Israel Restored to the Land
August 3, 2019
Commentary
God tells Ezekiel that He is going to hold a feast on Israel’s mountains and offer sacrifices there (vv. 17-20). He tells him to invite all the birds and wilds animals to come from every direction and eat the meat of the sacrifices and drink the blood (v. 17). He says the birds and animals will feast on the bodies of warriors and foreign rulers and that He will sacrifice them like sheep, goats, and bulls (v. 18). He wants the birds and animals to eat until they are full and drink until they are drunk (v. 19), He states that thy will come to His table and stuff themselves with the flesh of horses and warriors of every kind (v. 20).
Details of God’s purpose in His dealings with Israel are listed in the outline of these verses (vv. 21-29). They are: to show His glory among the nations (v. 21); a deliverance from the king of the north (v. 22); the nations observing God’s purpose of chastening Israel (vv. 23-24); then the nations observing Israel’s regathering (vv. 25-28); and the regeneration of Israel (v. 29). It should be noted that Israel will be saved by God’s mercy, not by their merit; for the Lord will regather Israel for His name’s sake. The regathering of Israel will be one of the great demonstrations of God’s power. As Israel’s deliverance from Egypt was in the past, and the resurrection of Christ from the grave is for the present, so Israel’s regathering and regeneration in the future will eternally magnify the Lord.
Application
As I look back over my life I can remember things that I allowed to creep in that made some stains and brought embarrassment to me. I am so glad that God, through no merit of my own but by His mercy, still provided salvation for me through His Son’s death on the cross of Calvary.
Ezekiel 39:17– 29 (NET)
17 “As for you, son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter that I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You will eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened animals of Bashan. 19 You will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk at my slaughter that I have made for you. 20 You will fill up at my table with horses and charioteers, with warriors and all the soldiers,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.
21 “I will display my majesty among the nations. All the nations will witness the judgment I have executed and the power I have exhibited among them. 22 Then the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. 23 The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile due to their iniquity, for they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies; all of them died by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and rebellion I have dealt with them, and I hid my face from them.
25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have mercy on the entire house of Israel. I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will bear their shame for all their unfaithful acts against me, when they live securely on their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will magnify myself among them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I sent them into exile among the nations and then gathered them into their own land. I will not leave any of them in exile any longer. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Illustration: Michelangelo’s Beautiful Sculpture Slashed
A few years ago, an angry man rushed through the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam until he reached Rembrandt’s famous painting “Night watch.” Then he took out a knife and slashed it repeatedly before he could be stopped. A short time later, a distraught, hostile man slipped into St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome with a hammer and began to smash Michelangelo’s beautiful sculpture The Pieta. Two cherished works of art were severely damaged. But what did officials do? Throw them out and forget about them? Absolutely not! Using the best experts, who worked with the utmost care and precision, they made every effort to restore the treasures. In the same way God can bring good out of our failures, and even out of our sins. (Source Unknown).