Renewal From Sin’s Exile

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: Ezekiel 36:16-38

 

Romans 6:4

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

(NKJV)

 

Anyone living as a believer in a fallen world can relate to how some in Israel may have felt when living in exile. The truth is that each of us is born into the exile of sin (Romans 3:23) and in need of God’s gift of grace to deliver us from sin and death so we can experience renewal from sin in our lives (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23). The return of Israel and Judah from seventy years of exile is an illustration of God’s grace and something available to everyone reading this post no matter how vile your sin.

 

Ezekiel receives another word from the Lord that begins with a reminder of why they are in exile and how vile their uncleanness and idolatry were to Him (Ezekiel 36:16-17). This is why the house of Israel now finds themselves in exile, scattered among the nations and countries (Ezekiel 36:18-19). Even when going into exile, the house of Israel continued to profane the holy name of God causing the nations into which they were exiled to say these are the people of the Lord and have gone out of His land (Ezekiel 36:20). However, the Lord had concern for His holy name that Israel profaned among the nations (Ezekiel 36:21).

 

Therefore, what the Lord is about to do is not for the sake of the house of Israel but for the sake of His holy name (Ezekiel 36:22). The Lord will sanctify His holy name among the nations in which Israel is exiled by gathering Israel from out of these nations (Ezekiel 36:23-24). The Lord will cleanse Israel from her filthiness and idolatry, remove their hearts of stone, replacing them with a heart of flesh, and put His Spirit within them (Ezekiel 36:25-27). Israel shall once again live in the land God has given them (Ezekiel 36:28). Not only will they return to their land, but they shall prosper in it (Ezekiel 36:29-30). Israel shall remember their evil ways and have loathing for their iniquities and abominations (Ezekiel 36:31). Once again, the Lord reminds them that He is not doing this for their sakes, but to sanctify His holy name (Ezekiel 36:32).

 

The cleansing from the Lord will enable Israel to once again live in their cities that are no longer desolate but rebuilt (Ezekiel 36:33). The desolate land will be tilled and become like the Garden of Eden with its once ruined cities inhabited and fortified (Ezekiel 36:34-35). This renewal will be a witness to the nations around Israel, causing them to know the Lord as God and that He will do what He says (Ezekiel 36:36). The people living in Israel will also increase and populate the once ruined cities (Ezekiel 36:37-38).

 

Not only will Israel return from exile to the land given to them by God, but they will also experience cleansing from their sins and total renewal. It was never the intention of God for His people to experience destruction for their sin but to bring them to repentance through exile (Jeremiah 29:11). During the seventy years of exile, a new generation of Israelites is born into which the Lord places a heart of flesh and not stone with His Spirit within them (Ezekiel 36:26). The nations surrounding Israel will see God’s mercy and grace on display with the desolate land becoming fruitful, the cities inhabited, and ruins restored. Instead of them profaning the name of the Lord, the Lord’s name is praised.

 

In Romans 3:23, we are reminded that we come from the exile of sin in our lives. The consequence of this sin is death, but through Christ, one can experience total renewal and eternal life (John 3:16; Romans 6:23). Like the desolation of the land of Israel because of the uncleanness and idolatry in the land, our sin and seeking peace in created things as opposed to the creator leaves our lives desolate. When Jesus said it is finished from the cross, he was declaring the debt of sin that makes one’s life desolate paid in full (John 19:28-30). However, this gift is not one forced upon us as seen in the reactions of the two crucified with Jesus on the cross (Luke 23:39-43). One thief blasphemed Jesus, telling him that if He were the Christ, He should come down from the cross and save Himself. Had Jesus done this it would have been selfish and a failure to surrender to the will of God as he stated in the Garden (Matthew 26:39). The other thief rebuked the blasphemous thief and asked Jesus to remember him when he came into His kingdom to which Jesus promised they would be together in paradise (Luke 23:40-43). One thief blasphemed Jesus and died in his sins, while the other sought forgiveness and received a life with Jesus for eternity in paradise.

 

Restoration to the Lord begins with one making Jesus their Lord through confessing Jesus as their Lord with a genuine belief that Jesus died for their sins and was resurrected from the dead in victory over sin and death (Romans 10:9-10). This is not optional for all of us have sinned (Romans 3:23) and live under a death sentence for our sins (Romans 6:23), but as the second half of Romans 6:23 tells us, God’s gift to humanity is eternal life through Jesus Christ. If you have never done so or if you have drifted away from God, I invite you to experience restoration by praying with me now.

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

May God challenge and bless everyone reading this post.