Ezekiel 36:16

“Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, &c.] Here begins another prophecy, which was delivered about the same time with the former: saying; as follows:”

“The defilement of the people described in order to its removal. Ezekiel 36:20 They profaned my holy name - Caused it to be dishonored by the pagan who said in scorn, “This is the people of God.” The pagan, seeing the miserable state of the exiles, fancied that Yahweh was no more than a national god, powerless to protect his subjects. return to 'Top of Page'”

“36:16-38 Ezekiel reminded his hearers of their guilt and their need for God to change their hearts. In the future, God would cleanse his people. • Objects and people are divided in the Old Testament into the categories of “clean” and “unclean,” “sacred” and “profane” (see “Clean, Unclean, and Holy” Theme Note). God had made Israel clean, while the Gentile nations had remained unclean. Then Israel as a nation became unclean because of their bloodshed and idolatry, which defiled the land. Because they behaved like the unclean nations, Israel’s punishment of being scattered among the nations was fitting. In the future, God would make them clean so that he could dwell among them again. The other…”

“The Salvation of Israel Founded upon Its Sanctification Because Israel has defiled its land by its sins, God has scattered the people among the heathen; but because they also profaned His name among the heathen, He will exercise forbearance for the sake of His holy name ( Eze 36:16-21), will gather Israel out of the lands, cleanse it from its sins, and sanctify it by the communication of His Spirit, so that it will walk in His ways ( Eze 36:22-28), and will so bless and multiply it, that both the nations around and Israel itself will know that He is the Lord ( Eze 36:29-38). \- This promise is shown by the introductory formula in Eze 36:16 and by the contents to be an independent word of…”