The Bible in a Year
“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.” —Ezekiel 36:35
Ezekiel spoke to people who knew what ruins looked like. Jerusalem had fallen, communities had been emptied, and the people of Judah had been carried into exile. The devastation was not merely the result of military weakness; it was covenant judgment following persistent rebellion against God. Sin had left visible scars upon the land and painful wounds within the people. Yet into that desolation God spoke a promise of restoration.
Ezekiel 36:35 describes Israel’s restoration through three closely connected pictures: fruitful land, fortified cities, and returning inhabitants. Together they reveal that when God restores, He does more than repair isolated pieces. He brings life where there was barrenness, security where there was vulnerability, and community where there was emptiness.
The first picture is fruitfulness: “This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden.” The Hebrew word shemamah, translated “desolate,” conveys devastation, waste, or something that causes astonishment when people see it. By contrast, the “garden of Eden,” gan-ʿEden, recalls beauty, abundance, order, and fellowship with God. The comparison does not mean that fallen humanity recreates Eden through its own ingenuity. It means that the God who formed the first garden can cause devastated ground to flourish again.
Israel had once received a land described as flowing with milk and honey. Disobedience brought barrenness, but judgment would not be God’s final word. Ezekiel 36:34 promises that the desolate land would again be cultivated. Ezekiel 47 later pictures life-giving water flowing from the restored sanctuary, transforming even hostile terrain and producing trees whose fruit provides food and whose leaves bring healing.
The second picture is security: “The waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced.” In the King James language, “fenced” means fortified. Ancient city walls gave residents protection, stability, and freedom from constant fear. A ruined city had no defense, but a fortified city could again become a home. God was promising that places shattered by judgment would not remain permanently exposed.
Yet biblical security is never found ultimately in walls, armies, or human arrangements. Psalm 127:1 declares, “Except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” Israel’s lasting peace depends upon the faithfulness of God and the reign of His promised Shepherd-King. Ezekiel 34 anticipates this King through God’s promise to set over His people “one shepherd,” His servant David—a promise Christians recognize as reaching its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
The third picture is people: the ruined cities “are inhabited.” Restoration involves more than productive ground and rebuilt structures. God gathers people so that homes, worship, relationships, and shared life can begin again. The surrounding context repeatedly declares that Israel’s population will increase and its cities will be filled. Donna Petter summarizes this section of Ezekiel as “a return to their inheritance, a land now cleansed.” Her commentary places this promise within Ezekiel’s larger movement from judgment to covenant restoration.
However, the heart of Ezekiel 36 is not merely agricultural recovery or national repopulation. Before the Lord speaks of ruined places being rebuilt, He promises, “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean” (Ezekiel 36:25). He continues, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (verse 26). Finally, He declares, “I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes” (verse 27).
The restored land points toward a restored people, and a restored people require renewed hearts. External blessings cannot cure internal rebellion. God must cleanse, replace the heart of stone, and give His Spirit. Jesus drew upon this new-covenant hope when He spoke to Nicodemus about being born of water and the Spirit in John 3.
Ezekiel 36:35 is first a promise concerning Israel’s land and covenant restoration. We should respect that historical setting rather than turning every promise into a guarantee of personal prosperity. Nevertheless, the passage reveals a truth that every believer can embrace: God specializes in restoration. Through Christ, sinners exiled from God’s presence are forgiven, cleansed, and brought near. We now await the complete renewal pictured in Revelation 22, where the river of life flows and the curse is no more.
There may be areas of life that presently resemble ruined ground. We cannot repair every consequence or recover everything that has been lost. But we can bring our desolation to the Lord, submit to His cleansing work, and obey the direction of His Spirit. The ruins never have the final word when the God who rebuilds has spoken.
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