{"id":20589,"date":"2022-09-24T08:35:03","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T13:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-ezekiel-71\/"},"modified":"2022-09-24T08:35:03","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T13:35:03","slug":"exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-ezekiel-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-ezekiel-71\/","title":{"rendered":"Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 7:1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, <\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

1 4<\/strong>. The end is come upon the whole land, unsparing destruction from the Lord<\/p>\n

This destruction is the fruit of the abominations of the people, their idolatries and crimes ( Eze 7:23<\/em><\/span>). They shall know when it overtakes them that he who inflicts it is Jehovah, God alone.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Second Section. Ch. Eze 3:22<\/span> to Eze 7:27<\/span><\/p>\n

The second section of the Book contains these parts:<\/p>\n

(1) Ch. Eze 3:22-27<\/span>. A preface in which the prophet is commanded to confine himself to his own house, and abandon for a time his public ministry.<\/p>\n

(2) Ch. Eze 4:1-4<\/span>. A series of symbols representing the siege of Jerusalem, the scarcity during it, the pollution of the people in exile among the nations, and the terrible fate of the inhabitants on the capture of the city.<\/p>\n

(3) Ch. Eze 5:5-17<\/span>. Exposition of these symbols.<\/p>\n

(4) Ch. 6. Prophecy against the mountains of Israel, the seats of Idolatry.<\/p>\n

(5) Ch. 7. Dirge over the downfall of the state.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

A dirge. Supposing the date of the prophecy to be the same as that of the preceding, there were now but four, or perhaps three, years to the final overthrow of the kingdom of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar.<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CHAPTER VII <\/P>

This chapter, which also forms a distinct prophecy, foretells<\/I><\/P>

the dreadful destruction of the land of Israel, or Judah, (for<\/I><\/P>

after the captivity of the ten tribes these terms are often<\/I><\/P>

used indiscriminately for the Jews in general,) on account of<\/I><\/P>

the heinous sins of its inhabitants<\/I>, 1-15;<\/P>

and the great distress of the small remnant that should escape<\/I>,<\/P>

16-19.<\/P>

The temple itself, which they had polluted with idolatry, is<\/I><\/P>

devoted to destruction<\/I>, 20-22;<\/P>

and the prophet is directed to make a chain, as a type of that<\/I><\/P>

captivity, in which both king and people should be led in bonds<\/I><\/P>

to Babylon<\/I>, 23-27.<\/P>

The whole chapter abounds in bold and beautiful figures, flowing<\/I><\/P>

in an easy and forcible language.<\/I> <\/P>

NOTES ON CHAP. VII<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

This introduceth a continuation and confirmation, with some illustration of what judgments were denounced in the former chapter. <\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying.<\/strong> Or again, as the Arabic version; for this is a distinct prophecy from the former; though of the same kind with it; and was delivered out, either immediately upon the former; or, however, some time between that and the following in the next chapter, which has a date to it. The Targum calls it the word of prophecy from the Lord.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The End Cometh<\/p>\n

Eze 7:1<\/span>. And the word of Jehovah came to me thus: <\/em> Eze 7:2<\/span>. And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: An end to the land of Israel! the end cometh upon the four borders of the land. <\/em> Eze 7:3<\/span>. Now (cometh) the end upon thee, and I shall send my wrath upon thee, and judge thee according to thy ways, and bring upon thee all thine abominations. <\/em> Eze 7:4<\/span>. And my eye shall not look with pity upon thee, and I shall not spare, but bring thy ways upon thee; and thy abominations shall be in the midst of thee, that ye may know that I am Jehovah.<\/em> – – .havoheJ ma I , with the copula, connects this word of God with the preceding one, and shows it to be a continuation. It commences with an emphatic utterance of the thought, that the end is coming to the land of Israel, i.e., to the kingdom of Judah, with its capital Jerusalem. Desecrated as it has been by the abominations of its inhabitants, it will cease to be the land of God’s people Israel. ‘ (to the land of Israel) is not to be taken with (thus saith the Lord) in opposition to the accents, but is connected with qeets (an end), as in the Targ. and Vulgate, and is placed first for the sake of greater emphasis. In the construction, compare Job 6:14<\/span>. is limited by the parallelism to the four extremities of the land of Israel. It is used elsewhere for the whole earth (Isa 11:12<\/span>). The Chetib<\/em> is placed, in opposition to the ordinary rule, before a noun in the feminine gender. The Keri<\/em> gives the regular construction (vid., Ewald, 267 c<\/em>). In Eze 7:3<\/span> the end is explained to be a wrathful judgment. “Give ( ) thine abominations upon thee;” i.e., send the consequences, inflict punishment for them. The same thought is expressed in the phrase, “thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee;” in other words, they would discern them in the punishments which the abominations would bring in their train. For Eze 7:4<\/span><\/em> compare Eze 5:11<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The Desolation of Israel.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD>

B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 594.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE>

      1 Moreover the word of the LORD<\/B> came unto me, saying,   2 Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD<\/B> unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land.   3 Now is<\/I> the end come<\/I> upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations.   4 And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am<\/I> the LORD<\/B>.   5 Thus saith the Lord GOD<\/B>; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come.   6 An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.   7 The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is<\/I> near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.   8 Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.   9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that<\/I> are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am<\/I> the LORD<\/B> that smiteth.   10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.   11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain,<\/I> nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be<\/I> wailing for them.   12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is<\/I> upon all the multitude thereof.   13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is<\/I> touching the whole multitude thereof, which<\/I> shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.   14 They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is<\/I> upon all the multitude thereof.   15 The sword is<\/I> without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is<\/I> in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is<\/I> in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.<\/P>

      We have here fair warning given of the destruction of the land of Israel, which was now hastening on apace. God, by the prophet, not only sends notice of it, but will have it inculcated in the same expressions, to show that the thing is certain, that it is near, that the prophet is himself affected with it and desires they should be so too, but finds them deaf, and stupid, and unaffected. When the town is on fire men do no seek for fine words and quaint expressions in which to give an account of it, but cry about the streets, with a loud and lamentable voice, “Fire! fire!” So the prophet here proclaims, An end! an end! it has come, it has come; behold, it has come. He that hath ears to hear let him hear.<\/I><\/P>

      I. An end has come, the end has come<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 2<\/span>), and again (Eze 7:3<\/span>; Eze 7:6<\/span>), Now has the end come upon thee<\/I>–the end which all their wickedness had a tendency to, and which God had often told them it would come to at last, when by his prophets he had asked them, What will you do in the end hereof?<\/I>–the end which all the foregoing judgments had been working towards, as means to bring it about (their ruin shall now be completed)–or the end,<\/I> that is, the period of their state, the final destruction of their nation, as the deluge was the end of all flesh,<\/I> Gen. vi. 13<\/I><\/span>. They had flattered themselves with hopes that they should shortly see an end<\/I> of their troubles. “Yea,” says God, “An end has come,<\/I> but a miserable one, not the expected end<\/I>” (which is promised to the pious remnant among them, Jer. xxix. 11<\/span>); “it is the end, that end<\/I> which you have been so often warned of, that last end<\/I> which Moses wished you to consider<\/I> (Deut. xxxii. 29<\/span>), and which, because Jerusalem remembered not, therefore she came down wonderfully,<\/I>” Lam. i. 9<\/span>. This end was long in coming, but now it has come.<\/I> Though the ruin of sinners comes slowly, it comes surely. “It has come;<\/I> it watches for thee, ready to receive thee.” This perhaps looks further, to the last destruction of that nation by the Romans, which that by the Chaldeans was an earnest of; and still further to the final destruction of the world of the ungodly. The end of all things is at hand;<\/I> and Jerusalem’s last end was a type of the end of the world,<\/I> Matt. xxiv. 3<\/I><\/span>. Oh that we could all see that end of time and days very near, and the end of our own time and days much nearer, that we may secure a happy lot at the end of the days!<\/I> Dan. xii. 13<\/I><\/span>. This end comes upon the four corners of the land.<\/I> The ruin, as it shall be final, so it shall be total; no part of the land shall escape; no, not that which lies most remote. Such will the destruction of the world be; all these things shall be dissolved. Such will the destruction of sinners be; none can avoid it. Oh that the wickedness of the wicked<\/I> might come to an end,<\/I> before it bring them to an end!<\/I><\/P>

      II. An evil, an only evil, behold, has come,<\/I> v.<\/span> 5<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Sin is an evil, an only evil, an evil<\/I> that has no good in it; it is the worst of evils. But this is spoken of the evil of trouble; it is an evil,<\/I> one evil,<\/I> and that one shall suffice to affect and complete the ruin of the nation; there needs no more to do its business; this one shall make an utter end,<\/I> affliction needs not rise up a second time,<\/I> Nah. i. 9<\/I><\/span>. It is an evil<\/I> without precedent or parallel, an evil<\/I> that stands alone; you cannot produce such another instance. It is to the impenitent an evil, an only evil;<\/I> it hardens their hearts and irritates their corruptions, whereas there were those to whom it was sanctified by the grace of God and made a means of much good; they were sent into Babylon for their good,<\/I> Jer. xxiv. 5<\/I><\/span>. The wicked have the dregs of that cup<\/I> to drink which to the righteous is full of mixtures of mercy,<\/I> Ps. lxxv. 8<\/I><\/span>. The same affliction is to us either a half evil<\/I> or an only evil<\/I> according as we conduct ourselves under it and make use of it. But when an end, the end, has come<\/I> upon the wicked world, then an evil, an only evil,<\/I> comes upon it, and not till then. The sorest of temporal judgments have their allays, but the torments of the damned are an evil, an only evil.<\/I><\/P>

      III. The time has come,<\/I> the set time, for the inflicting of this only evil<\/I> and the making of this full end;<\/I> for to all God’s purposes there is a time,<\/I> a proper time, and that prefixed, in which the purpose shall have its accomplishment; particularly the time of reckoning with wicked people, and rendering to them according to their desserts, is fixed, the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of god;<\/I> and he sees,<\/I> whether we see it or no, that his day is coming.<\/I> This they are here told of again and again (v.<\/I><\/span> 10<\/span>): Behold, the day<\/I> that has lingered so long has come<\/I> at last, behold, it has come. The time has come, the day draws near, the day of trouble is near,<\/I>Eze 7:7<\/span>; Eze 7:12<\/span>. Though threatened judgments may be long deferred, yet they shall not be dropped; the time for executing them will come. Though God’s patience may put them off, nothing but man’s sincere repentance and reformation will put them by. The morning has come unto thee<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>), and again (v.<\/I><\/span> 10<\/span>), The morning has gone forth;<\/I> the day of trouble dawns, the day of destruction is already begun. The morning<\/I> discovers that which was hidden; they thought their secret sins would never come to light, but now they will be brought to light. They used to try and execute malefactors in the morning, and such a morning of judgment and execution is now coming upon them, a day of trouble<\/I> to sinners, the year of their visitation.<\/I> See how stupid these people were, that, though the day of their destruction was already begun, yet they were not aware of it, but must be thus told of it again and again. The day of trouble,<\/I> real trouble, is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains,<\/I> that is, not a mere echo or report of troubles, as they were willing to think it was, nothing but a groundless surmise; as if the men that came against them<\/I> were but the shadow of the mountains<\/I> (as Zebul suggested to Gaal, Matt. ix. 36<\/span>) and the intelligence they received were but an empty sound,<\/I> reverberated from the mountains. No; the trouble is not a fancy, and so you will soon find.<\/P>

      IV. All this comes from God’s wrath, not allayed, as sometimes it has been, with mixtures of mercy. This is the fountain from which all these calamities flow; and this is the wormwood and the gall<\/I> in the affliction and the misery,<\/I> which make it bitter indeed (v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>): I will send my anger upon thee.<\/I> Observe, God is Lord of his anger; it does not break out but when he pleases, nor fasten upon any but as he directs it and gives it commission. The expression rises higher (v.<\/I><\/span> 8<\/span>): Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee<\/I> in full vials, and accomplish my anger,<\/I> all the purposes and all the products of it, upon thee.<\/I> This wrath does not single out here and there one to be made examples, but it is upon all the multitude thereof<\/I> (Eze 7:12<\/span>; Eze 7:14<\/span>); the whole body of the nation has become a vessel of wrath, fitted for destruction.<\/I> God does sometimes in wrath remember mercy,<\/I> but now he says, My eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity,<\/I>Eze 7:4<\/span>; Eze 7:9<\/span>. Those shall have judgment without mercy<\/I> who made light of mercy when it was offered them.<\/P>

      V. All this is the just punishment of their sins, and it is what they have by their own folly brought upon themselves. This is much insisted on here, that they might be brought to justify God in all he had brought upon them. God never sends his anger but in wisdom and justice; and therefore it follows, “I will judge thee according to thy ways,<\/I> v.<\/span> 3<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. I will examine what thy ways have been, compare them with the law, and then deal with thee according to the merit of them, and recompense<\/I> them to thee,<\/I>” v.<\/I><\/span> 4<\/span>. Note, In the heaviest judgments God inflicts upon sinners he does but recompense their own ways upon them;<\/I> they are beaten with their own rod. And, when God comes to reckon with a sinful people, he will bring every provocation to account: “will recompense upon thee all thy abominations<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>); and now thy iniquity shall be found to be hateful<\/I> (Ps. xxxvi. 2<\/span>) and thy abominations shall be in the midst of thee<\/I>” (v.<\/I><\/span> 4<\/span>); that is, the secret wickedness shall now be brought to light, and that shall appear to have been in the midst of thee which before was not suspected; and thy sin shall now become an abomination<\/I> to thyself. So the abomination of iniquity will be when it comes to be an abomination of desolation,<\/I> Matt. xxiv. 15<\/I><\/span>. Or, Thy abominations<\/I> (that is, the punishments of them) shall be in the midst of thee;<\/I> they shall reach to thy heart.<\/I> See Jer. iv. 18<\/span>. Or therefore God will not spare, nor have pity,<\/I> because, even when he is recompensing their ways<\/I> upon them, yet in their distress they trespass yet more;<\/I> their abominations<\/I> are still in the midst of them,<\/I> indulged and harboured in their hearts. It is repeated again (Eze 7:8<\/span>; Eze 7:9<\/span>), I will judge thee, I will recompense thee.<\/I> Two sins are particularly specified as provoking God to bring these judgments upon them–pride and oppression. 1. God will humble them by his judgments, for they have magnified themselves. The rod<\/I> of affliction has blossomed,<\/I> but it was pride<\/I> that budded,<\/I> v.<\/span> 10<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. What buds in sin will blossom in some judgment or other. The pride of Judah and Jerusalem appeared among all orders and degrees of men, as buds upon the tree in spring. 2. Their enemies shall deal hardly with them, for they have dealt hardly with one another (v.<\/I><\/span> 11<\/span>): Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness;<\/I> that is, their injuriousness to one another is protected and patronised by the power of the magistrate. The rod of government had become a rod of wickedness,<\/I> to such a degree of impudence was violence risen up. I saw the place of judgment, that wickedness was there,<\/I>Ecc 3:16<\/span>; Isa 5:7<\/span>. Whatever are the fruits of God’s judgments, it is certain that our sin is the root of them.<\/P>

      VI. There is no escape from these judgments nor fence against them, for they shall be universal and shall bear down all before them, without remedy. 1. Death in its various shapes shall ride triumphantly, both in town and in country, both within the city and without it, v.<\/I><\/span> 15<\/span>. Men shall be safe nowhere; for he that is in the field shall die by the sword<\/I> (every field shall be to them a field of battle) and he that is in the city,<\/I> though it be a holy city, yet it shall not be his protection, but famine and pestilence shall devour him.<\/I> Sin had abounded both in city and country, Iliacos intra muros peccator et extra–Trojans and Greeks offend alike;<\/I> and therefore among both desolations are made. 2. None of those that are marked for death shall escape: There shall none of them remain.<\/I> None of those proud oppressors that did violence to their poor neighbours with the rod of wickedness,<\/I> none of them shall be left, but they shall be all swept away by the desolation that is coming (v.<\/I><\/span> 11<\/span>): None of their multitude,<\/I> that is, of the rabble, whom they set on to do mischief, and to countenance them in doing it, to cry, “Crucify, crucify,” when they were resolved on the destruction of any, none of them shall remain, nor any of theirs;<\/I> their families shall all be destroyed, and neither root nor branch left them. This multitude, this mob, divine vengeance will in a particular manner fasten upon; for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof<\/I> (Eze 7:12<\/span>; Eze 7:14<\/span>) and the vision was touching the whole multitude thereof<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>), the bulk of the common people. The judgments coming shall carry them away by wholesale, and they shall neither secure themselves nor their masters whose creatures and tools they were. God’s judgments, when they come with commission, cannot be overpowered by multitudes. Though hand join in hand, yet shall not the wicked go unpunished.<\/I> 3. Those that fall shall not be lamented (v.<\/I><\/span> 11<\/span>): There shall be no wailing for them,<\/I> for there shall be none left to bewail them, but such as are hastening apace after them. And the times shall be so bad that men shall rather congratulate than lament the death of their friends, as reckoning those happy that are taken away from seeing these desolations and sharing in them, Jer 16:4<\/span>; Jer 16:5<\/span>. 4. They shall not be able to make any resistance. The decree has gone forth, and the vision<\/I> concerning them shall not return,<\/I> v.<\/span> 13<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. God will not reveal it, and they cannot defeat it; and therefore it shall not return re infecta–without having accomplished any thing,<\/I> but shall accomplish that for which he sends it.<\/I> God’s word will take place, and then, (1.) Particular persons cannot make their part good against God: No man shall strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life;<\/I> it will be to no purpose for sinners to set God and his judgments at defiance as they used to do. None ever hardened his heart against God and prospered.<\/I> Those that strengthen themselves in their wickedness will be found not only to weaken, but to ruin, themselves, Ps. lii. 7<\/span>. (2.) The multitude<\/I> cannot resist the torrent of these judgments, nor make head against them (v.<\/I><\/span> 14<\/span>): They have blown the trumpet,<\/I> to call their soldiers together, and to animate and encourage those whom they have got together, and thus they think to make all ready;<\/I> but all in vain; none enlist themselves, or those that do have not courage to face the enemy. Note, If God be against us, none can be for us to do us any service. 5. They shall have no hope of the return of their prosperity, with which to support themselves in their adversity; they shall have given up all for gone; and therefore, “Let not the buyer rejoice<\/I> that he is increasing his estate and has become a purchaser; nor let the seller mourn<\/I> that he is lessening his estate and has become a bankrupt,” v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>. See the vanity of the things of this world, and how worthless they are–that in a time of trouble, when we have most need of them, we may perhaps make least account of them. Those that have sold are the more easy, having the less to lose, and those that have bought have but increased their own cares and fears. Because the fashion of this world passes away,<\/I> let those that buy be as though they possessed not,<\/I> because they know not how soon they may be dispossessed, 1 Cor. vii. 29-31<\/span>. It is added (v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>), “The seller shall not return,<\/I> at the year of jubilee, to that which is sold,<\/I> according to the law, though he should escape the sword and pestilence, and live till that year comes; for no inheritances shall be enjoyed here till the seventy years be accomplished, and then men shall return to their possessions, shall claim and have their own again.” In the belief of this, Jeremiah, about this time, bought his uncle’s field,<\/I> yet, according to the charge, the buyer did not rejoice, but complain, Jer. xxxii. 25<\/span>. 6. God will be glorified in all: “You shall know that I am the Lord<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 4<\/span>), that I am the Lord that smiteth,<\/I> v.<\/span> 9<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. You look at second causes, and think it is Nebuchadnezzar that smites you, but you shall be made to know he is but the staff: it is the hand of the Lord that smiteth you, and who knows the weight of his hand?” Those who would not know it was the Lord that did them goo<\/I> shall be made to know it is the Lord that smiteth<\/I> them; for, one way or other, he will be owned.<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

EZEKIEL – CHAPTER 7<\/strong><\/p>\n

MESSAGE AGAINST MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL, CONCLUDED<\/p>\n

IMMINENCE OF DOOM OF THE LORD, v. 1-4<\/strong><\/p>\n

Verse 1 reasserts <\/strong>that what Ezekiel is prophesying, and about to prophesy and write, is not his own message, but the very word of the Lord. While he was the obedient mouthpiece, the message was directly of and from the Lord, to Israel, Eze 2:3<\/span>; 2Pe 1:21<\/span>; Rev 1:1<\/span>; Rev 1:19<\/span>; Rev 22:19<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 2 directs <\/strong>Ezekiel as “son of man,” to assert to the land or country of Israel that “an end, the end” had come down upon the four corners or parts of the land, to cover all the land or country of Israel. Chaldea’s armies swept across the country of Israel numerous times, sparing neither age nor sex, destroying houses, burning crops and destroying grain that they themselves could not carry away, leaving a depressed, impoverished remnant to be ravaged by pestilence and plagues, as they made their final sweep until the monarchy of David should be no more left in the land, v. 3, 6; Amo 8:2<\/span>; Mat 24:13-14<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 3 concludes <\/strong>that “now,” or at hand, forthwith, these judgments should fall upon them, as the fruit of sins of former generations of their people. Their iniquity and rebellion against God had become so continued and accumulated that they had no further time or space for confessions of their sins so as to bring amendments of God’s threatened and long delayed chastening, Pro 1:26<\/span>; Pro 29:1<\/span>. God’s irresolute judgment for their abominations was expressed in three ways in this verse: a) “I will send,” <\/strong>b) “I will judge,” <\/strong>and c) “I will recompense.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Verse 4 asserts that the Lord would not spare (excuse) or pity the land of Israel from or in <\/strong>her hour of just punishment. She was to be judged according to, or in harmony with, her ways and her abominations throughout the land, until she came to know, recognize, or comprehend that the Lord God was her true master, Eze 5:11<\/span>; Eze 8:18<\/span>; Eze 9:10<\/span>; Eze 12:20<\/span>; Deu 28:58-62<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 5 reassures <\/strong>that the Lord God of Israel says, “an evil” or grave judgment, “an only evil” or only grave judgment left, a final. calamity, such as was never before seen, is to be beheld, as it surely falls upon or sweeps over all the land, like a prairie fire or a swelling flood, making an utter end of all forms of religious and civil and family rule for Israel in her land, Eze 5:9<\/span>; Nah 1:9<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 6 adds, <\/strong>without repetition that “and end,” inevitable finish, has come to end Israel’s state. The end had been slumbering, lingering, watching for Israel’s sake, but mercy was to linger no longer over any of her people yet lingering in her land, Psa 78:65-66<\/span>; Rom 2:1-2<\/span>; Rom 10:20-21<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 7 continues the lament <\/strong>of pending trouble. The meaning of the warning phrase “The morning is come unto thee,” the time magistrates sentenced offenders, seems to allude to the beginning of the final turn of fate. Calamity was at hand for all Israel, who yet dwelt in the land. “The day of trouble,” (double-trouble) is announced to be at hand, v.12; and not the “sounding again of the mountains,” or never again would praises of idol worship be shouted by them from the mountain tops, to defy the living God, as in their recent past, Jer 21:12<\/span>; Zep 1:14-15<\/span>; 1Th 5:5-7<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 8 sounds <\/strong>a repetition that the calamity judgment can not be retarded but will shortly, nigh immediately, fall as God’s Spirit would not always strive with men, individually or nationally, to turn them from their sins, v. 3, 4; Gen 6:3<\/span>; Pro 1:26<\/span>. The people were to learn, as a new generation, that it was the Lord who caused the Chaldeans to overrun their land, as a direct result of the sins of their fathers, Exo 18:2<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 9 further reiterates <\/strong>the idea that an Eternal, Holy God would not further tolerate, spare, or show pity on the polluted land of Israel, that was to be an “holy” or sanctified land, Lev 11:44-45<\/span>; Lev 20:7<\/span>; Num 11:18<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 10 calls upon <\/strong>all to behold or take note of the morning of the day of judgment. While at hand, this referred to the rod that had blossomed and pride <\/strong>that had budded, <\/strong>alluding to the proud oppression of Nebuchanezzar and the Babylonians, the instruments of God’s vengeance, Isa 10:5<\/span>. But each of the prophets seemed also to allude to that day of judgment of rewards and losses to which every child of God shall one day be brought in judgment, 1Co 3:8<\/span>; 1Co 3:13-15<\/span>; 2Co 5:10-11<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 11 declares <\/strong>that violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness or brought divine judgment upon all the land of Israel, Isa 5:7<\/span>; Jer 6:7<\/span>; Amo 3:10<\/span>. None in the whole land shall escape the catastrophes to be inflicted by the Chaldeans, whom God in His Sovereignty was to use, to execute His wrath upon His backslidden, rebellious, and idolatrous land. The judgment was to be so severe that there would not be one left unpunished to comfort another, Jer 16:5<\/span>, much as in Egypt that fateful night of Divine judgment, Exo 12:30<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 12 again reminded <\/strong>them that the time, day, or period had come, drawn near, so that the buyer of new property should not rejoice nor should the seller mourn; When captivity stared them in the face, the property owner would soon lose it all, and the one who had sold it would join him on a plane of equality, as slave brothers in a captive land. God’s wrath had been irrevocably fixed upon all who were in the land, v. 13; Lev 25:13<\/span>; 1Co 7:38<\/span>. This was the burden of Ezekiel’s prophecy, which he was to deliver, faithfully to all the house and land of Israel, both speaking and writing, passing the message on and on across the land, v. 7; Rom 1:18<\/span>; Psa 76:10<\/span>; Psa 90:7-8<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 13 warns that <\/strong>the seller will never be permitted to return and repurchase the land or properties that he hastily sold, even in the year of jubilee, Lev 25:13<\/span>. All hope of recovery of accumulated wealth, accumulated in willful rebellion against God, was to be forever forfeited, like that of Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah, like that of the rich-barn-builder who lived for self alone, and like Annanias and Saphirra, Gen 19:12-13<\/span>; Gen 19:22-26<\/span>; Luk 12:15-21<\/span>; Act 5:1-11<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 14<\/strong> describes the state of defeatism and despond to which all Israel had come in their land, once known as a courageous, ready, powerful people, they now ignored the “blowing of the trumpet, the call for able-bodied men to warfare, none would respond to defend property, religion, life or their country, Jer 6:1<\/span>. For God’s wrath was upon the multitude of the land, Pro 1:22-30<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 15 states <\/strong>that the sword was “without,” in the fields and countryside to slay, and pestilence and famine were “within” the cities, so that those in the fields “without” would die by the sword of the enemies. No security was to be found, Deu 32:25<\/span>. And those “within” would be devoured by famine and pestilence, ravaging. disease, and plagues of vermin, Eze 5:12<\/span>; Lam 1:20<\/span>. It was much as Christ warned of the Roman invasion, Mat 24:16-18<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 16 further <\/strong>prophesies that the few of the Israelites who do escape the sword and famine shall flee to the mountains, to keep themselves together, perhaps in dens and caves, where they would mourn like doves of the valley, each mourning because of his iniquity.<\/p>\n

Like hunted doves <\/strong>of the valley, they would fly to the rocks of the mountains to protect themselves, cooing one for another, with mournful sound, to keep the flock together; So would mercy be extended or life of a few in Israel be preserved, Psa 11:1<\/span>; Isa 59:11<\/span>. Sins often bring bitter fruit and many regrets that poured out prayers can not remove. Some sins are so grave against the flesh that man must pay for them in the flesh, even though God forgives the sinner, Gal 6:7-8<\/span>. If one becomes drunk, kills a companion or friend, breaks a leg or loses a limb in a drunken-caused accident, God can and will forgive him, but He will not restore the limb or bring the friend or loved one back to life; So it is with long pursued national sins of God-defying moral and ethical nature, Zec 12:10-12<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 17 declares <\/strong>that the hands of all Israel should be feeble and their knees as weak as water in the face of their enemies when the enemies came upon them, incapable of resistance, Psa 22:14<\/span>; Eze 21:7<\/span>; Isa 13:7<\/span>; Jer 6:24<\/span>. This was a repetition of their condition when they were smitten in Ai so that “the hearts of the people melted and became as water,” Jos 7:5<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 18 further declared <\/strong>that they would cover themselves with sackcloth, and horror should seize them, as shame would cover their faces and baldness would be upon their heads, as an expression of deep grief, Psa 55:8<\/span>; Isa 3:24<\/span>; Isa 15:2-3<\/span>; Jer 48:37<\/span>; Amo 8:10<\/span>. The baldness or sign of mourning was likely self inflicted, similar to that related, Ezr 9:3<\/span>; Mic 1:16<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Ezekiel seems here too verbose; for he repeats the same sentiments almost in the same words. But the reason which I have brought forward must be marked, if God had only uttered his commands shortly, when the people were not only slow to believe but of a perverse disposition, his message had proved cold and ineffectual. With this design he uses, as we have seen, many words, and now repeats the same: he now changes his expression, because he ought by all means to stimulate that sloth, or rather sluggishness, under which the people labored. Another thing to be noted is, that he came not once only by God’s command to preach to the people, but. that he was often sent to stir up their minds. For if he had included in one context what God had enjoined, the Israelites might for the time have thought of God’s judgment, but a prophecy once uttered would have easily escaped them. Besides, when Ezekiel testifies that he was sent by God, and afterwards returns and affirms that he brings new commands, this was more effectual to influence their minds. Now we see the meaning of the phrase, the word was given by Jehovah For this prophecy is distinguished from the former, and yet the matter is the same, without any difference, as it seems to weave in with the same discourse: this, indeed, is true, but he ought to be sent twice, that the people may understand that not once only, but twice and perpetually, what he heard from God’s mouth was to be repeated: since it was sufficiently clear, that God was anxious for their safety, since he never ceased to exhort them. Thus, therefore, says the Lord Jehovah concerning the land of Israel: an end is coming, an end upon the four corners of the land Here God seems to regard the moderate punishments which he had already inflicted on the kingdom of Israel. For we know that they often felt God’s hand, but when some relaxation was afforded them, they thought themselves escaped, so they forgot their wickedness and went on in it so carelessly that it was very clear that they despised God, unless when he oppressed them with his dreadful power. This seems the meaning of the word end, and it is emphatically repeated: an end is coming, an end upon the four corners of the land He puts, indeed, wings, but intends it metaphorically for four different regions. God, therefore, reproves the Israelites for their obstinacy, because though often chastised they did not cease to transgress, through not supposing that any thing more grievous could happen. He puts therefore the word end, as if he said, hitherto I have treated you moderately. And surely God had displayed a remarkable specimen of clemency in punishing the Israelites so lightly when he might utterly have cut them off. Since, therefore, he had so refrained himself in punishing, the sluggishness of the people was on that account the less tolerable, since they thought all was over as soon as God had withdrawn his hand. An end, says he, an end is come, that is, after this you must not hope for any moderation. I see there is no hope of repentance in you, and so I shall utterly consume you; and he adds, on the four corners of the land, as he had just said, in all your dwellings. Again, therefore, he teaches, that no part of the earth should be free from the slaughter which he predicts. It follows — <\/p>\n

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CRIME AND SOME OF ITS CAUSES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eze 7:1-27<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence (Eze 7:23<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

THIS language was spoken concerning the most favored land in the worldeven Canaan; and involved the description of the most godly city on eartheven the city of Jerusalem. I have no doubt that Ezekiel was called a croaker for having uttered it; denominated a pessimist; declared to be a back-number; etc. Such is the custom of those philosophers who, without data, have determined that the world is growing better, and who have no ears for the speech of the true Prophet of God.<\/p>\n

There are two ways to study the question of crime and violenceone is the way of the study of sociology, as expressed in pamphlets, books and organization; and the other is the way of keeping ones eyes open as he visits in homes, and walks through shops and streets. The intelligent observer will find an agreement between the testimony of good writers on the subject of crime and his own observation, to the effect that it is not diminishing. True, the man who writes an article, and by court and prison statistics shows that crime has increased in a few decades 200 per cent above the growth in population, and takes no account of the fact that in that civilization more evil deeds are counted criminal, more criminal acts are uncovered, more men and women are dragged to court and convicted than formerly, is perpetrating a falsehood, and he knows it. But, if we make all allowance possible for these ameliorating facts, still there is no reason for rejoicing. Crime is not on the decrease even in this civilized country or in this beautiful city.<\/p>\n

It is not my purpose at this time to attempt a full statement, or discussion, of all the possible causes of crime, but, rather, to lay emphasis upon a few of the most fruitful sources of the same. Some years ago Richard Vaux, the notable prison inspector, said,<\/p>\n

Crime in my mind is of three kindsinherent, inherited, and from association.<\/p>\n

<\/span>INHERENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have all heard the song, Shes not colored; she was born that way. It is true not alone as to physical, but also as to moral life. There is an evil principle in every man which may possibly work out his ruin. Without arguing the method of mans fall, without saying whether the Scripture account is true, or the less plausible theories are to be received, we can all agree that man has fallen. All are gone astray there is none that doeth good; no, not one.<\/strong> If anybody denies this, the burden of proof rests with him. As Joseph Parker said, Evidently something has disagreed with the world. We do not trust, love, honor, and help one another; we are selfish, mean, irascible, unforgiving; we know that our respectability is the thinnest part about us, and that the faintest scratch will touch the wolf. Whether he is to be of the coyote species, and so a common sinner, or whether he will prove black and ferocious, and hence criminal, is a question that nothing can settle but death, and so we dismiss it to take up those causes over which man has no control.<\/p>\n

<\/span>HEREDITY<\/strong><\/p>\n

There seems to be little question that some criminals are born so. Jobs query was a pertinent one, Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?<\/em> And his answer none the less so, Not one.<\/em> There are homes in every land that are hotbeds of crime. Difficult as it is to hatch a dove from a vultures egg, it is scarcely more difficult than to bring a clean child from criminal nests, such as abound in certain centers of our cities, and are found not infrequently in rural districts.<\/p>\n

You will remember that some of the royal histories of by-gone days show that the spirit of murder was quite as often inherited by the sons of cruel kings as were the thrones to which they succeeded. That humanity is the same whether it be in the prince or in the peasant is apparent when one compares royal history with peasant records.<\/p>\n

Years ago an old man died in the Massachusetts State Penitentiary at the age of 76. At the time of his decease his wife was confined in the same institution, while seven sons and one daughter had served terms behind the bars.<\/p>\n

When I was pastor in Illinois, Wm. Rudolph was hanged at Ottowa. His assumed name was Charles Ford and his crime the murder of David Moore. The murder was a brutal one and the motive robbery. The newspapers gave the recital of Fords history. His father was hung at Sing Sing; his mothers brother was then doing time in the same prison for train-wrecking; his sister kept a notorious house in Toronto, and his mother was driven away from West 28th St., New York, where she kept a thieves paradise. Later she was chased out of Chicago where she was living with her second husband, Charles Ford, who was also put in the penitentiary. Charles, the murderer, was born in the slums of New York and had been a tramp since his boyhood days.<\/p>\n

Mr. Havelock Ellis, in his interesting work on The Criminal recites the history of three brothers in France,Gene, Thomas and Pere Chretian. The first of them was the father of seven children, five of whom were thieves, and the sixth a murderer; the second had two boys, both murderers; and the third, but one child who was both a thief and a murderer. There can be little doubt that criminal thoughts and practices, on the part of the parents, give a criminal stamp to the child that affects both his physical and psychical natures, storing up in them lawless potentialities. It is a Law of God, affirmed in the Scriptures, and found to be scientific, that every creature brings forth after his kind.<\/p>\n

A most remarkable instance of this is recited in Dr. Dugdales book entitled The Jukes. Five sisters became criminal mothers. They themselves were of illegitimate birth and began life with criminal tendencies and surroundings. Their family tree shows 1200 sprouts, and of all the men, born into that infamous house, not twenty were skilled workmen, and ten of those learned their trade in prison. Fifty-two per cent of the women were utterly abandoned, and the normal children of the family were only two per cent. The cost to the government of that single evil tree exceeded a million and a quarter dollars in a generation or two.<\/p>\n

It is written in the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, All men are born free and equal. In the sense in which our political fathers meant it, the phrase is all right; in any literal sense it is utterly false. Thorny is the path before the feet of the criminars child. There is a beautiful little poem expressed after this manner: <\/p>\n

Ragged, uncomely, and old and gray,<\/p>\n

A woman walked in a Northern town,<\/p>\n

And through the crowd, as she wound her way <\/p>\n

One saw her loiter and then stoop down,<\/p>\n

Putting something away in her old torn gown.<\/p>\n

You are hiding a jewel, the watcher said,<\/p>\n

(Ah, that was her hearthad the truth been read) <\/p>\n

What have you stolen? he asked again,<\/p>\n

Then the dim eyes filled with a sudden pain,<\/p>\n

And under the flickering light of the gas,<\/p>\n

She showed him her gleaning. Its broken glass.<\/p>\n

She said, I hae lifted it up frae the street,<\/p>\n

To be oot o the road o the bairnies feet!<\/p>\n

Under the fluttering rags astir,<\/p>\n

That was a royal heart that beat!<\/p>\n

Would that the world had more like her,<\/p>\n

Smoothing the road for its bairnies feet!<\/p>\n

The man or the woman who could provide children with godly parents would do more towards smoothing the road for their feet than any other who ever attempted aught for little ones.<\/p>\n

<\/span>EVIL ASSOCIATES<\/strong><\/p>\n

If heredity is responsible for crimes deepest roots, evil associates furnish the noxious plant with a fertile soil, and favorable atmosphere. Goethe said truly, Tell me with whom thou dost company and I will tell thee who thou art. Centuries before Goethe was born, a much greater had said, Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.<\/em><\/p>\n

The extent of such corruption is measured by ones associates, and is further affected by the age at which one touches the evil circle. Let a child grow up with abandoned men and women where he constantly hears of crime, and no matter how rich his inheritance of pure blood, he will almost certainly come to his majority a bankrupt in morals and a criminal in character. The silent, but terrible, transformation is wrought by natural law in the spiritual world. The young sprout and plant is the one whose pores are most open, and it drinks in the most easily the elements of earth and air. The same is true of young humanity.<\/p>\n

We sometimes undertake to explain why young children, evilly associated, take to crime, on the ground of imitation. We know that the imitative faculty is peculiarly alert in young life; we naturally conclude that childrens crimes are only copies of those committed by their seniors. Of course there is something in it. There is something more than imitation; there is an inborn likeness as well as a developing resemblance.<\/p>\n

But over and above this, the child is also affected by the very atmosphere in which it lives. Life is not developed and determined by mere imitation. Character comes of what it feeds upon. We say of plants that they take in and assimilate the mineral properties of the soil; but our language is not exact, is not scientific, unless we also see that the plant itself is also assimilated to the soil.<\/p>\n

If young people were criminal only by imitation, if you remove them to righteous associates, they would be saved at once. But, alas, for the fact that when criminality is not bred in the bone it may yet be taken from the very atmosphere in which the child lives, into both bone and blood. I have known many a lad to live a comparatively clean life until he was well into his teens, yea, his twenties; and then, falling suddenly into evil company, take on his character so permanently that no persuasion, threats, afflictions, or sufferings sufficed to save him. Is it any wonder, then, that parents warn their young people against evil associates? Is it any wonder that preachers make their pleas at this point?<\/p>\n

Some friends in coming across the Atlantic years ago, in the Cretic, report that their vessel sighted what is known to the seafarer as a derelictor an abandoned vessel driven out to sea. They pulled out of their course to its side, sent men on board to see if any one was there who might be saved, and to get what valuables there might be on her, and then the great steamer stood for two hours waiting the demolition of this abandoned hulk, for the simple reason that if it were left afloat other vessels might crash into it and go down. That is the way men are sunken, and women. Every night in the week, in our own beautiful city; sometimes in low resorts, oftentimes in dance halls, and sometimes even in their own homes, youths touch the lost and are themselves sunken in consequence. Even maturity is not safe against evil associates.<\/p>\n

There are some appeals from which middle life is in no wise exempt, and to which it is peculiarly subject. The common impression is that if a man gets past the days of youth his future is certain; but the facts are all against it. To be sure the majority of men who make wreck of life do so in their inexperience; but some of the most noted criminal acts characterize those who had already created for themselves an enviable reputation, and position. Think of the fall of such a man as Parnell, the Irish leader; think of the conduct of such an orator as the eloquent Breckenridge; and we are face to face with the fact that neither age nor reputation, nor honorable office, exempt a man from temptation, and we learn afresh the need of the language of Holy Writ, Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall<\/em>. The man who walks the way of the world and keeps himself unspotted from its wickedness is to be congratulated; and the woman who can build up a character that resists temptation, however stealthily it may approach her and in whatever guise it may come, is equally to be congratulated. I heard a few days since this rather characteristic Irish storyIn the South land a certain professor was walking the streets one morning while Pat was plodding along ahead of him. The Irishmans feet slipped and he struck the earth with a thud. The preacher seeing him called out, Pat, the good Book says, The wicked stand in slippery places. To which Pat quickly responded, Faith, and I dont see how you do it.<\/p>\n

Certain it is that it is not of easy accomplishment.<\/p>\n

<\/span>SOCIAL DISORDERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

All crimes create social disorder; and in turn social disorder is responsible for many crimes. The strained relations between capital and labor keep the entire land on the ragged edge of the criminal gulf. No man can tell, what moment property and poverty will meet in the street and engage in deadly combat. If there is nothing more serious brewing than a difference between the managers and the employees of the city street car system, still it is difficult to adjust it without seeing criminals born of the discussion. If the case is that of a factory, a railroad, or some still more extensive employment, the danger grows, not only because of the greater number engaged, but because all social disturbances give better opportunity to the criminal element to get in its work of thievery, murder, etc. A riot of workmen seldom occurs, no matter how just the cause, but the disturbance is made the cover under which some uninterested devils do their black deeds.<\/p>\n

I have no small amount of literature furnished me every week to show two or three things. First of all, that the Church has espoused the cause of the rich and by estranging the poor, has increased crime. I fear, in too many instances, there is some truth in the charge. On the other hand, I am not certain that every socialist who walks the earth presents a panacea for the present predicament of property and poverty. When both sides of this subject shall have regarded the words of Scripture, Bear ye one anothers burdens, and so fulfil the Law of Christ<\/em> we will find its solution, and not before.<\/p>\n

Then there is the social scab of drink. You object when we place it under social disorders? Why not? Is not the carbuncle that eats away a mans throat a physical disorder? Then what else is liquor with its annual output of diseased bodies, depraved morals, poverty and ruin, but a social disorder, a cancer upon the community, poisoning its life-blood, and spreading all through society baneful influences? The man who talks of the causes of crime and says nothing of this incubator that hatches full-feathered jail-birds every day in the year, is a teacher whose ignorance is indescribable, or whose indisposition to cite true conditions is inexcusable. Think of such a remark as that made by Sir Matthew Hale, Englands Chief Justice: The places of judicature which I have long held in this kingdom have given me an opportunity to observe the original cause of most of the enormities that have been committed for the space of twenty years, and by due observation I have found that if the murders and manslaughters, burglaries and robberies, the riots and tumults, the adulteries, fornications, rapes and other enormities that have happened in that time, were divided in five parts, four of them have been the issues and products of excessive drinking. And yet some will vote to license it again! Unthinkable!<\/p>\n

I once did that; I can never do it again! I am opposed to any institution that makes additions to the county poor-house, enlarges the state asylums, adds extra wings to the state penitentiaries, paves the way to hell, and strong drink stands for all that! Thank God its death warrant was long since signed in America, and the day of its resurrection is distant!<\/p>\n

I want to give to you at this point a little illustration which involves a question that will be profitable to ponder. The court was hearing the case of a drunk. It was his third arrest. The Judge turned to the little woman who stood near, whose worn, sorrowful face had touched his heart and said, I am sorry, Madam, but I must lock up your husband. This is the third time he has been drunk. The injured wife, victim of the legalized saloon, one of the many who tasted the terrible consequence of that once licensed sin, had no thought whatever of touching deep moral, or economic problems, but only a bit of plain every-day common-sense question when she said, Your Honor, wouldnt it be better for me and the children if you locked up the saloon and let my husband go to work?<\/p>\n

Of one other social disorder I want to speak, and that is the one of<\/p>\n

<\/span>UNEXECUTED LAWS<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are men in every city who violate state statutes and municipal orders with impunity. Their crimes are well-known and of well-known character; and yet the officials connive at them, and let them run. When the law loving citizens call upon these officials to know why, instead of suspending crime, they practically support the same, the answer which has been common is this, We do not care to run ahead of public opinion in the matter.<\/p>\n

