NOTES for Eze 37:26

The great prophets of Israel, beginning with Jeremiah, spoke a lot about the renovation of the relationships with God and about the new messianic union-covenant, which will become reality with the advent of the Messiah and will be concluded with His direct participation. Very often this union is called "union of peace". Of course, in the notion of peace enters in this case also the ending of all wars, including those which, so many centuries did not leave in peace the people of God. But in the prophetic tradition, is inseparable from the world this God's presence, which, in fact makes the Jewish people the people of God in the strict sense of this word.

And the measure of the plenitude of this presence, in his turn, distinguishes the messianic era from the preceding history. Actually, the messianic Kingdom already opened to Isaiah of Jerusalem, as a new, special era in the history not only of the people of God, but also of all the humanity. And the novelty consisted not much on the fact that the Messiah revealed Himself to the prophets, as an ideal of a righteous ruler (the early prophets already thought and dreamed about a righteous ruler, following strictly the Torah and taking measures so that in his governance, the Torah is strictly observed), but just in this plenitude of God's presence, which makes by something completely particular and the era of governance of the Messiah, and even His personality. The Messiah becomes this God's instrument, by which He makes His people community of believers in the strict sense of this term, and so gives to other peoples the example of righteousness and holiness in all their plenitude.

Of course, such a renovation "people-community" required also a renovation of the union with God, without which one could not speak about a new spiritual quality of the people. And the expectations of the prophets were not vain: with the advent of Christ, God's relationships with His people were indeed completely renewed. Only this renovation turned out not such as the prophets before captivity presented it. They were still waiting for the Kingdom even if perfect, but from the earth. But the Kingdom turns out "not of this world". But the fact that the new covenant will become the covenant of the Kingdom, the prophets were right.

How comforting it is to hear the words of the prophet Ezekiel, especially when you realize that your heart is full of evil thoughts and your life of evil deeds. Through the prophet, the Lord says that the people will have one King, and therefore one will uniting a multitude of people. Finding a place in every heart, this will shall renew it, heal it, and cleanse it of sin. That heart will no longer defile itself with idols, abominations, and every kind of vice. The Lord also says that He will gather His people from everywhere, while in the Gospel of John we read that the sacrifice is offered not only for God's people, that is, for the Jews, but also for all of us, the scattered children of God. Jesus dies on the cross and rises again in order to gather into one all who live on earth and to widen the bounds of the "people of God." Moreover, the Lord promises to be our God forever; all that remains for us is to desire to become His sons, to cross the threshold into the "people of God," and to remain there forever.

All the messianic prophecies of the exile speak of the coming return of the people to the land of their fathers. Ezekiel is no exception: he also prophesies about a swift return, that God will gather His people on the land He gave them, fulfilling what He promised Abraham. But this return was never a return to the past. Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, knew: the people of God have no road into the past; they have one road - forward, into the future.

Without God, however, the people's future would have become the same past, only at a new stage. The territory would become larger, the people more numerous, the country richer, and in general there would be more of everything than before the exile, including honor and respect from neighbors. God, however, had His own, somewhat different plan. He knew that after the exile, having passed through every trial and preserved the faith, His people would become more numerous and stronger than before. But God does not return His people to the land of their fathers for that reason. He wants His people to acquire a new spiritual quality. It is inseparable from the Messiah and the messianic Kingdom, but in God's plans the role of the people was never purely instrumental.

The point was not that, after playing its role in the messianic perspective, the Jewish people would leave the historical stage. In a certain sense, that did indeed happen, if one has in mind the catastrophe of A.D. 70, but it happened not because God had planned it that way, but because the people proved not fully adequate in what concerned the Messiah and His ministry. Even from this point of view it is hardly possible to speak of punishment: missed opportunities, including (when a people is in question) historical opportunities, always later turn into failure, and sometimes catastrophe.

So it happened with the Jewish people. And it happened precisely because for many in gospel times the messianic Kingdom appeared not as the prophets, including Ezekiel, saw it, but as those who reduced spiritual life to religious life wanted to see it. They needed a triumphant conqueror of the Gentiles who would restore a strong Jewish state and make it even stronger than it had been under David and Solomon, in the golden age of ancient Israel.

Jesus of Nazareth did not fit that role. He died and rose again, and instead of Him others were found who seemed more suitable. He did not dare challenge the Romans; they dared. Thus Judea perished and Jerusalem was destroyed. The Messiah came, the Kingdom appeared, and the people passed by. They followed a mirage, a path that turned out not to be the way of life, but the way of death.