Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus
saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief
prince of Meshech and Tubal; And I will turn thee back, and leave
but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the
north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: And I
will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows
to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains
of Israel, thou and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee:
I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the
beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open
field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. And I will send a
fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles;
and they shall know that I am the Lord. So will I make my holy name
known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not _let them_
pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I
_am_ the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is come, and it is
done, saith the Lord God; this _is_ the day whereof I have spoken.
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and
shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the
bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the
spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years; so that they
shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down _any_ out of
the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire; and they
shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them,
saith the Lord God (verses 1-10).
Jehovah announces now their complete judgment and destruction. The
invading hordes are permitted to come upon the mountains of Israel, and
like the Assyrian of old, "Shake his hand against the mount of the
daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem" (Is. x:32). Then the Lord will
act in behalf of His people. Let us remember that the Lord is then with
His people. His glory is with them and they have found rest and dwell in
peace. The blinding power of Satan, who uses Gog and his companions in a
final effort to dispute the authority of the King of Kings, is
demonstrated by these nations, who, led by the Prince of Rosh (Russia)
invade the land. The nations and their kings forming the Western
Confederacy were equally blinded when, previously to this final attempt,
they made war against the Lord (Rev. xix:19). Jehovah speaks His "I
will;" it is the sovereign "I will" in judgment. As He spoke to His
people Israel the "I will" of sovereign grace (chapter xxxvi), so now He
speaks the word which seals the doom of Israel's last enemy. "And I will
turn thee back and lead thee on[34] and will cause thee to come up from
the sides of the north, and will bring thee upon the mountains of
Israel." There the invaders are to be smitten. Upon the mountains where
the Lord led them and permitted them to come, the hordes shall fall and
their carcasses will be given to the ravenous beasts and to the beasts
of the field. And those who helped Gog in the wicked endeavor, who dwell
securely in the isles, who probably assisted them with ships and in
other ways, will also be judged. Fire will be sent upon Magog. It will
be a sweeping judgment. As a result of what takes place will be the
vindication of His holy Name and both Israel and the nations of the
earth shall know Him in that day. "And my holy name will I make known in
the midst of my people Israel; neither will I suffer my holy name to be
profaned any more; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the
Holy One in Israel." And what an assuring statement is added: "Behold,
it cometh, it shall be done, saith the Lord God; this is the day
whereof I have spoken."
[34] This is the more satisfactory rendering. The marginal reading,
"Strike thee with six plagues" or "draw thee back with a hook of six
teeth" is incorrect.
The weapons the invading hordes left behind will be used for firewood by
Israel for seven years. It seems the invaders carried mostly wooden
instruments. Perhaps the preceding wars exhausted the metals so that
they had to resort to weapons made of wood. Israel shall then spoil
those that spoiled them and rob those that robbed them.