mh_parser/vol_split/26 - Ezekiel/Chapter 37.xml

<div2 id="Ez.xxxviii" n="xxxviii" next="Ez.xxxix" prev="Ez.xxxvii" progress="64.05%" title="Chapter XXXVII">
<h2 id="Ez.xxxviii-p0.1">E Z E K I E L.</h2>
<h3 id="Ez.xxxviii-p0.2">CHAP. XXXVII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ez.xxxviii-p1" shownumber="no">The threatenings of the destruction of Judah and
Jerusalem for their sins, which we had in the former part of this
book, were not so terrible, but the promises of their restoration
and deliverance for the glory of God, which we have here in the
latter part of the book, are as comfortable; and as those were
illustrated with many visions and similitudes, for the awakening of
a holy fear, so are these, for the encouraging of a humble faith.
God had assured them, in the foregoing chapter, that he would
gather the house of Israel, even all of it, and would bring them
out of their captivity, and return them to their own land; but
there were two things that rendered this very unlikely:—I. That
they were so dispersed among their enemies, so destitute of all
helps and advantages which might favour or further their return,
and so dispirited likewise in their own minds; upon all these
accounts they are here, in vision, compared to a valley full of the
dry bones of dead men, which should be brought together and raised
to life. The vision of this we have (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.1-Ezek.37.10" parsed="|Ezek|37|1|37|10" passage="Eze 37:1-10">ver. 1-10</scripRef>) and the explication of it, with
its application to the present case, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.11-Ezek.37.14" parsed="|Ezek|37|11|37|14" passage="Eze 37:11-14">ver. 11-14</scripRef>. II. That they were so divided
among themselves, too much of the old enmity between Judah and
Ephraim remaining even in their captivity. But, as to this, by a
sign of two sticks made one in the hand of the prophet is foreshown
the happy coalition that should be, at their return, between the
two nations of Israel and Judah, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.15-Ezek.37.22" parsed="|Ezek|37|15|37|22" passage="Eze 37:15-22">ver. 15-22</scripRef>. In this there was a type of
the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, Jews and Samaritans, in Christ
and his church. And so the prophet slides into a prediction of the
kingdom of Christ, which should be set up in the world with God's
tabernacle in it, and of the glories and graces of that kingdom,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.23-Ezek.37.28" parsed="|Ezek|37|23|37|28" passage="Eze 37:23-28">ver. 23-28</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxxviii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37" parsed="|Ezek|37|0|0|0" passage="Eze 37" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxxviii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.1-Ezek.37.14" parsed="|Ezek|37|1|37|14" passage="Eze 37:1-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxxviii-p1.7">
<h4 id="Ez.xxxviii-p1.8">The Vision of the Dry Bones. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p1.9">b. c.</span> 586.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2" shownumber="no">1 The hand of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2.1">Lord</span> was upon me, and carried me out in the
spirit of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2.2">Lord</span>, and set me down
in the midst of the valley which <i>was</i> full of bones,   2
And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, <i>there
were</i> very many in the open valley; and, lo, <i>they were</i>
very dry.   3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones
live? And I answered, O Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2.3">God</span>,
thou knowest.   4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these
bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2.4">Lord</span>.   5 Thus saith the Lord
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2.5">God</span> unto these bones; Behold, I will
cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:   6 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 <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2.6">Lord</span>.   7 So I prophesied as I was
commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a
shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.   8
And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them,
and the skin covered them above: but <i>there was</i> no breath in
them.   9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind,
prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2.7">God</span>; Come from the four winds, O
breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.   10
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them,
and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great
army.   11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are
the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried,
and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.   12
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2.8">God</span>; Behold, O my people, I will open your
graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you
into the land of Israel.   13 And ye shall know that I
<i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2.9">Lord</span>, when I have
opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your
graves,   14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall
live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know
that I the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2.10">Lord</span> have spoken
<i>it,</i> and performed <i>it,</i> saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p2.11">Lord</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p3" shownumber="no">Here is, I. The vision of a resurrection
from death to life, and it is a glorious resurrection. This is a
thing so utterly unknown to nature, and so contrary to its
principles (<i>a privatione ad habitum non datur regressus—from
privation to possession there is no return</i>), that we could have
no thought of it but <i>by the word of the Lord;</i> and that it is
certain by that word that there shall be a general resurrection of
the dead some have urged from this vision, "For" (say they)
"otherwise it would not properly be made a sign for the confirming
of their faith in the promise of their deliverance out of Babylon,
as the coming of the Messiah is mentioned for the confirming of
their faith touching a former deliverance," <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.7.14" parsed="|Isa|7|14|0|0" passage="Isa 7:14">Isa. vii. 14</scripRef>. But,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p4" shownumber="no">1. Whether it be a confirmation or no, it
is without doubt a most lively representation of a threefold
resurrection, besides that which it is primarily intended to be the
sign of. (1.) The resurrection of souls from the death of sin to
the life or righteousness, to a holy, heavenly, spiritual, and
divine life, by the power of divine grace going along with the word
of Christ, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:John.5.24-John.5.25" parsed="|John|5|24|5|25" passage="Joh 5:24,25">John v. 24,
25</scripRef>. (2.) The resurrection of the gospel church, or any
part of it, from an afflicted persecuted state, especially under
the yoke of the New-Testament Babylon, to liberty and peace. (3.)
