Captivity of Jacob are returned to their own land by the mercy of God and He is jealous for His Holy name

Ezekiel 39:25

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“Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name—” Ezekiel 39:25

As followers of Jesus Christ, to be brought back from captivity refers to being brought out of captivity to sin and being freed by believing in Jesus Christ. This is referred to as Christ leading captivity captive, which means to make our captivity to sin captive to Jesus Christ. “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says:“ When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” Ephesians 4:7-8

When I walked into a humane society, I saw all the different cats and dogs held in captivity and waiting for adoption, or something worse. When an animal is adopted, it’s captivity is led captive. The animal goes from captivity of the cage to being a captive of the new owner that is driving it to a new home of freedom. The new owner is leading captivity captive as they ascend into their new home together. Many gifts are showered onto the new pet at that time. Jesus Christ has adopted us, led captivity captive, and showers us with gifts as He leads us to our new eternal home in the New Jerusalem.

The verse of Ezekiel 39:25 is in context to after the Day After the Battle of Armageddon, after the destruction of Israel, the destruction of the world government, its global culture and its military. We know there are no promises of mercy for the Jewish people in the New Testament, unless they acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Messiah, “See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Matthew 23:38-39

Explaining who Jacob is helps this whole verse come to life. Without Jacob, there would be no Israelites, none of the Twelve Tribes of Israel would have existed, and Jesus Christ would never have been born. Jesus is from the Tribe of Judah. The Twelve Tribes of Israel are named after the twelve sons of Jacob, they were the original twelve. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel as described in Genesis 32:24-28. One could call the twelve tribes the Twelve Tribes of Jacob, but since his name change, they are known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

There is something else very important about Jacob. He was the son of Isaac, and Isaac was the only blood-borne son of Abraham. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are part of the “scarlet cord” that points to Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world. Abraham represents God the Father, Isaac represents His only Son Jesus Christ, and Jacob represents the birth of Christianity. “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29 “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.” Romans 9:6-8

As described in the post on the resurrection of dry bones in Ezekiel 37, the whole house of Israel includes those who come to God through Jesus Christ to receive the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel 37:15-28 speaks specifically to that when speaking of the “two sticks” becoming one. The Apostle Paul also says, through the Holy Spirit, that the house of Israel is only one and includes those who belong to Christ, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.” …And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:16, 2

For God to be jealous for His Holy name is to embrace everyone who believes in His Son Jesus Christ. God is Holy and cannot act on sin in a favorable way, His wrath comes against sin. Sin is disbelief in God, rejection of Jesus Christ, and oppression of the Holy Spirit. When He sees Jesus Christ in us, He sees Holiness and righteousness, and we are accepted by God. This was the case with Abraham who believed God when he was told [at the age of 75] that he would be a great nation whose descendants would possess the land [Genesis 12:1-9]. Twenty-five years later, when Abraham was 100, his wife, Sarah, became pregnant at the age of 90 with their child Isaac, Genesis 21:5. This belief was counted to Abraham as righteousness. “For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Romans 4:3

The story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob begins in Genesis 21 and extends through Genesis 25 [birth of Jacob].

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11