Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 47:12
And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
12. according to his months ] every month. For issued, issue. The fruit of these trees shall not “be consumed” i.e. fail; it shall renew itself every month, and the leaves shall be ever green and possess a healing virtue. Psa 1:3; Rev 22:2.
This beautiful representation of the healing stream, issuing from the temple and fertilizing the desert as well as changing the bitter waters of the Dead Sea into sweet, so that they yield abundant sustenance to men, rests on some natural and some spiritual conceptions common in Ezekiel’s days. One natural fact was this, that there was a fountain connected with the temple-hill, the waters of which fell into the valley east of the city and made their way towards the sea; and long ere this time the gentle waters of this brook, that flowed fast by the oracle of God, had furnished symbols to the prophets (Isa 8:6). Such waters in the east are the source of every blessing to men. The religious conceptions are such as these: that Jehovah himself is the giver of all blessings to men, and from his presence all blessings flow. He was now present in his fulness and for ever in his temple. Hence the prophet sees the life-giving stream issue from the sanctuary. Another current idea was that in the regeneration of men, when the tabernacle of God was with them, external nature would also be transfigured. Then every good would be enjoyed and there would be no more evil nor curse. The desert would blossom like the rose, and the field that aforetime was thought fruitful should be accounted no better than bush. The barren land toward the east and the bitter waters of the sea were a contradiction to the ideal of an external nature subservient in all her parts to man in the fellowship of God. Therefore the desert shall be fertilized and the waters of the sea healed, and all things minister to man’s good. But “good” to the Israelite was not exclusively spiritual, it was also material. It would be an error to regard this fertilizing, healing stream in the light of a mere symbol for blessings which we call “spiritual.” It is well fitted in other connexions to be such a symbol; but to take it so here would be to overstep the limits of the Old Testament and anticipate a later revelation. As yet the Israelite had no conception of a transcendent sphere of existence for men in the fellowship of God, such as we name heaven. Man’s final abode even in his perfect state was considered to be still on the earth. God came down and dwelt with men; men were not translated to abide with God. But God’s presence with men on earth gave to earth the attributes of heaven. Yet man’s needs remained, and God’s presence was the source of all things necessary to supply them. When he had the needful blessings the Israelite saw in them the tokens and the sacraments of God’s favour and presence with him; and conversely when God was near him he was assured that he should want no good thing (Psa 34:9).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Eze 47:12
It shall bring forth new fruit according to his months.
Old truths and new forms
It is one proof of the divinity of the Gospel that, while maintaining its own character, unaffected by the changing currents of human speculation, it still adapts itself to the new conditions with which it has to deal. It brings forth new fruit according to the seasons. I propose to consider what the new fruit is, which we find in our own age, to inquire which of it is good, and which so evil that wisdom at once rejects it; and as introductory to it, to consider the influences which are at work among us tending to change, and the kind of change which has already been accomplished. Great changes, which have the most enduring effect are not, in general, those which most impress the imagination by their rapidity and suddenness, but those which are the result of slow processes, that go on silently, which are hardly noticed until they are revealed in the extraordinary effects which they have produced. There are two figures by which our Lord describes the action of His truth. The one is that of the seed, the other is that of leaven, and they alike illustrate the general principle that the kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Both teach us to expect a subtle and inward spiritual influence gradually affecting society, not in miraculous force producing an immediate revolution. The figures, in truth, are descriptive of the history of all thought. Whether true or false, for good or evil, its power is, for the most part, of this diffusive nature, percolating class after class, spreading by seeds borne we know not how, finding lodgment in spots the most unexpected, and so springing up and bearing a harvest where we had not known there had been a scattering at all. The intellectual and moral history of individuals and of communities presents, in this respect, precisely similar features. In both sudden and startling revolutions are rare; in both a process of change is continually going on, of which there is a strange ignorance. Most men who are accustomed to look into themselves, must at times be surprised to find to how large an extent their views have been modified in the course of years, even on doctrines to which they would still give their hearty assent. They have not renounced the same creed and accepted another, but the old creed has become a new thing to them, because of the different light in which they have been brought to regard it. How could it be otherwise, in the case of minds which are not stagnant? All men who are alive to what is passing around them, who are willing to learn from all who have anything to teach, who are in the current of modern life, and yielding themselves up to it with more or less reluctance, who are ever taking at new ideas–find it impossible to retain their old position unaltered. A youth has grown up under the strong bias of education and association, He has looked at the world and men through the dimly-lighted windows of his own little cell, the glass of which may probably have been so coloured as to give him impressions very far removed from the fact. His opinions and sympathies alike have been confined within a very narrow circle, and it is difficult for him at first to understand that right and goodness may be found outside its lines. But as he comes into association with other men, and especially if he mingles with those of contrary opinions, he soon finds reason to suspect some of the conclusions he has too hastily adopted. If he is fortunate, he early learns that nothing is more to be distrusted than the arbitrary standard by which he has been too prone to judge character, and that there are those whose pure and noble qualities he is constrained to respect; whose doctrines he holds in abhorrence. He soon begins to see that truth has many sides, and that on some of them he has not looked at all, and, consequently, that some of his judgments need careful revision. The central verities may have become (if he has been living near to God, have become) more clear and distinct to him, but even his views of them have been modified by the diminished importance which he attaches to others, now seen to be subordinate, but which he once regarded as of supreme moment. The personal living Christ, his Saviour, Friend, and Lord, has come, to fill more of his vision, and he is drawn to men, or repelled from them, according to their relation to Him. The process by which he has been brought to regard as more trifles, dogmas and theories, about which his thought was once deeply interested, and in whose defence much of his energy was employed, has brought him to prize more highly those truths which he feels to be the core of all creeds. The change has thus been very great. Nevertheless, he is not less loyal to his Lord–in truth, more loyal and devoted to Him, not less simple in his trust in the great sacrifice, though less confident in his own ability to explain all its significance, or to vindicate all the ways of God to man in connection with it, not less wisely and earnestly attached to the particular Christian community of which he is a member, because he has learned to take a much wider view of the extent of the true Catholic Church. (J. G. Rogers.)
The imperishable beauty of the spiritual spring
The text is the promise and the picture of a never-fading spring. On which side of death is that imperishable beauty and fruitfulness–this or that? I think that, although the river comes down from the throne of God and the Lamb, and is, therefore, heavenly in its origin, the whole picture is an earthly scene, the springtide of human goodness, created and perpetually nourished by influences from above; the river being the love and grace of God flowing freely among us; the trees being the men who are planted by its side; the leaf and fruit being the moral and spiritual beauty and graces which they bear through their continual reception of the power and love of God into their nature. There is in this utterance a firm belief in the eternal power of goodness, a belief which also runs through the whole of Scripture, glorifying it to the last page. Is all this poetry, or is it fact? If goodness in the human spirit is to endure forever, if its beauty is not to fade, if its fruitfulness is not to fail, then there must be some sign, even on earth, of this strength and vitality. And as a matter of fact, it is my observation of the character of goodness upon earth, as a living thing, that can be taken account of, that can be watched and measured in its progress or decline, that I have seen outlasting and outliving all manner of hostile influences, that I have beheld, as fair, as tender, as generously fruitful in old age and in youth, aye, even more so; it is this surprising, moral phenomenon which has led me to this theme. No one, I think, not even the most misanthropical, would deny that in youth, or in the early days of the souls espousals to the Saviour, there is the charm of a perfect sincerity, of a guileless simplicity, of a warm affectionateness, of a noble enthusiasm, of a devoted self-forgetfulness. Yes, rejoins the cynic, and it all vanishes when he comes into contact with the realities Of life: his ingeniousness becomes cautious prudence, his zeal measured calculation, his brotherliness a mere show of warmth, his devoutness a proper formalism; he is corrupted from his simplicity, if he ever had any. Now, that is what I deny. Observe, I do not deny that it happens to some men–alas! to too many–to all whose spiritual life is nourished by inadequate influences, and is therefore a name not a reality; but the marvel is thereby only increased, that others should be able, by some means at their command, to withstand all blighting and perverting spiritual influences, and in their old age should he more like little children than ever they were before. You know good men and women, who, for a lifetime, have gone in and out of the cottages of the poor, unnoticed and unpraised; who have spoken words of truth to ears that seemed deaf, and to hearts that were like stone; who have sympathised with, and counselled and aided, the most hopeless of all classes; and who, now that their hair is grey and their strength failing, are abundant in labours. And they would do it all over again, if they were called of God. No regrets have they for undertaking such a task, but only that they have not done it better. No sorrow have they for having been too zealous, too prayerful, too laborious, but only that they were not more so. And through what various scenes they have passed, and what various fruits of the Spirit they have borne! In days of strength they were active, ready to every good work. In days of prosperity they were humble, not boasting as if they could do anything as of themselves, but gladly confessing that from Christ was their fruit found. In days of adversity they were hopeful, believing that all things were possible with God. In days of sickness they were submissive, quieting their souls with the assurances of the Fathers love. In days of disappointment they were silent, knowing that though Israel be not gathered, yet God would be glorified. In all days they were brotherly, kindly affectioned, gentle, upright, true, striving to behave as became the children of the perfect Father. The trees shall bring forth new fruit, according to their months. Hereto is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be My disciples. But do not let us even yet pass away from the fact that while the outward man, the body, waxes feebler, and the brightness of the intellect is dimmed, the Divine beauty of the Spirit can shine forth with purer radiance, for the inward man is renewed day by day. There is the case of Moses: was he, at the end of a forty years struggle with the stubbornness, ingratitude, fickleness, and unbelief of the Israelites, a less ardent lover of his people, a feebler believer in God, a colder-hearted man, with less courage and less self-abandonment than when he went out frown Pharaohs palace a lonely wanderer, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, because he had respect unto the recompense of the reward? There is the case of Daniel: his youth in the court of a heathen conqueror was most attractive for its sweet simplicity, its angelic regard for spiritual rather than carnal things; well, was he at all corrupted or degraded by that court, when, next to the king, he became its most conspicuous figure? Was he less temperate, less prayerful, less God-fearing, less spiritual in tone and temper? There is the case of St. Paul: you know with what heroic courage he threw himself into the battle for Christ against both Judaism and heathenism; you know, too, how much he had to endure for the Gospels sake, but remark, chiefly, how much of this came from false brethren, and cold brethren, and unloving brethren, and brethren who slighted his love, and caricatured his appearance, and you will be better able to estimate the greatness of the triumph which Christ won over him, and through him. For he never slackened his labours the least, nor avoided one of his dangers, but fresh, with more than first enthusiasm, he spent every pulse of his life in his work. What is the explanation of this phenomenon? It is what the prophet gives, Because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary. Yes, there is a sacred place, a pure, holy fountain where the spirit of a man may cleanse itself from the dust and stains of the world, where also it may refresh itself with living water, so that it shall live forever. There is a river of God on whose banks we may grow as trees of life, bearing fruit for meat and leaves for medicine. We may have an eternal springtime out of this perennial stream. All depends upon the relation of the tree to the river whose waters issue out of the sanctuary, Only let the trees roots be within reach of the river, and then the greater the summer heat, and the fewer the showers that fall, and the more freely will it draw its supplies from thence. So the soul of man when it finds no encouragement in human approval, or fashions, or hope of present reward, or even of present success, but is rather tried by all the influences around it, clings the more earnestly and more simply to God, receiving directly from Him its impulses, and finding in Him its satisfaction. (J. P. Gledstone.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. Shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade] A description that suits the righteous, who are still producing –
1. The fruits of faith.
2. The fruits of the Spirit.
3. The fruits of love to God, obedience to his holy will, and love to all men. Benevolence, mercy, charity, kindness, c.
The leaf thereof for medicine.] See Re 22:1-5. Even the leaves, the holy profession of the righteous, is a spiritual medicine. Righteousness is thus encouraged in the world. The profession points out the salvation, as it shows the nature and sufficiency of that salvation for a just creed contains all the articles of the Christian faith.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By the river; all along this river, which way soever it runs, it shall make its banks so fruitful, that on both sides thereof it shall be abundantly planted with best trees. Shall grow; take root, flourish, and be fruitful, as trees that like their soil.
