“And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:”
My Notes
What Does Ezekiel 36:10 Mean?
"And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded." God promises the mountains of Israel a POPULATION explosion: men will be MULTIPLIED upon the land. ALL the house of Israel — the complete, reunified nation — will inhabit the cities. The wastelands will be BUILT. The desolation that defined the land will be reversed by multiplication, inhabitation, and construction.
The phrase "multiply men upon you" (vehirbeti aleykhem adam — I will increase/multiply upon you humanity) treats the land as a surface that receives PEOPLE: the multiplication is ON the mountains. The people are placed UPON the land. The land that was emptied is refilled. The surface that was barren of human presence is covered again with human life.
The comprehensive scope — "all the house of Israel, even all of it" (kol beit Yisra'el kullo — all the house of Israel, its entirety) — means the restoration includes the ENTIRE nation: not just Judah (the southern kingdom) but ALL Israel — including the ten northern tribes scattered by Assyria centuries earlier. The restoration is comprehensive. The reunification is complete. The 'all of it' eliminates every partial reading.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What empty space in your life is God promising to fill and rebuild?
- 2.What does 'ALL the house of Israel, even all of it' teach about the comprehensiveness of restoration?
- 3.How does God multiplying people ON the land describe divine initiative in restoration?
- 4.What cities and wastes in your context need inhabiting and building?
Devotional
I will multiply people upon you. ALL of Israel. EVERY tribe. The cities will be inhabited. The wastelands will be built. The mountains that heard the gossip of the nations (verse 3) now hear the promise of God: you will be FULL again. The emptiness is temporary. The fullness is coming.
The 'multiply men upon you' is God FILLING what was emptied: the mountains that were desolated, swallowed, and mocked will be COVERED with people again. The multiplication is God's action — He multiplies. The land doesn't attract people on its own. God PLACES them there. The filling is divine, not demographic.
The 'all the house of Israel, even all of it' is the scope that makes the promise staggering: not just Judah. Not just the exiles in Babylon. ALL of Israel — including the ten tribes scattered by Assyria two centuries earlier. The restoration reunifies what has been divided since the kingdom split under Rehoboam. The 'even all of it' is the emphatic that eliminates every qualifier. No tribe is excluded. No remnant is forgotten.
The 'cities inhabited, wastes builded' reverses both categories of desolation: the CITIES that were abandoned are reinhabited — the urban spaces that emptied are filled with families again. The WASTES that were left as rubble are built — the destroyed places are reconstructed. Both urban and rural desolation are addressed. Both populated spaces and destroyed spaces are restored.
What empty, wasted, desolated space in your life is God promising to multiply and rebuild?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And I will multiply men upon you,.... Who should inhabit the cities on the mountains, and increase very much:
all the…
The prophet had been ordered to set his face towards the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them, Eze 6:2. Then…
Cross References
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