1<\/strong>. Open thy doors, O Lebanon<\/em> ] The passage is highly poetical and dramatic, but in its first reference literal and physical. In the path of the invading army stands Lebanon, at once the pride and bulwark of the land. As the priestly herald of the approaching host ( quasi esset Dei fetialis<\/em>, Calv.), the prophet summons it to open wide an access, and to surrender to the reckless torch of the fierce foe its goodly pines and noble cedars. Comp. 2Ki 19:23<\/span>; Isa 37:24<\/span>; Isa 14:8<\/span>.<\/p>\n Open thy doors, O Lebanon – <\/B>Lebanon, whose cedars had stood, its glory, for centuries, yet could offer no resistance to him who felled them and were carried off to adorn the palaces of its conquerors (see above at Zep 2:14<\/span>, and note 2. p. 276), was in Isaiah Isa 14:8<\/span>; Isa 37:24<\/span> and Jeremiah Jer 22:6-7<\/span> the emblem of the glory of the Jewish state; and in Ezekiel, of Jerusalem, as the prophet himself explains it Eze 17:3<\/span>, Eze 17:12<\/span>; glorious, beauteous, inaccessible, so long as it was defended by God; a ready prey, when abandoned by Him. The center and source of her strength was the worship of God; and so Lebanon has of old been understood to be the temple, which was built with cedars of Lebanon, towering aloft upon a strong. summit; the spiritual glory and the eminence of Jerusalem, as Lebanon was of the whole country, and , to strangers who came to it, it appeared from afar like a mountain full of snow; for, where it was not gilded, it was exceeding white, being built of marble. But at the time of destruction it was a den of thieves Mat 21:13<\/span>, as Lebanon, amidst its beauty, was of wild beasts.<\/P> Rup.: I suppose Lebanon itself, that is, the temple, felt the command of the prophets words, since, as its destruction approached, its doors opened without the hand of man. Josephus relates how , at the passover, the eastern gate of the inner temple, being of brass and very firm, and with difficulty shut at eventide by twenty men; moreover with bars strengthened with iron, and having very deep bolts, which went down into the threshold, itself of one stone, was seen at six oclock at night to open of its own accord. The guards of the temple running told it to the officer, and he, going up, with difficulty closed it. This the uninstructed thought a very favorable sign, that God opened to them the gate of all goods. But those taught in the divine words, understood that the safety of the temple was removed of itself, and that the gate opened.<\/P> A saying of this sort is still exstant. : Our fathers have handed down, forty years before the destruction of the house, the lot of the Lord did not come up on the right hand, and the tongue of splendor did not become white, nor did the light from the evening burn, and the doors of the temple opened of their own accord, until Rabbi Johanan ben Zaccai rebuked them, and said, O temple, why dost thou affright thyself? I know of thee that thy end is to be destroyed, and of this Zechariah prophesied, Open thy doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire devour thy cedars. The forty years mentioned in this tradition carry back the event exactly to the Death of Christ, the temple having been burned 73 a.d. . Josephus adds that they opened at the passover, the season of His Crucifixion. On the other hand, the shutting of the gates of the temple, when they had seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple Act 21:30<\/span>, seems miraculous and significant, that, having thus violently refused the preaching of the Gospel, and cast Paul out, they themselves were also shut out, denoting that an entrance was afterward to be refused them.<\/P> And let afire devour thy cedars – <\/B>Jerusalem, or the temple, were, after those times, burned by the Romans only. The destruction of pride, opposed to Christ, was prophesied by Isaiah in connection with His Coming Isa 10:34<\/span>; Isa 11:1<\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n Zec 11:1-2<\/span><\/p>\n That the fire may devour thy cedars, etc.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n The fallen cedar<\/strong><\/p>\n In this chapter there is an announcement of the judgment that was to come on the Jewish State and nation because of their ungodliness, and especially their contemptuous rejection of Him whom God sent to be their shepherd. The prophecy here is not in any way connected with that in the preceding chapters, except as it may be regarded as continuing the account of Gods dealings with Israel, and their behaviour towards Him consequent on the events predicted in these chapters. Hitherto the prophet has been a bearer of good tidings to Zion, tidings of deliverance from oppressors, and restoration to former privilege and felicity. But there was a dark side to the picture as well as a bright one. All trouble and conflict had not ceased with their restoration to their own land: nor was their tendency to rebellion and apostasy from Jehovah, their Shepherd and King, finally subdued. Treating Him with contempt, His favour should be withdrawn from them, and the bonds that united them should be broken. The iron hand of foreign oppression should again be laid heavily upon them, and the ruin of their State and desolation of their land should mark the greatness of their sin by the severity of the penalty it had entailed. The prophecy begins with a picture of ruin and desolation overspreading the land, and then the process is detailed by which this was brought about and the cause of it indicated. The description of the judgment commences dramatically. Lebanon is summoned to open her doors, that the fire may enter to consume her cedars; the cypress is admonished to howl or wail because the cedar is fallen, because the noble and glorious trees are destroyed; the oaks of Bashan are called upon to join in the wail, for the inaccessible forest is laid low. The cypress is here called to lament for the fall of the cedar of Lebanon, the glory of the forest, not as deploring that calamity so much as anticipating for itself a like fate. That this description is to be taken literally cannot be supposed; the language is too forcible, and the picture too vivid to be understood merely of the destruction by fire of a few trees, even though these were the finest of their kind. On the other hand, there seems no sufficient reason for regarding this description as symbolical and wholly figurative. The more simple and tenable view is that which Calvin suggested, namely, that by the places here mentioned is intended the whole land of Judea, the desolation of which is predicted by the prophet. The catastrophe thus depicted was brought about by the misconduct of the people, and especially their shepherds and rulers, towards the Great Shepherd of Israel, whom God sent forth to feed and tend the flock. This is described in what follows, where the prophet is represented as acting as the representative of another, and as such is addressed. It cannot be supposed that the person addressed is the Angel of Jehovah, or the Messiah, for the person addressed in Zec 11:4<\/span> is evidently the same as the person addressed in Zec 11:15<\/span>, and what is there said does not in any way apply to the Angel of Jehovah, or the Messiah. Nor can it be supposed that the prophet is here addressed in his own person, for as it was no part of the prophetic office to act as a shepherd of Israel, it could not be to the prophet as such that the command here given was addressed. The only supposition that can tenably be made is that what is here narrated passed as a vision before the inner sense of the prophet, in which he saw himself as the representative of another, first of the good shepherd who is sent to feed the flock, and then of the evil shepherd by whom the flock was neglected, and who should be destroyed for his iniquity. (W. L. Alexander, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The cedars, fir trees, and oaks of society<\/strong><\/p>\n This chapter, it has been said, divides itself into three sections.