Trees for meat; they shall not be as trees that are set only for pleasure, their fruit shall be for food.
Shall not fade; ever green and flourishing, as trees in the spring and in their prime.
Neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed; never be so little as to be consumed and spent, never rot and decay, there shall always be fruit and enough.
According to his months: these trees have, as the tree of life, their fruit every month, Rev 22:2.
Their waters; called so because watered by this stream.
Issued out of the sanctuary; and so carried a blessing with them; these waters came from the temple, and were indeed a spell against barrenness.
The leaf thereof: there are many herbs of a healing property, none like the leaves of these trees.
For medicine; healing the nations, as Rev 22:2. These trees most likely were palmetto trees, whence the balm that healeth, the fruit that feedeth, and juice that refresheth, and allays our thirst. Thus the letter, the mystery I do not insist on, it is no hard matter for private Christians to accommodate it to themselves.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. Instead of the “vine ofSodom and grapes of Gomorrah” (De32:32), nauseous and unwholesome, trees of life-giving andlife-restoring virtue shall bloom similar in properties to, andexceeding in number, the tree of life in Eden (Rev 2:7;Rev 22:2; Rev 22:14).
leaf . . . notfadeexpressing not only the unfailing character of theheavenly medicine of the tree of life, but also that the graces ofthe believer (as a tree of righteousness), which are the leaves,and his deeds, which are the fruits that flow from those graces, areimmortal (Psa 1:3; Jer 17:8;Mat 10:42; 1Co 15:58).
new fruitliterally,”firstlings,” or first fruit. They are still, each monthafresh, as it were, yielding their first-fruit [FAIRBAIRN].The first-born of a thing, in Hebrew idiom, means thechiefest. As Job 18:13,”the first-born of death,” that is, the most fataldeath.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And by the river on the banks thereof, on this side and on that side,…. On each side of the river, on the banks of it:
shall grow all trees for meat; such as bear fruit, that may be eaten, and is good for food: by these “trees” are meant truly gracious souls, converted persons, real Christians, true believers in Christ; who like trees have a root, are rooted in the love of God, in the person and grace of Christ, and have the root of the matter in them, the grace of the blessed Spirit; and who also is their sap, of which they are full, and so grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ; grow up in him, and grow upwards and heavenwards in their affections and desires, and in the exercise of faith and hope: they are the trees of the Lord, trees of righteousness, good trees, that bring forth good fruit; and are often in Scripture compared to trees the most excellent, as palm trees, cedars, olives, myrtles, c. and wherever the Gospel comes, these trees arise, and are watered and made fruitful by it sometimes in lesser, and sometimes in greater numbers, as in the first times of the Gospel, and as they will in the latter day; see Ps 92:12:
whose leaf shall not fade; as the leaves of trees in autumn do, and drop off and fall; to which some professors of religion are compared, who bear no fruit, only have the leaves of a profession, and this they drop when any trouble or difficulty arises, Jude 1:12, but true believers, as they take up a profession on principles of grace, they hold it fast without wavering; their root, seed, and sap, remain, and so never wither and die in their profession; see Ps 1:3:
neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed; which are the graces of the Spirit, and good works flowing from them: the graces of the Spirit are abiding ones, as faith, hope, and love; these never die, are an incorruptible seed, a well of water springing up unto everlasting life; and good works, which are fruits meet for repentance, and evidences of faith, and by which trees are known to be good, always continue to be wrought by believers, in the strength and grace of Christ, from whom they have all their fruits of every kind, Ho 14:8:
it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months; or, “first fruits” o; that is, everyone of these trees, or every true believer, shall be continually in the exercise of grace, and the performance of duty; they shall be constant and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; they shall never cease from yielding fruit, or doing good; they shall still bring it even in old age; see
Ps 92:14:
because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary; because the waters, which issued out of the sanctuary, ran by these trees, and watered them, and made them fruitful, and therefore called their waters: the fruitfulness of these trees, true believers, is not owing to themselves, to their free will and power; to their own industry, diligence, and cultivation; but to the supplies of grace they receive by means of the Gospel, and the doctrines of it; which bring forth, or cause to bring forth fruit, wherever they come with power, Col 1:6:
and the fruit thereof shall be for meat; not for saints themselves, who live not, neither on their graces, nor their works; though indeed they do eat the fruits of their doings, Isa 3:10, that is, enjoy good things, consequent on their works, through the free favour and good will of God; but for meat for others; for their fruit, which appears in their words and actions, are very beneficent to others; their fruit is a tree of life, Pr 11:30 and their lips feed many, Pr 10:21, with knowledge and understanding; with the Gospel, and the doctrines of it; and with the comfortable experience they have of its truths and promises: yea, their fruit are meat and food for Christ himself; who comes into his garden, and eats his pleasant fruits, feeds and feasts, and delights himself with his own grace in his people, and the exercise of it, So 4:9:
and the leaf thereof for medicine; or, “for bruises” p; for the healing of them, which is only done by the blood of Christ; who is the only physician, the sun of righteousness, that rises with healing or pardon in his wings; and the whole language of this passage is borrowed from hence by John, and applied to Christ the tree of life, Re 22:2 and the Gospel professed by true believers directs to him for healing, or for the remission of sin, and is the means of applying it,
Ps 107:20 and a cheerful constant profession of Christ and his Gospel, which is the Christian’s leaf, does good like a medicine, both to the Christian himself, and to others; who are animated and encouraged thereby to go on with pleasure in the ways of God.
o “afferet primitiva”, V. L. Vatablus; “primogenita”, Starckius. So Ben Melech. p “ad contritionem, vel ad sanitatem contritionis”, Vatablus; “ad fractionem sanandam”, Pagninus. So Ben Melech.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(12) Be consumed.Better, fail. The fruit is to be eaten, but shall not fail to grow as it is wanted. These trees with their supernatural virtues are represented as produced by the waters because they issued out of the sanctuary, thus presenting a most effective image of the life-giving power of those spiritual influences which come from God upon men.
It has been objected to the spiritual interpretation of this vision, that under it nothing can be made of the fishermen of Eze. 47:10, and that, therefore, the whole is to be considered as a glorification of nature in the future Palestine. But this is to forget that in every figure and parable there are, and must be, details necessary to the figure which have nothing answering to them in the thing signified, and that it is the habit of Ezekiel to carry out such details very far. In this case, the mention of the fishermen greatly heightens the imagery of the life-giving power of the waters; while, if the whole were to be literally understood, they would really have no place, because there would be no such fishermen in the supposed glorified condition of the land.
Eze. 47:13-23, which, as already said, properly belong to Ezekiel 48, give the boundaries of the land to be divided among the tribes, together with provision for the inheritance of strangers living among them. The tracing of the boundary itself is introduced by some general statements in Eze. 47:13-14, concerning the distribution.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“And by the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, will grow every tree for food, whose leaf will not wither, nor will its fruit fail. It will bring forth firstfruits every month because its waters issue out of the sanctuary. And its fruit will be for food and its leaf for healing.”
The final concluding picture emphasises that this is not to be taken totally literally. On both sides of the river will grow every tree for food. We are in a new Eden (Gen 2:9). And the trees which grow will be such trees as man has never known. They will be renewed every month, producing, monthly, first firstfruits, and then a harvest, and yet their leaves will not wither. And this will be because they are fed by water from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaf for healing. They are God’s trees and God’s provision in a unique way.
Here we are clearly in a Paradise restored, with hugely abundant supplies. The idea of healing is not because men will continually need to be healed, but because having been initially healed their health will be continually maintained. It demonstrates their continual wellbeing in the only way that men of that day could understand.
