It is remarkable that Ezekiel speaks in this chapter of a new functionary, whom he calls the prince, nasi, to whom a large portion of land east and west of the oblation for the priests and Levites is assigned, and whose duty it is to provide the sacrifices. Here again it is only possible to interpret these features spiritually. In later times the head of the Sanhedrim, who filled a very different office, was called by this name. The mediatorial function which is assigned to this personage in the vision of Ezekiel is very remarkable. In the forty-seventh chapter we have the vision of the living waters which, flowing eastward from under the altar, rapidly become an impassable stream, which flows into the Dead Sea and makes it sweet. This is manifestly the original of John's vision in the last chapter of the Revelation. It is to be observed that all the latter chapters of Ezekiel, whatever may be their interpretation, are only to be understood on one assumption, that, namely, of the restoration of the Temple and the reoccupation of the land. When we bear in mind that the latest date in Ezekiel's prophecies was some three years before the release of Jehoiachin from prison, this expression of confident hope is the more remarkable, and is certain proof of the influence of Jeremiah's promise of the restoration. (Cf. Dan. 9:2.) Ezekiel's writings as a whole have probably commended themselves to a more limited circle of readers than those of Isaiah and Jeremiah, in consequence of the detailed accounts of his visions, which are at all times difficult to realize, but they nevertheless abound in passages of permanent and universal interest, and when regarded as a whole with reference to the time and conditions under which they were penned they fill a conspicuous and important part in the economy of revelation, and are of no inconsiderable value for the clear evidence they afford of the acquaintance with the law of Moses which the children of Israel must have carried with them into the land of their exile. S. Leathes. 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity, the word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him. And I looked, and, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with a fire infolding itself, and a brightness round about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. And out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides: and they four had their faces and their wings thus; their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox 11 on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle. And their faces and their wings were separate above; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered 12 their bodies. And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they 13 went; they turned not when they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches; it went up and down among the living creatures: and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth 14 lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of light- 15 ning. Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth beside the 16 living creatures, for each of the four faces thereof. The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appear- 17 ance and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel. When they went, they went 18 upon their four sides: they turned not when they went. As for their rings, they were high 19 and dreadful; and they four had their rings full of eyes round about. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them: and when the living creatures were lifted up 20 from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went; thither was the spirit to go: and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the 21 living creature was in the wheels. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up beside 22 them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. And over the head of the living creature there was the likeness of a firmament, like the colour of the terrible crystal, 23 stretched forth over their heads above. And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two which covered on this side, and every one had 24 two which covered on that side, their bodies. And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a noise of tumult 25 like the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings. And there was a voice above the firmament that was over their heads: when they stood, they let down their 26 wings. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the 27 appearance of a man upon it above. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire within it round about, from the appearance of his loins and upward; and from the appearance of his loins and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was 28 brightness round about him. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. Chap. 1. The remarkable vision recorded in this chapter served to introduce Ezekiel to his prophetic work. It was a species of the ophany analogous to that made to Isaiah, as recorded in his sixth chapter, and to John (Rev. 1: 10-20). How admirably it was adapted to prepare him for his mission will be better seen when we have carefully studied its import and in some good measure comprehended its sym- bols. We shall find them richly significant. H. C. Walking by the river Chebar in deep medita- tion, probably upon the destinies of his coun- try, the "hand of Jehovah" rested upon Eze- kiel, and, closing the avenues of his mind to the ordinary impression of the senses, displayed to his tranced sight the most wonderful specta- cie ever presented to mortal eyes. From the dark north a whirlwind appeared like a vast cloud, formed of blazing fire, shooting out rays and tongues of flame on every side, and enclos- ing at its centre an appearance as of amber, or rather dark blue, like polished steel. From this dark centre there came forth four living beings, each four-sided, and having on each side four wings, making for each sixteen in all. Their feet were not like those of men, set at right angles to the leg, but came straight down and ended, like those of a calf, in a flat sole. On each side under their four wings they had human hands, and as thus each side was perfect with its face, four wings, and four hands, they needed not to turn, but faced every way, and moved ever straight onward. Each one apparently had on the right hand the faces of a man and of a lion, and on the left those of an ox and an eagle, signifying the union in each one of intelligence, courage, strength, and piercing vision, or spiritual insight. Their wings were so arranged that two on each side were elevated, enclosing the face between them, while two covered the body, but they needed them not for motion. Wherever they willed to go, thither they went; and such was their brightness and the rapidity of their movements that they seemed to go hither and thither like the lightning flash. Beneath these living beings were wheels bright as of beryl, shaped wheel within wheel, but each wheel of equal size, placed transversely to one another, so as to form globes. And the circles or tires of these wheels were full of eyes, the symbols of intelligence; and as each living creature had beneath it one of these globes of wheels, which moved ever with it as it willed, the whole represented the rapid intelligence with which God's ministers instantaneously do His behests. For these beings formed the throne of the Deity. Above their heads was an expanse of dazzling crystal, whence came a voice; and as they moved the prophet seemed to hear a mighty rushing of wings, like the sound of many waters, and of rolling thunder, and of the din of an army; but when the voice came from the expanse, all was still, and the living creatures drooped their wings. For the voice came forth from a throne of sapphire, circled around with the same deep blue color as had formed the centre of the cloud of whirlwind, while above it was the rainbow, and in the midst the Deity seated in human form, but as "the appearance of fire round about within." And the voice was Ezekiel's commission to speak in Jehovah's name to Israel's rebellious house. When we contrast this vision, so intricate, so minute in its details, so complex, and withal so awful and mysterious, with the calm sublimity of the glorious spectacle which greeted Isaiah's eyes in the Temple, or with the peaceful simplicity of Jeremiah's imagery, we understand something of the reason which made St. Jerome characterize Ezekiel as "the ocean and labyrinth of God's mysteries," and which made the Rabbins forbid their pupils to read his writings till they were thirty years of age. Well might his name be called Ezekiel—that is, "the strength of God." R. P. S. The very essence of the vision of the living creatures was that the Jews were taught to look for a new covenant, for a spiritual restoration. The vision of Ezekiel is not a dead and dying story, it lives still as the very charter of the Church of the future. Any work for Christ which shall be real, solid, abiding, must follow on the lines here marked out for us—mobility, spirituality, universality; these three ideas must inspire our efforts, not to cling obstinately to the decayed anachronisms of the past, not to narrow our intellectual horizon, not to stunt our moral sympathies, but to absorb new truths, to gather new ideas, to adapt, to enlarge, to follow always the teaching of the Spirit. This is our duty as Christians; remembering meanwhile that there is the fixed centre from which our thoughts must spread and to which our hopes must converge—Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Bp. Lightfoot. 1-3. I find this "thirtieth year" in the new Chaldean epoch of Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar, which reckoned its years from the fall of Nineveh, n.c. 625. This is natural, and meets all the conditions of the case; for the very brevity of the allusion shows that the epoch must have been well known, and goes far to prove that it was the common epoch of the place, the people, and the age—in other words, that it was Chaldean. A prophecy written in Chaldea should naturally, first of all, connect itself with the current Chaldean epoch. So much deference to their national history would seem due to that people. Yet, since the prophecy was chiefly for the Jews, no more than this brief connecting link could be demanded. This would enable the Chaldeans to compare Jewish dates with their own, and thus locate each several message. For his common epoch Ezekiel would manifestly prefer the Jewish. These captives are, of course, the Jewish exiles, located, as shown in the introduction, along the royal canal of Nebuchadnezzar, the great and long river, as the word Chebar without much doubt indicates. These "visions of God" are not merely visions given by God through His revealing Spirit, but visions of God, the special purpose of which was to reveal God Himself in certain great aspects of His providential agency. The "fifth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity" follows the Jewish epoch, dating from the captivity of Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, and last king of Judah save one, his uncle Zedekiah. This captivity occurred n.c. 600. Hence both this epoch and the Chaldean locate this first vision of Ezekiel n.c. 595. (See 2 Chron. 36: 9, 10, and 2 K. 24: 1-16.) The words "came expressly" translate the usual emphatic Hebrew phrase which repeats the infinite absolute before the finite verb; "coming, it came"—i.e., it certainly came; came with the clearest demonstrations of its actuality. "The hand of the Lord was there upon him," is the usual phrase to indicate the special agency of the Divine Spirit in revealing Himself to His servants the prophets. (See other cases of its use in chap. 3:14-22 and 37:1, and in the same sense, though with various phrase, Jer. 1:7, 10 and 20:7.) H. C. 2. The fifth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity. This was the thirteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign; for Jehoiachin was carried captive in the eighth (2 K. 24:12). It was also the fifth year of the reign of Zedekiah in Jerusalem, and the sixth before the destruction of the city and the Temple. Ezekiel was made a captive with Jehoiachin, and he computes the succeeding parts of his prophecy from that event. W. Lowth. 3. To speak comfort to those that feared God and trembled at His word, and humbled themselves under His mighty hand: "Let them know that though they are captives in Babylon, yet they have God nigh unto them; though they have not the place of the sanctuary to be their glorious high throne, they have the God of the sanctuary." Dr. Lightfoot observes: "Now that the Church is to be planted for a long time in another country, the Lord shows a glory in the midst of them, as He had done at their first constituting into a church in the wilderness, and out of a cloud and fire, as He had done there, He showed Himself, and from between living creatures, as from between the cherubims, He gives His oracles." H. 4. In the general import of this wonderful vision I suppose it to be a symbolic representation of the movable base of the throne of God incarnate—this incarnate God being considered as manifesting Himself in His providential government of our world. As here represented, His throne rests on a lofty, magnificent platform or solid floor, which floor itself reposes on the bodies and wings of "the living creatures" that are so graphically portrayed in this vision. The whole representation contemplates the varied agencies of God's providence as combining the utmost energy, wisdom, celerity, efficiency and grandeur, and is designed to show how He moves among the nations of men, lifting up and casting down at His will, scourging for sin and purifying by discipline, evermore just and righteous, and making His movements conspire to the exalted and worthy ends of His own glory and of human salvation. The vision opens with surpassing grandeur. A whirlwind rolls up from the north with a great cloud and a fire which perpetually takes hold of itself (so the Hebrew), making one vast, continuous sheet of flame. A brightness invests the whole, of the color of "amber," or, as many modern critics prefer, of "burnished brass." All the ideas of that age seem to have located the home of the gods in the north—a sentiment due perhaps to the Aurora Borealis, which they seem to have thought of as the occasional illumination of the palace halls of the gods. Thus Isaiah (14:13) makes his proud Lucifer (the great monarch of Babylon) say, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north." Perhaps it was with some reference to those ideas that this magnificent vision of Jehovah's moving throne comes forth from the north. H. C. Out of the north. It was frequently foretold that the Divine judgments should proceed from the north (Jer. 1:14; 4:6), because it was from the north that the Assyrian conquerors came upon the Holy Land, and it may be that for this reason the whirlwind proceeded out of the north, for the vision, though seen in Chaldea, had reference to Jerusalem, and the seer is to contemplate judgment as it is coming upon the Holy Land. But we observe in the vision of Zechariah that the horses go toward the north (Zech. 6:8). Mount Zion and the Temple were on the sides of the north (Ps. 48:2 and Isa. 14:13). Thus the north was felt by the Jews to be the peculiar seat of the power of Jehovah. Further, the high mountain range of Lebanon that closed in the Holy Land on the north naturally connected to the inhabitants of that country the northern region with the idea of height reaching to heaven, from which such a vision as this would probably come. B. C. 5-9. Now there came forth from the blaze of this effulgence what seemed like four living creatures in whom the human form predominates. Yet each one had four faces and also four wings. Their feet, moreover, were not those of a man, but of a calf or ox, yet sparkling with radiance like that of burnished brass. They had also the hand of a man under their wings. Two of these wings, making one pair, were joined together. Remarkably they made no turn in their movements, but went in straight lines, evermore straight forward. Probably this fact takes its significance from that law of mind which associates moral perversity with turning from a right line. The path of right and duty is thought of as being straight, but never crooked. God's providential agencies are evermore true and righteous altogether. It may indicate that in both discipline and retribution God moves straight on to His purposed end. The symbol on the calf or ox may have a place here to indicate the solid, massive strength requisite to support so vast a structure as the throne of the Almighty. The reader will note that many of these symbols appeared to the Jews in actual life in the vast "molten sea" connected with Solomon's Temple. This sea stood on twelve oxen, and, moreover, had in its ornamental work sculptured lions, oxen and cherubim, coupled also with wheels, as in this vision of Ezekiel. (See 1 K. 7: 23-33.) In some respects, therefore, this grouping of symbols was Hebraic, while in others it was Chaldean. The grouping of diverse animal figures in one nondescript symbol is very common, as above shown, in the Chaldean monuments of that age. H. C. 9. That, whatever service they went about, they went every one straight forward (verses 9, 12), which intimates: First, that they sincerely aimed at the glory of God, and had a single eye to that in all they did; their going straight forward supposes that they looked straight forward, and never had any sinister intentions in what they did. And if thus our eye be single, our whole body will be full of light; the singleness of the eye is the sincerity of the heart. Secondly, that they were intent upon the service they were employed in, and did it with a close application of mind; they went forward with their work; for what their hand found to do, they did it with all their might, and did not loiter in it. Thirdly, that they were unanimous in it; they went straight forward, every one about his own work; they did not thwart or jostle one another, did not stand in one another's light, in one another's way. Fourthly, that they perfectly understood their business, and were thoroughly apprised of it, so that they needed not to stand still, to pause or hesitate, but they pursued their work with readiness, as those that knew what they had to do, and how to do it. Fifthly, they were steady and constant in their work; they did not fluctuate, did not tire, did not vary, but were of a piece with themselves; they moved in a direct line, and so went the nearest way to work in all they did, and lost no time. When we go straight, we go forward; when we serve God with one heart, we rid ground, we rid work. H. 10-12. This account of the location of the several faces is not quite explicit, but there can scarcely be a doubt that these four diverse faces looked each in its several direction, the human face in front, the lion face to the right, the face like the ox to the left, and that of the eagle backward to the rear. Of their four wings, two were joined and stretched upward, while the other two fell and covered their bodies. Somewhat like this were the wings of the cherubim as seen by Isaiah (chap. 6: 2). They had each six wings: one pair covering the face, one the feet, and the other used for flight. Here again we may note that all movement is straight forward, with no turning. They go as the spirit in them impels; this whole representation being designed to show that the magnificent agencies of God's universal providence are everywhere and forevermore permeated and controlled by His own ever-present will—the one Infinite Mind guiding and ruling all. 13,14. To heighten the grandeur of this magnificent portrayal, these living creatures now seem to have the appearance of coals of fire that burn like lamps. One clause seems to say that this fire shoots and darts among these living creatures—a fire invested with a glorious radiance out of which lightnings flashed; while another clause has it that the living creatures themselves ran and returned like flashes of lightning. Probably both were seen in the vision. How grand and sublime must that scene have been! 15-17. Wheels are an expressive symbol of power and rapid motion. As to the number of wheels in this combination of symbols, verse 15 seems to indicate but one; but verses 16 and 18 both speak of four, and so also does the co-ordinate description in chap. 10: 9, 10. These wheels were sparkling and brilliant, shining like polished gems. But the most remarkable feature was their combination, said to be "as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel." According to this description, they might be concentric and in the same plane, or they might be concentric and yet in different planes, say, at right angles. From the account of their motion in any direction without turning, the latter seems to have been their form. This is the view of the ablest modern commentators. We need not trouble ourselves with the fact that no axletree could be made to work in two such concentric double wheels, so that they could run in planes at right angles to each other. For this movable base for the throne of God was seen in prophetic vision, and not in the actual world; was constituted to be seen—not to run in the business of real life; and had for its object a certain impression on the mind of the prophet, and not any particular result in the mechanical world. 18. "Rings," as used here, mean the rims, the periphery, or felloes of the wheels. Their height, so great that they seemed "dreadful," represents the wheels as of immense size, towering aloft in the air with magnificence fearfully sublime. Then the periphery of these wheels was full of eyes all round about, indicating perfect intelligence, and giving the impression of piercing thought and most vivid expressiveness. 19-21. Next we have the same elements of life and self-acting inspiration in these wheels as in the living creatures themselves. The wheels constantly attend the living creatures as if moved by one common impulse and will. This was one of the most striking features in this wonderful combination of symbols. It could not signify less or other than that God's providences always have a meaning; always aim at some wise purpose; are evermore guided by one and the same supreme and all-pervading Divine will. H. C. 20. The reason given of this is, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels; the same wisdom, power and holiness of God, the same will and counsel of His, that guides and governs the angels, and all their performances, does, by them, order and dispose of all the motions of the creatures in this lower world, and the events and issues of them. God is the soul of the world, and animates the whole, both that above and that beneath, so that they move in perfect harmony, as the upper and lower parts of the natural body do; so that whithersoever the Spirit is to go, whatever God wills and purposes to be done and brought to pass, thither their spirit is to go. H. 22,23. Here we begin to reach the purpose and work of this remarkable combination of symbols. The living creatures bear upon their heads and upon their straight wings a firmament—i.e., a solid expanse, platform, or elevated floor. Its appearance was in color "like the terrible crystal"—so brilliant and dazzling as to be even fearful to behold. Upon this base, as we shall soon see, reposed the throne of the incarnate God. The prophet again refers to the position of the two sets of wings, one set straight and joined together, assisting to support the firmament, somewhat like the wings of the cherubim in the most holy place. When the living creatures stood, the other set fell gracefully down and protected their bodies. 24,25. As if to combine every element of grandeur and sublimity, and appeal to every sense, the sound of their wings, when in motion, was as the roar of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty God Himself. In the clause, "The voice of speech as the noise of an host," the Hebrew does not imply the utterance of articulate words, but should rather be rendered, "The sound of their noise was as the sound of an host"—i.e., of an army rushing to battle. There may have been the voice of articulate words from above the firmament—i.e., from the glorious personage who sat on the throne; verse 25 seems to imply this. The reader will readily recall the manifestations made by the "Alpha and Omega," by Him who is both the first and the last, to John, the Revelator, as in Rev. 1: 10-16, "His voice was as the sound of many waters, and His face as the sun when he shineth in his strength." 26,27. The vital points in this description are plain, and they are also richly significant and sublime. Here is the throne, for the sake of supporting which, and of moving it also, we have seen a wonderful combination of living creatures, wings and wheels, with various accompanying symbols of intelligence, energy, splendor and majesty. Here also—more really sublime than all the rest—is the appearance of a man upon this throne. From his loins upward, and from his loins downward, he seemed as one begirt with fire—the brightness of fire, and the effulgence of the most magnificent pearls and gems, combining to invest him with ineffable glory. This personage can be no other than the incarnate Son of God, the great Lord of universal providence, appearing in this majestic form to His servant Ezekiel, much as the same personage appeared to Isaiah (chap. 6), of which case, John in his Gospel (chap. 12: 41) tells us that Isaiah then and there "saw the glory of Jesus, and spake of Him." Numerous proofs might be adduced to show that repeatedly, during the course of the Old Testament age, Jesus Christ anticipated His incarnation by appearing in human form to His people. He appeared thus to Manoah and his wife (Judges 13: 2-23), giving them His name, "Wonderful" (not "secret"), using the identical word which Isaiah gives as one of His names (Isa. 9: 6), "Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God," etc. "This is also He who was with His Church in the wilderness," as Stephen affirms (Acts 7: 38), and as the narrative (Ex. 23: 20-23) most plainly indicates. It was therefore only a subsequent appearance of the same glorious personage which was vouchsafed to John in Patmos with a lustre and effulgence of glories closely analogous to what we have here. H. C. All the other parts of this vision were but a preface and introduction to this. God in them had made Himself known as Lord of angels and supreme Director of all His affairs of this lower world, whence it is easy to infer that whatever God by His prophets either promises or threatens to do, He is able to effect it; angels are His servants, men are His tools. But now that a Divine revelation is to be given to a prophet, and by him to the Church, we must look higher than the living creatures of the wheels, and must expect that from the eternal Word, of whom we have an account in these verses. Ezekiel, hearing a voice from the firmament, looked up, as John did, to see the voice that apake with him, and he saw one like unto the Son of man (Rev. 1 : 12, 13). The second Person sometimes tried the fashion of a man, occasionally, before He clothed Himself with it for good and all; and the spirit of prophecy is called the Spirit of Christ (1 Pet. 1 : 11) and the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 19 : 10). H. 26. The appearance of a man.** Deeply significant is the form of this manifestation. Here is no angel conveying God's message to man, but the glory of the Lord Himself, and when we remember how in the fulness of time the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father (John 1 : 14), in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, we recognize in this vision the prophetic annunciation of the Holy Incarnation. Yet we observe the manifestation was such that the prophet did not see a distinct human form, such as an artist might have portrayed to represent his God. We are told little of the extent to which the human form was made evident to the prophet. There was the likeness of a throne, and the likeness as the appearance of a man above it. For the vision of the prophet was rather to the mind than to the bodily eye, and even inspired language was inadequate to convey to the hearer the glory which eye hath not seen nor ear heard, and which only by special revelation it hath entered into the heart of man to conceive. In Revelation the form of one like unto the Son of man as revealed to John is one minutely described, but the characteristics are not such as admit of visible representation. They are all highly symbolical—and it is upon the substance, not upon the symbol, that the mind is invited to dwell. B. C. All the dispensations of providence, as well as the various departments of creation, are under the dominion of the Mediator. It embraces men, not only in all their characters, but in all their concerns, in all their affairs, and in all the vicissitudes that can befall them. This is proved, not only by the universal language to which we have before adverted as employed by the inspired writers when speaking of Christ's rule, but by the express terms of Scripture with reference to this subject, and also by the necessity of the thing itself. The vision of the wheels, in the first chapter of Ezekiel's prophecy, is generally understood to refer to the dispensations of Divine providence in their nature, aspects, intricacy and perfect consistency and wisdom. These dispensations were represented to the prophet as under the direction of one who sat upon a throne, and whose likeness was as "the appearance of a man above upon it." We are not left to doubt that "the man Christ Jesus" is here meant; for it is afterward said, "This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." We have here, then, an explicit proof from Scripture that the affairs of providence are managed by the Mediator; managed, too, with perfect wisdom, and with special reference to the covenant of grace, as indicated by the rings of the wheels being "full of eyes round about, and by the appearance of the brightness being as the day of rain." Symington. His throne, as represented in Ezekiel's vision, is erected over the wheels of providence, which, though in the highest degree complicated, like wheels within wheels, do, to those who attentively and filially observe them, furnish abundant evidence of Divine goodness. The sacred history throws great light on this department of God's government. There we trace His dealings with nations and with individuals for several hundred years, and view His providence irradiated by a column of light from heaven. There we see the benevolent designs of His judgments upon wicked nations and individuals, and His agency in all the comforts bestowed on His people. There we trace His faithfulness to His saints, His sudden interpositions to supply their wants, to deliver them from their enemies, to arrest evils on their way to assail them, and to turn all their afflictions to a good account. There the most mysterious and complex dispensations are analyzed, and the use of every part explained before our eyes. These are exhibited as specimens, to enable us to understand the designs of Providence in every age. Instructed by these disclosures, we may daily read the goodness of God, not only in those great events which concern nations, but in those which relate to families and individuals. The whole skein of Providence, from the falling of a sparrow to the revolutions of empire—the whole skein of Providence in all worlds is nothing but the constantly repeated action of Divine goodness and the universal extension of Divine care. E. D. Griffin. 28. The prophecy of Ezekiel opens with the magnificent vision of the four living creatures, the cherubim, and over them the throne of God, and upon the throne the appearance of a man above upon it, and round about an appearance of brightness, as of the rainbow. The seer describes the glorious appearance of Him who sat on the throne in terms that closely correspond with John's description of the same Divine object in the opening of the Apocalypse. This, he tells us, was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord; words that might seem to have suggested to the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews the language in which he speaks of the Eternal Son as the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of His person. And when he saw it, he, as John, fell upon his face, and heard the voice of one that spake. The Speaker, who is later on spoken of as the God of Israel (Ezek. 10: 20), and whose presence is indicated and accompanied by the visible Shekinah, the glory of the God of Israel, speaks throughout in the person of the Lord Jehovah; and declares Himself the Divine Being against whom the house of Israel had sinned in all their rebellious history. Medd. The pupilage of the Church, as well as of the nations, stretched over long and dreary centuries before it pleased Him to send into the world the grand element of rectification and progression in the person of His incarnate Son. He is from everlasting to everlasting, and, speaking reverently, can afford to be slow and misunderstood till the time of the end. Movement is slow, usually, in proportion to its majesty. The wheels of Ezekiel's vision were so high as to be dreadful to contemplate. Yet the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels and high above, in the firmament, like the terrible crystal, the appearance of the throne, and upon it the likeness of the appearance of a man, even the glory of the Lord. Happy he who, amid the noises and mysteries of the wheels of a providence so slow and majestic, is able to keep his eye and faith fixed on Him who is at the centre of power and motion, working all things according to the counsel of His own will. D. H. Riddle. Thus the Shekinah revealed Himself to Ezekiel to impress his soul with the magnificence, the energy and the glory of Him whose work he was now to undertake, whose mission as a prophet he was to fulfil, whose words he was to hear and then to bear to his people. What an installation this into his prophetic work! No wonder he fell on his face as one overwhelmed with reverence and awe! Let it be noted yet further that this portrayal was specially pertinent in view of the fact that God's providential agencies were then intensely active among the nations, and especially toward the Jews in both discipline and judgment—the discipline that chastened to reclaim, and the judgments that scourged in stern and awful retribution. Into the midst of these agencies Ezekiel was thrown. He was commissioned as a prophet of God to co-operate by the use of moral agencies with those providential agencies of the Almighty. He was to interpret the significance of those judgments. He was to warn the people to repent, as they would escape such inflictions. He was to press them to repentance by the promise of pardoning mercy. In every appropriate way he was to supplement those agencies of providence with the concurrent influences of God's revealed truth. Hence nothing could be more vital than to impress upon his mind the qualities of that fearfully glorious and energetic Divine providence which in its intensified forms was now being manifested toward the chosen people. Moreover, nothing could have been better adapted to impart to him a baptism of reverence, docility, energy and self-sacrificing devotion. Under the influence of such views of the glorious Being whose behests he is commissioned to bear to the people, how could he falter before hardship or danger? How could he fail to carry with him through life a sense of the glory of his Divine Master, saying evermore: "I serve the ineffably glorious, incarnate God; and I must be true and faithful!" This interpretation meets all the conditions of the case. It fits every circumstance. It is pertinent to an inauguration of Ezekiel to his prophetic office, as it should be; it fits his relations as a prophet to the captives at Babylon; fits their relations to the Omnipresent and then specially active agencies of God's providence over nations; fits the style of illustrating the attributes of God which prevailed in Chaldea, and also that which was developed to some extent in the Jewish temple; in short, this construction fits in all possible points. H. C. # Visions of the First and Tenth Chapters. Ezekiel himself tells us that he saw the likeness of the glory of God. We must distinguish between the visions of the tenth and of the first chapter. The two visions are identical in form, but different in circumstances. There the vision is in distinct connection with the Temple, the place in which the Shekinah had a local habitation. Here the vision has the most general relation and application; the glory of God arising to visit the earth. The first idea is that of judgment, hence the whirlwind (Jer. 23 : 19), the great cloud, and the fire (Ex. 19); but at the same time there is the clear brightness, the symbol of God's purity, truth, and the rainbow, the token of His mercy. The glory of God is manifested in the works of creation; and as light and fire, lightning and cloud, are the usual marks which in inanimate creation betoken the presence of God (Ps. 18 : 6-14), so the four living ones symbolize animate creation. The forms are typical, the lion and the ox of the beasts of the field (wild and tame), the eagle of the birds of the air—some have thought that the eagle represents the angelic nature (wings being the constant mark of angels), but we are rather concerned with the works of creation upon earth—while man is the rational being supreme upon the earth. And the human type predominates over all, and gives character and unity to the four, who thus form one creation. Further, these four represent the constitutive parts of man's nature: the ox (the animal of sacrifice), his faculty of suffering; the lion (the king of beasts), his faculty of ruling; the eagle (of keen eye and soaring wing), his faculty of imagination; the man, his spiritual faculty, which actuates all the rest. Christ is the perfect man, so these four in their perfect harmony typify Him who came to earth to do His Father's will; and as man is lord in the kingdom of nature, so is Christ Lord in the kingdom of grace; and as the word of His commandments goeth forth into all lands through His Gospel, so the reference which Irenæus discovered in the four living creatures to the four Gospels is not without its significance (Lange). The wings represent the power by which all creation rises and falls at God's will; the one spirit, the unity and harmony of His works; the free motion in all directions the universality of His providence. The number four is the symbol of the world, with its four quarters; the veiled bodies, the inability of all creatures to stand in the presence of God; the noise of the wings, the testimony borne by creation to God (Ps. 19 : 1-3); the wheels connect the vision with the earth, the wings with heaven, while above their heads, separated by the bright expanse, is the throne of God in heaven. As the eye of the seer is turned upward, the lines of the vision become less distinct. He describes what he sees as the likeness of a throne, the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness as the appearance of a man, the appearance of fire, the appearance of his loins, as if he were struggling against the impossibility of expressing in words the object of his vision; yet on the summit of the throne is He who can only be described as, in some sort, the form of a man. That Jehovah, the eternal God, is spoken of, we cannot doubt, and herein we recognize the necessity under which we lie of ascribing to the Deity the attributes of man, just as we speak of His anger, jealousy, love, mercy and the like, and even of His hand, His eye and His ear, figures all, but the only ones which we can employ, being borrowed from the attributes of the being who was created in the image of God. But in thus contemplating God under the form of man there is something more. In the Hebrews we read that Christ is the brightness of God's glory and the express image of His person (Heb. 1 : 3); and John tells us that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1 : 14); while a similar vision in Isaiah (6) is explained by John to refer to Christ: These things said Esaias when he saw His glory and spake of Him (John 12 : 41). We are therefore justified in maintaining that the revelation of the Divine glory here made to Ezekiel has its consummation or fulfilment in the person of Christ, the only begotten of God, a conclusion which is borne out and indeed established beyond dispute by the identification of Him, of whom Ezekiel saw the appearance upon a throne, with the Ancient of days, whom Daniel saw enthroned, and described in terms employed afterward by John to describe Him who announced Himself thus: I am the first and the last. I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore (Rev. 1 : 17, 18). The vision in the opening chapter of Ezekiel is in the most general form—the manifestation of the glory of the living God. It is repeated more than once in the course of the book. The Person manifested is always the same, but the form of the vision is modified according to special circumstances of time and place. B. C. 2:1 AND he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak with thee. 2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet; and I 3 heard him that spake unto me. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and 4 their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. And the children are impudent and stiff-hearted; I do send thee unto them: and thou shalt say unto them, Thus 5 saith the Lord God. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. 6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, 7 nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are 8 most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; be not thou rebellious 9 like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And when I looked, 10 behold, an hand was put forth unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; and he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein 3:1 lamentations, and mourning, and woe. And he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou 2 findest; eat this roll, and go, speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and 3 he caused me to eat the roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. 4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with 5 my words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard 6 language, but to the house of Israel; not to many peoples of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they 7 would hearken unto thee. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are of an hard forehead and of a stiff heart. 8 Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their 9 foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither 10 be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with 11 thine ears. And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. 12 Then the spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing, saying, 13 Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place. And I heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, even 14 the noise of a great rushing. So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away: and I went in 15 bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-ahib, that dwelt by the river Chebar, and to where they dwelt; and I sat there astonished among them seven days. 16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, 17 saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear 18 the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his 19 blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered 20 thy soul. Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be 21 remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul. 22. And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into 23 the plain, and I will there talk with thee. Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river Chebar: 24 and I fell on my face. Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet; and he 25 spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house. But thou, son of man, behold, they shall lay bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt 26 not go out among them: and I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. 27. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house. Chaps. 2, 3. In these two chapters is contained the direct commission conveyed to Ezekiel in connection with the vision just recorded. The commission was repeated more than once, at what intervals of time we are not told. We have first the direct commission (2:1-8), next the vision of the roll (2:9-3:3), followed by fresh instructions to the same effect, and partly in the same words; then a second appearance of the great vision (3:12), and the sadness which it occasioned (3:14); then the prophet's visit to Tel-Abib, his mourning there and fresh instructions (3:15-21); and lastly, a third appearance of the vision, and a communication showing that the seer is dependent on the Spirit of God for every utterance which he is enabled to make (3:24-27). We have here recorded visions and words of God. Whether these visions were seen by the natural eye, and the words heard with the natural ear, the prophet probably knew not. The senses are not the only means of conveying images to the soul, and it may have pleased the Almighty to impress these images without the intervention of the senses. In any case the communication is equally from without, the vision and the words are from God. 2:1. Son of man. This phrase (which occurs elsewhere in Scripture) is applied especially to Ezekiel and Daniel, the prophets of the Captivity. In Eastern language son of man is simply equivalent to man. In Syriac Adam is called the first son of man (1 Cor. 15:45). Ezekiel is thus reminded of his humanity, at the time when he is especially permitted to have intercourse with God. B. C. 2. Because he had not strength of his own to recover his feet, nor courage to face the vision, the Spirit entered into him and set him upon his feet. God is graciously pleased to work that in us which He requires of us, and raises those whom He bids rise. We must stir up ourselves, and then God will put strength into us; we must work out our salvation, and then God will work in us. H. 6,7. The general sense is clear. Though they are hostile, malign, severe, and even savage toward thee, yet be thou firm and fearless before them, and do thy duty. The Lord would have him anticipate stern opposition and a painfully trying life, and gird his soul to meet it. So evermore, he who will live godly in Christ Jesus and for Christ Jesus must suffer more or less persecution. Let him expect it and seek grace to meet it with Christian fortitude. H. C. 7. It is not merely as a subtle and diffused influence that the Gospel establishes a permanent effect upon us. It is presented to each of us here individually, in the definite form of an actual offer of salvation for each, and of an actual demand of trust from each. The words pass into our souls, and thenceforward it can never be the same as if they had not been there. The Gospel once heard is always the Gospel which has been heard. Nothing can alter that. Once heard, it is henceforward a perpetual element in the whole condition, character, and destiny of the hearer. A. M. 8-10. This eating was in vision, and not done in the actual world. As a thing of vision, it was admirably significant, implying that he must take the messages of God to his heart and shrink not from any service for God which they might involve. This roll, like the ancient book, was a long strip of parchment, fitted to roll up, which was written upon both sides ("within and without"). Its contents, the matters therein written, were wholly of "lamentation, and mourning, and woe"—all mournful exposures of guilt and crime; messages of swift judgment and of awful doom! How sad to Ezekiel must have been this pre-intimation of his painfully trying work! Must his messages to his own people testify only to their guilt and shame; speak but rarely of promise and hope, and mainly of judgment without mercy and of woe "too wide to see beyond!" H. C. The life of God's Word must be felt, otherwise it cannot be proved, and we know nothing of it. The grand high priests of truth in all ages have been those who have received the truth from God, and according to His own direction for the prophet Ezekiel, have caten it. They have fed upon it, as the Bread of Life, and have grown thereby. They have gathered it for themselves, as the Israelites of old had to gather their manna daily, every morning, for themselves, in their own vessels. Cheever. Chap. 3. This chapter continues and completes what pertains properly to Ezekiel's introduction to his prophetic work. The Lord explains and defines his commission; warns him of the opposition he has to encounter, and girds him with the requisite firmness and energy to meet it; discloses the great responsibilities of his work as bearing on the life or death of souls; and finally signifies to him that he is not to speak on his own motion, but only as the Lord shall give him a message from Himself for the people. 1-3. As already indicated, the eating of this roll, done only in vision, signified that he should take the messages of God home to his very heart, give them his most solemn attention, make himself thoroughly master of their contents, and hold himself at God's command to deliver them faithfully as directed. That they were in his mouth as honey for sweetness, implied his joy in accepting his prophetic mission, showing that at least his first impressions in receiving this honor were those of willing and cheerful obedience. H. C. John has the same vision, Rev. 10:8, but there that is expressed which is here left to be inferred—that as soon as he had eaten it his belly was bitter. The sweetness in the mouth denoted that it was good to be a messenger of the Lord (cf. Ps. 19:10), but the bitterness which accompanied it denoted that the commission brought with it much sorrow, for the tidings were sad and evil. B. C. 4-7. "Strange," as usual, means foreign. The Lord says to His prophet, "I send thee only to the house of Israel; not to a foreign nation of an unknown language; not to many tribes or people of unknown tongue. If I had sent thee to such a people, they would have hearkened to thee, for such perverseness and obduracy of heart could be found nowhere among the heathen." Underneath this statement lies a great law of human sinning. It is only by the long abuse of great light and of rich mercies that men reach such a degree of moral hardihood and such depths of intense depravity. It is appalling to think of the influence of resisted light, of mercies abused, of obligations seen yet repelled and finally scorned! 8,9. These are bold figures, but are readily understood. The Lord was preparing His servant to confront the most brazen-faced sinners with firm, unflinching heart. This is said with a double purpose—to forewarn and to forearm; to signify to him what he must expect, and to gird his soul to meet it. 10,11. Verse 10 seems to express without a figure what the act of eating the roll implies. The expressive clause, "whether they will hear or not hear" ("will forbear"), seems to be not merely a part of the Lord's instructions to His prophet, but a part also of His message to the people. The prophet must give them to understand that God lays on them the fearful responsibility of deciding whether they would hear or would not. They must determine this question for themselves, and bear its consequences. H. C. 14. Lifted me up. It is the same word as is rendered took me up in verse 12 and carry in 1 K. 18:12. We are not, however, to suppose that the prophet was miraculously transported from one place to another in the land of his captivity. He went and came. (Cf. verse 22, also 11:1, 24; Matt. 4:1; Acts 8:39.) He had been in ecstatic vision (1:1), and now, guided by the Spirit, he goes forth among his countrymen. B. C. 15. Here we pass from scenes of prophetic vision to scenes not visionary, but purely in the actual world. He comes to the exiles, and soon begins to speak to them from the Lord his God. As they were in the real world only, and not at all in prophetic vision, so must his words and acts, relating to them, be understood as in the actual and not the ideal world. H. C. 16. The priests and ministers of the Lord were often called watchmen. Habakkuk speaks of standing upon his watch (Hab. 2:1). Ezekiel is especially distinguished by this title (32:7). The duties of a watchman are twofold: to wait and watch what God will order, to watch over and superintend the people. Isaiah describes and censures unfaithful watchmen (Isa. 56:10). B. C.—The duties of a watchman are to take notice and to give notice. H. 16-21. These words were specially addressed by the Lord to His prophet. They may or may not have been announced by the prophet to the people. Essentially the same ideas are drawn out somewhat more fully in chap. 33. There they are rehearsed to the people. Their intensely solemn import is plain. The watchman or sentinel stands guard in war to give notice of impending danger. If he does his duty faithfully, and the people disregard his warnings, his hands are clear of their blood; they perish in their own folly. If he neglects his duty, and the people perish unwarned, they perish indeed but their blood is required at his hand. So of the prophet. So of all Christian ministers, and indeed of all Christians in every sphere in their relations to the people among whom the Lord in His providence may place them. They must admonish those who are in their sins of their danger, as they would free themselves from blood-guiltiness in the death of unwarned souls. The case of a righteous man apostatizing from a pious life falls under the same law. Every good and true servant of God is bound to admonish him of his peril, else his blood may be required of those who have neglected to give him such warning. The "stumbling-block" spoken of here (verse 20) is not a temptation to sin, but a means of destruction, an agency employed of God to destroy the sinner. H. C. 17. Warning from Me. No preaching can be complete that does not, now and again, remind the people of the terrors of the law. It is no light thing to sin; and, come to what conclusion you may about the future of the wicked soul, there can be no doubt that that future is one of tremendous agony. Who will dare it? Who will willingly go forward to it? I know of no theory of the future of the soul which by some point or other does not bring in the righteous punishment of offending man. You can only affect some persons through fear. Without imagination of the better kind, without high sentiment, without noble education, without generous impulses—they can only be touched along the line of fear. Upon such persons high discourse about the nobler spaces, the infinite liberties, the glorious sanctuaries yet to be revealed and enjoyed, would be lost. J. P. 18-21. This passage anticipates the great moral principle of Divine government, enlarged upon and enforced in chap. 18, that each man is individually responsible for his own actions, and will be judged according to these and these alone. They who are appointed to watch the souls of others must render their account of their performance or neglect of this their duty, but the man who sins shall die for his own sin. Thou shalt surely die. The primal sentence (Gen. 2:17) is reinforced (cf. Rom. 6:23). But the penalty of sin is not simply natural death; so a righteous man, though involved in the general calamity and even perishing with the rest, may live and not die. B. C. The condemnation that God pronounces on sin is the condemnation of the law against every violation of it. It is the sentence due to a disregard of the end for which man was made; due to treason against God's authority; due to the abuse of His goodness; due to the contempt of His mercy; due to the debasement and degradation and ruin of a soul entrusted as an infinite treasure to our keeping. And let the sinner himself say what that ought to be. Say what is due to your own guilt for defeating the end of your being; for having transformed God's temple into an idol's shrine; for having stifled in the dust of worldliness, aspirations that should have stopped at nothing short of a heavenly birthright as a child of God? What do you deserve for restraining prayer and withholding praise, for giving to the creature what is due only to the Creator; for spurning the duties and the privileges of an heir of heaven; for disqualifying your soul utterly for the service and worship of the sanctuary above! Gillett. No man will be condemned by the All-righteous Judge for the want of that which he could not have had. One condemnation will be, and is, that we have not that which we might have had, and that we have a clinging, crushing weight of sin, which we have gathered and heaped upon ourselves, which benumbs all our efforts and palsies all our faculties, and from which, if we had given ear to the exhortations of our better monitors, inward and outward, we might have been free. Hare. Put it down as a fact that there is a law of penalty in the universe, and you can neither suspend it nor evade it. This is a law and not a caprice, a necessity of goodness and not a burst of passion. It is the very security of the universe; without it we could not pray, without it we could not live. A man cannot touch fire and not be burned. The stars in their courses utter God's testimony; the winds as they fly are vocal with His name; the lightning as it comes will be harmless as a blessing if you make a highway for it, but oppose, and you oppose it only once. J. P. The God of heaven has said and does say to every wicked man, that if he go on still in his trespasses he shall surely die; his iniquity shall undoubtedly be his ruin—it tends to ruin and will end in ruin. Dying thou shalt die; thou shalt die so great a death, shalt die eternally, be ever dying but never dead. The wicked man shall die in his iniquity, shall die under the guilt of it, die under the dominion of it. That if a wicked man turn from his wickedness and from his wicked way he shall live, and the ruin he is threatened with shall be prevented; and that he may do so he is warned of the danger he is in. The wicked man shall die if he go on, but shall live if he repent. Observe: He is to turn from his wickedness and from his wicked way. It is not enough for a man to turn from his wicked way by an outward reformation, which may be the effect of his sins leaving of him rather than of his leaving his sins, but he must turn from his wickedness, from the love of it and the inclination to it by an inward regeneration; if he do not so much as turn from his wicked way there is little hope that he will turn from his wickedness. The ministry of the word is concerning matters of life and death, for those are the things it sets before us, the blessing and the curse, that we may escape the curse and inherit the blessing. H. The law of God denounces eternal death as the punishment for all sins, not because they are all alike in moral guilt, but because they are all alike indications of the same condition of the sinner—one of enmity to God. The very lightest transgression proves, as clearly as the very greatest, the innate lawlessness of the perverted and therefore sinful will. Bp. Magee. When God throws upon man the fearful responsibility of the issue of his course, and he examines the testimony of his own consciousness upon the subject, it tells him that in a moral point of view he is precisely what he chooses to be; that the path upon which he is travelling, leading him, as he sees it does, away from the forgiveness, and peace, and hope of the Gospel, is the one which, upon the whole, is preferable to his mind; and thus, out of deference to the desires of his own heart, which cling to the vanities and pleasures and honors of this perishable world—in the face of motives infinite as God can make them, forceful as the retributions of a coming scene, bright as the fascinations and dark as the forbidding gloom of an eternal world, he turns away from an offered salvation, and with his own hand closes against himself the gate of heaven and puts the seal upon his everlasting destiny. For this controversy between God and man God has the human spirit on His own side, and no one can wring from it a testimony in contracontra-diction of the statement of the Saviour, “Ye will not come unto Me, that ye might have life.” E. M. Fearful is even one instance of the rejection of the offer of life eternal. How long can it be persisted in without an interminably fatal result? If men will go on, over and over again, putting from them the cup of immortality, in every way ministering to the disease of sin, and retaining its leprosy in the soul, refusing the aid of the Great Physician, the elements of an everlasting character are all the while forming. If men will exclude the gracious influences of the Divine Spirit, and prefer their alienation from the life of God, no wonder if God at length retires from them, and leaves the completion of the sinful creature for eternity to the hands of the master workman, Death! G. B. C. The dormant sense of liability for the consequences of our conduct ought surely to be awakened by considering how we hold other men responsible in common life. Society is pervaded by the law of personal responsibility; the weight rests on every head, on every heart. It is the burden of life which every man must bear. Every man’s sphere of action is much wider than he imagines. The punishment of sin always seems to a habitual transgressor disproportionate to the offence. There is not a sinner who will not be astounded when God “sets in order before him” the facts of his case. These considerations should impress the mind with a new sense of the infinite bearings of our thoughts, words, and actions, and should make us “swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” Let to-day be the day of salvation by becoming the day of judgment, for “if we would judge ourselves, we should not be condemned with the world.” E. White. Our voices should ever be heard on earth. A solemn message is committed to us, by the very fact of our belief in Jesus Christ and His work. With that faith come responsibilities of which no Christian can denude himself. To warn the wicked man to turn from His wickedness; to blow the trumpet when we see the sword coming; to catch ever gleaming on the horizon, like the spears of an army through the dust of the march, the outriders and advance guard of the coming of Him whose coming is life or death to all, and to lift up our voices with strength and say, “Behold your God;” to peal into the ears of men, sunken in earthliness and dreaming of safety, the cry which may startle and save; to ring out in glad tones to all who wearily ask, “Watchman, what of the night? Will the night soon pass?” the answer which the slow dawning east has breathed into our else stony lips, "The morning cometh;" to proclaim Christ, who came once to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, who comes ever, through the ages, to bless and uphold the righteousness which He loves, and to destroy the iniquity which he hates, who will come at the last to judge the world—this is the never-ending task of the watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem. The New Testament calls it "preaching;" proclaiming as a herald does. A. M. Every person is in one sense or another an appointed watchman in behalf of others. Every man is in one sense or another his brother's counsellor, even if not his brother's keeper. In just so far as he knows the better or the more perilous way which opens before his brother—especially his younger brother—is a man in duty bound to give a word of counsel or of warning to that brother. When we have faithfully and in loving tenderness given good counsel to those whom God has privileged us to teach or to reach, then, and not until then, are we to leave the responsibility with them as to their action in the direction of our counsel. If they go wrong without our good advice, we are sharers with them in the blame of their wrong-going; but if they go wrong in spite of our good advice, they alone must bear the blame of their wrong-going. S. S. T. 20. I lay a stumbling-block before him. I bring him to trial by placing difficulties and temptations in his way. Thus in 7:19 the silver and gold which the people possessed are said to be the stumbling-block of their iniquity. See 44:12, they caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, lit. as in margin, they were for a stumbling-block of iniquity to the house of Israel. In 14:3, 4 the people are said themselves to put the stumbling-block of their iniquity before their eyes. It is true that God tempts no man in order to his destruction, but in the course of His providence He permits men to be tried in order that their faith may be approved, and in this trial some who seem to be righteous fall. (See on chap. 18.) Because. This is not the sole cause—the individual was tried and found wanting; but so far as the prophet was concerned, the neglect of his duty is reckoned as the cause of the seemingly righteous man's fall. B. C. The best men in the world have need to be warned against apostasy, and to be told of the danger they are in of it and the danger they are in by it. God's servants must be warned (Ps. 19:11), that they do not neglect His work and quit His service. One good means to keep us from falling is to keep up a holy fear of falling (Heb. 4:1), Let us therefore fear; and (Rom. 11:20), even those that stand by faith must not be high-minded, but fear, and must therefore be warned. H. Righteous turn. (Also Ezek. 18:24, 26; 33:12, 13, 18.) All these passages are hypothetic: "If a righteous man should turn," or when the righteous doth turn—which means, If he should. None of them directly affirm that a truly righteous man does in fact turn back to utter sinning. They do squarely affirm that, if he should, he would die in his sins. So in Heb. 6:4-6: "If they shall fall away," all is over with them; it is impossible to renew them again. Yet this falls short of affirming that any one does apostatize utterly from the true Christian state. H. C. 21. There seems to be an intimation that sin is alien to the character of a righteous man. The words might be rendered if thou warn the righteous man that he sin not as becometh a righteous man. (Cf. 1 John 3:7-9.) B. C. 22,23. This "plain" or valley stands contrasted with the hill (Tell Abib) where the people resided. The spirit of the call is, Go down to a retired place; I have another personal charge to give thee in private. The prophet obeyed; and there he saw again the same manifestation of the glory of the Lord which he had seen by the river Chebar. Here also, as there, he falls prostrate on his face. This going to the valley seems to have been done in the external world. What followed there was said and shown to him in prophetic vision. H. C. 23. A fresh revelation of the glory of the Lord, to impress upon Ezekiel another characteristic of his mission. By eating the roll (verse 2) he was taught that his words should be those of the Spirit of God—by being a watchman, that he must speak boldly and without fear of consequences; now he is to learn that there is a time to be silent as well as a time to speak, and that both are appointed by God. This represents forcibly the authoritative character and Divine origin of the utterances of the Hebrew prophets. B. C. 27. The likelihood of men obeying the Gospel is usually diminishing in proportion to the frequency with which that Gospel is preached to them and its appeals ministered upon them. The blessing may be undervalued because it is within the reach of all; and while an outward regard to it may be the marked characteristic of a whole community, they may be no less distinguished by a practical indifference to it; and thus a people who have enjoyed the clearest light of the Gospel may, as they become hardened under its influences, convert their very privileges into the grounds of their more certain and severer condemnation. And so the clearness of Gospel light, and the multiplicity of Gospel advantages, may be not only the precursors, but the instruments of a general blindness of mind, and deadness of heart. And a people subjected to the well-arranged and well-plied machinery of religion may, by reason of this fact, be fast falling into that state into which we may suppose the hearers of Ezekiel to have been, which rendered his ministry to them more ineffectual and hopeless than it would have been among a people as ignorant and superstitious as the men of Nineveh, to whom Jonah preached with such effectiveness and success. E. Mason. It is not strange that God should act upon the souls of His converted children in these two lines of influence—viz., upon their hopes, through rich promise; upon their fears, through warnings against apostasy. Upon their hopes, for they often sadly need this assurance of His love and of His gracious help; upon their fears, for their own utmost vigilance must be secured and kept in exercise, their own constant endeavors, their own watchfulness, prayer, and faith in God. Doubtless the interworking of these two lines of influence—appeals to hope and appeals to fear—are delicate and critical, and require a careful adjustment of promise and warning; but this should not militate against the fact that both these influences are provided for in the plan of God, and are both brought in the Scriptures to bear on the Christian heart. Both are involved in the ministration of one and the same Divine Spirit. He uses each and both as means for securing the perseverance of the saints. It may be well to consider that warnings against danger are one of the necessary and natural means of protecting moral agents against that danger, and so are among the necessary means of fulfilling the promise of their ultimate salvation. To omit warnings against danger because Divine promise has pledged final victory would be extremest folly. For us to ask it would be equivalent to proposing to the Almighty—not to say, demanding of Him—that He save His people without any activities or agencies of their own—without their own prayer or faith or watchfulness. Let us remember that God's plan contemplates dealing with free moral agents, and proposes to save them only as such agents—i.e., by keeping alive their faith and prayer and watchful endeavor. So that the gist of our problem is simply this: Is it in the power of the Infinite God to keep alive this faith, prayer, and watchfulness of His people to such a degree as will insure their ultimate salvation? Can He apply this power of His Spirit behind and back of the appropriate Christian effort, so as to keep alive those holy impulses, and thus preserve truly converted souls from falling fatally? On this point we must say: His promises plainly indicate that, in His view, He can. He would not have promised if He had foreseen that He could not perform. The outcome of this interworking of Divine with human agencies is that God is able to determine, and therefore can fitly promise, a given result—this result involving the free moral agencies of man, yet without infringing upon man's moral responsibility, without overriding it or in any wise dishonoring it. Else it were in vain for God to foretell future events in prophecy and at the same time depend upon the free moral action of men to bring those events to pass. "The Son of man goeth as it was determined; but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had never been born." For the fact that his deed was foreknown and foreindicated of God could neither abate from his freedom nor lessen his guilt. This subject ought not to be dismissed without the remark that the doctrine of saints' perseverance is capable of being abused. It may be used wisely and well; but doubtless also it has sometimes been abused, and may be again. When a professed Christian says to himself, "Once a Christian, always a Christian;" I made my salvation forever sure when I was converted, and I can go in the strength of that assurance the rest of my days—without watchfulness, without fear of falling, without much if any prayer; with little if any real endeavor to live and labor for Christ—he is manifestly on the high road to perdition. Who has guaranteed the soundness of his conversion? How does he know that he is one of Christ's sheep? The test given by the Good Shepherd Himself is, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;" but this man does neither. H. C. 4 : 1 THOU also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it 2 a city, even Jerusalem : and lay siege against it, and build forts against it, and cast up a mount against it ; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it round about. 3 And take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city : and set thy face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. 4 Moreover lie thou upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it : according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity. 5 For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three 6 hundred and ninety days : so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity 7 of the house of Judah : forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee. And thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with thine arm uncovered ; and thou 8 shalt prophesy against it. And behold, I lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee 9 from one side to another, till thou hast accomplished the days of thy siege. Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof ; according to the number of the days that thou shalt 10 lie upon thy side, even three hundred and ninety days, shalt thou eat thereof. And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day : from time to time shalt thou 11 eat it. And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of an hin : from time to time 12 shalt thou drink. And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in their sight 13 with dung that cometh out of man. And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of 14 Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them. Then said I, Ah Lord God ! behold, my soul hath not been polluted : for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn of beasts ; neither came there abomi- 15 nable flesh into my mouth. Then he said unto me, See, I have given thee cow's dung for 16 man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread thereon. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem : and they shall eat bread by weight, 17 and with carefulness ; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment : that they may want bread and water, and be astonished one with another, and pine away in their iniquity.5 : 1 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp sword, as a barber's razor shalt thou take it unto thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard : then take thee bal- 2 ances to weigh, and divide the hair. A third part shalt thou burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled ; and thou shalt take a third part, and smite with the sword round about it ; and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind, and I will 3 draw out a sword after them. And thou shalt take thereof a few in number, and bind them 4 in thy skirts. And of these again shalt thou take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire ; therefrom shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel. 5 Thus saith the Lord God : This is Jerusalem : I have set her in the midst of the nations, 6 and countries are round about her. And she hath rebelled against my judgements in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that are round about her : for they have rejected my judgements, and as for my statutes, they have 7 not walked in them. Therefore thus saith the Lord God : Because ye are turbulent more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgements, neither have done after the ordinances of the nations that are round 8 about you ; therefore thus saith the Lord God : Behold, I, even I, am against thee ; and I 9 will execute judgements in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of 10 all thine abominations. Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers ; and I will execute judgements in thee, and the whole remnant of 11 thee will I scatter unto all the winds. Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, surely, be- cause thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, and I also will 13 have no pity. A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and a third part I will scatter unto all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them. 13 Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will satisfy my fury upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken in my zeal, when I have ac- 14 complished my fury upon them. Moreover I will make thee a desolation and a reproach, 15 among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment, unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgements in thee in anger and in fury, and in furious 16 rebukes: I, the LORD have spoken it: when I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, that are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you; and I will increase the 17 famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread; and I will send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee: I the LORD have spoken it. Chaps. 4, 5. The coming siege of Jerusalem and dispersion of its inhabitants foretold under divers symbols. If we accept the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity (as is most probable) for the year in which Ezekiel received this communication, we may observe that it was a time at which such an event would, according to human calculation, have appeared improbable. Zedekiah was the creature of the king of Babylon, ruling by his authority in the place of Jehoiachin, who was still alive; and it could scarcely have been expected that Zedekiah would have been so infatuated as to provoke the anger of the powerful Nebuchadnezzar. It is indeed to infatuation that the sacred historian ascribes the act (2 K. 24: 20), God in this way carrying out His purpose of punishing the iniquity of the people by the folly of their king. B. C. 4. The object of the symbolic transactions recorded in this chapter was to impress the exiles with the facts that Jerusalem was soon to be besieged; that this siege would be exceedingly severe, involving great famine and distress; and that it was to come upon the city and the people for their great sins. The date of the prophecies in chaps. 4-7 cannot be much later than the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity, since no new date appears between chaps. 1: 2 and 8: 1. The latter was the sixth year and sixth month. Zedekiah's reign began very soon after the captivity of Jehoiachin. The siege of Jerusalem commenced in the tenth month of his ninth year (Jer. 52: 4). Hence this prophecy preceded the beginning of the siege by some four or four and a half years only. The two significant symbolic transactions recorded in this chapter are closely related to each other—are indeed parts of the same whole—viz., (1) the delineation of the city of Jerusalem on a tile, and formally laying siege to it; and (2) the prophet's lying on his left side three hundred and ninety days, and on his right forty, and taking his bread and water by measure during those periods—to indicate both the straitness of the siege and its moral causes in the nation's great sins. H. C. Ezekiel, having prepared his representation of Jerusalem, proceeded to conduct the operations of a siege against it. Having finished his fort, his mount, and set his battering rams, the prophet proceeds to lay close siege to the city, with an iron baking-pan between him and it. This pan must be taken as a symbol of the Divine wrath—like the seething-pot in Jer. 1: 13; and it seems to stand for an iron or metallic wall, set up against the too late prayers and complaints of a people given over to destruction. Before this symbolic wall the prophet impersonates another set of symbols, in which he represents the condition of the besieged: thus undergoing a double representative action—a thing not unusual in Scripture. In doing this he is enjoined to lie first upon his left side for three hundred and ninety days, bearing the iniquity of the house of Israel; and then to turn and lie upon his right side forty days, bearing the iniquity of the house of Judah. As this lying upon the right side is connected with the immediate action, whereas the lying on the left side represents, in part at least, that which had already passed, it seems designed to bear a peculiar significance and to denote the severer calamity of the two. This significance lying on the right side still retains in the East, although it is, we think, contended by our medical authorities that men in general lie naturally on the right side, and that it is most wholesome for them to do so. Thus lying, the prophet has to represent the famishing condition to which the besieged shall be reduced, by the nature and quantity of his food and by the mode in which he prepares it. He is directed to take different kinds of substances capable of being made into bread, from the best to the worst—from wheat to lentils and beans—and to mix them together for his bread, as if to show that the people should be reduced to the mere sweepings of their stores, and get so little even of this that they should be constrained to mix them together to form a loaf of bread. This is further shown by the careful weighing out every day of the small quantity of this food he may take, and measuring out the water he may drink. Further, to indicate the scarcity of fuel in a besieged town, when supplies from the country can be no longer brought in, the prophet was directed to bake his food by the heat of the most offensive kind of fuel. Against this his soul revolted, and he allowed himself to remonstrate; and that the burden of his representative commission might not be too onerous to him, he was graciously permitted to use the dried dung of animals to dress his food. Kitto. 1-3. The ruins of Nineveh and of Babylon have furnished the world during the present century large quantities of "tile," sun-baked or kiln-burnt brick, covered with inscriptions. Hence this symbol was perfectly familiar to Ezekiel and to his fellow-exiles. To portray a city on a tile and let it represent Jerusalem was altogether in harmony with the usages of the Chaldean people. This symbolic transaction was throughout in keeping with the modes of ancient warfare. Towers were built, mounds raised, often to the full height of the walls of the besieged city; a camp was fitted up, battering-rams provided. Then, to protect the besiegers, strong ramparts were raised between them and the city, indicated in this transaction by the "iron pan." All this was for a "sign" to the house of Israel, a thoroughly symbolic process, to signify the siege of their beloved city. There can be no reasonable doubt that this was really done as here stated, and not merely seen in vision without being done in fact. For the record has none of the usual intimations of a vision—e.g., "I looked;" "I saw;" "the Lord showed me;" "I was in the spirit and saw," etc. H. C. 3. The prophet here applies the general term Israel to the kingdom of Judah. So also 3:7, 17; 5:4; 8:6, and elsewhere. So in the Books of Chronicles written in the time of or after the Captivity, 2 Chron. 21:2, Jehoshaphat, king of Israel, and 28. After the Captivity of the Ten Tribes the kingdom of Judah represented the whole nation, and we find both Hezekiah and Josiah calling on such of the tribes of Israel as had been left in the land to join their brethren of Judah in keeping a most solemn Passover (2 Chron. 30:1; 35:18). Hence prophets writing after this event constantly address their countrymen as the house of Israel without distinction of tribes. It is only on such occasions as below (verses 5, 6) that the distinction between Israel and Judah is kept up. B. C. 4-6. In the same strain as the previous symbol, it is a simple command to do. Manifestly this lying on either side, as well as the preparation and eating of his food, were to be done "in the sight of the people" (see verse 12). Now, since the people are in the external world only, and not in prophetic vision, this must have been an actual proceeding, and not a thing of mere vision. It cannot be supposed that this lying on one side was absolutely continuous and unbroken by any rising up during the entire thirteen months in the former case and one and one third months in the latter. For, according to the record, the prophet prepared his own food and ate it from to time. The three hundred and ninety years of Israel began with the revolt of Jeroboam. In that revolt Israel, as distinct from Judah, was prominent. There, in her revolt and in the idolatrous decree of the golden calves, the terrible relapse of the whole nation into idolatry began. On the other hand the forty years' period related specially to Judah, marking the period of her last guilty relapse from God, and suggesting the great light she had sinned against. That God's special appointment should make each day's lying by the prophet on his side symbolic of one year need occasion no surprise or difficulty. Once indicated, the significance was clear and unmistakable. But, that interpreters of prophecy should find here authority for the theory that in all prophetic notations of time, "day" means "year," and "year" means three hundred and sixty years, is in the last degree capricious and unfounded. How can those who embrace this theory fail to see that throughout this passage the words "day" and "year" are used evermore in their ordinary and common sense, and not at all with the special extension or rather multiplication which they claim for them? Did the prophet lie on his left side three hundred and ninety years, and on his right side forty years? In the present case the only reason why each day's confined posture on the side represents a year lies in the symbol (not in the word day), and is there by special Divine arrangement. It is not at all in the sense of the words “day” and “year.” The Lord told the prophet and also the people that his lying a certain number of days on either side should remind the people of so many years of their national sin. H. C. All this that the prophet sets before the children of his people concerning the destruction of Jerusalem is designed to bring them to repentance, by showing them sin, the provoking cause of this destruction—sin, the ruin of that once flourishing city, than which surely nothing could be more effectual to make them hate sin and turn from it; while he thus in lively colors describes the calamity with a great deal of pain and uneasiness to himself, he is bearing the iniquity of Israel and Judah. “Look here,” says he, “and see what work sin makes, what an evil and bitter thing it is to depart from God; this comes of sin, your sin and the sin of your fathers; let that therefore be the daily matter of your sorrow and shame now in your captivity, that you may make your peace with God, and He may return in mercy to you.” H. 7,8. This is a remarkable combination of symbols—a man lying prostrate on one side, to signify that he bears the iniquity of the house of Israel; yet setting his face toward his tile, which represents Jerusalem, to indicate that he is (in symbol) besieging the city, and having his arm bare and his loins girded to show that the assailing party is alert and unimpeded in his assault. 16,17. The phrase, “to eat bread with care,” should take the stronger sense of extreme anxiety, dreadful apprehension. Famine and terror should consume them—a fearful doom! Before we pass from this chapter let us note the fact that the scenes it describes filled out (at three hundred and sixty-five days per year) one year, two months and a fraction of five days over, while the interval between the dates in chap. 1:1, 2, and in chap. 8:1, is one year and two months. As the numbers in chap. 4 are obviously round numbers, it can scarcely be doubted that the two periods are identically the same. That is, the symbolic transaction, representing the siege of Jerusalem and the bearing of the iniquities of Israel and Judah, filled up the first stage of his prophetic life—the entire interval between his call, with the vision accompanying it, and the second great vision recorded (chaps. 8-11). This symbolical scene, therefore, was properly his introduction before the people in his new character as a prophet. As such, it was adapted to make strong impressions on their minds. Let us also note that these symbolic transactions recorded in this chap. 4 are the text for the sermon which fills chaps. 5, 6 and 7. These latter chapters for the most part drop all symbol, and announce in plain but terrible words the judgments of siege, conquest and destruction, then within four or five years of being realized upon the long guilty and doomed city of the Jews. These lessons were full of terrible significance to their captive brethren now in Chaldea, as we shall see. Chap. 5. This chapter presents a new symbol, but continues the same course of thought. Manifestly, the destiny of the doomed city and people of Jerusalem is the theme illustrated here by the prophet’s cutting off the hairs of his head and of his beard, dividing the mass into three equal parts, and then by a triple process destroying them. The body of the chapter explains this symbolic transaction and unfolds in various forms this revealed destiny of ruin to the people and the city. H. C. 1-4. We have here the sign by which the utter destruction of Jerusalem is set forth; and here, as before, the prophet is himself the sign, that the people might see how much he affected himself with and interested himself in the case of Jerusalem, and how near it lay to his heart even then, when he foretold the desolations of it; he was so much concerned about it, as to take what was done to it as done to himself, so far was he from desiring the woful day. H. 1,2. This cutting of the prophet’s hair was a real transaction, having a symbolic import to the people. The balances were to divide the hair into three equal parts, each of which was to have its own peculiar mode of destruction. “The days of the siege” form a connecting link between this chapter and the preceding one. Verse 12 is God’s own interpretation of this symbol. One third part of the people are to die with pestilence and famine in the city; another third by the sword in the siege and capture; and the remaining third were to be scattered to every wind of heaven, and the sword of the Lord would pursue even these to their destruction. H. C. 3,4. Of the third part a few are yet to be taken and kept in the fold of the garment (representing those still to remain in their native land), and yet even of those few some are to be cast into the fire. Such was the fate of those left behind after the destruction of Jerusalem (Jer. 40, 41). The whole prophecy is one of denunciation. We are not therefore to think so much of a remnant preserved by grace as of the number exempted from the former judgments and yet not destined to escape; though, as not all are cast into the fire, the sentence is not without some reservation. B. C. A small remnant were to be gathered carefully and bound up in his skirts, yet even of them some would be cast into the fire, and a fire go forth from them into all the house of Israel. If this has special reference to any particular portion of the Jewish people, it would naturally be to that small remnant who remained in the land, but were either cut off with Gedaliah, or went down into Egypt to perish there. The general sense is, manifestly, that only the smallest part of a small remnant should survive these sweeping calamities. A better remnant were saved out of the exiles in Chaldea—this revelation of exterminating judgments on those who remained in Judah being one of the divinely ordained means for their moral culture and restoration to piety and to their own land. H. C. 4. The siege being thus represented, the condition and suffering of the inhabitants are to be prefigured. They are exhibited by the condition of one who, bound as a prisoner or oppressed by sickness, cannot turn from his right side to his left. The prophet was in such a state. Shalt bear their iniquity. The scapegoat was to bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited (Lev. 16: 21, 22), in order that their sins might thus be removed and be remembered no more—so was the prophet, in a figure, to bear their iniquities for a fixed period, in order to show that, after the period thus foretold, the burden of their sins should be taken off, and the people be forgiven. B. C. 5. Here the interpretation of the symbols begins. This represents the doom of Jerusalem—the long-loved and honored city of the exiles in Chaldea, to whom Ezekiel is prophesying. He is setting before them the judgments about to fall on her—long and richly due for her great sins. That she is “in the midst of the nations and countries about her,” looks to her central position among the nations of Western Asia and Northeastern Africa, and to her prominence before all those nations as a people governed and judged by the only living God. H. C. The middle place was in the East the place of honor, and it was not unusual for nations to regard the sanctuary, which they most revered, as the centre of the earth. In the case of the Holy Land this was both natural and appropriate. Egypt to the south, Syria to the north, Assyria to the east and the Isles of the Gentiles in the Great Sea to the west, were to the Jew proofs of the central position of his land in the midst of the nations (cf. Jer. 3: 19). The habitation assigned to the chosen people was no doubt purposely chosen by Jehovah. It was suitable at the first for separating them from the nations; then for the seat of the vast dominion of Solomon, carrying his arms and commerce in every direction; then when they learned from their neighbors the idol-worship, against which they were specially called to protest, their central position was the source of their punishment. Midway between the mighty empires of Egypt and Assyria the Holy Land became a battlefield for the two powers, and suffered alternately from each as for the time it became predominant. B. C. Theodoret explains these words thus: “He gave them, he says, the middle of the earth for a dwelling-place. To the east and north of them lay Asia; to the west Europe, linked with them by the sea; to the south Libya. That was done that the nations might be able to learn from the Jews piety and the ordinances of the law.” On the same text Jerome makes the comment: “The prophet bears witness that Jerusalem lies in the middle of the world, and is the navel of the earth. That city is placed among the heathen, that all the nations which dwell round about Jerusalem might follow the God who is known in Judea and whose name is great in Israel.” The exposition of the words of Ps. 74: 12 (according to the Septuagint and Vulgate versions) agrees well with this: “God, our King, has wrought salvation in the centre of the earth.” This centre, it is said, is the place of the cross of Christ, with reference to which these same words from the Psalms are inscribed in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre also. In this sense an ancient Christian poet says: Here is earth’s central point, and here is victory’s sign.” And Victorinus of Poitou: “That holy place, earth’s central spot, we know, Jerusalem and all Palestine belong practically to a peninsula, which lies in the centre of the Old World, and to which Ararat also belongs. Let one take on the globe the distance from Ararat to the south of Suez, with a pair of compasses, and make a circle with that as a radius; the circle so made will cut the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Aral, the Caspian Sea, the Sea of Asoph, the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmora, and finally, the eastern part of the Mediterranean. On the height of that peninsula, at the sources of the Tigris and the Euphrates, lay Paradise, according to the Mosaic story; near thereto, on Ararat, the ark rested, at an equal distance exactly from the northeastern extremity of Asia (at Behring's Straits) and from the Cape of Good Hope—in the middle of the longest land-line of the Old World. This central spot, the plateau of Armenia, was the original seat of the human race, the starting-point for the first Adamic dispersion as well as for the second Noachic dispersion. Von Raumer. 5-17. We have here the explanation of the foregoing similitude: This is Jerusalem. The prophet's head, which was to be shaved, signified Jerusalem, which by the judgments of God was now to be stripped of all its ornaments, to be emptied of all its inhabitants, and to be set naked and bare, to be shaved with a razor that is hired (Isa. 7: 20). The head of one that was a priest, a prophet, a holy person, was fittest to represent Jerusalem, the holy city. Now the contents of these verses are much the same with what we have often met with, and still shall, in the writings of the prophets. H. 11. "Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head." In this vision God showed Ezekiel that He would bring down His fearful and unsparing wrath upon His own Church, which had gone away from Him and identified itself with the world. The vision is meant equally for us. God never changes. He will treat the Christian Church as He treated the Jewish. His fierce anger will be felt both by ministers and people who turn His truth into a lie and use the Christian name as a cover for lust and greed. H. Crosby. 13-17. These verses expand and reiterate the thought that these judgments are the stern demand of Divine justice and the outburst of irrepressible indignation, designed not only as a fearful retribution upon the guilty Jews, but as a lesson of solemn instruction and admonition to all surrounding nations. This assumes that the principles on which God dealt with the Jewish nation were not unique and special, but general, and applicable, therefore, to all nations of every age and clime, and hence to our own nation and people. This fact deserves to be seriously pondered. In the case of the Jews, God has taught us how He will judge and punish every other guilty nation, including, of course, our own. If it be asked, Why such threatenings against Jerusalem and the Jews of Judea, in the prophecies of Ezekiel, borne only to the exiles in Chaldea? The answer is at hand. Those Jews in their native land were their own brethren and fathers; that city was their own loved home. These judgments, therefore, appealed to their tenderest sympathies, and were brought thus vividly before their mind for their moral good. The Divine hope and purpose were to impress them with God's abhorrence of idolatry, to open their eyes to its guilt, and turn their heart effectually from this great national sin. H. C. 6: 1, 2 AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy unto them, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. And your altars shall become desolate, and your sun-images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. And I will lay the carcasses of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your sun-images may be hewn down, and your works may be abolished. And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 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 they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, how that I have been broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the 10 evils which they have committed in all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the LORD: I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them. 11. Thus saith the Lord God: Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas! because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel: for they shall fall by the sword, 12 by the famine, and by the pestilence. He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the 13 famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, 14 the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. And I will stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate and waste, from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD. 7:1, 2 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, And thou, son of man, 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 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 the LORD. 5,6. Thus saith the Lord God: An evil, an only evil; behold, it cometh. An end is come, the end is come, it awaketh against thee; behold, it cometh. Thy doom is come unto thee, O inhabitant of the land: the time is come, the day is near; a day of tumult, and not of joyful 8 shouting, upon the mountains. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger against thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring 9 upon thee all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will bring upon thee according to thy ways, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of 10 thee; and ye shall know that I the LORD do smite. 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: 12 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 him- 14 self in the iniquity of his life. 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 16 sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him. But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of 17 them mourning, 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; 19 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 the LORD; they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it hath been the stumbling-block of their in- 20 iquity. 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 21 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 22 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. 24. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pride of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be profaned. De- 26 struction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; and they shall seek a vision of the 27 prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and 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 after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. Chap. 6. This chapter is in the same strain with chaps. 4, 5 and 7—predicting fearful judgments on the land and people of Judah—this strain being broken only by a brief reference to a remnant that should survive and repent (verses 8, 9). H. C. The former prophecies concerned the city of Jerusalem and the inhabitants of Judea. The present is addressed to the whole land and people of Israel, which is to be included in a like judgment. The ground of the judgment is idolatry, and the whole rests on De. 12. There an injunction was given to the people of God to root out and utterly destroy idols and idol worship. This they had not done; nay, they had themselves joined in this false worship. Therefore Jehovah will bring about that destruction, which they had failed to inflict, and will include those who have thus joined themselves to the heathen. Hence the force of I, even I. "I will Myself do what you should have done." The prophecy is against the mountains of Israel, not so much because the land of Israel was characterized by mountains and deep valleys, as because the mountains and valleys were the seats of idol worship. B. C. 1-7. With a bold personification, the mountains, hills, ravines and valleys, desecrated by the horrid rites of idolatry, are here addressed as if intelligent and conscious of guilt and danger. The Lord threatens to bring the sword upon those desecrated places, and to cut down the guilty idolaters so that their dead bodies shall lie unburied around their altars and before their idols. 8-10. The destruction of the covenant people will not be universal and utter. A small remnant of the captives will be spared and ultimately brought to repentance. This precious truth is interposed here for the comfort of those who still retained some fear of God, and for the encouragement of those who could be moved to serious thought toward repentance. H. C. 9. The product and evidence of their repentance: "They shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations." Thus God will give them grace to qualify them for pardon and deliverance. His goodness takes occasion from their badness to appear the more illustrious. Those that truly loathe sin cannot but loathe themselves because of sin; self-loathing is evermore the companion of true repentance. Penitents quarrel with themselves, and can never be reconciled to themselves till they have some ground to hope that God is reconciled to them; nay, then they shall lie down in their shame when He is pacified toward them. H. Since Ezekiel is addressing the Church of God through Israel, we are to note here that the general principle of the Divine administration is laid down. Sin leads to judgment, judgment to repentance, repentance to forgiveness, forgiveness to reconciliation, reconciliation to a knowledge of communion with God. B. C. 11-14. The same threatenings which we had before in the foregoing chapter, and in the former part of this, are here repeated, with a direction to the prophet to lament them, that those he prophesied to might be the more affected with the foresight of them. H.—The people would have convincing proof that God had spoken these words of doom when they should see the idol worshippers lying dead among their idols and around their altars in every place where they had made offerings to idol gods. Chap. 7. This chapter continues and closes this particular message, and announces the fearful doom of the guilty Jews and of their city. The points made specially prominent are: that this day of judgment is very near, and that the ruin it shall bring upon the city, the land, and the people shall be extreme and utter. H. C. This chapter 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. B. C. 1-4. A terrible emphasis is laid upon the oft-repeated words, "the end is come." The land is to be made utterly desolate. Its beauty and glory will go down in the darkness of night. God will pour out His wrath upon them and requite them for all their abominable idolatries. "Thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee," implies that they will be there, not as sins being committed and enjoyed, but as sins calling loudly for retribution and bringing it down terribly upon the long-sinning people. 6. The end is the predestined, long-predicted and deserved end. In the next clause read, it awaketh and riseth up against thee—as if it had been a slumbering giant, but now starts from its slumbers and puts itself on the alert to do its work. H. C. The end cometh of that "now" in which "God commandeth all men everywhere to re- pent." But with the end of time comes not the end of duration or being. With the end of these employments comes not the end of the soul's activity. With the end of these possessions, these enjoyments and these struggles and afflictions comes not the end of all possessions, of all pleasure and of all pain. All the plans, the experiences, the achievements, the hopes of this earthly life, are but the beginnings of endless lines and endless issues. And with this ceaseless continuance of being, the formed character abides unchanged. He that is holy shall be holy still. He that is unholy shall be unholy still. The soul forgiven, renewed, transformed, made pure by Divine power through grace, shall be forever maintained in its possession of holiness, in its perfected likeness to and oneness with God, and abide forever with the Lord. The soul unforgiven, unrenewed, and unsanctified shall be forever abandoned to its chosen heritage of fellowship with lost angels in the dark realm of guilty despair. Nor in these differing states and spheres shall there be an end of action. Every energy of mind, heart, will, judgment, memory, feeling, all shall find ceaseless employ. Upon the past, without oblivion of aught, upon the experiences of the present, upon the prospects of the future, the holy and unholy soul alike shall be forever actively employed, with every energy absorbed in its appointed work, its work of grateful memory, of praise and holy service in the presence of God, or its work of self-accusation, of ever-prolonged, unhallowed thought, of ungratified, sinful desire and unrestrained evil purpose. B. 10,11. The cycle of the Divine order brings thee thy day of doom. "The rod hath blossomed"—the rod for thy scourging hath developed itself and is in readiness for service; the pride of thy conquerors flowers out—i.e., into action and life, impelling them on to war and destruction against thee. The figure in regard to pride follows the previous figure of the rod. Violence becomes a rod to scourge and punish thy wickedness. H. C. Two sins are particularly specified as provoking God to bring these judgments upon them, pride and oppression. God will humble them by His judgments, for they have magnified themselves. The rod of affliction has blossomed, but it was pride that budded (verse 10). What buds in sins 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. Their enemies shall deal hardly with them, for they have dealt hardly with one another (verse 11); violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness; their injuriousness to one another is protected and patronized by the power of the magistrate. The rod of government was become a rod of wickedness; to such a degree of impudence was violence risen up. I saw the place of judgment, that wickedness was there (Eccles. 3:16; Isa. 5:7). Whatever are the fruits of God's judgments, it is certain that our sin is the root of them. H. The expression is in every way remarkable, and is very full of meaning. The rod is to be understood as denoting the instrument by which the sins of the people were to be punished. In this instance it was Nebuchadnezzar; but the consideration to which it directs us is applicable to any case of judgment. It illustrates 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 this, 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 honor, 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 of the judgments upon Israel, which had so often been denounced, and were so greatly needed. Exactly the same course was followed in the case of the Canaanites whom the Israelites superseded in the possession of Palestine. In that case Israel was the rod of Canaan. The rod was planted long before "the iniquities of the Canaanites were full" for judgment; but when that time arrived, the rod of judgment had grown to blossoming, and the long-predicted punishment was no longer withheld. All was ready; the sinners were ready for judgment—the rod was ready to inflict it. The same was the course with Babylon itself, in the present case the rod of Israel. For her pride, her arrogance, and her unrighteousness she was doomed to be brought low. The prophets foretold it; and they indicated the yet unplanted Medo-Persian rod as the future instrument of her chastisement. The rod was planted—it grew; and when it blossomed in strength the Lord brake in pieces therewith many nations, as He had threatened—great Babylon being the first and the chief. God does not now deal any differently with mankind. As signal instances might be given from the modern history of nations, as any that ancient history can produce. No century of time has been more replete with them than the present. To produce instances would lead into the field of politics, which we avoid. But this we can say, that so sure as any nation enters upon and persists in a course of unrighteousness, or addicts itself to any particular sin, so surely the rod of judgment is planted; so surely will it blossom for chastisement at the set time. To come nearer: as God deals with nations, so does He deal with individuals; there is the same law for both. Whether a man professes to be in Christ or not, if he follow any unrighteous course—if he cherish any bosom sin, mental or personal, of thought or action—let him be assured that the rod of judgment is planted, and will in due time bear the bitter fruits of shame, fear and sorrow to him. Because God waits till the rod has blossomed, the poor sinner may think that God tolerates him—that he may sin without dread—and that even to the end his peace shall flow like a river. But there is a sad and terrible hour to come, which shall teach him—perhaps too late—that the rod of judgment has all the while been growing, although he heeded it not, until it sheds over him all its blossoms of mourning, lamentation, and woe. Nothing is more certain than God's judgments; nor is there any help for us, any refuge, unless, before the rod has blossomed, or even while it is yet blossoming, we flee to Christ, and, in that love and pity which redeemed us, seek rest for our souls and pardon for our sins. "Grant, Almighty God, since Thou hast recalled us to Thyself, that we may not grow torpid in our sins, nor yet become hardened by the chastisements; but prevent in time Thy final judgments, and so humble us under Thy powerful hand that we may seriously testify and really prove our repentance; and so study to obey Thee, that we may advance in newness of life, until at length we put off all the defilements of the flesh, and arrive at the enjoyment of that eternal rest which thine only-begotten Son hath acquired for us by His own blood." Such is the beautiful prayer with which Calvin concludes his consideration of the passage (verses 9-18), which includes the text before us. Kitto. 12,13. The customary business transactions of life will cease, and with them the consequent feelings of joy or sorrow which they occasion. Let not the buyer rejoice in his purchase and new acquisition; it shall avail him nothing. Let not the seller mourn as one compelled to part with things of fond endearment; it is all the same to him, for none can retain the choice things they prize most. The wrath of God is upon all the people, to poison all the enjoyments of life. To see the force of this passage, one needs to bear in mind the wide distinction between the business dealings of Oriental and Hebrew life, and those of our own age and country. Selling, especially of real estate, was then not a business, but a necessity. Men sold only when poverty or necessity compelled them. Hence the presumption that the seller would mourn and the buyer rejoice. The seller's returning to what he has sold contemplates that provision of the Hebrew law by which real estate, having been sold, returned to its former owner at the jubilee (Lev. 25: 23). The prophet says that although the seller should live to the next jubilee, yet the country would then be desolate; there would be no returning to the possession of land sold. This prophetic vision relates to the whole people, and not one shall escape this visitation of judgment and doom. It could avail nothing for any man to make himself strong in his iniquity. H. C. Death in its various shapes shall ride triumphantly, both in town and in country, both within the city and without it. Men shall be safe nowhere, for he that is in the field shall die by the sword, every field shall be to them a field of battle; and he that is in the city, though it be a holy city, yet it shall not be his protection, but famine and pestilence shall devour him. H. 16. Here, as often elsewhere, amid the most terrific threatenings of universal doom, there breaks forth a glimmering ray of hope for a very small remnant—a few who shall (as said here) be mourning over their great sins, even as doves of the valley are noted for mourning the loss of their mates. 19,20. Gold and silver will not avail them to withstand the wrath of God or to satisfy their personal wants, because it has been their temptation—in this sense “the stumbling-block of their iniquity”—an occasion of their falling into sin. I understand verse 20 to say, The people made use of their beautiful ornaments for purposes of pride and display. They also made their images of idols and abominations out of this gold and silver (as in Ex. 32), and therefore God made this wealth a thing loathed, abhorred, and cast away. Thus God is wont to, send judgments so plainly in the line of men’s sins as to remind them perpetually of the sins which they were sent to scourge. H. C. 19. Their gold and silver could not protect them from the judgments of God; they shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord, they shall not serve to atone His justice, or turn away His wrath, or to screen them from the judgments He is bringing upon them. Riches profit not in the day of wrath (Prov. 11:4); they neither set them so high that God’s judgments cannot reach them, nor make them so strong that they cannot conquer them. There is a day of wrath coming, when it will appear that men’s wealth is utterly unable to deliver them or do them any service. What the better was the rich man for his full barns when his soul was required of him; or that other rich man for his purple and scarlet, and sumptuous fare, when he could not procure a drop of water to cool his tongue? H. 23. Those that break the bands of God’s law asunder and cast away these cords from them will find themselves bound and held by the chains in His judgments, which they cannot break or cast from them. The chain signified the siege of Jerusalem, or the slavery of those that were carried into captivity, or that they were all bound over to the righteous judgment of God, reserved in chains. 24. Since they had filled their houses with goods unjustly gotten and used their pomp and power for the crushing and oppressing of the weak, God would give their houses to be possessed, and all the furniture of them to be enjoyed, by strangers, and make the pomp of the strong to cease, so that their great men should not dazzle the eyes of the weak-sighted with their pomp, nor with their might at any time prevail against right, as they had done. And since they had defiled the holy places with their idolatries, God would defile them with His judgments; since they had set up the images of other gods in the Temple, God would remove thence the tokens of the presence of their own God. When the holy places are deserted by their God, they will soon be defiled by their enemies. H. 26,27. Like King Saul when the Lord had forsaken him, they shall seek some vision from the Lord, but He shall make them no reply. He shuts His ear and gives them no counsel in the day of their imploring cry. So He said (Prov. 1:28), “Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early [earnestly], but they shall not find Me.” These terrible judgments would reach the throne and carry terror and woe to all hearts. Then the nations abroad, and the Jewish people no less, will know that the Lord Jehovah is indeed the Lord, the King of nations and the righteous Judge and Avenger of the guilty. Thus closes this section of Ezekiel’s prophecies, including chaps. 4–7, freighted with threatenings of terrific judgments upon Jerusalem and Judah for their grievous idolatries and utter apostasy from their own God. Let us bear in mind that these announcements are made to the Jewish exiles in Chaldea, now only some five years out from their native land, and up to this moment, doubtless, full of hope for the future of their country, and very probably with high anticipations of themselves returning at no distant day to enjoy peace and good there. Over these fond hopes, such predictions must have passed rough-shod like the terrible threshing sledge of Oriental times, crushing them down into shapeless ruin. Yet this bitter wreck of their cherished hopes was kindly purposed on God’s part to give them a new sense of the awful sin of idolatry and to open their eyes to the wrath of God against their nation for this great national sin. H. C. 8:1 AND it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me. Then I beheld, and, lo, a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his loins and downward, fire: and from his loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber. And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the appearance that I saw in the plain. Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. And he said unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but thou shalt again see yet other great abominations. And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here. 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, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. 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, with every man his censer in his hand; and the odour of the cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth. He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? thou shalt again see yet greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them. 9:1 Then he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause ye them that have charge over the city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. And behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed in linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side. And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly the old man, the young man and the maiden, and little children and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and smote in the city. 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 God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of wrestling of judgement: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will bring their way upon their head. And behold, the man clothed in linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me. 10:1 Then I looked, and behold, in the firmament that was over the head of the cherubim, there appeared above them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. And he spake unto the man clothed in linen, and said, Go in between the whirling wheels, even under the cherub, and fill both thine hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight. Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. And the glory of the LORD mounted up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD's glory. And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of God Almighty when he speaketh. And it came to pass, when he commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim, that he went in, and stood beside a wheel. And the cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim unto the fire that was between the cherubim, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed in linen, who took it and went out. And there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man's hand under their wings. And I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub, and another wheel beside another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone. And as for their appearance, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been within a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides: they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went. And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had. 14 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, the whirling wheels. And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. And the cherubim mounted up: this is the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar. And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them: and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels also turned not from beside them. When they stood, these stood; and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them: for the spirit of the living creature was in them. And the glory of the LORD went forth from over the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight when they went forth, and the wheels beside them: and they stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim. Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the faces which I saw by the river Chebar, their appearances and themselves; they went every one straight forward. 11:1 Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD's house, which looketh eastward: and behold, at the door of the gate five and twenty men; and I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. And he said unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise iniquity, and that give wicked counsel in this city: which say, The time is not near to build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh. Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. And the spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said unto me, Speak, Thus saith the LORD: Thus have ye said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind. Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but ye shall be brought forth out of the midst of it. Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword upon 9 you, saith the Lord God. And I will bring you forth out of the midst thereof, and deliver 10 you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgements among you. Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 11 This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; I will 12 judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither have ye executed my judgements, but have done after the 13 ordinances of the nations that are round about you. And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel? 14, 15 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel, all of them, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD; unto us is this land 16 given for a possession: therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God: Whereas I have removed them far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet 17 will I be to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries where they are come. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and 19 all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them 20 an heart of flesh: that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do 21 them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their 22 way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God. Then did the cherubim lift up their wings, and the wheels were beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain 24 which is on the east side of the city. And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had 25 seen went up from me. Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me. Chaps. 8-19. A date is prefixed to the 8th (fourteen months after the date of the preceding visions); the next date given is in the 20th chapter. The prophecies contained in the intervening chapters must therefore fall within eleven months. Although they were not all delivered on the same day, they may be regarded as a whole. They contain, in fact, a review of the condition of the people of Judah, including those who were still in the Holy Land, and those who were with the prophet exiles in Chaldea. This is first represented by a vision in which the seer is transported in spirit to the Temple of Jerusalem, and sees there idolatry, so often openly practised in that city (8); the punishment of all except such as had received God's mark (9). He sees the glory of the Lord quit the Temple (10), punishment fall upon the princes, and the glory of the Lord leave the city (11). This vision ended, and the prophet having again taken his stand as a man among men, he by a symbolical act expresses to his fellow- exiles the coming removal of their countrymen from Jerusalem and the Holy Land and the doom of their king (12), and addresses a warning of false prophets, whether in Jerusalem or in Chaldea, who were holding out false hopes that the doom of the city would be averted (13). The prophet next turns a searching eye to the exiles themselves. These might at first seem free from the charge of idolatry (for the outward sin was not committed by them as it was at Jerusalem), but there might be, and unhappily was, a spirit of idolatry which called for stern rebuke (14). He then, by the parable of an unfruitful vine, depicts the state of God's people (15), and reviews under another figure their past history, showing how the nation had fallen, and yet holding out hopes of restoration (16). By a striking figure he illustrates the doom of the nation, warns them against their false hopes of delivery from Egypt, and shows that their future hopes rest not on the present ruler (Zedekiah), but on the family of him who has been displaced (17). Lest, however, the recital of the sins of past times should lead the people to imagine that they were to suffer, not for their own, but for others' faults, the prophet corrects this misapprehension (18), and closes this section of his prophecy by a lament over his ruined country (19). B. C. Chaps. 8-11. These chapters contain but one vision, of which I give a general idea, that the attention of the reader may not be too much divided. The prophet in the visions of God is carried to Jerusalem, to the northern gate of the Temple, which leads by the north side to the court of the priests. There he sees the glory of the Lord in the same manner as he did by the river Chebar. At one side he sees the image of jealousy. Going thence to the court of the people, he sees, through an opening in the wall, seventy elders of the people who were worshipping all sorts of beasts and reptiles, which were painted on the wall. Being brought thence to the door of the gate of the house, he saw women weeping for Tammuz, or Adonis. As he returned to the court of the priests, between the porch and the altar, he saw twenty-five men with their backs to the sanctuary and their faces toward the east, worshipping the rising sun. This is the substance of the vision contained in the eighth chapter. About the same time he saw six men come from the higher gate with swords in their hands; and, among them, one with an ink-horn. Then the Divine Presence left the cherubim and took post at the entrance of the Temple, and gave orders to the man with the ink-horn to put a mark on the foreheads of those who sighed and prayed because of the abominations of the land; and then commanded the men with the swords to go forward and slay every person who had not this mark. The prophet, being left alone among the dead, fell on his face and made intercession for the people. The Lord gives him the reason of His conduct; and the man with the ink-horn returns, and reports to the Lord what was done. These are the general contents of the ninth chapter. The Lord commands the same person to go in between the wheels of the cherubim, and take his hand full of live coals and scatter them over the city. He went as commanded; and one of the cherubim gave him the live coals; at the same time the glory of the Lord, that had removed to the threshold of the house, now returned, and stood over the cherubim. The cherubim, wheels, wings, etc., are here described as in the first chapter. This is the substance of the tenth chapter. The prophet then finds himself transported to the east gate of the Temple, where he saw twenty-five men, and among them Jaazaniah, the son of Azur, and Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, princes of the people; against whom the Lord commands him to prophesy, and to threaten them with the utmost calamities, because of their crimes. Afterward God Himself speaks; and shows that the Jews who should be left in the land should be driven out because of their iniquities; and that those who had been led captive, and who acknowledged their sins and repented of them, should be restored to their own land. Then the glory of the Lord arose out of the city and rested for a time on one of the mountains on the east of Jerusalem, and the prophet being carried in vision by the Spirit to Chaldea, lost sight of the chariot of the Divine glory, and began to show to the Captivity what the Lord had shown to him. This is the substance of the eleventh chapter. We may see from all this what induced the Lord to abandon His people, His city, and His Temple—the abominations of the people in public and in private. But because those carried away captives with Jeconiah acknowledged their sins, and their hearts turned to the Lord, God informs them that they shall be brought back and restored to a happy state both in temporal and spiritual matters; while the others, who had filled up the measure of their iniquities, should be speedily brought into a state of desolation and ruin. This is the sum and intent of the vision in these four chapters. A. C. Chap. 8 opens a very extraordinary vision, the details of which fill four chapters (8-11). It has its well-defined date—precisely one year and two months later than his first vision (chap. 1), which brought to him the Lord's call into his prophetic office. The symbolic transaction of besieging Jerusalem and bearing the iniquities of Israel and Judah, filled up the interval between that vision and this, and was now just closed. That the transactions recorded in these four chapters were all seen in vision and not done in the external world is made abundantly clear by the language which records them. "The hand of the Lord fell upon me;" "I saw a likeness;" "He put forth the form of a hand and took me by a lock of mine head," and "the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem." There he saw the Shekinah—the visible manifestation of the glory of the Lord. The scene closes with the statement (chap. 11: 24, 25), "After that, the Spirit took me up and brought me back in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea to them of the Captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. Then I spake unto them of the Captivity all the things that the Lord had showed me." All this is perfectly explicit to the point that the scene here is purely prophetic vision. None of his fellow-captives saw it. Every feature in this description conspires to make a clear and unquestionable case of a pure prophetic vision. The great moral purposes of this vision are obvious. The Lord aimed to reveal to His prophet, and through him to the exiles: (1) The horrible abominations of idol worship in various forms as they existed in Jerusalem and within the very Temple of Jehovah; and (2) the discriminating judgments by which the Lord would assuredly sift out and cut down in His unsparing vengeance all the guilty idolaters among His people. These points it was of the utmost consequence to the captives in Chaldea to understand. As bearing on their own moral state, it was vital that they should know how deeply guilty the masses of the people in their native land had become; how much the elders and the priests were involved in this guilt as indeed the prime leaders in it by their position and example; and how terribly the Lord would destroy them for such horrible apostasy and depravity. These things would show the exiles that they had no occasion to sympathize with their suffering brethren as if punished too severely in the terrible calamities of siege and ruin then closely impending. They would also be a forcible and most pertinent warning to themselves to turn away from those same sins as they would escape a like terrible vengeance. H. C. God transports him in spirit to the land of mountains; so does the beloved home of his childhood and youth present itself to his memory in the midst of the vast plains over which his eye now wanders. He imagines himself present at the idolatrous abominations, of which Jerusalem, and even the Temple itself, is the scene. He contemplates in a vision the Israelitish women celebrating, in the sanctuary, the feast of the Phœnician god Tammuz, the Adonis of the Greeks. In the inner court the high-priest, at the head of the chiefs of the twenty-four classes of sacrificers, is worshipping the sun. Then, following upon these profanations, he beholds the mysterious cloud, symbol of the presence of God, rising from over the Holy of Holies, and moving off to the threshold of the Temple. Thence it once more rises, and now takes up its position upon the Mount of Olives, to the east of the city—thus abandoning Jerusalem and the Temple into the hands of the enemy, in order to shelter that portion only of the nation which had been carried away to the East, and which was thenceforth to be the sole hope of the kingdom of God upon earth. Wondrous picture, fitted to make the exiles accept the approaching destruction of the city and of the Temple, and at the same time to kindle in them faith in their future restoration! Godet. 1-3. As already shown, the days of his lying on his side (chap. 4) have just closed. He is now at home, sitting quietly in his own house. The elders of Judah are sitting there before him, deeply impressed (we may suppose) by the strangeness of that scene, by its fearful significance, and by the threatenings of judgment on the guilty city which we have been reading in chaps. 5-7. The Lord proceeds now to another method of presenting, first to the prophet and then through him to the people, essentially the same ideas—the sin and the doom of the Jews yet remaining in Jerusalem. The method of presenting these truths is obviously varied in the hope of more effectually securing thereby the desired moral impression. This method of presenting to the prophet and to his fellow-exiles the sin and doom of Jerusalem reveals emphatically and precisely God's view of them. The facts are shown from God's own standpoint. Hence this vision teaches us how God looks upon such sins as those, among His own covenant people, within His very sanctuary, and also how He discriminates between the innocent and the guilty; by what marks He knows and points out the innocent, and with what unsparing vengeance He punishes and even exterminates all save those who bear His mark. The glorious personage present to the mind's eye of the prophet in this vision is the same who was seen on the movable throne in chap. 1, bearing essentially the same description as in chap. 1:26-28, all begirt with fire, and with a resplendent radiance as of polished brass; the word rendered "the color of amber," being the same as in chap. 1:4. The impression of being transported through the air is not unknown in the phenomena of dreams. How closely analogous this case of prophetic vision may be to the experience of dreams, it is impossible for any to say save the prophets themselves. Let it suffice us to rest in the fact that He who made the mind of man must have ample means for making any impression upon it which He may wish to make. "The door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north" is the Temple. This "image of jealousy" is an idol image which provoked the jealousy of Almighty God. The thought looks toward the second command, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image," etc., "thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.” H. C. 2. As Ezekiel sits among the elders who had come to consult him—the same Person who had been seen above the throne appears to him in visions of God, but no mention is made of the chariot, of the living creatures, of the firmament, or of the throne itself. He is caught up by the same Spirit as had been manifested in the living creatures and in the wheels. Here the inspiration of the prophet himself is the predominating idea. The Person who is to speak to him stands forth prominently, and for a moment the general purpose of such communication, judgment, and the revelation of the Divine glory is kept, as it were, in the background. The prophet is lifted in spirit between earth and heaven. 4. When the prophet appears in spirit before the Temple all the previous features of the original vision come into notice—the glory of God was there according to the vision which he saw on the plain. For now is to be the application of the general revelation of the Divine justice and wrath. B. C. 4-6. The “vision seen in the plain” refers to chap. 3:22, 23. Here he meets again the same glorious personage as there, in the form of the ancient Shekinah. This personage speaks to him and leads him on through the scenes of this vision. Standing in the Temple at Jerusalem and looking toward the north, he sees at the Temple gate, near the great altar of burnt-offering, this idol image which provoked the God of Israel to jealousy. His Divine Guide calls his special attention to this first abomination. H. C. 7. They were not willing that those who saw them in God’s house should see them in their own, lest they should see them contradict themselves, and undo in private what they did in public. But, behold, a hole in the wall (verse 7). When hypocrites screen themselves behind the wall of an external profession, and with it think to conceal their wickedness from the eye of the world, and carry on their designs the more successfully, it is hard for them to manage it with so much art but that there is some hole or other left in the wall, something that betrays them to those who look diligently, not to be what they pretend to be. H. 9-12. There is now opened to the prophet’s view a secret “chamber of imagery,” the walls of which are covered with delineations of all unclean beasts and insects, portrayed here as objects of idolatrous worship. This species of idols and the manner of delineating them were obviously Egyptian, borrowed from that land where almost every known animal was included among their objects of reverence and worship. It would seem that this base form of idolatry was kept somewhat back from public view, in the secret chambers of the Temple. These seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel were obviously the Jewish Sanhedrim, the well-known supreme council of the nation, always chosen from the elders of the people. It was their sacred duty to suppress all idolatry; yet here they are in their retired chambers with every man his censer in his hand to burn incense to every abominable creature! It was for many reasons a strong case that Jaazaniah, the son of the good Shaphan, and now the president of the Sanhedrim, hoary with years, should be leading on his younger brethren of this great council in these most base and debasing idolatries. Alas! how were the noble fallen! And how manifestly hopeless of reform must the nation have become! The Lord saw their deeds of darkness, and revealed them in vision to His prophet. “Son of man, hast thou seen?” Take note of it, for it testifies to the deep and hopeless corruption of the people. H. C. The eighth chapter of Ezekiel exhibits the prophet’s portraiture of the prevailing idolatries of his time. He here clearly and graphically sets forth that in the age of Jerusalem’s doom the Jews had fallen into all the idolatries of their Egyptian, Phoenician, and Assyrian neighbors, and simultaneously practised them, apparently at the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, producing by their combination, and with a profession of allegiance to Jehovah, an abomination worse than any of these idolatries taken singly could have been, and forming a most cogent justification of their condemnation, and an awful elucidation of the causes of their ruin. We knew this before, from the dispersed intimations of the other prophets; but not so as to impress the fact deeply on the mind, as is done here by Ezekiel, who brings the matter visibly before us, and makes us, with himself, spectators of the awful scene. In the visions of God he conceives himself taken to Jerusalem, where, in the inner court of the Temple, his attention is directed to a chink or hole in the wall, which he is ordered to enlarge; on doing which he finds a door which had not before been obvious. “I went in,” he says, “and looked; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel portrayed upon the walls.” This is clearly the Egyptian form of idolatry. The Rev. W. Jowett quotes this text as furnishing an exact description of the "chambers of imagery" in that country; adding, "The Israelites were but copyists, the master sketches being to be seen in all the temples and tombs of Egypt." In that country the walls of the inner sanctuaries of the temples, as well as the tombs and mystic cells, are to this day covered with representations, sculptured or painted in vivid colors, of sacred animals, of gods in human form and under various circumstances, or in various monstrous combinations of the human and bestial shapes. The temples alone would furnish sufficient illustration, but that of the tombs seems the most exactly appropriate, for they furnish just such chambers as the prophet gained access to, decorated in the same manner; and there is little doubt, from the nature of these decorations, from their connection with the temples, and other circumstances, that they were not merely tombs, but were also used for the celebration of the darker mysteries and superstitions of the most debasing idolatry the world has ever witnessed. Kitto. Think of the dark and painted chamber which we all of us carry in our hearts. Every man is a mystery to himself as to his fellows. With reverence, we may say of each other as we say of God: "Clouds and darkness are round about him." After all the manifestations of a life, we remain enigmas to one another and mysteries to ourselves. For every man is no fixed somewhat, but a growing personality, with dormant possibilities of good and evil lying in him, which up to the very last moment of his life may flame up altogether unexpected and astonishing developments. Therefore we have all to feel that after all self-examination there lie awful depths within us which we have not fathomed; and after all our knowledge of one another we yet do see but the surface, and each soul dwells alone. There is in every heart a dark chamber. There are very, very few of us that dare tell all our thoughts and show our inmost selves to our dearest ones. The most silvery lake that lies sleeping amid beauty, itself the very fairest spot of all, when drained off shows ugly ooze and filthy mud, and all manner of creeping abominations in the slime. I wonder what we should see if our hearts were, so to speak, drained off, and the very bottom layer of everything brought into the light. Do you think you would stand it? Well, then, go to God and ask Him to keep you from unconscious sins. Go to Him and ask Him to root out of you the mischiefs that you do not know are there, and live humbly and self-distrustfully, and feel that your only strength is: "Hold Thou me up, and I shall be saved." "Hast Thou seen what they do in the dark?" . . . By our memory, and by that marvellous faculty that people call the imagination, and by our desires, we are forever painting the walls of the inmost chambers of our hearts with pictures. That is an awful power which we possess, and, alas! too often use for foul idolatries. I do not dwell upon that, but I wish to drop one very earnest caution and beseeching entreaty. You, young men and women, especially you young men, mind what you paint upon those mystic walls! Foul things, as the text says, "creeping things and abominable beasts," only too many of you are tracing there. Take care, for these figures are ineffaceable. No repentance will obliterate them. I do not know whether even Heaven can blot them out. What you love, what you desire, what you think about, you are photographing on the walls of your immortal soul. And just as to-day, thousands of years after the artists have been gathered to the dust, we may go into Egyptian temples and see the figures on their walls, in all the freshness of their first coloring, as if the painter had but laid down his pencil a moment ago; so, on your hearts, youthful evils, the sins of your boyhood, the pruriences of your earliest days, may live in ugly shapes, that no tears and no repentance will ever wipe out. Nothing can do away with "the marks of that which once hath been." What are you painting on the chambers of imagery in your hearts? Obscenity, foul things, mean things, low things? Is that mystic shrine within you painted with such figures as were laid bare in some chambers in Pompeii, where the excavators had to cover up the pictures because they were so foul? Or is it like the cells in the convent of San Marco, at Florence, where Fra Angelico's holy and sweet genius has left on the bare walls, to be looked at, as he fancied, only by one devout brother in each cell, angel imaginings, and noble, pure, celestial faces, that calm and hallow those who gaze upon them? What are you doing, my brother, in the dark, in your chambers of imagery? A. M. 14. Tammuz worship. The word Tammuz occurs nowhere else in Holy Scripture; but Tammuz is found among the names of the months in use among the Jews after the return from Babylon. The month Tammuz was that of the summer solstice. The name as it occurs in Ezekiel is literally The Tammuz. This was probably a contemptuous form of expression, as designating a thing rather than a person. The word is acknowledged to be Semitic, and various derivations have been suggested, none of which are very satisfactory. The more ancient versions (among which is the LXX) simply reproduce the word itself. The Vulgate renders it by Adonis, and Jerome expressly says that the festival of Tammuz was identical with the Greek Adoniaos. This may be accepted as the most ancient tradition, for other legends of Tammuz given in rabbinical writers seem rather to be inventions of commentators upon this passage in Ezekiel. We know indeed for certain that the worship of Adonis had its headquarters at Byblos, where at certain periods of the year the stream, becoming stained by mountain floods, was popularly said to be red with the blood of Adonis. From Byblos it spread widely over the East, and was thence carried to Greece. Zedekiah had endeavored to engage the Moabites, the Syrians and other peoples in a league against Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 27:3), and the intercourse thus opened with heathen nations may very well have led to the introduction of an idolatry which at this time was especially popular among the eastern nations. This solemnity was of a twofold character: first, that of mourning, in which the death of Adonis was bewailed with extravagant sorrow; and then, after a few days, the mourning gave place to wild rejoicings for his restoration to life. This was a revival of nature worship under another form—the death of Adonis symbolized the suspension of the productive powers of nature, which were in due time revived. Accordingly the time of this festival was the summer solstice, when in the East nature seems to wither and die under the scorching heat of the sun, to burst forth again into life at the due season. At the same time there was a connection between this and the sun worship, in that the decline of the sun and the decline of nature might be alike represented by the death of Adonis, and so we are told by some that Adonis was the sun. But although in this way mystical interpretations might bring together the two forms of idolatry, nature worship and planet worship, the essence of the Adoniac rites was nature worship. The excitement attendant upon these extravagances of alternate wailing and exultation were in complete accordance with the character of nature worship, which for this reason was so popular in the East, especially with women, and led by inevitable consequence to unbridled license and excess. Such was in Ezekiel's day one of the most detestable forms of idolatry. B. C. 13,14. The noticeable thing in these verses is the stronger shading of odiousness and of guilt in the prophets of Jerusalem than in the prophets of Samaria. The reason of this discrimination against the prophets of Jerusalem obviously is, that they sinned against far greater light than their brethren of Samaria. They had the house and the worship of God in the midst of them, and the Lord's true prophets had often borne their testimony there. 16,17. Most fitly the Lord exhorts the people to give no heed to their words. So it is always ineffably perilous to listen to men who profess to speak truly for God, yet in fact speak only the visions of their own heart. Men sometimes pervert the Bible so that it no longer utters (in their construction of it) the true voice of God, but seems to endorse their own lies. So doing they wield a terrible power for evil. They assume a fearful responsibility before God. H. C. We should seek to strengthen the hands of all who want to be good. They are so often weak in action. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." They are hindered by strong temptations which come in their way, when they are striving to get nearer God's ideal for them. They are in need of sympathy. They have to be helped in reaching encouraging views of Divine truth. They need to be remembered in prayer, and generally to have more heart and spirit put into them ; then, having abundant life within, they will not lack force, steadiness and persistency of hand. If we are actively engaged in strengthening the hands of the good, we are to this extent weakening the hands of the evil. And finally, it is very consoling to recollect that when those who profess to be good are found strengthening the hands of evil-doers, this is precisely the time when God's indignation is aroused and His opposition most effective. "If God be for us, who can be against us ?" Y. 18. In the matter of the false and the true prophets, nothing could be more important than to draw the line between them definitely and distinctly, giving the marks and tests whereby each class may be known. Hence the Lord gives these tests here. In the first clause the sense is, one who has been in close and intimate communion with God, who has listened carefully and affectionately to His words, and who has enjoyed precious manifestations of His love. The further description in our text should be carefully noted : "One who has seen and heard His words ;" and in the parallel clause, "Who is he that has bent his mind in closest attention to the word of the Lord, and so has truly heard it ?" These are the men who may be relied on to speak the word of God truly and honestly. A thoroughly docile and humble spirit, a heart in deep sympathy with God, a supreme regard for His will, and for His revealed word as its reliable manifestation to men—these are decisive tests by which the true prophet may be distinguished from the false in every age. H. C. 20. They will not consider now, But in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly, consider it with understanding (so the word is), or with consideration. Those that will not fear the threatenings shall feel the execution of them, and will then perfectly understand what they will not now admit the evidence of, what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of a just and jealous God. They that will not consider in time will be made to consider when it is too late. Son, remember. H. How many times did God by His messengers here call upon them. And yet these men would never be brought to consider. But in the latter days, saith the Lord, they shall perfectly consider it, when God hath arrested them and judgment is passed upon them, then they cannot choose but consider it, whether they will or no. Now they have no leisure to consider, nor any room in their memories for the things of another life. Ah ! but then they shall have leisure enough, they shall be where they shall have nothing else to do but consider it ; their memories shall have no other employment to hinder them ; it shall even be engraven upon the tables of their hearts. God would have the doctrine of their eternal state to have been written on the posts of their doors, on their houses, on their hands, and on their hearts ; He would have had them mind it and mention it, as they rise and lie down, and as they walk abroad, that so it might have gone well with them at their latter end. And seeing they rejected this counsel of the Lord, therefore shall it be written always before them in the place of their thraldom, that which way soever they look they may still behold it. Richard Baxter. "Son, remember !" It is the voice, the first voice, the perpetual voice, which meets every man when he steps across the threshold of earth into the presence chamber of eternity. All the future is so built upon and interwoven with the past, that for the saved and for the lost alike this word might almost be taken as the motto of their whole situation, as the explanation of their whole condition. Memory in another world is indispensable to the gladness of the glad, and strikes the deepest note in the sadness of the lost. We believe that what a man is in this life, he is more in another, that tendencies here become results yonder, that his sin, that his falsehood, that his whole moral nature, be it good or bad, becomes there what it is only striving to be here. We believe that in this present life our capacities of all sorts are hedged in, thwarted, damped down, diluted, by the necessity which there is for their working through this material body of ours. We believe that death is the heightening of a man's stature—if he be bad, the intensifying of his badness; if he be good, the strengthening of his goodness. We believe that the contents of the intellectual nature, the capacities of that nature also, are all increased by the fact of having done with earth and having left the body behind. It is the teaching of common sense and it is the teaching of the Bible. True, that for some, that growth will only be a growth into greater power of feeling greater sorrow. Such an one grows up into a Hercules; but it is only that the Nessus shirt may wrap round him more tightly, and may gnaw him with a fiercer agony. But whether saved or lost—he that dies is greater than when yet living; and all his powers are intensified and strengthened by that awful experience of death and by what it brings with it. We forget nothing, in the sense of not being able, some time or another, to recall it; we forget much in the sense of ceasing for a time to have it in our thoughts. The fragmentary remembrances which we have now lift themselves above the ocean of forgetfulness like islands in some archipelago, the summits of sister hills though separated by the estranging sea that covers their converging sides and the valleys where their roots unite. The solid land is there, though hidden. Drain off the sea, and there will be no more isolated peaks, but continuous land. In this life we have but the island memories heaving themselves into sight, but in the next "the Lord" shall "cause the sea to go back" by the breath of His mouth, and the channels of the great deep of a human heart's experiences and actions shall be laid bare. "There shall be no more sea;" but the solid land of a whole life will appear when God says, "Son, remember!" A. M. 16-18. Here are twenty-five men, their backs to the Temple of the Lord, and their faces eastward, worshipping the sun. As the other special forms of idolatry were Egyptian and Syrian in their origin, this is nationally Persian, yet was in most ancient times widespread, and very probably was the earliest form of idolatry. Nor was their sin limited to idol worship. Under the influence of idolatry the people had become grossly immoral. They had "filled the land with violence"—the usual phrase to indicate assaults and murders. Idolatry is the legitimate mother of extreme immorality. It discards the fear of God, and breaks down all the restraints that come upon the minds of men from just views of the great, the pure, and the ever-glorious Jehovah. Thus it opens the floodgates of human depravity. For all these grievous sins the Lord will surely scourge and punish His apostate people; He will not spare; and however imploring their cry, He will not hear! There is a time for prayer; but that time once past, there comes another hour which is not the time for prayer. H. C. 16. Five-and-twenty men. It was not an indefinite number taken at random, but the number of the heads of the twenty-four courses, with the high-priest presiding over them. These then were the representatives of the priests as the seventy were of the people. In the Temple the seat of the Divine Majesty was at the west, perhaps appointed for this very purpose, to guard against the idolatrous adoration of the rising sun. Therefore the idolatrous priests must, in worshipping the false sun god, turn their backs upon the true. It was a further aggravation of their daring impiety that they took a position scarcely permitted in the worship of Jehovah. The ordinary place of the priests was in the forecourt to the east or north of the brazen altar where they sacrificed. It was only in times of extraordinary calamity that they drew near to weep between the porch and the altar (Joel 2:17), turning of course to the west of the Temple. Chap. 9. The sin has been described. This chapter portrays the punishment of the dwellers in Jerusalem. B. C.—This chapter continues the subject of the chapter preceding. The prophet is shown in vision how the Lord discriminates between His friends and His enemies, to spare the one and to slay the other without mercy. H. C. 1-6. In the preceding chapter the prophet had got a full view of the abominations that were done in the midst of Jerusalem; and here he gets a visionary representation of their punishment. He beholds six men approaching the city, each of them armed with a destroying weapon, who are expressly commanded to slay the inhabitants, both old and young, beginning at the sanctuary. But before they proceed to execution, one, distinguished by his garb, being clothed with linen, and having a writer's ink-horn by his side, receives the gracious commission recorded in my text, to separate the precious from the vile, by setting a mark upon their foreheads, that they might not be involved in the ruin of their fellow-citizens. R. W. 1,2. These men represent the executive agents or ministers of the Lord's providential government over the city. The object of this vision is to set before the eye of the prophet the fact of God's retributive judgments upon the city, and the manner in which His agents perform their mission. The "man clothed with linen" is not attired for slaughter. Linen, so commonly worn by the priests, would have been out of place on the men who bore the "slaughter weapons." It was the custom of official scribes to attach their ink-horn to their girdles. The executioners take their stand first beside the brazen altar, to begin their work at the point which best indicated the great sin of the people—the desecration of God's holy altar. H. C. God has ministers of wrath always within call, always at command; invisible powers by whom He accomplishes His purposes. The prophet is made to see this in vision, that he might with the greater assurance in his preaching denounce these judgments. God told it him with a loud voice that it might make the deeper impression upon him, and that he might thus proclaim it in the people's ears. H. It is still customary in the East to wear the ink-horn in the girdle. Scribes wear them constantly in their girdles, and ministers of state wear them in the same manner as symbols of their office. B. C. 3,4. This "glory of the God of Israel" I take to be the Shekinah of the Mosaic economy. (See Ex. 29: 43; 40: 34, 35 and 1 K. 8: 11.) Its resting-place was over and upon the cherubim, whose outspread wings covered the mercy-seat or lid of the ark of testimony. This removal to the threshold seems to have the twofold object of indicating that He was soon to withdraw from this desecrated and doomed Temple and of placing Himself in nearer proximity to the executioners of His vengeance, as if to supervise and direct their movements. Chap. 10: 18 notes the return of this Shekinah to His usual position. The godly men of the city must first be discriminated and marked before the wicked are slain. So in the end of the world (Matt. 28: 32). The man with the ink-horn asks for no one's professions or claims or hopes. He asks only for these most reliable tests of the heart—the tears and outcries of bitter grief by which those whose hearts were really with God must indicate the anguish they feel in view of such awful abominations. Man may look on the outward appearance; God looks on the heart. H. C.—Those who keep themselves pure in times of common iniquity God will keep safe in times of common calamity. They that distinguish themselves shall be distinguished; they that cry for other men's sins shall not need to cry for their own afflictions, for they shall be either delivered from them or comforted under them. God will set a mark upon His mourners, will book their sighs, and bottle their tears. H. 5-7. The destroyers followed—did not precede—the man with the ink-horn. But they followed close behind him. They spared every man who bore the mark, but none other. Whoever was not for God decidedly, strongly, with his real heart, was adjudged to be against Him, and was cut down accordingly. There was no recognition of any neutral class. The commissions given respectively to the man who marked and to the men who slew utterly precluded the possibility of any neutrality in the case. The men who did not care for the honor of God, and who had no tears to shed over these abominations, were at once cut down as God's enemies. H. C. 6. Begin at My sanctuary.** Let those who have sinned against most mercy and most privileges be the first victims of justice. Those who know their Lord's will and do it not shall be beaten with many stripes. The unfaithful members of Christ's Church will be first visited and most punished. But let not those who belong to the synagogue of Satan exult in this; for if judgment begin at the house of God, what will the end be of them who obey not the Gospel? However, the truly penitent of all descriptions shall be safe. The command of God is, Set a mark on all them that sigh and cry; and His command to the destroyers is, Come not near any man on whom is the mark. A. C. The first to be punished were those who had brought idolatry nearest to the holy place. The twenty-five men who had stood with their backs to the altar were the first to be slain. B. C. The wickedness of the sanctuary was of all other most offensive to God, and therefore there the slaughter must begin: "Begin there, to try if the people will take warning by the judgments of God upon their priests, and will repent and reform; begin there that all the world may see and know that the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God, and hates sin most in those that are nearest to Him." II. 8-10. The impulses of the prophet's humanity and love for his country and people stand out here with beautiful simplicity. Seeming to himself to stand almost alone, one living man among the heaps of dead, his natural thought and utterance are, "Ah, my God! Wilt Thou destroy the whole nation? In this scene of retribution on the guilty Jews, are there none at all to be spared?" The Lord answers that their iniquity is exceeding great; that the land is full of the blood of personal violence, outrages, and murder; and the city full of perverseness—the wrestling of judgment, the violation of every personal and sacred right—these sinners practically saying, "There is no God here; He does not see us; He has gone up from the earth" (see 8:12). Because of these outrages and horrible immoralities the Lord cannot pardon. 11. The man with the ink-horn reports the fulfilment of his commission. It is not intimated that the men with slaughter weapons made any report. The difference in the two cases indicates the special interest felt by the Lord in the men who are to be saved and in the faithful execution of His commission in their behalf. Judgment, here as ever, is His strange work; mercy, His delight. The spirit of vengeance does not for one moment eclipse His love for His people or abate from His wakeful and never-waning interest in their welfare. The moral force of this entire scene is of the very highest order, and is scarcely surpassed by anything found in the sacred Scriptures. The Jerusalem of that age represents the corrupt Church of God—the case of His chosen people when fearfully apostate from God, so utterly corrupt indeed that the Lord can spare no longer, but turns to terrible judgment. One of the points of most vital significance (as already shown) is the principle on which the discrimination is made between God's friends and His enemies. This cannot be studied too carefully or with too much close and thorough self-application. H. C. Chap. 10. The prophet's eye has been directed in the two preceding chapters to the sinning people and to the ministers of Divine wrath. It is now bent, as in chap. 1, on the vision of the glory of the Lord, the particulars given identifying the two visions. B. C. This chapter is a continuation of the same vision. The scene presented here is substantially a reappearance of that recorded in chap. 1. The glorious Shekinah, the cherubim, their wings, bodies, the wheels attending them, the common inspiration that moved them all, are the leading features. The scenes of chap. 1 were specially adapted to the inauguration of the prophet into his work. Those of chap. 10 were adapted to the purposes of this vision (chaps. 8-11), particularly to show that the consuming fire cast upon the guilty city came forth from underneath the throne of God, wielded by the omnipotent agencies which underlie that moving throne. 2. This fire taken from between the wheels underneath the cherubim, to be cast upon the guilty city, indicated that terrific judgments from the agencies of God's providence were about to consume it. It is a significant fact that the executive agent here should be the man in linen who, in chap. 9, has no other function save to mark in their foreheads the men who bewailed the abominations of the guilty people. But God has no class of servants too holy or sacred to act as His agents, if need be, in the execution of His righteous judgments. It certainly corresponds with His arrangements in this world to use them in representing, symbolizing, and setting before the minds of the people these most fearful judgments. The Gospel minister who wears holy linen in God's temple must not shrink from proclaiming to the wicked both their guilt and their fiery doom. 3-5. That the Shekinah removed from the mercy-seat and stood over the threshold indicates that He was preparing to depart from that polluted Temple. It may also have been a more appropriate position from which to direct and observe the movements then at hand. The sublime and impressive sound of the wings of the cherubim when they moved was prominent in the vision of chap. 1. (See chap. 1: 24, 25.) 9-15. The points made here were mostly presented in chap. 1. The cry, "O wheel!" seems intended to recognize them as inspired with intelligence and consciousness—the Spirit of God dwelling within them and energizing all their activities. This view is given also in chap. 1. H. C. 16,17. The attributes here assigned to them show that they were pervaded by one will—the spirit of the living creature was in them. 20. I knew that they were cherubim. The glory of the Lord had now manifestly departed from the Temple, and in this departure the seer recognizes for the first time the full meaning of the vision which he had seen on the banks of Chebar. When he saw it there, he doubtless understood that the symbolical forms and the glory which rested on them resembled the glory of the Lord seated between the cherubim in the Temple. He knew it to be the manifestation of the same God. But this did not yet imply that Jehovah had forsaken His house. Now this is made clear; the glory has left the Holy of Holies, has appeared in the court, has been enthroned on the living four, and with them has departed from the Temple. It is now clear that these four (in form similar to, yet differing from the cherubim of the Temple) are indeed the cherubim, in the midst of whom the Lord dwelleth. B. C. It only remains to suggest that these symbols are repeated in this vision of judgments on Jerusalem to show that the agencies for its destruction were precisely those which were symbolized by the wonderful phenomena of the moving throne of God. In His government over the nations of men, God wields the agencies of judgment and retribution at His pleasure, with resources ineffably vast and glorious. If we might only see them with unveiled eye, it might befall us as it befell the servant of Elisha when his master prayed, "Lord, open his eyes that he may see." "And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 K. 6:17). H. C. Chap. 11. This chapter continues the same vision, and brings it to its close. While the prophet is in vision at Jerusalem, he sees some of the princes of leading influence in wickedness, and is directed to prophesy to them. While doing so, one of them, Pelatiah, falls dead. From this point the strain of the vision changes. In answer to the prophet's expostulation, the Lord shows him that although the Jews in Jerusalem are proud, exclusive and hopelessly hardened, yet it is His purpose to save a precious remnant from among the exiles and give them wholly a new spirit and a tender heart. With this the vision closes. 1-3. A new scene opens. The Divine Spirit puts the prophet into a new position at the east gate of the Temple, where he sees twenty-five men of leading influence, among whom he recognizes and names two who were princes among the people. These are the men who had seduced the people into deeper sin, perpetually counteracting the labors of the Lord's faithful prophets. Verse 3 quotes some of their language. H. C. 1. Five-and-twenty men. The number carries us back to 8:16, but they are not the same men. The five-and-twenty there were representatives of the priests, these of the princes. The number is, no doubt, symbolical—made up, probably, of twenty-four men and the king (Kliefoth). The number twenty-four points to the tribes of undivided Israel. 3. Let us build houses. To build houses implies a sense of security. Jeremiah bade the exiles build houses in a foreign land because they would not soon quit it (Jer 29:5; cf. Jer. 35:7). These false counsellors promised to their countrymen a sure and permanent abode in the city which God had doomed to destruction. No need, they said, to go far for safety; you are perfectly safe at home. B. C.—The twenty-five are represented as teaching the people a false security; as instructing them to build houses in perfect confidence that their generation would at least be safe; that Jerusalem was indeed the caldron and they the flesh; but that the fire would not consume them, who were only to be prepared and perfected by the process, and would remain in safety to a mature old age. Abp. Newcome. 5-11. Thus have ye said, etc. Ye have advanced the assertion maintained (verse 3). You have rightly said what you say: "The city is the caldron, and we are the flesh," shall be fulfilled, but not as you understand it; many of you will perish in the city. For those it will be the caldron, and they will be the flesh boiled in it. But yourselves shall not be the flesh in the caldron; but you shall be taken out and elsewhere cut in pieces. Michaelis. It is supposable that this slaughter was then yet future, but near and thought of as certain, and as the legitimate fruit of their pernicious influence. Hence they might well be charged with the responsible guilt of it. The prophet turns their figure (verse 3) to a terrible significance. The heaps of slaughtered men soon to fill this city are to be the flesh, held by this city as a caldron holds animal flesh. The living God will bring them forth out of this city into a bitter exile. "The hands of strangers" will bear them far away. When the lord said (verse 11), "This city shall not be your caldron," etc., He meant, it shall not be so in your sense of that figure. For they would surely be driven out of their city and land. 13. In order to confirm this prophecy to the people, and not least, to give the prophet himself an impressive sense of the terrible significance of the things now shown to him and announced by him, all suddenly, while he is speaking, Pelatiah falls dead! The prophet falls on his face and cries out, "Ah, Lord God, wilt Thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?" Shall none be left? Are the people of God to be exterminated and no seed be left to replant the land and rebuild the Zion of the Lord? The shock of such an appalling death impresses him with this painful fear, to which the Lord kindly responds in the verses following. 16. The exile should be short. Through its brief duration God would be their sanctuary. Although they were cast forth from the outward sanctuary at Jerusalem, yet God would be their real sanctuary in their exile. His presence was infinitely more and better than the Temple walls reared by Solomon. Shortly afterward the prophet sees the Lord leaving the earthly Temple (verse 23). H. C. I will be to them for a little while a sanctuary. The blessing was provisional; they were to look forward to a blessing more complete. Canaan was still the Holy Land, the proper place of God's presence. For a little while they were to be satisfied with His special presence in a foreign land, but they were to look forward to a renewal of His presence in the restored Temple of Jerusalem. Sanctuary does not mean here refuge or asylum, but strictly the holy place, the tabernacle of the Most High; Jehovah will Himself be to the exiles in the place of the local sanctuary, in which the Jews of Jerusalem so much prided themselves. "We have here the germ from which is developed (40-48) the picture of the kingdom of God in its new form, in its majestic perfection, with its boughs, branches, leaves and blossoms. The Lord is set forth as the sanctuary of Israel in Isa. 8:14 and in many passages in the Psalms, which show how universal was the spiritual view of the Temple, which, looking through the husk, fixed its regard upon the kernel, and upon the all-merciful presence of the Lord Himself" (Hengstenberg). B. C. I will be to them as a sanctuary in the countries where they come. They at Jerusalem have the Temple, but without God; they in Babylon have God, though without the Temple. God will be a sanctuary to them, a place of refuge; to Him they shall flee and in Him they shall be safe, as he was that took hold on the horns of the altar. Or, rather, they shall have such communion with God in the land of their captivity as it was thought could be had nowhere but in the Temple; they shall there see God's power and His glory so as they used to see it in the sanctuary; they shall have the tokens of God's presence with them, and His grace in their hearts shall sanctify their prayers and praises, as well as ever the altars sanctified the gift, so that they shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock. H. This is a text for all our changes of place, for our journeys, for our absences. It is a text to take round the world with us if we are going. "I will be to them as a sanctuary." Where? "In the countries where they shall come." He builds a sanctuary for us just where we are, and as we are, into which, the moment we feel ourselves in any need or with any real heart desire, we may enter, and in which the more we desire and ask the more we shall behold, receive, and have. And this is more than trusting God for everything, it is—we may say it reverently—using God for everything, for He has said that He will "serve" us in everything except sin. For all our needs, through all our history, we may avail ourselves of God for those very ends and uses to promote which He has come down. As this is a promise for all places, so it is for all states. In the coming time, when you will be sick, here or far off; when you will be glad to keep to the one room; when you will not know how it is to be with you; when "thoughts" will "arise in your heart"—not about yourself only, but generous and tender anxieties about wife and children, or husband and children, when you are gone—then remember this promise of your God and enter into it, and be at rest. Or when, although physically well, you feel the forces of life too strong for you, and you are driven hither and thither; when change disturbs your peace, and loss upsets your calculations, and Adversity begins to blow his boreal blasts about you, and to darken your house with his wintry wing, then try to think, strongly, of the house he cannot enter, where is always warmth and always joy and plenty—this house, "I will be as a sanctuary." Or when troubled in mind, although well enough in health, and quiet and prosperous as to outward estate; when you have declined and fallen back, although perhaps you know not how it has been; when your lamp is smoking and giving little light, although the night is so dark about you; when you cannot see the new name written on the white stone; when the stone itself seems no longer white, but darkening rather into the black stone of condemnation, and the murmur of your distressed soul is: "Hath God cast me off? Hath He forgotten to be gracious? Is His mercy clean gone?" then try to think (think it now, that you may think it then) that God once gave you this promise, and that He gave it you for such a time and for such a trouble as yours. For all times, and for all troubles, and for all needs, there is a present gracious God, with all His grace also present, to heal, to help, to love unto the end. A. Raleigh. 17-20. The Lord will bring this remnant home to their native land. They shall exterminate every vestige of idolatry and put away all those abominations which had been the ruin of their nation; and to crown all, God will give them "one heart"—not a heart divided between God and Satan—the holy Temple and abominable idols; but one heart, true and pure; and "a new spirit," all unlike what they had before. These precious promises, clothed in strong but plain words, reappear somewhat amplified in chap. 36. Their rich and precious significance lies in the point that the Lord will put His own hand to the work of their thorough reformation; that He will reach their very hearts; that He will radically cure their horrible propensity to idolatry, and will turn their heart wholly to Himself. So turned and so renewed in heart and spirit, they will walk in His statutes and keep His ordinances with a willing, loving heart. They will be truly the Lord's people, and the Lord Himself will be their God. As these words stand here, their first installment of realization must be assigned to the restoration under Zerubbabel—their first, but not their last. For, beyond a question, these promises in their ample range are Messianic, and pertain to the Gospel age, and preeminently to those latter times of this age when "all shall know the Lord, from the least to the greatest." H. C. 19, 20. "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of this flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh"—that is regeneration—"that they may walk in My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances and do them"—that is conversion. This difference is plain, comprehensive, far-reaching, and compels the following distinctions: Regeneration is internal, conversion external. The one is hidden except as manifested in the other. Each is a change. The one applies to character, the other to conduct; one applies to the heart, the other to the manner of life. Regeneration is a change internal, nal, moral, spiritual; and the text shows how needful and thorough the change is. Conversion is a change in the whole life, affecting one's entire manner of living, especially his bearing toward God and God's law and all Divine things. The world's plan, in all its schemes for reformation, is to work from without to within; God's is just the opposite. Make the fruit good, says the world; make the tree good, says God. Mend the life, says the world; renew the heart, says God. Regeneration requires and guarantees conversion. A new life within gives a new life without. There is a principle within that becomes a governing principle. Have you been born again? Is your heart right in the sight of God? These are supreme questions. It is sad to see one supposing his heart right when it is wrong, as God sees it; striving after a right life, perhaps boasting that his life is right when his heart is all wrong. Better go to the bottom, and at once. We need heart back of life; regeneration back of conversion. J. M. Frost. The evangelical doctrine affirms that man, as originally created, was like God in nature and like Him also in moral perfection; having the true knowledge of Him, and standing in intimate communion with Him through the sympathy of supreme and holy love; that no one of his constitutional powers was lost in the fall, though their activity was perverted, and their development hindered; but that the change which then took place was in the essential temper of his heart—selfish idolatry and sinful passion supplanting the Divine love which had preceded, and the inmost dispositions and tendencies of the soul being thereafter averted from God, and directed to selfish pleasure and gain. The change now needed, therefore, is in this dominant spirit of the heart; to alter the dispositions, to fix the supreme affection upon God, and to restore the spiritual discernment which was possessed, but has been lost. And this is effected by the Divine Spirit, through the truth as His instrument, and especially through the revelation of God's love, as declared, with transcendent fulness and tenderness, in His Son. When this is accomplished, no direct addition is implied to the inherent properties of the soul, but a change is realized in its temper, tastes, and spiritual activities, in its relations to God and its personal destiny; a change so radical, vital, complete, and so enduring in consequences, as to constitute a true regeneration. Conversion to the loving obe- dience of Christ is its sign and fruit. The beauty of holiness flows from it into life. It is completed in sanctification. And, on the ground of Christ's atonement, he who has not yet reached that sanctity, but in whom its principle has been implanted, is reconciled to God, and is treated as if he had been righteous; is, in other words, justified. R. S. S. 20. I will be their God.** That God should give us some blessings as His creatures, though we be fallen creatures, may seem reasonable from what we know of His abundant mercy; that He should give us even many and great spiritual blessings through Christ may seem to be but the due reward of His sufferings and obedience in our behalf; but that He should give us Himself—that He should be what He is and have what He has and do what He does for us—that we should have the same benefit of His infinite perfections, so to speak, as if they were our own, so that we may call them ours—all that He has ours as respects the use and benefit of it—this is a vastness of Divine bounty which exceeds our utmost thoughts. We shrink from appropriating it; we try to live on something less for happiness. But He who knows the souls that He has made knows that nothing beneath Himself can ever fill their boundless desires and capacities for enjoyment. No gifts of nature, no, nor even the highest and largest gifts of grace itself, can supply the place of Him who is the Author of them all. Goode. 21. Some will repel the Divine mercy, and will still walk after their detestable idols. All such must receive the terribly fearful but just retribution of God upon their guilty heads. It was of the utmost importance for its moral bearings that this statement should be made, fastening on every man his own responsibility for his own moral conduct. Even this great baptism of regenerating mercy and power does not shut off the personal agency of the people. Those who thrust God away and will "always resist the Holy Ghost," giving their heart still to their abominations, must perish in their sins. H. C. 23. The glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city.** This vision is no mean proof of the long suffering of God. He did not abandon this people all at once, He departed by little and little. He left the Temple. He stopped a little at the gate of the city. He departed entirely from the city and went to the Mount of Olives, which lay on the east side of the city. Having tarried there for some time to see if they would repent and turn to Him, He departed to heaven. The vision being now concluded, the prophet is taken away by the Spirit of God into Chaldea; and there announces to the captive Israelites what God had showed him in the preceding visions, and the good that He had spoken concerning them. A. C. 12:1, 2 THE word of the LORD also came unto me, saying, Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of the rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not, which have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a rebellious house. Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth thyself at even in their sight, as when men go forth into exile. Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby. In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel. And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for removing, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the dark, and bare it upon my shoulder in their sight. And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou? Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel among whom they are. Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall go into exile, into captivity. 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 ground with his eyes. My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare : and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans ; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there. And I will scatter toward every wind all that are round about him to help him, and all his bands ; and I will draw out the sword after them. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall disperse them among the nations, and scatter them through the countries. But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence ; that they may declare all their abominations among the nations whither they come ; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 17, 18 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness ; and say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel : they shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be a desolation ; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 21, 22 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, what is this proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth ? 23 Tell them therefore, 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 effect of every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the LORD ; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed ; it shall be no more deferred : for in your days, O rebellious house, will I speak the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God. 26, 27 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God : There shall none of my words be deferred any more, but the word which I shall speak shall be performed, saith the Lord God. Chap. 12. In this chapter the prophet by Divine direction makes himself a suggestive sign of the people going into captivity (verses 1-16) ; eats his bread with trembling to denote the terror of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Israel (verses 17-20) ; and rebukes their presumption in assuming that the predictions of judgments borne to them by the prophets referred only to some far distant time. H. C. The whole account of this transaction marks it as a real act. The prophet was to be a sign to his countrymen, and the exiles as well as those that remained in Judea had need to be taught this lesson, for though themselves far away, they looked to Jerusalem as their home, and were scarcely less eager for its safety than the inhabitants themselves. All the particulars which Ezekiel here foretold then actually occurred, but at this time Zedekiah seemed to be prosperous, and the Jews at Jerusalem expected, it is clear, a long continuance of his prosperity. The prophetic character of the passage is undoubted (the prophet is declared to be a sign)—the genuineness of the book and of the passage, and the position of the passage in the book, are beyond dispute ; in the historical event we have an exact fulfilment. The only legitimate inference is that the prophet received his knowledge from above. B. C. 1,2. This propensity to self blindness is adduced here as a reason for one more effort to put the near impending captivity of Judah and Jerusalem palpably before the eyes of the exiles in Chaldea, in the hope that so they will be made to see and apprehend it as true. It is well here to note definitely how the subject matter of this chapter stands related on the one hand to the exiles among whom Ezekiel was living, and on the other to the people yet remaining in Judah and Jerusalem to whom those prophecies referred more or less directly. We must assume the closest sympathy between the exiles and their brethren yet in their native land. The exiles clung to the belief that the city and the nation were safe, and that they themselves were soon to return. Now there was practically no hope of their being brought to repentance till these illusions were dispelled. Hence these varied and persistent efforts of the Lord through Ezekiel to impress the exiles with a sense of the incorrigible wickedness, the damning guilt, and the certain and near impending doom of the holy city and of the people of Judah. Here “the rebellious house” (verse 2) is primarily the body of the exiles among whom the prophet then lived. This significant symbol of removing into captivity was placed before them in order to make a strong impression on their mind. The captivity referred to was that of Zedekiah, then king of Judah. In like manner the prophet (verses 17-20) eats his bread with trembling to give the exiles a more impressive sense of the condition of the people of Jerusalem in the approaching siege. The proverb referred to (verse 22) was in vogue "in the land of Israel;" but its rebuke and refutation were immensely needed for the exiles in Chaldea. These points are important toward a clear apprehension of the scope of this chapter. 3-7. This is a thing done in fact. The prophet is commanded to do it in sight of the people; and he testifies that he did do it. Its symbolic import was to represent the going forth of the prince and people of Jerusalem from their city into captivity. The special points of the representation were: 1. Providing for himself the requisite apparatus for carrying a few indispensable things—his knapsack or travelling-bag—for this is the meaning of the Hebrew word rendered "stuff," which is not his baggage, but his bag—that in which he carried his baggage. 2. He was to go out of his house, not through the door, but through a hole which he dug in the wall. This represented the mode of Zedekiah's escape from the city as given by Jeremiah (chap. 39:4); "And when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them (the Chaldean officers) and all the men of war (i.e., saw them to be really within the city), then they fled and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the king's garden, between the two walls (a private exit), and he went out the way of the plain." This corresponded to digging through the wall of one's house instead of going out at the door. (Cf. also Jer. 52:7 and 2 K. 25:4-6.) 3. He was to go out by night, bearing his valuables on his shoulder. This corresponds also with the time of Zedekiah's flight. 4. He covered his face so as not to see the ground, to indicate the bitter grief of the king and of his people when at last their hopes were crushed and they were compelled to leave—he his throne and they their city and homes—for the doubtful chances of escape, and the probable doom of death or captivity. So David, fleeing from Absalom, "went weeping and with his head covered" (2 Sam. 15:30). 8-11. Has this symbolic and strange transaction failed to excite the attention of this stupid, self-blinded people? This seems to be the implication in this question (verse 9). But if so, let us still persist in the effort to get this truth into their mind. Go therefore and say unto them, "This burden" (always a prediction of calamity) "refers to the king of Jerusalem" (Zedekiah) "and to all the house of Israel that are among them"—the house of Israel being the people of the city, and the word "them" among whom they were, referring perhaps to the army largely drawn from other parts of the country. It therefore related especially to the king and his army, not excluding the people of the city yet surviving. Ezekiel is accustomed to call the king by this name, "the prince." (See chaps. 7:27; 21:25.) Say also, "I am your sign." The Lord directed me to do this thing to represent to you the doom of Jerusalem, and of its king and people. They are destined to go into captivity. 12-15. The symbol was to have its precise fulfilment in Zedekiah, who should in like manner bear away his little parcel of valuables; dig through the wall for a private exit, and go away in the sadness of his grief as one whose face is covered and who sees not the ground. Remarkably Ezekiel makes no mention of Zedekiah's loss of his eyes, and gives no clue to explain the apparent enigma of his being brought to Babylon and dying there, yet never seeing it. Jeremiah solves this enigma by recording that the king of Babylon put out his eyes at Riblah, and afterward bound him with chains to carry him to Babylon (Jer. 39:7). Ezekiel had no solicitude to make out the truth of his own predictions by showing their fulfilment. To this fact of his not seeing Babylon, the prophet's going forth with his face so covered that he saw not the ground, seems to have had a somewhat special reference. God did scatter His army widely, first over the country of Judah and ultimately into Egypt and elsewhere. (See Jer. 39:4, 5; 40:7-10; 41:11-18; 42:44.) 16. One purpose in sparing a small remnant was that they might testify among the heathen nations that the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah was a judgment from God for their great sins of idol worship. They might bear this testimony either orally and purposely, or indirectly and without purpose, by what was apparent in their life and in their doom. 17-20. This too was a symbolic act. The prophet was to eat his bread and drink his water with manifest perturbation, as one trembling in dread of some dire calamity. This the Lord Himself applies to the people of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel. It indicated the terror they were doomed to feel. The comprehensive thing here named as the moral cause of this terror is "the violence of all" the people in the land. H. C. 21-28. Various methods had been used to awaken this secure and careless people to an expectation of the judgments coming, that they might be stirred up, by repentance and reformation, to prevent them. The prophecies of their ruin were confirmed by visions and illustrated by signs, and all with such evidence and power that one would think they must needs be wrought upon; but here we are told how they evaded the conviction, and guarded against it—viz., by telling themselves and one another that though these judgments threatened should come at last, yet they would not come of a long time. This suggestion, with which they bolstered themselves up in their security, is here answered and showed to be vain and groundless, in two messages which God sent to them by the prophet at different times, both to the same purport; such care, such pains must the prophet take to undeceive them! H. 21-25. It had passed into a proverb, so persistently was the delusion cherished that the days of predicted evil had been postponed far into the future, and every vision was failing as to any practical application to the generation then living. The prophet is commanded to confront this delusion and assure the people that every prediction would soon be fulfilled. In verses 26-28 essentially the same thought is repeated with greater emphasis and fulness. H. C. 13: 1, 2 AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own heart, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! O Israel, thy prophets have been like foxes in the waste places. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the fence for the house of Israel, to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. They have seen vanity and lying divination, that say, The LORD saith; and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made men to hope that the word should be confirmed. Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith; albeit I have not spoken? 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. And mine hand shall be against the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the council of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there is no peace; and when one buildeth up a wall, behold, they daub it with untempered mortar: say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it. So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered: and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Thus will I accomplish my fury upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar; and I will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; to wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD. 17 And thou, son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them, and say, 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! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and save souls 19 alive for yourselves? And ye have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that 20 should not live, by your lying to my people that hearken unto lies. 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 21 souls that ye hunt to make them fly. Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know 22 that I am the LORD. Because with lies ye have grieved the heart of the righteous, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return 23 from his wicked way, and be saved alive: therefore ye shall no more see vanity, nor divine divinations: and I will deliver my people out of your hand; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 14: 1, 2 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the 3 word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be in- 4 quired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Every man of the house of Israel that taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD 5 will answer him therein according to the multitude of his idols; that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. 6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God: Return ye, and turn your- 7 selves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet to inquire for himself of me; I the LORD will an- 8 swer him by myself: and I will set my face against that man, and will make him an aston- ishment, for a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and 9 ye shall know that I am the LORD. And if the prophet be deceived and speaketh a word, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will 10 destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear their iniquity: the 11 iniquity of the prophet shall be even as the iniquity of him that seeketh unto him; that the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither defile themselves any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God. 12,13. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, when a land sinneth against me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out mine hand upon it, and break the 14 staff of the bread thereof, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast; though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls 15 by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the 16 beasts; though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver 17 neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off 18 from it man and beast; though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. 19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off 20 from it man and beast: though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by 21 their righteousness. For thus saith the Lord God: How much more when I send my four sore judgements upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beasts, and the 22 pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be carried forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil 23 that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. And they shall comfort you, when ye see their way and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God. Chap. 13. This chapter must be read together with the twenty-third of Jeremiah. The identity of phrases and ideas force upon us the conclusion that the author of the one must have had the other before him. We know that Jeremiah's writings were forwarded to the Jews in Chaldea (Jer. 29), and there is therefore no reason to doubt that Ezekiel took up a well-known prophecy to enforce and apply it to his companions in exile. They probably had read Jeremiah's words as referring to others than themselves. Ezekiel now would teach them that it is not at Jerusalem alone that false prophets are to be discovered and reproved. B. C. In this chapter the Lord rebukes the false prophets (verses 1-16) and the false prophetesses (verses 17-23), denouncing wars and judgments upon them, and pledging Himself to deliver His people from their pernicious influence. 1-3. False prophets were a fearful curse to the people in this corrupt age. Jeremiah had occasion to expose and rebuke their devices repeatedly. (See Jer. 14: 13-16; 23: 9-40; 27 and 28.) It appears, even in Jeremiah, that there were false prophets not in Judea only, but among the exiles in Chaldea. (See Jer. 29: 15-32 and notes there.) Consequently they withstood Ezekiel's influence in Chaldea as they had Jeremiah's in Judea. The Lord, therefore, sends them by His prophet this caustic and scathing message. They are here described forcibly and truly as those who prophesied out of their own heart and not from God; following their own spirit, and not the Spirit of the Lord; foolish in the sense of lying and impious; men who pretended to have seen visions from God, but who had seen nothing. H. C. 4. These false prophets are represented as the foxes who, having got their prey by great subtlety, run to the desert to hide both themselves and it. So, the false prophets, when the event did not answer to their prediction, got out of the way, that they might not be overwhelmed with the reproaches and indignation of the people. A. C. 4,5. False prophets are pertinently compared to foxes, since Israel was the Lord's vine, and "the little foxes spoiled the vines" (Cant. 2: 5); and because they came in through the breaches in the garden wall, and the rents in the enclosing hedge, and thus did the more mischief because of these weak points in the gardener's means of protection. They never set themselves to repair these breaches, as God's true shepherds would have done; but they either perpetrate the more mischief, or slink away into the desert, reckless of all responsibility for repairing the vineyard walls and hedges. (See Ezek. 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." In verse 5 there seems to be a double figure; a breach in the enclosure of the vineyard, as above explained; and a breach in the city walls through which the enemy are forcing their way in battle in the day of the Lord's vengeance upon the city. In the latter emergency all true patriots rush to the breach, to repair it if possible, or at least to confront the foe at this point of chief peril. These false prophets had no such patriotism. 6, 7. "Vanity" here (as usual), in the sense of falsehood. They claimed to be sent of God, and made use of the established formula of prophecy, "the Lord saith;" when in fact the Lord had said nothing to them at all. Yet they made some of the people believe them, or at least hope that their words would prove true. In verse 7 the interrogative repeats the thought in a stronger form, appealing to themselves to say if this charge of lying were not true. 10-16. The false prophets seduced the people by promising them peace from God when God had not promised peace, but had predicted ruin. The figure of a wall, built up and plastered with worthless mortar, looks somewhat to the similar allusion in verse 5. The false prophets did not rush into the deadly breach and breast the foe there, nor did they labor to close up the rent hedge; but they did build up a miserable wall of protection for the people and plaster it with mortar that had no cohesive power; in other words, their lives allayed those fears of the people which God sought to arouse, and also inspired hopes of peace which God sought to dispel, that He might press them to look to Himself alone for refuge. A "wall" should naturally be a symbol of strength and protection—here, against the judgments with which God had threatened the nation. The figure of the worthless wall and its treacherous mortar is carried out fully. It shall surely fall. The Lord will overwhelm it with terrific showers, great hailstones and a furious wind; its very foundations shall be laid bare, and its builders (even all these false prophets) shall be utterly consumed under its ruins—for verse 16 is entirely explicit in applying this figure. H. C. These are the very agencies by which the Lord now overthrows in a night whole villages thus built with untempered mortar. "So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundations thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof. A calamity, this, of very frequent occurrence. I have known many such during my residence in this land, and this whole passage is so graphic and true to experience that the prophet, beyond a doubt, drew the picture from scenes with which he was personally familiar. W. M. T. The builders of the wall, and those that daubed it, will themselves be buried in the ruins of it—"It shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof" (verse 14). And thus the threatenings of God's wrath, and all the just intentions of it, shall be accomplished to the uttermost, both upon the wall and upon them that have daubed it (verse 15). The same judgments that will prove the false prophets to be false will punish them for their falsehood; and they themselves shall be involved in the calamity which they made the people believe there was no danger of, and become monuments of that justice which they bid defiance to. Thus, if the blind lead the blind, both the blind leaders and the blind followers will fall together into the ditch. Those that deceive others will, in the end, prove to have deceived themselves; and no doom will be more dreadful than that of unfaithful ministers, that flattered sinners in their sins. H. To tempt another is worse than to sin thyself. When you tempt, you do that which you cannot undo with your repentance. Gurnall.—It is devils' work to seduce simple souls from allegiance to Christ. There are busy hands to-day laying stumbling-blocks in the way, especially of young Christians—stumbling-blocks of doubt, of frivolity, of slackened morality and the like. It were better, says one who saw clearly into that awful realm beyond, if the big millstone were knotted about their necks, and they were flung into the deepest place of the lake that lay before him as he spoke. He does not speak exaggerated words; and if a solemn strain of vehemence, unlike his ordinary calm, is audible here, it is because what he knew, and did not tell, gave solemn earnestness to his veiled and awe-inspiring prophecy of doom. What imagination shall fill out the details of the "worse than" which lurks behind that "better"? A. M. 17-19. Some women also as well as men were guilty of this horrible sin of lying prophecy to deceive souls to their ruin. To such the remainder of the chapter relates. The figures which represent their seductive influence belong to their sex, being drawn from things which women manufacture. The male prophets are builders of walls; the female sew pillows, cushions, quilts; providing every luxury in that line to allure people away from God and into deeper sin. The word rendered "armholes" clearly means the finger-joints. Pillows for the head are not deemed extravagant; but cushions for the elbows savor of luxury, and much more pillows for every finger joint. The prophet intended to make a strong case of effeminacy. "The head of every stature" means the heads of people of every height, boys and men of all ages. By "kerchiefs" our translators probably meant head-coverings. The original word favors the sense of quilt, mattress or spread. In the clause rendered "upon the head," perhaps the thought may be that they are large and long enough to cover the entire person, however tall, even to the head. The general sense is, who provide luxuries for the tastes of the people and use their feminine skill to ensnare souls. By yet another special figure, they are thought of as hunters of game, meaning, however, hunters of human souls, to kill those whom they should let live, and to promise life to those whom God would destroy. H. C. 22. They discouraged those that were honest and good, and encouraged those that were wicked and profane: You slay the souls that should not die, and save those alive that should not live (verse 19). This is explained (verse 22), "You have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; because they would not, they durst not, countenance your pretensions, you thundered out the judgments of God against them, to their great grief and trouble; you put them under invidious characters, to make them either despicable or odious to the people, and pretended to do it in God's name, which made them go many a time with a sad heart; whereas it was the will of God that they should be comforted, and by having respect put upon them should have encouragement given them. But, on the other side, and which is still worse, you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, and emboldened them to go on in their wicked ways, and not to return from them, which was the thing the true prophets with earnestness called them to. You have promised sinners life in their sinful ways, have told them that they shall have peace though they go on, by which their hands have been strengthened and their hearts hardened." H. The evil of their doings, how they deceived others, and were themselves deceived; the points which alone concern us practically, these are set before us plainly. "With their lies they made the heart of the righteous sad, whom God had not made sad; and they strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life." Where the way of life was broad, they strove to make it narrow; and where it was narrow, they strove to make it broad: by their solemn and superstitious lies, they frightened and perplexed the good, while, by their lives of ungodliness, they emboldened and encouraged the wicked. It may not, at first sight, seem necessary that these two things should go together; there might be, it seems, either the fault of making the heart of the righteous sad, without that of strengthening the hands of the wicked; or there might be the strengthening of the hands of the wicked, without making sad the heart of the righteous. And so it sometimes has been: there has been a wickedness which has not tried to keep up superstition: there has been a superstition, the supporters of which have not wilfully encouraged wickedness. Yet, although this has been so, with respect to the intention of the parties concerned, yet in their own nature, the tendency of either evil to produce the other is sure and universal. We cannot exist without some influences of fear and restraint, on the one hand, and without some indulgence of freedom, on the other. God has provided for both these wants, so to speak, of our nature; He has told us whom we should fear, and where we should be restrained, and where, also, we may be safely in freedom—there is the fruit forbidden, and the fruit which we may eat freely. But if the restraint and the liberty be either of them put in the wrong place, the double evil is sure to follow. Restrained in his lawful liberty, debarred from the good and wholesome fruit of the garden, man breaks out into a liberty which is unlawful; he eats of the forbidden fruit, whose taste is death; or, surfeited with an unholy freedom, and let to run wild in a space far too vast for his strength to compass, he turns cravingly for that support to his weariness which a narrowed range would afford him; and he limits himself on that very quarter in which alone he might expatiate freely. Superstition, in fact, is the rest of wickedness, and wickedness is the breaking loose of superstition. But, however true this may be, are we concerned in it? First of all, when we find an evil dwelt upon often in the prophets, and find it dwelt upon again by our Lord and His apostles with no less earnestness, there is, at least, a strong presumption, that an evil of this sort is nothing local or passing, but that it is fixed in man's nature, and is apt to grow up in all times and in all countries. Now, the double evil spoken of in the text occurs again in the Gospel; there we find men spoken of who, in like manner, insisted upon what was trifling, and were careless of what was important; and in the epistles we find, again, the same characters holding up as righteous others than those who worked righteousness—men who spoke lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron. We may presume, therefore, that this evil is of an enduring character; but if we look back to the history of the Christian Church, or look around us, the presumption becomes the sad conviction of experience. T. Arnold. It was a fearfully solemn responsibility assumed by those lying men and women in Ezekiel's day, when they sought thus to thwart the benevolent efforts of the great and holy God. No less solemn to-day is the responsibility assumed by men who abate from the doom threatened against all persistent sinners and encourage men to make the most of sinful pleasures while they can, till the day of mercy ends all suddenly in the night of eternal death! Chap. 14. Again certain of the elders of Israel come and sit before the prophet, and the Lord gives him another message in continuation of the subject of the previous chapter. The Lord will not let men come to Him asking favors, with their idols enthroned in their hearts. If they do, He will answer them according to their idols and abominations. If they seduce a prophet to inquire of the Lord for them, God will let that prophet be deceived and then deceive those who try in this way to make use of His prophetic functions. The only right thing a guilty people can do is to repent of their sins and put away all their abominations. Another turn is given to this leading thought in verses 12-21. If, for the great wickedness of the land, God shall send upon them His sore judgments, He will not be entreated in their behalf. Though even those great and good men, distinguished as intercessors high in favor with God, Noah, Daniel and Job, were in it, they should save their own souls only. Their prayers or their presence could not save so wicked a people. H. C. The preceding prophecy was a reproof of false prophets, this of those who consult them. The claims of Ezekiel as a prophet are now recognized by his countrymen. Some of the chief exiles come to him as to one who has authority. They look for encouragement and comfort. But Ezekiel with the genuine prophetic spirit sees deep into their hearts, and finds them at variance with devotion to the true God. The idols of self-will and unsubmissiveness are set up therein. The prophet warns them that God will not be inquired of in such a spirit as this. B. C. 1-3. "Then came," etc. This seems to have been shortly after the prophecy narrated in the previous chapter. This chapter and that are closely connected in thought. That denunciation of the false prophets may have made some impression upon certain of the elders, and they may have been consequently in an attitude to listen to something further on the same and kindred points. The language, "these men," etc., somewhat strongly implies a reference to the elders then before him. "To set up their idols in their hearts," is precisely to enthroned them there—to give them a standing, a fixed position in their very heart as in a temple prepared for the purpose. "Stumbling-block" is used here in the sense of temptation to sin, put directly before their own face, so that it shall have its greatest power to ensnare and thus destroy their own souls. While they are in this moral state, God asks, "Shall I be inquired of at all by them?" Of course He will not be. 4,5. If such a man shall go to a prophet to engage him to intercede for himself with God, God will answer him through that prophet according to his sins—that is, will give him no such answer as he desires; but will let him be deceived to his ruin. "That I may take," etc., means, that I may take hold violently and effectually of their heart—i.e., by spurning them away and visiting them with sore judgments, grasping their heart so that they shall feel it—taking hold, not to restore or to comfort, but to chasten or punish. 6. "Therefore say" this—that there is no evading this manifest and imperative duty of repentance. Seeking God with your abominations still in power in your hearts can be of no avail save to curse you the more fearfully. The effort to reach God through His prophets by seducing them to your aid will only involve those wicked prophets as well as yourself in deception and calamity. "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Repent and turn from all your idols." H. C. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." To follow the one is to be estranged from and renounce the other. He, therefore, that would repent, must necessarily change his course, and quite turn back again from the broad way, before he can enter into the way of life; he must cast out the idols (of vanity, pleasure, etc.) out of his heart before he can be reconciled to God. For this is a rule in religion which admits of no exception. Repentance is no repentance without a total change, a thorough renovation and real turn of mind. But on these terms a pardon is open to the greatest offender. God is too good and gracious to strike without warning, without a call, without an invitation to repentance; and yet too just and holy to accept a partial conversion, a piece of the heart—He will have the whole or none. Wogan. Repentance, taken as a translation of the compound Greek word used in the New Testament to express the same thing, points to an internal alteration, or a thinking differently from some former way of thinking. It means a changed mind, an altered ruling purpose, a new way of looking at things. Used as it is here, it means, of course, a new way of looking at the deepest and greatest thing, the central thing, the object of life, or our relation to God. This change of mind affects the whole judgment, intention, spirit of our being. It implies a turning about in the direction, the drift of a man's innermost life. If he regarded the world, before repentance, as a place merely to get the greatest amount of bodily pleasure in, after repentance he will regard it as the place to get the greatest amount of goodness in; he repents of his sensuality. If he looked upon it before as only a shop for making money, afterward he will look upon it as a mission field for cultivating righteousness; he repents of his sordidness. If he treated his position before as only a dressing-room for ostentation, he will afterward treat it as a vineyard for honest and useful labor; he will repent of his vanity and idleness. If he esteemed men and women before only as beings made to promote his comfort and advance his interests, he will afterward esteem them as beings that he is to comfort and whose interests he is to serve; he will repent of his cupidity and selfishness. And so through the whole circle of virtues and vices. His inmost purpose is changed. Literally, he thinks the other way. Furthermore, as this change of the mind, or of the inner man, affects one's views of the past, as well as of the present and future, it must of course be accompanied with a palpable sorrow that the past life has been what it has, and has not been what it so plainly ought to be. In a true repentance, this sorrow will be intense and bitter. A sincere and spiritual man cannot but loathe himself for having done those shameful, vicious, ungrateful things. Paul's vivid language of self-condemnation becomes actual and natural to us. We are disgusted with our spiritual meanness. Looking up to Christ and His redeeming love, we are smitten with the disgrace that we should so long have been wounding and insulting Him. Looking to the Holy Spirit, so infinitely tender and forbearing, we feel that the first utterance of prayer must be a confession of unworthiness—a cry for pardon and deliverance from a deserved ruin. And if this grief is not a mere dictate of selfish fear or mercenary calculation, but a spiritual penitence because the pure God has been offended and the crucified Christ wronged, then it is that godly sorrow, needing not to be repented of or changed from, which purifies and brings peace and pardon to the heart. This is repentance. F. D. H. 7. 8. The meaning of these verses is plain, and has been already brought out. Whether the inquirer be an Israelite or a foreigner, if he sever himself from God and give his heart to idols, and then shall go to a prophet to learn something respecting God, or to gain some favor from God (e.g., like King Saul in his distress), God will answer him in His own way and for His own righteous ends. 9-11. What is said here affords no good reason for impugning the justice or even the goodness of God. All candid minds will see this if they carefully consider and duly appreciate these three points: 1. That the case supposed is that of a wicked man, seducing and bribing a prophet to give him a favorable answer from God, while he yet cleaves to his sins. God declares that He will not be tampered with by a wicked man for so vile a purpose. He will let both the prophet and the sinner who tries to bribe him be deceived and ruined. 2. No other form of Divine agency need be implied here than what is properly permissive. God will let that prophet be deceived. He will leave him to make mistakes—leave him in the darkness of his own perverse heart. God will not reveal truth to his mind; will not help him carry out the wicked purpose and desire of the sinner who has bribed him to try to extort something from God for his own selfish advantage. The usage of all Scripture, and indeed of all human language, sustains this construction. God is said to do what He only suffers or permits to be done. And in this case, who can say that God does not most righteously and justly leave the sinner to be frustrated in his impious purpose? 3. The Divine intent in this proceeding is infinitely wise and good. As declared by Himself in this very connection, it is "that the house of Israel may go no more astray from Me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be My people, and I may be their God." H. C. 9. I the Lord have deceived that prophet. That is, permitted him to be deceived and to deceive the people, as a just judgment upon them for their infidelity, with respect to His true prophets. This He threatens at the fifth verse: "I will take the house of Israel," etc.; because they have chosen to themselves false gods, I will suffer them to be deceived with false prophets; and that this is the meaning appears by the threatening added, "and I will stretch out My hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of My people." Now God will not punish that whereof He is the Author. Abp. Tillotson. Evil as well as good is under His direction who turns it as He will, employing it to test the sincerity of men, and thus making it ultimately contribute to the purification of His people, to the confirmation of the righteous, to the increase of their glory and felicity. This principle of Divine government may be traced elsewhere. In De. 13 it is declared that those who listen to false prophets are responsible, even though the prophets confirm their words by wonders that come to pass. God's people were tried by the presence among them of false prophets just as they were by the presence of idolaters. So John bids men try the spirits because many false prophets are gone out into the world (1 John 4: 1), and it is of the days of the Messiah that Zechariah predicts, I will cause the (false) prophets and unclean spirit to pass out of the land (Zech. 13: 2). The case of the false prophets who deceived Ahab (1 K. 22) is a striking representation of this principle. The Lord sends forth an evil spirit to persuade him to his ruin. Toward the close of the kingdom of Judah false prophets were especially rife, the sign and the punishment of corruption. In this way the thoughts of men's hearts were revealed, the good separated from the bad, and the people (the remnant of them) purged from the sins by which of late years the whole nation had been defiled. So Paul makes the sending of false prophets a leading part of the Divine dispensations in the last days—God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie (2 Thess. 2 : 11). Yet this delusion does not operate by a magic irresistible force—they who listen to the false prophets do so of their own will, and will therefore be justly liable to the wrath of the true God. B. C. 12-23. The scope of these verses is to show : 1. That national sins bring national judgments ; when virtue is ruined and laid waste, everything else will soon be ruined and laid waste too (verse 13) : When the land sins against Me, when vice and wickedness become epidemical, when the land sins by trespassing grievously, when the sinners are become very numerous, and their sins very heinous, when gross impieties and immoralities universally prevail, then will I stretch forth Mine hand upon it for the punishment of it ; the Divine power shall be vigorously and openly exerted, the judgments shall be extended and stretched forth to all the corners of the land, to all the concerns and interests of the nation. Grievous sins bring grievous plagues. 2. That God has a variety of sore judgments wherewith to punish sinful nations ; and He has them all at command, and inflicts which He pleases. H. 12-21. The points of this case are made entirely plain. It is presented for the most part as a case supposed in a hypothetical way. If any land should become grievously wicked, beyond the Divine endurance, then would I scourge them with My four great and sore judgments—famine, destructive beasts, the sword of war and pestilence—and then, though these three men, pre-eminent for their availing intercession—viz., Noah, Daniel and Job, were in that land, they should save themselves only ; they could not save that land from My judgments. They could not save from any one of these forms of judgment coming singly—how much less from all combined ? Of the godly men named here, the reader will recall in the case of Noah the fact that God forewarned him of the flood one hundred and twenty years before it came, during which time we may suppose that his prayers were unceasing that the Lord would defer this judgment and spare the guilty race. So far “the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” The fact was, that the sins of the Jewish people had become such that God could not pardon, but must punish. So He had said of the sins of Manasseh (2 K. 24 : 4). Repeatedly through Jeremiah the Lord had signified that He could not hear prayer in their behalf to turn from His purposed judgments. (See Jer. 7 : 16 ; 11 : 14 ; 14 : 11, 12, and not least, 15 : 1.) “Though Moses and Samuel stood before Me” (i.e., as intercessors), “yet My mind could not be toward this people ; cast them out of My sight and let them go forth.” Fearful is the doom that awaits either a nation or an individual when the point is reached where prayer avails nothing ! H. C. When a nation is loyal to its God, by putting away sin and nurturing righteousness it will insure the Divine blessing and its own permanence (verse 9). God reserves the entry through the gates of honor to “the righteous nation which keepeth the truth.” The elevation ensured and given to nations which promote righteousness is the one which, if we see as God sees, we shall value most. Godless men may covet an ascendancy backed by guns and swords, armies and fleets. The believer in God covets only an uplifting that comes of the Divine blessing on “a wise and understanding people.” If loyalty to God and truth is wanting, a nation ensures its own downfall (verse 10 ; see Ezek. 17 ; 27 : 3 ; 28 : 2-10 ; Amos 2 : 9 ; Obad. 3, 4). Christians are the “salt” of the earth. Their value is in their “savor,” not in their name. And if they let the “savor” die out, no name of discipleship will be of any use to them. Christians may not separate their Christianity from their citizenship. They are to be Christian citizens ; and do we not learn by abundant teachings in the Old and New Testament that God spares many a guilty city for the sake of the righteous that are therein ? And can we forget the teaching of the prophet Ezekiel, that nations may become so corrupt that even the righteous element therein avails not to stay the ruin (Ezek. 14 : 12-21) ? C. C. 14. Though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job, were in it. Daniel was then in captivity ; he was taken in the third year of Jehoiakim ; after this Jehoiakim reigned eight years ; and this prophecy, as appears from chap. 8 : 1, was uttered in the sixth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity, who succeeded Jehoiakim, and reigned only three months ; therefore at this time Daniel had been fourteen years in captivity, and was little more than thirty years of age. It is observable how early the fame of his piety had spread over Chaldea. Abp. Newcome. All these persons were eminent for their piety. Noah and his family were saved from the universal deluge, and obtained a promise from the Most High that He would never again destroy the world by an inundation of water. Daniel interceded with the Almighty for the whole nation of the Jews, and obtained a promise of their restoration (Dan. 9). And Job was appointed by God Himself to make intercession for his three friends. But when the Almighty's irreversible decree is gone out against a nation, even the prayers of such favorites of Heaven would be ineffectual to procure their deliverance. The prophet, in this allusion to Abraham's intercession for Sodom, declares from God that when His judgments come out against the land of Judea, the righteous found in it should only save themselves; which plainly shows a providence extending to particulars. Bp. Warburton. What makes that testimony more striking is that it was borne when Daniel was still in early manhood. When he was about twenty-nine years of age Ezekiel uttered in the course of a prophecy these words: "The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land sinneth against Me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out Mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God." Four times are these saints introduced to give point and terror to Divine threatening. A few years later, when Daniel was about thirty-five years of age, his name was introduced into a rebuke, ironical in form, of the then king of Tyre. The king had all but deified himself, and placed his human, heathen wisdom in antagonism with that of God. He had forgotten his dependence upon God; and so the prophet, with biting irony, thus addresses him: "Behold! thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they cannot hide from thee." These references to the then living statesman and prophet are very remarkable. Pusey. From this account we may infer that Job was as real a person as Noah or Daniel; and of their identity no man has pretended to doubt. When God, as above, has determined to punish a nation, no intercession shall avail. Personal holiness alone can prevent these evils; but the holiness of any man can only avail for himself. 21. My four sore judgments. Sword, war. Famine, occasioned by drought. Pestilence, epidemic diseases which sweep off a great part of the inhabitants of a land. The noisome beasts, the multiplication of wild beasts in consequence of the general destruction of the inhabitants. A. C. 22,23. He says to these elders now before him: "When ye see this last company of captives, and learn from personal observation the horrible corruption of their hearts and lives, ye will be comforted concerning the evil which God has brought on Jerusalem, for ye will see that it must have been richly deserved, and that God did not scourge that city to its utter destruction without good cause." If they had felt any misgiving in view of a judgment so terrible, they would surely see in the character of the captives that God had amply justifying cause for the severity of those judgments. It is a comfort to the people of God to see that His most terrible judgments are not excessive or in any wise unduly severe. The Lord is careful to show His confiding people that whatever else He may do, He never can punish too severely. He may punish less than man's iniquities deserve; but never more. H. C. 23. Ye shall know that I have not done without cause. There is no part of the conduct of God toward man that is not dictated by the purest principles of justice, equity and truth. He does nothing but what is right; and whatever is right to be done, that ought to be done. In God's justice there is no severity; in God's mercy there is no caprice. He alone doth all things well; for He is the Fountain of justice and mercy. A. C. 15:1, 2 AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, what is the vine tree more than any tree, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? Shall wood be taken thereof to make any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel: the fire hath devoured both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned; is it profitable for any work? Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned, shall it yet be meet for any work? Therefore thus saith the Lord God: As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of 7 Jerusalem. And I will set my face against them; they shall go forth from the fire, but the fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against 8 them. And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD. 16:1, 2 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem 3 to know her abominations, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was thy father, and thy mother 4 was an Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled 5 at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, for that thy person was abhorred, in the day that 6 thou wast born. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live; yea, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy 7 blood, live. I caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou didst increase and wax great, and thou attainedst to excellent ornament; thy breasts were fashioned, and thine 8 hair was grown; yet thou wast naked and bare. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and cov- ered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the 9 Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine. Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly 10 washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and 11 covered thee with silk. I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy 12 hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a ring upon thy nose, and earrings in thine 13 ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper unto royal 14 estate. And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD. 15. But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and 16 pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was. And thou didst take of thy garments, and madest for thee high places decked with divers colours, and playedst 17 the harlot upon them: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so. Thou didst also take thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest for 18 thee images of men, and didst play the harlot with them; and thou tookest thy broidered 19 garments, and coveredst them, and didst set mine oil and mine incense before them. My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst 20 even set it before them for a sweet savour, and thus it was; saith the Lord GOD. Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast 21 thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter, that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through the fire unto 22 them? And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the 23 days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast weltering in thy blood. And 24 it is come to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD,) that thou hast built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee a lofty place in every street. 25 Thou hast built thy lofty place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whore- 26 dom. Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians, thy neighbours, great of 27 flesh; and hast multiplied thy whoredom, to provoke me to anger. Behold therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed 28 of thy lewd way. Thou hast played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied. 29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy whoredom in the land of Canaan, unto Chaldea; and 30 yet thou wast not satisfied herewith. How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing 31 thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; in that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thy lofty place in every street; 32 and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire. A wife that committeth adultery! 33 that taketh strangers instead of her husband! They give gifts to all harlots: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and bribest them, that they may come unto thee on every 34 side for thy whoredoms. And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to commit whoredom: and whereas thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary. 35, 36 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord God, because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, 37 which thou didst give unto them; therefore behold, I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them against thee on every side, and will discover thy nakedness 38 unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring upon thee the blood of fury and 39 jealousy. I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and break down thy lofty places; and they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take 40 thy fair jewels: and they shall leave thee naked and bare. They shall also bring up an as- sembly against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their 41 swords. And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgements upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou 42 shalt also give no hire any more. So will I satisfy my fury upon thee, and my jealousy 43 shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry. Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; therefore be- hold, I also will bring thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord God: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations. 44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is 45 the mother, so is her daughter. Thou art thy mother's daughter, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which loathed their husbands and 46 their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite. And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters: and thy younger 47 sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. Yet hast thou not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but, as if that were a very little 48 thing, thou wast more corrupt than they in all thy ways. As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy 49 daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom; pride, fulness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the 50 poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore 51 I took them away as I saw good. Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine 52 abominations which thou hast done. Thou also, bear thine own shame, in that thou hast given judgement for thy sisters; through thy sins that thou hast committed more abomi- nable than they, they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou also confounded, and bear 53 thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. And I will turn again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and 54 the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: that thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be ashamed because of all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto 55 them. And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and thou and thy daughters 56 shall return to your former estate. For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth 57 in the day of thy pride; before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philis- 58 tines, which do despite unto thee round about. Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine 59 abominations, saith the LORD. For thus saith the Lord God: I will even deal with thee as 60 thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an 61 everlasting covenant. Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder sisters and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee 62 for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee; and 63 thou shalt know that I am the LORD: that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame; when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God. Chap. 15. This short chapter makes but one point, and makes that plainly. Jerusalem and Israel had often been thought and spoken of as a vine under the culture of their own God. (See Isa. 5:1-7; 27:2; Jer. 2:21; Ps. 80:8-16.) But now she has altogether ceased to bring forth grapes. She bears no fruits of holiness; renders to God no acceptable service. The wood of the vine was too slender for tent nails or pins. It might, however, answer to burn for fuel. It was used for this purpose, and was fit for nothing else. So of the people of Jerusalem. They might serve as an example to illustrate God's justice in punishing the incorrigibly guilty. They might answer some useful purpose to burn up. To this purpose the Lord would consign them, and would lay their land utterly desolate. A fearful truth is this, as applied to all sinners who will bear no fruit of obedience and love to God; from whom He can extract no other service in His universe save to make them an example of His righteous justice in their damnation! Actively, of their free will and honest intent, they will do nothing for God, or for His creatures and the general good; hence, passively, by suffering, and against their will, the Lord will turn them to the only good account possible in their case, and make them fuel for His justice to burn—a living, eternal testimony before the universe to His holy and intense abhorrence of rebellion. They shall know, and all intelligent beings in God's kingdom shall learn in their case, that He is the Lord God Omnipotent, holy and righteous forevermore! H. C. The vine is a noble plant in respect to the fruit it bears; but in regard of its wood, no shrub is so mean; it is so far from affording any useful timber, that not even a pin can be made from it on which any vessel may be hung. Lo, such is Israel! if it bore good fruit it would be dear and precious to me, but in itself it is but mean and base in comparison of other nations, and unfit for any service: it is only meet to be cast into the fire for fuel. Bp. Hall. The vine-tree is weaker than most trees, so as to be unfit for any work, and would therefore be very contemptible but for that property it possesses of bringing forth a valuable and delicious fruit. On this account it is highly prized and diligently cultivated. But if it fail of producing fruit, the only purpose to which it can be applied is to turn it to fuel. Such is the figurative representation which the prophet gives us, in this passage, of man, considered especially as the object of Divine care and culture. He is naturally capable of yielding a precious fruit; in this consists his sole excellence; this is the sole end of his existence; and if he fails in this he is of no use but to be destroyed. Man is naturally capable of yielding a most precious fruit: this fruit consists in living to God. R. Hall. 7. The condition of the people is here depicted. The people of Israel had already become worthless, useless as instruments for carrying out God's work. The separated kingdoms had, in turn, been laid waste. Israel was entirely broken up. Judah had suffered the captivity of her king (Jeconiah), and with him no inconsiderable part of the commonality. The branch torn from the living stem had truly been cast into the fire, which had devoured both ends of it; what remained was a brand plucked from the burning. Those who had escaped the general calamity were reserved for a like fate. They had gone forth from the fire, so they deemed, but the fire should yet devour them, so God had decreed. Compare the parable of the vine in John 15, where the worthlessness of the vine-branch severed from the true stock, and the consequent casting of it in the fire, illustrates this prophecy of Ezekiel. B. C. Chap. 16. This chapter embraces one general theme—the idolatry of Jerusalem, set forth in vivid, glaring, appalling colors under the figure common to the prophets, by which idolatry is thought of as adultery. The key-note is struck in verse 2: "Cause Jerusalem to know her abominations." Set them before her eyes in forms and figures so expressive that she cannot but see them, and so sickening that, seeing, she cannot fail to loathe and abhor herself for all she has done. Let us also bear in mind that this exposé of Jerusalem is made before the exiles in Chaldea to show them how righteously that city is about to suffer utter destruction; to impress them with the enormity of their great national sin, in which themselves were deeply guilty; and to urge them to deep self-condemnation and bitter repentance. H. C. Israel's proneness to idolatry is depicted by the prophet under the figure of a wife's infidelity. This he does in the long 16th chapter and in the almost equally long 23d chapter. In these chapters the relentless realism of our author's methods is most startling. The subject is a loathsome one. The instinct of delicacy is to escape from it as speedily and euphemistically as possible. But Ezekiel means not merely to suggest the picture, but to make us see it. We feel that we might be spared some of the ranker words, some of the more revolting situations, some of the more indecent exposures. It is dreadful to read, but the result is such an expression of the odiousness of apostasy from God as is without a parallel in literature. Ballantine. 1-43. Idolatry is frequently represented by the prophets under the figure of a wife's unfaithfulness to her husband. This image is here so portrayed as to exhibit the aggravation of Israel's guilt by reason of her origin and early history. The original abode of the progenitors of the race, the land of Canaan, defiled with idolatry and moral corruption, is introduced to heighten the picture. The prophet's first aim is to show how utterly destitute the people was from the first of any claim to the kindness lavished upon it. Israel was like a child born in a polluted land, abandoned from its birth, left by its parents in the most utter neglect to the chance regard of any passer by. Such was the state of the people in Egypt (verses 3-5). On such a child the Lord looked with pity, tended, adopted it, decked it with all that could grace and adorn it. Under such care it grew up to be comely and beautiful, and the Lord joined it to Himself in that close union which is figured by the bonds of wedlock. The Lord adopted her not only as His child, but as His spouse. The covenants made under Moses and Joshua represent this alliance (verses 6-8). The prophet does not dwell upon the sins and punishments of Israel which followed so close upon the first covenants, but passes on to the season of greatest prosperity, the reigns of David and Solomon, when Israel shone with all the glory of temporal prosperity, and became a kingdom mighty and prosperous (verses 9-14). The remainder of the history of the people now divided is, in the prophet's eye, a succession of defection and degradation marked by the erection of high places (verse 16), by the worship of household idols (verse 17), by the abominable rites of Molech (verse 20). And all this was followed by unholy alliances with foreign nations: Egypt (verse 26), Assyria (verse 28), Chaldea (verse 29), which nations the people courted with presents and called in to their ruin (verse 33). Such sins were soon to meet their due punishment. As an unfaithful wife was brought before the people, convicted, cast out of her home, and stoned, so should the Lord make His people a gazing-stock to all the nations round about, deprive them of all their possessions, and of their city, and cast them forth as exiles to be spoiled and destroyed in a foreign land (verses 35-43). B. C. 1-5. Ezekiel is now among the captives in Babylon; but as Jeremiah at Jerusalem wrote for the use of the captives, though they had Ezekiel upon the spot with them (chap. 29), so Ezekiel wrote for the use of Jerusalem, though Jeremiah himself was resident there. Jeremiah wrote to the captives for their consolation, which was the thing they needed; Ezekiel here is directed to write to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for their conviction and humiliation, which was the thing they needed. H. 3. No one will take this allusion to her "birth and nativity" in the literal sense. Men and nations are spoken of as the children of those whose ways they follow, as our Lord accosted the Pharisees, "Ye generation of vipers" (Matt. 23:33), and "Ye are of your father the devil" (John 8:44). Isaiah (chap. 1:10) addresses the Jews as "rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah." H. C. Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan. It would dishonor Abraham to say that you sprung from him; ye are rather Canaanites than Israelites. The Canaanites were accursed; so are ye. Thy father was an Amorite, thy mother a Hittite. These tribes were the most famous, and probably the most corrupt of all the Canaanites. A. C. 6-14. These figures are plain, and refer manifestly to the early development of the religious life and of the national strength and wealth of the Hebrew people in the wilderness and in Canaan. God's first interposition broke the yoke of Pharaoh and brought them forth from their national bondage. Then He entered into the solemn marriage covenant with them, and they became truly and avowedly His own people. The entire Book of Exodus is a special comment on these verses. In verse 6 the original word is not precisely "polluted," but rather trodden under foot—indicating their state in Egypt. The announcement, "Live," is solemnly repeated for emphasis. It was this majestic and paternal voice which restored their national life, when else they had died nationally under Egyptian servitude. The reader will not fail to note that this setting forth of God's loving-kindness to the nation in its birth and youth is intended to show (and does) how deeply indebted the Hebrew nation were to their own covenant God, and hence, how intensely flagrant, mean and wicked was their apostasy from their own God to idols, their spiritual adultery. H. C. 15-34. In these verses we have an account of the great wickedness of the people of Israel, especially in worshipping idols, notwithstanding the great favors that God had conferred upon them, by which, one would think, they should have been forever engaged to Him. This wickedness of theirs is here represented by the lewd and scandalous conversation of that beautiful maid which was rescued from ruin, brought up and well provided for by a kind friend and benefactor, that had been in all respects as a father and a husband to her. H. The prophet now describes the idolatries of the time of the kings. The earlier offences in the time of the judges are not noticed, that being an unsettled time. The conduct of the people after they had prospered into a kingdom is to be described. 15. Because of thy renown. Thou didst make use of thy renown to court idolatrous nations. The marriages of Solomon with heathen wives, and his consequent idolatries, are a clear instance of such misuse of glory. B. C. 18. Mine oil and Mine incense. The oil was the product of the land, the incense received in exchange for such produce, and so both were the gifts of Jehovah, and belonged to Him. Besides, the oil and the incense prepared for the service of God were used in idol worship. Oil was a special ingredient in the offerings prescribed in the service of the Temple; for anointing, for lights, and for the meal-offering. B. C. 20,21. Was this crime of making and serving other gods too small a thing to satisfy thy wicked heart, that thou shouldst needs go on to more horrid guilt, and burn thine own sons and daughters in the fire to these cruel idols? With equal force and beauty the Lord says, "Thou hast slain My children"—as if His parental heart yearned over the innocent little ones hurled by their unnatural fathers and mothers into the deadly fire to Moloch and Saturn! H. C. God's covenant with Abraham was "with him and his seed after him." The severest charge against Israel which Ezekiel was commissioned to utter was this: "Thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters whom thou hast borne unto Me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them. Thou hast slain My children." Take now these facts and principles: Christian families as families are in covenant with God; God claims the children in such families as His children; the family is, practically, whatever may be our theories, the unit of organization in the Church as in the commonwealth, lying as it does at the foundation of them both. These principles furnish strong a priori or presumptive evidence that the children of believing parents are to be acknowledged as members of the Christian Church. T. P. Stevenson. 22. It had aggravated her guilt all along that she would not suitably remember the goodness of her God manifested toward her in the early days of her national life. In this chapter (verses 4-14) the Lord has been pressing this urgently upon her attention. This was the burden of many an earnest exhortation from the Lord through Moses and the prophets. (See De. 8:2; 5:15; 15:15; 16:12; 24:18, 22.) She did not love to remember how abject and forlorn she was in the day when the mercy of the Lord met her in Egypt. So sinners are slow and reluctant to remember the special favors shown them by that Great Benefactor whose name they revile, whose law they discard, and whose love to them they will not think of requiting with responsive love in return. H. C. 27. The Philistines, occupying the southern borders of the land of Canaan, were from the first, and continued through the whole of Israel's history, thorns in the sides of the people; in the times of the judges, of Samuel, of Saul, of David, and in much later times (see Isa. 14: 29) they were the instruments employed by the Lord to punish His disobedient people. (See 2 Chron. 28:18.) 35-43. The punishment of Judah is represented by the same figure as her sin. She has been portrayed as an adulteress and a murderess. She is now represented as undergoing the punishment adjudged to an adulteress and murderess. The scene is a court of justice, before which the Lord Himself appears to arraign the guilty woman. There are present those who are now her lovers, and those whom she has loved and deserted (the idolatrous nations with whom Judah has had guilty intercourse), to witness, to share, or to exult in her disgrace. In proportion to her former honor shall be her present shame. As a woman suspected of infidelity to her husband had her head uncovered, by way of disgrace, so this convicted adulteress shall be stripped bare, exposed to utter shame, shall be stoned and slain, and her house shall be made desolate. Only in her utter destruction shall the wrath of the Lord, the jealous God, cease. B. C. In this passage, verse 38 alludes with terrible power to the jealousy and fury with which men often avenge the crime of adultery when their own hearts are torn and their own homes ruined by it. So God will shed the blood of Jerusalem in His fury and jealousy! What could be more fearfully expressive! He will make an example of her before many cities and nations. H. C. The question is, how these two, God is love and God is a consuming fire, are to be harmonized. And the answer is, that the vinculum is found in this conception of the jealousy. Through that medial factor, the wrath is seen to be of love or accordant with it. The capital passage here is De. 4:24, where the one is given as exegetical of the other: "The Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God;" and other passages (Zech. 8:2; Ezek. 16:38; 36:6; 38:19, etc.) place the two in such juxtaposition that sometimes they appear well-nigh synonymous, and sometimes the jealousy seems given as the operative cause of the wrath. This jealousy is, therefore, the Divine love bearing no rival, demanding a perfect response, asserting its disowned claims; in short, the love that will be loved, and that with an undivided affection, in turn. Salmond. 46,47. To humble the national pride of Jerusalem and set forth her monstrous guilt, she is compared to Samaria as her sister on the left hand, and to Sodom, her sister on the right. Jerusalem sits geographically between these two cities, with her face to the east. "She did not walk after their ways," for she had done indefinitely worse than they. So utterly had her crimes surpassed theirs, as to throw them quite into the shade. In verse 47, the original word, rendered "a very little thing," means a thing of disgust, as if it disgusted her as too small sinning. Jerusalem piques herself upon sinning on a grander scale, with more daring, horrible impiety! 48-50. This comparison with Sodom is full of intense significance and power. There stood the history of Sodom and her fearful doom before the very eyes of the Jewish people. The record of it lifts up its columns of smoke and flame before the generations of history, standing on their own sacred page, and it would seem that they must have learned from their childhood to abhor such crimes and dread such a doom! Yet here the burning tongue of their prophet puts it to them that their own guilt is indefinitely greater! H. C. 49. Abundance of idleness. In places where there is least work the worst sins do most prevail; and idleness therefore is by the prophet reckoned one of the three great sins of Sodom, parents of the rest. It seldom happens in any way of life that a sluggard and a profligate do not go together, or that he who is idle is not also dissolute. Isaac Barrow. 51,52. Jerusalem in her abominations had justified Samaria only in the sense that her greater crimes made the sins of Samaria appear to be almost virtues. Verse 52 might be translated, "Bear thou (Jerusalem) that disgrace which thou hast adjudged to thy sisters, for thy sins in which thou hast been more abominable than they," etc. Jerusalem had condemned her sisters, Sodom and Samaria, adjudging to them deep disgrace. Let her bear all this herself and more, for her greater abominations. H. C. 53. When I shall bring again their captivity. The meaning is, When the fulness of the Gentiles shall come into the Church (some of whom may be compared to Sodom for wickedness), then will I also remember you who are My ancient people. The conversion of the Gentiles is expressed in Jeremiah by the returning of the captivity of Moab, Ammon and Elam (chaps. 48:47; 49:6, 39); and by the Egyptians, Ethiopians and Syrians acknowledging themselves His servants in the prophecy of Isaiah (chaps. 19:24, 25; 23:18). And by the same analogy we are to understand the returning of "the captivity of Sodom," here, of the Gentiles coming into the Church. Abp. Newcome. 56-59. Her guilt in despising her oath and breaking her covenant with her God was that especially which so greatly surpassed the guilt of Sodom and Samaria, and which made her doom so dreadful. H. C. 60-63. Here in the close of the chapter, after a most shameful conviction of sin and a most dreadful denunciation of judgments, mercy is remembered, mercy is reserved for those who shall come after, as was when God swore in His wrath concerning those who came out of Egypt, that they should not enter into Canaan. "Yet," says God, "your little ones shall;" so here. This mercy should take rise from God Himself and His remembering of His covenant with them (verse 60). Nevertheless, though they had been so provoking, and God has been so provoked, to that degree that one would think they could never be reconciled again, yet "I will remember My covenant with thee, that covenant which I made with thee in the days of thy youth, and will revive it again. Though thou hast broken the covenant (verse 59), I will remember it, and it shall flourish again." H. What unutterable compassion and forgiving love are in these words! Thou, Jerusalem, wilt not remember the days of thy youth and of My mercy to thee then; but I will remember My covenant with thee, made in those days of thy youth, and I will establish it with thee for an everlasting covenant! Is not such love as this sovereign—a love that owes nothing to antecedent love on the part of His people, but lifts itself high above the mountains of sin and spans the deep abysses of guilt and the sinks of human abominations to find subjects on which loving-kindness and Divine compassion may rest! Oh, indeed, this is the loving-kindness of the ever-blessed God! Well may it be said, "The Lord is pitiful and of tender mercy. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities." H. C. 63. God's assurance, "I have forgiven," the assurance that we do not need to plead with Him, to bribe Him, to buy pardon by tears and amendment, but that it is already provided for us—the blessed vision of an all-mighty love treasured in a dying Saviour, the proclamation "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them"—oh, these are the powers that break, or rather that melt our hearts; these are the keen weapons that wound to heal our hearts; these are the teachers that teach a godly sorrow that needeth not to be repented of. Think of all the patient, pitying mercy of our Father, with which He has lingered about our lives, and softly knocked at the door of our hearts! Think of that unspeakable gift in which are wrapped up all His tender mercies—the gift of Christ, who died for us all! Let it smite upon your heart with a rebuke mightier than all the thunders of law or terrors of judgment. Let it unveil for you not only the depths of the love of God, but the darkness of your own selfish rebellion from Him. Measure your crooked lives by the perfect rightness of Christ's. Learn how you have missed the aim which He reached, who could say, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God." And let that same infinite love that teaches sin announce frank forgiveness and prophesy perfect purity. Then, with heart fixed upon Christ's cross, let your cry for pardon be the echo of the most sure promise of pardon which sounds from His dying lips; and as you gaze on Him who died that we might be freed from all iniquity, ask Him to blot out your transgressions, to wash you thoroughly from your iniquity, and to cleanse you from your sins. Ask, for you cannot ask in vain; ask earnestly, for you need it sorely; ask confidently, for He has promised before you ask; but ask, for unless you do, you will not receive. Ask, and the answer is sent already: "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." A. M. 17:1, 2 AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, put forth a rid- 3 dle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; and say, Thus saith the Lord God: A 4 great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colours, 5 came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar: he cropped off the topmost of the young 6 twigs thereof, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants. He took 7 also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters: 8 he set it as a willow tree. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose 9 branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it. 8 It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that 9 it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. Say thou, Thus saith the Lord God: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither; even without great power or 10 much people to pluck it up by the roots thereof? Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the beds where it grew. 11,12. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and brought them to him to Baby 13 lon; and he took of the seed royal, and made a covenant with him; he also brought him 14 under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land: that the kingdom might be base, that 15 it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. But he re-belled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? shall he break 16 the covenant, and yet escape? As I live, saith the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, 17 even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, when they cast up mounts and build 18 forts, to cut off many persons. For he hath despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, and yet hath done all these things; he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and 20 my covenant that he hath broken, I will even bring it upon his own head. And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and 21 will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me. And all his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it. 22 Thus saith the Lord God: I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of his young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it upon an 23 high mountain and eminent; in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all 24 fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it. Chap. 17. Ezekiel, after describing by a figure the circumstances and conditions of the Jews and Zedekiah, the vassal of the Assyrian monarch, warns them of the delusive character of their hopes of help from Egypt, protests against the perfidy which must accompany such alliance, and points out that the restoration of the people of God will be effected under a very different prince from Zedekiah. There will indeed in future times be deliverance, and a free and mighty kingdom governed by a son of David, under whose shadow all the inhabitants will gather themselves as subjects. The close of this chapter is a most striking prediction of the kingdom of the Messiah. B. C. The riddle or parable which constitutes the subject throughout this chapter is explained in the chapter itself, verses 11-21. This explanation makes the significance entirely clear and certain. The first eagle (verses 3-6) is Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon; the second (verse 7) is Pharaoh of Egypt. The highest branch of the cedar cropped by the first eagle and carried to a land of traffic, etc. (verses 3, 4), was Jehoia-chin, taken from the throne of Judah into captivity to Babylon. Then "the seed of the land, planted in a fruitful field, by great waters, and becoming a spreading vine of low stature (verses 5, 6), was Zedekiah, made king by Nebuchadnezzar over the remnant left in the land. He was, of course, bound by solemn covenant to a faithful allegiance to his conqueror and sovereign. Turning toward Egypt to solicit help thence that he might maintain himself in breaking faith with the king of Babylon was base treachery and rebellion, which God will punish. 1-4. This representation partakes of the nature of both the riddle and the parable. In its points of analogy it is a parable; in its enigma—in the fact that its significance is somewhat recondite and obscure—it is a riddle. The eagle, king of birds, not unfitly represents the kings of Chaldea and Egypt. So also a tree, whether the cedar or the vine-tree, with its magnificent foliage and abundant fruit, making homes and furnishing food for whole families of birds, not unaptly represents a great king, the father of his people. This figure was not altogether foreign to Chaldea, for we find it applied beautifully to Nebuchadnezzar in Dan. 4. H.C. 4. "A land of traffic, a city of merchants." This allusion to the commercial character of Babylon does not stand alone and unsupported in Scripture. Isaiah speaks of the Babylonian "merchants" (Isa. 47 : 15), and describes the Chaldeans as persons "whose cry is in their ships" (chap. 43 : 14). Ezekiel mentions Caneh (Calneh) and Chilmad, Babylonian towns, among the places that carried on commercial dealings with Tyre (27 : 23). In the Revelation of John, Babylon is made the type of a city, which is represented as eminently commercial (Rev. 18 : 12, 13). The notices of Babylon in profane writers and in the inscriptions fully bear out the character thus assigned to her, showing that she was the centre of an enormous land and sea commerce, which must have given occupation to thousands of merchants, and have necessitated the employment of numerous ships. G. R. 5. He took also of the seed of the land.** Zedekiah, the king's uncle, not a Babylonian satrap, was made king. This shoot is not planted like a cedar on the top of a mountain, but in low ground, by great waters, like a willow tree, to be fruitful indeed and no more. (See verse 14.) B. C. 5,6. This eagle (Nebuchadnezzar) now takes of the seed of the land a scion of the royal family of Judah, and plants it under favorable auspices in a fruitful field and by abundant waters, where it might become, not indeed a great cedar, but a humble yet useful vine. If Zedekiah had remained true to his sovereign, and especially, if true also to God, he and his people might have enjoyed a career of honor and prosperity. His comparatively humble condition—a vine of low stature—looks to the fact that all the chief princes and the more active, intelligent and useful citizens had been taken to Babylon as captives. (See 2 K. 24 : 14–16 ; Jer. 24.) 7,8. The historical facts represented here are simply that Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and sent ambassadors to Egypt for aid. This policy the Lord by His prophet sharply condemned. It was the burden of repeated remonstrances through Jeremiah. 9,10. The Lord now begins to make the moral application of this parable. Shall such treachery prosper? Can such ingratitude and baseness result well in the end? Will not the first great eagle (Nebuchadnezzar) take revenge upon this vine (Zedekiah), tear it up by its roots and leave it to wither and die? The passage intimates that this will be done easily. Judah was now greatly reduced in military strength by the loss of her citizens already taken captive; by her immoralities; and not least, by God's wrath against her. The king of Babylon could easily punish her "without great power or many people to pluck her up by her roots." 11–16. This explanation is itself plain, and most amply unfolds the meaning of this riddle or parable. The great facts of Zedekiah's treachery were just about transpiring now in the sixth year of his reign. It was essential that the exiles in Chaldea should know these facts, and should see the justice of God's wrath against Zedekiah and his people for this rebellion against the king of Babylon. Hence this representation held a vitally important place in Ezekiel's prophecies to his captive brethren. Verse 16 disclosed to them the pertinent prophecy that King Zedekiah should be brought to the place where his real sovereign lived, under the power of the king against whom he had perjured himself and whose covenant he had broken, and should die there in Babylon. This announcement must have sufficed to crush out any fond hopes they might have had as to the reign of Zedekiah. 17–21. The help of Egypt, though promised him, should avail nothing. Deservedly this passage lays stress upon the treachery and rebellion of Zedekiah as the ground of the Lord's last judgments on himself, his family and his throne. So true and right it is that God holds even kings to the morality of good faith in their solemn compacts. H. C. Zedekiah's breaking this oath and covenant is the sin which God will recompense upon His own head (verse 19), the trespass which he has trespassed against God, for which God will plead with him (verse 20). Perjury is a heinous sin, and highly provoking to the God of heaven. It would not serve for an excuse. 1. That he who took this oath was a king, a king of the house of David, whose liberty and dignity might surely set him above the obligation of oaths; no, though kings are gods to us, they are men to God, and not exempt from His law and judgment. The prince is doubtless as firmly bound before God to the people by his coronation oath as the people to the prince by the oath of allegiance. 2. Nor that this oath was sworn to the king of Babylon, a heathen prince; no, though Nebuchadnezzar was a worshipper of false gods, yet the true God will avenge His quarrel when one of His worshippers breaks his league with him; for truth is a debt owing to all men; and if the professors of the true religion deal perfidiously with those of a false religion, their profession will be so far from excusing, much less justifying them, that it aggravates their sin, and God will the more surely and severely punish it because by it they give occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme; as that Mohammedan prince who, when the Christians broke their league with him, cried out, "O Jesus, are these Thy Christians?" 3. Nor would it justify him that the oath was extorted from him by a conqueror, for the covenant was made upon a valuable consideration. He held his life and crown upon this condition, that he should be faithful and bear true allegiance to the king of Babylon; and if he enjoyed the benefit of his bargain, it is very unjust if he do not observe the terms. Let him know then that, having despised the oath and broken the covenant, he shall not escape. And if the contempt and violation of such an oath, such a covenant as this, would be so punished, of how much sorer punishment shall they be thought worthy who break covenant with God (when lo, they had given their hand upon it that they would be faithful), who tread under foot the blood of that covenant as an unholy thing? Betwixt the covenants there is no comparison. H. 22. There is a contrast between the dealings of Nebuchadnezzar and of Jehovah. Nebuchadnezzar cut off, Jehovah will set up the top shoot; Nebuchadnezzar carried it into a land of traffic, Jehovah will plant it in the mountain of the height of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar set his favorite as a vine, lowly though not poor, in the place where such trees as the humble willow grow and thrive. Jehovah's favorite is like the lofty cedar, eminent upon a high mountain. B. C. 22-24. There can be no good reason to doubt the application of these verses to the then future Messiah. All the kings of David's line were in the succession of promise between him and his greater Son. Hence the sad fall of the two last prior to the Captivity afforded a pertinent occasion for thus alluding to the greater glories—never to be despaired of—that were sure to the future Zion in her blessed King. The hopes of God's people need not go down in the eclipse that came over the royal house of David through the crimes, the captivity, the death of these two kings. Their doom torcibly suggested the contrasted destiny of "the righteous branch" that should reign and prosper and fill the earth with His blessings. The Lord could not forego such an opportunity for promises so timely, so refreshing, so inspiring to His true people in all ages. H. C. Whereas the judgments threatened in this chapter might seem to indicate the utter extirpation of the seed of David, the Lord is here pleased to assure its continuance, and the raising of the Messiah from that house, according to promise. And thus this prophecy, as well as that contained in the last chapter, closes its denunciation of woes with a striking passage relating to the kingdom of Christ. Poole. God Himself will herein be glorified (verse 24). The setting up of the Messiah's kingdom in the world shall discover more clearly than ever to the children of men that God is the King of all the earth (Ps. 47: 7). Never was there a more full conviction given of this truth, that all things are governed by an infinitely wise and mighty Providence, than that which was given by the exaltation of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom among men; for by that it appeared that God has all hearts in His hand, and the sovereign disposal of all affairs. H. 18: 1, 2 THE word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, and hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a woman in her separation; and hath not wronged any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; he that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from 9 iniquity, hath executed true judgement between man and man, hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgements, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord 10 God. If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth any one of these 11 things, and that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and 12 defiled his neighbour's wife, hath wronged the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 13 hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: 14 he hath done all these abominations: he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins, which he hath done, and feareth, and doeth 15 not such like, that hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the 16 idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath wronged any, hath not taken aught to pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread 17 to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, that hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgements, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that 19 which is not good among his people, behold, he shall die in his iniquity. Yet say ye, Wherefore doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. 20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon 21 him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and 22 right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his transgressions that he hath com- mitted shall be remembered against him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord God: and not rather that he 24 should return from his way, and live? But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he hath done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them 25 shall he die. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel: 26 Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? When the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth therein; in his iniquity that he 27 hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. 28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, 29 he shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is 30 not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? There- fore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Return ye, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be 31 your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and 32 make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live. Chap. 18. The last verse of the preceding chapter declares that God is wont to abase the lofty and to exalt those of low estate. This gives occasion for a declaration of the principle upon which these providential dispensations proceed—viz., that every individual shall be equitably dealt with—a principle that precludes the children from either presuming on the fathers' merits or despairing on account of the fathers' guilt. A further link between the two chapters may be derived from the exemexemplification of this principle in the alternations of fortune and character in the later kings of Judah, from the time of Jotham downward. This chapter is an enlargement of Jer. 31: 29. B. C. This chapter refutes the implication of injustice in God, involved in the use of the proverb, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge." The whole subject demands careful attention and candid, intelligent discriminations. For it should be remembered that in the standard moral law embraced in the Ten Commandments the Lord appends to the penalties of the second commandment, forbidding idolatry, these words: "Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those that hate Me;" and further, that the prophets had declared that God would and did send the Jews into captivity for the sins of Manasseh—e.g., 2 K. 24: 3, 4; 23: 26, 27; 21: 11-16. But these judgments fell not on Manasseh himself, but on his sons of the third and fourth generation—Josiah being in the second; his sons Jehoiakim and Zedekiah in the third, and Jehoiachin in the fourth. It need not surprise us therefore that this proverb should come to the lips of men who sought to justify themselves in their sins, and who were gratified to have even the least apology for arraigning the justice of God and for persisting in their sins, refusing to repent. The chapter will show us how the Lord meets this implication and how He enforces upon the people their personal duty. H. C. The chief intention of this chapter is to show that God's dealings with mankind would be regulated by the good or ill behavior of each individual, it being the invariable rule of His providence that punishment should follow guilt, and happiness be the reward of innocence. There was, it seems, a proverb or common saying among the Jews which implied a censure upon the justice of God, as if the calamities which befell the present generation were inflicted on them merely for the sins of their forefathers. God is pleased therefore to declare here that however children may be involved, in respect to this world, in the consequences of their parents' guilt, impartial justice would ever be the rule of his conduct: temporal death was the declared punishment of sin to every man; and without repentance eternal death would follow. Travell. The exiles made bitter complaint of the words of the second commandment, that God visits upon the children the sins of the fathers. They had repented, were idolaters no longer, and yet they had to suffer the consequences of the crimes of their forefathers. Now it is the law of God, in nature and in providence, that the children are affected for good and evil by the doings of their parents. Aptitudes gained by the parent are bestowed upon the child; sins and the diseases which result from them are constantly matters of inheritance; while the fortunes of the parent, his success or failure, his industry or his unthrift and profligacy, cannot but affect the temporal position of his offspring. But Ezekiel shows with bold hand that this entail is strictly limited, and does not affect the moral probation of the individual. Each one in life makes his own choice, and both in things temporal and things spiritual repentance may reverse the past. A pious son may spring from a profligate father, a prosperous son from one overtaken by misery. Nay, even in a man's own life, the future may be the reverse of what has gone before. A lapse into sin may destroy the bright promise of former years (18, 33). R. P. S. In this chapter Ezekiel anticipates in a remarkable manner some of the leading precepts of the Gospel, and we are not simply to regard this as a message of instruction given according to God's pleasure, but to connect it closely with the time and circumstances under which it was delivered. 1. Taken in conjunction with what has gone before, it contributes to the general purpose and harmony of the whole book. The prophet having given a summary of the history of God's people, and shown how continued apostasy had brought and was bringing upon them national judgment (16); and having warned king and people of the delusive character of their hopes of escape, feels it needful to guard them against attributing their calamities simply to the sins of their forefathers, and against merging individual in national responsibility. 2. The situation of the people was such as to call for and suggest such instruction. The judgments, in the approach of which they had long refused to believe, were at last making themselves too manifest to be overlooked. But the people were ready to evade the lesson which they should have learnt, by having recourse to the heathen principle of a blind fatality of retribution, which offered no means of escape either to the nation or to individuals, and so prevented consciousness of guilt and of responsibility. They had indeed a certain apparent ground to rest upon in the second commandment, where God declares that He will visit the sins of the fathers upon the children; but it was only apparent. Here God enunciates that which He declared throughout the Law, and which had been illustrated in the whole history of the people, that national sins should be followed by national judgment. (See Jer. 16: 11, 12; 32: 18.) This did not in fact interfere with the principle that each individual should be answerable for his own conduct, and should be equitably dealt with, any more than the fact that in all times temporal consequences of the acts of a nation or of individuals extend beyond themselves and their own times. The state of exile was intended to develop this principle, and so the prophet of the Captivity was led to anticipate in a remarkable manner the sublimer morality of the Gospel. In this chapter is set forth fully the doctrine of individual responsibility. Already the same truth had been partially displayed with special reference to teacher and taught (3 : 18 foll.), in the deliverance of those upon whom the mark was set (9 : 4), and in the scrutiny of those who came to inquire of the Lord (14 : 3 foll.). But here the enunciation is more systematic and complete. The question is made to rest upon the fundamental proposition, All souls are Mine. Man is not simply to ascribe his existence to earthly parents, but to acknowledge as his Father Him who created man in His own image, and who gave and gives him the spirit of life. The relation of father to son is merged in the common relation of all (father and son alike) as sons to their heavenly Father. The proposition is illustrated by special examples of the just man. And here the notion of justice or righteousness is enlarged from the letter to the spirit of the Law. The duties done and the sins avoided are those which are particularly noticed in the Law, and were the special duties and sins of his countrymen; but the Law is passing into the Gospel, and the duties upon which stress is laid are just those which our Lord in the vision of judgment requires of those who are to give an account to Him at the last day (Matt. 25 : 35, 36). But the contrast of the wicked and the just leads up to a further development of evangelical doctrine—repentance and forgiveness of sins. This doctrine is based upon the love and mercifulness of God, not indeed forgotten in the Law, but more fully revealed in the Gospel. (Cf. John 3 : 16 ; 1 Tim. 2 : 4.) If he who has been once just turns to wickedness, his previous justice shall be of no avail. On the other hand, the sinner who turns from his sin shall be welcomed and forgiven. It is out of place to inquire whether the person described as just, who afterward turns to wicked ways, was only apparently and not really what he seemed. The case is put simply as it is seen in the outward action, the inner motives and principles must be left to the judgment of God. The case of the fall of one who was once righteous is put first because man is in general ready enough to recognize the worthlessness of former virtue, when one has departed from it, and God grounds upon this recognition of the law of judgment the assurance of His law of mercy. The lessons of this chapter are repeated distinctly in 33 : 1-20, where the application is made (1) to the nation generally, and then (2) to the individuals composing it, with the view of awakening them to repentance. The corollary of this doctrine is the efficacy of repentance, and the call to it is in a form characteristic of Gospel teaching. Make you a new heart and a new spirit. (Cf. 11 : 19 ; 36 : 26.) B. C. 1-3. The original rendered, "What mean ye?" demands rather the reason than the meaning. The sense is, Why should ye thus implicate the justice of God? The Lord would set the case in a light so clear that they must see the injustice of the implication which it involved. It does not by any means appear that the Lord proposes to change His policy—i.e., either His principles or His practice in His government, so that henceforth there should be no more occasion for using this proverb, while previously there may have been occasion. Its meaning as a proverb is simply, The fathers sin and the children suffer its penalty. H. C. 3. Ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb; or, as it may be read, Ye shall not have the use of this parable. The taking away of this parable is made the matter of a promise (Jer. 31 : 29). Here it is made the matter of a threatening; there it intimates that God will return to them in ways of mercy; here it intimates that God would proceed against them in ways of judgment. He will so punish them for this impudent saying, that they shall not dare to use it any more; as in another case (Jer. 23 : 34, 36). God will find out effectual ways to silence those cavillers. Or, God will so manifest both to themselves and others, that they have wickedness of their own enough to bring all these desolating judgments upon them, that they shall no longer for shame lay it upon the sins of their fathers that they were thus dealt with: "Your own consciences shall tell you, and all your neighbors shall confirm it, that you yourselves have eaten the same sour grapes that your fathers ate before you, or else your teeth had not been set on edge." H. 4. This is the first point of the Lord's reply. The affirmation, "are Mine," implies not only ownership, but parental care and responsibility, and especially the governmental responsibility of dealing with them according to justice and never in violation of justice. The sinning soul and he only shall die, for his own sins and not for another's. The words "die" and "death" are used in the Scriptures in at least three diverse senses: 1. For the well-known dissolution of soul and body—natural death. 2. For a state of heart in which sin has absolute dominion and the soul is committed to sinning past all hope of recovery by its own exertions—a state often called spiritual death. 3. For the penalty of the Divine law for sin—an amount of suffering and evil thought of as indefinitely great, and called death because this word stands for the greatest earthly evil—the ultimate infliction possible for man to inflict on his fellow-man. The two former are not to be thought of in this connection. Only the third meets the conditions of the case. See the term used in the same sense by Jeremiah (31: 30; Hos. 13: 1). These principles, "all souls are Mine;" and "the sinning soul shall die," are immutable and eternal. They had not been adopted since the Jews had begun to use this proverb and in consequence of this use. H. C. He asserts and maintains His own absolute and incontestable sovereignty; Behold, all souls are Mine (verse 4). God here claims a property in all the souls of the children of men, one as well as another: First, Souls are His. He that is the Maker of all things is in a particular manner the Father of spirits, for His image is stamped on the souls of men; it was so in their creation, it is so in their renovation. He forms the spirit of man within him, and is therefore called the God of the spirits of all flesh, of embodied spirits. Secondly, all souls are His, all created by Him and for Him, and accountable to Him. As the soul of the father, so the soul of the son, is Mine. Our earthly parents are only the fathers of our flesh, our souls are not theirs, God challenges them. Now from hence it follows, for the clearing of this matter: 1. That God may certainly do what He pleases both with fathers and children, and none may say unto Him, What does Thou? He that gave us our being does us no wrong if He takes it away again, much less when He only takes away some of the supports and comforts of it; it is as absurd to quarrel with Him as for the thing formed to say to Him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus? 2. That God as certainly bears a good will both to father and son, and will put no hardship upon either. We are sure that God hates nothing that He has made, and therefore (speaking of the adult who are capable of acting for themselves) He has such a kindness for all souls, that none die but through their own default. All souls are His, and therefore He is not partial in His judgment of them. Let us subscribe to His interest in us and dominion over us. He says, All souls are Mine; let us answer, "Lord, my soul is Thine, I devote it to Thee, to be employed for Thee, and made happy in Thee." It is with good reason that God says, "My son, give Me thy heart, for it is My own:" to which we must yield; "Father, take my heart, it is Thy own." Though God might justify Himself by insisting upon His sovereignty, yet He waives that, and lays down the equitable and unexceptionable rule of judgment by which He will proceed as to particular persons; and it is this: First, the sinner that persists in sin shall certainly die, his iniquity shall be his ruin. The soul that sins, it shall die, shall die as a soul can die, shall be excluded from the favor of God, which is the life and bliss of the soul, and shall lie forever under His wrath, which is its death and misery. Sin is the act of the soul; the body is but the instrument of unrighteousness, it is called the sin of the soul (Micah 6: 7). And therefore the punishment of sin is the tribulation and anguish of the soul (Rom. 2: 9). Secondly, the righteous man that perseveres in his righteousness shall certainly live. If a man be just, have a good principle, a good spirit and disposition, and, as an evidence of that, do judgment and justice (verse 5), he shall surely live, saith the Lord God (verse 9). H. The analogies of nature, applied to the moral government of God, would crush all hope in the sinful soul. There, for millions of ages, these stern laws have reigned supreme. There is no deviation, no modification, no yielding to the refractory or disobedient. All is harmony, because all is obedience. Close forever, if you will, this strange book claiming to be God's revelation; blot out forever its lessons of God's creative power, God's superabounding providence, God's fatherhood and loving guardianship to man His erring offspring, and then unseal the leaves of that mighty volume which the finger of God has written in the stars of heaven, and in those flashing letters of living light we read only the dread sentence, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." O. M. Mitchell. A pure benevolence never exists except where there also exists a pure rectitude and a pure holiness; and when guilt receives its condign punishment, benevolence is silent, while holiness approves and rectitude rejoices. In the clear and indisputable sayings of Scripture we are told that the wages of sin is death; that the soul which sinneth shall die. And there we find that from the moment a man becomes a transgressor he is under condemnation. He occupies a new relation toward God—a relation of ever-augmenting remoteness—a remoteness which has no tendency to lessen itself, and which every new sin increases. In other words, Scripture to all intents teaches that sin is an infinite evil, meriting an enduring punishment, and that every sin deserves God's wrath and curse both in this life and that which is to come. Hamilton. 5. Do that which is right. In all the great acts of life we have to subordinate mere feeling to conviction, impulse to principle, lively sensibilities to a law of right, and, provided we have just feeling enough to begin a commanded work honestly, we are to make the beginning. Put yourself directly where God has told you you ought to be, and then you will be in a position where the touching and inspiring objects which naturally rouse devout emotions will exert their power. Instead of waiting to feel more before you act at all, bestir yourself to act as you are, and your indifferent heart will be like coals of dulled fire under a rising wind. F. D. H. The Bible says little of feeling directly, and appeals to it for the most part indirectly. This is like the grandeur of its reticence on many ideas, which are simply assumed, as are all the capital facts of man's nature. All is based on the elementary ground that every man is capable of emotion. But with no attempt at the tragic or pathetic rendering of events, the Bible is of all books that one which most powerfully affects the feelings. And in this way it not only pays the strongest tribute to the power of human feeling, but it ennobles emotion by expecting much from it, and by showing how much God values it. But it never brings upon us that deadly malady of over-emotion which is caused by many a book. All feeling awakened by the Bible prompts to action. The far larger proportion of human emotion, for lack of consequent action, is fruitless. Emotion is like the sap that runs through the vine. Unless the result of the flow be fruit, it would be as well that no flow of the sap took place. Certainly there would be less disappointment in the end. Much sap pours into barren shoots. Much emotion evaporates in the subjective feelings of pity, distress or indignation, where it should turn into the precious fruits of hearty helpfulness, real assistance and strenuous labor to change the conditions which cause the need of commiseration or indignation. A man's resources for the purchase of life's opportunities are his character, his time, his energies, his powers of mind and heart. The more he pays out these in opportunities for doing good and for growing wiser and better, the richer man he is. His wealth rises in a multiplying ratio. But if a man puts his energies into something which brings him only temporary pleasure, and no ultimate good; worse still, if he invests time and energy in what harms him, he is a moral spendthrift, and no matter what his natural gifts, he will exhaust himself at length, and turn out a bankrupt, a beggar at the last. If we buy the treasures of pure thought, high aims, a chaste imagination, helpful associations and habits, nothing can ever rob us of them. No panic or disaster can touch them, and we shall have treasures in heaven which corruption can never waste or change ever take away. S. S. T. Money melts away, pleasure palls on the senses, the very world is in constant change. Our thoughts and feelings, our love and faith, are the only possessions which are permanently ours. These last forever, and only these. The soul which rests on the unchanging love of the Saviour is anchored in security amid the "wreck of matter and the crash of worlds." Truth, purity, righteousness, love, self-sacrifice—these are facts in the nature of God; they are "eternal in the heavens." But nothing else is eternal. J. F. Stevenson. 5-9. This is a description of a good man, drawn for those times, in view of the morals and immoralities of that age, and also of the precepts and prohibitions of the Mosaic law. Of this just man, thus described in detail, the Lord declares, "he shall surely live"—i.e., he shall not die in the sense of death as used in this chapter. He shall have the favor and blessing of God, and not His frown and curse. The point of the affirmation is that God deals with individual men on principles that never violate simple justice. H. C. 9. He shall surely live. By life is meant, in the Old Testament, all that happiness which is contained in the literal sense of the promises belonging to that covenant; and under these were comprehended the promises of a better life, wherein God will bestow upon His servants the peculiar marks of His favor. W. Lowth. The true way to live is to bring to each duty that comes to our hand our wisest thought and our best skill, doing what appears to us at the time to be the right thing to do, and then leaving it, never regretting nor fretting about results. God has promised to guide us, and if we are living in true relations to Him we may expect guidance moment by moment as we go on. J. R. M. 10-13. The case here supposed is that of an apostate and recreant son of this just and good father. He is wicked—all the more so for the light of a godly and just example which he perpetually sins against. Shall this man live? By no means. He shall not live because his father was so good a man. For this very reason is his guilt the greater, and therefore for this reason all the more shall he die. His blood shall be on his own head. This is justice, and thus God evinces Himself just. H. C. Gradually the mind that is familiarized with the notion of injustice grows unscrupulous and faithless. That is the history of all the gigantic public oppressions that have sent up their cry till the cry has entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. The warnings of the Old Testament prophets, through the periods of national decline, are almost constantly directed to uneven balances—to oppression and exaction, to legalized wrong, to the making of the poor poorer, and the burdens of the weak harder to be borne. F. D. H. 14-17. Here this wicked son becomes a father, and has a son who sees, abhors and forsakes his father's sins. This case came directly to the main point of the proverb. The father has eaten sour grapes: shall the son's teeth be blunted thereby? Shall the upright son die for the sins of his wicked father? Nay, verily. His virtue is really the greater because of the unpropitious circumstances under which and despite of which it has been developed. 18. To make the application of this case to the proverb the more palpable, the prophet recurs again to the ungodly father, described fully verses 10-13. He, being a wicked man, must die in his iniquity. His own sins demand this terrible doom! His doom is in no sense mitigated by his having a godly son. Ahaz and Amon were none the more favored of God for having such sons as Hezekiah and Josiah. 19,20. The prophet here supposes the people to reaffirm their position, though somewhat modestly, and in the form only of a question. But after all you have said, is it not true that sons bear the iniquity of their fathers? The Lord answers: When the son, even of a wicked father, does right, he shall live. The soul that sinneth (and he only) shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor the father the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall determine his destiny: the wickedness of the wicked shall decide his doom. 21,22. The people doubtless made use of this proverb and of its unjust implication of wrong on God's part, to relieve their conscience from the pressure of obligation to repent. Hence the tone of these and the following verses bears directly to the point of counteracting this influence and of persuading them to repent. Though you have sinned, yet if you will turn from all your sin and do only right, you shall live and not die. All your transgressions shall be forgiven and not be mentioned any more against you. Because of the new moral course unto which ye turn, ye shall live. It was vital to the best moral results that the people should see that repentance brings salvation, even to the chief of sinners. 23. Is it any pleasure to Me that the wicked man should die? Is it not rather My supreme pleasure that he should turn from his wicked ways and so should live? The people may have thought otherwise. It may have seemed to them that God took delight in visiting the penalties of an awful death on the wicked. If they had thought so, they did not know the heart of God; they had entirely misapprehended His nature; they had never seen and appreciated His deep, eternal love! For the most glorious, most blessed truth ever revealed of God to this sinning world is here—that God has compassion toward even very guilty sinners; is pained and not pleased when He must punish; is delighted, even to infinite joy, when the sinner turns from his ways and lives. H. C. He is almighty to pardon; but He will not use it for thee, an impenitent sinner. Thou hast not a friend on the bench, not an attribute in all God's name will speak for thee: Mercy itself will sit and vote with the rest of its fellow-attributes for thy damnation. God is able to save and help in a time of need; but art thou so bold with God as to expect His saving arm to be stretched forth for thee? That almighty power of God which is engaged for the believer's salvation is as deeply obliged to bring thee to thy execution. God Himself is under an oath to be the destruction of every impenitent soul. That oath which God swore in His wrath against the unbelieving Israelites, that they should not enter into His rest, concerns every unbeliever to the end of the world. Gurnall. 24. Still another phase of the general question requires notice. Suppose a man has lived righteously a long time and has accumulated what might be accounted a stock of righteousness. If then he turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, shall he live? By no means. All his stock of accumulated righteousness goes for nothing—"shall not be mentioned;" in his sins he must die. So men must abandon all hope of God's favor on the ground of having once done right—if they turn from that righteousness and commit iniquity. H. C. The threatenings imply there is a possibility of the saints falling away considered in themselves; but not that they are ever totally deserted by the Holy Spirit and left under the reigning power of sin. The threatenings are intended to awaken their care, are preservatives of them from ruin, and have a singular influence on their perseverance. A vigilant and cautious fear establishes the certainty of their hope. Indeed from the relics of weakness and corruption in the saints they sometimes actually fall into presumptuous sins, and by rebellious relapses wound conscience, and let out much of the vital spirits, their graces and comforts. But though the Divine nature is miserably wasted by such sins, yet it is not abolished. The new creature may decline in beauty and strength, yet life remain. Between a lively and dead faith there may be a fainting faith; as in Peter, for certainly our Saviour was heard in His prayer for him that his "faith should not fail" in his dreadful temptation. The saints do not by a particular fall extinguish the first living principles of obedience, faith and love; nor change their last end by an entire turning from God to the world. In short, a single act of wickedness does not reduce them into a state of unregeneracy; for it is not the matter of the sin singly considered, but the disposition of the sinner that denominates him. If grace in the saints should utterly perish, as some boldly assert, their recovery would be impossible; for the apostle tells us, that "if those who are enlightened, and had tasted of the heavenly gift," that had been under some common workings and lower operations of the spirit, if such fall away universally, and live in a course of sin opposite to their former illuminations and resolutions, it is impossible to renew them by repentance; how much more then if those who were truly sanctified by the Holy Spirit should entirely lose all those gracious habits planted in them in their regeneration? But David, though guilty of adultery and murder, sins of so foul a nature as would dishonor paganism itself and "made the enemies of God to blaspheme," was restored by repentance. The Gospel propounds a remedy not only for sins committed before conversion, but after it. "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." God does not revoke the adoption nor reverse the justification of a believer, but upon scandalous disorders the effects of justification are suspended with respect to the new contracted guilt until there be sincere and actual repentance. He is not disinherited, but his right to the kingdom of heaven is eclipsed as to the comfortable sense of it, nay suspended till by renovation he is qualified and made fit for the enjoyment of that pure inheritance. Bates. 25-28. Here the implication, tacitly involved in the proverb, is brought out palpably—a charge of injustice in God. They say the course of God's moral administration is not equitable. It violates justice. This is the charge of the people against God. To this the Lord replies, squarely asserting the perfect justice of His own ways, and the injustice of theirs. It is your ways that are unequal: Mine are always equal. The points of argument made here are these two: 1. That a righteous man, turning from his righteousness and doing wrong, shall die for his iniquity. 2. That a wicked man, considering his ways and turning from his wickedness, shall surely live and not die. These great features of God's moral administration over a sinning world are so obviously equitable; they so plainly cover the whole ground of justice and of mercy, and so commend themselves to every man's conscience and moral sense as intrinsically right and good, that they are naturally the end of all argument. More is superfluous. 29-32. His perfect justice is reaffirmed in the same terms as before (verse 25); declares that He will judge them every one according to his ways; and exhorts them therefore to repent and turn from all their transgressions: else iniquity must be their ruin. So doing, it shall not be. "Casting away all transgression," is here essentially equivalent to "making to themselves a new heart and a new spirit." The putting away of sin supposes sin to be abhorred, supposes that the heart turns to God to obey and to love Him supremely. This and nothing less than this God implies in this exhortation; this and nothing less God demands of every sinner, and demands it with infinite reason. This reasonable duty God presses here as the only alternative to the doom of death. Do this—for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Do this—else you must die, past all mercy, past all possibility of salvation. And why should you choose death? Why doom yourselves to so dire an end when life is before you, and when God so earnestly longs to see you turning from your sins to accept and insure it forevermore! In the second command the recital of the penalty has these words: "Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me" (Ex. 20: 5). This special statement was precisely fulfilled in the fact that the sins of Manasseh are repeatedly represented to be those which the Lord "could not pardon" and must punish; while yet the punishment in the form of dethronement, captivity and a violent death fell upon his children of the third and fourth generation. Now it was probably in view of these facts that the people brought into current use this proverb—cited also by Jeremiah (chap. 31: 29, 30) and rebutted there in the same way as here. How does the Lord reply and rebut this allegation? Not by any attempt, even the least, to explain the philosophy of the penalty attached to the second commandment; not by showing why He governs nations with much long-suffering and waits through many generations of individual men, far down in the nation's life, still pressing His agencies for reform and laboring to save the whole people from the ruin toward which they are tending. Not thus does He condescend to debate this matter, although He might have done so—but He makes His response directly and squarely practical, to the heart and conscience of the people. He says to them virtually, There is no need just now that ye concern yourselves with the policy of God in His government of nations as such. Suffice it for you that ye personally stand or fall before God on your individual life. With every individual man, whether king or subject, I deal in perfect equity, never punishing any one sinner for the guilt of another sinner; never the son for the sins of his father. Do right and you live; but persist in sinning, turn from righteousness to sin, and you surely die. I have no pleasure in your death; I long to see you repenting and living righteously with a new heart and a new spirit. So shall my heart be cheered and gladdened in your eternal peace and life. This was the vital thing that needed to be said. This was all that the case really demanded. This rebutted the allegation of injustice on God's part, and brought the greatest possible pressure upon the heart and conscience toward repentance and salvation. Let us recur to the fact that the sins of Manasseh were made prominent as involving the nation in guilt which the Lord could not pardon; also, that in the event the national ruin fell on his children of the third and fourth generation; and that this fact may have had some influence to bring into vogue the proverb which leads the discussion in this chapter. Here then note that this discussion brings out the very principle on which the Lord spared Manasseh. He repented; broke off his sins by righteousness; and found mercy. The case was one of exceedingly great and rich moral power as an encouragement to the vilest of sinners to return to the Lord their God. Was it not, at least mainly, for the sake of affording scope for the influence of this example that the Lord delayed the infliction of His judgments upon the nation, and yet prolonged their space for repentance! In this point the Lord has the same policy with nations as with individuals, suddenly arresting His judgments at the very moment when they are ready to smite the guilty, if any new circumstances inspire fresh hope or develop some yet untried influence which may possibly lead to repentance. Manasseh's long-continued wickedness had depraved and almost sunk the nation; his late repentance cast a gleam of hope athwart the darkness; and God therefore not only spared him, but postponed His annihilating judgments for the sake of one other earnest effort to reclaim and save a guilty people. H. C. 30-32. We have here the conclusion and application of this whole matter. After a fair trial at the bar of right reason the verdict is brought in on God's side, it appears that His ways are equal; judgment therefore is next to be given; and one would think it should be a judgment of condemnation; but behold a miracle of mercy; the day of grace and Divine patience is yet lengthened out; and therefore, though God will at last judge every one according to his ways, yet He waits to be gracious, and closes all with a call to repentance and a promise of pardon upon repentance. Here are four necessary duties that we are called to; all amounting to the same. We must repent; we must change our mind and change our ways; we must be sorry for what we have done amiss and ashamed of it, and go as far as we can toward the undoing of it again. We must turn ourselves from all our transgressions (verse 30) and again (verse 32). Turn yourselves, face about; turn from sin, nay, turn against it as the enemy you loathe, turn to God as the Friend you love. We must cast away from us all our transgressions, we must abandon and forsake them with a resolution never to return to them again; give sin a bill of divorce, break all the leagues we have made with it, throw it overboard, as the mariners did Jonah, for it has raised the storm; cast it out of the soul, and crucify it as a malefactor. We must make us a new heart and a new spirit. This was the matter of a promise (chap. 11 : 19), here it is the matter of a precept; we must do our endeavor, and then God will not be wanting to us to give us His grace. St. Austin well explains this precept; God does not enjoin impossibilities, but by His commands admonishes us to do what is in our power, and to pray for what is not. Here are four good arguments used to enforce these calls to repentance. It is the only way, and it is a sure way, to prevent the ruin which our sins have a direct tendency to. So iniquity shall not be your ruin; which implies that if we do not repent iniquity will be our ruin here and forever, but that if we do we are safe, we are snatched as brands out of the burning. If we repent not we certainly perish, and our blood will be upon our own heads. Why will ye die, O house of Israel? What an absurd thing to choose death and damnation rather than life and salvation. The reason why sinners die is because they will die, they will go down the way that leads to death, and not come up to the terms on which life is offered; herein sinners, especially sinners of the house of Israel, are most unreasonable and act most unaccountably. The God of heaven has no delight in our ruin, but desires our welfare; I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies (verse 32), which implies that He has pleasure in the recovery of those that repent; which is both an engagement and an encouragement to us to repent. We are made forever, if we repent; Turn yourselves, and live ye. He that says to us, Repent, thereby says to us, Live, yea, He says to us, Live; so that life and death are here set before us. H. 30. The limitations of God's pardoning love are regulated by the contrition and faith of its recipients. Repentance and forgiveness always go hand in hand throughout the Bible and human experience. The least sin unconfessed and unforsaken shuts a man out from hope. The greatest sin, if sincerely and honestly mourned over and acknowledged, is no barrier to a full forgiveness. E. M. It is not unworthiness, but unwillingness that bars any man from God. Thousands have missed of Him by their unwillingness, but He never put off one soul on account of its unworthiness. Flavel. Responsibility and sovereign grace receive equal and balanced emphasis in the Scriptures. No theory of responsibility is biblical which makes man competent to save himself. No theory of grace is biblical which makes man passive in regeneration, supernaturally acted upon without his knowledge and election, irrespective of the moral temper of his personal life. The bondage of the will is not its paralysis or extinction. There may be only a despairing cry, like that which escaped from Paul when he pictured the man in whom the Divine law had made its living authority felt; but there is life in a cry. Neither responsibility nor grace may be reduced to a thing of mechanics. The Bible does not do that. It affirms both with equal boldness, with an utter absence of conscious contradiction; and, in its ever-blending homage to the behests of moral law and the confession of moral weakness, in its language of mingled self condemnation and appeal for mercy, the soul of man but repeats and confirms the speech of inspiration. Behrends. 31. God promises (chap. 36 : 26) to "give them a new heart," and to "put within them a new spirit;" here He exhorts them to make themselves a new heart and a new spirit. Which difference of expression is thus to be reconciled, that although God works in us to will and to do, and is the first mover in our reformation, yet we must work together with His grace, at least willingly receive it, and not quench or resist its motions. W. Lowth. It must never be forgotten, the repentance of the sinner is the demand of God. Even the Almighty can only bestow life on the condemned sinner on condition of repentance; yea, the being who obstinately has pleasure in his own death must finally receive that which, in opposition to God's pleasure, he has chosen as his portion. Repentance, how should it be possible, if the glad tidings of the merciful forgiveness of sins were not first brought and given? But, on the other hand, how should we be able to boast of the unparalleled love to sinners of a compassionate God, and yet, unrepentant in heart, persevere in the old sinful course? Van O. Why will ye die? Every word is emphatic. Why—show God or man one reason. Will—obstinacy alone—a determination not to be saved, or a voluntary listlessness about salvation—can prevent you. Ye—children of so many mercies, fed and supported by a kind God all your life; ye, who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ; ye, who have made many promises to give up yourselves to God; ye, who have been dedicated to the ever blessed Trinity, and promised to renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh. Why will ye die? Die! what is this? A separation from God and the glory of His power forever! Die—forfeiting all the purposes for which your immortal souls were made. Die—to know what the worm is that never dieth; and what that fire is that is never quenched! Why, then, will ye die? A. C. The clearest, the most dreadful declarations of the eternity of the unbeliever's ruin are those uttered by Jesus. Men sometimes babble of a difference, even a contrast, between the theology of Paul and of his Master. They talk of Paul as the austere logician, excogitating a rigid system of dogmas; they prefer, they say, to turn to the teachings of the "meek and lowly Jesus," whose theology is that of love. Well, one thing do we know: never was there love like unto His love! It surpassed the love of woman. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." He laid down His for enemies! No man can see one trait of cruelty in this Jesus; for His life was a ministration of kindness, not to the deserving, but to the "publican and sinner." Never did the cry of human woe strike His ear in vain; never did human anguish appeal in vain to His soul while on earth. And He knew, also, the real facts; for He came from the world of spirits and thither He went back. How comes it, then, that this meek and loving Jesus uttered His warnings against hell, in words sevenfold more frequent and solemn than the "austere" Paul? Is this also done in love? Yes; the beauty of His beneficent life and death permits us to think nothing else. If, then, it is the tenderest heart in the universe which comes out to us most fearfully, "Beware of the pit!" what shall we think? Is it because He who knows best, and loves us best, is most fully informed of its inevitable certainty and its intolerable pains? Hear this Divine pity, then (Mark 9: 43, 44; Matt. 18: 34; 13: 41, 42; 25: 30-46; Luke 16: 23-26; Rev. 6: 16, 17). Dabney. When the portals of this world have been passed, when time and sense have been left behind, and this "body of death" has dropped away from the liberated soul, everything which clouded the perceptions, which dulled the vision, which drugged the conscience while on earth, will be cleared off like a morning mist. We shall see all things as they really are—ourselves and our sins among the number. We shall judge ourselves as God has always judged us. Our missed or lost opportunities; our forfeited birthright; our glorious possibility—ineffable in its glory; our awful actuality—ineffable in its awfulness; the nature which God gave us—the nature we have made ourselves; the destiny for which He designed us—the destiny to which we have doomed ourselves; all these things will grow and fasten on our thoughts, till the contemplation must terminate in madness, were not madness a mercy belonging to the world of flesh alone. But there is yet another retributive pang in wait for the sinful soul, which belongs to the very nature of the future world—namely, the severance from all those we love, who on earth have trod the narrower and better path. The affections do not belong to the virtuous alone: they cling to the sinner through all the storms and labyrinths of sin; they are the last fragments of what is good in him that he silences or lays aside or tramples out; they belong not to the flesh, but to the spirit; and a spiritual existence, even if a suffering one, will but give them fresh energy and tenacity, by terminating all that has been antagonistic to them here below. Then will begin a retribution indeed, the appropriate anguish, the desolate abandonment of which who can paint, and who will be able to bear! To see those eyes, never turned on us before save in gentleness and trust, now giving us one last glance of Divine sadness and ineffable farewell; to watch those forms, whose companionship cheered and illuminated all the dark places of our earthly pilgrimage, and once and again had almost redeemed us from the bondage and the mire of sin, receding, vanishing, melting in the bright distance, to join a circle where they will need us not, to tread a path to which ours bears no parallel and can make no approach; and then to turn inward and downward, and realize our lot, and feel our desolation, and reflect that we have earned it—what has poetry or theology pictured that can compete with a Gehenna such as this! Greg. Let the fairest star be selected, like a beauteous island in the vast and shoreless sea of the azure heaven, as the future home of the criminals from the earth; and let them possess in this material paradise whatever they most love, and all that it is possible for God to bestow; let them be endowed with undying bodies, and with minds which shall forever retain their intellectual powers; let them no more be "plagued with religion;" let no Saviour ever intrude His claims upon them, no Holy Spirit disturb them, no God reveal Himself supernaturally to them; let no Sabbath ever dawn upon them, no saint ever live among them, no prayer ever be heard within their borders; but let human beings exist there forever, smitten only by the leprosy of hatred to God, and with utter selfishness as the all-prevailing and eternal purpose; then, as sure as the law of righteousness exists, on which rests the throne of God and the government of the universe, a society so constituted must work out for itself a hell of solitary and bitter suffering, to which no limit can be assigned except the capacity of a finite nature. Norman McLeod. 32. For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth. The Holy Scriptures in general expressly declare that the good and gracious God was from the beginning and is still using the best, fittest, and wisest means to render all His creatures, one as well as another, blessed and happy; and if any of them through their own self-willed obstinacy and perverseness miss of these joys, it will be greatly contrary to His inclination and desire. Thus when Adam was in paradise, the good God kindly cautioned him against the danger of disobedience. And when man by transgression fell He immediately comforted him, by telling him of the remedy He had prepared for his reconciliation and recovery, even the Seed of the woman which was to bruise the serpent's head; that Seed in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed; and who in the fulness of time was to "give His life a ransom for many," to "taste death for every man." And in consequence of this first promise, how gracious, yea, how compassionate, is the tenor of every declaration, which He made from time to time on this head. "Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? Make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Why will ye die, O sons of Adam? seeing that God would have all men to be saved, and is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Dean Tucker. God could cause all transgressors to perish in and on account of their iniquities, without any one having a right to complain of injustice. And yet He has no pleasure in that which He has essentially a right to do; He makes no use of that right; He would much rather mourn it, if the ungodly must needs perish. Assuredly, we must not understand that which the Scripture reveals to us of Divine sorrow and repentance in a manner unworthy of God; no human representation may be taken but in a Divine sense. The Infinite One is indeed infinitely exalted above human motives and affections; but as little should we represent the Merciful One as seated on the throne of the universe in, immovable, unchanging repose, which would not be disturbed although a whole guilty world sank down into perdition. Nay, a lost sinner is a pearl the less in the glorious crown of Christ; another victim for the insatiable powers of darkness: how should all this not concern the Father, from whom the whole race in heaven and earth are named? Van O. The great lesson to be learned from this chapter is the necessity of a good life in order to the attainment of everlasting happiness. Sincere piety toward God, kindness and charity to our neighbor, temperance, soberness and chastity in the government of ourselves, these are the qualifications required by God. The inbred corruption of mankind and the infirmity of our nature are lamentable hindrances to our strict performance of these duties; "the corruptible body presseth down the soul," so that "in many things we offend all." But God has mercifully provided a remedy for our weakness, and even for our grievous sins. Hearty repentance and amendment of life were the conditions required from the Jews for regaining the Divine favor. From us also are they strictly required; but thanks be to God, we have a "Mediator of a better covenant," through whose blood we have remission of our sins; and by persevering in a righteous course we shall not fail to find acceptance with God. Let us, then, put our trust in God through the merits of this merciful Redeemer, let His law be the constant rule of our lives, and whenever we err from it, let us immediately repent and turn unto the Lord our God, "so iniquity shall not be our ruin." Travell. 19: 1, 2 MOREOVER, take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her whelps. And she brought up one of her whelps; he became a young lion: and he learned to catch the prey, he devoured men. The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit: and they brought him with hooks unto the land of Egypt. Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion: and he learned to catch the prey, he devoured men. And he knew their palaces, and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, because of the noise of his roaring. Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces: and they spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit. And they put him in a cage with hooks, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into strong holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. Thy mother was like a vine, in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their branches. But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken off and withered; the fire consumed them. And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land. And fire is gone out of the rods of her branches, it hath devoured her fruit, so that there is in her no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation. Chap. 19. The scope of this chapter is much the same with that of the 17th, to foretell and lament the ruin of the house of David, the royal family of Judah, in the calamitous exit of the four sons and grandsons of Josiah—Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah, in whom that illustrious line of kings was cut off, which the prophet is here ordered to lament (verse 1). And he does it by similitudes. The kingdom of Judah and house of David are here compared to a lioness, and those princes to lions that were fierce and ravenous, but were hunted down and taken in nets (verses 2-9). That kingdom and that house are here compared to a vine, and these princes to branches, which had been strong and flourishing, but were now broken off and burned (verses 10-14). This ruin of that monarchy was now in the doing, and this lamentation of it was intended to affect the people with it, that they might not flatter themselves with vain hopes of the lengthening out of their tranquillity. H. This chapter sets before the exiles the fall of the royal house of Judah and ultimately of the nation. With high poetic beauty this is done by conceiving of the whole people as "thy mother;" of this mother as first a lioness who puts her young lions one after another on the throne: and next, as a vine whose strong shoots become sceptres for her kings, but which is finally itself plucked up in fury, dried by the east wind, and burned in the fire. So perish the kings of Judah, the people also, and the whole frame of organized society and government—a cluster of painful facts taken up here for a lamentation among the exiles of Chaldea. Some of these events had already transpired: the rest of them were near at hand. There was no hope of saving these exiles morally and spiritually without bringing to bear upon them the entire moral power of those judgments with which God was scourging and wasting their mother people and country. Hence these topics appear in Ezekiel "line upon line," reiterated with wonderful variety of representation, and we might say, in forms which exhaust the entire wealth of symbols and figures known to Hebrew or Chaldean literature. H. C. A dirge or lamentation for Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin. We have seen in chap. 17 that Ezekiel regarded Zedekiah as an interloper. It is in accordance with this view that here he passes over Jehoiakim and Zedekiah as mere creatures of Egypt and of Babylon, and recognizes Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin as the only legitimate sovereigns since the time of Josiah. But this dirge in referring to the past looks forward to the future, and warns the usurper Zedekiah of an approaching fate similar to that of the two earlier kings. B. C. 3,4. This first young lion-king was Jehoahaz, recognized by three marks. He was the first among the sons of Josiah to succeed him on his throne, and is the first in order here. He was put on the throne by the people, as the history specially affirms (2 K. 23:30; 2 Chron. 36:1). He and he only, having been deposed by Pharaoh Necho, was carried (as here stated) to Egypt, and died there. The figure is carried out to the life. This young lion caught the ways of lion-kings; he "learned to catch the prey and devoured men." 5-9. This second young lion is not Jehoia-kim, the immediate successor of Jehoahaz, but is Jehoiachin, his son. For the former (the father) was put on the throne, not by the people, but by the king of Babylon; and he seems not to have been carried to Babylon, but to have died in disgrace at Jerusalem. (See Jer. 22:18, 19; 36:30.) On the other hand, Jehoiachin was in favor with the people, and for aught that appears was put on the throne by them; was taken captive to Babylon and remained there in captivity at least thirty-seven years; and finally his fall was specially afflictive to the exiles. They had many fond hopes of his restoration. (See Lam. 4:20.) The people hoped that Jehoahaz might be restored to them, till this hope perished (verse 5). H. C. 5. She took another. Jehoiachin, who was not appointed by a foreign prince out of order, like his father Jehoiakim, but succeeded regularly with the consent of the people (2 K. 24:6). The waiting of the people was during the absence of their rightful lord Jehoahaz, a captive in Egypt while Jehoiakim, whom they deemed an usurper, was on the throne. It was not till Jehoiachin succeeded that they seemed to themselves to have a monarch of their own. 6. Jehoiachin soon showed himself no less unworthy than Jehoahaz; he should have been a royal lion reposing in majesty and strength; he became a ravening beast of prey (2 K. 24:9). 8. Then the nations set against him. The nations are here the Chaldeans; Nebuchadnezzar was the instrument in God's hands for punishing the wickedness of Jehoiachin, who in Ezekiel's time still lived a captive in Babylon (2 K. 24:10 foll.). 10. The metaphor is changed. The excellency of a vine is in her fruitful branches; the glory of a mother in her noble children. For the sense in which Jeremiah is to write Jehoia-chin childless, see on Jer. 22:30. Ezekiel here takes a general view of the king and princes of the blood royal. B.C. 10-14. By a sudden change of figure the Jewish people become a vine-a figure of somewhat frequent occurrence in the Scriptures and recently used by Ezekiel himself. (See chap. 15:6; 17:6. See also Isa. 5:1-7; 27:2-7; Ps. 80:8-16; Jer. 2:21.) Her strong shoots are sceptres for kings, and virtually in the figure represent kings themselves. She rose to prominence among the nations, but she was suddenly plucked up by the fury of the Almighty. The east wind, terribly withering in that climate, dried up her roots; her strong rods (sceptres) were broken, and the fires of Divine judgments consumed both kings and people. A few of her people had been taken into captivity-a fact represented here by her being transplanted to a wilderness and set in a dry and thirsty ground. Her last king, Zedekiah, by his treachery to the king of Babylon, had brought down the final stroke of vengeance-corresponding to a fire going out from one of the rods (sceptres) of her foliage, which devoured her fruit, so that she had no successor for her throne. The royal house is utterly broken down. The throne of Judah is in ruins. To the Hebrew exiles this was and should still be "for a lamentation." H.C. 20:1 AND it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2, 3 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Are ye come to inquire of me? As I 4 live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you. Wilt thou judge them, son of 5 man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers; and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of 6 Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God ; in that day I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands : 7 and I said unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not 8 yourselves with the idols of Egypt ; I am the LORD your God. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me ; they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt : then I said I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them 10 forth out of the land of Egypt. So I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and 11 brought them into the wilderness. And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my 12 judgements, which if a man do, he shall live in them. Moreover also I gave them my sab- baths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that 13 sanctify them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness : they walked not in my statutes, and they rejected my judgements, which if a man do, he shall live in them ; and my sabbaths they greatly profaned : then I said I would pour out my fury upon 14 them in the wilderness, to consume them. But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should 15 not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out. Moreover also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands ; 16 because they rejected my judgements, and walked not in my statutes, and profaned my sab- 17 baths : for their heart went after their idols. Nevertheless mine eye spared them from de- 18 stroying them, neither did I make a full end of them in the wilderness. And I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe 19 their judgements, nor defile yourselves with their idols : I am the LORD your God ; walk in 20 my statutes, and keep my judgements, and do them : and hallow my sabbaths ; and they 21 shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God. But the children rebelled against me ; they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judge- ments to do them, which if a man do, he shall live in them ; they profaned my sabbaths : then I said I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the 22 wilderness. Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them forth. 23 Moreover I lifted up mine hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them 24 among the nations, and disperse them through the countries ; because they had not executed my judgements, but had rejected my statutes, and had profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes 25 were after their fathers' idols. Moreover also I gave them statutes that were not good, and 26 judgements wherein they should not live ; and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD. 27 Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God : In this moreover have your fathers blasphemed me, in that they have committed 28 a trespass against me. For when I had brought them into the land, which I lifted up mine hand to give unto them, then they saw every high hill, and every thick tree, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering, there also 29 they made their sweet savour, and they poured out there their drink offerings. Then I said unto them, What meaneth the high place whereunto ye go ? So the name thereof is called 30 Bamah unto this day. Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God : Do ye pollute yourselves after the manner of your fathers ? and go ye a whoring after their 31 abominations ? and when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, do ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, unto this day ? and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel ? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you : 32 and that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all ; in that ye say, We will be as the 33 nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone. As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, 34 will I be king over you : and I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, 35 and with fury poured out: and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there 36 will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of 37 the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God. And I will cause you to 38 pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me; I will bring them forth out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye 39 shall know that I am the LORD. As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God: Go ye, serve every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but my 40 holy name shall ye no more profane with your gifts, and with your idols. For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them, serve me in the land: there will I accept them, and there will I 41 require your offerings and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. As a sweet savour will I accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight 42 of the nations. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land 43 of Israel, into the country which I lifted up mine hand to give unto your fathers. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have polluted yourselves; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. 44 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God. Chap. 20. Another visit from the chieftains of the people. Ezekiel in reply to their in- quiries sets forth their national history, the national judgment and the hope of Divine mercy. This leads up to the prediction of the kingdom of the Messiah. B. C. This chapter, with a new date, has its spe- cial occasion—the coming of certain elders of Israel to inquire of the Lord through the prophet. It has also its special strain of reply —essentially a résumé or historical review of the great trials which the Lord experienced with the Hebrew people on the point of their propensity to idolatry, showing that, over and over again, He had forbidden them to worship idols, had solemnly sworn that He would ex- terminate them with His judgments for this sin, but had spared them for His great mercy's sake. As a historical sketch the chapter corre- sponds somewhat closely with Neh. 9; Ps. 78, and the speech of Stephen in Acts 7. Here pre- eminently the historical facts cited bear on the great points now present and prominent—viz., that the people were strangely infatuated tow- ard idolatry, that they had been on the verge of national ruin repeatedly for this sin; and that they had been spared only through the great mercy of God and to save the honor of His throne before the heathen; and not at all for their own sake or merit. 1. This new date is about eleven months later than the last named (8:1). H. C.—In the seventh year. Of Jehoiachin's captivity. (Cf. chap. 1:2; 8:1.) All the prophecies recorded from the eighth chapter to this proba- bly belong to the sixth year of the Captivity. W. Lowth. The elders of Israel. These were as in 14:1, from Ezekiel's fellow-exiles, designated in gen- eral terms by the name of Israel, though more properly belonging to the kingdom of Judah. The use of the word Israel is the more appro- priate here, because in his reply the prophet refers to the history of the people from the very beginning. B. C. 2,3. The doom of the guilty people and city was fixed, and no prayer could reverse it. God "would not pardon." (See 2 K. 24:4; Ezek. 14; Jer. 15; 7:16; 11:14; 14:11.) On the clause, "I will not be inquired of by you," Jerome has this fine comment: "To the holy and to those who ask for right things, the prom- ise is given: 'While they are yet speaking, I will say, Here I am.' But to sinners, such as these elders of Israel were, and as those whose sins the prophet proceeds to describe, no an- swer is given, but only a fierce rebuke for their sins, to which He adds his oath; 'As I live,' to strengthen his solemn refusal." H. C. 4. Wilt thou judge them? We should rather say, Wilt thou not judge them?—i.e., pro- nounce sentence upon them? (Cf. 22:2.) The repetition of the phrase is expressive of a strong desire that the act should be begun, and thus gives the force of an imperative. B. C. 5. Instead of allowing himself to be inquired of in prayer to avert His threatened judgments against the Jews, the Lord directs the prophet to set before these elders the long record of their national sins and provocations (verses 5-32). H. C. 5-9. The history of the ingratitude and rebellion of the people of Israel here begins as early as their beginning; so does the history of man's apostasy from his Maker. No sooner have we read the story of our first parent's creation, than we immediately meet with that of their rebellion; so we see here it was with Israel; a people designed to represent the body of mankind, both in their dealings with God and His with them. H. The state of the children of Israel in Egypt. They were taken thither to be formed into a nation, and were warned to abstain from the idolatry of the heathen. This purpose they entirely lost sight of in Egypt, yet God spared them and brought them into another state of probation. B. C.—They would not hearken to the Lord: hence while they were in Egypt the Lord solemnly threatened to pour out His fury and to exhaust ("accomplish") his anger upon them. But He spared and saved His people then for His name's sake, that the heathen might not reproach Him as unable to save His own people. H. C. 10-26. The history of the struggle between the sins of Israel, by which they endeavored to ruin themselves, and the mercies of God, by which He endeavored to save them and make them happy, is here continued; and the instances of that struggle in these verses have reference to what passed between God and them in the wilderness, in which God honored Himself and they shamed themselves. The story of Israel in the wilderness is referred to in the New Testament (1 Cor. 10; Heb. 3) as well as often in the Old, for warning to us Christians. H. 12. A quotation from Ex. 31: 13. The Sabbath was a sign of a peculiar people, was commemorative of the work of creation, and hallowed to the honor of Jehovah, the covenant God. As man honored God by keeping the Sabbath holy, so by the Sabbath God sanctified Israel, marked them as a holy people. Therefore to profane the Sabbath was to abjure their Divine Governor. 13. My Sabbaths they greatly polluted. We have no record of the actual non-observance of the sabbatical rest in the wilderness except at the first giving of the manna (Ex. 16: 27); and in the case of the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath day (Num. 15: 32); but these were corrected on the spot, and the perpetual miracle of the cessation of the manna probably secured the formal observance of the day. The pollution of the Sabbath then must have consisted in failing to make the day holy in deed as well as in name by earnest worship and true heart service. B. C. 13-22. The strain of this chapter is that the Lord's patience was repeatedly tried to the utmost, so that He was often on the point of exterminating the guilty people by His swift judgments; but restrained Himself through His great mercy, and to save His holy name from reproach before the heathen in whose sight He had brought them forth from Egypt and adopted them as His own peculiar people. This view of their national history was eminently forcible for Ezekiel's time and for the circumstances of both the exiles and their brethren then just on the brink of exterminating ruin in their native land. H. C. 18. The Book of Deuteronomy contains the address to the children of those who perished in the wilderness. The whole history of Israel was a repetition of this course. The covenant was made with one generation, broken by them, and then renewed to the next. B. C.—But I said unto their children in the wilderness. This refers to the many pathetical exhortations contained in the Book of Deuteronomy, particularly those in chaps. 29, 30, 31 and 32, which were uttered after that rebellious generation were all consumed, as God had threatened them (see Num. 14: 32, 33; 26: 64, 65), and were designed as warnings to succeeding generations (De. 31: 16-21). W. Louth. 20. It admits of ample proof that the reasons given of God for enjoining the observance of the Sabbath—given specially in the fourth command itself, and in the passage Ex. 31: 13-17, which is specially under Ezekiel's eye in our text—are of universal application. The Great Father of the race wrought six days in the creation and rested the seventh. He puts His own example not before Israel only, but before the race, and invites, nay more, commands them to follow it. He signifies to them that He would be remembered as their Creator and Father, and would have them set apart time for an object so vital. Then Ex. 31: 13-17 develops yet more fully the thought that in the Sabbath God aims to sanctify His people and to make it a visible sign of a special relationship between Himself and them. Yet here let it be carefully noted, it is His relation to them not as Hebrews, but as His children, His people. All these points are general, not special; good for the race, not restricted and of value to the Hebrews only. Indeed they show the Sabbath to be a glorious boon which no tribe or nation or age can afford to forego. Thus far the discussion of this great question respecting the universal obligation of the Sabbath as a Divine institution comes fairly within the province of the expositor of Ezekiel because it is legitimately involved in the sense of his words. Other points bearing on the question are: its institution in Eden; the traces of it in the seven-day periods during the deluge; its existence among the Hebrews prior to its announcement from Sinai (see Ex. 16: 22-30), and the proofs of its re-endorsement in the beginning of the Christian age. H. C. Its very place in the Jewish Decalogue is by no means an obscure intimation that its authority is altogether superior to that of the merely Jewish ordinances. The ceremonial law was merely Jewish; the details of legislation again, whereby the equitable principles of Jewish jurisprudence were carried into specific enactment, were merely Jewish. But all these are very broadly distinguished from that Decalogue in which the fourth commandment has a place. The ten "words" announce principles; they are not of the nature of national statutes; they do not prescribe penalties. And accordingly, as a body of Divine principles, as a summary of human morality, of duty toward God and man, they occupy a position of glory and supremacy amid the ordinances of Israel altogether unique. As Sinai, the holy mountain, was fenced off from the camp of the congregation by bounds which none might pass and live, so are the ten words of Jehovah fenced off from the enactments of the Mosaic law. These ten words, and these ten only, were spoken by the Most High Himself. These, and these only, were written by the finger of God on two tables of stone. These two tables were placed in the holy ark called "the Ark of the Covenant," which itself was placed within the second veil, in the midst of the Holy of Holies, and underneath the cherubim of glory, in the innermost heart of the most holy and most secret shrine of the Divine presence and glory. Surely all this bespeaks an essential distinction and superiority in the Decalogue as compared with the merely national and the necessarily temporary laws and observances of the Mosaic economy. . . . It is not easy to imagine a more apparently incredible paradox than that one commandment of a merely national scope and temporary obligation should have been associated, in a summary of moral duty, with nine others of perpetual obligation; that it should have been placed in the very central niche of all the commandments, as on one side directly touching the honor and worship of God, and on the other the rights and well-being of man; that equally with all the other commandments it should have been spoken by the voice of the Most High and written by the Divine finger on one of the tables of stone; and yet that this one "word" alone of all the ten should be merely ceremonial and temporary, the rest being all of a moral nature and of permanent obligation. Surely it must be felt as if no arguments could establish such a paradox as this. Rigg (See Vol. II., pp. 174-183.) If the seventh-day rest formed part of the grand plan, not only of creation, but also of revelation and redemption—to which the whole after-development of that plan was made conformable, and therefore running through the entire Scriptures, as veins and arteries through the human body—it cannot be rooted out without marring the entire Scriptures and destroying the whole plan. If it has been formally blessed and hallowed of God, no matter when and where, and that blessing and hallowing nowhere recalled, then those Divine acts of blessing and hallowing forever establish its perpetuity. If founded in the example of God, that example being eternal, the appointment must be eternal likewise; and that example being set at the beginning, in the presence of the world, is the common property and standard of the world, and therefore must be universal in its obligation. If this seventh-day rest be the only rest created for man, being alike the prophetic germ and foundation of the whole, all the other rests being but its development, and the rest of heaven its termination and completion, then this seventh-day rest must ever remain that it may stand as the prophecy, pledge, and perpetual witness of that coming rest, until its full and complete realization hereafter. If ordained at the beginning, and having an antecedent existence prior to the organization of the Jewish commonwealth, and afterward entering into the national constitution of that people as the principles of morality enter into the legislation of any Christian country, the subsequent overthrow of that commonwealth has no bearing upon the question of its existence, and having survived that wreck, there remains nothing else to endanger its perpetuity. If the Incarnate Son—by whom the Father created all things, and who ended His work on the seventh day by resting; who was the rock that followed Israel through the wilderness; who, in such glorious epiphany from the summit of the burning mount, authoritatively repeated and proclaimed that law; and who afterward so clearly asserted this as His high and sole prerogative, being "Lord of the Sabbath"—if He should proclaim the law repealed, then it would be repealed indeed! But instead of this, He at all times recognized its binding authority; He obeyed it Himself; He interpreted it, and died leaving it, with His interpretation annexed, as the expressed statute of His kingdom, as much so as He left the law of murder or adultery or profanity, with His interpretation annexed, as the law of that kingdom. Instead of repealing, He actually entered into argument with the Pharisees to show that His acts were all conformable thereto. And instead of removing, He positively asserted that He did not come to destroy, but to fulfil, or, in other words, to maintain. Stacy. How that former seventh day pales in the effulgence of the resurrection morning! Where, in all that is known of the history of man, where, in all that is known of God, is there an event at once so great in its own elements, so important as a manifestation of the Divine to man, so transcendent in its relation to man's happiness and hope! How could it be possible that Christ's redeemed should live in slavery to the day He spent in the tomb and neglect the day of His rising! Their joy, their hope, their heart, was in the first day, the Lord's day, which they and all the Church kept from the resurrection. The seventh day, whatever it represented, gradually faded and was forgotten. The day of the Lord's rising was the one day for the hopes of man. It and no other could possibly be the Lord's Day. . . . When the old land-bound Sabbath passed into the world-wide Lord's Day it girdled the earth with universal brotherhood in the Lord. In whatever strange land, of whatever strange tongue, the believer now joins in that day's worshipping assembly, the sense of brotherhood glows within him. Over all the world, from the western skirts of the Pacific around with the sun to its starting point, that day, dotting the whole globe with gatherings in the name of our Lord, busied alike in prayer and praise and promise in His name, makes a testimony to the unity and brotherhood of Christian faith which no man, without wilfulness, can gainsay. Like the old, the new Sabbath is a day of rest. From the urgency of bread-winning and the often more coercive spur of ambition, it is a respite, a vacation. But it speaks, as Israel's could not, with a plain and positive utterance of a better rest—a perpetual release from all urgency and spurring, and from every wearing or wearying infliction whatsoever; an epoch of holy, blessed and perfectly free activity; the rest—much more than rest, the unbroken ease, busy, loyal, joyous ease, that shall pervade the Messianic kingdom of the Lord. . . . By her sociality, pure and beneficent, springing spontaneously from the feeling of common relationship to her redeeming Lord; by her instruction, sound, comforting and stimulating, having as its premise that man lives by and through and for God, and edifying and building up the minds of believers through meditation on the whole Word of God; by her leisure, detached from merely earthly and personal affairs, busy with the activity of holy love, and inspired to private prayer and public worship, and every Christian word and work through love to the Lord, and to them who love the Lord, and to them for whom the Lord died—thus the Church, in a wider and happier sense than did Israel, does remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy—her own Sabbath, the holy festival of the Lord's day. The tongue of the Church is this day given to her Lord. She tells His story, she declares His purposes, she confesses her faith on Him, she expresses her loyalty. For all that the Church is, for all she may do and for all she may become, each member has his own responsibility and his own free spontaneity. Whatever he does counts as his heart moves him. So on this day he lays his heart against the millionfold heart of the Church to feel her vast, deep, triumphant life. He sees with the mental eye, as the framing and the background of all the instruction, comfort and encouragement which precept and promise and prophecy afford, a view of the thronged city of God, of the splendid capital and mansions of the redeemed, of the magnificent harmony and busy ease and consummate civilization of the Lord's kingdom. He breathes while lifted up the fragrance of many-voiced prayer that on this day enwraps the earth as a film of the resonant air of heaven; and in this bracing atmosphere his veins tingle with consciousness of unlimited desire and capacity and destiny—his own and the Church's own when the Lord shall come. And so on the day that marks God's authority over human times, on the day our Lord has honored as His official day before His Church, on the day which the Holy Ghost has sealed as the epoch of the new covenant (the New Testament), on this day believers come together as a public body to give their public testimony of loyalty, and that they may together commune with the Lord. While aglow before the mystery of His person, wherein the brotherhood of man blends with Divine Sonship, while absorbed in the wonder of His love, which, stronger than death, by the intensity of its sacrifice, transmutes the universal curse into a universal privilege, while transfigured with the beauty of His nature, reflected somewhat within each one and diffused over the spiritual aspect of the world-circling commemoration, a tender awe falls upon the assembly; the Lord is there. Then, like the early patriarchs, and like Israel at Pentecost, the feast of weeks, the Church partakes together of the sacrificial meal. Each one realizes that it is the Lord who died for him, a sinner; who redeemed, reconciled, saved him by giving His own body to be bruised for him, His own blood to be sprinkled on the soil for him. Each one perceives that the whole aggregate of like-minded souls who commune thus with their Lord are inseparably joined together by this communion in one body, and this body is the Lord's own body, living, growing, the organ of His spirit, the eternal and the holy temple of His own Divine humanity. And each one apprehends that the Lord of all is the man Jesus. He whose quivering body was torn, whose warm blood was shed, who rested in Joseph's tomb, and awoke in immortal humanity, and rose above man's observation or comprehension before the apostle's eyes, and dwells now in occupation that we can only most dimly conceive as we lift our uneducated eyes with loving awe and dependent reverence toward His majesty—Jesus, the very man, our brother; Jesus enthroned at the right hand of God—Himself incomprehensibly transfigured with the outshining of His own divinity, but Himself the Lamb slain through the ages; Himself the head over His own body, the Church; Himself the same Jesus who ascended from Olivet, who will come again in His own day (who knows how soon?) to put down all enmity, to establish all authority, to reign in righteousness over His Church, and with His Church over the universe! Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly. We wait Thy day. Grey. 25. Equally remarkable and bold is the statement that the whole of the Mosaic law was not equally good. When first the Israelites came out of Egypt, God gave them "statutes and judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them." But when they rebelled, and despised God's judgments, and polluted His Sabbaths, which He had given as a special sign of His covenant with them, then He "gave them statutes which were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live" (20:11, 25). Such teaching is the more remarkable as coming from a priest, and one who was in general so strict himself in the observance of the Levitical precepts. (See 4:14.) Paul himself did not more plainly teach that much of the law was a burden too heavy for men to bear. R. P. S. In what sense did God give the people these statutes? Only in the sense of suffering their wicked kings to enjoin them. Not unfrequently God is said in the Scriptures to do what He only permits to be done. He was said to harden Pharaoh's heart, when, in fact, according to the record, He only suffered him to harden his own heart, and when the most direct agency which He exerted toward that result was in removing the plagues under which that proud king quailed and relented. For what purpose in this case did the Lord give the people "statutes not good and judgments whereby they should not live?" The passage itself supplies the answer. Because they did not execute His judgments, but despised His statutes, polluted His Sabbaths and set their eyes on their father's idols, therefore God suffered them to be ensnared into deeper idolatry by the royal influence of Jeroboam, Ahab, Omri and Manasseh. It was a Divine judgment upon them for their persistent love of idols. The Lord gave them their way to let them see and to let all the world in coming ages see what idolatry is; what it leads to; how fearfully it curses a people of itself, and how terribly God will punish it. On the same principle God gave up the heathen nations to idolatry and to deep moral corruption. So Paul affirms (Rom. 1:21, 24, 26, 28; 2 Thess. 