Ezekiel 37

Ezekiel 37 REBIRTH OF THE NATIONEzekiel had been promising God’ s people a bright future with new leadership in a new Canaan. These promises, however, were met with as much skepticism as his earlier message announcing the 586 B.C. overthrow of Jerusalem. The destruction of their temple led to the shattering of their faith. They were absolutely convinced that their dead and disjointed nation could never live again. By means of a vision (vv 1-14) and a symbolic action and an oracle (vv 15-28), Ezekiel responded to their despondency.VISION OF THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES Ezekiel 37:1-14 Observation of the Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-3) A trip to the valley (Ezekiel 37:1): The hand of the LORD was upon me, and the LORD brought me out in the Spirit, and set me down in the midst of the valley. It was full of bones. Thanks to the Negro spiritual, Ezekiel’ s vision of the dry bones is perhaps the best known passage in the book. The prophet felt the hand of the Lord, i.e., God’ s power overwhelmed him. He was carried in the Spirit, i.e., mentally, to the middle of the valley, perhaps the same valley where Ezekiel earlier had seen a vision (cf. Ezekiel 3:22).

The floor of that valley was littered with the bones of dead men. A trip through the valley (Ezekiel 37:2): He caused me to pass by them round about. Behold, there were very many upon the surface of the valley; and, behold, they were very dry. The Lord directed his prophet to move about in that valley. As he did so, Ezekiel was impressed with two facts: (1) the bones were numerous; and (2) they were very dry, having lain exposed to the elements for many long years. A question about the valley (Ezekiel 37:3): He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live again?

I said, O Lord GOD, You know. In order to heighten the prophet’ s interest and give him a fore gleam of what was about to transpire, God asked Ezekiel a question: Can these bones live? From the human standpoint, nothing seemed more remote. Ezekiel, however, would not underestimate the power of God. If the Lord so willed, those moldering bones could live.Prophecy to the Bones (Ezekiel 37:4-6): He said unto me, Prophesy over these bones. Say unto them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. (Ezekiel 37:5) Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, Behold, I am about to cause spirit to enter into you, and you will live. (Ezekiel 37:6) I will put sinews upon you, and bring upon you flesh. I will cover you with flesh, and put spirit in you. You will live; and you will know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel was told to prophesy to those bones— to bid them to hear God’ s word (Ezekiel 37:4). What discouraged people most need to hear is his word.

God would resurrect those skeletons by means of a process that he describes in reverse order. Life-giving spirit will be imparted to those corpses (Ezekiel 37:5). Perhaps this is mentioned first so as to underscore the point that God is the source of life for his people.Of course sinew, flesh and skin must first cover those skeletons. This miraculous and mass resurrection once again underscores the deity of the only God who can dare to make such a prediction (Ezekiel 37:6).Resurrection of the Bones (Ezekiel 37:7-10): Initial stage (Ezekiel 37:7-8): So I prophesied as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound. Behold, a shaking! Bones came together, bone to its bone. (Ezekiel 37:8) I saw, and, behold, sinews and flesh came upon them. Flesh covered them above; but no spirit was in them. Ezekiel did as he was told. As he prophesied, he heard a sound. Suddenly a commotion— a shaking— erupted all over the valley as the bones began to unite (Ezekiel 37:7). Then over those naked skeletons flesh began to appear. Still there was no life in the corpses (Ezekiel 37:8). Further directive (Ezekiel 37:9): He said unto me, Prophesy unto the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe on these slain ones that they may live. Again Ezekiel was told to prophesy, this time to the spirit or breath of life. Ezekiel was to command the spirit to come and breathe upon the slain. The term slain is used because the bones have become bodies again. They are now lying there like corpses. The breath of life that once had animated those corpses is thought of as having been scattered to the four winds, i.e., in all directions. Through this mighty prophetic prayer, Ezekiel summoned the life-giving spirit to return from wherever it may be. Second stage (Ezekiel 37:10): So I prophesied as he commanded me. The spirit, came on them. They lived! They stood on their feet, an exceeding great host. The prophet again did as he was told. The breath of life returned to the corpses, and they lived. A great host all over that valley stood up.Explanation of the Bones (Ezekiel 37:11-14): The despondency of the exiles (Ezekiel 37:11): He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they are saying, our bones are dry; our hope has perished; we are cut off. The dry and disjointed bones are a sad symbol of the entire people of Israel. The Northern Kingdom of Israel, and now the Southern Kingdom of Judah as well, had been destroyed and left desolate. The scattered survivors of the two kingdoms could in no sense be considered a nation any longer. Using the language of Psalms and Proverbs, the people lament their sad condition in Babylon.

Bones are representative of the whole person (e.g., Psalms 31:10). Our bones are dried up, they cried. A downcast spirit dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22). The hope of ever again existing as a nation had perished (cf. Ezekiel 19:5). They compare themselves to limbs severed from the body—cut off, never again to be united in a living organism (v 11).

