Ezekiel 37

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The restoration of the people of God is here professed, 1. By a vision of dry bones brought together, and raised in life, ver. 1—14. 2. By the coalition of two flicks into one is flarion, the union of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah at their return from captivity, ver. 15—22. a type of the union of Jesus and Gentiles in one church in the days of the Medijah: and so, 3. The prophet finds into a preolation of the kingdom of Christ, which should be set up in the world, and of the glories and graves of that kingdom, ver. 23—28.

1. THE hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2. And caused me to pass by them round about, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. 3. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? and I answered, 3 O O Lord,

O Lord GOD, thou knowest. 4. Again he said unto me, Prophecy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5. Thus faith the Lord GOD 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 am the LORD. 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 there was no breath in them. 9. Then said he unto me, Prophecy unto the wind, prophecy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus faith the Lord GOD, ’ Come from the four winds, O § breath, and breathe upon these stains, 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 lay, ’ Our bones are dried, and ’ our hope is lost, we are cut off for our parts. 12. Therefore prophecy, and say unto them, Thus faith the Lord GOD, 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 am the LORD, 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 LORD have spoken it, and performed it, faith the LORD.

We have here,

1. The vision. Under the powerful impulse of the Spirit, the prophet is carried into the valley full of dry bones, disjointed and scattered in confusion: an emblem of the Jewish people now captives in Babylon, so dispersed that, to human view, their recovery was as much detained as the restoration of dry bones to life. Therefore, when asked, Can these bones live? he replies, Thus knowest. Nothing short of omnipotence can effect the amazing miracle. Note, (1.) Man’s soul by nature is like these dry bones, totally void of all spiritual life, unable to exert one good desire, or make the least effort towards his recovery. (2.) God alone knows whom he designs for life, and whom he foreknew he predominates to be conformed to the image of his Son, quickening them from the death of Son unto the life of righteousness.

2. The prophet is commanded to prophesy upon or over these dry bones, and to call on them to attend, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. And since by a divine energy accompanying his word their restoration to life should be accomplished, he is ordered, v. 9. to pray unto the Spirit for his quickening influences, Com, O breath, or Spirit, and breathe upon these stains, that they may live: and, though the work might seem strange and fruitless, the prophet obeyed, v. 10. Note, (1.) Though the sinner’s soul of himself he as incapable of receiving the gospel call as dry bones of hearing our voice, yet must we speak in dependence upon the Spirit, which God hath promised, to make the ministrations of his own word effectual. (2.) Whilst we are crying aloud to sinners, we must be looking up to God, and pouring out our souls in prayer to him who quicken the dead.

3. A wonderful effect followed his prophecying; for they who go forth in dependence on the divine power shall see the wonders of God’s grace. A noise and shaking ensued, each bone joined his fellow, and flesh and sinews grew upon them; and, at the prophet’s invocation, life entered into them, according to the promise, v. 6. and they stood up, an exceeding great army, v. 9, 10. Thus, by the proclamation of Cyrus, the captives were assembled, and, by the Divine Spirit animated, they were enabled to overcome all the difficulties in their way. And we have here also a representation, (1.) Of our spiritual resurrection from the death of sin; by the preaching of the word a shaking is occasioned among the souls dead in trespasses and sin; deep convictions make them tremble, and by the power of the Holy Ghost spiritual life is communicated. (2.) Of the resurrection of the body in the last day, when all our scattered stones shall be reunited, and the same body be railed by the power of God to life eternal.

4. The application of the whole to the house of Israel. They never these dry bones; released to the lowest state of abject misery, and abandoning themselves to despair. But in the time of our deepest distress God will make his power and grace more eminently known; therefore the prophet is commanded to assure

them, that God will deliver them from their captivity, which was like opening the graves to the dead, v. 12. and give them life, in their restoration to the comfortable and peaceable profession of their own land. God hath spoken, and will perform it; they may confidently trust him; for what he promises is as good as done. Note, (1.) In times of fore temptation, and long continued distress, our faith is ready to listen, and unbelief to prevail. (2.) Though we may despair of ourselves, our state may not be desperate; God can do for us more than we can think. (3.) The lower we are reduced, the more is the power and grace of God magnified in our recovery.

