799_The God Who Restores Ruins (Ezekiel 35-36)
Ezekiel 36:24-32 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 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. 26 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. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 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 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.
There is something strangely painful about walking past a place that was once beautiful and thriving – perhaps a house, a business, a garden – and seeing it in ruins. Silence has replaced the sounds of life. Looking at it, we may wonder, “Can anything ever be done with this again?” The same question could be asked of our lives. Something once beautiful has been damaged. Something once fruitful has become barren. It could be a ministry, a relationship, our own spiritual life. And we may wonder, “Is this the end of the story?”
Ezekiel 35 and 36 bring the message of restoration. Ruins are not necessarily the final chapter when God is involved. In fact, here we realize that God is the One who is present even when everything around appears abandoned. He is the One who can restore what seems beyond recovery.
Ezekiel 35 begins with a prophecy against Mount Seir, or Edom. Edom had a long-standing hostility toward Israel. When Jerusalem fell and Judah was weakened, Edom saw Israel’s devastation and thought, “Now is our chance.” Ezekiel 35:10 describes their attitude: “These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will take possession of them”—even though, as he says, “the LORD was there.”
From a human perspective, it certainly looked as though Israel’s story was over. But the presence of God had not been cancelled by the ruins.
We need to remember this when circumstances go against us. We may be deceived into thinking that because something has fallen apart, God must have abandoned it. We see the delay and assume that God has forgotten. We experience the silence and conclude that God is doing nothing. But Ezekiel reminds us that our history is still under the sovereign presence of God.
Edom did not merely gloat over Israel’s weakness. Still worse, they saw it as a chance to grab the land for themselves. God saw their hatred, their envy, and their evil covetousness. He answers, in Ezekiel 35:11, “I will deal with you according to your anger and according to the envy that you showed because of your hatred against them.”
God sees what happens when people take advantage of the weakness of others. He sees the person struggling, the crisis-ridden family, the believer who has fallen, and the situation that seems defenseless. Scripture says, “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls” (Proverbs 24:17). God does not permit us to celebrate another person’s ruin. He calls us to humility, compassion, prayer, and mercy.
And in Ezekiel 36, the atmosphere changes as God now speaks of restoration. In words of hope, God says in Ezekiel 36:8, “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they are about to come home.”
Desolate and empty places would again become fruitful and inhabited. The cities that had been destroyed would be rebuilt. Verse 11 promises, “I will make you inhabited as in your former times, and I will do more good to you than ever before.”
For God has greater restoration in mind than merely rebuilding houses, cities, and fields. The greatest need of the people was not the building up of the ruins. They needed restored hearts, and not just a restored homeland.
And so God gives them exceeding great and precious promises. Ezekiel 36:25–27 says, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses… And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you… And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful and obey my rules.”
God’s work starts from the inside out. He cleanses the sinful and rebellious heart. He changes hearts and puts a new spirit. Obedience is no longer to be enforced from the outside, but flowing from a willing heart. Indeed, God does not merely repair the external appearance of a ruined life. He begins his restoring work at the deepest level.
We often ask God to restore our circumstances, but God wants to restore us. We may say, “Lord, rebuild what I have lost.” And God may answer, “I will rebuild your heart.” We may him to remove the ruins around us, while God begins removing the ruins within us.
At the same time, God makes it clear that he acts thus, not because Israel deserved it, but because of who he is. Ezekiel 36:22 asserts, “It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name.” Israel had failed. More, they had sinned and brought judgment upon themselves. Yet God’s covenant did not break down, for he is faithful in loving kindness.
God longs to reveal his name, his heart, his character, in his kindness towards us and towards all who will accept his grace in all its riches. His salvation is never because of what we have done. It is because he cannot help loving us and being merciful to us.
And the result is that we became all the more aware of our ruined state, our ugliness, our worthlessness, our sinfulness. This realization and humiliation is the sure sign that we have seen God’s hand at work, and recognized it as sheer mercy. Such a change completely does away with all pride. “And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace,” as Romans 11:5 points out.
This is why we put our hope in God. For his work is not based on our goodness. He does not wait for us to become strong and godly before beginning to restore. He comes to us in our brokenness to cleanse and renew us by his Spirit, and build up the ruins of our lives.
Our sins were forgiven for Christ’s sake. Through Him, the new covenant was established, we were cleansed and quickened to new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 describes this work, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Perhaps today all we can see in our lives are the ruins of our hopes and work. Something we have done, or something that has happened to us. A broken-down relationship, a collapsed dream. Only shattered pieces may have been left behind.
But remember, “the LORD was there.” Your circumstances do not exclude God. Your ruins do not intimidate Him. Your past failure does not exhaust His grace.
But restoration need not mean that things go back to how they were. Restoration is more about our hearts than our circumstances. God may restore a relationship, or strengthen us to live in obedience to him despite the shattered relationship. He may restore a ministry, or change us so deeply that we begin to see that his greatest work was occurring within us.
We need not pray only, “Lord, rebuild what has fallen.” Sometimes, we should cry out, “Lord, rebuild me.” Give me a clean heart. Give me a steadfast spirit. Put Your Spirit within me. Teach me to trust You when I cannot understand your ways. For in your hands, ruins are restored.
The God of Ezekiel still brings life out of what appears barren. He who restored Israel brings sinners back to himself in peace and love. The greatest evidence of His restoring power is not external circumstances, but a heart that has turned again to know, trust, love, and obey him.
The ruins may be real. The losses may be painful. The consequences may remain. But they do not have to be the final chapter. Trust God with what remains, surrender it all to him, and let him restore, not only around you, but within you. God bless.
Take a few moments to reflect on these questions
What are some areas of your life where you have been tempted to interpret brokenness or delay as evidence that God has abandoned you, and how does Ezekiel 35:10 challenge that conclusion?
Why do you think God emphasizes giving His people a new heart and putting His Spirit within them rather than merely restoring their land and circumstances?
How can you practically surrender the “ruins” in your life to God and allow Him to restore and transform you from the inside out?
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, thank You that You are the God who restores ruins. Our brokenness does not place us beyond Your grace. You are present even when our circumstances appear hopeless. I trust you and give you my broken life. I know you will transform me and guide me in obeying you. I look beyond the present situation and see your faithfulness, O my God. You have cleansed and renewed me, and you will restore me in your grace. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.