They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it from the forests, for they will use the weapons for fuel. They will loot those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord GOD.
God speaks of this victory as already done, though the fulfillment lies ahead, because it is as certain as if accomplished. The routed army leaves behind such mountains of weapons that Israel will burn them for fuel seven years instead of cutting wood from the forests, turning the instruments of war into the ordinary means of warming their homes.
AI summary
Commenting on Ezekiel 39:8-22
So that they shall take no wood out of the field,.... During that seven years; or they shall have no need to do so, as the Syriac version; having a sufficiency of armour: neither cut down any out of the forest: out of the forest of Lebanon, or any other, where they used to fetch wood for their necessary uses; but so great a quantity...
The weapons themselves become fuel for seven years, a sign that Israel's fear is ended and the land transformed from a place of dread into one secured by the Lord's own hand. That the people need no other timber shows the completeness of His victory and the abundance left behind by the destroyed invader.
AI summary
Commenting on Ezekiel 39:9-20