And it is a singular thing, that Christian men, editors of religious papers, should speak that shibboleth and think the same. If such editors had formerly lived south of the Mason and Dixon line they would not have opposed the hanging of a negro where public sentiment was in favor of it; if they had dwelt in the heart of Africa they would not have opposed the putting to death of the witch because the public sentiment there was in favor of it; if they dwelt in Utah they would never have opposed the plurality of wives while public sentiment there was in favor of it; if they had dwelt in certain districts of Russia they would never have opposed Nihilism while public sentiment, in that quarter, was in favor of it; if they dwelt in hell they would never oppose the devil because the public sentiment there is in favor of him!<\/p>\n

The time is coming; yea, is even now at hand, when this sort of talk will be silenced. The public is too intelligent to take to heart a big-mouthed brewer; too intelligent to take to heart a mayor in league with the immoral; too intelligent to receive it, at the lips of the chief of police; too intelligent to accept it from the pen of the editor; and certainly too intelligent to imagine that the small-brained reporter of a yellow sheet can pronounce upon what is advisable and its opposite!<\/p>\n

If the executive branches of government of this country are not learning their lesson now, namely, that it is not their business to legislate, or to judge, but to execute, they will learn it on the scaffold of public sentiment where their own execution will occur. If I were asked what I candidly believed to be the most prolific source of social disorder in the great civic centers of this land, I should not say poor parentagethough much is to be charged to that; I should not say the yellow-newspaper, though it is responsible for a considerable share. The connivance of public officials and street patrol-men at sin and crime, is one of the greatest sources of social disorder. When the time comes that the city voter removes the coward, the compromiser with the criminal, from public office, the time will be at hand when crime in the streets, and crime behind closed doors, will blanch with fear.<\/p>\n

Some of you will remember what Dr. Parkhurst once said concerning the police force of New York, There is not a form under which the devil disguises himself, that so perplexes us in our efforts, or so bewilders us in the devising of our scheme as the polluted harpies that, under the pretense of governing this city, are feeding, day and night, on its quivering vitals. They are a lying, perjured, rum-soaked lot. While we are trying to convert criminals, they manufacture them; and they had a hundred dollars invested in manufacturing machinery to our one invested in converting machinery. And there is no scheme in this direction too colossal for their ambition to plan and to push.<\/p>\n

If Parkhurst failed to do his duty to the administration of New York it was not the fault of his spirit, but rather the poverty of the English language. That the strength of his speech was exceeded by the infamy of city officials, few doubt. Certainly the language would not have been too strong for the Chicago social condition in the days when I wrought in that city as a pastor, and is too feeble to describe present official dominion; and our own beautiful metropolis is more and more coming to that size which shall tempt immoral men to make capital out of an evil administration.<\/p>\n

Permit me before closing to say, that while the social disorder is a subject for the voters consideration and correction, the personal disorder is a subject for the individual to consider and settle for himself. What one of us is exempt from evil tendencies; what one of us is proof against temptation; how many, even of this audience tonight may be compelled to confess, we are sold under sin, and may be impatient if I dismiss you without saying a word as to the possible escape therefrom.<\/p>\n

Let me say it can never result from a righteous parentage. Your father and mother may be righteous people, that will not necessarily redeem you; you may have inherited many good tendencies, that will not take you to Heaven; you may have associated with sweet and wholesome people in times past, and yet, even that did not enable you to resist temptation; you may have escaped the results of the social disorders mentioned, and yet your mind may be restless and your heart ill at ease.<\/p>\n

An illustration to the point, and I close, One morning a clipping from a New York paper was handed to my good friend, Miss Helen Gould, stating that a young lad had been arrested for vagrancy and when put in jail had said that he had stolen rides on trains and traveled over a thousand miles to find Miss Gould. She read the paper and became interested in the lad who had made such an effort to see her, and immediately dispatched one of her secretaries to the Island. There she found the lonely, but shrewd looking lad, who told, in a straightforward way, his interesting tale. For three years he had traveled in search of adventure. His life began in Georgia where he spent his time in dodging the blows of his parents. At ten years of age he was bound out to a wicked farmer. The work was irksome and one afternoon he climbed in on the trucks of a car and was suddenly speeding across the country. But fearful that he would be found, he jumped from the train, and, as he put it, hurted his leg. A trackwalker found him, took him to his home and nursed him until the broken leg was mended. Then the roving spirit came upon him and he made his way to the far West, by having lied to the conductor concerning a dying mother. From this time on he was constantly beating his way on railroads until in far California he had heard about Helen Gould and her love for children, and he thought if he could find her and she would be good to him he would lead a better life, and so he said he had come in search of her. Miss Goulds heart was touched. At first she sent her secretaries to talk with him and teach him every few days. Finally his good behavior won his release from the House of Refuge and she took him to her home at Woody Crest, Tarry town. She dressed him elegantly, provided him with a silk handkerchief, which was his especial longing. But beautiful clothes were distasteful to him; he did not feel comfortable in them; and the elegant dining table never looked so attractive as a plate in a dark corner, although for the first time he could get all the coffee he wanted, and for the first time had all the butter he could eat. When a steak was suggested he said, No; prefer pie. Then Miss Gould took him to her home on Fifth Avenue, hoping he would like it better. She showed him about its beautiful apartments. He admired the flowers, and when Miss Gould asked him which one he liked the best he pointed to a white lily saying, I like it, because it looks like you. This so delighted her that she said to her secretary, He seems like a little white lily himself, blossoming out of the mud. Carrying him back to Woody Crest he seemed content. But the humming of the passing freight trains was a call to his soul like the call of the wilds! He longed for adventure and, one day when unguarded, in his oldest clothes, but with plenty of money in his pockets, purloined even from other people, he departed and she never saw him again. How could a boy be provided a more beautiful mother, more beautiful surroundings, greater luxury; how hope for a more beautiful home this side of Heaven? And yet none of it satisfied his longing heart.<\/p>\n

Oh, men; the reason is plain; my sisters, the Lord long since put it into the Gospel of John. Turn to it and read, Ye must be born again. <\/em>Crime and the love of it will never die out of the soul until Christ and His love come in.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

5. LAMENTATION OVER THE DESOLATED LAND<\/strong> (Chap. 7)<\/p>\n

EXEGETICAL NOTES.In this chapter we have not so much an additional prophecy as a re-statement of principles and denunciations which had been already formulated. It affords abundant illustration of the tendency of Ezekiel to repeat his messages, and to use even the same forms of expression. But some of the repetition here must be, moreover, accounted for by the highly excited emotions under whose influence he wrote. That these emotions should take poetical modesabrupt utterances, rhythmical combinations, refrains, and demand again and again an avowal, these are matters which may receive many confirmations from ancient and modern, from biblical and secular literatures. Especially might a prophet, who was abiding under the shadow of God and was suffering in the sufferings of His people, give forth the signs of strong feeling in his words, and they with appropriateness present hints of the mighty power which constrained himof the divine voice which sounded in the chambers of his heart. We shall miss one purport of the message if we do not find it apprising us of visions suggesting the nature of the living and revealing Lord.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:1-4<\/span>. The imminence of the lands doom<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:2<\/span>. Thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel, An end.<\/strong> It seems preferable to read, Thus saith the Lord God. Unto the country of Israel an end.<\/em> By this reading it is more apparent that the prophet was not to address the country, but give a message respecting its impending downfall as a territory. This end was to be no minor end, but one in which many a past penalty culminated: the end is come upon the four corners of the land.<\/strong> Events in our own generation have shown that invading armies give birth to outrages on persons, waste of stores of food, outbreaks of pestilent diseases. The unearthed Assyrian sculptures may be taken as proofs that all such calamities were still more hideously evolved by the armies of Chaldea. Once and again that bitter and hasty nation had launched its hordes across the land of Israel. They would not spare age or sex; they would burn up crops and destroy grain which they could not carry away; they would leave behind them, where they did leave any, a depressed, impoverished population, amongst whom pestilence would find a wide field for its ravages. Every quarter of the region of Israel would have, as it were, come to its end when the Chaldean soldiers had made their last inroad, and there would be nothing more of a monarchy filled by the house of David.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:3<\/span>. Now the end is upon thee;<\/strong> it is just at hand, and the harvest for which that and preceding generations has been sowing will be immediately reaped. Iniquity was full, and no more space for confessions and promises of amendment would be given. The end would come through the operations of the Lord: I will send<\/strong>I will judge<\/strong> I will recompense<\/strong>give, or lay,<\/em> &c.; but His operations would be instigated by the ways<\/strong> and abominations<\/strong> of the people.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:4<\/span>. The three chief clauses have been stated before. The first agrees with chap. Eze. 5:11<\/span>; the second with Eze. 7:3<\/span>, except that the threatenings here intimate a closer connection between the painful consequences to the people and their doings; I will lay upon thee thy ways,<\/strong> is put for judging them according to their ways;<\/em> and instead of laying on them all their abominations,<\/em> as a burden external to them, thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee,<\/strong> affecting from within as well as from without. The third clause is another repetition of the purpose with which this terrible end as well as other moral punishments was carried out, Ye shall know that I am the Lord<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

HOMILETICS<\/em><\/p>\n

SOME ASPECTS OF GODS GOVERNMENT OVER MEN<\/p>\n

Ezekiel, like the Hebrew prophets in general, saw the working of other than material forces among the inhabitants of the world, and that with a clearness which cannot be paralleled in any nations records. In this short paragraph the traces of such insight are perceived to be set in no ambiguous phraseology.<\/p>\n

I. There is progressive spiritual development in human history<\/strong>. The whole Bible, when rightly considered, is a witness to this. Each part of it is laid as an organic accretion on that part which went before. Nor is this conclusion to be referred only to events: it is as certain in regard to principles and truths. Moral and religious ideas and practices contained in the doctrine of Christ are seen to be vaguely and inadequately appreciated before they are clearly and more fully perceived. And not a thing of His is stationary. It will, doubtless, take new forms in the mind of every believer as he passes through the normal stages of growth. He is first a babe using milk, and he has to go on unto the stature of a perfect man. As it is with individuals, so is it with a nation and with the race. They will learn the evil of sin and the obligation of holiness, not by a sudden catastrophe and revelation, but by slowly evolving processes of loss and pain, of yearning and hope. The development may seem very often retarded, the divine event, in which the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, may be far off, nevertheless the<\/em> end shall come, for which other ends have been arrived atthe end at which all things shall be seen subjected to Him who is all in all.<\/p>\n

II. There is a signal doom for progressive phases of wrongdoing<\/strong>. The Israelites had been again and again afflicted very sore because of their iniquities, but they had continued to possess something like a national life throughout those calamities. Their chastisement had produced no true amendment, however, and that judgment which should include in its operation the consequences of all their unrighteousness would entirely alter the aspects of the chosen people. They had been moving on to this catastrophe, and Ezekiel was enlightened to see its near approach. He understood the signs of his times; he interpreted their meaning, and pressed upon the understanding and consciences of the people the awful guilt in which they were involved, by the sins of their fathers as by their own sins. He declared that there would be no suspension now; the end of Israel as a society, organised according to forces which had been existing for generations, was reached. Whatever may be its influence in the world hereafter, it will be exerted under different conditions from that of its past. The lines over which its future will move must be projected into new scenery. In signifying this fact the prophet may be held to propose two principles<\/p>\n

1. All calamities are bound up in preceding events and tendencies<\/em>. An effect is nothing but the sequence of causes. However different it appears from them, not one thing is in it which is not the product of that which has gone before. There was no weight pressing the Jewish people into the dust which they had not lifted upon themselves; there was no stripe inflicted but was drawn down by a disobedience. The punishment was only another form of the abomination indulged in, as the slag is but another form of ingredients in metals which have been exposed to fire. We are what we are, we suffer what we suffer, not by any chance, but by reason of what has already happened to us. There is judgment and mercy in this. We learn what our disposition and conduct lead to. We shall bear our own burden, whatever it be, because we have first put our shoulder under the yoke which makes that burden.<\/p>\n

2. Calamities are specially painful in the last stage of critical changes<\/em>. Israel had grossly belied its God, had practised debasing superstitions, had walked amid the festering swamps of what was lowest and vilest. There was no remedy unless it might come through a judgment which would fill them with terror and anguish. By sword, famine, pestilence, the land would be harried. Yet the terribleness of the inflicted evil was but the incoming of wicked ways and defiling abominations to roost.<\/p>\n

The wise gods seal our eyes
In our own filth, drop our clear judgments, make us
Adore our errors, laugh at us as we strut
To our confusion.<\/p>\n

The effort to turn unfair privileges into fairness for all, or to make bad laws into good, is never easy. The discomfiture of interests which are hurtful to the moral welfare of a people cannot be brought about without serious conflict and losses. The attempt to promulgate new land laws for Ireland, the struggle with the slave-power in the United States, the shattering of the ancien regime<\/em> of France, the perilous turmoil of the Reformation, the destruction of feudalism throughout Europe, are witnesses that no revolution of thought or practice is painless. In a sense it is sin finding out the sinners, as in this end of Israel.<\/p>\n

Such an end, however, introduces a new process. The old passes away never to reappear. The suffering which characterises the transition prepares for another condition in which trouble and pain may still be, but which is the foretoken of richer blessings in coming days.<\/p>\n

III. There is a divine will shaping events<\/strong>. Natural or social forces cannot, when regarded simply as natural agents, light upon the persons who have done wickedly. They are weapons held in the hands of the righteous Lord. They strike where He directs them to, and with the weight which He chooses to employ. It is the tendency of our modern thinking to set forth the external phenomena as all that requires attentionas if we were to be concerned with the powder which exploded, and not with the person who had laid it and lighted the match. But it is the living Ruler who, in the operation of moral laws, gives to them their power to punish and to improve. Individuals and nations are not atoms vibrating under unconscious forces and sequences; they are sinners judged for their sins, and judged if so be they will learn righteousness and turn to Him who smites them. When He destroys one house it is that He may build another. When He buries the worm-pierced shell, it is that by its decomposition a more fertile soil may be formed.<\/p>\n

It is thus throughout all generations. The Eternal God manifests no change in His judgments on right and wrong. All events convey indications of His judgment and of the winding up of earths chequered story on the last day; and they also convey indications of His gracious purpose to make the knowledge of the Lord cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. How the judgment and the mercy will be worked into the changing thoughts of the world is too deep a problem for us to solve. But nevertheless we may hold unwaveringly to the principle that the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations.<\/p>\n

EXEGETICAL NOTES.Eze. 7:5-9<\/span>. No necessity exists for supposing that the text of this strophe, on account of its close resemblance to the preceding verses, is corrupt. A better interpretation would make us believe that the deep feeling of the prophets Lord seeks again to utter itself through the feeling of the prophet. It is natural to repeat a cry of anguish or a complaint under the pressure of that which distresses us.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:5<\/span>. An evil,<\/strong> which is placed in a specially distinct light by the epithet added, an only evil, behold, is come.<\/strong> The calamity about to befall Israel would be of a singular kind, for which no parallel could be found (chap. Eze. 5:9<\/span>). The Lord will make an utter end; trouble shall not rise up the second time (Nah. 1:9<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:6<\/span>. This unique evil would be folded up in an end<\/strong> of Israels state, which, now inevitable, is come.<\/strong> It had been slumbering, but the end watcheth for thee.<\/strong> It is wakeful and observant. It is, as a pent-up flood, held back by a sole remaining obstacle, and that also showing signs of giving way. The measure of iniquity is full and the condemnation will no more linger. Behold, it is come,<\/strong> and includes in itself the completion of all that is embraced in the divine, righteous judgments.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:7<\/span>. The morning.<\/strong> The Hebrew word thus translated is of uncertain import. Besides here and Eze. 7:10<\/span>, the only other place in which it occurs is Isa. 28:5<\/span>, and there it is translated by diadem<\/em>. That meaning cannot be accepted for this chapter. A prophetical morning is generally applied to the breaking forth of light, deliverance, &c., yet an explanation seems requisite that is not in accordance with such an idea. The most favoured conclusion is that which connects the word with an allied root indicating that the word here means something which makes a round or circle, and is metaphorically interpreted of that which the revolution of time promotes: the turn,<\/em> the fate, that which is destined is come unto thee the day of trouble is near<\/strong>. The laws of Hebrew parallelism suggest that the word translated trouble<\/em> is in a relation of contrast to the next clause of the verse, and not the sounding again of the mountains<\/strong>. This, as it stands, is somewhat unmeaning. To say that the phrase alludes to the joyous shoutings at vintage-time, and to understand it as intimating that there would be no more the exuberant joy of harvest upon the mountains, appears to be rather farfetched. More probable is it that the allusion is to idolatrous festivities upon the mountains of Israel, as was illustrated by the prophets of Baal when, sacrificing to their god upon Mount Carmel, they made loud and prolonged sounds. We prefer to translate thus: The day is near; a tumult<\/em>as in a panic of fugitives from the sword and famine (cf. Eze. 6:4-6<\/span>)and not shouts<\/em> of idolaters when worshipping upon the mountains<\/em>. The silence of death would fall upon the scenes where dishonour was done to the living God.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:8<\/span>. The end cannot be retarded. Now will I shortly<\/strong>immediatelypour out my fury upon thee<\/strong>. His judgment will not linger any more. The course of evil will take Israel into the woes and horrors produced by their own sins. The following clauses have been already presented, with slight verbal differences, in Eze. 7:3<\/span>, and Eze. 7:9<\/span> is a similar repetition of Eze. 7:4<\/span>. The abominations stand in Israels midst not in their alluring, seductive form, but with all the woe which comes in their train (Haev). The point of definiteness which is to be recognised is the unchanging purpose of all the Lords dealings. Ye shall know that I the Lord smite<\/strong>. The people were to realise that it was really not the Chaldeans, but their Eternal Holy King who was inflicting the punishment and claiming recognition and submission. The Lord the life-giver, who would die to preserve His children, but would rather slay them than they should live the servants of evil.<\/p>\n

HOMILETICS<\/em><\/p>\n

TROUBLE ON TROUBLE FOR SIN (Eze. 7:5-9<\/span>)<\/p>\n

Human experiences have caused the formulating of such proverbs as It never rains but it pours, Misfortunes never come alone. If many who use such words make no reference, when another weight of suffering is laid upon one already imposed, to the primal power which maintains this course of affairs, there was no omission in respect to that power among the statements of Hebrew prophets. They discerned the shadowy movements of a righteous Ruler, producing not only an isolated trouble, but also clusters of troubles. They were well aware that truth, if unpalatable, required to be enforced again and again, and that a true lesson, which might not be learned under the infliction of one pain, might be learned when pain was followed by pain. The same method was observed in Him who spake as never man spake. The stern repetition of woe unto you, which Jesus deemed it fitting to emit, must have made the ears of scribes and Pharisees to tingle; even to-day the awe and dread survive when they are read. It seems established as a principle of divine procedure that transgressors may learn righteousness by reiterated judgments. We may receive directions as to a becoming way of regarding repeated trials from our prophet. He suggests<\/p>\n

I. That sufferings for sins will be completed<\/strong>. An evil first comes, and afterwards an evil which will make a singularly deep impression,an only evil. The end which utterly condemns the sin is not brought about at once. Stages of progress towards it are taken. Some of the sinners may repent, or may die before the last point is reached, but they who do arrive there have passed other stages previously. The suffering may be so slight that the individuals or nations affected can afford to make light of it and go on their usual way. It may be so serious that they stand for days or months in a sort of fear of doing wrong, then their goodness, like the morning cloud or early dew, vanishes away. The end of inflicting the various sufferings will, nevertheless, come. The house whose foundation has been laid in sand will be touched in successive years by casual floods, but not till the fatal year, when a dire flood will descend, shall the house be overthrown. A nation may continue for one century or more to indulge in luxurious living and to practise ungodly conduct; but the blows of truth and right will be repeated until the old evil state falls down. Their feet will slide in due time<\/em>. They will reap what they have sown and the end of justice will be attained.<\/p>\n

II. That sufferings for sins are of varying degrees<\/strong>. Similar sins may be chargeable against different individuals, but similar sufferings are not endured in consequence. It is a perplexity in modern days, as it was in the days of Job, and as insoluble to us as it was to him and his friends. The messages of Ezekiel threw a streak of light into our perplexity. They indicate that the utmost sufferingthat which will be recognised as greater than any othercomes as a result of loosening the ties which should hold men to God. Let there be disregard to divine rights, and sooner or later there will be disregard to human rights. And when both God and our brethren are sinned against, the penalty for the misdeeds may well be felt as singular in its intensity, and evoke comments in marts of business as well as in meetings for religious objects. Thus the observant eye is trained to see striking differences in the inflictions befalling men who go in wrong courses.<\/p>\n

III. That sufferings for sin may be rapidly accelerated in their final stage.<\/strong> The Babylonian army kept hovering over Judea and now and then swooping down upon it; but at length, when that watchful foe came in aggravated wrath, the ruin of Jerusalem was speedily consummated, and the Jewish nationality was crumpled up as by a sudden blight. The Babylonian Empire in its turn, after resisting various shocks, fell to pieces as in a moment: In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain, and Darius the Mede took the kingdom (Dan. 5:30-31<\/span>). Our generation has seen, in the war between France and Germany, how the Empire which had been raised by gunpowder and glory collapsed with startling abruptness. This event need not be taken to mean that the French Empire was deluding and wicked beyond all other governments; yet at least it may be taken to mean that a short work on the earth may be made with communities which allow themselves to be misled by interested and pretentious designs. They will not use time to repent till confusion seizes them. Whether that confusion will become ruinous, as was the case with Babylonia, or whether it will prepare for new conditions of national existence, as was the case with Israel, cannot be foretold by merely human perspicacity. Any way the contingency is instructive in showing that it is not wise to make light of troubles which are regarded as inconsiderable. The moans of the forest-trees presage an approaching hurricane: slight pains prognosticate the attack of a virulent fever; and the temporal and mental sufferings which come in consequence of sins should ever be taken as warning of an end that may be destruction. What though you can bear the uneasiness or disregard it, yet remind yourselves that that brings no pledge of safety from a sad and fearful aggravation of trouble some day. How are they brought into a desolation as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.<\/p>\n

1. It becomes peoples and persons to be earnest in learning the lessons which are given by repeated disappointments, checks, pains, sorrows, lest evil come upon them from which they shall not escape.
2. It becomes them to stand in awe of the Invisible Worker whose varying processes manifest His will to restrain and to deliver from sin.<\/p>\n

RENEWED ASSERTION OF THE APPROACH OF THE CALAMITY (Eze. 7:10-18<\/span>)<\/p>\n

EXEGETICAL NOTES.Eze. 7:10<\/span>. Behold the day, behold it is come<\/strong>. It is remarkable with what unity the various prophets speak of the troubles which they threatened as culminating in a day. It seems as if they saw in calamities an ever-recurring omen of that day in which earths story would be judged of as a whole. If that final judgment could not distinctly loom before their gaze, it cast its dark and troubled shadows across the scene in respect to which they had to utter the burden of the Lord. To us, as to them, all sufferings for wickedness are fore-tokens of the last great day, when the fire shall try every mans work and consume all that is not fit to abide in a renovated world wherein dwelleth righteousness. Those recurring days and their phenomena were already determined. The [morning] destiny goes forth, the rod blossoms, pride buddeth.<\/strong> The reference of these words is not to an evil which germinated within the territory of Israel, but to an evil external to it, which was springing up and would become an instrument of execution. The rod is the rod of the Lords angerthe rod of the oppressor, represented in the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar. Like a shoot his power was growing, giving signs of vigorous vitality, rapidly taking the form which would render it fit to strike hard, and to do so with a will energised by boasting pride.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:11<\/span>. Violence rises into a rod for wickedness.<\/strong> The cruelty and outrages of the Chaldeans, against which the prophets Habakkuk and Jeremiah deal out strong invectives, would be methods for punishing the wicked doings of Israel. At the sight Ezekiel becomes too deeply affected to fill up with verbs the four following brief sentences, and he merely prefixes to each a negative. We might render them literally, in terms of the English version, not from them, and not from their multitude, and not from them of them, and not wailing in them<\/strong>. The compression and uncertain allusions make the sense somewhat doubtful. Besides, the meanings assigned to the several words are not generally accepted, as marginal readings testify. The interpretation given in the Speakers Commentary is: The furious Chaldean has become an instrument of Gods wrath, endued with power emanating not from the Jews, or from the multitude of the Jews, or from any of their children or people; nay, the destruction shall be so complete that none shall be left to make lamentation over them. Though this comment scarcely satisfies the demands of linguistic accuracy, it sufficiently shows the bearing of the prophets utterances. The catastrophe would be such that no one would be left to resist. Stroke will so come upon stroke that lamentation will be forgotten in despair. It is the highest degree of pain when the capacity to complain expires (Heng.) The weight of scholarship, however, as to the last clause, gives for its translation, and <\/em>there is<\/em><\/strong> no attractiveness in them;<\/em> all that beauty of the Lord their God which had been upon them shall be consumed away and utterly disappear.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:12<\/span>. In that state of affairs, property, upon which such high value is set, would produce no comfort. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn<\/strong>. It is natural for the buyer to rejoice and for the seller to lament, but no ground of joy should be found in that which might seem to be a good purchase, because it will turn out to be a source of trouble and pain. There would be as little ground for grief in parting with property. The enemy would seize it all, taking goods, cattle, houses, land, without distinction of persons. When slavery and captivity<\/strong> stare you in the face, rejoicing and mourning are equally absurd (Jerome). And no one should be passed by, because wrath is upon all its multitude;<\/strong> upon all who dwell in the territory of Israel whose end is pronounced.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:13<\/span> is to be regarded as a development of what was just said concerning the universality of wrath. The seller<\/strong> is not to mourn, for he shall not return to that which is sold<\/strong>. He may have become an exile; the fall in the value of property may have made it burdensome to hold; there may have been forced sales of substance which had been prized by the sellerhe need not allow one regret. He will never find an opportunity to get back what he had thus let go: not although they were yet alive<\/strong>, i.e<\/em>., whoever of the sellers might be counted among the living were not to cherish any hope that in time they should recover the property which they had sold. As parts of the surviving remnant they would be in a captive state from which they would have no restoration, or the waves of Chaldean rapine would so beat upon the whole territory as to obliterate every trace of former arrangements. Life would not bring back again past enjoyments. Again Ezekiel emphasises the indiscriminateness of the punishment: for the vision<\/strong> which he has described as shadowing forth the imminent evil is upon,<\/strong> has reference to, all its multitude<\/strong>. In the words which immediately follow, the prophet does not intimate a possible event happening to the multitude, but repeats that which had been already said of the sellerhe shall not return<\/strong>. Yet should any one suppose that, by fraud, violence, or other immoral way, he would be able to reassert his title to the possessions he once had, he must disabuse his mind of the folly, neither shall any strengthen themselves in the iniquity of his life;<\/strong> or, to put it literally, and a man in the iniquity of his lifethey shall not strengthen themselves<\/em>. The same movement, viz., from a single representative to all the individuals, which we see in the first half of the verse, is repeated in this last clause, and scope is given for variety of translation. Keils is, and no one will strengthen himself as to his life through his iniquity<\/em>. But whatever order the words may be put into, the meaning is conveyed that no one whosoever, so long as he is alive, will have any ease by his iniquity; he will be weak and crippled still, unable to escape the doom of wrath.<\/p>\n

Many commentators find in these two verses distinct references to the continued vigorous usages of the law for the jubilee year, according to which land and houses reverted to their original owners. It is, to say the least, doubtful if this idea can be sustained. That the phrases of the prophet are moulded by principles inherent in the law of jubilee is not at all unlikely, but that his popular phraseology should be held to intimate that the processes incident to that law were validly maintained is more than can be granted. It is very questionable whether the law was observed at all in the later periods of Jewish history, if in the earlier. The remarkable omission of any satisfactory indication of its operation, of course, cannot be pleaded as a proof that the enactment had become altogether obsolete; but it may be taken to show that, like the community of goods in the primitive Jerusalem Church, the plan became unworkable in a society fermenting with the elements of social changes. With the exception of a very few indecisive expressions in Isaiah and Jeremiah, as well as this one here, not a single prophet has condemned neglect of jubilee enactments or acknowledged their fulfilment. Perhaps it should be regarded as a collateral proof of the law of jubilee being in abeyance, that that section of the law, which required Hebrew bond-servants to be set free in the jubilee year, was certainly disregarded in practice. Jeremiah (chap. 34) shows that there had been a momentary reaction towards obedience to the aforesaid section; but that unbrotherliness and greed had soon brought a return of the prohibited oppression. Mans failure to carry out such a law is not a sign that its principles are unsound or its practice impossible in human societies. Both it and the having all things common in Christian Churches have these characterising features, that Gods authority is placed over all things, and that all men are brethren. We look for an age in which these shall be supremely prominentthe good time coming, when love shall reign over all the earth. Ezekiel mentions the development of the slighted principles of those old decrees as sure to appear in that new theocracy, whose details he will afterwards set forth (chap. Eze. 46:16-18<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:14-15<\/span>. A more disastrous result than the depreciation and abandonment of property would be evident in the unhinged and demoralised spirit of the people. The biblical history of the Jews goes to prove that on the whole they were brave and courageous, ready both to defend themselves and attack others. This characteristic would be lost in the grievous period of the end so close at hand. They have blown the trumpet, and,<\/strong> with the view to make all ready<\/strong>a call to all capable of bearing arms is sounded, and they are summoned to stand equipped in every particular for meeting the foe. It is in vain; there is no martial response. It is not for want of men, money, weapons. Besides country, property, religion, life are at stake, but none goeth forth to the battle<\/strong>. The consciousness of lying under divine punishment unmans them: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof<\/strong>. This would be shown in the fatal sufferings which they would endure. They would be cut down in the open by the sword of the enemy. They would perish in pent-up streets or closed houses by hunger and disease. The issues of death would fatally work upon them.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:16<\/span>. Yet the door of mercy will not be utterly walled up; some fugitives will reach safety through it, though they may be few. For them it is provided, and they shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys<\/strong>. Those survivors will seek refuge in elevated, retired districts, acting on the idea which was enunciated at a later day by Jesus of Nazareth, Let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains. In such a condition of hardship they will keep togetherbe like flocks of pigeons which have been disturbed in their resorts on the lower ground, and maintain a continual cooing among the rocky heights up to which they have flown for safetyall of them mourning<\/strong>. Similar expressions used by other prophets indicate that the sound natural to doves was regarded by the Hebrews as suggestive of sorrow. Ewald says, The Arabian poets still find in cooing the sounds of lamentation, as if the birds notes came from a feeling of pain. In English poetry we find<\/p>\n

The stockdove only through the forest coos, Mournfully hoarse.<\/p>\n

This mourning, on the part of all those who had escaped from the terrors of death, would be aggravated by an element for which there was no alleviating counteractive in earthly means; every one for his iniquity<\/strong>. Each sees not only that sin had been no defence, but also that it brings bitter regrets, and he could complain of its deceitfulness. This recoil from iniquity was not an unusual course for the Israelites. Successive eras of their national history furnish illustration of those words of Isaiah, In trouble have they visited Thee; they poured out a prayer when Thy chastening was upon them. They could perceive, in the evils which befell them, tokens of the wrongs they had been guilty of, as no other people contemporary with them, and perhaps no people of any period whatever, could do. The rights of God over them were again and again brought into distinctness after seasons of effacement. They then recognised that relief was to be sought nowhere save in God alone, and they afflicted their souls before Him. Too often, with the majority, it was not with godly sorrow, but with the sorrow of the world. They grieved over the hard consequences of sin rather than over its dishonouring of the Father. They longed for the removal of its punishment rather than for deliverance from its power and guilt.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:17-18<\/span>. The weakness and general helplessness of the fugitives are depicted in strong figurative terms, All hands, all knees,<\/strong> as inadequate for their functions as if their strength had wholly slipped awaya repetition of the scene in the wilderness, when the children of Israel were smitten by the men of Ai and the hearts of the people melted and became as water (Jos. 7:5<\/span>). In addition to this, demonstrative expressions of defencelessness would be displayed. The conspicuous parts of their bodies would be visibly made to show their utter abandonment to fear and grief. Sackcloth<\/strong> would gird<\/strong> them; trembling<\/strong> would cover<\/strong> them; the shame<\/strong> of vexation and punishment would suffuse itself over their countenances, and BALDNESS overrun their HEADS. The baldness might be self-inflicted in the manner narrated by Ezra. (Eze. 9:3<\/span>), when he was overwhelmed with horror for the transgression of his people. It has been often said that such baldness was prohibited to Israel, but the reference usually made for that statement (Deu. 14:1<\/span>) does not prove it. That verse speaks of taking hair from a certain part of the head only. At any rate, allusions in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Micah signify that depriving the head of its hair was not an uncommon procedure in seasons of deep grief.<\/p>\n

HOMILETICS<\/em><\/p>\n

HOW MANS DESTINY IS BROUGHT ABOUT<\/p>\n

The destiny goes forth, the rod blossoms, pride buddeth, violence rises into a rod for wickedness<\/em> (Eze. 7:10-11<\/span>).<\/p>\n

These words allude to the Babylonian monarchy as growing in power, and having in it the destiny to shatter the Jewish state for its persistent wrong courses towards its covenanted Lord. We read them and see how, to the sprouting of power which can,<\/em> corresponds the blossoming of pride which will,<\/em> be a terror and destruction. We are furnished with a representation in outline of the methods by which straying souls are recompensed according to their ways and abominations.<\/p>\n

I. Their destiny is not a fortuitous event<\/strong>. It is a growtha product of, it may be, hidden and manifold causes. Generally, we cannot tell how we had become liable to a cold, a fever, a face-ache or heart-palpitation; but our inability to trace the movements which culminated in the attack does not make us hesitate to say that we had come under influences sufficient to produce the indisposition. It was not a random blow. We have reason to take the same position in reference to all personal, to all national fears, losses, defeats. There is no such thing as accident, chance in human affairs. If we have to pass through fire and through water, they were in our way. If men ride over our heads, they were mounted on horses spurred to do so.<\/p>\n

II. Destiny is not from the mere fiat of God<\/strong>. He works by law. He begins to act because of righteousness and truth. He continues to act for righteousness and truth. The nature of things moves towards the punishing of evil by operations which may be said to be outside of God, that is, by using forces which the Almighty One has called into existence. Every decree of His is therefore adapted to antecedent conditions. Violence rises up into a rod by no arbitrary will. The moral government of God may tend to an inevitable fate, but it is a reasonable one.<\/p>\n

III. Destiny is accomplished by fitting instruments<\/strong>. I said, in agreement with the phraseology of the prophet, that destiny is a growth. Each kind of tree in growing appropriates those elements in the atmosphere and soil which are suited to its nature. The bread-fruit tree prepares to support the life of man, and the upas-tree to poison him. And in the moral realm the elaboration of good things to save man and of evil things to destroy him is always proceeding. When the time is ripe they arrive at their suitableness for use, and are capable of carrying out the destined event. But the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous. Pride will smite pride, violent dealing will be crushed by violence. When men sin they set briers and thorns against the Lord who is in conflict with them; but it is only to see that He goes through them, that He burns them up together. He never stands perplexed because He has no instrument at hand to execute His holy law.<\/p>\n

IV. Destiny is the summing up of previous actions<\/strong>. We say that violets are gathered for their sweet perfume and wheat for its nutritious qualities, and we mean that the different lots which befall them is due to those antecedent chemical operations which form their properties. We should say the same of every individual and every nation on whom scares, and pains, and loss, and ruin spread their blight. They took a course in which they gathered up certain materials. Whether those materials were drawn from the external or the internal world, both sorts became the means of bruising, tearing, killing those who had gathered them. Hast thou not procured this unto thyself? Thine own wickedness shall correct thee and thy backslidings shall reprove thee (Jer. 2:17<\/span>; Jer. 2:19<\/span>). It is foolish to speak of an evil destiny except as a consequence of foregoing faults.<\/p>\n

1. Punishment for sin comes slowly<\/em>. It is not the result of a force which appears suddenly on the stage of life. It is no hasty stroke for which there was not sufficient justification, and the incidence of which might cause valid regrets. It is a growth. The evil-doers may escape for a season, but in due season, sooner or later, according to the nature of the sin, they shall receive the just award on their deeds. Let not your hearts be set towards evil because the sentence against it is not executed speedily. Use the space given for repentance.<\/p>\n

2. Punishment for sin comes surely<\/em>. Human strength, wisdom, sympathy cannot stay the reproductive powers of nature, and they cannot annihilate the accumulating energies of moral evil. The cotton which will form the shroud for some of you who are enjoying good health is to be plucked off sun-lit fields. The weather which will bring famine to you, prodigals, has begun its action upon the scenery begirding you. The disease which will render offensive the debauchee is finding nourishment in him for its germs. The death which will destroy those who are ungodly is on their foot-tracks, and will not miss its aim. Inevitable is the woe which will fall upon the head of the wicked. Nothing can interfere; nothing can savenothing except a change of mind; nothing except submission to the love and power of God manifested in Jesus Christ our Lord!<\/p>\n

WEAK POINTS IN HUMAN LIFE (Eze. 7:11-18<\/span>)<\/p>\n

Nature in its various formsin himself and in what is external to himselfoccupies mans interest and efforts. He is disposed to rest in its use. He does not look through nature up to natures God. But nature is from God, and man must be taught that in every one of its characteristics it is subjected to the authority of Gods laws. If used according to His will, it is glorified: if contrary to His will, it must be made to appear weak as a prop for life on earth. Observe this weakness<\/p>\n

I. In the common fate of men<\/strong>. There is no abiding. We must needs die. The place that knows us now shall soon know us no more. Our beauty will consume away. Where is populous No? What has become of the Israelites of all generations? Whatever be the power of the forces which hold the activities of a single life, or whatever be the forces which go to constitute the life of a puissant nation, in either case the power is helpless to safeguard its subjects when they do wickedly. Iniquity, that is the poison which destroys strength, that the traitor which opens to the rod which brings death. The nature of man succumbs before the righteous fiat of God.<\/p>\n

II. In the precariousness of property<\/strong>. Men make gold their hope, which is digged out of natures reservoirs. They pride themselves when their goods are increased. They call their lands by their own names. Many are willing to sacrifice truth, honesty, peace, so as to get unrighteous gain in buying and selling. But no products of nature, however largely estimated and depended on as a security, can be retained in use. A time comes when they may be counted a burden and sorrow, and buyers and sellers be equally conscious that the possession of them is untenable, that they are too evanescent to give help in danger, and must take rank with the weak things of the world.<\/p>\n

III. In the failure of courage<\/strong>. Human nature can furnish proofs of courage which dignify it, but fears of injury or death can cause the stoutest to lose their presence of mind, and panics fall upon individuals and bodies of men. Appeals to honour and patriotism and care for property are vain. The stirring notes of the trumpet are altogether powerless to incite to conflict. None goeth to the battle. Before the wrath of God the multitude has no spirit left in it.<\/p>\n

IV. In the insecurity of a retreat<\/strong>. The fugitive Israelites who had escaped sought a safe hiding-place, and that brought experiences which were almost worse than death. Our bodily nature cannot be hardened or protected against increasing troubles, nor does one kind of calamity guarantee us freedom from every other kind. Life may be preserved from extinction by sword or famine or pestilence, but the circumstances into which it is thrown may be full of fear and grief and torment. Ah! if men could only get away from all tribulation by fleeing from one form of it, how different would our natural life appear! But the pains which follow sin are not voided by any temporary punishment. Our wrongdoing may be seen and regretted; that does not avert sure penalty. Youth spent in sensual pleasures may be deeply and sincerely lamented, but the wild oats then sown leave seeds on the hearts soil which are not eradicated even after many a ploughing and harrowing. A ticket-of-leave convict finds his crime, however he may stand clear from it now, will prevent any confidential employment. And when God rises up to punish, mourning, sackcloth, horror, shame, go to show that the stripes needed, therefore just and suitable, will be inflicted to the utmost lash. None can hide so as that God will be deceived.<\/p>\n

What repentings should be kindled when we see the helpless character of the things we are so prone to trust! What fear lest God should be neglected and disobeyed!
It may be doubted whether the next verse should be connected with the preceding or the following verses. Though the casting away of all valuables would be a natural act in those who were fleeing for their lives, yet it is as natural in those who were exposed to death by famine in the siege. However, as reference is made hereafter to other precious things which had been employed as instruments of evil, it is preferable to consider that a change occurs here in the line of the prophets thought. If the change seems abrupt, that is far from being out of harmony with the features of this chapter.<\/p>\n

EXEGETICAL NOTES.Eze. 7:19<\/span>. Valuable things will be rejected. They shall cast their silver in the streets<\/strong>. Retaining it in their houses would present inducements to the greed and cruelty of the foemen, and expose their persons to outrage: it will be put away: and their gold shall be discarded,<\/strong> treated as an uncleanness and not to be touchedmore precious than silver, it will be more vilely cast away. It is probable that their idols are included in this rejection if we take an illustration from Isaiah: Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold; thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence (Eze. 30:22<\/span>). This utter repudiation of things so highly prized is grounded on the fact that no amount or form of the precious metals will help to safety, or protect from pain, fears, destruction: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels<\/strong>. Neither mental ease nor sufficient food would be attainable in those closing days of tribulationbecause it is the stumbling-block of their iniquity<\/strong>. They so applied the substantial wealth entrusted to them as to gratify their lusts; they made it into a means of sin, and fell over it into fearful woes.<\/p>\n

It is questionable whether the words silver and gold, when associated in this manner, are ever applied in the Old Testament to money only. We must not read into its usage a modern idea. It refers them to money, and also to plate, ornaments, idol-images. And this is an indication that Ezekiel must refer to some other object than the precious metals in the following verse.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:20<\/span>. Another feature of their guilt comes into view, As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it for pride<\/strong>. We do not see in these expressions anything but the signs of wealth made into a matter for boasting. That people boast themselves in the multitude of riches is true; but if the Jews had some special glory, it is far more likely that they would pride themselves in that. And they had. If Canaan was the glory of all lands, assuredly the Temple at Jerusalem was the summit of that glory. Ezekiel himself might be quoted to establish this application of the words, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength (Eze. 24:21<\/span>). The thing which was the most glorious feature in Israel had been made into a thing for mere brag! and the images of their abominations, of their detestable things they made therein<\/strong>. Examples of this degradation and abjuration of their most eminent privilege are found in the next chapter, therefore I give it to them as an unclean thing,<\/strong> the glory of their ornament is changed into that which is repulsive and unfit for the Lord.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:21<\/span>. And I give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, &c.,<\/strong> and they shall profane it<\/strong>. The heathen shall take possession of the city, the outward tokens of Gods special dwelling with Israel be desecrated, and its glory be obliterated.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:22<\/span>. And I turn away my face from them<\/strong>from the people of Jerusalem probably, though reference may be to the foreigners, for whose doings He would seem not to care,and they profane my secret<\/strong>. It is unnecessary to supply place<\/em> to the last word, whose meaning must be that which had been guarded by the Lord as His and fenced against all intruders. Hengstenberg understands it of their treasures, the means of Israel, which are, as it were, the treasure of the Lord; but it is, surely, more appropriately to be understood of the Temple with its Holy of Holies: and<\/strong> this shall be brought about when the robbers,<\/strong> lit. those making breaches,<\/em> enter into it<\/strong>the cityand profane it<\/strong>. The repeated references to the profanation of what had been holy to the Lord signify how completely Israel had been estranged from Him, and how all places, even the holiest, would be open to the unhallowed presence of the ungodly nations.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:23<\/span>. Ezekiel is addressed. The Lord, as it were, indignant at the profanation, commands him to put an end to the doings of the enemy by the deportation of those who were left behind (Haev.) Make the chain,<\/strong> that which was the badge of subjugation and with which the exiled Jews were fettered. Jeremiah records how he was let go by Nebuzar-adan from being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah (Eze. 40:1<\/span>). City and land had brought the evil upon themselves, for the land is full of deeds of blood,<\/strong> not applied to acts of murder only, but to all acts which were counted as mortal sins, and the city is full of violence<\/strong>. The prophet Micah had declared that Zion should be ploughed as a field because the Lord withdrew His presence, and among the causes of that desolation he puts, They build up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity (Eze. 3:10<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:24<\/span>. And I will cause the evil ones of the nations to come,<\/strong> the worst of the heathen, those who were most notorious among surrounding peoples for their evil tempers and ways. The expression is similar to that in Eze. 7:21<\/span>, the wicked of the earth,<\/em> and gives an indication of the strong and bitter feelings engendered amongst the Hebrews towards the Chaldeans, instances of which are found in other prophetical books also. Ewald regards such expressions as signifying that at this time the Babylonian Empire contained in it an element of rude, rough, and uncultivated warriors, while, at the same time, there must have been a highly civilised population long settled in Nineveh or Babylon; and they shall possess their houses,<\/strong> a justification of the counsels given in Eze. 7:12-13<\/span>; and I make the pride of the strong to cease.<\/strong> If it is felt that it would hardly do to regard the Jews as meriting this description the strong, the reading of the Septuagint, which finds a confirmation in chap. Eze. 33:28<\/span>, suggests an explanation, the pride of their strength<\/em>. This is neither to be transmuted into strong pride<\/em> nor into proud splendour,<\/em> but to be taken as intimating that there was that belonging to them which they esteemed their special strength as a people. That that was their relation to the Lord God is confirmed by such phrases as these: Thou art the glory of their strength; The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. That men may take pride in Him whom they do not obey is testified by the words of Jesus, Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Their pride in that would fail, and their holy places shall be profaned;<\/strong> their,<\/em> as if He would not acknowledge them as His even nominally.<\/p>\n

