EZEKIEL 35-36 MORE JUDGMENT OR BLESSING THAN YOU CAN HANDLE2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ezekiel 35-36 More Judgment Or Blessing Than You Can Handle

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010.

We're looking at in this portion of scripture a judgment that God is pronouncing upon the nation of Edom and then in chapter 36 the blessings that God is promising to the nation of Israel and so some interesting things that God has in store for us this evening. We pick it up in chapter 35 verse 1 and it says

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, and say to it, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you. I will stretch out my hand against you, and make you most desolate. I will lay your cities waste, and you shall be desolate. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

Mount Seir

Now Mount Seir was a mountain that was a little bit south and east of the nation of Judah. It was just below the Dead Sea and it's where the nation of Edom was located. The nation of Edom was the descendants of Esau. If you remember Jacob and Esau were twin brothers. Jacob also is named Israel and from Jacob we have Jacob.

And so now God is directing this prophecy through Ezekiel to the descendants of Esau that are there on Mount Seir. And he's...

making a promise here he's pronouncing this judgment that he will make mount seer desolate he's going to take this mountain and he's going to basically wipe it out he says i'll make you most desolate their cities are going to be laid waste and then they will know that he is the lord that phrase that we hear over and over again throughout the book of ezekiel it's going to take this event this prophecy this judgment to

for the people of Mount Seir to know that He is God. They're refusing to submit to Him now. They know better. God's been speaking to them. But they're refusing to turn. They're refusing to listen to God. And so it's going to take their judgment for them to finally recognize that He is God. And as we go over that phrase time and time again in Ezekiel, I ask the same question of us.

When will we know, when will you know that He is the Lord? What is it going to take for you to finally recognize that He is God? Because if you insist on disobeying God, then God will bring judgment, God will bring correction, He will bring discipline, and

You can learn the hard way that He is Lord by insisting on disobedience and experiencing the correction or the judgment of God. Or you can learn the easy way by recognizing that He is Lord right now and submitting yourself to Him and being obedient to what He says.

Going on to verse 5.

Here we get the explanation of why this judgment is being pronounced. He says, Verse 7.

Verse 2.

So here as he goes on talking to the Edomites there at Mount Seir, he explains a little bit more about why this judgment is coming and why he's going to make them desolate. The reason he explains in verse 5 is because they've had an ancient hatred. The Edomites had a hatred for the Jewish people.

They had a hatred for them that was ancient. It went back a long time. In fact, you could probably trace the steps back to Genesis chapter 25, where if you remember when Rebecca was pregnant, she was concerned because there was a lot of things going on within her while she was pregnant. And she asked the Lord, if I'm okay, if I'm going to have these children successfully, then why am I feeling this way? What's going on inside the womb?

And God responds to her and says, well, there's twins inside of you. There's two nations. And so there's this struggle, there's this battle that's going on within. And so from the very beginning, it seems, there was this hatred, this animosity between

Esau and Jacob. Of course, Jacob didn't make it any better by stealing his birthright and the father's blessing and all of that, right? But it goes back a long time is the point here. There's this ancient hatred that's going on. And so God says, I'm going to bring judgment upon you because you have hated my people. You've hated the Israelites for a long time.

Not only that, but they've shed the blood of the children of Israel, he says, at the time of their calamity when their iniquity came to an end. Not only did they hate the children of Israel, but they took part in bloodshed

1 Peter chapter 1 verses 1 through 12.

Well, Edom took part in that. They helped out. They participated in the bloodshed of the people of Judah because of this ancient hatred that they had. And so God says, look, you didn't hate blood. You weren't opposed to blood. You participated in blood. And so you're going to then reap what you have sown because that is God's spiritual law, right? Galatians chapter 5, 6 says,

and seven or six seven and eight something like that it's galatians five or six and uh and the the the scripture says there that don't be confused god cannot be mocked you will reap what you sow it's galatians chapter six verse seven and eight just came clear in my head so uh you can look that up later but that's the law you reap what you sow and so the edomites sowed bloodshed and

