My tabernacle also shall be with them ,.... The symbol of his presence: the meaning is, that he shall dwell in them by his Spirit and grace; and everyone of them shall be the temple of the living God, in whom he will walk and dwell: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people ; which is repeated for the confirmation of it; see Ezekiel 37:23 . read more
By tabernacle - Jesus Christ, the true tabernacle, in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. read more
1. The view, that what the prophet beheld in vision was the final resurrection of mankind , though favored by Jerome, Calovius, and Kliefoth, must be abandoned, not because the doctrine of a general resurrection would not have been a powerful consolation to the pious-hearted in Israel, or because that doctrine was not then known, but because, in the prophet's own explanation, the bones are declared to be those, not of the whole family of man, but merely of the house of Israel. At the... read more
The "word" embodied in this section was probably communicated to the prophet at the close of the preceding vision. Its connection with this is apparent, treating as it does of the union of the then severed branches of the house of Israel, and of the subsequent prosperity which should attend united Israel under the rule of the Messianic King of the future. That this oracle, like the former, had only a temporary and partial accomplishment in the return from captivity is so obvious as to stand in... read more
Unity. As in many other instances, so here Ezekiel propounds a great moral and prophetical lesson by means of symbol. The two sticks which he is directed to join one to another into one stick represent the two divisions, the two kingdoms, of Judah and of Northern Israel, and their union represents the abolition of the distinction, the schism, which had been so injurious to the national welfare, and the formation of one people, one in brotherly love, one in mutual helpfulness, one in the... read more
Union essential to highest prosperity. It is clear that this series of prophecies had, at least, a twofold meaning. These predictions pointed to beneficial changes near, visible, temporal; they pointed also to grandee events more distant, more spiritual. The fulfillment of prophecy was also another prophecy. The immediate performance of God's promise was a type of larger performance. As each harvest is a prophecy of the next, so one fulfillment of God's covenant symbolizes a fulfillment on... read more
explain how the unification of the two kingdoms should be brought about. The first step should be the bringing of the people home to their own land ( Ezekiel 37:21 , Ezekiel 37:22 ); the second, their purification from idolatry ( Ezekiel 37:23 ); the third, the installation over them, thus united and purified, of one King, the ideal David of the future, or the Messiah ( Ezekiel 37:24 , Ezekiel 37:25 ); the fourth, the establishment with them of Jehovah's covenant of peace ( Ezekiel... read more
The blessed kingdom. Understanding this Divine promise to find its true and complete fulfillment in the kingdom of Christ, we may recognize some of the features of that kingdom as it will one day be constituted. I. ITS ONE ACKNOWLEDGED HEAD . The ideal " David " ( Ezekiel 37:24 , Ezekiel 37:25 ) is found, not in any future ruler like Judas Maccabaeus, but in Jesus Christ; in him who is exalted "to be a Prince and a Savior," the Lord and Sovereign of his people... read more
With the people thus gathered ( Ezekiel 37:21 ), united ( Ezekiel 37:22 ), purified ( Ezekiel 37:23 ), and established under the rule of Messiah ( Ezekiel 37:25 ), Jehovah makes a covenant of peace (see on Ezekiel 34:25 ; and comp. Psalms 89:3 ), further characterized as an everlasting covenant ; or, covenant of eternity (see on Ezekiel 16:60 ; and comp. Genesis 17:7 ; Isaiah 55:3 ; Jeremiah 32:40 ); which guarantees the continuance between him and them of undying... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 37:15-28
Here are more exceedingly great and precious promises made of the happy state of the Jews after their return to their own land; but they have a further reference to the kingdom of the Messiah and the glories of gospel-times. I. It is here promised that Ephraim and Judah shall be happily united in brotherly love and mutual serviceableness; so that whereas, ever since the desertion of the ten tribes from the house of David under Jeroboam, there had been continual feuds and animosities between... read more