Ezekiel 36:2 Study Bible: Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because the enemy has said against you, 'Aha.' and, 'The ancient high places are ours in possession'"';

◄ Ezekiel 36:2 ►

This is what the Lord GOD says: Because the enemy has said of you, 'Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,'

Study Bible

This is what the Lord GOD says
This phrase introduces a divine proclamation, emphasizing the authority and sovereignty of God. In Hebrew, "Adonai Yahweh" is used, underscoring God's lordship and covenant relationship with Israel. This introduction sets the stage for a message of hope and restoration, reminding the audience that the words to follow are not merely human opinions but divine declarations.

Because the enemy has said of you
The "enemy" here refers to the surrounding nations that have taken advantage of Israel's downfall. Historically, these nations, such as Edom and others, saw Israel's defeat as an opportunity to expand their own territories. The phrase highlights the arrogance and opportunism of these nations, who wrongly assumed that Israel's God had abandoned His people.

‘Aha!
This exclamation is a taunt, a cry of triumph over Israel's misfortune. In the Hebrew context, it conveys a sense of gloating or malicious joy. The enemies of Israel are depicted as reveling in the nation's downfall, believing that they have gained the upper hand. This word captures the disdain and contempt they held for God's chosen people.

The ancient heights
This term refers to the high places of Israel, which were often sites of worship and held significant cultural and religious importance. In the ancient Near Eastern context, high places were seen as closer to the divine realm. The enemies' claim over these "ancient heights" symbolizes not just a physical conquest but an attempt to usurp Israel's spiritual heritage and identity.

have become our possession
The enemies' declaration of ownership over the "ancient heights" signifies their belief that they have permanently taken what belonged to Israel. This phrase reflects a common practice in the ancient world where conquering nations would claim the lands and gods of the defeated. However, this assumption is challenged by the prophetic message that follows, as God asserts His ultimate control and promises restoration to His people.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Ezekiel
A prophet of God during the Babylonian exile, tasked with delivering God's messages to the Israelites.

2. The Lord GOD
The sovereign and covenant-keeping God of Israel, who speaks through Ezekiel.

3. The Enemy
Refers to the surrounding nations, particularly Edom, who rejoiced over Israel's downfall and sought to claim their land.

4. The Ancient Heights
Symbolic of the land of Israel, particularly the high places that were often sites of worship and significance.

5. The Israelites
God's chosen people, who are in exile and whose land is being coveted by their enemies.

Teaching Points

God's Sovereignty Over Nations
Despite the enemy's claims, God remains in control and has a plan for His people. Trust in God's ultimate authority over all circumstances.

The Danger of Pride and Gloating
The enemy's attitude of "Aha!" reflects pride and a false sense of security. Believers should guard against rejoicing in others' misfortunes.

Hope in Restoration
While the enemy may temporarily possess the land, God's promise of restoration for Israel remains. Believers can find hope in God's faithfulness to restore and redeem.

The Importance of Spiritual Vigilance
The "ancient heights" were often places of idolatry. This serves as a reminder to remain vigilant in our spiritual lives and avoid complacency.

God's Justice
The passage foreshadows God's judgment on the nations that oppose His people. Trust in God's justice, even when wronged by others.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does understanding the historical context of Ezekiel 36:2 enhance our comprehension of the passage?

2. In what ways can we see God's sovereignty at work in our own lives, especially when facing opposition?

3. How can we guard against the pride and gloating seen in the enemy's attitude in this verse?

4. What are some "ancient heights" in our lives that we need to be vigilant about, and how can we address them?

5. How does the promise of restoration for Israel encourage us in our personal walk with God, especially during difficult times?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Psalm 137
Reflects the lament of the Israelites in exile and their longing for their homeland, which ties into the theme of foreign nations mocking and taking advantage of Israel's downfall.

Obadiah 1
Specifically addresses the judgment against Edom for their pride and rejoicing over Israel's misfortune, directly connecting to the "enemy" mentioned in Ezekiel 36:2.

Jeremiah 31
Speaks of the restoration and hope for Israel, which contrasts with the enemy's temporary triumph in Ezekiel 36:2.

