August 28, 2025
What does God want people to know?
Ezekiel 35-38
Matthew Olson
Big Book Idea
While destruction would come and had come, eventually there will be restoration.
Key Verse | Ezekiel 36:9-10
For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt.
Ezekiel 35-38
Chapter 35
Prophecy Against Mount Seir
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, 3 and say to it, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste. 4 I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the LORD. 5 Because you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, 6 therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation, and I will cut off from it all who come and go. 8 And I will fill its mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain with the sword shall fall. 9 I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
10 Because you said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will take possession of them’—although the LORD was there— 11 therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will deal with you according to the anger and envy that you showed because of your hatred against them. And I will make myself known among them, when I judge you. 12 And you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have heard all the revilings that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are laid desolate; they are given us to devour.’ 13 And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it. 14 Thus says the Lord God: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. 15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
Chapter 36
Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel
1 And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD. 2 Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy said of you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient heights have become our possession,’ 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people, 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach.
8 But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, ‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,’ 14 therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord God. 15 And I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord God.”
The LORD's Concern for His Holy Name
16 The word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ 21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.
I Will Put My Spirit Within You
22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 1 36:27 Or my just decrees 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.
33 Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.
37 Thus says the Lord God: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices, 2 36:38 Hebrew flock of holy things like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
Chapter 37
The Valley of Dry Bones
1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; 3 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath 4 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, 5 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on 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 on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.”
I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People
15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick 6 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, 7 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings 8 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
24 My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land 9 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
Chapter 38
Prophecy Against Gog
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech 10 38:2 Or Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech 11 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. 4 And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. 5 Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—many peoples are with you.
7 Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them. 9 You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.
10 Thus says the Lord God: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme 11 and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ 12 to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth. 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders 12 38:13 Hebrew young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord God: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? 15 You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. 16 You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
17 Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? 18 But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, my wrath will be roused in my anger. 19 For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog 13 38:21 Hebrew against him on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. 23 So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
Footnotes
[1] 36:27 Or my just decrees[2] 36:38 Hebrew flock of holy things
[3] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2
[4] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10
[5] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13)
[6] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20
[7] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah
[8] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings
[9] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land
[10] 38:2 Or Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech
[11] 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech
[12] 38:13 Hebrew young lions
[13] 38:21 Hebrew against him
Table of Contents
Introduction to Ezekiel
Timeline
Author and Date
The first dated message in Ezekiel is from the summer of 593 B.C., four years after Nebuchadnezzar deported the first group of exiles to Babylon. The latest dated oracle is 22 years later, in April 571 B.C. If Ezekiel was 30 years old when his ministry began (1:1), the final vision of the book came when he was about 50.
Theme and Purpose
Ezekiel spoke to a people forced from their home because they had broken faith with their God. As the spokesman for the Lord, Ezekiel spoke oracles that defended his reputation as a holy God (see especially 36:22–23). The primary purpose of Ezekiel’s message was to restore God’s glory before Israel, who had rejected him in front of the watching nations.
Background
Ezekiel prophesied during a time of great confusion following Israel’s exile to Babylon in 597 B.C. A former Judean king was among the exiles (the 18-year-old Jehoiachin), and the Babylonians had appointed a puppet king to the throne in Jerusalem (Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah).
In times of crisis, God sent prophets to bring his message to his people. Judah’s exile was therefore a period of intense prophetic activity. (Jeremiah also served during this time.)
Ezekiel’s fellow exiles were his main audience, but his oracles also communicated to people who remained in Judah.
Key Themes
- As a priest, Ezekiel was deeply concerned with restoring God’s people to holiness. His understanding of the depth of Israel’s sin is clear in his version of Israel’s history (ch. 20). Even the oracles about a restored Israel (chs. 40–48) include a way to deal with the people’s sin so they can survive in the presence of a holy God. Ezekiel’s concern with sin also accounts for the many places where the book echoes the laws given in the Pentateuch, as well as the similarities between Ezekiel’s new temple (chs. 40–42) and the Exodus tabernacle.
- Israel was subject to its national God. However, this God is no tribal deity. He is supreme over all nations. Therefore Nebuchadnezzar, king of mighty Babylon, was simply a tool in God’s hand to accomplish God’s purpose (e.g., 21:19–23; 30:25). God’s absolute supremacy is most clearly demonstrated in the battle against Gog, the final enemy (chs. 38–39), where God alone crushes Gog’s vast hostile forces.
- Ezekiel declares judgment on those clinging to false hope, but offers true hope to those who accept God’s judgment (37:11). He linked God’s judgment with the hope of a new heart and spirit (36:22–32).
