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Post by watchmanjim on Apr 3, 2017 21:57:58 GMT -6
This passage is either shied away from, hotly contested, or falsely slandered regularly.
Eze 37:15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee 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:
Eze 37:17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
Eze 37:18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
Eze 37:19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
Eze 37:20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
Eze 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
Eze 37:22 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:
Eze 37:23 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 dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
Eze 37:24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
Eze 37:25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
Eze 37:26 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 sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
Eze 37:27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Eze 37:28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
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Post by watchmanjim on Apr 3, 2017 21:58:54 GMT -6
I hope to parse this when I have a chance. I do not have all the answers to it. But I do have questions and possible insights.
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Post by watchmanjim on Apr 4, 2017 20:01:41 GMT -6
Eze 37:15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, The phrase "The word of the LORD came" is found 92 times in the Old Testament-- 47 of those times are in Ezekiel. It is a signature phrase of this book. (I think I counted right).Eze 37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee 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: "Son of man" is used 108 times in the Old Testament, of which about 92 are in Ezekiel, referring to Ezekiel. This was God's special name for Ezekiel, long before Christ adopted it as His apparent favorite for Himself. It literally means "Son of Adam" speaking to Ezekiel's frail humanity, as well as to the fact that the book of Ezekiel is a book to all the nations, and not just Israel/Judah.
It is clear in this verse that the two sticks refer to the separated kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Judah and Ephraim were the representative leadership tribes for the two kingdoms. It is interesting that these were the two tribes that received Jacob's greatest blessings.Eze 37:17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. Wonder how he did that? A dovetail notch? Superglue? A miracle? Hmmm. He did this in the sight of the Jewish people he was staying with in Babylon.Eze 37:18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? The people Ezekiel was called to minister to were a stiff-necked people, and were curious what he had to say, but were not willing to surrender their hearts to God.Eze 37:19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. So I think it's pretty clear that in Ezekiel's day, God was predicting that He would bring Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel back together at some point in the future. They would become one nation again, a solid unit. But the northern kingdom of Israel had been largely absorbed into Assyria more than 100 years earlier, and the people (most of them) hauled off to various locations in the empire. Then Babylon conquered Assyria, and the northern Israelites were never specifically identified again. Though they are mentioned in other places in both the Old and New Testaments.
Eze 37:20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. Eze 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: The scope of this verse seems to broadly indicate that Israel should be gathered out of more nations that one--not just from Babylon, but wherever they had gone. "on every side"Eze 37:22 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: Interesting the mentioning of "upon the mountains of Israel." I wonder why that is significant, unless it refers to the joining of the two stick nations as one at a time of turmoil or war--not in the cities or the valleys, but on the mountains. It seems to indicate, though I could be wrong, that they consider themselves two actively organized nations UP UNTIL their moment of juncture. Not refugees from some countries only. Maybe I'm reading too much into it.....Eze 37:23 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 dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. Partial fulfilment to this occurred under Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, etc. But the whole fulfilment seems to await perfection, when He says "they shall be my people, and I will be their God."
Eze 37:24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. This part is very controversial. The passage clearly says that "David" will be king over the Israelites. He is one of several OT figures to be shown to have a named role in the latter days. There are at least two camps on this concept. One is that it can't possibly mean the actual David, because Christ will be the actual king. Therefore it refers to the house of David, and thus to Christ. The other major opinion, of course, is that David himself actually will reign over the people of Israel. It may mean that David will rule over Israel as an under-lord to Jesus Christ, who will rule over the entire world. The reference to the one shepherd helps but little-- David was a shepherd, but Jesus is of course the "good shepherd."Eze 37:25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. The Israelites shall surely dwell specifically in the land of Israel--all 12 tribes. Has this happened yet--since Ezekiel's time? I say, no. And certainly not perpetually, as it states here. In case we missed it the first time, God definitely says David will reign--here the word "prince" is used. Other places in Ezekiel, this distinction between prince and king comes in to play-- here it seems that they are used interchangeably, which may be an important key for other passages.Eze 37:26 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 sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. Some people here believe this covenant mentioned here refers specifically, and only, to the "New Covenant" which Jesus established with His death, burial, and Resurrection. This is probably a viable viewpoint, but I suspect that an additional covenant will be made when Jesus returns physically to reign. All--or most--of the major turning points in the Bible are marked with a covenant. It would be only standard procedure for yet another covenant to be made when Christ returns.
Notice the term "for evermore." It is interesting to ponder if this is intended to mean beyond the Millennium-- to the eternal state. Also see the statement about David in verse 25.Eze 37:27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. This language starts to seem to refer to the time of the new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem of Revelation 21 and 22. This is a little confusing.Eze 37:28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. There's that evermore again.
The gentiles (heathen) will still exist at this time. They are not eliminated, but they are no longer God's primary focus. Israel is now His sanctified people at this point.Read more: unsealed.boards.net/thread/99/sticks-ezekiel-37#ixzz4dKkw0Eqp |
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Post by Gary on Apr 6, 2017 8:12:32 GMT -6
Solid exegesis. I agree and in fact I think this is one of about half-a-dozen or so prophecies that confirm Israel would have to be regathered AGAIN (not just the one time after the Babylonian Exile).
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Post by watchmanjim on Apr 6, 2017 8:28:04 GMT -6
Yes, I agree, and I hope to finish this out as time allows.
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Post by watchmanjim on Apr 8, 2017 20:14:02 GMT -6
Ok, I finished my commentary.
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