The resurrection of the body at the great day, especially the
bodies of believers that shall rise to life eternal.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p5" shownumber="no">2. Let us observe the particulars of this
vision.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p6" shownumber="no">(1.) The deplorable condition of these dead
bones. The prophet was made, [1.] to take an exact view of them. By
a prophetic impulse and a divine power he was, in vision, carried
out and set <i>in the midst of a valley,</i> probably that plain
spoken of <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.3.22" parsed="|Ezek|3|22|0|0" passage="Eze 3:22"><i>ch.</i> iii.
22</scripRef>, where God then <i>talked with him;</i> and it was
<i>full of bones,</i> of dead men's bones, not piled up on a heap,
as in a charnel-house, but scattered upon the face of the ground,
as if some bloody battle had been fought here, and the slain left
unburied till all the flesh was devoured or putrefied, and nothing
left but the bones, and those disjointed from one another and
dispersed. He <i>passed by them round about,</i> and he observed
not only that they were very many (for there are multitudes gone to
the congregation of the dead), but that, <i>lo, they were very
dry,</i> having been long exposed to the sun and wind. The bones
that have been <i>moistened with marrow</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.21.24" parsed="|Job|21|24|0|0" passage="Job 21:24">Job xxi. 24</scripRef>), when they have been any while
dead, lose all their moisture, and are dry as dust. The body is now
fenced with bones (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.10.11" parsed="|Job|10|11|0|0" passage="Job 10:11">Job x.
11</scripRef>), but then they will themselves be defenceless. The
Jews in Babylon were like those dead and dry bones, unlikely ever
to come together, to be so much as a skeleton, less likely to be
formed into a body, and least of all to be a living body. However,
they lay <i>unburied</i> in the <i>open valley,</i> which
encouraged the hopes of their resurrection, as of the two
witnesses, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.11.8-Rev.11.9" parsed="|Rev|11|8|11|9" passage="Re 11:8,9">Rev. xi. 8, 9</scripRef>.