Nationally they were dead and disjointed with no prospect of anything better. Opening of graves (Ezekiel 37:12-13): Therefore, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will bring you unto the land of Israel. (Ezekiel 37:13) You will know that I am the LORD when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. Ezekiel begins, not by belittling the exiles’ assessment of their situation, but by confirming it. He speaks of their graves. Politically they are dead! God had a positive word for those discouraged exiles. The graves (i.e., the foreign lands) where God’ s people were languishing in captivity will be opened. Israel will be resurrected from those metaphorical graves and restored to Canaan (Ezekiel 37:12). This stupendous miracle of national resurrection will cause the people’ s faith in the Lord to be firmly established (Ezekiel 37:13). Empowerment by the Spirit (Ezekiel 37:14): I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and done it (oracle of the LORD). Only the impartation of God’ s life-giving Spirit can effect such a revival. Only the action of God can bring them back to their own land. The God of Israel not only has the prescience to predict the future, he has the power to perform his word.ORACLE OF THE TWO STICKSEze_37:15-28 The preceding vision portrayed Israel’s restoration from exile as a miracle equivalent to a mass resurrection of corpses. Now Ezekiel goes a step further. He describes this resurrection as a reunion into one kingdom of the two kingdoms (Israel and Judah) that had been hostile neighbors for over two hundred years.Instructions to the Prophet (Ezekiel 37:15-17): Revived Israel will be a unified nation. The schism that occurred in 931 B.C. between the northern tribes and Judah will be a thing of the past. To symbolically portray this reunion of the tribes, Ezekiel was told to take two sticks— emblems of the royal scepters— and to label each. The first stick (Ezekiel 37:15-16 a): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (16) Now as for you, son of man, take for yourself a stick. Write upon it: For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions. The first stick represented Judah and those of the children of Israel who had allied themselves with Judah. The tribe of Benjamin, though related to the northern tribes, chose to remain loyal to the Davidic dynasty in 931 B.C. The second stick (Ezekiel 37:16 b): Then take another stick. Write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel his companions. The second stick represented Joseph, the Northern Kingdom. Here, as frequently in the Old Testament that kingdom is called Ephraim after the largest and most influential tribe of the north. All the house of Israel refers to the other nine tribes who joined Ephraim in constituting the Northern Kingdom. The joining of the sticks (Ezekiel 37:17): Bring them near one to the other into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. The prophet was to take the newly inscribed sticks and bring them near one to the other. This is the same verb (qarab) that describes the joining together of the bones in Ezekiel 37:7. Ezekiel was to hold the sticks end-to-end to make it appear that they were one stick.

Declaration to the People (Ezekiel 37:18-20): When the children of your people say to you: Will you not declare to us what you mean by these things? (Ezekiel 37:19) Say unto them: Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph, that is in the hand of Ephraim, and tribes of Israel his companions, and I will put them upon the stick of Judah. I will make them to be one stick. They will be one in my hand. (Ezekiel 37:20) The sticks upon which you have written will be in your hand before their eyes. Ezekiel’s actions were designed to provoke interrogation and provide a preaching point (Ezekiel 37:18). When asked about the sticks, Ezekiel was to explain the parable thusly: All the tribes that had joined Ephraim in the secession of 931 B.C. will be joined with Judah to form a single kingdom. This reunification will be a divine act brought about by the hand (power) of God (Ezekiel 37:19). Holding the sticks together in his hand (Ezekiel 37:20), Ezekiel was to amplify this reunification theme. Explanation of the Parable (Ezekiel 37:21-28): A unified nation (Ezekiel 37:21-22): Say unto them: Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the children of Israel from among the nations where they went. I will gather them from round about, and bring them into their land. (Ezekiel 37:22) I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to all of them. They will no longer be two nations, nor will they be divided anymore into two kingdoms. Israelites as well as Jews will be gathered up from exile and brought to Canaan (Ezekiel 37:21). There they will form one nation with the tribe of Judah.

All citizens of that kingdom will pay homage to one king (Ezekiel 37:22). Here (and in Ezekiel 37:24) Ezekiel uses the term king (melek) to refer to the ruler of restored Israel. The term he previously used for this person is prince (cf. Ezekiel 34:24). Passages similar to this are interpreted in the New Testament to refer to the gathering together of Jews and Gentiles into the one body of Christ. See Romans 9:25-26; 1 Peter 2:10. A sanctified nation (Ezekiel 37:23): They will not defile themselves anymore with their idols, their abominations and all their transgressions. I will save them out of all their dwelling places where they have sinned. I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. The citizens of the new Israel are dedicated to the Lord. Heathen practices absorbed from the pagan environment of captivity are purged from their midst.

