20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore. ~ Ezekiel 37:20-28
The LORD commanded Ezekiel to combine three sticks into one stick: Judah, Israel, and Joseph. He was to do this before all the people so that they would know that one day they would no longer be separate nations and kingdoms, but one people. And the LORD would be their God and dwell with them.
Ezekiel was prophesying to Judah. The only people to have claimed the seed of Jesse as their king during the split of the nation in the reign of Rehoboam, whereas the rest of Israel declared they had no portion in David. No inheritance in the son of Jesse (1 Kings 12:16). The two nations were then split into Israel (The Northern Kingdom) and Judah (The Southern Kingdom). One was ruled by the son of Jesse, the other by another lineage. One was brought back into the Promised Land in the first year of King Cyrus, King of Persia; the other is still dispersed to this day.
Now, think about what God prophesied through Ezekiel: Judah, Israel, and Joseph would one day be reunited as one. No more division. No more separation. But one nation. One people. One God. One King. David (The Messiah, the Son of Jesse, Jesus The Christ). This prophecy wasn’t for that generation of men and women hearing him speak with their own ears and seeing him combine them with their own eyes. Now, the prophecy was and is for a generation to come. For the last generation of the Church. I believe it is for the Church today. I believe it is for us.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.”
Revelation 21:3
There is so much to look forward to. So many good promises of God that we have yet to see. One day, all will be fulfilled, and this life will be like a blink compared to eternity. Therefore, don’t let this world discourage you. Be encouraged in the promises of God. Look forward to your eternal home and keep your eyes on Him.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Joined Together.