Ezekiel 38:7-9 meaning

Ezekiel 38:7-9 commands Gog to ready his assembled coalition and sets the timing of the invasion in the latter years, against Israel, a land restored from war whose people have been gathered from many nations and now live securely. In the prior section, God told Gog that it is He who is drawing the broad coalition to march on and assemble against Israel. Appropriately, God instructs Gog: "Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them" (v 7).

The LORD addresses Gog with a doubled command--be prepared, and prepare yourself--and assigns him the role of guard over the coalition assembled about him. Gog is the commander responsible for the readiness of the whole force. The irony is rich: the LORD orders the enemy to make himself ready for a campaign that will lead to the coalition's destruction. Gog prepares for conquest; the LORD prepares him for judgment. God now sets the timing for Gog's assault on the regathered Israel: "After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them" (v 8).

The timing is given two descriptions: after many days and in the latter years (v 8). This invasion belongs to a distant time, not to Ezekiel's own generation or the near return of Judah's exiles from Babylon, which will take place in roughly seventy years from the time of exile.

The land into which God will lead this invasion is a land that has been restored from the sword--meaning recovered from war. Its inhabitants have been gathered from many nations (v 8), the same gathering announced at Ezekiel 37:21, where the LORD said He would bring the sons of Israel into their own land. They are settled on the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste (v 8). This predicts that Israel will sink into a state of decay then be restored. The phrase mountains of Israel describes the central rib of Israel, the heart of the land.

Ezekiel 36:1-11 promised this highland territory would be rebuilt. The security that closes the verse is the condition the covenant of peace produced in the previous chapter. Gog comes against a people whose safety the LORD has personally guaranteed.

The Jewish people restored to the land of Israel will have been brought out from the nations (v 8). This means the Jewish people will be gathered from Gentile nations across the world. The inference is that they will be scattered far beyond Babylon, beyond the immediate context of this prophecy of Judah's exile to Babylon in 586 BC.

Jeremiah's ministry overlapped that of Ezekiel, and he prophesied that the Jews would return from Babylon after seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11-12). But as we saw in Ezekiel 37, the prophecy of a restored and united nation applies to all Israel, not just the tribe of Judah. This indicates that the latter years being referred to are the last days of human history. This is also confirmed in Ezekiel 38:16, which speaks of this time as the "last days." At the time of Gog's attack, the Jews are at peace: they are living securely, all of them (v 8), within their borders. God speaks to Gog and tells him what his invasion will look like: "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" (v 9).

The advance is pictured as like a storm front. Gog will come like a storm and like a cloud covering the land (v 9)--an overwhelming, blanketing force that darkens the whole country as it moves. The same cloud image runs through the prophets for an invading army (Joel 2:2). The size of the force is restated: you and all your troops, and many peoples with you (v 9). The coalition sweeps in like a front of bad weather rolling over a settled land.

That Israel is dwelling securely and this vast force has been assembled against it implies that somehow Israel has gained great strength and great importance. Something has taken place that causes the powers of the world to array a vast army to descend on Israel. And this is God's work, as He will use this aggression to destroy the might of these nations. A later commentary will discuss a possible scenario for what this could mean in days to come.