Compassion = 1; Competition = 2

“The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: for Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions. Then take another stick and write on it, for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions. Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.’” [1]

My wife asked me as she read this passage, “Could it be that the two sticks were put together in a crisscross manner so that they formed a cross?” I believe that the Lord would have led Ezekiel by His Spirit to do just that because He said that all Scripture points to Jesus Christ. It is in the cross of Christ that two become one.

“Then say to them, thus says the Lord God: surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one King shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.” [2]

Compassion = one. Competition = two. The Lord brought His people to repentance of sin, and cleansed them from sinful appetites, and gave them an appetite for Him. He filled them by His Spirit with love for God and love for one another. Then, they became one people.

“David [Beloved] My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have One Shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” [3]

The bringing together of people with God and with one another in love is the work of David, whose name means beloved. The Beloved One of God in whom we all find acceptance and peace with God, is Jesus Christ God’s Son. He tabernacles – dwells – remains with those who receive Him. He is the One who sanctifies us and makes us one.

[1] Ezekiel 37:15-17
[2] Ezekiel 37:21-23
[3] Ezekiel 37:24-28