A Change for the Better (Ezekiel 36–37)

A restless heart can chase a thousand paths and still come up empty. We walk through Ezekiel 36–37 to explore a hope that holds when everything else shakes: God’s promise to restore, cleanse, and breathe life where despair has settled in. From the renewal of the land to the renewal of the heart, the prophet maps a future where scattered people are gathered, shame is washed away, and a stone-cold will is warmed to life by the Spirit.

We start with the hard truth of exile and the staggering claim that God acts for the sake of his name. That single motive turns the entire forecast from wishful thinking into anchored certainty. Clean water for uncleanness, a new heart and a new spirit, and an indwelling presence that reshapes desire—this isn’t surface change but deep transformation. Then the scene shifts to one of Scripture’s most arresting images: a valley of dry bones. As Ezekiel prophesies, skeletons reassemble, tendons knit, flesh returns, and breath rushes in. God declares the bones are “the whole house of Israel,” promising national resurrection where hope looked like dust.

Unity follows life. God instructs Ezekiel to join two sticks—Judah and Joseph—into one. The divided kingdoms become a single people under one king, with David named and the sanctuary restored. Whether you read David as the beloved king serving under the Messiah or as a title pointing to Jesus, the son of David, the emphasis is the same: real leadership, true worship, and a people remade from the inside out. We also address the timing tied to the return of Christ and the millennial kingdom, while drawing a line to today’s questions: where does your heart rest, and what does repentance look like now?

If your confidence feels thin, this conversation offers more than comfort; it offers a framework for hope rooted in God’s character. Listen for the sweep of promise and the personal call—turn from pride, receive cleansing, and find rest in Jesus. If the vision of dry bones can stand, so can your faith. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review to join the conversation. Where is your heart resting today?

