Commentary on Ezekiel 36:24-28

Through his Priestly theology, the prophet Ezekiel explains the exile and the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 587 BCE. For the prophet, the people of Judah have defiled or contaminated the land through their abominations of idolatry and political alliances. “Idolatry” here refers to worshipping other gods and also putting trust in other political and military powers. YHWH departed from the Temple (Ezekiel 8–11) and led the people into exile so the land would be cleansed from the abominations caused by the people (Ezekiel 1–33). 

For Ezekiel, the exile did not happen because YHWH is a capricious God or because YHWH is weaker than the gods of the Babylonians. Rather, the exile is a result of the people’s behavior, and its end goal is to cleanse the land so it would be suitable again for the holy God to dwell amid God’s people. Now that the exile has happened, the prophet offers words of hope that the people will return to the land and that their relationship with their God will be renewed by their gaining a new moral identity (Ezekiel 34–48). 

When Ezekiel speaks about divine salvation, he does not address it from the lens of love and grace. Instead, for Ezekiel, YHWH saves because God has compassion and zealotry toward the divine name that has been defiled among the nations. YHWH does indeed save the people and restore them to the land because of the deity’s commitment to God’s name, not because the people have repented or have done something to make YHWH’s mind change. 

Just as the people were the cause of the shame that was brought upon YHWH’s name when the deity scattered them into captivity, so will the people be the instrument through which YHWH will be sanctified before the eyes of the nations when the divine restores them to the land (36:22–24). While judgment was appropriate for their actions (36:19), restoration and return from exile are based on YHWH’s identity and commitment to the divine name (36:22). For Ezekiel, salvation is not based on something people do or deserve. It is solely based on divine holiness, identity, and action. 

Before the people return to the land, YHWH will cleanse them by water from their sins and impurities, especially idolatry (36:25; Exodus 30:17–21). The ritual of cleansing is an external sign of a deeper work that YHWH will perform on the people. The ritual offers an embodied way of experiencing a new reality that YHWH is about to usher in. 

YHWH knows very well that the people struggle at the level of the will to live a moral life faithful to the covenant. Therefore, YHWH declares, “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you, and I will take away the stony heart from your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh” (36:26). The ritual of cleansing by water and the gift of the new moral identity go hand in hand. All of it, though, is the work of God. 

The heart and spirit refer to a person’s inner will, which guides and shapes their behavior and actions. For Ezekiel, the will of the people is too corrupt to be fixed; it needs a total replacement. YHWH will put in a new spirit and a heart of flesh (36:26; compare with Jeremiah 32:31–34; Deuteronomy 30:6; Psalm 51:10). However, this is not enough. 

Even if a person can have the will to live morally, humans need the Spirit of God to be able to obey. “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and to keep my judgments and to do them” (36:27). The people are incapable of obedience even after they have been purified. They need the power of God’s Spirit to live more fully in their new moral identity (compare Jeremiah 31:31–34).

The people did not receive this gift because they repented. It was granted to them as part of a divine work and initiative that sought to create the people anew so they would not defile the land again, so YHWH would not have to send them into captivity again and his name be defiled among the nations. YHWH does all things for the sake of the deity’s name.

It’s instructive to read this passage’s discourse on the new spirit and the new heart in relation to Ezekiel 11:19 and 18:31. These passages are concerned with the same theme—namely, the transformation of the moral ability of the people to obey God and live an ethical life. Yet some of their differences help us to see Ezekiel’s dialectical theological perspective on the matter. 

While 11:19 speaks of one heart, Ezekiel 36:27 and 18:31 speak of a new heart. Ezekiel 36:27 is unique in that it specifies that the new spirit is the Spirit of God. Set side by side, these passages create a tension between the human and the divine role in the renewal of the moral identity of the people. Ezekiel 11:19 and 36:27 talk about the new heart and spirit as a divine gift, while 18:31 focuses on the human responsibility in implementing the new heart and new spirit. 

There is agreement between Ezekiel 11:20 and 36:27 that human obedience to God cannot occur without a changed spirit and heart. But they differ in the agent who causes this obedience. In 11:20, obedience appears to be a human ability, but in 36:27, it is YHWH who makes the people obey. Thus, these verses show that salvation is dependent on God’s work, yet humans are responsible for living out their new moral identity. 

In this way, when humans feel overwhelmed by their failure, they can lean into God’s promise to give God’s Spirit and a new heart. And when humans fall into the trap of complacency, they are reminded that they need to live a moral life that reflects the gifted new identity they have received. Such a tension creates hope, humility, and accountability. 

The ritual of cleansing and the new moral identity mark the restoration of the covenantal relationship between YHWH and the people: “I will be your God” and “you will be my people” (Ezekiel 36:28). People’s rebellion and transgressions impacted the nonhuman creation, bringing desolation and destruction. Similarly, divine salvation will restore not only humans to their relationship with God but also humans to their relationship with the land and the nonhuman creation. The land will flourish and produce (36:29–30). God’s salvific work is holistic. It entails all of God’s creation.