Глава 37

Ezek.37:1. And the hand of the Lord be upon me, “Hand” the Prophet again calls God’s effectiveness. and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me in the midst of the field: Also spiritual contemplation, because the Prophet did not see what was shown with his bodily eyes, but received the revelation of the All-Holy Spirit. It's full of human bones, Ezek.37:2. and lead me round about them, and behold, many fell upon the faces of the field. The prophet accepts revelations that suit the circumstances. Since those taken into captivity from Judea, due to the unbelief they suffered, have lost good hopes, the God of all shows them His power and allows the Prophet to see the resurrection of dead bodies, which is much more difficult than the return of the Jews to their fatherland, and thereby teaches the whole people that whatever they desire is convenient for Him. Therefore, as God taught the Jews and other Israelites, it is very easy for Him, when He wants, to return the captives to their former freedom; Thus, it shows us and everyone in general who has accepted the gospel preaching with faith that the resurrection of our bodies is convenient for Him, and the nature of every thing will follow the word and the beck of God. Ezek.37:3. And he said to me: Son of man, will these bones live? And he said: Lord God, You weigh this. The Prophet did not doubt, but left the most accurate knowledge to God. Although he knew exactly the power of God, he did not know God’s will. Ezek.37:4–6. And he said to me: The prophets are upon these bones, O son of man, and you said to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord: Behold, Adonai the Lord says in this bone: Behold, I will bring the spirit of life into you, and I will put sinews on you, and I will bring flesh on you, and I will spread skin over you, and I will put My spirit in you, and you will live and know that I am the Lord. God uses the Prophet as a minister and a kind of instrument of the resurrection accomplished in the vision, and with his tongue he commands these inanimate and, more simply put, dead bones to produce flesh, veins, skin, and to take into themselves the vital spirit. And this became a prototype not only of the return of the Jews from captivity, but also of the general resurrection of all. “The trumpet will sound,” says the divine Apostle, “and the dead will rise incorruptible” (1 Cor. 15:52). Ezek.37:7. And he prophesied, as the Lord commanded me, and there came a voice to prophesy at times, and behold, I was a coward, and I copulated bones, bone to bone, each one to its own composition. And the Prophet, serving God’s command, uttered the words that were commanded to be spoken, and the words were followed by deeds. And just as “coward” meant the coming of God, so “voice” means the activity of Angels serving God’s will. And I saw, says the Prophet, that the bones move, perceive their inherent harmony, and are put together in the same form as they were in the beginning. Ezek.37:8. And I saw, and behold, they had veins, and the flesh stretched, and climbed on them, and the skin stretched out on top of them, but there was no spirit in them. The order of the first creation is followed by a new re-creation. Just as the body of the forefather Adam was first created, and then the soul was blown into it, so here both came into harmony, flesh and veins grew and became covered with skin, but all this was something lifeless and motionless; by the will of God he receives life and feelings again. Ezek.37:9. And he said to me: the prophets of the soul, the prophets of the son of man, and the prophets of the spirit: this says Adonai the Lord: the soul came from the four winds, and breathed on these dead, and let them live. This word teaches us that everything is easy for God's power, and everything is in the hand of God. For it is said: “In His hand is the soul of all who live” (Job 12:10). Therefore, God commands the Prophet to command souls, wherever they may be, to return and inhabit their bodies. Ezek.37:10. And he prophesied as he commanded me, and the spirit came into her, and she came to life, and stood on her feet, the cathedral was very strong. As soon as, says the Prophet, I conveyed God’s command, the formed bodies were revived and resurrected, and there were a great many resurrected. Thus, after seeing a revelation, the Prophet learns its interpretation. Ezek.37:11. And the Lord spoke to me, saying: Son of man, these bones are the house of Israel, for they say: our bones are dry, our hope is lost, we are slain. This, the Prophet, serves as an image of Israel, and although they themselves fell into despair, this image shows them that there is hope for them to receive good things. Ezek.37:12. For this reason the prophets, son of man, spoke to them: This says the Lord Adonai: Behold, I will open your graves, O My people, and will bring you out from your graves, and will bring you into the land of Israel. Ezek.37:13. And you will know that I am the Lord, that I will always open your graves, and that I will raise you up from your graves, O My people: and I will put My spirit in you, and you will live, Ezek.37:14. And I will establish you in your land, and you will know that I am the Lord: I will say, and I will do, says Adonai the Lord. If, says God, what seems much more difficult to you is accomplished by Me, as I have shown, very convenient; I will do this without difficulty and with great convenience, and, as if from some graves, having delivered you from the bonds of captivity, I will return you to your own fatherland. For lies are alien to truth. Thus, promising a return, he predicts the agreement of the tribes upon return. Ezek.37:15. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Ezek.37:16–17. Son of man, take for yourself one rod, and write on it Judah, and the children of Israel who are attached to him: and take the second rod for yourself, and write on it Joseph, the rod of Ephraim, and all the children of Israel who are attached to them. And I have joined each other to myself, in one rod, I will bind the hedgehog, and they will be together in your hand. Under Rehoboam, the tribes divided, and the ten tribes, having established a kingdom in Samaria, one of the cities of Ephraim, governed themselves, and the tribe of Judah governed itself and the tribe of Benjamin. But upon their return, everyone lived under the same rule. Therefore, God commanded the Prophet to take two rods and on one write the name of Ephraim and add the tribes subject to him, and on the other - the name of Judah and those who agreed with him, then join the rods one with the other, because the division has finally ceased and unity will follow. Then God commands the