The Triumph of Hope

⁸ “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. ⁹ I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, ¹⁰ and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. ¹¹ I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

BASIC BIBLICAL TEXT

¹² I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children. ¹³ “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because some say to you, “You devour people and deprive your nation of its children,” ¹⁴ therefore you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁵ No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign Lord.’” ²⁴ “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.

BASIC BIBLICAL TEXT

Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

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Ezekiel 36.28

GOLDEN TEXT

* Understand the causes of the difficulties experienced by exiles from the Kingdom of Judah in Babylonian captivity;

* Comprehend that God is the hope for his beloved people;

* Be aware that, no matter how difficult the situation that oppresses us, the presence of the Lord brings comfort and certainty of protection.

OBJECTIVES

The book of the prophet Ezekiel, in its first 24 chapters, predicts the destruction of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. In the sequence of the book (chaps. 25-32), the prophet deals with the Babylonian siege, the inevitable fall of Jerusalem and divine judgment on seven pagan nations. In the last chapters (33-48), the message reaches its climax, dealing with the future restoration of the nation by the powerful hand of God.

INTRODUCTION

HOPE DID NOT DIE

The hopelessness of the nation

1 – HOPE DID NOT DIE

The God of hope

The message of hope

1.1 - The hopelessness of the nation

Ezekiel was in Babylon when he received a message from an Israelite who had escaped from Jerusalem, telling him that the city had been destroyed by Babylonian forces.

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Judah was in this situation of extreme adversity, as it had become contaminated with the sinful practices of neighboring nations.

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For this reason, they received divine judgment, according to their ways and deeds. The righteous Judge scattered the Israelites among the nations (Eze 36.17-19).

1.1.1 – Edom's judgment

Jehovah destined Canaan to the chosen people (Gen 12.1-3; Js 1.6; Ez 37.14). The Edomites, descendants of Esau, harbored great hatred, envy and enmity against the Israelites (Gen 36; Ez 35.11), because they desired to possess the Promised Land to transform it into pasture (Ez 35.10,12).

Ezekiel, however, announced that the Lord would judge all nations, including Edom. Even in captivity, Israel would not lose its land to any other nation.

At no time in its history did Israel fully conquer the land, as was the will of the Lord. The time to possess it in fullness will occur in the Millennium, when Christ will reign gloriously with the chosen ones.

1.2 - The God of hope

Even in the face of the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple, the Israelites received a message of hope from God, indicating that a glorious future awaited them (Jer 31:16,17). Israel's hope had not perished; she would rescue them in time of trouble (Jer 14:8).

1.3 - The message of hope

The Lord placed on Ezekiel's lips a message of restoration for the nation, which filled people with hope.

The Israelites received from the Eternal the promise to return to their land and contemplate, once again, the fruition of life (Ez 36.8).

The mountains, hills, streams and valleys that were devastated would become a garden of Eden. The population that had been decimated by hunger, pestilence and war would be plowed, sown and multiplied and would once again walk on the ground of their possession.

The cities devastated by the warlike power of the invaders would be rebuilt and inhabited. The animals would multiply and thus fill the pastures of Israel.

STEPS TOWARDS THE RESTORATION OF THE NATION

Purification

2 – STEPS TOWARDS THE RESTORATION OF THE NATION

Regeneration

The Holy Spirit action

2.1 - Purification

After promoting the return of Judah to its own land, the Lord would purify the nation of all filth and idolatrous practices, spreading water (Ez 36.25) - a common practice of purifying ceremonial impurities (Ex 29.4; 30.17-21).

In the conversation with Nicodemus, the master Jesus teaches about the need for new birth, which occurs through the action of the Holy Spirit and the Word (John 3.5; Eph 5.26,27).

2.2 - Regeneration

Only God knows deeply the heart of man and its true intentions. For this reason, only He has the power to transform an insensitive heart, obedient, loyal and willing to fulfill His good, perfect and pleasant will (Rm 12.1,2).

2.3 - The Holy Spirit action

The Lord would put His Spirit in the hearts of the Israelites, and they would obey His Word and practice His commandments. Through this operation of the Holy Spirit, Israel would dwell in its own land and Jehovah would be its only God, granting it all kinds of blessings, including material ones (Ez 36.27, 29, 30).

RESTORATION LEVELS

National and spiritual restoration of Israel

3 – RESTORATION LEVELS

The end of the division

3.1 - National and spiritual restoration of Israel

In this vision, God comforted a hopeless nation, which harbored the feeling of having been cut off. The message of the valley of dry bones was granted and interpreted by the God of Israel himself: and the valley would correspond to the place of judgment; the disjointed and separated bones would be the Israelites separated and scattered with the destruction of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.

3.1 - National and spiritual restoration of Israel

They would be dry because their hope had died. This message deals with the political and spiritual restoration of the nation of Israel (Ez 37). The first part of this glorious prophecy was fulfilled in the face of diplomatic impossibilities and gigantic Arab opposition. Of course, the second part will also occur.

3.2 - The end of the division

God used a visual resource - the figure of two pieces of wood, corresponding to the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel - to demonstrate that both would be brought together again to form a single nation under the leadership of David's descendant. This reveals that God's desire is the unity of his people. And, for this union to come true, He would apply the power of His Word and create a leader capable of ensuring the unity of His people.

Even though he has the power to operate alone, God calls men to collaborate with His work, as He did with Ezekiel, his watchman. Jehovah called the prophet to contemplate the impossible (Ez 37.2); activated his faith (Ez 37.3); and gave him his Word (Ez 37:4, 5, 7).

CONCLUSION

GOD BLESS YOU!

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