15. ¶ The word of the LORD 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 for all the house of Israel, his companions. 17. And ’ you them one to another may one stick, and they shall become one in thine hand. 18. ¶ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Will thou not have us what thou mean? by these? 19. ’ Say unto them, Thus faith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tubes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. 20. ¶ And the sticks whereon thou writeest, shall be in thine hand before their eyes. 21. And lay unto them, Thus faith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, ’ and bring them into their own land. 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 decile 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 shall be king over them: and ’ they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, even they and their children, and their childrens children: for ever, and my servant David shall be 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 LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

Ezekiel 37:15-28

For the encouragement of the faithful among the captives, great things are promised which God will do for them.

1. The two kingdoms of Judah and Israel, so long separated, and so often vexatious to each other, shall be reunited, and become one people; and this is represented by the joining of two sticks in the prophet’s hand; on one of which was inscribed the name of Judah and her companions, the tribe of Benjamin and those of the other tribes who on the revolt cleaved to the house of David; on the other the name of Ephraim, and his companions the house of Israel, of which Samaria, which lay in the list of Ephraim, was the capital. The people who saw the sign would naturally be inquisitive, and desire to know the meaning, v. 18. and he must inform them, that as these sticks became one in his hand, so should they become one people in God’s hand, v. 19. no mutual jealousies, no jarring discord, shall remain; but, returning together from their captivity, they shall become one nation, under one king: which was primarily fulfilled on their return from Babylon; but forms principally to refer to gospel times, when, under the king Messiah, Jews and Gentiles shall become one people, the partition wall being broken down, and they shall have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and be one fold under one shepherd.

2. All their idolatries shall be for ever done away, v. 23. After their return from Babylon they never more relapsed: God having

having saved them from the places of temptation, delivered them also from all inclination to their former abominations. Note, (1.) It is a singular mercy when God saves us from the places and persons who have been a temptation to us, and by his gracious providence removes us from the evil. (2.) God will save his people from all their sins; not only from their actual prevalence, but he will mortify also their desire after them; and indeed, unless the heart be cleaned, it would signify little to have the temptation merely removed.

3. They shall be taken into an everlasting covenant of grace and peace with God, v. 26. and he will effectually incline them to cleave to him. They shall be his people, his grace will cause the glorious change; and he will be their God, to bless, preserve, and protect them. David, the root from his shock, the Messiah, shall be their king and shepherd, to guard them from their enemies, to feed them under his care, making them obedient in all things to his blessed will, and engaging their fidelity to himself. Note, (1.) It is of God’s grace, not our choice; by his power, not our own ability, that we become his people, and obedient to his holy will. (2.) The covenant of grace is everlasting; they who are truly intereled therein have their everlasting happiness secured.

4. They shall for ever enjoy in peace the inheritance of their ancestors, transmitting it to children’s children, and shall be fair and happy under the rule of their unsound king Messiah, v. 25. whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion that which never shall be destroyed. And this forms to direct us, for the full accomplishment of the prophecy, to future times, when this unhappy people, now so dispersed, shall receive the Lord’s Christ, and to the end of time enjoy the blessings of his government. Note, Christ’s subjects, the children of Zion, may well be useful in their kings; since he for ever lives and reigns, they shall live and reign with him in glory everlasting.

5. God himself will dwell in the midst of them. They shall not only be intereled and established, but enjoy the special tokens of his professor. His sanctuary and tabernacle, erected among them, shall never more be destroyed; Jesus, the true tabernacle, in whom dwelt all the subsets of the Godhead bodily, shall be in the midst of them, and in his church they shall see his glory, and maintain communion with him in the ordinances of his service; and find, to their unspeakable comfort, God to be their God, whilst they share in all the blessings of his people.

6. God will be glorified among the heathen in such his dissensions of mercy towards his Israel. They shall have that he death finally Israel, by such evident marks of his love, by such powerful operations of his grace upon them, and by the erection of his sanctuary among them for evermore. Note, They who enjoy the privileges of the sanctuary must shew the influence it hath upon them in the sanctification of their hearts and lives.