In these verses a threefold example is given of the divine lex taliouis<\/em>. The people have abused their wealth by making idols of gold and silver, and all manner of ornaments for vainglorious display, so that it has become the stumbling-block of their iniquity; now it was to be seized as a spoil by the enemy, and, in respect to their deliverance, should be found worthless as the mire of the streets. They have carried their abominations into Gods sanctuary and defiled the secret place of the Most High; now the whole is to be laid open to the unhallowed feet of the stranger, and robbers are to be sent to walk at liberty where saints only should have been permitted to enter. They, by their daring wickedness, have made the land full of violence and blood, therefore shall they themselves be bound with a chain by the ungodly heathen, and their best possessions be turned into the prey of the lawless and the profane. Their<\/em> holy places shall be defiled, as they have already defiled mine.Fairbairn<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:25<\/span>. On the existence of the Temple depended that of the Levitical priesthood, and when the former was desecrated, the means of expiation, which by that was connected with the priesthood, were withdrawn from Israel. So we read destruction comes,<\/strong> lit. a cutting off comes<\/em>. We might translate, with Fairbairn, a close comes,<\/em> or with Hengstenberg, who says, properly contraction,<\/em> in contrast with the expansion that is connected with all joyful prosperitythe state of restriction and diminution: and they shall seek peace, and it is not<\/strong>. Peacehardly with Nebuchadnezzar, but that which could be attained by the methods referred to in the next verses.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:26<\/span>. The condition will be one of constant uncertainty and disappointment. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour<\/strong>. Stroke upon stroke does the ruin come, and it is intensified by reports, alarming accounts, which crowd together and increase the terror (Keil); and they shall seek a vision from the prophet<\/strong>. They are at their wits end; they do not wait on the Lord, but endeavour to make solace or encouragement come from prophets such as had spoken to them visions out of their own heart; but the prophets are either dumb, or, if they were told Speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits, they failed to present the visions that were sought for: and the law shall perish from the priest<\/strong>. The prophet Malachi makes it appear as an understood thing that the people should seek the law at the priests mouth. It is an inadequate interpretation which would confine the law which was sought from the priest simply to his reading out of that of Moses. He was to have reference made to him for his judgments on the rules which were given to be guides to right conduct and worship. Thus Deu. 17:10<\/span>, Thou shalt do according to the sentence which they shall declare unto thee from that place which the Lord shall choose. The priests gave decisions, by oracle or otherwise, in the sanctuary as to what was intended by the law. However, that function of the priesthood would altogether pass from it: and counsel from the elders<\/strong> shall also perish; wisdom and experience would not avail for giving suitable advice.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:27<\/span>. All the population in its three classes would be dealt with in judgment. The king shall mourn, and the prince<\/strong>the chiefs of the tribes and heads of familiesshall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land,<\/strong> i.e<\/em>., the commonalty as distinguished from the rulers, shall be troubled. I will do to them after their way,<\/strong> lit. from their way, i.e.,<\/em> the Lord will take the cue for what He will do from what they have done; and with their judgments I will judge them, and they shall know that I am the Lord<\/strong>. By sufferings which flow from their own decisions they will be forced to acknowledge Him as Lord. With these words, recurring in Ezekiel like a refrain, the first cycle of his prophecies closes.Hengstenberg<\/em>.<\/p>\n

HOMILETICS<\/em><\/p>\n

THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE LORDS PRESENCE<\/p>\n

To walk with God is mans highest privilege, to be forsaken by God is mans deepest woe; his history furnishes abundant evidence that he has been the subject of both contingencies. Yet a people professing to serve the living God should not allow it to be doubtful what kind of answer must be returned to the questions, Is the Lord among us or not? Are we conducting ourselves so that He lifts up the light of His countenance upon us, or so that He hides His face from us? For the response does not relate merely to our comfort or the reverse; it relates to the feelings of God and the rights due to God from every faculty and condition of men. A help to indicate the position at which a true answer may be received is suggested by these closing sentences of Ezekiels dirge upon downfallen Israel.<\/p>\n

I. We learn what provokes the withdrawal of Gods presence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1. It is not any arbitrariness on His part<\/em>. Deep experiences in spiritual thingsexperiences which it is to be feared are not so common now as thenled former generations of Gods servants to coin this phrase, The sovreign withdrawal of Gods countenance. It has been handed on to us among the traditions received from our fathers, but it is a phrase we should be very loath to employ. They indeed explained it with provisos which sometimes shaded its objectionable features, but they left enough of it in view to make us feel that it cannot depict a true idea of Gods action. To say that there are occasions when we cannot surmise the reasons why He should make us walk in darkness and have no light, is a very different statement from that which intimates that there is no call in our proceedings for His righteousness and love to rise up against us. Thou art clear when thou judgest. In ourselves, in the conditions of His kingdom, will always be the latent if not obvious causes for the hiding of His facenever in any divine waywardness.<\/p>\n

2. It is incited by unholy demeanour<\/em>. There were iniquities among the Israelites of Ezekiels time of no insignificant character. We might be disposed to ask, How could they fancy that, while doing such things, they would still be in the light of God? The answer comes to us from the true Judge of human ways, They come not to the light lest their deeds should be reproved. But we do not need to inquire of Ezekiels people respecting this inconsistency. Similar facts are manifest among our own people. <\/p>\n

(1.) There is excessive appreciation of wealth<\/em>. Before it the truth and purity of many promising young persons go down into darkness. The honourableness and the attachment to Christian causes of maturer age have been discarded. Reports of proceedings in law-courts, less public reports of dealings in offices, warehouses, shops, go to prove that silver and gold, in some of their forms of value, lead into not a few pernicious ways. When Mammon is loved and held to, what must be done with God? <\/p>\n

(2.) There is immorality<\/em>. Sins which are liable to capital punishment, sins which seduce others, sins which stir up wearied hearts to cry to the Lord God of Sabaoth, Do me justice on my adversary, are narrated day by day in our newspapers. How many more never find a record in earthly pages! When deeds of violence are rife they prove that the whole condition of a people is demoralised. When they may not be rife, but when the guiltless do not condemn unequivocally such as do take place, do not wage continual war against them, lest they should get themselves into trouble or soil their hands by the pitch of wickedness, then too is the condition unwholesome and the words come true, Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you (Isa. 59:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n

3. It is brought about by trifling with religious belief<\/em>. <\/p>\n

(1.) For people to set it as a matter for pride is to trifle with it<\/em>. They treat it as a thing which adds to their importance or self-conceit; they do not humble themselves to it as to their master; they drive it from its rightful position, however beautiful they esteem it to be as an ornament. Hear the numbers who boast that they are Christian and not heathen, Roman Catholics and not Protestants, Church of England and not Nonconformists, Church-goers and not Sunday-excursionists, and their boast carries with it this undertone, We do not understand the rights of God. The lonely glory of His servicepresenting aspects which make it excel all other objects of thoughtis veiled and made comparatively trivial when regarded as a matter for self-glorification. <\/p>\n

(2.) To adopt unauthorised observances is to trifle with it<\/em>. The Israelites did not turn the Lord out of His Temple. They did abandon acknowledgment of Him as their God above all. They served the Lord and Baai. They made images of abominations and detestable things in the Lords house. Such a course betokened that they could not seriously accept that which was their distinguishing knowledge, that the Lord was the only God. They ignored the truth, that to pay the semblance of worship to idols was rebellion against His claims which He could not condone by His presence remaining among them. Isaiah represents His decision thus, When ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers I will not hear (Eze. 1:15<\/span>). He did not want vain oblations then, and He does not want them now. If we use prayers, sacraments, special rites and services which private or churchly judgments institute as an indispensable addition to the faith on which we act for acceptance with God, we may not erect an idol-shrine in church or chamber, but we ascribe to the created a seat of honour along with the Creator, we show that we do not desire really to know what is His due, and our wilfulness becomes an offence which impels His withdrawal. In our days, as in former years, His Spirit is grieved, vexed, quenched by the provoking of those sons and daughters, who have a name to live and they are dead, who have a form of godliness and deny the power thereof. Truly they are triflers with what is most sacred and walk in darkness.<\/p>\n

II. We learn what follows the withdrawal of Gods presence<\/strong>. Ezekiel depicts the consequences as developed in body, temple, minds. They cannot be literally applied to other and Christian people, but they hint sufficiently at results which are likely to happen.<\/p>\n

1. Temporal distress<\/em>. Because God has turned away His face, money may be felt as a burden, houses be lost, prostration of physical health or courage unman us. He is the Lord of the body; He is the ruler of weather, germs, gases, trade, and certainly amongst us, as amongst men of old, temporal sufferings are made a means of showing that we have offended Him. Not that all such troubles are signs that He has withdrawn from usPauls thorn in the flesh is a proof of something elsebut a painful experience of the first Church in Corinth had its source in trifling with Gods presence. For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep. Thou didst hide Thy face and I was troubled. What the weight and the extension of the distress may be time only will manifest; but the fact that Israel was shaken by panics, obliterated as a nation, the survivors bound with chains and taken into a strange land, is a solemn warning as to the dire consequences which come from a withdrawal of Gods gracious presence.<\/p>\n

2. Religious degradations<\/em>. <\/p>\n

(1.) The worshippers will be counted unworthy to come before the Lord<\/em>. The sense of His presence being deadened, their hearts must become disqualified for His holy service. They may still give thanks at meals, they may still enter into a place for worship, they may still name themselves by the name of Christ, but they have lost faith, love, joy, peace, if ever they had one or other. The duty which might have been pervaded with the holiness of God is nothing but an engagement carried out really for the doers alonetheirs now, if formerly His. And what can be a mans religion when God is left out of it? What but a delusion and a snare to menwhat but a grief and offence to Him? Peace, they may say, but there is none. Woe be to us when our sanctuaries are nothing but our<\/em> sanctuaries! <\/p>\n

(2.) Corrupting and destructive influences will dominate them<\/em>. The wicked of the earth, the robbers enter in and profane the place where His honour dwelt. The profanation by the enemy is, alas! always preceded by the profanation on the part of the friends. And so has it happened in the Christian centuries. Churches abounded in Western Asiaenemies possess their heritage. Old creeds for whose truth men were once content to suffer and die are sneered at and neglected. An unknown God is not dignified with an altar, but coolly relegated to an unapproachable cloudland. Men who wear the uniform of Christs service decline to place themselves on the hill where His standard waves, and even supply ammunition to the opposing host. Thus do those who make breaches pass into the domain where God had professedly reigned. His ostensible religion is discredited and covered with shame. Holy things are profaned because He is displeased and hides His face.<\/p>\n

3. Collapse of social helpfulness<\/em>. Secular and spiritual persons will be useless to one another. We naturally betake ourselves to those persons whom we consider superior when we are in perplexity, sorrow, pain, accumulating difficulties. Such resort will be in vain if the glory of God in the face of Jesus is not beheld. Then religious intuition will fail to grasp any inspiration; theologians be unable to communicate real instruction, and men of experience suffer a stagnation of thought. Preachers, teachers, and tried believers are weak in themselves and powerless upon others so far as relates to the growth of the divine kingdom when they do not walk in the light. So it comes to pass that that which should be the religion of God is trodden under foot of men.<\/p>\n

(1.) We should be impressed with fear of the withdrawal of the Lord<\/em>. When Jesus is not with His professed people they are in dreary scenery. It is a dry and thirsty land where no water is. It is the desert in which rest may be sought for but cannot be found by those who have had deliverance from some unclean spirit, and out of which place they come to take up with seven other evil spirits, and so the last state becometh worse than the first. There is cause for fear.<\/p>\n

(2.) We should become very watchful<\/em>. If we perceive little or nothing of the anguish of our Shepherd as He prays for the lost sheep; if we are so cold or lukewarm in our affections as hardly ever sacrificing for Christ an earthly pleasure, or an hour of business, or a sum of money, then it is time for us to listen to the tender and poignant rebuke, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.<\/p>\n

WEALTH UNSERVICEABLE (Eze. 7:19<\/span>)<\/p>\n

I. The creatures which promise the most help and raise expectations highest, in times of trouble can do little or nothing for us<\/strong>. Judass thirty pieces of silver could not still one throb of his conscience. Herods royal robes, sceptre, crown, greatness could not protect him from the teeth of a few feeble worms. Not all your wealth can keep the plague out of the city, or secure your lives when it is come.<\/p>\n

II. Men tainted with covetousness lay up for they know not whomfor their enemies<\/strong>. The Jews had vexed their heads, hearts, and hands to get houses and vineyards, silver and gold, and now strangers, men their souls hated, must possess their treasures. This misery is upon all accumulators, that they may spend twenty or thirty years in gathering that which a Babylonian, a bitter enemy to God and His people, may possess in an hour.<\/p>\n

III. Abuse of our estates defiles them and brings the wrath of God upon them<\/strong>. When silver and gold maintain pride, lusts, and other ends than God hath appointed them, they are wronged and imbondaged, and are as an unclean thing. Therefore is the curse brought upon all.Greenhill<\/em>.<\/p>\n

INCREASE OF EVIL REALISED (Eze. 7:26<\/span>)<\/p>\n

I. When a people is under divine displeasure there is a succession of evils for them<\/strong>. Saul and Pharaoh were so treated, and the misery of the wicked is that they shall perish rather a hundred times over than go unpunished.<\/p>\n

II. God proceeds by degrees and steps to severity of judgments<\/strong>. First come drops, then some little streams, after that the strength. He did not stir up all His wrath; but if sin grow Gods anger grows. He begins with a little finger, if that do good He will stop; if not, you shall feel His hand, His arm, and weight of His loins.<\/p>\n

III. Truths are not confined to any sort of men<\/strong>. Truths are not the inheritance of priests, prophets, popes, councils. The Lord is not tied to any rank, but is free to be where He pleases, to impart truth to whom He pleases, and to as few as He pleases. Ubi tres sunt, ecclesia est<\/em>, said Tertullian, and they may have truth among them and more given to them.<\/p>\n

IV. God gives and takes away vision, law, counsel<\/strong>. He creates light and darkness. If you spurn at any light, any truths of God, you may lose them all. He sends strong delusions, but He says also, Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.<\/p>\n

V. Those who will not do what they know shall not know what to do<\/strong>. Adam, Saul, and others. Jeremiah bade Zedekiah and the rest go forth and yield themselves, but they did it not, and quickly after no vision, no law, no counsel, and they knew not which way to turn.<\/p>\n

VI. They that will not know God in the way of His mercies shall know Him in the way of His judgments<\/strong>.Greenhill<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

III. CHAOS AND CALAMITY 7:127<\/p>\n

Chapter 7 is a sermon in the form of a lamentation. It is characterized by frequent repetitions designed to underscore the certainty and severity of the coming calamity. The chapter is written in what has been called poetic prose. The sentences are choppy, broken, and oozing with emotion. Division of the material into discussion units is admittedly arbitrary. But it would seem that the prophet first announces the coming calamity (Eze. 7:1-9<\/span>) and then describes it (Eze. 7:10-27<\/span>).<\/p>\n

A. The Calamity Announced 7:19<\/p>\n

TRANSLATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

(1) And the word of the LORD came to me, saying: (2) And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD concerning the land of Israel: An end! the end has come upon the four ends of the land. (3) Now is the end upon you, and I will unleash My anger against you, and I will judge you according to your ways; and I will bring upon you all of your abominations. (4) And My eye shall not have pity upon you, nor shall I have compassion; but your ways I shall bring upon you while your abominations shall be in your midst; and you shall know that I am the LORD. (5) Thus says the Lord GOD: A disaster, a unique disaster, behold it comes. (6) An end has come, the end has come! It has awakened against you; behold, it comes. (7) The turn has come upon you, O inhabitant of the land; the time has come, the day of tumult is near, and not joyous shouting upon the mountains. (8) Now I will shortly pour out My wrath upon you and I will finish My anger against you when I have judged You according to your ways; and I will bring upon you all your abominations. (9) My eye will not pity, nor will I have compassion; I will bring upon you according to your ways, and your abominations shall be in your midst; and you shall know that I the LORD am a smiter.<\/p>\n

COMMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Echoing the prophetic declaration of Amo. 8:2<\/span> regarding the Northern Kingdom, Ezekiel announces that an end has come to the land of Israel. Since the nation Israel had long since been destroyed, Ezekiel must be using the term Israel in its ancient sense of the theocratic people. In this period of history the land of Israel was equivalent to the Kingdom of Judah. The end or destruction would come upon the four ends of the land, i.e., the devastation would be geographically total. No city or village would escape (Eze. 7:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Ezekiel contends that now is the end upon you. The anticipated destruction is close at hand (Eze. 7:3<\/span>). Doubtlessly the prophet refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. This destruction would not be a mere accident of history. It would be a manifestation of the anger of God (Eze. 7:3<\/span>). God would unleash His anger. The destruction would be a just act of retribution. The people would be judged according to their ways, i.e., their conduct. God would bring upon them all their abominations; i.e., He would hold them accountable for their association with abominable idols (Eze. 7:3-4<\/span>; Eze. 7:8<\/span>).<\/p>\n

In this destructive judgment God would not manifest mercy or compassion toward the nation of Judah (Eze. 7:4<\/span>). The meaning is that God would carry out His pre-announced intention to destroy Jerusalem and He would not relent. There is, of course, mercy for the remnant of the nation as other passages clearly show. In a sense the exercise of justice was itself an act of mercy, since its aim was purification from sin and restoration or harmony between God and man.[184]<\/p>\n

[184] Fisch, .SBB, p. 34.<\/p>\n

The judgment would fall on Jerusalem while their abominations (idols) were still in the midst of the city (Eze. 7:4<\/span>). They would cling to their idols to the bitter end. No further evidence need be presented to prove that the actions of God were justified.<\/p>\n

Through the horrible destruction the surviving Jews would come to realize that it was truly Yahweh, God of covenant and redemption, who had made these dire threats (Eze. 7:4<\/span>).<\/p>\n

The disaster facing Judah was unique and unprecedented (lit., one disaster). The one catastrophe which overshadowed all the rest was the destruction of the Temple (Eze. 7:5<\/span>). This disaster would not only be an end, it would be the end (Eze. 7:6<\/span>).<\/p>\n

The judgment is described as the turn in Eze. 7:7<\/span>. The meaning of the noun tsephira is uncertain. Modern translations seem to prefer to render it doom.[185] However, the basic idea here may be something round,[186] hence a cycle or turn. The turn of events had come to Judah. To use a modern idiom, the tables were about to be turned. Judgment inevitably follows sin as day follows night.<\/p>\n

[185] RSV, NASB. This translation is based on a cognate Arabic noun. The KJV translates it morning.<\/p>\n

[186] Cf. Isa. 28:5<\/span> where tsephira is rendered crown.<\/p>\n

The predicted end would awaken. The long dark night of prophetic threat was about over; the day of the Lord was about to dawn. A play on words here in the Hebrew cannot be reproduced in English. The end (hakets) has awakened (hekits; Eze. 7:6<\/span>).<\/p>\n

That coming day would be a day of tumult, i.e., clamor and confusion (Eze. 7:7<\/span>). This tumult would not be the joyous shouting upon the mountains that one might hear in connection with a harvest festival (Isa. 16:10<\/span>; Jer. 25:30<\/span>) or idolatrous worship. This tumult would be the din and confusion of military invasion. In the popular mind the day of the Lord was a day of triumph over national enemies. Beginning with Amos, the prophets blasted away at this concept. The day of the Lord more properly referred to Gods triumph over all unrighteousness whether in Israel or among the Gentiles.<\/p>\n

Eze. 7:8-9<\/span> are virtually a repetition of Eze. 7:3-4<\/span> with some variation to give added emphasis to the warning. Gods anger against Judah would be complete once he had recompensed them for their ways (Eze. 7:8<\/span>). No compassion or mercy would be shown toward the nation in the day (Eze. 7:9<\/span>).<\/p>\n

They would come to know, i.e., realize by personal experience, that Yahweh is a God who smiles. The shallow theological notion of an indulgent deity would have to be abandoned in that day (Eze. 7:9<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

‘Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me saying.’<\/p>\n

Compare Eze 6:1<\/span>. These words introduce a new revelation from God. Each revelation may be separated by days, weeks, or even months. We do not know. But they are declaring that Yahweh has again given him words to speak in the midst of his silence.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

The Approaching Ruin<\/p>\n

v. 1. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,<\/strong> <\/p>\n

v. 2. Also, thou son of man,<\/strong> the direct address distinguishing this communication from those intended for the people in general, thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel,<\/strong> the home of the covenant people, An end,<\/strong> that which terminates the long-suffering of God toward the whole of Judea, the end,<\/strong> that now definitely fixed, is come upon the four corners of the land,<\/strong> to its extreme boundaries, throughout its borders. <\/p>\n

v. 3. Now is the end come upon thee,<\/strong> the entire land of the covenant nation, and I will send Mine anger upon thee and will judge thee according to thy ways,<\/strong> the manner of conduct in all its forms, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations,<\/strong> so that they would be duly repaid upon their heads. <\/p>\n

v. 4. And Mine eye shall not spare thee,<\/strong> in any form of compassion, neither will I have pity,<\/strong> such as an indulgent father might have been tempted to show; but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee,<\/strong> manifest to all in their consequences, the divine punishments; and ye shall know,<\/strong> as the punishment struck them in strict accordance with the Lord’s prophecy, that I am the Lord,<\/strong> the evidence offered being sufficient and conclusive. <\/p>\n

v. 5. Thus saith the Lord God, An evil, an only evil, behold, is come,<\/strong> a peculiar calamity such as had never been heard of before, unparalleled in the history of the world. <\/p>\n

v. 6. An end is come, the end is come,<\/strong> literally, “An end cometh, there cometh the end,” its absolute certainty thus being brought out; it watcheth for thee,<\/strong> awaking from its slumber, as it were, to pounce upon its victim; behold, it is come. <\/p>\n

v. 7. The morning is come unto thee,<\/strong> the turn of events, the destiny, the fate allotted them, O thou that dwellest in the land,<\/strong> all its inhabitants. The time is come,<\/strong> the period which completes the time set by God; the day of trouble is near and not the sounding again of the mountains,<\/strong> literally, “tumult and not joyous shouting on the mountains,” such as was the rule when the harvest was gathered in the vineyards. The time of such untroubled happiness was past. <\/p>\n

v. 8. Now will I shortly pour out My fury upon thee,<\/strong> as from an overturned vessel, and accomplish Mine anger upon thee,<\/strong> in the fierceness of His punishment; and I will judge thee according to thy ways and will recompense thee for all thine abominations,<\/strong> the repetition of this statement making it the more emphatic. <\/p>\n

v. 9. And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth. <\/strong> The true God is a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the sinners upon them with a sharp reckoning. <\/p>\n

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

EXPOSITION<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eze 7:1<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The absence of any fresh date, and the fact that it is simply tacked on to the previous chapter by the copulative conjunction, shows that what follows belongs to the same group. The use of the phrase, the word of the Lord came unto me,<\/strong> shows, however, that there was an interval of silence, perhaps of meditation, followed by a fresh influx of inspiration; and, so far as we may judge from the more lyrical character of the chapter, a more intense emotion.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

An end,<\/strong> etc. The iteration of the word once more gives emphasis. The words read like an echo of Amo 8:2<\/span>. The four corners<\/strong> (Hebrew, “wings”) were probably, as with us, the north, east, south, and west. The phrase had been used before in Isa 11:12<\/span>, and the thought meets us again, in the form of the “four winds,” in Dan 11:4<\/span>; Zec 2:6<\/span>; Mat 24:31<\/span>; Mar 13:27<\/span>. The “end” in this case is either that of the siege of Jerusalem, or that of the existence of Israel as a nation. It was now drawing nighwas, as we say, within measurable distance.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:3<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Now is the end upon thee,<\/strong> etc. We note the repetition of this and Eze 7:4<\/span> in Eze 7:8<\/span>, Eze 7:9<\/span>, as a kind of refrain in the lamentation. Stress is laid, and for the time laid exclusively, on the unpitying character of the Divine judgments. And this is followed as before, in Eze 6:14<\/span>, by “Ye shall know that I am the Lord.” Fear must teach men the lesson which love had failed to teach.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:4<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee,<\/strong> etc. These are, of course, primarily the idolatries of Israel. The people are to reap what they have sown. Their sins should be recognized in their punishment.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:5<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

An evil, an only evil,<\/strong> etc. The words imply that the evil would be unique in character, attracting men’s notice, not needing repetition. Cornill, however, following Luther, gives “evil after evil,” changing one letter m the Hebrew for “one,” so as to get the word “after.” For is come<\/strong> read, with the Revised Version, it cometh. <\/em>It is the nearness, not the actual arrival, of the end, that is in the prophet’s thoughts. He writes in B.C. 595-4. Jerusalem was not taken till B.C. 588.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:6<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It watcheth for thee;<\/strong> better, with the Revised Version, it awaketh against thee. <\/em>So the LXX<\/strong>; Vulgate, Luther. The Hebrew presents a paronomasia between the noun and verbhakketz, hekitz<\/em>which cannot be reproduced in English. The destined doom is thought of as rousing itself to its appointed work. The word is cognate with that rendered “awaketh” in Psa 78:65<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:7<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The morning is come unto thee, <\/strong>etc. In the only other passage in which the Hebrew noun occurs (Isa 28:5<\/span>), it is translated “diadem,” the meaning being strictly a circular ornament. Here the LXX<\/strong>. gives , something twirled, out of which may come the meaning of the changes of fortune. Possibly, as in the familiar “wheel of fortune,” that thought was involved in the circular form by itself. In the Tahnud it appears as the name of the goddess of fate at Ascalon (Furst). On the whole, I follow the Revised Version, Keil, and Ewald, in giving “thy doom.” The “morning” of the Authorized Version probably rises from the thought that the dawn is, as it were, the glory and diadem of the day. The Vulgate gives contritio. <\/em>The day of trouble<\/strong>; better, with the Revised Version, of tumult. <\/em>The word is specially used of the noise of war (Isa 22:5<\/span>; Amo 3:9<\/span>; Zec 14:3<\/span>). Not the sounding again upon the mountains.<\/strong> The first noun is not found in the Old Testament, but a closely allied form appears in Isa 16:9<\/span>; Jer 25:30<\/span>; Jer 48:33<\/span>, for the song of the vintage. Not that, the prophet says, shall be heard on the mountains, but in its place the cry of battle and the noise of war. The LXX<\/strong>. “not with travail-pangs,” and the Vulgate non gloriae montium, <\/em>show that the word was in both cases a puzzle to the translators.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:8<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Eze 7:9<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The verses repeat, like the burden of a lyric ode, but end more emphatically, ye shall know that I am Jehovah that smiteth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eze 7:10<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It is come<\/strong>. Read, as before, it cometh; <\/em>and for morning<\/strong>, doom (see note on Eze 7:7<\/span>). The rod hath blossomed<\/strong>, etc. The three verbs imply a climax. The “doom” springs out of the earth; the rod of vengeance blossoms (the word is the same as that which describes the blooming of Aaron’s rod (Num 17:8<\/span>), and the phrase was probably suggested by the history); pride<\/strong> (either that of the Chaldean ministers of vengeance, or of Israel as working out its own punishment; I incline to the latter) buds and bears fruit. In Isa 27:6<\/span> the word follows on “blossom,” and therefore seems applicable to the formation of the fruit rather than the flower. (For the image of the rod, comp. Psa 110:2<\/span>; Isa 10:26<\/span>; Mic 6:9<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

Eze 7:11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Violence is risen up,<\/strong> etc. The “violence” admits of the same twofold interpretation as the “pride” of Eze 7:10<\/span>. None of them shall remain.<\/strong> The interpolated verb, though grammatically necessary, weakens the force of the Hebrew. “None of them; none of their multitude; none of their wealth.” Neither shall there be wailing for them.<\/strong> The noun is not found elsewhere. Taken, as the Authorized Version takes it, the thought, like that of Eze 24:16<\/span> and Jer 16:4<\/span>, is that the usual rites of burial would be neglected, and that there would be “no widows to make lamentation” (Psa 78:64<\/span>). The Revised Version “eminency” implies the loss of all that constituted greatness. Cornill and the LXX<\/strong>. (“beauty” or “gaiety”) practically agree with this. The Vulgate gives requies, <\/em>and Furst “a gathering, or tumult of the people.” Probably the text is corrupt.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:12<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let not the buyer rejoice,<\/strong> etc. We have to read, between the lines, the story of Ezekiel’s companions in exile. They belonged, it will be remembered, to the nobler and wealthier class (2Ki 25:19<\/span>). They, it would seem, had been compelled to sell their estates at a price which made the “buyer rejoice and the seller mourn.” In each ease the joy and the sorrow would be but transient. Wrath had gone out against the whole multitude. In Mic 2:2<\/span> and Isa 5:8<\/span> we have parallel instances of the advantage taken by the rich of the distress of the old tree holders. In the story of Jer 32:6-16<\/span> we have, though from a very different point of view, the history of a like purchase, while the city was actually surrounded by the Chaldeans. The neglect of the sabbatic year (Jer 34:8-17<\/span>) makes it probable that the jubilee year also (if, indeed, it had ever been more than an ideal) had fallen into desuetude, and that the buyers comforted themselves with the thought that the land they had got, on cheap terms, weald belong to them and their children forever.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:13<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

For the seller shall not return,<\/strong> etc. At first the thought seems only to add to the sorrow of the seller. He is told that he, at least, shall not return to his old estate. Even though they should be alive at the year of jubilee, their exile had to last its appointed time, Ezekiel’s forty (Eze 4:6<\/span>) and Jeremiah’s seventy years (Jer 25:11<\/span>). This, however, did not exclude the return of their children (Jer 32:44<\/span>), and in the mean time all private sorrow would fall into the background as compared with the great public woe of the destruction of the holy city. The vision is touching,<\/strong> etc. The noun is used as a synonym for prophecy, as elsewhere (Isa 1:1<\/span>; Nah 1:1<\/span>; Hab 2:1<\/span>). It may be noted that it is specially characteristic of Ezekiel (seven times) and Daniel (eleven times). For the Authorized Version read with the Revised Version, none shall return, <\/em>or better (with the Vulgate and Keil), the vision touching the whole multitude shall not return, i.e.<\/em> shall go straight onward to do its work (comp. Isa 55:11<\/span>). So taken, there is a kind of play upon the iterated word: “The seller shall not turn his footsteps back, neither shall the prophecy.” Vestigia nulla retrorsum <\/em>shall be true of both. I take the other words, with the Revised Version, no man in the iniquity of his life shall strengthen himself, <\/em>noting the fact that the word for “strengthen” is that which enters into Ezekiel’s name. It is as though he said, “God is the only true source of strength to thee, as thy very name bears witness.”<\/p>\n

Eze 7:14<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

They have blown the trumpet. <\/strong>The word for “trumpet” is not found elsewhere, but the corresponding verb is used continually in connection with the trumpet of war, and Ezekiel seems to have coined the corresponding substantive, not, perhaps, without a reminiscence of Jer 6:1<\/span>. There may possibly be an allusion to the trumpet blowing with which the jubilee year (see Jer 6:13<\/span>) was ushered in. The trumpet should sound, not for each man’s return to his own estate, but for the alarm of war. and even then the consciousness of guilt will hinder men from arming themselves for battle (comp. Le 26:36<\/span>; Deu 28:25<\/span>; Deu 32:30<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:15<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The sword is without<\/strong> (see Eze 5:12<\/span>; Eze 6:12<\/span>). Here there seems a more traceable fitness in assigning the pestilence as well as the famine to those who are shut up in the besieged city.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:16<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

They that escape,<\/strong> etc. The sentence is virtually conditional. They that escape shall, it is true, in one sense, escape the immediate doom; but if so, it shall only be to the mountains. These were, in all times, the natural refuge for those who fled from danger, but even this should fail those of whom the prophet speaks. They should be like the doves of the mountain gorges, that are fluttered at the appearance of the eagle or the fowler, and seem by note (Isa 38:14<\/span>; Isa 59:11<\/span>) and gesture (Nah 2:7<\/span>), to be mourning forevermore. There also they shall lie, every man in his iniquity, and wailing for its punishment. We are reminded of Dante’s similitudes in ‘Inf.,’ 5.40, 46, 82.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:17<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

All knees shall be weak as water<\/strong>; literally, shall flow with water. <\/em>So the Vulgate. The LXX<\/strong>. is yet stronger, shall be defiled, <\/em>etc. The words may point to the cold sweat of terror which paralyzes men’s power to act. The phrase is peculiar to Ezekiel, and meets us again in Eze 21:7<\/span>. The thought finds a parallel in Isa 13:7<\/span>; Jer 6:24<\/span>. <\/p>\n

Eze 7:18<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

They shall also gird,<\/strong> etc. The words become more general, and include those who should remain in the city as well as the fugitives. For both there should be the inward feelings of horror and shame, and their outward symbols of sackcloth (Gen 37:34<\/span>; 2Sa 3:31, 2Sa 3:32<\/span>; 2Ki 6:30<\/span>; Isa 15:3<\/span>; Jer 4:8<\/span>, et al.<\/em>) <\/em>and baldness (Isa 3:24<\/span>; Isa 15:2<\/span>; Isa 22:12<\/span>; Amo 8:10<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:19<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

They shall cast their silver,<\/strong> etc. The words remind us of Isa 2:20<\/span> and Isa 30:22<\/span>, with the difference that here it is the silver and gold as such, and not the idols made of them, that are to be flung away. They had made the actual metal their idol, and their confidence in it should be powerless to deliver them (Zep 1:18<\/span>). Their gold shall be removed; <\/strong>better, with the Revised Version, as an unclean thing. <\/em>The word implies the kind of impurity of Eze 18:6<\/span>; Eze 22:10<\/span>; Eze 36:17<\/span>; Isa 30:22<\/span>. Instead of gloating, as they had done, over their money, men should shrink from it, as though its very touch brought pollution. The Vulgate gives in sterquilinium, <\/em>“to the dunghill.” They shall not satisfy their souls. <\/strong>In the horrors of the siege, with everything at famine prices (2Ki 6:25<\/span>), and little or nothing to be had for them, their money would not stop the cravings of hunger. It is characteristic that he applies to riches as such the very same epithet, stumbling block of their iniquity, <\/strong>as he had applied before (Eze 3:20<\/span>) to actual idolatry (comp. Col 3:5<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:20<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

As for the beauty of his ornament. <\/strong>The latter word is commonly used of the necklaces, armlets, etc; of women (Exo 33:4-6<\/span>; Isa 49:18<\/span>; Jer 2:32<\/span>; Jer 4:30<\/span>). So again in Eze 16:7<\/span>, Eze 16:11<\/span>; Eze 23:40<\/span>. The singular is used of the people collectively, or of each man individually, like German man <\/em>or French on<\/em>. He set it in majesty; better, he<\/em>or to give the sense theyturned it to pride. <\/em>Wealth and art had ministered, as in Isa 2:16<\/span>, first to mere pride and pomp; then they made out of their ornaments the idols which they worshipped, and which were now, the same emphatic word being repeated, as a pollution to them.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:21<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I will give it.<\/strong> The “it” refers to the silver and gold, the “beauty of the ornaments” thus desecrated in their use. The strangers<\/strong>, i.e. <\/em>the Chaldean invaders, should in their turn pollute<\/strong> (better, with the Revised Version, profane it<\/em>) by making it their prey. For them the idols which Israel had worshipped would be simply as booty to be plundered.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:22<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

My secret place.<\/strong> The work of the spoiler would not stop at the idols of silver and gold. Jehovah would surrender his own “secret place”, that over which he had watched, sc. <\/em>the sanctuary of his temple, to the hands of the spoiler. In Psa 83:4<\/span> the same adjective is used of persons, the “hidden” or protected ones of God. In the name of Baal-zephon, “Lord of the secret place,” we have possibly a kindred thought. In Psa 17:14<\/span> we have “hid treasure.”<\/p>\n

Eze 7:23<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Make a chain;<\/strong> better, the chain. <\/em>The word is not found elsewhere, but a kindred form is thus translated in 1Ki 6:21<\/span>. Looking to the force of the verbs from which it is formed, its special meaning is that of a coupling chain, such as would be used in the case of captives marched off to their place of exile (Nah 3:10<\/span>). All previous sufferings were to culminate in this. The <\/em>of the LXX<\/strong>. and the fac conclusionem <\/em>of the Vulgate show that the word perplexed them. Full of bloody crimes.<\/strong> The only passage in the Authorized Version of the Old Testament in which the English noun occurs. Literally, judgments of blood. <\/em>The words may be equivalent either<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> to “blood guiltiness” (compare the “judgment” in Jer 51:9<\/span>), or<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> to judgment perverted into judicial murder. The latter finds support in Eze 9:9<\/span>. In either case it is noticeable that Ezekiel points not only to idolatry, but to violence and wrong, as the sins that had cried for punishment (comp. Jer 22:17<\/span> as a contemporary witness).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:24<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The worst of the heathen; <\/strong>literally, evil ones of the nations<\/em>with the superlative implied rather than expressed. For the thought, comp. Deu 28:50<\/span>; Lam 5:11-13<\/span>; Jer 6:23<\/span>. The Chaldeans were probably most prominent in the prophet’s thoughts, but Jer 35:5<\/span> and Psa 137:7<\/span> suggest that there was a side glance at the Edomites. The pomp of the strong<\/strong>, etc. Another echo of Lev 26:1-46<\/span>. (Lev 26:31<\/span>). The “pomp” is that of Judah trusting in her strength. The “holy places” find their chief representative in the temple, but, as the word is used also of a non-Jehovistic worship (Eze 28:18<\/span>; Amo 7:9<\/span>), may include whatever the people looked on as sanctuariesthe “high places” and the like. The Vulgate gives possidebuut sanctuaria; <\/em>the Revised Version margin, they that sanctify them; <\/em>but the Authorized Version is probably right in both cases. Luther renders ihre kirchen, <\/em>which reminds us of Act 19:37<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:25<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

They shall seek peace,<\/strong> etc. The noun is probably to be taken in its wider sense as including safety and prosperity, but may also include specific overtures for peace made to the Chaldean generals.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:26<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mischief turnout. <\/strong>The combination reminds us of the “wars and rumours of wars” of Mat 24:6<\/span>. The floating uncertain reports of a time of invasion aggravate the actual misery (comp. Isa 37:7<\/span>; Jer 51:46<\/span>; Oba 1:1<\/span>). They shall seek a vision of the prophet,<\/strong> etc. The words paint a picture of political chaos and confusion. The people turn in their distress to the three representativtes of wisdomthe prophet as the bearer of an immediate message from Jehovah, the priest as the interpreter of his Law (Mal 2:7<\/span>), the “ancients” or “elders” as those who had learnt the lessons of experience,and all alike in vain. (For illustrative facts, see Jer 5:31<\/span>; Jer 6:13<\/span>; Jer 21:2<\/span>; Jer 23:21-40<\/span>; Jer 27:9-18<\/span>; Jer 28:1-9<\/span>, and generally Mic 3:6<\/span>; Amo 8:11<\/span>; 1Sa 28:6<\/span>; Lam 2:9<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

Eze 7:27<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The king shall mourn,<\/strong> etc. The picture reminds us of Jehoram in 2Ki 6:30<\/span>. The action of Zedekiah in Jer 21:1<\/span> and Jer 34:8<\/span> makes it probable enough that it was actually reproduced. A solemn litany procession like that of Joe 1:13<\/span>, Joe 1:14<\/span> and Joe 2:15-17<\/span> would have been quite in keeping with his character. The prince shall clothe himself, <\/strong>etc. The noun is specially characteristic of Ezekiel, who uses it thirty-four times. In Eze 12:12<\/span> the “prince” seems identified with the “king.” Here it may mean either the heir to the throne, or the chief ruler under the king. The people of the land,<\/strong> etc. The phrase is perhaps used, as the Jewish rabbis afterwards used it, with a certain touch of scorn, for the labouring class. All the upper class had been carried away captive with Jehoiachin (2Ki 24:14<\/span>). Compare Ezekiel’s use of it in Eze 33:2<\/span>; Eze 46:3<\/span>, Eze 46:9<\/span>. I will do unto them, etc. The chapter, or rather the whole section from Eze 1:1<\/span> onwards, ends with an iterated assertion of the equity of the Divine judgments. Then also they shall know that I am the Lord, Almighty and all-righteous.<\/p>\n

HOMILETICS.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eze 7:2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The end is come.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. THE<\/strong> END<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> SURELY<\/strong> COMES<\/strong>. Time is broken into periods; and every period, long or short, has its certain end. The tale of life is written in many chapters, each with its own appropriate conclusion; in some cases the conclusion is violent, abrupt, and startling. We are surprised out of an old settled course. The mill stops suddenly, and then the silence is alarming. There are the greater epochs of life, when a whole volume of experience is closed, and another must be opened, till at length we reach Finis. <\/em>But every day has its sunset. Every year runs out to December and dies its wintry death, in spite of all the festivities of Christmas. Youth is fleeting; its sweet springtime fast melts, its blossoms fade and fall. Life itself runs out and reaches an end. As each period goes it vanishes, never to return. Thus Christina Rossetti writes<\/p>\n

“Come, gone,gone forever;
Gone as an unreturning truer;
Gone as to death the merriest liver;
Gone as the year at the dying fall,
Tomorrow, today, yesterday, never:
Gone once for all.”<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> There is an end to the day of work. <\/em>“The night cometh, wherein no man can work.” The opportunity will pass. Let us make the most of our strength and time while we have them.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. There is an end to the freedom of sin. <\/em>The orgies of mad self-indulgence will not last forever. They burn themselves out in folly and shame. Then comes the end, and after that the reckoning.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. There is an end to the discipline of sorrow. <\/em>The pain will not last forever. The doubt and mystery and darkness are not eternal. The Christian pilgrimage is long and weary, but it is not an infinite, endless course. The wilderness is wide, and the goal far off. But the way will end at last in the heavenly city, the home of the soul.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> END<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> SHOULD<\/strong> COME<\/strong>. There are some things which we should do welt to end, yet still they are with us.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. An end should come to our life of sin. <\/em>The old sin has been our companion for years, a bad companion, corrupt and corrupting. It is time we and it parted. It is time we turned over a new leaf and began a better way. The old self has lived too long. Let it die and be buried.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. An end should come to our indecision. <\/em>“How long halt ye between two opinions?” This hesitation has lasted too long. “Choose you this day <\/em>whom ye will serve.”<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. An end should come to the gloom of doubt, the coldness of half-hearted service, the lethargy and paralysis of an unspiritual religion. <\/em>“The night is far spent; the day is at hand;” “Awake, thou that sleepest!”<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> END<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> MAY<\/strong> COME<\/strong>. We contemplate possible endings which we would fain avert, but which seem to be approaching.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Some of these endings are within our power, <\/em>and should be kept off. We should guard against an end to our early faith and zeal. Ephraim’s goodness, which was like the morning cloud, was soon dissipated. Of some it must be said the end has come to their fervent devotion and self-sacrificing service. Once they were bright lights of the Church, but they have waned, and are approaching spiritual night.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Some of these endings are beyond our control. <\/em>The home circle may be broken, the dear countenances of the loved may smile upon us no more. For the old fulness of friendship we may have left only blankness and vacancy, and a bitter sense of loss. The very freshness of our soul may be lost too, and thee we look back to the old sweet years, and wonder how we could have taken them so quietly.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> END<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> FEVER<\/strong> COME<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. There will never be an end to the righteous Law of God. <\/em>Right and truth are eternal. We can never outlive their claims. If we continue forever in opposition to them, their pains and penalties must be always ours.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. The love of God <\/em>will never end. Modes of Divine operations may change as circumstances alter, and new dispensations may succeed to old dispensationsnew covenants taking the place of old covenants. But God does not change. There is no end to him. He abideth faithful. In the wreck of the universe the Rock of Ages remains unshaken. Love in his essence, God never wearies in helping and blessing. There is no end to his grace. “The mercy of the Lord endureth forever.” Whenever the helpless, penitent prodigal returns, he will find his Father waiting to welcome him.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. The eternal life <\/em>can have no end. The body dies. Happily there will be an end to that. But the life in God abides forever. In that life many things thought to be ended here on earth will be recovered and will revive. Thus our past experience is not utterly lost. It lives in memory and in what it has made us. A German poet writes –<\/p>\n

“Yesterday I loved;
Today I suffer;
Tomorrow I die.
But I shall gladly,
Today and tomorrow
Think on yesterday.”<\/p>\n

Eze 7:10<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The day is come.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This chapter opened with a prophecy of “an end.” It now proceeds to the annunciation of a new beginning. No end is absolutely final. In the night which sees the death of one day a new day is born.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> FUTURE<\/strong> BECOMES<\/strong> PRESENT<\/strong>. The much anticipated day at length arrives. We are thus forever overtaking the future. However far the future event may be, it will surely be reached, if time is the only impediment to be got over. The day of death may be far ahead, but most assuredly it will come. The dreaded day will come only too swiftly. The hoped for day will also dawn, though we become weary in waiting for it. God’s great day of doom will arrive, though the sinner mock at its tarrying. Christ’s glorious day of triumph will also appear, though the Church grow faint and wonders at its slow approach.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> NEW<\/strong> DAY<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> BE<\/strong> REVEALED<\/strong> BY<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> OWN<\/strong> ADVENT<\/strong>. No prediction can exactly describe the coming day, for no words can paint the thing that has not been. We vainly try to anticipate the future, and we blunder into the greatest mistakes. We cannot know what sorrow is till the day of sorrow breaks, nor can we understand the joy of the Lord till a glad day of heavenly love smiles upon us. We shall not know death till we are in the day of death. When the new day of the life beyond dawns we shall know its meaning as we can never guess now.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> COMING<\/strong> DAY<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> HAVE<\/strong> A NEW<\/strong> CHARACTER<\/strong>. No two days are exactly alike. Ezekiel was announcing a day of doom. The awful thunders of that day are to roll over the heads of guilty and impenitent men with a surprise and a horror never anticipated in easier times. Thus it was in the doom of Israel under the Babylonian invasion. But there are brighter days to anticipate. There is the day of light after the night of doubt; the day of joy’s sunshine succeeding the night of sorrow’s weeping; the day of penitent new beginnings after the night of sin; the day of busy service after the night of rest and waiting. Carlyle writes<\/p>\n

“Lo! here hath been dawning<\/p>\n

Another blue day:<\/p>\n

Think, wilt thou let it<\/p>\n

Slip useless away?<\/p>\n

“Out of eternity<\/p>\n

This new day is born;<\/p>\n

Into eternity<\/p>\n

At night will return.<\/p>\n

“Behold it aforetime<\/p>\n

No eye ever did;<\/p>\n

So soon it forever<\/p>\n

From all eyes is hid.”<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CHARACTER<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> NEW<\/strong> DAY<\/strong> IS<\/strong> DETERMINED<\/strong> BY<\/strong> OUR<\/strong> CONDUCT<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THE<\/strong> OLD<\/strong> DAYS<\/strong>. The day of doom is not the day of fate. It is a day of judgment, i.e.<\/em> of examination, discrimination, and consequent decision. Therefore it is determined by the character of the old days it judges. The new day may come to us as a surprise, but it will not fall out by chance as one of storm or one of sunshine. When it arrives we shall see that, in its deepest character, it bears the record of our own past.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:12<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Buyer and seller.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. RELIGION<\/strong> HAS<\/strong> A RIGHT<\/strong> TO<\/strong> BE<\/strong> CONCERNED<\/strong> WITH<\/strong> COMMERCE<\/strong>. Religion is spiritual, but it aims at filling the secular sphere, as the soul fills the body. The Church may be its centre, as the brain is the centre of the soul’s consciousness; but every region of life is a scene for its operation, as every limb of the body is for the action of the soul. Religion claims a place in the shop, in the factory, in the mine, on the highway of the sea, in the noisy streets and markets of the city. She does not claim this place as a mere spectator or guest, to be respected in name, but not followed with obedience, like the statue of a deceased citizen set up in a public place to honour his memory, although his principles are derided and travestied by the throng of present day men who crowd about it. Religion claims to be a living presence, guiding and controlling commerce. The relations of buyer and seller are too often treated on the ground of pure self-interestself-interest of the lowest kind, mere money profit. Religion should inspire higher motives.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. A<\/em> respect for truth and justice. <\/em>A Christian merchant’s word should be as good as his bond in his counting house as well as in his home. It is scandalous that “trust” can only go with “security.” Christian honour should pay the debt that cannot be exacted by law. The bankrupt who listens to the teachings of Christ will not be content to scrape through the courts by the aid of technicalities which only enable him to cheat his creditors. The Christian seller will not deceive the buyer, nor the Christian buyer take advantage of the difficulties of the seller to drive an unfair bargain. Justice means more than keeping the lawit means fair dealing and equal treatment.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. A recognition of human brotherhood. <\/em>If I recognize my neighbour as a brother when at church, can I pounce upon him as my prey in the world? The “golden rule” belongs to commerce as much as to any other part of life. But it will not be effective till a spirit of cooperation takes the place of one of cruel, hard, selfish competition.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. A<\/em> reverence for the rights of God in the fruits of commerce. <\/em>Over the Royal Exchange, in London, there runs, in great and bold letters, the legend, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” How far is that the text of the words and deeds of the men who throng the streets round this public building? If all in the earth belongs to God, we shall have to give him an account of our trade transactions.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> COMMERCE<\/strong> WITHOUT<\/strong> RELIGION<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> NOT<\/strong> SECURE<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WELFARE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> A PEOPLE<\/strong>. People who prefer Mammon to God will find they have chosen a hard master.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. When commerce is prosperous, it will not satisfy the greatest needs of men. <\/em>Man does not live by bread alone, and certainly he cannot subsist on bankers’ accounts. In Jerusalem the buyer and seller would cease to rejoice over their bargains, would even not care for loss or gain, glad if only they escaped with their lives. The best things cannot be bought with money; but, happily, they can be had “without money and without price.”<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. When national calamity comes, commerce fails. <\/em>The commercial barometer is a most sensitive test of approaching political storms. Wickedness in business is deservedly punished in the general calamity of a nation by the collapse of trade that is certain to be one of the first results of the adversity.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Commercial sin will be justly punished with commercial ruin. <\/em>This does not necessarily happen to the individual trader who may die rich with ill-gotten gains; but history proves it to be true in the long run with nations.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:16<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mourning as doves.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fugitives from Jerusalem flee to the mountains and hide themselves there, like the doves in the valleys below, whose melancholy notes seem to be a suitable echo to their own sad feelings.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> NATURE<\/strong> INTERPRETS<\/strong> MAN<\/strong> TO<\/strong> HIMSELF<\/strong>. There is an interpretation of nature by man; there is also an interpretation of man by nature. The glad sights and sounds of spring are commentaries on the fresh joyousness of youth. We should not know the hope and beauty of life so well if May never came. So, also, storm, night, winter, desert, mountain, and raging torrent open the heart of man’s grief and despair, and reveal its desolation. The key to human passion is there. Wordsworth, the prophet of nature, who saw deepest into her secret, discerned among the woods and hills “the still, sad music of humanity.”<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> SORROW<\/strong> IS<\/strong> RELIEVED<\/strong> BY<\/strong> CONGENIAL<\/strong> SCENES<\/strong> OF<\/strong> NATURE<\/strong>. The mourning exiles will note the melancholy tones of the doves of the valley. To the happy these sounds come as a touching variation from the generally pleasing aspect of nature; but to the sorrowful fugitives among the mountains they express the sympathy of nature. It is well to cultivate this sympathy, which is not all imaginative; “for there is a spirit in the woods.” and hills and valleys are filled with a Divine presence.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SECLUSION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> NATURE<\/strong> THE<\/strong> DEEPER<\/strong> FEELINGS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SOUL<\/strong> FIND<\/strong> VENT<\/strong>. While among the mountains the exiles utter their lamentations. In the city, scenes of warfare, bloodshed, fury, and terror absorb all attention. These are the immediate and the coarser experiences in a season of great calamity. For the time they destroy the power of reflection. But in solitude and silence men have leisure to think. Then the sadness of the soul wakes up, and takes the place of the agitation and distress of external circumstances.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SORROW<\/strong> OF<\/strong> MAN<\/strong> IS<\/strong> DEEPER<\/strong> THAN<\/strong> THE<\/strong> MELANCHOLY<\/strong> OF<\/strong> NATURE<\/strong>, While the doves coo in plaintive notes that suggest to the hearer a feeling of grief, though they are not really mourning, the exiles from Jerusalem respond to the natural notes of the doves with utterances of true sorrow. Man is greater than nature. He has self-consciousness and conscience. He knows his trouble and he knows his sin. He pays the penalty of his higher endowments in the greater depth of his fall and shame and sorrow. The whole range of nature’s experiences is slight by the side of the lofty aspirations and profound griefs of nan. Going from the one to the other is like leaving the soft, undulating landscape of England for the cliffs and chasms and dark valleys and the awful mountain peaks of Switzerland. The chief difference is moral. Man alone has conscience; he only can mourn for sin. This grief for sin<\/em>and not merely grief on account of its penaltiesis one of the deepest experiences of the human heart. It puts leagues of space between the men who mourn like <\/em>doves, and the innocent, simple birds whose notes suggest a grief they can never feel. But in this deeper grief is man’s hope. Mourning for sin is a part of repentance, and it points to the day of better things, when God has forgiven his guilty children, and when the mourning doves will be forgotten, and the singing of the lark at heaven’s gate will be the key to a new experience of heavenly gladness.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:19<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Gold and silver.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gold and silver are here referred to as precious things that have become worthless in the confusion consequent on the sack of Jerusalem. Inasmuch as they are usually regarded as of great value and guarded with especial care, kept in purses and safe places, to throw them in the streets is to reverse the normal treatment of them.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> VALUE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOLD<\/strong> AND<\/strong> SILVER<\/strong> IS<\/strong> NOT<\/strong> STABLE<\/strong>. Financially, this fact is recognized in the Money Market, but it goes further than men of business generally admit. The precious metals have a certain utility and beauty of their own; but there are circumstances under which they become mere incumbrances; e.g. <\/em>on hoard a sinking ship, in a besieged city, on a desert island, in great sickness, at death. They are chiefly valued as money, i.e. <\/em>as a medium of exchange. But when there is nothing to exchange them for, their money value is lost. This must be the case in a state of social insecurity, when no one can depend upon holding his property from one day to another. Then the purchasing power of money will fall, even though there be plenty of articles for sale, because the purchase of goods may be nullified by the loss of them. In a famine at first the rich man may buy dear food which the poor man can not afford to get; but when all the food is exhausted, he cannot feed on his gold and silver. In times of great sorrow the value of gold and silver falls almost to nil. <\/em>It will not supply the vacant place of the dead, nor will it heal the smart of unkindness or ingratitude. He is poor indeed whose wealth consists in nothing better than gold and silver. The worship of Mammon is a miserable idolatry, certain to be most fatal to the most devoted worshipperand, alas! how many such our money loving age produces! What Wordsworth wrote of the plutocracy of his day is little less true now.<\/p>\n

“The wealthiest man among us is the best:
No grandeur now in nature or in book
Delights us. Rapine, avarice, expense,
This is idolatry: and these we adore:
Plain living and high thinking are no more:
The homely beauty of the good old cause
Is gone; our peace, our fearful innocence,
And pure religion breathing household laws.”<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THERE<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> CIRCUMSTANCES<\/strong> WHICH<\/strong> LEAD<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THE<\/strong> ABANDONMENT<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOLD<\/strong> AND<\/strong> SILVER<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Necessity. <\/em>“All that a man hath will he give for his life.” The drowning man will drop his money bags rather than be dragged down to death with them. Yet there are men who behave as slaves to their money, consenting to a slow death of exhaustion from devotion to business rather than preserve health and life at the cost of pecuniary loss.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Folly. <\/em>Extravagant people “cast their silver in the streets.” Money spent in sin is worse than lost; it is invested in funds from which the dividends will be pain and death.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Charity. <\/em>There are the poor of the streets, and the rich and well clad man who sees his brethren shivering and hungry has a good call to cast his silver in the streetsnot, indeed, for a loose scramble in which the most worthless will seize most, not in indiscriminate charity which breeds idle paupers and neglects modest poverty, but in wise and thoughtful alleviation of misery. The young man whom Jesus loved was bidden to sell all and give to the poor (Mat 19:21<\/span>). St. Francis of Assissi and many another did so. Those who do not practise this “counsel of perfection” should see the duty of making real sacrifices for their brethren as for Christ (Mat 25:40<\/span>).<\/p>\n

4<\/strong>. Consecration. <\/em>Men may cast aside their care of wealth, and even let the proceeds lie in neglect while they devote themselves to a higher ministry; or they may bring their wealth and lay it at the feet of Christ, to be spent on his work in the streets of earth.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:26<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(first part)<\/p>\n

Rumour.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“And rumour shall be upon rumour.” One element of the dark times of the destruction of Jerusalem is the constant accession of new and terrifying rumoursone contradicting another, yet all presaging fearful events. This is always an accompaniment of times of unrest, and Christ referred to it in his picture of coming evils (Mat 24:6<\/span>). We may have seen some such thing in our own happier days; but the telegraph and the newspaper have done immense service in substituting authentic news for vague and floating rumour, so that it is difficult for us to understand the distress of less rapidly informed ages, which must have been far more the prey to uncorroborated reports and chance rumours.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> MISCHIEF<\/strong> OF<\/strong> RUMOUR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Rumour distresses by its prophecy of coming evil. <\/em>There may be rumours of good, to cheer. But in the present instance we have only rumours of evil brought to our attention. Such reports cloud the present with dim visions of a possible dark future. It is hard enough to face the difficulties of today; add to these the portents of tomorrow, and the load may be crashing. “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Rumour alarms by its vagueness. <\/em>Rumour is not news, not the picture of the distant, but only its shadow. If we knew the worst, we might know how to prepare for it; but rumour comes with large, general adumbrations, leaving us to fill in the details with imaginary horrors.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Rumour confuses us by its contradictoriness. <\/em>Rumour is to follow “upon rumour.” There is to be a succession of reports. Possibly these might confirm one another. But general experience would suggest that they are more likely to conflict one with another. The result is a chaos of impressions and a paralysis of energy.<\/p>\n

4<\/strong>. Rumour exaggerates evil. <\/em>It is rarely, if ever, true to fact. It is like the snowball, that grows as it rolls.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> OUR<\/strong> DUTY<\/strong> IN<\/strong> REGARD<\/strong> TO<\/strong> RUMOUR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. We should be careful how we spread a rumour. <\/em>First, it is necessary to ascertain that we receive it on good authority. Then it is important to guard against adding our reflections and impressions as parts of the original report. If the rumour be one calculated to do harm it may be well to keep it to ourselves. No good comes of scandalmongery. A vulgar sense of self-importance delights in telling shocking news; but the motive is a low one, and the action may be most unkind. Panics spring from rumour. When a thoughtless person cries “Fire!” in a public place, he cannot answer for the consequences of his rash and perhaps fatal folly. We need self-restraint to prevent the mischievous spread of rumour.<\/p>\n

“Rumour is a pipe
Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures,
And of so easy and so plain a stop,
That the blunt monster with uncounted heads,
The still-discordant wavering multitude,
Can play upon it.”<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> We should be on our guard against yielding to turnout. <\/em>It wants courage and strength to resist this influence, especially when our neighbours are carried away by it. But past experience should teach caution. We have better than rumour to follow in seeking our highest interest. “We have not followed cunningly devised fables.” We have “the more sure word of prophecy,” and the inward personal experience of the soul with God. Christianity is not based on a rumour of ghost stories; it sends on the historical facts of gospel history and on Christian experience,<\/p>\n

Eze 7:26<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(latter part)<\/p>\n

A vain search.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Then they shall seek a vision,” etc. Ezekiel describes the vain search for the assistance of a prophet’s vision in the dark days of Israel’s overthrow, and the utter failure of that search, as one of the features of the dreadful time.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SEARCH<\/strong>. The words of true prophecy were not much valued by the careless people in their hours of ease; but when trouble came natural anxiety and superstitious terror combined to drive them to the sacred oracles. The question arisesWhat did they wish to learn from the prophets? There is no indication that they desired to know the will of God and to be directed back into his way. More probably they were simply consumed with a morbid curiosity as to their approaching doom. Was it certain that the nation must be scattered? Now, little good can come from such inquiries. A search into the deep mysteries of the future is not likely to give us any very helpful results. It is in God’s most merciful method of educating his children, to keep the future hidden, for the most part, and to give just so much light as is needed for the day. There is, however, a better side to this search. Trouble breaks through the thin crust of worldliness, and reveals the essentially spiritual character of man and his needs. Then it is not possible to be satisfied with things seen and temporal. The unseen world that has been slighted in prosperous times is felt to be supremely real and of profoundest interest. So the sorrow-stricken soul searches for some voice out of the darkness beyond.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> LOSS<\/strong>. The search proves to be vain and useless. The oracle is dumb; the prophet sees no vision; the Law perishes; counsel ceases. This is a disappointment for the boasting confidence of the people (Jer 18:18<\/span>).<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. There is no new inspiration<\/em>. Revelation did not continue to come in an unbroken stream of light. There were periods of darkness in the history of Israel, when no new word of God was given. The completion of the Bible has put an and to this kind of revelation. Yet there is the inspiring guidance of God’s eternal Spirit and the opening of the eyes of spiritually minded men to a personal knowledge and to new aspects of truth. If this ceases, though the letter of revelation remains, the quickening spirit is lost.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. The old written word is lost. <\/em>Not only is there no prophet’s vision; even the ancient Law perishes from the priest. The ceremonial of the temple was stopped by Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem. This was very different from the final cessation of it when the Jewish economy bad passed away. Now the loss of the Law was premature. It would be paralleled by our loss of the whole Bible and its guidancea thing that happened practically in the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Tradition fails. <\/em>This counsel of the ancients is lost in the confusion of the scattered people. There are floating beliefs and customs of religion that help and influence us unconsciously. In a broken, disordered condition even these advantages may be lost.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SIN<\/strong>. The lamentable condition was part of the punishment of Israel’s sin. This was the abuse of Law and prophecy. <\/em>The law of the ritual had been followed as a mere form, and trusted without moral obedience (Isa 1:10-15<\/span>). Such a desecration of religion may be justly punished by the loss of its aid. Perhaps this would be the most merciful way to bring people to appreciate eternal verities, if all our Bibles were lost, should we value them more, and crave the recovery of them with a new relish? With Israel, prophecy was degraded till the popular prophets became mere echoes of popular, opinions. Then they were deceivers of the people, and not only did they deserve to be swept away, but the loss of them was a merciful deliverance to the deluded nation, There is a teaching which can be well spared, especially in view of a higher gospel.<\/p>\n

“Ring out the old,<\/p>\n

Ring in the new;<\/p>\n

Ring out the false,<\/p>\n

Ring in the true.”<\/p>\n

HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eze 7:4<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Recompense.<\/strong><\/p>\n

All earthly government presumes the ideas of responsibility and retribution. Human nature itself contains what may be regarded as their conditions and elements. The welfare, and indeed in certain stages the very existence, of society renders recompense a necessity. What is true of human relations has truth also in reference to those that are Divine. The parallel, indeed, is not complete, but it is real.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> RECOMPENSE<\/strong> IMPLIES<\/strong> A FREE<\/strong> AND<\/strong> RESPONSIBLE<\/strong> NATURE<\/strong> ON<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PART<\/strong> OF<\/strong> MAN<\/strong>. There can be no recompense where there is no accountability; and there can be no accountability where there is no intelligence, no freedom. Natural objects, Kant tells us, act according to laws; spiritual beings, according to representation of laws. Man is capable of apprehending and approving moral ordinances prescribed for his guidance and control; he can recognize moral authority. And he is distinguished from unintelligent and involuntary natures in that he can obey or disobey the laws which he apprehends. If this were not so, consequences might indeed ensue from action; but recompense would be an impossibility.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> RECOMPENSE<\/strong> PRESUMES<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> THERE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> ON<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PART<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOD<\/strong> NO<\/strong> INDIFFERENCE<\/strong>, BUT<\/strong> DEEP<\/strong> CONCERN<\/strong>, WITH<\/strong> REGARD<\/strong> TO<\/strong> MAN<\/strong>‘S MORAL<\/strong> CHARACTER<\/strong> AND<\/strong> CONDUCT<\/strong>. If We think chiefly of law, or uniformity of action, we cannot but remember that law does not account for itself; if we think of the Lawgiver, we are constrained to recognize purpose in all his proceedings and provisions. It cannot be imagined that the great Ruler of all inflicts suffering for any delight in seeing his creatures suffer, or even that he regards their sufferings with perfect indifference. There must be a governmental, a moral end to be secured. The Lawgiver and Judge has what, in the case of a man, we should call a deep interest in the condition and action of the children of men.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> RECOMPENSE<\/strong> IMPLIES<\/strong> THE<\/strong> POSSESSION<\/strong> BY<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SUPREME<\/strong> GOVERNOR<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> ATTRIBUTES<\/strong> WHICH<\/strong> QUALIFY<\/strong> FOR<\/strong> THE<\/strong> EXERCISE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> JUDICIAL<\/strong> FUNCTIONS<\/strong>. None but an omniscient Ruler can be acquainted with all the secret springs of action, as well as with all the varied circumstances of life; yet without such knowledge, how can recompense be other than imperfect and uncertain? None but a perfectly impartial Ruler can administer justice which shall be undisputed and indisputable: who but God is stainlessly and conspicuously just? All earthly retribution is open to suspicion, for the simple reason that every human judge acts upon partial knowledge, and is liable to be influenced by prejudice. But as from the Divine tribunal there is no appeal, so with the Divine decisions can no fault be found. The Judge of all the earth will surely and in every case do right.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> RECOMPENSE<\/strong> AS<\/strong> A PRACTICAL<\/strong> PRINCIPLE<\/strong> OPERATING<\/strong> IN<\/strong> HIS<\/strong> LIFE<\/strong> WAS<\/strong> EXEMPLIFIED<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THE<\/strong> HISTORY<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CHOSEN<\/strong> PEOPLE<\/strong>. The Old Testament has been written to little purpose for those who do not recognize the action of retributive Providence; the narrative would be meaningless apart from this moral significance. The position of Ezekiel compelled him to trace the hand of God in the life and fortunes of his nation. For the Captivity in the East was an unmistakable instance of God’s judicial interposition. And if this was the most striking instance, others occur in abundance, witnessing to the fact that this earthly state is a scene of moral government, incomplete, indeed, yet not to be denied as real.<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> RECOMPENSE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> A PRINCIPLE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> UNIVERSAL<\/strong> PREVALENCE<\/strong> IN<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S ADMINISTRATION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> AFFAIRS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> MANKIND<\/strong>. Doubtless the history of the children of Israel is intended to teach, among other lessons, in a very especial manner, the lesson of Divine government and human responsibility. Not only is the story told, but its moral significance is expressly.set forth. Yet the great principles which are explicit in Old Testament history are Implied in all historyin the history of every nation which exists upon earth. Go where we may, we do not and cannot go beyond the sphere of Divine retribution. Everywhere “the way of transgressors is hard,” and “the wages of sin is death.”<\/p>\n

VI.<\/strong> RECOMPENSE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> A PRINCIPLE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> DIVINE<\/strong> GOVERNMENT<\/strong> WHICH<\/strong>, WHEN<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> ENDS<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> ANSWERED<\/strong>, ADMITS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> BEING<\/strong> TEMPERED<\/strong> WITH<\/strong> MERCY<\/strong>. It is observable that, in the prophetic writings, we find no unqualified denunciation. Threats of severe punishment are met with; but they are followed by offers of mercy and promises of pardon to the penitent. The gates of hope are not closed upon the sinner. And if the most complete and glorious manifestation of God’s character is to be found in the gospel of Christ, it must be remembered that, whilst that gospel was occasioned by man’s ruin by sin and his liability to punishment, it was intended to secure man’s salvation and deliverance “from the wrath to come.”T.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:16<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mourning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This chapter has justly been termed rather a dirge than a prophecy. Whilst its language is in some respects special to the experience of the children of Israel, such representations as this may well be applied to all those who have forsaken God, and have turned every man to his own way.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THERE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> ABUNDANT<\/strong> OCCASION<\/strong> FOR<\/strong> MOURNING<\/strong> ON<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PART<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THOSE<\/strong> WHO<\/strong> HAVE<\/strong> SINNED<\/strong> AND<\/strong> WHO<\/strong> ENDURE<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CONSEQUENCES<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SIN<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> IT<\/strong> IS<\/strong> ONLY<\/strong> A NATURE<\/strong> IN<\/strong> SOME<\/strong> MEASURE<\/strong> SENSITIVE<\/strong> AND<\/strong> SUSCEPTIBLE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> BETTER<\/strong> FEELING<\/strong> WHICH<\/strong> IS<\/strong> CAPABLE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> MOURNING<\/strong>. How truly has it been said that “the worst of feeling is to feel all feeling die”! “They that lack time to mourn lack time to mend.”<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> MOURNING<\/strong> FOR<\/strong> SIN<\/strong> IS<\/strong> MINGLED<\/strong> WITH<\/strong> SELF<\/strong>–REPROACH<\/strong> AND<\/strong> HORROR<\/strong>. They who mourn because they have lost what was precious to them, especially because they have been bereaved of such as they held dear, may mourn tranquilly and holily, and with a patient submission to the will of God. but they who “mourn, every one for his iniquity,” cannot but feel conscience stricken because of their personal participation in sin, and their personal guilt for sin; they cannot but accuse themselves, and pass judgment, as it were, upon their own wrong doing and folly.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> SUCH<\/strong> MOURNING<\/strong> IS<\/strong> AGGRAVATED<\/strong> BY<\/strong> THE<\/strong> NUMBER<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THOSE<\/strong> PARTICIPATING<\/strong> IN<\/strong> IT<\/strong>. The prophet compares the conscience stricken remnant, distressed and weeping because of their own and their nation’s iniquities, to a flight of doves uttering their doleful lamentations. It is no exceptional, singular case; multitudes are involved in the common fate, the common trouble. The feeling is heightened by sympathy. When all heads are bowed in confession, when the utterance of contrition rises from many afflicted hearts, when a contagion of sorrow and distress passes through a vast congregation of humble and penitent worshippers, each is the better able to realize his own and the common distress, and to unburden the over-laden heart. <\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> SINCERE<\/strong> MOURNING<\/strong> MAY<\/strong> LEAD<\/strong> TO<\/strong> TRUE<\/strong> REPENTANCE<\/strong>, AND<\/strong> MAY<\/strong> ISSUE<\/strong> IN<\/strong> NEWNESS<\/strong> or LEFT<\/strong>. There is a “godly sorrow which worketh repentance”a sorrow which is not only or chiefly because of the painful results of sin, but because of the very evil itself which is in sin, and because it is an offence against a forbearing and gracious God. Where such sorrow is, there can be no despair. The rainbow of hope spans the cloud, dark and heavy though it be.T.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:19<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The limitations to the power of wealth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The description of the text is remarkably picturesque. We seem to behold the panic-stricken remnant escaping from the city with trembling forms and anxious countenances. Horror and shame impel their flight, as, girded in coarse sackcloth, they hurry away, barely hoping that they may save their lives. As they go, in their terror they cast away their silver and gold, the burden of which may impede their fight, and which have lost their interest in the all-absorbing endeavour to escape from the hands of the foe. The action thus graphically described is suggestive of a great principle.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WEALTHY<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> USUALLY<\/strong> PRONE<\/strong> TO<\/strong> PLACE<\/strong> TOO<\/strong> GREAT<\/strong> RELIANCE<\/strong> UPON<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> RICHES<\/strong>. Money can purchase many things, and it is not surprising that the rich should have a latent belief that it can procure for them everything that they may need.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> VANITY<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SUCH<\/strong> RESOURCES<\/strong> BECOMES<\/strong> MANIFEST<\/strong> EVEN<\/strong> IN<\/strong> ORDINARY<\/strong> EARTHLY<\/strong> CALAMITIES<\/strong>. In sickness, in sorrow of heart, in many calamities, especially in distressing bereavement, the powerlessness of wealth to deliver or to aid is made painfully apparent. In how many circumstances are the rich and the poor almost upon a level! How often would the wealthy be glad to exchange their riches for the poor man’s poverty, might they enjoy the poor man’s health!<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> SUCH<\/strong> POWERLESSNESS<\/strong> IS<\/strong> YET<\/strong> MORE<\/strong> EVIDENT<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PRESENCE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SUCH<\/strong> CALAMITIES<\/strong> AS<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SIGN<\/strong> OF<\/strong> DIVINE<\/strong> DISPLEASURE<\/strong>. Judah was fated to experience the catastrophe designated by the prophet as “the day of the wrath of the Lord.” This awful expression conveys a distinct declaration concerning the Divine government, concerning human responsibility for rebellion and defection. From this wrath no worldly agency could possibly deliver. In the day when the Eternal enters into judgment with the sons of men, earth can offer no immunity, no protection. Release, exemption from righteous judgment can be purchased by no treasures, no gifts, no sacrifice.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> WEALTH<\/strong>, WHEN<\/strong> ABUSED<\/strong>, MAY<\/strong> EVEN<\/strong> BE<\/strong> A DISADVANTAGE<\/strong> AND<\/strong> HINDRANCE<\/strong> TO<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> POSSESSOR<\/strong>. In a shipwreck, in a fire, in flight from a besieged or captured city, men have been known, by clutching their gold and burdening themselves with its weight, to lose their chance of escape, and consequently miserably to perish. Their wealth has been their stumbling block. Such action and such a fate are a picture, a figure, of the conduct and the doom of not a few. They trust in uncertain riches instead of trusting in the living God. They make an idol of their possessions. That which they might have used for good ends they misuse to their own destruction.<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> HENCE<\/strong> APPEARS<\/strong> THE<\/strong> REASONABLENESS<\/strong>, THE<\/strong> WISDOM<\/strong>, OF<\/strong> SEEKING<\/strong> BETTER<\/strong> RESOURCES<\/strong> AND<\/strong> MAKING<\/strong> BETTER<\/strong> PROVISION<\/strong> FOR<\/strong> THE<\/strong> DAY<\/strong> OF<\/strong> TRIAL<\/strong>. Silver and gold must fail their possessor; the time must come when they will be cast aside. But there are true riches; there is a steadfast and unfailing prop; there are riches of Divine mercy and compassion. It is not what a man has, <\/em>it is what a man is, <\/em>which is of supreme concern. He who has repented of sin and forsaken sin, who has sought and obtained through Christ acceptance with God, whose attitude towards the great King is no longer an attitude of opposition and rebellion, but one of subjection and obedience, he only can look forward with calm confidence to the day of trial; for he knows whom he has trusted, and is persuaded that the Lord will keep that which he has committed to him against that day.T.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:22<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The averted face.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the figurative but natural and expressive language of the Hebrews, the shining <\/em>of God’s countenance means his good pleasure and good will towards those whom he favours, and the hiding <\/em>or averting <\/em>of his countenance means his displeasure. Prayer often shaped itself into the familiar expression, “The Lord cause his face to shine upon us;” and the displeasure of Heaven was deprecated in such terms as these: “Turn not thy face from thy servants.” The child distinguishes at once between the smile and the frown of the parent; the courtier is at no loss to discriminate between the welcome and favour and the displeasure apparent upon the monarch’s face. To the mind at all sensitive to the moral beauty and glory of God, no sentence can be so dreadful as that uttered in the simple but terrible language of the text, “My face will I turn also from them.”<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SHINING<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S COUNTENANCE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> LIFE<\/strong> AND<\/strong> JOY<\/strong>. When the sun arises in his strength, and floods the hills and the valleys, the rivers and the forests, the cornfields and the meadows, with his glorious rays, nature returns the smiles, glows in the sunbeams, rejoices in the warmth and the illumination. Where the sun shines brightly, there the colours are radiant, the odour delicious, there the music of the grove is sweet and the harvest of the plain is golden, there life is luxuriant and gladness breaks forth into laughter and song. And in the moral, the spiritual realm, it is the sunlight of God’s countenance, the manifestation of God’s favour, which calls forth and sustains all spiritual life, health, peace, and joy. “In thy favour is life.”<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> MAN<\/strong>‘S UNBELIEF<\/strong> AND<\/strong> SIN<\/strong> OCCASION<\/strong> THE<\/strong> HIDING<\/strong> AND<\/strong> WITHDRAWING<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S COUNTENANCE<\/strong>. The change is not in him; it is in us. When the sun is not seen in the sky, it is not because he no longer shines, but because clouds, mists, or smoke, ascending from the earth, come between the orb of day and the globe which he illumines. So if God turns his face from an individual, a city, a people, it is because their sins have risen up as a dense, foul fog, intervening between them and a holy, righteous God. “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God.” So it was with those against whom the Prophet Ezekiel was called upon to testify. So it is with multitudes whom the ministers of Christ are required to address in language of tender sympathy, yet of expostulation and reproach.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> AVERSION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S COUNTENANCE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WORST<\/strong> OF<\/strong> ALL<\/strong> CALAMITIES<\/strong>. It is not to be wondered at that men with their composite nature, absorbed as they are in things which affect the body and the earthly life, should think chiefly of the sufferings and privations in which the moral laws of the universe involve them. And these sufferings and privations are realities which no thoughtful man can fail to perceive and to estimate with something like correctness. Yet he who is enlightened and in any measure spiritually sensitive cannot fail to see that it is the regard of God himself which is of chief import. It is better to enjoy the Divine loving kindness, even in poverty, privation, spoliation, and weakness, than to possess luxury, honour, and the delights of sense, and to know that God’s countenance is turned away, is hidden.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> A MERCIFUL<\/strong> GOD<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> TURN<\/strong> AGAIN<\/strong> HIS<\/strong> FACE<\/strong> AND<\/strong> CAUSE<\/strong> IT<\/strong> TO<\/strong> SHINE<\/strong> UPON<\/strong> PENITENT<\/strong> AND<\/strong> BELIEVING<\/strong> SUPPLIANTS<\/strong>. It is sin which conceals the Divine countenance; it is repentance which seeks the shining anew of that countenance; and salvation consists in the response of God to the prayer of man. Yet the turning of his face towards us is the work of his own mercy, the revelation of his own naturecompassionate, gracious, and forgiving.T.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:25<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Peace sought in vain.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No feature of distress and horror is omitted in this prophetic description of the effects of God’s displeasure manifested towards the Jewish people. The burden of predicting such judgments must have been too heavy to bear: what can be said of the state of those upon whom the judgments came? They might well ask, “Who can abide the day of his coming?” What more appalling than the account given in these few words of the state of the people in the time of their disasters: “They shall seek peace, and there shall be none”?<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> GREAT<\/strong> BLESSING<\/strong> OF<\/strong> PEACE<\/strong>. This may be misunderstood. Warfare with ignorance, error, and iniquity, is characteristic of the condition of the good man here upon earth. Our Lord Jesus saw this, and declared, “I am not come to send peace, but a sword.” The presence of evil requires that the attitude of the righteous should be one of antagonism. But this is for a season and for a purpose. A state of controversy and hostility is not a state in itself perfectly desirable and good. Peace of conscience, peace with God, peace with Christian brethren, as far as possible peace with all men,these are blessings devoutly to be desired and sought.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> INCOMPATIBILITY<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SIN<\/strong> WITH<\/strong> PEACE<\/strong>. If peace results from the harmony of the several parts of a man’s nature among themselves, and from harmony between man as a moral being and his God, it is not to be expected that, when the passions are arrayed against the reason, interest against conscience, the subject against the rightful and Divine Ruler, there can be peace. It is mercifully ordered that peace should flee when iniquity prevails. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PUNISHMENT<\/strong> APPROPRIATE<\/strong> TO<\/strong> SIN<\/strong> OFTEN<\/strong> LEADS<\/strong> TO<\/strong> A DESIRE<\/strong> FOR<\/strong> THE<\/strong> BLESSINGS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> PEACE<\/strong>. Men seek peace, and there is none. Thus they are led to reflect upon the unreasonableness of their expectation that the moral laws of the universe should be changed for their pleasure. Tossed to and fro upon the stormy waters, they long for the haven of repose.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> PEACE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> ONLY<\/strong> TO<\/strong> BE<\/strong> OBTAINED<\/strong> UPON<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S OWN<\/strong> TERMS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> COMPLETE<\/strong> SURRENDER<\/strong> AND<\/strong> SUBMISSION<\/strong>. It is not to be found either by endeavoring to stifle the voice of conscience within, or by withdrawing from a world of outward strife to some seclusion and isolation. Both these methods have often been tried, but in vain. The conciliation must take place within. The heart must find rest and satisfaction in the gospel of Jesus Christ, “our Peace.” The whole nature must, by the power of the Spirit, be brought into subjection to God. The fountain of peace must thus be divinely opened, and “peace will flow as a river.”T.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:26<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The prophetic vision dimmed, and the prophetic voice silenced.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In seasons of national calamity and disaster, evils abound which are apparent to every observer. Famine, pestilence, and slaughter, the ruin of industry and the cessation of trade, the breaking up of homes and the departure of national glory,such ills as these none can fail to notice and to appreciate. But the worst is not always what meets the eye. Beneath the surface, harm is wrought, and the very springs of the national life may perhaps be poisoned. Ezekiel, in predicting the disasters that shall come upon his countrymen, mentions as among them bonds, death, the destruction of city and temple, the overthrow of king and prince. But he does not fail to refer to what may perhaps strike the imagination less, but what may upon reflection appear to be an evil more lamentable and injurious. The time shall come when, in their distress, The smitten people shall turn for counsel and guidance, comfort and succour, to the priest, the prophet, the ancient, of the Lord. And then, to crown their sorrow, to deepen it into despondency, they shall find that the vision has perished, that “the oracle is dumb.”<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THERE<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> IN<\/strong> A NATION<\/strong> MEN<\/strong> SPECIALLY<\/strong> QUALIFIED<\/strong> AND<\/strong> COMMISSIONED<\/strong> TO<\/strong> BE<\/strong> THE<\/strong> GUIDES<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PEOPLE<\/strong>, AND<\/strong> TO<\/strong> INSPIRE<\/strong> THEM<\/strong> TO<\/strong> A LIFE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> VIRTUE<\/strong> AND<\/strong> RELIGION<\/strong>. Among the Jews, the priests performed the sacrifices, and in this represented the nation before God; whilst the seers and prophets spake to the people of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, and in this represented God to the nations. Others, too, there were who lived and taught among their fellow countrymen as witnesses of God. In every community there are raised up by Divine Providence just and fearless servants of God, who testify to the law which a nation ought to obey, and who summon their fellow countrymen to obedience. There was doubtless what was special in the case of the religious leaders of the Jews, but the principle is the same wherever there exist soldiers of righteousness whose endeavour it is to lead the people in the holy war.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THE<\/strong> TIME<\/strong> OF<\/strong> A NATION<\/strong>‘S TROUBLE<\/strong> IT<\/strong> IS<\/strong> NATURAL<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PEOPLE<\/strong> SHOULD<\/strong> HAVE<\/strong> RECOURSE<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> RELIGIOUS<\/strong> AND<\/strong> MORAL<\/strong> TEACHERS<\/strong> AND<\/strong> LEADERS<\/strong>. It is with nations as with individuals; in time of prosperity and of that distraction which is produced by absorption in things of earth and sense, the soul’s interests are often neglected, and God himself is often forgotten. But let affliction befall either a man or a people, let earthly success come to an end, let earthly props be removed, let earthly visions be shattered,then it is seen that consolation and succour are sought in directions long forsaken and despised. The counsellor, whose warnings were formerly ridiculed, is now besought to guide and to help. The neglected oracle is sought unto. Unwonted petitions are presented for help. “Is there,” is the cry, “is there a word from the Lord?”<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> IN<\/strong> SUCH<\/strong> SEASONS<\/strong>, AND<\/strong> IN<\/strong> SUCH<\/strong> CIRCUMSTANCES<\/strong>, IT<\/strong> MAY<\/strong> BE<\/strong> FOUND<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> APPLICATION<\/strong> FOR<\/strong> COUNSEL<\/strong> AND<\/strong> FOR<\/strong> SUCCOUR<\/strong> IS<\/strong> MADE<\/strong> TOO<\/strong> LATE<\/strong>. The prophet may be dead; he may be slain, the innocent with the guilty; he may share the fate of those whom he warned in vain. Or his voice may be judicially silenced; no word may be given him whereby to relieve anxiety or to encourage hope. And recourse may be had even to the proper quarter when it is too late to be of any service.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> YET<\/strong> IT<\/strong> EVER<\/strong> REMAINS<\/strong> TRUE<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> AN<\/strong> APPEAL<\/strong> IS<\/strong> OPEN<\/strong> TO<\/strong> HIM<\/strong> WHO<\/strong> IS<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SOURCE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> ALL<\/strong> LIGHT<\/strong> AND<\/strong> CONSOLATION<\/strong>. God has not forgotten to be gracious. Certain opportunities which have been neglected may never recur; certain ministers of wisdom and sympathy, whose ministrations have been despised, may no more be available. But the Lord’s ear is not heavy that it cannot hear, nor his hand shortened that it cannot save.T.<\/p>\n

HOMILIES BY J.D. DAVIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eze 7:1-15<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The hand of the dock on the hour of doom.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bulk of men persist in thinking of God as if he were such a One as themselves. Rejecting the revelation of God’s nature contained in Scripture, they conceive of him as a man greatly magnified the infirmities of man magnified, as well as his virtues. They know the proneness of man to threaten and not to perform; hence they conclude that the judgments of God, because delayed, will evaporate in empty words. God will not be hastened. Proportionate to his immeasurable power is his immeasurable patience. Nevertheless, equitable justice will be meted out. The wrath accumulates as in a thundercloud, until it is overburdened, and the storm all the more violently breaks forth. Never yet in the history of men has God failed to vindicate his righteousness. Never yet has the transgressor escaped, and never will he. As surely as the sun shines, vengeance wilt come.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> RETRIBUTION<\/strong>, THOUGH<\/strong> APPARENTLY<\/strong> TARDY<\/strong>, HAS<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> OWN<\/strong> SET<\/strong> TIME<\/strong>. For the most part it is not according to human expectation. “God seeth not as man seeth.” A thousand things enter into God’s calculation which do not enter into man’s reckoning. The clock of heaven does not measure days and years; it measures events and necessities. The well being of other races has to be pondered beside the race of men. Very often the doom of the ungodly is a fixed and irreversible fact long before that doom is felt and endured. From that moment gracious help is withdrawn, and the doomed man becomes the victim of his folly. To God’s eye, the end is seen long before it is seen by man. While he is yet promising himself much delight, lo! by an invisible thread the sword is suspended over his head.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> RETRIBUTION<\/strong> IS<\/strong> NOT<\/strong> A HAPHAZARD<\/strong> ACCIDENT<\/strong>. It is the outcome of infallible wisdom and righteous deliberation. The Supreme Ruler of heaven says, “I send.” As nothing is too great for his management, so nothing is too minute to engage his notice. He who nourishes myriads of myriads of blades of grass, and clothes the hills with majestic forests, counts every hair of our heads. Too often men are so stunned with the blow of retribution that they count themselves only the victims of a great catastrophe, and look on every side for sympathy. But when conscience awakes, and connects the calamity with previous sin, then at lengthtoo late to avert the crushing evilthey confess that it is “the Lord that smiteth.” “God is not mocked.” The seed we sow today will bear its proper fruit tomorrow.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> RETRIBUTION<\/strong> FROM<\/strong> GOD<\/strong> IS<\/strong> MOST<\/strong> EQUITABLE<\/strong>. There are no scales so delicately true as those in the bands of God. The judgment is precisely” according to thy ways.” It is exact “recompense for all <\/em>thine abominations.” Often men are so blinded by the deceitfulness of sin that they do not perceive this. But when the transient pleasure of sin has ceased, men awake to the fact that the retribution is well deserved. This will be the keenest sting of the sufferingthat it is a just desert. <\/em>If men could only persuade themselves that they were unjustly treated, it would be an alleviation of the woeit would be a sweet consolation in their misery. But such alleviation is denied them. Their own consciences will confirm the sentence, an l out of the dark abyss the cry will rise, “Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> RETRIBUTION<\/strong>, IS<\/strong> CLEARLY<\/strong> FORESEEN<\/strong> BY<\/strong> THE<\/strong> RIGHTEOUS<\/strong>. The unbeliever has no eye with which to see the kingdom of God. The organ of vision he has first blinded, then destroyed. So, too, he is blind to the significance of passing events. He does not perceive the moral aspect of thingsdoes not see that God’s hand is behind the smoke and din of war. But the man of God has learnt to see God in everything. In all the sunshine of life he sees God, whose presence gives a brighter lustre to all earthly joy. And in all the adversities of life he learns to see the rod and the hand that wields it. Standing by the side of God, and in full sympathy with him, Ezekiel saw clearly every minute detail of the retribution that was preparing, and, until the latest moment, implored them to escape. But he foresaw also that they would delude themselves to the very lastwould buoy themselves with false hopes. <\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> RETRIBUTION<\/strong>, WHEN<\/strong> IT<\/strong> COMES<\/strong>, IS<\/strong> MOST<\/strong> COMPLETE<\/strong>. On every side there is bitter disappointment. The earthly props on which men were wont to rely, fail them. All the bonds of society relax and dissolve. To resist invasion the summoning trumpet is blown; but, alas! none respond. Anarchy is everywhere. The day itself becomes night, and every fount of joy is poisoned. Amid previous corrections and afflictions there were many forms of gracious compensationsilver linings on the black cloud. But no relief comes now. There is defeat and disaster on every side. Weeping endures through a long night, without any prospect of joy in the morning. It is darkness without a beam of light, despair without a vestige of hope. Not even shall there be the sweet relief of tears; for the hearts of men have been rendered insensible by the cursed power of sin. They are at length “past feeling”incapable of repentance. “Neither shall there be any wailing for them.” it is abasement the most profound. The first has become the last.<\/p>\n

VI.<\/strong> THIS<\/strong> RETRIBUTION<\/strong> IS<\/strong> THE<\/strong> NATURAL<\/strong> FRUITAGE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SIN<\/strong>. Our wise and gracious God has constructed his universe on this <\/em>principle, that every form of rebellion shall bear in itself the seed of penalty. The pivot on which everything turns is righteousness. There is no occasion for God to issue any code of penalties commensurate with acts of transgression. Sin and punishment are one and the selfsame thing. Retribution is simply full-grown sin. It is often sweet in the bud, but the ripened fruit is bitterness absolute. As gunpowder is, in its nature, explosive, so that it is madness to set alight to it and expect it not to explode; so sin is, in its very nature, destructive, and can lead to nothing else than destruction. Love cements and unites; transgression dissolves and separates. And separation from God is ruin. Where God is, there is life; where God is not, there is death. Where God is, there is heaven; where God is not, there is blackest hell.D.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:16-22<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fallacious deliverance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Flight is not deliverance. If the invading army is God’s army, no escape is possible, save in submission. We cannot elude God’s detectives. Lonely mountains, no more than crowded cities, serve as an asylum, if God be our Foe. As we cannot get beyond the limits of his world, neither can we get beyond the reach of his sword.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> MISERY<\/strong>. They may escape, for a moment, sword wounds and bodily captivity; yet they have not escaped from inward distress and wretchedness. Exposure to hunger and cold and nakedness on the mountains is scarcely to be preferred to violent death. God, the real Avenger, has smitten them in their flight. Their senseless cowardice has added to their pain. Even though they live, they are dishonoured among men. The heathen nations will point at them with a finger of scorn. The common moralities of men reflect, though it be feebly, the just displeasure of God. Honour is lost, though life is yet continued.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> REMORSE<\/strong>. Tears are on all faces, and sorrow is an occupant of every breast. Yet it is a selfish sorrow, which bears the fruit of death. It is not repentance, it is only remorse. Had this sorrow earlier come, and had it sprung from a better motive, it would have availed to deliver them. They mourn, not because they have sinned, but because their sin has been found out. When retribution comes, repentance is impossible.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> COLLAPSE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> FALSE<\/strong> TRUST<\/strong>. In the day of their prosperity they had made their riches their trust. They reposed their faith in idols of silver instead of the living God. For gold they imagined they could hire mercenaries or buy the favour of kings. Such wealth as theirs seemed to them an impregnable security. They could make gates of brass and towers of iron. Yet how sudden and how complete was the collapse of their proud hope! Their gold, instead of a protection, became a snare. It attracted the cupidity of their foes. As hounds scent the prey, so foreign soldiers scented from afar Israel’s riches. The gold and silver lavished on Jehovah’s temple drew, like a magnet, the avarice of the Babylonian king! To rely on material possessions is to rely on a broken reedis to slumber on the edge of a volcano.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> RELIGIOUS<\/strong> DEGRADATION<\/strong>. Their temple had been their pride; now <\/em>it shall be their shame. They had gloried in its external beauty, and had forgotten that the Lord of the temple is greater than the building. They had neglected the spirituality <\/em>of worship, and had profaned the holy place with human inventions and with idolatrous symbols. In their folly they had deemed it politic to set up, side by side with Jehovah, the shrines of other deities. But their policy was rotten. It was based on atheistic selfishness. And new the profanation they had commenced shall be completed by their foes. They had admitted a trickling stream of idolatry into the temple; now it shall become a flood. Thus God makes our sins to become our punishments; at length they sting like hornets, they bite like adders. Once our sin lasted like a sweet morsel; when once in the veins it works like poison. Rebellion is but a seed, of which retribution is the rife fruit.<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CLIMAX<\/strong> OF<\/strong> DISASTER<\/strong> IS<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S DEPAPRTURE<\/strong>. “My face will I turn also from them.” This is the crowning disaster, the bitter dregs of misery, the knell of doom. If, in our hour of crushing affliction, God would turn towards us as a Friend, the wheel of ill fortune would be reversed; all loss would be recovered. If he would only move upon our hearts with his mighty grace, and reduce our self-will and pride, disaster would be changed into dowry, night into day. The hurtling clouds would burst into showers of blessing. But when God departs, the last ray of hope departs, and man’s prospects set in blackest night.D.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:23-27<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The even balances of Jehovah.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The penal judgments of God are not haphazard events. The minds of thoughtful men discover in them a marked feature of retribution. Striking correspondences occur between the transgression and the punishment. “I will do unto them after their way.”<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> VIOLENCE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> MET<\/strong> BY<\/strong> VIOLENCE<\/strong>. The Law of God had been despised; and, instead of a just administration of Law, the rule of violence had prevailed. Therefore by violence they shall be mastered. “Make a chain.” The arm of power had dominated over the hand of justice; therefore a mightier arm shall master it. <\/em>Often has it been seen that they who ruthlessly use the sword themselves perish by the sword. Men are often “hoisted on their own petard.” The gallows which Haman had prepared for another served for himself.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> IDOLATRY<\/strong> ASSIMILATES<\/strong> MEN<\/strong> IN<\/strong> LIKENESS<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THE<\/strong> IDOLS<\/strong>. “I will bring the worst of the heathen upon them.” The objects of their worship had reputed attributes of lust, cruelty, oppression, violence; these attributes shall appear in the worshippers. It is a law of nature, as well as a law of Scripture, that “they who make them are like unto them; so is every one that bows down to them.” As the stream cannot rise above its fount, so man cannot rise above the object of his adoration. Worshippers of idols rapidly deteriorate in character and in moral quality. If God is driven out of the heart, demons will speedily come in. “Nature abhors a vacuum.”<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> OPPORTUNITIES<\/strong> ABUSED<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> AT<\/strong> LENGTH<\/strong> CLOSED<\/strong>. “They shall seek peace, and there shall be none.” “They shall seek a vision from the prophet; but the Law shall perish from the priest.” Had they sought earlier, they would have found; now probation has ceased, the Judge has ascended his throne. All forbearance has its limits. any men are always one day behind. The tide has ceased to flow. Ebb has begun. In middle life they are weeping over a wasted youth. In old age they are lamenting the decay of vigorous manhood. On a death bed they regret the neglect of yesterday’s opportunity. When the last shilling is spent men learn the value of money. <\/em>Today there is the sunlight of hope; tomorrow there will be black despair.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> LEADERS<\/strong> IN<\/strong> REBELLION<\/strong> INCUR<\/strong> THE<\/strong> HEAVIEST<\/strong> CHASTISEMENTS<\/strong>. “The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation.” In proportion to the station any man occupies in society, in proportion to his talents and strength of character, is the influence he exerts, whether for good or for evil. The king will always have a crowd of servile imitators. Princes, by virtue of their exalted rank, wield an extensive influence. For the right employment of influence every man is responsible. He is daily sowing now; and, as the sowing is, so will be the harvest. The mourning of a king will have an intensity of bitterness that never acerbates the tears of a peasant.<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> JUSTICE<\/strong>, SHALL<\/strong> FINALLY<\/strong> BE<\/strong> PARAMOUNT<\/strong>. “They shall know that I am the Lord.” Although they would not know him as Friend and Benefactor, they shall know him and acknowledge him as the Vindicator of right. The spirits in hell confess him, while blind and ungrateful men ignore him. “We know thee who thou art.” Righteousness is endowed with a deathless life; and out of all present confusion and strife it shall come to the surface and be by all honoured. The lesson which men will not learn in the days of prosperity they shall learn in the dark hours of adversity. They shall <\/em>know that Jehovah is supreme. Facile princeps. <\/em>Yet such knowledge does not save; it leads only to deeper despair. It had been a long fight between self-will and God’s will; and men often flatter themselves they are going to conquer. But the termination is always the same: God over all<\/em>.D.<\/p>\n

HOMILIES BY W. JONES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eze 7:1-4<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The punishment of the wicked.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel; An end, <\/em>the end is come,” etc. “This chapter,” says Dr. Currey, “is a dirge rather than a prophecy. The prophet laments over the near approach of the day wherein the final blow shall be struck, and the city be made the prey of the Chaldean invader. Supposing the date of the prophecy to be the same as that of the preceding, there were now but four, or perhaps Three, years to the final overthrow of the kingdom of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar” (‘Speaker’s Commentary’). Our text leads us to observe<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PUNISHMENT<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WICKED<\/strong>, THOUGH<\/strong> LONG<\/strong> DELAYED<\/strong>, IS<\/strong> CERTAIN<\/strong>, UNLESS<\/strong> IT<\/strong> BE<\/strong> AVERTED<\/strong> BY<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> REPENTANCE<\/strong>. “Thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. Now is the end come upon thee.” The land is looked upon as a garment, and by the end coming upon the four corners thereof the prophet indicates the fact that the approaching judgment will cover the entire country. The punishment of their sins had been repeatedly and solemnly announced to the Israelites; and they had disregarded the announcement, and persisted in their sinful ways; and now “the end” was at hand. They would not consider that end while there was hope for them; and now the execution of the Divine judgment cast its dark shadow across their path (cf. Lam 1:9<\/span>). The delay in the infliction of the punishment of sin is sometimes construed as an assurance that it will never be inflicted. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Perilous and, if persisted in, fatal mistake! If in the time during which punishment is held back the wicked do not truly repent, that punishment will be all the more terrible when it comes (cf. Rom 2:4-11<\/span>). The holiness of God arrays him in resolute antagonism against sin.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PUNISHMENT<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WICKED<\/strong> PROCEEDS<\/strong> FROM<\/strong> THE<\/strong> LORD<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>. “I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways,” etc. The Chaldeans were as a weapon in the hand of the Almighty for inflicting deserved punishment upon Israel. (We have noticed this point in our homily on Eze 5:5-17<\/span>.) When the stroke had fallen it was looked upon as having come from the hand of the Most High (cf. Lam 1:14<\/span>, Lam 1:15<\/span>; Lam 2:1-9<\/span>, Lam 2:17<\/span>). All persons and all powers are at God’s disposal, and can be employed by him for the execution of his judgments. Very impressively is this illustrated in the plagues and calamities with which he visited Egypt by the hand of Moses.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PUNISHMENT<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WICKED<\/strong> BEARS<\/strong> EXACT<\/strong> RELATIONS<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> SINS<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Their sins are the cause of their punishment. <\/em>“I will judge thee according to thy ways.” They had brought upon themselves the severe impending judgments. They could not truthfully charge the Lord with injustice or harshness in thus visiting them, for their punishment was the just consequence of their sins. “Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?” With frequent reiteration Ezekiel declares that their sins have evoked their sufferings. With pathetic sorrow Jeremiah acknowledges the same truth (Lam 1:8<\/span>, Lam 1:9<\/span>, Lam 1:18<\/span>; Lam 3:42<\/span>; Lam 4:13<\/span>, Lam 4:14<\/span>). And it is ever true that the sins of men are the reasons of the judgments of God.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Their sins are the measure of their punishment. <\/em>“I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations.” Their sins were persistent, and were aggravated by many advantages and privileges conferred upon them; therefore their punishment was terrible in its severity. In the distribution of the Divine judgments a strict proportion is observed between the guilt and the penalty of sin. God inflicts his judgments equitably (cf. Luk 12:47<\/span>, Luk 12:48<\/span>).<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Their sins determine the character of their punishment. <\/em>“I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee,” i.e. <\/em>in their dire consequences. <\/p>\n

According to the order which God has established, the punishment grows out of the sin. Punishment is “ripened sin.” “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,” etc. Sin, says Hengstenberg, “has an active and a passive history. When the latter begins, that which was before the object of gratification becomes the object of terror.” “Let the sinner know that he binds for himself the rod which will smite him.” “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.”<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PUNISHMENT<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WICKED<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> BE<\/strong> INFLEXIBLY<\/strong> EXECUTED<\/strong>. “And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity.” The holy Scriptures magnify the mercy of Godits infinity, its perpetuity, its tenderness, and his delight in it. And sometimes the wicked have drawn from these representations the unwarrantable conclusion that he is so merciful as to be devoid of justice, so gentle as to be incapable of anger. But “our God is a consuming Fire.” He will be as firm in the punishment of the persistently wicked as he is gracious in pardoning the penitent.. He who mercifully spared repentant Nineveh ruthlessly destroyed incorrigible Sodom and Gomorrah.<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PUNISHMENT<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WICKED<\/strong> WITNESSES<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THE<\/strong> DIVINE<\/strong> EXISTENCE<\/strong> AND<\/strong> SUPREMACY<\/strong>. “And ye shall know that I am the Lord.” (We have dealt with these words as they occur in Jer 6:7<\/span>, Jer 6:10<\/span>.) “Every one must know the Lord in the end, if not as One that calls, allures, blesses, then as One that smites, is angry, punishes” (Schroder). Be it ours to know him as the God of all grace, and to obey and serve him with loyal hearts and devoted lives.W.J.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:5-11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Aspects of the execution of the Divine judgments.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Thus saith the Lord God; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. An end is come,” etc. Nearly everything contained in these verses we have already noticed in previous paragraphs. Eze 7:8<\/span> and Eze 7:9<\/span> are almost a literal repetition of Eze 7:3<\/span> and Eze 7:4<\/span>, which came under consideration in our preceding homily. But certain aspects of the execution of the Divine judgment are here set forth which we have not hitherto contemplated. We shall confine our attention to a brief consideration of these.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> DELIBERATION<\/strong> WITH<\/strong> WHICH<\/strong> THE<\/strong> EXECUTION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> DIVINE<\/strong> JUDGMENTS<\/strong> IS<\/strong> PREPARED<\/strong>. “The rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness.” The rod is the emblem of power to execute the judgment; and pride, of disposition to execute it. Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean monarch is thus indicated. And the text suggests that his power had long been in preparation for the stern work which he was about to do, and that now it was in readiness for it, like a rod which has been planted, taken root, and grown into vigorous development. “It illustrates,” says Kitto, “the Lord’s deliberateness in executing his judgments, as contrasted with man’s haste, impatience, and precipitancy. Man, so liable to err in judgment and action and to whom, slow deliberation in inflicting punishment upon transgressors might seem naturally to result from his own consciousness of weakness, is in haste to judge and prompt to act; whereas he who cannot err, and whose immediate action must be as true and right as his most delayed procedure, works not after the common manner of men, but after the manner of a husbandman in sowing and planting. When the sin comes to that state, which must in the end render judgment needful for the maintenance of righteousness upon the earth, and for the vindication of the Lord’s justice and honour, the rod of punishment is planted; it grows as the sin grows; and it attains its maturity for action at the exact time that the iniquity reaches maturity for punishment. When Israel entered upon that course of sin which ended in ruin, the rod of the Babylonian power was planted; and as the iniquities of Israel increased, the rod went on growing, until, under Nebuchadnezzar, it became a great tree, overshadowing the nations; and when the full term was come, it was ripe and ready for the infliction upon Israel of the judgments which had so often been denounced, and were so greatly needed” (‘Daily Bible Illustrations’). This principle of the Divine action in human history may be traced in the relation of the Israelites to the ancient Canaanites. And in the Babylonian power it receives twofold illustration. One of these we have in the text, where Babylon is the rod of judgment for Israel. And afterwards Babylon itself was smitten by the rod of the Medo-Persian power, which had been gradually growing into maturity and strength. And the same principle is in operation today in relation both to nations and to individuals. If by <\/p>\n

either sin be persisted in, the rod of God’s judgment for that sin will be planted, and when it has grown into power, God will sorely smite the nation or the individual with it. What the poet says of nature we may say of God.<\/p>\n

“Nature has her laws
That will not brook infringement; in all time,
All circumstance, all state, in every clime,<\/p>\n

She holds aloft the same avenging sword,<\/p>\n

And, sitting on her boundless throne sublime,<\/p>\n

The vials of her wrath, with justice stored,<\/p>\n

Shall, in her own good hour, on all that’s ill be poured”<\/p>\n

(J.G. Percival.)<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> SUDDENNESS<\/strong> WITH<\/strong> WHICH<\/strong> THE<\/strong> EXECUTION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> DIVINE<\/strong> JUDGMENTS<\/strong> TAKES<\/strong> PLACE<\/strong>. “An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.” Instead of “it watcheth for thee,” the Hebrew is, as in the margin, “it awaketh against thee.” The end which had long seemed to sleep, now awakes and comes; it comes in sharp judgments. “The repetition indicates the certainty, the greatness, and the swiftness” of the approaching end. The judgment which had so long and frequently been announced to Israel, would come upon them at last suddenly and unexpectedly. That which seemed to sleep, awakes, arises, and draws near, to their confusion and dismay. How often do the judgments of God come unexpectedly, and with a great shock of surprise! Thus came the Deluge upon the old world, and the fiery flood upon the cities of the plain (Mat 24:38<\/span>, Mat 24:39<\/span>; Luk 17:26-29<\/span>). Thus came the awful summons to the fool in the midst of his temporal prosperity and spiritual destitution (Luk 12:16-20<\/span>). And so will come the last, the great day of judgment. “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,” etc. (2Pe 3:10<\/span>). Although the wicked may persuade themselves that the Divine retribution lingers and slumbers, it is ever awake and active, and, unless they repent, it shall come upon them in “swift destruction.”<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> TRANSFORMATION<\/strong> WHICH<\/strong> THE<\/strong> EXECUTION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> DIVINE<\/strong> JUDGMENTS<\/strong> PRODUCES<\/strong>. “The time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.” Schroder translates more correctly, “The day is near, tumult, and not joyous shouting upon the mountains.” Upon some of their hills the Israelites planted vines, and in the time of the gathering of the vintage the labourers made the hills to echo with shouts and songs of gladness (cf. Isa 16:10<\/span>). Perhaps the prophet refers to this in the text. Or the reference may be to the altars which were upon the mountains (Eze 6:3<\/span>, Eze 6:13<\/span>; Jer 3:21<\/span>, Jer 3:23<\/span>), and from which the shouts and songs of revelling worshippers echoed far and wide. And instead of these shouts of joy there should arise the wild tumult of war, and the lamentable cries of the distressed, imploring succour or seeking deliverance. Terrible are the transformations wrought by the judgments of the Most High. The selfish rich man passed from his luxurious home, his purple and fine linen, and his sumptuous fare, “and in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments,” and was unable to obtain even a drop of water to cool his patched tongue. Blessed are they who, through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, are delivered from condemnation, and made heirs of eternal life.W.J.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:12<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Eze 7:13<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Eze 7:19<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The limitation of the power of riches.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn,” etc. It is not wise to despise riches, or to affect to do so, or to depreciate them. They have many uses; they may be made the means of promoting the physical well being and the mental progress of their possessor, of enabling him to do much good to others, and of furthering the highest and best interests of the human race. When wisely employed, they produce most excellent results. On the other hand, it is foolish and wrong to over estimate them: to make their attainment the object of our supreme concern and effort, to trust in them, to make a god of them. The verses chosen as our text suggest the following observations.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> CIRCUMSTANCES<\/strong> MAY<\/strong> ARISE<\/strong> REDUCING<\/strong> THE<\/strong> VALUE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> RICHES<\/strong> UNTIL<\/strong> THEY<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> ALMOST<\/strong> WORTHLESS<\/strong>. “Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof; he shall not return.” The reference seems to be to a compulsory sale of their estates by the Jews at the time of the troubles now impending. As the ‘Speaker’s Commentary’ points out, “it was grievous for an Israelite to part with his land. But now the seller need not mourn his loss, nor the buyer exult in his gain. A common ruin should carry both away; the buyer should not take possession, nor should the seller return to profit by the buyer’s absence. Should he live, it will be in exile. All should live the pitiful lives of strangers in another country.” The sad changes about to transpire would so depreciate the value of the commodity sold, that the seller need not mourn over a bad bargain, or the buyer rejoice over a good one. Circumstances and events producing similar effects frequently arise, and will readily occur to every one upon reflection. The commercial value of properties and possessions fluctuates; and that to which a man may be looking confidently for the means of subsistence may become almost or altogether worthless. There is no absolute and permanent value in the riches of this world.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> THERE<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> EVILS<\/strong> IN<\/strong> LIFE<\/strong> FROM<\/strong> WHICH<\/strong> RICHES<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> UTTERLY<\/strong> POWERLESS<\/strong> TO<\/strong> DELIVER<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> POSSESSORS<\/strong>. (Eze 7:19<\/span>.) Notice:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Their inability to satisfy their souls. <\/em>“They shall not satisfy their souls.” Schroder interprets this that their silver and gold were aesthetically worthless to the Israelites in the day of their calamity; they were not able to minister to their taste or promote their enjoyment in their season of hitter woe. It is true that in the day of sore distress all that can be bought with money will not afford relief. AE<\/strong>sthetic gratificationspictures and statues, poetry and musiccannot adequately minister to the soul in its deepest sorrows. But may we not discover in the words a deeper meaning? Gold and silver cannot supply the soul’s greatest needs, or satisfy its most importunate cravings. The gifts of God cannot be purchased with money.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Their inability, in certain circumstances, to procure even the necessaries of bodily life. <\/em>“They shall neither fill their bowels.” When no food was left in the beleaguered city, the Israelites could not appease, or even mitigate, their hunger with their riches. I have read of an Arab who lost his way in the desert, and was in danger of dying from hunger. At last he found one of the cisterns out of which the camels drink, and a little leathern bag near it. “God be thanked!” he exclaimed. “Here are some dates or nuts; let me refresh myself.” He opened the bag, but only to turn away in sad disappointment. The bag contained pearls. And of what value were they to one who, like Esau, was “at the point to die”?<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Their inability to deliver from the retributions of the Divine government. <\/em>“Their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord” (cf. Zep 1:18<\/span>). Riches can neither set a man so high that God’s judgments cannot reach him. nor surround him with such panoply that God’s arrows cannot pierce through it. We have striking illustrations of this in the cases of two rich men of whom our Lord spake (Luk 12:16-20<\/span>; Luk 16:19-31<\/span>). And there are some of the ordinary afflictions and sorrows of this life from which we can secure neither immunity nor deliverance by means of riches. “A golden crown cannot cure the headache, nor a velvet slipper give ease of the gout, nor a purple robe flay away a burning fever.” All the royal wealth of King David could not ward off death from one of his children (2Sa 12:15-18<\/span>), or exempt him from the heartbreaking treachery and rebellion of another (2Sa 15:1-37<\/span>.).<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> CERTAIN<\/strong> EVILS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> LIFE<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> AGGRAVATED<\/strong> BY<\/strong> THE<\/strong> POSSESSION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> RICHES<\/strong>. In circumstances like those indicated by the prophet riches are calculated to increase the evils in two ways.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. They may endanger life by enkindling the cupidity of enemies. <\/em>Greedy of booty, the invaders of Jerusalem would be likely to direct their unwelcome attentions to the rich, and not to the poor. As Matthew Henry quaintly observes, “It would be a temptation to the enemy to cut their throats for their money.” Hence Ezekiel says, “They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed,” or “shall be as filth.” They would cast it away as an unclean thing, because their life was imperilled by it.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. They may endanger life by hindering flight from enemies. <\/em>Riches would be an encumbrance to those Israelites who sought to escape from the Chaldean soldiery by flight, and would retard their progress. Therefore, to be more free and swift in their movements, “they shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be as filth.” How many human lives have been lost in the attempt to save riches! When the steamer Washington <\/em>was burnt, one of the passengers, on the first alarm of fire, ran to his trunk, and took from it a large amount of gold and silver coin, and, loading his pockets, ran to the deck and jumped overboard. As a necessary consequence, he went down immediately. His riches were his ruin.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> RICHES<\/strong> MAY<\/strong> BE<\/strong> THE<\/strong> OCCASION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SIN<\/strong>. “Because it is the stumbling block of their iniquity.” Their silver and gold had been the occasion of sin to the Israelites, especially in the manufacture of idols. “Of their silver and their gold have they made them idols” (Hos 8:4<\/span>). And there are many in our age and country to whom riches are an occasion of sin; they set their affections upon them, they repose their confidence in them. “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” etc. (Luk 18:24<\/span>, Luk 18:25<\/span>). “The deceitfulness of riches chokes the word” of the kingdom. “They that will be rich tall into temptation and a snare,” etc. (1Ti 6:9<\/span>, 1Ti 6:10<\/span>, 1Ti 6:17-19<\/span>).<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Let us endeavour to form a true estimate of riches.<\/em><\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. If we possess them, let us use our riches, not as the proprietors, but as the stewards thereof, who will one day be called by the great Owner to render the account of oar stewardship.<\/em>W.J.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:13<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(last clause)<\/p>\n

The impossibility of becoming truly strong in a life of sin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.” This clause has been variously rendered and interpreted. Fairbairn translates, “No one by his iniquity shall invigorate his life.” Schroder, “Nor shall theyin his iniquity is every one’s lifeshow themselves strong.” And the ‘Speaker’s Commentary.’ “And, every man living in his iniquity, they shall gather no strength.” The meaning seems to beLet no one think that in these impending judgments he can invigorate himself in “his iniquity; from such a source no such strengthening or invigoration of life can be derived; on the contrary, it is this very iniquity which is bringing all to desolation and ruin.” Two observations are authorized by the text.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> WICKED<\/strong> MEN<\/strong> SOMETIMES<\/strong> ENDEAVOUR<\/strong> TO<\/strong> STRENGTHEN<\/strong> THEMSELVES<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> INIQUITY<\/strong>. This is frequently and variously done. Take a few common examples of it. The dishonest bank manager or bookkeeper attempts to hide his defalcations by manipulating the accounts, making false entries in them, etc. Many try to conceal vice or crime by falsehood, as did Gehazi the servant of Elisha (2Ki 5:20-27<\/span>). A man who has got into monetary difficulties through betting or gambling seeks to escape from them by theft or forgery. Or a man has been in a position of privilege or power, and by reason of his own misdoing be is losing that position, but be seeks to retain it by further wrong doing. When Saul, the King of Israel, realized that the kingdom would not descend to his heirs, and saw his own popularity waning and David’s growing, he endeavoured to secure the kingdom to his family by repeated attempts to kill David. Or when a person has obtained riches or power by fraud, oppression, or cruelty, and finding that possession failing him, he seeks to retain it firmly by perpetrating other crimes. The Macbeth of Shakespeare is a striking illustration of this. When he feels himself insecure on the throne which he had committed murder to obtain, he says to Lady Macbeth, the daring partner of his dread guilt<\/p>\n

“Things bad begun, make strong themselves by ill.”<\/p>\n

And later, when he had incurred the guilt of another murder, and was tormented by terrible fears, he says to her<\/p>\n

“For mine own good.
All causes shall give way; I am in blood
Stepp’d in so far, that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”<\/p>\n

And thus he endeavoured to strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THESE<\/strong> EFFORTS<\/strong> TO<\/strong> STRENGTHEN<\/strong> THEMSELVES<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> INIQUITY<\/strong> MUST<\/strong> INEVITABLY<\/strong> END<\/strong> IN<\/strong> FAILURE<\/strong>. Let us try to show this. We have seen that men try to strengthen themselves in iniquity by means of falsehood. But falsehood is opposed to the reality of things, and by its very nature cannot give lasting strength or security to any one. Carlyle says forcibly, “No lie you can speak or act, but it will come, after longer or shorter circulation, like a bill drawn on nature’s reality, and be presented then for payment, with the answerNo effects.<\/em>“ <\/em>Again, “For if there be a Faith from of old, it is this, as we often repeat, that no Lie can live forever . All Lies have sentence of death written down against them in Heaven’s chancery itself; and, slowly or fast, advance incessantly towards their hour.” “The lip of truth shall be established forever; but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” “He that speaketh lies shall perish.” And turning from falsehood in particular to sin in general, iniquity, so tar from invigorating man, by its essential nature strips him of strength and courage. Thus the guilty and aforetime brave Macbeth cries<\/p>\n

“How is’t with me when every noise appals me?”<\/p>\n

And elsewhere, Shakespeare says truly<\/p>\n

“Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind;
The thief doth fear each bush an officer.”<\/p>\n

To the same effect writes Wordsworth<\/p>\n

“From the body of one guilty deed
A thousand ghostly fears and haunting thoughts proceed?<\/p>\n

And our prophet, “How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things!” (Eze 16:30<\/span>). “The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are bold as a lion.” The consciousness of truth and uprightness inspires the heart with courage and nerves the arm with power.<\/p>\n

“What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted?
Thrice is he arm’d that hath his quarrel just;
And he but naked, though locked up in steel,
Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted.”<\/p>\n

(Shakespeare.)<\/p>\n

And the throne which is based on injustice, cruelty, or blood, and maintained by oppression and tyranny, is founded upon sand and supported by feebleness. Wickedness is weakness. “it is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness; for the throne is established by righteousness.<\/em>“ <\/em>“The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established forever.” No man can ever truly strengthen himself in iniquity; neither can any number of men do so. The only way by which the wicked may become truly strong is by resolutely turning from sin and trusting in the Saviour. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts,” etc. (Isa 55:7<\/span>).W.J.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:20-22<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The perversion of desirable possessions punished by the deprivation of them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it, in majesty,” etc. In these words we discover<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> DESIRABLE<\/strong> POSSESSIONS<\/strong> SINFULLY<\/strong> PERVERTED<\/strong>. (Eze 7:22<\/span>.) This verse has been differently translated and interpreted. Hengstenberg renders it, “And his glorious ornament he has set for pride; and they made the images of their abominations and detestable idols of it: therefore have I laid it on them for uncleanness.” Some refer this to the temple, which “by way of eminence was the glory and ornament of the nation.” Others, connecting it with the preceding verse, refer it to the riches, or to the elegant ornaments made of gold and silver, which the Israelites possessed. Without presuming to speak dogmatically on the point, we incline to the latter view. The Israelites were an opulent people. The Prophet Isaiah said, “Their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures.” God had enabled them to accumulate riches (cf. Deu 8:18<\/span>). And now they misused their wealth against him.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Their desirable possessions they turned into an occasion of pride. <\/em>“His glorious ornament he has set for pride.” The “he” signifies the people, who are called either he <\/em>or they. <\/em>They perverted their riches into a parade of their own self-sufficient, power; they misused them for their self-glorification. The prosperity, which should have enkindled their gratitude to the Lord their God, led to their presumption and self-exaltation (cf. Isa 2:11<\/span>, Isa 2:17<\/span>). This is not a solitary case, but a representative one, of the way in which the gifts of God are perverted by the sin of man. When spiritual privileges lead to supercilious pharisaism (cf. Luk 18:11<\/span>); when the possession of personal gifts and abilities generate self-conceit; or when the possession of riches is made the occasion of self-laudation (cf. Deu 7:17<\/span>; Dan 4:30<\/span>);when these things occur, we have a similar abuse of the gifts of God. “Thus <\/em>saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,” etc. (Jer 9:23<\/span>, Jer 9:24<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Their desirable possessions they turned into detestable idols. <\/em>“They made the images of their abominations and detestable idols of it.” In Isa 2:7<\/span>, Isa 2:8<\/span> the abundance of riches and the prevalence of idolatry stand in close connection. To a great extent the idolatry proceeded from the self-exaltation. Pride would choose even its own god, rather than accept and serve the true God as he has revealed himself and his will. “All idolatry,” says Hengstenberg, “is at bottom egoism, the apotheosis of self, <\/em>that sets up its god out of itselffirst makes and then adores.” The gold and silver, which the Lord had enabled them to acquire, they abused against his express commands, and to his dishonour. Nor is this sin of perverting God’s gifts to sinful and base uses without its modern illustrations. When the poet employs his glorious gift of song for the pollution of the imagination; or the philosopher his powers for the propagation of scepticism and the destruction of faith; when riches are expended for the gratification of pride, the love of vain show, or for any sinful object; when a nation uses its power oppressively, tyrannically, or to the injury of others;when these things are done, the principle of the sin dealt with in our text receives fresh illustration.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> PERVERTED<\/strong> POSSESSIONS<\/strong> TAKEN<\/strong> FROM<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> PERVERTORS<\/strong> AND<\/strong> GIVEN<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> ENEMIES<\/strong>. “And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.” Notice:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. The true Proprietor of man<\/em>‘s possessions. <\/em>“I will give it into the hands of the strangers.” In these words, by implication, the Most High asserts his claim to dispose of the riches of the Israelites according to his own pleasure. The richest man is but the steward or trustee of the riches. God alone is absolute Proprietor. The ablest man is indebted to God for his abilities, and is solemnly accountable to him for the use of them. “For who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?” etc. (1Co 4:7<\/span>). God has the right to do with our gifts and goods how and what he will.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Man deprived of the possessions which he has abused by the true Proprietor of them. <\/em>God was about to give the riches of the Israelites to the Chaldeans, who are here spoken of as “strangers, and the wicked of the earth.” They could not have conquered and spoiled the Israelites but for the permission of the Lord Jehovah. The victory of the Chaldeans was his penal victory over his sinful people. Is it not reasonable and righteous that the gifts which have been perverted should be withdrawn from their pervertors? that the possessions which have been abused should be taken away from their abusers? (cf. Mat 21:33-43<\/span>).<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PERVERSION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> DESIRABLE<\/strong> POSSESSIONS<\/strong> LEADING<\/strong> TO<\/strong> THE<\/strong> AVERSION<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> DIVINE<\/strong> FAVOUR<\/strong>. “My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.”<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Persistence in sin leads to the withdrawal of the favour of God. <\/em>Turning the Divine face to any one is an expression denoting the favourable regards of God (cf. Num 6:25<\/span>, Num 6:26<\/span>; Psa 25:16<\/span>; Psa 67:1<\/span>; Psa 69:16<\/span>; Psa 80:3<\/span>, Psa 80:7<\/span>, Psa 80:19<\/span>; Psa 86:16<\/span>). “The face of God,” says Schroder suggestively, “is the consecration of our life: our free upward look to it, its gracious look on us.” In his favour there is life and peace, prosperity and joy. The turning of his face from any one is a token of his displeasure. He was about to turn it away thus from Israel.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. The withdrawal of the favour of God leaves man without adequate defence. <\/em>“They shall pollute my secret: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.” Very different meanings are given to the words, “my secret.” Some would translate it, “my treasure,” and apply it to Jerusalem; others to the holy land in general. Ewald interprets it, “the treasure of my guardianship, i.e. <\/em>of my country or my people.” It seems to us probable that Jerusalem is meant. When God turns “away his face from any, the lace of calamity and destruction is towards them, nay, destruction is upon them. No sooner doth God turn away from a nation, but destruction steps into that nation.” He is both the Sun and the Shield of his people; and if he turn his face away from them, they are in darkness, and defenceless before their enemies and dangers. And this was the punishment of idolatry most solemnly announced by Jehovah through his servant Moses: “I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?” (Deu 31:16-18<\/span>).<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/strong>. Here are solemn admonitions as to our use of the privileges and possessions, the gifts and goods, which God has bestowed upon us.W.J.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:23-27<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The dread development of moral evil.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes,” etc. This paragraph suggests the following observations.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> PERSISTENCE<\/strong> IN<\/strong> SIN<\/strong> LEADS<\/strong> TO<\/strong> PLENITUDE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SIN<\/strong>. “Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.” The wickedness of the people had grown to such an extent that the darkest crimes were everywhere prevalent and predominant. The city was filled with outrage, and the country with blood guiltness. Sin, unless it be striven against and resisted, increases both in measure and in power, until it attains unto terrible fulness and maturity. As in holiness, so also in wickedness, full development is reached gradually. Peoples and nations arrive at thorough moral corruption not with a bound, but step by step. But unless checked, wickedness ever tends to that dreadful goal (cf. Gen 15:16<\/span>; Dan 8:23<\/span>; Mat 23:32<\/span>; 1Th 2:16<\/span>).<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> PLENITUDE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SIN<\/strong> USHERS<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THE<\/strong> AWFUL<\/strong> JUDGMENTS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>. Because of the fulness of wickedness, the calamities announced by the prophet were coming upon the people. This is explicitly stated in both the twenty-third and twenty-fourth verses. The prevalent iniquities of Israel were the meritorious cause of the stern judgments of the Lord. Several features of these require notice.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. They were of dread severity. <\/em>They were to be carried into captivity. To set forth this truth Ezekiel is summoned to “make a chain.” And, as a matter of fact, Zedekiah the king was bound with fetters of brass, and carried to Babylon (2Ki 25:7<\/span>). And a post-exilian poet speaks of the miserable captivity of the people (Psa 107:10-12<\/span>). Their homes were to be seized and held by their enemies. “I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses.” Their sanctuary was to be profaned. “Their holy places shall be defiled.” The reference is to the temple, their “holy and beautiful house.” The prophet speaks of it as theirs, <\/em>not God<\/em>‘s, <\/em>probably to indicate that God had already forsaken the sanctuary which they had defiled. “Woe be to us when our sanctuaries are nothing but our sanctuaries!” Anguish was to take hold upon hem. “Destruction cometh;” literally, “standing up of the hair cometh” (Professor Cheyne). If we accept this view of the word, it denotes extreme anguish or horror by one of the physical manifestations thereof, as in ‘Hamlet’ (act 1<\/span>. sc. 5)<\/p>\n

“I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul; freeze thy young blood;
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres;
Thy knotted and combined locks to part,
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine.”
(Shakespeare.)<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> They were to come in terrible succession. <\/em>“Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour.” “Mischief” fails to fully express the force of the original word. Fairbairn renders it “woe;” Cheyne, “ruin;” Schroder, “destruction.” Woe upon woe, misery upon misery, would befall them. Calamities would rush upon them in troops. As the king of Egypt was visited with plague after plague, so the strokes of the Divine judgments are sometimes sternly repeated, each stroke for a time being the harbinger of others.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Even the mightiest would be unable to stand against them. <\/em>“I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease.” Jehovah by his servant Moses had threatened the Israelites with a dreadful series of punishments if they persisted in rebelling against him, including this, “I will break the pride of your power” (Le Eze 26:19<\/span>). When the Omnipotent arises for judgment, the most powerful creature is impotent to withstand him. “Hast thou an arm like God?”<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> IN<\/strong> TIMES<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SORE<\/strong> DISTRESS<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WICKED<\/strong> SEEK<\/strong> HELP<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> LORD<\/strong> OR<\/strong> OF<\/strong> HIS<\/strong> SERVANTS<\/strong>. “They shall seek peace, and there shall be none; they shall seek a vision of the prophet.” “Peace” is not an adequate rendering of the Hebrew here.. Professor Cheyne translates, “safety;” and Schroder, “salvation.” In their overwhelming calamities the Israelites would seek the help which they had despised in the time of their prosperity. So the proud Pharaoh, when the plagues were upon him and his subjects, repeatedly called for Moses and Aaron, and besought them to entreat the Lord. on his behalf. So also the perverse and rebellious Israelites applied unto Moses when they were smarting under the Divine chastisements (Num 11:2<\/span>; Num 21:7<\/span>; cf. Psa 78:34-37<\/span>). And the presumptuous Jeroboam, soon as his hand was smitten with paralysis, entreated the prayers of the prophet whom a moment before he was about to treat with violence (1Ki 13:6<\/span>). By thus seeking deliverance from God in the time of their distress, the wicked bear witness to their sense of the reality of his Being, and of their need of him. And by seeking the intercession of his faithful servants they unwittingly testify to the worth of genuine religion.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> MEN<\/strong> WHO<\/strong> HAVE<\/strong> REJECTED<\/strong> GOD<\/strong> IN<\/strong> SEASONS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> PEACE<\/strong> MAY<\/strong> SEEK<\/strong> HELP<\/strong> FROM<\/strong> HIM<\/strong> IN<\/strong> SEASONS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> DISTRESS<\/strong>, YET<\/strong> NOT<\/strong> OBTAIN<\/strong> IT<\/strong>. “They shall seek peace, and there shall be none; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the Law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients. The king shall mourn,” etc. The following points require brief notice.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Deliverance from trouble, and direction in trouble, sought in vain. <\/em>The Israelites seek for safety, but find it not; for prophetic guidance, but it fails them. The prophet or seer has no vision for them; the priest has no instruction in the Law or in religion; the ancients or wise men have no counsel for their life and conduct. Saul, the King of Israel, presents a mournful illustration of this (1Sa 28:6<\/span>, 1Sa 28:15<\/span>). “Because I have called, and ye refused,” etc. (Pro 1:24-31<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Failure to obtain help in trouble producing great distress. <\/em>“The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation,” etc. The distress is general. The king, the prince, and the people all feel it. The calamities are not partial or sectional, but national. The distress is very great. The king mourns in deep inward grief; the prince clothes himself with horror, is as it were wrapt up in terror; and the hands of the common people tremble.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. The righteousness of these judgments. <\/em>“I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them.” The dealings of the Lord with them would be regulated by their conduct. His judgments would correspond with their lives and works. They would reap the fruit of their doings.<\/p>\n

4<\/strong>. The righteous judgments of God leading to the recognition of him. <\/em>“And they shall know that I am the Lord.” In this day of their calamity they will feel and acknowledge the supremacy of Jehovah. (See our remarks on verse 4, and on Eze 6:7<\/span>, Eze 6:10<\/span>.) Let us seek to know him, not in his judgments, but in his mercies; not in wrath, but in love. “And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.”W.J.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CHAPTER 7<\/p>\n

