Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Ezekiel 39

Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross
Introduction

1  God's judgment upon Gog.
8  Israel's victory.
11  Gog's burial in Hamon-gog.
17  The feast of the fowls.
21  Israel having been plagued for their sins,
25  shall be gathered again with eternal favour.
Verse 1

Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
son
38:2,3
Behold
35:3, Nahum 2:13, 3:5
the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal
Or, "prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal."
38:2
Verse 2

And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
I will
It is probable that none of the invaders will escape: but perhaps the inhabitants of Magog in general are meant. The immense army of Gog, led forth against Israel, will almost empty his land; and the subsequent judgments of God upon those that remain at home, will reduce them to a sixth of the whole.
Psalms 40:14, 68:2, Isaiah 37:29
leave but the sixth part of thee
or, strike thee with six plagues; or, draw thee back with a hook of six teeth, as ch. 38:4. and will cause.
38:15, Daniel 11:40
north parts
Heb. sides of the north.
Verse 3

And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
20:21-24, Psalms 46:9, 76:3, Jeremiah 21:4,5, Hosea 1:5
Verse 4

Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
fall
17-20, 38:21
I will
32:4,5, 33:27, Isaiah 34:2-8, Jeremiah 15:3, Revelation 19:17-21
sort
Heb. wing. to be devoured. Heb. to devour.
Verse 5

Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
open field
Heb. face of the field.
29:5, 32:4, Jeremiah 8:2, 22:19
Verse 6

And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
I will
Some terrible judgment will destroy the countries whence the army of Gog was led forth, about the same time that the army itself shall be cut off.
30:8,16, 38:19-22, Amos 1:4,7,10, Nahum 1:6
carelessly
or, confidently.
38:11, Judges 18:7
in the isles
38:6,13, Psalms 72:10, Isaiah 66:19, Jeremiah 25:22, Zephaniah 2:11
Verse 7

So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
will I
22, 38:16,23
and I will
20:9,14,39, 36:20,21,36, Exodus 20:7, Leviticus 18:21
the heathen
38:16,23
the Holy
Isaiah 12:6, 43:3,14, 55:5, 60:9,14
Verse 8

Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
it is come
The prophet, seeing in vision the accomplishment of the prediction, speaks of it as already come and done.
7:2-10, Isaiah 33:10-12, Revelation 16:17, 21:6
this
38:17, 2 Peter 3:8
Verse 9

And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
shall go
Psalms 111:2,3, Isaiah 66:24, Malachi 1:5
and shall
10, Joshua 11:6, Psalms 46:9, Zechariah 9:10
set on fire
The language here employed seems to intimate that the army of Gog will be cut off by miracle, as that of Sennacherib; for the people are described as going forth, not to fight and conquer, but merely to gather the spoil, and to destroy the weapons of war, as no longer of use.
hand staves
or, javelins. and they. When the immense number and destruction of the invaders are considered, and also the little fuel comparatively which is necessary in warm climates, we may easily conceive of this being literally fulfilled.
burn them with fire
or, make a fire of them.
Verse 10

So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
shall spoil
Exodus 3:22, 12:36, Isaiah 14:2, 33:1, Micah 5:8, Habakkuk 3:8, Zephaniah 2:9,10, Matthew 7:2, Revelation 13:10, 18:6
Verse 11

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.
the valley
Probably the valley near the Sea of Gennesareth, as the Targum renders, and so called because it was the great road by which the merchants and traders from Syria and other Eastern countries went into Egypt. Perhaps what is now called the plains of Haouran, south of Damascus.
on the east
47:18, Numbers 34:11, Luke 5:1, John 6:1
noses
or, mouths. Hamon-gog. that is, The multitude of Gog.
Numbers 11:34; *margin
Verse 12

And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
cleanse
14,16, Numbers 19:16, Deuteronomy 21:23
Verse 13

Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
a renown
Deuteronomy 26:19, Psalms 149:6-9, Jeremiah 33:9, Zephaniah 3:19,20, 1 Peter 1:7
the day
21,22, 28:22, Psalms 126:2,3
Verse 14