So the whole glorious picture is of God from His heavenly sanctuary beginning a flow of blessing (water was always a sign of blessing) which will grow and grow, bringing life and fruitfulness wherever it goes and producing a new and better Eden with all that man can need, a picture that is taken up and expanded in Revelation which has these verses very much in mind.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 47:12. Whose leaf shall not fade Flourishing like the trees of paradise; a very proper emblem of the righteous and faithful; still bringing forth fruit unto holiness, and whose end is everlasting life. See the description of the new Jerusalem, Rev 22:1-5.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 47:12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
Ver. 12. Shall grow all trees for meat. ] Arbores esibiles; these are C , useful Christians, such as whose lips are feeding, and their tongues trees of life. Pro 11:30 ; Pro 15:4 See Trapp on “ Pro 11:30 “ See Trapp on “ Pro 15:4 “
Whose leaf shall not fade.
Neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed.
Because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary.
And the leaf thereof for medicine.
a Hist. Ang., lib. i. cap. 7.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
trees for meat. Hebrew “trees of meat”. Genitive of Relation. App-17. Compare Gen 2:9.
consumed = fail.
new = ripe.
medicine = healing. The Divine provision for preserving and restoring health in that future day, when this prophecy shall be literally fulfilled. Compare Rev 22:2.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
by the river: Eze 47:7, Psa 92:12, Isa 60:21, Isa 61:3
grow: Heb. come up
trees for meat: Probably, believers, “trees of righteousness,” who still bring forth, “fruit unto holiness,” and “whose end is eternal life.”
whose: Job 8:16, Psa 1:3, Jer 17:8
new: or, principal
medicine: or, bruises and sores, Isa 1:6, Jer 8:22, Rev 22:2
Reciprocal: Gen 2:9 – tree of life Exo 15:27 – Elim Num 24:6 – as cedar Jos 2:5 – of shutting Psa 92:14 – flourishing Son 2:3 – his fruit Isa 41:19 – plant Eze 34:27 – the tree Eze 47:1 – from under the threshold Mal 4:2 – healing 1Pe 1:4 – fadeth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 47:12. This verse is almost identical in its terms with Rev 22:1-2 and they are highly of the character belonging to ideal or figurative speech, For further comments on this subject see those on verse 1 of this chapter, and also the KISY at the beginning of chapter 40,
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 47:12. And by the river, upon the bank thereof, shall grow all trees for meat See the note on Eze 47:7. By these trees may be understood, the plenteous provisions of the gospel, the precious promises of the sacred word, and the privileges of believers, as communicated to their souls by the quickening Spirit. These abound on each side of the river, wherever the gospel is successfully preached; they afford nourishment and delight to the souls of men; they never fade or wither; they are various, according to the variety of circumstances and occasions in the experience of Christians; (as if a tree should yield a succession of different kinds of fruit, through the months of the year;) and even the leaves serve as medicines to their souls. The warnings and reproofs of the word, and the salutary corrections of their Fathers rod, though generally less valued, and always less pleasant, than divine consolations, yet tend to cure their maladies, and restore them to holiness and happiness. Scott.
Most expositors, however, consider these trees as emblematical of true, spiritual Christians, termed by Isaiah, trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, Isa 61:3, set by the rivers of water, the waters of the sanctuary, Psa 1:3, grafted into Christ, the tree of life, and, by virtue of their union with him, made trees of life too, rooted in him, Col 2:7. There is a great variety of these trees, through the diversity of gifts with which they are endued by that one Spirit which works all in all. They grow on the bank of the river, for they keep close to holy ordinances, and through them derive sap and virtue from Christ. They are fruit-trees, designed, as the fig-tree and the olive, to honour with their fruits both God and man, Jdg 9:9. The fruit thereof shall be for meat, for the lips of the righteous feed many, and the fruits of their righteousness are many ways beneficial. The very leaves of these trees are for medicine, or, as the margin has it, for bruises and sores. True Christians, with their good discourses, the leaves of the trees of righteousness, as well as with their beneficent actions, which are their fruits, do good to those about them: they strengthen the weak, and bind up the broken-hearted. Their cheerfulness does good like a medicine, not only to themselves, but to others also. And their leaf shall not fade They shall be enabled, by the grace of God, to persevere in their piety and usefulness, having not only life in their root, but sap in all their branches. Therefore their profession shall not wither, nor their discourse lose its healing, strengthening virtue. Neither shall their fruit be consumed That is, they shall not cease to bear fruit, retaining still the principles of their fruitfulness; but shall bring it forth even in old age. Or, the reward of their fruitfulness shall abide for ever; they shall produce fruit that shall abound to their account at the appearing of Jesus Christ, fruit to life eternal. They shall bring forth new fruit according to their months Some in one month and others in another; or, each one of them shall bring forth fruit monthly; which signifies a constant disposition, desire, resolution, and endeavour to bear fruit, and that they shall never be weary of well-doing. And the reason of this extraordinary fruitfulness is, because their waters issue out of the sanctuary It is not to be ascribed to their own wisdom, power, or goodness, or to any thing in themselves, but to the continual supplies of divine grace, with which they are watered every moment, Isa 27:3. For, whoever may be the instrument of planting them, it is divine grace which gives the increase.