1, 2And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: An end to the soil of Israel! the end comes 3upon the four corners [borders] of the land. Now [comes] the end upon thee, and I send Mine anger into thee, and judge thee as thy ways [are], and give upon thee all thine abominations. 4And Mine eye will not restrain itself from [have pity upon] thee, neither will I spare; for [but] thy ways will I give upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in thy midst; and ye know that I am Jehovah. 5Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, An evil, one evil, behold it cometh. 6An end cometh, there cometh the end; it awaketh for thee, behold, it 7cometh. The turn (?) cometh to thee, O inhabitant of the land; the time cometh; the day is near, tumult and not joyous shouting upon the mountains. 8Now will I shortly pour out My fury upon thee, and I accomplish Mine anger upon [in] thee, and judge thee as thy ways [are], and give upon thee all thine abominations. 9And Mine eye will not forbear, and I will not spare; as thy ways [are] will I give upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in thy midst; 10and ye know that it is I, Jehovah, that smiteth. Behold, the day, behold, it 11cometh: the turn (?) springeth up; the rod sprouts; pride blossoms. The violence riseth up into the rod of wickedness; not of them, nor of their multitude, nor of their pomp; neither is there anything glorious upon 12[in, among] them. The time comes, the day arrives; let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for heat [of anger] cometh upon the whole multitude thereof. 13For the seller shall not return to what is sold, even were their life still among the living; for the vision is upon [against] the whole multitude thereof; he shall not return, nor shall theyin his iniquity Isaiah 14<\/span> every ones lifeshow themselves strong. They blow the horn, and make all ready, and there is none who goeth to the battle; for My heat of anger Isaiah 15<\/span> upon [against] their whole multitude. The sword without, and the pestilence and famine within! He that is in the field shall die by the sword; and he <\/span>1<\/span>6that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him. And if their escaped ones escape, they are upon the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them cooing, each one in his iniquity. 17All hands shall be slack, and all 18knees shall dissolve into water. And they gird sackcloth about them, and horror covers them; and upon all faces is shame, and baldness on all their 19heads. Their silver shall they cast upon the streets, and their gold shall be to them for repudiation. Their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them on the day of the outpouring of the wrath of Jehovah: they shall not satisfy their soul, neither fill their bowels; for it was a stumbling-block 20of their iniquity. And the ornament of his decorationfor pride they placed it, and images of their abominations, of their [their accus.<\/em>] detestable 21things, they made of it: therefore I give it to them for repudiation. And I give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of 22the earth for a spoil; and they profane her. And I turn away My face from them, and they profane My secret; and violent ones come into her, and profane 23her. Make the chain; for the land is full of blood-guiltiness, and the 24city is full of outrage. And I bring wicked ones of the [heathen] nations, and they take possession of their houses: and I make the pride of the strong to 25cease; and their holy places are profaned. Destruction cometh [came]; and 26they seek salvation [peace], and there is none. Destruction upon destruction shall come, and rumour shall be upon rumour; and they seek a vision from the prophet; and the law [instruction] shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders. 27The king shall mourn, and the prince shall put on blank amazement, and the hands of the people in the land shall be slack: according to their way will I do unto them, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they know that I am Jehovah.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:2<\/span>. Sept.: … … . . , (Anoth. read.: .)<\/p>\n

Eze 7:3<\/span>. … . , .<\/p>\n

Eze 7:4<\/span>. Anoth. read.: .<\/p>\n

Eze 7:5<\/span>. Anoth. read.: .<\/p>\n

Eze 7:7<\/span>. … contritio super te prope est dies occisionis, et non glori montium<\/em>. (Anoth. read.: fem.)<\/p>\n

Eze 7:10<\/span>. Sept.: … , . <\/p>\n

Eze 7:11<\/span>. . , . . . , . (Anoth. read.: . Vulg.: et non erit requies in eis<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Eze 7:13<\/span>…. . … … . , . .<\/p>\n

Eze 7:14<\/span>. … (Anoth. read.: , Sept., Arab., Vulg.)<\/p>\n

Eze 7:16<\/span>. , <\/p>\n

Eze 7:22<\/span>…. <\/p>\n

Eze 7:23<\/span>…. <\/p>\n

Eze 7:24<\/span>. … . . (Anoth. read.: , Arab.)<\/p>\n

Eze 7:27<\/span>. Anoth. read.: . Vulg.: et secundum judicia<\/em><\/p>\n

EXEGETICAL REMARKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Hengst., the first cycle closes here, and, in fact, with a song (?). But the lyric element (Ew.) is rather a rhetorical one. Neither is there any solemn close, which corresponds with the solemn introduction, but simply a second prophetic discourse<\/em> attached to the first in Ezekiel 6<\/span>. The prophet has in his eye the time of the breaking forth of the divine judgment. (Hitzig from Eze 7:3<\/span> onwards works himself into the idea of two defective recensions of the original text, for which there is no valid ground. Neteler lays the Hebrew text as a basis, so far as it is confirmed by the Greek translation, in order to obtain a piece of four parts carried through with complete symmetry.)<\/p>\n

Eze 7:1<\/span>. Comp. Eze 6:1-2<\/span>. , as so often, an address to the prophet in contradistinction from the people (Eze 2:8<\/span>; Eze 3:25<\/span>; Eze 4:1<\/span>; Eze 5:1<\/span>). The Sept. supplied , A mark of exclamation is enough., not of (Hengst.), nor, as Ew. maintains against the accents: thus saith to the fatherland of Israel. is the soil of a country, for which afterwards ; hence the total ruin. Comp. Eze 6:14<\/span>. The preceding discourse is brought to a point in this, under the motto of the end<\/strong>.Instead of the Qeri gives the more usual form .<\/p>\n

Eze 7:3<\/span>. , so that it finds its place in thee, where it can have vent.Ways<\/strong> for walk. In accordance therewith will be the judgment. Their abominations come upon their own heads.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:4<\/span>. , to restrain oneself, hence to spare (Eze 5:11<\/span>), to have compassion.They are to see their abominations again in their midst, in their consequences, the divine punishments. Comp. besides, Eze 6:7<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:5<\/span>. , what is destructive, injurious<\/em>, here conceived of as being so evil<\/em>, that it is spoken of as one<\/em> standing alone, and not as a succession of evils. (Comp. Eze 5:9<\/span>.) J. D. Mich.: which makes an end at once, so that no second is necessary.The curt, abrupt character of the discourse portrays the sudden, violent<\/em> nature of the judgment.The Chald. read perhaps .<\/p>\n

Eze 7:6<\/span>. , a play upon words. After having apparently slept<\/em> so long and so soundly, the end (not Jehovah) awakes, and therefore it comes<\/strong>., fem., because Jerusalem<\/em> is in the background, as in Eze 7:3<\/span> also. (The repetition indicates the certainty, the greatness, and the swiftness.a L.) (fem.) resumes the so strongly-emphasized of Eze 7:5<\/span>, or it stands impersonally (Hv., Keil), or it prepares for in Eze 7:7<\/span>, which means a crown in Isa 28:5<\/span>, a meaning which is not suitable here. It might be allowable to translate in our verse: the turn comes to thee, inasmuch as from may be something arranged in a row together with something else, where one thing follows another. But this certainly hardly suits in Eze 7:10<\/span>. The interpretation most in favour, viz. destiny (Hitz.: the goddess of fate, properly: vicissitude of fortune, catastrophe), gives a suitable although heathenish sense; we would be compelled to admit a borrowing on Ezekiels part from his Chaldaic surroundings, and yet the expression itself is not thereby explained. It is sought to be explained by the circle of fate, or its being shut up within itself. One might think of the return of the sin in the punishment, wherewith it finishes its course;<\/em> comp. Eze 7:3-4<\/span>. ( in Jdg 7:3<\/span> = to return circuitously.) Others hold fast by the meaning crown, and understand by it the kingdom of the Chaldeans, or the king of the Chaldeans. Hv., who combats this meaning, asserting that in Isaiah 28<\/span>. it is a plait of hair that is meant, accepts a later Aramaism, =, the dawn, viz. of the evil day (Joe 2:1-2<\/span>). Grot. with reference to in Eze 7:6<\/span>, inasmuch as it was customary for judgment to be administered in the morning. Others in other ways. Was it intended, perhaps, to indicate something equivalent to: what is marked with the graver (), what is determined<\/em>, established, as in Jer 17:1<\/span>?, masc, because of what follows (Hos 9:7<\/span>)., artic: dies ille<\/em>.Tumult<\/strong>, perhaps alarm of war, and in contrast therewith , i.e.<\/em> (comp. Isa 16:9-10<\/span>; Jer 48:33<\/span>), cry of joy of the vine-dressers (?), or cry of victory<\/em>, Isa 40:9<\/span> (J. D. Mich.), or festival<\/em>-pomp) of the idolaters, Eze 6:3<\/span>; Eze 6:13<\/span> (Rosenm.). Hengst.: joyful shout of the mountains<\/em>, because the shout of joy is heard on them and called forth by them (Psa 89:13<\/span>), in place of which will come the painful tumult of those who are seeking deliverance. Hv. takes for , brightness, so that the dawn rises without mountain – brightness (?), without irradiating the mountains which are first to be irradiated (!).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:8<\/span>. ; comp. Eze 7:3<\/span>., in Deu 32:17<\/span> of place, here of time (Job 20:5<\/span>). Comp. besides, Eze 6:12<\/span>; Eze 7:3-4<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:9<\/span>. Comp. Eze 7:4<\/span>. The added expression smiteth<\/strong> does not announce what follows, but meets beforehand a false interpretation of the same (the sprouting rod). Eze 7:10<\/span>. Comp. on Eze 7:7<\/span>., because of what follows of the springing up, like a plant<\/em>, from the soil<\/em> of which the sinners are bragging.The rod<\/strong> is for Israel, in order to punishment<\/em>, in fact, the staff of the Chaldean ruler, Nebuchadnezzars sceptre. What a contrast to Num 17:2-3<\/span>! To the sprouting<\/em> of power, which can<\/em>, corresponds the blossoming<\/em> of pride, which will<\/em>. (, to boil, to boil over.)<\/p>\n

Eze 7:11<\/span>. Thus the violence<\/strong>, the violent acting which takes place, rises into the rod of wickedness<\/strong>, i.e.<\/em> which punishes the wickedness of Israel; into the staff, sceptre, of the Chaldean, wherewith Israels wickedness is smitten (Isa 10:5<\/span>). Other expositors interpret already in Eze 7:10<\/span> of the tribe of Judah (Grot.), its royal sceptre (Cocc.), and refer alike there and here to the complete sinful development of the kingdom (Ew.), so that the rod of wickedness would be that rod wherewith wickedness smites itself. Grot, takes adversative; the violent Chaldean rises up against the wicked tribe of Judah. Cocc.: Israels violent conduct (Gen 6:11<\/span>) brings upon them instead of God the sceptre of the Chaldean dominion of wickedness. It would be natural to understand the immediately following not of them<\/strong>, etc., in such a way that this rod of wickedness, of violence, would now be pointed out more definitely, in as far as it is not to spring forth from Israel (), neither from their roaring<\/em> (, Isa 5:13-14<\/span>, the noisy, politically-roused multitude), nor from their humming<\/em> (by paronomasia, equivalent to: pomp), consequently neither of democratic nor of aristocratic origin (comp. 1Ki 12:11<\/span>). or , plur. (only to be found here); for , Ges.: of their possessions, Keil: the multitude of possessions. [Hengst.: nor of them, and them (yet again),like in Isa 57:6<\/span>,however much they may hold up their heads; Jewish expositors resolve it into , and understand it of their children (so the Chaldee); Hv.: cares, anxieties, these are as useless as the multitude of the people themselves!?] The penal judgment will come from outside themselves. Hengst.: It is a throwing contempt on the we, which they had continually in their mouth, and repeated with great emphasis: we, we shall do everything, etc. (Jer 30:21<\/span>; Zec 10:4<\/span>). , Ges. from , Keil, from , to be prominent; something glorious<\/strong>. [Hv.; and there is a want of beauty in them. (The word is found only here.)According to the Jewish expositors, for , from , loud lament. Hengst.: that wailing will be forgotten in deep despair. (Cocc. making it refer to the falling sceptre of David, they will be obliged to conceal their wailing on that account before the tyrant who conquers them!) Ew.: Nothing will remain of the wicked, neither of their proud, haughtily blustering, luxurious conduct, in prosperity as hitherto, nor of their sighing or even their discontented grumbling and murmuring in adversity. Similarly Calvin, of the root and branch destruction of them, their multitude, their possessions.] Accordingly are understood as short sentences descriptive of the result of the stroke<\/em> of Eze 7:10<\/span> (Keil), the effect of the repetition being heightened by the omission of the verb, as if they were exclamations. As for the rest, Hitz. remarks excellently: unannounced the day will come, unexpectedly, and so much greater the shock of surprise.<\/p>\n

After a second emphasizing in Eze 7:12<\/span> of the leading thought of the proclamationcomp. Eze 7:7<\/span> ,, proph. preteritesthe buyer and the seller<\/strong> are given as an exemplification from the dealings of ordinary life. The former is not to rejoice<\/strong> in the possession which he covets; he does not come into the enjoyment of it. The latter is not to mourn<\/strong> over the loss of a property he would fain retain, but which has been alienated from necessity; much else is at stake: for , elsewhere , comes upon (the suffix agreeing with , or referring to Jerusalem), the whole of the people is consumed. Comp. Psa 39:6<\/span>. Hengst.: the multitude which makes so much ado about nothing.The general reason is followed in Eze 7:13<\/span> by a more special one (as Hengst.), or by what is merely a specializing of might also stand in the sense of: but certainly, i. e.<\/em> the seller is not to mourn, but certainly he shall not return to his property that is sold;<\/em> hence the possible return thereto must not be a motive for him not to mourn. That is to say, the seller<\/em> would have,and therefore is this specialty introduced, in order, at the same time, to mark the national<\/em> ruin,according to Leviticus 25<\/span>, the prospect of the year of jubilee, the carrying out of which is thus attested here (Hv.), or at least presupposed in its idea, and therewith the return to what he had sold remained open. (Philipps. thinks of the right of the seller at any time to buy back again what was sold, either himself or through the nearest kinsman, for the selling price, Ruth 4<\/span>; Jeremiah 32<\/span>.) But although in other circumstances the man who has no possession, the vexed poor man, has a better chance of being left behind than the man who has a possession, the joyous rich man, in the case impending it will in general be otherwise, i.e.<\/em> quite alike for the one and for the other. Individuals<\/em>, indeed, will remain alive<\/em>. , a conditional circumstantial clause (Hv., Keil), so that the case is supposed<\/em>, that their<\/strong> (viz. the sellers) life<\/strong> is among the living<\/strong>, that they come out of it with their life. The seller<\/strong>, consequently, is used collectively for the individuals who as such come to be considered. The judgment applies to the persons<\/em>this is the leading thoughtand not, as the expositors assert, to their possession. Hence is repeated from Eze 7:12<\/span>, but instead of we have by paronomasia , the glowing heat<\/em> seen in the prophetic vision<\/em> (Ezekiel 1<\/span>.). might perhaps confirm the interpretation of in Eze 7:7<\/span> as what is fixed, determined. In like manner is resumed from the beginning of our verse, and that in the same sense, so that it is certainly not to be translated: for the prophecy against the whole multitude shall not return (Jer.), a thought which is too little in keeping with the exceptional earnestness of the context. Rather is the statement meant to be something additional as to the persons<\/em>, appended to the special exemplification of the seller. Hence equivalent to: since every one<\/em> has his life in his iniquity, and it is therefore very questionable whether (as was parenthetically supposed above) their life might be still among the living. : they shall not show themselves strong<\/strong>, manifest strength, courage; the iniquity cripples their power of life, with which what follows agrees admirably. [Other expositions: Ewald: But certainly they may become unfortunate or the reverse for a time: he who was compelled to sell his property may not even obtain it in the year of jubilee, or, on the other hand, the divine punishment may no longer light upon the rich brawlers, yet the former remain in their lust after a life of sense in the world, without coming to repentance through adversity (Psa 17:14<\/span>), and the latter do not suffer themselves to be drawn out of their sins by prosperity; all are irresolute, cowardly people, etc. Hv. explains the last clause also of the year of jubilee still, whose object is to be strengthened in life (, an accus. to be connected with the passive ), so that one springs up into new life: there has been a restorationa new birth. No one is to obtain a new strength of his vital powers by means of his sin; rather do those fearful Sabbatical years make their appearance, Lev 26:34<\/span> sq. The second has also been understood by some in the sense that no one turns, although the prophecy summons all to repentance, which agrees just as little with the context. is interpreted on the part of some by an omission of the relative: every one whose life is in his iniquity, while others take the first suffix pleonastically, in this way: they shall not any of them strengthen themselves by means of (on account of) the iniquity of his life, so as to be able to stand against their enemies. The plural with the collective . Hengst.: The seller will in no case return to the property which he has sold, so that he should be obliged to regard it with pain, for the whole land is stripped of its inhabitants; but it may also happen that he loses his life, and he has to account it good fortune if this does not take place, so that the thing sold cannot be a source of pain to him: and many a one () will not retain his life because of his misdeed.] The LXX. read instead of .<\/p>\n

Eze 7:14<\/span>. The predicted feebleness is placed before our eyes in a picture all but ironical. has nothing to do with Jer 6:1<\/span> (where Tekoa is a proper name). But an infin. absol., with preposition and article, is grammatically too bold. Neither are we to translate, as Hengst. does: they blew with a loud blast, but (as also the Sept.) as designating the instrument<\/em> wherewith the blast is made. The infin. absol. ()comp. Nah 2:4<\/span> [3] (a military term)shortly for the finite verb (Ew. Gram.<\/em> 351, c<\/em>)., Hitzig acutely: to<\/em> the battle, not: into the battle.Comp. besides, Eze 7:17<\/span>; Eze 7:12<\/span>; Lev 26:17<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:15<\/span>. Comp. Eze 5:12<\/span>; Eze 6:12<\/span>; Lam 1:20<\/span>. Comp. also Mar 13:15-16<\/span>. Instead of acting offensively, not even on the defensive; without resistance they fall victims, partly to the sword of the enemy, which, according to Eze 5:7<\/span>, is the sword of God, partly to the pestilence combined with the famine.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:16<\/span>. The fate of those of them who in any way escape is localized upon the mountains<\/strong> ( for , Eze 6:13<\/span>),having fled thither (Psa 11:1<\/span>; Mar 13:14<\/span>; Luk 21:21-22<\/span>), they shall be there like, etc., their condition being compared to that of doves of the valleys<\/strong>, i.e.<\/em> doves which, having lost their nests, are not like wild doves at home upon the mountains, and which, when frightened by birds of prey, make known their sorrow, their painful feeling. , rightly Keil: figure and reality mixed up together; in form belonging to the comparison, in reality to the things compared. The stronger expression , not without reference to in Eze 7:13-14<\/span>, and their tumult going before.For , comp. Eze 7:13<\/span>. As is their life, if they still save it, so is their expression of that life, and, in fact (by the individualization of the all, ), each one gives utterance to his sorrow in his iniquity<\/strong>, as a sorrow that is deserved, therefore as a penal sorrow. [The LXX. read perhaps . But the text is not to be changed in accordance therewith, for certainly in what follows the farther description of these fugitives is given.] Hence Eze 7:17<\/span> is not to be understood of the whole people (Keil, Hengst.); it is rather the interpretation of the melancholy cooing in Eze 7:16<\/span>. A picture of the repentance which is wrung from them. The hands<\/strong> refuse to perform their office, nay, even the knees<\/strong> refuse to stand and keep firm. The expression for the latter (Eze 21:7<\/span>) is intended to portray the complete desolation of their strength;<\/em> comp. Jos 7:5<\/span> (Isa 13:7<\/span>; Exo 15:15<\/span>). The LXX. too literally. (For , comp. Joel 4:18.)<\/p>\n

Eze 7:18<\/span>. Along with such (negative) feebleness we have (as positive elements): mourning and horror, shame and grief. As the expression of the first, the cloth of coarse hair, which they girt about themselves with a cord (Isa 3:24<\/span>). For the second, the strong expression (Psa 55:5<\/span>): if mourning is their girdle, then horror is their covering. But as shame is upon ( for ) all faces, so baldness is on the back part of the head of all, as the result of grief, or it must be supposed the custom in mourning (Job 1:20<\/span>), or that they have plucked out their hair in their pain (Ezr 9:3<\/span>). Comp. besides, Jer 48:37<\/span>; Amo 8:10<\/span>; and Deu 14:1<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:19<\/span> speaks in the outset of the fugitives still, who cast from them everything that is burdensome. But what one casts away, that he also in a certain measure repudiates; hence , detestable thing, abomination. The renewed mention together<\/em> of the two principal means employed in sinning (silver and<\/em> gold), in the next place, generalizes<\/em> the circle of the persons involved, so as to embrace the people<\/em> generally. Of idols of silver and gold (Isa 2:20<\/span>), however, there is no need as yet to think. It is rather treasures<\/em> of that sort that are spoken of, which hinder one during a flight, which only provoke the booty-loving enemy still more, nay, which, now that the saving of life is aimed at, appear like rubbish<\/em>. For that life might be purchased therewith is no longer the case, since the day of the overflowing () wrath of the Eternal (Luk 21:22<\/span>) is come (comp. Isa 13:17<\/span>; Zep 1:18<\/span>; 1Pe 1:18<\/span>). They have, neither enjoyment<\/em> (satisfaction) from it, nor even the filling<\/em> of the bowels by means of it. Silver and gold are, alike for the taste<\/em> and for necessaries<\/em> (in a practical point of view, sthetically and physically considered), without significance in this day of judgment; the element which comes in that case into consideration is the stumbling-block<\/strong> which they made<\/em> of it, so that they fell into iniquity<\/strong> over it. In Eze 3:20<\/span> we have a stumbling-block which is given<\/em>. Their riches and their trust in them made them satisfied, so that they needed nothing. As a punishment, these riches do not now satisfy them, do not even fill their belly; nothing can be bought with them so that they may live.<\/p>\n

The giving of a reason for the punishment drawn from the guilt leads to a farther description<\/em> of this guilt in Eze 7:20<\/span>. The is explanatory. Because the riches wherewith Israel was decked out<\/em>, and might adorn herself<\/em> like a bride, of course , were, on the contrary, misused for self-exaltation and pride. Comp. Isaiah 2<\/span>.; the subject is the people, or: every one, or: one;the suffix refers to the ornament of his decoration<\/strong> (Hv., Keil: elegant ornaments), by which others<\/em> understand, not the gold and silver, but the temple. Hitz. reads . From the self-exaltation resulted the will-worship, the diversified self-choice in divine worship., as frequently from Deu 29:17<\/span> onwards; omitted by the LXX., not: in the temple, but: of the silver and gold<\/em>. Comp. Exodus 32<\/span>; Hos 2:10<\/span> [8], Eze 8:4<\/span>, Eze 13:2<\/span>. ; the idea of retribution here explains the in Eze 7:19<\/span>.But as God gives it to them as a thing to be cast away and rejected, so He gives it to their enemies in Eze 7:21<\/span>, who are described as in Eze 7:24<\/span> (Psa 75:8<\/span>), for a prey. The victory of the wicked is Gods penal victory. is not Babylon, but we should rather say the wicked of the earth<\/strong> are the Babylonians. In defence of the Kethibh , with fem, suffix (comp. Eze 7:12<\/span>), where hitherto masculine, Ewald remarks: a gradual transition from the masc. to the holy city, which, strictly speaking, is meant, and even distinctly named in Eze 7:23<\/span>. The Qeri is , which Hitzig defends. According to Hv. (LXX., Vulg.), to be referred to the<\/strong> elegant ornament; according to others, to the objects of worship of gold and silver.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:22<\/span>. from those at Jerusalem, so that the enemy can get the mastery over it. Others: I will not look what the enemy shall do, but let them act.From the profanation of what is holy an explanation is got of the preceding characteristic title of the strangers as the wicked of the earth. is something hidden, something concealed; according to Hv., of the place: the sanctuary, the holy of holies, where Jehovah dwells in sacred darkness; according to others: the holy land in general; according to Hengst, of the matter in hand: the church-treasure, which is secularized. [The LXX. read perhaps . Ewald: the treasure of My guardianship, i.e.<\/em> of My country or My people.] The suffixes of and belong to the city<\/em>, Jerusalem, which always stands in the background. Others prefer a neuter construction; Keil: come over it. For violent ones<\/strong>, comp. Mat 11:12<\/span> (which passage is to be understood in accordance with this).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:23<\/span>. In form directed to the prophet, like the whole discourse; in substance equivalent to: pronounce the captivity to be ready. As it were indignant at the profanation, Jehovah commands to put an end to the doings of the enemy by the deportation of those who were left behind (Hv.). By means of the article, the putting in chains is declared to be no longer a thing to be doubted, but certain, quite fixed, just as things generally known have the article. Others collectively. In reality the king was carried away in chains and cast into prison (Buns.).The plural always means blood poured out; hence , a trial which is held with respect to such a case, a sentence which is pronounced upon it, a punishment which is decreed for it, all of which are unsuitable for the parallel . Just as unsuitable here is: the right of blood-shedding. We are therefore to understand it of the case in law, the crime, the blood-guiltiness<\/strong>. Comp. Deu 19:6<\/span> (Gen 6:11<\/span>). Hv. understands it of the judgment on blood-shedding (hence: inexorable, relentless), while he refers to the violent enemies. Of course blood-guiltiness gives a reason for () something more than putting in chains, viz. death; but perhaps captivity is thereby meant to be indicated as the least<\/em> thing that can happen to them after guilt such as theirs.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:24<\/span>. Wicked heathen<\/em>(Eze 7:21<\/span>) so that they fall, besides, into bad<\/em> hands of men (2Sa 24:14<\/span>). Comp. Ew. Gram.<\/em> 313, c;<\/em> Hab 1:6<\/span> sqq., either as in Eze 7:20<\/span> : pride (Hv.: everything of which the mighty are wont to boast), or: ornament, decoration, glory, of the temple (Eze 24:21<\/span>).They may be called strong<\/strong>, as well because of their real<\/em> strength, when they preserved their fidelity to the Strong One who dwelt in their midst, as in accordance with their imagined<\/em> strength (Lev 26:19<\/span>). Ew. reads , their proud splendour. cannot be the Piel of , which would mean to divide for a possession, but is the Niphal of ., according to Ew. (Gramm.<\/em> 215, a<\/em>) from , with vowel pushed back. Rosenm. reads: ; Hv. . Hengst.: those who sanctify them, hence partic. Piel without Dagesch forte<\/em> of , understanding the priests now no longer able to discharge their functions, whereby the means of reconciliation are withdrawn from Israel (Leviticus 16<\/span>; Isa 43:26-27<\/span>). [Others: of unworthy Levitical service, inasmuch as the Holy One of Israel is also his only true Sanctifier, Eze 37:28<\/span>.] Ezekiel points to the cloud only, Jeremiah in Ezekiel 33<\/span> opens the view to the sun hidden behind it. By their sanctuaries<\/strong> are understood sometimes the buildings of the temple, but, as being no longer Gods, sometimes the self-chosen ones of the Jews.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:25<\/span>. only here (see Gesen. Lex.<\/em>). According to Meier, not: destruction, but in accordance with the root-meaning (to draw together), as in the Syr., of the drawing together of the skin and hair from fright (horror<\/em>). Exactly so Ew., Hengst.: contraction, in contrast with the expansion which is connected with all joyful prosperity, and which is founded in the nature of the people of God, Gen 28:14<\/span>; Isa 54:3<\/span>. [Hv.: the conclusion, the close (. Eze 7:2<\/span>; Eze 7:6<\/span>).] For the gender and masc. verb comp. Ew. Gramm.<\/em> 173, h<\/em>, 174, g<\/em>. [Ros.: paragog.] , a proph. perf. (Keil).Peace is too narrow for , as also attempts at peace with money-offerings with Nebuchadnezzar, of which some think. The attempts at salvation which they make in vain are specified in what follows.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:26<\/span>. While the disasters are accumulating, and the rumours are multiplying (Mat 24:6<\/span>), they seek<\/strong>, first of all, from the prophet<\/strong> (the generic idea). Comp. Jer 37:17<\/span>; Jer 38:14<\/span>. [Hengst. understands it of the false prophets, and compares for the priests Zep 3:4<\/span>; Jer 2:8<\/span>; Eze 22:26<\/span>.] What they seek, viz. a vision<\/strong>, is mentioned, but it is not said that they find<\/em> it. That they do not becomes clear alike from Eze 7:25<\/span>, and from the circumstance that instruction perishes<\/em> from the priest<\/strong>, and counsel from the elders<\/strong>. Comp. Jer 18:18<\/span> (Luk 21:25<\/span>). To the threefold class in Eze 7:26<\/span> we have a corresponding parallel in Eze 7:27<\/span>, the kingthe prince of the tribethe people in the land<\/strong>; and to the want of counsel corresponds the failure in action. It is a national<\/em> ruin. (As to , see Gesen. Gramm.<\/em> 53, Obs.<\/em>) , a well-known figurative mode of expression for being covered with and wrapt up in terror<\/em>, just as in the case of the king it is a deep silent mourning<\/em> that is meant (). For comp,. Eze 7:17<\/span> ( , Heb 12:12<\/span>). Like their conduct will Gods dealing with them be, drawn from it, regulated in accordance with it. As to , see Ew. Gramm.<\/em> 264, b.<\/em> , Hengst.: with judgments which correspond to their deeds, and so Ew. also and others. Better: according to what is right in reference to them<\/em>. Instead of there is also the reading (Eze 7:3<\/span>). With the well-known (Eze 6:14<\/span>; Eze 5:15<\/span>) refrain , the two discourses of rebuke in Ezekiel 6, 7<\/span> come to a close.<\/p>\n

DOCTRINAL REFLECTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. We have before us in this chapter an Old Testament pattern for the awe-inspiring Dies ir, dies illa<\/em>, the so-called gigantic hymn (comp. Zep 1:14<\/span> sqq.). What Fr. 5 Meyer says of the latter may be uttered also of this chapter of our prophet: With the man who is so insensible that he can read it without alarm and hear it without dread, I should not like to dwell under the same roof.<\/p>\n

2. The contents are the same, ever the same. The drops fall without intermission on the stone, the heart of Israel. Unbelief has just the characteristic either that it believes in no punishment at all (2Pe 3:3<\/span> sq.), or that its frivolous mind knows beforehand that what will come will certainly not be so severe nor last so long. And therefore God does not grudge to tell us over and over again our inevitable destiny, and also to push it ever nearer to us. The enduring meaning as well as application of our chapter may be expressed in this way, that the end of those things in which they place their trust, and in which they find their satisfaction, is to be held up before the false security of the men of this world on every side. Respice finem<\/em>.<\/p>\n

3. Sin has an active and a passive history. When the latter begins, then what was formerly an object of pleasure becomes an object of dread (Hengst.). On the day of judgment the abominations stand in Israels midst not in their alluring, seductive form, but with all the woe which comes in their train (Hv.).<\/p>\n

4. God does indeed punish the sinner from moment to moment in his conscience, but, so far as outward experience is concerned, He causes him to learn the error of his way at first only in omens of the most gently threatening character, so to speak, by means of passing, dimly visible angels of warning. In this way He gives him great scope for freely bethinking himself and for returning of his own free-will, or else for completing of his own free-will his experience of the ruin which lies on his path of bondage. But in this way the divine long-suffering is revealed, which gives the sinner time for repentance. The picture of this long-suffering of God is furnished by the three years of Christs ministry. Then at the end of its lingering the long-suffering steps into the background behind the divine wrath (Lange).<\/p>\n

5. The love of God and its ultimate aim in redemption is resisted in particular by the folly of the sinner, which pursues as its object deliverance from misery, and that the misery which at any time happens to be present, and in self-righteousness sets itself against deliverance from sin, sometimes by disputing the causal nexus of sin and misery as punishment, sometimes by the denial of sin altogether. The redeeming love of God, therefore, cannot make itself known, in opposition to mans vain imagination, in any way more practical and concrete than, first of all, by means of the zeal of divine wrath. In view of the aim, viz. redemption, and as being divine, this zeal of wrath is not merely a thing of the O. T., but not less expressly belongs to the N. T. It is redemptive inasmuch as, through retributive visitation by means of punishment, not only does God, who has vanished from the consciousness of the self-righteous manself-righteous although both a sinner and a debtorreveal Himself, but man also by this means is to become free from the hurtful delusion of envious gods, of a blind fate, of an arbitrary necessity of nature. Judgments like that on Judah and Jerusalem are therefore, besides being divine, of a redemptive character. There is an effort after salvation in such crises, and at all events in the biblical wrath of God there is more of the wisdom of love than in the common assertion that a God who is angry is a God who does not love.
6. The tragic truth of the history of the world, and especially of the history of the kingdom of God, celebrates in those epoch-making catastrophes, which are the emblems of the last judgment, the truth of the idea of Gods zeal in wrath, of this fatal curse of sin.
7. Where God is seen angry in Holy Scripture, there we have no mere personification of divine righteousness, but the personality of the Holy and Just One revealing itself; there there can be no reference to human passion; there, in fact, we have divine compassion. The form of sinfulness is just as little an essential and necessary element in wrath as in love.
8. However anthropomorphic the Stamp it may wear, Gods wrath is no less truly a part of His nature, by means of which the absolute antagonism of His spirit and will to sin is expressed from the innermost energy of His holiness. It is not the ebullition of an impure love for unrighteousness, as is the case with the wrath of man, but it is the necessary (unless God chooses to deny Himself) reaction and opposition of His holy love for righteousness. In the operations of divine wrath, therefore, the holy will of God is revealed in its character of righteousness by means of righteous judgment, which recompenses the sinner according to his own works.
9. The continuance of a nation depends not only on the usual material conditions, but on ideal powers of life, which, when despised, show themselves to be powers of death.<\/p>\n

HOMILETIC HINTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eze 7:2<\/span> sqq. Gods grace has indeed no end, is an everlasting grace, but its manifestation and our consciousness of it may come to an end, which at the same time announces a perfecting in what is evil.What had begun in the ten tribes was completed in the tribe of Judah (B. B.).What is long hidden is not remitted. The longer God delays with punishment, the heavier it is (W.).The end as respects Gods long-suffering; then, in respect of the land, with which it had not yet come to the end; lastly, the completion of the punishments (Cocc.).The end<\/em>: a universal<\/em> end (not only of Israel, but as of Israel, so of every man and of the whole world); a fearful<\/em> end (if under the wrath of God according to our abominations); an inevitable<\/em> end (however safe we seem, however thoughtlessly we think and speak).God has his Now (Luk 19:42<\/span>), which is, of course, hid from our eyes and ruinous, if we have not regarded the Now of our merciful visitation (Stck.).So also in respect of antichristianity, which has spread among the people of the New Testament, its end is fixed, when God will lay upon it all its abominations, and will pour out His vials of wrath (B. B.).He that is secure says: Soul, take thine ease; but God says: This night thy soul shall be required of thee (Luk 12:19-20<\/span>).What an awakening call for every sinner! The end comes, alike of pleasure and of life.If the sinner will not awake, then the punishment must awake (B. B.).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:9<\/span>. It was not strokes of fate or the like they were to perceive therein, but Gods hand and smiting (Cocc.).Every one must know the Lord in the end, if not as one that calls, allures, blesses, then as one that smites, is angry, punishes.Let the sinner know that he binds for himself the rod which will smite him (a L.).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:11<\/span>. Tyrants are Gods scourges (O.).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:12<\/span> sq. As for the pious an hour of help is promised, so for the transgressor an hour of destruction strikes (Stck.).Gods judgments sometimes remove the distinction arising from prosperity and possession, and make men alike.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:14<\/span>. What avails the trumpet, and of what use all weapons and every preparation, if the Lord departs from a people, from a city, from an army?Courage is also Gods gift, as we see in the case of Gideon, Samson, David, and others.Where Gods terrors are at work, there neither counsel, nor call, nor deed gives help (Stck.).In vain do men blow the trumpet, if that of the Supreme Judge makes itself heard (Umbr.).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:15<\/span>. War, pestilence, famine, these three remain down even to the end, and are bound up with one another.The sinner would fain flee or hide himself (Stck.).God can find thee everywhere (B. B.).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:16<\/span>. Reflect that thou also must one day leave everything, and see to it that thou keep a good conscience (Stck.).So, many kinds of sighs are heard in the world. But the best are the unutterable ones, wherewith Gods Spirit Himself makes intercession for believers, Rom 8:26<\/span> (B. B.).Late repentance is seldom true repentance (Stck.).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:17<\/span>. The hands and knees of believers also do indeed sometimes become weary, but they know where to strengthen them (St.).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:18<\/span>. If the inward return is wanting, God knows well how to enforce the outward; and that even as far as to bring about the public confession of the fault, as may be seen, surely, in the case of Judas.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:19<\/span>. How can one have such eager desire after what he will at another time cast from him in such cold blood?God is the only true and abiding treasure which is to be sought (Stck.).Oh, if one were only betimes to cast it out of his heart, that it might not make him unjust, covetous, and ungodly! (B. B.).Would that this were written on the doors, yea, in the hearts of all the avaricious, and the rich, and those eagerly desirous of riches, that gold and silver will not be able to save in the day of wrath, and in the hour of death, and at the day of judgment! What has been sought after with so great pains, scraped together with much injustice, guarded with the greatest care, that leaves its possessor comfortless and helpless when he most needs help, and leaves him lying on his sick-bed in his pains, and can rescue him neither from the enemy, nor from the sick-bed, nor from death, much less make him blessed (B. B.).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:19-20<\/span>. The danger of riches: in the false estimate of them, in the abuse of them.The final judgment on riches: how it will take place (by means of the rich themselves, and before God and men); by what means it is incurred (through pride and idolatry).How many would have been happy in this world, and blessed in the world to come, if they had not been rich!<\/p>\n

Eze 7:20<\/span>. What adorns is also easily soiled.What ought to humble man for the most part makes him so much the more proud.Self-seeking the source of all abuse of earthly blessings, as well as of the neglect and contempt of heavenly blessings.This is ingratitude, to misuse such gifts of God for pride, for extravagance, for mere finery, and for idolatry (H. H.).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:21<\/span>. Our worldly possessions are not ours, but Gods, who can do with them how and what He will.God employs for the carrying out of His judgments heretics and ungodly men, in order that those whom He punishes by this means may be the more pained that they had falsely boasted of the true religion (St.).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:22<\/span>. The face of God the consecration of our life: our free upward look to it, its gracious look on us.These are the critical turnings in the life of the individual and of whole nations, the turnings of the divine face.The profanation by the enemy is, alas! always preceded by the profanation on the part of the friends.God protects Himself against His friends by means of His enemies.What a sign the profanation of Jerusalem and of the temple for all high-churchism, still so splendid and ostentatious!<\/p>\n

Eze 7:23<\/span>. God makes various chains; even that of Paul had been made by Him.First transgression is linked to transgression; then comes the chain of the wrath of God; at last come the chains of darkness (Stck.).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:24<\/span>. Pride comes before a fall, and after the fall come the sufferings.Woe be to us when our sanctuaries are nothing but our<\/em> sanctuaries!<\/p>\n

Eze 7:25<\/span>. Men often delay so long till death comes, before they trouble themselves about their spiritual peace. Oh, how easily it may come about, that they are snatched away by death before they obtain that peace! (St.).The danger of the death-bed.In order that we may be able to seek it early, Gods salvation is there for us even before our birth.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:26-27<\/span>. On God depends the weal and woe of states (Stck.).Famine as regards the word of God is at such a time the heaviest punishment of all (Cr.).That is the most terrible judgment, when God does not permit the light of His word any longer to shine, and allows us to sink into the darkness of ignorance, because it is a strong comfort, even in the greatest suffering, when the Lord sheds light upon us with His word (H. H.).Therefore David prays: See if I be on any wicked way, Psalms 139<\/span>. (Stck.).In the end, out of all the ways of men, and in accordance with their own desert, Gods truth and righteousness come to light.This is life eternal, to know God and Jesus Christ, Joh 17:3<\/span> (Stck.).<\/p>\n

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CONTENTS<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Prophet still continues to bring his alarming message to the house of Israel: and having in several preceding Chapters announced the judgments that were coming upon them; here in this Chapter, by several awakening forms of expression, informs them, that those judgments are now at the very door.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

There is somewhat very striking in the manner of the Prophet’s opening this Chapter. It is like an alarm, rousing up and imperiously demanding attention: and not unsimilar to what our Lord represented in the parable. At midnight there was a cry made, behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him. Mat 25:6<\/span> . Reader! it is always midnight in that soul that is living in a careless state! But I would ask the question of the Reader, (I mean the awakened and truly regenerated Reader), doth it not strike him, as it doth me, that in the midst of these alarms, there is still discoverable somewhat of divine love? Methinks, it is the expostulations of grace, mingled with the just rebukes of a much injured Lord. Under the frowning countenance of the threatened dispensation, we can, I think, discern strong features of mercy. See similar passages, Eze 20<\/span> throughout. Hos 11:8-9<\/span> .<\/p>\n

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The Character of God<\/p>\n

Eze 6<\/span><\/strong> , Eze 7<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

In the sixth and seventh chapters there are two distinct prophecies, yet both are to be traced to the symbolism detailed so graphically in Eze 5<\/span> . It is supposed that the prophecies in Eze 6<\/span> , Eze 7<\/span> were uttered, not immediately one after the other, but with such intervals of time as to allow each of them to make a distinct impression upon those to whom they were delivered; yet, on the other hand, it has been noted that the interval could not have been long, on the ground that the eighth chapter bears the date of the sixth month of the sixth year. Blow upon blow the judgment falls; shock after shock of thunder rolls through the heavens, warning and threatening the people as with the audible voice of God. In the seventh chapter the judgment is set forth as coming with startling quickness, and as being utterly inevitable, either by the cry of the heart or by the use of the arm. The people are made to feel that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. In these prophecies there would seem to be enlargement of the object upon which they were to take effect, for they are not denounced against Jerusalem exclusively, but against the whole land, as if not one corner of it should be safe from the bolt of avenging fire. The sixth and seventh chapters may be taken to be almost complete in themselves.<\/p>\n

The prophet was commanded to set his face toward the mountains of Israel and to prophesy against them. He personified the mountains and spoke to them as if they were living creatures, and in the same noble rhetoric he addressed the rivers and the valleys. It was not uncommon to speak to inanimate objects as symbolising the people. The mountains may be specially named because they were the seats of the most conspicuous and defiant idolatry. In various portions of the preceding Scriptures we have had testimony borne to this effect. For example: “I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.” Again we read: “Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.” And once more we come upon the same grim fact: “Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.” <\/p>\n

What wonder, then, that God should look upon these mountains as representing the supreme iniquity of his people! The prophet is made to speak in the name of God, yea, as if he were God himself incarnate, saying, “Behold, I, even I.” This is a strong way of representing the fact that these judgments were not invented by the fancy of the prophet, but were direct communications from God himself, and not the less were they divine in their origin and their purpose that they were worked out as usual by human agency. When the prophet refers to “images,” saying, “Your images shall be broken,” we are to understand that these figures were used in connection with the worship of the sun. The verse is indeed a repetition of Lev 26:30<\/span> . Moses had delivered the prophecy, and Ezekiel takes it up and affirms the nearness of its fulfilment. Great significance is to be attached to the threatening,” And I will cast down your slain men before your idols.” The figure is a very graphic one. The idols were no longer to have a living congregation of worshippers, but were to be surrounded as by a cordon of dead men, so that the gods and their worshippers should resemble one another. From Num 9:6-10<\/span> , and 2Ki 23:14<\/span> , 2Ki 23:16<\/span> , we have learned that there was nothing so utterly defiling in the view of the Mosaic law as the touching of a dead body. It would seem as if God were about to execute what is known as poetic justice upon the land; because the Israelites have defiled it with idols, the idols themselves were to be defiled and degraded by the contact of dead bodies, the dead bodies being the carcases of the former worshippers of these very idols. God thus thrusts his justice in the faces of men in forms which they can understand. Sometimes he will take up the method of man and adapt it to his own uses, and thus give the idolater a familiarity with his idol and his idolatry which the idolater himself had never supposed to be possible.<\/p>\n

There is no vengeance spoken of in the Bible that is so terrible as the slaying of a man by the word of his own mouth, taking that word, turning it into a spear, and thrusting it into the heart of the man who had once actually employed it as a defensive weapon. God promises that not only shall the images be cut down, but the works of the idolater shall be “abolished.” We must not overlook the strength and completeness of the meaning of this word. To be abolished is to be utterly obliterated, sponged out, taken wholly out of existence, so treated as to leave no trace or token behind. Israel was required to abolish the images and idols of the Canaanites, to so utterly blot them out that no temptation could arise from a stone of the unholy altars that could be found in any part of the land. Not only was idolatry to be condemned or denounced, or spoken of in general terms of contempt; it was to be rooted out, eradicated, utterly, completely, and eternally destroyed. Here Israel failed in duty. Whatever general fulfilment of the prophecy there might be, it was not carried out to the letter, and therefore the very ruins of idolatry became temptations addressed to the men who had overthrown the altars, and became also a kind of plea that the ruin should be repaired and the altars reconstituted.<\/p>\n