God rescues them out of those pagan lands where they are currently dwelling. The cleansed and redeemed people enter into a new relationship with the Lord. He will be their God— the object of their devotion and worship— and they will be his people— the object of his concern and blessing (Ezekiel 37:23). In Old Testament language, this verse anticipates the cleansing power of the gospel in the lives of those God brings out of the kingdom of darkness. A Davidic nation (Ezekiel 37:24-25): My servant David will be king over them. There will be one shepherd to all of them. They will walk in my ordinances, keep my statutes, and do them. (Ezekiel 37:25) They will dwell upon the land that I gave to Jacob my servant, where your fathers dwelled. They will dwell therein, they, their sons and their grandsons forever. David my servant will be prince forever. Beginning in Ezekiel 37:24 there is a subtle but clear shift from the theme of unity to that of permanence. The key word in the closing verses of ch 37 is forever. The king who rules the united kingdom is now identified. He is my servant David, not David in the flesh of course, but a scion of David’ s house (cf. Ezekiel 34:23). This king is their spiritual as well as their political ruler, for he would be their shepherd. Under the tender leadership of this shepherd-king, God’ s people faithfully carry out the commandments and ordinances of the Lord (Ezekiel 37:24). To Jacob, the ancestor of Israel, God had promised a land. The physical terrain of Canaan was but a preview of that land. The patriarchs knew this. Abraham looked for a city whose maker and builder was God (Hebrews 11:10). The redeemed children of Israel and Judah (converted Jews and Gentiles) dwell in that land forever. What land is that? Ezekiel refers to the territory (kingdom, nation) over which the glorious Prince of the house of David rules (Ezekiel 37:25). The David of this prophecy is Christ. The land over which he rules is his kingdom. A covenantal nation (Ezekiel 37:26-28): Other blessings of the coming age are spelled out in the closing verses of ch 37. Everlasting peace (Ezekiel 37:26 a): I will make a covenant of peace with them— it will be an everlasting covenant with them. The citizens of Messiah’s kingdom are under a new covenant—a covenant of peace that is everlasting (cf. Ezekiel 16:60). No covenant, other than that one inaugurated by the death, and ratified by the resurrection, of Jesus Christ, could possibly be intended. Through Christ peace with God becomes a reality, and peace with man a possibility.Divine security (Ezekiel 37:26 b I will establish [them]… Messiah’s subjects enjoy security under the new covenant, for God establishes (lit., gives) them.Stunning multiplication (Ezekiel 37:26 c): and multiply them.

I will set my sanctuary in their midst forever. The numbers of those who recognize the authority of David’s greater Son are ever increasing (cf. Ezekiel 36:10 f., Ezekiel 37:37). This echoes the old promise to the patriarchs (e.g., Genesis 12:2). God multiplies them in that Holy Land. The Book of Acts records the thrilling fulfillment of this blessed promise.Protective grace (Ezekiel 37:27 a): My dwelling place will be over them.

