Ezekiel — Chapter 39
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1Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
2And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
9And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
10So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
11And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog.
12And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
13Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog.
16And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
17And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast 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 upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
18Ye 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 bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
23And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
24According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
25Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
26After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.
27When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
28Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
29Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
1And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal:
2and I will turn thee about, and will lead thee on, and will cause thee to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel;
3and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy hordes, and the peoples that are with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5Thou shalt fall upon the open field; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah.
6And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell securely in the isles; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
7And my holy name will I make known in the midst of my people Israel; neither will I suffer my holy name to be profaned any more: and the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel.
8Behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord Jehovah; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
9And they that 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 handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
10so that 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; and they shall plunder those that plundered them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord Jehovah.
11And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of them that pass through on the east of the sea; and it shall stop them that pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog.
12And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land.
13Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown in the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord Jehovah.
14And they shall set apart men of continual employment, that shall pass through the land, and, with them that pass through, those that bury them that remain upon the face of the land, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15And they that pass through the land shall pass through; and when any seeth a man`s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog.
16And Hamonah shall also be the name of a city. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
17And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Speak unto the birds of every sort, and to every beast 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 upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood.
18Ye 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 bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20And ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord Jehovah.
21And 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 upon them.
22So the house of Israel shall know that I am Jehovah their God, from that day and forward.
23And 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.
24According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions did I unto them; and I hid my face from them.
25Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name.
26And they shall bear their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they shall dwell securely in their land, and none shall make them afraid;
27when 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.
28And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them unto their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there;
29neither will I hide my face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah.
1“As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal!
2I will turn you around and drag you along; I will lead you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel.
3I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand.
4You will fall dead on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you. I give you as food to every kind of bird and every wild beast.
5You will fall dead in the open field; for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.
6I will send fire on Magog and those who live securely in the coastlands; then they will know that I am the Lord.
7“‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
8Realize that it is coming and it will be done, declares the Sovereign Lord. It is the day I have spoken about.
9“‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling—the shields, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears—they will burn them for seven years.
10They will not need to take wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them, declares the Sovereign Lord.
11“‘On that day I will assign Gog a grave in Israel. It will be the valley of those who travel east of the sea; it will block the way of the travelers. There they will bury Gog and all his horde; they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog.
12For seven months Israel will bury them, in order to cleanse the land.
13All the people of the land will bury them, and it will be a memorial for them on the day I magnify myself, declares the Sovereign Lord.
14They will designate men to scout continually through the land, burying those who remain on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. They will search for seven full months.
15When the scouts survey the land and see a human bone, they will place a sign by it, until those assigned to burial duty have buried it in the valley of Hamon Gog.
16(A city by the name of Hamonah will also be there.) They will cleanse the land.’
17“As for you, son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter that I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood.
18You will eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened animals of Bashan.
19You will eat fat until you are full and drink blood until you are drunk at my slaughter that I have made for you.
20You will fill up at my table with horses and charioteers, with warriors and all the soldiers,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.
21“I will display my majesty among the nations. All the nations will witness the judgment I have executed and the power I have exhibited among them.
22Then the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward.
23The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile due to their iniquity, for they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies; all of them died by the sword.
24According to their uncleanness and rebellion I have dealt with them, and I hid my face from them.
25“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have mercy on the entire house of Israel. I will be zealous for my holy name.
26They will bear their shame for all their unfaithful acts against me, when they live securely on their land with no one to make them afraid.
27When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will magnify myself among them in the sight of many nations.
28Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I sent them into exile among the nations and then gathered them into their own land. I will not leave any of them in exile any longer.
29I will no longer hide my face from them, when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
1“You, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.
2I 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 onto the mountains of Israel.
3I will strike your bow out of your left hand, and will cause your arrows to fall out of your right hand.
4You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you, and all your hordes, and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the animals of the field to be devoured.
5You will fall on the open field; for I have spoken it,” says the Lord Yahweh.
6“I will send a fire on Magog, and on those who dwell securely in the islands. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.
7“‘“I will make my holy name known among my people Israel. I won’t allow my holy name to be profaned any more. Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh, the Holy One in Israel.
8Behold, it comes, and it will be done,” says the Lord Yahweh. “This is the day about which I have spoken.
9“‘“Those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, and will 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 will make fires with them for seven years;
10so that they will take no wood out of the field, and not cut down any out of the forests; for they will make fires with the weapons. They will plunder those who plundered them, and rob those who robbed them,” says the Lord Yahweh.
11“‘“It will 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 will stop those who pass through. They will bury Gog and all his multitude there; and they will call it ‘The valley of Hamon Gog’.
12“‘“The house of Israel will be burying them for seven months, that they may cleanse the land.
13Yes, all the people of the land will bury them; and they will become famous in the day that I will be glorified,” says the Lord Yahweh.
14“‘“They will set apart men of continual employment, who will pass through the land. Those who pass through will go with those who bury those who remain on the surface of the land, to cleanse it. After the end of seven months they will search.
15Those who pass through the land will pass through; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, then will he set up a sign by it, until the undertakers have buried it in the valley of Hamon Gog.
16Hamonah will also be the name of a city. Thus will they cleanse the land.”’
17“You, son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Speak to the birds of every sort, and to every animal of the field, “Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat meat and drink blood.
18You 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.
19You shall eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20You shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war,” says the Lord Yahweh.’
21“I will set my glory among the nations. Then all the nations will see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them.
22So the house of Israel will know that I am Yahweh their God, from that day and forward.
23The nations will 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 all fell by the sword.
24I did to them according to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions. I hid my face from them.
25“Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Now I will reverse the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel. I will be jealous for my holy name.
26They will bear their shame, and all their trespasses by which they have trespassed against me, when they dwell securely in their land, and no one will make them afraid,
27when 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.
28They will 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. Then I will leave none of them captive any more.
29I won’t hide my face from them any more; for I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord Yahweh.”
Summary
The aftermath of Gog's catastrophic defeat is described in vivid detail. God rains destruction upon Gog's armies on the mountains of Israel. The carnage is so vast that birds and beasts feast for months, Israel burns enemy weapons for seven years, and burial crews spend seven months cleansing the land. The chapter culminates with God pouring out His Spirit upon Israel and declaring He will never hide His face from them again.
Authorship & Background
- God's Destruction of Gog Reiterated (vv.1-8)
- Seven Years Burning Weapons (vv.9-10)
- Seven Months Burying the Dead (vv.11-16)
- The Sacrificial Feast for Birds and Beasts (vv.17-20)
- God's Glory Among the Nations (vv.21-24)
- The Restoration and Spirit Outpouring (vv.25-29)
Map & Geography
- Bashan (v.18): Fertile region east of the Sea of Galilee.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
- Charles Spurgeon: "When God pours out His Spirit, He gives the surest pledge that He will never withdraw His love. The Spirit is the earnest, the deposit, the guarantee of eternal communion. Where the Spirit dwells, God's face shines forever."
Reflection
- 1. What the enemy meant for your destruction, God turns into provision (v.9). Israel BURNS the enemy's weapons for seven years — fuel, warmth, provision from the very instruments of attack. God is an expert at taking what was meant to destroy you and making it serve your household. Your greatest trials may become your greatest resources.
- 2. God is thorough in His cleansing (vv.12-16). Seven months of burial, dedicated crews, even a city named to mark the event. God does not leave corpses rotting in the land. He cleanses COMPLETELY. When God deals with sin in your life, He is thorough. He does not leave half-dealt-with issues festering.
- 3. "From that day and forward" — God's restoration is permanent (v.22). No more cycles. No more "Israel sins, God judges, Israel repents, repeat." This is FINAL restoration. For the believer in Christ, this is already true: "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it" (Philippians 1:6).
- 4. God's Spirit is the guarantee of His permanent presence (v.29). Why will God never hide His face again? Because He has poured out His Spirit. The Spirit IN us is the seal of God's commitment TO us (Ephesians 1:13-14). You are not holding onto God — He is holding onto you.
- 5. All of history — even cosmic warfare — serves the purpose of making God known (v.21). "I will set my glory among the heathen." Everything is moving toward universal recognition of who God is. Your life is part of that display.