The bones of Gog and Magog shall be buried (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.39.12 Bible:Ezek.39.15" parsed="|Ezek|39|12|0|0;|Ezek|39|15|0|0" passage="Eze 39:12,15"><i>ch.</i> xxxix. 12, 15</scripRef>), for their
destruction is final; but the bones of Israel are in the <i>open
valley,</i> under the eye of Heaven, for there is <i>hope in their
end.</i> [2.] He was made to own their case deplorable, and not to
be helped by any power less than that of God himself (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.3" parsed="|Ezek|37|3|0|0" passage="Eze 37:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): "Son of man, <i>can
these bones live?</i> Is it a thing likely? Cast thou devise how it
should be done? Can thy philosophy reach to put life into dry
bones, or thy politics to restore a captive nation?" "No," says the
prophet, "I know not how it should be done, but <i>thou
knowest.</i>" He does not say, "They cannot live," lest he should
seem to limit the Holy One of Israel; but, "Lord, thou knowest
whether they can and whether they shall; if thou dost not put life
into them, it is certain that they cannot live." Note, God is
perfectly acquainted with his own power and his own purposes, and
will have us to refer all to them, and to see and own that his
wondrous works are such as could not be effected by any counsel or
power but his own.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p7" shownumber="no">(2.) The means used for the bringing of
these dispersed bones together and these dead and dry bones to
life. It must be done by prophecy. Ezekiel is ordered to
<i>prophesy upon these bones</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.4 Bible:Ezek.37.9" parsed="|Ezek|37|4|0|0;|Ezek|37|9|0|0" passage="Eze 37:4,9"><i>v.</i> 4 and again <i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), to
<i>prophesy to the wind.</i> So he <i>prophesied as he was
commanded,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.7 Bible:Ezek.37.10" parsed="|Ezek|37|7|0|0;|Ezek|37|10|0|0" passage="Eze 37:7,10"><i>v.</i> 7,
10</scripRef>. [1.] He must preach, and he did so; and the dead
bones lived by a power that went along with the word of God which
he preached. [2.] He must pray, and he did so; and the dead bones
were made to live in answer to prayer; for <i>a spirit of life</i>
entered into them. See the efficacy of the word and prayer, and the
necessity of both, for the raising of dead souls. God bids his
ministers <i>prophesy upon the dry bones.</i> Say unto them,
<i>Live;</i> yea, say unto them, <i>Live;</i> and they do as they
are commanded, calling to them again and again, <i>O you dry bones!
hear the word of the Lord.</i> But we call in vain, still they are
dead, still they are very dry; we must therefore be earnest with
God in prayer for the working of the Spirit with the word: <i>Come,
O breath!</i> and breathe upon them. God's grace can save souls
without our preaching, but our preaching cannot save them without
God's grace, and that grace must be sought by prayer. Note,
Ministers must faithfully and diligently use the means of grace,
even with those that there seems little probability of gaining
upon. To prophesy upon dry bones seems as great a penance as to
water a dry stick; and yet, whether they will hear or forbear, we
must discharge our trust, must <i>prophesy as we are commanded,</i>
in the name of him who raises the dead and is the fountain of
life.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p8" shownumber="no">(3.) The wonderful effect of these means.
Those that do as they are commanded, as they are commissioned, in
the face of the greatest discouragements, need not doubt of
success, for God will own and enrich his own appointments. [1.]
Ezekiel looked down and prophesied upon the bones in the valley,
and they became human bodies. <i>First,</i> That which he had to
<i>say to them</i> was that God would infallibly raise them to
life: <i>Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones, You shall
live,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.5-Ezek.37.6" parsed="|Ezek|37|5|37|6" passage="Eze 37:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5 and again
<i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. And he that speaks the word will thereby do
the work; he that says, They <i>shall live,</i> will make them
alive: He will <i>clothe them with skin and flesh</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.6" parsed="|Ezek|37|6|0|0" passage="Eze 37:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), as he did at first,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.10.11" parsed="|Job|10|11|0|0" passage="Job 10:11">Job x. 11</scripRef>. He that made us
so fearfully and wonderfully, and curiously wrought us, can in like
manner new-make us, for <i>his arm is not shortened. Secondly,</i>
That which was immediately done for them was that they were moulded
anew into shape. We may well suppose it was with great liveliness
and vigour that the prophet prophesied, especially when he found
what he said begin to take effect. Note, The opening, sealing, and
applying of the promises, are the ordinary means of our
participation of a new and divine nature. As Ezekiel prophesied in
this vision <i>there was a noise,</i> a word of command, from
heaven, seconding what he said; or it signified the motion of the
angels that were to be employed as the ministers of the divine
Providence in the deliverance of the Jews, and we read of the
<i>noise of their wings</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.1.24" parsed="|Ezek|1|24|0|0" passage="Eze 1:24">Ezek. i.
24</scripRef>) and the <i>sound of their going,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.5.24" parsed="|2Sam|5|24|0|0" passage="2Sa 5:24">2 Sam. v. 24</scripRef>. <i>And, behold, a
shaking,</i> or commotion, among the bones. Even dead and dry bones
begin to move when they are called to hear the word of the Lord.