The sanctuary of God will be in the midst of his people (Messiah’s subjects) forever (Ezekiel 37:26). The physical temple erected by Zerubbabel after the return from exile was but a preview of the true sanctuary where Jesus ministers (Hebrews 8:2). This promise receives its highest realization first in the incarnation (John 1:14), next in God’ s inhabitation of the church through the Spirit (2 Corinthians 6:16), and finally in his tabernacling with redeemed men in the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 21:3; Revelation 21:22). Just as the old temple towered over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so in the messianic age God’ s dwelling place is over his people. This figure sets forth the idea of God’ s protective grace. Sweet communion (Ezekiel 37:27 b): I will be their God, and they will be my people. The people of God enjoy intimate communion with their Maker in the messianic day. Once again the promise only attains complete realization in the relationship of Christian believers to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 6:16). External recognition (Ezekiel 37:28): The nations will know that I the LORD sanctified Israel, when my sanctuary will be in their midst forever. The establishment of the new Israel has a profound effect upon the heathen world round about. They see the sanctuary of God (see promise 4 above) in the midst of “Israel.” They recognize in the lives of the redeemed the power of God to sanctify people. Having recognized this, they seek admittance to the fellowship of God’ s spiritual Israel, the church of Christ. Ezekiel Chapter Thirty-Seven Verse 1 THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES; THE AND REUNION OF JUDAH AND EPHRAIM UNDER MESSIAHHere is a remarkable prophecy of the ingathering of scattered, discouraged, and disillusioned Israel from the nations to which they had been dispersed, the repatriation of them in their homeland, and also of the unification of Ephraim and Joseph under the benign government of the Lord Jesus Christ. “This is a plain forecast of the conversion of the Jews to Christ."[1]The first part of the chapter (Ezekiel 37:1-14) employs the vision of the valley of dry bones to teach the return of captive Israel to Palestine, an event which is appropriately illustrated here as a whole army which had been slain with their bones left to bleach in the sun, being suddenly raised to full life and strength! The return of any ethnic people from the borders of any conqueror who had captured and deported the whole people would have been viewed throughout the world of that era as a totally unimaginable and impossible happening. Under the will of God, however, it occurred; and nothing could have any more appropriately symbolized such a development than does this vision of the resurrection of a valley of dry bones. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to a prophecy of the reunion of Judah and Ephraim under one king, called here “God’s servant David,” the scriptural name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Ezekiel 37:1-6“The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. And he caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, io, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord Jehovah, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.“THE VISION OF THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES (Ezekiel 37:1-6) As we understand this, it was an experience that came to Ezekiel in an inspired vision. It is not necessary to suppose that there was actually a whole valley of bleaching, unburied bones. It was the picture that came to Ezekiel in this vision. As we learn from the divine interpretation given a little later, “This prophecy does not refer to a literal resurrection of dead Israelites, but to a revival of the dead nation."[2]“It almost surpassed conception in those days that a restoration of Israel was even possible."[3] Their state had been destroyed; their king had been captured, blinded and carried away to Babylon to die; countless thousands of the people had been slaughtered; the heart of the nation had been carried to captivity in Babylon; their beloved Jerusalem was destroyed; even the Holy Temple of God had been plundered and burned. No language could adequately describe how dead and hopeless were the peoples’ dreams and ambitions. The people themselves expressed this hopelessness, saying, “Our bones are dried; our hope is lost; we feel ourselves cut off.” (Ezekiel 37:11). Skinner believed that this expression by the people might have suggested the figure of the valley of the dry bones.[4] Our own opinion is that God needed no help from the people in his choice of a metaphor. Scholars are divided over the question of whether or not there are eschatological overtones here relating to the general resurrection at the end of time. Some believe that the meaning is limited to the resurrection and reconstituting of Israel as a unified and visible people. It appears to this writer that the primary thrust of the passage regards the bringing of new hope and life to the discouraged and defeated Israel. However, we strongly agree with Plumptre who stated that, “Even if the doctrine of a general resurrection had not been current in Ezekiel’s times, this vision was enough to have called it into existence and to have lent strong probability to its truth."[5]It has seemed very strange to us that several scholars have gone out of their way to affirm that Ezekiel had no knowledge or conviction with reference to life after death. Daniel believed in a general resurrection, and he was contemporary with Ezekiel (Daniel 12:2-4). The ante-Nicene fathers, Tertullian particularly referred this passage to the final resurrection, as did also Jerome. It has been affirmed, and we believe it, that no orthodox Hebrew ever lived who did not believe that God was able to raise the dead. Certainly Abraham believed it, as it is dogmatically declared in Hebrews 11:19; and it appears to us extremely unlikely that the prophets of God would not also have believed it. In fact Isaiah eloquently confirmed faith in the resurrection of the dead in his great prophecy of Isa 25:6-8. (See my comments on this in Vol. 1 of the Major Prophets, pp. 230,231.) Also, Hosea 13:14 speaks of victory over death and the grave, a passage quoted by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:55. It would therefore be an incredible mystery if Ezekiel had been ignorant of the writings of the other prophets, and of the conviction of his illustrious ancestor Abraham, and was himself without conviction regarding the resurrection. We cannot accept such a notion. “Son of man, can these bones live …” (Ezekiel 37:3)? “This indicates that Ezekiel had learned a lesson which few learn. Situations such as this are better left to Yahweh’s providence and knowledge."[6] “This answer by Ezekiel implies that, according to human judgment, it was inconceivable that the dry bones could come to life again."[7] It is noteworthy that the apostle John when confronted with a question regarding his inspired vision in the Apocalypse responded in these same words (Revelation 7:14). Verse 7 “So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied there was a noise, and, behold, an earthquake; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I beheld, and, lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army.“EZEKIEL AS “There was no breath in them …” (Ezekiel 37:8). Like the great miracle in God’s creation of Adam (Genesis 2:7), this one also was in two phases; the breathing of the “breath of life” appears as a separate action in both instances. “Prophesy unto the wind …” (Ezekiel 37:9). “The Hebrew word [~ruwach] is translated wind' (KJV), spirit,’ (Revised Standard Version margin), and breath' (American Standard Version)."[8]"Come from the four winds, O breath ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/37/9" class="green-link">Ezekiel 37:9</a>). "This expression goes back to an Akkadian idiom, also as four wings of the earth,’ standing also for the four corners of the earth.'"[9]Verse 11 "Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land; and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it and performed it, saith Jehovah."GOD'S OF THE VISIONDespite the powerful words here regarding "coming up out of graves," we must seek the meaning here as something that would result in people entering literal Canaan (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/37/12" class="green-link">Ezekiel 37:12</a>; <a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/37/14" class="green-link">Ezekiel 37:14</a>). Long afterward Jesus Christ used almost the same words to speak of the general resurrection (<a href="/bible/parallel/JHN/5/27" class="green-link">John 5:27-29</a>). However, almost in the same breath, and only a moment earlier, our Lord used nearly the same words to speak of the conversion of sinners through obedience to his word. As to the meaning here, Keil is correct in his declaration that, "All of this is nothing more than a pledge of the complete restoration of Israel"[10] as a viable people in Palestine. The physical restoration that followed, however, was partial and incomplete due to the continued sins of Israel. True, a handful returned, and after many delays built a temple; but God's presence never entered it; they never regained their independence but remained subject to heathen powers, with by far the greater part of the nation remaining among the Gentiles where God had scattered them. The true and complete restoration of Israel was scheduled for accomplishment in the First Advent of Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of the Messiah. God sent John the Baptist to announce the forthcoming kingdom of God and to identify the Messiah, which he effectively did; but by far the greater part of Israel rejected the message of the Great Herald, who was murdered; nor did they acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Messiah, but rejected him, clamored for his crucifixion, and professed that they had "No king but Caesar!" In that circumstance, the Christ pronounced the final sentence upon the doomed and hardened race of Israel, a judgment executed upon them by Vespasian and Titus in 70 A.D. But God had not been defeated. That "righteous remnant," prophesied by Isaiah especially, rallied in love to the standard of the Resurrected Saviour, forming the nucleus of the New Israel of God, which under the leadership of the apostles spread the kingdom of God all over the world. All of the marvelous promises of the restoration and glorification of Israel were fulfilled in that New Israel and are still being fulfilled. The explanation of this vision (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/37/11" class="green-link">Ezekiel 37:11</a>) "Makes it self-evident and without need for interpretation."[11]"Graves ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/37/13" class="green-link">Ezekiel 37:13</a>). The appearance of this word tempts us to see some kind of a literal resurrection here, but as Dummelow said, "Still the reference is not to the graves of Israelites actually dead, but to the heathen world as the grave of God's scattered and discouraged people."[12]Verse 15 "The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, And thou, son of man, take the one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions; and join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they become one in thy hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show unto us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, even the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand."ORACLE OF THE TWO JOINED STICKSThis was an enacted oracle, a kind of parable, in which the ultimate union of the two nations of ancient Israel was foretold. Ezekiel evidently prepared these two sticks and then united them in the presence of the people, who were of course accustomed to this type of symbolical behavior on the part of Ezekiel. This led to the question they immediately asked him. We are not told how Ezekiel did this, whether by interlocking notches held together by cords, or by some kind of cement. No kind of miraculous joining of the sticks is indicated in the text. The meaning of the oracle is clear enough. It foretold the eventual reunion of Ephraim and Judah, the Northern Israel and the Southern Israel, Samaria and Jerusalem under one king, thus healing the long breach that had begun in the days of Rehoboam who succeeded Solomon. "Judah and the children of Israel his companions ... and Ephraim and the tribes of Israel his companions ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/37/16" class="green-link">Ezekiel 37:16</a>; <a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/37/19" class="green-link">Ezekiel 37:19</a>). It is significant here that God through Ezekiel did not recognize Ephraim as "the Israel of God," a title that Ephraim had arrogantly usurped for themselves. He appeared here in his true status as Ephraim with whom certain tribes of Israel were associated. Judah, through whom the great Davidic king would come, was always the true center of the ancient Israel, not Ephraim. "Joseph cannot alone represent the Northern kingdom, so the tribes associated with him’ are also mentioned in the inscription on his stick, thus reserving the name Israel' for the whole people of God."[13] It is also significant, in this connection, that, In the hand of Ephraim,’ (Ezekiel 37:19) indicates that certain tribes were controlled by Ephraim; but the oracle of the united two sticks points out that they shall not remain in the hand of Ephraim, because they are, “contrasted with mine hand' (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/37/19" class="green-link">Ezekiel 37:19</a>), that is, the hand of God."[14]Verse 20 "And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in try hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all; neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and, I will be their God."GOD THE MEANING"And one king shall be king to them all ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/37/22" class="green-link">Ezekiel 37:22</a>). What can this mean? "The first phase of this was fulfilled when Israel came into Canaan as one people without distinction between Ephraim or Judah; and the final phase of it, their obedience to one king,’ is still future."[15] We can agree with Cook to the extent that the second phase has not been fulfilled in over two thousand years; but we cannot follow his additional comment that the complete fulfillment will come, “When all Israel shall acknowledge the rule of Christ."[16]Our position is that “All Israel” has already acknowledged Christ and serve him continually. There is no Israel (in the sense of the true Israel) who are not following the Saviour, who alone is the True Vine, the real Israel; and there is no other! Clarke has a wonderful comment on Ezekiel 37:22 - “One king shall be king to them all. Politically speaking, they never had a king from that day to this; and that grand government spoken of here must refer to some other time - to that when they shall be brought into the Christian Church with the fullness of the Gentiles, when Jesus the King of Kings and Lord of Lords shall rule over them."[17]Like many other great students of God’s Word, Clarke here overlooked the fact that Israel, as represented by the “righteous remnant,’ the apostles of Jesus, the ingathering on Pentecost, etc. have already come into Christ who is now ruling over the true Israel of God, as seen in Matthew 19:28. Certainly that event must be associated with “the times of the regeneration,” that is, the times of “the new birth,” which by any logical interpretation must be identified with the current dispensation of the grace of God. Some quote Paul from Romans 11:26, “So all Israel shall be saved,” as if it said “Then all Israel shall be saved,” which, of course, it does not say. What is meant is that “In this manner,” that is, by accepting and obeying Christ, and in no other way, but in this way alone, SO all Israel shall be saved. (“See our elaboration of this in Vol. 6 of our New Testament Series, in loco.”) “One king shall be king to them all …” (Ezekiel 37:22). “This was not Zerubbabel, who was never a king, either in fact or in name, and who ruled over a very few Jews for a very few years; whereas the king here reigns forever. Messiah is meant. The union of Judah and Ephraim alike under one king is actually a reference to the union of Jews and Gentiles (with whom Ephraim and his tribes were at that phase of history identified) under the Messiah."[18]Verse 24 “And my servant David shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in mine ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, forever: and David my servant shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them: it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanc, tuary in the midst of them forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the nations shall know that I am Jehovah that sanctifieth Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore.““And my servant David shall be king over them … forever …” (Ezekiel 37:24; Ezekiel 37:26). “This can be no other than Christ, of whom it was said when he was brought into the world, He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever' (<a href="/bible/parallel/LUK/1/33" class="green-link">Luke 1:33</a>)."[19]"The Messiah is here called David,’ because he shall be of the seed of David."[20] The first verse of the New Testament flatly declares that Jesus Christ is the seed of David and the seed of Abraham. “Son of David” was the universal title by which the Coming Messiah was identified in Israel in the times of Christ, not only among the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians (Matthew 22:42), but also by the blind men (Matthew 9:27), the common people (Matthew 12:23), and even the stranger from Tyre and Sidon, the Syro-Phoenician woman who came to Jesus on behalf of her daughter, even she addressed the Messiah as “Thou son of David” (Matthew 15:22). The whole world of that era knew this was the true title of the Coming Messiah of Israel.

