Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 36:15

"neither will I let thee hear any more the shame of the nations, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the peoples any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nation to stumble any more, saith the Lord Jehovah." — Ezekiel 36:15 (ASV)

Cause ... to fall.— In the last four verses, there is a delicate play on words that cannot be expressed well in English. Two verbs are used, each of them twice (“bereave” in Ezekiel 36:14 should be cause to fall, as in the margin), one of them meaning to bereave, the other to cause to fall; and these verbs have the same root letters, but with the first two of them transposed.

In reviewing this whole prophecy (Ezekiel 35:1-36:15), it is evident that the time the prophet had in view was one in which Edom still existed as a nation and was rejoicing in the fall of Israel. It cannot, therefore, look forward to any literal, but still future, accomplishment, since Edom, as a nation, has long since disappeared; and no future people, occupying the same territory or bearing the same name, could possibly sustain the same historic relations to Israel as are attributed to Edom here.

Therefore, whatever is to be literally understood in the prophecy must have been fulfilled long ago. And this was significant. Israel was restored to its land and greatly multiplied there, so that for ages the country became one of the most fertile and prosperous in Asia. At the same time, the sinfulness of the people, as in the past, hindered the fullness of blessing that was within their reach.

But a small part of them took advantage of the opportunity to return to their land. Those who did so lived in such a way that when the crowning blessing of the ages was fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah, the majority of the nation rejected and crucified Him.

The blessings promised were fulfilled literally as far as the sinfulness of the people allowed. However, since this sinfulness prevented anything like the full realisation of the terms of the prophecy, and because no future realisation of these terms is possible due to the total change of conditions and circumstances, it is clear that under these earthly terms the prophet, like his predecessors Isaiah and others, sets forth the glories of the spiritual future.

He uses earthly blessings as types of those better, heavenly ones.

Ezekiel 36:16–38 constitute a separate prophecy, but one closely connected with the preceding one. It is declared here:

1. Israel has been scattered among the heathen because they had defiled the land by their sin (Ezekiel 36:16–19).
2. Then, although they had further profaned God’s name among the heathen, He nevertheless had pity for His name’s sake (Ezekiel 36:20–23).
3. Accordingly, He will gather and restore Israel, cleansing them from their sins and giving them a heart to keep His commandments (Ezekiel 36:24–32).
4. And in consequence of this change, He will greatly bless them (Ezekiel 36:35–38).

The great point of the prophecy is the moral change foretold in Ezekiel 36:25-27, 31.