The Messiah, The Spirit & Yahweh’s Glory | Ezekiel 38-39 Part XI

#Yahweh #Messiah #HolySpirit

Ezekiel 39:21 I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment I have executed and the hand I have laid on them.

Yahweh’s glory is the Hebrew word kavod. Pieter de Vries says it “must be understood as a physicality, just as when he took up residence in the tabernacle.” I believe Yahweh’s kavod here is speaking of the Messiah. As I have mentioned before, I believe Jesus Christ will have returned to earth by this point in history, so the glory of Yahweh being on display is a statement of Yahweh in human form, Jesus of Nazareth, being physically present and visible in his glorified state to the nations of the world.

Ezekiel 39:22-23 From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God. And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile on account of their iniquity, because they dealt unfaithfully with me. Therefore, I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, so that they all fell by the sword.

Joseph Blenkinsopp says, “This spectacular conclusion to the invasion will convince the nations witnessing it that the Israelites were exiled not because their God was powerless to prevent it but on account of their sins.”

Ezekiel 39:24-26 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and transgressions, and I hid my face from them. So this is what the Lord GOD says: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. They will feel remorse for their disgrace and all the unfaithfulness they committed against me, when they live securely in their land with no one to frighten them.
The restoration of Jacob’s fortunes reminds us of the exile of Jacob himself into Mesopotamia and his subsequent return to the land of his father. In this way Jacob served to foreshadow Israel’s future exile and return.

In speaking of the prosperity of the returned exiles, Ezekiel again seems to be relying on Leviticus.

Leviticus 26:5-6 “Your threshing will continue until grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have plenty of food to eat and live securely in your land. I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to frighten you. I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.”

Ezekiel 39:27-29 When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the countries of their enemies, I will demonstrate my holiness through them in the sight of many nations. They will know that I am the LORD their God when I regather them to their own land after having exiled them among the nations. I will leave none of them behind. I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.

Leviticus 22:32 “Do not bring shame on my holy name, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who makes you holy.”

Psalm 147:2 The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem; he gathers Israel’s exiled people.

Jeremiah 31:10 The one who scattered Israel will gather him. He will watch over him as a shepherd guards his flock

The Lord also promises he will no longer hide his face. Seeing the face of God is associated with the experience of worship.

Psalm 27:8 “You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”

Here we see the Lord pouring his Spirit on Israel. In Ezekiel 37:14 Yahweh put his Spirit within his people.

Walter Zimmerli says, “The communication of the Spirit is here described as the final irrevocable Union of Yahweh with his people.”

Join us as we conclude our study of the famous Gog and Magog prophecy!

Select sources:

Blenkinsopp, Joseph. Ezekiel. Interpretation Commentary. John Knox, 1990

Cook, Stephen L.  Ezekiel 38-48: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary.  Anchor Yale Bible 22B.  Yale, 2018

Eichrodt, Walter. Ezekiel. OTL. Westminster, 1970

Heiser, Michael S. Ezekiel 38-39 Part 1, Episode 152. Naked Bible Podcast Transcript. April 1, 2017. https://nakedbiblepodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/NB-152-Transcript.pdf

Heiser, Michael S. Ezekiel 38-39 Part 2, Episode 153. Naked Bible Podcast Transcript. April 8, 2017. https://nakedbiblepodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/NB-153-Transcript.

Holy Bible. NLT. Filament Edition. Tyndale. 2022

Kaiser, Otto. Isaiah 1-39. 2 vols. OTL. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1983, 1974

van der Toorn, Karel, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst eds. Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Brill, 1995. 2nd ed, 1998

Zimmerli, Walther. Ezekiel 25–48. Hermeneia. Fortress, 1983

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