Commentary - Ezekiel 37:15-23

Bird's-eye view

Following hard on the heels of the vision of the dry bones, where God promised to resurrect His dead nation, this passage in Ezekiel gives us the practical shape of that resurrection. God is not just raising a multitude of individuals; He is recreating a unified people. The prophet is commanded to perform a sign-act, taking two sticks representing the two long-estranged kingdoms of Judah and Israel (Ephraim) and joining them into one. This is a potent symbol of political and national reunification. But as the explanation unfolds, it becomes clear that this is far more than a political merger. The foundation of this new unity is a profound spiritual transformation. God promises to gather His people from their exile, place them under one king, and, most importantly, to cleanse them from their idols and transgressions. This is a promise of full-orbed covenant renewal, culminating in the great covenant formula: "they will be My people, and I will be their God." The ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy is found not in a restored political entity in old Palestine, but in the Church of Jesus Christ, where Jew and Gentile, once hopelessly divided, are made one new man in Him.

This is God's answer to the schism that plagued His people for centuries. The division that began under Rehoboam was a consequence of sin, and the reunion can only be a consequence of grace. God Himself is the actor here: "I will take... I will gather... I will make them one... I will save them... I will cleanse them." The entire project, from start to finish, is a work of sovereign grace. This passage stands as a firm rebuke to all forms of dispensationalism that would seek to re-divide what God has definitively joined together in Christ.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

Ezekiel 37 is a chapter of glorious restoration. It sits within the larger section of Ezekiel's prophecies (chapters 33-48) that focuses on the future hope for Israel after the judgment of the exile. Chapter 36 announced the promise of a new heart and a new spirit. The first half of chapter 37 (vv. 1-14) provided the stunning vision of the valley of dry bones, illustrating God's power to bring His spiritually dead people back to life. This second half of the chapter (vv. 15-28) builds directly on that promise of resurrection. If the first vision answered the question "Can these bones live?", this sign-act answers the question "How will they live?" They will not live as they did before, as a fractured and feuding family. They will live as a single, purified nation under one shepherd-king. This section, therefore, provides the political and spiritual constitution for the resurrected people of God, setting the stage for the final vision of the restored Temple in chapters 40-48.

Key Issues

God's Grafting Project

When a nation splits, the animosity that follows is often deeper and more bitter than any rivalry with foreign powers. This was certainly the case with Israel and Judah. For centuries, they were separate, often hostile, kingdoms. The northern kingdom of Israel, represented here by its leading tribe Ephraim, fell into apostasy faster and harder, and was carried off by the Assyrians. Judah followed them into idolatry and then into exile in Babylon. From a human perspective, the breach was permanent. The family was broken for good.

But God does not deal in human perspectives. His solution is not a political treaty or a diplomatic negotiation. His solution is a creative act of divine power. The sign-act of the two sticks is a tangible promise that God is going to do what men cannot. He is going to take these two dead, splintered pieces of wood and, in His own hand, make them one living branch. This is not just repair; it is resurrection and recreation. And the principle applies far beyond the historical division of Israel. This is the pattern of God's work in the gospel, where He takes the two most divided groups in human history, Jew and Gentile, and makes them one new man in Christ (Eph 2:15). God's specialty is taking things that are hopelessly broken and making them irrevocably one.

Verse by Verse Commentary

15-17 The word of Yahweh came again to me saying, “Now as for you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ Then draw them together for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.

God's prophets were often called to be living parables. Here, Ezekiel is to perform a simple but profound action. He takes two sticks, or wooden tablets. On one, he writes for Judah, representing the southern kingdom, along with the remnants of other tribes who stayed with them. On the other, he writes for Joseph, or Ephraim, representing the ten northern tribes that broke away. These two sticks symbolize the centuries-long, bitter division. Then comes the miracle. He is to bring them together, end to end, so that in his hand they become a single stick. It is a visible demonstration of a supernatural fusion. This is not just taping two sticks together; the language implies a miraculous joining. What was two becomes one.

18-19 And when the sons of your people speak to you saying, ‘Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?’ say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.” ’

The sign-act is designed to provoke a question, which is the setup for the divine explanation. The people in exile, who knew nothing but division and defeat, would see this and ask what it could possibly mean. The answer is emphatic and declarative. The Lord Yahweh Himself is the one who will perform this miracle. Notice the shift: the sticks were one in Ezekiel's hand, but that was just the picture. The reality is that they will be one in God's hand. This is not a human project. It is a divine accomplishment. God will take the northern tribes and join them to the southern, making them one stick. The initiative and the power are all His.

20-21 And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. And speak to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land;

The prophecy is to be delivered while Ezekiel is holding the joined stick, making the connection between the symbol and the reality unmistakable. The first part of the promise is the reversal of the exile. The scattering was God's judgment for their covenant unfaithfulness. The gathering is His act of covenant grace. He will personally reach into the nations, find His scattered people, and bring them back. This is the great second Exodus. The return to the land is essential because it is the stage upon which the rest of God's promises will be fulfilled.

22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms.

Here is the political heart of the promise. The gathered people will not reform the old, broken system. God will constitute them as one single nation. The schism is over, permanently. And the key to this unity is the fact that they will have one king. The division began with a foolish king, Rehoboam, and the establishment of a rival king, Jeroboam. The new, unified kingdom will be secure because it will be under a single, righteous monarch. This is a direct pointer to the Messiah, the Son of David, who alone can truly unite God's people. Under His rule, the days of civil war and internal strife are finished forever.

23 They also will no longer defile themselves with their idols or with their detestable things or with any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all their places of habitation in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

This verse provides the spiritual foundation for the political unity. Why did the kingdom split in the first place? Sin. Why did they go into exile? Idolatry and transgression. Political unity is impossible without spiritual purity. So God promises to deal with the root of the problem. He will cleanse them from their defilement. He will save them from the very patterns and places of their sin. This is the promise of regeneration, the new heart of chapter 36. And it all culminates in the ultimate purpose of God in redemption, the renewal of the covenant relationship in its most famous formula: "And they will be My people, and I will be their God." This is the goal of all history. The political restoration serves this spiritual end. God is not just building a nation; He is building a family to dwell with Him.

Application

The prophecy of the two sticks is a glorious promise that finds its ultimate fulfillment in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The division between Judah and Israel was deep, but the division between Jew and Gentile was a chasm that seemed utterly unbridgeable. Yet in Ephesians, Paul tells us that this is precisely what Christ came to do. He is our peace, "who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall... so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man" (Eph. 2:14-15).

The church is the fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy. In Christ, there is no longer Jew or Greek, northern kingdom or southern. There is one body, one people, gathered from every nation, tribe, and tongue. And we are united under our one King, the Lord Jesus. Any theology that seeks to drive a wedge back between ethnic Israel and the Church, that posits separate futures and separate destinies for them, is a theology that is trying to break apart the stick that God Himself has made one in His hand. It is an affront to the finished work of Christ.

Furthermore, this passage reminds us that all true unity is a gift of God, founded upon spiritual cleansing. We do not create unity through programs, mergers, or ecumenical dialogues. We experience unity when we are all cleansed by the same blood, indwelt by the same Spirit, and submitted to the same King. The reason our churches are often so fragmented and divided is that we are still defiled by our idols, our detestable things, and our transgressions. The path to unity in our congregations, our denominations, and our families is the path of repentance. It is when we are cleansed by God that we can truly be His one people, and He can be our God.