Persia, Cush, and Phut with them, all of them with shield and helmet;
This verse names three of the peoples marching with Gog, the leader of a huge army massed against Israel. Two questions follow: who are these peoples, and why are lands so far apart joined in one invasion?
Some older English Bibles print "Ethiopia" and "Libya" here. The Hebrew names are Cush and Phut. One writer questions the second swap and places Phut in Africa:
Phut or Put is an example of the more degraded stock of Ham's descendants in Africa, next to Egypt and Ethiopia, and named with one or the other at times. But Phut can hardly be the Libyan, as the Authorised Version makes out of Jeremiah 46:9, or Libya as in Ezekiel 30:5 and Ezekiel 38:5, where it should be Phut as in Ezekiel 27:10. The very obscurity that covers this African branch of Ham's sons shows how low they had fallen.
Some readers have looked far to the north-east of Persia for Gog's confederates. One writer answers that Scripture settles the question, and that Cush reaches far beyond Africa:
The author had no need to go so far north-east of Persia to look for the confederates. If he had taken the trouble to read the chapter in Ezekiel, he would have found it was just Persia itself, and the nations south-west of it: to give them their Hebrew names (which I do, because then Scripture will direct us), Cush and Phut. All the district about the Euphrates and the Tigris is Cush according to Scripture, and perhaps large districts in Arabia. Further, in Jeremiah 46:9, we find Cush and Phut connected with the Egyptian army... Nahum shows that Cush and Phut were naturally connected with Egypt.
Commentators differ over how far these names reach. One places Cush around the Euphrates and the Tigris; another puts Phut in Africa, beside Egypt and Ethiopia.
These nations come from three different family lines. Something has to pull them into one force:
Gog will have many allies. They are given to us in three groups in Ezekiel 38:5-6, some from Japheth, some from Shem, and some from Ham. A very able hand will be needed to draw them together into one compact mass. Greed is apparently the cause of this terrible coalition against restored Israel.
Persia is named first here, but one writer reads the scene as nations swept along by a stronger power:
There they come, perfectly equipped, a great company, with shield and buckler, all of them grasping swords. Persia too is there, forced to follow in the train of the mighty northern leader, with Cush and Phut. Gomer is there with all his bands, and the house of Togarmah from the far north with all his bands. Many people indeed with Gog!
Another power stands apart from Gog's alliance. One writer calls it the Beast, and shows that the two want opposite things for Israel:
Persia, Ethiopia, and so on are under the power of Russia and follow in the train of Gog, the last ruler of the Russian peoples (Ezekiel 38:2-6)... Egypt will be subordinate to and an ally of the Beast, and so an object of attack by the king of the north — Israel's determined political foe. The Beast and Gog are opposing powers. Their policy and aims are widely different. The former is the would-be protector of the Jewish people; the latter their destroyer.
The shield and helmet of this verse will not decide the battle:
Israel will not need to fight: Jehovah will fight for them, and, as on the shores of the Red Sea, they have only to stand still and see His salvation. He will dispose of their enemies in the coming day as easily as He disposed of Pharaoh's armies in the distant past.
- Named. "Cush" and "Put" are the Hebrew names that older Bibles turned into "Ethiopia" and "Libya." One writer places Cush around the Euphrates; another puts Phut in Africa.
- Gathered. The allies come from three branches of Noah's descendants, and it will take an able hand to weld them into one force.
- Greedy. Greed is what pulls this alliance against a restored Israel.
- Dragged. Persia is forced to follow the northern leader. These nations serve another power's campaign; they do not lead it.
- Doomed. Israel will not need to fight. God will deal with this army as easily as He dealt with Pharaoh at the Red Sea.
Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah from the uttermost north, and all his bands; -- many peoples with thee.
Ezekiel 38 names the armies that will one day march against a restored Israel. Verse 6 closes that list with two northern peoples, and it raises three questions: who are Gomer and Togarmah, how does this coalition differ from Israel's other enemies, and when does it march?
The list began two verses earlier, and these peoples come from very different family lines:
Gog will have many allies. Ezekiel 38:5-6 gives them in three groups: some descended from Japheth, some from Shem, and some from Ham. It will take a very able hand to draw them together into one compact mass. Greed is apparently the cause of this terrible coalition against restored Israel.
Commentators differ over the map. One reading puts these tribes to the east and north, with a branch that may have moved west:
"Gomer and all his bands" are north-eastern; but the Cimri and others may be some of the race that migrated westward. "The house of Togarmah" of the north quarters I take to be the Armenian stock, as that people say of themselves. They will follow Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, that is, the last head of the Russian Empire.
Others have read Gomer as France or Western Europe, and Togarmah as the Baltic lands. Kelly questions that reading, and his answer is a lesson in method:
Should we assume, without proof, that "Gomer and all his bands" means France and most of Continental Europe? Or that "Togarmah of the north quarters" means the countries around the Baltic Sea? Genesis 10:3 tells us the sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. Scripture is silent about where Riphath lay, but Jeremiah 51:27 makes it certain that Ashkenaz belongs among the Asiatic kingdoms, probably the district between the Caspian and the Black Seas. What Scripture says of Togarmah leads me to look for it near the Caucasus range, far to the north of Palestine, and not on the borders of the Baltic. It is a fair subject for discussion, but it is well to weigh the evidence of Scripture before drawing conclusions.
This coalition comes from the far north. Another power will also be at work against Israel then, and the two are opposites:
Persia, Ethiopia and the rest are under the power of Russia. They follow in the train of Gog, the last ruler of the Russian peoples (Ezekiel 38:2-6)… The Beast and Gog are opposing powers. Their policy and aims are widely different. The former is the would-be protector of the Jewish people; the latter their destroyer.
The chapter fixes the timing later on. The invasion falls on a people already home and unguarded:
Gog says, "I will go up to the land of unwalled villages. I will go to those at rest, dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates." God tells the prophet to say to him, "In that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north… and come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land." So this northern confederacy invades only after Israel has returned and settled peacefully in the land, under the protection of their Messiah. The terrible judgment that falls on the invaders comes after that too.
The armies believe they are choosing their own campaign. The prophecy says otherwise:
In self-will this powerful ruler would seek to crush the people of God and enrich himself with the spoils of war. But in His government God will step in, drawing him and his armies on to the judgment He has prepared for them… Gog does his own will, yet God is drawing him to the place of slaughter, just as hooks in the jaws lead an animal there.
Verse 6 ends by piling up numbers — bands, more bands, and many peoples besides. The answer to that show of strength is irony:
Then, as a final lesson, it will appear that the size of his army saves no king… There they come, perfectly dressed for battle, a great company with shields, all of them grasping swords; Persia too is there, forced to follow the train of the mighty northern leader, Cush and Put with them; Gomer and all his bands; the house of Togarmah from the far north, and all his bands: many peoples indeed with Gog! With grave irony God tells him to be prepared and prepare himself, he and all his vast confederacy, and to be their guard — if he can!
- Named — Gomer and Togarmah go back to Genesis 10. Their bands close a coalition of three groups from very different family lines.
- Debated — Some look for them in Armenia and the north-east, others in France and the Baltic. Weigh the evidence of Scripture before settling on a map.
- Distinct — This northern army is not the Beast's empire. The Beast poses as Israel's protector; Gog comes as their destroyer.
- Timed — The attack falls after Israel is home and living safely, in villages without walls, bars or gates.
- Drawn — Greed moves the armies. Hooks in the jaws move them too, and they gather only to reach the place God has appointed, where the size of an army saves no king.