This was fulfilled when, upon Cyrus's proclamation of liberty,
those whose spirits God had stirred up began to think of making use
of that liberty, and getting ready to be gone. When <i>there was a
noise, behold, a shaking;</i> when David heard <i>the sound of the
going on the tops of the mulberry-trees</i> then he <i>bestirred
himself;</i> then there was <i>a shaking.</i> When Paul heard the
voice saying, <i>Why persecutest thou me?</i> behold, a shaking of
the dry bones; he <i>trembled</i> and was <i>astonished.</i> But
this was not all: <i>The bones came together bone to his bone,</i>
under a divine direction; and, though there is in man a multitude
of bones, yet of all the bones of those numerous slain not one was
missing, not one missed its way, not one missed its place, but, as
it were by instinct, each knew and found its fellow. The dispersed
bones came together and the displaced bones were knit together, the
divine power supplying that to these dry bones which in a living
body <i>every joint supplies.</i> Thus shall it be in the
resurrection of the dead; the scattered atoms shall be ranged and
marshalled in their proper place and order, and <i>every bone come
to his bone,</i> by the same wisdom and power by which the bones
were first <i>formed in the womb of her that is with child.</i>
Thus it was in the return of the Jews; those that were scattered in
several parts of the province of Babylon came to their respective
families, and all as it were by consent to the general rendezvous,
in order to their return. By degrees <i>sinews</i> and <i>flesh</i>
came upon these bones, and the <i>skin covered them,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.8" parsed="|Ezek|37|8|0|0" passage="Eze 37:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. This was fulfilled when
the captives got their effects about them, and the <i>men of their
place helped them</i> with <i>silver,</i> and <i>gold,</i> and
whatever they needed for their remove, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p8.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezra.1.4" parsed="|Ezra|1|4|0|0" passage="Ezr 1:4">Ezra i. 4</scripRef>. But still there was <i>no breath in
them;</i> they wanted spirit and courage for such a difficult and
hazardous enterprise as this was of returning to their own land.
[2.] Ezekiel then looked up and prophesied to the <i>wind,</i> or
<i>breath,</i> or <i>spirit,</i> and said, <i>Come, O breath! and
breathe upon these slain.</i> As good have been still dry bones as
dead bodies: but as for God <i>his work is perfect;</i> he is not
the God of the dead, but of the living; therefore <i>breathe upon
them that they may live.</i> In answer to this request, <i>the
breath</i> immediately came <i>into them,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p8.8" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.10" parsed="|Ezek|37|10|0|0" passage="Eze 37:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. Note, the spirit of life is
from God; he at first in the creation breathed into man the breath
of life, and so he will at last in the resurrection. The dispirited
despairing captives were wonderfully animated with resolution to
break through all the discouragements that lay in the way of their
return and applied themselves to it with all imaginable vigour. And
then they <i>stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army;</i>
not only living men, but effective men, fit for service in the wars
and formidable to all that gave them any opposition. Note, With God
nothing is impossible. He can <i>out of stones raise up children
unto Abraham</i> and out of dead and dry bones levy an exceedingly
great army to fight his battles and plead his cause.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p9" shownumber="no">II. The application of this vision to the
present calamitous condition of the Jews in captivity: <i>These
bones are the whole house of Israel,</i> both the ten tribes and
the two. See in this what they are and what they shall be.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p10" shownumber="no">1. The depth of despair to which they are
now reduced, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.11" parsed="|Ezek|37|11|0|0" passage="Eze 37:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>.
They all give up themselves for lost and gone; they say, "<i>Our
bones are dried,</i> our strength is exhausted, our spirits are
gone, <i>our hope is</i> all <i>lost;</i> every thing we looked for
succour and relief from fails us, and <i>we are cut off for our
parts.</i> Let who will cherish some hope, we see no ground for
any." Note, When troubles continue long, hopes have been often
frustrated, and all creature-confidences fail, it is not strange if
the spirits sink; and nothing but an active faith in the power,
promise, and providence of God will keep them from quite dying
away. 2. The height of prosperity to which, notwithstanding this,
they shall be advanced: "<i>therefore,</i> because things have come
thus to the last extremity, <i>prophesy to them,</i> and tell them,
now is God's time to appear for them. <i>Jehovah-jireh—in the
mount of the Lord it shall be seen,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.12-Ezek.37.14" parsed="|Ezek|37|12|37|14" passage="Eze 37:12-14"><i>v.</i> 12-14</scripRef>. Tell them," (1.) "That
they shall be brought out of the land of their enemies, where they
are as it were buried alive: <i>I will open your graves.</i>" Those
shall be restored, not only whose <i>bones</i> are <i>scattered at
the grave's mouth</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.141.7" parsed="|Ps|141|7|0|0" passage="Ps 141:7">Ps. cxli.
