| Ezekiel 36 Previous Chapter | Next Chapter 1 "And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, 'You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: 2 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy has said against you, "Aha, even the ancient high places are our possession," 3 Therefore prophesy and say, "Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side so that you became a possession of the rest of the heathen, and became talked of and slandered by the people, 4 Therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, to the desolate ruins and to the cities that are deserted, that became a prey and derision to the rest of the heathen that are around you; 5 Thus says the Lord GOD: Surely in the fire of my jealousy I have spoken against the rest of the heathen and against all Idumea, who have taken my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and despiteful minds, so that they could plunder it.'" 6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, "Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury because you have borne the shame of the heathen; 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I have lifted up my hand [in an oath]. Surely the heathen that are around you, shall suffer their own shame. 8 But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people of Israel, for they are soon to come home. 9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will settle you according to your old estates and will do better for you than at your beginnings; and you shall know that I am the LORD. 12 Yes, I will cause my people, my people Israel, to walk upon you, and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance; and you shall no more from this time forward make them bereaved of children [by idol sacrifice]. 13 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, 'You devour up men, and have bereaved your nation of children,' 14 Therefore you shall devour men no more, neither bereave your nations any more, says the Lord GOD. 15 Neither will I let you hear the taunts of the heathen any more, nor shall you bear the reproach of the people any more, nor shall you cause your nations to fall any more, says the Lord GOD." 16 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 17 "Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their deeds. Their way was before me like the uncleanness of a woman during her impurity. 18 Therefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land and for their idols with which they had polluted it. 19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries; I judged them according to their ways and according to their deeds. 20 And when they went among the heathen to which they went, they defiled my holy name when men said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to gone forth out of his land.' 21 But I had pity for my holy name, which the house of Israel had defiled among the heathen to which they went. 22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'thus says the Lord GOD: I do not do this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have defiled among the heathen to which you went. 23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was defiled among the heathen, which you have defiled in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when I am set apart and holy among you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the heathen and gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness; and I will cleanse you from all your idols. 26 I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.1 [The stony heart symbolizes the stubborn, evil heart in all men; the fleshly heart symbolizes the heart that is submissive and obedient to God.] 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments, and do them. 28 And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will also save you from all your uncleanness, and I will call forth the grain and will increase it and lay no famine upon you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, so that you will no longer suffer the reproach of famine among the heathen. 31 Then you will remember your own evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. 32 I do not do this for your sakes,' says the Lord GOD, 'let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. 33 Thus says the Lord GOD: In the day that I have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be rebuilt. 34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, where it lay desolate in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, "This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities have become fortified and are inhabited." 36 Then the heathen that are left around you shall know that I the LORD rebuild the ruined places and replant that which was desolate. I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. 37 Thus says the Lord GOD: For I will also let the house of Israel ask me to do this for them; I will increase them with men like a flock of sheep. 38 Like the flocks of sheep [for holy offerings] at Jerusalem in her solemn feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know that I am the LORD.'" Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | |||||||||
1 I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. From George Fox's The Second Covenant:
And in Ezek 11 and 26, the Lord said by him, I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you, and I will take their stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances to do them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. Now this spirit is witnessed, which the Lord has put within his people, and has given them a new heart, and this is the one heart, the new heart, with which the people of God come to be joined together to God. This brings the people to know the Lord to be their God, and themselves to be his people according to his promise: they shall be unto me a people, and I will be unto them a God; but as for those that walk after the heart of their own detestable things, and their own abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, says the Lord God.
Now here is the end and portion of those who walk by the light of Christ, walk by the light, so by the law, for the law is light; but those who witness the new heart, the one heart, if it be thousands, yes ten thousands, these walk over all the abomination and detestable things of the world, and see the Lord recompensing upon their heads of those who walk after their own hearts, they are not in this one heart, but in the heart that is desperately wicked, and deceitful, and that is the old heart, the corrupt heart, that is desperately wicked, and this is the portion of them that walk after detestable things, and abominations, God will recompense it upon their own heads. Christ the second priest, the righteousness of God, the everlasting covenant of light, life and peace; when he was to leave his disciples and to pass away from them, he said, I will send you the Comforter. Here is the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name: he shall teach you all things. Mark, the Comforter was to come to those who were of Christ and followed him; the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, would come to them from the Father, which Christ is the way to, which Holy Ghost should teach them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance. Whatever I have spoken to you, [now mark,] this is it that must teach, and was to teach, and must bring all things to remembrance, which Christ has spoken to his disciples, [mark,] this brings to remembrance, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter which comes from the Father, the spirit of truth, which leads into all truth. Now who would have anything to teach them, and to bring to their remembrance, all the things that Christ has spoken, and to teach them, except the Comforter the Holy Ghost; yet there are many who oppose this and deny the possibility of this occurring, and they argue about the meaning of the words of scripture quoted above.
The Holy Spirit is what brings them to remembrance, and the same baptizes and shuts out of the old memory the words; he, who has the words in the old memory of his carnal mind, does not have the Holy Ghost to teach him. But now thousands have come to witness the Holy Ghost, including both those who are educated in letter and ignorant in letter. The Holy Ghost teaches them and brings to their remembrance the things that Christ has spoken; it brings to memory. Without it bringing to memory, there is no teaching of the educated or uneducated, as Peter speaks of; but this is it that teaches, the Holy Ghost, and brings to memory, and lets them see the words, yes, of all things as Christ has spoken; so peace I leave with you.
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