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>The threat of judgment (Zec 11:1-3<\/span>).<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>The description of the Good Shepherd (verse. 4-14).<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>The sketch of the foolish shepherd (Zec 11:15-17<\/span>).<\/p>\n Lebanon, here, may be regarded as a symbol of the kingdom of Judah, its cedars as denoting the chief men of the kingdom.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>To check pride in the highest and despondency in the lowest. The cedar has no cause for boasting over the fir tree, or over the humblest plant it owes its existence to the same God, and is sustained by the same common elements. And what have the greatest men–the Shakespeares, the Schillers, the Miltons, the Goethes–to be proud of? What have they that they have not received? And why should the weakest man despond? He is what God made him, and his responsibilities are limited by his capacities. This variety serves–<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>To strengthen the ties of human brotherhood. Were all men of equal capacity, it is manifest that there would be no scope for that mutual ministry of interdependence which tends to unite society together. The strong rejoices in bearing the infirmities of the weak, and the weak rejoices in gratitude and hope on account of the succour received.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>This common calamity levels all distinctions. Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds, yet he shall perish forever.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>This common calamity should dematerialise all souls. Since we are only here on this earth for a few short years at most, why should we live to the flesh, and thus materialise our souls?<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Communities. Amongst the kingdoms of the earth there are the cedar and the fir tree. The same may be said of markets. There are the cedars of the commercial world; great houses regulating almost the merchandise of the world.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Individuals. When men who are physically strong fall, let weaker men beware. When men who are moral cedars–majestic in character, and mighty in beneficent influences–fall, let the less useful take the alarm, and still more the useless. (Homilist.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen–<\/strong><\/p>\n The cedar and the fir<\/strong><\/p>\n The prophecy, of which these words are a part, had its fulfilment in the destruction of Jerusalem, and the dispersion of the Jews by the Romans. The text would become applicable at a time of great national calamity. By the cedar tree the chief men of a country are represented, those who occupy the more prominent positions, and are, conspicuous by station and influence. When the cedar tree falls, when the princes of a land are brought down by disaster and death, men of inferior rank who, in comparison with these princes, are but as the fir tree compared with the cedar, may well tremble and fear, as knowing that their own day of trial must be rapidly approaching. These words, then, are universally applicable whenever calamity falls on those better or more exalted than ourselves, and such calamity may serve as a warning, teaching us to expect our own share of trouble. Howl, fir tree–tremble, and be afraid, ye sinful and careless ones, who, though planted in the garden of the Lord, bring not forth the fruits of righteousness. The cedar is fallen,–shall, then, the fir tree escape? If judgment first begin at the house of God, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of Christ? Take the text as setting forth the sufferings of the righteous as an evidence or token of the far greater which, in due time, must be the portion of the wicked. If the wicked were to ponder Gods dealings with the righteous, if the fir tree would observe what was done to the cedar, it could hardly be that future and everlasting punishment would be denied by any, or by any be practically disregarded. Let our blessed Saviour Himself be the first cedar tree on which we gaze. Smitten of God and afflicted. A Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief. His sufferings only then assume their most striking character when they are seen as demonstrations of the evil of sin. The atonement alone shows me what sin is in Gods sight. The Captain of our salvation was made perfect through sufferings, but the same discipline has been employed, from the first, in regard of all those whom God has conducted to glory. Under all dispensations affliction is an instrument of purification. The nearer we approach the times of the Gospel, the intenser becomes the discipline of suffering; as though God has designed to prepare men for an increase in tribulation, with an increase of privilege. The fact is undisputed, that, through much tribulation, men enter the kingdom of heaven. No fact should be more startling to those who are living without God, and perhaps secretly hoping for impunity at the last. They cannot deny that the cedar has been bent and blighted by the hurricane, whilst, comparatively, sunshine and calm have been around the fir. And from this they are bound to conclude the great fact of a judgment to come. Suppose it to be for purposes of discipline that God employs suffering–what does this prove but that human nature is thoroughly corrupt, requiring to be purged so as by fire, ere it can be fitted for happiness? And if there must be this fiery purification, what is the inference which ungodly men should draw, if not that they will be given up hereafter to the unquenchable flame, given up to it when that flame can neither annihilate their being, nor eradicate their corruption? It is probable enough that the wicked may be disposed to congratulate themselves on their superior prosperity, and to look with pity, if not with contempt, on the righteous, as the God whom they serve seems to reward them with nothing but trouble. But this can only be through want of consideration. It may certainly be inferred from these words, when applied in the modes indicated, that the present afflictions of the righteous shall be vastly exceeded by the future of the wicked. The cedar is fallen, and the fir tree is called upon to howl, as though it were about to be rent and shivered, as by the tempest and the thunder. The sufferings of the righteous might save the wicked from future torments, and that which prepares a good man for heaven might snatch a bad one from hell. (H. Melvill, B. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Fallen greatness<\/strong><\/p>\n This word cedar applies to Jerusalem, to the temple, to Lebanon. It is a general and symbolic term. It applies to all great characters, to all noble institutions, all sublime purposes. There was an abundance of cedar wood in the temple, so the temple was often called The Cedar, and what the temple was Jerusalem was. One element sometimes gives its character to everything into which it enters. The eternal doctrine of the text is that when the strong go down the weak should lay that significant circumstance to heart. How can the fir tree stand when the cedar is blown down? How can the weak defend the city when the mighty men have failed? What can the poor do after the kings of wealth? And if God can smite the mighty, can He not overwhelm the weak and the little? if He can rend the stars, and hurl the constellations out of their places, what about our clay walls and huts of dust?–surely He could sweep them away as with the tempestuous wind. And yet the weak have a place of their own. Trees have been blown down whilst daisies have been left undisturbed. There is a strength of littleness, there is a majesty of weakness, there is a charter of immunity granted to things that are very frail. The whirlwind does not destroy the flower that bends before its fury, but it often destroys the mighty tree that dares it to wrestle. How much we depend upon the cedar in all life, in all society, in all institutions! What is done by one man may be comparatively insignificant and may never be heard of, and that self-same thing done by another quality of man fills the world with amazement. How is that? Simply because of the quality. There are people who burrow in the earth, and what they do no man cares for, no man inquires; there are persons who have lived themselves down to the vanishing point of influence, that it is of no consequence whatsoever what they think or do. Other men can hardly breathe without the fact being noted and commented upon; the pulse cannot be unsteady without the whole journalism of the empire being filled with the tidings. The difference is the difference between the cedar and the fir tree. What is impossible in nature is possible in humanity: the fir tree can become the cedar, and the cedar can become the fir tree, and these continual changes constitute the very tragedy of human experience. Let it be known that some person has committed a theft in the city, and the theft will be reported in very small type, it is really of no consequence to cruel society what that person has done; but let a man of another sort do that very self-same thing, and there is no type large enough in which to announce the fact. It is not always so with the good deeds–the good is oft interred with mens bones. There is no printer that cares to report charity, nobleness, meekness, forgiveness, great exercises of patience and forbearance. The printer was not made to intermeddle with that sacred fame. Such reputation is registered in heaven, is watched and guarded by the angels, and carries with itself its own guarantee of immortality. Yet this doctrine might easily be abused. A man might be fool enough to say that it is of no consequence what he does. But it is in reality of consequence, according to the circle within which he moves. Every man can make his home unhappy, every man can lay a burden upon the back of his child which the child is unable to sustain. That is the consummation of cruelty. If the man could but put a dagger into himself, and cause his own life continual agony, he might be doing an act of justice, he might be trying to compensate for the wrongs he has done to others: but when it is felt that everything that man does tells upon the child to the third and fourth generation, so that the child cannot get rid of the blood which the great-grandfather shed, then every man becomes of importance in his own sphere and in relation to the line of life which he touches. We apply this text personally and nationally, founding upon it our lamentations over fallen greatness. The great statesman dies, and the Church at once becomes filled with the eloquence of this text–Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen,–the lesson being, that the great man has gone, the great strength has vanished, and now weakness is exposed to a thousand attacks; weakness feels its defencelessness. Nor ought such eulogy be limited. Sentiment has to play a very serious part and a very useful part in the education of life. When men cease to revere greatness they cease to cultivate it. There is a philistinism that is near akin to impiety and profanity. All men are not alike, all men are not of one value; some men have the genius of insight and foresight, and some have it not; and when men who can see the coming time, and interpret the time that now is into its largest significances, are taken away from us, then those of us who occupy positions of commonplace may well feel that some tremendous bankruptcy has supervened in history, and the world is made poor forever. Yet this is not the spirit of the Gospel, which is always a spirit of good cheer and stimulus and hopefulness. We are not dependent now upon men, except in a secondary sense; we are dependent upon God alone:–The battle is not yours, but Gods; they that be for us are more than all that can be against us; our cedar is the Cross, and the Cross has never failed. Rome boasted that it had obliterated the Christian name but Rome boasted too soon. Ten persecutions followed one another in rapid and devastating succession; yet there were Christians still praying in secret, temples unknown and unnamed were frequented by ardent and passionate worshippers. (Joseph Parker, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The death of great men<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. <\/em>Jay was generally chaste and dignified in his composition, but occasionally used a quaintness of expression which in our day would be called sensational. The selection of his texts was sometimes ingenious–e.g.<\/em>, on two occasions, after the death of Robert Hall and Rowland Hill, his text was, Howl, fir tree, for the cedar is fallen. He always took advantage of public events, and thus brought nature and providence to his aid in instructing the people.<\/p>\n The cedar useful after it is fallen<\/strong><\/p>\n The cedar is the most useful when dead. It is the most productive when its place knows it no more. There is no timber like it. Firm in grain, and capable of the finest polish, the tooth of no insect will touch it, and time himself can hardly destroy it. Diffusing a perpetual fragrance through the chamber which it ceils, the worm will not corrode the book which it protects, nor the moth corrupt the garment which it guards–all but immortal itself, it transfuses its amaranthine qualities into the objects around it. Every Christian is useful in his fife, but the goodly cedars are the most useful afterwards. Luther is dead, but the Reformation fives.<\/p>\n CHAPTER XI <\/P> The commencement of this chapter relates to the destruction of<\/I><\/P> Jerusalem and the Jewish polity, probably by the Babylonians;<\/I><\/P> at least in the first instance, as the<\/I> fourth verse speaks of<\/I><\/P> the people thus threatened as the prophet’s charge<\/I>, 1-6.<\/P> The prophet then gives an account of the manner in which he<\/I><\/P> discharged his office, and the little value that was put on his<\/I><\/P> labours. And this he does by symbolical actions, a common mode<\/I><\/P> of instruction with the ancient prophets<\/I>, 7-14.<\/P> After the prophet, on account of the unsuccessfulness of his<\/I><\/P> labours, had broken the two crooks which were the true badges<\/I><\/P> of his pastoral office, (to denote the annulling of God’s<\/I><\/P> covenant with them, and their consequent divisions and<\/I><\/P> dispersions,) he is directed to take instruments calculated to<\/I><\/P> hurt and destroy, perhaps an iron crook, scrip, and stones, to<\/I><\/P> express by these symbols the judgments which God was about to<\/I><\/P> inflict on them by wicked rulers and guides, who should first<\/I><\/P> destroy the flock, and in the end be destroyed themselves<\/I>,<\/P> 15-17.