And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
they shall
Numbers 19:11-19
continual employment
Heb. continuance. to cleanse.
Verse 15

And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
set
Heb. build.
Luke 11:44
in the
Verse 16

And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
Hamonah
that is, The multitude. cleanse.
Verse 17

And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
Speak
Genesis 31:54, 1 Samuel 9:13, 16:3, Isaiah 56:9, Jeremiah 12:9, Zephaniah 1:7, Revelation 19:17,18
every feathered fowl
Heb. the fowl of every wing. to my.
4, 1 Samuel 17:46, Isaiah 18:6, 34:6, Jeremiah 46:10, Zephaniah 1:7
sacrifice
or, slaughter.
Verse 18

Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
eat
29:5, 34:8, Revelation 19:17,18,21
goats
Heb. great goats.
34:17; *marg:
of bullocks
Psalms 68:30, Isaiah 34:7, Jeremiah 50:11,27, 51:40
fatlings
Deuteronomy 32:14, Psalms 22:12, Amos 4:1
Verse 20

Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
38:4, Psalms 76:5,6, Haggai 2:22, Revelation 19:18
Verse 21

And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
I will set
36:23, 38:16,23, Exodus 9:16, 14:4, Isaiah 26:11, 37:20, Malachi 1:11
and my
Exodus 7:4, 8:19, 1 Samuel 5:7,11, 6:9, Psalms 32:4
Verse 22

So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
know
7,28, 28:26, 34:30, Psalms 9:16, Jeremiah 24:7, 31:34, John 17:3, 1 John 5:20
Verse 23

And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
the heathen
36:18-23,36, 2 Chronicles 7:21,22, Jeremiah 22:8,9, 40:2,3, Lamentations 1:8, 2:15-17
hid I
29, Deuteronomy 31:17,18, 32:20, Psalms 10:1, 30:7, Isaiah 1:15, 8:17, 59:2, 64:7, Jeremiah 33:5
gave them
Leviticus 26:25, Deuteronomy 32:30, Judges 2:14, 3:8, Psalms 106:41, Isaiah 42:24
Verse 24

According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
36:19, Leviticus 26:24, 2 Kings 17:7-23, Isaiah 1:20, 3:11, 59:17,18, Jeremiah 2:17,19, Jeremiah 4:18, 5:25, Daniel 9:5-10
Verse 25

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
Now will
The return of a few Jews from Babylon, and their continuance, increase, partial reformation, and prosperity, till the days of Christ, followed by their present long continued dispersion, under the frown of God, and destitute of his Spirit, could in no degree answer to these predictions. Hence we must conclude, that some future events, exactly suitable to them, shall yet take place relative to the nation of Israel.
34:13, 36:21,24, Isaiah 27:12,13, 56:8, Jeremiah 3:18, 23:3, 30:3,10,18, Jeremiah 31:3, 32:37, Amos 9:14, Romans 11:26-31
the whole
20:40, 37:21,22, Jeremiah 31:1, Hosea 1:11
and will
36:4-6,21-23, Joel 2:18, Zechariah 1:14, 8:2
Verse 26

After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.
they have borne
16:52,57,58,63, 32:25,30, Psalms 99:8, Jeremiah 3:24,25, 30:11, Daniel 9:16
when they
Leviticus 26:5,6, Deuteronomy 28:47,48, 32:14,15, 1 Kings 4:25, Micah 4:4
Verse 27

When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
I have
25, 28:25,26
and am
13, 36:23,24, 38:16,23, Leviticus 10:3, Isaiah 5:16
Verse 28

Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
shall they
22, 34:30, Hosea 2:20
which caused them
Heb. by my causing of them, etc.
and have
Deuteronomy 30:3,4, Nehemiah 1:8-10, Isaiah 27:12, Amos 9:9, Romans 9:6-8, 11:1-7
Verse 29

Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
hide
23-25, 37:26,27, Isaiah 45:17, 54:8-10
for
36:25-27, Isaiah 32:15, 44:3-5, 59:20,21, Joel 2:28, Zechariah 12:10, Acts 2:17, Acts 2:18,33, 1 John 3:24

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