The problem was that the Jews of that generation did not want the kind of Messiah they knew Jesus to be; they rejected him and had him crucified. The Jewish leaders of that period in Jewish history passionately wanted, more than anything else in heaven or upon earth, a successful general, sitting on a white horse leading an army, who would chase the Romans out of their land and restore to them that dirty old Solomonic empire, which, when they had it, became the scandal of forty generations! “And they shall dwell in the land …” (Ezekiel 37:25) Any fair reading of these verses indicates that God’s promise actually meant that they would continue to live in Palestine generation after generation, children and children’s children forever and ever under that Messianic king, the Son of David. Is it still going to happen? Why should it? Read Jeremiah 18:7-10 for the correct answer. “David shall be their prince forever …” (Ezekiel 37:25). It should not be overlooked that, “‘Prince’ was Ezekiel’s normal word for King.'"[21]"And I will make a covenant of peace ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/37/26" class="green-link">Ezekiel 37:26</a>). We have already noted in earlier chapters that this covenant of peace,’ “Is none other than the New Covenant of Jer 31:31-34; it will be an everlasting covenant as well."[22] It will not be founded on national or racial considerations of any kind whatever. The whole thesis of Ezekiel is that God holds men accountable, individually, and not as nations or races. “I will … set my sanctuary in the midst of them. My tabernacle also shall be with them …” (Ezekiel 37:26-27). Of course, such a thing as this never happened in post-exilic Israel; but the Lord did not intend this verse as a prophecy that it would happen. “The thing promised is nothing less than the kingdom of God to be set up among them."[23] Did it happen? Most certainly it did. In the midst of them? Yes, in Jerusalem itself. On the Day of Pentecost, the word of the Lord “went forth from Jerusalem,” as the prophets had foretold. It will shock some people that these marvelous prophecies are here presented as applicable solely to the reign of Jesus Christ the true Messiah and the kingdom which he established; but as Plumptre stated it: “The only feasible exegesis is that which understands Jehovah’s servant David here to be the Messiah, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the writer of Hebrews said, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever (Hebrews 1:8)."[24]“And the nations shall know that I am Jehovah …” (Ezekiel 37:28). Although this came to pass in a very significant degree, it is regrettable that all nations did not become followers of Christ, a very regrettable fact, no doubt due in part, to the unwillingness of racial Israel to accept and fully discharge her mission of accepting the Dayspring when he entered our earth life and taking the lead in inviting all the world to worship and adore him. Contrary to this fundamental purpose in the very existence of Israel, they not only rejected him and shouted for his crucifixion, but they opposed the work of the apostles, threatened to exterminate all of them, and hounded the missionaries of Christ all over Europe, until God removed, absolutely, their ability to be any further hindrance. We pity the Bible students who suppose that God still owes racial Israel anything whatever, based solely upon their being the fleshly residue of the posterity of Abraham. Neither the Holy Scriptures nor the demands of eternal justice can be supposed to teach any such thing.