7</scripRef>), but who are buried in the grave; though the power of
the enemy is like the <i>bars of the pit,</i> which one would think
it impossible to break through, strong as death and cruel as the
grave, yet it shall be conquered. God can <i>bring</i> his people
<i>up from the depths of the earth,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.71.20" parsed="|Ps|71|20|0|0" passage="Ps 71:20">Ps. lxxi. 20</scripRef>. (2.) "That they shall be
brought into their own land, where they shall live in prosperity:
<i>I will bring you into the land of Israel</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.12" parsed="|Ezek|37|12|0|0" passage="Eze 37:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>) and <i>place you there</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.14" parsed="|Ezek|37|14|0|0" passage="Eze 37:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), and will
<i>put my spirit in you</i> and then <i>you shall live.</i>" Note,
<i>Then</i> God puts spirit in us to good purpose, and so that we
shall indeed live, when he puts his Spirit in us. And
(<i>lastly</i>) in all this God will be glorified: <i>You shall
know that I am the Lord</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.13" parsed="|Ezek|37|13|0|0" passage="Eze 37:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), and that I have <i>spoken it
and performed it,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.8" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.14" parsed="|Ezek|37|14|0|0" passage="Eze 37:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>. Note, God's quickening the dead redounds more than
any thing to his honour, and to the honour of his word, which he
has magnified above all his name, and will magnify more and more by
the punctual accomplishment of every tittle of it.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.9" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.15-Ezek.37.28" parsed="|Ezek|37|15|37|28" passage="Eze 37:15-28" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.10">
<h4 id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.11">Cheering Promises. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p10.12">b. c.</span> 586.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxxviii-p11" shownumber="no">15 The word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p11.1">Lord</span> came again unto me, saying,   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 <i>for</i> all the house of Israel his companions:   17
And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become
one in thine hand.   18 And when the children of thy people
shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou
<i>meanest</i> by these?   19 Say unto them, Thus saith the
Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p11.2">God</span>; Behold, I will take the
stick of Joseph, which <i>is</i> in the hand of Ephraim, and the
tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him,
<i>even</i> with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and
they shall be one in mine hand.   20 And the sticks whereon
thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.   21
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p11.3">God</span>; 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:   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:   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
dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them:
so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.   24 And
David my servant <i>shall be</i> king over them; and they all shall
have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and
observe my statutes, and do them.   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, <i>even</i> they,
and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my
servant David <i>shall be</i> their prince for ever.   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.