And so God says, now you're going to reap that bloodshed and that bloodshed is going to pursue you. I'm going to make you most desolate, God says, and you're going to be a perpetual desolation. We read in the book of Obadiah, verses 10 through 14, that the Edomites were involved not only in hating the nation of Judah, but those who escaped Babylon, those who were fleeing from the city,

the Edomites set themselves up to catch those who fled their direction and then they turned them over to Babylon. And so that's one of the ways that they were participating in that bloodshed, that they were catching those who escaped and getting them imprisoned or put to death with the nation of Babylon. And so they were doing these great atrocities against God's people and that is why he says, I'm going to make you most desolate. Verse 10,

Because you have said, now we learn a little bit more, another reason why God's bringing judgment upon them. Because you have said, these two nations and these two countries shall be mine and we will possess them although the Lord was there.

Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them. And I will make myself known among them when I judge you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying they are desolate, they are given to us to consume.

Thus with your mouth you have boasted against me, and multiplied your words against me, I have heard them. Thus says the Lord God, the whole earth shall rejoice when I make you desolate. As you rejoice because of the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, so I will do to you. You shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom, all of it. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

So now God goes on to explain the other reason for judgment. Not only did they have this ancient hatred and they were involved in the bloodshed of the nation of Israel and Judah, but they also had this envy

God's people they had this envy of the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah God says it's according to their anger and their envy that he's going to be bringing judgment upon them there in verse 11 and so they were envious and when they saw the calamity happening to the nation of Judah they were excited they rejoiced they said yes now because this

Calamity is hitting them. Now we're going to be able to go in and take whatever we want. And we're going to be able to have the land and the territory that we want. We're going to be able to benefit from their destruction, their devastation.

They were envious. And when you're envious of someone, you rejoice over their destruction. It's something that we should be careful about. Because this ancient hatred, this envy that they had in their hearts towards the people of God, to the nation of Judah, was the result or the cause for the judgment that God is pronouncing here.

These are things that do not belong in the hearts of God's children. This hatred, this envy, rejoicing over the destruction of others, those are not the characteristics that we should bear. Those are things that are worthy of judgment. And so as we see here in chapter 35, this judgment that's pronounced upon Mount Seir, we need to understand and reflect and check our own hearts. Where do we stand? Do we have judgment?

this type of hatred, this type of animosity towards others? Do we have this type of envy in that we rejoice when others fall because of some benefit that we might be able to get as a result?

Well, as we go on now into chapter 36, God still talks about Edom a little bit, but He's really focusing now on the nation of Israel. And so He said, I'm going to bring judgment upon Edom, but He also says, I'm going to bring blessing upon Israel. And you get to see the contrast here between the judgment of God and the blessing of God. And the amazing thing is here, when you experience God's judgment...

because of disobedience, the judgment is more than you can handle. It's going to be terrible. But when you walk with God, when you are obedient to God, and you get to experience the blessings that God promises, then the blessings of God will also be more than you can handle. So which do you want? More judgment than you can handle, or more blessing than you can handle? Let's check it out in chapter 36. He says...

And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.

And so again, we're looking now at the land of Israel. This prophecy is a little bit interesting here in chapter 36, because he's really not talking to the people of Israel. He's talking to the land of Israel. And so he tells Ezekiel, prophesy to the mountains of Israel. And throughout the chapter, you'll see that language that he's really speaking to the land. Of course, he's including the people, but he's just presenting it in a unique way.

Now these things that we'll be looking at here in chapter 36 have not yet fully been fulfilled. These things will be fulfilled, of course, during the millennial kingdom, that thousand year reign of Christ when he returns at the end of the tribulation period. And so we're looking at things that are going to be fulfilled and have not yet fully been fulfilled yet. Verse 2.

Verse 1.

Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations around.

therefore thus says the lord god surely i have spoken in my burning jealousy against all the rest of the nations and against all edom who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and spiteful minds in order to plunder its open country

Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, the valleys, thus says the Lord God, Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and my fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, I have raised my hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame.

Here as we look at verses 2 through 7, God is declaring that the nations around the land of Israel will bear their own shame. They have...

And when the people of God were conquered and led away captive, the people, the nations all around the land of Israel rejoiced. It's relating to what we just talked about with the nation of Edom. And God even mentions them specifically. They got all happy. They said, oh great.

They're gone. Now we can take their land. Now we can take their stuff. Now we can take advantage of what was left behind. Their vineyards, their fields, their homes. Those types of things. We can expand our territory at their expense because they've been taken away. And so the areas all around the land of Israel rejoiced at the destruction of Israel. And they took advantage of that situation. Not only that, but...

This has been the condition of the nation of Israel pretty much for the past 2,500 years. There in verse 2 and 3 where he talks about that on every side they've been swallowed up. That's really the issue that Israel continues to face to this day.

that there's nations on every side that are trying to swallow them up, that are taking away their land. That's the whole thing with the Palestinians. That's the issue with the Hamas and the Hezbollah and the nation of Iran. All of the things going on. On every side, they've got enemies that are seeking to take advantage of them and take their land. And it's been their condition since Babylon conquered them

to the present day, probably about 2,500 years or so, that this has been their condition. And so God says as a result of this,

He says, I'm going to change things around. I'm jealous for you, that land, that portion that he has given to his people. He says, that's my territory. I gave it to my people. And so he says, I'm going to make those nations bear their shame for what they're doing to the land that I've given to my people. Verse 8.

He says,

And so now God is done talking about those other nations surrounding. He says, okay, land of Israel, check it out. Here's what I've got in store for you. I am going to multiply your territory.

I'm going to bless this land. I'm going to do an incredible work here, God says. I'm going to shoot forth your branches and I'm going to yield forth fruit in your land for my people. I'm going to multiply men upon you.

Now, at the time that Ezekiel is writing these things, the nation of Judah has just been conquered. The land is really uninhabited except for what's being taken by the Edomites and the other surrounding nations. The people of God are not in the land any longer at this time because of their rebellion against God.

And so God says, look, I'm going to turn this around and I'm going to multiply the men in you. I'm going to bring my people back into this land and I'm going to establish them here and they're going to be fruitful and they're going to multiply and fill the land with men.

He says, not only man, but also beast there in verse 11. They're going to increase and bear young. They're going to be, the land's going to be inhabited as in former times. And so if you go back to, you know, the time of David, the time of Solomon, when it was, you know, there was an abundant population and they were blessed. The land was blessed. The territory was blessed. He says, though, he says, I'm going to do better for you than at your beginnings.

And so the end result here of the land of Israel is going to be better than it was in the height of the kingdom under Solomon's reign when it was the best of the best and there was gold everywhere and silver everywhere. It was just common like rocks.

And there was just great blessings upon the people and upon the livestock and upon the produce and the fruit. There was blessings all around. But God says, I'm going to do for you, land of Israel, better than at your beginnings. I'm going to do for you better than it ever was in this last time or in this last days. And so this is the promise that God is giving to the land of Israel. Verse 12.

He says,

And so here God says, look...

You've been bearing the reproach. Nations have scorned you. Nations have been talking bad about you. But I'm going to make that stop. That's not going to happen anymore. The nation of Israel has for a long time been a lot of trouble to the nations of the world.

And even to this day, we are witnesses. All of us are witnesses. If you ever watch the news or open up a newspaper, you're a witness of the trouble that is the land of Israel and all of the things that are going on there. The Middle East is, well, it's a whole lot of problems for all nations around the world. He says, look, the land is no longer going to be called, you know, that they bereave Israel.

The nation of children. That they take away people's children. Because of all the problems. Because of all the battles. Because of the danger there. Because of the difficulty there. If you go there, there's a good chance that you might lose your child. It's mandatory right now. It has been for a long time. That every child there in the land of Israel. Once they turn 18. They have to serve in the military.

Male or female. They have to serve. That's part of being a citizen there in Israel. That's just part of what you got to do.

But no more in this time. No more will this be a place that bereaves people of their children, that takes their children away. It won't be a place of war any longer, a place of battle. It won't be the place of trouble anymore. It's going to be a place of blessing. And the people of Israel are going to take possession. It's going to be their inheritance. It's going to be exactly the way that God has wanted it to be from the very beginning when He first promised it to Abraham.

And so there's going to be a great blessing that's poured out. No more taunting. No more bereaving of the children. No more stumbling block to the world. It's going to be a great blessing. Verse 16. He says,

"Therefore I poured out my fury on them for the blood that they had shed on the land and for their idols,

Verse 1.

And so God says, look, I'm going to bless this land and I'm going to do wonderful things. But the problem with the land was not the land. The problem with the land was not its geographical location. The problem with the land was that when the house of Israel dwelt there, they defiled it by their own ways.

They defiled it by disobedience, God is explaining. The reason why Israel is in this condition today is because when the land of Israel was inhabited by God's people, and even now being inhabited by God's people,

The land is being defiled by their rebellion against God, by their insisting on disobeying, by not receiving what God has for them and turning to God. And so as a result of their disobedience, as a result of their idolatry and for the bloodshed, there was bloodshed going on in the land of Israel.

There was injustice. We read about that for the first half of the book of Ezekiel. All those things that were going on. There was great, not great in a good way, but a lot of idolatry that was going on. Terrible things that were happening. And so God said, as a result of that, I poured out my fury on them. And so the state of the nation of Israel, even to this day, is as a result of the people who defiled it in those days.

Now again, considering the judgment that God pronounced upon Edom, and considering what took place upon the land of Israel because of their disobedience, understand that when you insist on disobeying God, when we persist in rebellion,

when we decide I'm gonna do it my way and I'm gonna be concerned about my ways and I'm gonna do what I want to do and we're not submitted to God then the results will be judgment that we cannot handle more judgment than we can handle it's going to be unthinkable we we never understand we never realize that the devastation and the effects of our sin the people of Israel there at Ezekiel's day they had no idea

how long-lasting these effects would be. In the same way you and I, we don't have a clue. We think that, you know, if something doesn't happen immediately, if we don't get caught immediately, we got away with it, no big deal. It's fine and not to be worried about it. Maybe we'll do it again next week. But the reality is that sin's effects are devastating and long-lasting. It's really more than we can handle.

And so as we look at this, God is declaring, look, this is what happened. This is why the land is in the condition that it is in. It's because my people profaned my name and followed their own idols. But not only did they do that in the land of Israel, then God came upon them and he scattered them all over the earth. And wherever they went, they profaned the name of God.

They were scattered because of their bloodshed and their idolatry. But then as they went out, they were bad witnesses essentially is what God is saying. They were misrepresenting God in all the places that they went. Verse 22.

Here God says something incredible.

He says, look, I'm going to bless the land. The land's going to be blessed like it's never been blessed before. Better than it was at the beginning. But the reason why it's in the condition that it's in right now is because of their disobedience. And so I scattered them and everywhere they went, they profaned my name. But he says, I'm going to do this work of blessing, not for their sake. He says, look, I want you to know.

I don't do this for your sake, Israel. I don't do this because you've been good, because you've done things right, because you've earned it. I'm not doing this because of your righteousness. He says, I'm doing this for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned. We see here, once again, God's incredible grace and mercy. That even though, even though,

They filled themselves with idolatry and bloodshed and profaned His name wherever they went. Even though they insisted on rebelling against God and rebelled to the point of destruction, even though they did all those things, God says, I put My name on you and I declared you to be My people. And because I put My name on you and declared you to be My people, I'm going to bring you back

I'm going to cause you to inhabit this land. I'm going to restore the land. I'm going to bless it more than it's ever been blessed before. The plans that God has for the land of Israel are not because of the people of Israel, but they're because God says, I've put my name upon you.

God has chosen them and placed His name upon them. And even today as we study these things, understand there are those who teach that God is done with Israel, that He has cast them off and now the church replaces Israel. But that is not true. God has not and will not cast off Israel because He's placed His name upon them. Sure, they don't deserve it any more than you and I deserve God's grace and mercy. But God is going to bring them back

And He's going to do an incredible work there in the land of Israel. There's not one of us who has anything to boast of before the Lord. The tale here of Israel is the tale of our lives as well. That we, we've rebelled against God for all of sin and fall short of the glory of God, right? We all deserve death because that's the wages of sin.

We've all profaned the name of God. We've all practiced idolatry. We've all been involved in those things of rebellion and disobedience to God. None of us deserve what God has in store for us. We have nothing to boast of before the Lord.

Everything that God has in store for us, as we look forward to eternity and the things that God has in store, even the things that we experience right now in this life, we don't deserve the goodness and blessing that God gives to us. None of it is because of our goodness or our faithfulness to read the Bible or our faithful church attendance or our just wonderful heart or just pleasant self. None of it is due to us.

It's all due to the grace and to the mercy of God. So we're reminded of that here as God says, look, I'm doing this because I've put my name upon you. And you and I as believers, listen, God has put His name upon us. He's put His name upon you. Those who have been born again, you and I, we're filled with the Holy Spirit. We're sealed with the Holy Spirit. He's attached Himself to us.

So He's going to do a work in us, not because of us. Even if we mess up and mess around and goof off and try to run away, God's going to do a work. God is going to do a work because He's attached His name to us. Not because we're worthy of it, not because we deserve it, but for His name's sake. Verse 24,

He says,

And so here what we see here is that the people are gathered back into the land and God's blessing the land there during the millennial kingdom that the people of Israel are going to be born again. They're going to be born again during that millennial kingdom. There's going to be a new life that takes place.

You and I, we get to experience this right now by believing in Jesus Christ. We get to be born again. And God does this work within us right now. But for the people of Israel, because they're not turning to Jesus right now, during that millennial kingdom, when they finally turn to Jesus, then they're going to be born again. He says, I'm going to take you from among the nations and I'm going to bring you into your own land.

It's a regathering of the nation of Israel. It's already begun in the sense that the Jews have begun once again to populate the land of Israel, but it's going to be done completely during that millennial kingdom.

But He's also going to cleanse them, He says in verse 25. He's going to give them a new heart. He says, I'm going to take out your heart of stone and I'm going to put in a heart of flesh. Now, flesh isn't a reference to the sinful nature there. But He says, look, I'm going to take out your hard heart and I'm going to give you a soft heart. A heart that's moldable, that's pliable, that's in tune with God. Not only that, but I'm going to put my spirit within you.

And so there's going to be a brand new work within the hearts of the people there during the millennial kingdom. He says, I'll put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you'll keep my judgments and do them. They're going to be born again. Now notice he's going to take out their old heart and then put in a new one. Because the reality is, for us as humans, our heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. It can't be fixed.

Our heart is in such bad shape. If you were to take it and try to cash in some insurance on it, they'd say that's totaled. It's not worth trying to repair. You can't fix that. It needs to be just completely replaced. You got to junk it and get something new. And so what does God do? Well, he tells us in 2 Corinthians 5.17, if anyone is in Christ, what is he? A new creation. The old has gone. That old heart taken out, thrown away. All things become new.

You see, what they will experience in the millennial kingdom is what God has, spiritually speaking, what God has for us as believers today. A new life. His Spirit within us. We're going to be talking about that all next week. The Holy Spirit being within us. And what that means, the advantages that we have, because God has given to us His Holy Spirit. So we need a new heart. We need a new life. And that's offered to us by faith in Jesus Christ. Verse 28 says,

Verse 2.

Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations.

So, again, looking at the land of Israel, God says, I'm going to bless this land, and the people are going to dwell in the land, and you're going to be my people, and I will be your God. They're going to have that special relationship again. Right now, they don't have that relationship, because they're in continual rebellion against God. Individually, individual Jews, for sure, they can believe in Jesus, but as a nation, as a whole, they've rejected Jesus as their Messiah.

And so they've disconnected themselves from God. Even when they finally get their temple built like they want to, they will still be disconnected from God. But in that millennial kingdom, they will be brought back into that relationship once again where He is their God and they are His people.

He says he's going to multiply the fruit. He's going to increase the grain. There's going to be an abundant produce there in the land. And when that happens, he says, then you're going to look back and you're going to remember your old ways. You're going to remember the things that you did. You're going to remember the things that you practiced. And you're going to loathe yourself. Again, God is not doing this incredible work in Israel because the people of Israel are so great.

He's doing this for His own namesake. And when they experience it, then they're going to look back and they're going to realize, oh man, what did we do? It's interesting as we consider this, isn't it? Because I think we can all look back in our old lives, in our own lives, and have that same type of experience. As we experience the blessing of God, as we experience God working in us, as God works

teaches us, as God uses us, as God gives us life and satisfies us. And we're so blessed and content in the Lord that we can look back and we can loathe ourselves. I think the Apostle Paul experienced this kind of thing, you know, the great persecution that he brought upon the church and then God showed him such grace and mercy and he never forgot it for the rest of his life. He never forgot where God had brought him from.

He never forgot what God did in his life. We can all do the same. Not that we're supposed to, you know, loathe ourselves and be all, you know, tore up about what we were. But recognizing God's grace and mercy and how he has taken us. Even though we didn't deserve it, he died upon the cross for us. He provided us the hope of eternity. He gives us new life by faith in Jesus Christ. Even though we don't deserve it, God offers to us such incredible blessings.

Verse 32. Again, he says,

Thus says the Lord God,

So God once again says, look, this isn't because of you that I'm doing this. This is for my name's sake. He says, you need to be ashamed of your ways. You need to recognize that your thoughts and your ways, they're shameful. They're shameful.

And it's shameful that you would practice those things when God has given us His Word and a better way of life in obedience to Him. It's shameful that we would practice those things. Paul said, look, what advantage do we gain from those things that we're now ashamed of? What advantage is there? Those things that we used to practice, those things that perhaps some are still practicing, that should be in the past, but they're not in the past. They're shameful. God says, look, you need to be ashamed of your ways.

Confound it for your own ways. Recognize how bad sin is. I don't have the quote right in front of me, but I read from Warren Wiersbe earlier today that if you can look back with pleasant feelings or emotions about sinful behavior,

of the past that you've not really confessed them to the Lord. You really haven't repented of those things. If they're pleasant memories to you, if they're things that you can enjoy or maybe you can even kind of dabble in a little bit here and there that it's not something that you've confessed to the Lord. It's not something that you've repented from. Look, when we confess to the Lord, confess means to agree with God.

When we agree with God about sin, we'll be ashamed and confounded for our own ways. That's the right attitude for our sinful practices. That's the right heart to have about the things that were not of God. But notice he says, on the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities. So even though they practice iniquities that are shameful,

They practice things that they should be ashamed of. He says, look, I'm going to cleanse you of your iniquities. And the same is true for us as believers. Yeah, we practice things that were shameful. And we still sin. We still fall short. And it's shameful. But God cleanses us. You know, 1 John 1.9, right? If we confess our sin, He's faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God cleanses us even though our ways are shameful.

He goes on to explain that the desolate land is going to be tilled. Instead of lying desolate, you know, just like a waste, a desert, it's going to be productive. It's going to be harvested. It's going to produce fruit. There's going to be such a change. He describes it as going from being desolate to being like the Garden of Eden. Now, you can't get a more dramatic contrast than that, right? That's the extent of the blessing of God. When He does this work,

It's going to be so amazing. It's going to be so incredible. It will be transformed from the desolate wasteland to the Garden of Eden.

And he says, the result will be that the nations around you will know that I, the Lord, have done this. The work is going to be so great, they're going to be like, only God could do that. And they're going to recognize that it's God who does the work. You know, the same should be true in our own lives. That is, the people around us look on in our lives, that they should have that same testimony. Because we have nothing to boast of before God, right? And we need to be careful about that, right?

People look on your life and say, wow, you're so happy. Well, you know, because I'm such a good Christian, that's why I have this joy. Oh, you have such peace. Well, because, you know, I go to church every day. No, it's not about what I've done. It's about what God has done. We have nothing to boast about. We need to let the people around us know, look, this isn't because of me. You guys know me.

This is the work of God. This is the transformation of God. This is something that He has done, not that I have done. Verse 37, Thus says the Lord God, I will also let the house of Israel inquire of me to do this for them. I will increase their men like a flock, like a flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with the flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

God says, look, I'm going to increase the men. I'm going to increase the population like a flock. He describes it like a flock in Jerusalem on the feast days because everybody would bring their sacrifices, right? And so there would just be this massive amount of sheep there in Jerusalem on the feast days. He says that's what the land is going to be like, just filled with men, filled with people to the brim.

He's going to bless them abundantly. And then they will know that He is the Lord. What a change!

As we consider chapter 36 and chapter 35. What a change from the things that we've studied thus far in Ezekiel. All this promise of judgment, all this pronouncement of warnings and all the things that Ezekiel's been bringing. Now this is a huge change. Now it's this incredible promise of blessing. Blessing like you can't believe. Blessing like you can't handle. Because God says, I'm going to do this work. And I'm going to accomplish my purposes.

Listen, this is what God has in store for His people, for His followers. We're looking at the nation of Israel and those are the things that are going to be fulfilled during the millennium. That's what God has in store for His people. But in a similar way, you and I as believers have some similar promises. What God has in store for us in eternity. What God has in store for us in obedience to Him. It's more than we can handle.

And we can continue on and experience God's judgment. We can continue on and rebel against Him and, you know, experience more judgment than we can handle. Or we can turn and walk with God as He's called us to. We can turn from our sin. We can repent of our old ways and our own ways. And we can be submitted to Him and experience more blessing than we can handle. Now, I'm not saying, you know, we're all going to be wealthy. Listen, blessing is not just material things. To have peace is

To have joy. To be used by God. To accomplish things that will last for eternity. These are incredible things. They're worth so much. Much, much more than the material things. To be fulfilled. To be forgiven. These are the things that God has in store for those who turn to Him. But it's not by our goodness. It's not by our works. It's by His grace. You remember what Paul said in Ephesians 2?

He said, By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Royce and Kim are going to come up and lead us in worship again. And as they do, I want to encourage you to consider this incredible chapter of blessing that we've seen. And I think all of us would agree, yeah, I want to be blessed like that. I want to experience those blessings of God. So as we worship the Lord together,

Let's take stock. Let's consider. Lord, am I where you want me to be? Or, like Edom, am I harboring some ancient hatreds, holding on to some grudges, being bitter, things that you've called me to let go of? Am I envious? Am I rejoicing over the fall of others? Am I practicing my own ways? Are there things in my life, Lord, that you're calling me to get rid of? It's time right now to be ashamed of our own ways.

to turn from them and to turn to God because He has some incredible things in store for us in His grace. Let's worship the Lord together. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.