Page 201 - NOTES ON EZEKIEL

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 195
into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine
army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed elegantly,
a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them
handling swords; Persia, Cush, and Phut with them^
all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all his
bands; the house of Thogarmah of the north quarters;
many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare
thyself, thou and all thy company that are assembled
unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many
days shalt thou be mustered; in the latter days thou
shalt come into the land that is brought back from the
sword, that is gathered out of many peoples against the
mountains of Israel which have been always waste: but
it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall
dwell safely all of them. Thou wilt ascend and come
like a storm; thou wilt be like a cloud to cover the
land, thou and all thy bands, and many people with
thee.” (Yer. 1—9.)
Here the case stands clearly defined in all but the
name, which seems to be probably symbolic. It is the
last enemy of Israel who confronts us. He dwells in
the land of Magog, that son of Japliet who overspread
in due time the vast steppes of what was anciently
called Scythia. He is autocrat of all the Russias, prince
of Rosh, Mesliech, and Tubal. Thus we have himself,
his land, and his people. But the Lord Jehovah is
against him who, instead of seeing when good comes to
a long-troubled people, would fain aggrandize himself,
and thus finds himself in array against not merely the
Israel of God but the God of Israel. Cursed must he
be who thus trusts in man and makes flesh his arm;
and so does Gog prove. For Jehovah declares that