Deeper Commentary
Ezekiel 39:1 You, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech, and Tubal- It is unclear whether Ez. 39 is a repeat of the situation in Ez. 38, or whether Gog attempts to come up a second time. The language is so similar to Ez. 38 that I would come down on the side of thinking that this is typical apocalyptic genre, describing the same events from a slightly different angle; in Ez. 39, the focus is more upon the judgment of God.
Ezekiel 39:2 And I will turn you around, and will lead you on, and will cause
you to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring you
on the mountains of Israel- The repeated emphasis is that God causes
Gog to come up, He brings or makes Gog to "go" against Israel. But it was
of Gog's own freewill that he himself decided to do these things; see on
Ez. 38:11,16. Rev. 20:8 parallels all the nations in the earth / land with Gog: “To deceive the nations which are in the four quarters / borders of the land / earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle”. The language of deceit is also picking up that of Ezekiel 38 about Gog. "I will drive you forward" (Ez. 39:2, AV "leave the sixth part of thee") appears to be a Hebraism meaning 'I will deceive you' ; see Jacob Milgrom and Daniel Israel Block, Ezekiel's Hope: A Commentary on Ezekiel 38-48 (Wipf & Stock, 2012) p. 20. Gog is led into the conflict by God, and the entire showdown is not so much between Gog and Israel as between God and Gog. The events in the Middle East are not, therefore, running out of control. All is carefully planned and executed by God, just as the historical Assyrian was a rod in Yahweh's hand, manipulated by Him.
"The mountains" may be an intensive plural referring to the great mountain, Zion, which is the goal of jihadist domination at this time. For "uttermost parts of the north" see on Ez. 38:15.
Ezekiel 39:3 And I will strike your bow out of your left hand, and will cause
your arrows to fall out of your right hand- Assyrian bas-reliefs
frequently show them posing with their bows. This is another Assyrian
allusion; see on Ez. 38:2,17. The idea may be that the military technology
in which they trusted is to be removed. The Scythian tribes were famed for
their horses and archery; these were the peoples who could potentially
have fulfilled the prophecy at Ezekiel's time, but that scenario was
precluded by Israel's impenitence.
Ezekiel 39:4 You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you, and all your
hordes, and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to the birds of
prey of every sort, and to the animals of the field to be devoured-
The "mountains" may be an intensive plural for the great mountain, Zion,
the focus of radical jihadist attention at this time. And it is the city
of God which Gog focuses upon according to the interpretation of this
passage in Rev. 20. Dan. 11:45 likewise says that the final destruction of
the northern invader will be upon "the glorious holy mountain". The wild
animals would then refer to the surrounding nations who are converted to
God's perspective upon the invaders, who come up to Zion to destroy the
remnants of Gog's coalition, and turn to Yahweh themselves. The birds
which Abraham successfully drove away in Gen. 15 referred to the
surrounding tribes of the eretz which Abraham feared would
persecute him at that time. And they likely refer to the same peoples in
this latter day application.
"Hordes" is a word only used by Ezekiel. It refers to bands of marauders, and is more appropriate to the Scythians than to the organized regiments of Babylon or Assyria. The Scythians could have fulfilled the prophecy in Ezekiel's time, but Israel's impenitence precluded the entire scenario envisaged in Ez. 33-48.
Ezekiel 39:5 You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken it, says the
Lord Yahweh- The fall will be upon the great mountain of Israel, Zion
(:4), so the idea of "the open field" is that they will not be buried, but
fall in the open and be devoured there (:4); the classic shame for people
of Ezekiel's time.
Ezekiel 39:6 I will send a fire on Magog, and on those who dwell confidently
along the sea coasts; and they shall know that I am Yahweh- The
destruction of Gog by fire is also spoken of in Rev. 20, confirming our
suggestion there that Revelation 20 describes this same event. The sea
coasts would refer to the maritime powers in the confederacy, Sheba, Dedan
and Tarshish. But "the
coastal lands" of the land could also refer to the Gaza Strip. The latter
day Assyrian will therefore have connection with the Palestinians in Gaza-
which is exactly what we are seeing today. We can note that they are described as living peaceably,
"confidently", like Israel in Ez. 38; this might support the suggestion that the peace
and safety in the land is brought about by an Israeli-Arab peace accord
that appears to last.
This sending of fire uses the same Hebrew phrase used of the final sending of Divine fire of judgment upon Gaza and Tyre (Am. 1:7,10). These are the sea coasts who support "Magog". And the wonder of it all is that some of them will finally come to have relationship with Yahweh, to "know Yahweh".
Ezekiel 39:7 My holy name will I make known in the midst of My people Israel;
neither will I allow My holy name to be profaned any more: and the nations
shall know that I am Yahweh, the Holy One in Israel- This surely
alludes to the similar language used in Lev. 22:31,32 about the
sanctification of God's Name in Israel as a result of their obedience to
Him. We can therefore see in this a hint that the invasion leads to
Israel's repentance. The language here suggests that both Israel and the
nations will be in permanent, eternal relationship with God, and Israel
will never again profane His Name. The only way for these things to be
really true is by a change of nature, to eternal, sinless nature. And
therefore the main fulfillment will be at the Lord's return.
Ezekiel 39:8 Behold, it has come, and it is done, says the Lord Yahweh; this
is the day about which I have spoken- As noted on :7, the implication
of the language is that this is all to be fulfilled in the last days. And
this final coming of the Kingdom was so certain that it was as if it had
already come and was done in Ezekiel's day. If this was the final reality,
then they in his day should have lived the kingdom life there and then.
Ezekiel 39:9 Those who dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall
make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the
bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the war clubs, and the spears, and
they shall make fires of them seven years- Understandable concern has
been raised concerning the seven months of burning Gog's corpses, and the
rather unreal feel of the punishments of Gog and the cleansing of the land
in Ezekiel 39. Notice the usage of the number seven. There are seven
enemies of Israel listed in the opening part of Ezekiel 38, joined in
later by another three. The enemies have seven weapons (Ez. 39:9), seven
years’ worth of fuel is provided by burning them (Ez. 39:9), and it takes
seven months to burn the corpses (Ez. 39:12). One wonders whether we are
intended to read the 'sevens' literally, or whether this is a device to
indicate completeness. If indeed the language here is figurative, then we
are the more encouraged to read ‘Gog’ as a codename rather than seek for a
literal historico-geographical reference for him. The simple point is that
the invaders will have an array of military technology which will be
brought to nothing and permanently destroyed.
Ezekiel 39:10 They shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any
out of the forests; for they shall make fires of the weapons- These wooden weapons are understandable if
indeed Ez. 38 and 39 had a potential primary fulfillment in Ezekiel's time
or soon after. This is the invasion and victory that could have happened
at the restoration. There seems an intentional contrast with how when
Israel first entered the land, they retained the wooden images of the
Canaanite tribes (Jud. 1:27,28). The Maccabees tried to obey this command
by burning anything that belonged to the Seleucids and Antiochus who had
desecrated the temple. But clearly the prophesy was not then fulfilled, at
best that was a foretaste of the future cleansing.
And they shall plunder those who plundered them, and rob those who robbed them, says the Lord Yahweh- There is no indication that the invasion of Gog to "take a prey" was successful; and so his followers are judged for what they intended doing, i.e. robbing and plundering, even though they didn't actually do it. This serves as a reminder for all time that we are judged according to our dreams and intentions, whether or not we actually fulfill them; as the sermon on the mount makes clear enough.
Ezekiel 39:11 It shall happen in that day, that I will give to Gog a place for
burial in Israel, the valley of those who pass through on the east of the
sea; and it shall stop those who pass through. There shall they bury Gog
and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of Hamon Gog-
See on :17. This would be close to the location of Sodom and
Gomorrah, which likewise suffered "eternal fire" in that their destruction
was to be an eternal lesson for others (Jude 7). The allusion is to the
highway which then passed through that valley, connecting Syria with Petra
and Egypt. This likely has more relevance to the potential fulfillment at
Ezekiel's time than to anything in the latter days.
Ezekiel 39:12 Seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that
they may cleanse the land- For the significance of "seven", see on
:9. The lament had been that the land had not been cleansed of Israel's
sins (Ez. 22:24 s.w.). Now the land was to be permanently cleansed of all
sin, Jewish and pagan, by the repentant Jews themselves.
Ezekiel 39:13 Yes, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be
to them for a renown in the day that I shall be glorified, says the Lord
Yahweh- "A renown" is literally "a name". The name we shall be given
eternally will be a reflection of who we are and what we have done in this
life, just as Yahweh's Name is the same- a reflection of His character and
history. Those who are involved in burying Gog's followers will it seems
have this as part of their eternal Name, which will itself be a part in
the final glorification of Yahweh's Name in His people. See on :16.