- The condemnation of Israel’s “princes” (e.g., ch. 19) finds its hopeful counterpart in the promise of a future “prince” who would rule with justice (34:23–24) and connect the people to God (46:1–18).
Outline
- Inaugural Vision (1:1–3:27)
- Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah (4:1–24:27)
- Oracles against Foreign Nations (25:1–32:32)
- After the Fall of Jerusalem (33:1–39:29)
- Vision of Restoration (40:1–48:35)
The Near East at the Time of Ezekiel
c. 593 B.C.
Ezekiel recorded his visions and prophecies while living near Babylon, where he had been exiled years earlier. By Ezekiel’s time, the Babylonian Empire had conquered almost all of the area along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It would eventually conquer even the land of Egypt, where many other Judeans had fled.
Fact: light to the nations
Israel was called to be a light to the nations (Isa. 42:6), but instead, their sinful behavior “profaned” God’s name before their unbelieving neighbors (Ezek. 36:22–23). The Lord expects his people to bring honor to his name all around the globe.
Fact: Gog and Magog
Gog and Magog. In chs. 38–39, Ezekiel prophesies that a mysterious ruler called Gog from an unknown land called Magog will attack Israel. There are many suggestions about who and what Gog and Magog mean, but no agreement has been reached.
Fact: The prince
The prince (44:3) in the visions of restoration is also called God’s servant David (34:23–24; 37:24–25). This prince will rule over God’s people forever. Jesus’ followers viewed him as this promised ruler (Matt. 1:1; Luke 18:38).
Ezek. 35:1–4 The first oracle is little more than an announcement of God’s opposition to Mount Seir and his intention to destroy it. “Mount Seir” was the highland region southeast of the Dead Sea.
Ezek. 35:5–9 Edom is treated here much as Israel was in ch. 6.
Ezek. 35:10–12a Edom’s land-grab is condemned. Two nations refers to Israel and Judah as separate kingdoms (see 37:15–28). Just as Edom treated Israel and Judah poorly, so it will be treated.
Ezek. 35:1–15 Mount Seir (v. 2) is identified with Edom (v. 15) much as Mount Zion is identified with Judah. An oracle against Edom appears in 25:12–14 (see note there), and its theme is echoed here. Compare also the book of Obadiah.
Ezek. 35:1–36:15 Ezekiel now turns his focus to Mount Seir (ch. 35) and the mountains of Israel (36:1–15). The prophecies against Mount Seir should be read as a preface to the address to the mountains of Israel.
Ezek. 36:1–15 Earlier God announced judgment on the mountains of Israel (ch. 6). Now he announces their restoration.
Ezek. 36:8–15 But you signals a transition. The focus shifts from Israel’s bleak past to its promising future. As in the “covenant of peace” (34:25–30), the people’s well-being is connected to the land’s fruitfulness. Verses 8–11 of ch. 36 present a series of blessings; the new is even better than the old.
Ezek. 36:22–23 It is not for your sake. The fundamental reason why God acts on Israel’s behalf is not grace and mercy, though he is certainly gracious and merciful; rather, God acts primarily for the sake of my holy name. The phrase will know that I am the LORD concludes the oracle and summarizes its purpose. People should give God the recognition and honor that is rightfully his.
Fact: light to the nations
Israel was called to be a light to the nations (Isa. 42:6), but instead, their sinful behavior “profaned” God’s name before their unbelieving neighbors (Ezek. 36:22–23). The Lord expects his people to bring honor to his name all around the globe.
Ezek. 36:24–25 Restoring God’s reputation first requires the renewal of his people. The reference to cleansing by sprinkling clean water on you recalls the cleansing by sprinkling for touching a dead body (Num. 19:13, 20). This may suggest that the idols of Ezek. 36:25 are comparable to dead things. Many interpreters see this picture of cleansing by water as the background to Jesus’ words in John 3:5, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”; compare the mention of “my Spirit” in Ezek. 36:27.
Ezek. 36:26–27 God’s work moves from external to internal with the gift of a new heart and new spirit (see 11:19; compare 18:31). The outer purification will be no use without the inner desire to live rightly before God (36:27). The connection of “water” (v. 25) and “Spirit” (v. 27) lies behind John 3:5. I will put my Spirit within you predicts an effective inward work of God in the “new covenant.”
Ezek. 36:28–30 With God’s people now inclined to keep faith with God, they will be restored to the land. Linking the restoration of people and land is a continuing theme in this part of Ezekiel (e.g., 34:25–31).
Ezek. 36:22–32 This passage is often compared to Jeremiah’s “new covenant” text (Jer. 31:31–34). The structure of this passage reinforces its message. The outer verses relate the responses of God (Ezek. 36:22–23) and people (vv. 31–32). Nested within the next layer are the return and purification brought about in renewal (vv. 24–25, 28–30). At the heart of the passage is the divine gift of the new heart and spirit, which enables a correct response (vv. 26–27).
Ezek. 36:31–32 you will loathe yourselves. The response of the renewed people is to see themselves as God sees them. not for your sake. The fact that God is acting for his own sake reaffirms v. 22.
Ezek. 36:33–36 As seen in vv. 28–30, the land enjoys the benefits of the people’s cleansing. The mention of Eden emphasizes the nature of this act as re-creation (see 28:13; compare 37:1–14). One purpose for Israel’s experience in the land was to show the whole world a restored Edenic life, lived in God’s presence and with his blessing.
Ezek. 36:16–38 This key passage summarizes Ezekiel’s prophecy: in spite of their failings, God will restore his people for the sake of his name.
Ezek. 37:1 The vast landscape of dry bones suggests the aftermath of battle, the ultimate outcome of the judgment of ch. 6.
Ezek. 37:3 The question can these bones live? anticipates the exiles’ view of their own situation (v. 11): total hopelessness. It also introduces one of the key words in the passage: the verb “to live” appears in vv. 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 14. Ezekiel’s response leaves the outcome to God’s sovereignty.
Ezek. 37:4–6 God commands Ezekiel to do what seems pointless (prophesy over these bones). God promises that he will perform the impossible: bring the bones back to life with his breath. This is the same Hebrew word used for “the Spirit” in v. 1 (see note on 1:12). It appears seven more times in the vision.
Ezek. 37:9–10 The second phase of prophesying is addressed to the breath (or wind or spirit/Spirit; see note on 1:12). The coming of the wind/breath/spirit that gives life is a powerful reminder of God’s creative work in Gen. 2:7. God creates, and God re-creates.
Ezek. 37:12–13 I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. The vision of national revival changes into the metaphor of a cemetery, which seems to be related to the experience of exile (v. 12b). By using this language, Ezekiel also contributes to OT teaching on resurrection (see Dan. 12:2–3; Isa. 26:19; Hos. 6:1–2; 13:14; also Job 19:25–27; Ps. 17:15).
Ezek. 37:1–14 This vision is one of the most famous passages in Ezekiel. While it stands on its own as a statement of God’s power to re-create his people, the context is significant. The promised gift of a new heart and spirit (36:26–27) left questions (such as, how can this be? and can it be true for us?). Chapter 37 addresses these questions.
Ezek. 37:14 The fundamental lesson of the vision is repeated: when the Spirit is present, God’s people are enabled to live. This is the only basis on which hope can be offered to the despairing community.
Ezek. 37:16 Joseph, as father of Ephraim (see Gen. 48:5, 8–20), represents the northern kingdom of Israel. Judah represents the southern kingdom.
Ezek. 37:19 make them one stick. Israel first went into exile a century earlier. Judah was now scattered as well. But God will reunite them.
Ezek. 37:21–22 This renewed national unity requires a secure national home. The reunion takes concrete political shape under the rule of one king, which is not Ezekiel’s usual title for the messianic figure (compare “prince,” v. 25).
Ezek. 37:24–25 The assignment of David as shepherd-king and prince recalls 34:23–24 as well as several passages in Jeremiah (e.g., Jer. 23:5; 30:9). Divine enabling to live rightly (Ezek. 37:23) strengthens the people’s moral awareness.
Fact: The prince
The prince (44:3) in the visions of restoration is also called God’s servant David (34:23–24; 37:24–25). This prince will rule over God’s people forever. Jesus’ followers viewed him as this promised ruler (Matt. 1:1; Luke 18:38).
Ezek. 37:26 The covenant of peace (see 34:25) and everlasting covenant (see 16:60) appeared individually earlier in Ezekiel. Here they come together to provide the foundation for the renewed nation. The joining of these covenants also combines political life and the natural world, as if people and land are joined.
Ezek. 37:15–28 The idea of homecoming in the “dry bones” vision (vv. 1–14) provides a link to this oracle (see vv. 21, 25–26). This dramatized prophecy prompts questions from the onlookers (v. 18), which leads to two oracles: vv. 19–20 announce the reunification of the old northern and southern kingdoms; vv. 21–23 give the renewed nation its moral and political shape. Verses 24–28 further explain the second oracle. The closing verses, with their allusions to the temple, provide a bridge to chs. 40–48.