2:11). H. C. Civil laws, whatever be their source, to be adapted to the wants of any given community, must arise out of circumstances, and be relative to certain specific ends; which ends, under other circumstances, it might be the height of folly to pursue. When Solon was asked whether he had prepared the best laws of which he was capable for the Athenians, he replied: "I have prepared the best that they were able to receive." Of much the same nature is that declaration of Divine wisdom to the Jews, which has so perplexed biblical inquirers: "I gave them also statutes that were not good"—that is, laws not absolutely the best, though they were relatively so. Montesquieu, with that penetration which belongs to all his philosophical reflections, has observed that the passage cited above is the sponge that wipes out all the difficulties which are to be found in the law of Moses. This view of the meaning and force of the passage is confirmed by the words of our Saviour. He has told us that Moses tolerated divorce among the Jews because of the hardness of their hearts. It is reasonable to conclude that he permitted the continuance of other social evils on the same principle. It is implied in our Lord's declaration that if the Jews of Moses' time had been less hard-hearted or prejudiced, less wedded to old notions and usages, several of His statutes would have been different from what they were. Is it not also involved that the excellence which Moses claims, and most justly, as belonging to his laws is, as it respects some of them at least, a relative rather than an absolute excellence? The principle that laws must be relative to circumstances, that they must grow out of the state of society and be adapted to its wants, is founded in reason and confirmed by experience. It is, therefore, a just and solid principle, and must commend itself as such to every enlightened judgment. But it involves this clear and certain inference that God never intended the Mosaic laws to bind any nation but the Hebrews; and that it would be quite foolish to detach particular parts from the rest, and to attempt the ingrafting of them on other systems, to which they must prove incongruous. The fundamental principle of the Hebrew polity—the suppression of idolatry and the maintenance of the worship of the one true God—so diverse from that of every other government ever known among men, could not but enter essentially into the frame of the laws. Besides this, the circumstances of climate, soil, situation, political relations, character and power of the neighboring nations, customs, mode of life, prevalent notions as to honor and disgrace, and the nature and severity of punishments, species and sources of crime, kinds of disease, etc., would modify a Divine quite as much as they would a human legislation; and still more, perhaps, in proportion to its superior wisdom. If God were now by special revelation to enact a code of civil laws for every nation on the globe, it is not likely that any two of them would agree in every particular. It is certain, for example, that in such a code framed for the United States, there would be wanting the old Hebrew laws respecting divorce, polygamy, blood-avengement, usury, the double portion of the first born son, the exclusion of daughters from the inheritance, the marriage of a deceased brother's childless widow, and the sumptuary laws in general; for none of the reasons on which these laws were based has any existence among us; and to separate a law from its principle is like sundering the body from the head or heart. E. C. W. 29. Bamah. The Hebrew word for high place. Another instance of the perversion of God's laws. When the Israelites first entered Canaan they were to set up the tabernacle on a high place, and upon this and upon no other they were to worship Jehovah. This was the high place (1 Sam. 9 : 12 foll. ; 1 K. 3 : 4). But the Israelites followed the custom of the country, and set up idol worship on every high hill, and the word high place (Bamah), or in the plural high places (Bamoth), became a by-word. (Cf. Bamoth Baal, Josh. 13 : 17.) Bamoth occurs on the Moabitic stone, which records the erection of high places in honor of Kamos (Chemosh). B. C. The significance of this verse 29 seems to be that God protested against those localities for worship; but the people insisted and still kept up the usage under that name well known among themselves and deeply offensive and odious to their God. In harmony with this the psalmist says (78 : 58), "For they provoked Him to anger with their high places." H. C. The threatenings which are pronounced against the Jews in this chapter should act as a warning to all who read it. God had given them a law which was holy, just and good; but their disobedience and want of faith converted into a curse what was intended for a blessing. On us also has God bestowed a still more valuable blessing, even the promise of redemption and sanctification through Christ Jesus. But in order to attain this blessing certain conditions must be fulfilled; we also must walk in His statutes, keep His judgments and hallow His Sabbaths. If we examine our hearts and lives, it will but too plainly appear how greatly we have failed in fulfilling our part of this holy covenant. Let us then earnestly entreat the Lord to pardon our innumerable transgressions, and to loathe ourselves in our own sight for all the evils that we have committed. So shall we escape the heavy vengeance with which we are threatened, the mercy of God will pardon our past backslidings, and our perseverance in a righteous course will, through the mercies of our Redeemer, entitle us to a share in that heavenly Canaan, of which a land flowing with milk and honey gives but a faint resemblance. Travell. 33-38. Here the tone changes to exhortation and promise. God would yet put forth His mighty hand to redeem a remnant and restore them to piety and to consequent prosperity. The temptation to be like the heathen must be withstood and its very thought repelled. Verses 35, 36 are a beautiful analogy between this process of discipline and that by which the Lord sifted, proved and tried His people in the wilderness of Sinai. So also in Hos. 2 : 14-23. The cases are not only analogous in the principle involved, but in the means used and even partially in the minute point of a wilderness life, for these exiles were led forth through a long wilderness route from Canaan to Chaldea. "I will cause you to pass under the rod," looks to the usage of shepherds in numbering their flocks, perhaps nightly as they entered the fold, or after a purchase, to verify the number. So God will bring His dear people carefully into His fold, taking pains to see that all are there, and consecrating them to Himself. The sifting processes of His providence will expel the rebels of unsubdued heart. They will never return to His land. 39-44. The scope of verse 39 I take to be, Play the hypocrite with Me no longer. If ye will persist in serving idols, go on ; but cease to mix up the worship of idols with the worship of the living God ! No more pollute Me, My name and My temple, with your gifts and idols. For lo, in My holy mountain there shall be none but pure hearts and true lives. Hypocrites can have no place there. There I will accept the honest and faithful worshippers ; they shall penitently loathe and forsake their abominations, and shall know in their own blessed experience that I am the Lord their Saviour and Redeemer. This strain of promise is eminently precious after so long and so terrible a recital of God's holy displeasure against His apostate people, His grievous heart-trials with them, and His fearful judgments upon them. At this point our Hebrew Bibles close this chapter. It is manifestly the close of this special theme and strain. The remaining verses (45-49) belong properly to the next chapter. H. C. 44. And ye shall know that I am the Lord. As in the height of God's vengeance on the sins of this wretched people, the distant prospect always terminated in a mercy ; so with a mercy and a promise of better times the whole of this prophetic scene is closed, in order that those to whom it is addressed should, however criminal, not be left in an utter state of desperation, but be afforded some shadow of repose in the prospect of future peace and tranquillity. The idea of mercy is naturally attached to that of repentance and reformation ; and with mercy the prophecy ends. Bp. Warburton. 20 : 45, 46 AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the South ; and say to the forest of the South, Hear the word of the LORD ; Thus saith the Lord God : Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree : the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burnt thereby. And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it : it shall not be quenched. Then said I, Ah Lord God ! they say of me, Is he not a speaker of parables ? 21 : 1, 2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel ; and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD : Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north : and all flesh shall know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath ; it shall not return any more. Sigh therefore, thou son of man ; with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness shalt thou sigh before their eyes. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou ? that thou shalt say, Because of the tidings, for it cometh : and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water ; behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord God. 8,9. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished: it is sharpened that 10 it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? 11 the rod of my son, it contemneth every tree. And it is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. 12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel: 13 they are delivered over to the sword with my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh. For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that contemneth shall be no more? saith the Lord 14 God. Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the 15 great one that is deadly wounded, which entereth into their chambers. I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multi- 16 plied: ah! it is made as lightning, it is pointed for slaughter. Gather thee together, go to 17 the right; set thyself in array, go to the left; whithersoever thy face is set. I will also smite mine hands together, and I will satisfy my fury: I the LORD have spoken it. 18, 19 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they twain shall come forth out 20 of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city. Thou shalt appoint a way, for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to 21 Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted 22 the teraphim, he looked in the liver. In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to 23 set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounts, to build forts. And it shall be unto them as a vain divination in their sight, which have sworn oaths unto them: but he bringeth iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken. 24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do ap- 25 pear; because that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. And thou, O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the time of 26 the iniquity of the end; thus saith the Lord God: Remove the mitre, and take off the crown: 27 this shall be no more the same: exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him. 28 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord God concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and say thou, A sword, a sword is drawn, 29 for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning: whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine lies unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are deadly wounded, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end. 30 Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy 31 birth, will I judge thee. And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee; I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath: and I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful 32 to destroy. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it. 45-49. This paragraph, which in the Hebrew text, LXX. and Vulgate, commences the twenty-first chapter, has been by our translators attached to the twentieth. It belongs to the following chapter, as it contains a prophecy delivered in a form which is there explained. It may, however, be regarded as a link between the foregoing and following prophecies, being a general introduction to seven words of judgment about to be pronounced in development of that which has just been delivered (Kliefoth). B. C. 45-48. Remarkably the prophets set the face toward the country or the people to whom their prophecies were addressed. (See chap. 6:2 and 13:17, etc.) "The south" and "the forest of the south field," as here used, are manifestly Jerusalem and Judah, thought of as "the south" for the same reason that Babylon—Ezekiel's residence then—was "the north." Judah and Jerusalem are thought of as a forest which is combustible—fit material for the fires of Jehovah's judgments. A terrible figure of a ruin before which nothing can stand! H. C. 46. There are three Hebrew synonyms, which in English we must render by the one word south, denoting the region on the right hand (47 : 1), the region of midday, the region of brightness. The variety of terms helps the force of the application. Ezekiel is dwelling by Chebar in the north of Babylon, from the north the Chaldean army is to come upon Judea. (See on 1 : 4.) B. C. 49. Doth he not speak parables? A feeling of sad discouragement comes over the prophet as he thinks of delivering this message (verses 46-48), for he remembers how the people received his threatenings from the Lord before, when they were clothed in strongly figurative language. Is it not altogether figurative, say they? How then can we know much about its real meaning? Does not the whole description bear the aspect of great exaggeration? To questions like these it may be replied briefly but most truthfully. Figures of speech are used in every human language, in all ages of time. They come nearer to the idea of a universal language, clearly intelligible to all, than any other form or mode of speech. Chap. 21. In this description of judgments from God upon Jerusalem (verses 1-25), and upon Ammon (verses 28-32), the sword is made signally prominent—drawn out from the Lord's scabbard, sharpened, polished, gleaming, flashing, and coming down fearfully for its work of slaughter! It is the chapter of the sword. If we suppose a connection with the closing words of the chapter previous, we shall see a special pertinence in this figure. The people are saying: These figures and symbols, parables and things of that sort—who can tell how much they mean? To which the Lord replies: "Ye must certainly know what the sword means: ye have seen and heard of the sword; let the sword therefore be the figure—yet scarcely a figure so much as a terrible reality—in the prophet's foretelling of your doom!" H. C. 1-7. The prophet had faithfully delivered the message he was intrusted with in the close of the foregoing chapter, in the terms wherein he received it, not daring to add his own comment upon it; but when he complained that the people found fault with him for speaking parables, the word of the Lord came to him again and gave him a key to that figurative discourse, that with it he might let the people into the meaning of it, and so silence that objection. For all men shall be rendered inexcusable at God's bar, and every mouth shall be stopped. H. 1-5. Set thy face toward the city to which the predicted judgments pertain, as in verse 46 and elsewhere. The destruction must be general, embracing both the righteous and the wicked. Since no discrimination is made on the ground of moral character, there can be no discrimination whatever (verses 4, 5), but the sword shall cut down all the living from south to north in the land. The Lord's sword is drawn, and will not return to its scabbard till this work is done. H. C. 3. If God had permitted none to be carried off captive but the wicked, their case would be utterly hopeless, as there would be none to set a good example, to preach repentance, to reprove sin, or to show God's willingness to forgive sinners. But God in His mercy permitted many of the righteous to be carried off also, that the wicked might not be totally abandoned or put beyond the reach of being saved. Hence both Ezekiel and Daniel, and several others, prophets and righteous men, were thus cut off from the land and carried into captivity. And how much was God's glory and the good of men promoted by this! What a seed of salvation was sown, even in the heathen countries, by thus cutting off the righteous with the wicked! To this we owe, under God, many of the Psalms; the whole of the Book of Ezekiel; all the prophecies of Daniel; the bright example of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; the decrees passed in favor of the religion of the true God by Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Darius, etc. And to this dispensation of God's merciful providence we owe the books and example of Ezra and Nehemiah. Where then is the injustice, so loudly declaimed against, of God's thus cutting off from the land of Judea the righteous with the wicked? The righteous were not cut off for the crimes of the wicked (see chap. 18), nor were these crimes visited upon them; yet several of them shared in the common calamity, but none perished. Those that were removed by a violent death—and we shall find few such—got a speedier entrance into eternal glory. A. C. 9-17. This passage may be called the Lay of the Sword; it is written in the form of Hebrew poetry, with its characteristic parallelism. It may be translated and arranged as follows: A sword, a sword, it is sharpened and furbished, Sharpened for sore slaughter, It contemneth the rod of My people, It contemneth every tree; It was given for furbishing to be handled, It is sharpened and furbished to be given into the hand of the slayer; Cry aloud and howl, O son of man. The sword is upon My people, Upon all the princes of Israel, They are given up to the sword with My peo- ple; Therefore smite upon thy thigh. For it is put to the proof, and if it contemneth even the rod, What shall not be? saith the Lord God. And thou, son of man, prophesy and strike hand upon hand, And let the sword be thrice doubled; This is the sword of the slain, The sword of the mighty slain, which presseth hard upon them, That the heart may faint And ruin be multiplied, Against all their gates have I set My threaten- ing sword, Ah! it is prepared for a lightning-flash, Drawn for slaughter. Gather thyself up, O sword, to the right or to the left, Whithersoever thy path is determined. I also will strike hand on hand, And will cause my fury to abide, I the Lord have said it. B. C. 18-27. The prophet, in the verses before, had showed them the sword coming; he here shows them that sword coming against them, that they might not flatter themselves that by some means or other it should be diverted a contrary way. H. 18-20. The object here seems to be to indi- cate the process by which the king of Babylon would decide by a sort of lot which course to take first, whether toward Ammon or toward Jerusalem. The statements imply that the prophet was to go through the usual ceremo- nies symbolically, to make a stronger impres- sion of the facts upon the people. Taking his position at the head of the way leading to the city, he marked out one way leading to Jerusa- lem; another to the country of Ammon. Both led out from the one land of Babylon. In the last part of the verse the sense is better given by reading or instead of "and;" "To Rabbath of the Ammonites, or to Judah in Jerusalem." 21,22. This refers to ancient customs of learning the will of the gods (as supposed) by various forms of divination. Three forms are here. Shaking the arrows (previously labelled) in a bag, and then drawing out one, the label of which would give the desired answer. Numbers 2 and 3 are noticed frequently in the old classic authors; consulting images of the gods, and examining the liver of an animal slain for the purpose. If the indications led toward the right hand, then the king of Babylon would (not "appoint captains" but) "put up batter- ing rams"—the same word which the last clause renders in this way. He would also give command for slaughter, or, perhaps, open the mouth in outcry. (So Gesenius.) H. C. 21. At the head of these two roads the king of Babylon is depicted as standing at the en- trance of the Holy Land from the north. To his right is the road to Jerusalem, on the left that to Rabbath-Ammon: these are the two roads by one or other of which an invading army must march from Babylon to Egypt. He is meditating his campaign, taking divinations after the common fashion of the heathen. Shook the arrows. This mode of divi- nation is one much in practice with the Ara- bians. Pocock (quoted by Rosenmüller) de- scribes it at length. Before undertaking a journey, marrying a wife, and entering upon any important business, it was usual to place in some vessel three arrows, on one of which was written, "My God orders me;" on the other, "My God forbids me;" on the third was no inscription. These three arrows were shaken together until one came out; if it was the first, the thing was to be done; if the sec- ond, it was to be avoided; if the third, the ar- rows were again shaken together until one of the arrows bearing a decided answer should come forth. This method of obtaining an omen by shaking lots together in a helmet was famil- iar to the ancient Greeks. (See Hom. "II.," iii. 316.) He looked in the liver. It was the practice both of the Greeks and the Romans to take omens from the inspection of the entrails (espe- cially the liver) of animals offered in sacrifice. The Romans derived this practice from the Etruscans. These Etruscans seem to have shown their Eastern origin in various ways— their writing was from right to left—the Etru- rian chiefs, from whom the young Roman nobles received instruction in the sacred sciences of divination, formed a warlike sacerdotal caste like the Chaldeans. B. C. Archbishop Potter notices the practice among the Greeks, in which divination was made by arrows shaken together in a quiver. The meth- od of divination practised by the idolatrous Arabs, but forbidden by the Koran, is too sin- gular to be unnoticed. "Seven divining arrows were kept at the temple of Mecca; but generally in divination, the idolatrous Arabs made use of three only; on one was written 'My lord hath commanded me;' on another, 'My lord hath forbidden me;' and the third was blank. If the first was drawn, they looked upon it as an approbation of the enterprise in question; if the second, they made a contrary conclusion; but if the third happened to be drawn, they mixed them, and drew over again till a decisive answer was given by one of the others." Abp. Newcome. 22. In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem. His divinations show that he was to go to the right hand—that is, toward Jerusalem. Dathius.—Supposing the face toward the east, the southern branch of the two roads, which was toward the right hand, led toward Jerusalem; for this city lay to the south of Rabbah. You must represent Nebuchadnezzar as coming from Dan, and marching along the Jordan. Here Rabbah was situated at the left hand, and Jerusalem at the right. Abp. Newcome. The Ammonites appear to have revolted against the Chaldean sway at the same time with the Jews; and when the king of Babylon commenced his march with the purpose of reducing them to obedience, he seems to have been undecided whether to direct his march against Jerusalem or against Rabbah. When, however, he came to "the parting of the way," to the point where it became necessary to decide in which direction to lead his forces, he resorted to divination to determine the question for him—a favorite resource among the ancients in doubtful contingencies, to save themselves the trouble and responsibility of decision, by casting it upon their gods and their diviners. It is at this point the prophet sets the great king before us. "Appoint a way that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver." The result was that he should go against Jerusalem, for "At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering-rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort." Kitto. 23,24. I understand these verses to mean that this divination, taken by the king of Babylon and directing him to besiege Jerusalem, would be held by the Jews as false and of no account because they had been in sworn allegiance to that king and assumed that they could have peace with him on easy terms again. But that king remembers their iniquity in violating those oaths, and this exasperates him to sterner vengeance. It should be borne in mind that this very king placed Zedekiah on his throne (2 Chron. 36:10, 13; Jer. 52:3; Ezek. 17:15, 18) under a solemn oath of fidelity to himself as his liege lord. H. C. 25-27. The principal passage of any length in this prophet that is amended is the remarkable prediction to Zedekiah, of repeated overthrows in Judah, until the true rightful monarch came (21:25-27). In verse 25 the prince of Israel is called "deadly wounded" instead of "profane," for this the original means, indicating that the blow is final. In verse 26, "Remove the diadem and take off the crown," diadem is changed to mitre, showing that both priestly and royal dignities are destroyed. "This shall not be the same" becomes "This shall be no more the same," which is a plainer statement of the perpetuity of the change. Then after a repeated announcement of changes and revolutions, there is added in verse 27 a new assurance, not "and it shall be no more," as the Authorized Version, but "this also shall be no more"—that is, even the apparently final outcome of successive revolutions shall not endure. Nowhere shall there be permanence, but constant fluctuations, until at last the rightful priest upon his throne shall appear. Chambers. From a view of the intense depravity and horrible idolatry of the king and his people, now culminating in perjury against the king of Babylon, the course of thought passes suddenly to direct address to the guilty king now to be slain and of course deposed and stripped of his crown. The passage might be translated, almost literally, thus: "And thou, most wicked prince of Israel; pierced through with the sword, whose day has come in the time of fatal sin: Thus saith the Lord God: The sacred headband is removed; the regal crown is taken off; this shall be no longer this (what it has been); the lowly is exalted; the lofty is brought down: I will utterly overturn, and even then it shall not be permanent until he comes to whom it belongs; then I will give it to him." In Zedekiah's utter fall the crown of Judah is vilely cast away: the ancient throne of David seems to be fearfully subverted; but the Lord's hand is in these revolutions; He will push them on for His own purposes until the greater Prince of David's line shall come to whom the eternal promise of David's throne stands sure. Then God will give him that crown and kingdom. It was specially appropriate that this prophecy should indicate the suspension of the functions of the high priest as well as those of the king. Remarkably both were restored by special promise according to the prophecies of Zechariah (chaps. 4 : 14 ; 6 : 13) after the return from captivity. Both were united under one head and given to the great Messiah when He ultimately came. Both went down together in this fearful judgment upon the nation for its sin. Both returned together when, through the repentance of the people and the Divine mercy, they returned again to become the Lord's. I will overturn utterly. He to whom "the judgment" or the right is can be none other than the great Messiah. The idea of His "coming" may tacitly refer to Gen. 49 : 10, "Until Shiloh shall come." The term "come" is in Hebrew used to designate the Messiah as "He that should come"—e.g., "Art thou He that should come, or look we for another?" (Matt. 11 : 3). Onkelos, the best of the Chaldee paraphrasts, gives us his paraphrase of Gen. 49 : 10, with his eye on our passage : "Until Messiah come whose is the kingdom." Thus the prediction of fearful ruin on Jerusalem and her king and high priest suggests the consummation of the kingdom of God on earth under that great Personage, both King and Priest, who fills the throne of David forever—a glorious Priest on His throne for the joyful salvation of His redeemed people. This passage is rich in its suggestive resources—e.g., that none need fear the results of the revolutions of earthly thrones, determined in the providence of God ; that the helm of universal dominion is in hands equal to every emergency, guided by a far-seeing wisdom and evermore evolving events toward the sublime and blessed consummation of God's great purposes of human redemption. These lessons bear toward a peaceful, joyful trust in our Divine Father and Lord, and bid us wait on Him in faith and prayer, and with such labor as we may, till He bring forth His righteousness as the light and His faithfulness in promise as the noonday ! H. C. 25. And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel. The words are addressed to King Zedekiah, whom the prophet calls "profane" and "wicked," chiefly with respect to his breaking that solemn oath uttered in the name of God, whereby he had engaged himself to be tributary to the king of Babylon (chap. 17 : 19). W. Lowth. 27. I will overturn . . . it ; and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is ; and I will give it Him. This is a threat that the kingdom should never recover its former glory and strength, but consume, till the sceptre should be quite taken away from Judah, and way be made for the Messiah, who is He that was to come, whose was the dominion, and to whom the Father would give it ; so that the final desolation of the temporal kingdom of the seed of David is here threatened, and the eternal kingdom of the Messiah is promised. The triple use of the word "overturn" expresses the certainty of the event. Poole. It is only redemption now that carries on the counsel of Providence and opens the seals thereof. John's Book of Revelation is a book of Providence all through, celebrating as the crises arrive all the overturnings of Christ's advancing empire, with successive hymns and acclamations ; chanting everywhere the Lamb, the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain ; sometimes, when public wrong is incorrigible and fierce, the wrath, and always the victory, of the Lamb ; closing off at the river that proceedeth out of the throne of God and the Lamb ; and showing there installed and everlastingly established a glorious and complete Lamb-Providence for the world. Bushnell. We learn through the living lessons of our own experience that the eternal Gospel covers the facts of life, its sorrows, its needs, its joys, its wealth. Through every conflict the truth is seen in the majesty of its growing vigor. Shakings, shakings not of the earth only, but of the heaven, will come ; but what then ? We know this, that all that falls is taken away, that those things which are not shaken may remain. Bp. Westcott. 28. The burden of the Song of the Sword is directed now against the Ammonites, who, exulting in Judah's destruction, fondly deemed that they were themselves to escape. But over them too the like doom is spoken, only with this difference, that for them is no prospect of recovery. For Judah there is yet hope, for Ammon irremediable ruin. B. C. 28-32. It was indicated (verses 19-22) that the king of Babylon sought divination to determine which city to attack first in order, Jerusalem or Ammon. Both were in his plan and in God's plan. The one being finished, the other follows as here. Perhaps it stands in this connection with the fall of Jerusalem to show that the Lord tenderly remembers His true people ; that He resents the reproaches cast on them by the heathen under their great calamities ; and that it is only as apostates that God scourges His own city and nation; while His sympathies are none the less against the wicked heathen nations round about them and with His own chosen people. Another prophecy against Ammon, similar in its general tone, appears (chap. 25:1-7). In form this passage is legitimately a continuation of the sword chapter (20), the figure of the devouring sword being prominent throughout. H. C. The prediction of the destruction of the Ammonites, which was effected by Nebuchadnezzar about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, seems to come in here upon occasion of the king of Babylon's diverting his design against Rabbath, when he turned it upon Jerusalem; upon this the Ammonites grew very insolent, and triumphed over Jerusalem; but the prophet must let them know that forbearance is no acquittance; the reprieve is not a pardon; their day also is at hand; their turn comes next, and it will be but a poor satisfaction to them that they are to be devoured last, to be last executed. H. 30. Cause it to return into its sheath. The verb is to be taken as imperative. Let the sword return back to its sheath. Its work is over. Here ends the stanza of the Lay of the Sword, which, like the other part, is in the form of poetry: The sword, the sword is drawn; It is furbished to slay, To consume, to flash forth, In spite of thy false visions and lying divinations, To give thee over to the heaps of the slain, Of the wicked whose day is come, the time for the close of their iniquity. Back, back to thy sheath. The prophet in the name of Jehovah now turns to address the Ammonites, and reverts to the metaphor of a consuming fire which he had employed before (20:47). B. C. 22:1, 2 MOREOVER the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, And thou, son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? then cause her to know all her abomina 3 tions. And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord God: A city that sheideth blood in the midst of her, that her time may come, and that maketh idols against herself to defile her! 4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed, and art defiled in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years; therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the nations, and a mocking to 5 all the countries. Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock 6 thee, thou infamous one and full of tumult. Behold, the princes of Israel, every one 7 according to his power, have been in thee to shed blood. In thee have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stran 8 ger: in thee have they wronged the fatherless and the widow. Thou hast despised mine 9 holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths. Slanderous men have been in thee to shed blood: and in thee they have eaten upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they have com 10 mitted lewdness. In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they 11 humbled her that was unclean in her separation. And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in 12 thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter. In thee have they taken bribes to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours 13 by oppression, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord God. Behold, therefore, I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in 14 the midst of thee. Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I 15 shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it. And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee through the countries; and I will consume thy filth 16 ness out of thee. And thou shalt be profaned in thyself, in the sight of the nations; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 17, 18 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, the house of Israel is be come dross unto me : all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead, in the midst of the furnace ; they are the dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord God : Because ye are all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it ; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will lay you there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof ; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you. 23, 24 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto her, Thou art a land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation. There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey : they have devoured souls ; they take treasure and precious things ; they have made her widows many in the midst thereof. Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned mine holy things : they have put no difference between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey ; to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain. 28 And her prophets have daubed for them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the LORD hath not spoken. The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery ; yea, they have vexed the poor and needy, and have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the fence, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it : but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them ; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath : their own way have I brought upon their heads, saith the Lord God. Chap. 22. The word of the Lord in this chapter sets forth the varied and enormous wickedness of Jerusalem and of Judah. It shows that they were guilty of other sins besides idolatry—indeed, of every other sin named in the Decalogue or known in this depraved world. Here let us bear in mind that this rehearsal and exposé of the sins of the Jews still resident in Jerusalem and Judah and now on the eve of their destruction are made before the exiles in Chaldea for the sake specially of the resulting moral influence toward the reformation of those exiles. God would have them understand why those terrible judgments were sent on their brethren and fathers and on the city and land of their early homes and early love. H. C. 1-16. In these verses the prophet, by a commission from heaven, is set as a judge upon the bench, and Jerusalem is made to hold up her hand as a prisoner at the bar ; and if prophets were set over other nations, much more over God's nation. This prophet is authorized to judge the bloody city—the city of bloods. Jerusalem is so called not only because she had been guilty of the particular sin of bloodshed, but because her crimes in general were bloody crimes (chap. 7 : 23), such as polluted her in her blood, and for which she deserved to have blood given her to drink. Now the business of a judge with a malefactor is to convict him of his crimes, and then to pass sentence upon him for them. These two things Ezekiel is to do here. H. The sins which have brought ruin upon Jerusalem. In this catalogue of sins special reference is made to Lev. 18, and this because the sins there mentioned were especially those which disgraced the heathen inhabitants of Canaan, whom the Israelites were to cast out. The very fact of the commission of like sins would insure like judgment. B. C. 7. In thee have they set light. The children do not reverence their parents. Parental affection and filial respect do not exist among you. The stranger is not only not succored, but he is oppressed. The widows and fatherless are vexed by wrongs and exactions. 8. Thou hast despised. All My ordinances are not only neglected, but treated with contempt ; and My Sabbaths profaned. A. C. 13-15. "Smitten My hand at thy dishonest gain" is a significant gesture, indicating His purpose to scatter those gains to the winds of heaven and to make solemn requisition for that blood. It was God's own intimation that He would call her to account for those horrible sins. When the hour of her judgment should come, "Could her heart endure or her hands be strong" against the Infinite God? Alas, she I was once told, by a near relative of mine, that having in her childhood fallen into a river, and being on the very verge of death but for the critical assistance which reached her, she saw in a moment her whole life, in its minutest incidents, arrayed before her simultaneously as in a mirror, and she had a faculty developed as suddenly for comprehending the whole and every part. This, from some opium experiences of mine, I can believe. I have indeed seen the same thing asserted twice in modern books, and accompanied by a remark which I am convinced is true—viz., that the dread book of account which the Scriptures speak of is in fact the mind itself of each individual. Of this at least I feel assured, that there is no such thing as forgetting possible to the mind. A thousand accidents may and will interpose a veil between our present consciousness and the secret inscriptions on the mind—accidents of the same sort will also rend away the veil; but alike whether veiled or unveiled the inscription remains forever, just as the stars seem to withdraw before the common light of day, whereas, in fact, we all know that it is the light which is drawn over them as a veil, and that they are waiting to be revealed when the obscuring daylight shall have withdrawn. De Quincy. History is as the world's memory; and memory itself is a perpetual witness of immortality. Memory seems to be, as it were, our witness against time, our witness that we are independent of time, our witness that we have a greater being than one which depends on duration. "The soul of man," as a powerful writer says, "grasping and gathering together a long series of duration into itself, makes an essay to free itself from the rigid laws of it, and to purchase to itself the freedom of a true eternity." Memory lives in the past, as well as in the present. It throws itself into it with the vivid consciousness of its reality. It does not acknowledge the past to be gone, and done, and done away, as something only to be matter for reflection or ground of retribution, but as a still living and being reality, which the soul by its inherent immortal powers comprises as it were at a glance, never loses, and can, but for bodily imperfection, recall and render present at will. This is the case with our own personal memories. Our life is indeed a series of successive acts, and a gradual growing; and there are changes, and gains and losses, and progressions and retrogressions in it, in all its duration. But in memory, the witness of immortality, they all live together. The whole is one picture; presented to the eye of memory, in some sort, as to the eye of God, presented as it were upon one plane—ourselves seen all at once—no question then of successive personal identity—ourselves in all our history. Bp. Moberly. The memory of all present events will abide with the soul, saved or lost, in the future state. In this life we find ample evidence that nothing is absolutely forgotten, that all thoughts and feelings once cherished by the mind are graven indelibly upon it, and therefore susceptible of recall. The mind is so constructed as to secure their return by the operation of certain fixed laws of suggestion and association, which operate irresistibly, entirely apart from the mind's own volition. By their operation it is possible that all things ever thought or felt, said or done, may be recalled and grouped together as a chain, so that taking hold of any link memory may flash backward and forward, and bring up with the vividness of a present reality every event of the past. Nor is there the least evidence that death will break or detach a single link from the chain. Facts are abundant in proof that the nearer the living approach to death the more effective, full and vivid does memory become. The very weakness and decay of the body seem to intensify and quicken it with new life. And inspiration declares that the deeds of men in the body, the evil as well as the good, shall follow them. It affirms that upon each guilty soul will be held a strict inquisition of its every word and act, that its own testimony concerning each shall determine the final award. "Son, remember" is the thrillingly conclusive expression which the Divine Teacher, He who was Truth itself, applies to the rich man in the very experience of torment. Assuredly, then, memory and reflection shall immovably abide with the unforgiven soul, perfect, unclouded memory and clear, unbroken reflection upon the long-wasted past, upon its minutest particulars of neglected duty, privilege and opportunity. And thus it shall be that in the self-revelation of the eternal world, by the inconceivable quickening and expanded power of memory and reflection, conscience shall be compelled to the undying remorse of a perpetuated self-revelation and confession. B. Memory is not all within the power of the will on earth; and probably, memory in another world is still more involuntary and still more constant. Why? Because I read in the Bible that there is work in another world for God's servants to do; but I do not read that there is work for anybody else but God's servants to do. The work of an unforgiven sinner is done when he dies. And that not only because he is going into the state of retribution, but because no rebel's work is going to be suffered in that world. The time for that is past. And so, if you will look, all the teachings of the Bible about the future state of those that are not in blessedness give us this idea—a monotonous continuance of idleness, shutting them up to their own contemplations, the memories of the past and the agonies of the future. There are no distractions for such a man in another world. He has thought, he has conscience, he has remembrance. He has a sense of pain, of sin, of wrong, of loss. He has one "passive, fixed endurance, all eternal and the same;" but I do not read that his pain is anodyned and his sorrow soothed by any activity that his hand finds to do. And in a most tragic sense, we may say, "there is neither work, nor labor, nor device" in that dark world where the fruits of sin are reaped in monotonous suffering and ever-present pain. A memory that will have its own way; what a field for sorrow and lamentation that is, when God says at last, "Now go—go apart; take thy life with thee; read it over; see what thou hast done with it!" One old Roman tyrant had a punishment in which he bound the dead body of the murdered to the living body of the murderer, and left them there scaffolded. And when that voice comes, "Son, remember!" to the living soul of the godless, unbelieving, impenitent man, there is bound to him the murdered past, the dead past, his own life; and in Milton's awful and profound words, "Which way I fly is hell—myself am hell!" There is enough—without any ghastly, sensual external figures—there is enough to make the boldest tremble; a memory embracing all the past, a memory rapidly grasping and constantly bringing its burdens, a judgment which admits of no mistakes, and a conscience which has done with palliations and excuses! It is not difficult to see how that is an instrument of torture. It is more difficult to see how such a memory can be a source of gladness; and yet it can. The old Greeks were pressed with that difficulty; they said to themselves, If a man remembers, there can be no Elysium for him. And so they put the river of forgetfulness, the waters of Lethe, betwixt life and the happy plains. Ah, we do not want any river of oblivion betwixt us and everlasting blessedness. Calvary is on this side, and that is enough! Certainly it is one of the most blessed things about "the faith that is in Christ Jesus," that it makes a man remember his own would find that God never lacks agencies and resources for terrific punishment! How vain for frail, weak creatures to stand up against the Almighty! How surely will sinners learn this to their unutterable consternation when the wrath of God shall fall on them to the uttermost! H. C. 14. Estrange yourself from God by neglect of prayer, and He will estrange Himself from you: this is to shut out the fulness of God from your soul, to thrust away from you the overture of eternal life! The deathbed reserves its keenest anguish for those who, in the midst of religious advantages, never pray. How shall your heart endure or your hands be strong in the day when He shall deal with those who have thus neglected Him? R. Hall. 17-22. By a new and expressive figure the people are all said to be mere dross; not gold and silver, but only the refuse matter which is mixed with those precious metals and requires to be expelled by intense heat in the furnace. So the Lord would gather this wicked people, put them into His great furnace, blow upon them in the fierceness of His wrath, and expel all the impure, worthless matter. 23,24. By yet another figure, the land of Judah is like a field not cleansed of its briars, thorns and weeds, which are fatal to the production of useful plants—nor had it been rained upon. Of course it can be only barren. H. C. 30. We are not so to press these words as to assert literally that there was not one righteous man in Jerusalem. Ezekiel speaks in general terms and says that there is not in the city sufficient righteousness to save it from utter destruction. Prince, prophet, priest, all fail. B. C. 30,31. The moral power of the people to recover themselves from their horrible corruptions is prostrate; there is no recuperative force left. Not a man appeared to stem the torrent of this corruption. If the Lord could have found one such strong man to work with himself for the salvation of the people, he would at least have deferred this final outpouring of His wrath in exterminating judgments. But He found none, and hence their ruin was inevitable, and no reason existed for its being longer delayed. H. C. 23: 1, 2 THE word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: and they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. And the names of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister: and they became mine, and they bare sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem Oholibah. And Oholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, which were clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. And she bestowed her whoredoms upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them: and on whomsoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither hath she left her whoredoms since the days of Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the teats of her virginity: and they poured out their whoredom upon her. Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and her they slew with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for they executed judgements upon her. And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet was she more corrupt in her doting than she, and in her whoredoms which were more than the whoredoms of her sister. She doted upon the Assyrians, governors and rulers, her neighbours, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. And I saw that she was defiled; they both took one way. And she increased her whoredoms; for she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion, girdled with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look upon, after the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their nativity. And as soon as she saw them she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them. So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my soul was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister. Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, remembering the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. 20. And she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is 21 like the issue of horses. Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in the bruising of thy teats by the Egyptians for the breasts of thy youth. 22 Therefore, O Oholibah, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side; 23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: desirable young men, governors and rulers all of them, princes and men of renown, 24 all of them riding upon horses. And they shall come against thee with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with an assembly of peoples; they shall set themselves against thee with buckler and shield and helmet round about; and I will commit the judgement unto them, 25 and they shall judge thee according to their judgements. And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal with thee in fury; they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy residue shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy 26 residue shall be devoured by the fire. They shall also strip thee of thy clothes, and take 27 away thy fair jewels. Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor re- 28 member Egypt any more. For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hated, into the hand of them from whom thy soul is alienated; 29 and they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy 30 lewdness and thy whoredoms. These things shall be done unto thee, for that thou hast 31 gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols. Thou hast 32 walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. Thus saith the Lord God: Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup, which is deep and large: thou shalt be 33 laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much. Thou shalt be filled with drunk- enness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister 34 Samaria. Thou shalt even drink it and drain it out, and thou shalt gnaw the sherds thereof, 35 and shalt tear thy breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. 36 The LORD said moreover unto me: Son of man, wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholibah? 37 then declare unto them their abominations. For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass through the fire unto them to be devoured. 38 Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and 39 have profaned my sabbaths. For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst 40 of mine house. And furthermore ye have sent for men that come from far: unto whom a messenger was sent, and, lo, they came; for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thine 41 eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments; and satest upon a stately bed, with a table pre- 42 pared before it, whereupon thou didst set mine incense and mine oil. And the voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with men of the common sort were brought drunkards from the wilderness; and they put bracelets upon the hands of them twain, and 43 beautiful crowns upon their heads. Then said I of her that was old in adulteries, Now will 44 they commit whoredoms with her, and she with them. And they went in unto her, as they go in unto an harlot; so went they in unto Oholah and unto Oholibah, the lewd women. 45 And righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgement of adulteresses, and with the judgement of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their 46 hands. For thus saith the Lord God: I will bring up an assembly against them, and will 47 give them to be tossed to and fro and spoiled. And the assembly shall stone them with stones, and despatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, 48 and burn up their houses with fire. Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that 49 all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord God. Chap. 23. The allegory of Aholah and Aholibah. This chapter closely resembles chap. 16. Idolatry is represented by the same figure, but here there are two sisters instead of one woman. Aholah (Israel) is, however, chiefly introduced in order to heighten Aholibah's (Judah's) guilt. In chap. 16 there is more expectation, appeal to God's love and mercy shown in past time. Here the tone is that of warning and of judgment, the close of the sevenfold reply to the elders of Israel. (See Jer. 3: 7, on which the allegory may have been founded.) B. C. In this chapter, the figure by which the Lord represents the idolatry of His people as adultery assumes a bolder form than usual, and is carried out with very great minuteness both in respect to the sin and its punishment. The whole representation is intensely keen and caustic, setting forth in a most revolting light the great crimes of the Jewish people in the line of idolatry, and adapted to fill them with a sense of shame and self-loathing. In a few passages our translation fails to give the full strength of the original, but the nature of the subject ought perhaps to excuse the omission of any more amplifying details. The ultimate sense of the whole is plain. Samaria and Jerusalem are called "Aholah" and "Aholibah." As harlots, they began their harlot life with Egypt; continued it with Assyria, the Chaldeans and the people of the desert; pushed their idolatry even to the extent of burning alive their children, God's own sons and daughters, and of desecrating His very sanctuary with their idols; and then, being put on trial under Hebrew law before righteous men, they suffer the doom of adulteresses, on whose hands is the blood of murder also; they are staged with stones and their houses burned with fire. Thus the land is cleansed of the abominations of its spiritual whoredom; it bears the sins of its idols, and Desolation sits upon the ruins of those cities—a living memorial of God's righteous jealousy against His apostate people! H. C. In this chapter there are many of what we would call indelicate expressions, because a parallel is run between idolatry and prostitution; and the circumstances of the latter illustrate the peculiarities of the former. Ezekiel was among the Jews what Juvenal was among the Romans—a rough reprover of the most abominable vices. They both spoke of things as they found them; stripped vice naked and scourged it publicly. A. C.—The style of this chapter, like that of chap. 16, is adapted to men among whom at that time no refinement subsisted. Large allowance must be made for language addressed to an ancient Eastern people, in the worst period of their history; all whose ideas were sensual, and whose grand inducement to idolatry seems to have been the brutal impurities which it encouraged. Abp. Newcome. 1-10. God had often spoken to Ezekiel, and by him to the people, to this effect, but now His word comes again; for God speaks the same thing once, yea twice, yea many a time, and all little enough, and too little, for man perceives it not. Note: To convince sinners of the evil of sin and of their misery and danger by reason of it, there is need of line upon line, so loath we are to know the worst of ourselves. The sinners that are here to be exposed are two women, two kingdoms, sister-kingdoms, Israel and Judah, daughters of one mother, having been for a long time but one people. Solomon's kingdom was so large, so populous, that immediately after his death it divided into two. H. 4. And the names of them were. Both of these divided people had their names from a tent or tabernacle. Israel, which is the greater part of the Ten Tribes, is Aholah, "her own tabernacle," which she would needs erect according to her own device, to draw away clients from My Temple. Judah is Aholibah, "My tent or tabernacle in her;" because of the place of My worship settled there. Bp. Hall. 11. Jerusalem was worse than Samaria as having sinned against greater light, more sacred vows and obligations, and especially in the presence of the very Temple of the holy God! H. C. 14. Portrayed upon the wall. The monuments of Nineveh recently discovered show how the walls of its palaces were adorned with figures precisely answering to this description. These figures represented princes and kings, warriors and battles; the head-dresses of the princes were high turbans, and the striking countenances and majestic appearances of the kings as thus represented accords well with Ezekiel's words, all of them princes to look upon. There is evidence that these sculptures were highly colored with vermilion, or, rather, red ochre. (See Layard's "Monuments of Nineveh" and Vaux's "Nineveh and Persepolis.") The Babylonians and Assyrians were so closely connected in origin and in customs, that there can be little doubt that the magnificent palaces of Nebuchadnezzar were similarly adorned, and that the Nineveh remains faithfully represent the sculptures of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was no less distinguished for his mighty buildings than for his vast conquests, and it is remarkable that the records of Nebuchadnezzar, hitherto deciphered, contain full particulars as to his buildings, but do not (as in the Assyrian palaces) refer to foreign conquests. These conquests are undoubted, and may be recorded in inscriptions yet to be discovered—but the prominence given to works of architecture is in accord with Dan. 4:30. (See Ménant's "Babylone et la Chaldée," p. 197 foll.) B. C. 14-16. This representation was specially pertinent from the lips of Ezekiel to the Jewish exiles then in Chaldea, being well adapted to make them abhor these seductive temptations which addressed themselves not unfrequently (we must suppose) to their eyes. H. C. 19. Egypt. The kings of Judah played alternately Egypt against Babylon, and Babylon against Egypt. Jehoahaz was displaced by Necho for Jehoakim, who then turned to the Chaldeans, and afterward in his rebellion sought aid from Egypt. So Zedekiah was continually meditating help from Egypt, against which Jeremiah and Ezekiel were continually protesting. B. C. 38,39. The figure is here in part dropped and literal statements appear, perhaps because no possible turn of the figure could adequately represent the enormity of burning their own children in the fire, or of desecrating the very Temple of the living God with their idols. The view given of the dreadful guilt of the Jews is heightened by the repeated statement that after burning their own children to idol gods they went on the same day into God's holy Temple, and with bloody hands profaned His sanctuary. Abating the intensely revolting nature of this description and the repugnance of its dedetails to our sense of delicacy, the whole description is pungent and thrilling, and must have been full of moral power upon the heart and conscience of the men to whom it was originally spoken. One may well suppose it would make their ears tingle and their cheeks crimson with a sense of shame for their people and their beloved city. We naturally incline to pass by such a chapter unread; yet let us not forget that to the Jewish exiles of Ezekiel's day its features that are revolting to us would be scarcely if at all objectionable, and then that its caustic and terribly truthful severity must have made its testimony against the guilt of Jerusalem burn itself into the very heart and soul of the people. The siege was within a few months of its commencement. These were the last words of the prophet prior to his announcement that the siege had begun. H. C. 24: 1 AGAIN, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this selfsame day: the king of Babylon drew close unto Jerusalem this selfsame day. And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Set on the caldron, set it on, and also pour water into it: gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. Take the choice of the flock, and pile also the bones under it: make it boil well; yea, let the bones thereof be seethed in the midst of it. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; no lot is fallen upon it. For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust; that it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great. Heap on the wood, make the fire hot, boil well the flesh, and make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned. Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that it may be hot, and the brass thereof may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the rust of it may be consumed. She hath wearied herself with toil: yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her; her rust goeth not forth by fire. In thy filthiness is lewdness; because I have purged thee and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have satisfied my fury upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God. Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead, bind thy headtire upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. So I spake unto the people in the morning; and at even my wife died: and I did in the morning as I was commanded. And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? Then I said unto them, The word of the 21. LORD came unto me, saying, Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God : Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth ; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword. And ye shall do as I have done : ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet : ye shall not mourn nor weep ; but ye shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another. Thus shall Ezekiel be unto you a sign ; according to all that he hath done shall ye do : when this cometh, then shall ye know that I am the Lord God. 25 And thou, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters, that in that day he that escapeth shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears ? In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb : so shalt thou be a sign unto them ; and they shall know that I am the LORD. Chap. 24. This chapter bears a new date—viz., the very day in which Nebuchadnezzar commenced the siege of Jerusalem, and two years and five months later than the last preceding date (20 : 1). It is in two parts—the first part (verses 3–14) presenting the confirmed wickedness of Jerusalem and God's efforts to cleanse it out, under the figure of a pot foul with rust, yet not cleansed by use, and incapable of being cleansed till it is set empty upon a hot fire and the very brass itself thoroughly heated and burned. In the second part (verses 15–27) the prophet's wife suddenly dies ; he is forbidden to manifest his grief in the usual modes, showing the people thus that the calamities of their nation will be too great to admit of the common public manifestations of mourning. H. C. Ezekiel is commissioned to announce to his fellow-exiles that the destruction of Jerusalem, which he had so long foretold, was now in course of execution, that the siege had actually begun. This he is to declare (1) by a parable—of the boiling pot (verses 1–14), (2) by a symbolical act—the abstaining from the usual outward mourning for his wife's death. 1. The day mentioned here was the very day on which Nebuchadnezzar completed his arrangements for the siege, and closed in the city (2 K. 25 : 1 ; Jer. 52 : 4). After the captivity this day was regularly observed as a fast day—the fast of the tenth month (Zech. 8 : 19). B. C. The precise day on which the siege of Jerusalem commenced is on record 2 K. 25 : 1 and Jer. 52 : 4 ; precisely as here. Omitting only the day of the month, the same date appears in Jer. 39 : 1. Of course this was one of the ever-memorable days of Jewish history, long observed as a day of fasting. (See Zech. 8 : 19.) It was an impressive fact to the exiles. They must have seen in it new proof of the failure of their long-cherished hopes. H. C. 2. "Jerusalem this same day." It was many miles, it was many days' journey from Jerusalem to Babylon ; perhaps the last intelligence they had from the army was that the design was upon Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and that the campaign was to be opened with the siege of that city. But God knew, and could tell the prophet, This day, at this time, Jerusalem is invested, and the Chaldean army is set down before it. As all times, so all places, even the most remote, are present with God and under His view. He tells it the prophet that the prophet might tell it the people, that so when it proved to be punctually true, as they would find by the public intelligence in a little time, it might be a confirmation of the prophet's mission, and they might infer that, since he was right in his news, he was so in his predictions, for he owed both to the same correspondence he had with heaven. H. That Ezekiel on the banks of the Chebar knew what was taking place at Jerusalem on the very day of its occurrence may be a difficulty to those expositors who deny that God can make any prophetical communication, but need not incline us to discover with them in this passage a prediction after the event. Kliefoth. 3. Set on a pot. This figure bears allusion to the sacred rites of the Temple, and therefore nothing low or mean was associated with it in the ideas of the Jews, to whom the prophecy was directed. Bp. Lowth.—Under the same image of a boiling pot, Jeremiah had represented the siege of Jerusalem (1 : 13). Ezekiel was a priest ; the action of boiling pots was familiar to him, as these things were much in use in the Temple service. A. C. 3–5. Inasmuch as this is distinctly declared to be a parable, we cannot suppose it to have been a real symbolic transaction performed before the eyes of the people, nor yet a vision shown to the prophet by the Divine Spirit. It is rather a supposed transaction, designed to represent certain analogous points in the case of the city of Jerusalem, its people and its pollutions. The pot of brass represents the city; its contents of flesh and bones are the inhabitants; and the rust ("scum") and foulness of the pot stand for the abominations of the city, the deep pollutions of society which had hardened and become incrusted upon the inner surface of the pot, and could be removed by no ordinary process. The first step in the operation is described in these verses. Fill it with water, flesh and bones; set it over a hot fire, and boil it thoroughly. See what discipline will do toward reform. 6-10. Verses 6 and 11 intimate that after the failure of this effort the pot is entirely emptied of its flesh and bones—i.e., the city is emptied of its people, and then the city itself (the pot) is subjected to intense heat, to burn off its pollutions. 11-14. Verse 12 should be read, "It," the pot, has wearied itself, not with "lies," but with its great "labor"—i.e., to cleanse itself of its rust and filth; "but its great filth will not go forth from it, not even by the fire." This verse aims to say that this long protracted and varied effort of God in His providence to reform the people and cleanse the city had been in vain. So verse 13 teaches. In thy filthiness is purposed wickedness (so the Hebrew implies)—the deep, persistent, malign purpose to push madly on in rebellion. Because I have sought to purge thee, yet with no success, I shall make no further effort till I pour out My wrath on thee to abide upon thee, through a long captivity. God has spoken and will do it! This is the outcome of the "parable." The Lord despairs of cleansing the city from its fixed incrustations of corruption—the residuum of crime hardened on at the bottom of society, and consequently leavening the whole mass with its pollution; and withal adhering so tenaciously that no ordinary heat and no other possible appliances will remove it and cleanse the vessel. So the city must be emptied of all its inhabitants and then be thoroughly burned to the ground. H. C. 15-27. These verses conclude what we have been upon all along from the beginning of this book, to wit, Ezekiel's prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem; for, after this, though he prophesied much concerning other nations, yet he said no more concerning Jerusalem, till he heard of the destruction of it, almost three years after (chap. 33: 21). He had assured them, in the former part of this chapter, that there was no hope at all of the preventing of the trouble; here he assures them that they should not have the ease of weeping for it. H. 16-27. The death of Ezekiel's wife took place in the evening of the same day that he delivered the foregoing prophecy. This event was to signify to the people that the Lord would take from them all that was most dear to them—temple, home, friends and possessions. The behavior of the prophet was to show his fellow exiles that the condition of the people would be such as to give no room for the common expression of mourning. Compare Jer. 16: 5, they shall not lament or bemoan the dead; they would grieve for their sins and their punishment, but the times that were coming were so extraordinary as to leave no room for the quiet lamentation for the dead according to the usual forms of mourning. B. C. 16,17. This beautiful descriptive epithet, "the desire of thine eyes," is shown (verse 18) to mean his wife—an object ever grateful to the eye and dear to the heart. The Lord says, I am about to take her away at one stroke, and you must refrain from all the usual manifestations of grief. The shock of a sore calamity is sometimes too great for tears, too overwhelming to allow one thought upon the forms and manifestations of sorrow. When men die by tens of thousands on the field of battle, who finds time or thought for sighs or for the drapery of woe! So, in the destruction of the Temple and the fall of the great city of their fathers' sepulchres, in the slaughter by thousands of their own fathers, brothers, sisters—they might well spare the habiliments of grief and omit all its usual symbols. Such seems to have been the lesson intended in this startling, appalling scene. Verse 17 defines and forbids the usual indications of public mourning. H. C. 17. Bind the tire of thine head upon thee. The tire was the mitre worn by the priest. One of the signs of mourning was to cover the head (2 Sam. 15: 30; Jer. 14: 3); another was to sprinkle ashes upon the head (27: 30; 1 Sam. 4: 12; 2 Sam. 15: 32). It was forbidden to the high-priest to uncover his head (Lev. 21: 10), because the anointing oil had been upon him—that is, he was not to defile his head with ashes sprinkled upon it. The covering of the head adopted by mourners must have been different from the usual dress, and so in either case the ordinary covering was removed, to be replaced either by ashes or by a mourning veil. Although the high-priest was to abstain from outward signs of mourning, and in a particular case a similar course was prescribed to the priests Eleazar and Ithamar (Lev. 10 : 6), the priest in general was to mourn for his dead (Lev. 21 : 1 foll.), and so Ezekiel was to be an exception to the rule. Another sign of mourning was to go barefoot (2 Sam. 15 : 30), see on Jer. 13 : 22; another to cover the lower part of the face (Micah 3 : 7). Eat not the bread of men. It was customary at funerals to have food supplied for the comfort of the mourners, and this is the origin of the funeral feasts, so common among all nations. Bread of men—i.e., bread commonly used by men on such occasions. Jerome, “bread of mourners.” From such food Ezekiel is to abstain. Compare Jer. 16 : 7, neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or mother. B. C. A strange and deep interest belongs to one of the incidents in the personal history of Ezekiel which the course of this prophecy discloses. His wife was very dear to him; for she is called “the desire of his eyes.” He knew that they must one day be parted. He must die; she too must die—which first was known to God only. But there was nothing in his age or state of health, nor anything in hers, to suggest that this hour of calamity was near; and probably Ezekiel, although a prophet, did as most men do in regard to this matter—refused to let his mind rest upon it, or to contemplate it with any steadiness. Doubt not, therefore, that Ezekiel felt as any one of us would feel on receiving the intimation: “Son of man, behold I take away the desire of thine eyes with a stroke.” The very terms in which it is conveyed aggravates the agony it is suited to inflict, by reminding of the value of that which he was thus suddenly to lose. She was described to him as “the desire of his eyes;” and she is to be taken from him—not through the painful but soothing warnings of the sick-bed, by which the mind is gradually prepared to meet the worst, but suddenly “by a stroke,” quick and sharp. Consider what that loss was to him. That she was a good and loving woman is implied throughout. Besides, he was now in captivity among the Babylonians; and his wife was no doubt a sweet companion and comfort to him in the midst of all the reproaches, troubles, and difficulties he met with. And she was to be taken by one of those strokes which wound the survivors so deeply that but for the slight preparation this very intimation offered, it may well be thought that even Ezekiel, being, though a prophet, a man such as we are, might himself also have sunk, heart-smitten by the stroke. Hence there was graciousness to him in this intimation, hard though it were. Do we not hear the exceeding sharp and bitter cry which this intimation drew from him? Do we not see the hot tears which it wrung from eyes unused to weep, and for that reason more hot and bitter? We hear nothing of this: we see nothing. The desire of his eyes is not only to die, but must die unlamented, save in his heart. He must “make no mourning” for her; he must “bind the tire upon his head” as usual, and not suffer his locks to float wild for her; he must “put on his shoes upon his feet,” and not walk “softly and barefoot for her”—nor for her “cover his lips,” nor “eat the bread of men.” These were acts of mourning from which he was interdicted; and it was hard to omit them. The world might look upon it as a heartless indifference to the memory of one so loved; and the neglect of customary observances of mourning on the part of the living was deemed an insult to the dead. This was hard. But there was something harder yet. “Thou shalt not mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.” The other inhibitions had been easy to this. Those touched but the outer mourning; these the inner—the mourning of the heart. And what did the prophet say to all this? He said nothing. It was of the Lord. And what did he do? He knew that this was for a sign; and with this doom over the wife of his youth, so soon to be accomplished, he girded up the loins of his mind to his public duty, and told the people of this strange and solemn matter, which it is needful they should understand. And what then? “In the evening my wife died.” And what more? “And I did in the morning as I was commanded.” These simple intimations reach the utmost sublimity of moral grandeur—nay, more than that, of devout, and therefore absolute submission to Him who doeth all things well. It was in this conviction, in the firm persuasion that the Lord laid this burden upon him not needlessly, but most wisely; not in anger, but with love and pity for the soul. He wounded, that, like another of old, he could say, “I was dumb, I opened not my mouth—because Thou didst it;” and followed the great example of him of whom it is said, “And Aaron held his peace,” when his sons died before his eyes. Nay, more. It is not enough to say that he submitted to this dispensation. He acquiesced in it; because he knew that it was intended for the benefit of his people, as completing by the most signal and impressive of all that series of literal and symbolical warnings by which he had labored to gain the attention of his people, and to stay their downward course to ruin. Observe well that all commentators perceive an interval of time between this chapter and those that follow—this being the last of the prophecies delivered before the destruction of Jerusalem. He is allowed to rest awhile in his sorrows, public and private; and when he comes forth again, it is to speak in an altered strain, denouncing the doom of the nations which had afflicted Israel, or had exulted in her fall; and to declare the glory and blessedness which the great future had in store. Now he was to stand as “a sign to them” from the Lord: “According to all that he hath done, shall ye do; and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord.” They also should lose “the desire of their eyes”—the city and Temple of their fathers should be brought low unto the dust; and their beloved ones should perish by the sword. Yet they should not dare, nor find occasion to satisfy their griefs with customary mournings, though they “might mourn inwardly, and pine away for their iniquities.” That this deep and sad lesson might be the more effectually taught, the devoted prophet was willing even to yield up “the desire of his eyes.” He knew it would not be lost or fail of its effect. For although it should avail not for anterior warning, it would for subsequent conviction. When these things had befallen them, they would remember these forewarnings, and be constrained to acknowledge that their doom had indeed come from God, and had been most righteously inflicted; and would be among the agencies tending to that reformation that actually took place, which the prophet himself lived to witness, and in which he found the rich reward of his labors and sufferings. For these results, which it is clear he was permitted to contemplate, this great prophet was willing to take up this cross—the heaviest, one may say, that man was ever called to bear. “Let the Lord’s servants in every age copy after this instructive example. Let them come here from time to time and contemplate one of Heaven’s noblest witnesses, struggling to the last, if haply he might do something to stem the swelling tide of evil; and even at the last, when all has proved ineffectual, still readily offering himself upon the sacrifice and service—not, indeed, of the people’s faith, but still of their highest well-being, which he sought with a fervor and devotion unknown to themselves. With such a lofty spirit of consecration to the work of God, what enterprises of philanthropy might not be undertaken, and what triumphs ultimately won!” (Fairbairn). Kitto. 18. Since it was to be done before the people for a sign to them, the morning of the ensuing day would be the earliest time possible, and the proper time for obeying this Divine command. 19–21. The attention of the people is arrested, and they inquire what all this signifies to themselves. The answer is definite. Remarkably it makes special account of the destruction of the Temple and of the slaughter of their own sons and daughters left behind in their fatherland. 24. “A sign unto you;” a visible, significant symbol of what is to befall you, and of what you must do and also of what you may not do under an infliction of calamity analogous to his. H. C. 25. The great desolation which the siege of Jerusalem should end in. In that day, that terrible day, when the city should be broken up, I will take from them that which they depended on; their strength, their walls, their treasures, their fortifications, their men of war, none shall stand them instead. That which they boasted of; the joy of their glory, that which they looked upon as most their glory, and which they most rejoiced in, the temple of their god, and the palaces of their princes. That which they delighted in; which was the desire of their eyes, and on which they set their minds. Their sons and their daughters were all this, their strength, and joy, and glory; and these shall go into captivity. H. 27. In view of this case of the death of the prophet’s wife, let us not omit to note that the Lord spared no pains and shrunk from no sacrifices to make deep and solemn impressions on the minds of the exiles. H. C.—He was suspended from prophesying against them in the mean time, because, Jerusalem being besieged, his prophecies could not be sent into the city; because, when God was speaking so loud by the rod, there was the less need of speaking by the word, and because then the accomplishments of His prophecies would be the full confirmation of his mission, and would the more effectually clear the way for him to begin again. It being referred to that issue, that issue must be waited for. Thus Christ forbade His disciples to preach openly that He was Christ till after His resurrection, because that was to be the full proof of it. But then thou shalt speak with the greater assurance, and the more effectually, either to their conviction or to their confusion. H. In that day shall thy mouth be opened. That is, when some one who shall have escaped from Jerusalem, having arrived among the captives, shall inform them of the destruction of the city, the Temple, the royal family and the people at large; till then he might suppress his tears and lamentations. And we find from chap. 33: 21 that one did actually escape from the city, and informed the prophet and his brethren in captivity that the city was smitten. Thus he was not only a prophet to foretell such things, but he was also a sign or portent, shadowing them out by circumstances in his own person and family; and thus the prediction, agreeing so perfectly with the event, proved that the previous information was from the Lord. A. C. Ezekiel was a sign to the house of Israel in various instances, and described by sensible representations the miseries which God was about to bring upon that people. That his predictions were fully accomplished we learn from the conclusion of the books of Kings and Chronicles; from the 39th and 52d chapters of Jeremiah; and most particularly from the Lamentations of that prophet, who was an eye witness of the desolations of his country and the captivity of his people. Anon. At this point, the first part of Ezekiel's prophecies ends and the second begins. He closes a long series of messages, varied in their forms and modes of revealing truth, but scarcely varying at all in their grand theme and purpose—viz., to set before the exiles the enormity of their national sin, the great wickedness and the deep corruption of Judah and Jerusalem; the certainty that the Lord would abandon His Temple, city and people there to destruction, and the terribleness of that doom. The manifest purpose of God in these revelations to the exiles was to convince them of His justice in those judgments; to give them a full sense of those sins, and to lead them to personal and sincere repentance and radical reformation, until they should themselves be ashamed and confounded, and never open their mouth any more for shame for their own sins and those of their people and land. So a remnant are to be reclaimed and made the nucleus in future years for replanting the land of promise, and for restoring both their political and religious institutions. H. C. 25: 1, 2 AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward the children of Ammon, and prophesy against them: and say unto the children of Ammon, Hear the word of the Lord God; thus saith the Lord God: Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was made desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity: therefore behold, I will deliver thee to the children of the east for a possession, and they shall set their encampments in thee, and make their dwellings in thee; they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the children of Ammon a couching place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. For thus saith the Lord God: Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced with all the despite of thy soul against the land of Israel; therefore behold, I have stretched out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the nations; and I will cut thee off from the peoples, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 8 Thus saith the Lord God: Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the nations; therefore behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim, unto the children of the east, to go against the children of Ammon, and I will give them for a possession, that the children of Ammon may not be remembered among the nations: and I will execute judgements upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 12 Thus saith the Lord God: Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; therefore thus saith the Lord God, I will stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it: and I will make it desolate from Teman; even unto Dedan shall they fall by 14 the sword. And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel; and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury: and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God. 15. Thus saith the Lord God: Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken 16 vengeance with despite of soul to destroy it with perpetual enmity; therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off 17 the Cherethites, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them. It was a distinct part of scriptural prophecy to address heathen nations. This was variously done by the several prophets according to the varieties of time and place. Some, as Obadiah (to Edom) and Nahum (to Nineveh), addressed one such nation and no others. More commonly the prophecies to the chosen people and to the heathen were intermixed, as by Amos and Joel. In Isaiah (13-19) and Jeremiah (46-51) and Ezekiel, one section is specially devoted to a collection of such prophecies. Besides the special message to the nation addressed, every such prediction had the general purpose of exhibiting the conflict ever waging between the servants of God and the powers of the world, and of declaring the Divine decrees as to the issue of this conflict. This general purport is that which concerns us. Tyre and Egypt are overthrown, but there is still a warfare between good and evil, between God and Satan, and in the old prophecies against heathen nations we are to read of the struggle in which the Church of Christ has still to wrestle against her foes (Eph. 6: 12), but will surely prevail. The series of prophecies, with one exception to be noticed in its place, contained in these chapters, was delivered at the time of the fall of Jerusalem, some shortly before and some shortly after the capture of the city. They were collected together to illustrate their original purpose of warning the nations not to exult in their neighbor's fall. In the times of Jerusalem's greatness, the surrounding nations had been her vassals, and when, from time to time, they became independent, they were no doubt regarded by the Jews simply as successful rebels. It is probable that Josiah, in the days of his prosperity, reasserted his right of dominion over Edom and Moab, and that this circumstance increased their pleasure to see the proud city degraded, even though they had often combined with her against a common and greater enemy. The prophet is now commissioned to warn these nations that judgment is coming upon them too, so that they shall be like Jerusalem in her ruin, unlike her in being without hope of recovery. Seven nations are addressed, which have had most intercourse with the children of Israel—on their eastern borders Moab and Ammon, to the south Edom, on the southwest Philistia, northward Tyre, the merchant city, and the more ancient Sidon (all these encroaching more or less on that which had once been David's and Solomon's kingdom—the full possession granted to Israel, but maintained only for a short time), and lastly Egypt, alternately the scourge and the false stay of the chosen people. Kliefoth lays stress on the number seven, symbolical of completeness. Seven nations, seven prophecies against Egypt the chief of the seven, denote the completeness of the overthrow of the heathen power, the antagonist of the kingdom of God. It is remarkable that while other prophets hold out to these heathen nations some prospect of future mercy (e.g., Isa. 16: 14; Jer. 49: 6, 11), Ezekiel speaks of complete ruin; the closing burden, they shall know that I am the Lord, predicting not so much that they will recognize and turn to Jehovah, as that they will find out by experience His power and judgments (verse 14, they shall know My vengeance). Ezekiel prophesied at the time of Jerusalem's overthrow, and so was contemplating national ruin. In the case of Jerusalem there would be national restoration, but in the case of the heathens no such recovery. The national ruin was irretrievable; the remnant to whom the other prophets hold out hopes of mercy were to find it as individuals to be gathered into God's Church, not as nations to be again set up. Ezekiel does not, like other prophets, prophesy against Babylon. Schrader supposes that the seer abstained from prudential reasons from prophesying against the Chaldeans, among whom he dwelt, but there is little ground for having recourse to such an explanation. The Jews were ready enough to see in Babylon an enemy of God, but it was Ezekiel's mission to show that for the moment Babylon was on the side of Jehovah, the righteous instrument of the Divine wrath, doing God's work in punishing His foes. These seven nations are all mentioned by Jeremiah (25: 15 foll.) as bidden to drink of the cup of the fury of the Lord; for five of them (Egypt and Philistia being excepted) Jeremiah was to make bonds and yokes (Jer. 27:3). B. C. Chap. 25. Exterminating judgments are announced against Ammon (verses 1-7); against Moab (verses 8-11); against Edom (verses 12-14); and against Philistia (verses 15-17)—uniformly for the same national sin—viz., proud exultation over the fall of Judah and Jerusalem, and reproach cast on the name of Israel's God by reason of their fall. Obadiah, nearly at the same time, wrote in the same strain against Edom; Ezek. 35 expands this prophecy against Edom. Jeremiah prophesied against the same four neighboring powers, yet with a somewhat broader view of their national sins and especially of their pride—viz., against Ammon (chap. 49:1-6); Moab (chap. 48); Edom (chap. 49:7-22); and Philistia (chap. 47). So also Isaiah and some of the minor prophets. The scope of these prophecies is designedly consolatory to the true people of God, assuring them that He still remembered Zion with tender affection, regarded her true interests as His own; and therefore would avenge her upon her proud and scornful foes. In this point of light, these prophecies hold an important place among the messages sent of God by Ezekiel to the exiled Jews in Chaldea. Their city in ruins, their nationality prostrate, and themselves in exile and under circumstances of the deepest national discouragement, they needed precisely such assurances of the Lord's tender mercy and of His identity of interest and sympathy with their people as still bearing His name and yet to bear it before all the nations of the earth. All the more did they need such words from Ezekiel, because thus far his messages had spoken of little else than national sin, judgments, and ruin. From this point their subject and tone change. Henceforward, with scarce an exception, his messages are encouraging and consolatory to true hearts. H. C. The four nations most closely connected with one another by geographical position and by consequent intercourse are grouped together in this chapter, each being addressed in a few brief sentences concluding with the same refrain: Ye shall know that I am the Lord. The time of the delivery of this joint prophecy, though not defined by Ezekiel, is made clear by the terms of the prophecy, and by the date of the following chapter. The sanctuary has been profaned, the house of Judah has gone into captivity. For although it is true that these words might have been spoken by prophetic anticipation, there is no need to assume this. In chap. 24 we were told that the siege was begun. The date of chap. 26 is that of its close. We may therefore suppose that this prophecy was delivered immediately after the capture of the city by Nebuchadnezzar, and so is later, in point of time, than some of the prophecies that follow it. 1-7. The Ammonites were inveterate foes of the descendants of Abraham. They had joined Eglon, had oppressed Israel in the time of Jephthah, had fought against Saul, David, Jehoshaphat and Jotham. They had joined the Moabites in Nebuchadnezzar's army when he besieged Jerusalem in the reign of Jehoiakim (2 K. 24:2). In the time of Uzziah Amos reproves their cruelty (Amos 1:1, 13); in the time of Josiah, Zephaniah predicts their punishment for boasting against Judah (Zeph. 2:8, 9). Their exultation was against the sanctuary of the Lord, and should therefore the more certainly be punished. Prophecies against Ammon: Amos 1:13-15; Isa. 11:14; Jer. 49:1-6; Zeph. 2:8-11. B. C. The sin for which Ammon is doomed is here made very definite—exulting triumph over God's polluted Temple, desolate land, and captive people. There the record stands, equally in prophecy and in their history, witnessing that the Lord Almighty will let no people, however powerful or however proud, contemn His name with impunity. "The men of the East"—God's executioners of vengeance upon Ammon—were the Chaldeans, raised up in His providence for judgment, not on Judah and Jerusalem alone, but on those contiguous nations which had long been deeply sunk in the same forms of debasing idolatry, and had now filled up the cup of their national sin by malign hostility against Israel and scornful exultation over her fall. They would seize the whole country of Ammon and make her proud capital a stable for camels—significant of an utter overthrow of her nationality. H. C. 5. The doom, once denounced, was surely though not immediately executed. Indeed, we do not know exactly when it was executed. We only know that it has been done; for, as the prophets foretold of this city, so at this day it lies. Meanwhile, however, it enjoyed a new lease of prosperity and wealth under the name of Philadelphia, which it derived from Ptolemy Philadelphia, who, when the country was annexed to the Egyptian crown, restored or greatly improved the city, and called it by his own name. These foreign names have rarely, however, been permanent in that country; for, while the new name would be employed by foreigners, and in all State matters, and on coins, the old name remains in use among the great body of the people, and sometimes survives in the ruins long after the foreign name has been forgotten. So, at the ruins of this city, the name of Philadelphia is altogether forgotten, while the original name of Rabbath-Ammon exists in the shape of Amman. The very site of the place was unknown until discovered about the beginning of this century by a German traveller called Seetzen. It was visited about twelve years after by Burckhardt, an accomplished Swiss traveller in the service of an English society, and who gave a very full and satisfactory description of the place. Other travellers have since been there—as Captains Irby and Mangles, Mr. Buckingham, M. Laborde, Lord Lindsay, Lord Claud Hamilton, and others; but this district lies so remote that the ancient sites are much less frequented by travellers than those on the nearer side of the Jordan. The ruins lie in a valley about twenty-two miles east of the Jordan, through which flows a stream of very clear water, full of fish. The remains are very extensive; but there are few of important buildings except an amphitheatre, which is of great size, and is said to be the most perfect in Syria. There is also an ancient castle, and some vestiges of Roman buildings and Christian churches. Altogether, there is sufficient to evince the former importance of the city, suggesting to the mind a melancholy contrast with the desolation in which it now lies. The Arabs, who come up periodically into these parts, like to harbor in such forsaken sites for the sake of the shelter they can find among the ruins for themselves and their flocks, with the additional inducement that water of good quality is usually found in such localities. This is an old custom, and the prophets frequently allude to it as one of the incidents marking the desolation of cities bordering on Arabia. The stream of fine water at Amman doubtless forms an additional attraction to the parties of Arabs who resort to this site of ruins. Kitto. Southeast of Es Salt are the extensive ruins of Amman, situated on either side of a small stream, which has its source in the old town and flows through it. Amman is the Rabbah or Rabbath-Ammon of the Bible, but it afterward received the name of Philadelphia from Ptolemy Philadelphus. The ruins are among the most remarkable in Palestine, and include an immense theatre partly excavated in the rock, a mausoleum, odeum, temples, a church, a citadel, and other public buildings, but they date from the Roman period, and no traces have yet been discovered of the presence of the Israelites. The whole place is now desolate, and only visited by wandering Bedouin with their flocks, recalling the prophecy of Ezekiel, "I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching-place for flocks" (25:5). Rabbah is the only city of the Ammonites mentioned in the Bible, and its chief interest is derived from the long siege which it sustained during the reign of David; at the end, apparently, of about two years the lower town was taken by Joab; but the citadel remained, and the honor of its capture was reserved for David himself. The importance attached to the operations against Rabbah is attested by the unusual fact of the presence of the ark with the army, and the length of the siege shows that it must have been a place of very great strength. During the period between the Old and New Testaments the town became of great importance, and, as we gather from Josephus, was the scene of several contests. To the southwest of Amman (Rabbath-Ammon) is Hesban (Heshbon), the royal city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, standing on a hill which rises above the general level of the plateau. The existing ruins are of little interest, but there are numerous cisterns and a large reservoir, which may call to mind the passage in the Song of Solomon, "Thine eyes are like the fish-pools in Heshbon." Wilson. 8. Prophecies against Moab (Num. 24:17; Isa. 11:14; 15; 16; Jer. 48; Amos 2:1-3; Zeph. 2:8-11. Moab lay south of Ammon. Akin to Ammon, this people shared Ammon's implacable hostility to the children of Israel. And Seir. Seir was close to Moab, and therefore mentioned together, as in De. 2:29. Jerome tells us that the LXX omitted the word Seir, feeling probably that the mention of Edom was here out of place. But Edom is identified with Mount Seir in chap. 35, and it is therefore more probable that Seir is here coupled with Moab because, being near neighbors closely leagued together, they expressed a common exultation at Jerusalem's fall. 10. With the Ammonites. In addition to the Ammonites. (See verse 4.) The Bedouins were not to be conquerors, but the land, having been laid waste by Chaldean armies, was to remain unoccupied except by nomadic hordes. Ammon and Moab, of common origin, whose lands had so often been interchanged, shall now share a common ruin. To the men of the East shall Moab with Ammon be given, that Ammon may be remembered no more, and judgment be executed on Moab. 1-7. As the Egyptians had often proved false friends, so the Philistines had always been sworn enemies to the Israel of God and the more dangerous and vexatious for their being such near neighbors to them. They were considerably humbled in David's time, but, it seems, they had got head again, and were a considerable people till Nebuchadnezzar cut them off with their neighbors, which is the event here foretold. The date of this prophecy is observable; it was before Pharaoh smote Gaza; when this blow was given to Gaza by the king of Egypt is not certain, whether in his expedition against Carchemish, or in his return thence, after he had slain Josiah, or when he afterward came with design to relieve Jerusalem; but this is mentioned here to show that this word of the Lord came to Jeremiah against the Philistines when they were in their full strength and lustre, themselves and their cities in good condition. H. 1. The historical allusion, "Before Pharaoh smote Gaza," has been explained by critics variously. Among these various opinions, none seems to me more probable than that of Rosenmüller, who thinks it was Pharaoh-necho, and that the time was before his battle with Josiah at Meggido (2 K. 23:29), and perhaps when on his way from Egypt to the Euphrates. At this time the Chaldean power had not yet risen to formidable proportions. Carchemish fell into the hands of this same Necho soon afterward, and no human sagacity could foresee that the Chaldeans from the north country would ever overpower and desolate the cities of the Philistines. Their danger seemed to lie in the opposite direction—i.e., from Egypt on the south. These circumstances suggest a pertinent reason for this note as to the point of time before which the prophecy was revealed. 2,3. A flood of waters, coming down with the power of a deluge, is a common and pertinent figure for an invading and conquering army. Here it refers to the Chaldeans. So terrible will be the tramp of his cavalry and the thunder of his chariots, that, under the general consternation, fathers in their flight will not look back after their children, being consciously too feeble to afford them any protection or help. H. C. 4. To cut off from Tyrus and Zidon. The siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, which lasted thirteen years, was an action famous in the history of that age. (See Ezek. 27, 28.) Zidon partook of the same fate as Tyre, both in prosperity and in adversity. (See Isa. 23 : 2, 4.) And her destruction is joined with that of Tyre by Ezekiel (chap. 28). W. Lowth. The remnant of the country of Caphtor. The Caphtorim, as well as the Philistim, are said to have been descended from Mizraim, the father of the Egyptians. (See Gen. 10 : 14.) They expelled the Avim from that part of Philistia which is contiguous to Gaza, and fixed themselves there (De. 2 : 23) ; on which account the country was afterward called " the country of Caphtor." " The remnant of the country of Caphtor" is therefore to be understood of the few that remained out of a great number that formerly dwelt in that part of Philistia. Blayney. 5. Gaza is one of the oldest cities known to history. It appears (Gen. 10 : 19) as one of the border cities of the Canaanites ; it is standing to-day with more population than Jerusalem. It has a record in New Testament history (Acts 8 : 26) ; it figured conspicuously during the crusades ; and since the days of Abraham has never ceased to be a city of very considerable strength and importance. Ashkelon, the most western among the great cities of the Philistines, close on the sea-coast, is spoken of as suffering severely, " being cut off." Little of it remains to this day, though its site is known with reasonable certainty. It has long since " been cut off" as to any political power or importance. 6,7. This bold apostrophe to the sword of the Lord is exquisitely beautiful. The prophet sees in the future a series of fearful devastations coming on those doomed cities of the Philistines ; his poetic genius conceives of the Lord's instrument as itself living, conscious and responsible, and he cries out, " O thou sword of the Lord, why not desist from that work of slaughter ? How long ere thou wilt rest ? Betake thyself to thy scabbard, rest, and be still." Then the spirit of prophecy shuts off the possibility of this, and the prophet gives us his outlook into the future in these expressive words, " How can it rest, seeing the Lord hath given it a commission against Ashkelon and the cities along the seashore ? It must execute the will of God !" The poetic beauty and indeed the moral power of these verses have rarely been surpassed by any of the old Hebrew prophets. H. C. At first the answer of the prophet appears little other than a repetition of the Philistines' thought ; but it is far more. This is not blind fate, but judgment strictly meted out and determined. It declares, in effect, that the wicked cannot be suffered to remain on the earth. They must be subjects of continual and exterminating judgment. There is no escape so long as they remain impenitent and at a distance from Him. Is it contradictory, then, for Zechariah to prophesy the conversion of the Philistines ? The rightful end of judgment is mercy. The sinner is driven into the arms of the Divine love. Our helplessness prepares for the reception of His salvation. M. 12. Prophecies against Edom: Num. 24: 18, 19; Isa. 11: 14; Jer. 49: 7-22, where see notes; Ezek. 35; Joel 3: 19; Amos 1: 11, 12; Obadiah. Edom, so named from Esau, consisted of various tribes enumerated in Gen. 36. The Edomites became a powerful nation before the Israelites came out of Egypt. They were ruled over by kings till David conquered them. They remained subject to the kingdom of Judah till the reign of Joram, when they rebelled and were not again subdued (2 K. 8: 20). Edom took active part against Jerusalem at the time of its siege and destruction. After this they captured many cities in the south of Palestine, and gave the name to Idumea. These Idumeans were conquered by John Hyrcanus, when many of them adopted the religion of the Jews. In later times the Idumean Herod became king of Palestine as a Jew. B. C. Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah. The Idumeans, being the posterity of Esau, bore an ancient grudge against the Jews on account of their ancestor's losing his right of primogeniture, and the subduing of Edom by David afterward (2 Sam. 8: 14). Upon both these accounts they took all opportunities of venting their spite toward the Jewish nation particularly. (See 2 Chron. 28: 17.) The ill-will they showed them in the time of their captivity was very remarkable, as appears by those pathetical words of Ps. 137: 7, "Remember the children of Edom, O Lord, in the day of Jerusalem, how they said, Down with it, down with it, even to the ground." W. Lowth. 12,13. Special stress is laid on the spirit of retaliation and revenge manifest against Israel in Edom. Of all the nations adjacent to Israel, none seem to have cherished a deeper animosity or a meander revenge than the descendants of Esau. It was a national spirit, and was specially offensive to God because of their early relationship. Moreover as a Great Father of nations, bound to promote fraternal relations between them, He could not but frown on this unnatural, supremely selfish and hateful spirit. Let it stand and be understood as God's rebuke against this spirit, whether in nations, families, or individuals. H. C. 15-17. Prophecies against the Philistines: Isa. 11: 14; 14: 29-32; Jer. 47; Joel 3: 4; Amos 1: 6-8; Zeph. 2: 4-7. The Philistines occupying lands to the south of Judah were a Hamite race (Gen. 10: 14), but of a different branch from the Canaanites. They were a thorn in the side of the chosen people throughout. In the time of the judges they oppressed Israel (Judges 10: 6, 7). Repeatedly defeated by Samson, they again got head; they overthrew Israel in the time of Eli, slew his sons, and carried off the ark of God. Held in check by Samuel, they had Israel in subjection in the time of Saul, though not without checks and disasters. At Saul's death they were predominant in the south, but David conquered and made them tributaries. We read of their defeats by Jehoshaphat and Uzziah, and of their conquests in the time of Jehoram, showing that they were still formidable neighbors. In the reign of Ahaz they again waxed strong, but were checked by Hezekiah; in the evil days that followed they became again very powerful, and joined in attacking Jerusalem in the day of her trouble. They were much reduced by the Assyrians (Isa. 14: 31) and Egyptians (Jer. 47), before the time of this prophecy, but further destruction came upon them in the general ruin of the inhabitants of Canaan, which commenced with the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. B. C. The fatal sin of the Philistines also was their spirit of revenge, animosity, and proud disdain toward Israel. They occupied the country of the sea coast—i.e., along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. In the fulfilment of this prophecy the Lord's vengeance was visited upon them first by the hands of the Chaldeans. From this devastation they never rose again to power. H. C. 26: 1 AND it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gate of the peoples; she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste: therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock. She shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord 6 GOD: and she shall become a spoil to the nations. And her daughters which are in the field 7 shall be slain with the sword: and they shall know that I am the LORD. For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and a company, and 8 much people. He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make forts against thee, and cast up a mount against thee, and raise up the buckler against thee. 9 And he shall set his battering engines against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break 10 down thy towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wagons, and of the chariots, when 11 he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people with the 12 sword, and the pillars of thy strength shall go down to the ground. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy 13 dust in the midst of the waters. And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease: and the 14 sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. And I will make thee a bare rock: thou shalt be a place for the spreading of nets; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord God. 15 Thus saith the Lord God to Tyre: Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when 16 the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee? Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and strip off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the 17 ground, and shall tremble every moment, and be astonished at thee. And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, 18 which caused their terror to be on all that haunt it! Now shall the isles tremble in the day 19 of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be dismayed at thy departure. For thus saith the Lord God: When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not in- habited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and the great waters shall cover thee; 20 then will I bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, to the people of old time, and will make thee to dwell in the nether parts of the earth, in the places that are desolate 21 of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I will set glory in the land of the living: I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God. 27:1, 2 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, And thou, son of man, take 3 up a lamentation for Tyre; and say unto Tyre, O thou that dwellest at the entry of the sea, which art the merchant of the peoples unto many isles, thus saith the Lord God: Thou, O 4 Tyre, hast said, I am perfect in beauty. Thy borders are in the heart of the seas, thy build- 5 ers have perfected thy beauty. They have made all thy planks of fir trees from Senir: 6 they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make a mast for thee. Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; they have made thy benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood, from the 7 isles of Kittim. Of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was thy sail, that it might 8 be to thee for an ensign; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was thine awning. The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy towers: thy wise men, O Tyre, were in thee, they 9 were thy pilots. The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: 10 all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise. Persia and Lud and Put were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in 11 thee; they set forth thy comeliness. The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadim were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon 12 thy walls round about; they have perfected thy beauty. Tarshish was thy merchant by rea- son of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded for 13 thy wares. Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy traffickers: they traded the persons 14 of men and vessels of brass for thy merchandise. They of the house of Togarmah traded 15 for thy wares with horses and war-horses and mules. The men of Dedan were thy traffick- ers: many isles were the mart of thine hand: they brought thee in exchange horns of ivory 16 and ebony. Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of thy handyworks: they traded for thy wares with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, 17 and rubies. Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traffickers: they traded for thy 18 merchandise wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm. Damascus was thy merchant for the multitude of thy handyworks, by reason of the multitude of all kinds 19 of riches; with the wine of Helbon, and white wool. Vedan and Javan traded with yarn 20 for thy wares: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were among thy merchandise. Dedan was 21 thy trafficker in precious cloths for riding. Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants of thy hand; in lambs, and rams, and goats, in these were they thy merchants. 22 The traffickers of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy traffickers: they traded for thy wares 23 with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold. Haran and Caneh and Eden, 24 the traffickers of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad, were thy traffickers. These were thy traffick- ers in choice wares, in wrappings of blue and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, 25 bound with cords and made of cedar, among thy merchandise. The ships of Tarshish were thy caravans for thy merchandise: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the 26 heart of the seas. Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath 27 broken thee in the heart of the seas. Thy riches, and thy wares, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, with all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the 28 heart of the seas in the day of thy ruin. At the sound of the cry of thy pilots the suburbs 29 shall shake. And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall 30 come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land, and shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall 31 wallow themselves in the ashes: and they shall make themselves bald for thee, and gird them 32 with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning. And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, Who 33 is there like Tyre, like her that is brought to silence in the midst of the sea? When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many peoples; thou didst enrich the kings of the 34 earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise. In the time that thou wast broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all thy company did fall 35 in the midst of thee. All the inhabitants of the isles are astonished at thee, and their kings 36 are horribly afraid, they are troubled in their countenance. The merchants among the peoples hiss at thee; thou art become a terror, and thou shalt never be any more. 28: 1, 2 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord God: Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art man, and not 3 God, though thou didst set thine heart as the heart of God: behold, thou art wiser than 4 Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: by thy wisdom and by thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: 5 by thy great wisdom and by thy traffic hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because thou hast set thine 6 heart as the heart of God; therefore behold, I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they 7 shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit; and thou shalt die the 8 deaths of them that are slain, in the heart of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that 9 slayeth thee, I am God? but thou art man, and not God, in the hand of him that woundeth 10 thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. 11,12. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God: Thou sealest up the 13 sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou wast in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sarillus, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was in thee; in the day that thou wast created they were prepared. Thou wast the anointed cherub that covereth: and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till unrighteousness was 16 found in thee. By the multitude of thy traffic they filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and 17 I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I have cast thee to the ground, I have laid thee before kings, that they may behold 18 thee. By the multitude of thine iniquities, in the unrighteousness of thy traffic, thou hast profaned thy sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of thee, it hath devoured thee, and I have turned thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them 19 that behold thee. All they that know thee among the peoples shall be astonished at thee: thou art become a terror, and thou shalt never be any more. 20,21. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Zidon, 22 and prophesy against it, and say, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the LORD, 23 when I shall have executed judgements in her, and shall be sanctified in her. For I will send into her pestilence and blood in her streets; and the wounded shall fall in the midst of her, with the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 24 And there shall be no more a pricking briar unto the house of Israel, nor a grieving thorn of any that are round about them, that did despite unto them; and they shall know that I am the Lord God. 25. Thus saith the Lord God: When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the nations, 26 then shall they dwell in their own land which I gave to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell securely therein; yea, they shall build houses, and plant vineyards, and shall dwell securely; when I have executed judgements upon all those that do them despite round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God. It is the common doctrine of the Hebrew prophets that Jehovah rules all lands, and that He will chastise the heathen. The nations denounced most at length by Ezekiel are Tyre and Egypt. The discourse upon Tyre affords the prophet another extraordinary opportunity for heaping up particulars. Tyre is the commercial metropolis of the time. She is the queen of the seas. Ballantine. Prophecies against Tyre: Joel 3:4; Amos 1:9, 10; Isa. 23, where see notes. Tyre is mentioned in Josh. 19:29 as a strong city; Isaiah called it the daughter of Sidon (Isa. 23:12); Josephus says that it was built two hundred and forty years before the Temple. Josephus's date is not correct, but may mark the time of the commencement of Tyre's special greatness. B. C. From Ezekiel's standpoint of view at Babylon, the great nations of the west and southwest were Tyre and Egypt—Tyre, the mistress of the seas, the great emporium of commerce for the civilized world of that age; and Egypt, then as through all ancient time, the powerful sovereignty of Northeastern Africa, sitting upon her fertile Nile, and enjoying a civilization even at that time hoary with the lapse of centuries. Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the Philistines were subordinate powers, closely contiguous to Palestine indeed, but far less formidable to the great central power at Babylon. Hence a very few words only sufficed to note their fortunes and their fall; while the prophecies against Tyre and Egypt are expanded with very considerable detail—three chapters being devoted to Tyre and four to Egypt. Territorially Tyre had little more than a foothold upon the soil of Western Asia. The city was the empire; but that city, built partly on the main-land yet mostly on a small island which it completely covered, was exceedingly strong by its maritime position; strong by its absolute control over the waters which embosomed it; strong in its vast wealth and consequent ability to hire soldiers and maintain a large army without drawing upon its own population. It must have been strong also through its commercial and intimate relations—e.g., with Carthage, a colony of its own citizens, and with Tartessus in Spain, another of its great trading outposts. Convincing proof of the great strength of Tyre lies in the fact that she withstood the assaults of Nebuchadnezzar during a siege of thirteen years. H. C. This prophecy respects the same siege of Tyre which is foretold in the 47th chapter of Jeremiah. The profane authors extant in the time of Jerome said nothing of this siege; but the ancient writers of the Phœnician history, which had been read by Josephus, related that Nebuchadnezzar had besieged Tyre in the reign of King Ithobal, and that the siege had lasted thirteen years. Berosus and the Phœnician history also stated that the king of Chaldea had subdued Phœnicia and Syria; and lastly, Philostratus had spoken of this siege by Nebuchadnezzar. The sole object of this and the two following chapters is the destruction of the city and of the kingdom of Tyre. Calmet. When we consider the extent and effects of the Phœnician commerce, the scanty information concerning it, which we receive from ancient writers, must on a first view appear surprising. But when we recollect that all the Greek historians, Herodotus excepted, who give any account of the Phœnicians, published their works long after the destruction of Tyre by Alexander the Great, we shall cease to wonder at their not having entered into minute details with respect to a trade which was then removed to new seats, and carried on in other channels. But the power and opulence of Tyre, in the prosperous age of its commerce, must have attracted general attention. In this and the two following chapters of Ezekiel, who flourished two hundred and sixty years before the fall of Tyre, there is the most particular account of the nature and variety of its commercial transactions that is to be found in any ancient writer, and which conveys at the same time a magnificent idea of the extensive power of that State. Dr. Robertson. 