Ezekiel 37:1

Ezekiel 37:1. Various imagery has been used in course of the prophetic writings to describe the predictions being made. Some of them are related to the departure from Palestine and others to the return. There were always some people who doubted the truth of these predictions and even proclaimed loudly that they would never come to pass. We have seen the exposure of the false prophets who made light of the idea that any foreign force coaid take Israel into captivity. Now at this writing the thing has occurred and the nation is actually languishing in a foreign land.

But many of them seem to have forgotten all those predictions notwithstanding they are actually fulfilling them by their own situation. Now then, they are just as doubtful about the prophecies of the return and are sighing and bemoaning their fate and saying that they Will never get out of their lost estate. Hence the Lord is going to do some “acting” with the co-operation of the prophet, and demonstrate that even a nation that is dead can he brought to life again. He is going to do so by putting life and fleall on some dead bones. In the spirit means that Ezekiel will see in a vision the things that are about to happen.

Ezekiel 37:2

Ezekiel 37:2. The prophet was shown a valley that was full of bones, and he says they were very dry. They were so represented because they stood for the nation of Israel that was lo spend 70 years in the valley which was Baby-lon. In that length of time all the flesh and moisture would be decayed and gone from the bones.

Ezekiel 37:3

Ezekiel 37:3, Can these hones live was asked of Ezekiel to represent the state of mind the house of Israel had at that time. The answer thou Slowest is the prophet’s way of saying that things which seem impossible to man are possible with God.

Ezekiel 37:4

Ezekiel 37:4. Prophesy upon these bones means for him to direct his speech to and for the dry bones. In the preceding chapter the Lord directed a prophecy to the land of Israel, in this He addresses Israel herself Who Is in the form of dry bones. The purpose is to give encouragement to the Jews in exile who are represented by the dry bones, and who are told to hear the word of the Lord.

Ezekiel 37:5

Ezekiel 37:5. The language is addressed to the bones because they represent the children of Israel in Babylonian captivity, and are in a state of discouragement bordering almost on total despair. Hence the Lord tells these dry bones that their breath will enter into them which Will restore them to a living condition.

Ezekiel 37:6

Ezekiel 37:6. The parts mentioned here had been removed by time and decay leaving only the dead, dry bones. Again the main point is that I am the Lord.

Ezekiel 37:7

Ezekiel 37:7. When the sinews and flesh of a body have decayed and dried up it will leave a mass of disconnected bones. These will be lying about in a state as if none of them was related to the others. Before the former life of the body can be restored, the bones must resume their attachment for each other in the proper position. Hence the prophet heard the sound caused by the rustling of these bones as the various members sought its “next of kin” in the anatomy of its own peculiar structure. Let us imagine a valley where the bones of several thousand bodies have been lying around for years, dried up and lifeless. Then let us picture a power that causes all these bones to begin moving toward their proper joints, and we will have some idea of why Ezekiel heard the noise and fett the shaking of these hones in their act of assembling.

Ezekiel 37:8

Ezekiel 37:8. But a group of dry bones that is even carefully assembled, each one forming the joint for which it was created, would immediately fall apart again were not something added to hold them together, Hence the prophet saw the flesh for the immediate union come upon the bones, and the skin around them for a general binding. So far the form of the body is complete, but as yet it is a dead body— flesh, skin and bones only, having nothing within to enable it to move.

Ezekiel 37:9

Ezekiel 37:9. Wind, winds and breath are all from EUWACtt and Strong’ s definition follows: “ Wind; by resemblance breath, I.e.. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions).” We can understand the verse means that the breath of life was ordered to enter into these bodies which had just been formed in the preceding verses. When a word is added to give the expression four winds, it means the four quarters of the earth into which the people of God had been scattered. Breathe is the verb form and has virtually the same meaning as the words already defined. That Is, the breath of life was told to enter the dead bodies that they might live.

Ezekiel 37:10

Ezekiel 37:10. Prophesied is used because the event ordered to be done was to be in the future. It was still half a century away and would be accomplished after the 70-year captivity has expired.

Ezekiel 37:11

Ezekiel 37:11. The Lord gives Ezekiel the interpretation of the foregoing symbols, leaving nothing to guesswork or uncertainty. The second half of this verse is a statement of facts being done at the very time the prophet is writing. That makes history out of the circumstance, and since history shows the fulfillment of a prophecy, I will suggest that the reader connect this with the famous prophecy of Psalms 137.

Ezekiel 37:12

Ezekiel 37:12. I will open your graves is figurative and refers to the national graves of which Isaiah wrote in chapter 22: 14 of his book. That passage is commented upon in the 3rd volume of this Commentary. Of course the fulfillment of this national resurrection means the return from Babylonian captivity, recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah.

Ezekiel 37:13

Ezekiel 37:13, Ye shall know . . . when. A prophecy does not become an evidence until it has been fulfilled, hence the Lord says that He will be known as the Lord when this great deliverance has taken place.

Ezekiel 37:14

Ezekiel 37:14. Put my spirit in you means the spirit of life for the nation will be given to Israel from God. But even the condition of life would not be completely satisfactory if one had no place to live. Hence this nation that is to be brought to life again is promised the privilege of returning to its own land.

Ezekiel 37:15-16

Ezekiel 37:15-16. The preceding vision was for the purpose of demonstrating the surety of the national resurrection and the possibility of the departure from the grave which was Babylon. Having given unusual but visible proof of that great event, the next subject is a description of the return with spe-cific attention to certain features of the revolution. From this paragraph through verse 23 the passage should he labeled “the return,” and the several verses will be commented upon in their order. While doing this, it should be remembered that many things that are said are true of both fleshly and spiritual Israel; the first application, however, will be to the former. In the introduction of the long bracket the prophet is directed to do some “acting” in sight of the people. He is to use a stick in his acting and it is to represent a certain portion of the children of Israel, then take another stick to be for tlie other part of them.

