And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal;
Ezekiel 38 opened with a charge against a northern invader named Gog. Chapter 39 takes up that charge again, and this time God names the enemy face to face. Two questions follow: who is this ruler, and what does it mean that the Lord says He is against him?
The verse calls Gog "chief prince of Meshech and Tubal." One commentator argued that the margin reading is the better one, and asked whether the words in the text make sense at all:
The right reading of these passages seems to be the one in the margin of our excellent authorised Bible, not the one in the text... What clear sense does "prince of the chief, of Meshech and Tubal" make? "Prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal," on the other hand, gives a plain and consistent sense. This is the view taken by the elder Lowth and other English scholars. Gesenius states the same opinion without hesitation.
Gog is the name of the prince; Magog is the land he comes from. The other names are family names from the list of nations in Genesis:
The leader is the prince of Rosh — not "the chief prince," as the authorised version puts it — of Meshech and Tubal... Since the Prince of Rosh is addressed in verse 3 as Gog, we take it that Gog is the name given to this prince and leader of these nations. His dwelling place is in the land of Magog. We know from Genesis 10:2 that Magog was the second son of Japheth. Gomer, Tubal and Meshech were also sons of Japheth... Magog's land lay in what we call today the Caucasus and the plains next to it. The ancient writers called all three — Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal — Scythians. They wandered as nomads in the country around and north of the Black and the Caspian Seas.
Verse 1 is not idle repetition. The charge comes again, and it puts the enemy's size in its proper light:
This chapter takes up again God's condemnation of the great northern enemy. It hides nothing of his huge numbers and resources. Yet whatever they may be, they will only make the victory greater that Jehovah wins for His people by destroying him completely.
What follows from this opening verse forms a unit of its own:
In the second section, Ezekiel 39:1-16, we get further details. God's judgment does not stop with the defeat of Gog's vast army. He will send a fiery judgment through all his land and the nations allied with him (vv. 5, 6). Then comes the result: they will know that He is the Lord (v. 7).
The one who speaks is not Israel but the Lord, and that decides the outcome before a battle is fought:
Jehovah will show Himself holy before the eyes of the whole Gentile world by His terrible dealings with Gog and his army... Israel will not need to fight. Jehovah will fight for them. As on the shores of the Red Sea, they only have to stand still and see His salvation. He will deal with their enemies in the coming day as easily as He dealt with Pharaoh's armies long ago.
A word spoken against an enemy is a word spoken for a people:
This prophecy warns the people, and so prepares them, for this last great invasion. It is also meant to give them confidence, because it makes known that Jehovah will act for them — the same One who has so graciously established them in the land under the True Shepherd. More than that, they will not need to fight... and Gog will find no plunder in Israel's fair land, but a grave.
Gog is named again in Revelation, which raises the question of whether the two passages describe one event. One writer keeps them apart by the state of Israel at the time:
The Gog of the land of Magog, whose invasion of Israel the book of Ezekiel describes (38, 39), is the pattern for these last invaders. But there need be no confusion between them. The invasion in Ezekiel comes before the thousand years, not after them, as the one in Revelation does. In Ezekiel, Israel have only just returned to their land (Ezek. 38:14), and from that time Israel knows God's name and no longer defiles His holy name (Ezek. 39:7).
- Named. "Chief prince" is better read as prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal — God addresses this enemy by name, not by vague title.
- Northern. The names trace back to the sons of Japheth in Genesis 10, in lands north of the Black and Caspian Seas.
- Opposed. The renewed charge hides nothing of Gog's strength. His size only makes the Lord's victory greater.
- Defended. Israel will not need to fight. As at the Red Sea, they stand still and watch God act for them.
- Known. Gog finds a grave instead of plunder, and the outcome is that the nations know that He is the Lord.
and I will turn thee back, and lead thee, and will cause thee to come up from the uttermost north, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel.
God speaks against Gog a second time. The invader marches, but every verb here is God's: He turns him, drives him, and sets him down on Israel's mountains. Two questions sit inside the verse. Who is this northern power? And why does God Himself bring an enemy to the land he means to plunder?
The names in the verse are peoples, not titles. Commentators trace them back to Genesis.
GOG is a symbolic name for the powerful and proud chief of the vast hordes of Scythia and Tartary. MAGOG, the son of Japheth (Gen. 10:2), whose descendants spread over the vast steppes in the north, after whom the land is here called... Gog is the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, answering to Russia, Moscow or Muscovy, and Tobolsk: all now in the Russian empire.
Gog is not the only northern enemy in prophecy. One writer marks him off from the King of the North by sheer distance.
