Ezekiel 37:15-28
15 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 16 "As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: 'For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.' 17 Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.
18 "And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, Will you not show us what you mean by these?'— 19 say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand."' 20 And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.
21 "Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
24 "David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. 25 Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 28 The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."'"
The word of the LORD spoke of God’s chosen people both before and after Christ’s coming into the world as a man after the seed of David. The elaborate visual picture was a portent of the Union of Judah and Israel again, but also looked further into God’s purpose of a larger kingdom with Him as the Sovereign ruler over us all as His children chosen before He spoke to create the world with the heavens and earth which we see. The two peoples would become one (Ephesians 2:13, 15-16, 19) just as the first man and woman in union of intimacy and purpose as His own. He used the illustration of two sticks made into a single one to show that He would join the separated tribes of Israel and Judah, yet look forward to the single kingdom of God as promised to and through Abraham. We are all one people in His hand, united in Christ for His glory to serve in worship as originally purposed in Eden’s Garden. There would be one king over all Israel and one King of the kingdom to come which we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:10). Then the people of God would cease from defiling themselves with idolatry and immortality after He delivers and cleanses us. They will be their people and He will be their God as Revelation 21:3 promises us all who are united in Christ; this very phrase points to that end intended and not just to a restored nation of ancient Israel. David would be king over them which is an allusion to the line of David who is Christ Jesus our Lord and sovereign King of kings (1 Timothy 6:15,:Revelation 17:14, 19:13, 16). He is our eternal ruler. We will be set in His sanctuary of the New Jerusalem forever with His tabernacle where we are His people and He is our God eternally without end! All will see His coming and bow to Him as we the united people of God are gathered into one in His presence forevermore. Ah, we anticipate this (Revelation 22:20) with a certainty of absolute hope. Both Jew and Gentile will be one in Him to worship and enjoy forever as the sticks grown from Adam and Abraham joined together.
No comments:
Post a Comment