The house of Tsrael had been divided into 2 kingdoms (1 Kings 12) and they were known as Judah and Israel when considered as separate kingdoms: they also had other designations at times. Ezekiel is to write Judah on one stick, and Ephraim (because the capital of the 10-tribe kingdom, Samaria, was in the territory possessed by that tribe) on the other.

Ezekiel 37:17

Ezekiel 37:17. There is an erroneous doctrine in the world pertaining to the so-called “ lost 10 tribes.” It is maintained that the 10 tribes who went into captivity under the Assyrians were lost and that only the 2 tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were able to return to Palestine. There is not the slightest foundation for such a notion. On the other hand there is much evidence of the existence of the 12 tribes, and the present verse with the context is a positive denial of the mentioned false notion. Here are 2 sticks that are expressly named for the 2 groups of Israel, the 2-tribe and the 10-tribe kingdoms. It is also stipulated that both sticks are to be joined in such a way as to form one stick.

If this means that the 10 tribes were “ lost” then also the 2 tribes were, which nobody believes. It is true that in the second or spiritual application there is to be but one tribe (that of Christ who was a descendant of Judah according to the flesh), but that is as true of the 2-tribe kingdom as it is of the other. More on this union of the 2 sticks further on In the chapter.

Ezekiel 37:18

Ezekiel 37:18. This verse shows that Ezekiel was to do his acting in the sight of the people. The fact of their asking for the meaning of the demonstration will indicate that everything was done “ above board,” that it was not an act of trickery but was all in plain sight. The thing that they could not understand was the purpose or meaning of the scene that they had so plainly witnessed.

Ezekiel 37:19

Ezekiel 37:19. This verse explains the actions of verse 17. The 2 sticks became one in the hands of Ezekiel, and the 2 groups of Israel were to be one in mine hand says the Lord. God knows the whereabouts of all things and persons, and He is able to bring all the 12 tribes together.

Ezekiel 37:20

Ezekiel 37:20. It is carefully directed that Israel shall see the performance of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 37:21

Ezekiel 37:21. This verse is a general statement with a literal meaning, The Babylonian Empire was made up of numerous groups from the four quarters of the civilized world. The dominions that were once the Assyrian Em-pire now belonged to Babylon, and that would naturally embrace the remnants of the kingdom of Israel that had been taken by Assyria, recorded in 2 Kings 17, All of God’s people scattered throughout the various localities of heathendom were to be given the privilege of returning to the home land in Palestine after the fall of Babylon and end of the 70-year captivity.

Ezekiel 37:22

Ezekiel 37:22. Make them one nation . . . neither divided into two kingdoms. The subject of the 2-tribe and 10-tribe kingdoms has not been changed in the message, hence we have a final evidence that the theory of the “lost 10 tribes” is false.

Ezekiel 37:23

Ezekiel 37:23. The most important result to be accomplished by the captivity was the cure from idolatry. The first clause of this verse repeats the prediction of that fact and the historical evidence is quoted at Isaiah 1:25. See the comments at that place in volume 3 of this Commentary.

Ezekiel 37:24

Ezekiel 37:24. The comment has been made (verse 16) that some things in this chapter would apply to both fleshly and spiritual Israel. The remainder of the chapter is a prominent specimen of that truth. In a general sense this group of verses applies to fleshly Israel restored to the land of Palestine with Jerusalem as the capital. Because of this the reference is made to David since Jerusalem was his capital. Also because under his one capital ail the 12 tribes were to be ruled after the return from Babylon. And it applies more significantly to spiritual Israel because David was the ancestor of Christ who was to be king and shepherd over all the flock of God.

Ezekiel 37:25

Ezekiel 37:25. The fleshly and spiritual sense of the prophecy are combined in one statement. Fleshly Israel did occupy Ihe land of Palestine after the return from captivity. It is also true that under Christ the son of David the people of God occupy the spiritual land of the kingdom of Christ, the church.

Ezekiel 37:26

Ezekiel 37:26. This covenant of peace is the one Paul writes about in Hebrews 8:8-12 and Jeremiah in chapter 31: 31. Sanctuary . . . evermore meaus the kingdom that was pictured to Nebuchadnezzar and was predicted to “ stand forever,” Daniel 2:44.

Ezekiel 37:27

Ezekiel 37:27. Tabernacle with them indicates the close relationship that was to exist between God and his people. The church is not far off, across the sea, up in the skies, in Samaria or Jerusalem, but anywhere that has “two or three gathered together In [into]” the name of Christ, which means by His authority and according to His law.

Ezekiel 37:28

Ezekiel 37:28. The literal heathen were shown that God was with Israel when He brought them out of the captivity, as may be observed in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. And today the world may behold an institution, the church, that has stood for 19 centuries.