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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E Z E K I E L.</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXVII.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:1-10">ver. 1-10</A>)
and the explication of it, with its application to the present case,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:11-14">ver. 11-14</A>.
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:15-22">ver. 15-22</A>.
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:23-28">ver. 23-28</A>.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Eze37_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_13"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_14"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Vision of the Dry Bones.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 586.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The hand of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> was upon me, and carried me out in the
spirit of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and set me down in the midst of the valley
which <I>was</I> full of bones,
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I
answered, O Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>, thou knowest.
&nbsp; 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say
unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 5 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> unto these bones; Behold, I will
cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
&nbsp; 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 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son
of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Come from
the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they
may live.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; 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.
&nbsp; 13 And ye shall know that I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, when I have opened
your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
&nbsp; 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
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> have spoken <I>it,</I> and performed <I>it,</I> saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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,"
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+7:14">Isa. vii. 14</A>.
But,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+5:24,25">John v. 24, 25</A>.
(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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. Let us observe the particulars of this vision.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(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
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+3:22"><I>ch.</I> iii. 22</A>,
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>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+21:24">Job xxi. 24</A>),
when they have been any while dead, lose all their moisture, and are
dry as dust. The body is now fenced with bones
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:11">Job x. 11</A>),
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+11:8,9">Rev. xi. 8, 9</A>.
The bones of Gog and Magog shall be buried
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+39:12,15"><I>ch.</I> xxxix. 12, 15</A>),
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
"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 life." 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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(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>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:4,9"><I>v.</I> 4 and again <I>v.</I> 9</A>),
to <I>prophesy to the wind.</I> So he <I>prophesied as he was
commanded,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:7,10"><I>v.</I> 7, 10</A>.
[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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(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>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5 and again <I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
as he did at first,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:11">Job x. 11</A>.
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>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:24">Ezek. i. 24</A>)
and the <I>sound of their going,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:24">2 Sam. v. 24</A>.
<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>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ezr+1:4">Ezra i. 4</A>.
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>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. The depth of despair to which they are now reduced,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:12-14"><I>v.</I> 12-14</A>.
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>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:7">Ps. cxli. 7</A>),
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>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:20">Ps. lxxi. 20</A>.
(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>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>)
and <I>place you there</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
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>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
and that I have <I>spoken it and performed it,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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>
<A NAME="Eze37_15"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_16"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_17"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_18"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_19"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_20"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_21"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_22"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_23"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_24"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_25"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_26"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_27"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze37_28"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Cheering Promises.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 586.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 The word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came again unto me, saying,
&nbsp; 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:
&nbsp; 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall
become one in thine hand.
&nbsp; 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?
&nbsp; 19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; 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.
&nbsp; 20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand
before their eyes.
&nbsp; 21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; 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:
&nbsp; 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:
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their
God, and they shall be my people.
&nbsp; 28 And the heathen shall know that I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> do sanctify
Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for
evermore.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
These two sticks must be so framed as to fall into <I>one in his
hand,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
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>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+2:7">Mal. ii. 7</A>.
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?
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+12:26">Exod. xii. 26</A>.
The meaning was that Judah and Israel should become <I>one in the hand
of God,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
1. They shall be one, one nation,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:13,14">Isa. xi. 13, 14</A>.
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:10">Eph. i. 10</A>.
<I>One in us,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+17:21">John xvii. 21</A>.
3. They shall be one in their return out of captivity
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
<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>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+2:14,15">Eph. ii. 14, 15</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
<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
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+2:7,Re+18:4">Zech. ii. 7; Rev. xviii. 4</A>.
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>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>);
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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:23,24"><I>v.</I> 23, 24</A>)
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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
IV. It is here promised that they shall dwell comfortably,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:25,26"><I>v.</I> 25, 26</A>.
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>),
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>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:33">Luke i. 33</A>.
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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:26,27"><I>v.</I> 26, 27</A>.
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+64:11">Isa. lxiv. 11</A>),
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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
VI. Both God and Israel shall have the honour of this among the
heathen,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
"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>
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