Amid all this thunder and lightning and terrible tempest of judgment, there was still a promise that a remnant should be left “Yet will I leave a remnant.” For a moment the darkened heavens are somewhat relieved by light shining upon them from an infinite distance, but scarcely has that transient gleam passed over the thunderclouds than they seem to become darker than ever. From the beginning God has kept a remnant to himself. The Apostle Paul remarks strongly upon this fact in his Epistle to the Romans. We cannot understand what is meant by a remnant, except that it indicates that the divine purpose should not be utterly overthrown, and the word of God utterly avoided. What if this allusion has a reference far beyond the local Captivity? What if it should refer to wider and grander themes and prospects? Who can tell what that remnant might do even in heathen countries in the way of maintaining the worship of the true God, and keeping up a testimony in favour of the spoken word?<\/p>\n

In the eleventh verse the prophet is commanded to “smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot.” This was suiting the action to the word. It is in vain to lay down rules about men using gesture or dramatic action; when the heart is roused, when the whole man is thoroughly informed and inspired by a divine message, the actions will naturally express the great emotion. To clap with the hands and stamp with the feet are actions with which we are not unfamiliar. This energy is under moral inspiration. The prophet is not mad; this is not mere fanatical excitement, this is not rhetorical artifice; this is a natural method of expressing the judgment of God. Quietness has its place in all divine ministries, but so has storm and tempest or even violence itself. Do not limit the prophet in his use of methods, in his range of instrumentality; let him be faithful to the inspiration that is in him, because only a ministry that expresses the reality of emotion can be profoundly and lastingly useful.<\/p>\n

The seventh chapter is to a large extent a threnody, or song; of mourning and lamentation. It is judgment set to music. It loses nothing of solemnity, but rather gains in spiritual effectiveness by its poetic structure. Even in English we feel how majestically the rhythm moves.<\/p>\n

“An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. The morning is come unto thee:, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains” (<\/em> Eze 7:5-7 ).<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

This last is a singular word, occurring only in this place. It denotes the joyful sounds of harvesters, who, returning from their gracious toil, fill the land with delightful music of praise. Hut this harvest-song was to be exchanged for tumult and trouble, suitable to the day of cloud and storm and war. Again, the poetry proceeds: <\/p>\n

“Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded…. The time is come, the day draweth near; let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof” (Eze 7:10<\/span><\/em> , <\/em> Eze 7:12 ).<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

All business had ceased, all life had been turned into utter desolation. Buying and selling of land was the most important transaction in which the Israelites engaged. Jubilee year was obliterated from the calendar of Israel. The desolation of this judgment was to continue so long that, even if the owner of the land lived, the year of jubilee could bring him no opportunity of selling the land or availing himself of any of the jubilee rights and privileges. Because of the sin of the people, all natural relations were to be reversed, and even the operation of cause and effect was in a sense to be suspended; for, in the language of St. Jerome, “when slavery and captivity stare you in the face, rejoicing and mourning are equally absurd.” Nor were the people to be able to go forth to war; they should be utterly without energy and without disposition to defend themselves: the man who was in the field died of the sword, and he that was in the city was devoured by famine and pestilence; even those who escaped were to be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. “Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.” Strong men were to be bowed down as if knees of iron had been turned to knees of straw. Hands that were once as steel were to fall down in absolute feebleness. The knees of the warrior were to be weak as water, and as for military panoply, it was to be exchanged for sackcloth and horror; every face was to burn with shame, and every head was to be naked with baldness. “In that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth.”<\/p>\n

Taking these two chapters as revealing the character of God, in how awful a light is the divine Being made to appear! How infinite, for example, are his resources of judgment and penalty! Never does he look around him, so to say, that he may find some new instrument or weapon larger and stronger than he has yet at command. In every instance he is more than equal to the iniquity that has to be avenged. He attributes to himself the exercise of every possible action of vengeance and humiliation: “I will bring a sword”; “I will destroy your high places”; “I will cast down your slain men”; “I will lay the dead carcases”; “I will scatter your bones”; “I will break the whorish heart”; “He that is afar off shall die of the pestilence”; “He that is near shall fall by the sword”; the man who remained was to “die by famine”; and thus, and thus, in every way, God said, “I will accomplish my fury.” He said he would stretch out his hand upon the idol-cursed hills and mountains, and green tree and thick oak, and he would make the fair land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath.<\/p>\n

These are the judgments of the living God! Think of every disease that can afflict the human body; think of every force of nature that can strike human edifices and habitations; think of every trouble that can assail the sanity of the mind; think of every spectre and image that can come along the highway of the darkness and fill night and sleep with mortal fear; think of every appeal that can be addressed to the imagination; think of all possible terror, and loss, and shame, and ruin; multiply all these realities and possibilities by an unrestrained imagination, and even then we have hardly begun to touch the resources of God when he arises to shake terribly the earth and to inflict upon the nations the judgments which they have deserved and defied. Wonderful is the striking frankness of all these declarations on the part of the Most High God. He does not come before his people in an attitude of humiliation or supplication or apology; he tells them in words which are in themselves thunderstorms of the judgments that are immediately impending. There is mercy even in the terribleness of the revelation. An opportunity for repentance was created by the very awfulness of the method of revelation. Had the words been few, had the tone been quiet, had the attitude been apologetic, it would have been possible for the human heart to have doubted even the sincerity of God. The human heart believes in emphasis, in energy, in tremendous modes of utterance and action; it has not yet come to that state of moral rhythm which can accept a whisper as being as sincere as a voice of storm. God, therefore, sends, as it were, a preliminary tempest of words, if haply the people might be made afraid by such a whirlwind, and might at the bidding of such prophecies turn again in repentance and broken-heartedness. This is the meaning of all cross-providences, painful visitations, overwhelming sicknesses, and temporal losses. All these indicate, so far as they are related to the obduracy of the human heart, a still greater punishment to be inflicted in another world. Threatenings are meant to lead to promises. The thunderstorm is sent to advert us from a way that is wrong and to drive us to consideration on account of sin. God does not fulminate merely for the sake of showing his greatness; when he makes us afraid it is that he may bring us to final peace.<\/p>\n

Nothing is more evident than that underneath all these denunciations, and in explanation of them, there is a sublime moral reason. These judgments are not exhibitions of omnipotence; they are expressions of a moral emotion on the part of God. The people had departed from him they had done everything in their power to insult his majesty and to call into question his holiness and his justice; they had worshipped false gods; they had been faithful to forbidden altars; they had made a study of profanity and blasphemy; they had defied Heaven in all their abominations; and not until the cup of their iniquity was full did the last beam of light vanish from the skies, and the whole heaven become darkened with thunderclouds. It is not for a little evil, so to speak, that God turns away from his people; it is for evil upon evil, for iniquity continued through days and nights, for offence piled upon offence, until the very sunlight is shut out: then, not till then, does God awaken to execute his terrible judgments, and to pledge his word that it shall go sadly with the wicked in the day when the Lord comes to judge the earth. Nor was he judging the wicked as that term is generally understood. God is gentle towards the heathen who have not known him, as compared with his action towards those who, having known him and received his covenants, have turned away from him in a spirit of rebellion and thanklessness, and have prostituted the knowledge of the true God to the service of vain idols. When judgment begins at the house of God, it burns with infinite indignation; there are no mitigating circumstances, there are no palliations whatsoever; the judgment is inflicted upon men who knew the right and yet pursued the wrong, who were entrusted with the custody of the truth, and yet threw it down and went with eagerness to the altar of falsehood that they might worship and obey a lie. How terrible, then, must be our judgment when God comes to visit us! What have we not known? With what treasures have we not been entrusted? We have seen the Son of God, we have watched him die upon the Cross, we have heard his welcomes to pardon, to purity, to peace; if we have despised the blood of the everlasting covenant, and accounted it an unworthy or unholy thing, who shall speak for us when God comes to demand an account of our ways?<\/p>\n

In the seventh chapter, as we have seen, judgment is turned to song. Is not this but another aspect of the truth we have been endeavouring to set forth? God employs every method that he may attract human attention, and win men to consideration and lure them through consideration to repentance and obedience. In this instance we have not religion degraded to art; we have art raised to religion. When men take to singing the judgments of God and the promises of Heaven and the vows and oaths of divine love, they may be but degrading the highest truths to merely artistic and commercial purposes. It is, indeed, a serious question whether any artist is not blaspheming when he sings in song, of which he has made a careful study as an art, the agony and the love of Christ. It is no wonder that when the sorrows of Gethsemane are imitated vocally or instrumentally some hearts should be shocked and wounded. On the other hand, there are times when by sudden and indisputable inspiration a man may employ every art known to human genius and custom for the purpose of carrying home divine truths to obdurate or uninstructed hearts and minds. No rule can be laid down. This kind of inspiration does not come forth at special times that can be defined or forecast: in this, as in other instances, at what hour the Son of Man cometh no man can tell; but when he does come there can be no doubt of his identity or of his power, by reason of the high, noble, unselfish excitement to which the heart yields itself with enthusiasm and thankfulness. The judgments which Ezekiel was charged to denounce began in symbol, but they ended in reality. The symbol might be treated as representing a more or less insane excitement. It would be easy for those who were wishful to avoid the judgments to credit Ezekiel with fanaticism or uncontrollable excitement, altogether destitute of moral dignity or spiritual purpose. We have seen, however, how the symbol became a reality, and how the reality transcended all that was suggested by the type. It is thus in all the providence of God. Rightly interpreted, every event in life is symbolical of the larger life that is to come. What we want is the seeing eye; what we should pray for is the hearing ear; for verily we are not left without instruction if we could correctly interpret all that is occurring in our lives day by day.<\/p>\n

Then came the last great judgment of all: not when the heathen possessed the houses of the Israelites, not when the pomp of the strong ceased, not when mischief came upon mischief and rumour upon rumour; these judgments were heavy enough, but there was a greater judgment still “Then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.” The prophets, the priests, and the elders were all to wander in a state of blindness. The spiritual element was taken out of human life, and consequently human life was reduced to poverty, darkness, and ruin. We do not value the prophet; we smile at his predictions, as we should smile at the expressions of fanaticism; but not until we have lost him shall we know how large a space he filled in human life. We have seen Saul when he was left without the presence of a spiritual ministry, we have watched him trying to reunite himself with spiritual actions; we have seen the desperateness of his mood, the utter despair which settled upon his once luminous and force ful mind. Pitiable is the figure which is brought before our vision men seeking the spiritual, men inquiring for the prophet, men crying out for Samuel, men praying that they may be enabled to pray; yet every cry returning to the suppliant without an answer, and every expectation falling back upon its author only to increase his sense of mortification and loss. The end of all is “The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled.” Again we ask the question, Was this arbitrary? Was this a mere trick of the higher powers? Was this but a theatrical display of the forces of Omnipotence? To these inquiries there is a plain, solemn, sufficient answer: “I will do it unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them.” Thus is the answer within the man himself, and thus, without awaiting for any formal day of assize and judgment, every man may now determine his relation to the Almighty, and through that his relation to all the punishment which lies within the ability of God.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

XV<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

PROPHECIES ON THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM<\/p>\n

Ezekiel 4-14<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jeremiah was preaching in Jerusalem while Ezekiel was preaching in a similar strain to the exiles in Babylon. Jeremiah found that the people thought that Jerusalem, the center of Jehovah worship, could not and would not be destroyed. Ezekiel found the same conditions in Babylon. In the time of Isaiah, when the Assyrians were close at hand, God protected them and swept away 185,000 of their army and saved Jerusalem with the Temple. Their confidence in the perpetuity of their city seemed to be fixed. So they did not believe their city, their Temple, and their country would be destroyed. “It is God’s nation, God’s people, and God’s Temple,” they said. Moreover, they had false prophets in Jerusalem, prophets who were preaching the safety of the city, also false prophets in Babylon among the exiles, preaching the same thing. They preached that the exiles should speedily return; that the power of Babylon would be destroyed. There was one lone man in Judah, and one lone man in Babylon, preaching the destruction of the nation. This gives us some idea of Ezekiel’s task, the tremendous task that he had, to make those people believe that their nation, their city and their Temple were going to be destroyed. In order to get them to believe that, he made use of all these symbols, metaphors, and other figures which we have in this great section. He made use of these symbols, or symbolic actions, to make his preaching more vivid and more impressive, and he began this series of symbolic actions about four and a half years before the city was surrounded by Nebuchadnezzar, about six years before it fell, for the siege lasted one and a half years.<\/p>\n

The symbol of the siege of Jerusalem and its interpretation are found in Eze 4:1-3<\/span> . The great truth he wanted to impress upon them was that Jerusalem would be besieged and would be taken and destroyed; so he was commanded by Jehovah to take a tile, or a brick, a tablet in a plastic condition, and to draw thereon a picture of a city, representing mounds cast up against the city on every side, from which the enemy could shoot their arrows down into the city and at the defenders on the walls. He was also told to set a camp round about it representing the soldiers encamped; he was to place battering rams there. These were huge beams of wood with iron heads which were pushed with great force by a large number of men, and thus driven against the walls and would soon make great holes in them. Then he was told to take an iron pan and put that between himself and this miniature city to represent the force that was surrounding it, and as that iron pan was impenetrable, so this besieging force was impenetrable, hard, and relentless, and would inevitably take and destroy the city without mercy.<\/p>\n

Then he was told to lie upon his left side as if a burden was upon him. He was to do this according to the number of the years of the iniquity of Israel. He was to be bound while lying thus on his left side and he was to remain in that position 390 days. Then he was to lie upon his right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days, representing the forty years of their iniquity; these, of course, are symbolic numbers in both cases. The commentators have been greatly baffled to figure out these periods which apply to Israel and Judah. The best explanation seems to be that of Hengstenberg who makes the 390 years refer to Israel’s sin of idolatry beginning with Jeroboam and going down to the final captivity; likewise, the forty years, to Judah’s iniquity beginning forty years prior to the same captivity. According to this reckoning Israel’s period of iniquity was much longer than that of Judah and this accords with the facts of their history.<\/p>\n

The scarcity and pollution of their food during the siege and after is symbolized in Eze 4:9-17<\/span> . Ezekiel was to take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, various kinds of cheap grains that the very poorest of the people ate, mix them together and cook them on a fire made with the most disgusting and loathsome kind of fuel possible, and eat about twenty shekels per day and drink a little more than a pint of water. Twenty shekels would be probably about a pound of our bread, one pound of this cheap, coarse bread, and a little over a pint of water a day. His soul revolted at such loathsome fuel and he was promised a better kind of fuel used by very poor people at that time. This again is a literary symbolism, the idea being to bring before those people the fact that terrible scarcity was before them, great depredation, and almost starvation, and when they were carried into the various nations their food would be unclean and polluted and they would be compelled to eat this unclean food.<\/p>\n

The fate of the population by the siege and their dispersion is symbolized in Eze 5:1-4<\/span> . Ezekiel was told to take a sword, make it as sharp as a barber’s razor, cut off the hair upon his head, take balances and divide it into three equal portions. Evidently Ezekiel must have resembled Elijah more than he did Elisha. A third part of it was to be put in the fire in the midst of the city; a third part, to be smitten with the sword round about, evidently hacking it to pieces; and a third part, to be scattered to the winds, and the sword was to go after it and hack it to pieces.<\/p>\n

What is the meaning? One-third of the inhabitants of their beloved city should perish with famine and pestilence; one-third should be slain in the siege; the other third should be scattered among all the nations of the earth, and even this third the sword should pursue and nearly all of them should be cut off. These arc striking symbols, full of meaning. They must have had some effect upon the hearers.<\/p>\n

The interpretation of the foregoing symbols, as given by the prophet in Eze 5:5-17<\/span> , is that this is Jerusalem. Eze 5:5<\/span> says: “I have set her in the midst of the nations, and countries are round about her.” The remainder of this section goes on to show how Judah had sinned, how she had revolted, how she had forsaken God, and Eze 5:8<\/span> says, “Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I, even I, am against thee; and I will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.” Verse Eze 5:10<\/span> : “Therefore the father shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on thee; and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter unto all the winds . . . and will draw out a sword after them.” Verse Eze 5:13<\/span> : “Thus shall mine anger be accomplished . . . and I shall satisfy my fury upon them.”<\/p>\n

The prophecies of Eze 6:1-7<\/span> ; Eze 6:11-14<\/span> are prophecies against the mountains of Israel, that is, the seats of idolatry. All the kings that sought to create a reformation among the people had to deal with the high places. Hezekiah removed many of them, and at last Josiah removed all of them. They were renewed in the reign of Jehoiachim and doubtless in the reign of Zedekiah. It was against these high places that the prophets had been uttering their denunciations for centuries. Ezekiel, from the plains of Babylon, looks across the vast distance and sees the mountaintops and the hills with their shrines and altars and idols and he utters his prophecies against them. In the latter part of Eze 6:3<\/span> he says, “I will destroy her high places,” and in Eze 6:5<\/span> he gives a terrible picture: “I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones around about your altars,” and then he pictures the destruction of the idolatrous symbols of worship.<\/p>\n

But hope is held out to Israel. In Eze 6:8<\/span> is the gleam of hope through this awful picture of destruction: “Yet will I leave a remnant, in that ye shall have some that escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.” And then he says that many of those scattered through the countries shall remember God and regent, verse Eze 6:9<\/span> : “And those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captive,” and the last part of Eze 6:9<\/span> says, “And they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.” There was hope for the people throughout the countries that some of them would survive. There was scarcely a ray of hope for the city that any should escape. So Ezekiel preaches the doctrine of the remnant as does Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Jeremiah, and all the other prophets of this period.<\/p>\n

Eze 7<\/span> is a lament, or dirge, over the downfall of the kingdom of Judah, and it is divided into four parts, thus:<\/p>\n

1. The end is come upon the four corners of the land (Eze 7:1-4<\/span> )<\/p>\n

2. The end is come upon the inhabitants of the land (Eze 7:5-9<\/span> )<\/p>\n

3. The ruin is come unto all classes and is universal (Eze 7:10-13<\/span> )<\/p>\n

4. The picture of the dissolution of the state (Eze 7:14-27<\/span> ) The theme of Eze 8<\/span> is, Israel’s many idolatries, which have profaned the Lord’s house and have caused him to withdraw from it. The date of this prophecy is fourteen months after the previous sections we have studied, in the sixth month, 591 B.C., which corresponds to our October.<\/p>\n

Then the prophet sees what he calls the image of jealousy in the Temple (Eze 8:1-6<\/span> ). He sees a new vision of the Lord, and the one who sat above that firmament whose appearance was like unto fire, appears to Ezekiel again and, strange to say (we have to interpret this as a vision in symbol), took him by a lock of the hair of his head and carried him all the way from Babylon to Jerusalem. The Spirit took him thus and set him down at the door of the gate of the inner court and there he saw what he calls an “image of jealousy.” It was not jealousy pictured, but an image of some of their deities, some form of Baal set up in the very Temple of Jehovah, which provoked him to jealousy. Thus, he pictures the idolatry of the people as existing in the very Temple and its sacred precincts made place for their idols.<\/p>\n

The prophet now sees another vision, the secret idolatry of the elders in the chambers of the gateway (Eze 8:7-13<\/span> ). The images there were worshiped by the people at large. Now the elders, the leaders, are engaged in it, and he says in Eze 8:10<\/span> , “So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about.” Eze 8:11<\/span> : “And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censor in his hand; and the odor of the cloud of incense went up.” All this is used to represent the elders, the leaders of the people of Jerusalem, who were idolaters in secret, if not openly.<\/p>\n

The women were lamenting and weeping for Tammuz, or Adonis, a heathen solar mythical being, nature personified and represented in winter as perishing or languishing, and in spring, reviving. Some writers think it represents the hot season of the year, as nature is all dead and withered, and is revived later on. Here the women are described, the ladies, the society ladies of Jerusalem, weeping as the heathen women did, because the force of nature, represented in this physical being, was apparently dead. It was a strange sort of worship indeed. It is not known as to just what the nature of this worship was, but it was something like that.<\/p>\n

Then Ezekiel was shown the sun worship (Eze 8:10-18<\/span> ). The latter part of Eze 8:16<\/span> says: “about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.” This gives us some idea as to the depths to which the people had gone in their idolatrous worship, even in Jerusalem and the Temple.<\/p>\n

The first act of divine judgment, the slaughter of the inhabitants, is presented in Eze 9<\/span> . Jehovah is represented as crying out and calling seven men, supernatural beings, six of them armed with a sword, and the seventh one armed with an inkhorn. These come forth into the Temple area and from there into the streets of the city. The man with the inkhorn set his mark upon all that should not be slain. Thus they entered the Temple; Ezekiel sat still in the vision and in a short while six supernatural men cut down a vast number. When they cut down all the Temple force they went out into the city and the slaughter went on. Eze 9:8<\/span> says, “And it came to pass, while they were smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord Jehovah! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem?” Ezekiel saw that if these six angelic beings went through the city, not many would be left. He cried out but it was of no avail. The second act of divine judgment is symbolized in Eze 10<\/span> . Here Ezekiel sees the same glorious vision of God that he saw at first, and the voice came from him above the firmament saying to a man clothed in linen, “Take some fire” from that central place among the cherubim “take some of that divine fire and scatter it over the city.” Then we have the description of how one of the cherubim, with one of those arms, took some of the fire and handed it out to this other being and he went abroad and scattered that fire over the inhabitants of the city. That is a symbol also. The latter part of Eze 10<\/span> is simply an extended description of the same vision recorded in Eze 1<\/span> . We have a threat of destruction and a promise of restoration in Eze 2<\/span> . The occasion of the destruction of Jerusalem was virtually the revolt on the part of the princes against Nebuchadnezzar. It was the princes of Judah that led Zedekiah into revolt, the princes that were so obnoxious to Jeremiah, the princes of Judah that caused the downfall of the city and tried to put Jeremiah out of the way. Ezekiel, in vision, sees those princes and he sees them counseling and planning to make a league with Egypt and revolt against Nebuchadnezzar. He denounced them. Eze 10:2<\/span> says, “And he said unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise iniquity and that give wicked counsel in this city; that say, The time is not near to build houses.” If we are going to fight, this city will be a caldron and we will be the flesh, and it is better to be in the frying pan than in the fire. This city, the capital, may be destroyed; the time of war has come; let us fight and stay inside.” They did so, and in the remainder of the chapter we have the denunciation of Ezekiel. He says, “I will bring you forth out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers.” And that actually happened, for Nebuchadnezzar captured all these princes with Zedekiah; they were brought before him at Riblah and every one slain with the sword.<\/p>\n

The latter part of the chapter states that there will be some left; a remnant will be saved among the exiles. There shall be a few found faithful, and in Eze 10:17-19<\/span> is a marvelous promise: “I will gather you out of all the countries where you have been scattered,” and in Eze 10:19<\/span> , he anticipates Christianity, saying, “I will give them a new heart, and put a new spirit within them, and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep mine ordinances, and do them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” The hope of the nation was in the exiles, not in the people that were left in Jerusalem. Immediately following that, the cherubim that had appeared near the house of Jehovah, were removed east on the Mount of Olives and departed thus from the city, signifying that Jehovah had abandoned Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

There are two symbolic actions described in Eze 12<\/span> . Ezekiel is told to gather up such things as be would require to take with him if he were going into exile, just as one would pack his trunk or grip to go to another place. So Ezekiel packs up his goods in the sight of the people in the daytime, and has them all ready. That night he goes to the wall of the city and digs a hole through, and with his goods upon his shoulder makes his way through that hole of the wall to go out. It was a symbolic action, performed to impress the people. He interprets his action thus: The people of Jerusalem shall take their belongings and go into exile, and Zedekiah, the prince of Jerusalem, will dig a hole through the wall of the city and with his goods upon his shoulders will try to escape. He actually tried to do that, but was taken. Eze 12:11<\/span> says, “Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them; they shall go into captivity.” Verse Eze 12:12<\/span> : “And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the dark and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, because he shall not see the land with his eyes.” This is a mild way of expressing the truth that Zedekiah tramped all the way to Babylon with his eyes having been bored out by Chaldean spears.<\/p>\n

Another symbolic action is recorded in Eze 12:18-19<\/span> , as to the eating of bread and drinking of water, and then Ezekiel quotes a proverb, “The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth.” They were saying that the visions and prophecies did not come true. He answers, “Thus saith the Lord God: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the fulfilment of every vision.”<\/p>\n

The false prophets and prophetesses are characterized in Eze 13<\/span> . Jeremiah had to contend with the false prophets, but Ezekiel had to contend with the false prophets and prophetesses. They are described thus:<\/p>\n

1. The false prophets are described as jackals burrowing in the ground, and making things worse instead of better (Eze 13:1-7<\/span> ).<\/p>\n

2. They whitewash the tottering walls that the people built and they daub them with untempered mortar (Eze 13:8-16<\/span> ). The people built up walls of defense by their foolish plans and the false prophets agreed with them. They tried to smooth the danger over, saying, “Peace for her.”<\/p>\n

3. The denunciation of the false prophetesses (Eze 13:17-23<\/span> ). These women deceived the people. Verse Eze 13:18<\/span> : “Thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the women that sew pillows upon all elbows, and make kerchiefs for the head of persons of every stature to hunt souls!” These pillows were little cushions fastened on the joints of their hands and arms to act as charms. The custom exists today in the East. Ezekiel denounces them in verse Eze 13:20<\/span> : “Wherefore, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.” These were the spiritualists of that day. They are with us yet, only their methods are different.<\/p>\n

The answer of Jehovah to idolaters who inquire of him is found in Eze 14<\/span> :<\/p>\n

1. The answer is this, Put away your idols or look out for the judgment of God. There is no use in coming to inquire of Jehovah through me if you are idolaters in heart (Eze 14:1-11<\/span> ).<\/p>\n

2. The principle of divine judgment is found in Eze 14:12-23<\/span> . It is this: Righteous men shall not save sinners, only their own souls. Notice verse Eze 14:14<\/span> : “Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness.” Verse Eze 14:16<\/span> : “Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only should be delivered, but the land should be desolate.” So no matter how many righteous men there may be, and how righteous they may be, only they themselves shall be saved in the terrible sack of the city. Thus, the righteous could not save Jerusalem, any more than Lot could save Sodom.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

QUESTIONS<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. What the problem of Ezekiel in Babylon and what prophet with<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2. What encouragement did the people have both in Jerusalem and in Babylon to believe in the safety of their holy city and nation, and what Ezekiel’s method of impressing upon the exiles the fallacy of such an argument?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3. What the symbol of the siege of Jerusalem and what its interpretation? (Eze 4:1-3<\/span> .)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

4. How are the people bearing their sins here symbolized and what the interpretation? (Eze 4:4-8<\/span> .)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

5. How is the scarcity and pollution of their food, during the siege and after, symbolized in Eze 4:9-17<\/span> ?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6. How is the fate of the population by the siege and their dispersion symbolized? (Eze 5:1-4<\/span> .)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

7. What is the interpretation of the foregoing symbols, as given by the prophet in Eze 5:5-17<\/span> ?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

8. What are the prophecies of Eze 6:1-7<\/span> ; Eze 6:11-14<\/span> and what is the history of these high places?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

9. What hope is held out to Israel amid this awful picture?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

10. What the theme of Eze 7<\/span> and what its parts?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

11. What was the theme and date of Eze 8<\/span> ?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

12. What was the “Image of Jealousy” seen by Ezekiel (Eze 8:1-6<\/span> ), and what the particulars of this vision?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

13. What is the prophet’s vision of the elders and what its interpretation (Eze 8:7-13<\/span> )?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

14. What was the abomination of Tammuz? (Eze 8:14-15<\/span> .)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

15. What of the sun worship? (Eze 8:16-18<\/span> .)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

16. How is the first act of divine judgment and slaughter of the inhabitants represented? (Eze 9<\/span> .)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

17. How was the second act of divine judgment symbolized? (Eze 10<\/span> .)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

18. Explain the threat of destruction and the promise of restoration in Eze 11<\/span> .<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

19. What two symbolic actions described in Eze 12<\/span> , and what their interpretation?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

20. How are the false prophets and prophetesses characterized in Eze 13<\/span> ?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

21. What is the answer of Jehovah to idolaters who inquire of him and what the divine principle of judgment? (Eze 14<\/span> .)<\/p>\n

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Eze 7:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,<\/p>\n

Ver. 1. Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me.<\/strong> ] Five or six years afore it happened. God loveth to foresignify, to forewarn, or ere he punish. Let us, upon whom the ends of the world are come, take warning, and think we hear the trump of God sounding as here, “An end is come, is come, is come; it watcheth for thee, behold it is come.” Eze 7:2-3<\/span> ; <\/em> Eze 7:6 <\/p>\n

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Ezekiel Chapter 7<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chapter 7 closes this preliminary strain, or cluster of strains, of coming woe. It is marked by comprehensiveness indeed; but instead of vagueness there is every mark of rapidity in the short, strange, abrupt style in which the Spirit proclaims with frequent and emphatic repetitions an end to the land of Israel as that which was just at hand. “And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Also, thou Son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto the land of Israel; An end, the end, is come upon the four corners of the land. Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. The mourning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah that smiteth.” (Vers. 1-9 )<\/p>\n

Next we see that not only do “the four corners of the land” come under the distinct and decisive dealing of Jehovah, but in this case the results are complete and overwhelming. There is no recovery possible as far as man can see or say. “Behold the day, behold it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them.” (Vers. 10, 11) The ordinary ways and feelings of men disappear. (Ver. 12) Wrath is on all the multitude. The special hopes of an Israelite are broken, for the jubilee, too, vanishes, and with it all prospect of recovery. (Ver. 18) How could idols help him? The sound of the trumpet which calls on man, which to a Jew should be the assurance of God’s hearing and appearing on their behalf as usual, is wholly unavailing; for Jehovah’s wrath is upon all the multitude. (Ver. 14) They are thus seen shut up within concentric circles of devouring ruin. (Vers. 15-18) God’s prophet announces’ terrible to think, stroke upon stroke, from God against His people, enfeebled before by the sense of guilt. In the day of their calamity they are forced to feel that their gods are vanity, nothing but “silver and gold,” and “they shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be as uncleanness.” “Their silver and gold,” adds the prophet most impressively, “shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah; they shall not satisfy their souls nor fill their bowels, because it was the stumbling-block of their iniquity.”<\/p>\n

But had not God one place chosen to be His dwelling-place and rest? Alas! their worst evil manifested itself against Him there. Their glory was their shame. “As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.” (Vers. 10-22)<\/p>\n

Lastly, the prophet is bid to make the chains symbolic of the slavery in store for those not cut off, and this, too, that the vilest of Gentiles should take possession of their houses, destruction coming, and peace sought in vain, but mishap on mishap, and rumour upon rumour, and no vision from the prophet, but the law perishing from the priest and counsel from the elders. The king mourning, the prince clothed with the perplexity of grief, and the hands of the people of the land shaking: such is the picture (vers. 23-27) of appalling trouble, and fulfilled to the letter, as we know. “Because of their way will I do unto them, and according to their judgments will I judge them; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.” Such is the conclusion of the solemn preliminary warning.<\/p>\n

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 7:1-4<\/p>\n

1Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel, ‘An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land. 3Now the end is upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you. 4For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will know that I am the LORD!’<\/p>\n

Eze 7:1 the word of the LORD came to me saying See note at Eze 6:1.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:2 son of man See note at Eze 2:1.<\/p>\n

the land (adamah, BDB 9) of Israel This is parallel to the four corners of the land (erets, BDB 75, Eze 7:2), the mountain of Israel, in Eze 6:2, and the wilderness of Diblah\/Riblah of Eze 6:14.<\/p>\n

This phrase (BDB 9, 975) is found only in Ezekiel (17 times, cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 271). It seems to have the theological emphasis of the Promised Land given by YHWH to His covenant people (cf. Deu 7:13; Deu 11:9; Deu 11:21; Deu 28:11; Deu 30:20). This special gift they are about to lose! As God took the Canaanites out of the land because of their evil (cf. Gen 15:16), so too, if Israel takes on their ways (i.e., idolatry), He will remove them from the land.<\/p>\n

an end The time of judgment has come! This word (BDB 893) is used in Eze 7:2 (twice), Eze 7:3, Eze 7:6 (twice). It is also used in the sense of climax in Eze 21:25; Eze 21:29; Eze 29:13; Eze 35:5. God is in control of time and history. His patience and longsuffering are often misunderstood and abused, but there is a limit!<\/p>\n

the four corners of the land The word four is often associated with the whole earth (i.e., four directions of the compass, four winds, four corners, cf. Isa 11:12). Here it is a play on end. The end of time is coming to the very ends (corners) of the Promised Land.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:3-4 Eze 7:3-4 are repeated exactly in Eze 7:8-9. They form a refrain. In many ways this chapter is a lament (cf. The Prophecy of Ezekiel, by Feinberg, p. 44).<\/p>\n

Eze 7:3 I shall judge you according to your ways This truth is repeated in Eze 7:8; Eze 18:30; Eze 24:19; Eze 33:20; Eze 36:19; Eze 39:24. Another way to put this recurrent truth is we reap what we sow (cf. Job 34:11; Psa 28:4; Psa 62:12; Pro 24:12; Ecc 12:14; Jer 17:10; Jer 32:19; Mat 16:27; Mat 25:31-46; Rom 2:6; Rom 14:12; 1Co 3:8; 2Co 5:10; Gal 6:7-10; 2Ti 4:14; 1Pe 1:17; Rev 2:23; Rev 20:12; Rev 22:12).<\/p>\n

abominations This term (BDB 1072) is used in Eze 7:3-4; Eze 7:9; Eze 7:20. It is used forty-three times in Ezekiel, mostly in chapters 7,8,16. See Special Topic: Abomination .<\/p>\n

Eze 7:4 For My eye will have no pity on you See note at Eze 5:11. This is repeated in Eze 7:9; Eze 8:18; Eze 9:5; Eze 9:10; Eze 24:14. It is a shocking reversal of YHWH’s normal character (cf. Exo 34:6) and acts!<\/p>\n

then you will know that I am the LORD See note at Eze 6:7. A slightly different form is in Eze 7:9. This chapter is like a tapestry of themes woven together to form recurrent patterns of truth.<\/p>\n

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Chapter 7<\/p>\n

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel ( Eze 7:1-2 );<\/p>\n

Now, the other was to the mountains, now to the land.<\/p>\n

the end is come upon the four corners of the land ( Eze 7:2 ).<\/p>\n

This is actually written in a poetic form in the Hebrew. It doesn’t come through. If you have some modern translations, sometimes they put it out in the poetic form.<\/p>\n

Now has the end come upon thee, and I will send my anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations ( Eze 7:3 ).<\/p>\n

No mercy here, no grace here, but judgment according to their deeds. Recompensing them according to their ways. We thank God for His mercy and for His grace. David prayed, ” Have mercy upon me, O God, according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions” ( Psa 51:1 ). And God is merciful, but if people reject His mercy, then there remains only that certain fearful looking forward to of judgment. So they have rejected the mercies of God. They had done despite to the spirit of grace, and now God pronounces His judgment that is coming upon them according to their abominations.<\/p>\n

And my eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity [no mercy]: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD ( Eze 7:4 ).<\/p>\n

In contrast to these idols that you have been worshipping, you’ll know that I am the Lord.<\/p>\n

Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. An end is come, an end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. The morning has come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time has come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish my anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and recompense thee for all your abominations. And my eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thy abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth ( Eze 7:5-9 ).<\/p>\n

Now we find repetition here, and again, as I told you, it is written in Hebrew poetry and Hebrew poetry involves repetition. And that’s why in English it gets a little repetitious to us, but in Hebrew it’s really very poetic, and in reading it in the Hebrew you get the rhyme of it and you feel the poetry of the thing. You get not the rhyme, but the rhythm of it, and you feel the poetry. There is no rhyme.<\/p>\n

Behold the day, behold, it has come: the morning has gone forth; the rod has blossomed, pride has budded. Violence is risen up into the rod into a rod of wickedness: and none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be any wailing for them. The time has come, the day is drawing near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for the wrath is upon all of the multitude thereof. For the seller shall not return to that which is sold ( Eze 7:10-13 ),<\/p>\n

Now, in those days quite often the seller had to sell because of financial problems, and so there was always that, “Oh, you know, this is the family’s and it’s the family inheritance.” And they would hate to sell that because when you inherited from your parents the land, it was sort of a holy trust. Your whole goal of life was to pass on to your children that which you received as the inheritance from your family. And so you would devote your whole life to the maintaining of that inheritance so that you could pass it on. Sometimes a person would get strapped, they would have to sell it, but in the deed there was always the reversionary clause–you could always buy it back in a specified period of time by adhering to the covenant that was drawn up at the time that it was sold. Or, if you could not redeem it, then a close relative could redeem it so it remained in the family. So there was usually sorrow involved in the selling of property. It was a holy trust. It was a sacred thing. This is the family’s and now I’m selling it. And the buyer, of course, if you could ever buy property, with it was a very happy time, you would rejoice. So he is saying, “Hey, look, the time is at an end. You that are going around buying, you don’t need to rejoice in it because you’re not going to really have it long. And you that are selling don’t really mourn, because you’re not going to buy it back again. You won’t be able to use your option to repurchase because you’re all going to be taken out of the land. So the seller shall not return to that which is sold, you’re not going to come back to it.”<\/p>\n

although they are still alive ( Eze 7:13 ):<\/p>\n

But you’ll be a captive carried away to Babylon.<\/p>\n

for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which will not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life. They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to battle: for my wrath is upon the multitude thereof ( Eze 7:13-14 ).<\/p>\n

Now the blowing of the trumpet really was more than just the summoning of the people to battle, but with Israel it was more or less an acknowledgment that the Lord comes forth to battle with us. But God said, ” I’m not coming forth with you any more. You can blow the trumpet; it’s not going to do any good. I’m not going to fight for you any longer. You’re going to be turned over unto the hands of your enemies.”<\/p>\n

For the sword is without, the pestilence and the famine is within: and he that is in the field will die with the sword; and he that is in the city, the famine and the pestilence will devour him. But they that escape of them shall escape, and be on the mountains like doves of the valley, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity ( Eze 7:15-16 ).<\/p>\n

So those that escape from the sword and pestilence, scattered throughout the mountains, weeping, mourning, wailing for that which has happened.<\/p>\n

All hands shall be feeble, all knees will be as weak as water. They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all their faces, and baldness upon their heads ( Eze 7:17-18 ).<\/p>\n

That is in mourning, the cutting of their hair and all.<\/p>\n

They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is a stumblingblock of their iniquity. And as for the beauty of his ornament, he is set in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they’ll pollute it ( Eze 7:19-21 ).<\/p>\n

And it’s talking about, of course, the sanctuary, the place of majesty and the ornament of beauty, it’s is going to be destroyed, polluted.<\/p>\n

My face will I turn also from them, they shall pollute my holy place ( Eze 7:22 ):<\/p>\n

Actually, the secret place the holy of holies will be profaned and polluted.<\/p>\n

for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it. Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I also will make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled. Destruction comes; and they will seek peace, and there will be none. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumor shall be upon rumor; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and the counsel from the ancients. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them according to their ways, and according to what they deserve will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD ( Eze 7:22-27 ).<\/p>\n

This terrible judgment that God is going to bring, as the temple of God is destroyed and profaned. And the people are driven out and killed with the sword, pestilence, and famine. <\/p>\n

“<\/p>\n

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Eze 7:1-4<\/p>\n

MORE ON THE DOOM OF ISRAEL<\/p>\n

Some have called this chapter a dirge; but, “There are four oracles in it: (1) Eze 7:2-4, (2) Eze 7:5-9, (3) Eze 7:10-11, and (4) Eze 7:12-13, followed by an exposition of their common theme (Eze 7:14-27).”<\/p>\n

The date of this section of the prophecy as given in Eze 1:1 would leave about seven years before the capture of the city, the blinding of Zedekiah, and the destruction of the temple; but Eze 7:2 here states that. “Now the end has come upon thee (Jerusalem)”; and upon that declaration Beasley-Murray dated this chapter shortly before the fall of the city, supposing that, “The date at the head of a section does not necessarily embrace everything that follows till the next date is given.”<\/p>\n

THE END IS NEAR<\/p>\n

Eze 7:1-4<\/p>\n

“Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto the land of Israel. An end: the end is come upon the four corners of the land. Now is the end upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity; but I will bring thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.”<\/p>\n

Dummelow has an excellent summary of this whole chapter. “Here is a final message of doom upon the whole land; the judgment is inevitable and close at hand; social relations will be broken up; preparations will be of no avail; wealth misused for idolatry and luxury will become the spoil of the heathen; priests, prophets, king and nobles will be helpless to deliver; the Temple will be profaned, and the remnant shall be overwhelmed with SORROW.”<\/p>\n

A feature of this prophecy is the repetition. The end has come (Eze 7:2); the day has come (Eze 7:10); the time has come (Eze 7:7); and doom has come (Eze 7:7; Eze 7:12). This repetition was explained by Taylor. “It can be explained only against the background of popular belief in the inviolability of Jerusalem. Its destruction was inconceivable to the Israelite mind. Their view was that, “As long as God is God, God’s Temple and God’s city would stand.'”<\/p>\n

“The end is come …” (Eze 7:2). “This is a standard announcement of doom as in Gen 6:13. It serves for the eschatological end-time of Dan 8:17.”<\/p>\n

“The four corners of the land …” (Eze 7:2). “A glance at Isa 11:12 shows that the phrase here means `the four corners of the earth.'” Here is far more than the heavenly chastisement of one small nation such as Israel. “This signifies the coming of the end upon the four corners of the earth; this means the end coming upon all mankind. This refers to a world-wide catastrophe, such as we find in the mythological expectations of disaster of ancient oriental nations, and such as Israel associated with the coming of Jehovah the world-judge.” The end here is “the day of the Lord,” the final day, the one spoken of by Zephaniah, Amos, Jeremiah and Micah. This reference to that great and final Day of Judgment, however, appears here as an overtone accompanying the prophecy of immediate and impending doom for Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

All of God’s great judgments upon evil nations are, in fact, omens of that ultimate Judgment when the Books shall be opened and the Judgment of the Great White Throne (Rev 20:11 ff) shall occur. It was true of the flood, of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, of the fall of Tyre, and of Sidon, of Moab, Ammon, Edom. Gaza, Damascus, Israel (Samaria), and of Judah.<\/p>\n

The first two chapters of Amos record eight of those judgments. The fall of Nineveh and Babylon are others; and many of the judgments upon wicked cities in the current dispensation of God’s grace may also be considered as prophecies of the ultimate Judgment before Christ seated upon the Throne of Glory (Matthew 25). Certainly, the fall of Jerusalem, Rome, and Berlin must be viewed as further examples of the same truth.<\/p>\n

“Amos first mentioned that, `the end is come,’ (Amo 8:2); and from him this phrase came to be associated with eschatological times.”<\/p>\n

“Thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee …” (Eze 7:4). The meaning here is that, “The people will reap what they have sown, and their sins shall be recognized in their punishment.”<\/p>\n

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The second denunciation dealt with the completeness of judgment. Its keynote was expressed in the words, “an end.” The prophet declared that an end on the land and the people had been determined on, emphasizing that this final judgment would be accomplished by the act of God in order that they might know Him.<\/p>\n

The prophet then proceeded to describe that end. Its first manifestation would be the paralysis of the people, so that when the trumpet was blown for the battle, and all was ready, none would move forward, being overcome by terror and grief. Such a method of judgment would be a clear demonstration of the activity of Jehovah. For a people armed and ready for battle to be suddenly smitten with a nameless terror and an overwhelming consciousness of weakness would be, to use the terms of our own day, phenomenal and supernatural. This paralysis of courage would issue in an overwhelming sense of poverty, not in the absolute lack of silver and gold, but in a wild casting away of silver in the streets and a sense of the uncleanness of gold, because these material riches would be useless as means of deliverance from Jehovah’s wrath. All this would finally produce the confession of overwhelming perplexity, and no interpreter would be found. This second denunciation ended as did the first, by indicating the purpose of the vengeance. “They shall know that I am the Lord.”<\/p>\n

