THE PROPHECY’S MESSIANIC COVENANT
In v. 26 Ezekiel speaks of the “covenant of peace” (berit shalôm) that will be
established by Messiah and enforced by King David over Israel. This term is
appropriate to describe the restored conditions of the millennial age, because
the Hebrew word shalom (“peace”)
denotes a comprehensive peace (“security, welfare, health, prosperity,
harmony”). It is also called here an “everlasting covenant” (Ezk 16:60–63; cf.
Isa 55:3; 61:8; Jer 32:40).
As in Ezk 34:25–30 where the list of millennial blessings under the
new covenant is based on the terms of the Mosaic covenant (Lv 26:4–13), here
the promise of peace for the land and the perpetuity of provision is drawn from
Lv 26:4, 6. The term “everlasting covenant” (v. 26b) describes the nature of
God’s enduring promise and the inviolability of His commitment to Israel
demonstrated by the historic covenants of the past that have now been
fulfilled. The term “everlasting covenant” was used of the Noahic covenant (Gn
9:12–16), the Abrahamic covenant (Gn 17:7, 13, 19; 1Chr 16:17; Ps 105:10), and
the Davidic covenant (2Sm 23:5; cf. Ps 89:34–37; Jer 33:21, 26), and the
Sabbath and priestly service (Ex 31:16; Lv 24:8; Nm 18:19; cf. Jer 33:17–26).
In keeping with the focus on David, Isa 55:3 speaks of the “everlasting
covenant” made with Israel on the basis of God’s “promises assured to David”
(Hb. hasdei David hane’emanim), that
is, the unconditional Davidic covenant (Ps 89:24, 28, 49).
The “covenant of peace” is a synonym for the new covenant and
describes its function of making and maintaining universal peace for Israel and
also for the nations (Zch 9:10), as the Noahic covenant had demonstrated God’s
universal commitment to never again destroy the earth by flooding (Isa 54:9).
The advent of the Messianic King was predicted to bring an unending reign of
peace, for He is the “Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6–7; cf. Mic 5:5; Nah 1:15; Lk
1:79), and peace characterizes His government (Jer 33:9; Isa 52:7; 55:12;
60:17; 66:12; cf. Rm 14:17). Elsewhere the covenant of peace is described in
terms of the cessation of war and of military disarmament (Isa 2:4), of
exceptional agricultural prosperity of the land (Zch 8:12), and of the building
of the Messianic Temple (Hag 2:9; Zch 6:13).
By contrast, the first messianic advent was not to be a time of peace
(Mt 10:34; Lk 12:51), and especially not for Jerusalem (Lk 19:42), which will
be the center of peace in the millennial kingdom (Isa 2:2–4; Jer 3:17). The
promise of the Divine Presence among His people (vv. 27–28) is often associated
with the covenant formula (Ex 29:45–46), and its use here expresses final
fulfillment in which Yahweh will never again abandon His people (cf. Jesus’
parting promise to His disciples, Mt 28:20).
Exodus 25:8 had declared that the original purpose of the sanctuary
was to make possible the presence of the holy God in the midst of unholy
Israel. Through the ceremonial service, Israel was kept in a state of ritual
purification sufficient to enable it to serve the Lord as a “holy nation” and a
“kingdom of priests” (Ex 19:6). The return of the Lord to the Tabernacle at the
foot of Mount Sinai reversed the long absence of the Creator from His creation
that had resulted from the intrusion of human sin in the garden of Eden (Gn
3:8–19). As a result, God had exiled man from His presence and prevented his
return to the garden by stationing cherubim at the entrance of Eden (Gn
3:22–24). Once constructed, the earthly sanctuary with its ark of the covenant
topped by cherubim allowed God’s presence to return to Israel and to make
possible its establishment as a nation governed by a theocracy.
Since the desecration of the First Temple and the departure of God’s
presence, Israel has experienced exile either in part or in whole. The capstone
of the millennial kingdom and of its new covenant is the promise of the
erection of the Restoration Temple in which God’s presence returns to never
depart. Verses 26–28 provide the template upon which the grand design of the
Millennial Temple are detailed in chaps. 40–48. Here God takes the initiative
in building the Temple: “I will set
My sanctuary among them” (v. 26d), which is one of the expected tasks of King
Messiah (Zch 6:12–15). Verse 27 explains that the specific place of God’s
dwelling will be over His people (the
Hebrew preposition ‘al is “over,”
“upon,” rather than “with” as in some translations). In the past, the Shekinah
Glory appeared over Israel in the wilderness as a cloud by day (to provide
shelter from the sun) and a pillar of fire by night (to provide illumination)
and to communicate divine revelation (Ex 13:21–22; 16:10; 40:34–38). Isaiah
4:5–6 reveals that in the future the Shekinah Glory will exist as a canopy over
the millennial Jerusalem, and Rev 21:10 describes the descent of the New
Jerusalem (apparently to remain suspended over the millennial Jerusalem), in
which God’s glory is manifest (vv. 22–23), illuminating the earthly sanctuary
into which the nations will bring their tribute (vv. 24–26; cf. Isa 66:18–20;
Zch 14:16–19).
The conclusion of this section of restoration (Ezk 37:28) reminds us
again of God’s purpose to sanctify His Name among the nations. However, here
the fulfillment of this purpose is connected to the sanctification of Israel
that is accomplished through the establishment of the Millennial Temple. Once
Israel is finally functioning as a priestly nation at the Temple, the nations
will come to Jerusalem to learn God’s Word and ways from the Jewish people (Isa
2:2–3).
As a result of this messianic covenant the Gentile nations will
recognize that Israel’s God is the only true God (because He has restored and
reunified the nation, revived Davidic rule under the Messiah, and has returned
His Presence to the midst of Israel at the Messianic Temple (v. 28). The
millennial kingdom’s “covenant of peace” stands in bold relief to the
conditions of the tribulation that precede it, for it is a time in which peace
is taken from the earth (Rev 6:4), and only a pseudo-peace appears for Israel
during the first half of this period (1Th 5:3). For Ezekiel’s exilic audience
it also marks a dramatic contrast to the conditions of deceptive peace of false
prophets (Jer 6:14; 8:11) and siege by the foreign nations (Jer 8:15; 12:12;
14:19; 16:5; 30:5; Lam 3:17). (J. Randall Price, “Ezekiel 37:15-28:
The Restoration of Israel Under the One Shepherd,” in The Moody Handbook of
Messianic Prophecy: Studies and Expositions of the Messiah in the Old Testament,
ed. Michael Rydelnik and Edwin Blum [Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2019], 1109-11)
