What is the meaning of Ezekiel 36:37? This is what the Lord GOD says – The verse opens by anchoring everything that follows in God’s own voice and authority. • Scripture often prefaces divine promises this way, underscoring that they are certain and irrevocable (Isaiah 55:11; 2 Peter 1:21). • Because the declaration is God’s, the believer can rest in the absolute reliability of the promise (Numbers 23:19). Once again I will hear the plea of the house of Israel – “Once again” signals renewed relationship after judgment and exile. • God had earlier said He would not listen while Israel persisted in rebellion (Ezekiel 8:18), but repentance brings His ear back to His people (2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 34:15). • Paul affirms this enduring covenant concern: “Has God rejected His people? Certainly not!” (Romans 11:1). – The phrase assures Israel—and by extension all who call on Him—that prayer is effective and that God’s mercy is never exhausted (Lamentations 3:22-23). and do for them this – Hearing leads to action. The Lord does not merely sympathize; He intervenes. • Throughout Scripture, divine promises move from word to deed (Jeremiah 33:14; Joshua 21:45). • This reflects His unchanging character: “He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24). – The verse prepares us to expect something visible, measurable, and gracious. I will multiply their people like a flock – God pledges explosive population growth, using pastoral imagery familiar to Israel. • Earlier in the chapter He promised, “I will make you inhabited as in former times, and will do more good to you than at first” (Ezekiel 36:11). • Similar language appears in Hosea 1:10, where Israel’s numbers will be “like the sand of the sea,” and Zechariah 10:8, where God whistles and gathers them “for I have redeemed them.” • The “flock” metaphor conveys not only quantity but care; a shepherd watches over his sheep (Psalm 23:1; John 10:14-16). – Historically, the post-exilic return previewed this promise; prophetically, it looks forward to Israel’s ultimate restoration in the kingdom age, when the land will teem with people joyfully worshiping the Messiah (Ezekiel 37:25-28). summary Ezekiel 36:37 assures that God, whose word never fails, will once more listen to repentant Israel, actively answer their petitions, and repopulate the land abundantly under His shepherding care. The verse testifies to God’s faithful love, the power of prayer, and the certainty of Israel’s literal restoration—a promise that also encourages every believer to trust the Lord who both hears and acts. |
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