The Lord's own name, His holy name, which they profaned among the nations, is what moves Him to act. He tells them that it was not for their sakes, for any merit in them, that He would do the things which His prophet is about to announce. It was His own name as the Lord Who is a covenant keeping God, the holy name they had so miserably outraged, which He must vindicate. The nations were to know, and will yet know, that He is God. He will sanctify His great name, and declares, "I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes." But how? When in infinite grace He deals with this nation and manifests Himself as the loving, covenant-keeping, grace-bestowing Jehovah. And that will be when He, Who died for that nation on the cross (John xii:50-53), Whom they rejected, Whose name they have profaned, returns from His glory-place. Then will His name be sanctified in all the earth, when in wondrous grace He lifts His nation from the dunghill of shame and want and brings them back to their own land. This is so marvelously promised by Ezekiel. The characteristic word in verses 23-38 is the word "I will." It is the word of sovereign grace. Eighteen times Jehovah saith what He will do. They are the "I wills" of Israel's hope and coming glory. He will gather them from among the nations and all countries and bring them back to their own land. Only a superficial expositor can speak of a fulfillment when they returned from Babylon. But even if this were so, though it is not, the verses which follow have never been fulfilled in the past. The cleansing of the nation is next promised: "I will sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean."[29] It refers us to the water mixed with the ashes of the red-heifer, which was sprinkled with a hyssop on the unclean, typifying the precious blood of Christ in its cleansing power (Heb. ix:13-14; x:22). Thus when the people of Israel believe on Him and look upon Him Whom they pierced (Zech. xii:10), they will be cleansed. "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness" (Zech. xiii:1). Then follows the promise of the new birth of Israel. "A new heart will I also give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." The stony heart is to be taken away and they will receive a heart of flesh. Our Lord had this passage in mind when He talked with Nicodemus about the new birth. Nicodemus, the teacher in Israel, was ignorant of the fact that this new birth for Israel is necessary in order to be in that coming kingdom and to receive its blessings. Therefore the Lord said to him, "If I have told you earthly things (about Israel and the new birth as the way into the kingdom) and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?" (the heavenly blessings which follow His sacrificial death). [29] It is wrong to apply this sentence to water-baptism and claim for it sprinkling as the proper mode of baptism.