<\/P> Let us now view this prophecy in another light, as we are<\/I><\/P> authorized to do by Scripture<\/I>, Mt 27:7<\/span>.<\/P> In this view the prophet, in the person of the Messiah, sets<\/I><\/P> forth the ungrateful returns made to him by the Jews, when he<\/I><\/P> undertook the office of shepherd in guiding and governing them;<\/I><\/P> how they rejected him, and valued him and his labours at the<\/I><\/P> mean and contemptible price of thirty pieces of silver, the<\/I><\/P> paltry sum for which Judas betrayed him. Upon which he<\/I><\/P> threatens to destroy their city and temple; and to give them<\/I><\/P> up to the hands of such guides and governors as should have no<\/I><\/P> regard to their welfare.<\/I> <\/P> NOTES ON CHAP. XI<\/P> <\/P> Verse 1<\/span>. Open thy doors, O Lebanon<\/B><\/I>] I will give Mr. Joseph<\/I> Mede’s<\/I> note upon this verse:-<\/P> <\/P> “That which moveth me more than the rest, is in chap. xi., which contains a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, and a description of the wickedness of the inhabitants, for which God would give them to the sword, and have no more pity upon them. It is expounded of the destruction by Titus<\/I>; but methinks such a prophecy was nothing seasonable for Zachary’s time, (when the city yet for a great part lay in her ruins, and the temple had not yet recovered hers,) nor agreeable to the scope. Zachary’s<\/I> commission, who, together with his colleague Haggai<\/I>, was sent to encourage the people, lately returned<\/I> from captivity, to build their temple, and to instaurate their commonwealth. Was this a fit time to foretell the destruction of both, while they were yet but a-building<\/I>? And by Zachary too, who was to encourage them? Would not this better befit the desolation by Nebuchadnezzar?” I really think so. See Mr. J. Mede’s<\/I> lxi. Epistle.<\/P> <\/P> Lebanon<\/I> signifies the temple, because built of materials principally brought from that place.<\/P> <\/p>\n This chapter is minatory, and foretells the ruin of Jerusalem and the temple, this second temple, by the Romans, and the captivity of the Jews under them, for their rejecting of Christ; so the times of this chapter must be laid about the death of Christ and downwards. <\/P> Open thy doors, O Lebanon; either the temple, because built with cedars of Lebanon, so the temple is called, Eze 17:3<\/span>; Hab 2:17<\/span>; or Jerusalem, or Judea, whose boundary northward this mountain was: if all these do not fully suit with the text and context, perhaps this added may. Lebanon, a high and great mountain, boundary between Judea and its neighbours on the north, is here spoken to open its gates, its fortifications, raised to secure the passages, which through the hollownesses of the mountain, the deep and dismal straits, lead into Judea, and would be first attempted by the enemy that first invades the northern parts of Judea. These garrisons or fortresses are foretold like to be easily taken, as if they opened of themselves, and the Romans would have easy entrance by this means into Judea. <\/P> That the fire; either figuratively, the rage of the enemy, or the wrath of God; or literally, fire by the enemy kindled in the houses and buildings in Judea, and in Lebanon itself. <\/P> May devour thy cedars; palaces built with cedars, or else figuratively nobles, princes, and eminent men. <\/P> <\/p>\n 1. Open thy doors, O Lebanon<\/B>thatis, the temple so called, as being constructed of cedars of Lebanon,or as being lofty and conspicuous like that mountain (compare Eze 17:3<\/span>;Hab 2:17<\/span>). Forty years before thedestruction of the temple, the tract called “Massecheth Joma”states, its doors of their own accord opened, and Rabbi Johanan inalarm said, I know that thy desolation is impending according toZechariah’s prophecy. CALVINsupposes Lebanon to refer to Judea,<\/I> described by its northboundary: “Lebanon,” the route by which the Romans,according to JOSEPHUS,gradually advanced towards Jerusalem. MOORE,from HENGSTENBERG, refersthe passage to the civil war which caused the calling in of theRomans, who, like a storm sweeping through the land from Lebanon,deprived Judea of its independence. Thus the passage forms a fitintroduction to the prediction as to Messiah born when Judea became aRoman province. But the weight of authority is for the former view.<\/P><\/p>\n Open thy doors, O Lebanon<\/strong>,…. By which may be meant, either the temple of Jerusalem, which was built of the cedars of Lebanon;<\/p>\n “the gates of which are said w to open of themselves forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem, when Jochanan ben Zaccai, who lived at the same time, rebuked them, saying, O temple, temple, wherefore dost thou frighten thyself? I know thine end is to be destroyed; for so prophesied Zechariah, the son of Iddo, concerning thee, “open thy doors, O Lebanon”.”<\/p>\n So Lebanon, in Zec 10:10<\/span>, is interpreted of the sanctuary, both by the Targum and by Jarchi; or else it may be understood of Jerusalem, and of the whole land of Judea, because it was situated by it; it was the border of it on the north side.<\/p>\n That the fire may devour thy cedars<\/strong>; of which the temple was built, and the houses of Jerusalem, which were consumed by fire; unless the fortresses of the land are meant. So the Targum paraphrases it,<\/p>\n “and the fire shall consume your fortresses.”<\/p>\n w T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 39. 2.<\/p>\n The Devastation of the Holy Land. – Zec 11:1<\/span>. “Open thy gates, O Lebanon, and let fire devour thy cedars!<\/em> Zec 11:2<\/span>. Howl, cypress; for the cedar is fallen, for the glory is laid waste! Howl, ye oaks of Bashan; for the inaccessible forest is laid low!<\/em> Zec 11:3<\/span>. A loud howling of the shepherds; for their glory is laid waste! A loud roaring of the young lions; for the splendour of Jordan is laid waste!” <\/em> That these verses do not form the commencement of a new prophecy, having no connection with the previous one, but that they are simply a new turn given to that prophecy, is evident not only from the omission of any heading or of any indication whatever which could point to the commencement of a fresh word of God, but still more so from the fact that the allusion to Lebanon and Bashan and the thickets of Judah points back unmistakeably to the land of Gilead and of Lebanon (Zec 10:10<\/span>), and shows a connection between ch. 11 and Zec 10:1-12<\/span>, although this retrospect is not decided enough to lay a foundation for the view that Zec 11:1-3<\/span> form a conclusion to the prophecy in Zec 10:1-12<\/span>, to which their contents by no means apply. For let us interpret the figurative description in these verses in what manner we will, so much at any rate is clear, that they are of a threatening character, and as a threat not only form an antithesis to the announcement of salvation in Zec 10:1-12<\/span>, but are substantially connected with the destruction which will overtake the “flock of the slaughter,” and therefore serve as a prelude, as it were, to the judgment announced in Zec 11:4-7<\/span>.; The undeniable relation in which Lebanon, Bashan, and the Jordan stand to the districts of Gilead and Lebanon, also gives us a clue to the explanation; since it shows that Lebanon, the northern frontier of the holy land, and Bashan, the northern part of the territory of the Israelites to the east of the Jordan, are synecdochical terms, denoting the holy land itself regarded in its two halves, and therefore that the cedars, cypresses, and oaks in these portions of the land cannot be figurative representations of heathen rulers (Targ., Eph. Syr., Kimchi, etc.); but if powerful men and tyrants are to be understood at all by these terms, the allusion can only be to the rulers and great men of the nation of Israel (Hitzig, Maurer, Hengst., Ewald, etc.). But this allegorical interpretation of the cedars, cypresses, and oaks, however old and widely spread it may be, is not so indisputable as that we could say with Kliefoth: “The words themselves do not allow of our finding an announcement of the devastation of the holy land therein.” For even if the words themselves affirm nothing more than “that the very existence of the cedars, oaks, shepherds, lions, is in danger; and that if these should fall, Lebanon will give way to the fire, the forest of Bashan will fall, the thicket of Jordan be laid waste;” yet through the destruction of the cedars, oaks, etc., the soil on which these trees grow is also devastated and laid waste. The picture is a dramatic one. Instead of the devastation of Lebanon being announced, it is summoned to open its gates, that the fire may be able to enter in and devour its cedars. The cypresses, which hold the second place among the celebrated woods of Lebanon, are then called upon to howl over the fall of the cedars, not so much from sympathy as because the same fate is awaiting them.<\/p>\n The words contain a second explanatory clause. is a conjunction (for, because), as in Gen 30:18<\/span>; Gen 31:49<\/span>. ‘Addrm <\/em> are not the glorious or lofty ones among the people (Hengst., Kliefoth), but the glorious ones among the things spoken of in the context, – namely, the noble trees, the cedars and cypresses. The oaks of Bashan are also called upon to howl, because they too will fall like “the inaccessible forest,” i.e., the cedar forest of Lebanon. The keri<\/em> habbatsr <\/em> is a needless correction, because the article does not compel us to take the word as a substantive. If the adjective is really a participle, the article is generally attached to it alone, and omitted from the noun (cf. Ges. 111, 2, a<\/em>). , voice of howling, equivalent to a loud howling. The shepherds howl, because ‘addartam <\/em>, their glory, is laid waste. We are not to understand by this their flock, but their pasture, as the parallel member and the parallel passage Jer 25:26<\/span> show, where the shepherds howl, because their pasture is destroyed. What the pasture, i.e., the good pasture ground of the land of Bashan, is to the shepherds, that is the pride of Jordan to the young lions, – namely, the thicket and reeds which grew so luxuriantly on the banks of the Jordan, and afforded so safe and convenient a lair for lions (cf. Jer 12:5<\/span>; Jer 49:9<\/span>; Jer 50:44<\/span>). Zec 11:3<\/span> announces in distinct terms a devastation of the soil or land. It follows from this that the cedars, cypresses, and oaks are not figures representing earthly rulers. No conclusive arguments can be adduced in support of such an allegory. It is true that in Isa 10:34<\/span> the powerful army of Assyria is compared to Lebanon; and in Jer 22:6<\/span> the head of the cedar forest is a symbol of the royal house of Judah; and that in Jer 22:23<\/span> it is used as a figurative term for Jerusalem (see at Hab 2:17<\/span>); but neither men generally, nor individual earthly rulers in particular, are represented as cedars or oaks. The cedars and cypresses of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan are simply figures denoting what is lofty, glorious, and powerful in the world of nature and humanity, and are only to be referred to persons so far as their lofty position in the state is concerned. Consequently we get the following as the thought of these verses: The land of Israel, with all its powerful and glorious creatures, is to become desolate. Now, inasmuch as the desolation of a land also involves the desolation of the people living in the land, and of its institutions, the destruction of the cedars, cypresses, etc., does include the destruction of everything lofty and exalted in the nation and kingdom; so that in this sense the devastation of Lebanon is a figurative representation of the destruction of the Israelitish kingdom, or of the dissolution of the political existence of the ancient covenant nation. This judgment was executed upon the land and people of Israel by the imperial power of Rome. This historical reference is evident from the description which follows of the facts by which this catastrophe is brought to pass.<\/p>\n Destruction of the Jewish State.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 510.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. 3 There is<\/I> a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.<\/P> In dark and figurative expressions, as is usual in the scripture predictions of things at a great distance, that destruction of Jerusalem and of the Jewish church and nation is here foretold which our Lord Jesus, when the time was at hand, prophesied of very plainly and expressly. We have here, 1. Preparation made for that destruction (v.<\/I><\/span> 1<\/span>): “Open thy doors, O Lebanon!<\/I> Thou wouldst not open them to let thy king in–he came to his own and his own received him not;<\/I> now thou must open them to let thy ruin in. Let the gates of the forest, and all the avenues to it, be thrown open, and let the fire come in and devour its glory.” Some by Lebanon here understand the temple, which was built of cedars from Lebanon, and the stones of it white as the snow of Lebanon. It was burnt with fire by the Romans, and its gates were forced open by the fury of the soldiers. To confirm this, they tell a story, that forty years before the destruction of the second temple the gates of it opened of their own accord, upon which prodigy Rabbi Johanan made this remark (as it is found in one of the Jewish authors), “Now I know,” said he, “that the destruction of the temple is at hand, according to the prophecy of Zechariah, Open thy doors, O Lebanon! that the fire may devour thy cedars.<\/I>” Others understand it of Jerusalem, or rather of the whole land of Canaan, to which Lebanon was an inlet on the north. All shall lie open to the invader, and the cedars, the mighty and eminent men, shall be devoured, which cannot but alarm those of an inferior rank, v.<\/I><\/span> 2<\/span>. If the cedars<\/I> have fallen<\/I> (if all the mighty are spoiled,<\/I> and brought to ruin), let the fir-tree howl.<\/I> How can the slender fir-trees stand if stately cedars fall? If cedars are devoured by fire, it is time for the fir-trees to howl; for no wood is so combustible as that of the fir. And let the oaks of Bashan,<\/I> that lie exposed to every injury, howl, for the forest of the vintage<\/I> (or the flourishing vineyard,<\/I> that used to be guarded with a particular care) has come down, or (as some read it) when the defenced forests,<\/I> such as Lebanon was, have come down. Note, The falls of the wise and good into sin, and the falls of the rich and great into trouble, are loud alarms to those that are every way their inferiors not to be secure. 2. Lamentation made for the destruction (v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>): There is a voice of howling.<\/I> Those who have fallen howl for grief and shame, and those who see their own turn coming howl for fear. But the great men especially receive the alarm with the utmost confusion. Those who were roaring in the day of their revels and triumphs are howling in the day of their terrors; for now they are tormented<\/I> more than others. Those great men were by office shepherds, and such should have protected God’s flock committed to their charge; it is the duty both of princes and priests. But they were as young lions,<\/I> that made themselves a terror to the flock with their roaring and the flock a prey to themselves with their tearing. Note, It is sad with a people when those who should be as shepherds to them are as young lions to them. But what is the issue? The shepherds howl,<\/I> for their glory is spoiled.<\/I> Their pastures, and the flocks which covered them, which were the glory of the swains, are laid waste. The young lions howl,<\/I> for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.<\/I> The pride of Jordan was the thickets on the banks, in which the lions reposed themselves; and therefore, when the river overflowed and spoiled them, the lions came up from them (as we read Jer. xlix. 19<\/span>), and they came up roaring. Note, When those who have power proudly abuse their power, and, instead of being shepherds, are as young lions, they may expect that the righteous God will humble their pride and break their power.<\/P> <\/p>\n ZECHARIAH – CHAPTER 11<\/strong><\/p>\n THE FIRST COMING AND REJECTION OF THE MESSIAH<\/strong><\/p>\n Verses 1-6:<\/p>\n Destruction Of The Second Temple<\/strong><\/p>\n Verse 1 calls <\/strong>upon Lebanon to open her doors, that the fire may devour her cedars. The temple of the Jews was constructed from the cedars of Lebanon. And this prophecy seems to allude to the coming fiery judgment of God upon the Jewish people, for their rejection of the Messiah, at His first advent. It is said that Lebanon, the mountain pass to the north of Palestine, was the door through which the Roman army swooped down upon Jerusalem, to conquer and to burn her temple and city in A.D. 70. Hab 2:17<\/span>, regarding these great mountains of cedars.<\/p>\n Verse 2 calls <\/strong>upon the fir tree or cypress to howl or lament, as well as the oaks of Bashan, because the cedar had fallen down and the vintage of the forest had come down. Both had been destroyed of their most glorious beauty, once beheld in the finished product of the Jewish temple, Joe 3:13<\/span>; Rev 14:18<\/span>. The desolate condition of Jerusalem is beheld as an uninhabited forest, Mic 3:12<\/span>.<\/p>\n 5 Verse 3 describes <\/strong>a voice of howling, mourning shepherds, because their glory is spoiled. The shepherds refer to the civil and religious rulers of the Jewish people. The temple, the center of their national pride, their wealth, and their glory had come to be spoiled, Mar 13:1<\/span>; Luk 21:15<\/span>. The roaring of young lions refers to the ruling princes among the Jews, who were cruel and rapacious in their rule. They wailed because the pride of Jordan was spoiled, their ground of prey upon the people. They had lost their jobs, as the Jordan Valley was a lair of young lions, the temple had become a lair for wicked Jewish rulers, Jer 12:5<\/span>; Jer 49:19<\/span>; Mar 7:1-11<\/span>.<\/p>\n Verse 4 recounts <\/strong>the Lord’s direct address to Zechariah, “Thus saith the Lord,” or tell them exactly this, tell it as it is and shall be. He was then charged to “feed the flock of the slaughter,” the Jewish nation, which is God’s people, doomed to slaughter by the Romans, Psa 44:22<\/span>. Zechariah and the other prophets of God had fed them, by God’s appointment, Act 10:37<\/span>; Act 20:28<\/span>; But God’s Sort was the true one who would feed them, of which, true prophets all testifed, Luk 24:27<\/span>; Luk 24:44<\/span>; Rev 19:10<\/span>.<\/p>\n Verse 5 further <\/strong>describes slaughter of the Jews by the Romans, who had no compunction of conscience against doing it, holding themselves not guilty; And God in righteous wrath against Judah, allowed it, Deu 29:19<\/span>; Jer 2:3<\/span>; Jer 50:7<\/span>; Joh 16:2<\/span>. And they who sold them as their ill-gotten riches, and did not pity their own people, whose wickedness and idolatry they condoned for the “dollar,” them they sold into Roman slavery, as Judas sold Jesus, Joh 11:48<\/span>; Joh 11:50<\/span>; Isa 49:3<\/span>; Hos 12:8<\/span>; Luk 16:14<\/span>; Luk 18:11<\/span>; Mat 23:24<\/span>; Mat 27:4-6<\/span>; 2Pe 2:3<\/span>.<\/p>\n Verse 6 warns <\/strong>that the Lord will pity the inhabitants of the land no more, when they have rejected their Lord, the Messiah, their Redeemer. The judgment threat is that He would deliver every man into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of the Roman Emperor, their king or ruler, Joh 19:15<\/span>. They were to smite the land, destroy Jerusalem, and disperse the Jews among all nations, without an intercession, at that time, from the Lord, Luk 21:24<\/span>. The Jews who rejected the Christ had said, “we have no king but Caesar.” And to his cruelty they became self chosen victims, under Titus of Vespasia, Joh 19:15<\/span>.<\/p>\n This Chapter contains severe threatenings, by which God designed in time to warn the Jews, that if there was any hope of repentance, they might be restored by fear to the right way, and that others, the wicked and the reprobate, might be rendered inexcusable, and also that the faithful might fortify themselves against the strong temptation to despond on seeing so dreadful a calamity awaiting that nation. <\/p>\n This prophecy does not indeed seem consistent with the preceding prophecies; for the Prophet has been hitherto not only encouraging the people to entertain hope, but has also declared that their condition would be so happy that nothing would be wanting to render them really blessed: but now he denounces ruin, and begins with reprobation; for he says, that God had been long the shepherd of that nation, but that now he renounced all care of them; for being wearied he would no longer bear with that perverse wickedness, which he had found in them all. These things seem to be inconsistent: but we may observe, that it was needful in the first place to set before the Jews the benefits of God, that they might with more alacrity proceed with the work of building the temple, and know that their labor would not be in vain; and now it was necessary to change the strain, lest hypocrites, vainly confiding in these promises, should become hardened, as it is commonly the case; and also, lest the faithful should not entertain due fear, and thus go heedlessly before God; for nothing is more ruinous than security, inasmuch as when a license is taken to sin, God’s judgment impends over us. We hence see how useful and reasonable was this warnings of the Prophet, as he made the Jews to understand, that God would not be propitious to his people without punishing their wickedness and obstinacy. <\/p>\n In order to render his prophecy impressive, Zechariah addresses Libanon; as though he was God’s herald, he bids it to open its gates, for the whole wood was now given up to the fire. Had he spoken without a figure, his denunciation would not have had so much force: he therefore denounces near ruin on Lebanon and on other places. Almost all think that by Lebanon is to be understood the temple, because it was built with timber from that mountain; but this view seems to me frigid, though it is approved by the common consent of interpreters. For why should we think the temple to be metaphorically