AN EXPOSITION OF EZEKIEL 37 – PART 4
October 4, 2009
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In Part 3, using Ezekiel 37:6, we presented the building of a living nation ( Israel)
over her dead, dry bones in the Gentile valleys of the world: “And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.” The details of how this was done Ezekiel outlined in verses 7 through 12. The outline’s conclusion was the placing of Jews in their natural homeland – the land of Israel.
In this Part 4 we will present the final aspect of God’s work – the spiritual rebirth of the nation of Israel, as described in Ezekiel 37, verses 13 & 14: “And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, [14] And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.”
Verse 13 begins, “And ye shall KNOW that I am the Lord.” This represents the final aspect of God’s word outlined in verse 6.
It is the spiritual rebirth of the remnant of Israel at the end of the Great Tribulation Period.
Only one-third of the population of Israel will survive this time of terror, according to verses 8 & 9 of Zechariah 13: “[8] And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein
shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
[9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.” And, according to Revelation 12:6 & 17, they are to flee into the Negev, with a remnant of the woman’s seed (Jesus Christ) in their midst for 3 and ½ years: “[6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” “[17] And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Verse 13 continues: “WHEN I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves.” Between the word “WHEN” in verse 13, and the word “THEN” in verse 14, is the prophecy of the gathering, the physical rebirth, spiritual rebirth, and millennial restoration
of the nation of Israel. It is a description of
a physical gathering and rebirth of a nation brought up out of a worldwide Gentile graveyard.
The close of verse 13 shows Israel as we know her today – a nation physically reborn from the foreign ground of Gentile nations to her home
ground of Israel.
Verse 14 marks the spiritual rebirth of the nation of Israel: “And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: THEN shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.” At the end of 3 and ½ years of terrible worldwide horror, a very wonderful thing will happen – the believing remnant of Israel will accept their returned Messiah, Jesus Christ, as their Savior and Lord. The closing statement of verse 14 leaves no doubt that, at this point in time, the entire remnant of the nation of Israel, having survived the time of “Jacob’s Trouble,” will have been made aware of, and will know, that all the words spoken by
the Lord concerning His remnant have been performed by His power alone. I do not say they were not involved in it, but I know it had to His power that worked in them.
Romans 11:23-28 – And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. [24] For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree
? [25] For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
[26] And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: [27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
[28] As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.