And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they are gone, and will gather them from every side, and bring them into their own land
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
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.
Ezekiel holds two sticks, one named for Judah and one for Joseph. God joins them into a single stick in his hand, and this verse explains the sign: one people, one land, one king. Has that already happened in some spiritual form, or is it still ahead?
Two fulfilments are often proposed: the small group of Jews who returned from exile in Babylon, or the church. One writer rules out both.
It is pointless to twist such language to fit the remnant of Jews that returned from Babylon, or the church at Pentecost. There is not even a resemblance. It is a union of the two long-divided houses of Israel, and nothing else. Not even a shadow of its accomplishment has appeared yet. Words could not be more explicit. The language excludes every sense except the future gathering and union of all Israel as a single nation under one king. They will never be divided again, never defiled again.
The two sticks stand for a real historical tear. The kingdom split in two, and the halves stayed rivals.
The ten tribes separated from the house of David under Jeroboam, when Rehoboam came to the throne. Ever since, there had been more or less hostility between the two kingdoms, with some occasional alliances. The prophets had kept speaking of the reunion of the two peoples under the Messiah.
The same writer marks when the healing comes.
When Messiah returns and establishes His kingdom, this promise will be fulfilled. It would have been fulfilled when He first came, if His people had received Him.
Israel's own kings tried to mend the split and failed. The sign shows why it will work now: the two sticks become one in the hand that holds them.
How beautiful it is that in God's day, when the Lord takes up the staff of Israel and of Judah, it will be reunited in His hand. It will be one, as it has never been since the division. All efforts in the past have been futile. King Rehoboam might fight to bring back the tribes that had revolted, but it was utterly impossible. The efforts of other kings ended the same way. Hezekiah might send out a gracious invitation for Israel to come back to the God of their fathers. A few people might be restored, but it is only a temporary, partial thing. But when the mighty Son of God takes hold of His people, that broken staff will be reunited and become one — a rod, a sceptre, by which He will reign over the whole earth.
The verse does not name the king, but the passage goes on to call him "my servant David." Writers take that as pointing past David himself.
The Jew is not "cast off" in the sense in which Scripture uses the word — as final rejection. That is because there is the most abundant testimony that the day is coming when the Lord will re-gather His ancient people, the house of Israel and the house of Judah. He will plant them in the land which He gave to them and to their fathers. For God has plainly said, "One king shall be king over them all," and "My servant David shall be king over them" (Ezek. 37:22, 24) — a beautiful allusion to Christ!
The reign meant is an earthly one. Christ is King here "not as Head of the church in heaven, but as king of Israel when He reigns over the earth." Since the prophecy was spoken there has never been "an approach to its accomplishment" (William Kelly).
Nothing here is offered on terms. Every clause is something God says He will do.
This prophecy will find its accomplishment in their own land, and under the King whom God will raise up for them. God will once more be openly their God, with His sanctuary set among them forever. That the time of all this is future should need no argument. Nor should it need one that the promise can never be set aside by any unfaithfulness of the people He speaks of. God has attached no condition to it here, and He states that He will Himself fulfil it.
The reunion brings joy, not just order. One writer pictures that day. Judah and Israel, "so long divided and scattered, will at last meet in the land." There they will "realise how good and pleasant it is for those who are brothers, not only to meet, but to dwell together in unity" (Hamilton Smith).
- One hand. The two sticks become one in the hand that holds them — the healing is God's act, not a treaty between the tribes.
- One nation. The split under Jeroboam and Rehoboam is undone. The two kingdoms end, and Israel is one people again.
- One land. God names one place: the mountains of Israel. It is the land He gave their fathers — not heaven, and not the church.
- One king. Writers see "my servant David" as Christ reigning over the earth. Under Him the union can never break again.
- One promise. God attaches no conditions, so no failure of the people can cancel it. Commentators agree it still waits ahead.