Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 20:37

"And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;" — Ezekiel 20:37 (ASV)

To pass under the rod.— A figure taken from the shepherd’s way of counting and examining his flock. (Jeremiah 33:13; Micah 7:14.) By this the people were to be brought “into the land of the covenant,” selected and reconstituted God’s covenant people.