The reader will observe, that this part of Ezekiels vision is evidently referred to and almost copied by St. John, Rev 22:2, who applies it to the salvation of Christ, begun on earth, and perfected in heaven. This whole passage, from Eze 47:1-12 inclusive, as Bishop Newcome observes, is one of the most striking allegories in the Hebrew Scriptures, and must so necessarily have a mystical and spiritual meaning, that from thence we are compelled to conclude that all the other parts of the vision, from the beginning of the xlth to the cud of the xlviiith chapter, must have such a meaning also; and that whatever allusion the prophets description of the temple, its courts. &c., and the division of the land to the prince, priests, and tribes, might have to Solomons temple, or to that built after the return of the Jews from Babylon, and the former divisions of the country; yet that the vision was principally intended of the spiritual temple of the Christian Church, and of its great extent, prosperity, and glory in the latter days, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, and all Israel shall be saved.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fruit trees would grow all around the Dead Sea. They do not do so now. They would remain continually healthy and productive. These trees would be so fruitful that they would bear fruit every month of the year. People would eat their fruit and use their leaves for medicinal purposes. This formerly desert region would blossom like a rose (cf. Eze 36:35; Isa 35:1-2; Isa 35:6-7; Joe 3:18; Rom 8:19-22).
This river is similar to two other rivers in the Bible: the river that flowed out of the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:10) and the river that will flow in the New Jerusalem during the eternal state (Rev 22:1-2; cf. Psa 46:4; Psa 65:9; Joe 3:18; Zec 14:8). Like the river in Revelation the one in Ezekiel will flow from the throne of God; He is the source of both rivers. However, there will be a temple in the millennial earth, but there will not be one in the eternal state (Rev 21:22). The river in Revelation also flowed down the street of the city, but Ezekiel mentioned no city to the east of the temple, just one to its south (Eze 45:6). It seems that Ezekiel and John saw two different rivers, but the purpose of both rivers was the same. God will be the source of fertility, blessing, and health in the Millennium and throughout eternity.
The river that Ezekiel saw was a real river with life-giving and healing properties. But like the rivers in Genesis 2 and Revelation 22 it also has symbolic significance. Many interpreters spiritualize the entire passage and see no literal fulfillment in the future. [Note: E.g., Taylor, p. 278.] It represents the spiritual life and healing that flow to humanity from the throne of God (cf. Joh 4:14; Joh 7:37-38). [Note: See Davidson, pp. 349-50.]
"The river is like the blood of the Messiah from the cross of Calvary that began as a trickle (Joh 19:34). Finally, the blood, like the river, became a flood of redemption for all people (Rev 1:5). So the flow from Calvary became a fountain of redemption for all people including Israel (see Zec 13:1-6; Rev 1:5-6). Just so, the water of life that the prophet saw coming from the threshold came forth gently, then began to flow, and finally became a mighty river of life healing all in its wake." [Note: L. Cooper, p. 411.]
"All blessings, material and spiritual, will emanate from the presence of the Lord with His people." [Note: Feinberg, p. 272.]
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow!" [Note: The Doxology.]
The boundaries and principles of allotment of the land 47:13-48:35
"There are two special areas of attention in this passage: (1) the concern that God’s people occupy their full boundaries, and (2) the concern that Gentiles will have an inheritance." [Note: Stuart, p. 414.]