Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great [shall be] the day of Jezreel.
Ver. 11. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together] i.e. they shall unite into one body, and one religion, and shall all make one entire kingdom, Ezekiel 37:22; Ezekiel 37:24. Christ once lifted up, shall draw all things to himself, John 12:32 : and wherever this carcase is, there will the spiritual eagles be also, Matthew 24:28. Caiaphas, like another Balaam, prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation: and not for that nation only, but that also he "should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad," John 11:51,52. This is the gathering together here mentioned: Christ shall be one among his people, and his name one, Zechariah 14:9. See Trapp on " Zec 14:9 " They shall serve the Lord with one shoulder, Zephaniah 3:9. It seems to be a metaphor taken from oxen that are yoked together, and that set their shoulders jointly to the work. Surely, the more the gospel prevaileth, the more peace there will be. They shall be gathered together in that day. So when Christ shall be preached, and obedience yielded to his government, Isaiah 9:7, then shall there be a blessed harmony of hearts: then shall they fly in flocks to the ordinances, as the doves to their windows: then shall they come to the Lord's house upon "horses, and in chariots, and in litters," Isaiah 66:20 .
And appoint themselves one head] The Lord Christ, called David their King, Hosea 3:5. A multitude gathered under this one head, and united to him, is a Church. This head is indeed appointed, and set up over the Church by God, Psa 2:6 Ephesians 1:22. But the saints are said to appoint Christ their head, and, indeed, to set the crown upon his head, as Song of Solomon 3:11, when they choose him and embrace him for their sovereign, when with highest estimations, most vigorous affections, and utmost endeavours of unfeigned obedience, they set him up in their hearts, and serve him in their lives; giving him the preeminence, and holding all in capite in Christ: yea, holding of the head, as the apostle's expression is, Colossians 2:19, not of Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas. That popish buzzard was utterly out, who said that he had found in the dictionaries that Cephas signifieth a head, and that therefore Peter was head of the Church. For neither does Cephas signify a head, but a stone or rock; nor, if it did, would that prove what he allegeth it for. Judah and Israel shall appoint to themselves one head, not more than one. The Church is not bellua multorum capitum: neither is there any need of a ministerial head of the Church: indeed, there is a contradiction in the very mention of it (as one well observeth), - a ministerial head! it is absurd to speak it.
And they shall come up out of the land] i.e. they shall be gathered into the heavenly Jerusalem, saith Oecolampadius; they shall come up from their miserable life, saith Luther: from their earthly affections, saith Jerome. Rather, from Chaldea, or wherever they lie captivated and dispersed, to Jerusalem; there to join in the same way of worship (as once the 12 tribes did before the schism under Jeroboam) with the Christian Church, and so go on the way to the kingdom of heaven.
For great is the day of Jezreel] i.e. of Christ (saith Jerome), who is God's seed, and shall see his seed, and so prolong his days by a succession of saints, Isaiah 53:10, for whom God also will do great things in that day of his power, Psalms 100:3, when there shall be a marvellous increase of his Church, which he shall sow with the seed of men and of beasts, revealing his arm (another etymology of the word Jezreel) for the ingathering of his elect, Jer 31:37 Ezekiel 36:38. Sic, Octogesimus octavus mirabilis annus.