called Lebanon rather than Bashan? And they think so such thing of Bashan, though there is equally the same reason. I therefore regard it simply as the Mount Lebanon; and I shall merely refer to what Joseph us declares, that the temple was opened before the city was destroyed by Titus. But though that history may be true, and it seems to me probable, it does not hence follow that this prophecy was then fulfilled, according to what is said of Rabbi Jonathan, who then exclaimed, “Lo! the prophecy of Zechariah; for he foretold that the temple would be burnt, and that the gates would be previously opened.” These things seem plausible, and at the first view gain our approbation. But I think that we must understand something more solid, and less refined: for I doubt not but that the Prophet denounces complete ruin on Mount Lebanon, and on Bashan and other places. (129) <\/p>\n But why does he bid Lebanon to open its gates? The reason is given, for shortly after he calls it a fortified forest, which was yet without walls and gates. Lebanon, we know, was nigh to Jerusalem, though far enough to be free from any hostile attack. As then the place was by nature sufficiently safe from being assailed, the Prophet speaks, as though Lebanon was surrounded by fortresses; for it was not exposed to the attacks of enemies. The meaning is, — that though on account of its situation the Jews thought that Lebanon was not exposed to any evils, yet the wantonness of enemies would lead them even there. We have already said why the Prophet bids Lebanon to open its gates, even because he puts on the character of a herald, who threatens and declares, that God’s extreme vengeance was already nigh at hand. <\/p>\n (129) Both to Jewish and Christian expounders for the most part have regarded the temple as meant by Libanon; with whom Blayney and Henderson agree. But the whole context clearly favors the opinion of Calvin, which has been followed by Marckius and Henry. There is in what follows no allusion to the temple, but the “land,” verse 6, is expressly mentioned. The “cedars” evidently represented the chief men in the state, not in the temple, called in the second verse “the might” ones. Indeed the whole of what follows countenances this idea, that the Jewish state or land is what is intended. What has chiefly led to the notion, that the temple is intended, is the fact that it was built by cedars from Libanon: but the burning of the cedars mentioned here does not represent the burning of the temple, but the destruction of the chief men in the land of Judah; and this consideration alone is fatal to the notion. — Ed. <\/p>\n SHEPHERDS-OR, THE PROPHETS <\/span>SUGGESTIVE IMPERSONATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n Zec 11:1-17<\/strong><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n THE tenth chapter of this volume presents Israel on the mountain-top of privilege and blessing. The experience, however, to which the Prophet refers belonged to the distant future. Zechariah was a Seer, and with the eyes of inspiration he was searching the ages, and so let his gaze rest for a while upon the Alpine heights of Israels eventual restoration.<\/p>\n All mountaineers know that the very rarity of the atmosphere in which they live permits them to look on lofty peaks which can only be reached by crossing the deepest valleys and accomplishing the most difficult ascents.<\/p>\n Truly this eleventh chapter presents one of the valleys of Zechariahs prophecy. It is a valley of sorrow; a valley of bitterness; a valley of slaughter; a valley of death!<\/p>\n Our personal experiences are marvelous illustrations of national trials. With the individual, mountain-top joy is only reached by crossing the valley of sorrow. Joseph comes to the position of Premier of Egypt by the way of hatred, slavery, imprisonment; Daniel obtains to equal honor in Babylon only after he has endured false charges, condemnation, and the lions den. Jesus sits at the right hand of God in the Heavenlies, but as He walked toward it He must needs go through Gethsemane and past Calvary. The great nations of the world have attained eminence after a baptism of blood. Why then should we be surprised if we find that Israel must traverse the valley of sorrow on her way to the heights of joy; must be baptized in her own blood before she hears God say, This is My beloved, in whom I am well pleased.<\/p>\n The opening verses of this eleventh chapter lead into the valley of sorrow in which we find<\/p>\n THE SENTENCE OF JUDGMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.<\/em><\/p>\n Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Basham; for the forest of the vintage is come down.<\/p>\n There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled (Zec 11:1-3<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n The land is set for punishment. There has been some dispute as to the meaning of the phrase, Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars<\/em>. Many students have supposed this to refer to the Temple, in the building of which the cedars of Lebanon played so conspicuous a part. But when one considers the three verses it is fairly clear that the whole land is compassed. The cedars of Lebanon, the fir trees, the oaks of Bashanthe fringe of timber skirting the Jordan, and known as the pride of Jordanthese represent the land, from the river valley to the mountain heights.<\/p>\n The order of their appearance alsothe cedar of Lebanon the fir tree the oaks of Bashan and the pride of the Jordan indicates that the enemy, who is described as a fire is to come from without, and press from the borders, where the cedars of Lebanon grew, to the very heart of the nation, where the waters of the Jordan rolled. The objective point of such an enemy would be Jerusalem, and the final work would be against the Temple, the nations heart.<\/p>\n We know from history that this Temple was destroyed in A.D. 73, and there comes down to us tradition to the effect that forty years before this time the priests, serving in this holy place, heard at midnight a chorus of voices saying, Let us depart and as they listened there was a rustle as of the wings of angels going forth. At this same time a certain Jew, a son of Ananus, suddenly appeared in the Temple, crying, A voice from the East, and a voice from the West! A voice from the four winds! A voice against Jerusalem, and against the Temple! A voice against the Bridegroom and the Bride! A voice against the whole people! The people resented this statement; he was severely beaten, but with every blow he only answered, Woe; woe to Jerusalem! According to Milman, for four long years he continued to utter this solemn cry,Woe to Jerusalem, only changing it so far as to say, Woe, woe to the people, and to the Temple!<\/p>\n One cannot read this bit of history, which is rehearsed more fully in the tract Yoma, without being reminded of Jonahs work in Nineveh, and impressed with the thought that the same God who commissioned Jonah, inspired the son of Ananus. It is also affirmed from Jewish historians, and for centuries was generally believed by the Jewish people, that at this time the Eastern gate of the inner Temple which was of brass and very heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, opened of itself at the sixth hour of the night. Whether these traditions are also true history, we may never determine; but that Zechariahs prophecy of punishment for the land was fulfilled, no intelligent man questions.