Ezekiel used objects to symbolize unity. God told him to take two sticks, one for Israel and the other for Judah, and to join them to show that God would reunite the two kingdoms (Ezekiel 37:15-19). Then God used Old Testament features—David, the Holy Land, the tabernacle or sanctuary—to picture the coming peace under “one king … one shepherd.”
Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to 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, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. … My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in My rules and be careful to obey My statutes. … (Ezekiel 37:21-22, 24).
“I will make them one nation.”
This passage’s initial application was to the Jews who returned from Babylonian exile. But the complete fulfillment was in the coming Christ. Most notably, after the return from Babylonian exile, there were no more Israelite kings, a fact that God predicted. Concerning David’s family line, God decreed that no descendant of King Jeconiah (Coniah) would reign on David’s throne in Judah (Jeremiah 22:28-30). Jesus was a descendant of Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11-12). So, Scripture makes plain that the picture of Jesus reigning on David’s throne is not to be taken literally. He does not sit on a physical throne located in earthly Judah.
Rather, Jesus stated, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). When Peter spoke of David’s throne, he did not treat it as a literal seat of ivory and gold in a physical capital. Instead, David’s throne represented kingly authority, given by God, to rule over His people. Peter showed that Jesus ascended to His Father’s side (Acts 2:33-34). Jesus’ throne is the highest possible—God’s throne in heaven (Hebrews 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; Revelation:1).
Why is it important to distinguish between the earthly and the heavenly, between the physical and the spiritual? Because understanding the King’s rule also helps us to understand His unity.