Page 189 - NOTES ON EZEKIEL

CHAPTER XXXVII. 183
of His people ? And the prophet was given to see as
well as to hear and speak. “ So I prophesied as I was
commanded : and as I prophesied, there was a noise,
and behold a shaking, and the bones came together,
bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews
and the flesh came np upon them, and the skin covered
them above: but [there was] no breath in them.” (Vers
7, 8.) Still more solemnly is this followed up in verses
9, 10 : “ Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the
wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus
saith the Lord Jehovah; Come from the four winds, 0
breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may
live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the
breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up
upon their feet an exceeding great army.’7 (Vers.
9, 10.) It is impossible to apply such a statement as
this with any show of propriety to the return of less
than 43,000 from Babylon : especially as the armies
of old far exceeded those usual in modern times. The
returning remnant was a very small army compared
with that of Judah alone under their kings. And we
shall find later on that Ephraim as well as Judah
are expressly contemplated: indeed it is implied im­
mediately after in “ the whole house of Israel.” The
past return from captivity is therefore out of the question.
But we are not left to reasoning of ours on the scope
of this book and the general aim of Ezekiel. He who
gave us the vision through His servant has added the
most explicit interpretation. “ Then he said unto me,
Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel:
behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is
lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy