Ezekiel 37:16
Ver. 16. Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick,.... Or "wood" {a}; a stick of wood; or table, as the Targum; a board or plank. The Septuagint version renders it a "rod"; and so the Arabic; an emblem of a kingdom or government, as this was:and write upon it; the following words:for Judah, and the children of Israel his companions; for the tribe of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, which adhered together, and as many of the other tribes which joined them; the godly and religious of the rest of the tribes, who could not give into the idolatry of Jeroboam:then take another stick; like the former:and write upon it; these words:for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions; for the tribe of Ephraim, and the other nine tribes, which together made up one kingdom. It should be observed, that in the times of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, there was a division in the kingdom of Israel; ten tribes revolted from him, and only the two whole tribes of Judah and Benjamin continued with him; and from that time to the captivity, and even during that, as it seems, there were continual animosities and bickerings between the two kingdoms, on account both of their political and religious affairs, especially the latter; and an union between them this emblem is designed to signify, as will hereafter appear. Jeroboam, the first king of the ten tribes, was of the tribe of Ephraim; and Samaria, the metropolis of the kingdom, was in that tribe; hence Ephraim often stands for all the ten tribes, for the kingdom of Israel, as distinct from that of Judah. Writing words on sticks or rods seems to be in allusion to what was done Nu 17:2.{a} dxa Ue "lignum unuin", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, &c. Ezekiel 37:17Ver. 17. And join them one to another into one stick,.... Clap the sticks, planks, boards, or tables, to one another; glue them together, or set them so close to one another, that they may seem as one stick, plank, board, or table:and they shall become one in thine hand; they shall look as if they were one. R. Joseph Kimchi, the father of David, thinks they really became one, by means of a miracle wrought; but there is no need to suppose this; it is enough that they appeared to be so. Ezekiel 37:18Ver. 18. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying,.... The children of Israel and Judah in captivity, of which people Ezekiel was and to whom he was sent as a prophet; who seeing him take two sticks, and write on them, and then join them together, would naturally put such a question to him:wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these? for they concluded he had some meaning in it, and that it was not a mere childish diversion and amusement; and therefore would desire that he would let them know what it was: whether they would ask this seriously or in banter, out of curiosity or in contempt, as they sometimes did; it matters not, he was to give them an answer, as follows; though, by the manner of their putting the question, it looks as if they were doubtful whether he would or not; since they had treated him in a sneering way on such like occasions before. Ezekiel 37:19Ver. 19. Say unto them, thus saith the Lord God,.... Here follows the explanation of the sign or emblem:behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows: that is, the kingdom of Israel, consisting of the ten tribes, of which Ephraim was the chief:and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah; with the kingdom of Judah:and make them one stick; these two kingdoms one kingdom:and they shall be one in my hand: in Christ, the hand and arm of the Lord; one under his care, government, and protection, as after explained: this had in part, and as a shadow of what was to come, its fulfilment upon the Jews' return from Babylon; when many of the ten tribes, as well as the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, came from thence, and became one nation and kingdom under one prince, until the coming of Christ; and it had a further accomplishment in the union of converted Jews and Gentiles in one body: but this is chiefly designed as an emblem of the union of the Jews one to another, when they shall be converted in the latter day; when they shall join together in seeking the Lord, and David, their King, the Messiah; who shall be the one King over them, as is afterwards said; and when all animosities shall cease, both among them, and among all the spiritual Israel of God in general; see Isa 11:13 Ezekiel 37:20Ver. 20. And the sticks whereon thou writest,.... Or art about to write the above things, according to order and direction:shall be in thine hand before their eyes; shall be held up to them to look at for some time, and observe the cement of the two sticks; and learn and lay up in their minds what is meant by this emblem; and be assured that what is hereafter said as a further explication of it shall certainly be fulfilled. Ezekiel 37:21Ver. 21. And say unto them, thus saith the Lord God,.... Or, as the Targum,"thou shalt prophesy to them;''for what follows is a prophecy of what shall be in the latter day:behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the Heathen, whither they be gone, or, "from among the Gentiles" {b}; not only the Chaldeans, where they were carried captives; but from among the nations where they are now dispersed, and among whom they go freely of their own accord from place to place, for the sake of traffic: and this phrase, "whither they be gone", or "are going" {c}, travelling about from one country to another, better describes the present Jews, and their state, than those in the Babylonian captivity:and will gather them on every side, or, "round about" {d}; from the several parts of the world where they are:and bring them into their own land; the land of Canaan, given by the Lord to their fathers, and to them their posterity, for an inheritance; though now in the possession of others, who, it seems, are not the right owners.{b} Myywgh Nybm "e medio ipsarum gentium", Junius & Tremellius; "ex gentibus", Starckius; "e [vel] medio gentium", Piscator, Cocceius. {c} wklh "ambulant, vel ambulantes sunt". {d} bybom "circumquaque", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus, Starckius. Ezekiel 37:22Ver. 22. And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel, &c;] As they were in the times of David and Solomon, who were both types of the Messiah; and to whose times is referred this prophecy by the ancient Jews {e}, as then to have its accomplishment:and one king shall be king to them all, not Zerubbabel, nor Nehemiah, nor Judas Maccabaeus; for these were neither of them kings; and much less such as reigned for ever, as it is said this king shall, Eze 37:25, besides, he is expressly said to be David, that is, the Messiah the son of David; and this clause is by a modern Jewish {f} writer applied to him:and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all; which is the very thing the two sticks made one were an emblem of.{e} Zohar in Gen. fol. 85. 4. {f} R. Abendana, Not. in Miclol Yophi in 1 Kings xi. 39. Ezekiel 37:23Ver. 23. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols,....With their dung, or dunghill gods {g}; either with the idols of the Gentiles, or their own: after their return from the Babylonish captivity, the Jews were no more addicted to idolatry; and the image worship of the Papists is an abhorrence to them at this day, and a stumblingblock to them in their embracing Christianity: and when they are effectually called and converted to Christ; they will no more have respect to the idols, the works of their own hands; or to the idol of their own righteousness, which they have set up, and have gone about to establish, and to make to stand; they will then see it to be as filthy rags, defiling to them, instead of justifying of them; and therefore shall reject it, and no more defile themselves with it; but seek the righteousness of Christ, which justifies from all sin, and renders pure and spotless in the sight of God,nor with their detestable things; or "abominations" {h}; the traditions of the elders, which they have preferred to the word of God, and made the rule of their faith, worship, and conversation; which has made them detestable unto God:nor with any of their transgressions; particularly their disbelief of Christ and their blasphemy against him; nor shall they indulge themselves in those sins which now prevail among them, as pride, covetousness, uncleanness, fraud, and tricking in their trade and commerce:but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned; as wherever they dwell they do; they are notorious for their wickedness; but God will bring them out of all these places, where they have lived in sin, and been the occasion of it to some, as well as followed the example of others:and will cleanse them; by sprinkling clean water upon them; by applying the blood of Christ to them, which cleanses from all sin see Eze 36:25:so they shall be my people, and will be their God; the "loammi" will be taken off, and the covenant of grace shall be renewed with them, and made manifest to them; and the blessings and promises shall be applied to them, and particularly this; see Jer 31:1.{g} Mhylwlgb "diis stercoreis suis", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus; "stercoribus suis", Cocceius, Starckius. {h} Mhyuwqvb "abominandis suis", Starckius; "abominationibus", Pagninus, Cocceius. Ezekiel 37:24Ver. 24. And David my servant shall be king over them,.... The King Messiah, as Kimchi interprets it; and so Abarbinel {i} and others; being of the seed of David, and of whom David was an eminent type; and who, as Mediator, is the Lord's servant, and as man appeared in the form of one: this shows that this prophecy looks further than the times of deliverance from the Babylonish captivity:and they all shall have one shepherd: or king, the same as before: kings are called shepherds; see Eze 34:23:and they shall also walk in my judgments, and keep my statutes, and do them; not the statutes and ordinances of the ceremonial law, which are abolished; and which the Jews, when converted, shall have no regard unto; but rather the precepts of the moral law, and chiefly the evangelic ordinances of baptism and the Lord's supper; which ordinances they shall walk in, and attend unto with constancy and pleasure; and which statutes they shall keep, as they have been delivered, impartially, without delay, in faith and love, and with a view to the glory of God; see Eze 36:27.{i} Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 47. 4. Vid. Sepher Ikkarim, l. 2. c. 28. Ezekiel 37:25Ver. 25. And they shall dwell in the land which I have given to Jacob my servant,.... Abraham and Isaac are not mentioned, as Kimchi observes, because they had other children, who did not inherit the land; only Jacob, because the land was given to him, and his seed alter him:wherein your fathers have dwelt; and so the more desirable to them; and whose inhabitation and possession of it were a pledge of theirs:and they shall dwell therein, even they and their children, and their children's children for ever; unto the end of the world, or personal coming of Christ: and so everything after promised them is said to be for ever: this shows that this prophecy had not its accomplishment in the return of the Jews from Babylon to their own land; since they have been dispossessed of that again, in which state they now are; but that it refers to time to come, when, being converted to Christ, they shall possess their land again, and dwell in it, as long as the sun and moon endure:and my servant David shall be their prince for ever; or their king, as the Targum; and which cannot be understood of any temporal prince, but of the King Messiah, whose throne is for ever and ever; whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and who shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and ever, Ps 45:6 and to whom it is applied by several Jewish writers {k}.{k} T. Bab. Sanhedrin. fol. 98. 2. Ben Melech in Psal. cxliv. 14. Abendana Not. in Miclol Yophi in Hagg. ii. 23. Abarbinel, Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 8. 4. & 26. 1. Ezekiel 37:26Ver. 26. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them,.... So the covenant of grace is called, Isa 54:10, one principal article of which is peace and reconciliation made between God and his people by the blood of Christ, agreed on in that covenant, from whence it has its name: now here it signifies that this covenant should be made known to the converted Jews, and their interest in it; in virtue of which they shall see that peace is made for them by the blood of Christ; and shall have a true conscience peace in themselves, through that blood of the covenant being sprinkled on them; and be at peace with converted Gentiles, and even with their worst enemies, enjoying all kind of prosperity, temporal and spiritual:it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; it shall not wax old, and vanish away, as the former covenant did; under which they were before the coming of Christ, which was exhibited in types and shadows, legal sacrifices and carnal ordinances; and besides, God will always have a covenant people among them from this time to the end of the world; so that a "loammi" shall no more be written upon them:and I will place them, and multiply them; that is, place them in their own land, and increase their number there: or, "I will give them" {l}; a place in their land, and every blessing temporal and spiritual: so the Targum,"I will bless them, and multiply them:''and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore; not any material temple, but his word and ordinances; in which he will grant his spiritual presence with them, and which shall continue to the end of the world.{l} Myttn "dabo eos", Montanus, Piscator; "dabo ipsos", Cocceius, Starckius. Ezekiel 37:27Ver. 27. My tabernacle also shall be with them,.... The symbol of his presence: the meaning is, that he shall dwell in them by his Spirit and grace; and everyone of them shall be the temple of the living God, in whom he will walk and dwell:yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people; which is repeated for the confirmation of it; see Eze 37:23. Ezekiel 37:28Ver. 28. And the Heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel,.... Or the Gentiles, the converted Gentiles, shall observe and take notice of the gracious dealings of God with his people the Jews; that he calls them with an holy calling; implants principles of grace and holiness in them; separates and consecrates them for his service, and enables them to walk holily, soberly, and righteously:when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore; when his worship shall be set up among them; his Gospel shall be preached unto them, and received by them; and his ordinances administered unto them; and which shall continue till the second coming of Christ.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.