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Transcript

A Restless Heart And Its Rest

Promise To The Land And Nations Judged

Cleansing, New Heart, New Spirit

Timing And The Coming Kingdom

Valley Of Dry Bones Vision

Two Sticks, One King, Future Temple

Hope, Assurance, And A Call To Trust

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Augustine was a late fourth and early fifth century church leader who once prayed this powerful prayer. You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you. How true that is today. Well, it was true back here in Ezekiel's day, the people of Israel were restless, but they really should never have been restless. They were graciously chosen by God, but the nation never truly rested in God alone by faith. So here we are now in Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37, where we're given a detailed prophecy of Israel's glorious future when all the people of God finally rest in him. Chapter 36 begins with the restoration of the land, and here Ezekiel is instructed to address God's message to the mountains of Israel, that is, to the entire nation, emphasizing as well God's promise of this land that will belong to them. The Lord says here in verse 5 concerning Judah's enemies, especially Edom, they gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt. Well they had delighted in the destruction of Jerusalem. God promised that they themselves will suffer reproach, here in verse 7. In other words, they're gloating. It isn't going to last very long. Well, now, in contrast to the judgment awaiting these nations, the Lord says, the mountains of Israel are going to prosper with renewed abundance, here in verse 8. The people are going to multiply, they're going to inhabit rebuilt cities, verse 10. Israel is going to be restored to a state far more superior than its former glory, verse 11. And that's of course because in the future kingdom they are no longer in rebellion against God. Well now at verse 16 here in chapter 36, the Lord's message turns to the rebirth of the people of Israel. First, he reminds them that their scattering, their exile, while that was necessary as God judged them. Well, that caused his name, that is his reputation, to be mocked among the nations. But he's going to correct all of that in this future day, this future kingdom. And the Lord says, gives them the reason why here in verse 22. It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I'm about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations. There's no room, beloved, for pride in his restored people. His grace is always given to undeserving people, including you and me. But what's the result? Well, all the nations will see his grace toward that future generation of Israel, and they're going to know that he is indeed God. Now verse 24 tells us that God is going to regather the people from all the countries around the world and bring them into their own land. They're going to be awakened spiritually, they're going to believe the gospel of Christ. Listen to the promise here in verse 25. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you. Sprinkling with water symbolized cleansing from defilement in the Old Testament. So this is a promise of future ceremonial cleansing from sin. They're also told in that promise I just read, they're going to get a new heart and a new spirit. This is describing their conversion to faith in him. And this is nothing less than spiritual rebirth. They're given a new life by the Holy Spirit who's going to indwell them. What an amazing promise. There's coming a time when God will pour out His Spirit on the people of Israel, and as the Apostle Paul promises in Romans 11 26, all Israel will be saved. Well, this hasn't happened yet, has it? When's this going to happen? Well, the context of this prophecy is looking forward to the end of the tribulation when Jesus returns to establish his millennial kingdom on earth. And as a result of their national conversion, the people of Israel are going to have a new relationship with the Lord, one that is internal. It's going to deal with our heart. It's very personal. And even though they are graciously forgiven, the Lord says to them here in Ezekiel's prophecy, verse 31 says, You will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good. In other words, they're going to be filled with great remorse. Now, verse 32 follows up with an appeal for the exiles to do that immediately, to be ashamed of their ways, to be confounded for their ways. They need to repent now. And sadly, they're going to refuse. Now, this remarkable prophecy of Israel's spiritual awakening is pictured here in chapter 37 as a resurrection, the resurrection of the nation. This is a powerful illustration, by the way, of what God is going to do in the future restoration of Israel. Now, God gives Ezekiel a vision. And in this vision, the Lord leads Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry human bones. They've been out there for some time and so they've dried out. The Lord asks the Providence 3, can these bones live? Well, obviously the answer is no. And Ezekiel answers the Lord, Oh, Lord God, you know. Well, that's kind of a nice way of saying, Lord, I think this is a trick question. You alone know the answer to that question. God then tells Ezekiel to start prophesying to these bones, telling them to listen to the word of the Lord who can give them breath and life. In other words, Ezekiel is to preach a message about the power of God to bring the dead back to life. And when Ezekiel begins to preach this message, all of these bones here begin to rattle and shake and then come together. Verse 7 says, bone to its bone, sinews or tendons along with flesh come upon them as these skeletons are reformed and the bodies refashioned. Well the Lord then tells Ezekiel here in verse nine to prophesy to the breath, saying, Breathe on these slain that they may live. Now the Hebrew word for breathe or breath, ruach, can also mean wind or spirit. This wind or breath, this spirit then arrives and breathes into these dead bodies, and they all immediately come back to life and stand up on their feet. How's that for an amazing vision of a resurrection produced by God? Well, God now identifies the bones here in verse 11. These bones are the whole house of Israel. Now at this moment, Ezekiel knows Israel is spiritually dead. As a nation, they're dried up. In fact, the skeletal structure of their nation has already decayed. It's already turning back to dust. In fact, all hope is lost. So you have to imagine how impossible this prophecy must have sounded to the exiles. Their homeland was devastated, Jerusalem is burned, the temple is destroyed. For the nation to experience a resurrection, well, that's only something that God alone can do. Now, after this vision, the Lord tells Ezekiel to act out a sign. He says to him here in verse 16, take a stick and write on it for Judah. Then take another stick and write on it for Joseph. That is the stick of Ephraim. Join them one to another into one stick that they may become one in your hand. Now these two sticks that are going to be joined together symbolize the two kingdoms, Judah and Israel, here called Joseph or Ephraim. And guess what? They are united, they are reestablished in their land. We read here in verse 22 that they will be one nation under one king. The king is David. This could be a reference either to David, who serves under King Jesus, or a reference to Jesus as the son of David. Now, verse 26 adds something new that's going to be a prominent theme later on in Ezekiel, and namely that's God's sanctuary or temple. This is going to be restored. Now that hadn't happened yet. In fact, we are still waiting to this day on the fulfillment of these rather astounding prophecies. But they will literally come true when Jesus Himself descends from heaven to sit on his throne as king over all the earth. These might be troubling times today, but let me encourage you to rest your heart in the promises of God. By the way, the world is right on track. The Divine Shepherd is at work. Where is your heart resting today? Let me encourage you to find your place of trust and rest in Jesus Christ. Well, until next time, beloved, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.