Ezekiel 36:6
Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:
God speaks to the land of Israel itself, to its mountains and hills and to its rivers and valleys, declaring that He has spoken in jealousy and fury because the land has borne the shame of the heathen for Israel's shameful conduct. It is a conditional promise of restoration, offering good only if Israel turns back wholeheartedly, forsakes sin, repents in full obedience and is ashamed of its iniquities. What He offered was to gather the scattered people Himself and bring them back to the mountains of Israel with forgiveness, new hearts, rebuilt cities, restored prosperity and dwelling among them in glory and victory over their enemies. The return from Babylon after seventy years brought back only about forty thousand with only a lesser temple built, so because Israel returned half-heartedly and would not obey, the promises were never literally fulfilled as described and never will be fulfilled exactly as given. The weight of teaching holds that all God promised will yet be fulfilled in glorious measure in Christ and in the new earth of Revelation 20-21 for true Israel of faith under the new covenant, not for natural descendants alone, while those who held the other readings apply it to living Israel at the beginning of the day of the Lord before the resurrection or to the final war against the Turk in Palestine around Jerusalem just before Christ comes.
Setting and Address
Ezekiel 36:6 is spoken directly to the land of Israel itself, calling upon its mountains and hills and upon its rivers and valleys to hear what is said concerning that land. It concerns together the mountains, the land, and the people of Israel, holding out God's promised blessing in their salvation and glory for the land, the city, and the sanctuary. The promise bound up with this address is that of restoration from Babylon, which would have been fulfilled far more fully if Israel had forsaken sin and returned to God wholeheartedly, so that what historically took place was only a small part of what had been promised.
It stands immediately after the prophecy against Seir, that is Edom, in chapter 35. It belongs to the closing prophecy that runs from chapter 36 to the end of Ezekiel, together with chapters 38-39 and the proposed temple of chapters 40-48. That whole closing portion was conditional upon ancient Israel's faith and obedience, on the principle that when God speaks concerning a nation to build and plant it He withholds the promised good if it does evil and disobeys His voice, just as He withholds threatened evil when a nation turns from evil, so that because Israel did not meet the conditions its details, including the events of chapter 39 and the proposed temple, will not be fulfilled as originally offered.
It was given during Judah's captivity, dated to 587 BC, one year after Jerusalem was destroyed. It was first addressed to the Jews, and to Israel in its own time and setting when the people were divided and scattered. In that setting its restoration prophecy pointed to the return from Babylonian captivity, completed under Artaxerxes' decree in 457 BC, describing what God would do if they yielded to Him and obeyed His call to return by restoring them to their land with prosperity.
Conditional Restoration Promise
This is a conditional prophecy in which God warned Israel and pleaded with them to turn back to Him. It belongs to the closing prophecy running from chapter 36 to the end of Ezekiel, together with chapters 38-39 and the proposed temple of chapters 40-48. It rests on the principle that when He speaks concerning a nation to build and plant it, if it does evil and disobeys His voice He will withhold the good He said He would give, just as when He speaks to destroy a nation, if it turns from evil He will withhold the evil.
Its fulfillment depended on Israel yielding to God with all their hearts in full obedience. The condition was returning wholeheartedly, forsaking sin, truly repenting, giving themselves wholly to Him, and being ashamed of their iniquities. Because they did not turn from their shameful conduct and would not obey His voice, the blessings could not be fulfilled as stated. The chapter's promises were given in connection with restoration from Babylonian captivity after seventy years and what God was prepared to do after the return, but unrepented sin prevented their fulfillment in the form described.
What God offered was to gather the scattered people Himself, for Israel does not gather itself or rebuild Jerusalem. He would bring them back to the mountains of Israel with forgiveness, new hearts, rebuilt cities, a holy people, restored prosperity and power beyond what had been expected, and blessings in salvation and glory for the land, its people, its city and its sanctuary. He would dwell among them in great glory and make them victorious over their enemies, including the subduing of their enemies described in Ezekiel 38-39. The Lord declares He has spoken in jealousy and fury because the land has borne the shame of the heathen, a shame tied to Israel's shameful conduct and refusal to be ashamed.
Fulfillment Past and Future
The prophecy pointed to the return from Babylonian captivity after seventy years, completed under the decree of Artaxerxes in 457 BC. After that return only about forty thousand came back, only a lesser temple was built, and the historical fulfillment was only a small and partial part of what had been promised. God would have fulfilled those promises then if Israel had yielded to Him, but Israel did not truly repent and failed to meet the conditions, so the promises were not all fulfilled at that time. Because Israel returned half-heartedly, mingled with other nations and did their deeds, and would not obey His voice, the blessings could not be fulfilled as stated.
If the people had heeded the prophet and been ashamed of their iniquities, their enemies would have been cut off, the dead would have been resurrected, and the glorious temple would have been rebuilt to make Israel a light to the world. Instead the people refused to be ashamed, the enemies were not subdued, and the promised victory and restoration were only partial. The closing prophecy from chapter 36 to the end of Ezekiel was therefore never literally fulfilled as described and never will be fulfilled exactly as given, including the events of chapter 39 and the proposed temple.
All that God promised concerning the restoration of His people will yet be fulfilled in glorious measure in the reality described in Revelation 20-21. God will fulfill His promises to His people in Christ and in the new earth, where the faithful receive the full immortal inheritance. What was offered concerning true Israel will be fulfilled in the future, though not in every detail described in Ezekiel, for the chapter only faintly points to what God will do for His people at the second coming.
The promises cannot be assigned to natural descendants alone, but belong to true Israel under the new covenant, the people of faith, just as the prophecy's David is understood as Christ. They are reckoned either as already fulfilled in the nation's past, as still to be fulfilled for the natural descendants of Jacob, or as fulfilled for Israel in this spiritual sense. One teaching assigns the promises concerning Israel and its land to living Israel at the beginning of the day of the Lord, before the resurrection of the just. Another teaching finds in the verse that the great final war will be against the Turk in Palestine, with Jerusalem and the country immediately around it bearing the brunt of the final attack of the nations just before Christ comes.