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| 1 Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: |
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| 2 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession: |
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| 3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: |
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| 4 Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; |
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| 5 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. |
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| 6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: |
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| 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. |
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| 8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. |
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| 9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: |
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| 10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: |
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| 11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. |
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| 12 Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men. |
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| 13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations; |
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| 14 Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord GOD. |
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| 15 Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD. |
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| 16 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, |
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| 17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. |
Son of man – Ezekiel, representing the Lord in their midst, even in the land of their captivity--for 22 years delivering unto them the word of the Lord. R1373:4[R1373], R2503:1
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| 18 Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: |
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| 19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. |
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| 20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. |
Profaned my holy name – They brought disgrace upon the name of the Lord in all the countries whither they went. R1373:5[R1373]
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| 21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. |
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| 22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. |
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| 23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
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| 24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. |
From among the heathen – Out of all nations. OV67:1
And gather you – This great regathering of all Israel to the land of promise, which shall by and by include their risen dead, is already begun. R1374:1
Out of all countries – From every quarter of the world. OV67:1
Into your own land – Not all Jews, but some of the most pious and zealous, will gather in Palestine. OV67:1
This unquestionably refers to the literal and final regathering of Israel to Palestine. R1373:6
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| 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. |
Then will I – Through the Millennial reign of Christ. A333
Not before, but after, their return. R101:6, R1373:5
Sprinkle clean water – Pure truth and righteous influence. R1374:2, R101:6
Would seem to signify the application of the truth. R2503:5
Had some fulfilment in those who returned from Babylonian captivity, who were influenced by the truth of the promises made to the fathers. R2503:6
Cleanse you – There will be no desire nor temptation to idolatrous worship then. Satan shall be bound. R1374:2
In chastising, correcting, forgiving, restoring and promising to reinstate them to his favor, he is illustrating his great love and mercy toward the whole world. R1373:4
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| 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. |
A new heart – Renewed, or repaired; such as belongs to perfect manhood. R636:6, R1374:2, R5164:4
God purposes to settle the whole matter for rich and poor in his own way--and his way must be the best way. He purposes to change the hearts of men. R5154:6; HG578:3
The work of re-writing the divine character in the heart, which will progress in the world for 1000 years, is already begun in the Church. We write these qualities within our own hearts. R5309:5
The new heart condition is essential also to spiritual Israel--to be free from idols and separated to the Lord God. R2505:1
The creating of man was a momentary act, but the re-creating, the re-generation, the re-newing, the re-storing of the heart will be a gradual work. R1374:4, R2503:6
Will I give you – Jesus did not do this at the first advent. This was to be still a future work, the work of the Kingdom. R5886:1
A new spirit – Such as Adam had before sin entered. R111:1
New will, new mind, new disposition. This must come first before the new heart condition can be attained. R2504:3, R2503:1
I will take away – By means of the afflictions of the time of trouble. R2504:1
The gradual work of the Mediatorial Kingdom by instruction in righteousness. R5292:3, R2504:2
Sin is now written on the hearts of all humanity. This must first be blotted out and the former image--the law of God-- reinstated before men will be perfect men. R276:4
Through the better sacrifices, the antitypical Mediator will have the power to start the people with a clean slate. R5292:3
The stony heart – Of self-will and self-gratification; calloused and depraved. R2504:1, R636:6
The stony heart condition means "me," "my," "mine," "right if I can, wrong if I must." R2504:1
Not take away their flesh and make them spiritual beings. R276:4
It will be a time for melting and mellowing all hearts. R1655:3
Israel is probably as much, and probably no more, affected with the stony heart condition than any other nation. R2504:1
I will give you – Under the New covenant, the Lord will take away the sins and stony hearts of mankind. But the New covenant does not become personal between God and mankind until the Mediator steps out of the way. R4903:4
This change of heart is entirely aside from the making of the New covenant. It will take 1000 years to remove the stoniness out of the hearts of man and to make them stand without a mediator. R5164:4
An heart of flesh – The restored image of God. A310; R276:4, R2504:2
Tender, sympathetic, generous, godlike. R3202:6, R1374:2, R4777:2, R5154:6
Under the gracious terms of the New covenant during the Millennium. R5947:1, R4903:4, R4309:6
This work will proceed from Israel to all the families of the earth. R5058:5
The Mediator will have the power to start the people with a clean slate. R5292:3
With spiritual Israel the new heart is not a heart of flesh, for they are begotten unto the high calling to partake of the divine nature. R2505:4
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| 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. |
Put my spirit – A new will, mind or disposition, in harmony with God; the spirit of righteousness, truth and love; the spirit of grace and supplication. R2504:3,5, R1374:4
This does not refer to spiritual Israel, although spiritual Israel has a somewhat similar experience in advance. R2504:5
The same outpouring of the holy Spirit upon fleshly Israel is referred to by the Prophet Zechariah (Zech. 12:10) and directly applied to t R2504:5
Cause you to walk – Inclining and enabling them to be obedient. R1374:4
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| 28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. |
Ye shall be my people – All who, under the New covenant, shall become his people, typified by Israel. R1655:3
After he has made provision for all, only those who accept of those New covenant favors will be recognized by him as "my people." R1374:4
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| 29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. |
Will increase it – The land, which has been so long desolate and unproductive, will return to its former fertility. R107:4*
Artesian wells, irrigating canals, miracle wheat, the draining of marshes are all evidences of how these scriptures may be fulfilled. R4431:6
In connection with the transformation of heart and will, will come the blessing which the Lord promised upon the earth--it shall yield its increase. R2504:6
Many fold. R4431:6
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| 30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. |
Multiply the fruit – Burbank and others have, under divine guidance, worked miracles in horticulture. R5058:2
Increase of the field – In a larger sense, the renewed earth, Paradise restored. R1374:4
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| 31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. |
Shall ye remember – The restored being will recognize himself and neighbors of former acquaintance. R604:3
The restored ones will be reminded of their unworthiness of the free, unmerited gifts of God. R1374:5
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| 32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. |
Be ashamed – React with confusion and repentance. R1374:5
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| 33 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. |
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| 34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. |
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| 35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. |
Land that was desolate – The land of Israel--the blessings beginning there will illustrate divine providence operating on behalf of those who are influenced by the truth and its spirit. R2504:6
The garden of Eden – The word "paradise" signifies "a delightful garden, park or pleasure ground." The Garden of Eden was the original Paradise, and mankind will be restored to that Edenic condition. Q845:1
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| 36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. |
Then – In the Millennium. A333
Shall know – As these blessings progress, all will be witnesses of God's faithful goodness to his people. R1374:5
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| 37 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. |
Be inquired of – Cooperation necessary, prayer being a token of the soul's sincere desire. R1374:5
Like a flock – Every soul that longs for the truth is one of the Lord's lost sheep, and will be found during the Millennium. R1374:5
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| 38 As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD. |
Flocks of men – "Other sheep I have that are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." (John 10:16) R1374:5
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