Russia is not the King of the North: the Assyrian is. In Ezekiel 38:15 and Ezekiel 39:2 "the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal" comes from "the far north," or "the uttermost north." That must be Russia. The King of the North, though, is close to Israel, as a map of the time of the Assyrian Empire will show.
Gog marches for his own reasons. God has a reason of His own.
In self-will this powerful ruler would seek to crush the people of God, and to enrich himself with the spoils of war. But God will intervene in His government. He will draw him and his armies onward to the judgment He has prepared for them... Gog is doing his own will, yet God is still drawing him to the place of slaughter, just as an animal is led with hooks in its jaws to the place of slaughter.
Translations render the first verb "turn you about" or "turn you back." One writer presses the second sense.
First note the words, "I will turn you back" (38:4; 39:2). The force of this expression is to cause a return to a place occupied before. Said of the invasion of the land at the time this vision describes, it seems to suggest that Jehovah is bringing these nations back again to a place they had visited before.
Translations differ on the second verb. Where the ESV has "drive you forward," older ones read "leave but the sixth part of you." On that reading, five parts of the army fall and one part lives — and the survivors have work to do.
Gog, his allies and armies fall in disgrace on the mountains of Israel. Greed enticed these hosts to plunder and spoil Israel, then the centre and storehouse of the world's wealth. Only a sixth part are spared. They are sent through the various lands of the east to proclaim the vengeance of the Lord on the enemies of His people, and to make known Jehovah's presence among His own, saved Israel.
God leads him "against the mountains of Israel." What he gains there is not what he came for.
Did Gog think to take the land for a possession? Jehovah will give him there a grave; and this in no obscure spot but in the direct pathway of many passers by... the mounds of so many buried men would stop all who pass that way and lead them to think of the vengeance poured out on them... No calculation of doubting believers who would explain the prediction away need trouble the Christian. Jehovah has spoken, and will He not perform it!
God settles the outcome before the march begins.
But God permits no success whatever to this last assailant. The fury of Jehovah comes up in His face, and He overthrows the hosts of Gog in the northern mountains of Palestine.
- God names him. Gog is the proud chief of vast hordes from the north. His people spread over the steppes, descended from Japheth — a power from "the uttermost parts of the north."
- God moves him. Gog advances by his own self-will. Yet God turns him and brings him up, drawing him to the place of slaughter like an animal led by hooks in its jaws.
- God measures him. Five parts of the host fall and one sixth lives — survivors sent through the lands of the east to tell what Jehovah has done.
- God grounds him. He came to take the land as a possession; God gives him a grave in it instead, in plain view of everyone who passes by.
- God is known. God allows this last assailant no success at all. His overthrow on the mountains of Israel tells the nations who Jehovah is.
And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
God strikes the bow from the invader's hand at the very moment he draws it. Two questions follow: who is this enemy, and why does God disarm him instead of letting Israel fight?
One writer names the leader of this northern alliance and traces the peoples with him back to Genesis.
The leader is the prince of Rosh (not "the chief prince," as the King James Version has it) of Meshech and Tubal. This prince is the head of the confederacy and with him allied are Persia, Cush, Phut, Gomer and Togormah. They come out of the north, or, as it is in Hebrew, "out of the uttermost north"... We know from Genesis 10:2, that Magog was the second son of Japheth. Gomer, Tubal and Meshech were also sons of Japheth... Magog's land was located in what is called today the Caucasus and the adjoining steppes.
Commentators differ over how far to tie this to one modern nation. Another writer leaves the ruling power open and links Gog with a second enemy named in prophecy.
This helps to identify Gog with whatever power holds Russian territory at that time. Many prophecies give such similar detail that we also link him with the Assyrian, or King of the North.
Gog marches out of self-will and greed. One writer shows how that fits with God's own hand in the march.
In self-will this powerful ruler would seek to crush the people of God and to enrich himself with the spoils of war. But God will act in His government to draw him and his armies on to the judgment He has prepared for them... Gog is doing his own will, yet God is drawing him to the place of slaughter, just as hooks in the jaws drag an animal to be killed.
The detail of left hand and right hand fixes the instant. It also carries a lesson far beyond Gog.
Gog is only a creature, and empty at that. God strikes the bow and arrows from his hands. At the very moment they are drawn ready for the attack — bow in left hand, arrows in right — the blow falls. How often some cherished aim or wilful plan seems within reach, and then sudden ruin comes. Instead of conquering, we are conquered. The way or plan we chose for ourselves turns to our destruction. Why? We left God out of our careful planning.
