Verses 1-29

Destruction of the armies of Gog (39:1-29)

Ezekiel repeats that God was the one who drew out the forces of Gog, his purpose being to destroy them (39:1-3). Their dead soldiers lie unburied in the fields, and their cities are in ashes (4-6). The terrible massacre helps people to see how frightening is the power of God when he acts in holy anger against evil (7-8).

So great were the armies of Gog in size, that their weapons provide firewood for the people of Israel for the next seven years (9-10). Collecting and burying the corpses takes seven months (11-13). When this task is finished, people search the land thoroughly to make sure that not even a bone of one of Gog's men remains in Israel. All trace of the forces of evil must be removed, so that the land is completely cleansed (14-16).

Returning to the picture of the unburied corpses, Ezekiel invites wild beasts and foul birds to come and feast on them. It will be a feast such as they have never had before (17-20). The destruction of Gog, like the captivity of Israel, shows to people everywhere that God is holy and just in dealing with sin (21-24). But whereas Gog is the power of evil, Israel is the people of God. Gog is destroyed, but Israel is restored. The people come back to their land, to live in close fellowship with Yahweh, their redeemer and saviour (25-29).