God's Promise to the Mountains

"We are each other's harvest."  Gwendolyn Brooks, poet

Breaking the Ice  

If you could climb any mountain in the world, which one would it be and why?  

Reflection

In reflecting on the passage from Ezekiel 36:8-12, one can’t help but think of the images coming from Ukraine of bombed-out buildings, desolate towns and explosion-pitted grainfields. Many Ukrainian lands have been sacked, with people of all ages being deported to their invader’s territory. Millions of people fled at the beginning of the war, but now the scenes of wasteland break hearts as we wonder how these lands will ever be inhabited and fruitful again? The prophet Ezekiel wondered a similar question in his own time!  

Ezekiel’s prophecies reflect a specific context of historical trauma, forced migration and ecological devastation. Ezekiel himself had been forcibly exiled by the Babylonians with the first mass deportation from Jerusalem. Impoverished people left behind watched their children starve and their herds languish. Yet this week’s passage gives us a glimpse into Ezekiel’s defiant horizon of hope, though it was a horizon steeped in tears and retribution. But let’s not make the mistake of lifting up trauma survivors to an unrealistic expectation of perfect moral virtue. Instead, we can recognize that Ezekiel’s prophecies emerged from horrific harm that helps us to tap into deeper empathy for any and all who experience trauma.   

In the verses just prior to this section, Ezekiel’s words were on fire toward the surrounding nations, especially Edom, the ancestral people of Esau (Jacob’s twin brother) – thus these conflicts have been unfolding for generations. Ezekiel proclaimed that the suffering endured by Israel will now be upon Edom and those who conspired with them, with God orchestrating it all. God will bring this judgment on the nations who insulted, plundered, and devastated Israel. Might we be invited to reflect, then, on the relationship between justice and prophecy.  

Here, Ezekiel envisioned a vast homecoming for the people of Israel returning to the valleys, waterways, fields and dwelling places of the land. With echoes of Genesis 1’s refrain to be fruitful and multiply, Ezekiel framed his prophecy as a fulfillment of covenant, perhaps even as a continuing-creation narrative. Villages and homes will be rebuilt; children will grow up and herds of animals will graze. The people will again till and sow. Tables will be provided for and abundant, trade will commence, and generations sustained season after season.  

But what is unusual and stands out so clearly, even in a striking way, is that Ezekiel directed his prophecy not to the people, but to the mountains of Israel embracing the landscape.  

“Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord…” (Ezekiel 36:1)  

One can almost hear the prophet apologizing to the mountains, at least sincerely recognizing all that they have endured. Since God was preparing for the land to become re-inhabited, the prophet pledged to the mountains, valleys, and waterways that God would do better than before—this would be a prolific regenerative relationship between God and the land.  

Too often, land is treated—if it is remembered at all—as inert, a backdrop, or stage. However, with this passage, we have the opportunity—and challenge—to empathize with the mountains. Earth is the subject in the text. When I traveled to the Holy Land while I was in Seminary, we used the guidebook, With Jesus Through Galilee According to the Fifth Gospel because it is difficult to fully comprehend the ministry of Jesus without a solid foundation of the geography and topography of the land where he lived, taught, and engaged with humanity. Through this experience and beautifully illustrated book, I was reminded that all land is holy and sacred – with voice and agency to communicate the good news if we are willing to just listen. What might the Earth be asking us to hear today? What might the mountains be trying to say? to us? to God? to each other?  

Another interesting aspect of this hopeful passage is that Ezekiel envisions the land, God, humans, and animals as belonging all together. “I will greatly increase the population of Israel, and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people. I will increase not only the people, but also your animals. O mountains of Israel, I will bring people to live on you once again. I will make you even more prosperous than you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” (v.10 – 11, NLT)  

Indeed, we are inter-connected. Understanding the world in this way – God, people, animals, and the land are related more through kinship, rather than one acting upon a subordinate other. Perhaps we can think of this relationship as an ecological “entanglement” as Catherine Keller has imagined (check out her book Facing Apocalypse: Climate, Democracy and Other Last Chances, 2021).  

Instead of views that claim the goal of Christian faith is an afterlife in a transcendent reality, or that in contrast, the Earth will do better without people, Ezekiel envisions a home together for people, the land, animals and God—an earthy inhabitation for the fulfillment of shalom. Shalom is a Hebrew word that means peace, but it carries a much deeper meaning than just the absence of conflict. It signifies wholeness, completeness, well-being, and harmony—both internally and in relationships with others. In this vision, the mountains will shout with joy, break forth into singing, and yield food and prosperity for all God’s children.  

Wrestling with the Word

Read Ezekiel 36:1 - 12 (NIV)

Prayer

Gracious and Restoring God, 

You have promised to renew the land and bring life where there was once desolation. We lift up creation before You, asking for wisdom to be faithful stewards of the earth You have entrusted to us. May the mountains, rivers, and fields reflect Your glory, and may our care for them be an act of worship. Where there has been neglect, bring restoration. Where there has been harm, bring healing. Teach us to walk in harmony with the world You so lovingly sustain. We place our hope in Your promise, knowing that You make all things new through Christ, our Lord.  Amen

Further Exploration

Blog Post:  Changes in the Blue Ridge Forests