Sermons

Encouragement in Exile	W. Clarkson	Ezekiel 36:1-15
The Material Creation Sharing in the Fortunes of Men	J.D. Davies	Ezekiel 36:1-15

People

Ezekiel

Places

Edom, Jerusalem, Mount Seir, Tigris-Euphrates Region

Topics

Aha, Ancient, Enemy, Everlasting, Hater, Heights, Heritage, Ours, Places, Possession, Says, Spoken, Thus, Waste

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Ezekiel 36:1-7

8816 ridicule, nature of

Ezekiel 36:2-5

5818 contempt

Library

January 2. "I Will Cause You to Walk in My Statutes" (Eze. xxxvi. 27).
"I will cause you to walk in My statutes" (Eze. xxxvi. 27). The highest spiritual condition is one where life is spontaneous and flows without effort, like the deep floods of Ezekiel's river, where the struggles of the swimmer ceased, and he was borne by the current's resistless force. So God leads us into spiritual conditions and habits which become the spontaneous impulses of our being, and we live and move in the fulness of the divine life. But these spiritual habits are not the outcome of some …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

May 30. "I Will Put My Spirit Within You" (Ez. xxxvi. 27).
"I will put My Spirit within you" (Ez. xxxvi. 27). "I will put My Spirit within you, and I will cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments." "I will put My fear in your hearts, and ye shall not turn away from Me." Oh, friend, would not that be blessed, would not that be such a rest for you, all worn out with this strife in your own strength? Do you not want a strong man to conquer the strong man of self and sin? Do you not want a leader? Do you not want God Himself to be with …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

August 25. "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" (Ezek. xxxvi. 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" (Ezek. xxxvi. 27). This is a great deal more than a new heart. This a heart filled with the Holy Ghost, the Divine Spirit, the power that causes us to walk in God's commandments. This is the greatest crisis that comes to a Christian's life, when into the spirit that was renewed in conversion, God Himself comes to dwell and make it His abiding place, and hold it by His mighty power …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Holy Nation
'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. 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. 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. 28. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A New Heart.
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you."--EZEKIEL xxxvi. 26. In the beautiful and suggestive dream of Solomon, which is recorded in the third chapter of the First Book of Kings, God appears to him, saying, "Ask what I shall give thee"; and Solomon's answer is, "O Lord, I am but a child set over this great people, give me, I pray Thee, a hearing heart." And God said to him, "Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, nor riches; …
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby

Prayer --The Forerunner of Mercy
Now, this morning I shall try, as God shall help me, first to speak of prayer as the prelude of blessing: next I shall try to show why prayer is thus constituted by God the forerunner of his mercies, and then I shall close by an exhortation, as earnest as I can make it, exhorting you to pray, if you would obtain blessings. I. Prayer is the FORERUNNER OF MERCIES. Many despise prayer: they despise it, because they do not understand it. He who knoweth how to use that sacred art of prayer will obtain …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

The Covenant Promise of the Spirit
I. First, as for THE COMMENDATION OF THE TEXT, the tongues of men and of angels might fail. To call it a golden sentence would be much too commonplace: to liken it to a pearl of great price would be too poor a comparison. We cannot feel, much less speak, too much in praise of the great God who has put this clause into the covenant of His grace. In that covenant every sentence is more precious than heaven and earth; and this line is not the least among His choice words of promise: "I will put my spirit …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

The New Heart
And now, my dear friends I shall attempt this morning, first of all, to show the necessity for the great promise contained in my text, that God will give us a new heart and a new spirit, and after that, I shall endeavor to show the nature of the great work which God works in the soul, when he accomplishes this promise; afterwards, a few personal remarks to all my hearers. I. In the first place, it is my business to endeavor to show THE NECESSITY FOR THIS GREAT PROMISE. Not that it needs any showing …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

Free Grace
The other error to which man is very prone, is that of relying upon his own merit. Though there is no righteousness in any man, yet in every man there is a proneness to truth in some fancied merit. Strange that it should be so, but the most reprobate characters have yet some virtue as they imagine, upon which they rely. You will find the most abandoned drunkard pride himself that he is not a swearer. You will find the blaspheming drunkard pride himself that at least he is honest. You will find men …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

What Self Deserves
"Ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities, and for your abominations."--Ezekiel 36:31. IT HAS been the supposition of those who know not by experience that if a man be persuaded that he is pardoned, and that he is a child of God, he will necessarily become proud of the distinction which God has conferred upon him. Especially if he be a believer in predestination, when he finds that he is one of God's chosen, it is supposed that the necessary consequence will be that he will …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

The Stony Heart Removed
"Can aught beneath a power divine The stubborn will subdue? 'Tis thine, eternal Spirit, thine, To form the heart anew. To chase the shades of death away And bid the sinner live! A beam of heaven, a vital ray, 'Tis thine alone to give." But while such a thing would be impossible apart from God, it is certain that God can do it. Oh, how the Master delighteth to undertake impossibilities! To do what others can do were but like unto man; but to accomplish that which is impossible to the creature is a …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 8: 1863