Ezekiel 39:14 After the seven months are over, men will be chosen to travel
through the land in order to find and bury those bodies remaining on the
ground, so that they can cleanse the land- The AV suggests that the
travellers themselves will help these appointed men: "passing through the
land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the
earth, to cleanse it". There is also the implication that some of the
bodies might have been missed, and after seven months there has to be a
check made. This all sounds very human, and relevant to the primary
fulfillment potentially possible in Ezekiel's time rather than to the last
days.
Ezekiel 39:15 They shall go up and down the land; and when anyone sees a man’s
bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, until the undertakers have buried
it in the valley of Hamon Gog- There is still the fear of defilement
by touching dead bones; hence only "the undertakers" deal with them, and
those who notice the bones simply set up a sign by them. This fear of
defilement suggests that this aspect of the prophecy was particularly
relevant to its potential fulfillment in Ezekiel's time rather than to the
last days.
Ezekiel 39:16 Hamonah shall also be the name of a city. Thus shall they
cleanse the land- Possibly it is Jerusalem which is in view, and this
will be one of her names, "multitude". As explained on :13, the names
given in the eternal kingdom will be a reflection of history, just as the
Yahweh Name is. See on :12.
Ezekiel 39:17 You, son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Speak thus to the
birds of prey, and to every animal 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 on the mountains of Israel, that you may
eat flesh and drink blood- As explained on :19, this invitation to
partake of a religious meal with God is an invitation to fellowship with
Him through participating in the destruction of His enemies. The destruction of the Ezekiel 38 invasion is described in Ez. 39:17-20 in terms of a great supper, and the language is the basis for the description of the final destruction of "the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies" at the 'bird supper' in Rev. 19:17,18. The nations listed in Ez. 38 are therefore the kings of the earth / land. They cannot, therefore, refer to nations outside of the land promised to Abraham (e.g. England and Russia). The emphasis upon horses in Ez. 38:4-7,9,15,22; 39:4,11 and the destruction / 'eating' of their flesh is matched by the horse mounted nations of Rev. 19:15-21 being destroyed and their flesh likewise 'eaten'. The calling for a sword against Gog is matched by the sword proceeding out of Christ's mouth in Rev. 19. It isn't therefore incidental that Revelation 20:8 goes on to use the terms Gog and Magog in describing the final enemies of God. The nations with Gog and Magog come from "the four corners of the earth / land" (Rev. 20:8), and this is alluding to how the nations with Gog in Ez. 38 are from the four compass points around Israel. This is incidental proof that the ten nations of Ez. 38 are all with Gog; "Are you come to take a spoil?" of Ez. 38:13 is therefore not a protest but rather a joining in with the group spoiling of Israel.
Ezekiel 39:18 You 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 bulls, all
of them fatlings of Bashan- The nations with Gog are defined here as “the princes / kings of the earth”- the leaders of the peoples within the earth / eretz promised to Abraham. These are the same “kings of the earth / land” which are so often mentioned in Revelation as coming against God’s people as part of the beast entity (Rev. 6:15; 16:14; 17:2,18; 18:3,9). This alludes to the kings of the earth who are raised up from the borders of the earth / land and come with Babylon to invade Israel (Jer. 50:41). The very idea of ‘the borders of the earth’ suggests that ‘the earth’ doesn’t refer to a sphere like the globe, but rather to a specifically defined territory. That territory is the land promised to Abraham. When we read that all “the kings of the earth” came from the very ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom, we likewise are to understand “the earth” as the land promised to Abraham. The Queen of Sheba was at the end of that earth / land; but the kings of New Zealand or Hawaii didn’t come.
"Bashan" implies the area east of the Jordan, from where the jihadists
will come in the last days, and from where the Scythians would have come
in the potential fulfillment.
Ezekiel 39:19 You shall eat fat until you be full, and drink blood until you
are drunk, of My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you- The
surrounding nations are invited to eat at the Lord's table or altar, upon
which are sacrificed Gog and his followers. This invitation to eat "at My
table" (:20) is an invitation to fellowship and relationship. It implies
that the remaining people in the eretz of the last days will come
to relationship with God through destroying the remnants of Gog.
