30<\/strong>. All classes ( Eze 22:25-29<\/em><\/span>) are alike corrupt; a man to stand in the breach in behalf of the people is looked for in vain, cf. Jer 5:1<\/span>.<\/p>\n For “hedge” better fence<\/strong>, cf. on Eze 13:5<\/span>. A “man” here is not a man to intercede, but a man to interpose, to stem the tide of ruin and turn the fortunes of the people. The moral energies of the nation were wholly exhausted; it could no more put forth out of itself a saviour to retrieve its fortunes. Cf. Isa 59:16<\/span>, “and he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was none to interpose” (Isa 63:5<\/span>).<\/p>\n Verse 30<\/span>. I sought for a man<\/B><\/I>] I saw that there was a grievous breach made in the moral state<\/I> and feeling<\/I> of the people, and I sought for a man that would stand in the gap; that would faithfully exhort, reprove and counsel, with all long-suffering and doctrine. But none was to be found!<\/P> <\/p>\n I sought, <\/B>very earnestly and diligently; spoken of God after the manner of man. <\/P> A man; <\/B>any one. <\/P> Amongst them; <\/B>among princes, prophets, priests, or people. <\/P> That should make up the hedge; <\/B>to repair the breach, and prevent further mischief. <\/P> Stand in the gap; <\/B>that might interpose between a sinful, suffering people and their offended God, and entreat for mercy, that the land might not be destroyed. <\/P> But I found none; <\/B>all were corrupted, not one but obstinately went on to sin and provoke me. <\/P> <\/p>\n 30. the hedge<\/B>the wall (see onEze 13:5<\/span>); image for leadingthe people to repentance.<\/I> <\/P> the gap<\/B>the breach (Ps106:23<\/span>); image for interceding between the people and God<\/I>(Gen 20:7<\/span>; Exo 32:11<\/span>;Num 16:48<\/span>). <\/P> I found none<\/B> (Jer5:1<\/span>) not that literally there was not a righteous man in thecity. For Jeremiah, Baruch, c., were still there but Jeremiah hadbeen forbidden to pray for the people (Jer11:14<\/span>), as being doomed to wrath. None now, of the godly, knowingthe desperate state of the people, and God’s purpose as to them, waswilling<\/I> longer to interpose between God’s wrath and them. Andnone “among them,” that is, among those just enumerated asguilty of such sins (Eze22:25-29<\/span>), was morally able<\/I> for such an office.<\/P><\/p>\n And I sought for a man among them<\/strong>,…. among the princes, priests, prophets, and people of the land, who acted the part as above described; for otherwise, no doubt, there were good people in the land, as Jeremiah, Baruch, and others, but not among these:<\/p>\n that should make up the hedge<\/strong>; that was broken down by the transgressions of the people, who exceeded all bounds of law and justice; one that would restrain them from sinning, and reform them, and set them a good example; one, as the Targum has it,<\/p>\n “whose works were good;”<\/p>\n a good man, that would endeavour by his influence to stop the breaking in of sin, and the consequences of it:<\/p>\n and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it<\/strong>; in the gap that sin had made, at which the Lord was entering as a man of war to destroy the transgressors; one that should present himself to the Lord on the behalf of the people; seek mercy for them, as the Targum; interpose between God and them, and act the part of an intercessor; pray for them, as Moses did for the people of Israel, that he would not destroy them; see Ps 106:23<\/span>:<\/p>\n but I found none<\/strong>; no reformer of them, no repairer of the breach, nor restorer of paths, to dwell in; no intercessor for them, as Abraham for Sodom, Moses for Israel; or any, like Aaron, that stood between the living and the dead to stay the plague.<\/p>\n (30) Make up the hedge, <\/strong>is only another form of stand in the gap, added for the sake of emphasis. Both refer to intercession for the people (see Psa. 106:23<\/span>). It is not meant that there was not a single godly man, but not one of such a pure, strong, and commanding character that his intercessions might avert the threatened doom.<\/p>\n 30<\/strong>. <\/strong> There is universal apostasy. There is not left in the city even one man who can plead for it as Abraham for the Sodomites, or as Moses for the people in the wilderness ( Psa 106:23<\/span>). If only one such man could be found Jehovah would listen. (See notes Eze 13:5<\/span>, and compare Jer 5:1<\/span>; Isa 58:12<\/span>; Isa 59:16<\/span>.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Eze 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Ver. 30. And I sought for a man among them,<\/strong> ] i.e., <\/em> A competent company of holy men, as once at Sodom; Gen 18:23-32 at Jerusalem. Jer 5:1 <\/p>\n <\/p>\n That should make up the hedge.<\/strong> ] Which sin had thrown down. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And stand in the gap.<\/strong> ] By his piety and prayers. The Primum Mobile,<\/em> say astronomers, turneth about with such swiftness, that but for the counter motion of the planets and other spheres all would be fired; so would this wicked world but for the saints, who keep a constant counter motion to the corrupt practices thereof.<\/p>\n man. Hebrew. ‘ish. App-14. <\/p>\n I found none. Compare Eze 13:5, and Jer 5:1. <\/p>\n I sought: God, speaking after the manner of men, sought for some Moses, Phinehas, or Samuel, to stand in the gap on this occasion; but as he found none, its destruction was inevitable. Isa 59:16, Isa 63:5, Jer 5:1 <\/p>\n make: Eze 13:5, Gen 18:23-32, Exo 32:10-14, Psa 106:23, Jer 15:1 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Gen 18:22 – stood Gen 18:26 – General 2Ki 13:14 – O my father 2Ki 22:6 – masons Job 35:8 – may profit Psa 94:16 – rise up Pro 29:8 – wise Isa 64:7 – there is Jer 8:6 – no Jer 18:20 – Remember Jer 27:18 – let them Jer 30:13 – none Eze 24:8 – it might Hos 7:7 – there Amo 4:12 – prepare Joh 4:23 – the Father seeketh 1Jo 5:16 – he shall ask Rev 15:2 – stand<\/p>\n NOT A MAN TO BE FOUND!<\/p>\n And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap but I found none.