple small and the victory partial.
Those who held otherwise taught that the restoration was fully realized under the decree of Artaxerxes in 457 B.C.
The weight holds that it was never to be fulfilled literally in its old-covenant detail with animal offerings and a local temple, but belongs to Israel in the spiritual sense, the people of faith under the new covenant, and will be fulfilled in glorious measure at Christ's second coming and in Revelation 20 and 21, when the faithful inherit the land in the renewed world and the land will devour men no more.
Accusation and Setting
The saying set against the land is that it eats up its men and strips its nations bare, a charge of a country consuming its own inhabitants through failing harvests and drought, an image later echoed when famine pressed upon Judea. In connection with verses 12-15, the answering promise that the land will devour people no more finds its fulfillment at the far end of the day of the Lord, after the resurrection and the final destruction of the unjust.
The verse belongs to the prophecies of restoration that make up the latter part of the book, bringing consolation and promise after the earlier warnings and correction. That prophecy concerns the mountains, the land, and the people of Israel, in which God himself pledges great blessings in the salvation of his people and in the glory to be put upon the land, the city, and the sanctuary. No such city or sanctuary stands today, and the renewal of thousands of sheep and oxen offerings would make the once-for-all offering of Christ of none effect, building again what was destroyed and turning from sunlight back to shadow, since the former offerings were only for the time then present, shadowing forth the one effectual offering of Jesus Christ.
The prophecy was given during Judah's captivity in 587 B.C., one year after Jerusalem was destroyed. From chapter 36 onward it stands as God's warning and appeal to lead Israel to turn and return to him, promising good things if they gave themselves wholly to him. The charge that the land devoured its people was to be answered by restored prosperity and renewal, to build and to plant Israel in faith and obedience. That promised restoration was conditional upon Israel's response, so that God would repent of the good he said he would do if they did evil and obeyed not his voice.
Conditional Restoration Fulfillment
The promises from chapter 36 to the close of the book were conditional on Israel yielding to God with all their hearts and obeying His call to return in faith and obedience, being ashamed of their sins. The condition governed all that was offered, including bringing up the sleeping dead and making the captive nation represented by the dry bones alive again, gathering the wandering ones from the nations and restoring them to their own land, dividing the land on a different plan, building the new glorious temple with God's presence among them, and conquering all the northern Scythian foes and their confederacy under Gog in Ezekiel 38 and 39. According to Jeremiah 18:7-10 God fulfills promises only when the nation obeys His voice, and will repent of the good He said He would do if they do evil and obey not His voice. If Israel had met the conditions, all that is recorded there would have been fulfilled to them at the time of the Babylonian restoration, including the subduing of their enemies, in far greater measure.
Because after the return from Babylon only about forty thousand returned, and the return shown in Ezra and Nehemiah was half-hearted with mingling with other nations and doing their deeds, without being ashamed of iniquities or truly repenting, the victory was only partial and the restoration temple was small compared with what was promised. The prophecy was therefore fulfilled only in small part as a faint type rather than in its promised detail and fullness, not as a detailed prediction of its fulfillment. One teaching holds that the restoration concerned in the chapter was fully realized under Artaxerxes' decree in 457 B.C. Another teaching holds that Ezekiel 36 belongs to a prophecy of restoration that was never literally fulfilled and will never be literally fulfilled, which would have included the resurrection of those who had died.
It will not be fulfilled literally because renewing the thousands of sheep and oxen offerings would make Christ's offering once for all of none effect, building again what was destroyed and returning from sunlight to shadow, since the past offerings were only for the time then present shadowing forth the one effectual offering of Jesus Christ. The fulfillment is not reserved for the natural descendants of Jacob under the first covenant but applies to Israel in the spiritual sense, the people of faith under the new covenant and the true Israel according to later revelations. The dispute is whether such promises were fulfilled in Israel's past, apply to Israel in the spiritual sense, or remain for the natural descendants, with the argument that Israel in the spiritual sense should not be excluded. The greater and full restoration will still be fulfilled without the local conditions of the prophet's day in connection with Christ's second coming and related events, in glorious measure in the time described in Revelation 20 and 21.
Then the faithful receive the full immortal inheritance and inherit the land in the renewed world at the resurrection of the just. In connection with verses 12-15 the promise that the land will no longer devour people will be fulfilled at the last end of the day of the Lord after the resurrection and the final destruction of the unjust, when the land will suffer no more utter destruction. The prophecy points to Jerusalem and the surrounding country as the focus of the nations' final attack just before Christ comes.