<\/p>\n It is significant also that the occurrence of these things forty years before the actual destruction was accomplished, takes us back to the very year in which our Lord was crucified. The land, therefore, which comes face to face with the Son of God, and rejects Him, is set for destruction;its trees, and fields, and cattle, will come under the judgment of this colossal sin.<\/p>\n China is still suffering the judgment of Boxer murder of Gods own. When Nero ruled in Rome the very Name of Jesus was despised. What wonder that in the tenth year of his administration the city was afflicted with a fire which reduced the monuments of Grecian art, and of Roman virtue, trophies of the Punic and Gallic wars, the most holy temples, and the most splendid palaces to ashes! I tell you, God will avenge His own elect!<\/p>\n The people were also sentenced to slaughter.<\/strong><\/p>\n Thus saith the Lord my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; <\/em><\/p>\n Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not (Zec 11:4-5<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n It is not to be supposed that the sin which brings judgment against the very trees of the nation will permit the personal offenders to escape. God, through sheer pity for the little children and the dumb cattle of Nineveh, was moved to commiseration toward the penitent people. But when He has mown down the cedars of Lebanon and trampled under the feet of His armies the oaks of Bashan, and consumed the pride of the Jordan, and come unto the very seat of His opponents, He will not stop at the sight of human suffering, if men remain impenitent and rebellious.<\/p>\n In our previous study of the Minor Prophets we have seen this whole nation carried captive into Babylon. But severer trials await them!<\/p>\n When, in the wars with Titus, death and destruction are in the conquerors wake, all men beyond seventeen are sent to work in Egypt, and those below are sold into captivity. We have all read how the son of Massinissa slaughtered in cold blood fifty-eight thousand Carthaginians after they had laid down their arms; and how, under Caesar, four hundred thousand Germans perished while pleading a truce; but the Jews taken prisoners during this war with Titus, not to speak of those who perished, numbered a million and a hundred thousand.<\/p>\n There is no such a slaughterer as sin! It is a reproach to any people; yes, and if persisted in, whether by the individual or the nation, it is death!<\/p>\n The fate of this folk is pitiless.<\/strong><\/p>\n And their awn shepherds pity them not.<\/em><\/p>\n When Jesus came into the world He found three classes of men shepherding Israel,the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Scribes,or lawyers. They were as sheep scattered abroad, but these shepherds had no pity upon them! But that is not their greatest misfortune. It is expressed in the sentence which follows,For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.<\/em> Wretched, indeed, is his estate when He, whose Name is Compassion, is compelled to withhold all pity from him! There are some things that are impossible to God; among them is that of approving godlessness. Undoubtedly Christ would have found keenest pleasure in healing the sick and saving the souls of the men and women of Nazareth: but He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.<\/em><\/p>\n Edith Mary Norris has a poem entitled The Stone Christ. It is a pen-picture of the temple in which people gathered to perform the ceremonial worship: <\/p>\n They came on the morrow thronging,<\/p>\n And they filled the holy place <\/p>\n With the pomp of wealth and fashion.<\/p>\n Proud priests in linen and lace,<\/p>\n With singers following after,<\/p>\n Passed stately up the aisle,<\/p>\n While the mellow organ thundered<\/p>\n Triumphant strains the while;<\/p>\n And the air was rich with incense,<\/p>\n From golden censers flung;<\/p>\n And a song like that of the angels<\/p>\n The white-robed singers sung!<\/p>\n Above, from a niche in a pillared aisle,<\/p>\n A stone Christ looked with a pitiless smile.<\/p>\n They sang with a silken rustle,<\/p>\n On their knees, Thy will be done;<\/p>\n Come Thy Kingdom on earth as in Heaven,<\/p>\n They prayed in unison.<\/p>\n Then, when the prayers were ended,<\/p>\n The preacher took the Word;<\/p>\n They settled themselves to listen,<\/p>\n But never the sense they heard.<\/p>\n He spoke in cultured accents<\/p>\n Of love and charity:<\/p>\n Who doeth it unto the least of these,<\/p>\n Lo, he doeth it unto Me!<\/p>\n Above, from a niche in a pillared aisle,<\/p>\n A stone Christ looked with a pitiless smile.<\/p>\n Beloved, the only time Christs heart is ever turned to stone is when men, continuing in sin, attempt to cover away their iniquities from the sight of God by the performance of meaningless ceremonies. It was the Scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees that Christ excoriated. His sentences of judgment against such savored of no pity. Truly they were the three shepherds that he cut off in one month, and those who persisted in following them perished with them. Every man is responsible for the choice of his leader, and if he deliberately walks after some one of Gods enemies and persists in rebellion to His will, when judgment overtakes him he will have no claim upon Jehovahs pity. One of the severest sentences in all Sacred Scripture is this,<\/p>\n Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man hath regarded;<\/em><\/p>\n But ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof:<\/p>\n I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;<\/p>\n When your fear cometh as destruction, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.<\/p>\n Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me:<\/p>\n For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:<\/p>\n They would none of My counsel: they despised all My reproof.<\/p>\n Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.<\/p>\n For the turning away of the simple shall slay them (Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I. <\/strong>A variety of distinction. The cedar here, the fir tree, or cypress, and the oaks, are employed to set forth some of the distinctions that prevailed amongst the Hebrew people. Now, whilst all men have a common origin, a common nature, and common moral obligations and responsibilities, yet in every generation there prevails a large variety of striking distinctions. There are not only the cedars and fir trees, but even briars and thistles. There is almost as great a distinction between the highest type of man and the lowest, as there is between the lowest and the highest type of brute. There are intellectual giants and intellectual dwarfs, moral monarchs and spiritual serfs. This variety of distinction in the human family serves at least two important purposes.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>A common calamity. Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen. An expression which implies that the same fate awaits the fir tree. There is one event that awaits men of every type and class and grade, the tallest cedar and the most stunted shrub, that is death.<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>A natural alarm. Howl, fir tree. The howl, not of rage, not of sympathy, but of alarm. When the higher falls, the lower may well take the alarm. If the cedar gives way, let the cypress look out. This principle may apply to–<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/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: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n