  27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be
their God, and they shall be my people.   28 And the heathen
shall know that I the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxviii-p11.4">Lord</span> do
sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them
for evermore.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p12" shownumber="no">Here are more exceedingly great and
precious promises made of the happy state of the Jews after their
return to their own land; but they have a further reference to the
kingdom of the Messiah and the glories of gospel-times.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p13" shownumber="no">I. It is here promised that Ephraim and
Judah shall be happily united in brotherly love and mutual
serviceableness; so that whereas, ever since the desertion of the
ten tribes from the house of David under Jeroboam, there had been
continual feuds and animosities between the two kingdoms of Israel
and Judah, and it is to be feared there had been some clashings
between them even in the land of their captivity (Ephraim upon all
occasions envying Judah and Judah vexing Ephraim), now it should be
no longer, but there should be a coalition between them, and,
notwithstanding the old differences that had been between them,
they should agree to love one another and to do one another all
good offices. This is here illustrated by a sign. The prophet was
to take <i>two sticks,</i> and write upon one, <i>For Judah</i>
(including Benjamin, those of the <i>children of Israel</i> that
were <i>his companions</i>), upon the other, <i>For Joseph,</i>
including the rest of the tribes, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.16" parsed="|Ezek|37|16|0|0" passage="Eze 37:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. These two sticks must be so
framed as to fall into <i>one in his hand,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.17" parsed="|Ezek|37|17|0|0" passage="Eze 37:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. The people took notice of
this, and desired him to <i>tell them the meaning of it,</i> for
they knew he did not play with sticks for his diversion, as
children do. Those that would know the meaning should ask the
meaning of the word of God which they read and hear, and of the
instituted signs by which spiritual and divine things are
represented to us; the ministers' <i>lips</i> should <i>keep the
knowledge</i> hereof and the people should <i>ask it at their
mouth,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Mal.2.7" parsed="|Mal|2|7|0|0" passage="Mal 2:7">Mal. ii. 7</scripRef>. It is
a necessary question for grown people, as well as children, to ask,
<i>What mean you by this service,</i> by this sign? <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.12.26" parsed="|Exod|12|26|0|0" passage="Ex 12:26">Exod. xii. 26</scripRef>. The meaning was that
Judah and Israel should become <i>one in the hand of God,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.19" parsed="|Ezek|37|19|0|0" passage="Eze 37:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. 1. They
shall be one, one nation, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p13.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.22" parsed="|Ezek|37|22|0|0" passage="Eze 37:22"><i>v.</i>
22</scripRef>. They shall have no separate interests, and,
consequently, no divided affections. There shall be no mutual
jealousies and animosities, no remembrance, no remains, of their
former discord. But there shall be a perfect harmony between them,
a good understanding one of another, a good disposition one to
another, and a readiness to all good offices and services for one
another's credit and comfort. They had been two sticks crossing and
thwarting one another, nay, beating and bruising one another; but
now they shall become one, supporting and strengthening one
another. <i>Vix unita fortior—Force added to force is
proportionally more efficient. Behold, how good and how pleasant a
thing it is</i> to see Judah and Israel, that had long been at
variance, now <i>dwelling together in unity.</i> Then they shall
become acceptable to their God, amiable to their friends, and
formidable to their enemies, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p13.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.13-Isa.11.14" parsed="|Isa|11|13|11|14" passage="Isa 11:13,14">Isa.
xi. 13, 14</scripRef>. 2. They shall be one in <i>God's hand;</i>
by his power they shall be united, and, being by his hand brought
together, his hand shall keep them together, so that they shall not
fly off, to be separated again. They shall be one in his hand, for
his glory shall be the centre of their unity and his grace the
cement of it. In him, in a regard to him and in his service and
worship, they shall unite, and so shall become one. Both sides
shall agree to put themselves into his hand, and so they shall be
one. <i>Qui conveniunt in aliquo tertio inter se conveniunt—Those
who agree in a third agree with each other.</i> Note, Those are
best united that are one in God's hand, whose union with each other
results from their union with Christ and their communion with God
through him, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p13.8" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.10" parsed="|Eph|1|10|0|0" passage="Eph 1:10">Eph. i. 10</scripRef>.
<i>One in us,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p13.9" osisRef="Bible:John.17.21" parsed="|John|17|21|0|0" passage="Joh 17:21">John xvii.
21</scripRef>. 3. They shall be one in their return out of
captivity (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p13.10" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.21" parsed="|Ezek|37|21|0|0" passage="Eze 37:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>):
<i>I will take them from among the heathen,</i> and <i>gather them
on every side,</i> and <i>bring them</i> together incorporated into
one body <i>to their own land.</i> They shall be one in their
separation from the heathen with whom they had mingled themselves:
they shall both agree to part from them, and take their affections
off from them, and no longer to comply with their usages, and then
they will soon agree to join together in walking according to the
rule of God's word. Their having been joint-sufferers will
contribute to this blessed comprehension, when they begin to come
to themselves and to consider things. Put many pieces of metal
together into the furnace, and, when they are melted, they will run
all together. It was time for them to strengthen one another when
their oppressors were so busy to weaken and ruin them all. Likewise
their being joint-sharers in the favour of God, and the great and
common deliverance wrought out for them all, should help to unite
them. God's loving them all was a good reason why they should love
one another. Times of common joy, as well as times of common
suffering, should be healing loving times. 4. They shall all be the
subjects of one king, and so they shall become one. The Jews, after
their return, were under one government, and not divided as
formerly. But this certainly looks further, to the kingdom of
Christ; he is that one King in allegiance to whom all God's
spiritual Israel shall cheerfully unite, and under whose protection
they shall all be gathered. All believers unite in <i>one Lord, one
faith,</i> and <i>one baptism.</i> And the uniting of Jews and
Gentiles in the gospel church, their becoming one fold under Christ
the one great Shepherd, is doubtless the union that is chiefly
looked at in this prophecy. By Christ and partition-wall between
them was taken down, and the enmity slain, and of them <i>twain</i>
was made <i>one new man,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p13.11" osisRef="Bible:Eph.2.14-Eph.2.15" parsed="|Eph|2|14|2|15" passage="Eph 2:14,15">Eph.
