Ezekiel 36:38
“As the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of Jerusalem in her appointed feasts, so the waste cities will be filled with flocks of men. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.’””
What does Ezekiel 36:38 mean?
Ezekiel speaks here to people living in exile, their homeland destroyed and their confidence shattered. God is promising that Jerusalem will be restored and repopulated, not as a ghost town but as a thriving, living place again, bustling with people the way the city once filled with pilgrims during sacred festivals. The image of "flocks of men" echoes how God had multiplied their ancestors and made them as numerous as the stars, reminding them that restoration isn't just about rebuilding walls or temples, but about life returning. When this happens, when they witness God's faithfulness proven real, they'll finally understand who God truly is, not as an abstract belief but through lived experience. This is comfort for people whose world has fallen apart. It says that devastation is not permanent, that God's power to restore extends even to what seems dead and gone, and that experiencing His faithfulness teaches us who He is in ways nothing else can.