Ezekiel 39:20 You shall be filled at My table with horses and chariots, with
mighty men, and with all men of war, says the Lord Yahweh- AV "There
you shall be filled at My table" implies that there on the great mountain
of Israel, Zion, would be the altar or table of Yahweh. "Chariots" is put
for the charioteers. Participating in the destruction of Gog would be a
sign of fellowship with Yahweh.
Ezekiel 39:21 I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations shall
see My judgment that I have executed, and My hand that I have laid on
them- "Set" is s.w. "give". God is to be given glory by the remaining
nations when they recognize God's hand / judgment upon them was correct.
It will achieve the intended result, of eliciting their repentance and
glorification of God. The returned exiles could have 'given / set glory'
to Yahweh (s.w. Mal. 2:2) at the restoration, but they didn't. And so the
whole scenario was transferred to the last days for fulfillment.
Ezekiel 39:22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am Yahweh their God,
from that day and forward- See on Ez. 38:12. This could imply that it
is not until the destruction of Gog that Israel are permanently and
forever in relationship with God, even though it seems that they are
already "dwelling safely" with the Lord Jesus amongst them when the Ez. 38
invasion comes.
Ezekiel 39:23 The nations shall know that the house of Israel went into
captivity for their iniquity; because they trespassed against Me, and I
hid My face from them: so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries,
and they fell all of them by the sword- This hiding of the face was
intended to make Israel repent and seek God's face, and finally this will
happen (Dt. 31:17; Is. 59:2). The nations will realize that their earlier
triumphs over Israel were not due to their righteousness or human
strength, but because they were used by God to take Israel captive for
their sins. Israel did not "all" fall by the sword, although this was the
punishment threatened. God's grace and pity meant that the deserved
judgment wasn't fully carried out. See on :24.
Ezekiel 39:24 According to their uncleanness and according to their
transgressions did I to them; and I hid My face from them- As
explained on :23, God did not actually execute all His wrath upon His
people. He did not in fact judge them "according to" their sins, but less
than what those sins deserved (Ezra 9:13). But by grace He counts the
judgment to have happened. This may have been simply due to His pity and
grace; or maybe there was the repentance and intercession of a minority.
They were like Cain, driven out of the land / sanctuary and hidden from
God's face (Gen. 4:14 s.w.); and yet by grace, a way back was found for
them. And it was by the hiding of God's face from them that their seeking
for His face would be elicited (Dt. 31:17,18; 32:20).
Ezekiel 39:25 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Now will I bring back the
captivity of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I
will be jealous for My holy name- "The whole house of Israel" looks
ahead to the final reuniting of Judah with the ten tribes which was
possible at Ezekiel's time if they had all alike repented. But Rom. 11:26
gives this a wider application; "so all Israel shall be saved" is
understood as meaning both Jew and Gentile alike shall comprise the "all
Israel", both natural and spiritual Jews.
Ezekiel 39:26 They shall bear their shame, and all their trespasses by which
they have trespassed against Me, when they shall dwell securely in their
land, and none shall make them afraid-
Ezekiel 39:27 When I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered
them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight
of many nations-
The
word for "brought... back" is to be found in the references to Judah’s
return at the restoration (Ezra 2:1; 6:21; Neh. 7:6; 8:17). The same word
is to be found in Ezekiel 38:8, where again, the invasion is to
happen once Judah had been ‘brought again’ from captivity. Judah returned,
and yet they didn’t rebuild the temple as they were commanded. Therefore
the invasion didn’t come, and therefore the Kingdom wasn’t then
established. As if knowing this, Hos. 6:11 had prophesied [otherwise
strangely] that Judah would reap their punishment,
when
they returned from captivity. They returned [s.w. ‘bring again’], but not
to the Most High (Hos. 7:16).
Ezekiel 39:28 They shall know that I am Yahweh their God, in that I caused
them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them to
their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there- Such
total restoration would be a parade example of God's grace. And in this
they would "know" or experience Yahweh. His grace was the causative factor
in both their exile and restoration.
Ezekiel 39:29 Neither will I hide My face any more from them; for I have
poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord Yahweh-
The pouring out of the Spirit is parallel to God's face being
revealed and not hidden. The activity of the Spirit is therefore in order
to reveal God, to bring people into relationship with Him.
Thus the Spirit is poured out as part of the new covenant with Israel
in order to make them repentant, all of God's initiative, rather than as a
response to their righteousness (Zech. 12:10 "the spirit of grace and
supplication", as if this Spirit provokes their supplication / prayer to
God; Joel 2:28). This will be the parade example of "prevenient
grace".
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