22 Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: It is not for your sake that I will act, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you went.

23 I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes.

24 For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land.

25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

27 And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.

30 I will also make the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field plentiful, so that you will no longer bear reproach among the nations on account of famine.

— Ezekiel 36:22-27, 30

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

Through prophet Ezekiel, God spoke amazing promises of restoration to His wayward people. In this section of Scripture Ezekiel announced wonderful things God does for His people. Some of these promises were fulfilled as the Israelites reinhabited their homeland, but many anticipate a greater fulfillment in the more distant future. God’s promised blessings to Israel relied on God’s unconditional faithfulness. In fulfilling His eternal plan, God would judge sin and carry Israel to the bright future He had prepared.

In Ezekiel God promised the following: to regather His scattered people and return them to their land; to cleanse them from idolatry and impurity; to remove their stony hearts and give them hearts of flesh; put His Spirit within them and move them to obey Him; to move them back to the land of their ancestors and be their God; to make their land fruitful and productive, and to vindicate His reputation before the nations. God’s promises listed above firmly foretell a restored place for Israel that blesses the world.