In Ezekiel 37, Ezekiel was told to take two sticks of wood and to write on one of them the name Judah and on the other the name of Ephraim and Joseph. Ezekiel was then instructed to hold them together as one stick (Ezekiel 37:15-17). After the death of King Solomon, Israel split in 931 B.C. The Southern Kingdom was known as Judah because Judah was its larger tribe and because the country was ruled by a king of that tribe. The Northern Kingdom was called “Israel” or sometimes Ephraim (Hosea 5:3, 5, 11-14) either because Ephraim was the strongest and most influential tribe or because the first king of Israel was an Ephraimite (Jeroboam, 1 Kings 11:26). Israel was taken into Assyrian captivity in 722 B.C. while Judah was taken into Babylonian exile in 605, 597, and 586 B.C.

 

In verse 18, Ezekiel’s audience asks what is meant by the combining of the two sticks. The Lord then instructs him to say:

 

“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.” (Ezekiel 37:19 KJV)

 

"say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.” (Ezekiel 37:19 NASB)

 

The Lord said He would combine the two parts of Israel into one nation as they had previously been under Saul, David, and Solomon (cf. Isaiah 11:12-13; Jeremiah 3:18; Hosea 1:11). Thus, the two stick prophecy is a picture of the national restoration of Israel (Ezekiel 37:21-22). This also refutes the Mormon position on Ezekiel 37:15-17 which states that Judah is the Bible and Joseph is the Book of Mormon. 

 

“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.” Ezekiel 37:21-22 KJV

 

Has this prophecy been fulfilled?

 

Some believe this prophecy has already been fulfilled in 1948 when Israel became a nation. However, the remainder of Ezekiel’s statements concerning this prophecy refutes this idea. 

 

“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 dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 37:23 KJV

 

This verse states that the Jews would no longer defile themselves with idols, other detestable things, or transgressions of the Lord’s (Mosaic) covenant. The Lord promised to deliver them from the many places where they had gone and sinned and to cleanse them (cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34). Then they would enter into a proper relationship with Him. In the present State of Israel only about 5 percent of the population is actively "religious," and Jesus Christ is more firmly rejected there than almost anywhere else. So this passage indicates that the creation of a national Israel in 1948 is not the fulfillment of this passage. 

 

“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.” (Ezekiel 37:24-25 KJV)

 

And My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever." (Ezekiel 37:24-25 NASB)

 

God’s servant David, who is representative of Jesus in this passage, would rule over the Jews and be their king (Ezekiel 34:24; 2 Samuel 7:13; 2 Samuel 7:16; Jeremiah 30:9; Hosea 3:5). They would have only one king who would shepherd them so that they would follow the Lord faithfully (cf. Exodus 19:5-6; Leviticus 26:12; Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 14:2; Deuteronomy 14:21; Deuteronomy 26:18-19; Deuteronomy 27:9; Jeremiah 30:22; Jeremiah 31:33; Jeremiah 32:38). They would live in the Promised Land forever, and the Lord’s servant David would be their appointed ruler forever. In view of God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13, this must refer to the Son of David, Messiah. In sum, Israel will enjoy three new realities: a new commitment to Yahweh’s will (Ezekiel 37:24 b), occupation of her hereditary homeland forever (Ezekiel 37:25 a), and the rule of David forever (Ezekiel 37:25 b). All three of these realities haven’t been fulfilled, meaning Ezekiel’s two stick prophecy awaits future fulfillment in the Millennium.