Let Your Hearts be Much Set on Revivals of Religion. ...
Let your hearts be much set on revivals of religion. Never forget that the churches have hitherto existed and prospered by revivals; and that if they are to exist and prosper in time to come, it must be by the same cause which has from the first been their glory and defence.--Joel Hawes If any minister can be satisfied without conversions, he shall have no conversions.--C. H. Spurgeon I do not believe that my desires for a revival were ever half so strong as they ought to be; nor do I see how a minister …
E.M. Bounds—Purpose in Prayer

God Has Everything to do with Prayer
Christ is all. We are complete in Him. He is the answer to every need, the perfect Savior. He needs no decoration to heighten His beauty, no prop to increase His stability, no girding to perfect His strength. Who can gild refined gold, whiten the snow, perfume the rose or heighten the colors of the summer sunset? Who will prop the mountains or help the great deep? It is not Christ and philosophy, nor Christ and money, nor civilization, nor diplomacy, nor science, nor organisation. It is Christ alone. …
Edward M. Bounds—The Reality of Prayer

How those are to be Admonished with whom Everything Succeeds According to their Wish, and those with whom Nothing Does.
(Admonition 27.) Differently to be admonished are those who prosper in what they desire in temporal matters, and those who covet indeed the things that are of this world, but yet are wearied with the labour of adversity. For those who prosper in what they desire in temporal matters are to be admonished, when all things answer to their wishes, lest, through fixing their heart on what is given, they neglect to seek the giver; lest they love their pilgrimage instead of their country; lest they turn …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Jesus Angry with Hard Hearts
But I must not let imagination mislead me: they did nothing of the kind. Instead of this, they sat watching the Lord Jesus, not to be delighted by an act of his power, but to find somewhat of which they might accuse him. When all came to all, the utmost that they would be able to allege would be that he had healed a withered hand on the Sabbath. Overlooking the commendation due for the miracle of healing, they laid the emphasis upon its being done on the Sabbath; and held up their hands with horror …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 32: 1886

The Everlasting Covenant of the Spirit
"They shall be My people, and l will be their God. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me."--JER. xxxii. 38, 40. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

Good Works.
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephes. ii. 10. Good works are the ripe fruit from the tree which God has planted in sanctification. In the saint there is life; from that life workings proceed; and those workings are either good or evil. Hence good works are not added to sanctification for mere effect, but belong to it. The discussion of sanctification is not complete without the discussion of Good Works. …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Touching Jacob, However, that which He did at his Mother's Bidding...
24. Touching Jacob, however, that which he did at his mother's bidding, so as to seem to deceive his father, if with diligence and in faith it be attended to, is no lie, but a mystery. The which if we shall call lies, all parables also, and figures designed for the signifying of any things soever, which are not to be taken according to their proper meaning, but in them is one thing to be understood from another, shall be said to be lies: which be far from us altogether. For he who thinks this, may …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

Pastor in Parish (I. ).
Master, to the flock I speed, In Thy presence, in Thy name; Show me how to guide, to feed, How aright to cheer and blame; With me knock at every door; Enter with me, I implore. We have talked together about the young Clergyman's secret life, and private life, and his life in (so to speak) non-clerical intercourse with others, and now lastly of his life as it stands related to his immediate leader in the Ministry. In this latter topic we have already touched the great matter which comes now at …
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren

Be Ye Therefore Perfect, Even as Your Father which is in Heaven is Perfect. Matthew 5:48.
In the 43rd verse, the Savior says, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy; but I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward …
Charles G. Finney—Lectures to Professing Christians

The Person Sanctified.
"The putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh."--Col. ii. 11. Sanctification embraces the whole man, body and soul, with all the parts, members, and functions that belong to each respectively. It embraces his person and, all of his person. This is why sanctification progresses from the hour of regeneration all through life, and can be completed only in and through death. St. Paul prays for the church of Thessalonica: "The God of peace sanctify you wholly, and may your whole spirit and soul …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Introductory Note.
[a.d. 145-220.] When our Lord repulsed the woman of Canaan (Matt. xv. 22) with apparent harshness, he applied to her people the epithet dogs, with which the children of Israel had thought it piety to reproach them. When He accepted her faith and caused it to be recorded for our learning, He did something more: He reversed the curse of the Canaanite and showed that the Church was designed "for all people;" Catholic alike for all time and for all sorts and conditions of men. Thus the North-African …
Tertullian—Apology

Evidences Internal and Experimental.
1. The external evidences of revealed religion are, in their proper place and sphere, of the highest importance. Christianity rests not upon theory, but upon historical facts sustained by an overwhelming mass of testimony. It is desirable that every Christian, so far as he has opportunity, should make himself acquainted with this testimony for the strengthening of his own faith and the refutation of gainsayers. Nevertheless, many thousands of Christians are fully established in the faith of the gospel …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

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