Prophet to tell the people who ask and want to know this clearly the interpretation Ezek.37:19. Behold, I will understand the tribe of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel that are adjacent to it, and I will give them to the tribe of Judah, and they will be one rod in the hand of Judah. that is, I will force those who anciently split off from the kingdom of Judah to again recognize its power over themselves, and I will stop the division that has occurred, and I will make all the tribes unanimously obey Judah. And he states the same thing even more clearly. Ezek.37:21–22. Behold, I will eat the whole house of Israel from the midst of the tongues, even if they have come down there, and I will gather them into the land of Israel, and I will give them to the tongue of my land, and in the mountains of Israel, and one prince will be king in all of them. This came to fulfillment figuratively under Zerubbabel, but precisely and in reality under the Lord Christ: because Zerubbabel was not a king, but only a ruler of the people and a military leader. And no one will be divided into two tongues, nor will anyone be divided into two kings. Ezek.37:23–24. Let no one be defiled in his idols, and in his abominations, and in all his wickedness: and I will deliver from all their iniquities, through which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them, and they will make Me a people, and I will be their God. And My servant David will be a prince among them, and there will be one shepherd of all. In agreement with this is what was said by the Lord Christ in the Holy Gospel: “And there are other sheep that are not of this fold: you too must be brought to Me, and they will hear My voice: and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). God calls the Lord Christ “David,” as he came from David in the flesh, and “slave” in human nature, for in “the form of God, the form of a servant” he received (Phil. 2:6,7). Therefore, in order to show the assumed nature, He called him a slave, that is, from a slave nature He was born according to the flesh. For the only begotten servant is not the Lord of all, and is not called David as God, but as having descended from David he is called David, but a slave by perception. If God, the Word, who became man, received this nature from the servant, he did not put aside what He is, but glorified our nature by unity with the Divine nature. Therefore, the prophetic word teaches how wickedness and idolatry will fade away, the division of kingdoms will end, and everyone, living under one rule, shepherded by one shepherd, will come to know their God and Master. And they will walk in My commandments, and they will keep My judgments, and I will do Ezek.37:25. And they shall dwell in the land which I will give to My servant Jacob, and their fathers dwelt therein, and they, and their sons, and their sons' sons, will dwell in it forever: and David My servant shall be their prince forever. Let the Jews say, who is this eternal king of theirs, called David? For they themselves will agree that such names are not in the least befitting of Zerubbabel; firstly, because Zerubbabel did not reign, but was a ruler of the people, and because then this reign itself ended with his death. If they take this eternal David for the line of David, then let them show the reigning line of David. If, in addition to the reign, the very family of David is unknown, then in the present case it is necessary to accept one of two things: either to recognize the prophecy as false, or to worship the kingdom of the Lord Christ, who is in the flesh from David. And the Jews themselves will agree that the prophecy is not false. If, however, it is not false, as indeed it is not false, and we do not see another kingdom of Judah, and the very line of David is not obvious and unknown, but holds power as the Son of God descended from David in the flesh, the Son of God in Divinity, and has an eternal power, then both the foolishness and unbelief of the Jews, and our knowledge of God, are clear and obvious. For what was said is confirmed by the following words. God says: Ezek.37:26. And I will establish with them a covenant of peace, and a covenant that will be everlasting with them. Therefore, let them show us either the covenant is peaceful or the covenant is eternal, but they do not have these covenants, they have lost both, and the Lord gave us both covenants. For He promised us eternal blessings, and granted us reconciliation with Him; “For this is our peace,” says the divine Apostle (Eph. 2:14); and again: “There is only one mediator, the God-man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself redemption for all” (1 Tim. 2:5, 6). And for this the following is again in agreement with what was said: Ezek.37:27. And I will place My holy thing in the midst of them forever, and My dwelling will be in them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. But both the church and the Old Testament holy place were empty; How did He promise to place His holy “in the midst of them forever, and His dwelling in them”? Therefore, not seeing the fulfillment of this according to the understanding of the Jews and knowing the true meaning of spiritual sayings, let us understand this in accordance with what was interpreted above. For we have evidence of the works themselves that agrees with this. Not only the holy houses of God, but also the altars of God are given to all people who believe, not only from the pagans, but from the Jews, and One and the same is called the God of both. “For he,” it is said, “is the Lord of all, rich in all who call on Him” (Rom. 10:12). Accordingly, God added: Ezek.37:28. And the pagans will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies, and My holy one will always be among them forever. For indeed, from those who believed among the Jews and the pagans received the light of the knowledge of God; Among the Jews were the divine Apostles and the first apostolic disciples, and from the prophetic books kept by the Jews, the pagans, who gained knowledge of our Savior Christ, believed in the divine preaching. That is why the divine Apostle said that those who believed among the Gentiles were attached to the pious root of the Jews, and those who did not believe among the Jews rejected and separated from this root (Rom. 11:16-21). Therefore, God says, when salvation is granted to the first Jews, “the Gentiles will lead you away that I am the Lord who sanctifies,” because from the Jews Christ is Ruler according to the flesh; among the Jews the cross, the tomb, the resurrection; from the Jews the Apostles and the first preachers. Therefore, it is fair that the pagans receive salvation through the Jews.