ii. 14, 15</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p14" shownumber="no">II. It is here promised that the Jews shall
by their captivity be cured of their inclination to idolatry; this
shall be the happy fruit of that affliction, even the taking away
of their sin (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.23" parsed="|Ezek|37|23|0|0" passage="Eze 37:23"><i>v.</i>
23</scripRef>): <i>Neither shall they defile themselves any more
with their idols,</i> those detestable defiling things, no, nor
<i>with any of their</i> former <i>transgressions.</i> Note, When
one sin is sincerely parted with all sin is abandoned too, for he
that hates sin, as sin, will hate all sin. And those that are cured
of their spiritual idolatry, their inordinate affection to the
world and the flesh, that no longer make a god of their money or
their belly, have a happy blow given to the root of all their
transgressions. Two ways God will take to cure them of their
idolatry:—1. By bringing them out of the way of temptation to it:
"<i>I will save them out of all their dwelling-places wherein they
have sinned,</i> because there they met with the occasion of sin
and allurements to it." Note, It is our wisdom to avoid the places
where we have been overcome by temptations to sin, not to remain in
them, or return to them, but to <i>save ourselves</i> out of them,
as we would out of infected places; see <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.2.7 Bible:Rev.18.4" parsed="|Zech|2|7|0|0;|Rev|18|4|0|0" passage="Zec 2:7,Re 18:4">Zech. ii. 7; Rev. xviii. 4</scripRef>. And it is
a great mercy when God, in his providence, <i>saves us out of the
dwelling-places where we have sinned,</i> and keeps us from harm by
keeping us out of harm's way, in answer to our prayer, <i>Lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.</i> 2. By changing
the disposition of their mind: "<i>I will cleanse them</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.28" parsed="|Ezek|37|28|0|0" passage="Eze 37:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>); that is, I
will sanctify them, will work in them an aversion to the pollutions
of sin and a complacency in the pleasures of holiness, and then you
may be sure they will not defile themselves any more with their
idols." Those whom God has cleansed he will keep clean.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p15" shownumber="no">III. It is here promised that they shall be
the people of God, as <i>their God,</i> and the subjects and sheep
of Christ their King and Shepherd. These promises we had before,
and they are here repeated (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.23-Ezek.37.24" parsed="|Ezek|37|23|37|24" passage="Eze 37:23,24"><i>v.</i> 23, 24</scripRef>) for the encouragement
of the faith of Israel: <i>They shall be my people,</i> to serve
me, and <i>I will be their God,</i> to save them and to make them
happy. <i>David, my servant, shall be king over them,</i> to fight
their battles, to protect them from injury, and to rule them, and
overrule all things that concern them for their good. He shall be
<i>their shepherd,</i> to guide them and provide for them. Christ
is this David, Israel's King of old; and those whom he subdues to
himself, and makes willing in the day of his power, he makes to
<i>walk in his judgments and to keep his statutes.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p16" shownumber="no">IV. It is here promised that they shall
dwell comfortably, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.25-Ezek.37.26" parsed="|Ezek|37|25|37|26" passage="Eze 37:25,26"><i>v.</i> 25,
26</scripRef>. They shall dwell in the land of Israel; for where
else should Israelites dwell? And many things will concur to make
their dwelling agreeable. 1. They shall have it by covenant; they
shall come in again upon their old title, by virtue of the grant
made unto <i>Jacob,</i> God's <i>servant.</i> As Christ was David,
God's servant, so the church is Jacob, his servant too; and the
members of the church shall come in for a share, as born in God's
house. He will make a <i>covenant of peace</i> with them (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.26" parsed="|Ezek|37|26|0|0" passage="Eze 37:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>), and in pursuance of
that covenant he will <i>place them, and multiply them.</i> Note,
Temporal mercies are doubly sweet when they come from the promise
of the covenant, and not merely from common providence. 2. They
shall come to it by prescription: "It is <i>the land wherein your
fathers have dwelt,</i> and for that reason you cannot but have a
special kindness for it, which God will graciously gratify." It was
the inheritance of their ancestors, and therefore shall be theirs.
