Happily Ever After: One Nation under One God

Sermon on Ezekiel 37:15-28

Introduction
Everyone loves a happy ending. Most stories are set up so that there’s some conflict or drama, but everything ends up resolved at the end. In fairy tales, it’s known as the “happily ever after”, normally involving some kind of a white knight or prince and princess walking off into the sunset. In books, we might impatiently flip to the last chapter, wanting to see how things turn out. The “story arc”, as it’s called, might stretch into many chapters (for books), many episodes or seasons (for TV), or many movies and sequels (for cinema).

Today’s passage certainly has the ring of a “happy ending”. Finally, after chapters of doom and gloom, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Finally, after months of listening to judgements and punishments for Israel, things are lightening up. Ezekiel’s audience needs that hope as the historical context is very bleak. Jerusalem has been taken and the temple has been burned (in 586 BC, see Eze 33:21) [1]
; little wonder then that the message of Ezekiel became one about Israel’s restoration (this is the theme of Eze 33-39), and about the future of Judah.

The beginning
To appreciate the happy ending, we need to know where the story begins. This is the story of Israelites, the people of God; more specifically it was about:
(i) The Southern kingdom of Judah, which included the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and
(ii) The Northern Kingdom of Israel, which included the other 10 tribes, such as that of Joseph and Ephraim.

It was during the reign of Solomon’s son (931BC) that the division happened. [2] Rehoboam ruled the Southern Kingdom of Judah, with its two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, while Jeroboam ruled the other 10 tribes, collectively called the Northern Kingdom of Israel. One kingdom was divided into two separate kingdoms now. Later, in judgement for their idolatry and sins, Judah was captured by the Babylonians (586 BC) and Israel captured by the Assyrians (722BC). Since this division, there were countless feuds and animosities, with jealousy and envy, and vexation aplenty. [3]

In this message, however, God’s message was that He will reunite Israel. The prophetic act of joining the 2 sticks was explained that God is going to make the 2 sticks one- he will “gather them from all directions and bring them home.” He will “make them one nation” and “never again will they be divided into two kingdoms, two nations”. (v 21, 23).

Some people point to these passages as meaning that Israel is always destined to be one nation, and that they are meant to occupy their historical lands (v 25). These are sometimes associated with the Zionism, which is a Jewish political movement that, has struggled for a sovereign Jewish national homeland. In 1948, with the founding of the State of Israel, years of Jewish diaspora came to an end, and there was massive Jewish immigration back, marked by conflict and uneasy relations with the Palestines and Israel’s Arab neighbours. Although today’s verses are among those used to support the idea of Zionism, that is not the key point of the passage, it’s not about supporting territorial claims.

The key points of the passage is that they will be (i) ONE NATION (ii) UNDER ONE KING.

(i) GOD’S PEOPLE WILL BE TOGETHER AGAIN (reconciling with each other)
Israel will be reunited as they were intended to be. After such a long time, after generations, the 12 tribes will be gathered again. [4] It is always God’s intention that “brothers should dwell together in unity” (Psalms 133 [5] ), and that theme runs strongly through into the New Testament in the writings on the body of Christ. Should there not be rejoicing when families are brought together again?

Most of us will not know the pain of being separated from our loved ones for long periods of time. In history, we see examples of that- families might be forcibly torn asunder by war, famine, violence, or politics. When the Berlin Wall went up almost overnight, families were separated, mothers could not see their children [6] , cousins never saw each other for decades.

(ii) THEY WILL BE PEOPLE OF GOD, GOD’S SUBJECTS (reconciling under the same king)
It is not just the Israelites will be gathered together with each other, it’s also that God will be their ruler (Ezekiel 37:23,24). God says: They will be my people, to serve me, and I will be their God, to save them and to make them happy. David, my servant, shall be king over them, to fight their battles, to protect them from injury, and to rule them, and overrule all things that concern them for their good. He shall be their shepherd, to guide them and provide for them. [7] For the Israelites, who through history had experiences with foreign conquerers and power-hungry kings, this was a promise of a worthy leader.

(III) GOD WILL HAVE AN EVERLASTING COVENANT WITH HIS PEOPLE (reconciling with God)
God’s rule extends to spiritual provisions, He will look after them not just in the physical aspect. In the Message translation “ God says, I ‘ll save them out of all their old sinful haunts! I will clean them up!” (v 23). Defilement and idolatry will be in the past, and the people will follow God’s laws and keep his statutes. Who makes this possible? It is the covenant of peace that God makes with his people that “holds everything together” (The Message Translation, v 26). This builds on God’s promise of revival earlier in chapter 37, where the valley of bones will come alive.

(IV) GOD WILL BE IN THE MIDST OF HIS PEOPLE
And because of what God has done, God’s dwelling place will be among them. The term used here “mishkan” for “dwelling place was associated with the wilderness tent, which housed the ark of the covenant, and was associated with the divine presence animating and guiding God’s people in their journey through history. This promise that a sanctuary will be established among them will very important, and in later chapters of Eze 40-48 will be detailed further.
God says: “They will be my people and I will be their God”.
What did these promises mean to the Israelites?

