One Whole House from Two Sticks

 Ezekiel 37:15 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 16 "As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: 'For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.'

 *We need to stop right there and look at this carefully. 

1.  First there is a stick for JUDAH. This refers to the kingdom of Judah which was made up of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi (Levites because Judah had the Temple).

But there were apparently some others from other tribes who were his companions. 

 

2.  Then there is a stick for JOSEPH.  This (as you will see) refers to the kingdom of Israel.

Joseph was the father of Ephraim and Manasseh.  They were both adopted by Jacob as sons and became two tribes in the tribes of Israel.  When the kingdom was split after Solomon’s rule, the Northern kingdom of Israel formed.  It included all the tribes that were NOT part of the Southern kingdom of Judah.  Ephraim and Manasseh were part of Israel the northern kingdom.  Sometimes this kingdom is called just ‘Ephraim’ or ‘Israel’ or in this case, ‘Joseph’.

 *We need to remember that Ezekiel was living in exile in Babylon.  He had come from the kingdom of Judah and was a priest.  That kingdom had experienced a partial exile until about 586 BCE when the Temple was destroyed, and the survivors were carried off into captivity to Babylon. 

BUT, prior to that, the northern kingdom of Israel had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians beginning around 734-732 BCE and completed in 724 BCE.

Even to this day, the tribes of the kingdom of Israel have essentially never returned.  There have been some groups of individuals from some tribes that have made their way to the current nation of Israel.

*This information is CRUCIAL to understanding prophecy and the Bible as a whole.

 Back to what Yehovah was telling Ezekiel to do:

 Ezekiel 37:17 "Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.

  18 "And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, 'Will you not show us what you mean by these?' -  19 "say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand."'

  Ezekiel 37:20 "And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

 21 "Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land;

 22 "and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.”

  Ezekiel 37:23 "They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

 24 "David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes and do them.

 25 "Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.

 

 Ezekiel 37:26 "Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 

 27 "My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 

 28 "The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."'"

 

I just love this passage.  It shows that God has never forgotten the children of Israel who were sent off to captivity so many years ago.  He promises to bring their descendants from the four corners of the earth and into the Promised Land.  This time it will be forever and they won't sin against Him again.  Such a beautiful promise and it will be amazing to see come to pass.  I only hope I can be alive to witness it.

 

If not, I guess we can watch re-runs in eternity later...

 

Shalom,

Gregg

 

Compiled by G.E. Walker                                                                                      May 2019