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Chapter Seven<\/p>\n

The End Is Come<\/p>\n

With this chapter the prophets message, directed expressly against the land of Palestine, though of course including its sinful people, comes to an end. All Gods pleadings and remonstrances had proven to be in vain: the people were insistent on taking their own way. Ezekiel, as we have seen, was already among those who were in captivity. Nebuchadnezzars armies were once more threatening the land, and the false prophets were assuring Israel that God would intervene and save the nation. They utterly minimized the guilt of the people and declared that inasmuch as they were Jehovahs chosen, He would intervene on their behalf. But all such prophecies were soon to be proven utterly false. The end of Gods patience had been reached, as we have seen. In wrath and indignation He was about to give them over to the power of the enemy to be destroyed by death or sold into slavery.<\/p>\n

Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto the land of Israel: An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. Now is the end upon thee, and I will send Mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations. And Mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity; but I will bring thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah-vers. 1-4.<\/p>\n

Note the words, The end is come upon the four corners of the land. There was no longer any hope. Their consciences had become utterly hardened; there was not the slightest evidence of repentance; therefore, God would judge Israel according to their ways, and recompense upon them their own abominations because they had not heeded the words of His prophets, nor turned from their idolatry. His eye would not spare, neither would He have pity upon them. It was not that His heart was hardened against them; He loved them still, but His holiness forbade His going on with them in their wickedness. When His judgments were poured out upon them they should know that it was indeed Jehovah with whom they had to do, and who had given them up to affliction and despair.<\/p>\n

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: An evil, an only evil; toehold, it cometh. An end is come, the end is come; it awaketh against thee; toehold, it cometh. Thy doom is come upon thee, O inhabitant in the land: the time is come, the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting, upon the mountains. Now will I shortly pour out My wrath upon thee, and accomplish mine anger against thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will toring upon thee all thine abominations. And Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will toring upon thee according to thy ways; and thine abominations shall toe in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, do smite-vers. 5-9.<\/p>\n

The people had looked for good but looked in vain. An evil, an only evil, was coming upon them. Once more the prophet repeats the word, An end is come, the end is come. It is a solemn thing indeed when Gods patience is exhausted and His wrath falls without restraint upon those whom He would so gladly have delivered had they but given any evidence of repentance. Even when things had been at very low ebb in the past, the slightest proof of self-judgment was sufficient to avert threatened punishment; but now the people were wholly given to iniquity. They had cast Gods law behind their backs, and even though there were, as we know, some godly ones among them, yet the state of the nation was such that these who had concern about their ways could only suffer with the rest of the people. When destruction falls, whether by natural calamity, such as earthquake, tornado, or pestilences, the righteous suffer with the wicked. It is true also when bloody warfare rages in a land. And so even the faithful remnant had to go through this time of terrible trial with the apostate part of the nation; though we see that afterwards, when Nebuchadnezzar had taken the city, provision was made for certain ones to remain in the land, and those that feared God were given opportunity to dwell quietly in the desolated region.<\/p>\n

Instead of reading, The morning is come unto thee, a better translation, we are told, would be, The turn of the wheel is come-that is, the great wheel of the divine government is rolling on, and nothing can turn it aside. The time had come when the day of trouble, which many prophets had foretold, should actually take place. The storm nearing, they had heard the divine thunder, not merely an echo from the mountains.<\/p>\n

Verses 8 and 9 are extremely stirring. God was about to pour out His fury upon Israel and accomplish His anger upon them. He would judge them according to their ways. There should be no pity. It was too late for mercy: judgment must take its course. And when all these dire predictions came to pass, Israel should know that He who thus dealt with them was the Lord that smiteth.<\/p>\n

This last expression might be looked upon as a compound: Jehovah-Mekkadeschemt Jehovah the Smiter. Those who refuse to recognize God as Jeho-vah-Rahi (Jehovah the Shepherd), or as Jehovah-Jireh (Jehovah the Provider), will have to know Him as Jehovah the Smiter.<\/p>\n

Behold the day, behold, it cometh: thy doom is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of their wealth: neither shall there be eminency among them. The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they be yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, none shall return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life-vers. 10-13.<\/p>\n

There was to be no longer delay. The day of doom had already come. Israels cup of iniquity was full; the tree of her pride had blossomed and budded; the hour when God would deal with her because of all her manifold iniquities had arrived. The armies of the Chaldeans had swept down upon the land. Jerusalem was already besieged. Because, on the part of Israel, violence had developed into a rod of wickedness, they should be dealt with in violence. The time had arrived; the day had drawn near. It was too late for buyer to rejoice or seller to mourn: the wrath of God was already being poured out upon the multitude. Commerce would be at an end; buying and selling would no longer have any place, and the whole land was to be given up to desolation.<\/p>\n

Graphically the prophet describes the siege of Jerusalem in the verses that follow:<\/p>\n

They have blown the trumpet, and have made all ready; but none goeth to the battle; for My wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him. But those of them that escape shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one in his iniquity. All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be as an unclean thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels; because it hath been the stumblingblock of their iniquity-vers. 14-19.<\/p>\n

The trumpets had sounded for the defense of the city. All had been called to make ready, but none dared go forth to the battle. Everywhere outside the walls were seen the forces of the enemy. Because of the rigor of the siege, pestilence and famine prevailed within the city. Those in the field were given up to death by the sword; those in the city faced death by the conditions prevailing there. A few, indeed, might escape, but they should be like mourning doves looking down upon the ruined city. All hands should be feeble; all knees weak as water. There would be no strength whatever to enable Judah to stand against her cruel foes. Though they mourned and girded themselves with sackcloth, and horror possessed their souls, there was no hope. They had sinned until God would no longer hear their cry. Their silver and their gold which had been hoarded up could not deliver them in the day of divine wrath. All was at an end. Jerusalem was doomed; Palestine was to be given into the hand of the enemy.<\/p>\n

As for the beauty of his ornament, He set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things therein: therefore have I made it unto them as an unclean thing. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane it. My face will I turn also from them, and they shall profane My secret place; and robbers shall enter into it, and profane it. Make the chain; for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pride of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be profaned. Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumor shall be upon rumor; and they shall seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am Jehovah-vers. 20-27.<\/p>\n

Even as we read these words we can feel in our souls the sadness and the hopelessness which they depict. Because of the many idolatries and the detestable things connected with them, Jehovah had set His face against His people and given their cities and their land into the hands of strangers for a prey. True, these were the wicked of the earth and possibly as vile or viler than Judah had become, but the difference was this: the Chaldeans were a heathen people who had never been in covenant relationship with God; the people of Judah had been separated to Himself. He had given them His law; He had given them His Word, but they had rebelled against Him; therefore, He would use even the most wicked of the nations to chasten them. He would set His face against them and permit the robbers to enter into the land and defile it.<\/p>\n

The expression in verse 23, Make a chain, suggests the captivity into which thousands were to go, bound with chains of their own sins. They were to be delivered in material chains into the hand of the enemy. Eventually the worst of the heathen would possess that land and all its holy places be defiled.<\/p>\n

Some have seen in verse 24 a prophecy of the possession of Palestine by the Mohammedan powers who controlled and dominated it for some twelve centuries, until Allenbys entrance into Jerusalem, and the ousting of the Turks.<\/p>\n

In vain should they seek peace, for they had turned away from the only One who could give peace. Therefore, mischief should come upon them; one distracting rumor after another should trouble them. In their distress they should seek a vision of the prophet, but there would be no answer. The law was to perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders. King Zedekiah, unstable, tricky, and hypocritical, should mourn; the leaders be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people be troubled. God declared, I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them. They should know it was Jehovah who was afflicting them when all these things were fulfilled.<\/p>\n

There is, of course, a sense in which we may look beyond the days of Nebuchadnezzar and see in this chapter a depiction of the horrors of the great tribulation, but while this is a lawful application it is really secondary, for the actual fulfilment had to do with the siege and taking of the city by the Chaldean armies.<\/p>\n

Let not us of the Gentiles look with contempt upon the Jews because of their forgetfulness of God and the dire results that followed. Let us remember that we also, as a people, have proved utterly unworthy of the privileges bestowed upon us; and in due time Christendom, too, will be rejected of the Lord because of its apostasy and rebellion.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Eze 7:1-27. This chapter closes the first great message of Ezekiel. This great judgment message is written in beautiful language, which, in the Authorized Version, is marred by numerous incorrect renderings. The reader will find a reliable metrical translation in our larger commentary on Ezekiel.<\/p>\n

First, the end is announced to come upon the entire land; it could no longer be averted.<\/p>\n

There is another day coming in which the Lord will deal in fearful judgments with this earth. Now is the day of salvation in which God speaks in love through His Son, When wickedness and apostasy has reached its climax, the day of salvation will end and the day of vengeance of our God will begin. Then He will speak in His wrath and vex them in His sore displeasure Psa 2:5. Then will they say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Rev 6:16-17. Gods judgments for the future are as sure as were His judgments in the past. There is a set time, the day of the Lord, when He, to whom the Father has given all judgments, will tread the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty Rev 19:15.<\/p>\n

Then follows a solemn description of the doom of Jerusalem and the reasons why such a judgment is executed.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Reciprocal: Jer 2:1 – the word Rev 11:6 – have power over<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Eze 7:1. Moreover occurs frequently in the Authorized Version but seldom has any word in the original; whenever it does, it means a repetition or continuance.” It is a writers casual way of saying he has something more to say.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Section 6 (Eze 7:1-27).<\/p>\n

The limit of forbearance reached.<\/p>\n

The final word is now addressed through the prophet to the land of Israel, the very soil itself, to which the end is come, in all the four corners of it. Thus, clearly, there is no hope of anything more. There is no soil to produce fruit. The limit of forbearance is reached, and there is no limit to the wrath, save only that there are those in whom grace manifests its power still, as there always will be. Otherwise the end was upon the whole land, an end in God’s anger, the condition of things in it being the manifest proof of all the abominations of its inhabitants. The earth at large, as we well know, suffers everywhere because of the sin of man, both by the desolations which sin itself naturally produces, and by the judgments which are upon it from God. Thus the places of highest privilege may become necessarily the places of most marked desolation. God’s own pitiful eye can spare no more. “I will bring thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee:” that is, there is no deliverance, no ability to roll off the burden. The unchangeableness of Jehovah Himself certifies and assures the continuation of the punishment.<\/p>\n

Thus He declares that that which has come is evil, and only evil. It is unmixed calamity. The “turn” -that is, the revolution of the wheel -is come to the dweller in the land. Much difficulty has been made of an expression which is very simple in view of what forms so large a part of Ezekiel’s vision -those wheels that are so high as to be terrible, that do a terrible though needful work in the abasement of man, and even in view of final restoration. The privileged people of God thus become subject to the mutability which is the law of all things merely human. They could claim no exemption; and even the higher they had been lifted, the more terrible would be the fall. The time had come for this -not the day which in false hope they had been prophesying for themselves, but of consternation and confusion; the battle lost, not won; no joyful tidings of victory to announce from the mountain-tops, as there will be even yet in the future for them (Isa 40:9); for the wrath of God was now to be poured out wholly, and His anger consummated, although it would be no more than just the fruit of their ways, the equal demonstration of divine righteousness in their case; taken, as they were, with the evidences of their guilt in their midst, in all the idolatry which polluted them and which we shall soon have exhibited in full detail.<\/p>\n

It is a solemn thing to realize that God permits full consummation of human iniquity before the judgment falls. As it was in Israel, so it will be in Christendom. God does not come in to judge in a day of reformation, even partial as this may be. If He sees even an Ahab putting on sackcloth and walking softly before Him. He refrains from judgment (1Ki 21:27-29). With Ahab it was mere fear, of course -nothing that God could really accept; and yet it was enough to avert, for the moment, the imminent wrath; and thus the abominations that are everywhere under the surface in Christendom must be allowed to come out openly before the full judgment comes. The Church must be removed, and the indwelling Spirit of God that hinders the full development of things according to their nature. The restraint removed, there will be manifested, in the man of sin, the iniquity which has been working in mystery through the ages past. This has to be brought out of its concealment, and the delusion which man seeks must be permitted to him. Then, as the issue, there will be that open defiance of God in every way in which He has revealed Himself, which will necessitate the full display of long-lingering judgment. He who is to come will come, and “will smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips destroy the wicked one” (Isa 11:4).<\/p>\n

But the time of wrath upon Christendom can only come after there has been the full revelation of God, and time given for the effect of it to be fully manifest. Almost 2,000 years have passed since the revelation has been completed, and now he that will may see that the end is at hand.<\/p>\n

The judgment upon Israel here is only a partial anticipation of the wrath in that day. Nevertheless, the rooting of Israel out of their land, and the desolation of the house which God had among men, marked a distinct crisis, the day of which had come. The turn of the wheel, as Ezekiel repeats, had come to them. The rod for the punishment of their iniquity was blossoming, even as the pride which provoked the judgment was indeed full blown. Violence among them had thus risen up into a rod to smite them: in itself a rod of wickedness, no doubt for not on account of righteousness in the enemy did God permit their triumph over His people yet comparatively even these were clean. They had not trampled God’s gifts under their feet as Israel had done. And thus they had themselves invited the scourge which was now to sweep through the land, leaving nothing remaining, neither of their multitude, nor of their wealth, nor even any to wail for the absence of these. The time was already come, the day was at hand the buyer need no more rejoice in that which he had acquired, nor the seller either mourn for that which he had lost: for the wrath upon all was without distinction. No day of jubilee would return with its gracious provision to him who had had to give up his patrimony through poverty and if even his life were yet permitted to him there would be no land for him to return to. “The vision,” says the Lord, “is touching the whole multitude thereof. It shall not be revoked, and none shall through his iniquity assure his life.” Strange indeed that man under the very judgment of God could think to secure himself by means of the very iniquity which was bringing down the judgment; yet man is capable of just such thoughts.<\/p>\n

The prophet sees only utter desolation. Were the trumpet blown, there was none to go to battle. Sword, pestilence and famine had already done their work, and if there were but a few that escaped, they would be like scared and scattered doves of the valleys driven to the mountains -all of them with their mournful plaint, and every one for his own iniquity. Horror would cover them, shame be upon their faces, and baldness upon their heads. The very silver and gold, so precious to man, would be cast away in bitterness as worthless, utterly unable to accomplish anything for them neither to satisfy their souls, nor fill their belly; for indeed it was the very stumbling-block of their iniquity. God had enriched them with that which was much more than the riches so much valued by man: He had set the beautiful ornament of His own house in their midst, and they had put therein the images of their abominations so that God had Himself to treat His holy house as an unclean thing, and give it up to the hands of strangers to be a spoil for the wicked of the earth.<\/p>\n

Thus the prophet is bidden now to “make the chain” which indeed they had forged for themselves, as the crimes that filled their land attested. No sanctuary could be maintained in the midst of a people such as they were, and the glory of God required the removal of that which now only dishonored Him by its existence. Thus all, in fact, was gone. The prophet who was alone their hope, in days when every other link was broken, would have a vision from God no more, as the law would perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders. From prince to people they would alike now receive their judgment and thus they would know (how terrible to know it thus, and how constant the repetition of this!) that their God was Jehovah.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Eze 7:2. An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. The end is come at once on the whole land of Judea and of Israel. The crown is fallen from the heads of Davids house: they shall no more be regal shepherds of my people, till he come whose right it is to wear the crown.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:5. An evil, an only evil, behold is come. The Hebrew reads, an evil, one evil; and a repetition in Hebrew generally denotes the superlative degree, or the consummation of evil.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:10. Behold the day, behold it is come. Yes, he adds, the morning rays shoot into all the chambers of the east. The Assyrian camp is breaking ground. They soon will scale the walls of Jerusalem, profane and burn the sanctuary, and spread themselves to all the four corners of the land. The rod hath blossomed. Though the root of this word is not found in Hebrew, the LXX have rabdos, which signifies the sceptre of Nebuchadnezzar, that budded with bitterness, blossomed with slaughter, and ripened into violence in all the four corners of the land.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:12. Let not the buyer of your lands rejoice, nor the seller mourn. The richer jews, by taking advantage of their poor neighbours, and by stretching the law, had gained possession of all the family estates, and in such sort, that when the trumpet of jubilee sounded there were no lands to be restored. Well; the vengeance of God shall settle those disputes; both the buyer and the seller that escapes the sword, shall die in captivity.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:19. They shall cast their silver in the streets, to appease if possible the bloody ferocity of the soldiers. But the phrase, stumbling-block of their iniquity, denotes household gods of gold and silver, gods now cast as dung into the streets. During our civil wars between the houses of York and Lancaster, and latterly between the king and the parliament, many hid their money, and those who were killed have left no traces to their treasures: yet a few have been found by the plow, and by the masons.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:22. They shall pollute my secret Here is a pause in the Hebrew; the heart of the prophet swelled with grief, and he could not super-add the word which is wanting. What, pollute the Holy of Holiesthe throne of Jehovah! What, pollute the sanctuary where a voice was once heard, declaring that the king of Assyria should not come into this place:I will defend this city, for David my servants sake. Now, the glory departs.<\/p>\n

REFLECTIONS.<\/p>\n

Before the Chaldeans had time to invade the holy land, our prophet invades it by his sermons. It is rarely the way of heaven to strike without paternal warnings, and warnings in every form. Long and dark had been the night of apostasy and crime; but the morning of awful justice opened at last, and with the brilliancy of the glittering sword. The preachers of righteousness had long been despised, but now all believe in the ministers of vengeance.<\/p>\n

Here is a mirror for the christian world. What are they about, buying land, and building houses; covering the seas with ships, and filling their warehouses with riches. For whom are all these preparations. Is not a recovery from the evils of the fall by genuine conversion, the first duty of man? Do they in the bustle of life forget the reckoning, while hoary time is counting the days, the hours, and the seconds.<\/p>\n

Oh earth, earth! Earth hear the word of the Lord: hear this prophet. Neither their gold nor their silver shall save them in the day of visitation. These in the eyes of an offended God are but as the dung in the streets. How terrible are these words of a long-insulted God: I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses. Ah, that is the day when fasts and mournings shall be of no avail. Then, to-day, if you would hear his sweet voice of mercy and love, harden not your hearts by a continuance in sin. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Ezekiel 7. The End is Nigh.<\/p>\n

Eze 7:1-9. The visions of doom, so vividly described in the three preceding chapters, reach their climax in this chapter, charged with emotion and palpitating with the sense of the approaching end. That end was yet more than four years off, but already Ezekiel sees it in all its horrorthat day of the pitiless anger of Yahweh, who by His terrors would teach His wicked and idolatrous people who and what He was.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The Lord’s word came to Ezekiel again (cf. Eze 6:1). This verse serves as a heading for the oracles that make up the rest of the chapter.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

THE END FORETOLD<\/p>\n

Eze 4:1-17 – Eze 7:1-27<\/p>\n

WITH the fourth chapter we enter on the exposition of the first great division of Ezekiels prophecies. The chaps, 4-24, cover a period of about four and a half years, extending from the time of the prophets call to the commencement of the siege of Jerusalem. During this time Ezekiels thoughts revolved round one great theme-the approaching judgment on the city and the nation. Through contemplation of this fact there was disclosed to him the outline of a comprehensive theory of divine providence, in which the destruction of Israel was seen to be the necessary consequence of her past history and a necessary preliminary to her future restoration. The prophecies may be classified roughly under three heads. In the first class are those which exhibit the judgment itself in ways fitted to impress the prophet and his hearers with a conviction of its certainty; a second class is intended to demolish the illusions and false ideals which possessed the minds of the Israelites and made the announcement of disaster incredible; and a third and very important class expounds the moral principles which were illustrated by the judgment, and which show it to be a divine necessity. In the passage which forms the subject of the present lecture the bare fact and certainty of the judgment are set forth in word and symbol and with a minimum of commentary, although even here the conception which Ezekiel had formed of the moral situation is clearly discernible.<\/p>\n

I.<\/p>\n

The certainty of the national judgment seems to have been first impressed on Ezekiels mind in the form of a singular series of symbolic acts which he conceived himself to be commanded to perform. The peculiarity of these signs is that they represent simultaneously two distinct aspects of the nations fate-on the one hand the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem, and on the other hand the state of exile which was to follow.<\/p>\n

That the destruction of Jerusalem should occupy the first place in the prophets picture of national calamity requires no explanation. Jerusalem was the heart and brain of the nation, the centre of its life and its religion, and in the eyes of the prophets the fountain-head of its sin. The strength of her natural situation, the patriotic and religious associations which had gathered round her, and the smallness of her subject province gave to Jerusalem a unique position among the mother-cities of antiquity. And Ezekiels hearers knew what he meant when he employed the picture of a beleaguered city to set forth the judgment that was to overtake them. That crowning horror of ancient warfare, the siege of a fortified town, meant in this case something more appalling to the imagination than the ravages of pestilence and famine and sword. The fate of Jerusalem represented the disappearance of everything that had constituted the glory and excellence of Israels national existence. That the light of Israel should be extinguished amidst the anguish and bloodshed which must accompany an unsuccessful defence of the capital was the most terrible element in Ezekiels message, and here he sets it in the forefront of his prophecy.<\/p>\n

The manner in which the prophet seeks to impress this fact on his countrymen illustrates a peculiar vein of realism which runs through all his thinking. {Eze 4:1-3} Being at a distance from Jerusalem, he seems to feel the need of some visible emblem of the doomed city before he can adequately represent the import of his prediction. He is commanded to take a brick and portray upon it a walled city, surrounded by the towers, mounds, and battering-rams which marked the usual operations of a besieging army. Then he is to erect a plate of iron between him and the city. and from behind this, with menacing gestures, he is as it were to press on the siege. The meaning of the symbols is obvious. As the engines of destruction appear on Ezekiels diagram, at the bidding of Jehovah, so in due time the Chaldaean army will be seen from the walls of Jerusalem, led by the same unseen rower which now controls the acts of the prophet. In the last act Ezekiel exhibits the attitude of Jehovah Himself, cut off from His people by the iron wall of an inexorable purpose which no prayer could penetrate.<\/p>\n

Thus far the prophets actions, however strange they may appear to us, have been simple and intelligible. But at this point a second sign is as it were superimposed on the first, in order to symbolise an entirely different set of facts-the hardship and duration of the Exile (Eze 4:4-8). While still engaged in prosecuting the siege of the city, the prophet is supposed to become at the same time the representative of the guilty people and the victim of the divine judgment. He is to “bear their iniquity”-that is, the punishment due to their sin. This is represented by his lying bound on his left side for a number of days equal to the years of Ephraims banishment, and then on his right side for a time proportionate to the captivity of Judah. Now the time of Judahs exile is fixed at forty years, dating of course from the fall of the city. The captivity of North Israel exceeds that of Judah by the interval between the destruction of Samaria (722) and the fall of Jerusalem, a period which actually measured about a hundred and thirty-five years. In the Hebrew text, however, the length of Israels captivity is given as three hundred and ninety years-that is, it must have lasted for three hundred and fifty years before that of Judah begins. This is obviously quite irreconcilable with the facts of history, and also with the prophets intention. He cannot mean that the banishment of the northern tribes was to be protracted for two centuries after that of Judah had come to an end, for he uniformly speaks of the restoration of the two branches of the nation as simultaneous. The text of the Greek translation helps us past this difficulty. The Hebrew manuscript from which that version was made had the reading a “hundred and ninety” instead of “three hundred and ninety” in Eze 4:5. This alone yields a satisfactory sense, and the reading of the Septuagint is now generally accepted as representing what Ezekiel actually wrote. There is still a slight discrepancy between the hundred and thirty-five years of the actual history and the hundred and fifty years expressed by the symbol; but we must remember that Ezekiel is using round numbers throughout, and moreover he has not as yet fixed the precise date of the capture of Jerusalem when the last forty years are to commence.<\/p>\n

In the third symbol (Eze 4:9-17) the two aspects of the judgment are again presented in the closest possible combination. The prophets food and drink during the days when he is imagined to be lying on his side represents on the one hand, by its being small in quantity and carefully weighed and measured, the rigours of famine in Jerusalem during the siege-“Behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with anxiety; and drink water by measure, and with horror” (Eze 4:16); on the other hand, by its mixed ingredients and by the fuel used in its preparation, it typifies the unclean religious condition of the people when in exile-“Even so shall the children of Israel eat their food unclean among the heathen” (Eze 4:13). The meaning of this threat is best explained by a passage in the book of Hosea. Speaking of the Exile, Hosea says: “They shall not remain in the land of Jehovah; but the children of Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and shall eat unclean food in Assyria. They shall pour out no wine to Jehovah, nor shall they lay out their sacrifices for Him: like the food of mourners shall their food be; all that eat thereof shall be defiled: for their bread shall only satisfy their hunger; it shall not come into the house of Jehovah”. {Hos 9:3-4} The idea is that all food which has not been consecrated by being presented to Jehovah in the sanctuary is necessarily unclean, and those who eat of it contract ceremonial defilement. In the very act of satisfying his natural appetite a man forfeits his religious standing. This was the peculiar hardship of the state of exile, that a man must become unclean, he must eat unconsecrated food unless he renounced his religion and served the gods of the land in which he dwelt. Between the time of Hosea and Ezekiel these ideas may have been somewhat modified by the introduction of the Deuteronomic law, which expressly permits secular slaughter at a distance from the sanctuary. But this did not lessen the importance of a legal sanctuary for the common life of an Israelite. The whole of a mans flocks and herds, the whole produce of his fields, had to be sanctified by the presentation of firstlings and firstfruits at the Temple before he could enjoy the reward of his industry with the sense of standing in Jehovahs favour. Hence the destruction of the sanctuary or the permanent exclusion of the worshippers from it reduced the whole life of the people to a condition of uncleanness which was felt to be as great a calamity as was a papal interdict in the Middle Ages. This is the fact which is expressed in the part of Ezekiels symbolism now before us. What it meant for his fellow exiles was that the religious disability under which they laboured was to be continued for a generation. The whole life of Israel was to become unclean until its inward state was made worthy of the religious privileges now to be withdrawn. At the same time no one could have felt the penalty more severely than Ezekiel himself, in whom habits of ceremonial purity had become a second nature. The repugnance which he feels at the loathsome manner in which he was at first directed to prepare his food, and the profession of his own practice in exile, as well as the concession made to his scrupulous sense of propriety (Eze 4:14-16), are all characteristic of one whose priestly training had made a defect of ceremonial cleanness almost equivalent to a moral delinquency.<\/p>\n

The last of the symbols {Eze 5:1-4} represents the fate of the population of Jerusalem when the city is taken. The shaving of the prophets head and beard is a figure for the depopulation of the city and country. By a further series of acts, whose meaning is obvious, he shows how a third of the inhabitants shall die of famine and pestilence during the siege, a third shall be slain by the enemy when the city is captured, while the remaining third shall be dispersed among the nations. Even these shall be pursued by the sword of vengeance until but a few numbered individuals survive, and of them again a part passes through the fire. The passage reminds us of the last verse of the sixth chapter of Isaiah, which was perhaps in Ezekiels mind when he wrote: “And if a tenth still remain in it [the land], it shall again pass through the fire: as a terebinth or an oak whose stump is left at their felling: a holy seed shall be the stock thereof.” {Isa 6:13} At least the conception of a succession of sifting judgments, leaving only a remnant to inherit the promise of the future, is common to both prophets, and the symbol in Ezekiel is noteworthy as the first expression of his steadfast conviction that further punishments were in store for the exiles after the destruction of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

It is clear that these signs could never have been enacted, either in view of the people or in solitude, as they are here described. It may be doubted whether the whole description is not purely ideal, representing a process which passed through the prophets mind, or was suggested to him in the visionary state but never actually performed. That will always remain a tenable view. An imaginary symbolic act is as legitimate a literary device as an imaginary conversation. It is absurd to mix up the question of the prophets truthfulness with the question whether he did or did not actually do what he conceives himself as doing. The attempt to explain his action by catalepsy would take us but a little way, even if the arguments adduced in favour of it were stronger than they are. Since even a cataleptic patient could not have tied himself down on his side or prepared and eaten his food in that posture, it is necessary in any case to admit that there must be a considerable, though indeterminate, element of literary imagination in the account given of the symbols. It is not impossible that some symbolic representation of the siege of Jerusalem may have actually been the first act in Ezekiels ministry. In the interpretation of the vision which immediately follows we shall find that no notice is taken of the features which refer to exile, but only of those which announce the siege of Jerusalem. It may therefore be the case that Ezekiel did some such action as is here described, pointing to the fall of Jerusalem, but that the whole was taken up afterwards in his imagination and made into an ideal representation of the two great facts which formed the burden of his earlier prophecy.<\/p>\n

II.<\/p>\n

It is a relief to turn from this somewhat fantastic, though for its own purpose effective, exhibition of prophetic ideas to the impassioned oracles in which the doom of the city and the nation is pronounced. The first of these (Eze 5:5-17) is introduced here as the explanation of the signs that have been described, in so far as they bear on the fate of Jerusalem; but it has a unity of its own, and is a characteristic specimen of Ezekiels oratorical style. It consists of two parts: the first (Eze 5:5-10) deals chiefly with the reasons for the judgment on Jerusalem, and the second (Eze 5:11-17) with the nature of the judgment itself. The chief thought of the passage is the unexampled severity of the punishment which is in store for Israel, as represented by the fate of the capital. A calamity so unprecedented demands an explanation as unique as itself. Ezekiel finds the ground of it in the signal honour conferred on Jerusalem in her being set in the midst of the nations, in the possession of a religion which expressed the will of the one God, and in the fact that she had proved herself unworthy of her distinction and privileges and tried to live as the nations around. “This is Jerusalem which I have set in the midst of the nations, with the lands round about her. But she rebelled against My judgments wickedly more than the nations, and My statutes more than [other] lands round about her: for they rejected My judgments, and in My statutes they did not walk. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, even I am against you; and I will execute in thy midst judgments before the nations, and will do in thy case what I have not done [heretofore], and what I shall not do the like of any more, according to all thy abominations” (Eze 5:5-9). The central position of Jerusalem is evidently no figure of speech in the mouth of Ezekiel. It means that she is so situated as to fulfil her destiny in the view of all the nations of the world, who can read in her wonderful history the character of the God who is above all gods. Nor can the prophet be fairly accused of provincialism in thus speaking of Jerusalems unrivalled physical and moral advantages. The mountain ridge on which she stood lay almost across the great highways of communication between the East and the West, between the hoary seats of civilisation and the lands whither the course of empire took its way. Ezekiel knew that Tyre was the centre of the old worlds commerce, (See chapter 27) but he also knew that Jerusalem occupied a central situation in the civilised world, and in that fact he rightly saw a providential mark of the grandeur and universality of her religious mission. Her calamities, too, were probably such as no other city experienced. The terrible prediction of Eze 5:10, “Fathers shall eat sons in the midst of thee, and sons shall eat fathers,” seems to have been literally fulfilled. “The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of My people.” {Lam 4:10} It is likely enough that the annals of Assyrian conquest cover many a tale of woe which in point of mere physical suffering paralleled the atrocities of the siege of Jerusalem. But no other nation had a conscience so sensitive as Israel, or lost so much by its political annihilation. The humanising influences of a pure religion had made Israel susceptible of a kind of anguish which ruder communities were spared. The sin of Jerusalem is represented after Ezekiels manner as on the one hand transgression of the divine commandments, and on the other defilement of the Temple through false worship. These are ideas which we shall frequently meet in the course of the book, and they need not detain us here. The prophet proceeds (Eze 5:11-17) to describe in detail the relentless punishment which the divine vengeance is to inflict on the inhabitants and the city. The jealousy, the wrath, the indignation of Jehovah, which are represented as “satisfied” by the complete destruction of the people, belong to the limitations of the conception of God which Ezekiel had. It was impossible at that time to interpret such an event as the fall of Jerusalem in a religious sense otherwise than as a vehement outburst of Jehovahs anger, expressing the reaction of His holy nature against the sin of idolatry. There is indeed a great distance between the attitude of Ezekiel towards the hapless city and the yearning pity of Christs lament over the sinful Jerusalem of His time. Yet the first was a step towards the second. Ezekiel realised intensely that part of Gods character which it was needful to enforce in order to beget in his countrymen the deep horror at the sin of idolatry which characterised the later Judaism. The best commentary on the latter part of this chapter is found in those parts of the book of Lamentations which speak of the state of the city and the survivors after its overthrow. There we see how quickly the stern judgment produced a more chastened and beautiful type of piety than had ever been prevalent before. Those pathetic utterances, in which patriotism and religion are so finely blended, are like the timid and tentative advances of a childs heart towards a parent who has ceased to punish but has not begun to caress. This, and much else that is true and ennobling in the later religion of Israel, is rooted in the terrifying sense of the divine anger against sin so powerfully represented in the preaching of Ezekiel.<\/p>\n

III.<\/p>\n

The next two chapters may be regarded as pendants to the theme which is dealt with in this opening section of the book of Ezekiel. In the fourth and fifth chapters the prophet had mainly the city in his eye as the focus of the nations life; in the sixth he turns his eye to the land which had shared the sin, and must suffer the punishment, of the capital. It is, in its first part (Eze 6:2-10), an apostrophe to the mountain land of Israel, which seems to stand out before the exiles mind with its mountains and hills, its ravines and valleys, in contrast to the monotonous plain of Babylonia which stretched around him. But these mountains were familiar to the prophet as the seats of the rural idolatry in Israel. The word bamah, which means properly “the height,” had come to be used as the name of an idolatrous sanctuary. These sanctuaries were probably Canaanitish in origin; and although by Israel they had been consecrated to the worship of Jehovah, yet He was worshipped there in ways which the prophets pronounced hateful to Him. They had been destroyed by Josiah, but must have been restored to their former use during the revival of heathenism which followed his death. It is a lurid picture which rises before the prophets imagination as he contemplates the judgment of this provincial idolatry: the altars laid waste, the “sun-pillars” broken, and the idols surrounded by the corpses of men who had fled to their shrines for protection and perished at their feet. This demonstration of the helplessness of the rustic divinities to save their sanctuaries and their worshippers will be the means of breaking the rebellious heart and the whorish eyes that had led Israel so far astray from her true Lord, and will produce in exile the self-loathing which Ezekiel always regards as the beginning of penitence.<\/p>\n

But the prophets passion rises to a higher pitch. and he hears the command “Clap thy hands, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Aha for the abominations of the house of Israeli.” These are gestures and exclamations, not of indignation, but of contempt and triumphant scorn. The same feeling and even the same gestures are ascribed to Jehovah Himself in another passage of highly charged emotion. {Eze 21:17} And it is only fair to remember that it is the anticipation of the victory of Jehovahs cause that fills the mind of the prophet at such moments and seems to deaden the sense of human sympathy within him. At the same time the victory of Jehovah was the victory of prophecy, and in so far Smend may be right in regarding the words as throwing light on the intensity of the antagonism in which prophecy and the popular religion then stood. The devastation of the land is to be effected by the same instruments as were at work in the destruction of the city: first the sword of the Chaldaeans, then famine and pestilence among those who escape, until the whole of Israels ancient territory lies desolate from the southern steppes to Riblah in the north.<\/p>\n

Chapter 7 is one of those singled out by Ewald as preserving most faithfully the spirit and language of Ezekiels earlier utterances. Both in thought and expression it exhibits a freedom and animation seldom attained in Ezekiels writings, and it is evident that it must have been composed under keen emotion. It is comparatively free from those stereotyped phrases which are elsewhere so common, and the style falls at times into the rhythm which is characteristic of Hebrew poetry. Ezekiel hardly perhaps attains to perfect mastery of poetic form, and even here we may be sensible of a lack of power to blend a series of impressions and images into an artistic unity. The vehemence of his feeling hurries him from one conception to another, without giving full expression to any, or indicating clearly the connection that leads from one to the other. This circumstance, and the corrupt condition of the text together, make the chapter in some parts unintelligible, and as a whole one of the most difficult in the book. In its present position it forms a fitting conclusion to the opening section of the book. All the elements of the judgment which have just been foretold are gathered up in one outburst of emotion, producing a song of triumph in which the prophet seems to stand in the uproar of the final catastrophe and exult amid the crash and wreck of the old order which is passing away.<\/p>\n

The passage is divided into five stanzas, which may originally have been approximately equal in length, although the first is now nearly twice as long as any of the others.<\/p>\n

1. Eze 7:2-9 -The first verse strikes the keynote of the whole poem; it is the inevitableness and the finality of the approaching dissolution. A striking phrase of Amo 8:2 is first taken up and expanded in accordance with the anticipations with which the previous chapters have now familiarised us: “An end is come, the end is come on the four skirts of the land.” The poet already hears the tumult and confusion of the battle; the vintage songs of the Judaean peasant are silenced, and with the din and fury of war the day of the Lord draws near.<\/p>\n

2. Eze 7:10-13 -The prophets thoughts here revert to the present, and he notes the eager interest with which men both in Judah and Babylon are pursuing the ordinary business of life and the vain dreams of political greatness. “The diadem flourishes, the sceptre blossoms, arrogance shoots up.” These expressions must refer to the efforts of the new rulers of Jerusalem to restore the fortunes of the nation and the glories of the old kingdom which had been so greatly tarnished by the recent captivity. Things are going bravely, they think; they are surprised at their own success; they hope that the day of small things will grow into the day of things greater than those which are past. The following verse is untranslatable; probably the original words, if we could recover them, would contain some pointed and scornful antithesis to these futile and vainglorious anticipations. The allusion to “buyers and sellers” (Eze 7:12) may possibly be quite general, referring only to the absorbing interest which men continue to take in their possessions, heedless of the impending judgment. {cf. Luk 17:20-30} But the facts that the advantage is assumed to be on the side of the buyer and that the seller expects to return to his heritage make it probable that the prophet is thinking of the forced sales by the expatriated nobles of their estates in Palestine, and to their deeply cherished resolve to right themselves when the time of their exile is over. All such ambitions, says the prophet, are vain-“the seller shall not return to what he sold, and a man shall not by wrong preserve his living.” In any case Ezekiel evinces here, as elsewhere, a certain sympathy with the exiled aristocracy, in opposition to the pretensions of the new men who had succeeded to their honours.<\/p>\n

3. Eze 7:14-18 -The next scene that rises before the prophets vision is the collapse of Judahs military preparations in the hour of danger. Their army exists but on paper. There is much blowing of trumpets and much organising, but no men to go forth to battle. A blight rests on all their efforts; their hands are paralysed and their hearts unnerved by the sense that “wrath rests on all their pomp.” Sword, famine, and pestilence, the ministers of Jehovahs vengeance, shall devour the inhabitants of the city and the country, until but a few survivors on the tops of the mountains remain to mourn over the universal desolation.<\/p>\n

4. Eze 7:19-22 -At present the inhabitants of Jerusalem are proud of the ill-gotten and ill-used wealth stored up within her, and doubtless the exiles cast covetous eyes on the luxury which may still have prevailed amongst the upper classes in the capital. But of what avail will all this treasure be in the evil day now so near at hand? It will but add mockery to their sufferings to be surrounded by gold and silver which can do nothing to allay the pangs of hunger. It will be cast in the streets as refuse, for it cannot save them in the day of Jehovahs anger. Nay, more, it will become the prize of the most ruthless of the heathen (the Chaldaeans); and when in the eagerness of their lust for gold they ransack the Temple treasury and so desecrate the Holy Place, Jehovah will avert His face and suffer them to work their will. The curse of Jehovah rests on the silver and gold of Jerusalem, which has been used for the making of idolatrous images, and now is made to them an unclean thing.<\/p>\n

5. Eze 7:23-27 -The closing strophe contains a powerful description of the dismay and despair that will seize all classes in the state as the day of wrath draws near. Calamity after calamity comes, rumour follows hard on rumour, and the heads of the nation are distracted and cease to exercise the functions of leadership. The recognised guides of the people-the prophets, the priests, and the wise men-have no word of counsel or direction to offer; the prophets vision, the priests traditional lore, and the wise mans sagacity are alike at fault. So the king and the grandees are filled with stupefaction; and the common people, deprived of their natural leaders, sit down in helpless dejection. Thus shall Jerusalem be recompensed according to her doings. “The land is full of bloodshed, and the city of violence”; and in the correspondence between desert and retribution men shall be made to acknowledge the operation of the divine righteousness. “They shall know that I am Jehovah.”<\/p>\n

IV.<\/p>\n

It may be useful at this point to note certain theological principles which already begin to appear in this earliest of Ezekiels prophecies. Reflection on the nature and purpose of the divine dealings we have seen to be a characteristic of his work; and even those passages which we have considered, although chiefly devoted to an enforcement of the fact of judgment, present some features of the conception of Israels history which had been formed in his mind.<\/p>\n

1. We observe in the first place that the prophet lays great stress on the world-wide significance of the events which are to befall Israel. This thought is not as yet developed, but it is clearly present. The relation between Jehovah and Israel is so peculiar that He is known to the nations in the first instance only. as Israels God, and thus His being and character have to be learned from His dealings with His own people. And since Jehovah is the only true God and must be worshipped as such everywhere, the history of Israel has an interest for the world such as that of no other nation has. She was placed in the centre of the nations in order that the knowledge of God might radiate from her through all the world; and now that she has proved unfaithful to her mission, Jehovah must manifest His power and His character by an unexampled work of judgment. Even the destruction of Israel is a demonstration to the universal conscience of mankind of what true divinity is.<\/p>\n

2. But the judgment has of course a purpose and a meaning for Israel herself, and both purposes are summed up in the recurring formula “Ye [they] shall know that I am Jehovah,” or “that I, Jehovah, have spoken.” These two phrases express precisely the same idea, although from slightly different starting-points. It is assumed that Jehovahs personality is to be identified by His word spoken through the prophets. He is known to men through the revelation of Himself in the prophets utterances. “Ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken” means therefore, Ye shall know that it is I, the God of Israel and the Ruler of the universe, who speak these things. In other words, the harmony between prophecy and providence guarantees the source of the prophets message. The shorter phrase “Ye shall know that I am Jehovah” may mean Ye shall know that I who now speak am truly Jehovah, the God of Israel. The prejudices of the people would have led them to deny that the power which dictated Ezekiels prophecy could be their God; but this denial, together with the false idea of Jehovah on which it rests, shall be destroyed forever when the prophets words come true.<\/p>\n

There is of course no doubt that Ezekiel conceived Jehovah as endowed with the plenitude of deity, or that in his view the name expressed all that we mean by the word God. Nevertheless, historically the name Jehovah is a proper name, denoting the God who is the God of Israel. Renan has ventured on the assertion that a deity with a proper name is necessarily a false god. The statement perhaps measures the difference between the God of revealed religion and the god who is an abstraction, an expression of the order of the universe, who exists only in the mind of the man who names him. The God of revelation is a living person, with a character and will of His own, capable of being known by man. It is the distinction of revelation that it dares to regard God as an individual with an inner life and nature of His own, independent of the conception men may form of Him. Applied to such a Being, a personal name may be as true and significant as the name which expresses the character and individuality of a man. Only thus can we understand the historical process by which the God who was first manifested as the deity of a particular nation preserves His personal identity with the God who in Christ is at last revealed as the God of the spirits of all flesh. The knowledge of Jehovah of which Ezekiel speaks is therefore at once a knowledge of the character of the God whom Israel professed to serve, and a knowledge of that which constitutes true and essential divinity.<\/p>\n

3. The prophet; in Eze 6:8-10, proceeds one step further in delineating the effect of the judgment on the minds of the survivors. The fascination of idolatry for the Israelites is conceived as produced by that radical perversion of the religious sense which the prophets call “whoredom”-a sensuous delight in the blessings of nature, and an indifference to the moral element which can alone preserve either religion or “human love from corruption. The spell shall at last be broken in the new knowledge of Jehovah which is produced by calamity; and the heart of the people, purified from its delusions, shall turn to Him who has smitten them, as the only true God. When your fugitives from the sword are among the nations, when they are scattered through the lands, then shall your fugitives remember Me amongst the nations whither they have been carried captive, when I break their heart that goes awhoring from Me, and their whorish eyes which went after their idols.” When the idolatrous propensity is thus eradicated, the conscience of Israel will turn inwards on itself, and in the light of its new knowledge of God will for the first time read its own history aright. The beginnings of a new spiritual life will be made in the bitter self-condemnation which is one side of the national repentance. “They shall loathe themselves for all the evil that they have committed in all their abominations.”<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 1 4. The end is come upon the whole land, unsparing destruction from the Lord This destruction is the fruit of the abominations of the people, their idolatries and crimes ( Eze 7:23). They shall know when it overtakes them that he who inflicts it … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 7:1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20589\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}