Bird's-eye view
In this section of Ezekiel's prophecy, the Lord addresses Gog of Magog, the emblematic leader of the world's assembled hostility against God's people. The tone is one of supreme, divine irony. God commands Gog to prepare for battle, to muster his vast armies, and to get himself ready for an invasion. But this is not a command of permission; it is a command of divine summons. God is not simply allowing this great enemy to act on his own initiative; He is actively calling him onto the stage of history for the express purpose of destroying him. This is the Almighty God baiting His hook. The entire enterprise, which from a human perspective looks like a formidable threat, is, from the divine perspective, a setup. God is gathering His enemies in order to make a public spectacle of their defeat and to sanctify His own name before the nations. The passage reveals the absolute sovereignty of God over the affairs of men, even over the malicious intentions of those who set themselves against Him and His Church.
The prophecy looks forward to "the last years," to a time when God's people are dwelling securely in a land restored. While this had a near-term application to post-exilic Israel, the scope and scale of the invasion, along with its use in the New Testament, points to a greater fulfillment. This is a picture of the world's final, futile rage against the established kingdom of Jesus Christ. The Church, the new Israel, gathered from all nations, dwells in a spiritual security that infuriates the ungodly. Their assault is described as a mighty storm, a cloud covering the land, but it is a storm that will break upon the unshakeable mountain of God's saving purpose.
Outline
- 1. The Divine Summons to a Doomed Foe (Ezek 38:7-9)
- a. The Ironic Command to Prepare (Ezek 38:7)
- b. The Appointed Time and Target (Ezek 38:8)
- c. The Overwhelming but Futile Assault (Ezek 38:9)
Context In Ezekiel
Ezekiel 38 comes after the great crescendo of restoration promises in chapters 34-37. God has promised to be the Good Shepherd to His people (ch. 34), to cleanse the land (ch. 35), to give His people a new heart of flesh (ch. 36), and to raise the whole house of Israel from the grave in the vision of the valley of dry bones (ch. 37). The nation is spiritually resurrected and unified. It is precisely at this point, when all seems secure and the restoration is complete, that God reveals the final great test. The Gog and Magog prophecy demonstrates that the security of God's people does not mean the absence of enemies, but rather the guaranteed defeat of those enemies. It serves to show that God's purpose in restoring His people is not merely for their own comfort, but for the magnification of His holy name in the sight of all the nations. The destruction of Gog is the capstone of God's victory, setting the stage for the final vision of the new temple in chapters 40-48.
Key Issues
- Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
- The Identity of Gog and Magog
- The Meaning of "the Last Years"
- The Typological Interpretation of Prophecy
- The Security of the People of God
God's Bait, God's Hook
One of the central doctrines of Scripture is that God is utterly sovereign, not just over the tides and stars, but over the sinful intentions of men. This passage is a master class in that very doctrine. God speaks to Gog, the archetypal enemy, and says, "Get ready. Prepare your weapons. Muster your troops." This is the language of a drill sergeant to his platoon. But Gog is no soldier of God; he is the chief of God's enemies. So what is happening here? It is what we see Pharaoh doing, and Sennacherib, and Judas. God in His sovereignty uses the hatred of His enemies for His own holy purposes. He does not create their sin, but He directs it. He tells Gog to do what Gog was already wanting to do in his wicked heart, but He tells him to do it on God's timetable and for God's glory. Gog thinks he is assembling his armies for his own conquest, but he is actually assembling them for his own funeral. God is sovereignly arranging the chess pieces for a checkmate that will be seen by the whole world. The pride and preparation of man are nothing more than God's bait, and the hook of His judgment is hidden just beneath.
Verse by Verse Commentary
7 “Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your assembly that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them.
The Lord opens with a series of sharp commands to His enemy. "Be prepared... prepare yourself... be a guard." This is high divine irony. It is like telling a man who is about to walk into an ambush to make sure his boots are polished. God is taunting Gog. He is saying, "Bring your best. Muster all your strength. Leave nothing to chance. I want you at full power when I destroy you." There will be no excuses for Gog when the battle is over. He will not be able to say that he was caught off guard or that his army was not ready. God commands him to be a guard for his allies, to take the lead and protect them. This highlights Gog's role as the ringleader of this vast, godless confederacy. He is the one responsible, the one who gathers the nations, and he will be the one at the center of the judgment. The whole world conspires together, and God in heaven laughs (Psalm 2).
8 After many days you will be mustered; in the last years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many peoples to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the peoples, and they are living securely, all of them.
Now the timeframe and the target are identified. This will happen after many days... in the last years. This language pushes the fulfillment beyond the immediate horizon into the eschatological future. This is not just another border skirmish; it is a climactic confrontation. The target is the people of God, described here in terms that perfectly fit the Church of Jesus Christ. They are in a land restored from the sword, meaning they have been saved out of prior judgment and conflict. They have been gathered from many peoples, which is a glorious description of the Great Commission's success. The Church is not one ethnic group, but a people called out from every tribe and tongue and nation. They are gathered to the mountains of Israel, which in the New Covenant is Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the assembly of the firstborn (Heb 12:22). This place had been a continual waste, just as the world lay in desolate sin before the gospel came. But now, this people is living securely. This is not a political or military security, but a covenantal security. It is the security of knowing you are hidden in Christ, safe from condemnation. It is this very security, this peace and prosperity under God's blessing, that provokes the world's rage.
9 And you will go up; you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”
The invasion is described with metaphors of overwhelming natural force. Gog's army will ascend like a storm. From a human vantage point, it will be terrifying and seemingly unstoppable. It will be like a cloud covering the land, a metaphor that speaks of vast numbers and suffocating darkness. The enemy will appear to have every advantage. The world will look at the Church, small and seemingly defenseless, and then look at the massive cultural and political forces arrayed against her, and will conclude that her demise is certain. This is the constant temptation to fear that believers must fight. But the Bible gives us these prophecies so that when the storm cloud gathers, we remember who sent the storm. The God who commands the clouds is the same God who is sovereignly commanding this cloud of enemies. Their purpose is to destroy, but His purpose is to display His glory in the salvation of His people and the destruction of His foes.
Application
This passage is intensely practical for the Christian life. We live in a world that is, at its heart, hostile to our King. We should not be surprised when the storm clouds gather, when the culture seems to be a vast, dark cloud intent on blotting out the light of the gospel. Ezekiel 38 teaches us not to evaluate the situation from a human point of view. The world sees an overwhelming force; we are to see God baiting His hook.
This means we are to be utterly fearless. The enemies of Christ are told to prepare, to bring their best shot. So let them. Let them assemble their committees, pass their laws, and write their manifestos. Let them come on like a storm. Our security is not in our own strength or in our political savvy. Our security is in the covenant promises of God. We are the people He has gathered from the nations, the people to whom He has given a new heart, the people who are living securely in Christ. The world's final, furious assault on the Church is not a sign that God's plan has failed. It is the sign that it is nearing its triumphant conclusion.
Therefore, our task is to be faithful. We are to live in that security that so enrages the world. We are to live in peace and godliness, raising our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and joyfully worshiping our God. And when the world rages, we are to stand firm, knowing that the God who summons the storm is doing so for one reason: to show the world, once and for all, that He is the LORD.