1. The eleventh year mentioned here is the very year of the taking of Jerusalem. It was the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, and of the captivity of Jehoiachin. The particular month is not mentioned. W. Lowth. Comparing this date with that of the fall of Jerusalem, as in Jer. 42:6 and 39:2, it will be seen that this was within the same year. Here the month is not given; yet partly for this reason it is supposed to have been the first, since, if it had been any other, the month would have been named. Jerusalem was "broken up" and burned in the fourth month and ninth day in the same year. H. C. 2. Ezekiel here begins his prophecy against the Tyrians with a declaration that it was occasioned by their insulting over the Jews upon the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The prophets Joel and Amos had before denounced the Divine judgments upon the Tyrians for their wickedness in general, and in particular for their cruelty to the children of Israel, and for buying and selling them like cattle in the markets (Joel 3:5, etc.; Amos 1:9). And the Psalmist reckons them among the most inveterate and implacable enemies of the Jewish name and nation (Ps. 83:6, 7). Bp. Newton. I shall be replenished. As Tyre was a noted market for all sorts of trade, so when Jerusalem was taken and sacked, the spoil of the city was carried thither for sale; and probably several of the inhabitants, being made captives, were sold there for slaves—a traffic the Tyrians dealt in very much (chap. 27:13). This interpretation may be confirmed by comparing it with Joel 3:4, 5, 6, where the prophet upbraids the Tyrians for making merchandise both of the persons and substance of the Jews, when they came into their hands. To the same purpose we read (1 Mac. 3:41) that when Lysias came with great forces to subdue the Jews, the merchants of the country took silver and gold and came into the camp to buy the children of Israel for slaves. W. Lowth. 3-6. God would bring up many nations against her, even as the great sea heaves up its mighty waves against the bulwarks that feeble men rear. This maritime figure is entirely in place in a prophecy against Tyre. The island city was built on the top of a huge rock. When the city became utterly desolate, and all its vast walls, forts and structures were demolished, the surface of this rock was laid bare, and became precisely a place for fishermen to spread and dry their nets. This prophecy has long since been literally fulfilled. Her great wealth, accumulated during ages of lucrative commerce, became a spoil to the nations. H. C. 4,5,12. The prophecies of Ezekiel seem on the spot like histories of Tyre. Its capture by Alexander the Great exhausted to the letter these inspired predictions. The first fulfilment may have been complete centuries ago. Tyre may have arisen again and again from her ruins, and may rise a fifth time. The Phoenician power which Isaiah and Ezekiel denounced has long since perished utterly; and though the later Tyres have had no connection save a geographical one, yet their successive doom, and the wretched present, at least add force and power to the scriptural warning. Tristram. 5. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets. Passing by Tyre for curiosity only, I came to be a mournful witness of the truth of that prophecy "that Tyre, the queen of nations, should be a rock for fishers to dry their nets on;" two wretched fishermen with miserable nets had just given over their occupation. Bruce.—On the north side of Tyre there is an old Turkish ungarrisoned castle; besides which you see nothing here but a mere Babel of broken walls, pillars, vaults, etc., there being not so much as one entire house left. Its present inhabitants are only a few wretches harboring themselves in the vaults, and subsisting themselves chiefly upon fishing, who seem to be preserved in this place by Divine providence, as a visible argument how God has fulfilled His word concerning Tyre. Maundrell.—The Jesuit Hadrianus Parvillerias resided ten years in Syria; and Huctius heard him say that when he approached the ruins of Tyre and beheld the rocks stretched forth to the sea, and the great stones scattered up and down on the shore, made clean and smooth by the sun, waves and winds, and useful only for the drying of fishermen's nets, many of which happened at the time to be spread on them, it brought to his memory this prophecy. Bp. Newton. 7-12. This passage predicts the celebrated siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, which occurred not long after. Josephus refers to it in two distinct passages (Ant. 10:11:1, and against Apion 1:21); in the former, citing Philostratus as saying that "this king besieged Tyre thirteen years while Ethbaal reigned at Tyre;" and in the latter, quoting in general from the records of the Phoenicians to the same effect. Precisely how this siege of Tyre terminated, whether with its absolute subjugation, or by capitulation, or by the withdrawal of the besiegers, is still in dispute among antiquarians. The testimony of Jerome, in his commentary on Ezek. 29:8, is quite explicit to the point that Nebuchadnezzar did capture the city, but found nothing of any account within it, because the Tyrians had previously removed everything valuable in their ships. H. C. 7-18. It is evident, from the entire character of the description, that the city attacked is—mainly, at any rate—not the island Tyre, but the ancient city upon the continent, Palætyus, as the Greeks called it, which occupied a position directly opposite to the island, upon the sea-shore. Nebuchadrezzar, as he is correctly named, fully established in his empire, not merely a "king of Babylon," but a "king of kings," comes with such an army as Polyhistor described him as bringing against Judea, to attack the Phoenician town. He brings "horses and chariots, and horsemen and companies, and much people." He proceeds to invest the city after the fashion commonly adopted by the Assyrian monarchs, and inherited from them by the Babylonians. Having constructed a movable fort or tower, such as we see in the Assyrian bas-reliefs, he brings it against the walls, while at the same time he "raises a mount" against them, from which to work his engines and shoot his arrows with the better effect. His men "lift up the buckler," as the Assyrians do while they mine the walls or fire the gates; while his "engines" ply their strokes, and his bravest soldiers, "with axes," or rather "swords"—often used by the Assyrians for the purpose—seek to "break down the towers." His efforts are successful, and a breach is made; the horsemen and chariots, as well as the footmen, enter the town; there is the usual carnage and plundering that accompany the storming of a stronghold; and, finally, there is a destruction or dismantling of the place, more or less complete. It is remarkable that the siege and capture of the island city obtain no distinct mention. Some have supposed that it was not taken; but this is scarcely compatible with the words of the "Lament for Tyre," or with the "isles shaking at the sound of her fall" (verses 15, 18). Probably the two cities, island and inland, were so bound together that the conquest of the one involved the surrender of the other. G. R. 13,14. Her "songs" and "harps" indicate that music was in a somewhat advanced stage of cultivation. "Thou shalt be built no more"—i.e., with like magnificence and strength. The city rose again—to be besieged more than two centuries later by Alexander—after which it never regained its independence nor its former magnificence. H. C. 14. Be built no more. This is true of Old Tyre; it has been built no more. New Tyre, taken by Alexander, was built upon an island. Nebuchadnezzar quite destroyed Old Tyre, and the ruins were made use of by Alexander to effect the destruction of New Tyre. The prophecy was also fulfilled upon New Tyre, whose inhabitants were quite destroyed by Alexander when he took the city, and afterward the city itself became desolate. W. Louth. 15-18. The term "isles," as usual, stands for all maritime countries reached by sea, and here has special reference to Carthage, Tartessus, and all those regions of Northern Africa and Southern Europe which had sustained close commercial relations with Tyre. At the sound of her fall those isles would shake; their princes would come down from their thrones, lay off their robes, and put on trembling, and sit on the ground as men brought down, despite of all their honor, to their mother dust! H. C. 16, 17. Then all the princes of the sea, etc. All the princes and rich merchants of Sidon, Carthage and other maritime cities that maintained a trade with Tyre, and got great wealth by that means; they whose "merchants are princes," as Issiah speaks of the merchants of Tyre (chap. 23: 8); they shall express a deep sense and concern for her misfortunes. (Cf. chaps. 27: 30-32; 32: 10.) W. Louth.—The commerce of Tyre, extended from Abyssinia and Arabia on the south, to Armenia and Georgia on the north, and from the frontiers of India to the utmost islands of Greece, and, indeed, far beyond both, came to this little spot—the caravans by land and the ships by sea—a commerce rarely exceeded in extent and variety—a concentration of wealth and luxury which few cities of any age or country could boast. No doubt her merchants were princes, and her traffickers the honorable men of the earth. How impressive the change! Well might the isles shake at the sound of her fall. Her present utter prostration and poverty are abundantly sufficient to meet the demands of prophecy, even without reference to continental Tyre, which has been literally wiped off the map of the earth. She has sunk down to the dust beneath the heavy "burden" of prophecy; nor can she ever recover her ancient glory without a succession of mighty physical, moral and political miracles, such as the world has never seen, and which we have no reason to expect. The Hebrew historians, prophets and poets constantly allude to her power, wealth, luxury and vices, and Ezekiel seems to tax the entire geography of the known world to set forth the extent of her commerce and the multitude of her riches. It would take a volume to trace the varied fortunes of Tyre through Egyptian, Chaldean, Macedonian, Roman, Saracenic, Frank and Turkish dynasties, down to the present wretched representative of so much greatness and glory. With but few exceptions, it is now a cluster of miserable huts, inhabited by about thirty-five hundred impoverished Metawelles and Arab Christians, destitute alike of education, of arts, and of enterprise, carrying on with Egypt a small trade in tobacco from the neighboring hills, and of lava mill-stones from the Hauran. This is a sorry schedule for the name of Tyre, but it is about about all she can exhibit. W. M. T. 19-21. The idea is that Tyre goes down to the under-world, to live no more among the nations of this fair earth, while the Lord will raise up Judah and make her again the glory of all lands. This conception of the grave or pit as an under-world, where the ancient dead have their long abode, is applied here beautifully to cities and kingdoms which go down to ruin to rise no more. Over against this doom of Tyre, thus perished and gone, never to rise in her glory again, the Lord promises to make the land of His own people Israel once more the glory of the earth. H. C. 20. Compare Isa. 14: 9, where Babylon, represented by her king, is depicted as going down to join in Hades the departed monarchs of old time. It is remarkable that the image which is used by Isaiah and Jeremiah of Babylon is by Ezekiel applied to Tyre, as if to show that Tyre and Babylon alike represent the world-power, and so in the Apocalypse Babylon is the kingdom of Antichrist. Here the prophet unites the figure with that of a desolate and uninhabited city. I shall set glory in the land of the living. The land of the living is the land of the true God, as opposed to the land of the dead, to which is gathered the glory of the world. Here then, together with the utter ruin of Tyre, rises the vision of renewed glory to Jerusalem. The coming Messiah is thus prophetically pointed out. The overthrow of God's enemies shall be accompanied by the establishment of His true kingdom. Chap. 27. The dirge of Tyre. Tyre is compared to a fair vessel, to whose equipment the various nations of the world contribute their stores, launching forth in majesty, to be wrecked and to perish. The nations enumerated point out Tyre as the centre of commerce between the eastern and western world. This position, occupied for a short time by Jerusalem, was long maintained by Tyre, till, after successive sieges, the erection of Alexandria to supplant her in this traffic completed the ruin which war had begun. This dirge is grounded upon the dirge of Babylon (Isa. 14: 3-21); the connection shows that in each case the city named represents the world-power antagonistic to God. B. C. This remarkable chapter is a sort of inventory of the wealth, greatness and glory of ancient Tyre, showing the sources whence she drew her materials and men for the commerce and the carrying trade of the world. No ancient historian has ever approximated toward the statement so full and complete as this of the business relations which existed in that age among the nations of the world. Here is Tyre, the commercial centre of the world, reaching forth her arms in every direction to make every land contribute its best products in men, in wisdom, martial prowess, nautical skill, and in every sort of material to stock her markets, or to minister to her facilities for transportation. It is a wonderful description; yet it stands here, not to give us the barren facts of so much commerce and so much splendor in the arts, but to show how much human greatness and glory went down in one fearful fall when the Almighty arose in His wrath to smite her bulwarks and sink all her glory in the depths of ruin. By how much the more sublime the height of her glory, by so much the more astounding was the crash of her fall! The revelator John had his eye on this chapter in his magnificent description of the fall of Babylon the Great (Rev. 18). H. C. Tyre itself, Tzôr of the Hebrew, Sur of the modern Arabs, signifying "rock," is first mentioned in Scripture among the cities of the district of Asher, "the strong city Tyre," but does not occur again till the time of David. It was up to this period probably the dependent, as it was certainly the daughter city of Zidon. It was originally a rocky islet, separated from the main-land, on which also stood another city, called Palætyros, or Old Tyre. The main city continued thus insular until united to the mainland by a mole, by Alexander the Great. Tyre scarcely occurs again in Bible history as distinct from Zidon, till the times of the later prophets, when the relations of the kingdoms had much changed (Joel 3; Amos 1), when we find Tyre denounced for its cruel trade in Hebrew captives to the neighboring nations and to the Greeks. After the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel by Assyria, Shalmaneser vainly attempted the siege of Tyre, then the chief city of Phœnicia, and blockaded it for five years. This is probably referred to by Isaiah (chap. 23). It soon recovered its prosperity, until Nebuchadnezzar again laid siege to it. It resisted his arms for the long space of thirteen years, during which it was blockaded by land. As Ezekiel says (29: 18), "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus." Yet it does not clearly appear that he actually stormed it. The passage in Ezekiel (29: 18-20) would seem rather to imply the contrary. It seems probable that without an actual capitulation Tyre submitted to the supremacy of Babylon, and thus purchased her commercial freedom. The 27th chapter of Ezekiel presents a wonderful picture of the vast trade, manufactures and commercial connection of Tyre, embracing every quarter of the then known world, and every commodity which wealth and luxury could command. Her trade extended from Persia, and perhaps India, to Spain: her mercenaries and mechanics were drawn alike from the three continents. Her merchandise embraced all the then known metals; gold from India; silver, iron, lead and tin from Spain; copper from Cyprus; wheat and cereals, honey, oil and balm from Palestine; wools from Arabia; ivory and ebony from the far East; linen fabrics from Egypt; dyes from Greece; wines from Syria, and every kind of jewelry from Damascus. Tyre submitted on easy terms to the Persian superiority, and assisted in building the second Temple, as it had the first (Ezra 3:7). After a practical independence of two hundred years, Tyre alone of the Phoenician cities refused submission to the third Greek empire, and cost Alexander the Great a siege of seven months before he took it, which he only accomplished by making a causeway from the main-land. He sold thirty thousand of the free women and children as slaves, and slaughtered its defenders. The Romans gave Tyre municipal privileges, and it continued to flourish, and escaped destruction at the hands of the Mohammedan invaders on condition of its submission to the conquerors. It was taken by the Crusaders in A.D. 1124, and William of Tyre, the celebrated historian and a Frenchman, became its bishop. In A.D. 1291 it surrendered to the Saracens, and has ever since continued to decline. A century ago it had fallen so low that it contained but about ten fishermen, its only inhabitants; but has lately risen to a comparatively flourishing town of about four thousand inhabitants. At present a desolate ridge of sand connects Tyre with the broad plain beyond, heaped by the sea-drift upon the causeway which Alexander made to connect the island with the main-land. Though Tyre has risen again within a century, yet the fifth and squalor of the little towns are unsurpassed in Syria. Scanty bazaars, about five feet wide, wattled over at intervals with decayed sticks and palm leaves; dilapidated, windowless hovels, raised among huge fragments of polished granite and porphyry columns prostrate in rubbish—such is modern Tyre. For half a mile the sea flows to the depth of a foot or two over flat rocks, covered by one mass of broken columns, leaning or prostrate, in bewildering confusion, as if pitched pell-mell into the water. This is insular Tyre, "the waters have covered her." "She is a place for fishermen to spread their nets on." The columns, blackened by the salt water, appear to have been smooth, and not fluted, but they are now fretted and perforated by ages of exposure to storm and tempest. They are still quite sufficient to attest the grandeur of the later or Roman Tyre, to which, doubtless, they belong. Tristram. 3. "At the entry of the sea." Tyre was the commercial port for the whole eastern shore of the Mediterranean. This vast body of water was practically in those times what its name indicates, the midland sea of the nations, begirt on every side with the civilization, the industry, and the wealth of the known world. The word rendered "merchant" implies that she had the carrying trade of the world, transporting the commodities of the great East to the West, and of the great West to the East. H. C. Its geographic position of necessity made it the chief point of connection, commercially and otherwise, between the Eastern and the Western world. That position also constrained it to become a manufacturing and maritime rather than an agricultural State. Under such conditions it rose from century to century to a higher point of culture, wealth and influence than it was possible for either the nomadic peoples of Central Asia or the secluded States of Southern Europe to attain. Its commerce far surpassed that of any contemporaneous power, extending to India on the east, and to Spain, and possibly Gaul and Britain, on the west. Its manufactures of glass, of purple cloths, and other articles both useful and elegant, commanded the patronage of the known world. It became the prolific mother of numerous colonies in the East, in Cyprus and Sicily, and along both the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean as far as Carthage and Tarshish. In literature, in art, and other kindred elements of a high civilization, it attained like eminence, and gained for itself a commanding influence among the peoples and nations of that early day. E. D. Morris. 10,11. The prophet here leaves the allegory of the ship to describe the military resources of the Tyrians. We note that their armies were composed of mercenary soldiers, as was the case with Carthage, and is common with all merchant States, with whom money is more plentiful than men. 10. Persia (Heb. Pâras). The name of this people does not occur in the more ancient books of the Old Testament. Their place is occupied by the Elamites; but in the books of the Exile and after the Exile it is frequent (Ezek. 38:5; 2 Chron. 36:20, 22; Ezra 4:5; 6:14; Esther 1:3, etc.). This exactly corresponds with the record of history. It was just at the time that Ezekiel wrote that the rude and warlike people of Persia were rising into notice, soon about to seize, under Cyrus, the empire of the Asiatic world. The name Pärsha occurs on the inscription of Behistan. B. C. She hired her soldiers from Persia in the far East; and from Lud and Phut, countries of Northern Africa, lying west of Egypt, descendants of Ham. Shields and helmets were hung up when not in immediate use. These men were perhaps her standing army on garrison duty for home defence. They heightened her splendor ("comeliness"). In verse 11, "Gam-madim" is a common (not a proper) noun, meaning (by etymology) the brave warriors who cut down the enemy as the woodman fells trees. 12-16. "Tarshish," Tartessus in Spain, supplied largely the minerals most used in the arts. So ancient history testifies. The last clause means: they replenished thy markets with these commodities. "Javan," strictly ancient Ionia; "Tubal and Meshech," also countries of Asia Minor, sold slaves in her market. "Togarmah" was a region yet farther north, supposed to be Armenia, peopled with descendants of Gomer through Torgom. They abounded in horses. Dedan on the Persian Gulf, far in the south, is supposed to have been an ancient Phoenician colony. The maritime places adjacent are referred to here as the "many isles" which supplied merchandise to the hand of Tyre. Ivory and ebony were their products. 17,18. Judah and Israel supplied the staple articles of food. The same view as to the nature of the trade between Tyre and Israel appears in the negotiations between Hiram and Solomon (1 K. 5:9-11). Hiram said, "Thou shalt accomplish my desire in giving food for my household." "Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food for his household and twenty measures of pure oil year by year." Damascus was even then celebrated for her manufactures. Her skill in fine cloths and especially in silks has given the term "damasks" an enduring place in human language. 21,22. That herds and flocks were the commodities of Arabia and Kedar is in harmony with all antiquity. Isaiah sang of "the flocks of Kedar" (chap. 60:7), and in the same connection, of "the gold and incense of Sheba." H. C. 25. The metaphor of the ship is here resumed. The break should be at the 25th, not at the 26th verse. The 25th verse represents the good ship Tyre, sailing in all her glory, in order to introduce by way of contrast her wreck and ruin. B. C. 26,27. Here the discourse turns from her glory and greatness to her fall. It was as if her rowers had brought her into great waters, to be sunk there with all her wealth by the mighty east winds of that inland sea. Then by how much the greater her freight of wealth, merchandise, mariners, mercenary soldiers, men of all business and population of every sort; by so much the more terrible the fearful fall that would engulf her in the mighty deep to rise no more! H. C. 29. As Tyre is figured by a large vessel, so are the subject States by smaller boats which accompany the great ship. These, terrified by the storm, approach the land, and their crews disembark to gaze in consternation on the wreck of their mistress. We are not to suppose that the sailors leave the ship which represents Tyre itself. That ship is hopelessly swallowed up, crew and all, in the midst of the sea. The small crafts escape to shore. Häcernick. 28-32. This is the mourning and the wailing over her fall. The prophet groups together all the usual Oriental symbols and modes of expressing the most intense grief. The last clause of verse 32 is specially expressive, where instead of, "like the destroyed," etc., I would read, "as one hushed to dead silence in the midst of the sea," in contrast with the hum and noise of her busy commerce and the myriad sounds of a great city of trade. H. C. 35. The dirge of the neighbors ends with verse 34; but the news of Tyre's ruin shall reach farther, to distant isles, to merchant cities who trade with her. These, in their selfish love of gain, shall rejoice over her who was once paramount over them, hissing out against her not lamentations, like her neighbors, but curses and scorn. Thou shalt be a terror, and shalt never be any more. Nearly the same words which the prophet spoke (26:21) are now put in the mouth of exulting foes. B. C. 33-36. Once so great, enriching kings from thy stores of wealth; now broken, impoverished; the isles astonished at thy fall; the kings of the earth appalled before such retribution, and the merchants of the earth, once joyous in thy traffic, now hissing contemptuously over thy ruin—what a scene is this! How fraught with impressive lessons on the frailty of human wealth and grandeur, and the folly of human pride! No securities are too substantial to be utterly broken down. No guarantee for the permanence of wealth and glory will stand when God arises to call men to their moral account! H. C. No one can visit Tyre without being reminded at every step of the prophecies uttered against the city by the Hebrew prophets, and especially by Ezekiel—her walls are “broken down;” her “pleasant houses” destroyed; her stones and timber lay “in the midst of the water;” it is a place “for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea;” and we may well exclaim with Ezekiel, “What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?” or, “How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city which wast strong in the sea?” Wilson. There yet remains one solitary specimen of Tyre’s great sea wall, that mighty bulwark which no enemy could overthrow. At the extreme northern end of the island, a stone nearly seventeen feet long and six and a half thick rests just where Tyrian architects placed it thousands of years ago. As in every case that I have examined, the foundation laid for these gigantic blocks is made with stone comparatively small. Should any one ask where are the stones of ancient Tyre—where, at least, the remains of those lofty towers and triple walls which so excited the wonder and admiration of the Crusaders only some seven centuries ago, there is a satisfactory reply. They are found in this depth of ruins, spread over the island, and over the causeway of Alexander. They are found in her choked-up harbor, and at the bottom of her sea. They are at Acre, and Joppa, and Beirût, and in the rubbish of all those cities. In fact, the only wonder is that so much still remains to reveal and confirm the ancient greatness of this Phœnician capital. W. M. Thomson. The blow which levelled insular Tyre was to terminate its maritime glory forever. What uninspired writer could have foreseen such a consequence? It had rallied once, and why not rally again? No! The commerce of the whole world must be changed; and a new port and mart be founded in a land the least accessible to strangers—the most averse to maritime affairs, and which must first be conquered, in order to complete the maritime ruin of Tyre. But all this was done. The erection of the port and city of Alexandria did, in fact, accomplish it; and henceforth the supremacy of Tyre disappeared. Pliny, in describing it a few centuries later, after extolling the ancient renown, observes: “But at this day all the glory and reputation thereof standeth upon the dye of purple and crimson colors.” Tyre continued still to be a frequented port; but its commerce was ever after limited and provincial. Beldam. Since first the dominion of men was asserted over the ocean, three thrones, of mark beyond all others, have been set up on its sands: the thrones of Tyre, Venice and England. Of Tyre, the first of these great powers, only the memory remains; of the second, the ruin; the third, which inherits their greatness, if it forget their example, may be led through prouder eminence to less-pitied destruction. The exaltation, the sin, and the punishment of Tyre have been recorded for us in perhaps the most touching words ever uttered by the prophets of Israel against the cities of the stranger. But we read them as a lovely song, and close our ears to the sternness of their warning; for the very depth of the fall of Tyre has blinded us to its reality, and we forget, as we watch the bleaching of the rocks between the sunshine and the sea, that they were once “as in Eden, the garden of God.” Ruskin. Chap. 28. In this chapter judgments on Tyre continue through verses 1–19; then on Zidon through verses 20–26. The judgments against Tyre are specially directed to “the prince of Tyrus” (verse 2), and to “the king” (verse 12) for his great pride. The king is probably a representative man; first, the embodiment of the nation’s pride; then the symbol of her doom. H. C. 2. I sit in the seat of God. The words are put in the mouth of the speaker to denote his arrogant pride, but the situation of the island-city, full of luxury and beauty, in the midst of the blue water of the Mediterranean, gives force to the expression. So there is a fitness in describing the lot of Tyre as having been in Eden, the garden of God, though the words are mainly chosen to denote the glory of man in his primal innocence. B. C. 3. Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel. In thy own conceit. Bp. Hall.—The fame of Daniel’s wisdom was quickly spread over Chaldea upon his being advanced to several posts of honor and dignity by Nebuchadnezzar. (See Dan. 2:48.) The Phœnicians, of whom the Tyrians were a colony, valued themselves for their wisdom and ingenuity, as being the inventors of navigation, of letters and sciences. (Cf. Zech. 9:2.) W. Lowth. 6–8. These “strangers,” “the terrible of the nations,” are primarily the Chaldeans, whose fearful onslaught and siege of thirteen years’ duration brought death to multitudes of her sons and daughters, and ruin over her fair city. “Against the beauty of thy wisdom” is beauty in the arts, such as manifests peculiar skill, “wisdom.” In verse 8 the sense is, Thou Tyrus, although in the midst of the seas, and therefore supposing thyself safe, shalt yet die the death of those who are pierced through with the sword. H. C. 11-19. The dirge of the prince of Tyre, answering to the dirge of the State. A strong vein of irony runs throughout the passage, but the main purpose is to depict all the glory, real or assumed, of the prince of Tyrus, in order to show how deplorable should be his ruin. B. C. 13. "Eden, the garden of God," man's primeval paradise, fills the conception of beauty. Such in her own esteem was the state of Tyre when she sat proudly, enriched with the wealth of the nations and shining in their concentrated splendor. This accumulation of terms for gems and precious stones shows at least that a great variety of them were well known and much valued as objects of enduring beauty. The general idea is, Thou wast ordained to this wealth and splendor from the day when thou wast founded as a city and nation. Tyre had always been a great mart of commerce and a home for its wealth and glory. 15. Up and down amid these the king of Tyre had walked. In all his ways this monarch had enjoyed the perfection of earthly glory and splendor from the very foundation of the city and kingdom until iniquity was found in him and the hand of the Almighty came down upon him in righteous judgment. 16,17. The language which describes her doom is transferred from the account of her previous splendor. Once a cherub sitting in glory in the holy mount of God amid gems sparkling with lustre; now the Lord will cast her as a profane thing down from His own holy mount and destroy her. Beauty and wisdom had been her snare, and now became her curse. 19. "And never shalt thou be any more." The full measure of this doom did not come with the siege by Nebuchadnezzar, for Tyre recovered in some degree from this first blow. Another blow fell on her from the hand of Alexander, two hundred and fifty years later. Saracen and Turk have finished the work of her destruction. She has come at last to be only a naked rock on which fishermen dry their nets, as the prophet said. 20-24. Zidon, the subject of this prophecy, lying but twenty miles north of Tyre; herself, like Tyre, situated on the Mediterranean, yet never, like Tyre, distinguished for trade, but rather for skill in manufactures, was the more ancient, appearing in Bible history, Gen. 10: 15, 19; Josh. 11: 8; 19: 28—in these two latter cases as "Great Zidon." The references to it in Judges 1: 31 and 18: 28 indicate its military strength. This prophecy against Zidon is brief; does not specify her sins particularly, but declares that God will be glorified and sanctified in His judgments upon her. H. C. 21. Zidon. Prophecy against Zidon: Joel 3: 4. Zidon was more ancient than Tyre, and was the original metropolis of Phœnicia; it is mentioned in Gen. 10: 19, where the name of Tyre does not occur, but in the times of Phœnician greatness it ever played a subordinate part. Only once (Judges 10: 12) do we find the Zidonians in conflict with Israel. The evil which they did was the seducing them to idolatry, as in the case of Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians. This is implied in verse 24, referring, no doubt, to Num. 33: 55 and Josh. 23: 13. The capture of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar increased the importance of Zidon, which was a wealthy and flourishing town when Artaxerxes Ochus destroyed it. It has rallied from time to time, but has never attained to any great consequence, but its ruin has not been so complete as that of Tyre. The terms of this prophecy against Zidon differ widely from those in which Tyre is denounced. "The modern Saida must be considered not so much a direct successor of the ancient Zidon as a small group of fortified houses which especially since the time of the Crusades has collected round the port of the old town. It is made up of ancient débris which are scarcely to be recognized, with the exception of the never-ending shafts of columns built into the walls, the gigantic blocks in the old port, and the cuttings in the rocks. Saida, like Sour, has preserved above ground no other vestige of its Phœnician history. Until the discovery of the great Necropolis situated around Mughâret Abloun, in 1855, it might have been said that the ancient Zidon, the mother in Canaan, had totally disappeared" ("Mission de Phénicie," pp. 361, 362). 25,26. The contrast of the future of Israel with that of the surrounding nations. As we have seen that the prophecies against the heathen reached, not merely to the particular nations, but to the world-power which they represented, as the same predictions are directed against Tyre by Ezekiel, against Babylon by Isaiah, and against the Apocalyptic Babylon by St. John; so this prophecy reaches far beyond a mere temporal restoration. It points to times of more permanent security, when from all nations and kingdoms the Church of Christ, the Israel of God, shall be gathered in, when the power of the world shall be forever broken, and the kingdom of Christ shall be established forever. B. C. 25. When I shall have gathered the house of Israel. In their long captivity, God had been preparing the land for them so as to make it a safe dwelling; and hence He executed judgments on all the heathen nations round about by means of the Chaldeans. Thus Tyre and Sidon were destroyed, as were the Ammonites and others who had been the inveterate enemies of the Jews. Judgment first began at His own house, then proceeded to the heathen nations; and when they were brought down, then He visited and redeemed His people. Thus God's ways are proved to be all equal; partialities and caprices belong not to Him. A. C. 25,26. So true is it that God stands with and for His people, and will surely prove Himself their Redeemer and Saviour. The world shall yet know His power to save His trusting children, befriend His own cause, and fill all the earth with His glory. H. C. One who reads the graphic records in the three chapters of Ezekiel (26-28) referring to the history of Tyre must be blinded in mind or in heart if he does not discern in them the presence of a Divine mind which foresees all the future, and of a Divine will which is able to bring every prediction to a sure and distinct and sublime fulfilment. . . . Can any thoughtful student of the remarkable series of predictions respecting Tyre found in the Bible, and of its equally remarkable history, have any serious doubt as to either the reality or the importance of prophecy as a supernatural element in Scripture? In this case both the fact and the function of prophecy stand out before us with peculiar clearness. It cannot be that these predictions are fraudulent interpretations inserted in Scripture in order to deceive men into belief in a fraudulent Book, pretending to be from God, but written by human hands alone. Nor can it be said that these were merely the acute generalizations of wise men familiar with the course of human affairs, and competent to guess at what might happen under certain specified conditions. The only possible hypothesis in the case is that there was a mind which, before Amos and Isaiah and Ezekiel were born, distinctly saw the entire future of Tyre, which looked with undimmed vision down through the twenty-five centuries that have intervened since they lived and wrote, and which in some true sense not only foresaw the whole, but has brought it to pass. But that foreseeing and determining mind is God, the God who by the twofold evidence of miracle and prophecy confirms His Word and proves Himself to be the providential Sovereign and Lord of mankind. We see in the verifications of history the proof that the predictions are genuine; and in the verified predictions we see conclusive evidence that there is such a God, and that all His declarations are "yea" and "amen." And so, in the crushed and perished city by the sea, standing in silent desolation through the centuries, we find a mute yet solemn witness to the truth that God rules in history, and by that sovereign rule has set to His seal that His revelation is infinitely worthy of all human acceptance. It is also obvious that the desolated Tyre is divinely designed to be not only a corroboration of the Bible, but also a solemn lesson to the world respecting the sinfulness of sin and the certainty of its final and terrible doom. History here confirms prophecy, and both join their voices in testifying to the moral government of God in the world. So long as history continues to paint on its canvas the awful picture which the pen of Ezekiel first portrayed, it will be known and realized that a Divine power that works for righteousness is always present among men, rebuking and overthrowing evil as well as confirming good. And we may well meditate in this connection on the words with which Bishop Newton closes his dissertation on Tyre as an illustration of the nature and scope of prophecy: "Such hath been the fate of this city, once the most famous in the world for trade and commerce. But trade is a fluctuating thing. It passed from Tyre to Alexandria; from Alexandria to Venice; from Venice to Antwerp; from Antwerp to Amsterdam and London. All nations, almost, are wisely applying themselves to trade; and it behooves those who are in possession of it to take the greatest care that they do not lose it. It is a plant of tender growth, and requires sun, and soil, and fine seasons to make it thrive and flourish. . . . Liberty is a friend to that, as that is a friend to liberty. But the greatest enemy to both is licentiousness, which tramples upon all law and lawful authority, encourages riots and tumults, promotes drunkenness and debauchery, sticks at nothing to supply its extravagance, practises every art of illicit gain, ruins credit, ruins trade, and will in the end ruin liberty itself. Neither kingdoms nor commonwealths, neither public companies nor private persons can long carry on a beneficial, flourishing trade without virtue, and what virtue teacheth—sobriety, in- dustry, frugality, modesty, honesty, punctual- | how the Tyrians lost it; and the like causes ity, humanity, charity, the love of our country | will always produce the like effects." E. D. and the fear of God. The prophets inform us | Morris. 29: 1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of 2 the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, 3 and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt: speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst 4 of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. And I will put books in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales; and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, with all the fish of thy rivers which 5 stick unto thy scales. And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open field; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the earth and to the fowls of the 6 heaven. And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they 7 have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and didst rend all their shoulders: and when they leaned upon thee, thou 8 brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Be- 9 hold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and will cut off from thee man and beast. And the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD: 10 because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it. Therefore behold, I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, 11 from the tower of Sevench even unto the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. 12 And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of the countries that are deso- late, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be a desolation forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. 13 For thus saith the Lord God: At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from 14 the peoples whither they were scattered: and I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth; and they shall 15 be there a base kingdom. It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it any more lift itself up above the nations: and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over 16 the nations. And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to remembrance, when they turn to look after them: and they shall know that I am the Lord God. 17 And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of 18 the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the 19 service that he had served against it: therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off her multi- 20 tude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt as his recompence for which he served, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord God. 21 In that day will I cause an horn to bud forth unto the house of Israel, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 30: 1, 2 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy, and 3 say, Thus saith the Lord God: Howl ye, Woe worth the day! For the day is near, even 4 the day of the LORD is near, a day of clouds; it shall be the time of the heathen. And a sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. 5 Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all the mingled people, and Cub, and the children of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword. 6 Thus saith the LORD: They also that uphold Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Sevench shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the 7 Lord God. And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and 8 her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. And they shall know that I am 9 the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers are destroyed. In that day shall messengers go forth from before me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid; and there shall be anguish upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh. 10 Thus saith the Lord God: I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of 11 Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon. He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and 12 fill the land with the slain. And I will make the rivers dry, and will sell the land into the hand of evil men; and I will make the land desolate, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it. 13. Thus saith the Lord God: I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease from Noph; and there shall be no more a prince out of the land of Egypt: and I will put 14 a fear in the land of Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, 15 and will execute judgements in No. And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strong hold of 16. Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. And I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin shall be in great anguish, and No shall be broken up: and Noph shall have adversaries in the day- 17 time. The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities 18 shall go into captivity. At Tehaphneches also the day shall withdraw itself, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in her: as for her, a 19 cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. Thus will I execute judge- ments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD. 20. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the 21 month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it hath not been bound up to apply healing medicines, 22 to put a roller to bind it, that it be strong to hold the sword. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and 23 that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I will scat- 24 ter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly 25 wounded man. And I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into 26 the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 31:1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the 2 month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto Pharaoh king 3 of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high 4 stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters nourished him, the deep made him to grow: her rivers ran round about her plantation; and she sent out her channels 5 unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long by reason of many 6 waters, when he shot them forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his 7 shadow dwelt all great nations. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his 8 branches: for his root was by many waters. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the plane trees were not as his branches; 9 nor was any tree in the garden of God like unto him in his beauty. I made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, en- vied him. 10. Therefore thus said the Lord God: Because thou art exalted in stature, and he hath set his 11 top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven 12 him out for his wickedness. And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth are 13 gone down from his shadow, and have left him. Upon his ruin all the fowls of the heaven 14 shall dwell, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches: to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up in their height, even all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the chil- dren of men, with them that go down to the pit. 15. Thus saith the Lord God: In the day when he went down to hell I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the rivers thereof, and the great waters were stayed; and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for 16 him. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all 17 that drink water, were comforted in the nether parts of the earth. They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain by the sword; yea, they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the nations. 18. To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God. 32:1 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the 2 month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast likened unto a young lion of the nations: yet art thou as a dragon in the seas; and thou brakest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. Thus saith the Lord God: I will spread out my net over thee with a company of many peoples; and they shall bring thee up in my net. And I will leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to settle upon thee, and I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with thee. And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmeat, even to the mountains; and the watercourses shall be full of thee. And when I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God. I will also vex the hearts of many peoples, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known. Yea, I will make many peoples amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall. For thus saith the Lord God: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee. By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall; the terrible of the nations are they all: and they shall spoil the pride of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed. I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside many waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them. Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord God. When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD. This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament; the daughters of the nations shall lament therewith: for Egypt, and for all her multitude, shall they lament therewith, saith the Lord God. It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her away and all her multitudes. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are round about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword; whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living. There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit. They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are round about her: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain. There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude; her graves are round about her: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living. And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are upon their bones; for they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. But thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain by the sword. There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, which in their might are laid with them that are slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit. There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are ashamed; and they lie uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit. Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude: even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, saith the Lord God. For I have put his terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God. Chap. 29. With this chapter commences a series of prophecies against Egypt, filling four chapters. The first begins with the date of "the tenth year, tenth month," etc., one month and eighteen days earlier than the date of the preceding prophecy against Tyre. Both fall within the period of the siege of Jerusalem. The grounds assigned for these judgments upon Pharaoh and Egypt are: 1. That he had been very proud, had practically disowned God, and put himself in His place. 2. That he and his people had been a frail, treacherous staff of help to the Jews—enticing them away from their sworn allegiance to the Chaldeans, to their own ruin. 3. To reward Nebuchadnezzar for his unpaid service for the Lord against Tyre. H. C. Ezekiel delivered seven prophecies against Egypt, all of them having more or less reference to Babylon as the power which was to bring ruin upon the country, and two of them mentioning Nebuchadnezzar by name, as the monarch who was to inflict the chastisement (29 : 18, 19 ; 30 : 10). These prophecies are chiefly remarkable as declaring the complete desolation of Egypt, and as fixing a term of years during which her degradation should continue. In chap. 39 we find among the places which are to suffer, Sin or Pelusium, Zoan or Tanis, On or Heliopolis, Noph or Memphis, Tahpanhes or Daphne, Pibeseth or Bubastis, and No-Ammon or Thebes. In chap. 29 an even wider area is included. There we are told that the land of Egypt was to be "utterly waste and desolate from Migdol to Syene, even unto the border of Ethiopia" (verse 10). The time of Egypt's affliction is fixed at "forty years" (verses 11-13), after which it is to recover, but to be a "base kingdom," "the basest of the kingdoms" (verse 15), no more "exalted above the nations," no more a ruler over nations external to itself. G. R. Prophecies against Egypt : Isa. 18 ; 19 ; 31 ; Jer. 46 ; Joel 3 : 19. This and the three following chapters uttered (with the exception of chap. 29 : 17 to end) in regular succession predict the downfall of Pharaoh-Hophra and the desolation of Egypt. The form is much the same as in the denunciation of Tyre : (1) A prophecy against Egypt and her allies (29, 30) ; (2) an image of Egypt's greatness and her fall (31) ; and (3) a dirge over Egypt (32). This prophecy (1-16) was delivered some months before the preceding prophecies against Tyre (see 26 : 1), the prophecies against the nations being given, not in their chronological, but in their geographical order, according to their nearness to Jerusalem. 1. The tenth year. Jerusalem had been besieged, but not taken. It was about the time that Jeremiah delivered his prophecy against Egypt, when the approach of Pharaoh-Hophra's army caused the Chaldeans for the time to raise the siege (Jer. 37 : 5). This was the solitary instance of Egypt meddling with the affairs of Palestine or Syria after the battle of Carchemish (cf. 2 K. 24 : 7), and it met with a speedy punishment. But for a time there seemed a prospect of help from one like Pharaoh-Hophra, who was evidently disposed to revive the military glory and conquests of Egypt, and regain the footing in Syria which his ancestor Necho had obtained by the battle of Megiddo. B. C. 2. Against Pharaoh. Pharaoh being a common name to all the kings of Egypt, this prince was called Pharaoh-Hophra by Jeremiah (chap. 44 : 30) and Apries by Herodotus. W. Lowth. 3. The great dragon. The crocodile is alluded to. Bochart remarks that the word Pharaoh signifies a crocodile in the Arabic tongue. Among the ancients it was a symbol of Egypt, and appears so in Roman coins. W. Lowth. Michaelis. The "great dragon" is the crocodile—almost a specialty to the Nile. But the crocodile of course represents here Egypt's proud king, who lies basking in the midst of his rivers, as this animal is wont to do. It scarcely needs be said that the Nile makes Egypt—is the source of all its fertility ; the channel for all its commerce ; the fountain of all its wealth and subsistence. 10-12. The duration of this desolate condition ("forty years") would reach forward into the wane of the Chaldean empire, some years later than the death of Nebuchadnezzar, whose reign began with the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and continued forty-three years. But this subjugation of Egypt, if it followed the fall of Tyre, must have been past the middle point of his reign. H. C. 14. A base kingdom. Egypt has sunk to be base among the nations, and to be ruled by foreigners or strangers. That kingdom which was long the most powerful and most honored among the nations of the world has become the helpless victim of successive oppressors. Assyria first rivalled her splendor, and, after lessening her power for a season, humbled her. Three hundred and fifty years before the Christian era, the Persians reduced her to a comparatively degraded condition, and in succession the Macedonians, the Romans, the Saracens, the Mamelukes, and the Turks, have trodden her fertile plains and greatly embarrassed her. W. Fraser. 15. What is said here of the "baseness of this kingdom" as contrasted with its former greatness and glory, and also in chap. 30 : 13, "there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt," has its fulfilment in history in the fact that "from the second Persian conquest, more than two thousand years ago, until our own days, not one native ruler has occupied the throne." (See Smith's Bible Dictionary 1 : 512.) When the prophet wrote, Egypt had been a first-class power from the days of Abraham. Since the fulfilment of this prophecy it has been pre-eminently "a base kingdom"—for long ages past, scarcely known in the world's history as a kingdom at all. What a testimony is this, not to the truth of prophecy alone, but to the fearfulness of God's judgments against kings and nations for their proud impiety in disowning their great Creator and King! H. C. It follows in the next chapter, "there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt" (verse 13). It is now a great deal above two thousand years since this prophecy was first delivered; and what likelihood or appearance was there that the Egyptians should for so many ages bow under a foreign yoke, and never in all that time be able to recover their liberties, and have a prince of their own to reign over them? Bp. Newton. In Egypt the human mind had made its earliest and most auspicious efforts. It was long the general opinion that there the laws of society had been discovered, and the fountains of science opened. Unquestionably that ingenious people were very early distinguished by an ardent spirit of enterprise and a peculiar happiness of invention. The stupendous monuments of art which lie scattered over the banks of the Nile attest the vastness of their designs and the extent of their power. The earliest professors of literature, and the first founders of civil polity in Europe and in the more western provinces of Asia, travelled into Egypt, and there acquired a knowledge of the fundamental principles of science and government. Egypt was possessed likewise of natural advantages, while its uncommon fruitfulness promised to secure the country which it enriched from poverty, baseness, and subjection. Yet after a long course of grandeur, and in contradiction to its natural advantages, Ezekiel pronounced that "the kingdom should be the basest of kingdoms," and that "there should be no more a prince of the land of Egypt." Richards.—As is the prophecy, so is the event. For not long afterward Egypt was conquered by the Babylonians; and after the Babylonians, by the Persians; and after the Persians, it became subject to the Macedonians; and after the Macedonians, to the Romans; and after the Romans, to the Saracens; and then to the Mamelukes; and is now a province of the Ottoman Empire. Bp. Newton. Rome made her a province with a certain separateness, under regulations which were peculiar. Under the Mohammedans, whether Arabs, Saracens or Turks, she has still for the most part been secondary, either an actual dependency on some greater State, or at any rate overshadowed by rivals of superior dignity. A veil hangs over the future; but, so far as human sagacity can forecast, there seems to be little likelihood of any vital change in her position. With peculiar characteristics and an isolated position, she must almost of necessity maintain her separate and distinct individuality, even though she become a dependency on a European power. On the other hand, she has exhibited under recent circumstances no elements of greatness, and remains emphatically "a base kingdom"—if not even "the basest of the kingdoms." There seems to be no elements out of which her revival and reconstitution as a great kingdom could be possible. G. R. 17-20. Second prophecy against Egypt. A special prediction of the ruin of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar. In putting together the various prophecies which he had delivered against Egypt, the prophet places this out of chronological order, that he may point out that which had not been stated in the foregoing prophecy—viz., that the agent which should strike the first blow on Egypt should be the Chaldean king, Nebuchadnezzar. Compare a similar order in chap. 26: (1) a general prophecy against, (2) a special prophecy that Nebuchadnezzar should effect the ruin. B. C. 18-20. The fact of Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Tyre having lasted thirteen years throws considerable light on this passage of Ezekiel. The extraordinary length of the siege, in which men grew old and wore themselves out, explains the phrase: "Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled;" and at the same time accounts for the fact that Nebuchadnezzar was considered to have received no wages—i.e., no sufficient wages, for his service, which had been very inadequately repaid by plunder found in the exhausted city. G. R. 18. The "hard service" in which "every head was made bald and every shoulder peeled" is accounted for by the manner in which the work was done—viz., by building immense mounds as near the city walls as possible, and high enough to enable the assailants to dismantle or breach the walls, or at least throw their missiles into the city. In the state of the arts at that time, the transportation of stone and earth for building these mounds was done on the heads and shoulders of men—reason enough why "every head should be made bald" and the skin of "every shoulder be peeled" and worn. The Lord speaks of this service as being done for Himself—quite in keeping with those passages in which He calls Nebuchadnezzar "My servant." (See Jer. 25: 9; 27: 6; 43: 10.) The Lord wished the Jews to understand that He had important ends to answer by this great king of Babylon, as was indeed the case. He was God's instrument for a fearful retribution, not on Judea and Jerusalem alone, but on all the nations of Western Asia and upon Egypt. H. C. Yet had he no wages, nor his army. This was literally true; for when the Tyrians saw that the works for carrying on the siege were perfected, and the foundations of the walls were shaken by the battering of the rams, whatsoever precious things in gold, silver, clothes and various kinds of furniture the nobility had, they put them on board their ships, and carried them to the island; so that the city being taken, Nebuchadnezzar found nothing worthy of his labor. Bp. Newton. 20. Because they wrought for Me. The destruction of cities and countries is a work of God's providence, for the effecting of which He makes use of kings and princes as His instruments. Upon this account He calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant (Jer. 25:9), because "he wrought for Him," as it is here expressed—that is, executed His judgments upon Tyre and the other cities and countries which God delivered into his hand. W. Lowth. In this service God owns that they wrought for Him (verse 20). He set them at work for the humbling of a proud city and its king; though they meant not so, neither did their heart think so, who were employed in it. Even great men and bad men are tools that God makes use of, and are working for Him, even when they are pursuing their own covetous and ambitious designs; so wonderfully does God overrule all to His own glory. For this service he had no wages, nor his army. He was at a vast expense to take Tyre; and when he had it, though it was a very rich city, and he promised himself good plunder for his army from it, he was disappointed. The Tyrians sent away by ship their best effects, and threw the rest into the sea, so that they had nothing but bare walls. Thus are the children of this world ordinarily frustrated in their highest expectations from it. He shall have the spoil of Egypt to recompense him for his service against Tyre. God will be behindhand with none for any service they do for Him, but, one way or other, will recompense them for it; none shall kindle a fire on His altar for naught. The service done for Him by worldly men with worldly designs shall be recompensed with a mere worldly reward, which His faithful servants, that have a sincere regard to His will and glory, would not be put off with. This accounts for the prosperity of wicked men in this world. God is in it, paying them for some service or other in which He has made use of them. Verily they have their reward. Let none envy it them. The conquest of Egypt is spoken of as Nebuchadnezzar's full reward, for that completed his dominion over the then known world in a manner; that was the last of the kingdoms he subdued; when he was master of that, he became the head of gold. H. 21. Egypt being the antagonist of the people of God, her overthrow inaugurated the triumph of good over evil. The prophet as usual sees the fruit in the germ, the perfect building in the ruin of the edifice cleared away to make room for the new structure. The destruction of heathen powers was leading up to the establishment of Messiah's kingdom. I will give thee the opening of the mouth. When these things should begin to come to pass the prophet's mouth should be opened to declare their meaning, and to make known the end to which all was tending. B. C. Chap. 30. In this chapter the one theme is judgment on Egypt, yet there are two messages of diverse date; the first comprising verses 1-19; the second, verses 20-26. The date of the latter is given definitely (in verse 20); probably that the reader might locate it shortly after the defeat of Pharaoh-Hophra, when he approached to aid his Jewish friends by an effort to raise the siege of their city, then in progress by the army of Nebuchadnezzar. Critics are not agreed as to the date of the first portion, some connecting it in time with the message (chap. 29:1-16)—viz., in the tenth year and tenth month, etc.; others connecting it with the message (chap. 29:17-21)—viz., in the twenty-seventh year. 4,5. Not Egypt alone, but her allies, those powers on the south and west that had been usually associated with her in her great conflicts with the Asiatic powers, now suffer in her fall. Ethiopia on her southern border; Libya and Lydia on her western, are well known as her ancient allies. H. C. 5. Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia. The names in the Hebrew are "Cush, Phut and Lud," who are mentioned together as the Egyptian allies (Jer. 46:9). Cush probably signifies Ethiopia here (see chap. 29:10) as being joined with Phut and Lud, who were people of Africa. W. Lowth. 13-17. From general statements, the prophet comes to particulars, specifying the several cities that are to feel the weight of this crush- ing calamity. This is designed and well adapted to strengthen the impression of the fearful facts. The principal cities of Egypt are here enumerated. They are known by other names also—Greek or Egyptian. These are mostly Hebrew. “Noph” is also called Memphis; the great city of Lower Egypt, near the pyramids. “No,” or No-Ammon, is Thebes or Diospolis; the great city of Upper Egypt, celebrated for its hundred gates, and even now great in the ruins of its magnificent temples of Luxor, Karnac, etc. “Pathros” is the Egyptian name for Upper Egypt, as Mizraim was sometimes for the lower province. “Zoan” is known in Greek as Tanis, one of the cities of Lower Egypt. “Sin,” known by the Greeks as Pelusium, was in the northeastern extremity of Egypt, the point where their Asiatic enemies would naturally strike first. Hence it was fortified so as to become “the strength of Egypt.” Its Hebrew name means a marsh, and such it was, and perhaps the stronger therefor. “Aven,” doubtless the city “On” of Gen. 41:45, 50, from which word it differs only in its vowel points, received this form from the Hebrews in contempt for its idols, nothings, or vanities—which is the significance of the word thus pronounced. The Greeks called it Heliopolis, city of the sun, which the Hebrews sometimes translated into Bethshemeth, house of the sun. “Pi-beseth,” by the Greeks, Bubastis, was on the lower waters of the Nile. Tehaphnehes, the Daphne of the Greeks, was near Pelusium, and seems to have been in these times the residence of the king and his court. (See Jer. 43:8-13.) Jeremiah has a prophecy (chap. 46) somewhat analogous to this of Ezekiel, H. C. 29: 1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of 2 the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, 3 and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt: speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst 4 of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. And I will put books in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales; and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, with all the fish of thy rivers which 5 stick unto thy scales. And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open field; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the earth and to the fowls of the 6 heaven. And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they 7 have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and didst rend all their shoulders: and when they leaned upon thee, thou 8 brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Be- 9 hold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and will cut off from thee man and beast. And the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD: 10 because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it. Therefore behold, I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, 11 from the tower of Sevench even unto the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. 12 And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of the countries that are deso- late, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be a desolation forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. 13 For thus saith the Lord God: At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from 14 the peoples whither they were scattered: and I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth; and they shall 15 be there a base kingdom. It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it any more lift itself up above the nations: and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over 16 the nations. And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to remembrance, when they turn to look after them: and they shall know that I am the Lord God. 17 And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of 18 the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the 19 service that he had served against it: therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off her multi- 20 tude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt as his recompence for which he served, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord God. 21 In that day will I cause an horn to bud forth unto the house of Israel, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 30: 1, 2 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy, and 3 say, Thus saith the Lord God: Howl ye, Woe worth the day! For the day is near, even 4 the day of the LORD is near, a day of clouds; it shall be the time of the heathen. And a sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. 5 Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all the mingled people, and Cub, and the children of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword. 6 Thus saith the LORD: They also that uphold Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Sevench shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the 7 Lord God. And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and 8 her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. And they shall know that I am 9 the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers are destroyed. In that day shall messengers go forth from before me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid; and there shall be anguish upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh. 10 Thus saith the Lord God: I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of 11 Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon. He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and 12 fill the land with the slain. And I will make the rivers dry, and will sell the land into the hand of evil men; and I will make the land desolate, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it. 13. Thus saith the Lord God: I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease from Noph; and there shall be no more a prince out of the land of Egypt: and I will put 14 a fear in the land of Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, 15 and will execute judgements in No. And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strong hold of 16. Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. And I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin shall be in great anguish, and No shall be broken up: and Noph shall have adversaries in the day- 17 time. The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities 18 shall go into captivity. At Tehaphneches also the day shall withdraw itself, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in her: as for her, a 19 cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. Thus will I execute judge- ments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD. 20. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the 21 month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it hath not been bound up to apply healing medicines, 22 to put a roller to bind it, that it be strong to hold the sword. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and 23 that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I will scat- 24 ter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly 25 wounded man. And I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into 26 the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 31:1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the 2 month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto Pharaoh king 3 of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high 4 stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters nourished him, the deep made him to grow: her rivers ran round about her plantation; and she sent out her channels 5 unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long by reason of many 6 waters, when he shot them forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his 7 shadow dwelt all great nations. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his 8 branches: for his root was by many waters. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the plane trees were not as his branches; 9 nor was any tree in the garden of God like unto him in his beauty. I made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, en- vied him. 10. Therefore thus said the Lord God: Because thou art exalted in stature, and he hath set his 11 top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven 12 him out for his wickedness. And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth are 13 gone down from his shadow, and have left him. Upon his ruin all the fowls of the heaven 14 shall dwell, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches: to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up in their height, even all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the chil- dren of men, with them that go down to the pit. 15. Thus saith the Lord God: In the day when he went down to hell I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the rivers thereof, and the great waters were stayed; and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for 16 him. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all 17 that drink water, were comforted in the nether parts of the earth. They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain by the sword; yea, they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the nations. 18. To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God. 32:1 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the 2 month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast likened unto a young lion of the nations: yet art thou as a dragon in the seas; and thou brakest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. Thus saith the Lord God: I will spread out my net over thee with a company of many peoples; and they shall bring thee up in my net. And I will leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to settle upon thee, and I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with thee. And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmeat, even to the mountains; and the watercourses shall be full of thee. And when I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God. I will also vex the hearts of many peoples, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known. Yea, I will make many peoples amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall. For thus saith the Lord God: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee. By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall; the terrible of the nations are they all: and they shall spoil the pride of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed. I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside many waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them. Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord God. When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD. This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament; the daughters of the nations shall lament therewith: for Egypt, and for all her multitude, shall they lament therewith, saith the Lord God. It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her away and all her multitudes. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are round about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword; whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living. There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit. They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are round about her: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain. There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude; her graves are round about her: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living. And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are upon their bones; for they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. But thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain by the sword. There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, which in their might are laid with them that are slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit. There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are ashamed; and they lie uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit. Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude: even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, saith the Lord God. For I have put his terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God. Chap. 29. With this chapter commences a series of prophecies against Egypt, filling four chapters. The first begins with the date of "the tenth year, tenth month," etc., one month and eighteen days earlier than the date of the preceding prophecy against Tyre. Both fall within the period of the siege of Jerusalem. The grounds assigned for these judgments upon Pharaoh and Egypt are: 1. That he had been very proud, had practically disowned God, and put himself in His place. 2. That he and his people had been a frail, treacherous staff of help to the Jews—enticing them away from their sworn allegiance to the Chaldeans, to their own ruin. 3. To reward Nebuchadnezzar for his unpaid service for the Lord against Tyre. H. C. Ezekiel delivered seven prophecies against Egypt, all of them having more or less reference to Babylon as the power which was to bring ruin upon the country, and two of them mentioning Nebuchadnezzar by name, as the monarch who was to inflict the chastisement (29 : 18, 19 ; 30 : 10). These prophecies are chiefly remarkable as declaring the complete desolation of Egypt, and as fixing a term of years during which her degradation should continue. In chap. 39 we find among the places which are to suffer, Sin or Pelusium, Zoan or Tanis, On or Heliopolis, Noph or Memphis, Tahpanhes or Daphne, Pibeseth or Bubastis, and No-Ammon or Thebes. In chap. 29 an even wider area is included. There we are told that the land of Egypt was to be "utterly waste and desolate from Migdol to Syene, even unto the border of Ethiopia" (verse 10). The time of Egypt's affliction is fixed at "forty years" (verses 11-13), after which it is to recover, but to be a "base kingdom," "the basest of the kingdoms" (verse 15), no more "exalted above the nations," no more a ruler over nations external to itself. G. R. Prophecies against Egypt : Isa. 18 ; 19 ; 31 ; Jer. 46 ; Joel 3 : 19. This and the three following chapters uttered (with the exception of chap. 29 : 17 to end) in regular succession predict the downfall of Pharaoh-Hophra and the desolation of Egypt. The form is much the same as in the denunciation of Tyre : (1) A prophecy against Egypt and her allies (29, 30) ; (2) an image of Egypt's greatness and her fall (31) ; and (3) a dirge over Egypt (32). This prophecy (1-16) was delivered some months before the preceding prophecies against Tyre (see 26 : 1), the prophecies against the nations being given, not in their chronological, but in their geographical order, according to their nearness to Jerusalem. 1. The tenth year. Jerusalem had been besieged, but not taken. It was about the time that Jeremiah delivered his prophecy against Egypt, when the approach of Pharaoh-Hophra's army caused the Chaldeans for the time to raise the siege (Jer. 37 : 5). This was the solitary instance of Egypt meddling with the affairs of Palestine or Syria after the battle of Carchemish (cf. 2 K. 24 : 7), and it met with a speedy punishment. But for a time there seemed a prospect of help from one like Pharaoh-Hophra, who was evidently disposed to revive the military glory and conquests of Egypt, and regain the footing in Syria which his ancestor Necho had obtained by the battle of Megiddo. B. C. 2. Against Pharaoh. Pharaoh being a common name to all the kings of Egypt, this prince was called Pharaoh-Hophra by Jeremiah (chap. 44 : 30) and Apries by Herodotus. W. Lowth. 3. The great dragon. The crocodile is alluded to. Bochart remarks that the word Pharaoh signifies a crocodile in the Arabic tongue. Among the ancients it was a symbol of Egypt, and appears so in Roman coins. W. Lowth. Michaelis. The "great dragon" is the crocodile—almost a specialty to the Nile. But the crocodile of course represents here Egypt's proud king, who lies basking in the midst of his rivers, as this animal is wont to do. It scarcely needs be said that the Nile makes Egypt—is the source of all its fertility ; the channel for all its commerce ; the fountain of all its wealth and subsistence. 10-12. The duration of this desolate condition ("forty years") would reach forward into the wane of the Chaldean empire, some years later than the death of Nebuchadnezzar, whose reign began with the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and continued forty-three years. But this subjugation of Egypt, if it followed the fall of Tyre, must have been past the middle point of his reign. H. C. 14. A base kingdom. Egypt has sunk to be base among the nations, and to be ruled by foreigners or strangers. That kingdom which was long the most powerful and most honored among the nations of the world has become the helpless victim of successive oppressors. Assyria first rivalled her splendor, and, after lessening her power for a season, humbled her. Three hundred and fifty years before the Christian era, the Persians reduced her to a comparatively degraded condition, and in succession the Macedonians, the Romans, the Saracens, the Mamelukes, and the Turks, have trodden her fertile plains and greatly embarrassed her. W. Fraser. 15. What is said here of the "baseness of this kingdom" as contrasted with its former greatness and glory, and also in chap. 30 : 13, "there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt," has its fulfilment in history in the fact that "from the second Persian conquest, more than two thousand years ago, until our own days, not one native ruler has occupied the throne." (See Smith's Bible Dictionary 1 : 512.) When the prophet wrote, Egypt had been a first-class power from the days of Abraham. Since the fulfilment of this prophecy it has been pre-eminently "a base kingdom"—for long ages past, scarcely known in the world's history as a kingdom at all. What a testimony is this, not to the truth of prophecy alone, but to the fearfulness of God's judgments against kings and nations for their proud impiety in disowning their great Creator and King! H. C. It follows in the next chapter, "there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt" (verse 13). It is now a great deal above two thousand years since this prophecy was first delivered; and what likelihood or appearance was there that the Egyptians should for so many ages bow under a foreign yoke, and never in all that time be able to recover their liberties, and have a prince of their own to reign over them? Bp. Newton. In Egypt the human mind had made its earliest and most auspicious efforts. It was long the general opinion that there the laws of society had been discovered, and the fountains of science opened. Unquestionably that ingenious people were very early distinguished by an ardent spirit of enterprise and a peculiar happiness of invention. The stupendous monuments of art which lie scattered over the banks of the Nile attest the vastness of their designs and the extent of their power. The earliest professors of literature, and the first founders of civil polity in Europe and in the more western provinces of Asia, travelled into Egypt, and there acquired a knowledge of the fundamental principles of science and government. Egypt was possessed likewise of natural advantages, while its uncommon fruitfulness promised to secure the country which it enriched from poverty, baseness, and subjection. Yet after a long course of grandeur, and in contradiction to its natural advantages, Ezekiel pronounced that "the kingdom should be the basest of kingdoms," and that "there should be no more a prince of the land of Egypt." Richards.—As is the prophecy, so is the event. For not long afterward Egypt was conquered by the Babylonians; and after the Babylonians, by the Persians; and after the Persians, it became subject to the Macedonians; and after the Macedonians, to the Romans; and after the Romans, to the Saracens; and then to the Mamelukes; and is now a province of the Ottoman Empire. Bp. Newton. Rome made her a province with a certain separateness, under regulations which were peculiar. Under the Mohammedans, whether Arabs, Saracens or Turks, she has still for the most part been secondary, either an actual dependency on some greater State, or at any rate overshadowed by rivals of superior dignity. A veil hangs over the future; but, so far as human sagacity can forecast, there seems to be little likelihood of any vital change in her position. With peculiar characteristics and an isolated position, she must almost of necessity maintain her separate and distinct individuality, even though she become a dependency on a European power. On the other hand, she has exhibited under recent circumstances no elements of greatness, and remains emphatically "a base kingdom"—if not even "the basest of the kingdoms." There seems to be no elements out of which her revival and reconstitution as a great kingdom could be possible. G. R. 17-20. Second prophecy against Egypt. A special prediction of the ruin of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar. In putting together the various prophecies which he had delivered against Egypt, the prophet places this out of chronological order, that he may point out that which had not been stated in the foregoing prophecy—viz., that the agent which should strike the first blow on Egypt should be the Chaldean king, Nebuchadnezzar. Compare a similar order in chap. 26: (1) a general prophecy against, (2) a special prophecy that Nebuchadnezzar should effect the ruin. B. C. 18-20. The fact of Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Tyre having lasted thirteen years throws considerable light on this passage of Ezekiel. The extraordinary length of the siege, in which men grew old and wore themselves out, explains the phrase: "Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled;" and at the same time accounts for the fact that Nebuchadnezzar was considered to have received no wages—i.e., no sufficient wages, for his service, which had been very inadequately repaid by plunder found in the exhausted city. G. R. 18. The "hard service" in which "every head was made bald and every shoulder peeled" is accounted for by the manner in which the work was done—viz., by building immense mounds as near the city walls as possible, and high enough to enable the assailants to dismantle or breach the walls, or at least throw their missiles into the city. In the state of the arts at that time, the transportation of stone and earth for building these mounds was done on the heads and shoulders of men—reason enough why "every head should be made bald" and the skin of "every shoulder be peeled" and worn. The Lord speaks of this service as being done for Himself—quite in keeping with those passages in which He calls Nebuchadnezzar "My servant." (See Jer. 25: 9; 27: 6; 43: 10.) The Lord wished the Jews to understand that He had important ends to answer by this great king of Babylon, as was indeed the case. He was God's instrument for a fearful retribution, not on Judea and Jerusalem alone, but on all the nations of Western Asia and upon Egypt. H. C. Yet had he no wages, nor his army. This was literally true; for when the Tyrians saw that the works for carrying on the siege were perfected, and the foundations of the walls were shaken by the battering of the rams, whatsoever precious things in gold, silver, clothes and various kinds of furniture the nobility had, they put them on board their ships, and carried them to the island; so that the city being taken, Nebuchadnezzar found nothing worthy of his labor. Bp. Newton. 20. Because they wrought for Me. The destruction of cities and countries is a work of God's providence, for the effecting of which He makes use of kings and princes as His instruments. Upon this account He calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant (Jer. 25:9), because "he wrought for Him," as it is here expressed—that is, executed His judgments upon Tyre and the other cities and countries which God delivered into his hand. W. Lowth. In this service God owns that they wrought for Him (verse 20). He set them at work for the humbling of a proud city and its king; though they meant not so, neither did their heart think so, who were employed in it. Even great men and bad men are tools that God makes use of, and are working for Him, even when they are pursuing their own covetous and ambitious designs; so wonderfully does God overrule all to His own glory. For this service he had no wages, nor his army. He was at a vast expense to take Tyre; and when he had it, though it was a very rich city, and he promised himself good plunder for his army from it, he was disappointed. The Tyrians sent away by ship their best effects, and threw the rest into the sea, so that they had nothing but bare walls. Thus are the children of this world ordinarily frustrated in their highest expectations from it. He shall have the spoil of Egypt to recompense him for his service against Tyre. God will be behindhand with none for any service they do for Him, but, one way or other, will recompense them for it; none shall kindle a fire on His altar for naught. The service done for Him by worldly men with worldly designs shall be recompensed with a mere worldly reward, which His faithful servants, that have a sincere regard to His will and glory, would not be put off with. This accounts for the prosperity of wicked men in this world. God is in it, paying them for some service or other in which He has made use of them. Verily they have their reward. Let none envy it them. The conquest of Egypt is spoken of as Nebuchadnezzar's full reward, for that completed his dominion over the then known world in a manner; that was the last of the kingdoms he subdued; when he was master of that, he became the head of gold. H. 21. Egypt being the antagonist of the people of God, her overthrow inaugurated the triumph of good over evil. The prophet as usual sees the fruit in the germ, the perfect building in the ruin of the edifice cleared away to make room for the new structure. The destruction of heathen powers was leading up to the establishment of Messiah's kingdom. I will give thee the opening of the mouth. When these things should begin to come to pass the prophet's mouth should be opened to declare their meaning, and to make known the end to which all was tending. B. C. Chap. 30. In this chapter the one theme is judgment on Egypt, yet there are two messages of diverse date; the first comprising verses 1-19; the second, verses 20-26. The date of the latter is given definitely (in verse 20); probably that the reader might locate it shortly after the defeat of Pharaoh-Hophra, when he approached to aid his Jewish friends by an effort to raise the siege of their city, then in progress by the army of Nebuchadnezzar. Critics are not agreed as to the date of the first portion, some connecting it in time with the message (chap. 29:1-16)—viz., in the tenth year and tenth month, etc.; others connecting it with the message (chap. 29:17-21)—viz., in the twenty-seventh year. 4,5. Not Egypt alone, but her allies, those powers on the south and west that had been usually associated with her in her great conflicts with the Asiatic powers, now suffer in her fall. Ethiopia on her southern border; Libya and Lydia on her western, are well known as her ancient allies. H. C. 5. Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia. The names in the Hebrew are "Cush, Phut and Lud," who are mentioned together as the Egyptian allies (Jer. 46:9). Cush probably signifies Ethiopia here (see chap. 29:10) as being joined with Phut and Lud, who were people of Africa. W. Lowth. 13-17. From general statements, the prophet comes to particulars, specifying the several cities that are to feel the weight of this crush- ing calamity. This is designed and well adapted to strengthen the impression of the fearful facts. The principal cities of Egypt are here enumerated. They are known by other names also—Greek or Egyptian. These are mostly Hebrew. “Noph” is also called Memphis; the great city of Lower Egypt, near the pyramids. “No,” or No-Ammon, is Thebes or Diospolis; the great city of Upper Egypt, celebrated for its hundred gates, and even now great in the ruins of its magnificent temples of Luxor, Karnac, etc. “Pathros” is the Egyptian name for Upper Egypt, as Mizraim was sometimes for the lower province. “Zoan” is known in Greek as Tanis, one of the cities of Lower Egypt. “Sin,” known by the Greeks as Pelusium, was in the northeastern extremity of Egypt, the point where their Asiatic enemies would naturally strike first. Hence it was fortified so as to become “the strength of Egypt.” Its Hebrew name means a marsh, and such it was, and perhaps the stronger therefor. “Aven,” doubtless the city “On” of Gen. 41:45, 50, from which word it differs only in its vowel points, received this form from the Hebrews in contempt for its idols, nothings, or vanities—which is the significance of the word thus pronounced. The Greeks called it Heliopolis, city of the sun, which the Hebrews sometimes translated into Bethshemeth, house of the sun. “Pi-beseth,” by the Greeks, Bubastis, was on the lower waters of the Nile. Tehaphnehes, the Daphne of the Greeks, was near Pelusium, and seems to have been in these times the residence of the king and his court. (See Jer. 43:8-13.) Jeremiah has a prophecy (chap. 46) somewhat analogous to this of Ezekiel, H. C. 13. Although Egypt temporarily revived under the vigorous rule of the Ptolemies, they were “foreigners,” and the predictions held true, “There shall no more be a prince of the land of Egypt;” “The sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.” For more than two thousand years the degradation of the kingdom has been painfully visible amid a profusion of nature’s benefits. Its comparatively ignominious state, its acknowledged baseness among nations in the midst of which it is still lingering, enfeebled and paralyzed, so distinctly fulfil the bold prophecies of Isaiah and Ezekiel, that we are justified in demanding the acceptance of supernatural teaching as the explanation of Egypt’s varying history. Every fact which travellers describe, and the past and the present historical photographs by which modern inquiries have assisted the student of prophecy, vindicate and confirm the truth of the predictions. W. Fraser. 20-26. As said above, this prophecy was probably suggested by the defeat of Pharaoh-Hophra when he attempted to force Nebuchadnezzar to raise the siege of Jerusalem. See Jer. 44:30, “I will give Pharaoh-Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies and into the hands of them that seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar,” etc. Suggested by this defeat, it probably followed it closely in time. This was only some three months before the fall of the city of Jerusalem—the latter event being in the eleventh year and fourth month and ninth day (Jer. 52:5, 6), and this, in the eleventh year, first month and seventh day. The breaking of Pharaoh’s sword-arm first, hopelessly past cure; then the breaking of both his arms, and the strengthening of the arm of Nebuchadnezzar and putting the sword into it for the execution of God’s judgments, are the leading figures of this passage. Some critics interpret the two arms of Egypt’s king to be two portions of his territory; others, two royal families; but the general sense, his military power, his means of resisting his great Chaldean enemy, is more natural and probable. The sword is the appropriate emblem of military strength. Here, as often elsewhere, we have the king of Banylon “the servant of the Lord.” The curse of Egypt includes a great slaughter of her people, and their dispersion into foreign lands. Chap. 31. This chapter is one distinct and entire message, presenting under the figure of a cedar of Lebanon the case of Assyria, as a lesson of warning to Egypt. If Assyria, so splendid and magnificent in her greatness, yet went down with a crash that astounded the nations, what, O Pharaoh, shall be thy doom? This message dates only one month and a fraction before the fall of Jerusalem. The fall of Assyria, referred to here as a fact of past history, occurred n.c. 625—i.e., thirty-seven years before the date of this message. Hence it was still fresh in the minds of Ezekiel’s readers. The figure which is finely sustained throughout the chapter is one of exquisite beauty. The Assyrian power was a noble cedar of Lebanon, lofty and fair, of far outspreading magnificent foliage; his roots reaching out to living waters; all the fowls of heaven nestled in his boughs; all the beasts of the field made their homes under his shade; but he became proud, and God laid him low, and brought him down to the under-world, even as mortals die and go down to the shades beneath. Art thou, O Egypt, great like this Assyrian cedar? If in thy vanity thou hast compared thyself to proud Assyria, think whether for thy pride thou shalt not suffer an equally terrible fall! H. C. The Assyrian empire, after having been supreme in Asia for four centuries, had been overthrown by the united forces of the Babylonians and Medes, in the year of the battle of Carchemish (B.C. 606), which had broken the power of Egypt. This gives force to the warning to Egypt from Assyria's fall. B. C. 6,7. In a few instances the prophet drops his figure and gives his thought in literal terms—e.g., “under his shadow dwelt all great nations”—i.e., enjoying his military protection and paying him tribute. This was the relation sustained in those ages by the smaller powers to the great central one. Assyria, Chaldea and Persia were successively such central powers. 8,9. The prophet thinks of Eden, the garden of God, as a model of superlative fertility and beauty. This and similar allusions (e.g., chap. 28: 13) show that the Jews of that age had some knowledge of the primeval state of man, doubtless as much as has come down to us in the account given by Moses in Genesis. It is safe to assume that they had this. H. C. 16. All the trees of Eden shall be comforted. The deceased princes, his allies and tributaries, described here as so many stately trees and cedars, shall feel some mitigation of their calamity, in considering that this king, so mighty and so powerful, is brought like themselves to the nether parts of the earth; or that he is become their equal in the pit, in the grave, in the place of darkness, from which all distinctions of quality and condition are entirely banished. (Calmet.) W. Lowth. 18. The mighty God before whom great Assyria could not stand is equally able to bring down thy greatness, paralyze thy power, and cast thee into that under-world where the silence of death reigns supreme! So puny are the mightiest nations when they measure arms with the great God! So vain it is for any of them, even the most magnificent in splendor, to lift themselves up against their Infinite Maker and Lord! Chap. 32. This chapter in two distinct messages—viz., verses 1–16 and verses 17–32, with each its distinct date, completes the prophecy concerning the fall of Egypt before the arms of Nebuchadnezzar. The date of the first portion is a year and seven months after the fall of Jerusalem; the second portion is still fifteen days later; for the month not being mentioned, we must assume it to be the same as in verse 1. The danger to Egypt from the Chaldean arms was manifestly greater and more obvious after the fall of Jerusalem than at any time before. Whether the Chaldeans invaded Egypt near this time and before their long siege of Tyre remains in some doubt. Profane history at this period affords only the most scanty records. That they swept over Egypt with terrible devastation after their work on Tyre was finished admits of no doubt. It is not improbable that they made a raid upon their old enemy before they invested Tyre. H. C. About one year and seven months after the destruction of Jerusalem. In the mean time had occurred the murder of Gedaliah and the flight into Egypt of the Jews left behind by the Chaldeans under Johanan, the son of Kareah (Jer. 41–43). Jeremiah, who had accompanied them, foretold their ruin (Jer. 44) in a prophecy probably contemporaneous with the present prophecy of Ezekiel, which is delivered in the form of a dirge, as in the case of Tyre (chap. 27). B. C. The prophet wails over the fall of Egypt, and in vision sees her multitudes in the underworld as one who should walk at nightfall after a battle over a vast and desolate plain covered with the heaps of dead. As he walks onward wailing he reaches that part of the field where the Assyrians lie; then he finds further on the Elamites, then Meshech, Tubal and all her multitude, then Edom, then the Zidonians. Last of all, he returns to contemplate Pharaoh again. In each of these wide regions of death the kings and princes lie with all their slain warriors about them. Their swords lie in soldier fashion under their heads. Even in death and frightfully mangled, the brawny strength and grim ferocity and military prowess that they wore in life is still plain enough. But now they lie vanquished, unburied, horrible. Nothing that Dante ever wrote surpasses the dreary ghastliness of this appalling scene under the murky skies of Sheol. The slow, monotonous movement of the funeral march, which will not be hastened from detailed inspection of a single acre of that limitless Waterloo plain, powerfully enhances the impression of the uncounted multitudes of the dead to be reviewed. “Dull and heavy” (Ewald) we should not call this dirge, but grim as the clank of chains and dreadful as the knell of doom. Ballantine. 1,2. “Take up a lamentation”—prepare a mourning elegy which may be sung as a dirge over his fall. It was appropriate in such a dirge to celebrate the valor and recount the great deeds of the dead. In the present case the prophet is not excessively eulogistic. God loves truth. H. C. To the preceding funeral panegyric over Assyria, the fate of which was past, Ezekiel prophetically subjoins a similar panegyric over Egypt, though its fate was still future; making plainly here a happy variation in the figure. In the former case past events are brought down and represented as now present before our eyes; whereas, on the contrary, by this prophetic figure future events are anticipated, and represented as already past. Abp. Newcome. 3,4. Consequently, with the aid of many people (the Chaldeans), the Lord will take up this monster crocodile, Pharaoh, in his net, and leave him cast out upon the land in the open field, meat for fowls and beasts. 7,8. The figure changes. Calamity is here represented by darkness, perhaps with a tacit reference to the plague of darkness (Ex. 10: 21-23). "When I shall put them out;" meaning, extinguish them from being a light among the nations. Cloud and eclipse combine to shut off the lights of heaven and to doom the land to thick darkness. This figure appears frequently in the poetic portions of the Bible, sometimes in the strong form of "turning the sun into darkness and the moon into blood." (See Isa. 13: 10; Joel 2: 10, 30, 31; 3: 15.) The general sense is the same throughout all these variations of the figure—viz., exceeding great calamity, fearful ruin. Light is a natural emblem of joy and prosperity; darkness, of whatever is fearful and appalling. H. C.—The downfall and destruction of kingdoms is denoted by the strong figurative language of these verses. Kings and rulers are expressed by the sun, moon and stars. God's judgments upon particular countries being earnests of a general judgment, they are described in such terms, as if the whole frame of nature were dissolved. Abp. Newcome. 9,10. This is the effect of Pharaoh's fall upon other nations, even those whom he had little known, lying out beyond the range of his influence. This reference implies that the fall of Egypt would impress the fear of the Chaldean arms upon remote nations. 11,12. The prophecy is here entirely definite. The conquering, wasting power is the Chaldean. They shall spoil the glory of Egypt, waste her treasures, pillage her cities, break down her national strength, and lay her land for the time quite desolate. H. C. 14. Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, etc. The prophet, in the second verse, compared the disturbances the Egyptians gave their neighbors to the troubling and fouling of waters; in allusion to which metaphor he saith here, that when Egypt is made desolate, and the number of men and beasts diminished by their wars and confusions, then their neighbors will enjoy such quietness as a river does, that smoothly glides along and never hath its streams fouled or disturbed. W. Lowth. 17. This entire second message commencing here constitutes another elegy over the fall of Egypt. 21. The sense is, The strongest of his mighty ones shall accost him and his helpers, from the midst of hell. They have already gone down and are lying there, the uncircumcised, slain with the sword. The reference here to Isa. 14 is obvious. 22,23. The general statement, "the strong among the mighty," here becomes specific, and first names Assyria, the ancient rival and enemy of Egypt. She has been destroyed already, and lies there with her hosts. 24,25. Elam has suffered overthrow; her nationality has been smitten. Let her be added to the list of the great nations in the underworld, ready to meet Egypt when she comes down to the same abode. Elam has had her day of power, a terror to the living nations; but she also bears the shame of those who go down to a dishonored national grave. 31,32. The prophet marks the contrast between the terror he once impressed on the nations, and his utter powerlessness now in his final house in the under-world. This poetic drapery thrown round the idea of an extinct nationality—a nation itself dying out from among the powers of the earth under the righteous judgments of God—is grand and impressive. Its lessons belong to all time. The nations of our own age who become great in military power, magnificent in their wealth and splendor, and then forget God, disown His authority, and plant their foot upon His higher law and oppress His suffering poor, have ample cause for fear and trembling. Let them ponder the lessons He has given them in His holy Word, confirmations of which are written also on all the face of the world's history since nations began to be, to this hour. Can there be a greater madness than to dare Jehovah's wrath? H. C. Of fulfilled prophecies, in these chapters and those of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah, a few suggestive instances may be mentioned. The sceptre has departed from Egypt, the "son of Ham," and the land has been laid waste by the hand of strangers (Zech. 10 : 11 ; Ezek. 30 : 12). The arm of Pharaoh has been broken and the sword has fallen out of his hand, and all the nations that dwelt under his shadow have been shaken at the sound of his fall (Ezek. 30 : 20 ; 31 : 16). The heart of Egypt has melted, and all that work for hire have been grieved in soul, for in truth she has been for centuries groaning under the hand of a cruel lord. The fishermen lament ; for the canals are emptied and dried up (Isa. 19), and the reeds and flags have withered. The paper industry has utterly vanished, and scarcely a solitary specimen of the papyrus plant can be obtained, even for a museum—according to the specific declaration of the prophet (verses 6, 7). "Moreover, they that work in combed flax and they that weave white cloth" are made "ashamed" in the presence of English merchants who, to-day, monopolize the trade, where, at the date of this prophecy, the Theban looms were sending forth fabrics which were then the pride as they are now the astonishment of the whole earth (Isa. 18 : 9). Truly, this has become "a land destitute of that whereof it was full" (Ezek. 32 : 15). The "cloud" has covered her (Ezek. 29 : 3). She has become the "basest of kingdoms," no more to "lift herself up above the nations" (verse 15). More than this, every one of the seven original outlets of the Nile has been dried up (the two present outlets being artificial ones), and the tongue of the Egyptian sea has been smitten and the waters of the gulf have been driven back as by a mighty hand a score of miles since the days of Isaiah "according to the Word of the Lord" (Isa. 11 : 15). The "obelisks" and "pillars" of On have fallen ; only one remains upright amid the vast ruins of the "houses of the gods," which have been "burnt with fire" (Jer. 43 : 13). Of Memphis, beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, it was written, "Nepah shall become a desolation and shall be burnt up, without an inhabitant" (Jer. 46 : 19). To-day not even a single obelisk, or prostrate pylon, or shivered temple wall marks the site of that famous capital. It has sunk into oblivion. It is but a pile of dust and crumbled brick. Unlike other ancient cities of Egypt, in a peculiar sense, it has become a "desolation." "Destruction out of the north is come—it is come !" (Jer. 46 : 19.) Of Thebes also, that wonder of the world, the pen of the prophet wrote : "No shall be rent asunder," "shattered," "broken in pieces" (Ezek. 30 : 16), and, as if struck by the fist of the Almighty, those massive columns have been cleft and torn asunder as nowhere else in Egypt. Historically, the cause was an earthquake. But before the earthquake came the solemn warning, "The Word of the Lord is against you." C. M. Cobera. 33 : 1, 2 AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman : if, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people ; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning ; his blood shall be upon him : whereas if he had taken warning he should have delivered his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come, and take any person from among them ; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel ; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way ; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way ; he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul. 10. And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel : Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgres- 11 sions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then should we live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will 12 ye die, O house of Israel? And thou, son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness: neither shall he that is righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he 13 sinneth. When I say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his righteousness, and commit iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered; but in his 14 iniquity that he hath committed, therein shall he die. Again, when I say unto the wicked, 15. Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of 16 life, committing no iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be remembered against him; he hath done that which is lawful and 17 right; he shall surely live. Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not 18 equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his right- 19 eousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die therein. And when the wicked turneth 20 from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways. 21. And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city 22 is smitten. Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and he had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my 23 mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. And the word of the LORD came unto me, 24 saying, Son of man, they that inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for in- 25 heritance. Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Ye eat with the blood, and 26 lift up your eyes unto your idols, and shed blood; and shall ye possess the land? Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and 27 shall ye possess the land? Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: As I live, surely they that are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the strong holds and 28 in the caves shall die of the pestilence. And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment, and the pride of her power shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be deso- 29 late, that none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, because of all their abominations which 30 they have committed. And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the 31. LORD. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but do them not: for with their mouth they shew much love, 32 but their heart goeth after their gain. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, 33 but they do them not. And when this cometh to pass, (behold, it cometh,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. Chap. 33. This chapter has a manifest unity of purpose throughout, its aim considered as a series of revelations from God to the prophet being first to impress his own mind with a just sense of his responsibility for the souls of the people, and then to give him certain messages which demanded precisely this conscious sense of responsibility, and this true fidelity in their deliverance to the people. The messages to be borne to the people were: 1. An earnest rebuke and refutation of the charge against God of crushing the people down under His judgments in a way to crush out all hope from their souls (verses 10-20). 2. A message respecting the survivors in the land of Judah, designed to slay their false hopes and open their eyes both to their own sins and to the certain ruin of their own land (verses 21-29). 3. A rebuke of the heartless but nicely critical hearing of the people in exile (verses 30-33). In a moral and spiritual point of view, the chapter is one of the highest interest and value, bearing with immense power on the spiritual life of the people among whom Ezekiel labored, and applying with equal force to the spiritual state of multitudes in every Gospel land. H. C. 1-10. The first ten verses of this chapter are the same with chap. 3 : 17-22. Here, the people choose the watchman; there, the Lord appoints him. When God chooses, the people should approve. A. C. 1-6. In view of the predatory and nomadic habits of that age and country, the business of the watchman is drawn here to the life. He does not stand on some lofty tower or battlement of the walled city; but he is a scout, far out on the borders of the land, on the mountain tops, where his practised eye will command a sweep of the great travelled routes which an invading foe must take. Then, trumpet in hand, he is ready to give the shrill and long notes of danger when he sees the sword of some invading foe approaching. The same illustration of the moral duty and responsibility of the Lord's prophets and indeed of all His ministering servants appears chap. 3 : 17-21. The case supposed and its application are entirely clear. When it is made a man's special duty to give warning of danger, when the life of a nation depends on his faithfulness, he has but one course to think of; he must be on the alert to mark approaching danger, and must be faithful to make it known to his people. Else the blood of souls will be required of him. If he does this duty faithfully, and the people, duly warned, give no heed to his warnings, their blood will be on their own head. He has done his duty and they die in their folly and under their own righteous curse. So every minister of the Gospel, and indeed every Christian man or woman, each in their own sphere, bear responsibilities for others' souls. If they see others in sin, exposed to perdition, they are solemnly bound to give them warning. Special circumstances may intensify this responsibility, but no possible circumstances can exempt any human being, intelligent of obligation, from the duty of warning faithfully whomsoever he may see in this danger. H. C. 3-6. In heathenism, prediction was absolute; in the Old Testament, prophecy was never absolute, but always subject to moral conditions. Commenting on the 33d chapter of Ezekiel, which declared that the prediction of death to the wicked and life to the righteous were not absolute, but would be reversed on their moral change, Jerome aptly observes: "Nor does it follow that because a prophet foretold, that which he foretold should come to pass; for he does not foretell in order that it might take place, but lest it should take place." It is in this sense that Holy Scripture, taking the human point of view, so often speaks of God's repenting. All the prophets who announced judgment also called to repentance, and all such calls—as so many in the prophecies of Isaiah; in Jer. 4 : 3-5; Ezek. 18 : 30-32; Joel 2 : 12-14, and in other passages—were accompanied by the promise that in case of obedience the predicted judgments would be averted. More especially do we refer to the words of Jeremiah (18 : 7-10). A. E. 7. God hath hired servants to fight against sin. He hath employed advocates to plead against it; He hath made laws and decrees against it; He hath despatched prophets to warn us of it; and hath established an order of men, men of His own family, and who are fed at His own charges, whose office is, like watchmen, to give an alarum at every approach of sin with as much affrightment as if an enemy were near, or the sea broke in upon a flat country. Bp. Taylor. 10. "Therefore," implies that the prophet's responsibilities come into play at once as a watchman in rebuking this slanderous imputation. This plea of a hopeless doom assumed that God was heartlessly severe and which ignored His repeated promise of mercy to the penitent. Hence the Lord replies as one abused and wronged by an unjust implication. H. C. 11. As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. From this to the twentieth verse inclusive is nearly the same with chap. 18. A. C. The implied charge (verse 10) touched the character and the heart of God in a tender point. Nothing could be so cruelly unjust! Had not their own God and Father loved them and borne with them in all long-suffering and with exceedingly great compassion? Had He ever said or done anything which could with any fairness be construed to imply that He had pleasure in the death of the wicked? Never! On the contrary, He had always shown that His heart was with the penitent, and His highest joy in those who turned, sorrowing for their sins, to implore His mercy. Had He not besought them to turn from their wicked ways and live? Had not His heart and hand labored for this result? Had He ever turned coldly away from those who humbly sought His mercy? Never. So He declares here, under the solemnities of His oath, affirming His innocence of the cruel charge which the people had by implication brought against Him, and again placing the issue between themselves and Him on its true merits—Himself entreating them to turn and live. H. C. See also Isa. 5:4; Hos. 13:9; Isa. 65:2; Rom. 10:21; Jer. 7:31; Prov. 1:24, 29; Isa. 65:12; 66:4; 1:18; Jer. 6:10; Zech. 7:11, 12. Which passages, and many others of the like importance that occur, do imply the large extent of God's merciful intentions, and the competency of the means, which God affords for the salvation of men; that He wants no affection or inclination to save them; that He neglects no means proper for effecting it; that He draws them into the way leading thither by serious and earnest invitation, directs them by needful light and instruction, excites them by powerful arguments and persuasions; and, as Ambrose speaketh, that "God hath showed to all, that, what was in Him, He did will to deliver or save all men." Whence He may truly and properly be called the Benefactor and Saviour even of those who by their wilful malice or neglect do not obtain salvation. Isaac Barrow. And upon this foundation of God's mercy we may build our assurance that God's will is not then done when His creatures are undone; but that, as it was His pleasure at first to make us, so it is His pleasure still to preserve us; and as from His everlasting will we all have our life, so by His will we should all have everlasting life. When as yet we were not, His will was we should be; now that we are, His will is that we should be holy. And if any man sin, His will is He should repent; and if a man repent, His will is he should be saved. Let this will, O Lord, be as Thy last will, which yet can come but as streams from the fountain of Thy first will; for, as it was merely Thy will that at first made Thee to make us, so it is merely Thy will that must make us to be holy, that must make us to repent, that must make us to be saved. These wills in God are as the chain of His mercy, whereof every link is fastened to one another, and all of them firmly fastened upon us, unless by the violence of our sins and the sinfulness of our wills we do wilfully break them. O God, so frame our wills, that they may be fit links to be fastened to this chain of Thy will. Sir Richard Baker, 1645. If there be any one thing true in the Bible, it is that God welcomes the very first approach which man makes to Him. The Bible has no other end than to give men the invitation to return to God. Christ, who fills the Bible from first to last, has no word on His lips but "Come;" and God Himself has declared, "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live." Ker. Death means here eternal death. For why or how can God address mortal men, and ask them why they should die and be laid in their graves? To ask us "why we should die," and be consigned to the grave, and moulder back to dust, as if we could avoid it, would be to tantalize and mock us—and God would not, could not do it. But to ask us why we will persevere and go down to hell, when we might be saved; why we would dwell with devouring fire when we might dwell amid the glories of heaven, is a question worthy of a God, and fit to be pondered by every traveller to eternity. Barnes. "Sinner, turn!" says God. "Lord, I cannot attend to it," says the sinner. "Turn or burn," says God. "I will venture that," says the sinner. "Turn and be saved," says God. "I cannot leave my pleasures," says the sinner. But what grace is it in God thus to parley with the sinner! Oh, the patience of God to a poor sinner! What if God should now say, "Then get thee to thy sins, get thee to thy delights, get thee to thy pleasures, take them for thy portion; they shall be all thy heaven, all thy happiness, all thy portion?" Bunyan. The Bible did not make sin the parent of sorrow. It did not make certain that every transgression and disobedience should reap its just recompense of reward. We are the causes of their coming upon ourselves; and the Bible but proclaims the end to which the paths of sin must lead, and beseechingly calls to us all, "Turn ye, turn ye! why will ye die?" And yet how many of you shrink from its merciful knife, that cuts into all the wounds of the festering spirit! How many of you feel as if "the truth that is in Jesus" was a hard and bitter truth; when all the while its very heart's blood is love, and the very secret of its message is the tenderest compassion, the most yearning sympathy, for every soul among us! A. M. 12-20. See chap. 18, where the same points are made with even greater fulness and more ample repetition. The bearing of these statements to the point now in hand is obvious. The Lord insists that He holds the door most fully open for the repentance of every sinner. If he will turn from his wickedness to cordial obedience, he shall surely live. If he turns from a just and upright life to sin, he shall certainly die. If the people charge their God with injustice in His ways, He denies the charge, and avers that their ways are utterly unjust and unequal toward Himself. His judgments of them will evermore be precisely according to their ways. H. C. 14. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die, etc. In the whole course of Scripture God's threatenings, and so His promises too, have ever a condition annexed to them in God's purpose; which though it be but seldom expressed, yet is it ever included, and so to be understood. All God's promises, how absolutely soever expressed, are made on condition of obedience; and all His threatenings, how absolutely soever expressed, on condition of impenitence. This is plain from the passage before us. Bp. Sanderson. 15. Restitution and reparation for damage. Under the Levitical law, reconciliation could be obtained only by repentance, and no repentance was accepted which did not prove its sincerity by practical reformation. For every transgression the law prescribed a trespass-offering. Where the transgression was of a mere ritual precept, and committed without deliberation or design, when discovered, the trespass-offering was sufficient alone; for this showed that the offender acknowledged the authority of the law which he had unintentionally violated. But where the transgression included any encroachment on the rights of another, the trespass-offering could not be received unless it was accompanied by a public acknowledgment of the offence, a resignation of the usurped property and a restitution to the person injured if he or his heir could be found; if not the usurped property was to be consecrated to pious uses, as the offender could not procure pardon while he retained it. No regulation could point out more clearly the inefficacy of sacrifice where guilt was not unfeignedly repented of, and all the advantages which had tempted to its perpetration renounced and resigned; and where full restitution to the injured individual did not accompany humiliation before God. Graves.—This shows us the absolute necessity of making restitution for any wrong or injury that we have done. By this law he that had done the wrong was obliged to make restitution to the injured person; and he is directed what to do in case the injured person could not be found. It was not his confessing his sin, not his sacrifice with that confession, that would procure his pardon if he did not make restitution as he is directed there. This is the doctrine of the law, and of the prophets also (Ezek. 33:15), as well as of the New Testament (Luke 18:8; Rom. 13:8, 9). Bp. Kidder.—There is one doctrine relative to the economy of Divine Providence little heeded among men: I mean the doctrine of restitution. When a man has done wrong to his neighbor, though on his repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus, God forgives him his sin, yet He requires him to make restitution to the person injured if it lie in the compass of his power. If he do not, God will take care to exact it in the course of His providence. Such respect has He for the dictates of infinite justice that nothing of this kind shall pass unnoticed. A. C. 21. The date shows an interval of one and one half years from the taking of Jerusalem (Jer. 52:12) to the arrival of the messenger. The confusion which followed the capture of the city may have retarded the arrival of one who would furnish full and authentic particulars. The general news that the city was taken must have reached them, but it was only when the messenger arrived that the prophet's mouth was opened (24:26). B. C. It should be noted that the word revealed from the Lord (verses 24-29) came to meet a feeling among the scattered remnant in Judea which developed itself some time subsequent to the fall of the city. Hence the date as here given is doubtless correct. Verse 22 implies that during the evening and night previous to the arrival of this messenger the Lord had remarkably opened His mouth to speak—perhaps by impressing His own solemn responsibilities as a prophet-watchman, in the line of the thought in verses 1-9; and perhaps also in anticipation of the effect of these tidings upon the people. The fall of the city could scarcely fail to make solemn impressions on the exiles. It would create a crisis, demanding the most urgent pressure of truth upon their heart and conscience. H. C. 22. The prophet was under the hand of God in ecstatic trance (cf. 3:22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1) on the evening preceding the arrival (in which trance it was communicated to him that his enforced silence should cease) and continued in this state until the arrival of the messenger. 23-33. The exhortation to repentance. So the preaching of repentance by John the Baptist prepared the way for the Messiah's kingdom. Before God speaks comfort He searches the heart; for only those who truly repent shall receive the blessing. Ezekiel first addresses the remnant that still linger in their ancient home, and warns them against presumptuous hopes resting on false grounds (23-29), then he turns his eye to those near him, and points out that their apparent attention to his words was illusory. B. C. 24. Those who were then "inhabiting the wastes of the land of Israel" were the small remnant of poor men that survived the fall of the city. Jeremiah has given their history in chaps. 40-44. They are seen here deluding themselves with the hope that the land was given them for their permanent inheritance. Their argument ran thus: Abraham was but one man; yet God gave him this whole land by promise, and all he could use, in fact. We are many; certainly he will give it to us to repeople and to restore to its former greatness. Ah, how could they overlook the contrast between Abraham's faith in God and their unbelief: Abraham's conscientious, consistent, most exemplary piety, and their persistent, deep-rooted, and unutterably loathsome iniquity! They seem not to have had the slightest sense of the moral grounds on which God gave Abraham the land of Canaan. 25-29. The Lord's reply is in two parts: 1. To show them their sin and appeal to their moral sense whether they could or ought to possess the land (verses 25, 26). 2. To declare most solemnly that He would give them to the sword and the land to utter desolation, until they should know that He is the Lord, the righteous Ruler and Judge of His apostate people (verses 27-29). H. C. 30-33. The foregoing verses spake conviction to the Jews who remained in the land of Israel, who were monuments of sparing mercy, and yet returned not to the Lord; in these verses those are reproved who were now in captivity in Babylon, under Divine rebukes, and yet were not reformed by them. They are not indeed charged with the same gross enormities that the others are charged with; they made some show of religion and devotion; but their hearts were not right with God. The thing they are here accused of is mocking the messengers of the Lord—one of their measure-filling sins, which brought this ruin upon them, and yet they were not cured of it. H. Here is an inside view of the moral life of the people among whom Ezekiel lived and prophesied in Chaldea, showing how they talked about him between themselves and behind his back; how they sat and heard his messages; how they enjoyed his rich, lively, highly cultivated and finely poetic style, and said very complimentary things about it and about him, but never thought of doing the things which the Lord through him enjoined as their duty, and only let their heart press on recklessly after their unrighteous gain. The whole description is beautifully graphic and finely drawn, but in its moral showing is exceedingly painful, revealing among that people an intense depravity, and suggesting the fearful truth that other myriads in Gospel lands are using the preaching of the Gospel in the same way, for the same ends of amusement, the same gratification of literary taste, and the same pride in displaying their critical skill in making comments on sermons. H. C. 32. And, lo thou art unto them as a very lovely song. They were struck with his eloquence without regarding his exhortations and admonitions. It is no unusual thing for people to listen to discourses from the ministers of God, only to enjoy the satisfaction which a well-composed discourse naturally affords. Their ears are gratified, their sentiments are enlivened, agreeable emotions of various kinds are excited. So the hearer is pleased, the speaker is commended and followed; but with no thought of practising one word that he hath said. This is the turn of mind so admirably described many ages ago by the prophet Ezekiel in this passage. But religious instruction could never be appointed to give such empty, insignificant delight as this: nor doth it in the least attain its proper end unless it influences men to forget the preacher and think of themselves; unless it raises in them not a superficial complacency or an idle admiration, but an awful and a durable solicitude about their eternal welfare. Abp. Secker. Many come to the Word only to feast their ears; they like the melody of the voice, the sweetness of the expression, the newness of the notion. This is to love the garnishing of the dish more than the food; this is to desire to be pleased rather than edified. Like a woman that paints her face, but neglects her health; so they paint and adorn themselves with curious speculations, but neglect their souls' health. This hearing doth neither sanctify the heart nor the Sabbath. Watson, 1696. There is something inexpressibly mournful in the thought of one who, week after week, month after month, year after year, comes to the place of worship, and hears and sees as if he heard and saw not; the convenient season constantly recurring, Sabbaths dawning and setting, the weeks and months and years moving him steadily onward toward eternity, but no voice breaking the frightful silence of his soul, no light discovering to his view the scenes that hide in the eternal darkness before him. Anon. Never is man brought into that state in which he becomes the subject of a spiritual change, except as his conscience is roused to action under the influence of heavenly truth. While it slumbers, all our demonstrations, however clear, and all our appeals, however forceful, are but "like a lovely song of one who hath a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument"—as pleasing it may be to the ear, but as evanescent in their impression upon the mind; and when we know that stifling conscience is but throwing it into a stupor, we can easily understand that he who has been able to keep it down, and to smother its remonstrances, under the clearest light of the Gospel, has, in so doing, triumphed over his better self, and over all that is powerful in the means of grace, and all that was hopeful in his condition—and when you look at him, after having thus mastered his conscience, sitting unmoved when the messenger of truth takes his stand for God, and clearly illustrates and enforces with mighty urgency the claims of his Saviour, it seems as though all that was impressible about him had been turned to ice and iron and adamant; and we do not hesitate to say that as he has rendered himself more inaccessible to recovering influences, he has to the same degree rendered his spiritual condition hopeless. The most hopeless of God's creatures in this world is not, necessarily, the man of the greatest outward deformities of character, not necessarily the man of the fewest spiritual advantages, but the man of the most; the man who has been the subject of the deepest and most pungent convictions of truth and duty, which he has mastered; the man who has been brought nearest to the kingdom of heaven, yet has never entered it. Better for him that his conscience never should have been roused to action than that it should have awakened only to drink the anodyne which he himself had mingled for it. E. Mason. Christianity did not come from heaven to be the amusement of an idle hour, to be the food of mere imagination; to be as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and playeth well upon an instrument. No; it is intended to be the guide, the guardian, the companion of all hours, the food of our immortal spirits, the serious occupation of our whole existence. Bp. Jebb. Count yourself no Christian because you like thoughts and discourses about God. Be jealous of any gospel that merely pleases you, and puts your natural sentiments aglow. See God in the flowers if you will, but ask no gospel made up of flowers. Look after a sinner's gospel—one that brings you God Himself. Doubtless you are hungry; therefore you want bread, and not any mere feeling after it. Understand the tragic perils of your sin, and think nothing strong enough for you but a tragic salvation. Require a transforming religion, not a pleasing. Be enticed by no flattering sentimentalities, which the children of nature are everywhere taking for a religion. Refuse to sail in the shallows of the sea; strike out into the deep waters where the surges roll heavily, as in God's majesty, and the gales of the Spirit blow. Man your piety as a great expedition against God's enemies and yours, and hope for no delicate salvation, not to be won by great sacrifices and perils. Bushnell. Remember that God sent both priest and prophet. The law made nothing perfect. Men got used to the priestly function, and saw no other aspects of truth. The priest went into the holy place for them. They asked nothing, and reasoned about nothing. They were saved as they were. They were in the kingdom of God without effort of their own. The prophet taught more. He corrected impressions that were superficial. He showed how thoroughly the whole ethical life had gone astray, and everything was secularized and nominalized. The heart went after covetousness, and there was no God there. They made light of the name of God, which at first to them was too holy a word to utter. They heard His truth as it were a lovely song, and a pleasant voice, and a well-played instrument. It produced no genuine effect on their life. No sin was slain, no appetite was rebuked. We need to be warned against the same sentimentalism to-day—a shallow and superficial life that is satisfied with merely outward forms or transient emotions; with that which is dramatic, which makes one "feel good," but does not go down into the very blood and fibre of one's moral being, and does not affect character. The apostle John, who approached nearest of any of the apostles to what might be called emotional experience, knocks flat all these fictitious and sentimental ideas, when he says, "If a man love not his brother, whom he has seen, how shall he love God, whom he has not seen?" God has brought in the prophet. His stern utterances of truth go down into the marrow of life. A touch of His hand crumbles to dust the mere manikin of a formal profession. J. B. Thomas. We are passing out rather now into a kind of holiday freedom, talking piety as a natural taste, enjoying our fine sentiments of reverence to God, and protesting our great admiration of Christ and His beautiful lessons—all in the plane of nature itself. Multitudes of us, and especially of the young, congratulate ourselves that we are about as good Christians, on the ground of mere natural sentiment, as need be. Nay, we are somewhat better Christians than there used to be, because we are more philanthropic, better reformers, and in that are so easily up to the level of Christianity, in a fashion of piety so much more intelligent. Our doctrine of the Gospel grows flashy, to a large extent, in the same manner. High sentiments, beautiful aspirations, are taken, sometimes wittingly and sometimes unwittingly, as amounting to at least so much of religious character. Where we shall be landed, or stranded rather, in this shallowing process, is too evident. Christianity will be coming to be more and more nearly a lost fact. A vapid and soulless naturalism will be all that is left, and we shall keep the Gospel only as a something in Divine figure and form, on which to play our natural sentiments. Bushnell. Amid all that illusion which momentary visitations of seriousness and of sentiment throw around the character of man, let us never lose sight of the test, that “by their fruits ye shall know them.” That you hear and are delighted is not coming up to this test. It is that you hear and do. This is the ground upon which the reality of your religion is discriminated now; and on the day of reckoning, this is the ground upon which your religion will be judged then; and that award is to be passed upon you, which will fix and perpetuate your destiny forever. Chalmers. The Gospel message leaves no man exactly as it found him. The difference may be very imperceptible, but it will be real. One more, almost invisible, film, over the eyeball; one more thin layer of wax on the ear; one more fold of insensibility round heart and conscience—or else some yielding to the love; some finger put out to take the salvation; some lightening of the pressure of the sickness; some removal of the peril and the danger. The same sun blinds diseased eyes and gladdens sound ones. The same fire melts wax and hardens clay. “This Child is set for the rise and fall of many in Israel.” “To the one He is the savor of life unto life; to the other He is the savor of death unto death.” Which is He, for He is one of them, to you? A. M. 34: 1, 2 AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, even to the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord God: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the sheep? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigour have ye ruled over them. And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and there was none that did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, saith the Lord God, surely forasmuch as my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became meat to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my sheep; therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the mountains of the height of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie down in a good fold, and on fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I myself will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and will bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: and the fat and the strong I will destroy; I will feed them in judgement. And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, as well the rams as the he-goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them: Behold I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and the lean cattle. Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up unto them a plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. And they shall know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. And ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God. Chap. 34. The prophet, proceeding on his theme of restoration, has yet to pronounce a judgment, but not now upon the whole nation, but upon unfaithful rulers, whose very punishment will but further the good of those whom they have misguided. He shows what the rulers should have been, what they have been, and what in the coming times they shall be when the True King shall reign in the true kingdom. Hence follows a description of Messiah's reign. B. C. In this chapter the Lord's people appear as His "flock." The figure of the shepherd and his sheep is maintained throughout. The corrupt priests, false prophets, and wicked princes of Israel and Judah stand here as the shepherds who have long had the care of the Lord's flock. They are denounced; their wicked and ruinous policy is portrayed; and they receive their doom. The Lord Himself assumes the care of His flock; will raise up His servant David to be their shepherd and their prince; and so the highest prosperity shall ensue. As to date, it must be assumed that this prophecy follows the period named chap. 33: 21—i.e., follows the arrival of the tidings that the city of Jerusalem is smitten. Probably it was brought out immediately after. Remarkably in both Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the strain of prophecy is that of warning and denunciation before the fall of the city, but of consolation and promise after that fall. The reason of this is obvious. Before, the people were vainly self-confident; after, they were desponding. Before, they needed stern rebuke; after, the inspirations of promise and of hope. So God is wont to deal with His people. 1-6. Shepherd life was familiar in all the East. Whole tribes and nations subsisted mainly upon their flocks and herds. No wonder therefore that it appears as a figure to illustrate the spiritual care of the Lord's people. Jer. 23 : 1-4 gives the outlines of this entire chapter of Ezekiel. The reader will readily recall the frequent allusions to the shepherd and his flock in the discourses of our Lord, especially in John 10. Nothing else in human life could furnish illustrations of this thing at once so simple, so beautiful, and so pertinent. Those men of leading influence in the Jewish State—the priests, the false prophets and the princes—(for all these are included here) had fed themselves only and never the flock. Selfish men, they had sought only their own aggrandizement, and not at all the spiritual good of the people, or the honor of the God of Israel. The case of the flock affords many apposite illustrations of this selfishness. A bad shepherd neglects the feeble, the sick, the maimed and the wandering, and appropriates the fat and well-conditioned for his personal use. So had these vile men utterly neglected the spiritual culture of the people and sought only their own personal self-indulgence. H. C. 4. They did not do their duty to those of the flock that were distempered, did not strengthen them, or heal them, or bind them up. When any of the flock were sick or hurt, worried or wounded, it was all one to them whether they lived or died; they never looked after them. The princes and judges took no care to right those that suffered wrong, or to shelter injured innocency. They took no care of the poor to see them provided for. The priests took no care to instruct the ignorant, to rectify the mistakes of those that were in error, to warn the unruly or to comfort the feeble-minded. The ministers of state took no care to check the growing distempers of the kingdom which threatened the vitals of it. Things were amiss and out of course everywhere, and nothing was done to rectify them. H. 7-12. The two great points made here are: (1) That God is against those vile shepherds and will hold them to a strict accountability; and (2) that He will depose them from their place and assume the service Himself. He will do this work faithfully. He will seek out the wandering and the lost. Be His name praised for this promise! H. C. 12. Humiliating as the fact is, it is, with the great majority of us, only when we are pushed on to that sense of impotence that either reason or faith so wakes up in us that we begin to cry, as we ought to have cried in thankful confidence and devout dependence all along, to our Lord. God's love is too loving to let us alone. We would not begin right, or come right, in prosperity and health and youth; we set our best parts against the Providence of Life, and are conquered. We would not grow up Christians in the fold, under the Shepherd's hands, and hence the Shepherd lets us run on the sharp stones, the barren ledges and thorns of the mountains, till we are quite certain we are lost, before He comes after us; but then He is sure to come. F. D. H. Frequently spiritual clouds are the result of falls from the narrow path to the darker way of sin. Indulgence of known sins and neglect of known duties grieve the Holy Spirit, and His influence is withdrawn. The pilgrim ceases to regret the lost sunshine. Thus he might remain until death sealed his doom; but the Good Shepherd has said, "I will both gather My flock and search them out from all places where they have been scattered in the dark and cloudy day." Those who have been once folded in His arms by regeneration to everlasting life can never perish. He seeks out the sleeping pilgrim, and arouses him by some salutary chastisement. Then the backslider is left to prove the error of his wanderings, the sinfulness of his slumber; he finds, by painful experience, that his sins have cast a separating cloud between him and his God. He gropes his way in chilling shadows. But by the upholding influence of the Holy Spirit he is enabled to persevere, until at length—perhaps not till after a tedious and painful probation—his reconciled Father addresses to him the joyful invitation, "I have blotted out as a cloud thine iniquities, and as a thick cloud thy sins; return unto Me, for I have redeemed thee." How gladsome, then, is the return to the sunshine of joy and blessedness! Moore. 13-16. Scattered now in exile, the first promise is restoration to their land. This is natural. And it was true in its literal sense. The Lord did promise to restore them to their mother-land—and fulfilled it. But He promises here more than He fulfilled then and there in the restoration under Zerubbabel. This will appear more fully when we compare other prophecies of Ezekiel parallel with this—e.g., chap. 36 : 24-38 ; 37 : 15-28. H. C. 13. While every other ancient nation on the face of the earth has been scattered, mingled and lost its nationality among the vast masses of the nations of the earth, there stands one nation, in its unbelief and rebellion, blindness and sin, most accurately fulfilling the words of prophecy, in maintaining its distinct nationality! God, in His wonderful dealings with the children of men, has taken the most perverse people on earth and, during the time of their worst perversity, their most terrible blindness and unbelief, and, without their designing it or knowing it, made them bear testimony to the truth of the words of the prophets, in maintaining their distinct nationality, while all the other ancient nations have mingled in the vast sea of humanity till their nationality is lost. How wonderful are thy works, O thou King of saints! Anon. 17-31. The prophet has no more to say to the shepherds, but he has now a message to deliver to the flock. God had ordered him to speak tenderly to them, and to assure them of the mercy He had in store for them. But here he is ordered to make a difference between some and others of them, to separate between the precious and the vile, and then to give them a promise of the Messiah, by whom this distinction should be effectually made, partly at His first coming, since for judgment He came into this world (John 9 : 39), to fill the hungry with good things, and to send the rich empty away (Luke 1 : 53). But this distinction shall be completely made at His second coming, when He shall, as it is here said, judge between cattle and cattle, as a shepherd divides between the sheep and the goats. H. 17. This is a discrimination between the morally good and the morally bad. The radical distinction between sheep and goats in their temper and in their habits suggests the discrimination as to moral character which the Lord will bring to light in His judgment. Is not this passage the foundation of that remarkable language of our Lord in reference to the final judgment (Matt. 25 : 31-33)? 18,19. Here appears yet another illustration of the spirit and ways of the vile shepherds who are now the he-goats, leaders of the flock, or the fat ones, leading the lean. They not only eat up the good pasture themselves, but trample down all they do not eat, reserving nothing good for the feeble; and they drink of the deep, placid and pure waters, and then foul the rest with their feet—so that they leave for the Lord's flock no grass but what they have trodden down, and no water save what they have made foul. Was this a small thing? Was it not more than merely mean? Was it not supremely wicked? H. C. 20-31. Jehovah having promised to be a Ruler of His people, the administration of the Divine kingdom is now described as carried on by One King, the representative of David, whose dominion should fulfil all the promises originally made to the man after God's own heart. David fell short of the obedience required as a condition, and so even his kingdom did not reach the promised limits, much less acquire that solid peace which should have been its chief glory. To understand fully the scope of the Divine promises we must refer, first, to the terms in which under the law they were made to Moses, to David, to Solomon, with the conditions of their fulfilment; next, to the passages in the prophets, in which these promises are reasserted in the very same words with additions and enlargements. The constant repetition of the same phrases shows that the subject is the same, and that the promises in the law were not merely such as should fall to the ground in case of a failure of the conditions, but living promises that should take effect, though not for those who might have attained, but by their own fault did not attain to them. (Compare Paul's reasoning in Rom. 11.) The prophet thus seems not so much to add to as to explain and develop the original promise; and as the complete fulfilment of the spiritual blessings, which the prophets were guided to proclaim, was manifestly never realized in any temporal prosperity of the Jews, and never could and never can be realized in any earthly kingdom, we recognize throughout the Sacred Volume the one subject of all prophecy—the Righteous King, the Anointed Prince, the Son and the Lord of David. B. C. 23. One shepherd over them, even My servant David. Jesus Christ, the true Shepherd, to whom the title of David is given by the prophets, and attributed by Himself in the Gospel, and who has fulfilled all the duties, after having faithfully described all the characters, of the office. The Scriptures call this Shepherd David, because He was born of David after the flesh, and possessed in reality and eminently all those qualities which the Scriptures give to David under the figure of the Messiah. Calmet. He shall feed them, and He shall be their shepherd. This prophecy was remarkably fulfilled when Christ, by the preaching of the Gospel, "gathered in one the children of God, that were scattered abroad" (John 11 : 52; Eph. 1 : 10); among whom were many "of the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But it will receive a further completion at the general conversion of the Jews, when the time will come that they shall say, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matt. 23 : 39); and this signal event will usher in or complete the fulness of the Gentiles. (See Rom. 11 : 12, 15, 25, 32.) W. Lowth. 25-28. The figure of the flock is still kept up with great beauty and force. God will make with them a covenant of peace, binding the wild beasts (outside enemies) to keep the peace with them and do them no harm. So the flock will be safe anywhere, in the wilderness or the forests. The last part of verse 26 should read, "I will bring down the great rain in its time; floods of blessing shall it be." The Hebrew word used here always means a great rain. The figure of rain as a symbol and pledge of all Divine blessings appears in Lev. 26: 3-6, 19, 20. H. C. 25. Concerning the great charter by which the kingdom of the Messiah should be incorporated, and upon which it should be founded (verse 25): I will make with them a covenant of peace. The covenant of grace is a covenant of peace. In it God is at peace with us, speaks peace to us, and assures us of peace, of all good, all the good we need to make us happy. The tenor of this covenant is: "I the Lord will be their God, a God all-sufficient to them (verse 24), will own them, and will be owned by them; in order to this My servant David shall be a prince among them, to reduce them to their allegiance, to receive their homage, and to reign over them, in them, and for them." Note, those and those only that have the Lord Jesus for their Prince have the Lord Jehovah for their God. And then they, even the house of Israel, shall be My people. If we take God to be our God, He will take us to be His people. From this covenant between God and Israel there results communion: "I the Lord their God am with them, to converse with them; and they shall know it and have the comfort of it." H. 29. The reference is probably to the Garden of Eden. It promises that the Zion of the Lord shall be a second Eden in beauty, fertility and glory. The idea of renown, a good name, stands opposed to "the shame of the heathen" which they shall bear no more. They shall be no more reproached as a broken-down nationality, nor shall the name of the Lord be any more blasphemed on their account. The fertility of this plantation will sustain a great people and a strong nation; its splendor and beauty will lift them high above the reproach of the heathen. H. C. 31. "Ye are men;" then God knows what kind of persons we are, whom He has loved with an everlasting love. We are Adams, not angels. If you come into the Church of God, and expect to get among angels, you will be mightily mistaken; and if the brethren should receive you, and hope that they are receiving angels unawares, they will be mistaken, too. We make absurd mistakes through foolish expectations. We shall not find that our brethren and sisters are male and female cherubim, for they are men and women, and nothing more. They are fallen men, too, bearing about them traces of the ruin of their nature; they went astray like lost sheep, even the best of them. They are men—that is to say, they are only men; for the best of men are but men at the best. God's people are true men; when the Spirit of God is in them they quit themselves like men; they come to the front and bear the brunt of the battle. Spurgeon. 35: 1, 2 MOREOVER the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, and say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O mount Seir, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee a desolation and an astonishment. I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. Because thou hast had a perpetual enmity, and hast given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end: therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee; sith thou hast not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue thee. Thus will I make mount Seir an astonishment and a desolation; and I will cut off from it him that passeth through and him that returneth. And I will fill his mountains with his slain: in thy hills and in thy valleys and in all thy watercourses shall they fall that are slain with the sword. I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not be inhabited: and ye shall know that I am the 10 LORD. Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, 11 and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there: therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast shewed out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I shall 12 judge thee. And thou shalt know that I the LORD have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are 13 given us to devour. And ye have magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and 14 have multiplied your words against me: I have heard it. Thus saith the Lord GOD: When 15 the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. As thou didst rejoice over the inherit- ance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Edom, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD. 36: 1 And thou, son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye moun- 2 tains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because the enemy 3 hath said against you, Aha! and, The ancient high places are ours in possession: therefore prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because, even because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the nations, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and the evil report of the people: 4 therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which are become a prey and derision to the residue 5 of the nations that are round about: therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the nations, and against all Edom, which have appointed my land unto themselves for a possession with the joy of all their heart, with 6 despite of soul, to cast it out for a prey: therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have 7 borne the shame of the heathen: therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: I have lifted up mine hand, saying, Surely the heathen that are round about you, they shall bear their shame. 8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my 9 people Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn 10 unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste places shall be 11 builded: and I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and be fruit- 12 ful: and I will cause you to be inhabited after your former estate, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be 13 their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of children. Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because they say unto you, Thou land art a devourer of men, and hast been 14 a bereaver of thy nation; therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy 15 nation any more, saith the Lord GOD; neither will I let thee hear any more the shame of the heathen, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the peoples any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nation to stumble any more, saith the Lord GOD. 16, 17 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their doings: their way 18 before me was as the uncleanness of a woman in her separation. Wherefore I poured out my fury upon them for the blood which they had poured out upon the land, and because 19 they had defiled it with their idols: and I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I 20 judged them. And when they came unto the nations, whither they went, they profaned my holy name; in that men said of them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone 21 forth out of his land. But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had 22 profaned among the nations, whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD: I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for mine holy 23 name, which ye have profaned among the nations, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which hath been profaned among the nations, which ye have profaned in the midst of them ; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when 24 I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, 25 and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all your filthiness, and from all 26 your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you : and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an 27 heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, 28 and ye shall keep my judgements, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave 29 to your fathers ; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will save you from all your uncleannesses : and I will call for the corn, and will multiply it, and lay no 30 famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, 31 that ye shall receive no more the reproach of famine among the nations. Then shall ye re- member your evil ways, and your doings that were not good ; and ye shall loathe yourselves 32 in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sake do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you : be ashamed and confounded for your ways, 33 O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD : In the day that I cleanse you from all your 34 iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, whereas it was a desolation in the sight of all that 35 passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of 36 Eden ; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fenced and inhabited. Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD have builded the ruined places, and planted that which was desolate : I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. 37 Thus saith the Lord GOD : For this moreover will I be inquired of by the house of Israel, 38 to do it for them ; I will increase them with men like a flock. As the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of Jerusalem in her appointed feasts ; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men : and they shall know that I am the LORD. Chaps. 35, 36. The devastation of Edom and the restoration of Israel. Edom was included among the nations against which Ezekiel prophesied (25 : 12-14). But the fuller doom of Edom was reserved for this place, because Edom was one of the surrounding nations that profited at first by Judah's fall, and because it helps by way of contrast to bring out in a marked way the better future designed for Israel. Edom is the God-hating, God-opposing power, for Edom was ever distinguished for its bitter hatred against Israel, and so the ruin of Edom is the triumph of Israel in the power of God. B. C. Chap. 35. This chapter records a prophecy of judgments on Mount Seir and the people of Edom. Of all the contiguous nations none seem to have cherished more intense and inveterate hatred against Israel than Edom. Hence the prophecy against her, put in brief terms before (chap. 25 : 12-14) is resumed and amplified here, manifestly in part for the interesting purpose of bringing into connection with it the greater mercies which God had in store for His own Israel. The next chapter (36) develops the nature and the force of this connection, showing how the jealousy of the Lord was enkindled against the ancient enemies of His people, and how His soul was aroused to great achievements in their behalf out of regard for the glory of His name which Zion's enemies had blasphemed. 5,6. The personal ill-feeling of Esau toward his brother Jacob seems to have become the inheritance of his posterity age after age with scarce any perceptible abatement. The second clause of verse 5 refers to the day when the Chaldeans broke up their city, and the people fled for their lives. Obadiah (verses 10-15) implies that in this day of chief calamity upon the Jews, Edom was bitter and revengeful as even the proud Chaldeans ; looked exultingly upon the fall of his brother as of an old enemy ; "spake of them proudly in the day of their distress ;" "entered into their gates in that day of their calamity" for pillage and exultant joy ; "stood in the crossways to cut off those that were escaping," and "delivered them up" to their Chaldean foes. To this great, damning sin the last clause refers as "the end-sin"—that crowning iniquity which God could bear no longer, but must punish with exemplary severity—the last sin in the series, and lying next beyond all those which God could bear in the sense of long-suffering delay to punish. This one He could not "bear." Verse 6, "I will prepare thee unto blood," is better read, "I will appoint or destine thee for blood." Edom had not been averse to blood in the day of his brother's calamity; now let him have his fill of it. Let it pursue him, even as his greedy sword thirsted for the blood of his Jewish brother, and chased him down to drink it! 7-9. "Him that passeth out and him that returneth," is the usual Hebrew phrase for the travel incident to traffic in those ages. This prophecy is the more noticeable because Edom and its great capital, Petra, had been for ages the great thoroughfare of commercial travel between Central and Southern Asia on the east, and Egypt and North Africa on the southwest. Her capital had amassed great wealth and had risen to splendor by means of trade and travel; yet under the curse denounced in this prophecy, no spot on this wide earth ever trod by human foot is less frequented to day than this same Petra! Desolation has made her deepest imprints of ruin there. H. C. 14. When the whole earth rejoiceth. After the return from the Captivity, when all thy neighbors, conquered by the king of Babylon, shall be restored in peace and prosperity, thou shalt be reduced to distress and desolation. Calmet.—The Edomites never recovered their country after their expulsion from it by the Nabatheans, who drove them out of their ancient habitations in the time of the Babylonish captivity; they then settled themselves in the southern part of Judea, where they were afterward conquered by Hyrcanus, and obliged to embrace the Jewish religion, and so become incorporated with that nation. Prideaux. Chap. 36. This prophecy is the sequel of that contained in the last chapter. Calmet.—The Edomites have made their boasts (chap. 35: 10) that they should become masters of the mountainous parts of Judea, where the ancient fortresses were placed which commanded all the rest of the country. W. Lowth.—When the prophet speaks Judea is waste. The heathen nations around, and Edom in particular, rejoice in scorn; but the land of Israel is a holy land given by Jehovah to His people, and it shall be theirs. The promises are those of temporal blessings—the rebuilding of the cities, the peopling of the land—the fruitfulness and increase. Although these temporal blessings were typical of Messiah's reign, yet we may not doubt that this prophecy had for its first object the return of prosperity to the land and to the people after their return from Babylon. In fact, the Jews did, after their return, enjoy considerable wealth and prosperity, especially under the Maccabean rulers. At the same time, since peace and plenty were ever characteristic of the kingdom of Messiah, we may believe that here, as elsewhere, the full consummation of all blessings in His kingdom is delineated and foretold. B. C. The central idea of this chapter is that God's people having brought reproach on His name before the heathen, He will retrieve it from this disgrace. For the sake of His own glory He will restore His people to their land, renew the fertility of its soil, rebuild its long-time wasted cities, and (more and better than all) will renew the hearts of His people, taking away the stone and giving flesh instead; "putting His own Spirit within them, and causing them henceforth to walk in His statutes and do them." Yet lying back of this idea of interposing to retrieve His name from reproach before the heathen, is doubtless the more fundamental one—the Divine purpose and promise of salvation to His people; that in His own eternal counsels He had purposed to have a people saved unto holiness, and therefore could not and would not be frustrated in His purpose by their waywardness and sin, but would press the agencies of discipline and the yet mightier agencies of His Spirit to reclaim, renew and save. Thus He would show His people that He is really the very God, ever faithful to His promise, ever abiding in His love for His people. H. C. 8. For they are at hand to come. They, My people Israel, are near the time of their coming from Babylon into their own land. Abp. Newcome.—The most sensible interpreters seem to agree that there are several expressions in this chapter, particularly in the latter part of it, which cannot be literally understood of any event excepting of the reign of the Messiah, of the freedom that He has procured for His Church, of another promised land and of a chosen people, different from that of the Jews; but at the same time that there may be recognized in it certain forms of speech which have had their literal accomplishment since the return of the Jews from the Captivity. Calmet. 12-15. The general thought is that the land will be depopulated no more. But the real fulfilment of this promise appears only in its spiritual significance as relating to the true Zion of the living God. For Palestine has long been forsaken of the seed of Abraham and has long since ceased to be the local home of the organized people, worship, and institutions of God. But God's true Zion lives; has not been depopulated, but has been exceedingly multiplied even already, and doubtless is yet to be far more. (Cf. Isa. 54: 1-8.) H. C. 16-36. In this section the subjugation of the world is contemplated in the overthrow of nations (Edom in particular) which immediately surrounded the Holy Land—the triumph of the kingdom of God in the restoration of the children of Israel to their native soil, a hint, but only a hint, being given at the close, of a more extensive and enduring dominion. In the following chapters to the end of 39 the conflict between the world and God is described in its most general form, and the absolute triumph of the kingdom of God fully depicted. The honor of God is asserted in the gathering together and the purification of His people. Dispersion is the breaking up of nationality. The first step toward the re-establishment of a kingdom must be the gathering together of the scattered members. As the dispersion of the children of Israel was far wider and more lasting than the sojourn in Chaldea, so the reunion here predicted is far more extensive and complete. The dispersion yet continues, the reunion will be in those days when Israel shall be gathered into the Church of God. The reunion shall be accompanied by repentance and conversion by the working of the Holy Spirit making them indeed the people of God. B. C. 22,23. It was vital to the best moral impression upon the people that they should see that this interposition of God to deliver them from their captivity and restore them to their land was not done for their sake—had none of its causes or grounds in their goodness or merits; but was done entirely for His own holy name's sake, to redeem His character and throne from dishonor before the nations. These statements uniformly rest the case here, although (as suggested above) we may well go deeper, even to the eternal love of God for lost men and to His glorious purpose of redeeming a people unto Himself. H. C. 22. Have you ever thought what a wonderful and blessed truth there lies in the old words of one of the Jewish prophets, "I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake"? The foundation of all God's love to us sinful men, that passage tells us, lies not in us, nor in anything about us, not in anything external to God Himself. He, and He alone, is the cause and reason, the motive and the end, of His own love to our world. And unless we have grasped that magnificent thought as the foundation of all our acceptance in Him, I think we have not yet learned half of the fulness which, even in this world, may belong to our conceptions of the love of God—a love that has no motive but Himself; a love that is not evoked even (if I may so say) by regard to His creatures' wants; a love, therefore, which is eternal, being in that Divine heart before there were creatures upon whom it could rest; a love that is its own guarantee, its own cause—safe and firm, therefore, with all the firmness and serenity of the Divine nature—incapable of being affected by our transgression, deeper than all our sins, more ancient than our very existence, the very essence and being of God Himself. If you seek the source of Divine love, you must go high up into the mountains of God, and learn that it, as all other of His (shall I say) emotions, and feelings, and resolutions and purposes, owns no reason but Himself, no motive but Himself; lies wrapped in the secret of His nature, who is all-sufficient for His own blessedness, and all whose work and being is caused by, and satisfied, and terminates in His own fulness. "God is love:" therefore beneath all considerations of what we may want—deeper and more blessed than all thoughts of a compassion that springs from the feeling of human distress and the sight of man's misery—lies this thought of an affection which does not need the presence of sorrow to evoke it, which does not want the touch of our finger to flow out, but by its very nature is everlasting, by its very nature is infinite, by its very nature must be pouring out the flood of its own joyous fulness forever and ever! A. M. 25. The conception of cleansing by sprinkling clean water comes from the Mosaic ceremonial system. (See especially Num. 19: 17-19 and also Ps. 51: 9.) As looking to the exiles in Chaldea to be restored to Canaan, it makes prominent the filthiness and abominations of idolatry. From these the Lord would effectually cleanse them. This became a great historic fact. The nation as such was cured of idolatry, at least during several generations. But this promise is good against all the filthiness and all the abominations of human hearts. The gracious promise of the Lord covers all. And there is a wealth of blessedness in this broad, magnificent promise! By what power performed and how applied, the Lord proceeds to show. 26,27. Compare chap. 11: 17-20, where in briefer statements the same general ideas appear. The "heart" and the "spirit" represent what is most radical in human character—what is farthest removed from hypocrisy or from the merely external life. Comprehensively they embody man's deepest purposes and intentions—the governing will that animates his whole activities, and morally constitutes the man. To make these wholly new is to breathe into the soul of man a new moral life. It changes the great drift and aim of his endeavors; gives him a new object to live for; inspires his soul with new motives, and brings him under new influences. It is made prominent here that this change is wrought by the Spirit of God; "I will put My Spirit within you, and (so) will cause you to walk in My statutes," etc. God Himself becomes a controlling power in the hearts of men unto a holy life. This is the great doctrine of the New Testament, taught forcibly by our Lord Himself in His statements respecting the new birth (John 3:3-8), and everywhere presented as pre-eminently the work of the Spirit of God. The heart of stone, contrasted with the heart of flesh, is forcible imagery, yet wonderfully true to human consciousness. Its significance applies appositely to the sensibilities—cold and dead, apart from the living, quickening power of God in the soul—but tender, flowing and free when the Spirit touches the soul and even makes His abode there. And yet we must not restrict the Spirit's work to the sensibilities. The intellect also—the mind's apprehension of Divine truth—is by no means unaffected in this great change from stone to flesh. The dullness of apprehension, the resistance to truth, which appears where God is not in the heart, may fitly be called "stony," while the sharpened thought, the quick apprehension, and the genial welcome of truth attach the qualities of living flesh even to the intellect. Yet these terms were never intended to be acutely metaphysical. They address the popular mind. Considered as so addressed, they are exceedingly forcible and happy. I cannot forbear to add that they reveal a most blessed, glorious truth—viz., that God Himself becomes an effective power in the souls of men unto real holiness. While all merely external agencies forever fail, this Divine agency is forever efficacious. It does for man the very thing he needs. His own unaided endeavors, his firmest resolutions, prove unavailing. Under his bitter experience of their failure, this promise comes to his soul as the dawn of day upon the thickest darkness. When God says, "I will put My Spirit within you and will cause you to walk in My statutes," his heart responds, That meets my soul's great want. It is enough. If God will grant me that effective spiritual aid under which I shall wholly obey and please Him, I can ask nothing better; I aspire to nothing higher and nobler. As already suggested, this is the Gospel. These are the provisions of Gospel grace for the reregeneration and sanctification of unholy men. They are large promises. Nothing larger, broader, or richer appears in the whole New Testament. H. C. God would give them a new heart; a disposition of mind excellent in itself, and vastly different from what it was before. God will work an inward change in order to a universal change. All that have an interest in the new covenant and a title to the new Jerusalem have a new heart and a new spirit, and these are necessary in order to their walking in newness of life. This is that Divine nature which believers are by the promises made partakers of. Instead of a heart of stone, insensible and inflexible, unapt to receive any Divine impressions and to return any devout affections, God would give a heart of flesh, a soft and tender heart, that has spiritual senses exercised, conscious to itself of spiritual pains and pleasures, and complying in everything with the will of God. Renewing grace works as great a change in the soul as the turning of a dead stone into living flesh. Since, beside our inclination to sin, we complain of an inability to do our duty, God will cause them to walk in His statutes, will not only show them the way of His statutes before them, but incline them to walk in it, and thoroughly furnish them with wisdom and will and active powers for every good work. In order to this He will put His Spirit within them; as a Teacher, Guide, and Sanctifier. God does not force men to walk in His statutes by external violence, but causes them to walk in His statutes by an internal principle. And observe what use we ought to make of this gracious power and principle promised us and put within us: Ye shall keep My judgments. If God will do His part according to the promise, we must do ours according to the precept. The promise of God's grace to enable us for our duty should engage and quicken our constant care and endeavor to do our duty. God's promises must drive us to His precepts as our rule, and then His precepts must send us back to His promises for strength, for without His grace we can do nothing. H. It would be to form a very false idea of the conversion of the heart to imagine that the finest examples and the gravest lessons are able to convert any individual. If conversion is at once a death and a birth, the death of the old man and the birth of a new man; if conversion is in principle and in fact a victory over the world; if conversion, giving us eyes to discern things invisible, makes us strangers on the earth by convincing us that so we are by origin and destiny : if conversion is all this and nothing less, it supposes so complete and serious an abjuration of all the principles of the natural man, an abjuration not merely of his vices, but of his virtues ; it supposes such a general, unreserved, and unqualified sacrifice, without any expected recompense from God excepting God Himself, that it would be absolutely irrational to attribute to any instruction and example, of what kind soever, the power of producing a revolution so thorough and fundamental. Vinet. Self-culture is what a man may do upon himself ; mending his defects, correcting his mistakes, chastening his faults, tempering his passions, putting himself into the charities he has learned from Christ, perhaps to admire, finishing himself in the graces that have won his approval or commanded his respect. But the work is a far more hopeless one than he imagines, and is almost sure to result, even visibly, in more affectations of character than are likely to be much approved. Besides, it holds him to a continual self-contemplation which is selfish, and keeps him all the while filing and polishing on his nature by his will ; which is, in fact, the most wearisome possible, or rather impossible, kind of self-attention. The old faults conquered, too, will be coming back on him just when he is conquering another set. And turning round to fight them off, he will find the whole swarm loose upon him again ; till, finally, getting worried and vexed and soured and discouraged, he virtually, though perhaps not consciously, gives over his whole undertaking. Oh if he could have gone up to Christ, or to God, in a true faith-culture, and let his faults fall off, as blasted flowers fall off the trees, dislodged by the life principle in them, his beautiful thought of finishing a character would have been how easily put forward—without a care, too, and in the sweetest liberty. No man finishes a character who does not go above himself and take the culture of God's own Spirit ; by that growing out a character from within, which cannot be manipulated inwardly from without. If there be any good gift that cometh from above, and cannot be made below, it is character. Bushnell. There is but one Being that can make a change in our position in regard to God, and there is but one Being that can make the change by which man shall become a "new creature." And He has come, and He has dwelt with us, and He has walked in the midst of this world, and He knows all about our human agonies and depressions and lowliness, and He has carried in the golden urn of His humanity a new spirit and a new life which He has set down in the midst of the race ; and the urn was broken on the cross of Calvary, and the water flowed out, and whithersoever that water comes there is life, and whithersoever it comes not there is death ! A. M. The spiritual change upon which the Bible insists is a change of feelings and passions, hopes and joys, rules and ends of action. The Spirit of the living God, in translating a man from the kingdom of darkness into that of His dear Son, does not give him a heart, but a new disposition of heart—does not give a man affections, but new objects of affections. The Spirit acts upon the heart, and man becomes "willing in the day of God's power"—and the difference between what he is and what he was, the secret of his wondrous change lies in this, that he loves what formerly he hated, and hates what formerly he loved. E. M. There is no goodness without the impulse and indwelling of the Divine Spirit, and there is no Divine Spirit to dwell in a man's heart without that man trusting in Jesus Christ. The condition of receiving the gift that makes men good is simply and solely that we should put our trust in Jesus Christ the Giver, that opens the door, and that Divine Spirit enters. There are convincing operations which He effects upon the world ; but these are not in question here. These come prior to and independent of faith. But the work of the Spirit of God, present within us to heal and hallow us, has as condition our trust in Jesus Christ, the Great Healer. If you trust in Jesus Christ, He will give you the new life of His Spirit, which will make you free from the law of sin and death. That Divine Spirit "which they that believe in Him should receive" delights to enter into every heart where His presence is desired. Faith is desire, and desires rooted in faith cannot be in vain. Faith is expectation, and expectations based upon Divine promise can never be disappointed. Faith is dependence, and dependence that reckons upon God, and upon God's gift of His Spirit, will surely be recompensed. A. M. O Christian ! renewed by grace, dost thou indeed believe that God inhabits thee with His holiness and makes thee His temple ? Be thou, then, a temple indeed, a sacred place to Him. Exclude covetousness ; make not thy Father's house a house of merchandise. Deem every sin a sacrilege. Let all thy thoughts within, like white-robed priests, move round the altar and keep the fire burning. Let thy affections be always a cloud, filling the room and enwrapping thy priest-like thoughts. Let thy hallowed desires be ever fanning the mercy-seat with their wings. Bushnell. The comforts of the Gospel in the New Testament have their rise from the Old. The great promise of the Messiah is in the Old Testament, "A virgin shall conceive and bear a son." Nay more, the moral law speaks Gospel, "I am the Lord thy God;" here is the pure wine of the Gospel. The saint's great charter, where God promised to "sprinkle clean water upon them, and put His Spirit within them," is to be found primarily in the Old Testament (Ezek. 36: 25, 26). So that they who take away the Old Testament do as Samson, pull down the pillars; they would take away the pillars of a Christian's comfort. Watson. 28. Ye shall be My people. (Cf. 2 Cor. 6: 16-18; Heb. 8: 10.) The writers of the New Testament appropriated these and similar phrases of the Old Testament to the Church of Christ. The restoration of the Jews to their native soil which did actually take place was a step, a preparation, as well as a type of the establishment of the kingdom of Christ; and so the hills and the valleys of Israel, in the most enlarged sense of prophecy, are that better land which is to be the seat and the possession of the universal Church of Christ. Between the restoration of the Jews (the first step) there are many steps toward the end—the spread of Christ's Church throughout the world, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the acknowledgment of the true God—and we are justified in looking forward to a time when the Gospel shall be preached in all the world, and the earth become the kingdom of God in a fuller sense than it has ever yet been. But all these are steps. Our prophecies look beyond all this to the kingdom of God in the heavens. The reference to the Garden of Eden, the condition of the earth before man's fall to be renewed after his recovery, confirms us in this view of our prophecy—which is further supported and illustrated by the closing Revelation of John, when a new heaven, and a new earth, and a new Jerusalem marked the time when the tabernacle of God shall be with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people (Rev. 21: 3). B. C. 33-36. In these verses the temporal side (so to speak) of these promises stands forth prominently. They needed to have a temporal side for the special encouragement of the exiles in Chaldea, and perhaps I might add, for the verification of the promises themselves. But the spiritual side furnishes the richer installments and stands guaranteed to us by the fulfilment, already past, of the temporal part in the restoration from Babylon, and in the external prosperity which succeeded that great event. 37,38. It is fully implied that the people were to pray for the great blessing just promised, a point of great moral significance. Definite promise should encourage prayer and never be held to relieve God's people from the duty, or exclude them from the privilege. But while this is implied here as often elsewhere, the precise thing affirmed in the text is that the previous prohibition of prayer for Jerusalem is now removed, and God is again accessible "to be inquired of by the house of Israel." In the words that follow stress is laid upon the great increase of population as being the central thing. It was central among the temporal blessings here promised. The word "flock" comes from the previous figure which accounts the people as the Lord's sheep and Himself as their shepherd. The population would crowd the cities densely, as the throng filled Jerusalem in the great national feasts. The general import is, You may rest assured it is in the heart of your God to do great and glorious things for His cause and people. If He names Canaan and corn and hosts of men, let it be that He thereby condescends to an earthly condition of things then present—to a style of wants then pressing and uppermost—but really means not these things alone, but things far purer, higher, and better. (See also Amos 9: 13-15.) H. C. 37. To the arguments against prayer, that God knows our requests already, and that God's decrees are immutable and cannot be altered by our prayers, I answer, prayer is not for God's information, but the creature's submission; we pray for His permission and His blessing. Gods decrees do not exclude the duty of creatures and the work of second causes. The Lord, by the prophet Ezekiel, says, "I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel;" and in Jeremiah (29: 11, 12), "I know the thoughts of peace that I have toward you, yet ye shall call upon Me, and I will hear you." Manton. I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel. God has spoken and He will do it, and He will be sought unto for it. They must pray for it, for by prayer God is sought unto and inquired after. What is the matter of God's promises must be the matter of our prayers. By asking for the mercy promised, we must give glory to the Donor, express a value for the gift, own our dependence, and put honor upon prayer, which God has put honor upon. H.—Prayer is the channel through which the Lord is graciously pleased to convey spiritual blessings to the soul. He knows all our wants, and without our asking Him, could supply them in the best possible time. But He will be inquired of by the house of Israel to do for them according to the exceeding great and precious promises He hath given. Hannah More.—Power, with God and with men for God, whether in the preaching of the Word, in the service of Christ's poor, or in the varied ministries of every private disciple, comes always and only in the measure of faith and of the Holy Ghost, in answer to prayer. The word of Christ stands unchanged to-day: According to your faith, be it unto you! And, How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him! B. The clouds of revival which pass from land to land, who can predict their course or trace their laws, and say why they pass on, and why they fall in blessing? This one thing we do know, and it is the most practical, that prayer is closely connected with the outpouring of the Spirit. He who has bidden us ask our daily bread from our heavenly Father, and the rain that is to give it, has bidden us ask, also, from Him this good gift of His Holy Spirit, and has assured us that He will not deny it. The spirit of prayer is itself, indeed, the spiritual rain begun, but we may detain it, and increase the refreshing showers. We can lift up our voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover us. Ker. Prayer touches the only spring that can possibly ensure success. By speaking we move man; but by prayer we move God. It is through the medium of prayer that the littleness and meanness of man prevail with Omnipotence. "The prayer of faith" is the only power in the universe to which the great Jehovah yields; He looks upon every other power as more or less opposed to Him; but He looks upon this as a confession of man's dependence, as an appropriate homage to his greatness, as an attraction which brings down His Divine agency to the earth. Here every one may assist missions; and every tear in the closet, every pang in the heart over the miseries of those who are dead in their sins, every prayer lifted up in that retirement where no eye sees but the eye of Him "which seeth in secret," affords a most important benefit. These are the elements of success; these the pledges of final triumph. R. Hall. The promise is, "According to your faith, be it unto you." Feeble infrequent, formal prayer will not meet the demand. It must be earnest, fervent, persevering, mighty in faith, abundant in strong crying and tears, the offspring of a deep spiritual agony. The ministry needs to confide with more childlike simplicity in the Divine promises. If they pledge what is impossible with men we are not to stagger at it, but believe that with God all things are possible. He can bring light out of darkness, make the parched ground a pool, give songs in the night, harvests in the desert, and turn the shadow of death into eternal day. This needs to be seen and felt in order that the throne may be boldly approached, the horns of the altar seized, and held fast till the heavens open and pour down righteousness. Such a thing as the salvation of a world is not to be achieved without fervent, effectual prayer, travaillings in spirit and groanings unutterable. E. Thurston. If thou canst not help the great cause of God in any other mode, at any rate there is open to thee that of fervent prayer. How much may be done for the Master's kingdom by the "king's remembrancers," who put Him in mind day by day of the agonies of His Son, and of His covenant and promise to give Him a widening dominion! I doubt not that many sick-beds in England are doing more for Christ than our pulpits. Oh, what showers of blessings come down in answer to the prayers and tears of poor godly invalids, whose weakness is their strength, and whose sickness is their opportunity! Spurgeon. Little do we know often of the secret origin of the dews of blessing that descend on the churches of God. In the recesses of some lowly cottage, in the depths of some humble heart, may be going on the work of pious intercession, in answer to which the grace of heaven descends on us and on our children, on the labors of the wondering and joyful pastor, and on the hearts of the far heathen, until the wilderness and solitary place are glad for them. The time is to come when from every home such prayer shall arise. Let us sustain and swell, in our day, the ascending volume of supplication that is yet to roll around the globe, and never to fail, until over a world regenerated and purified the morning star shall again shout for joy, and the earth, emerging from her long and disastrous eclipse of sin and wrath, shall yet again walk the heavens in her unsullied brightness—a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Till then we have no reason, no right to intermit our supplications; and it is only when, in the final accomplishment of David's prayer, His greater Son shall have come to reign over all lands and to have dominion from sea to sea—it is not until that prayer shall have been made for Him continually, and He shall daily have been praised, that the believer remaining on earth will be warranted to adapt to his own lips the touching and triumphant close appended to the supplications of the crowned singer of Israel: "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." The real reason of our reluctance to practise intercessory prayer is a want of sympathy with others, a want of love. He who prays with the largest sympathy, he who embraces in his prayer the widest circle of his fellow-creatures, is most in sympathy with the mind of God when he prays, has the key of God's heart, and therefore of God's treasury. Goulburn. Here is a declaration and a pledge of the living God concerning a great duty resting upon His people; a declaration and pledge whose truth has borne the test of many centuries; which has stood, which stands to-day firm, fresh, which is uttered still to us and for us, a special incentive and leading encouragement to meet this specific leading duty. "Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts." To apprehend fully all that is included in the "this" which He will be inquired of to do, look at the context before and after. First, read the words before and central in the whole connection: "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart will I give you, a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them; and ye shall be My people and I will be your God!" Then read on in the words that follow after. Read through the strange vision of the multitudinous skeletons parching in the open valley, how sinews, flesh, and skin came upon and covered them, and how the breath from the four winds came upon them and they lived, read through all until you reach the plain words in which are interpreted and repeated the truths set forth in the vision. "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves. And I shall put My spirit in you, and ye shall live!" This, then, is the thing which He will be inquired of to do, the exertion of His quickening Spirit upon stony, dead hearts to make them live, the application of His sanctifying Spirit to unclean hearts to make them clean, the putting His guiding, strengthening Spirit within quickened, cleansed hearts, and so enabling them to know and causing them to walk in His statutes; thus making them His people, and so increasing His spiritual house of Israel with men like a flock, in number as the multitude that thronged the sacred city at the solemn yearly festivals. This is the thing promised, and for the fulfilment of the promise the simple declaration is, "For this I will be inquired of, be besought by the house of Israel to do it for them"—the plain meaning being that He ordains such inquiry, such fervent entreaty on our part as the condition of His so doing. B. 37:1 THE hand of the LORD was upon me, and he carried me out in the spirit of the 2 LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones; and he caused me to pass by them round about: and behold, there were very many in the open valley; 3 and lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And 4 I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, 5 and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord God 6 unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and 7 put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold an earthquake, 8 and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And I beheld, and lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above: but there was no breath in 9 them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon 10 these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came 11 into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our 12 bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off. Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come 13 up out of your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come 14 up out of your graves, O my people. And I will put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD. 15, 16 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, And thou, son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house 17 of Israel his companions: and join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they may 18 become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? say unto them, Thus saith the Lord 19 God: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, even with the stick of Judah, and 20 make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou 21 writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they be 22 gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two 23 kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they 24 be my people, and I will be their God. And my servant David shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgements, and observe 25 my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children's children, for ever: and David my servant shall be their prince for 26 ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them: it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in 27 the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; and I will be their 28 God, and they shall be my people. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD that sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. Chap. 37. The strain of rich and glorious promise still continues, looking primarily to the immediate case of the exiles to whom the message first came, but stretching its view far onward into the great sublime future of the Zion of the Lord our God. As to its figures and symbols, the chapter is in two parts. The first (verses 1-14) is a vision of dry bones brought back to life, vigor and beauty—to represent the restored nationality of the captive, dispirited Jews and their renewed spiritual life: while the second part (verses 15-20) gives us by a figure the enduring union of the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. Then verses 21-28 expand into a rich promise of the future peace and purity of Messiah's kingdom. The first section is prophetic vision and not symbolic transaction in real life. But the second section is manifestly a real transaction, of a symbolic character. H. C. 1,2. By a prophetic impulse and a Divine power he was, in vision, carried out and set in the midst of a valley—probably that plain spoken of (chap. 3: 22)—where God then talked with him; and it was full of bones, of dead men's bones; not piled up on a heap, as in a charnel-house, but scattered upon the face of the ground, as if some bloody battle had been fought here, and the slain left unburied till all the flesh was devoured or putrefied, and nothing left but the bones, and those disjointed from one another and dispersed. He passed by them round about, and he observed not only that they were very many (for there are multitudes gone to the congregation of the dead), but that, lo, they were very dry, having been long exposed to the sun and wind. The bones that had been moistened with marrow, when they have been any while dead, lose all their moisture; the body is now fenced with bones, but then they will themselves be defenceless. The Jews in Babylon were like those dead and dry bones, unlikely ever to come together, to be so much as a skeleton, less likely to be formed into a body, and least of all to be a living body. H. 2. Before him on every side is the absolute victory of death over life. It is like the scene of some bloody battle, which no human foot has trodden during the ages that have passed away since the day of that terrible conflict. Nature has completed her work of destruction. Every vestige of life has disappeared in these dried-up remains. Godet. 3. The Jews were at this time captives in Babylon, and so dispersed through that vast empire that they said of themselves, in the language of despair (verse 11), "Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts." Even the prophet himself looked on their case as so irrecoverable by human means that when God gave him a visionary representation of their state, by a valley covered with dry bones, and put the question to him, "Son of man, can these bones live?" his answer was, "O Lord God, Thou knowest." With Thee indeed all things are possible: Omnipotence may do this great thing; but whether it shall be done, or by what means it may come to pass, Thou, O Lord God, and Thou only knowest. R. Walker. 4-6. The pertinence of prophesying to dry bones becomes fully apparent when we get the true idea of their significance in this vision. These dead and dry bones, according to the Lord's own interpretation (verse 11), "are the whole house of Israel," as they lay in their captivity. They were saying, "Our bones are dried and our hope is lost; as for us, we are utterly cut off"—i.e., from being a nation; we are nationally annihilated. So the hearts of the exiles had sunk into despair of ever returning to their native land and becoming again a nation enjoying the favor of God there. Now, despondency does not preclude reasoning, although real death does. Despondency does not shut off preaching—does not make it absurd to proclaim the word of the Lord. These exiled Jews were dead only in figure; they were dry bones only in the sense of being utterly discouraged, and of having lost heart and hope in their nation's future. Preaching and prophesying to them the word of the Lord was the legitimate remedy. It might perhaps have the aspect of an absurdity while they are thought of only as dead and dry bones. The absurdity comes of forcing the figure, not of understanding the fact it represents. A special interpretation has been sometimes put upon this entire vision whereby these bones are spiritually dead sinners, and their resurrection is regeneration by the Spirit of the Lord. In this view of it, the prophet (Gospel minister) prophesies (preaches) to sinners void of spiritual life, only because he is commanded to do so, and not because there is any natural adaptation of the means to the end proposed—their resuscitation to life. When this view of the sinner's death is pushed to the extreme of denying to him intelligence to understand God's truth and conscience to feel its force, the absurdity becomes glaring. Yet the thing to be said here of these views is that whatever may or may not be true in regard to them, they are entirely foreign from the doctrine of this vision. Any effort to make this passage teach the laws of regeneration is altogether gratuitous. The Lord should be allowed to put His own interpretation upon the visions which He gives. When He has done this we have but one duty—viz., to abide by it, and resist all abuse and perversion of God's Word. H. C. 7,8. No sooner has Ezekiel uttered the Divine command to these bones, than over the whole extent of the plain, movement succeeds to stillness, and a mysterious sound to the profound silence. These bones begin to stir—to come together; they form into skeletons; then appear the sinews—and the flesh covers the sinews, and clothes itself in skin. But here the whole process ends. The organs of life are there, but life itself is wanting. They are no longer mere skeletons, but still they are only dead bodies—"there is no breath in them," says the prophet. This is but the first phase of a resurrection. Godet. 8. Formalists are like the troops in Ezekiel's army before they were quickened: covered well with plump flesh and fair skin, yet no breath was in them; at distance a famous army, but on near approach, all dead men—no life in them until the Spirit breathed upon them. Berridge. 10. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, God the Spirit, to the pulling down of strongholds. Without His benediction the ministry of an archangel would never convert one sinner from the error of his way. But when He descends, with His life-giving influence from God out of heaven, then “foolish things of the world confound the wise; and weak things of the world confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, yea, and things which are not, bring to naught things which are.” It is this ministration of the Spirit which renders the preaching of the Gospel to men dead in trespasses and sins a reasonable service. When I am set down in the valley of vision, and view the bones, very many and very dry, and am desired to try the effect of my own ability in recalling them to life, I will fold my hands and stand mute in astonishment and despair. But when the Lord God commands me to speak in His name, my closed lips shall be opened; when He calls upon the breath from the four winds to breathe upon the slain that they may live, I will prophesy without fear, “O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord;” and, obedient to His voice, they shall come together, bone to His bone—shall be covered with sinews and flesh—shall receive new life, and stand up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. J. M. Mason. 11-14. The words these bones are the whole house of Israel say plainly that what follows is the explanation of the vision. In the vision, the bones were scattered on the earth; in the explanation, they are to be raised from their graves. But the difference is easily explained. The bones must have been seen in the vision, in order that the process of revivification might be exhibited. In the explanation, the dead condition of the people is described by the usual figure of bodies gone down to the grave. The restoration of the people to the land of Israel had reference to a primary fulfilment in the return from Babylon, but the chief purport of the vision was the promise of restoration from a death in trespasses and sins to a new life of holiness, fulfilled in the Gospel dispensation (John 5: 25), but having its consummation in the general resurrection at the last day. B. C. The simple meaning of the words requires that we should regard these verses as the explanation of the preceding vision; and since at least verse 11 (“these bones are the whole house of Israel”), which declares the condition of Israel to be that of dry bones, must be symbolically understood, it seems quite arbitrary to take verse 12, where it is declared to those who have said, Our bones are dried, “I will open your graves,” etc., literally. In any case, however, the vision is of the greatest importance in the development of the doctrine of the resurrection, which, though not resulting therefrom as its direct explanation, is yet implied by its obvious application. Tertullian had already justly remarked concerning this passage: de vacuo similitudo non competit; de nullo parabola non convenit. That the power of God can, against all human thought and hope, reanimate the dead, is the general idea of the passage, from which consequently the hope of a literal resurrection of the dead may naturally be inferred, though the context shows that this is not what is here spoken of. The resurrection of the dead is, however, decidedly taught in Dan 12. O. Those who find dark or doubtful passages in the Word of God should mark God’s own interpretation of them and regard that as absolutely decisive; discarding all speculations of their own at variance with God’s explanations. “O My people,” breathes the tone of kind, parental recognition. Compare chap. 13: 17, where, as if God would disown them, He calls them, not My people, but “thy people.” The change from thy to My betokens the tenderness of returning love. It indicates that deep spiritual blessings are involved in this promised revivification and restoration of their own land. The reader will notice with interest that this vision assumes the doctrine of a resurrection of the dead from their graves. It is based precisely on this great idea. The figure is drawn from the fact of a resurrection, and of course assumes not merely that the resurrection of the body is a truth, yet to become reality, but that this doctrine was currently known by the Jews of Ezekiel’s time. Figures, legitimately used, always draw their analogies from things known. Else they would only make darkness yet more dark. There is no law of language more rational, universal, and fixed than this; that figures of speech are legitimate and useful only when drawn from things palpable and visible, or from facts understood and believed. The thing we would explain or set in yet stronger light, we compare with something better known than itself; else our figures and analogies avail nothing. In the case before us, it should be borne in mind that the resurrection is not a doctrine of nature. Nature never has taught it, and it never can. It comes to men only through revelation. The Jews had this revelation; else Ezekiel in these allusions to it would have been as one who speaks in an unknown tongue. Hence this reference to the resurrection irresistibly implies the general belief in that doctrine among the Jews at that time. A similar use of this figure appears in Isaiah (chap. 26: 14, 19), applied first to the godless nations: "They are dead; they shall not live; deceased; they shall not rise; because Thou hast visited and destroyed them and made all their memory to perish." Next he applies it to the penitent and trustful nation: "Thy dead shall live; being my own dead body, they shall arise; awake and sing, ye dwellers in dust, for thy dew is the dew of herbs" (fertilizing and life-inspiring), "and on the earth, on the dead, Thou wilt cause it to fall." Hence the doctrine of the resurrection was certainly current among the Jews in the time of Isaiah. H. C. 12-14. Here we have the picture of a double restoration; primarily an external and political elevation of the people, of which the first phase of the resurrection is the image; this is the return from the Captivity. But a national restoration can give to a people only the organs of life—civil and social institutions—not life itself. For what is the most brilliant and prosperous state without life, without the Divine breath, the spirit of holiness? The return of Israel into their own country, if it was truly to deserve the name of a resurrection, must culminate in the kingdom of God; but this can only be by means of a gift from heaven—that of spiritual life. In Pentecost, then, we see the second act represented in the vision, and one which, while effecting the spiritual regeneration of the nation, will also inaugurate the new era of a salvation for all mankind. Godet. This vision of the dry bones coming together at the word of the prophet, and then breathed upon by the breath of life, and by that quickening breath made to stand upon their feet and transformed into an army of living men, wonderfully represents to us that work of the Lord which began at Pentecost when the word of the Lord went forth, and the Spirit of the Lord with that word breathed mercifully and mightily on a dead world, renewed the moral force of the earth, and commenced that wondrous transformation, that regeneration which, having its beginning in the hearts of men, shall not cease till all things have been made new, a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness shall dwell. Trench. That the vision of the valley of dry bones relates ultimately to times yet future may be seen by a glance either at the context preceding or following. When the prophet had surveyed the dreary Golgotha, and beheld in the withered fragments of mortality with which it was filled, what was and what would be the hopeless condition of his people, he was commanded to prophesy upon these dry bones, and to say unto them, "O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." And having delivered to them that word, consisting of a promise of life and salvation, he is next commanded to prophesy to the wind, and to say, "Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live." In other words, having preached to the politically and spiritually dead the glad tidings of deliverance, and invoked on them the vital influence of the Spirit, a moral resurrection ensued, which filled the valley with life and activity. It follows, then, that the same instrumentality will be made conducive to the conversion of the Jews, which will be employed with success for the conversion of the Gentiles—the ministry of the Gospel of Christ. . . . If the house of Israel is to experience a spiritual resurrection, it is because the Spirit, whose emblem is the wind, will descend on the moral Golgotha, and replenish it with spiritual life. If the wilderness of the Church is to be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field to be counted for a forest, it is not until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high. If the world is to be convinced of sin, the Spirit alone is appointed and adequate to the office. But the only medium through which He operates in the discharge of His office is that of the truth; on which account He is designated by Christ Himself, "the Spirit of truth." The Gospel is the only weapon He employs in His aggressions on the territories of darkness, and hence it is called "the sword of the Spirit." And when by the successful employment of that instrument, He shall have convinced the world of sin, and have become the great animating Spirit of mankind, that which He has promised to write on the general heart is, the "laws" of God, and the "ways" in which He will cause them to walk are, in His "statutes." So that, when at length He shall be poured out upon all flesh, and when, as the one Soul of the whole, He shall have led them to crown the Saviour "Lord of all," it will be found that no moral conquest has ever been achieved but by the agency of the Spirit, and that in achieving it, no weapon has ever been directly employed but the Gospel—that, from first to last, the sword of the Spirit was never laid aside. Though the progress of the kingdom of Christ to the universality and glory which await it may be attended by a series of providential judgments, that progress will be made and that ultimate glory attained, by the diffusion of the Gospel directed and made efficient by the agency of the Holy Spirit. Let us “not, then, be moved away from the hope of the Gospel,” and expect that judgments and providential occurrences are to produce effects which are promised only to the diffusion of the Word of God. That judgments will accompany and pioneer its march through the earth, as they ever have done, we freely admit. But they are not to be regarded as forming an order of means distinct from the Gospel economy, and superior to it. They wait on its steps. So vast is that economy in its sweep and design, that it includes and appropriates every kind of agency; presses into its service the angel of wrath, as well as employs the angel of mercy; and lays under tribute all the revolutions of time, and all the dispensations of Providence. J. Harris. While the agent of renovation is the Divine Spirit, and the condition of renovation is our cleaving to Christ, the medium of renovation and the weapon which the transforming grace employs is “the word of the truth of the Gospel,” whereby we are sanctified. There we get the law, and there we get the motive and the impulse. There we get the encouragement and the hope. In it, in the grand, simple message—“God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them,” lie the germs of all moral progress. And in proportion as we believe that—not with the cold belief of our understandings, but with the living affiance of our hearts and our whole spiritual being—in proportion as we believe this, in that proportion shall we grow in “knowledge,” shall grow in “righteousness,” in the “image of Him that created us.” The Gospel is the great means of this change, because it is the great means by which He who works the change comes near to our understandings and our hearts. So let us learn how impossible are righteousness and holiness, morality and religion in men unless they flow from this source. It is the truth that sanctifies. It is the Spirit who wields that truth that sanctifies. It is Christ who sends the Spirit who sanctifies. A. M. 16-28. A prophecy of the reunion of Israel and Judah, the incorporation of Israel under one Ruler, the kingdom of Messiah upon earth and in heaven. B. C. 15-22. This scene is a real transaction. These “sticks” were rather rods than tablets, yet such rods that a name might be written upon them. The import of this transaction is fully explained in verses 21, 22—viz., the perfect and enduring union of the two kingdoms, Ephraim and Judah, in one. The revolt under Jeroboam was one of the saddest facts of Hebrew history. It occasioned terrible and destructive wars; it mainly severed the Ten Tribes from the sanctuary and from the entire Mosaic institutions, and precipitated first that northern kingdom, and ultimately the southern as well, into the depths of a most guilty and debasing idolatry. It then led on by natural result and rapid step to the national ruin of both kingdoms, and to the captivity of the masses who survived the shock under which the nations fell. Hence most naturally that rending asunder became a symbol of the sorest calamity; and in like manner the reunion of the two kingdoms into one became the symbol of the best, the largest, most enduring prosperity. So the figure is to be taken here—not so much a prediction of the gathering up of the scattered Ten Tribes, their literal restoration and actual reunion with Judah, as a general symbol of the greatest and best prosperity. H. C. 16. Take thee one stick, and write upon it. That is, one rod: the expression alludes to Num. 17:2, where Moses is commanded to take twelve rods, one for each tribe, and to write the name of the tribe upon the rod. W. Lowth.—For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.** When Jeroboam at the head of his companions withdrew from his obedience to the house of David, the tribes of Benjamin, Judah and Levi still adhered to the government of Rehoboam. Besides these three tribes, many Israelites from the other tribes joined themselves to the same party, as appears from 2 Chron. 11:12-16; 15:9; 30:11, 18. Hence the expression, “For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.” Calmet.— For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim. Upon Reuben’s forfeiting his birthright, that privilege was conferred upon the sons of Joseph, of whom Ephraim had the precedence (1 Chron. 5:1; Gen. 42:20); which caused him to be reckoned the head of the Ten Tribes. Samaria, the seat of that kingdom, was likewise situated in the tribe of Ephraim, and Jeroboam, their first king, was an Ephraimite. Upon these accounts the name of Ephraim signifies in the prophets the whole kingdom of Israel as distinct from that of Judah. W. Lowth. 22. One king shall be king to them all.** The Messiah is described as King of the Jews in most of the prophecies of the Old Testament, beginning with that of Genesis (chap. 49 : 10), concerning Shiloh. From David's time He is commonly spoken of as the Person in whom the promises relating to the perpetuity of David's kingdom were to be accomplished. This was a truth unanimously owned by the Jews (see John 1 : 49) ; to which our Saviour bore testimony before Pontius Pilate, when the question being put to Him, "Art Thou a king?" He made answer, "Thou sayest" (the truth) "that I am a king." Paul, alluding to these words, calls them "a good confession" (1 Tim. 6 : 13). The same truth Pontius Pilate himself asserted in that inscription which, by the direction of Providence, he ordered to be written upon the cross ; so that the chief priests impiously renounced their own avowed principles when they told Pilate that they had no king but Caesar. W. Lowth. Compare Zech. 12 : 8 to the end of the book. The reign of the one King David is the reign of Christ in His kingdom, the Church. First will come the restoration of Israel (portions of the united Israel under the name of Jews) to their native soil. That will lead the way to the coming of the promised King, the Son of David, who will gather into His kingdom the true Israel, the term including not only the converted descendants of Abraham according to the flesh, but all who shall by faith be acknowledged as the Israel of God. B. C. 23-28. That this passage is Messianic, looking far down, not only to, but into the Gospel age, can admit of no question. "David My servant" is here (as in chaps. 34 : 23, 24 ; Jer. 30 : 9 ; Hos. 3 : 5) the greater Son of David, to whom "the Lord God will give the throne of His Father David." So the inspired angel explained and applied these prophecies in Luke 1 : 32, 33. The designation "My servant" identifies Him fully and beautifully. (Cf. Isa. 42 : 1 ; 49 : 3, 6 ; 52 : 13 ; 53 : 11.) The most precious fact of His reign is the moral purity of His people under His redeeming, sanctifying power. They shall defile themselves no more with their idols, nor with any of their transgressions ! Let us not fail to notice the forceful repetition of the idea that God dwells among His people in these latter days. "I will set My sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore ;" "My tabernacle also shall be with them ;" "the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore." Ezekiel had seen the visible glory of God go up from the midst of the city as if to depart from the Temple (chap. 11 : 23). With the fall of that Temple this symbol of His presence had of course disappeared from among them. But here the Lord pledges Himself to return and indeed to dwell with His people in forms and manifestations far more rich, effective and perfect than ever before. The ancient Shekinah was rather a symbol than itself a power. It prophesied of the glorious presence of God by His Spirit in the future days of Zion. But here those days are drawn up near the eye for a more distinct and impressive view. Christian hearts become the temple of the living God. Here are the germs of those precious thoughts which our Lord unfolded so richly when He opened His mouth to speak of the Comforter (John, chaps. 12-16), and which Paul grasped with so clear a view of their spiritual power in his letter to the brethren at Corinth (2 Cor. 6 : 16-18 ; 7 : 1). "For ye are the temple of the living God ; as God hath said ; I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." The reader should not fail to notice that this very blessing—God dwelling with and in His people, making His presence manifest as a power unto their holiness and blessedness—is the great comprehensive promise of both the Old Testament dispensation and the New. It had the Shekinah in the most holy place as its symbol under the old dispensation ; it was embodied in the promise and gift of the Holy Ghost in the Gospel age. To Moses the Lord said (Ex. 29 : 45, 46), "I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God ; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt that I may dwell among them : I am the Lord their God." And again (Lev. 26 : 3, 11, 12) : "If ye walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, I will set My tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you, and I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be My people." These are specimen passages from the records of the ancient economy. As to the Gospel age it may suffice to refer to the promises of our Lord ; "He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself unto him." "If a man love Me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him.' 'It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.' 'He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you.' 'He shall testify of Me.' 'He will guide you into all truth. He shall take of Mine and shall show it unto you,' etc. (John 14: 21, 23, 26; 15: 26; 16: 7-15). From Paul come these expressive words: 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?' 'Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?' 'And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God,' etc. (1 Cor. 3: 16; 6: 19; 2 Cor. 6: 16). 'In whom (Christ) ye are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit' (Eph. 2: 22). Paul speaks of this doctrine as specially well known—one of the obvious and fundamental truths of the Gospel system. Briefly, my views of these chapters of Ezekiel (34, 36, 37) are these: They are general, not specific; comprehensive rather than minute. Their central thought is promise—the assurance of God's love and faithfulness to His Zion, especially in His pledge of His presence as a power unto her sanctification. 'I will be with you to sanctify and to save you from all your sins,' is the elementary and precious truth which they bear. Now let it be carefully noted: This great central truth applied under the old dispensation while it lasted, in harmony with the genius of that dispensation. It applies under the new, in harmony with its genius and spirit. Under the old, it promised restoration to the literal Canaan and the re-establishment of the Mosaic ritual system. It came to the exiles with these cheering promises and hopes, in terms which they could not misunderstand. To them these promises in this sense were the very thing they needed, for the Zion and kingdom of God had not yet cast off the forms of the Mosaic system. But for the Gospel age, under the New Testament dispensation, these same promises had a new and different specific sense. Their general sense was and is still the same; but their external, specific sense has changed. To explain this change and to bring the practical views and the actual Christian life of the Church into harmony with it were the great struggle and labor of the apostolic age. To induce converted Jews to let go the ritual and joyfully accept the spiritual; to forego what was exclusive and national in Judaism, and still retain all that its symbols signified and its promises pledged, cost the apostles whole years of intensest labor. That labor should suffice to give us the clew to the interpretation of these prophecies as applied to the Gospel age. That part of their significance which yet remained to be fulfilled after the death of Christ—no small part surely—must be seen in the light of New Testament ideas. We have the Gospel idea in the passages already quoted from Paul. Comparing Paul (2 Cor. 6: 16) with Ezekiel in this passage, we shall see it. In Ezekiel's sanctuary, God's temple of wood and stone, God dwelt in the visible glory over the ark. In the new dispensation, according to Paul, every Christian becomes 'a temple of the living God,' 'an habitation of God through the Spirit.' H. C. 26. Covenant of peace, an everlasting covenant.** The God who makes peace between heaven and earth, between law and conscience, between Himself and sinful men. How does He make it? Through 'the blood of the everlasting covenant.' If there is a way between heaven and earth, an open way for hopes and prayers, for departing souls and descending angels; if troubled consciences are pacified and cleansed; if thunders of broken law are hushed into silence, it is because this blood was shed, because Christ died, 'the just for the unjust.' If men cease to fret and worry themselves with the troubles of life, for that they believe that all is well; if they lay aside all animosity, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and all evil speaking, and seek really to love their neighbor as themselves, all this is through the blood of the everlasting covenant. That is the fountain of all true peace. A. Raleigh. 27,28. Israel is the prophet among the nations, and its day is not yet over. The history that no theories can explain away, which binds us with the past, and looks on to the future, will not end less miraculously than it began. As Heine says with entire truth, the Jews who decline to practise any form of idolatry, and have followed after a law during more than three thousand years, are 'the people of the Spirit,' and even their worship of wealth, for which not they, but their Christian persecutors, must answer, cannot destroy the passion or the hope with which their teachers are still inspired. Yet again they may be spoiled and scattered; but enlightenment, civilization and the growth of democratic equality have in them no elements, so far as we can discern, which will absorb Israel. He remains, as in harder times than our own, "the everlasting Jew." What we could desire for him is that he should fling aside his delusive Kabbala and his armor of the Talmud, and recognize in the New Testament such a law, embodied in a perfect and Divine life, as will set him free from casuistry, and reconcile obedience with the inward light of love and reason. It is strange, indeed, that he should hesitate to claim as his greatest inheritance the Christ who has established above Greek wisdom and Roman law an order of things which the prophets beheld in vision, but which only a Divine strength could have made victorious and a present reality. Nor need the Jew renounce, in acknowledging his true Master, anything which the noblest of his race would, at all events in these days, insist upon preserving. To "modern thought," as it is called, his other sacred books, Talmud, Yetsira, Zokar, and the rest, will doubtless yield; but not the Bible. He has learned so much from Mendelssohn. Let him learn from "Chozari" that the olive and the wild olive, when Providence grafts them into one stem, will flourish together; and that the two covenants, which have a common past, were intended to work out between them, in friendship and not by antagonism—in love and not in hate—the future of mankind. Lon. Quarterly, 1892. 38: 1, 2 AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: and I will turn thee about, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armour, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords: Persia, Cush, and Put with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his hordes: even many peoples with thee. Be thou prepared, yea, prepare thyself, thou, and all thy companies that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, upon the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste: but it is brought forth out of the peoples, and they shall dwell securely, all of them. And thou shalt ascend, thou shalt come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy hordes, and many peoples with thee. Thus saith the Lord God: It shall come to pass in that day, that things shall come into thy mind, and thou shalt devise an evil device: and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at quiet, that dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates: to take the spoil and to take the prey; to turn thine hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the middle of the earth. Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take the spoil? hast thou assembled thy company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil? Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God: In that day when my people Israel dwelleth securely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the uttermost parts of the north, thou, and many peoples with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army: and thou shalt come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring thee against my land, that the nations may know thee, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. Thus saith the Lord God: Art thou he of whom I spake in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass in that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up into my nostrils. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; so that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him unto all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great 23 hailstones, fire, and brimstone. And I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 39:1 And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God: 2 Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: and I will turn thee about, and will lead thee on, and will cause thee to come up from the uttermost parts of the 3 north; and I will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: and I will smite thy bow out of 4 thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy hordes, and the peoples that are with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be de- 5 voured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. 6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell securely in the isles: and they shall 7 know that I am the LORD. And my holy name will I make known in the midst of my people Israel; neither will I suffer my holy name to be profaned any more: and the nations shall 8 know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, 9 saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and 10 they shall make fires of them seven years: so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall make fires of the weapons: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God. 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of them that pass through on the east of the sea: and it shall stop them that pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The 12 valley of Hamon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that 13 they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be 14 to them a renown, in the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God. And they shall sever out men of continual employment, that shall pass through the land to bury them that pass through, that remain upon the face of the land, to cleanse it: after the end of seven 15 months shall they search. And they that pass through the land shall pass through; and when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it 16 in the valley of Hamon-gog. And Hamonah shall also be the name of a city. Thus shall they cleanse the land. 17 And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord God: Speak unto the birds of every sort, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come: gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, 18 that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of 19 Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice 20 which I have sacrificed for you. And ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, 21 with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgement that I have executed, and my hand 22 that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, 23 from that day and forward. And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they trespassed against me, and I hid my face from them: 24 so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they fell all of them by the sword. Ac- cording to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions did I unto them; and I hid my face from them. 25 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and 26 have mercy upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name. And they shall bear their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against 27 me, when they shall dwell securely in their land, and none shall make them afraid; when I have brought them again from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, 28 and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have 29 gathered them unto their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there; neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God. Chaps. 38, 39. The last conflict of the world with God, and the complete overthrow of the former. It is a gathering together of the enemies of Jehovah to make their last effort, and to be overthrown. The seer passes now to the final struggle between Good and Evil, and the triumphant establishment of the Divine rule. It is the same struggle which is depicted in the Book of Revelation (20: 7-10), where John adopts words and phrases of Ezekiel, indicating thereby that he is predicting the same event which Ezekiel had foretold. There are four main divisions of this prophecy: 38: 1-13, describing Gog's march on a peaceable and unoffending people; 38: 14-23, his punishment; 39: 1-16, the completion of his ruin; 39: 17-29, the issue of Gog's ruin in Israel's redemption and sanctification. Each division, however, is broken up like a poem into stanzas, where the subject is from time to time reintroduced and treated with variety, while the same phrases recur, giving force and unity to the whole. B. C. These two chapters are essentially one in their subject-matter and aim, and are closely connected with chaps. 34, 36 and 37 preceding, and with chaps. 40-48 following. They are manifestly part of the series of prophecies recorded in the three preceding chapters—refer to the same great future of Zion, and are in the same sense general rather than specific in their ultimate meaning. The one great truth which they teach is expressed forcibly by Isaiah (54: 17, 15). “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.” “Behold, they shall gather together (i.e., against thee), but not by Me; who-souver shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.” H. C. The predictions of Ezekiel respecting Gog present many difficulties; but one thing we may at least say, that they have not yet been fulfilled. Whether by Gog we are to understand an enemy distinct from the Antichrist who wars against the Church, or that the Antichrist is here described in his special relations to the Jewish people, it is impossible to say; but the manner of his destruction and the national blessedness that follow it seem to point to one and the same chief and last enemy. Andrews. 2-6. “Meshech and Tubal,” the countries of the Moschi and the Tibareni, lay on the south of the Caspian, the home of the people known by the ancient Greeks as the Scythians. Josephus (Antiquities 1: 6: 1) says that “Magog, second son of Japheth (Gen. 10: 2), founded those who were called by the Greeks Scythians,” “Gomer,” named first of the sons of Japheth (Gen. 10: 2), probably the father and founder of the Cimmerians, helped to swell the great Scythian horde. “Tagarmah” was a kindred tribe, thought by some to be the Armenians. Persia, Ethiopia and Libya are named here with them to fill out the representation of an immense and countless horde. These names do not occur again. H. C. 8. This verse does not speak of the punishment and overthrow of Gog’s army, but of their attack upon Israel; but as Gog was drawn on to this attack in order to his ultimate ruin, his preparations and his advance were in truth the first step in his visitation from the Almighty. After many days. Many a long day shall the hand of God be upon thee, drawing thee on to thy ruin, and in the latter days shall thou come. B. C. 14-17. The points made here are not intricate. Shall not these combined nations know their time for assault on my defenceless people? They will. They are to come from the northern parts, analogous to the avalanche from Northern Europe that overran the old and effete Roman empire; or in later times, the sweep of the Tartar hordes under Tamerlane. It should be “in the latter days,” here quite indefinite and very probably referring in part, perhaps in large part, to events yet future. Verse 17 intimates that this onslaught upon the kingdom and people of God is the same which His prophets had predicted in years then past. Since no prophet up to that time had named precisely these enemies, we are compelled (as above indicated) to give these names a general and not specific sense, accounting them to represent not those nations in particular, but any and every form of hostility to the kingdom of God. Only in this sense could it be said to have been the burden of previous prophecy. In the clause, “In those days many years,” the word “many” is superfluous, the sense being, “in those days and years.” H. C. 17. Gog is not mentioned by name in any existing prophecy before Ezekiel’s time. The reference here shows (1) that the conflict with Gog does not represent a particular event, but one of which the prophets in general had to speak; (2) that in the interpretation of Old Testament prophecy we are to look beyond special fulfilments. Events in the world’s history come within a prophet’s ken as parts of the Divine administration whereby evil struggles against but is overcome by good. As every such conflict is a prelude to the final struggle, so its prediction has reference ultimately to the consummation here foretold. B. C. 19-23. The visible creation takes part in this great catastrophe. A dreadful scene of confusion ensues, and ruin bursts forth from every side upon the head of sinners. In fierce bewilderment they draw their swords one upon another. All conceivable plagues work together for their destruction, and so Jehovah is manifested as the Holy God. Hävernick. 19. Jealousy in Hebrew is literally “a glowing fire,” from a root meaning deep red. It is one of the most fruitful of Old Testament ideas in relation to the reconciliation of man to God. It is two-sided. The fire of love has for its obverse the fire of wrath. For jealousy contends for the object of its love against every- thing that touches either the object or the love itself. Delitzsch. "My fury shall come up in my face," refers to the usual manifestations of intense excitement—a flushed countenance, the blood rushing to the head and imprinting the marks of strong feeling upon the face. The indignation of the Almighty is intensely aroused against these heathen hosts who are combined to pillage and destroy His people. 22,23. The exalted purpose of God in these judgments is shown—viz., to magnify His power; to make His name great; to vindicate His holiness and His righteous justice, and to make all the nations know that He is the Lord, the glorious Ruler of all kingdoms, and the no less glorious Deliverer of His people. Chap. 39. This chapter continues and closes the subject of the preceding one, expanding its descriptions and reiterating its momentous truths. H. C. The present chapter proceeds to describe the defeat of Evil and the triumph of God and His people. We must bear in mind that Ezekiel is not predicting the invasion of an actual army, but the advance of Evil under that figure. So he declares the overthrow of Evil by the figure of a host routed and slain, and the consequent purification of a land, partially overrun and disturbed. It is the manner of Ezekiel to dwell upon the details of the figurative acts which he portrays, bringing them before the mind as vivid pictures, and employing, so to speak, the strongest coloring. This has led some so to rest on the picture as to forget that it is a figure. Thus they have searched history to find out some campaign in the land of Israel, some overthrow of invaders, on which to fix this prophecy. B. C. 9,10. To measure the vastness of this grand armament and give the reader some conception of its magnitude, their weapons of war are said to have supplied fuel for all Israel seven years. Now is the time for Israel to rob and plunder those who have long robbed and plundered her. These "weapons" made thus prominent remind us of Isaiah's words: "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper." 11-14. Still further to aid the mind to conceive the vastness of this slaughter, the prophet describes the burial of their dead. It occupied seven months—seven, the round number occurring here again in its long, indefinite sense. At first all the people of the land seem to have been engaged in this work. 17-20. Here is another of the usual features in a description of great slaughter—a summons to every beast and fowl, to the hyenas and vultures that delight in human flesh, to gather to this great feast prepared of God for them. Of course, this aims to fill out and heighten the description of an immense slaughter. 21,22. Sublimely will the Lord Jehovah "set His glory before all the heathen" by means of this appalling destruction of their armed hosts. They shall know that this is the work of His hand, and shall see that indeed He is mighty to save His people and to avenge them on their proudest foes. The house of Israel too shall see and know God's hand. This grand display of it will suffice from this time forward and forevermore! They will never again have occasion to doubt whether God loves Zion and will defend her against whatever may assail. 25-29. The nearer fulfilment of verses 25, 26—the first instalment of blessings—came in the restoration from Babylon under Zerubbabel. Its subsequent instalments belong chiefly or wholly to the Gospel age, and take the form peculiar to this age—Gospel blessings. That great restoration was a pledge and symbol of all future deliverances that God would achieve for His people. The perpetuity of His favor and love is insured by the mission and work of His Spirit. "For I have poured out My Spirit upon the house of Israel" is the unfailing guaranty and pledge of abiding and glorious prosperity to Zion (verse 29). Of course this promise looks down to the Gospel age, of which the mission of the Comforter is the grand, distinctive characteristic. These two chapters depict the intense antagonism of the powers of evil in this world against the Church and kingdom of God. In costume Jewish, to make it readily intelligible to the people of whom Ezekiel wrote, it is yet, in thought and bearing, mainly Christian, belonging to the latter days of the reign of Satan. It does not show that the land of Israel (Palestine proper) shall be the battle-ground; it does not teach that this malign onset shall be with bows and spears and horsemen; it does not even show that Zion's enemies shall come out of "the north parts"—all these are features of costume, drapery, representation. The real truth lies under all these features, and should be carefully kept distinct from them all. This truth is that sin and Satan will assail God in the form of an assault upon His truth and His people. The conflict will be terrible. What precise form it shall assume this passage did not aim to show. The forms of Satan's onsets change from age to age. Their name is legion. It is quite in vain to speculate beforehand as to the form they will assume in any given age, present or future. It rather behooves us to study all his wiles and never be ignorant of his devices; but especially to rally round the banner of our King and accept His leadership in the mighty conflict. So fighting and so trusting, victory is sure to Zion, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it! H. C. 29. I have poured out My Spirit. Compare Joel 2:28; Zech. 12:10; Acts 2:17. There Peter distinctly appropriates these prophecies to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and the inauguration of the Church of Christ by that miraculous event. But this was the beginning of the fulfilment of these verses of the prophets. They shall find their consummation when time shall be no more. B. C. The kingdoms of light and the kingdoms of darkness are coming into conflict every hour. Armageddon is occurring in some part of the world every day. Wickedness always grows more wicked till it meets the sword of judgment. The devil must be either converted or crushed. Jerusalem had either to accept Christ or be razed from the face of the earth. Slavery had to be abolished by the sentiment of justice or by the cannon. Where disease has taken hold of the body there must be either a complete cure or complete corruption. That is the law of the universe; and Jesus emphasized it in His prophecies of the "coming of the Son of man." The world is not growing better; but millions of saved people in it, a number every year increasing, are growing better, by the grace of God implanted in their hearts. All not saved shall by the very law of their nature "grow worse and worse." We do not know whether the world as a whole will have its Armageddon, but as to individuals, cities, races, we know that they have because we have seen them, and if we live we shall continue to see them. Interior. 40: 1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me thither. In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south. And he brought me thither, and behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel. 5 And behold, a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long, of a cubit and an handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed. Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the steps thereof; and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad. And every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and the space between the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed. He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed. Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house. And the lodges of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure; and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side. And he measured the breadth of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits; and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. And he measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other, a breadth of five and twenty cubits; door against door. He made also posts, threescore cubits; and the court reached unto the post, the gate being round about. And from the forefront of the gate at the entrance unto the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits. And there were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees. 17 Then brought he me into the outer court, and, lo, there were chambers and a pavement, made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement. And the pavement was by the side of the gates, answerable unto the length of the gates, even the lower 19 pavement. Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the fore- 20 front of the inner court without, an hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north. And the gate of the outer court whose prospect is toward the north, he measured the length 21 thereof and the breadth thereof. And the lodges thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first 22 gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And the windows thereof, and the arches thereof, and the palm trees thereof, were after the measure of the gate whose prospect is toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; 23 and the arches thereof were before them. And there was a gate to the inner court over against the other gate, both on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate 24 an hundred cubits. And he led me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: 25 and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the 26 length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this 27 side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof. And there was a gate to the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits. 28. Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate 29 according to these measures; and the lodges thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof 30 round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. And there were 31 arches round about, five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the 32 going up to it had eight steps. And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: 33 and he measured the gate according to these measures; and the lodges thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits 34 broad. And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the 35 posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. And he 36 brought me to the north gate: and he measured it according to these measures; the lodges thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof; and there were windows therein round 37 about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And the posts thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. 38. And a chamber with the door thereof was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the 39 burnt offering. And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on 40 that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering. And on the one side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables. 41. Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate: eight 42 tables, whereupon they slew the sacrifices. And there were four tables for the burnt offering, of hewn stone, a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sarri- 43 fice. And the hooks, an handbreadth long, were fastened within round about: and upon the 44 tables was the flesh of the oblation. And without the inner gate were chambers for the sing- ers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward 45 the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north. And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keep- 46 ers of the charge of the house. And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok, which from 47 among the sons of Levi come near to the LORD to minister unto him. And he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house. 48. Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits 49 on this side, and three cubits on that side. The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; even by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side. 41:1 And he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle. 2. And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, 3 forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits. Then went he inward, and measured each post of the entrance, two cubits: and the entrance, six cubits; and the breadth of the entrance, 4 seven cubits. And he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty 5 cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place. Then he meas- ured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side-chamber, four cubits, 6 round about the house on every side. And the side-chambers were in three stories, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which belonged to the house for the side-chambers round about, that they might have hold therein, and not have hold in the 7 wall of the house. And the side-chambers were broader as they encompassed the house higher and higher; for the encompassing of the house went higher and higher round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house continued upward; and so one went up from 8 the lowest chamber to the highest by the middle chamber. I saw also that the house had a raised basement round about: the foundations of the side-chambers were a full reed of six 9 great cubits. The thickness of the wall, which was for the side-chambers, on the outside, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side-chambers that belonged to 10 the house. And between the chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits round about the 11 house on every side. And the doors of the side-chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the 12 place that was left was five cubits round about. And the building that was before the sepa- rate place at the side toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the build- 13 ing was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits. So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls 14 thereof, an hundred cubits long; also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the sepa- rate place toward the east, an hundred cubits. 15. And he measured the length of the building before the separate place which was at the back thereof, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred 16 cubits; and the inner temple, and the porches of the court; the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the threshold, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows; now the windows 17 were covered; to the space above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by 18 all the wall round about within and without, by measure. And it was made with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two 19 faces; so that there was the face of a man toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: thus was it made through all the 20 house round about. From the ground unto above the door were cherubim and palm trees 21 made: thus was the wall of the temple. As for the temple, the door posts were squared; and as for the face of the sanctuary, the appearance thereof was as the appearance of the tem- 22 ple. The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said 23 unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD. And the temple and the sanctuary had 24 two doors. And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one 25 door, and two leaves for the other. And there were made on them, on the doors of the tem- ple, cherubim and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick beams 26 of wood upon the face of the porch without. And there were closed windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch: thus were the side- chambers of the house, and the thick beams. 42:1 Then he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was over 2 against the building toward the north. Before the length of an hundred cubits was the north 3 door, and the breadth was fifty cubits. Over against the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, and over against the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was gal- 4 lery against gallery in the third story. And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits 5 breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors were toward the north. Now the upper chambers were shorter: for the galleries took away from these, more than from the lower 6 and the middlemost, in the building. For they were in three stories, and they had not pil- lars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the uppermost was straitened more than the lowest 7 and the middlemost from the ground. And the wall that was without by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court before the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits. 8. For the length of the chambers that were in the outer court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before 9 the temple were an hundred cubits. And from under these chambers was the entry on the 10 east side, as one goeth into them from the outer court. In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, before the separate place, and before the building, there were cham- 11 bers. And the way before them was like the appearance of the way of the chambers which were toward the north; according to their length so was their breadth: and all their goings 12 out were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors. And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door in the head of the way, 13 even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one entereth into them. Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be the holy chambers, where the priests that are near unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meal offering, and the sin 14 offering, and the guilt offering; for the place is holy. When the priests enter in, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy: and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which pertaineth to the people. 15. Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth by the 16 way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about. He meas- ured on the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed 17 round about. He measured on the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed 18 round about. He measured on the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed, 19 He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. 20 He measured it on the four sides: it had a wall round about, the length five hundred, and the breadth five hundred to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common. A DEVELOPMENT of the promise contained in 37:27. The subject of the closing chapters of Ezekiel is the restitution of the kingdom of God. This is expressed by a vision, in which are displayed not only a rebuilt temple, but also by a reformed priesthood, reorganized services, a restored monarchy, a reapportioned territory, a renewed people, and, as a consequence, the diffusion of fertility and plenty over the whole earth. The return from Babylon was indeed the beginning of this work, but only a beginning, introductory to the future kingdom of Christ, first upon earth, finally in heaven. The vision must therefore be viewed as strictly symbolical; the symbols employed being the Mosaic ordinances. These ordinances had indeed in themselves a hidden meaning. The tabernacle in the midst of the tents of the tribes, and afterward the Temple in the capital of the land of inheritance, was intended to signify the dwelling of Jehovah among His people; the priesthood was to denote the mediation between God and man; the monarchy, the sovereignty of God; the people, the saints of God; the territory, their inheritance. So that the symbols here employed have an essential propriety, yet they are truly symbols, and as such are they to be regarded. B. C. These chapters are the more to be regarded, because the two last chapters of the Revelation seem to have a plain allusion to them, as Rev. 20 has to the foregoing prophecy of Gog and Magog. Here is the vision of a glorious temple (in this chapter and chaps. 41 and 42), of God's taking possession of it (chap. 43), orders concerning the priests that are to minister in this temple (chap. 44), the division of the land, what portion should be allotted for the sanctuary, what for the city, and what for the prince, both in his government of the people and his worship of God (chap. 45), and further instructions for him and the people (chap. 46). After the vision of the holy waters, we have the borders of the holy land, and the portions assigned to the tribes, and the dimensions and gates of the holy city (chaps. 47, 48). The general scope of it I take to be: 1. To assure the captives that they should not only return to their own land, and be settled there, which had been often promised in the foregoing chapters, but that they should have, and therefore should be encouraged to build, another temple, which God would own, and where He would meet them and bless them. 2. To direct them to look further than all this, and to expect the coming of the Messiah, who had before been prophesied of under the name of David, because He was the man that projected the building of the temple, and that should set up a spiritual temple, even the Gospel Church, the glory of which should far exceed that of Solomon's Temple, and which should continue to the end of time. The dimensions of these visionary buildings being so large (the new temple more spacious than all the old Jerusalem, and the New Jerusalem greater than all the land of Canaan) plainly intimates, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, that these things cannot be literally, but must be spiritually understood. And the Gospel temple, erected by Christ and His apostles, was so closely connected with the second material temple, was erected so carefully just at the time when that fell into decay, that it might be ready to receive its glories when it resigned them, that it was proper enough that they should both be referred to in one and the same vision. Under the type and figure of a temple and altar, priests and sacrifices, is foreshown the spiritual worship that should be performed in Gospel times, more agreeably to the nature both of God and man; and that perfected at last in the kingdom of glory, in which perhaps these visions will have their full accomplishments; and some think in some happy and glorious state of the Gospel Church on this side heaven, in the latter days. H. In this long section Ezekiel foretells the consummation of Israel's hopes under the figures of a restored nation, a new and symmetrical division of the Holy Land among the Twelve Tribes, a rebuilt temple and a re-established worship. Here are the indefinite glories of the golden age conceived under the precise forms of geographical surveys, architectural specifications and ritualistic rubrics. It is hard for most readers to believe that the author has any larger thought beyond the details. But the geographical arrangements are practically impossible; and the symbolical meaning comes out clearly enough where he describes the river which flows from the temple to make sweet the Dead Sea. The measuring tape is still used, but the figurative purpose is plain. This beautiful dream the prophet never could have thought of realizing in the parched wadies that gash through the desert mountains of Judea down to the Dead Sea. It is the River of Life which John has further spiritualized and placed in the New Jerusalem. Ballantine. Fourteen years after the conquest of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, the desolation of the land, the deportation of its inhabitants, Ezekiel describes in this section the restoration of all that was lost, and gives, at the same time, in chap. 47 : 1-12, a glance into the distant future, in which from the restored Israel salvation for the whole world goes forth in fulfilment of the ancient prediction, "In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." In the older theology it was customary to regard the whole section as a prophecy of the Christian Church. There is truth at the foundation of this view. Although the restoration of the city and the temple is first predicted, yet this special announcement rests on the general ground of the firm conviction of the living power and indestructibility of the kingdom of God, the symbol of which was the temple, according to a view pervading the whole of the Old and the New Testament. And as the prophecy reaches beyond its first fulfilment, it guarantees that within the kingdom of God life shall arise out of every death—that the old covenant cannot go down without rising again gloriously in the new. Hengstenberg. Under the particulars detailed by Ezekiel, we discover the economy of a spiritual temple, which should again be filled with "the glory of the Lord coming from the East" (43 : 2, 4). Dr. Gray.—This concluding vision of a new city and temple was shown to Ezekiel at the close of his ministry for the consolation of his brethren, who were then commemorating by the waters of Babylon the fate of their former city and temple, which had that day been extinguished just fourteen years. But the Spirit of God, as in other prophecies on the same occasion, looked to a period beyond that event, which became evident when the Jews were restored to their land and the second temple was completed. For neither the extent and magnificence of the building nor the privileges and ministry of that temple did by any means correspond to this representation; and, in the glory of the Divine presence, it was entirely deficient: whereas the prophet here tells us, "The Spirit took me and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house." He adds further, "And I heard Him speaking unto me out of the house; and He said unto me, The place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever" (chap. 43 : 5-7); which last circumstance of perpetual duration could not belong to any temple under the Mosaic economy, but is the peculiar attribute of that nobler dispensation to which it led. Such an interpretation of this mystical vision is agreeable to the usage of the prophets, who speak of the future dispensation under the image of a temple or city. (See Isa. 2 : 2; Zech. 6 : 12, 13.) At the conclusion of this very vision we are told that the name of the city should be, "The Lord is there" (48 : 35); a name of the same import with that given by Jeremiah to the city of Christ, "The Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 33 : 16). The whole vision, whatever difficulties there may be in the explication of particular parts, must be considered as a mystical representation of the Messiah's government. On this general application, that there should still be partial difficulties is exactly what ought to be expected; neither will those difficulties entirely vanish till the whole scheme is completed; for the true and accurate interpretation of all prophecy is only to be had from the accomplishment. Bp. Bagot. The remaining nine chapters constitute one vision, given to the prophet in the twenty-fifth year of the Captivity—i.e., about fourteen years after the fall of Jerusalem. It is entirely unique in its character, yet closely connected in its leading thought and purpose with chaps. 36-39, immediately preceding. I regard this vision as an ideal representation of the glorious future of Messiah's kingdom. The mode of representing it corresponds with the external character of Christ's Church and kingdom under the Mosaic economy. This correspondence is natural, and should be expected. Ezekiel and his people, the exiles in Chaldea, were familiar with no other form of Divine worship and with no other organization—no other external life for the people of God. Hence there was the same reason for using this class of symbols to represent the future kingdom of Christ as for using the Hebrew language in speaking to them, rather than the Greek, the Latin or the English—viz., the fitness of using figures and symbols as well as words which the prophet and his people would readily understand. Let it be borne in mind that Ezekiel was by birth, training and profession, a priest. Of course he was perfectly at home in all that pertained to the temple, the priesthood, and the prescribed forms of Mosaic worship. In the world of symbols, therefore, this was his vernacular tongue. Approximately and in general, the same may be said of the Jews of his time, his captive brethren. In the next place, let it be remembered that the people had now been in exile twenty-five years, and their beloved city in ruins fourteen; long enough to awaken anxious fears lest their people should never return, the temple never be rebuilt, and lest the Zion of their God should never rise again from its ruins. These fears are amply indicated in chap. 37:11. To meet precisely this great fear, and to inspire a precious confidence in a future for Zion far more glorious than its past had ever been, this vision came. It describes with great minuteness (chaps. 40-43) the new temple yet to be; then the return of the glorious Shekinah to fix His abode once more in this temple, henceforward to be there perpetually (chap. 43); next the altar and its laws of worship; then, regulations for the prince and for the priests (chap. 44); then the assignment of territory for the temple, the priests, the Levites, and the adjacent city (chap. 45). Next, various ordinances for the people, and for the prince (chap. 46); then a vision of holy waters issuing from the sanctuary, and of the blessings they bear where they go; then the boundaries of their land (chap. 47); and finally the apportionment of territory to the several tribes, together with a great reservation for sacred purposes—for the temple, the priests, the Levites and the prince—all culminating in the one comprehensive fact, embodied in the name of the city, “Jehovah Shammah;” “the Lord is there.” I regard this vision as a magnificent panorama, thoroughly symbolical, and setting forth in Jewish costume and drapery the future prosperity, the order, beauty and moral power of the Church in those days when God shall dwell forever with His people by His Holy Spirit, a power unto holiness in their hearts and lives, making the institutions and agencies of the Gospel exceedingly effective for evangelizing the world and bringing the nations to know the Lord. H. C. Each prophet has contemplated under some one particular aspect the final scene of the picture, the latter days. Ezekiel, the priest, sees this final consummation under the image of a temple of admirable purity of form. This sanctuary, which he describes in the nine last chapters of his book, is not a reproduction of Solomon's Temple, now destroyed. It is distinguished from that by very significant differences; the ark and the mercy-seat are no longer seen in the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place; there is no golden altar in the latter; a simple table, like that around which a father gathers his children, has replaced the altar of incense. But the most remarkable feature is a stream which issues from the threshold of this new sanctuary. It is of no great depth at first; when Ezekiel crosses it in the inner court, the water only reaches to the ankles. But this mysterious stream, although receiving no tributary from without, increases visibly as it advances in its course. When Ezekiel crosses it a little lower down, the water already reaches to his knees. Further on, the water rises to his loins; and when he has passed still lower down along the river, he can no longer cross it on foot, he must swim over it. These wonderful waters seem to increase in bulk by some internal virtue of their own, and each drop possesses the strange property of becoming in its turn a spring. The stream runs eastward toward the low plains which extend to the north of the Dead Sea. As it crosses the barren lands to the east of Jerusalem, it transforms them into fertile orchards. Fruitful trees, like those of Eden, grow upon its banks. Arrived at the valley of the Jordan, the stream crosses it, and pours itself into the Dead Sea. It is well known that this lake, saturated with salt and asphalt, cannot give life to any fish; and that its banks, covered with white saline emanations, and intersected by black streams of asphalt running down from the neighboring mountains, are almost entirely uninhabited. But the stream that issues from the sanctuary no sooner reaches the waters of this sea than it heals them. Soon the fish begin to live and multiply in them. Colonies of fishermen establish themselves upon its banks; and in these solitudes the stir of industry and social life succeeds to the stillness of death. Some have attempted to interpret these pictures literally. They have maintained that Ezekiel intended to paint the actual temple which Israel should rebuild at the return from the Captivity. But how can we suppose he would have allowed himself to make such radical changes in the ordinances of the sanctuary established by Moses? And how could a literal river flow out of such a building? Who ever saw a stream running down from the top of a table-land, commanded by no height above it, and this stream increasing without receiving any tributary by its own inherent force? Besides, are not the spiritual meanings of the modifications introduced into the ancient forms of the sanctuary sufficiently evident? The substitution of a simple table for the golden altar; the suppression of the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies—are not these expressive emblems of that perfect communion with God, in which the faithful under the new covenant may draw near to Him without restraint, and where God receives them at His table as a father does his children? The stream of healing waters which issues from the sanctuary—is it not an image of that ever-rising stream—the Word and the Spirit of the Lord—which, just so far as it effects an entrance into humanity, makes all things in it new, and becomes in every heart which receives it a living spring of new life? These fruit-trees, growing upon either bank of the river, do not they represent those beneficent institutions which ever mark the course of the Gospel in the midst of a believing population; and this Dead Sea, purified and healed, does it not typify the heathen world, that unclean sewer, becoming, by means of the life which flows from Christ, the scene of the noblest works of God? One last touch completes the beauty of this picture. That cloud which Ezekiel had beheld in the beginning, withdrawing itself from the desecrated temple, he now sees making its solemn entry into this perfected sanctuary. God comes to dwell in the midst of His renovated temple. In fact, even while sometimes God gives up to destruction the visible institutions which have temporarily served as instruments for His work, He never abandons the work itself. He reserves to Himself the power of renewing it after each failure, under a form more spiritual and more holy. It was by means of these glorious visions that Ezekiel labored to revive the courage of the exiles, and made them fitted—them and their descendants—to preserve for some centuries longer the ancient theocratic institution, of which the mission was not yet accomplished. The omnipotence of the living God—that is the idea which predominates in the whole ministry of Ezekiel. It was that which was demanded by the condition of a people in whom the sense of their weakness was in danger of becoming an overwhelming discouragement. Godet. Ezekiel's Priest Code (Chaps. 40-48) and the Pentateuch. Taking the Law simply by itself, and the sayings of the prophets by themselves, it will be admitted that the latter mark a progress upon the bare text of the former. Their views of the Law, as spiritual and inward; of the priesthood, as one of holiness; of circumcision, as of the heart; and of sacrifices, feasts and fasts, as not merely outward observances, unconnected with a corresponding state of mind, mark an advance on a former state of externalism. We can understand it, if the Mosaic Law had already existed; but not, if the main part of the so-called Mosaic legislation originated afterward. For, in that case, it would mark a retrogression from the more spiritual standpoint of the prophets to that Law, which yet was evidently connected with their activity. This connection will at least not be denied in regard to Ezekiel. What has been called his "priest code" (chaps. 40-48) may be viewed as a symbolical and ideal presentation of the "New Jerusalem"—the form of the vision being determined by the peculiar modes of thinking and the then circumstances of the prophet and the people. But even so, and still more—viewing it, from the standpoint of our discussion, as a piece of legislation—it bears reference to the Pentateuch order, and more especially to that portion of it known as the "priest code." Historically speaking, it stands, according to our opponents, midway between the Jehovah and the Deuteronomist on the one hand, and the priest code on the other. Indeed, it is said to have formed the model, and in part the kernel, of the "priest code." This is a decisive position to take up, but also one which has been proved indefensible. No other part of the controversy has been more exhaustively treated than this of the relation between Ezekiel and the priest code, whether Ezekiel looked back on the priest code, or the priest code on Ezekiel. The contention of Wellhausen is the latter; but it has been shown on conclusive evidence that Ezekiel looks back on the priest code, which, therefore, must have been prior to the prophet. But, in that case, we shall have to put the priest code a long way back, since, according to our opponents, there is the widest difference between it and the other documents in the Pentateuch, which mark a very different stage and a very different date from the priest code. In proof that Ezekiel had known the priest code, Hoffmann quotes not fewer than eighty-one passages from the priest code which have exact verbal parallels in eighty-three passages in Ezekiel. These prove, even if we were to make some deductions from them, that the one document must have referred to the other. And this is further confirmed by the peculiar use of a particle ("when"), which only in the priest code in the Pentateuch, and, with few isolated exceptions, only in Ezekiel, is placed after the subject which it determines. In evidence that Ezekiel had derived all this from the priest code, and not the reverse, Hoffmann adduces these two facts: first, that Ezekiel employs a number of other expressions which occur in writings that are undoubtedly older than his prophecies, while the priest code contains no other passages in which such parallelism with other portions of Scripture occurs; and, secondly, that the priest code has merely such parallelisms to Ezekiel as occur only in the latter, but none of those which Ezekiel has in common with other writings, such as Jeremiah and Deuteronomy. We have to submit yet another consideration, which, indeed, is not new, but will, we believe, have its due weight with those who view the subject, not so much from the technical standpoint, as from that of general considerations and common sense. Let it be remembered that the ritual portion in Ezekiel differs in many and important particulars from the laws and arrangements of the so-called priest code. We can understand such modifications by a prophet in his vision of the future, if the arrangements of the priest code had been already in existence; but a later composition by priests of a code, professedly Mosaic, which contravened the arrangements of an acknowledged prophet, seems incredible. And this the more, when we remember that, according to our opponents, the arrangements of the priest code were also inconsistent with an earlier legislation, which also professed to be Mosaic—so that the priests who, to speak plainly, foisted the priest code upon Moses, also made Moses contradict himself as well as Ezekiel. And yet it is admitted on all hands that the "redaction," which welded into one whole the various parts of which the Pentateuch is composed, displays extraordinary skill. Indeed, the dilemma becomes even more acute. Let it still be borne in mind that the difference between the earlier legislation and that of the priest code is said, on certain points, to be very great. If so, how are we to account for the introduction of the priest code as the Law of Moses, long after the differing institutions of the earlier legislation had been received as Mosaic? Or, again, if the priest code which modified the earlier legislation was the latest production, and intended to be finally binding, how is it that the priest code was not placed after Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch, when they had the arranging of it? We can understand that Deuteronomy may have been a second and popular version of the earlier Law, when, in view of the immediate entrance into the land, certain of the ordinances, given thirty-eight years before, had to be modified, or, rather, adapted to the new circumstances of the people. But we cannot imagine the publication by the later priesthood of a code professedly Mosaic, by the side of one more ancient, and also professedly Mosaic, which taught differently. Why retain the older code at all, after it had become antiquated for so long a time? why call it Mosaic? why insert it in the Pentateuch? If the priests were able to introduce such an entirely new code, in which the privileges of their order and other arrangements were so much more emphasized than in the old legislation, why retain the latter, and insert it into the canon? or why should Ezra, for example, have read it in the hearing of all the people—or, did he read it?—and why should he have told them that the Exile had been the punishment of their transgression of the Mosaic ordinances, when, according to our opponents, he was himself bringing in a new code, on many points inconsistent with the old one? Such questions might easily be multiplied. A. E. It is evident that Ezekiel's description differs too widely from the past to allow the supposition that it is historical; and written at a time when the temple lay in ashes and the land desolate, it cannot refer to the present. It must then have reference to the future. The presumption is certainly that it portrays an ideal future, because the whole was seen "in the visions of God" (40:2), an expression which Ezekiel always applies to a symbolic representation rather than to an actual image of things. (Cf. 1:1; 8:3; 11:24; 43:3.) Moreover, if it is to be literally understood, it must portray a state of things to be realized either in the near future, or else at a time still in advance of our own day. If the former, as is supposed by a few commentators, it is plain that the prophecy was never fulfilled, and remains a monument of magnificent purposes unaccomplished. The attempt to explain this by the theory that the returning exiles found themselves too few and feeble to carry out the prophet's whole designs, and therefore concluded to postpone them altogether to a more convenient season, must be regarded as an entire failure. For one of two suppositions must be adopted, both of them leading to the same result: either that of the negative critics—that certain great features of the Mosaic law, such as the distinction between the priests and Levites and the general priestly legislation, had their origin with Ezekiel; and in this case it is inconceivable that, while adopting this, no attention should have been paid to the authority of this great prophet in other matters; or else we must accept the commonly received view, that the Mosaic law was earlier, and is here profoundly modified by Ezekiel. In the latter case, however much the returning exiles might have been disappointed in their circumstances, yet if they understood the prophet literally, they must have looked forward to the accomplishment of his designs in the future, and would naturally have been anxious to order the restored theocracy on his plan, as far as they could, from the first, to avoid the necessity of future changes; and a large part of the scheme, such as the cycle of the feasts, the ordering of the sacrifices, etc., was quite within their power. In either case, if the vision is to be taken literally, it is inexplicable that there should be no reference to it in the historical books of Ezra and Nehemiah and the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, which all relate to this period, and describe the return and settlement in the land, and the rebuilding of the temple. F. Gardiner. [Professor Gardiner then refers to "statements which admit of definite tests in regard to their literalness." Among these are the immense dimensions and relative positions of the temple and city; the description of the "oblation," as physically impossible; "the division of the land among the tribes, the assignment to the priests and Levites of large landed estates, the enormous size of the temple precincts and of the city, with the small allotment of land for its support—all singular and entirely destitute of either historical precedent or subsequent realization;" the physical impossibility of a literal interpretation to the description of the waters issuing from the temple. He adds that the whole vision is so intimately bound together that objections against one part lie also against the whole. And he concludes this point as follows. B.] Ezekiel's purpose was so far understood by his contemporaries that they never made any attempt to carry out his descriptions in the rebuilding of the temple and the reconstruction of the State. The idea of a literal interpretation of his words was reserved for generations long distant from his time, from the forms of the Church under which he lived, and from the circumstances and habits of expression with which he was familiar, and under the influence of which he wrote. Gardiner. (See Jour. Society of Bib. Literature and Exegesis, 1881, pp. 172-205.) Chap. 40. There seems to be no occasion for extended comments on this description of the temple. Let it suffice to suggest to the reader the remarkable regularity and uniformity of dimensions that prevailed throughout, indicating, we must suppose, the beautiful order that shall prevail under the final triumph of the Gospel in our world. Then everything will be in its place; whatever is shapeless, rude, uncouth, will be discarded; all will be morally right, and the whole external world will be in beautiful harmony with the perfect moral order and purity that will then rule in human hearts and in all society. Chap. 41. This continued description embraces the most holy place; the chambers also, and the altar, pointed out to the prophet particularly as the table of the Lord, with frequent allusions to the ornamentation of these apartments and walls by means of engraving upon them figures of palm trees and cherubim. The same wonderful regularity obtains here as in the previous chapter, and with the same significance. Chap. 42: 1-20. The point of chief and special interest in this part of the description is the manifest care taken and the arrangements made to isolate holy things from profane, as if to guard henceforward forever against debasing the worship of God and against all contamination of God's people by contact with sin and its temptations. Thus (verses 13, 14) the priests have special chambers, where none but themselves may eat the most holy things. Their sacred ministrations are to be performed in holy garments, to be laid off when they come before the people. Verses 15-20 describe an area outside the holy place enclosed by a wall, designed to "make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place." It may fitly be noticed that while the temple proper corresponded precisely in dimensions with that built by Solomon, this wall-enclosed area was vastly larger—viz., a square of five hundred reeds, or nearly one English mile on each side—"considerably larger than the whole area of the city of Jerusalem, its temple included!" This fact goes far to show that this temple and its surroundings were simply ideal; seen in vision only, and never designed to be developed into actual reality. Taken ideally, its significance is obvious and pertinent, and is forcibly expressed. So carefully and jealously will God guard His church in the future days against being contaminated with sin. Once redeemed and sanctified unto Christ and holiness, they will be "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." Blessed truth! Obviously, in the nature of the case, this must be one of the grand features of the millennial age—the Church preserved from relapsing into worldliness and kept near to God. What is in- dispensable in the nature of the case to a glorious millennial state, it is pleasant to find specially indicated here in this figurative vision. H. C. 40: 1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me thither. In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south. And he brought me thither, and behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel. 5 And behold, a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long, of a cubit and an handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed. Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the steps thereof; and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad. And every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and the space between the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed. He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed. Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house. And the lodges of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure; and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side. And he measured the breadth of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits; and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. And he measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other, a breadth of five and twenty cubits; door against door. He made also posts, threescore cubits; and the court reached unto the post, the gate being round about. And from the forefront of the gate at the entrance unto the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits. And there were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees. 17 Then brought he me into the outer court, and, lo, there were chambers and a pavement, made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement. And the pavement was by the side of the gates, answerable unto the length of the gates, even the lower 19 pavement. Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the fore- 20 front of the inner court without, an hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north. And the gate of the outer court whose prospect is toward the north, he measured the length 21 thereof and the breadth thereof. And the lodges thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first 22 gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And the windows thereof, and the arches thereof, and the palm trees thereof, were after the measure of the gate whose prospect is toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; 23 and the arches thereof were before them. And there was a gate to the inner court over against the other gate, both on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate 24 an hundred cubits. And he led me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: 25 and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the 26 length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this 27 side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof. And there was a gate to the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits. 28. Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate 29 according to these measures; and the lodges thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof 30 round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. And there were 31 arches round about, five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the 32 going up to it had eight steps. And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: 33 and he measured the gate according to these measures; and the lodges thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits 34 broad. And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the 35 posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. And he 36 brought me to the north gate: and he measured it according to these measures; the lodges thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof; and there were windows therein round 37 about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And the posts thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. 38. And a chamber with the door thereof was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the 39 burnt offering. And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on 40 that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering. And on the one side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables. 41. Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate: eight 42 tables, whereupon they slew the sacrifices. And there were four tables for the burnt offering, of hewn stone, a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sarri- 43 fice. And the hooks, an handbreadth long, were fastened within round about: and upon the 44 tables was the flesh of the oblation. And without the inner gate were chambers for the sing- ers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward 45 the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north. And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keep- 46 ers of the charge of the house. And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok, which from 47 among the sons of Levi come near to the LORD to minister unto him. And he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house. 48. Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits 49 on this side, and three cubits on that side. The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; even by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side. 41:1 And he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle. 2. And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, 3 forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits. Then went he inward, and measured each post of the entrance, two cubits: and the entrance, six cubits; and the breadth of the entrance, 4 seven cubits. And he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty 5 cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place. Then he meas- ured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side-chamber, four cubits, 6 round about the house on every side. And the side-chambers were in three stories, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which belonged to the house for the side-chambers round about, that they might have hold therein, and not have hold in the 7 wall of the house. And the side-chambers were broader as they encompassed the house higher and higher; for the encompassing of the house went higher and higher round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house continued upward; and so one went up from 8 the lowest chamber to the highest by the middle chamber. I saw also that the house had a raised basement round about: the foundations of the side-chambers were a full reed of six 9 great cubits. The thickness of the wall, which was for the side-chambers, on the outside, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side-chambers that belonged to 10 the house. And between the chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits round about the 11 house on every side. And the doors of the side-chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the 12 place that was left was five cubits round about. And the building that was before the sepa- rate place at the side toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the build- 13 ing was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits. So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls 14 thereof, an hundred cubits long; also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the sepa- rate place toward the east, an hundred cubits. 15. And he measured the length of the building before the separate place which was at the back thereof, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred 16 cubits; and the inner temple, and the porches of the court; the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the threshold, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows; now the windows 17 were covered; to the space above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by 18 all the wall round about within and without, by measure. And it was made with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two 19 faces; so that there was the face of a man toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: thus was it made through all the 20 house round about. From the ground unto above the door were cherubim and palm trees 21 made: thus was the wall of the temple. As for the temple, the door posts were squared; and as for the face of the sanctuary, the appearance thereof was as the appearance of the tem- 22 ple. The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said 23 unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD. And the temple and the sanctuary had 24 two doors. And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one 25 door, and two leaves for the other. And there were made on them, on the doors of the tem- ple, cherubim and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick beams 26 of wood upon the face of the porch without. And there were closed windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch: thus were the side- chambers of the house, and the thick beams. 42:1 Then he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was over 2 against the building toward the north. Before the length of an hundred cubits was the north 3 door, and the breadth was fifty cubits. Over against the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, and over against the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was gal- 4 lery against gallery in the third story. And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits 5 breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors were toward the north. Now the upper chambers were shorter: for the galleries took away from these, more than from the lower 6 and the middlemost, in the building. For they were in three stories, and they had not pil- lars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the uppermost was straitened more than the lowest 7 and the middlemost from the ground. And the wall that was without by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court before the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits. 8. For the length of the chambers that were in the outer court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before 9 the temple were an hundred cubits. And from under these chambers was the entry on the 10 east side, as one goeth into them from the outer court. In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, before the separate place, and before the building, there were cham- 11 bers. And the way before them was like the appearance of the way of the chambers which were toward the north; according to their length so was their breadth: and all their goings 12 out were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors. And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door in the head of the way, 13 even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one entereth into them. Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be the holy chambers, where the priests that are near unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meal offering, and the sin 14 offering, and the guilt offering; for the place is holy. When the priests enter in, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy: and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which pertaineth to the people. 15. Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth by the 16 way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about. He meas- ured on the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed 17 round about. He measured on the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed 18 round about. He measured on the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed, 19 He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. 20 He measured it on the four sides: it had a wall round about, the length five hundred, and the breadth five hundred to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common. A DEVELOPMENT of the promise contained in 37:27. The subject of the closing chapters of Ezekiel is the restitution of the kingdom of God. This is expressed by a vision, in which are displayed not only a rebuilt temple, but also by a reformed priesthood, reorganized services, a restored monarchy, a reapportioned territory, a renewed people, and, as a consequence, the diffusion of fertility and plenty over the whole earth. The return from Babylon was indeed the beginning of this work, but only a beginning, introductory to the future kingdom of Christ, first upon earth, finally in heaven. The vision must therefore be viewed as strictly symbolical; the symbols employed being the Mosaic ordinances. These ordinances had indeed in themselves a hidden meaning. The tabernacle in the midst of the tents of the tribes, and afterward the Temple in the capital of the land of inheritance, was intended to signify the dwelling of Jehovah among His people; the priesthood was to denote the mediation between God and man; the monarchy, the sovereignty of God; the people, the saints of God; the territory, their inheritance. So that the symbols here employed have an essential propriety, yet they are truly symbols, and as such are they to be regarded. B. C. These chapters are the more to be regarded, because the two last chapters of the Revelation seem to have a plain allusion to them, as Rev. 20 has to the foregoing prophecy of Gog and Magog. Here is the vision of a glorious temple (in this chapter and chaps. 41 and 42), of God's taking possession of it (chap. 43), orders concerning the priests that are to minister in this temple (chap. 44), the division of the land, what portion should be allotted for the sanctuary, what for the city, and what for the prince, both in his government of the people and his worship of God (chap. 45), and further instructions for him and the people (chap. 46). After the vision of the holy waters, we have the borders of the holy land, and the portions assigned to the tribes, and the dimensions and gates of the holy city (chaps. 47, 48). The general scope of it I take to be: 1. To assure the captives that they should not only return to their own land, and be settled there, which had been often promised in the foregoing chapters, but that they should have, and therefore should be encouraged to build, another temple, which God would own, and where He would meet them and bless them. 2. To direct them to look further than all this, and to expect the coming of the Messiah, who had before been prophesied of under the name of David, because He was the man that projected the building of the temple, and that should set up a spiritual temple, even the Gospel Church, the glory of which should far exceed that of Solomon's Temple, and which should continue to the end of time. The dimensions of these visionary buildings being so large (the new temple more spacious than all the old Jerusalem, and the New Jerusalem greater than all the land of Canaan) plainly intimates, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, that these things cannot be literally, but must be spiritually understood. And the Gospel temple, erected by Christ and His apostles, was so closely connected with the second material temple, was erected so carefully just at the time when that fell into decay, that it might be ready to receive its glories when it resigned them, that it was proper enough that they should both be referred to in one and the same vision. Under the type and figure of a temple and altar, priests and sacrifices, is foreshown the spiritual worship that should be performed in Gospel times, more agreeably to the nature both of God and man; and that perfected at last in the kingdom of glory, in which perhaps these visions will have their full accomplishments; and some think in some happy and glorious state of the Gospel Church on this side heaven, in the latter days. H. In this long section Ezekiel foretells the consummation of Israel's hopes under the figures of a restored nation, a new and symmetrical division of the Holy Land among the Twelve Tribes, a rebuilt temple and a re-established worship. Here are the indefinite glories of the golden age conceived under the precise forms of geographical surveys, architectural specifications and ritualistic rubrics. It is hard for most readers to believe that the author has any larger thought beyond the details. But the geographical arrangements are practically impossible; and the symbolical meaning comes out clearly enough where he describes the river which flows from the temple to make sweet the Dead Sea. The measuring tape is still used, but the figurative purpose is plain. This beautiful dream the prophet never could have thought of realizing in the parched wadies that gash through the desert mountains of Judea down to the Dead Sea. It is the River of Life which John has further spiritualized and placed in the New Jerusalem. Ballantine. Fourteen years after the conquest of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, the desolation of the land, the deportation of its inhabitants, Ezekiel describes in this section the restoration of all that was lost, and gives, at the same time, in chap. 47 : 1-12, a glance into the distant future, in which from the restored Israel salvation for the whole world goes forth in fulfilment of the ancient prediction, "In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." In the older theology it was customary to regard the whole section as a prophecy of the Christian Church. There is truth at the foundation of this view. Although the restoration of the city and the temple is first predicted, yet this special announcement rests on the general ground of the firm conviction of the living power and indestructibility of the kingdom of God, the symbol of which was the temple, according to a view pervading the whole of the Old and the New Testament. And as the prophecy reaches beyond its first fulfilment, it guarantees that within the kingdom of God life shall arise out of every death—that the old covenant cannot go down without rising again gloriously in the new. Hengstenberg. Under the particulars detailed by Ezekiel, we discover the economy of a spiritual temple, which should again be filled with "the glory of the Lord coming from the East" (43 : 2, 4). Dr. Gray.—This concluding vision of a new city and temple was shown to Ezekiel at the close of his ministry for the consolation of his brethren, who were then commemorating by the waters of Babylon the fate of their former city and temple, which had that day been extinguished just fourteen years. But the Spirit of God, as in other prophecies on the same occasion, looked to a period beyond that event, which became evident when the Jews were restored to their land and the second temple was completed. For neither the extent and magnificence of the building nor the privileges and ministry of that temple did by any means correspond to this representation; and, in the glory of the Divine presence, it was entirely deficient: whereas the prophet here tells us, "The Spirit took me and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house." He adds further, "And I heard Him speaking unto me out of the house; and He said unto me, The place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever" (chap. 43 : 5-7); which last circumstance of perpetual duration could not belong to any temple under the Mosaic economy, but is the peculiar attribute of that nobler dispensation to which it led. Such an interpretation of this mystical vision is agreeable to the usage of the prophets, who speak of the future dispensation under the image of a temple or city. (See Isa. 2 : 2; Zech. 6 : 12, 13.) At the conclusion of this very vision we are told that the name of the city should be, "The Lord is there" (48 : 35); a name of the same import with that given by Jeremiah to the city of Christ, "The Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 33 : 16). The whole vision, whatever difficulties there may be in the explication of particular parts, must be considered as a mystical representation of the Messiah's government. On this general application, that there should still be partial difficulties is exactly what ought to be expected; neither will those difficulties entirely vanish till the whole scheme is completed; for the true and accurate interpretation of all prophecy is only to be had from the accomplishment. Bp. Bagot. The remaining nine chapters constitute one vision, given to the prophet in the twenty-fifth year of the Captivity—i.e., about fourteen years after the fall of Jerusalem. It is entirely unique in its character, yet closely connected in its leading thought and purpose with chaps. 36-39, immediately preceding. I regard this vision as an ideal representation of the glorious future of Messiah's kingdom. The mode of representing it corresponds with the external character of Christ's Church and kingdom under the Mosaic economy. This correspondence is natural, and should be expected. Ezekiel and his people, the exiles in Chaldea, were familiar with no other form of Divine worship and with no other organization—no other external life for the people of God. Hence there was the same reason for using this class of symbols to represent the future kingdom of Christ as for using the Hebrew language in speaking to them, rather than the Greek, the Latin or the English—viz., the fitness of using figures and symbols as well as words which the prophet and his people would readily understand. Let it be borne in mind that Ezekiel was by birth, training and profession, a priest. Of course he was perfectly at home in all that pertained to the temple, the priesthood, and the prescribed forms of Mosaic worship. In the world of symbols, therefore, this was his vernacular tongue. Approximately and in general, the same may be said of the Jews of his time, his captive brethren. In the next place, let it be remembered that the people had now been in exile twenty-five years, and their beloved city in ruins fourteen; long enough to awaken anxious fears lest their people should never return, the temple never be rebuilt, and lest the Zion of their God should never rise again from its ruins. These fears are amply indicated in chap. 37:11. To meet precisely this great fear, and to inspire a precious confidence in a future for Zion far more glorious than its past had ever been, this vision came. It describes with great minuteness (chaps. 40-43) the new temple yet to be; then the return of the glorious Shekinah to fix His abode once more in this temple, henceforward to be there perpetually (chap. 43); next the altar and its laws of worship; then, regulations for the prince and for the priests (chap. 44); then the assignment of territory for the temple, the priests, the Levites, and the adjacent city (chap. 45). Next, various ordinances for the people, and for the prince (chap. 46); then a vision of holy waters issuing from the sanctuary, and of the blessings they bear where they go; then the boundaries of their land (chap. 47); and finally the apportionment of territory to the several tribes, together with a great reservation for sacred purposes—for the temple, the priests, the Levites and the prince—all culminating in the one comprehensive fact, embodied in the name of the city, “Jehovah Shammah;” “the Lord is there.” I regard this vision as a magnificent panorama, thoroughly symbolical, and setting forth in Jewish costume and drapery the future prosperity, the order, beauty and moral power of the Church in those days when God shall dwell forever with His people by His Holy Spirit, a power unto holiness in their hearts and lives, making the institutions and agencies of the Gospel exceedingly effective for evangelizing the world and bringing the nations to know the Lord. H. C. Each prophet has contemplated under some one particular aspect the final scene of the picture, the latter days. Ezekiel, the priest, sees this final consummation under the image of a temple of admirable purity of form. This sanctuary, which he describes in the nine last chapters of his book, is not a reproduction of Solomon's Temple, now destroyed. It is distinguished from that by very significant differences; the ark and the mercy-seat are no longer seen in the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place; there is no golden altar in the latter; a simple table, like that around which a father gathers his children, has replaced the altar of incense. But the most remarkable feature is a stream which issues from the threshold of this new sanctuary. It is of no great depth at first; when Ezekiel crosses it in the inner court, the water only reaches to the ankles. But this mysterious stream, although receiving no tributary from without, increases visibly as it advances in its course. When Ezekiel crosses it a little lower down, the water already reaches to his knees. Further on, the water rises to his loins; and when he has passed still lower down along the river, he can no longer cross it on foot, he must swim over it. These wonderful waters seem to increase in bulk by some internal virtue of their own, and each drop possesses the strange property of becoming in its turn a spring. The stream runs eastward toward the low plains which extend to the north of the Dead Sea. As it crosses the barren lands to the east of Jerusalem, it transforms them into fertile orchards. Fruitful trees, like those of Eden, grow upon its banks. Arrived at the valley of the Jordan, the stream crosses it, and pours itself into the Dead Sea. It is well known that this lake, saturated with salt and asphalt, cannot give life to any fish; and that its banks, covered with white saline emanations, and intersected by black streams of asphalt running down from the neighboring mountains, are almost entirely uninhabited. But the stream that issues from the sanctuary no sooner reaches the waters of this sea than it heals them. Soon the fish begin to live and multiply in them. Colonies of fishermen establish themselves upon its banks; and in these solitudes the stir of industry and social life succeeds to the stillness of death. Some have attempted to interpret these pictures literally. They have maintained that Ezekiel intended to paint the actual temple which Israel should rebuild at the return from the Captivity. But how can we suppose he would have allowed himself to make such radical changes in the ordinances of the sanctuary established by Moses? And how could a literal river flow out of such a building? Who ever saw a stream running down from the top of a table-land, commanded by no height above it, and this stream increasing without receiving any tributary by its own inherent force? Besides, are not the spiritual meanings of the modifications introduced into the ancient forms of the sanctuary sufficiently evident? The substitution of a simple table for the golden altar; the suppression of the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies—are not these expressive emblems of that perfect communion with God, in which the faithful under the new covenant may draw near to Him without restraint, and where God receives them at His table as a father does his children? The stream of healing waters which issues from the sanctuary—is it not an image of that ever-rising stream—the Word and the Spirit of the Lord—which, just so far as it effects an entrance into humanity, makes all things in it new, and becomes in every heart which receives it a living spring of new life? These fruit-trees, growing upon either bank of the river, do not they represent those beneficent institutions which ever mark the course of the Gospel in the midst of a believing population; and this Dead Sea, purified and healed, does it not typify the heathen world, that unclean sewer, becoming, by means of the life which flows from Christ, the scene of the noblest works of God? One last touch completes the beauty of this picture. That cloud which Ezekiel had beheld in the beginning, withdrawing itself from the desecrated temple, he now sees making its solemn entry into this perfected sanctuary. God comes to dwell in the midst of His renovated temple. In fact, even while sometimes God gives up to destruction the visible institutions which have temporarily served as instruments for His work, He never abandons the work itself. He reserves to Himself the power of renewing it after each failure, under a form more spiritual and more holy. It was by means of these glorious visions that Ezekiel labored to revive the courage of the exiles, and made them fitted—them and their descendants—to preserve for some centuries longer the ancient theocratic institution, of which the mission was not yet accomplished. The omnipotence of the living God—that is the idea which predominates in the whole ministry of Ezekiel. It was that which was demanded by the condition of a people in whom the sense of their weakness was in danger of becoming an overwhelming discouragement. Godet. Ezekiel's Priest Code (Chaps. 40-48) and the Pentateuch. Taking the Law simply by itself, and the sayings of the prophets by themselves, it will be admitted that the latter mark a progress upon the bare text of the former. Their views of the Law, as spiritual and inward; of the priesthood, as one of holiness; of circumcision, as of the heart; and of sacrifices, feasts and fasts, as not merely outward observances, unconnected with a corresponding state of mind, mark an advance on a former state of externalism. We can understand it, if the Mosaic Law had already existed; but not, if the main part of the so-called Mosaic legislation originated afterward. For, in that case, it would mark a retrogression from the more spiritual standpoint of the prophets to that Law, which yet was evidently connected with their activity. This connection will at least not be denied in regard to Ezekiel. What has been called his "priest code" (chaps. 40-48) may be viewed as a symbolical and ideal presentation of the "New Jerusalem"—the form of the vision being determined by the peculiar modes of thinking and the then circumstances of the prophet and the people. But even so, and still more—viewing it, from the standpoint of our discussion, as a piece of legislation—it bears reference to the Pentateuch order, and more especially to that portion of it known as the "priest code." Historically speaking, it stands, according to our opponents, midway between the Jehovah and the Deuteronomist on the one hand, and the priest code on the other. Indeed, it is said to have formed the model, and in part the kernel, of the "priest code." This is a decisive position to take up, but also one which has been proved indefensible. No other part of the controversy has been more exhaustively treated than this of the relation between Ezekiel and the priest code, whether Ezekiel looked back on the priest code, or the priest code on Ezekiel. The contention of Wellhausen is the latter; but it has been shown on conclusive evidence that Ezekiel looks back on the priest code, which, therefore, must have been prior to the prophet. But, in that case, we shall have to put the priest code a long way back, since, according to our opponents, there is the widest difference between it and the other documents in the Pentateuch, which mark a very different stage and a very different date from the priest code. In proof that Ezekiel had known the priest code, Hoffmann quotes not fewer than eighty-one passages from the priest code which have exact verbal parallels in eighty-three passages in Ezekiel. These prove, even if we were to make some deductions from them, that the one document must have referred to the other. And this is further confirmed by the peculiar use of a particle ("when"), which only in the priest code in the Pentateuch, and, with few isolated exceptions, only in Ezekiel, is placed after the subject which it determines. In evidence that Ezekiel had derived all this from the priest code, and not the reverse, Hoffmann adduces these two facts: first, that Ezekiel employs a number of other expressions which occur in writings that are undoubtedly older than his prophecies, while the priest code contains no other passages in which such parallelism with other portions of Scripture occurs; and, secondly, that the priest code has merely such parallelisms to Ezekiel as occur only in the latter, but none of those which Ezekiel has in common with other writings, such as Jeremiah and Deuteronomy. We have to submit yet another consideration, which, indeed, is not new, but will, we believe, have its due weight with those who view the subject, not so much from the technical standpoint, as from that of general considerations and common sense. Let it be remembered that the ritual portion in Ezekiel differs in many and important particulars from the laws and arrangements of the so-called priest code. We can understand such modifications by a prophet in his vision of the future, if the arrangements of the priest code had been already in existence; but a later composition by priests of a code, professedly Mosaic, which contravened the arrangements of an acknowledged prophet, seems incredible. And this the more, when we remember that, according to our opponents, the arrangements of the priest code were also inconsistent with an earlier legislation, which also professed to be Mosaic—so that the priests who, to speak plainly, foisted the priest code upon Moses, also made Moses contradict himself as well as Ezekiel. And yet it is admitted on all hands that the "redaction," which welded into one whole the various parts of which the Pentateuch is composed, displays extraordinary skill. Indeed, the dilemma becomes even more acute. Let it still be borne in mind that the difference between the earlier legislation and that of the priest code is said, on certain points, to be very great. If so, how are we to account for the introduction of the priest code as the Law of Moses, long after the differing institutions of the earlier legislation had been received as Mosaic? Or, again, if the priest code which modified the earlier legislation was the latest production, and intended to be finally binding, how is it that the priest code was not placed after Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch, when they had the arranging of it? We can understand that Deuteronomy may have been a second and popular version of the earlier Law, when, in view of the immediate entrance into the land, certain of the ordinances, given thirty-eight years before, had to be modified, or, rather, adapted to the new circumstances of the people. But we cannot imagine the publication by the later priesthood of a code professedly Mosaic, by the side of one more ancient, and also professedly Mosaic, which taught differently. Why retain the older code at all, after it had become antiquated for so long a time? why call it Mosaic? why insert it in the Pentateuch? If the priests were able to introduce such an entirely new code, in which the privileges of their order and other arrangements were so much more emphasized than in the old legislation, why retain the latter, and insert it into the canon? or why should Ezra, for example, have read it in the hearing of all the people—or, did he read it?—and why should he have told them that the Exile had been the punishment of their transgression of the Mosaic ordinances, when, according to our opponents, he was himself bringing in a new code, on many points inconsistent with the old one? Such questions might easily be multiplied. A. E. It is evident that Ezekiel's description differs too widely from the past to allow the supposition that it is historical; and written at a time when the temple lay in ashes and the land desolate, it cannot refer to the present. It must then have reference to the future. The presumption is certainly that it portrays an ideal future, because the whole was seen "in the visions of God" (40:2), an expression which Ezekiel always applies to a symbolic representation rather than to an actual image of things. (Cf. 1:1; 8:3; 11:24; 43:3.) Moreover, if it is to be literally understood, it must portray a state of things to be realized either in the near future, or else at a time still in advance of our own day. If the former, as is supposed by a few commentators, it is plain that the prophecy was never fulfilled, and remains a monument of magnificent purposes unaccomplished. The attempt to explain this by the theory that the returning exiles found themselves too few and feeble to carry out the prophet's whole designs, and therefore concluded to postpone them altogether to a more convenient season, must be regarded as an entire failure. For one of two suppositions must be adopted, both of them leading to the same result: either that of the negative critics—that certain great features of the Mosaic law, such as the distinction between the priests and Levites and the general priestly legislation, had their origin with Ezekiel; and in this case it is inconceivable that, while adopting this, no attention should have been paid to the authority of this great prophet in other matters; or else we must accept the commonly received view, that the Mosaic law was earlier, and is here profoundly modified by Ezekiel. In the latter case, however much the returning exiles might have been disappointed in their circumstances, yet if they understood the prophet literally, they must have looked forward to the accomplishment of his designs in the future, and would naturally have been anxious to order the restored theocracy on his plan, as far as they could, from the first, to avoid the necessity of future changes; and a large part of the scheme, such as the cycle of the feasts, the ordering of the sacrifices, etc., was quite within their power. In either case, if the vision is to be taken literally, it is inexplicable that there should be no reference to it in the historical books of Ezra and Nehemiah and the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, which all relate to this period, and describe the return and settlement in the land, and the rebuilding of the temple. F. Gardiner. [Professor Gardiner then refers to "statements which admit of definite tests in regard to their literalness." Among these are the immense dimensions and relative positions of the temple and city; the description of the "oblation," as physically impossible; "the division of the land among the tribes, the assignment to the priests and Levites of large landed estates, the enormous size of the temple precincts and of the city, with the small allotment of land for its support—all singular and entirely destitute of either historical precedent or subsequent realization;" the physical impossibility of a literal interpretation to the description of the waters issuing from the temple. He adds that the whole vision is so intimately bound together that objections against one part lie also against the whole. And he concludes this point as follows. B.] Ezekiel's purpose was so far understood by his contemporaries that they never made any attempt to carry out his descriptions in the rebuilding of the temple and the reconstruction of the State. The idea of a literal interpretation of his words was reserved for generations long distant from his time, from the forms of the Church under which he lived, and from the circumstances and habits of expression with which he was familiar, and under the influence of which he wrote. Gardiner. (See Jour. Society of Bib. Literature and Exegesis, 1881, pp. 172-205.) Chap. 40. There seems to be no occasion for extended comments on this description of the temple. Let it suffice to suggest to the reader the remarkable regularity and uniformity of dimensions that prevailed throughout, indicating, we must suppose, the beautiful order that shall prevail under the final triumph of the Gospel in our world. Then everything will be in its place; whatever is shapeless, rude, uncouth, will be discarded; all will be morally right, and the whole external world will be in beautiful harmony with the perfect moral order and purity that will then rule in human hearts and in all society. Chap. 41. This continued description embraces the most holy place; the chambers also, and the altar, pointed out to the prophet particularly as the table of the Lord, with frequent allusions to the ornamentation of these apartments and walls by means of engraving upon them figures of palm trees and cherubim. The same wonderful regularity obtains here as in the previous chapter, and with the same significance. Chap. 42: 1-20. The point of chief and special interest in this part of the description is the manifest care taken and the arrangements made to isolate holy things from profane, as if to guard henceforward forever against debasing the worship of God and against all contamination of God's people by contact with sin and its temptations. Thus (verses 13, 14) the priests have special chambers, where none but themselves may eat the most holy things. Their sacred ministrations are to be performed in holy garments, to be laid off when they come before the people. Verses 15-20 describe an area outside the holy place enclosed by a wall, designed to "make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place." It may fitly be noticed that while the temple proper corresponded precisely in dimensions with that built by Solomon, this wall-enclosed area was vastly larger—viz., a square of five hundred reeds, or nearly one English mile on each side—"considerably larger than the whole area of the city of Jerusalem, its temple included!" This fact goes far to show that this temple and its surroundings were simply ideal; seen in vision only, and never designed to be developed into actual reality. Taken ideally, its significance is obvious and pertinent, and is forcibly expressed. So carefully and jealously will God guard His church in the future days against being contaminated with sin. Once redeemed and sanctified unto Christ and holiness, they will be "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." Blessed truth! Obviously, in the nature of the case, this must be one of the grand features of the millennial age—the Church preserved from relapsing into worldliness and kept near to God. What is in- dispensable in the nature of the case to a glorious millennial state, it is pleasant to find specially indicated here in this figurative vision. H. C. 40: 1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me thither. In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south. And he brought me thither, and behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel. 5 And behold, a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long, of a cubit and an handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed. Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the steps thereof; and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad. And every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and the space between the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed. He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed. Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house. And the lodges of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure; and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side. And he measured the breadth of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits; and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. And he measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other, a breadth of five and twenty cubits; door against door. He made also posts, threescore cubits; and the court reached unto the post, the gate being round about. And from the forefront of the gate at the entrance unto the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits. And there were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees. 17 Then brought he me into the outer court, and, lo, there were chambers and a pavement, made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement. And the pavement was by the side of the gates, answerable unto the length of the gates, even the lower 19 pavement. Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the fore- 20 front of the inner court without, an hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north. And the gate of the outer court whose prospect is toward the north, he measured the length 21 thereof and the breadth thereof. And the lodges thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first 22 gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And the windows thereof, and the arches thereof, and the palm trees thereof, were after the measure of the gate whose prospect is toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; 23 and the arches thereof were before them. And there was a gate to the inner court over against the other gate, both on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate 24 an hundred cubits. And he led me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: 25 and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the 26 length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this 27 side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof. And there was a gate to the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits. 28. Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate 29 according to these measures; and the lodges thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof 30 round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. And there were 31 arches round about, five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the 32 going up to it had eight steps. And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: 33 and he measured the gate according to these measures; and the lodges thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits 34 broad. And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the 35 posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. And he 36 brought me to the north gate: and he measured it according to these measures; the lodges thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof; and there were windows therein round 37 about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And the posts thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. 38. And a chamber with the door thereof was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the 39 burnt offering. And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on 40 that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering. And on the one side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables. 41. Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate: eight 42 tables, whereupon they slew the sacrifices. And there were four tables for the burnt offering, of hewn stone, a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sarri- 43 fice. And the hooks, an handbreadth long, were fastened within round about: and upon the 44 tables was the flesh of the oblation. And without the inner gate were chambers for the sing- ers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward 45 the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north. And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keep- 46 ers of the charge of the house. And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok, which from 47 among the sons of Levi come near to the LORD to minister unto him. And he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house. 48. Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits 49 on this side, and three cubits on that side. The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; even by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side. 41:1 And he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle. 2. And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, 3 forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits. Then went he inward, and measured each post of the entrance, two cubits: and the entrance, six cubits; and the breadth of the entrance, 4 seven cubits. And he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty 5 cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place. Then he meas- ured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side-chamber, four cubits, 6 round about the house on every side. And the side-chambers were in three stories, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which belonged to the house for the side-chambers round about, that they might have hold therein, and not have hold in the 7 wall of the house. And the side-chambers were broader as they encompassed the house higher and higher; for the encompassing of the house went higher and higher round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house continued upward; and so one went up from 8 the lowest chamber to the highest by the middle chamber. I saw also that the house had a raised basement round about: the foundations of the side-chambers were a full reed of six 9 great cubits. The thickness of the wall, which was for the side-chambers, on the outside, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side-chambers that belonged to 10 the house. And between the chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits round about the 11 house on every side. And the doors of the side-chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the 12 place that was left was five cubits round about. And the building that was before the sepa- rate place at the side toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the build- 13 ing was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits. So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls 14 thereof, an hundred cubits long; also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the sepa- rate place toward the east, an hundred cubits. 15. And he measured the length of the building before the separate place which was at the back thereof, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred 16 cubits; and the inner temple, and the porches of the court; the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the threshold, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows; now the windows 17 were covered; to the space above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by 18 all the wall round about within and without, by measure. And it was made with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two 19 faces; so that there was the face of a man toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: thus was it made through all the 20 house round about. From the ground unto above the door were cherubim and palm trees 21 made: thus was the wall of the temple. As for the temple, the door posts were squared; and as for the face of the sanctuary, the appearance thereof was as the appearance of the tem- 22 ple. The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said 23 unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD. And the temple and the sanctuary had 24 two doors. And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one 25 door, and two leaves for the other. And there were made on them, on the doors of the tem- ple, cherubim and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick beams 26 of wood upon the face of the porch without. And there were closed windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch: thus were the side- chambers of the house, and the thick beams. 42:1 Then he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was over 2 against the building toward the north. Before the length of an hundred cubits was the north 3 door, and the breadth was fifty cubits. Over against the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, and over against the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was gal- 4 lery against gallery in the third story. And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits 5 breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors were toward the north. Now the upper chambers were shorter: for the galleries took away from these, more than from the lower 6 and the middlemost, in the building. For they were in three stories, and they had not pil- lars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the uppermost was straitened more than the lowest 7 and the middlemost from the ground. And the wall that was without by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court before the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits. 8. For the length of the chambers that were in the outer court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before 9 the temple were an hundred cubits. And from under these chambers was the entry on the 10 east side, as one goeth into them from the outer court. In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, before the separate place, and before the building, there were cham- 11 bers. And the way before them was like the appearance of the way of the chambers which were toward the north; according to their length so was their breadth: and all their goings 12 out were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors. And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door in the head of the way, 13 even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one entereth into them. Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be the holy chambers, where the priests that are near unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meal offering, and the sin 14 offering, and the guilt offering; for the place is holy. When the priests enter in, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy: and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which pertaineth to the people. 15. Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth by the 16 way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about. He meas- ured on the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed 17 round about. He measured on the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed 18 round about. He measured on the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed, 19 He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. 20 He measured it on the four sides: it had a wall round about, the length five hundred, and the breadth five hundred to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common. A DEVELOPMENT of the promise contained in 37:27. The subject of the closing chapters of Ezekiel is the restitution of the kingdom of God. This is expressed by a vision, in which are displayed not only a rebuilt temple, but also by a reformed priesthood, reorganized services, a restored monarchy, a reapportioned territory, a renewed people, and, as a consequence, the diffusion of fertility and plenty over the whole earth. The return from Babylon was indeed the beginning of this work, but only a beginning, introductory to the future kingdom of Christ, first upon earth, finally in heaven. The vision must therefore be viewed as strictly symbolical; the symbols employed being the Mosaic ordinances. These ordinances had indeed in themselves a hidden meaning. The tabernacle in the midst of the tents of the tribes, and afterward the Temple in the capital of the land of inheritance, was intended to signify the dwelling of Jehovah among His people; the priesthood was to denote the mediation between God and man; the monarchy, the sovereignty of God; the people, the saints of God; the territory, their inheritance. So that the symbols here employed have an essential propriety, yet they are truly symbols, and as such are they to be regarded. B. C. These chapters are the more to be regarded, because the two last chapters of the Revelation seem to have a plain allusion to them, as Rev. 20 has to the foregoing prophecy of Gog and Magog. Here is the vision of a glorious temple (in this chapter and chaps. 41 and 42), of God's taking possession of it (chap. 43), orders concerning the priests that are to minister in this temple (chap. 44), the division of the land, what portion should be allotted for the sanctuary, what for the city, and what for the prince, both in his government of the people and his worship of God (chap. 45), and further instructions for him and the people (chap. 46). After the vision of the holy waters, we have the borders of the holy land, and the portions assigned to the tribes, and the dimensions and gates of the holy city (chaps. 47, 48). The general scope of it I take to be: 1. To assure the captives that they should not only return to their own land, and be settled there, which had been often promised in the foregoing chapters, but that they should have, and therefore should be encouraged to build, another temple, which God would own, and where He would meet them and bless them. 2. To direct them to look further than all this, and to expect the coming of the Messiah, who had before been prophesied of under the name of David, because He was the man that projected the building of the temple, and that should set up a spiritual temple, even the Gospel Church, the glory of which should far exceed that of Solomon's Temple, and which should continue to the end of time. The dimensions of these visionary buildings being so large (the new temple more spacious than all the old Jerusalem, and the New Jerusalem greater than all the land of Canaan) plainly intimates, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, that these things cannot be literally, but must be spiritually understood. And the Gospel temple, erected by Christ and His apostles, was so closely connected with the second material temple, was erected so carefully just at the time when that fell into decay, that it might be ready to receive its glories when it resigned them, that it was proper enough that they should both be referred to in one and the same vision. Under the type and figure of a temple and altar, priests and sacrifices, is foreshown the spiritual worship that should be performed in Gospel times, more agreeably to the nature both of God and man; and that perfected at last in the kingdom of glory, in which perhaps these visions will have their full accomplishments; and some think in some happy and glorious state of the Gospel Church on this side heaven, in the latter days. H. In this long section Ezekiel foretells the consummation of Israel's hopes under the figures of a restored nation, a new and symmetrical division of the Holy Land among the Twelve Tribes, a rebuilt temple and a re-established worship. Here are the indefinite glories of the golden age conceived under the precise forms of geographical surveys, architectural specifications and ritualistic rubrics. It is hard for most readers to believe that the author has any larger thought beyond the details. But the geographical arrangements are practically impossible; and the symbolical meaning comes out clearly enough where he describes the river which flows from the temple to make sweet the Dead Sea. The measuring tape is still used, but the figurative purpose is plain. This beautiful dream the prophet never could have thought of realizing in the parched wadies that gash through the desert mountains of Judea down to the Dead Sea. It is the River of Life which John has further spiritualized and placed in the New Jerusalem. Ballantine. Fourteen years after the conquest of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, the desolation of the land, the deportation of its inhabitants, Ezekiel describes in this section the restoration of all that was lost, and gives, at the same time, in chap. 47 : 1-12, a glance into the distant future, in which from the restored Israel salvation for the whole world goes forth in fulfilment of the ancient prediction, "In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." In the older theology it was customary to regard the whole section as a prophecy of the Christian Church. There is truth at the foundation of this view. Although the restoration of the city and the temple is first predicted, yet this special announcement rests on the general ground of the firm conviction of the living power and indestructibility of the kingdom of God, the symbol of which was the temple, according to a view pervading the whole of the Old and the New Testament. And as the prophecy reaches beyond its first fulfilment, it guarantees that within the kingdom of God life shall arise out of every death—that the old covenant cannot go down without rising again gloriously in the new. Hengstenberg. Under the particulars detailed by Ezekiel, we discover the economy of a spiritual temple, which should again be filled with "the glory of the Lord coming from the East" (43 : 2, 4). Dr. Gray.—This concluding vision of a new city and temple was shown to Ezekiel at the close of his ministry for the consolation of his brethren, who were then commemorating by the waters of Babylon the fate of their former city and temple, which had that day been extinguished just fourteen years. But the Spirit of God, as in other prophecies on the same occasion, looked to a period beyond that event, which became evident when the Jews were restored to their land and the second temple was completed. For neither the extent and magnificence of the building nor the privileges and ministry of that temple did by any means correspond to this representation; and, in the glory of the Divine presence, it was entirely deficient: whereas the prophet here tells us, "The Spirit took me and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house." He adds further, "And I heard Him speaking unto me out of the house; and He said unto me, The place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever" (chap. 43 : 5-7); which last circumstance of perpetual duration could not belong to any temple under the Mosaic economy, but is the peculiar attribute of that nobler dispensation to which it led. Such an interpretation of this mystical vision is agreeable to the usage of the prophets, who speak of the future dispensation under the image of a temple or city. (See Isa. 2 : 2; Zech. 6 : 12, 13.) At the conclusion of this very vision we are told that the name of the city should be, "The Lord is there" (48 : 35); a name of the same import with that given by Jeremiah to the city of Christ, "The Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 33 : 16). The whole vision, whatever difficulties there may be in the explication of particular parts, must be considered as a mystical representation of the Messiah's government. On this general application, that there should still be partial difficulties is exactly what ought to be expected; neither will those difficulties entirely vanish till the whole scheme is completed; for the true and accurate interpretation of all prophecy is only to be had from the accomplishment. Bp. Bagot. The remaining nine chapters constitute one vision, given to the prophet in the twenty-fifth year of the Captivity—i.e., about fourteen years after the fall of Jerusalem. It is entirely unique in its character, yet closely connected in its leading thought and purpose with chaps. 36-39, immediately preceding. I regard this vision as an ideal representation of the glorious future of Messiah's kingdom. The mode of representing it corresponds with the external character of Christ's Church and kingdom under the Mosaic economy. This correspondence is natural, and should be expected. Ezekiel and his people, the exiles in Chaldea, were familiar with no other form of Divine worship and with no other organization—no other external life for the people of God. Hence there was the same reason for using this class of symbols to represent the future kingdom of Christ as for using the Hebrew language in speaking to them, rather than the Greek, the Latin or the English—viz., the fitness of using figures and symbols as well as words which the prophet and his people would readily understand. Let it be borne in mind that Ezekiel was by birth, training and profession, a priest. Of course he was perfectly at home in all that pertained to the temple, the priesthood, and the prescribed forms of Mosaic worship. In the world of symbols, therefore, this was his vernacular tongue. Approximately and in general, the same may be said of the Jews of his time, his captive brethren. In the next place, let it be remembered that the people had now been in exile twenty-five years, and their beloved city in ruins fourteen; long enough to awaken anxious fears lest their people should never return, the temple never be rebuilt, and lest the Zion of their God should never rise again from its ruins. These fears are amply indicated in chap. 37:11. To meet precisely this great fear, and to inspire a precious confidence in a future for Zion far more glorious than its past had ever been, this vision came. It describes with great minuteness (chaps. 40-43) the new temple yet to be; then the return of the glorious Shekinah to fix His abode once more in this temple, henceforward to be there perpetually (chap. 43); next the altar and its laws of worship; then, regulations for the prince and for the priests (chap. 44); then the assignment of territory for the temple, the priests, the Levites, and the adjacent city (chap. 45). Next, various ordinances for the people, and for the prince (chap. 46); then a vision of holy waters issuing from the sanctuary, and of the blessings they bear where they go; then the boundaries of their land (chap. 47); and finally the apportionment of territory to the several tribes, together with a great reservation for sacred purposes—for the temple, the priests, the Levites and the prince—all culminating in the one comprehensive fact, embodied in the name of the city, “Jehovah Shammah;” “the Lord is there.” I regard this vision as a magnificent panorama, thoroughly symbolical, and setting forth in Jewish costume and drapery the future prosperity, the order, beauty and moral power of the Church in those days when God shall dwell forever with His people by His Holy Spirit, a power unto holiness in their hearts and lives, making the institutions and agencies of the Gospel exceedingly effective for evangelizing the world and bringing the nations to know the Lord. H. C. Each prophet has contemplated under some one particular aspect the final scene of the picture, the latter days. Ezekiel, the priest, sees this final consummation under the image of a temple of admirable purity of form. This sanctuary, which he describes in the nine last chapters of his book, is not a reproduction of Solomon's Temple, now destroyed. It is distinguished from that by very significant differences; the ark and the mercy-seat are no longer seen in the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place; there is no golden altar in the latter; a simple table, like that around which a father gathers his children, has replaced the altar of incense. But the most remarkable feature is a stream which issues from the threshold of this new sanctuary. It is of no great depth at first; when Ezekiel crosses it in the inner court, the water only reaches to the ankles. But this mysterious stream, although receiving no tributary from without, increases visibly as it advances in its course. When Ezekiel crosses it a little lower down, the water already reaches to his knees. Further on, the water rises to his loins; and when he has passed still lower down along the river, he can no longer cross it on foot, he must swim over it. These wonderful waters seem to increase in bulk by some internal virtue of their own, and each drop possesses the strange property of becoming in its turn a spring. The stream runs eastward toward the low plains which extend to the north of the Dead Sea. As it crosses the barren lands to the east of Jerusalem, it transforms them into fertile orchards. Fruitful trees, like those of Eden, grow upon its banks. Arrived at the valley of the Jordan, the stream crosses it, and pours itself into the Dead Sea. It is well known that this lake, saturated with salt and asphalt, cannot give life to any fish; and that its banks, covered with white saline emanations, and intersected by black streams of asphalt running down from the neighboring mountains, are almost entirely uninhabited. But the stream that issues from the sanctuary no sooner reaches the waters of this sea than it heals them. Soon the fish begin to live and multiply in them. Colonies of fishermen establish themselves upon its banks; and in these solitudes the stir of industry and social life succeeds to the stillness of death. Some have attempted to interpret these pictures literally. They have maintained that Ezekiel intended to paint the actual temple which Israel should rebuild at the return from the Captivity. But how can we suppose he would have allowed himself to make such radical changes in the ordinances of the sanctuary established by Moses? And how could a literal river flow out of such a building? Who ever saw a stream running down from the top of a table-land, commanded by no height above it, and this stream increasing without receiving any tributary by its own inherent force? Besides, are not the spiritual meanings of the modifications introduced into the ancient forms of the sanctuary sufficiently evident? The substitution of a simple table for the golden altar; the suppression of the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies—are not these expressive emblems of that perfect communion with God, in which the faithful under the new covenant may draw near to Him without restraint, and where God receives them at His table as a father does his children? The stream of healing waters which issues from the sanctuary—is it not an image of that ever-rising stream—the Word and the Spirit of the Lord—which, just so far as it effects an entrance into humanity, makes all things in it new, and becomes in every heart which receives it a living spring of new life? These fruit-trees, growing upon either bank of the river, do not they represent those beneficent institutions which ever mark the course of the Gospel in the midst of a believing population; and this Dead Sea, purified and healed, does it not typify the heathen world, that unclean sewer, becoming, by means of the life which flows from Christ, the scene of the noblest works of God? One last touch completes the beauty of this picture. That cloud which Ezekiel had beheld in the beginning, withdrawing itself from the desecrated temple, he now sees making its solemn entry into this perfected sanctuary. God comes to dwell in the midst of His renovated temple. In fact, even while sometimes God gives up to destruction the visible institutions which have temporarily served as instruments for His work, He never abandons the work itself. He reserves to Himself the power of renewing it after each failure, under a form more spiritual and more holy. It was by means of these glorious visions that Ezekiel labored to revive the courage of the exiles, and made them fitted—them and their descendants—to preserve for some centuries longer the ancient theocratic institution, of which the mission was not yet accomplished. The omnipotence of the living God—that is the idea which predominates in the whole ministry of Ezekiel. It was that which was demanded by the condition of a people in whom the sense of their weakness was in danger of becoming an overwhelming discouragement. Godet. Ezekiel's Priest Code (Chaps. 40-48) and the Pentateuch. Taking the Law simply by itself, and the sayings of the prophets by themselves, it will be admitted that the latter mark a progress upon the bare text of the former. Their views of the Law, as spiritual and inward; of the priesthood, as one of holiness; of circumcision, as of the heart; and of sacrifices, feasts and fasts, as not merely outward observances, unconnected with a corresponding state of mind, mark an advance on a former state of externalism. We can understand it, if the Mosaic Law had already existed; but not, if the main part of the so-called Mosaic legislation originated afterward. For, in that case, it would mark a retrogression from the more spiritual standpoint of the prophets to that Law, which yet was evidently connected with their activity. This connection will at least not be denied in regard to Ezekiel. What has been called his "priest code" (chaps. 