Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
“‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel! - Ezekiel 36:22-32
Putting your reputation in the hands of a loser is a real bummer. Yet that is exactly what God had done. Every time the loser Israel plunged through a cesspool, they dragged the name and reputation of Yahweh with them. What kind of God associates himself with this kind of nation?
God takes back his own reputation by his own actions in the most remarkable way possible: by transforming the loser. In transforming the people who had been such losers, he caused them to reflect on what terrible people they had been. He caused the nations to reflect on how holy and powerful God is and to reconsider their opinion of the loser Israel.
When I think of myself, sometimes I like to gloss over how bad I have been. I like to think that I wasn't the worst of all sinners (that was Paul!) but I realize how much God is doing to bring me to a place where I am not a loser and where he is willing to be called my God. I am ashamed of what a selfish jerk I can be and marvel that God has reclaimed me.
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