The same writer notes what the disarming costs Gog. He gets what he wanted — the mountains — and nothing else.
Gog then is permitted to reach the mountains he has lusted after, only for God to hand him over as prey to the ravenous bird and beast... Instead of taking spoil, proud Gog falls as prey... he falls in disgrace without striking a blow to advance his selfish interests, and finds a grave in the valley.
If God strikes the bow from Gog's hand, no Israelite archer has to. One writer sees a lasting warning to the nations in it, and points back to an earlier rescue.
Jehovah will make Gog and his multitudes a lasting warning to the nations of the earth not to meddle with His chosen people... Israel will not need to fight: Jehovah will fight for them. 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 with the same ease as He disposed of Pharaoh's legions in the distant past.
The bows and arrows of this verse turn up again later in the chapter. Their sheer number shows the size of the army.
So mighty is the multitude, with bows and arrows, that the people living in the cities of Israel will go out and burn the enemy's weapons — the shields, the bows and the arrows, the clubs and the spears. They will keep burning them for seven years. Tremendous indeed must be the number of warriors that come against them, since Scripture says they will not need to cut firewood in all that time.
The precision of the wording is itself an argument about how to read the chapter.
It is no vague warning about a foe wherever and whenever he may appear; it is no general principle reproducing itself often in divine providence. The Holy Spirit takes pains here to make it precise and specific. This is the judgment of one distinct enemy, long delayed. It falls as the last of Jehovah's blows on the most overwhelming force that will ever have gathered against Israel.
- Drawn. Gog moves by his own will, yet God draws him to the place of slaughter like an animal led by hooks in its jaws.
- Disarmed. God strikes the weapon away at the very moment Gog draws the bow.
- Defeated. He reaches the mountains he craved, and instead of taking spoil, becomes prey.
- Delivered. Israel does not lift a hand; as at the Red Sea, they stand still and watch God fight.
- Declared. The detail is exact on purpose: one named enemy, one future day — not a general lesson about how God runs the world.
Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the peoples that are with thee I have given thee to be meat for the birds of prey of every wing, and to the beasts of the field.
Ezekiel 39 returns to the invader called Gog and fixes both where he ends and how. Two questions follow: who is this enemy, and why does God call the defeat something He Himself hands over?
The chapter repeats a threat already made. The enemy's size only makes the outcome more striking.
This chapter takes up again God's sentence against the great northern enemy. Nothing is hidden about his huge numbers and resources. But whatever they are, they will only make the victory greater that Jehovah wins for His people by destroying him completely.
His name tells us less than the direction he comes from:
Jehovah's unalterable "I will" assures that His word will be fully carried out. Added to the repetition of His purpose, we now have the place named — "from the uttermost (or farthest) north." This helps to identify Gog with whatever power may occupy Russian territory at this time. Many prophecies share the same details, so we also link him with the Assyrian, or King of the North.
The fall in this verse follows the striking of the bow and arrows a verse earlier. The timing is the point.
Jehovah has told of Gog's coming and his purpose, and has revealed His own relation to it and His own purpose. Now He shows that Gog cannot carry out his plan. He is only a creature, vanity. God strikes the bow and arrows from his hands. The blow falls at the very moment they are drawn ready for the attack — bow in the left hand, arrows in the right. How often some self-chosen object or wilful plan seems within reach, and then sudden ruin comes. Instead of conquering, we are conquered. The self-chosen way or plan suddenly turns and destroys us. Why? We left God out of the plans we devised with such care.
The verse gives Israel no part in the battle.
Israel will not need to fight. Jehovah will fight for them. As on the shores of the Red Sea, they have only to stand still and see His salvation. He will deal with their enemies in the coming day as easily as He dealt with Pharaoh's armies long ago. First He will throw their ranks into confusion and turn their swords against each other.
God lets Gog arrive. Reaching the land he wanted is part of the judgment, not an escape from it.
God then lets Gog reach the mountains he has longed for — only to hand him over as prey to the hungry bird and beast… How often the grave is the answer to the heart's folly! Instead of taking a spoil, proud Gog falls as prey. He did not find "extension," nor "the topmost" place, which he strove for in pride and self-sufficiency. Instead he falls in disgrace without striking a blow for his own interests, and finds a grave in the valley.
The place where the feast is spread carries the meaning.
The sacrifice of judgment provides a feast for bird and beast. It is spread on the mountains of Israel. Those mountains were laid waste when the nations gorged themselves with the spoil of Jehovah's people. Now on that same ground the rich and mighty of the nations fall to utter destruction. Where once they plundered, they are now taken as plunder. Such is the sowing and the reaping.