A great deal, as these are echoes of ancient biblical promises, God is honouring the four aspects of ruler, land, covenant and temple [8] that come from ancient promises made to Israel. From Genesis (9:16, 17:7, 13, 19), the promises of land, peoplehood, divine presence are all bound in together, everything is connected. The possession of the land is bound out with the need to honour God’s covenant. The presence of God is mediated through the temple and the acts of worship carried out in it. [9]
What do these promises mean to us today?
 

God says: WE will be HIS people, and HE will be OUR God.
(a) What does it mean to you that one day we will all, whether Jew, Catholic, Christian, whatever denomination we are in, will be one people under the same King? The ecumenical movement [10] has its biblical basis in the united of Israel acted out and proclaimed here by Ezekiel. Ecumenical movement means efforts to work together with other Christian churches or denominations, with their goal as Christian unity.
For example, in Singapore, there is the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS). NCSS says it is founded “as an association of Churches and other Christian organizations, each believing that it is Christ’s will that His Body, the Church, should again be visibly one, and each desiring to work towards this end “.

Are we moved and awed and excited by this prospect of working with fellow Christians and the prospect of Christian unity? Or are we in fact quite happy to be in our own little denomination, our own little enclave and fraction, to the extent that it makes us comfortable to think of “WE” instead of “us” and “them”?

(b) What does it mean to you that all of us are God’s subjects?
Everyone’s looking for a hero- or rather, everyone’s looking for a good ruler, they think this will solve the problems of their countries. In British mythology, there is the legend of King Arthur, the British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. In Chinese history, there are also larger-than-life stories of great Emperors.

In this passage, the word Ezekiel is “nasi” which is Prince rather than “melek” which is King. This is to emphasise the different role played by the future Davidic ruler. The phrase “my servant David” gives us a clue that the tone is different from the “king” that rules, but that this ruler does it in service. From the shepherd boy David to the Great Shepherd Jesus taking care of us, the ruler is a servant (see the Servant Songs in Isa 42:1-4). Christ, the suffering servant is this Davidic ruler, Israel's King of old.

I return to the myth of King Arthur. It is said inscribed upon the tomb of King Arthur are the words: "Here Arthur lies, king once and king to be." Elsewhere in legend it is supposed that Arthur will return in the hour of Britain's greatest need to save her once again from her enemies. The famous phrase is “ The once and future King” ; with apologies to the write who wrote a book with that title, the REAL “once and future king” is the Lord Jesus Christ. He has walked the earth as a man, and He will come again in glory one day to take His rightful place.

(c) What does it mean to us that this “once and future king” [11] will dwell among us? Verse 27 is sometimes translated (by the targum) as “ I will make my shekinah dwell among them”, which is in line with Jewish leader using the word “ shekinah” as meaning God’s divine presence/ immanence. John uses the same symbolism when he speaks of the Word becoming flesh and “tented” or “dwelling” among us; meaning that for us, God’s divine immanence or shekinah is now located in Jesus Christ.

Conclusion
I started with the idea of a happy ending for Israel. Unfortunately for them, as for us, this is eschatological, meaning that it will only take place at the end times. Ezekiel is proclaiming and acting out a goal which God will bring about in His own time and in His own way. The message is not one of concrete timelines and specific events or incidences, rather the message is one of HOPE, a reminder of God’s promises from the time of Genesis to Israel, which, through God’s grace, we all can partake.

The worship leader today mentioned that some things are not for our comprehension, but rather for our apprehension. The short few verses today prophesied by Ezekiel touch on all the crucial aspects of God’s promises to the Israelites, which in turn are His promises to us. Unity, ruler, covenant, His presence. Each of these could fill sermons by themselves. However today I invite you to open your hearts to God to respond in your own way.

It’s not simply that God loves you, God rules you, God has a covenant is presence with you. It is that God loves US, the people of God; God has a covenant with US, the body of Christ, and God’s presence with US.
What does all this meant to you? [ End]

1 http://www.preceptaustin.org/jehovah_shammah.htm#t. This was the third and final siege of Jerusalem by Babylon.

2 http://www.ccmanitowoc.org/Library/Guglielmo-Joe/Studies/TH/26-EZE/TH1204.HTM

3 http://www.studylight.org/com/mhc-com/view.cgi?book=eze&chapter=037 Matthew Henry’s commentary

4 There is some talk about the “missing tribes of Israel”- see references online largely fuelled by speculation and little concrete evidence.

5 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!- Psalms 133:1- a Psalm of David

6 Mother and son separated. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/07/berlin-wall-sigrid-paul

7 Matthew Henry commentary http://www.studylight.org/com/mhc-com/view.cgi?book=eze&chapter=037

8 Blenkinsopp, J. (1990) Ezekiel: An interpretation. A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Lousiville: John Knox Press. Pg 176

9 Ibid.

10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecumenism#The_Ecumenical_Movement

11 Taking the title of the well known book by T. H White. http://www.eachnewday.com/Sermons/Jesus_-_the_once_and_future_King.htm