Ezek. 37:27–28 My dwelling place shall be with them. The oracle’s conclusion emphasizes the importance of God’s presence to the renewed people. The “dwelling place” recalls the wilderness tabernacle. The sanctuary (see v. 26) points to the temple, in particular the renewed temple, which will occupy Ezekiel’s attention in ch. 44.
Ezek. 38:2 Gog, of the land of Magog. These two names have been the focus of extensive speculation in both Jewish and Christian literature, and there is no agreement on their meaning. Many interpreters understand 38:1–39:29 to be a prophecy concerning an attack against Israel in a more distant future. In the NT, Gog and Magog are the names of the nations led by Satan to attack Jerusalem at the end of the “thousand years” (Rev. 20:8). Although the other geographical names in this passage can be identified (see notes on Ezek. 38:5; 38:6), “Gog” and “Magog” remain unknown. Perhaps the intention of the prophecy is simply to point to a yet-unknown future leader of a great attack against God’s people, one whose identity will not be known until the prophecy is fulfilled. No time is specified in the prophecy either, except the vague “In the latter years” (v. 8) and “In the latter days” (v. 16). Meshech and Tubal, first named in Gen. 10:2, are in Asia Minor (see note on Ezek. 27:13).
Ezek. 38:5 Gog’s allies are described in terms similar to Tyre’s allies in 27:10. Together with 38:2, 6, this passage describes enemies coming against Israel from all sides: Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and Beth-togarmah from the north (vv. 2, 6), and Persia, Cush, and Put from the south.
Ezek. 38:6 The uttermost parts of the north seems to refer to enemies that will come from regions far north of Israel, without specifically identifying these enemies.
Ezek. 38:8 Locating this episode in the latter years in the land that is restored puts this oracle into the future (see the “latter days” in v. 16). It is not necessarily the absolute end of time.
Ezek. 38:10–13 It is clear that Gog remains firmly under God’s control and, in fact, acts at God’s direction (vv. 4, 16). But Gog will still be held responsible for his plans to plunder the now-fertile land of restored Israel (the quiet people who dwell securely).
Ezek. 38:16 like a cloud. Huge numbers of Gog’s soldiers will come against Israel. This theme is repeated throughout these chapters. Once again, God is sovereign over Gog’s actions (I will bring you). Gog is a tool used to defend God’s holiness. In this way, Gog is similar to Pharaoh in the exodus (see Ex. 7:3–5).
S4:206 Ezekiel 35-38
Listen NowDive Deeper | Ezekiel 35-38
My life changed when I was 13 years old. I was already a kid dealing with all the typical challenges of middle school: awkwardness, failure to fit in, academic struggles. But one day, out of the blue, I found out that my parents were getting divorced. I was heartbroken, blindsided, unsure of what the future held.
That was September 6, 2001. You, reader, know that a second life-altering shock awaited all of us on the next Tuesday morning, 9/11. I was far away from the death and destruction that we all watched on our televisions, but what I saw only added to my feeling that the world was coming apart at the seams.
Yesterday, we read about Ezekiel getting similar news—Jerusalem had been destroyed. I could sympathize with Ezekiel if he responded in the same way I did in September 2001, languishing in despair and depression. But in today's passage, we see God's response in a situation where things have gone from bad to worse. Our God is a God of restoration after destruction and of hope after despair, a God of life after death. He is bigger than the indignity of exile and the pain of separation and grief. Of all the vivid images we see in Ezekiel, what stays with me are those we read about in Ezekiel 36 and 37—God's promise to take our hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of flesh and to take a valley of dry bones and to turn it into an army of the living.
I didn't know God in the terrible season of my life that began in September 2001, but it was that very trial that set me on the road to knowing Christ three hard years later.
You may be in your own valley today, but what God wants you to know is this: he is for you; he will turn to you. He can rebuild what has been destroyed and can replant what is desolate, whether it's a city, a family, or the state of your own heart.
This month's memory verse
"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
– Lamentations 3:21-23
Discussion Questions
1. In Ezekiel 37, God shows Ezekiel a valley of dry bones. What "valleys" or seemingly lifeless situations have you experienced in your life? How did (or how can) God bring restoration and new life into these circumstances?
2. The devastation of Jerusalem in Ezekiel's time was a moment of profound despair, yet God offered hope. How can you hold onto hope when you face overwhelming situations? What practical steps can you take to remind yourself of God's promises during such times?
3. The transformation of hearts and the renewal of the land in Ezekiel 36-37 is a process initiated by God. What does this tell you about the process of spiritual renewal in your life? How can you participate in this ongoing renewal that God desires for you?