<\/p>\n Eze 22:30<\/p>\n It is a terrible thing to read this chapter, and to trace an exact resemblance between the sins enumerated by the prophet and those with which we are familiar in many of the great cities of our empire. Indeed there are forms of sin amongst us in excess of those charged against Jerusalem. These sins were committed in Jerusalem, which God had chosen, and had favoured with the highest privileges. But even Zion had not such privileges as have been the lot of some of us.<\/p>\n I. It is impossible that our nation should be spared from heavy calamities, unless there be a change for the better in our national spirit and manners.We shall no longer be fit to be Gods messengers of life and blessing to the world, unless our filthiness is consumed out of us (Eze 22:15). In Jerusalem, the prophets, priests, and princes were specially reprehensible; because they were the leaders in the national apostasy their retribution was to be proportioned to their opportunities. We have amongst us many godly men, who sigh and cry for the abominations that are being wrought amongst us; may God increase their number, and raise up specially in our Colleges and Divinity Halls a godly succession.<\/p>\n II. God is ever in search of men to perform His holy purposes, in turning back their fellows from their sins, and restoring His lost authority.How wonderful this is! He cannot do the work Himself because He is pure Spirit; and He will not avail Himself of the instrumentality of His holy angels. Nay, but He seeks for men who will be prepared to stand in the gap. Never was the need greater than to-day for such men, to resist the pleasure mania, the Sunday desecration, the licence and lax morality of our age. The masses are pouring through the gap like a flock of sheep. Will you not heed Gods appeal, and offer yourself for this great and crying need?<\/p>\n Illustrations<\/p>\n (1) From the coast of Cornwall Marconis wireless telegrams are being sent forth upon the ether. In radiating waves they are passing round the world, just as the ripples emanating from a stone cast into the centre of a tranquil pool will presently break in silvery chimes upon the beach. Wherever they encounter a sympathetic point, they leave their message, which is passed to the newspaper or the individual. So Gods call for service is throbbing in the atmosphere around us. Happy is he who is so attuned to His nature, that he can detect the summons and welcome it with gladness, saying, Here am I, send me. <\/p>\n (2) God demands of me a holy life even more than an outward service. Prophet and priest I may claim to be, but of what avail is it, if in conduct I do not discern between the unclean and the clean? There is no name in Scottish history round which darker or grimmer or bloodier associations gather than the name of John Graham of Claver-house. He hunted and harried the men of the Covenant. He shot some of them with his own hand. He brought misery and weeping, widowhood and orphanhood, to many a lowly and godly home. Yet he was scrupulous in the observance of all religious ordinances. Let me beware of this double life. Let me remember how insufficient it is to say, Lord! Lord! Let me be a daily follower of Jesus Christ, as well as a professed believer in Him.<\/p>\n Eze 22:30. Make up the hedge is figurative and means to build up the weakened condition of the city. No man could be found who was able to remedy the condition.<\/p>\n 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should {q} make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.<\/p>\n (q) Who would show himself zealous in my cause by resisting vice, Isa 59:16 also pray to me to withhold my plagues, Psa 106:23 .<\/p>\n Yahweh had looked for one of the Judahites who would lead a reformation that would defend the people from God’s judgment, but He could not find anyone. [Note: See D. Edmond Hiebert, Working with God: Scriptural Studies in Intercession, pp. 99-108.] <\/span> Building up the wall and standing in the gap formed by a breach in the wall were appropriate figures for fortifying the people in their hour of need.<\/p>\n In chapter 14 the Lord said that no righteous person could deliver the nation from judgment by his own righteousness, not even Noah, Daniel, or Job. Here He said that He could find no one who could lead the people back to God.<\/p>\n "Such a statement is hyperbole, purposeful exaggeration for effect. It hardly means that no one at all in Jerusalem in the early 580s was righteous. . . . It means rather that there were so few among the people who were righteous that the net effect was as if no one at all cared about God’s Will." [Note: Stuart, p. 218.] <\/span><\/p>\n Obviously there were prophets who were faithful to the Lord in Judah during its last days, like Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. Evidently the Lord did not mean that He was without any faithful representatives but that even these men were ineffective in stemming the tide of ungodliness. They did not fail because they were deficient but because the people were so thoroughly defiant. No one could return them to following the Mosaic Covenant faithfully as, for example, Hezekiah had done earlier and as Josiah had tried to do. Furthermore, Jeremiah and his fellow prophets lacked the political authority to lead Judah back from the brink of disaster.<\/p>\n Moses had been a "gap man" in his day (Exo 32:11; cf. Gen 20:7). He had turned aside the Lord’s wrath from the Israelites with His intercessory prayers. God responded to Moses’ pleas for mercy because the people were still malleable enough to repent. He did not respond to Jeremiah’s prayers for mercy because the Judahites were now hardened in opposition to His will (Jer 7:16-17; Jer 14:11-12).<\/p>\n And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. 30. All classes ( Eze 22:25-29) are alike corrupt; a man to stand in the breach in behalf of the people … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 22:30”<\/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-21017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21017","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=21017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21017\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"