Read Ezekiel 39
39 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of 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 plunderthose 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.
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. 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 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.”
Go Deeper
As was common in Hebrew literature, the beginning of this chapter is a retelling of the attack on Israel described in Chapter 38. Ezekiel warns of the disgrace and defeat Gog and his armies will face, despite their vast numbers. As we have thematically seen in this book, God desires to cleansing His people and His land in any way He can, a result of His desire for complete reconciliation. We see in verses 6-8 that God “will not let them profane” His holy name. As one commentary explains, “The great victory over Gog would fulfill what God had spoken before” and through this “God would reveal Himself not only to Israel but also to all of the watching world…glorifying Himself through His defense of Israel and defeat of Gog.”
This victory described will be so complete and so vast that it will take seven months to completely cleanse the land. We see in verses 17-20 that birds and beasts will scavenge the bodies as a “sacrificial meal.” This feast is so notorious that it is later linked by John in Revelation as examples of both the aftermath of the battle of Armageddon and the end of Jesus’s 1000-year reign (Revelation 19 and 20).
We could easily keep asking the same question: why would God allow such brutality? We see the answer in verses 21-24: “So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward.” Jews and Gentiles alike will know that God is not weak or incapable. The suffering is not because He is unable, it is because the people are unfaithful. The victory God will ultimately provide for His people will show them His power, but also His desire for relationship with them. Verses 25-29 deliver God’s promise that He will never hide His face from His people again. As the Enduring Word commentary puts it: “With God’s Spirit poured out upon Israel, they would have a relationship with God based on the works and merits of the Messiah, not their own work and merits.”
Despite our failures and individual efforts, how blessed are we that our relationship with God is based on His works and merits and not our own. What we could easily take for granted should instead remind us today of the price God paid to reconcile us to Him. We cannot let the prophetical and poetic nature of this chapter lull us into reading it as a fictional narrative. Rather, we should read it with an eternal and grateful perspective of Jesus’s willingness to serve as the final sacrificial feast.
Questions
- Why do you think God is so descriptive of the brutality with which He will cleanse the land?
- How do His warnings apply to you today in your daily life and decisions?
- Take some time to reflect on how blessed are to live on this side of Jesus’s sacrifice. Thank God for His constant pursuit of you despite your own mistakes and failed efforts.
Keep Digging
Gog and Magog are referenced in Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 20. To learn more about Gog and Magog, check out this article from GotQuestions.org!
2 thoughts on “Ezekiel 39”
Sometimes God displays his glory in stunning sunsets, white sandy beaches, or snowflakes softly falling into drifts, other times it is displayed in thoroughly purging evil from the land. His motive is that all may know that he is the holy, sovereign Lord. Whether it be his own special people or foreign nations, he will not abide evil and idolatry forever. The gory details we read today should drive us to swiftly take care of the sin that separates us from God. My prayer & response today comes from Psalm 51:10, “ Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” I’m thankful for the perfect sacrifice, Jesus, who takes away the sins of the world.
God wants us to have a relationship with Him. He desires and made us for this relationship. The more I learn about God the more I want/desire a closer relationship. How do we do that?
Prayer, which is simple talking to/with God. There are lots of verses on this. Phil 4:6-7 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Reading His Word, if you dont understand look up commentary’s, they are very helpful There are many verses on this as well. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
Going to church is not a must but building up your faith and with likeminded believers is a must Acts 14:26-28: And thence [Paul and Barnabas] sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles .And there they abode long time with the disciples..
Serve others, speak about what God through His Son Jesus has made your life different. Galatians 5:13 – “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
This is just getting started but God is good and wants YOU and ME and He showed that in this book the Bible.
God thank You for wanting a relationship with me. Thank You for me doing just what I have and do post about in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!