Ezekiel 36:5
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.
In the fire of His jealousy the Lord has spoken against the residue of the heathen and against all Idumea, because with wholehearted joy and with contemptuous, hostile minds they appointed His land into their possession to cast it out for a prey and seize it as spoil. The prophecy belongs to the restoration promised during Judah's Babylonian captivity, when God Himself would gather scattered Israel to the mountains of Israel, cleanse them and give them a new heart and spirit, rebuild the cities and make the desolate land fruitful, dwell among them in glory, and execute judgment on the despisers round about so the nations know He is Jehovah. Those promises and judgments from Ezekiel 36 onward were conditional on Israel's faith, obedience, wholehearted return and true repentance, and because Israel returned half-heartedly and failed to meet the conditions the restoration was fulfilled only in small part with about forty thousand returning and a small temple. The restoration was never literally fulfilled in its local details and will not be fulfilled exactly as first offered, but as a type it points generally to what God will do for His true spiritual Israel at the Second Coming and in the earth made new, while those who place it before the resurrection teach its full fulfillment for living Israel at the beginning of the day of the Lord as recorded in Revelation 20 and 21. The Hebrew rendered minds denotes the feelings and passions as the seat of emotion and affection with which they act in contempt, not an immortal immaterial part of man, and the verse does not identify Joseph with the American continent.
Meaning and Historical Setting
In the fire of His jealousy the Lord has spoken against the residue of the heathen and against all Idumea, because they appointed His land into their possession with the joy of all their heart and with despiteful, contemptuous minds, to cast it out for a prey and seize it as spoil. The hostile nations, including Idumea, claimed God's land as their own, rejoiced in possessing it, and intended to plunder it, and God spoke against them in jealous anger and judgment. The word rendered minds is the Hebrew neh-phesh, denoting the feelings and passions as the seat of emotions and affections with which they act in contemptuous hostility and joy. It does not here denote an immortal, immaterial part of a person, but the person as acting with contempt and gladness in taking God's land as prey.
The verse belongs to the prophecy concerning the mountains, the land, and the people of Israel in the closing prophecy of Israel's restoration. The chapter is directed against Israel and comes after the prophecy of chapter 35 against Seir, or Edom. The latter part of Ezekiel is filled with promises of what God would do for His people if they returned to Him, repeatedly urging Israel to follow God and using the surrounding kingdoms as examples of how God brings down pride. It gives direct and explicit promises of great blessings which God Himself will bestow in the salvation of Israel His people and in the glory with which He will invest the land, the city and the sanctuary.
The prophecy was given during Judah's captivity in the Babylonian captivity in 587 B.C., one year after Jerusalem was destroyed and 130 years before Jerusalem was fully restored under Artaxerxes' decree in 457 B.C. It concerns the restoration of God's people from captivity. God Himself will gather scattered Israel to the mountains of Israel and to the land given to their fathers, and will save Jacob and Israel from afar and from the land of captivity, not Israel gathering themselves and rebuilding Jerusalem by their own doing. He will cleanse and forgive them, pardon the iniquity of Israel and the sins of Judah so none remain, give them a new heart and spirit, and make them a holy people who know He is Jehovah. He will make the desolate land fruitful with rebuilt cities and inhabited houses and planted vineyards, with houses built and vineyards planted, and cause them to dwell safely and with confidence. He will dwell among them in great glory with a greater sanctuary and temple and His presence, give them victory over enemies and cut off their enemies while executing judgments on despisers round about, and reveal His glory before the nations so the surrounding nations recognize the Lord has restored it.
Conditional Prophecy and Fulfillment
The promises and judgments from Ezekiel 36 onward, including the word spoken against the residue of the heathen and Idumea with Ezekiel 38 and 39, were conditional on ancient Israel's faith and obedience, on wholehearted return to God, yielding to His terms, forsaking sins, becoming ashamed of sins and truly repenting. When God speaks of destroying a nation He will relent if it turns from evil, and when He speaks of building and planting a nation He will relent of the good if it does evil and disobeys. Because Israel came back half-heartedly, mingling with other nations and doing their deeds, and failed to meet the conditions, the promised restoration did not occur as described but was fulfilled only in small part and in very limited measure. About forty thousand returned from Babylon with only a small remnant returning, the victory over enemies was only partial, and the restored temple was small compared with what was promised, and Israel was rejected when the conditions were not met.
Fulfillment is disputed so that the promise cannot be assigned exclusively to Jacob's natural descendants as still awaiting fulfillment for them. Israel in the spiritual sense under the law of faith belongs with the new covenant. The restoration was never literally fulfilled and will not be literally or exactly fulfilled as originally offered in its local conditions and specific details. It is a type and not a literal blueprint, whose promises concerning true Israel point generally to what God will do for His people at the Second Coming and the events connected with it, though God's purposes toward wicked nations and true Israel remain the same.
The chapter's promises belong to living Israel to be fulfilled at the beginning of the day of the Lord before the resurrection of the just, when Israel will be redeemed and receive the earth made new, and the full restoration God promised will yet be fulfilled in glorious measure as recorded in Revelation 20 and 21. Ezekiel 36 together with Ezekiel 38 points to Jerusalem and the surrounding country bearing the brunt of a final attack by the nations and by enemies coming from the north just before Christ comes. The judgment against the remnant of the nations that appoint His land to themselves applies to the final campaign against the Turk when Russia with Moscow and Tobolsk leads Persia, Egypt, Libya, Crimea and Armenia into Turkish territory in the center of Europe, Asia and Africa, with other nations joining to share the rich spoil and prey, and at that time God interferes with their plans and speaks against them. The verse does not identify Joseph with the American continent.