Verses 1-13. - The announcement of Cog's expedition against Israel. Verse 1. - The word of the Lord came unto me. Although this oracle is unaccompanied by any note of time, it was obviously delivered before the twenty-fifth year of the Captivity (Ezekiel 40:1), and most likely in immediate succession to the preceding prophecy, with which also it has a close relation in respect of purport, being designed to show that against restored and united Israel, i.e. against the Church of God of the future, the strongest combinations of hostile force would not prevail, but would fall back defeated and self-destroyed.

38:1-13 These events will be in the latter days. It is supposed these enemies will come together to invade the land of Judea, and God will defeat them. God not only sees who are now the enemies of his church, but he foresees who will be so, and lets them know by his word that he is against them; though they join together, the wicked shall not be unpunished.And the word of the Lord came unto me,.... At the same time as the preceding prophecy did, as the copulative and shows; which predicts the restoration and conversion of the Jews; the union of their tribes under the King Messiah; and their settlement in their own land: and this respects some disturbance they should meet with upon it, for a short time, by a powerful enemy hereafter described:

saying; as follows: