Ezekiel 39

1 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of[a] Meshek and Tubal.
2 I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel.
3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand.
4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals.
5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD.
6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD.
7 “ ‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel.
8 It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD. This is the day I have spoken of.
9 “ ‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.
10 They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign LORD.
11 “ ‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.[b]
12 “ ‘For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.
13 All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign LORD.
14 People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground. “ ‘After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search.
15 As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog,
16 near a town called Hamonah.[c] And so they will cleanse the land.’
17 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan.
19 At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk.
20 At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign LORD.
21 “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them.
22 From that day forward the people of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God.
23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.
24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.
25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob[d] and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.
26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid.
27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations.
28 Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.
29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

Ezekiel 39 Commentary

Chapter 39

The destruction of Gog. (1-10) Its extent. (11-22) Israel again favoured. (23-29)

Verses 1-10 The Lord will make the most careless and hardened transgressors know his holy name, either by his righteous anger, or by the riches of his mercy and grace. The weapons formed against Zion shall not prosper. Though this prophecy is to be fulfilled in the latter days, it is certain. From the language used, it seems that the army of Gog will be destroyed by miracle.

Verses 11-22 How numerous the enemies which God destroyed for the defence of his people Israel! Times of great deliverances should be times of reformation. Every one should help the utmost he can, toward cleansing the land from reproach. Sin is an enemy every man should strive against. Those engaged in public work, especially of cleansing and reforming a land, ought to be men who will go through with what they undertake, who will be always employed. When good work is to be done, every one should further it. Having received special favours from God, let us cleanse ourselves from all evil. It is a work which will require persevering diligence, that search may be made into the secret recesses of sin. The judgments of the Lord, brought upon sin and sinners, are a sacrifice to the justice of God, and a feast to the faith and hope of God's people. See how evil pursues sinners, even after death. After all that ambitious and covetous men do and look for, "a place of graves" is all the Lord gives them on earth, while their guilty souls are doomed to misery in another world.

Verses 23-29 When the Lord shall have mercy on the whole house of Israel, by converting them to Christianity, and when they shall have borne the shame of being cast off for their sins, then the nations shall learn to know, worship, and serve him. Then Israel also shall know the Lord, as revealed in and by Christ. Past events do not answer to these predictions. The pouring out of the Spirit is a pledge that God's favour will continue. He will hide his face no more from those on whom he has poured out his Spirit. When we pray that God would never cast us from his presence, we must as earnestly pray that, in order thereto, he would never take his Holy Spirit from us.

Cross References 45

  • 1. Revelation 20:8
  • 2. S Genesis 10:2
  • 3. S Ezekiel 27:13; S Ezekiel 38:2,3
  • 4. S Ezekiel 32:30
  • 5. S Ezekiel 38:4,15
  • 6. Hosea 1:5; Amos 2:15
  • 7. Psalms 76:3
  • 8. S Genesis 40:19
  • 9. ver 17-20; S Jeremiah 25:33; S Ezekiel 29:5; S Ezekiel 33:27
  • 10. S Ezekiel 32:4
  • 11. S Ezekiel 30:8; Amos 1:4; Revelation 20:9
  • 12. S Genesis 10:2
  • 13. S Jeremiah 25:22
  • 14. S Exodus 6:7
  • 15. S Exodus 20:7; S Ezekiel 13:19
  • 16. S Isaiah 49:26
  • 17. S Isaiah 12:6; S Isaiah 54:5; S Ezekiel 20:9; S Ezekiel 36:16,23
  • 18. Ezekiel 7:6
  • 19. Psalms 76:3
  • 20. S Psalms 46:9
  • 21. S Exodus 3:22
  • 22. S Isaiah 14:2; S Isaiah 33:1; Habakkuk 2:8
  • 23. S Isaiah 34:3
  • 24. S Ezekiel 38:2
  • 25. Deuteronomy 21:23
  • 26. Ezekiel 28:22
  • 27. S Job 15:23; Revelation 19:17
  • 28. S Ezekiel 32:4
  • 29. S Psalms 22:12; Jeremiah 51:40
  • 30. S Leviticus 3:9
  • 31. S Isaiah 56:9; S Jeremiah 12:9; Revelation 19:17-18
  • 32. Exodus 9:16; Isaiah 37:20; S Ezekiel 38:16
  • 33. Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 59:2; S Jeremiah 22:8-9; S Jeremiah 44:23
  • 34. 2 Kings 17:23; Jeremiah 2:17,19; Jeremiah 4:18; S Ezekiel 7:22; Daniel 9:7; Ezekiel 36:19
  • 35. S Jeremiah 33:7; Ezekiel 34:13
  • 36. S Jeremiah 30:18
  • 37. Isaiah 27:12-13; S Ezekiel 16:53
  • 38. S 1 Kings 4:25; S Jeremiah 32:37; S Ezekiel 38:8
  • 39. Isaiah 17:2; Ezekiel 34:28; Micah 4:4
  • 40. S Ezekiel 36:23-24; Ezekiel 37:21; Ezekiel 38:16
  • 41. Psalms 147:2
  • 42. S Ezekiel 36:23,36
  • 43. S Deuteronomy 31:17
  • 44. S Isaiah 11:2; S Ezekiel 37:9; Joel 2:28; S Acts 2:17
  • 45. S Ezekiel 16:42

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Or "Gog, prince of Rosh,"
  • [b]. "Hamon Gog" means "hordes of Gog."
  • [c]. "Hamonah" means "horde."
  • [d]. Or "now bring Jacob back from captivity"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 39

This chapter is a continuation of the prophecy of the destruction of Gog, which is both repeated, and more largely described, Eze 39:1-8, then follows an account of the burning of his weapons of war, which will last seven years in burning, during which time there will be no need of the use of wood, Eze 39:9,10, and of the burial of him, and many of his army; the place where, and the time that will be taken up in doing this, even seven months, are observed, Eze 39:11-16, and every feathered fowl and beast of the field are called upon to feed on the flesh of those that are left unburied, Eze 39:17-20 and by all this the glory of the Lord will be seen, known, and acknowledged, both by the Heathens, and by the house of Israel, Eze 39:21,22, and the former will also be informed that the present captivity of the Jews has been for their sins and transgressions, Eze 39:23,24, and the chapter is concluded with a promise of their return from captivity, when they shall know the Lord, and their interest in him; who will after this no more hide his face from them, but pour out his Spirit upon them, under whose influence they shall ever continue, Eze 39:25-29.

Ezekiel 39 Commentaries

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