They are <i>beloved for their fathers' sakes.</i> 3. They shall
have it entailed upon them and the heirs of their body, and shall
have their families built up, so that it shall not be lost for want
of heirs. <i>They shall dwell therein</i> all their time, and never
be turned out of possession, and they shall leave it for an
inheritance <i>to their children and their children's children for
ever,</i> who shall enjoy it when they are gone, the prospect of
which will be a satisfaction to them. 4. They shall live under a
good government, which will contribute very much to the comfort of
their lives: <i>My servant David shall be their prince for
ever.</i> This can be no other than Christ, of whom it was said,
when he was brought into the world, <i>He shall reign over the
house of Jacob for ever,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.33" parsed="|Luke|1|33|0|0" passage="Lu 1:33">Luke i.
33</scripRef>. Note, It is the unspeakable comfort of all Christ's
faithful subjects that, as his <i>kingdom</i> is
<i>everlasting,</i> so he is an <i>everlasting King,</i> he lives
to reign for ever; and, as sure and as long as he lives and reigns,
they shall live and reign also. 5. The charter by which they hold
all their privileges is indefeasible. God's covenant with them
shall be an <i>everlasting covenant;</i> so the covenant of grace
is, for it secures to us an everlasting happiness.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p17" shownumber="no">V. It is here promised that God will dwell
among them; and this will make them dwell comfortably indeed: <i>I
will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore; my
tabernacle also shall be with them,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.26-Ezek.37.27" parsed="|Ezek|37|26|37|27" passage="Eze 37:26,27"><i>v.</i> 26, 27</scripRef>. 1. They shall have the
tokens of God's special presence with them and his gracious
residence among them. God will <i>in very deed dwell with them upon
the earth,</i> for where his sanctuary is he is; when they profaned
his sanctuary he took it from them (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.64.11" parsed="|Isa|64|11|0|0" passage="Isa 64:11">Isa. lxiv. 11</scripRef>), but now that they are
purified God will dwell with them again. 2. They shall have
opportunity of conversing with God, of hearing from him, speaking
to him, and so keeping up communion with him, which will be the
comfort of their lives. 3. They shall have the means of grace. By
the oracles of God in his tabernacle they shall be made wiser and
better, and all their children shall be taught of the Lord. 4. Thus
their covenant relation to God shall be improved and the bond of it
strengthened: "<i>I will be their God and they shall be my
people,</i> and they shall know it by having my sanctuary among
them, and shall have the comfort of it."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxviii-p18" shownumber="no">VI. Both God and Israel shall have the
honour of this among the heathen, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxviii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.26" parsed="|Ezek|37|26|0|0" passage="Eze 37:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>. "Now the heathen observe how
Israel have profaned their own crown by their sins, and God has
profaned it by his judgments; but then, when Israel is reformed and
God has returned in mercy to them, the very heathen shall be made
to know that <i>the Lord sanctifies</i> Israel, has a title to them
and an interest in them more than other people, because his
sanctuary is, and shall be, in the midst of them." Note, God
designs the sanctification of those among whom he sets up his
sanctuary. And blessed and holy are those who, enjoying the
privileges of the sanctuary, give such proofs and evidences of
their sanctification that the heathen may know it is no less than
the almighty grace of God that sanctifies them. Such have God's
sanctuary in the midst of them, the kingdom of God within them, in
the principles of the spiritual life, and shall have it so for
evermore in the enjoyments of an eternal life.</p>
</div></div2>