*THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
EZEKIEL
Ezekiel 37 ©
By the vision of the resurrection of the dead, God assures His people that he will surely deliver them out of the captivity of Babel, where they were now like dead men and buried, and will bring them again into their own land, v. 1, etc. He prophecies also under the sign of joining two sticks together in one hand, that He will gather His holy catholic church of Jews and Gentiles, and unite them under one King and Shepherd the Messiah Jesus Christ, and will make His everlasting covenant of grace with them, and dwell for evermore among them, 15, 16, etc.
THE 1hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the 2spirit of the LORD, and 3set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of 4bones,
And 5caused me to pass by them 6round about: and, behold, there were very many in the 7open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
And 8he said unto me, Son of man, 9can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, 10thou knowest.
Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and 11say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause 12breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
And I will 13lay 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.
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a 14noise, and behold a 15shaking, and the bones came together, bone to 16his bone.
And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no 17breath in them.
Then said he unto me, 18Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four 19winds, O breath, and breathe 20upon these slain, that they may live.
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the 21breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an 22exceeding great army.
¶Then he said unto me, Son of man, 23these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, 24Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are 25cut off for our parts.
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; 26Behold, 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.
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,
And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know 27that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
¶The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one 28stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel 29his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for 30all the house of Israel his companions:
31And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
¶And when the 32children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us 33what thou meanest by these?
Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the 34stick of Joseph, which is in the 35hand of Ephraim, and the tribes 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 36one in mine hand.
¶And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand 37before their eyes.
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will 38take the children of Israel 39from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own 40land:
And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and onea41king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be 42divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their 43idols, nor with their 44detestable things, nor with 45any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they 46have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
And David myb47servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one 48shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
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 children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
Moreover I will make a 49covenantc of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will 50place them, and multiply them, and will set my 51sanctuaryd in the midst of them for evermore.
My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God,e and they shall be my people.
And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do 52sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.