Beauty and Bands--Harmonizing Ezekiel 37 and Zechariah 11
Ezekiel 37 is a look at Natural Israel’s existence during the entire Gospel Age. The valley of Dry Bones depicts the nation cast off from favor in A.D. 33 and in a dry and desolate condition, like the “rich man” who begging for a drop of water (blessing), until they are brought back again into favor with God. This condition befell Jacob (Israel) when they refused to acknowledge Messiah had come and hence by figure of the fig tree was cast off and left desolate. The Prophet Zechariah describes Israel as “prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water” Zech. 9:11.
Israel was warned over and over that there would come a time when they would long again for the favor God once showed them. Leviticus chapter 26 shows the penalty for disobedience, by giving their entire history before they even entered the Promised Land up to the New Covenant being made with them, yet future. The Prophet Jeremiah (16:18) talks about the “double,” a period of time. The first of their favor and the second portion their disfavor, which then ends again with them coming back into favor. The Prophet Isaiah (40:2) speaks of the same period. The Lord himself tells us of the “fig tree putting forth leaves.” The Apostle Paul makes known their restoration in Romans 11:12.
The “two sticks” in Ezekiel 37 and the “two staves”, “Beauty and Bands” (Favor and Union NIV) are connected. The “Valley of Dry bones”( Ezek 37) describes the incident with the two staves in Zechariah is a cast off condition, but just as the bones came together and the breath of life was breathed into the bodies, the two sticks that are joined together at the end of the chapter show the restoration of Israel.
“The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” (Eze 37:15-28)
“And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.”(Zec 11:7-14)
What do these two passages have in common?
Israel was warned over and over that there would come a time when they would long again for the favor God once showed them. Leviticus chapter 26 shows the penalty for disobedience, by giving their entire history before they even entered the Promised Land up to the New Covenant being made with them, yet future. The Prophet Jeremiah (16:18) talks about the “double,” a period of time. The first of their favor and the second portion their disfavor, which then ends again with them coming back into favor. The Prophet Isaiah (40:2) speaks of the same period. The Lord himself tells us of the “fig tree putting forth leaves.” The Apostle Paul makes known their restoration in Romans 11:12.
The “two sticks” in Ezekiel 37 and the “two staves”, “Beauty and Bands” (Favor and Union NIV) are connected. The “Valley of Dry bones”( Ezek 37) describes the incident with the two staves in Zechariah is a cast off condition, but just as the bones came together and the breath of life was breathed into the bodies, the two sticks that are joined together at the end of the chapter show the restoration of Israel.
“The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” (Eze 37:15-28)
“And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.”(Zec 11:7-14)
What do these two passages have in common?
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Ezekiel 37: 1- 14 (Dry Bones)
Valley full of dry bones Bones will live again Bones joining together, flesh came upon them Bring again to land of Israel Know the Lord |
Zechariah 11: 7-14 (Beauty and Bands)
2 staves 1 stave Beauty (Favor) 1 stave Bands (Union) Beauty broken (AD 33—cast off) Covenant broken Bands broken (AD 69-70 Diaspora) Brotherhood between Judah and Israel New Covenant made with Israel Third Temple built Ezekiel 37: 15-28 (Two sticks) 2 sticks 1 stick Joseph 1 stick Ephraim Sticks are joined together Tribes of Israel become one Israel regathered to their land One King—David ( Messiah the branch of David) |
When we look at these prophecies side by side we can see how they fit together. The “Dry Bones” is from Israel’s perspective, they are dry, dead and scattered, with absolutely no hope, but God promised to bring them back together and give them life with breath from the four winds which are yet future. So the condition we see Israel in now is bone, sinew and flesh and covered with skin, but life is still wanting.
When we look at the two sticks and Beauty and Bands, this is how God views the matter and what He has done to them and what He will yet do for them.
“Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.” (Isa 28:9-13)
Isaiah show us that we are build upon God’s word: precept must be upon precept, that His promises, His laws, His doctrine; everything we need that “the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:17),” is given to us in His Word. But we are also told that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). The reason we have to diligently seek Him is because His messages especially prophetic messages are scattered throughout the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, and it is our job to put the pieces of the puzzle together that are scattered “here a little and there a little”.
To those who do not follow these guidelines we are foolish, drunkards who stutter and stammer, but they are the ones who will be broken, snared and taken.
Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
(1Th 5:19-21)
When we look at the two sticks and Beauty and Bands, this is how God views the matter and what He has done to them and what He will yet do for them.
“Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.” (Isa 28:9-13)
Isaiah show us that we are build upon God’s word: precept must be upon precept, that His promises, His laws, His doctrine; everything we need that “the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:17),” is given to us in His Word. But we are also told that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). The reason we have to diligently seek Him is because His messages especially prophetic messages are scattered throughout the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, and it is our job to put the pieces of the puzzle together that are scattered “here a little and there a little”.
To those who do not follow these guidelines we are foolish, drunkards who stutter and stammer, but they are the ones who will be broken, snared and taken.
Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
(1Th 5:19-21)