A similar call to the birds appears in Revelation 19. One writer places the two scenes close together, with different armies:
Only a little while before this grim summons, a similar call will go out to the birds of the heavens. They will feast on the bodies of the Western armies, led by the beast and the false prophet (Rev. 19:17-21). Here the call invites them to gorge themselves with the Russian hosts.
The destruction carries a message far beyond the battlefield.
In this Jehovah lets the nations know that His judgment can reach the furthest limits, and so "they shall know that I am the Lord." They must find their security in knowing Him. That at once destroys every other imagined safety, and opens to them the only true refuge.
- Pride — Gog comes from the farthest north to take spoil. His huge numbers only make God's victory greater.
- Powerless — God strikes the bow from his hand the instant it is drawn. The plan collapses because it left God out.
- Passive — Israel does not fight; as at the Red Sea, they stand still and watch God act.
- Prey — he reaches the mountains he wanted, then becomes plunder on the ground he came to plunder. Sowing and reaping.
- Proclaimed — the judgment reaches the furthest limits. The nations learn that no safety exists anywhere except in knowing the Lord.
Thou shalt fall on the open field; for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord Jehovah.
God's sentence on Gog ends with a picture and a reason. The invader lies dead in the open country, and the only reason given is that God has spoken. So who is this enemy? Why does he fall so easily? And how much weight do the words "for I have spoken" carry?
Before any battle, the prophecy names its target — the man, his land, and the peoples he leads.
Here the case is clearly defined in all but the name, which is probably symbolic. It is the last enemy of Israel who confronts us. He dwells in the land of Magog... So we have the man himself, his land, and his people. But the Lord Jehovah is against him. Good is coming at last to a people long in trouble, and instead of seeing that, he would rather make himself great. So he sets himself against not merely the Israel of God but the God of Israel.
In verse 3 God strikes the bow from his left hand and the arrows from his right. Verse 5 is where the disarmed man lands. One writer draws the lesson from the timing of that blow.
The bow and arrows are struck from his hands — at the very moment they are drawn ready for the attack, bow in left hand, arrows in right, the blow falls. How often the attainment of some self-chosen object or wilful plan seems within our grasp, and sudden blight comes. Instead of conquering, we are conquered. The self-chosen way or plan is suddenly turned to our destruction. Why? God has been left out of the carefully devised arrangements.
He came for spoil. The ground he wanted to own becomes the ground where he falls.
Gog is then allowed to reach the mountains he has desired, only to be given as prey to the ravenous bird and beast. "Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:15). How often the grave is the answer to the heart's folly! Instead of taking a spoil, proud Gog falls as prey. He did not find "extension", nor "the topmost" place he strove for in pride and self-sufficiency. Instead he falls in shame, without striking a blow to advance his selfish interests, and he finds a grave in the valley.
In this verse God is the one who acts. The people He defends do nothing.
Israel will not need to fight. Jehovah will fight for them. As on the shores of the Red Sea, they have only to stand still and see His salvation. In that coming day He will deal with their enemies as easily as He dealt with Pharaoh's armies long ago. He will first create confusion in their ranks and turn their swords against each other (Ezek. 38:21). This is no new method of warfare with God. He used the same means in Gideon's day. (Judges 7:22)
Commentators differ on how Gog relates to the other end-time powers. Many identify him with the king of the North. One writer keeps the two apart.
This enemy appears to come up against the land after the appearing of the Lord. The prophet paints a vivid picture of his overthrow and the complete destruction of his armies. This is not the same enemy as the king of the North, though many students of prophecy appear to think so. Their policy is the same, and both come against Jerusalem and the glorious land from the North. Still, they are distinct powers.
No army wins this fall, and no strategy explains it. One writer points instead to God's repeated "I will".
We return to the announcement we began with, and the repetition adds emphasis to what Jehovah declares. His unalterable "I will" assures complete accomplishment.
The size of the invading force, far from being a problem, only makes the outcome more striking.
This chapter resumes the divine denunciation of the great northern enemy. There is no concealment of his formidable numbers and resources; but, whatever these may be, they will only increase the victory Jehovah gains for His people by his utter destruction.
- Named. God defines the enemy — the man, his land, his peoples — before a single blow lands.
- Disarmed. God strikes the bow away with the arrow already drawn. Plans that leave Him out collapse just when they look certain.
- Reversed. He came to take a spoil and becomes one; he wanted the land and gets a grave in it.
- Unaided. Israel does not fight, as at the Red Sea and in Gideon's day; the whole victory is God's.
- Spoken. The reason he falls is not Israel's strength but God's unalterable "I will."