40-48) may be viewed as a symbolical and ideal presentation of the "New Jerusalem"—the form of the vision being determined by the peculiar modes of thinking and the then circumstances of the prophet and the people. But even so, and still more—viewing it, from the standpoint of our discussion, as a piece of legislation—it bears reference to the Pentateuch order, and more especially to that portion of it known as the "priest code." Historically speaking, it stands, according to our opponents, midway between the Jehovah and the Deuteronomist on the one hand, and the priest code on the other. Indeed, it is said to have formed the model, and in part the kernel, of the "priest code." This is a decisive position to take up, but also one which has been proved indefensible. No other part of the controversy has been more exhaustively treated than this of the relation between Ezekiel and the priest code, whether Ezekiel looked back on the priest code, or the priest code on Ezekiel. The contention of Wellhausen is the latter; but it has been shown on conclusive evidence that Ezekiel looks back on the priest code, which, therefore, must have been prior to the prophet. But, in that case, we shall have to put the priest code a long way back, since, according to our opponents, there is the widest difference between it and the other documents in the Pentateuch, which mark a very different stage and a very different date from the priest code. In proof that Ezekiel had known the priest code, Hoffmann quotes not fewer than eighty-one passages from the priest code which have exact verbal parallels in eighty-three passages in Ezekiel. These prove, even if we were to make some deductions from them, that the one document must have referred to the other. And this is further confirmed by the peculiar use of a particle ("when"), which only in the priest code in the Pentateuch, and, with few isolated exceptions, only in Ezekiel, is placed after the subject which it determines. In evidence that Ezekiel had derived all this from the priest code, and not the reverse, Hoffmann adduces these two facts: first, that Ezekiel employs a number of other expressions which occur in writings that are undoubtedly older than his prophecies, while the priest code contains no other passages in which such parallelism with other portions of Scripture occurs; and, secondly, that the priest code has merely such parallelisms to Ezekiel as occur only in the latter, but none of those which Ezekiel has in common with other writings, such as Jeremiah and Deuteronomy. We have to submit yet another consideration, which, indeed, is not new, but will, we believe, have its due weight with those who view the subject, not so much from the technical standpoint, as from that of general considerations and common sense. Let it be remembered that the ritual portion in Ezekiel differs in many and important particulars from the laws and arrangements of the so-called priest code. We can understand such modifications by a prophet in his vision of the future, if the arrangements of the priest code had been already in existence; but a later composition by priests of a code, professedly Mosaic, which contravened the arrangements of an acknowledged prophet, seems incredible. And this the more, when we remember that, according to our opponents, the arrangements of the priest code were also inconsistent with an earlier legislation, which also professed to be Mosaic—so that the priests who, to speak plainly, foisted the priest code upon Moses, also made Moses contradict himself as well as Ezekiel. And yet it is admitted on all hands that the "redaction," which welded into one whole the various parts of which the Pentateuch is composed, displays extraordinary skill. Indeed, the dilemma becomes even more acute. Let it still be borne in mind that the difference between the earlier legislation and that of the priest code is said, on certain points, to be very great. If so, how are we to account for the introduction of the priest code as the Law of Moses, long after the differing institutions of the earlier legislation had been received as Mosaic? Or, again, if the priest code which modified the earlier legislation was the latest production, and intended to be finally binding, how is it that the priest code was not placed after Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch, when they had the arranging of it? We can understand that Deuteronomy may have been a second and popular version of the earlier Law, when, in view of the immediate entrance into the land, certain of the ordinances, given thirty-eight years before, had to be modified, or, rather, adapted to the new circumstances of the people. But we cannot imagine the publication by the later priesthood of a code professedly Mosaic, by the side of one more ancient, and also professedly Mosaic, which taught differently. Why retain the older code at all, after it had become antiquated for so long a time? why call it Mosaic? why insert it in the Pentateuch? If the priests were able to introduce such an entirely new code, in which the privileges of their order and other arrangements were so much more emphasized than in the old legislation, why retain the latter, and insert it into the canon? or why should Ezra, for example, have read it in the hearing of all the people—or, did he read it?—and why should he have told them that the Exile had been the punishment of their transgression of the Mosaic ordinances, when, according to our opponents, he was himself bringing in a new code, on many points inconsistent with the old one? Such questions might easily be multiplied. A. E. It is evident that Ezekiel's description differs too widely from the past to allow the supposition that it is historical; and written at a time when the temple lay in ashes and the land desolate, it cannot refer to the present. It must then have reference to the future. The presumption is certainly that it portrays an ideal future, because the whole was seen "in the visions of God" (40:2), an expression which Ezekiel always applies to a symbolic representation rather than to an actual image of things. (Cf. 1:1; 8:3; 11:24; 43:3.) Moreover, if it is to be literally understood, it must portray a state of things to be realized either in the near future, or else at a time still in advance of our own day. If the former, as is supposed by a few commentators, it is plain that the prophecy was never fulfilled, and remains a monument of magnificent purposes unaccomplished. The attempt to explain this by the theory that the returning exiles found themselves too few and feeble to carry out the prophet's whole designs, and therefore concluded to postpone them altogether to a more convenient season, must be regarded as an entire failure. For one of two suppositions must be adopted, both of them leading to the same result: either that of the negative critics—that certain great features of the Mosaic law, such as the distinction between the priests and Levites and the general priestly legislation, had their origin with Ezekiel; and in this case it is inconceivable that, while adopting this, no attention should have been paid to the authority of this great prophet in other matters; or else we must accept the commonly received view, that the Mosaic law was earlier, and is here profoundly modified by Ezekiel. In the latter case, however much the returning exiles might have been disappointed in their circumstances, yet if they understood the prophet literally, they must have looked forward to the accomplishment of his designs in the future, and would naturally have been anxious to order the restored theocracy on his plan, as far as they could, from the first, to avoid the necessity of future changes; and a large part of the scheme, such as the cycle of the feasts, the ordering of the sacrifices, etc., was quite within their power. In either case, if the vision is to be taken literally, it is inexplicable that there should be no reference to it in the historical books of Ezra and Nehemiah and the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, which all relate to this period, and describe the return and settlement in the land, and the rebuilding of the temple. F. Gardiner. [Professor Gardiner then refers to "statements which admit of definite tests in regard to their literalness." Among these are the immense dimensions and relative positions of the temple and city; the description of the "oblation," as physically impossible; "the division of the land among the tribes, the assignment to the priests and Levites of large landed estates, the enormous size of the temple precincts and of the city, with the small allotment of land for its support—all singular and entirely destitute of either historical precedent or subsequent realization;" the physical impossibility of a literal interpretation to the description of the waters issuing from the temple. He adds that the whole vision is so intimately bound together that objections against one part lie also against the whole. And he concludes this point as follows. B.] Ezekiel's purpose was so far understood by his contemporaries that they never made any attempt to carry out his descriptions in the rebuilding of the temple and the reconstruction of the State. The idea of a literal interpretation of his words was reserved for generations long distant from his time, from the forms of the Church under which he lived, and from the circumstances and habits of expression with which he was familiar, and under the influence of which he wrote. Gardiner. (See Jour. Society of Bib. Literature and Exegesis, 1881, pp. 172-205.) Chap. 40. There seems to be no occasion for extended comments on this description of the temple. Let it suffice to suggest to the reader the remarkable regularity and uniformity of dimensions that prevailed throughout, indicating, we must suppose, the beautiful order that shall prevail under the final triumph of the Gospel in our world. Then everything will be in its place; whatever is shapeless, rude, uncouth, will be discarded; all will be morally right, and the whole external world will be in beautiful harmony with the perfect moral order and purity that will then rule in human hearts and in all society. Chap. 41. This continued description embraces the most holy place; the chambers also, and the altar, pointed out to the prophet particularly as the table of the Lord, with frequent allusions to the ornamentation of these apartments and walls by means of engraving upon them figures of palm trees and cherubim. The same wonderful regularity obtains here as in the previous chapter, and with the same significance. Chap. 42: 1-20. The point of chief and special interest in this part of the description is the manifest care taken and the arrangements made to isolate holy things from profane, as if to guard henceforward forever against debasing the worship of God and against all contamination of God's people by contact with sin and its temptations. Thus (verses 13, 14) the priests have special chambers, where none but themselves may eat the most holy things. Their sacred ministrations are to be performed in holy garments, to be laid off when they come before the people. Verses 15-20 describe an area outside the holy place enclosed by a wall, designed to "make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place." It may fitly be noticed that while the temple proper corresponded precisely in dimensions with that built by Solomon, this wall-enclosed area was vastly larger—viz., a square of five hundred reeds, or nearly one English mile on each side—"considerably larger than the whole area of the city of Jerusalem, its temple included!" This fact goes far to show that this temple and its surroundings were simply ideal; seen in vision only, and never designed to be developed into actual reality. Taken ideally, its significance is obvious and pertinent, and is forcibly expressed. So carefully and jealously will God guard His church in the future days against being contaminated with sin. Once redeemed and sanctified unto Christ and holiness, they will be "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." Blessed truth! Obviously, in the nature of the case, this must be one of the grand features of the millennial age—the Church preserved from relapsing into worldliness and kept near to God. What is in- dispensable in the nature of the case to a glorious millennial state, it is pleasant to find specially indicated here in this figurative vision. H. C. The reader who is interested in the detail of this temple vision is referred to the Bible (or Speaker's) Commentary, pp. 160-184. B. 43:1 AFTERWARD he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: and behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar: and I fell upon my face. And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. And the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. And I heard one speaking unto me out of the house; and a man stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever: and the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, and by the carcasses of their kings in their high places; in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their door post beside my door post, and there was but the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcasses of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. Thou, son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, make known unto them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof, and write it in their sight: that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. 13 And these are the measures of the altar by cubits: (the cubit is a cubit and an handbreadth:) the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about a span: and this shall be the base of the altar. And from the bottom upon the ground to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit. And the upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns. And the altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve broad, square in the four sides thereof. And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and the steps thereof shall look toward the east. 18 And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord God: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. Thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which are near unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord God, a young bullock for a sin offering. And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse it and make atonement for it. Thou shalt also take the bullock of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary. And on the second day thou shalt offer a he-goat without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock. When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. And thou shalt bring them near before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD. Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish. Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it: so shall they consecrate it. And when they have accomplished the days, it shall be that upon the eighth day, and forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord God. 44:1 Then he brought me back the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. And the LORD said unto me, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it, for the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut. As for the prince, he shall sit therein as prince to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same. Then he brought me the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face. And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and bear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD: O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, in that ye have brought in aliens, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant, to add unto all your abominations. And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. Thus saith the Lord GOD, No alien, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any alien that is among the children of Israel. But the Levites that went far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray from me after their idols; they shall bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and ministering in the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and became a stumblingblock of iniquity unto the house of Israel; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity. And they shall not come near unto me, to execute the office of priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, unto the things that are most holy: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. Yet will I make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me; and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. And it shall be that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen tires upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat. And when they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they minister, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments, that they sanctify not the people with their garments. Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads. Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that is the widow of a priest. And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. And in a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to my judgements shall they judge it: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves. And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days. And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord GOD. And they shall have an inheritance; I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. They shall eat the meal offering, and the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. And the first of all the first-fruits of every thing, and every oblation of every thing, of all your oblations, shall be for the priests: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on thine house. The priests shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself, or is torn, whether it be fowl or beast. Chap. 43. The visible glory of God returns to dwell in this new temple (verses 1-4); the Lord states to the people the conditions on which He will dwell with them (verses 5-11); the altar is measured and its ordinances of worship described (verses 12-27). H. C. 1-11. The consecration of the new temple. The glory of the God of Israel must take possession of the new sanctuary, as, in time past, of the tabernacle and of Solomon's Temple. But it is in a different form. The glory was of old veiled in a cloud resting on the mercy seat of the ark between cherubim of carved wood, lifeless and motionless, as though the mercy and power of God were, in some sort, restricted to the material building and the peo- ple to whom it belonged. Now the glory appears in the form with which Ezekiel is familiar, in all its symbolical significance, with light shining upon the earth, living creatures, wheels connecting heaven with earth so that the chariot looks and moves to every quarter, the firmament and the rainbow, the appearance of a man upon the throne, and His voice speaking to the children of men. A personal and living God enters the sanctuary, condescending to occupy it, not merely as a fixed dwelling-place, but as a centre from whence His power and mercy radiate freely to the utmost ends of the earth. Hence amid the detailed preparations of the house no mention is made of ark or mercy seat, so important a part in the former sanctuary (and indeed, in the temple of Zerubbabel no ark was placed). The living cherubim, the firmament, and the rainbow of mercy replace the cherubic figures and the golden chest. 2. Jehovah had before left the house to destruction, because it had been polluted and profaned (11 : 22). He now returns to take possession of His holy habitation, prepared and sanctified for His reception. B. C. 4,5. Again, approaching from the north, the prophet in vision is impressed with a sense of the glory of Jehovah as filling His temple, and he falls upon his face in profound adoration. This case anticipates the great truth brought out so distinctively at the close of this entire vision, which indeed is the central thought throughout—viz., that God dwells among His people by His spiritual presence and glory. The name of the whole city shall be, "The Lord is there." This being chief in importance, gave name to the city. Now the Lord solemnly charges the prophet to mark well ("set his heart upon") all he was about to say in respect to the modes of worship in this temple and in respect to entering and leaving it. H. C. 5. Behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. The glory, or the symbol of the Divine presence, entered into the temple and settled there, as it did when it was finished by Solomon (1 K. 8 : 10, 11). W. Lowth. 7. The place of My throne. Here is the place of my throne, etc. The cherubim were God's throne, from whence He is said to sit between the cherubim, and the ark was His footstool (Ps. 99 : 1, 5). Calmet. Where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. This promise is to be understood like those formerly made upon the condition of their obedience, but it is eminently fulfilled in Christ, in whom all the prophecies of the Old Testament are to have their final accomplishment. Zechariah prophesies of the Messiah (chap. 6 : 13), that "He should build the temple of the Lord, and bear the glory;" that is, He shall build the Christian Church; "in him shall all the fulness of the Godhead dwell bodily," and really, not in types and figures. (See Heb. 3 : 3; Matt. 16 : 18; John 1 : 14; Col. 2 : 9.) There was no visible Shekinah or glory in the second temple till the Lord, whom they expected, "came to His temple" (Mal. 3 : 1)—that is, till the Messiah, who was "the brightness of His Father's glory," appeared there, and made it an illustrious figure of that true church or temple of believers, where He would continue His presence forever (2 Cor. 6 : 16). (W. Lowth.) Bp. Hall. 5-11. The allusion to the "place of His throne" (verses 7, 8), and to their kings as having defiled God's sanctuary by setting up idol gods there, looks to Manasseh. (See 2 K. 21 : 4-7.) These verses are specially valuable as revealing the conditions on which alone the Lord would return and continue to dwell among His people. They must—absolutely MUST put away their sins and be ashamed of their iniquities. If they consented heartily to these conditions, the prophet was to show them the form of the house, and all that the Lord had revealed of this new temple, and of its ordinances of worship as a pledge of His own restoring mercy and His return to dwell among them. This was specially pertinent to the exiles among whom the prophet lived, and shows that the Lord designed this vision to bear vigorously upon the hearts of that people then and there. 12. This temple stood on a mountain. So did that of Solomon, though this appears to have been the loftier one. The whole area of this mountain top was most holy as being the place where the Lord Jehovah truly dwelt. The subsequent verses of this chapter describe the great altar, and give the ordinances to regulate the sacrifices upon it. H. C. Chap. 44. The relation of the different classes of people to the temple and its courts. The position of the prince (verses 1-3). Admonition to ministering priests, grounded upon former neglect (verses 4-16). Regulations as to the priests' services. The garments of the priests are defined and various rules prescribed in the Law are repeated, with some additions in order to denote additional care to avoid uncleanness (verses 17-27). Provision for the priests and Levites (verses 28-31). B. C. 7,9. Strangers residing in Israel, but of uncircumcised heart, must by no means be permitted to enter the Lord's sanctuary. The Levites who had apostatized into idolatry must bear the punishment of this great iniquity. They were forbidden to come near before the Lord, but were assigned to the more remote and less hallowed and honored services of the sanctuary. They were to minister in the presence of their more favored brethren, the priests, as their servants; but might not come specially near to the Lord. To the sons of Zadok who had not thus apostatized was assigned the distinguished honor of coming near to minister before the very presence of the Divine majesty. This discrimination had a most significant and earnest moral bearing. "Holiness becometh God's house forever." The favored ones there are the men of lowly heart who live near to God, walking softly before Him. H. C. The argument e silentio can be only of limited application in regard to historical books, fully occupied as they are with other matters, and only occasionally and incidentally alluding to existing ecclesiastical laws and customs; but it is plainly of great importance in this prophetic setting forth of quite a full and detailed ecclesiastical scheme. The omission of references to any ritual law or feast or ceremony in the historical books can occasion no surprise, and afford no just presumption against the existence of such rites and ceremonies, unless some particular reason can be alleged why they should have been mentioned; but a corresponding omission from the pages of Ezekiel is good evidence either that the thing omitted was too familiar to require mention, or else that he purposely excluded it from his scheme. In other words, it shows that what he omits, as compared with the Mosaic Law, was either already entirely familiar to him and to the people; or else that the law he sets forth was, in these particulars, different from the Mosaic Law. To illustrate by an example: there can be no question that circumcision was a fundamental rite of the religion of the Israelites, practised in all ages of their history; yet, after the Pentateuch and the few first chapters of Joshua, there is no mention of it, and the words circumcise, circumcised, circumcision, do not occur in the sacred literature down to the time of Jeremiah; neither is there any allusion to circumcision in Ezekiel, except the mention of the stranger "uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh" (44: 7, 9). Of course the reason for this, in both cases, is that the law of circumcision was so familiar and the practice so universal that there was no occasion for its mention. On the other hand, the fast of the day of atonement is not mentioned either in the historical books or in Ezekiel. We are not surprised at its omission from the former, nor can this cast any shade of doubt on its observance, unless some passage can be shown in which it would have been likely to be spoken of; but we can only account for its being passed over in the cycle of the festivals in Ezekiel on the supposition that it formed no part of his scheme, while yet there are indications that he recognizes it, in his other arrangements, as existing in his time. F. Gardiner. 17-19. Outward purity symbolizes inward; the purity of the person that of the heart. Hence linen rather than woollen garments were prescribed. Sweat, as indicating impurity, must be avoided. Special garments were assigned to be worn exclusively before the Lord, to be exchanged for others when they came before the people. The last clause of verse 19 means, they shall not sanctify the people ministering in their ordinary garments, but only while wearing their sacred vestments. 23. Under the ancient economy, the ceremonial distinction between the holy and the profane, the clean and the unclean, had the high moral purpose of training the mind to recognize the distinction between holiness and sin. This same distinction it must be the great duty of God's servants in the millennial age to teach and to enforce. 24. Under the law given through Moses, the distinction recognized in modern times between civil and religious statutes was scarcely known. The priests and Levites were then judges of civil cases. (See De. 17: 8-13; 2 Chron. 19: 8-11.) Hence naturally the same system obtains here. 25-27. No form of ceremonial uncleanness was accounted more flagrant than that which comes from contact with a dead body, or near approach to one. Hence promiscuous mourning for the dead and attendance upon these funeral solemnities were strictly forbidden to the priests, the law defining by name the near relatives for whom they might mourn. The same reason is here, to indicate the moral purity which will characterize the future kingdom of the Messiah. 28. They were to have subsistence from the altar and from the tithes which the law prescribed. Beyond this they had no inheritance. From landed estates the Lord purposely debarred them. This was also the doctrine of the ancient Mosaic system. H. C. To describe the priests of his day as "the sons of Zadok" is no proof that Ezekiel did not recognize, or was ignorant of, their more ancient designation as "the sons of Aaron." But the prophet makes this clearer by the reason which he gives for continuing to them the honor bestowed on their father in David's reign: "The priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to minister unto Me, and they shall stand before Me to offer unto Me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God" (verse 15). For faithfulness to their charge, then, they were to be retained in the place of high honor they had well guarded for centuries. A higher place they could not attain to. Nothing more noble was possible for them than to keep, with Jehovah's approval, the position originally assigned to them. Not to have forfeited their rights was all that could be said. But it was different with "the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from Me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity" (verse 10). Manifestly these Levites were like Korah in the wilderness, "seeking the priesthood also." But their usurpation of the priest's office was punished, first, by a sharp reminder of the lower rank they hold; and, second, by a renewal of the wilderness exclusion of them from the priesthood. For the prophet proceeds: "And they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house. And they shall not come near unto Me, to do the office of a priest unto Me, nor to come near to any of My holy things, in the most holy place." Misconduct on the part of the Levites in past ages made necessary a clear definition of their rank and duties in the new temple that was to be built. That definition was delivered by Ezekiel in words and phrases so startlingly the same as those of the Law given in the wilderness, that, if he had not the Pentateuch before him as we now read it, it will be difficult to attain to certainty in any historical matter whatever. There is not a shadow of reason for attributing to Ezekiel the invention of these words and phrases. If Moses was not the first utterer of them, we are in hopeless uncertainty about a matter which otherwise seems clear as noonday. The Levites said Ezekiel, "shall not come near unto Me to do the office of a priest unto Me," as they attempted to do for ages "when Israel went astray." But what are these words of the prophet save a copy, or a singularly clear echo, of those spoken in the wilderness: "The censers of these sinners against their own souls" shall be "a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense," the peculiar duty of the priests in the holy place (Num. 16: 38-40; 2 Chron. 26: 16). There remains another historical coincidence to be pointed out in connection with these statements of Ezekiel. With a clearness which leaves nothing to be desired, he lets us understand that the priests remained at their post, "in charge of My sanctuary," "when Israel went astray." Although he is speaking of "the sons of Zadok" as those whose relation to the high priesthood specially singled them out for mention, it is clear from his writings that a part of the priestly family is here standing for the whole. They did not desert the temple, however much their rights and revenues may have been curtailed. But the same praise is not given to the Levites; "they are gone away far from Me." They abandoned their posts precisely as their successors did in the days of Nehemiah, a century and more after Ezekiel's time. But there is historical evidence which confirms this forsaking of their duty by the Levites, "when Israel went astray." No mention whatever is made of their desertion in the Book of Kings. The first discovery of it is given by the chronicler in narrating the overthrow of Athaliah. Jehoiada, the high-priest, and a son of Zadok, is seen at his post as chief keeper of the temple during the dreary six years of her tyranny. But the Levites had fled; they required to be "gathered out of all the cities of Judah;" and even after the priest had succeeded in his plans, the same Levites were coldly indifferent to the duty of repairing the neglected temple (2 Chron. 23: 2; 24: 5, 6). Read in the light of Ezekiel's prophecies, these statements of the chronicler are a valuable and an undesigned proof of the historical value of his writings. Sime. 45:1 MOREOVER, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand: it shall be holy in all the border thereof round about. Of this there shall be for the holy place five hundred in length by five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits for the suburbs thereof round about. And of this measure shalt thou measure, a length of five and twenty thousand, and a breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary, which is most holy. It is an holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, which come near to minister unto the LORD; and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary. And five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth, shall be unto the Levites, the ministers of the house, for a possession unto themselves, for twenty chambers. And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, side by side with the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel. And whatsoever is for the prince shall be on the one side and on the other side of the holy oblation and of the possession of the city, in front of the holy oblation and in front of the possession of the city, on the west side westward, and on the east side eastward: and in length answerable unto one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. In the land it shall be to him for a possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes. 9 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgement and justice; take away your exactions from my people, saith 10, 11 the Lord GOD. Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the 12 homer. And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, 13 fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh. This is the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah from an homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah from an 14 homer of barley: and the set portion of oil, of the bath of oil, shall be the tenth part of a 15 bath out of the cor, which is ten baths, even an homer; for ten baths are an homer: and one lamb of the flock, out of two hundred, from the fat pastures of Israel; for a meal offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them, saith the 16 Lord GOD. All the people of the land shall give unto this oblation for the prince in Israel. 17 And it shall be the prince's part to give the burnt offerings, and the meal offerings, and the drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meal offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel. 18 Thus saith the Lord GOD: In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take 19 a young bullock without blemish; and thou shalt cleanse the sanctuary. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the door posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner 20 court. And so thou shalt do on the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and 21 for him that is simple: so shall ye make atonement for the house. In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened 22 bread shall be eaten. And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the 23 people of the land a bullock for a sin offering. And the seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the 24 seven days; and a he-goat daily for a sin offering. And he shall prepare a meal offering, an 25 ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil to an ephah. In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, in the feast, shall he do the like the seven days: according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meal offering, and according to the oil. 46:1 Thus saith the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath day it shall be opened, and in the day 2 of the new moon it shall be opened. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate; 3 then he shall go forth: but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. And the people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new 4 moons. And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD shall be in the sab- 5 bath day six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish; and the meal offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and an hin 6 of oil to an ephah. And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without 7 blemish; and six lambs, and a ram; they shall be without blemish: and he shall prepare a meal offering, an ephah for the bullock, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs accord- 8 ing as he is able, and an hin of oil to an ephah. And when the prince shall enter, he shall 9 go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof. But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the appointed feasts, he that en- tereth by the way of the north gate to worship shall go forth by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth straight 10 before him. And the prince, when they go in, shall go in in the midst of them; and when 11 they go forth, they shall go forth together. And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meal offering shall be an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs as he is 12 able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah. And when the prince shall prepare a freewill offering, a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering unto the LORD, one shall open for him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he doth on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going 13 forth one shall shut the gate. And thou shalt prepare a lamb of the first year without blemish 14 for a burnt offering unto the LORD daily: morning by morning shalt thou prepare it. And thou shalt prepare a meal offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil, to moisten the fine flour; a meal offering unto the LORD 15 continually by a perpetual ordinance. Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meal offer- ing, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt offering. 16 Thus saith the Lord God: If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, it is his inherit- 17 ance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall re- 18 turn to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons. Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession. 19 Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests, which looked toward the north: and behold, there was a place on 20 the hinder part westward. And he said unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meal offering; that they 21 bring them not forth into the outer court, to sanctify the people. Then he brought me forth into the outer court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and behold, 22 in every corner of the court there was a court. In the four corners of the court there were courts inclosed, forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four in the corners were of one 23 measure. And there was a row of building round about in them, round about the four, and 24 it was made with boiling places under the rows round about. Then said he unto me, These are the boiling houses, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people. Chap. 45. The portion of territory reserved for the priests, in the middle of which is to be the temple, with its courts and precincts; for the Levites; for the city, and for the prince. B. C. The Lord sets apart a large and well-defined portion of the land for specially sacred uses (verses 1-8); admonishes the princes against unjust exactions from the people, and provides a system of weights and measures (verses 9-12); and specifies certain religious ceremonial ob- servances (verses 13-25). 1-8. In full harmony with the genius, though varying from the forms of the Mosaic system, we have here the extraordinary feature of a very large portion of the whole land—a little less than half of it—set apart for public uses, more or less sacred, the object apparently being to wall in the sacred institutions of religion so effectually as to shut off from the Church the corrupting influences of the world. As to the dimensions of this vast reserved square of twenty-five thousand reeds in length and breadth, I shall assume, in the absence of any Hebrew term for it, that this "reed" (verse 1) corresponds with that defined in chap. 40:5— viz., six cubits and a handbreadth—i.e., proxi- mately ten and a half feet in length. This may be assumed with the greater confidence because both the measuring reed and the man who bore it are made very prominent in the opening of this vision (chap. 40:3, 5). There can scarcely be a doubt that the same standard of measure obtains throughout this entire vision. By this standard, the "oblation" will be a square of forty-nine and seventy-one hundredths miles on each side, varying only a small fraction from the average breadth of Palestine proper from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan val- ley. Anticipating here from chap. 48 the geo- graphical location of the tribes, the entire allot- ment of the territory may be readily seen from the following diagram copied from Rosenmuel- ler, and supposed to be proximately correct. The reader will be struck with the perfect regu- larity which rules throughout. The entire ter- ritory is supposed to be of uniform width— twenty-five thousand reeds (about fifty miles); each tribe has its own narrow belt, stretching across the entire width. Beginning at the north end, seven tribes have their portion north of the "holy oblation" or reserve; then the Levites have a very ample territory twenty miles wide on the northern part of this reserve; and the city, with its laboring population, half as much—ten miles wide—on its southern border; enclosing between them the territory of the priests, twenty miles wide, in the middle of which stood the temple. Spacious territory is assigned to the prince at each end of this sacred reserve. Under the Mosaic economy and in the distribution of the land of Canaan by Joshua, no provision whatever was specially made for the king or "prince." It would then have been premature. Here it is timely, and is made prominent. The "prince" is a prominent character in this new régime. The prophecies of Zechariah also foreshadow this prominence. With him, however, royalty and priesthood reside in the same glorious personage. He shall not only build the temple of the Lord, but "shall bear glory" (pre-eminent glory), and shall sit and rule upon His throne, and shall be a priest on His throne, and be crowned as both king and priest (Zech. 6:12, 13). This millennial state being the result of the glorious reign of the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, its strong points could not be presented without giving great prominence to "the prince." H. C. | Dan. | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Asher. | | | | | Naphtali. | | | | | Manasseh. | | | | | Ephraim. | | | | | Reuben. | | | | | Judah. | | | | | Portion of the Prince. | Levites. | | | | | Priests. | Temple. | Priests. | | | Laborers of | City. | the city. | | Benjamin. | | | | | Simeon. | | | | | Issachar. | | | | | Zebulon. | | | | | Gad. | | | | EAST. 10. A transition to a general exhortation to justice and honesty, expressed by true weights and measures (Lev. 19 : 35 ; Prov. 11 : 1). This fitly introduces the strict regulation of quantities in the prescribed offerings. Chap. 46. Having seen the temple and the city rise before him in fair proportions, having delivered the ordinance for priest and prince, the prophet is permitted to behold in vision people, priest and prince uniting in most solemn worship before the throne of God. B. C. Here are special ordinances prescribing who may pass through the glorious eastern gate, through which the Shekinah had passed ; also when and how (verses 1-3, 12) ; how the people may enter the temple (verses 9, 10) ; various ordinances in respect to "meat-offerings" to accompany the bloody sacrifices ; how the prince may entail his real estate (verses 16-18) ; and the provision of apartments for cooking (verses 19-24). 1-3. Very special sacredness attached to this eastern gate, since through this gate the visible glory of the Lord entered into the most holy place. (See chap. 44 : 1-4.) Through this gate the prince and He only might enter (verses 2, 12). It was to be opened only on the Sabbath ; on the days of new moon ; and when the prince had occasion to present a voluntary (not specially prescribed) offering (verse 12). The significance of these points looks toward the special sacredness of the prince as one near to God, and was also intended to impress the people with the great central truth of this entire vision—viz., that in this new, holy and beautiful state of the Church, the Lord God would dwell among His people with pre-eminent manifestations of His presence. The place of His feet would be sublimely glorious. 8-10. Remarkably the prince was to enter the temple when the people did, and withdraw from it when they did—an ever-attending presence with the people, reminding us of the promise, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world." Since in certain aspects of his character and relations this "prince" was a foreshadowing type of the Messiah, we may accept this law of his attendance with the people as implying that they should approach God's holy presence only with and in and through their great mediator, Christ Jesus. 13-15. These rules for the daily offerings differ slightly from those given through Moses (Num. 28 : 3-8). By the ancient law there were two lambs offered daily, one in the morning and the other in the evening. Here is but one, offered each morning. May it be supposed that this looks especially to the one Lamb that was slain for us—the "one offering whereby He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Heb. 10 : 14) ? The meat offering to accompany it was, in Moses, the tenth part of an ephah of flour with the fourth part of a hin of oil ; while here in Ezekiel the quantities are the sixth part of an ephah and the third part of a hin. The diversity shows that this new system is not an exact copy of the old ; while yet in its general features it is quite analogous. H. C. 16-18. The prince was to be provided with possessions of his own, to prevent him from having recourse to exactions from his subjects ; and lest in the course of time he might be tempted to such exactions, enactments are added to prevent the alienation of the prince's land. Inheritance was permitted only to his sons, as the father's land descended in all cases to the sons. If any gifts were to be made to his servants, they must be out of the prince's portion, and must be only temporary, reverting to the prince in the year of jubilee. On the jubilee year and the enactments concerning it see Lev. 25. B. C. 19-24. To impress more deeply the idea of sanctity in this temple, and all its surroundings, special provision is made for the culinary operations. The cooking is all to be done in special apartments provided for that purpose. So carefully does the Lord guard in this new representative dispensation against whatever might lessen the sacredness of Divine service and worship. H. C. If Ezekiel thus presents the civil ruler as a representative of the people and an important factor in their temple worship, it is simply impossible that any actual legislation, influenced by his vision, should have so totally ignored "the prince," as is notoriously done in the Levitical laws. It would seem that even if the priests and the people had not insisted upon their sovereign's occupying his proper position in their worship, every pious prince would have claimed it for himself. The conclusion is obvious : the Levitical laws are older than Ezekiel, and his vision had no direct effect upon the polity of the Jewish people. All the more important features of the vision of Ezekiel, so far as his relation to the Mosaic law is concerned, have now been passed in review. Others, such as the detailed arrangements of his temple, with its various peculiar outbuildings, and its large "precincts," etc., would require too much time to examine in detail, as I have elsewhere done (Com on Ezekiel in Bp. Ellicott's commentary for English readers), and would only add fresh illustrations of the fact which has been everywhere apparent. If we compare the customs of the Jews as they are known after the Exile with those which are known to have existed before, they are found perfectly to agree in everything, except negatively in so far as data are wanting to show in some respects what were the customs of the more ancient time. This deficiency was of course to be expected in dealing with matters of such antiquity, where the records we have are almost wholly occupied with other matters. Moreover, both the ancient custom as far as it was regulated by law and can be traced (making allowance for some small difficulties in understanding such very ancient legislation) and the later practice perfectly agree with the Mosaic legislation. But quite late in the history of Israel, during the Captivity in Babylon, the prophet Ezekiel comes forward and in a remarkable vision sets forth a general scheme of theocratic laws and worship. His scheme presents incidentally many obvious allusions to the Levitical laws, but in its direct enactments is quite at variance with both former and later custom and also with the Mosaic law. It is in no sense, and in no point on the line of development from what existed before to what existed afterward. Yet we are asked to believe that the Levitical law only existed in a very imperfect and inchoate form before him, that he gave the great impetus to its development, and that within forty years afterward the nearly perfect scheme was accepted as their ancient law by his nation. The thing required is beyond our power. F. Gardiner, in "Ezekiel and the Law." Most readers, when they have come to the 46th chapter, will have been struck with the small number of services described, and with the omission of one of the three great festivals (see 45 : 25), and even the Day of Atonement. Now, if we were to expect to find in the vision directions for the re-enactment of the temple ritual, this would be quite unaccountable. But if we view these selected rites in relation to the temple building, and give to that building its true symbolical character, all is found to be just and harmonious. The vision is intended to depict the perpetual worship of the God of heaven in the kingdom of Christ. To the mind of an Israelite the proper figure to represent this would be the temple and its services, with people, priest and prince, each doing their fitting part. The most appropriate services to exhibit this worship would be those of continual recurrence, in which day by day, week by week, month by month, prayer and praise ascended to the throne of heaven. The morning sacrifice, the Sabbath and the new moon festival. Here we have the Israelite symbol of perpetual public adoration. In other parts of this book Ezekiel points forward to the spiritual teaching of the Gospel; here to a people mourning over a ruined temple, scattered priesthood, and a captive king the seer sets forth in visions that which the last of the prophets foretold in words: From the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a pure offering: for My name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts (Mal. 1 : 11). This will also account for the absence of all mention of the high-priest and his office. In the old dispensation the chief function of the high-priest was the performance of the great act, which typified the atonement wrought by the sacrifice and death of Christ for the sins of the world. This atonement was effected once for all upon the cross, and in the new dispensation Christ appears in the midst of His people as their Prince and Head, leading and presenting their prayers and praises day by day to His Father in heaven. It is to be observed that the vision represents the coming dispensation as a kingdom, and in this respect has especial reference to the rule of Messiah, foretold under the name of David (34 : 24). We find that Solomon took a special part in the temple services as king, and here there are new and remarkable provisions for the prince. One of the gateways is reserved for him; special offerings are to be made by him. There is a particular order for the prince's inheritance; and, moreover, we note that the gate reserved for the prince is that by which the Lord, the God of Israel, entered in (44 : 2); and thus is brought forth, as a leading feature in the vision, the figure of a king reigning in righteousness, the representative of Jehovah upon earth. B. C. 47:1 AND he brought me back unto the door of the house; and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the forefront of the house was toward the east: and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar. Then brought he me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way without unto the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looketh toward the east; and behold, there ran out waters on the right side. When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah: and they shall go toward the sea; into the sea shall the waters go which were made to issue forth; and the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every living creature which swarmeth, in every place whither the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish: for these waters are come thither, and the waters of the sea shall be healed, and every thing shall live whithersoever the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that fishers shall stand by it: from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. But the miry places thereof, and the marishes thereof, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for meat, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall the fruit thereof fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because the waters thereof issue out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for healing. Thus saith the Lord God: This shall be the border, whereby ye shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have portions. And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another; concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. And this shall be the border of the land: on the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethion, unto the entering in of Zedad; Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enon at the border of Damascus, and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. And the east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be Jordan; from the north border unto the east sea shall ye measure. This is the east side. And the south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, unto the great sea. This is the south side southward. And the west side shall be the great sea, from the south border as far as over against the entering in of Hamath. This is the west side. So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you; and they shall be unto you as the homeborn among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord God. 48:1 Now these are the names of the tribes: from the north end, beside the way of Hethion to the entering in of Hamath, Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath; and they shall have their sides east and west; Dan, one portion. And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side; Asher, one portion. And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side; Naphtali, one portion. And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side; Manasseh, one portion. And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side; Ephraim, one portion. And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side; Reuben, one portion. And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side; Judah, one portion. And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the oblation which ye shall offer, five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it. The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be five and twenty thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in breadth. And for these, even for the priests, shall be the holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof. 11. It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, which have kept my charge; which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. 12. And it shall be unto them an oblation from the oblation of the land, a thing most holy, by 13 the border of the Levites. And answerable unto the border of the priests, the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall 14 be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand. And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange it, nor shall the first fruits of the land be alienated: for it is holy unto the 15. LORD. And the five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the five and twenty thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs: and the city 16 shall be in the midst thereof. And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred. 17. And the city shall have suburbs; toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west 18 two hundred and fifty. And the residue in the length, answerable unto the holy oblation, shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be answerable unto the holy oblation; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that labour in the 19, 20 city. And they that labour in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city. 21. And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation and of the possession of the city, in front of the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward in front of the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, answerable unto the portions, it shall be for the prince: and the holy oblation 22 and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof. Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince. 23. And as for the rest of the tribes: from the east side unto the west side; Benjamin, one 24 portion. And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side; Simeon, 25 one portion. And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side; Issachar, 26 one portion. And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side; Zebulun, 27 one portion. And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side; Gad, one 28 portion. And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, unto the great sea. 29. This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their several portions, saith the Lord God. 30. And these are the goings out of the city; on the north side four thousand and five hun- 31 dred reeds by measure: and the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel; three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate 32 of Levi, one: and at the east side four thousand and five hundred reeds; and three gates: 33 even the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one: and at the south side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure; and three gates: the gate of 34. Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one: at the west side four thousand and five hundred reeds, with their three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of 35. Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one. It shall be eighteen thousand reeds round about: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there. Chap. 48. In this chapter, verses 1-12 record a precious vision of waters coming forth from under the temple; verses 13-20 give the boundaries of the land; and verses 21-23 provide for strangers who would fain affiliate with the people of God. H. C. 1-12. The Vision of the Waters. Ezekiel's temple, with its ritual, ministers and congregation, symbolizes the presence of Jehovah in the midst of a loyal people. The waters are the blessings which flow from this source to animate and refresh all the inhabitants of the earth. Isaiah had employed this figure. I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour My spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring (Isa. 44:3). Compare Joel 3:18, All the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. Ezekiel's description is adopted and modified by Zechariah (13:1; 14:8), and in Rev. 22. Lightfoot ("Description of the Temple," chap. 23) informs us that Hebrew tradition spoke of a spring of water, named Etham (said to be identical with the well waters of Nephtoah, Josh. 18:15), on the west of the temple, whose waters were conducted by pipes into the temple courts for the uses needed in the ministration of the priests. The waters of Shiloah (Ps. 46:4; Isa. 8:6) flowed from the rocks beneath the temple hill. It is quite in the manner of Ezekiel's vision to start from an existing feature and thence proceed to an ideal picture whence to draw a spiritual lesson. The deepening of the waters in their course shows the continual deepening of spiritual life and multiplication of spiritual blessings in the growth of the kingdom of God. B. C. 1. Joel and Zechariah agree with Ezekiel in declaring that this river of blessing issues from the sanctuary; John the beloved is able to show us its very fountain-head, for he points to it as "proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." U. R. Thomas. The house is the temple itself; the waters issued from beneath the southeast corner, and flowed along the south of the porch which projected into the inner court. The house looking eastward, the south is at the right hand. The Mediterranean is the hinder sea. The source of the Gospel blessings may be traced up to the presence of God among the descendants of Abraham, which presence was expressed outwardly by the temple at Jerusalem, the seat of Jehovah, who, through the Mosaic law and ordinances, communicated His Spirit in measure to those who lived under the first covenant. In Rev. 22:1, the pure river, the spiritual blessing of the new covenant, proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. So long as the stream is confined to the temple courts, it is merely a small rill, for the most part unseen, but when it issues from the courts it begins at once to deepen and to widen. So on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the little company of believers, and communicated to them the gift of tongues, as a token that they should go forth and carry the Gospel into divers lands. The first marked step was the conversion of three thousand at the preaching of Peter (Acts 2:41), which was followed immediately by the organization of the infant Church in Jerusalem. 2. The seer passes out of the courts by the northern gates of the inner and outer courts, and then round about the boundary wall to the east gate of the outer court, and there sees the stream issuing from beneath the wall at the south side of the eastern gate. B. C. His angel guide now leads him to the outer gate—i.e., of the wall which enclosed the court of the temple. Here the same waters appear, issuing forth on the right side of the eastern gate. The Hebrew word in the last clause, rendered "ran out," means—they distilled, came in drops, oozed forth. The amount of water at this point—the distance of the first half mile—seems therefore to have appeared small. 3-5. The remarkable fact shown here is the rapid increase in the volume of these waters. At the distance of one thousand cubits by measure, the prophet is led through the waters and finds them only to the soles of his feet, which is the sense of the word rendered "ankles;" at the distance of the second thousand cubits, they have risen to his knees; at the third thousand, to his loins; and at the fourth thousand it was a deep river. As to the general significance of these symbols as seen in this vision, there can be no ground for reasonable doubt. Water is the well-established symbol for the cleansing, life-renewing work of the Spirit of God on human hearts. Even David has it, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow; renew a right spirit within me; take not thy holy Spirit from me" (Ps. 51:7, 11). Isaiah also, "Pear not, O Jacob My servant, for I will pour water on him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed and My blessing upon thine offspring" (chap. 44:2, 3). Joel also, "I will pour out My Spirit (as if it were water) upon all flesh," and "all the rivers of Judah shall flow with water, and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim," or of the acacias (a plant at home in the sterile desert), "for I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed; for the Lord dwelleth in Zion." The reader will notice the striking analogy between this passage of Joel and Ezekiel as in our text. In both, waters are the symbol of God's gift of His Spirit; in both, the fountain is in the temple where God of old dwelt among His people; in both, these waters are freighted with blessings wherever they go. As we have already seen, Ezekiel himself has the same figure in chap. 36:25-27, a case the more in point because in the same writer. And finally, Zechariah (14:8) has a passage closely analogous: "And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the former" (front) "sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea" (the Mediterranean); "in summer and in winter shall it be." The peculiar feature here of a division in these waters, making two rivers, one running eastward to the Dead Sea, the other westward to the Mediterranean, serves to show that these rivers are only symbols, and were never thought of as actual rivers in real life. As symbols, it matters not whether they run in both directions or only in one. It scarcely needs to be said that this symbol of water to represent the agencies of the Spirit appears throughout the New Testament, especially in such passages as John 3:5: "Born of water and of the Spirit;" and John 7:37-39 and Acts 2:17, 33; also in the Christian rite of baptism. I hold therefore most fully that this vision looks to the glorious effusions of the Spirit in the latter days. That these waters proceed from under the temple develops a great central truth in the Christian economy—viz., that the Divine Spirit attends and blesses human agencies when these agencies work in the line of His appointed Gospel institutions and instrumentalities. Human hands build God's temples; God Himself fills them with His presence and makes them living fountains of water to fertilize the great deserts long wasted by sin; to restore life and life-giving qualities to the dead seas of human depravity, and so to cleanse and clothe with beauty the moral face of all the earth. H. C. I discover in this richest of allegories a most comprehensive and delightful exhibition of the scheme of redemption, from its inception to its final and glorious consummation. There is good Gospel, and much sound and even profound theology in it. Every incident is suggestive, every allusion instructs. The waters flowed out from under the altar, intimating, not darkly, that the stream of Divine mercy—the river of life—has its source in sacrifice and death. Until justice is satisfied by the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God upon the altar, the waters of life cannot flow forth from beneath it. There can be little doubt but that the prophet borrowed the drapery of his allegory from the physical features of the temple area, and that of the country east and southeast of it. Though the waters first appeared issuing from under the altar, yet we need not suppose that the fountain-head was there, but farther back, under the Holy of Holies, beneath the ark and mercy seat, where abode the Shekinah of God's presence, intimating that the true fountain-head of the river of life is in the heart of infinite love, but on its way out and down to ruined man it must pass under the altar of Divine justice. There is, therefore, no other place in the universe whence these emblematic waters could flow forth so appropriately as under the altar. Again, this river was small at first, but increased rapidly as it flowed onward, and thus it has been with the river of life. It was a mere rill from Adam to Noah—the waters were to the ankles. From the deluge to Moses it grew broader and deeper—the waters were unto the knees, and patriarchs with their flocks reposed in green pastures along the verdant banks. From Moses the lawgiver to David the sweet singer, it rolled onward, ever gathering breadth and power, and its shady groves became vocal with psalms and hymns to the God of salvation. And thus it continued to swell, and expand, and deepen, by the addition of many a rill of prophecy and promise, until He who is the true Fountain came, sending forth a mighty river of unfathomable depth which cannot be passed over; a river to swim in; all the world may bathe in it and be cleansed—may drink of it and thirst no more; and ever since the Advent, it has rolled onward farther and farther into the desert, and thus it will continue until its most distant borders shall blossom, and the great dead sea of sin shall be swallowed up of life. The Divine allegory foreshadows the millennium in its amplest acceptation. W. M. Thomson. The progressive establishment of the Messiah's kingdom is declared by some of the later prophets under the most striking and lively representations. In Nebuchadnezzar's dream, related by the prophet Daniel, and by him expounded of successive kingdoms, that last kingdom set up by the God of heaven was at first no more than "a stone," but "it became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth" (Dan. 2:34, 35). In other prophecies the gradual increase of this new dispensation is beautifully represented by the growth of a tender plant. (See Ezek. 17:22, 23.) And here again the several steps of this growth are pointed out to us by the same prophet Ezekiel, under the image of a stream receiving continual accessions in its progress. The waters were at first extremely shallow, reaching only "to the ankles." At the next ford they came up "to the knees;" afterward "to the loins;" and at last they were risen to a great height; "waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over." (See verses 3, 4, 5.) The increasing blessings of the Messiah's kingdom are wont to be expressed under the figure of waters in prophetic language (see Isa. 35:6, 7); and elsewhere the same figure is used with a peculiar resemblance to this place. (See Joel 3:18.) Such a sense also best suits that healing and beneficial influence attributed to these sanctified waters, which are said to have power to "heal the waters of the sea," and to give life wherever they flow; "everything shall live whither the river cometh." And of the trees nourished by this stream it is said that "their leaf should not fade, nor their fruit be consumed; but their fruit should be for meat, and their leaf for medicine" (verses 8-12). Bp. Bagot. 6,7. The angel guide says, Hast thou carefully noted the wonderful increase of these waters? Do not lose sight of this fact while we pass on to other scenes. Then he returns to observe that all along the bank of the river on either side were very many trees, flourishing in verdure and beauty, being fertilized by these living waters. The revelator John has the same symbols of surpassing beauty and verdure in his paradise (Rev. 22:1, 2). H. C. 8. The waters shall be healed. This finally represents the tendency of the Gospel to heal the corruptions of human nature. Abp. Newcome. 10. The fishers. The mention of fishers does indeed appear to determine this increase of religious knowledge and practice to Christianity. Our Saviour Christ told His disciples that He would make them "fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19). Abp. Secker. 8-12. The last allusion to the Dead Sea found in the Scriptures. The passage records the vision of the holy waters seen by the prophet Ezekiel, yet the glowing prophetic description does not disdain to mention the humble names of geographical localities. The implication of this vision is precisely such as to sanction a modern popular teaching derived suggestively from the same materials. All the sweet waters of the Jordan and its neighbor streams, forever pouring into the Dead Sea, do not materially or permanently abate its bitterness. The fact is often considered emblematical of the inefficiency of all merely natural agencies for the radical reformation of human character and the regeneration of the human race. Set before a depraved character your examples of truth and honor; inculcate upon it your lessons of right and justice; pour upon it the sweet influences of educated and refined society, and what is the result? So, attempt without religion truly to civilize a barbarous race, and how will you succeed? Human character has its permanent qualities, like the bitter waters of the Dead Sea. All merely natural influences are utterly inoperative to change these qualities, such influences being quickly exhaled, leaving the character as depraved as ever. The prophetic vision implying this truth teaches further, that the correction of human depravity and the ultimate regeneration of the human race are to be expected from a power outside of humanity—from the source of Omnipotent Divinity. The prophet Ezekiel, dwelling in captivity by the river Chebar, saw in vision, under the type of a restored and perfected Palestine, a regenerated world. And in this vision the waters of the Dead Sea became changed to sweetness and teemed with life. And how was this result seen to be accomplished? Why, by the flowing into the sea of a great river, having its origin in the new sanctuary at Jerusalem. This river, which the prophet saw issuing from the threshold of the temple eastward—its waters swelling and widening, until rising first to his knees, and then to his loins, they became at length too deep to walk in—this river went flowing down into the desert plain, through the wilderness of Judah—its banks lined with all "trees for meat," bearing unfading leaves and perpetual fruits—and having passed the desert plain and emptied into the sea, the waters of the sea were thereby healed. And the prophet declares that the fishers shall stand upon the shore of the sea, "from En-gedi to En-eglaim," or around its great northern basin, spreading their nets for the fish which now swarm the sweet waters. May we not accept this vision as truly prophetic? Has not the Gospel of God proved its power to regenerate human character and to make desert spots of humanity "blossom as the rose"? And may we not expect that, when the time for the full accomplishment of God's merciful purpose shall arrive, the stream of God's salvation will be so augmented, that, in the fulness of its saving power, the Dead Sea of our corrupt humanity will be turned to sweet purity, and "the earth be filled with the glory of God?" N. C. Burt. The gradual increase of the stream issuing from the sanctuary, from the Holy of Holies, is a vivid representation of the progress of the waters of eternal life, which, deriving their source from the hidden counsels of mercy and wisdom of the triune Jehovah, at first presented, as they gushed forth from the cross of the despised Galilean, an appearance so humble as to be most distasteful to the pride and foolishness of man, but yet did rapidly and irresistibly overspread nation after nation, and shall continue to flow on with increasing might, until the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. Nor are the inestimable benefits which the Gospel conveys to a ruined world less forcibly portrayed. "These waters," says the prophet, "go down into the desert, and go into the sea." "Everything shall live whither the river cometh." It traverses the desert, and its barren sands are overspread with verdant and fruitful trees. It flows onward to the sea whose bitter waters had destroyed all life, and the poisonous waters are at once healed, and teem with a great multitude of fish. The influence also of these typical waters is as permanent and extensive as it is beneficial; for it is written: "By the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed; it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine." Such, too, have ever been the blessed results of the everlasting Gospel of the grace of God. Whenever the waters have indeed issued from the sanctuary, whenever the pure Word of God has been preached, the Holy Ghost has accompanied that Word with His soul-regenerating power. The poisonous and dead sea of the world has been healed of its destructive influence. Its inhabitants, with no spiritual life in them, but dead in trespasses and sins, have been quickened by Divine grace. The barren desert of this earthly existence, which sin has made desolate by its withering blasts of sickness, and disappointment, and separation, and death, is gladdened through the Gospel of life and immortality with resignation, patience, peace, hope, joy in believing, and all the varied fruits of the Spirit. Nor are these life-giving blessings of the Gospel exhausted or diminished by the lapse of time. They are trees whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed; but as months, and years, and ages pass, they shall still continue to yield new fruit. The Gospel of Christ is like Him who brought it down from heaven to man—the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever. The revolutions of nations have only manifested that the kingdom of Christ is one that cannot be shaken. The lapse of ages has only accumulated fresh evidence that the waters of life are inexhaustible. The discovery of new lands and people has added fresh trophies to the power of the cross, and proves that wherever human beings are found, however differing from ourselves in habits and knowledge, the Gospel is needed, is adapted, is intended for those human beings. Bp. C. Baring. These waters of the vision were fed by no tributaries—and herein is a marvellous thing. Those waters had but one source—just those drops at the gate of the temple, and that was all. They issued out of the sanctuary; they grew and they grew. They were inherently developed. Those drops of the temple walls became a river only a few thousand cubits away. Their ever-increasing volume came, therefore, from their seemingly exhaustless capacity of unfolding. This is true of the Gospel spel stream coming out of the sanctuary. No other religions have swelled its waters with their inflowing tide. Nor wealth, nor learning, nor art, nor government has contributed one drop to its volume. Sometimes it has been claimed that these things have helped to make the tide of influence coming out from the Christian Church and sweeping far and wide over the world's waste places, but the subsidence of the waters that have been formed by wealth, and learning, and art, and government, has proved that the claim is false. The influence of the Church to-day, and the secret of its depth and power, is the pure Gospel stream, accompanied by no adjunct and fed by no tributary. Issuing out of the sanctuary, it widened and deepened, until now the waters are waters to swim in, that cannot be passed over. These waters transform whatever they touch. Everywhere they spread in their onward flow, they make a place of beauty. Trees grow up along their banks; the desert blossoms at their coming. Beauty and fertility were everywhere. This is the picture. What are the actual scenes marking the course of the Gospel stream down through the world? Where do you find the world's moral garden to-day? Where are the high places of the earth? Places high in cleanliness and conscience, in charity and forgiveness? They are here, by the banks of the River of Life, flowing from the sanctuary. This picture of prophecy is the reality of history. From the time of the descent of the Holy Spirit at the day of Pentecost, whenever God has been in the Church, her influence has been immediate and beneficent. Nothing has made her influence a track of fragrance throughout the world but this presence. Nothing transformed deserts into fertility but this. The one sole condition of power on the part of the Church is that she be filled with the Spirit of God. If the Lord God come down and dwell in His sanctuary, out of His sanctuary will issue the waters of salvation. The practical lesson is that the Spirit of God is the spirit of missions. A sanctuary with no outflowing waters is a church that accomplishes no saving results. A church that does not let its influence go down into the moral deserts and the Dead Seas of sin; that sends not the healing flood of the Gospel out from its gates, making a track of greenness and beauty; that does not go, with its sympathies and prayers and alms, into all the world, is a church with a name to live, but dead. A church cannot exist long that fashions for itself a beautiful temple and repeats an orthodox creed, but that has not the Spirit of God in its sanctuary. H. Johnson. 13-21. Borders of the Land as Divided. 13,14. The uniform law of Messianic prophecy is to promise the future Canaan not to Judah alone, but to the Twelve Tribes—to Ephraim and the lost Ten Tribes as truly as to Judah and Benjamin, the two tribes which so long constituted the southern kingdom. It would seem that the Spirit of inspiration overlooked the fact of the revolt under Jeroboam; started at a point much farther back, even with the promise made to the patriarchs and specially renewed to David, and built upon that basis the whole structure of their glorious future. We may notice this remarkable feature of Messianic prophecy in both Jeremiah (chaps. 3: 12, 18; 23: 2, 6-8; 31: 1, 9, 23, 33) and in Ezekiel (chaps. 36: 1, 8, 12, 32, 37; 37: 11, 12, 28; 39: 25). H. C. 15. The borders of the land follow closely Num. 34. In Numbers the borders begin from the south, as the people came up from Egypt; in Ezekiel, from the north, as they might return from Babylon. The occupation is ideal, but is grounded, as usual, on an actual state of things. B. C. 18. Side. The word "side" is very ancient (Amos 3: 12). Its occurrences elsewhere are singular: Exodus, fifteen times; Leviticus, six; Numbers, six; Joshua, six; Jeremiah, four, and Ezekiel, forty-seven times. No one can read the north, south, east and west in Ezekiel (chap. 47) without feeling that he is copying Exodus and Numbers. 19. What is believed to be an insurmountable objection to the reality of the legislation becomes an unanswerable proof of its antiquity. Ezekiel speaks twice of the "side of the south southward," or, "the side of the Negeb southward." There was no call on him to add southward after Negeb. He was in Babylon, far to the north of Judah and its dry steppe, at the time of drawing up that sketch. Only one reason can be given for his unnecessary plainness of speech. He was echoing or copying the words which were used in describing the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness. Nowhere but in Ezekiel's writings and in the Pentateuch do these strange words, "The side of the south southward," occur. One author clearly borrowed the phrase from another. If the Pentateuch was the book in which it first occurred, the borrowing of it by Ezekiel is easily understood. But if, as several writers think, Ezekiel used the phrase first, then the addition of southward to south becomes a puzzle of greatest difficulty. He had no reason for so doing. He was uselessly repeating the same idea in other words. He was committing a fault of style which laid him open to censure. But there was no fault and no censure, if he was echoing, as he unquestionably was, the words of an ancient and much-esteemed author. But the prophet gives a curious and convincing proof of his indebtedness to the Pentateuch. "The south side southward" was an archaic phrase, which a reader and imitator of ancient books was entitled to borrow. "The east side toward the sun rising," was another found in Exodus (27: 13), Numbers (2: 3; 34: 15), and Joshua (19: 12). Ezekiel altered it into "the east side eastward," by repeating the word for east. The change of word does not indicate originality. But he rounded off the four cardinal points in the same way, and he stands alone in so doing. He spoke of "the north northward" (Ezek. 47: 17), and of "the west westward" (Ezek. 45: 7). He was imitating an old book; he was not borrowing from it. Beyond doubt Ezekiel's imitations and borrowings in this matter show the homage paid by him to the same Pentateuch which we now study. Sime. 22,23. Inasmuch as enlargement by the accession of Gentiles proselyted to the Jewish faith was a cherished feature of the ancient economy and afforded a choice symbol of the great and glorious ingathering of the Gentiles in the Christian age, it was every way fitting that special provision should be made here for the location and naturalization of strangers who might choose to cast in their lot with Israel. Here it stands. H. C. Chap. 48. The distribution of the Holy Land in detail. The order of the original occupation by the tribes under Joshua is partly, but only partly followed. It is a new order of things; and its ideal character is evinced, as elsewhere, by exact and equal measurements. From north to south seven tribes succeed each other: Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, Judah, each occupying the full breadth of the land from east to west. Then comes a portion, separated as an offering to the Lord, subdivided into a northern portion for the Levites, a central portion for the priests and the temple, a southern portion for the city and those who serve it. These three form a square, which does not occupy the whole breadth of the land, but is flanked on either side, east and west, by portions assigned to the prince. Then follow, south of the city, five portions for the five remaining tribes—Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad—similar to those assigned to the seven. Thus the Levites, the temple, and city, are guarded by Judah and Benjamin, the two tribes who had throughout preserved their allegiance to the true sovereignty of Jehovah, and thus the plan expresses the presence of Jehovah among His people, summed up in the name of the city, with which Ezekiel's prophecy closes, "The Lord is there." B. C. This vision closes legitimately with a definite geographical location of the several tribes (verses 1-7, 23-28); a more expanded description of the sacred reserve (verses 8-22) resumed from chap. 45:1-7; and a description of the gates of the great city (verses 29-35). 1-7. The best view of this assignment of the tribes will be obtained from the diagram, page 188. It will be seen there at a glance that the territory of each tribe extended entirely across the country from west to east, and of equal width. The actual sinuosities and irregularities of the western border, and of the eastern also, are overlooked, as well as the narrowing of the real Palestine from its greatest width at its southern extremity to its least at the northern. The location of the tribes differs in other respects widely from that made by Joshua. The latter was every way irregular; the former is a model of perfect mathematical regularity. Doubtless the consideration of order ruled in this arrangement. Everything about it indicates that it was and is only ideal—a thing of vision only. 8-22. This is the sacred reserve, "the holy oblation," first brought to view (chap. 45:1-7); but here taken up again, repeated and somewhat expanded. The diagram (page 188) will give the best view of these apportionments. The purpose of this reserve is obviously to carry out the great idea of the ancient economy in its extreme form—seclusion of the holy from the profane and earthly—the broadest possible distinction between things sacred and things common everywhere kept up in order to cultivate a critical habit of moral discrimination between holiness and sin, and to impress a sense of the obligation of moral purity. This moral discipline is above all price in value. But we should quite mistake the genius of the Gospel dispensation if we were to assume that God proposes to develop its future and higher stages by returning to the modes and forms of Judaism. No; his thought is rather to carry the culture obtained by the aid of that ancient régime out into the world-wide fields of human society, and train men to "live holily, justly and unblamably in this present world;" not to shut themselves out of it for the sake of the holiness of the cloister. We may fitly notice that the Lord makes ample provision for the support of His Levite servants as well as for the priests and for those who serve in the city, taken from all the tribes of Israel. The ministers who labor and serve under this new régime are thoughtfully provided for, as if specially worthy of their hire. The implication is that only with such provision can they be expected to hold on, true to their work, kept above the torturing power of poverty to seduce them from their sacred functions. 30-35. This great city, a model of method and order—each tribe represented in its twelve gates—is imitated by the r velator John in his city of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:10-21). John, however, was farther advanced in the light of the new dispensation, for in his city is "no temple," while here the temple is the central fact. But the glory of the whole scene is brought out here in the significant name of the city which was to stand from that day onward—"Jehovah Shammah;" The Lord is there! It is the place of Jehovah's dwelling in the midst of His people. Everything is shaped according to Mosaic ideas, for the perpetual dwelling of Jehovah among His people. The entire arrangements, including the sacred reserve, its special localities for the Levites, for the priests, for the more menial servants of the sanctuary; for the prince also and for all the tribes—all, every several thing, provides for the great central fact, and adjusts itself around that living truth—Jehovah dwelling forever, and forever manifesting Himself among His chosen; He their God, and they His people. Prophetically, it looks down into the Christian age to its great central truth—the Lord by His Divine Spirit making His abode through all ages in the hearts of His children. "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world." H. C. 35. The Lord is there. It is frequently said in the sacred writings that a person or a thing shall be called by a certain name, where it is predicted that the person or thing shall be endowed with those qualities which the name imports. When Isaiah predicts the coming of the Messiah, he says that "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace," because He was to possess the qualities which would serve as a foundation to these titles. In this sense Jerusalem is called in the Psalms the "city of God, the city of the Great King;" and in Isaiah, "the city of Righteousness, the faithful city;" and in this passage, "The Lord is there." Calmet.—In this new Jerusalem, the Church of Christ, God shall dwell in a more glorious manner, and make it the place of His perpetual residence; so that every part of that city shall be honored with evident tokens of the Divine presence; and every member of it being dedicated to God's service, and becoming an habitation of God through His Spirit, shall have some degree of the holiness of the temple where God had placed His name. This is in a lower degree fulfilled in all Christians, who are called "the temple of the living God" (2 Cor. 6:16), and "an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Eph. 2:22). W. Lowth. The prophecy of Ezekiel, while it is "the last expiring cry of the Jewish monarchy," is, like the fabled cry of the dying swan, a noble song as well as a cry. From his captivity, and from the midst of visions of his country's desolations, it was given him to gaze upon and to paint for his hearers the glorious future that was hovering over the true Israel of God. That Israel is to be folded in safety by a true Shepherd; is to be, spiritually, as a man in robust and vigorous health, for "a new heart and a new spirit" shall be given; is to be, in the completeness of its revival, "an exceeding great army," quickened to life by mystic breath "from the four winds," and is to go forth to conquer in a terrific struggle with the "Gog and Magog" of heathenism; is to become a vast and perfect "temple;" is to be blessed and to bless others by a "river" of healing waters. But its highest glory is revealed in the last two words of the book, for it is to be as a country, the name of whose city is Jehovah Shammah, "the Lord is there." U. R. Thomas. The name given to this city; from that day, when it shall be new erected according to this model, the name of it shall be not as before, Jerusalem—the vision of peace—but, which is the original of that and more than equivalent to it, Jehovah Shammah—the Lord is there. This intimated: 1. That the captives, after their return, should have manifest tokens of God's presence with them and His residence among them, both in His ordinances and in His providences. 2. That the Gospel Church should likewise have the presence of God in it, though not in the Shekinah, as of old, yet in a token of it no less sure, that of His Spirit. Where the Gospel is faithfully preached, Gospel ordinances duly administered, and God worshipped in the name of Jesus Christ only, it may truly be said, The Lord is there; for faithful is He that has said it, and He will be as good as His word. Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. The Lord is there in His Church, to rule and govern it, to protect and defend it, and graciously to accept and own His sincere worshippers, and to be nigh unto them in all that they call upon Him for. 3. That the glory and happiness of heaven should consist chiefly in this—that the Lord is there. John's representation of that blessed state does indeed far exceed this in many respects. That is all gold and pearls and precious stones; it is much larger than this and much brighter, for it needs not the light of the sun. But in making the presence of God the principal matter of its bliss they both agree. There the happiness of the glorified saints is made to be that God Himself shall be with them (Rev. 21:3); that He who sits on the throne shall dwell among them (Rev. 7:15). And here it is made to crown the bliss of this holy city, that the Lord is there. Let us therefore give all diligence to make sure to ourselves a place in that city, that we may be forever with the Lord. H. Ezekiel's whole sketch is ideal. It was not literally obeyed in a single particular. The temple was not rebuilt by his directions. The ceremonial was not restored as he prescribed. The land was not divided agreeably to his injunctions. This non-compliance on the part of those who honored him as a prophet of the Lord shows that they understood his words not as commands which they were to obey, but as an idealized picture of the future which the Lord would bring to pass. It was no more designed to guide in the work of reconstruction than Jer. 31:38-40 was to be followed in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, or than Zech. 2:4 enjoined their demolition. The departures from Levitical law above referred to may have been designed, on the one hand, to intimate that the ceremonial was not a finality and forever unalterable; and, on the other hand, like plain impossibilities, that are also incorporated in his scheme to suggest that they were not intended to be obeyed, so long, at least, as the Mosaic law held sway. There never could be any hesitation about the proper answer to the question whether their obedience was due to the vision of Ezekiel or to the statutes of Moses. The latter was law; the former was a picture of the future, which in many respects may have been perplexing, but it was not for the guidance of their conduct. W. H. Green. I plead for the figurative interpretation and against the literal, and draw my arguments: (1) From the New Testament; (2) from the Old, and especially from these prophecies themselves in their relation to the writer and his first readers; (3) from the nature of the case—especially as creating an intensely strong probability against the literal and in favor of the figurative interpretation. 1. The literal system of interpretation must be rejected because it is absolutely precluded and forbidden by the New Testament. The entire spirit and genius of the Gospel dispensation as unfolded by Christ and His inspired apostles is utterly, squarely, fatally against it. For the literal system must hold that, according to this vision, Judaism will yet be fully restored—restored with more than all its ancient surroundings, and in more than its ancient fulness. But, according to the New Testament, Judaism is dead. It had done its great work when Jesus died as the Lamb of God, and thenceforth it ceased to exist under Divine authority. In the age of the Epistle to the Hebrews it had already “decayed, waxed old, and was ready to vanish away.” Paul declared repeatedly and in many various forms that Christ had “broken down the middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles” by setting aside whatever was peculiar to the Jew; that he “had abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances,” etc. (Eph. 2: 14, 15); that he had “blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us” (Gentiles), “which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross” (Col. 2: 14). This was the end of the Mosaic system. 2. The evidence from the Old Testament—i.e., from these prophecies themselves, considered in view of the circumstances of their authors and first readers, may be presented with brevity here. In a word, then, these prophets were Jews, of Jewish education, with only Jewish conceptions of the kingdom of God, and with only Jewish terms, phrases, figures and symbols for expressing these conceptions. The same is true of their first readers, to whom of necessity they must adapt their writings. If any should suggest here that the Lord Himself is the speaker and revealer, still the case remains the same; for the Lord speaks to Jews, whether prophets or people, and only in Jewish language and figures. Hence the future kingdom of Christ must be revealed to the prophets and to the Jewish people in words and symbols drawn from the existing economy. This necessity is absolute, if the Lord aimed to reveal anything—if He aimed to speak so as to be understood. This principle is introduced here, not precisely to prove that these prophecies reveal Gospel blessings, but to account for their phraseology and their symbols. The proof that they teach the gloriously converting power of the Gospel and of the Spirit of God in the latter days comes from the facts: (1) that they refer to Gospel times; (2) that they must therefore be construed of Gospel blessings, and not of Mosaic forms and ritualities; (3) that the nature and magnitude of these symbols demand a most magnificent fulfilment, and can be satisfied with nothing less. 3. In the nature of the case the literal system is for every reason intensely improbable. Thus: That the Twelve Tribes should appear again; produce their unbroken and distinct genealogies; prove their identity, and file into their places in the allotment of tribes as given in Ezek. 48, is violently improbable. That the natural boundaries of Palestine should be miraculously changed so as to make it a perfect rectangle; that the great river from the sanctuary should flow, with a growth so unprecedented, into the Dead Sea, and make its waters salubrious, fill them with fish, etc., all in the literal sense, is very improbable. That the better times of the Gospel age, its one period of most perfect beauty, purity and glory, should be brought about by receding from the genius of New Testament Christianity to the genius of Judaism, is pre-eminently improbable. That the Lord should subject His Gentile churches to the same terrible contest with Judaism which cost so much martyr-blood in the first and second centuries is improbable. That He should subject the Jews themselves to those temptations to bigotry, exclusiveness, and uncharitableness, which in the first Christian age often proved too stubborn for even the grace of the Gospel, is improbable. That He should expose them to the power of the old national spirit of reliance upon ritual forms and ceremonies, or to the national pride in which they accounted themselves the only favored people of God, is utterly improbable. And finally, that the Lord should give His Church in the future age a system in which the spirit of love, purity and peace is lost in the letter of forms and ceremonies; in which (as e.g. in Ezek. 47:1-12) you have, instead of the unexampled glory and power of the Divine Spirit, only a beautiful river and plenty of good fish, and fruit-trees in abundance for sensual delights—in short, that God should lead the Church and the world backward from a spiritual Gospel to a sensual paradise, is utterly improbable and even incredible. For one, I rejoice that there is no trustworthy evidence to sustain the literal interpretation, and that the figurative view is amply supported by evidence, unfolding glorious truth in harmony with the whole tenor of Old Testament prophecy and of New Testament interpretation of it, and revealing a sublimely grand and auspicious future for the kingdom of our Divine Redeemer. H. C. DANIEL comes first to view, a Jewish youth of the royal family, taken captive to Babylon in the first deportation of captives, in the third year of Jehoiakim, B.C. 606 or 607; and is soon after selected with others for his wisdom, efficiency and agreeable person, to be trained in the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans, for service under the king. This custom of taking young men of the finest parts from a captive or subject race to fill responsible positions about the king has prevailed in many despotic governments, and is essentially the usage of the Turkish empire to this day. It finds its motives: (1) In the fact that such monarchs need men about them of the very first abilities; (2) in the difficulty they would experience in getting young men of such ability from among their own people who might not, by virtue of their social position or connections, become dangerous to the throne. We are then to think of Daniel as educated thoroughly in the language, literature and general culture of the Chaldeans (this term being used here for the learned, sacerdotal and scientific class, and not for the mass of the people), but yet as adhering with noble firmness to the religious faith of his fathers. In this position he developed extraordinary capacities in the line of wisdom, fidelity and efficiency, and consequently rose to the rank of prime minister under the Chaldean sovereigns, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, and remarkably attained and held an equally exalted position in the succeeding dynasty, the Medo-Persian, under Darius the Median and Cyrus. Daniel must have lived and retained his vigor to a great age. The period during which he appears before us in this book, from the beginning of the Captivity to the very end of it, was seventy years; and we may reasonably suppose him from sixteen to twenty years of age at the beginning of this period, and of course almost ninety at its close. Yet his heart appears full of earnest life and power in his memorable prayer for his people, given us in chap. 9, just on the eve of the restoration. H. C. From tender youth to extreme age, for more than seventy years, the prophet lived at the Babylonian and Medo-Persian court (1:1, 6, 21; 10:1). But more than this, he took part in the government of the State, in which he occupied a high official position (2:48; 5:29; 6:29; 8:27). He was thus enabled to gain an insight and knowledge of the organization of political affairs in the kingdoms of the world, and fitted to be the recipient of what, perhaps, I may be permitted to call his political revelations. But he has likewise obtained the spiritual point of view. The experiences which Daniel made through the deep humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar, through Belshazzar's downfall, the rapid efflorescence, decay, and vanishing of the Babylonian monarchy, the miraculous deliverance of himself and his friends (chaps. 3-6), all these events made on him a profound impression—that the powers of the world are transitory and the glory of the kingdom of God eternal. Auberlen. The book simply outlines the personal fortunes of a man whose life spans the entire period of the Babylonian Captivity, and tells us what outlook into the future was given to him of the world's political history. The visions of Daniel constitute a philosophy of history valuable as the contribution of a man whose abilities secured for him high official station in the government of his conquerors. Apart from any claim of inspiration, Daniel's studies and conclusions are worthy of serious attention, when you consider the nobility of his character and the length of his public life. He never preaches, and therein he differs from the prophet whose special mission is that of public warning, exhortation and encouragement. Daniel is simply a great and gifted layman, whom the splendors of Babylon cannot tempt from the religion of his fathers, and in whose visions we trace his passionate attachment to and unshaken faith in the future of his despised and captive people. No burdens of State could prevent him from praying three times each day, with eyes fixed, through open windows, upon Jerusalem. He does nothing from policy, everything from principle. There is an equally remarkable completeness in his character. There are in it no violent contrasts, no lapses over which we must throw the mantle of charity. He is a man of the finest and firmest courage. He tells Nebuchadnezzar the truth; he is fearless before Belshazzar; he prays according to his habit, without a thought of the lion's den. He is always contented, whether filling a responsible post or remanded to obscurity. He bides his time. And he is full of charity. He cherishes no animosities. He does not turn upon his persecutors. He could have had no great love for the priestly class; but his first public appearance is on their behalf, because they had been condemned to death unless they could reproduce the king's forgotten dream. It is a noble figure that stands out against the dark background of general vanity, revelry and cruelty; and is a notable instance of the supremacy of righteousness over brute force. It cannot be doubted that Daniel's quiet influence at court must have done much to soften the rigors of the Captivity, and it goes far toward explaining the favorable disposition of Cyrus and the facilities which were gladly accorded to Zerubbabel by Cyrus, and to Nehemiah by Darius. As Joseph prepared the way for his father's household, so Daniel prepared the way for the captives of Judah. He had been eighteen years in Babylon when the captives came pouring in from the wasted city, and he was held in high esteem. They must have been considerately treated for his sake; and his name must have speedily become a household word among them. It was not a misplaced revenge. He has not suffered by a lapse of 2400 years; and we still summon men to the highest level of character when we say to them, "Dare be like Daniel." Behrends. We have in Daniel a man of intense religious feeling and a true patriot, and one possessed also of great ability and a powerful mind, upon which numerous and weighty influences were brought to bear. Can we wonder if he viewed the world with a different eye from that of the exiled priest Ezekiel, living in penury among the poor Jewish colonists planted on the river Chebar? or from that of Jeremiah, struggling against all the evil influences which were daily dragging the feeble Zedekiah and the decaying people of Jerusalem down to ruin? or even from that of Isaiah, whose rapt vision, spurning this poor earth, soared aloft to the spiritual glories of Messiah's reign, and sang how the sucker, springing up from Jesse's cut-down lineage, and growing as a root in a dry ground, should by its wounds bring to the world healing, and by its death purchase for mankind life? But each of these had his own office and his special message; and Daniel's office was to show that the Christian religion was not to be an enlarged Judaism, but a Judaism fulfilled and made free. Instead of a church for the Jews, there was to be a church for all mankind. The thought present to his mind is that of the one God establishing one kingdom and one religion on earth, and he sees these world-kingdoms preparing the way for it, but themselves coming to naught as it grows and covers all the world. We know how he loved his nation, and how, even in extreme old age, he still prayed with his face toward Jerusalem; but he places out of sight the work of his country and of his church, and sees only the world's history, and the share which it has in preparing for the universal dominion of God. R. P. S. Daniel's conduct was the same throughout, always in harmony with itself. Attentive to his duty to God, he was equally so in his duty to man. Faithful to his God, he is equally faithful to his king. His morality is no less conspicuous than his religion. He is fervent in spirit, but no less diligent in business. Regular and earnest in his closet, he is equally assiduous in his office. Studious in his Bible, as a man of business he is well acquainted with his books. His enemies can find no fault in him, and no ground of accusation with the king, but in the matter of his religion. He is favored with revelations from heaven and the visits of angels; yet no sooner are his visions withdrawn and his usual state of health recovered than he returns to do "the king's business." He is endowed, even while yet young, with a wisdom and understanding superior to that of all the wise men of Babylon, yet disclaims all merit and wisdom of his own as being greater than those of other men. He is tender and gentle, while bold and uncompromising in professing the truth and reproving sin. He is distressed as being the bearer of evil tidings to Nebuchadnezzar, yet fearlessly declares to the hardened Belshazzar both his sin and his doom. Anon. It was the love of God that presented him with a clearer landscape of the Gospel than any other prophet ever had; he was the beloved prophet under the Old Dispensation, as John was the beloved disciple under the New; and, both being animated by the same Divine love, there was a wonderful harmony between them; both engaged young in the service of God, and consecrated their lives by an early piety; and both lived to a great and equal age—to about an hundred years. Both had the like intimacy with God, the like admittance into the most adorable mysteries, and the like abundance of heavenly visions. Both had the like lofty flights and ecstatic revelations. Bp. Ken. The Book of Daniel is almost as much historical as prophetic. In the Hebrew canon its place is between Esther and Ezra, two books, both of which are histories. One entire half of it (chaps. 1–6) is a narrative of events, and is as capable of receiving historical illustration as any other portion of the sacred volume. Daniel, moreover, supplies a gap in the biblical history which is not otherwise filled up by any sacred writer. He is the historian of the Captivity, the writer who alone furnishes any series of events for that dark and dismal period. His narrative may be said, in a general way, to intervene between Kings and Chronicles on the one hand and Ezra on the other, or (more strictly) to fill out the sketch which the author of Chronicles gives in a single verse of his last chapter: “And them that had escaped from the sword carried he” (i.e., Nebuchadnezzar) “away to Babylon, where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia” (2 Chron. 36: 20). We learn from Daniel particulars of this servitude. The main events related in Daniel are the long and glorious reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Babylon, who both commenced and completed the captivity of the Jews; his elevation of Daniel to a position of high authority in his kingdom; his treatment of the “three children,” Ananias, Azarias, and Misael; his dreams, his terrible illness and recovery; the impiety and punishment of Belshazzar; the capture of Babylon; the accession of “Darius the Mede,” and his treatment of Daniel; and the accession, a year or two later, of “Cyrus the Persian.” These events, it will be observed, are partly of a public, partly of a private character. The names and reigns of kings, their acts and fate, the order of their succession and general character of their government, the transfer of empire from one race or nation to another, and the like, are of the former kind; the particular treatment of individuals among their subjects is of the latter. It is, of course, only of the former class of facts that we can expect illustrations from profane history; and to them, accordingly, the inquiry should be confined. Daniel opens with some chronological statements which, at first sight, seem self-contradictory. He relates that, in a certain year of the reign of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, went up to Jerusalem and besieged it (1: 1); that, the siege being successful, he carried off from the city certain captives, among whom was Daniel, and delivered him into the care of his chief eunuch, with an injunction that he should educate him for three years, and then bring him into his presence (1: 3–6); that this was done, and the captives were admitted among the “wise men” (1: 18–20); and that after this, in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, they were brought into danger by a decree which commanded that the wise men should be put to death (2: 1–13). We are enabled to reconcile these statements by finding in Berosus that the first expedition of Nebuchadnezzar against Syria and the commencement of the Jewish captivity took place toward the close of the reign of Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar’s father, in B.C. 605, or possibly in B.C. 606; between which time and Nebuchadnezzar’s second year, B.C. 603, there would be room for the three years’ instruction spoken of; more especially as “three years,” according to the Hebrew usage, means no more than one whole year and parts, however small, of two other years. Thus, if Daniel were taken to Babylon in the autumn of B.C. 605 and placed at once under the chief eunuch, he might have been presented to Nebuchadnezzar as educated early in B.C. 603, and before the close of that year have run the risk of destruction and escaped from it. Nebuchadnezzar’s second year would not be out till the Thoth of B.C. 602, according to Babylonian modes of reckoning. The only difficulty that remains, if it be a difficulty, is that Nebuchadnezzar is called “king of Babylon” in Dan. 1: 1 when he was merely crown prince and commander-in-chief on behalf of his father. But this is a prolepsis common to most writers of history. G. R. The Book of Daniel stands in the Hebrew canon among the Hagiographa or Sacred Writings, which are specially so called in distinction to the Law and the prophets, not as implying any greater degree of sanctity, but as claiming an actual and independent sanctity for them, notwithstanding their position as third in the scale. In that canon the position of Daniel is after Esther and before Ezra. In the Septuagint and Vulgate, as also in Luther's version, its place is among the four greater prophets, after Ezekiel, which is its natural chronological position, supposing Daniel to have been an historical character and this book a genuine production by him, for though Daniel's career began earlier than Ezekiel's, he no doubt long survived him, as he lived to witness the return of his countrymen in consequence of the edict of Cyrus, B.C. 536 (Dan. 1 : 21 ; 10 : 1). It consists of twelve chapters, which are written partly in Hebrew and partly in that Aramaic dialect commonly called Chaldee, which the Jews seemed to have acquired, and more or less adopted, in the land of their captivity. The first six chapters relate matters of fact of a substantive nature; the last six contain various visions which were vouchsafed to Daniel. The former half is divided into several sections loosely joined together without any formula of transition or even a connecting particle except between the first and second chapters. In fact, they form complete narratives in themselves, but they follow on in natural sequence, so that the former chapters are presupposed in the latter. Authenticity, Genuineness and Integrity. This book has uniformly been ascribed to Daniel by the combined testimony of the Jewish and Christian Churches. In recent years, however, this judgment has been utterly reversed. As the issues depending upon it are very important, it is desirable to enter into this question at some length. There are three questions involved : (1) The authenticity ; (2) the genuineness ; and (3) the integrity of the book. By its authenticity we mean its trustworthiness as a record of fact ; by its genuineness, that it is rightly ascribed to its supposed author ; and by its integrity, that it is an original whole, and not the casual combination of distinct and independent parts. It is important to point out that the questions of authenticity and genuineness are, to a large extent, interdependent—that is to say, if the book is authentic it can hardly be other than genuine, and if it is genuine we may take it for granted that it is authentic. If Daniel wrote this book we may well hesitate to question its details ; and if its details are trustworthy, there is no one to whom we are so likely to be indebted for them as to Daniel—to his presiding supervision and care, if not to his personal authorship. It should also be clearly noted that in the historic credibility of the book, or, in other words, its authenticity, is inseparably bound up the due recognition of the miraculous. The stories of the deliverance of Daniel's companions from the fiery furnace and of himself from the den of lions are such as to baffle all explanation to account for them. We are challenged by the writer on the most definite issue to determine whether they occurred as facts or did not occur. If they occurred as facts, then they are miracles and can be nothing else ; if they did not occur, then the story relating them must be a romance, a fiction, or a myth, and it can be nothing else. These stories, of all others in Scripture, the most resolutely refuse to yield to any process or theory which, accepting them as artistic sketches, with a moral and didactic purpose, nevertheless denies to them the weight of historic reality, and dissipates their substantial worth as actual occurrences. The Book of Daniel, therefore, offers a crucial test on many points which are directly or implicitly denied in the present day. Nor must we imagine that it is only in the present day that the severity of this test is felt. There never can have been a time when it was really more easy to believe the story of the deliverance from the fiery furnace than it is now, if the imagination truly grappled with it ; but when the truth of Daniel was first impugned, it was rather on the prophetic than the historic ground. Porphyry, who died A.D. 304, wrote fifteen books against the religion of Christ, and the whole of his twelfth book was taken up with an attack on the genuineness of Daniel. He maintained that it was written by a Jew in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, and for this reason it seemed to predict truly up to this point, but falsely afterward. The Book of Daniel, then, raises a definite issue on the subject of miracles and prophecy ; if it is genuine it is absolutely impossible to refuse to acknowledge either ; and for this reason it is easy to see that a disposition to reject either may well tend to a prejudgment of the genuineness or authenticity of Daniel, not on the actual merits of the question, but in accordance with preconceived opinions upon miracles and prophecy. Canonicity. Our business, however, is with the grounds upon which Daniel has been accepted as canonical and believed as an integral part of the Holy Scripture. And these are two-fold—external ; internal. 1. It must be admitted that externally the Book of Daniel comes to us as well authenticated as any other canonical book. First, there is the reference in the first Book of Maccabees, 2 : 59, 60, "Ananias, Azarias and Misael, by believing, were saved out of the flame; Daniel for his innocency was delivered from the mouths of lions." This is mentioned in conjunction with David and Elias, and it is evidently regarded as of the same character and authority as what is related of them. It is true, of course, that the speech in which it occurs may be an imaginary one of the writer's, which he has put into the mouth of the dying Mattathias, but at all events we must regard it as one which he might have spoken. At this time, therefore, the historian saw nothing improbable in Mattathias being acquainted with the history of Daniel, and as we have no history in which these events are recorded but this Book of Daniel, he must have learned them from it, and at any rate proof is afforded that when the Book of Maccabees was written the canonical position of Daniel was secure. Now the first Book of Maccabees was probably written in the last quarter of the second century before Christ—that is to say, about two generations after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. It follows, therefore, that if Daniel was a late production, it had managed to work its way into reception on a level with the rest of Scripture in the short space of sixty or seventy years. This is by no means likely, as the first Book of Maccabees itself was not so received, nor is there any reason to believe that any other book of the same period was allowed a place in the canon. 2. Again, this first Book of Maccabees not only presupposes the existence of Daniel, which it does merely as a matter of independent testimony, just as Milton's allusion to Shakespeare proves that he lived after Shakespeare's time, but it displays acquaintance also with the Alexandrian version of the book, so that the Semitic original must have been in existence long enough to find a place in an authorized translation like that of the LXX—e.g., in 1 Mac. 1 : 54 we read that "they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar," meaning, no doubt, the heathen idol, and quoting the remarkable words of Dan. 11 : 31 as they are in the Greek. (Cf. Dan. 9 : 27.) So in 1 Mac. 9 : 40, the words καὶ ἔπεσον τραυματίαι πολλοί are an echo of the Greek of Dan. 11 : 26, καὶ πεσονταὶ τραυματίαι πολλοί, and in 1 Mac. 9 : 27 there is close correspondence with the language of Dan. 12 : 1. It seems, therefore, fairly certain that the writer of the first Book of Maccabees was acquainted with the Greek version of Daniel, which necessitates an earlier existence of the book than the age of Antiochus Epiphanes, even if the Septuagint version itself is not of earlier date than that. 3. The narrative in Josephus (Ant. xi. 8, 5), that when Alexander the Great, in his conquering march, came to Jerusalem, the Book of Daniel was shown to him, and that he took to himself the prophecy in it that a Greek should destroy the Persian empire, and was much pleased therewith, is clear proof that in the opinion of Josephus the book was in existence then, whether or not we accept the story, while it shows that he could have known of no incident or tradition which made its existence then impossible. As a matter of historical fact, however, it is true that Alexander treated the Jews with marked favor, which gives some color of probability to the story of Josephus, and itself must be accounted for by some predisposing cause such as this would have furnished. 4. Lastly, had Daniel first appeared in Maccabean times, as the natural product of them, there would probably have been other books of a like kind, but we have no evidence of any, and therefore this book must stand entirely alone if not genuine; and however appropriate certain portions may be to the requirements of that time, it is hard to see the special bearing of others upon them, and therefore the theory of Maccabean origin, while it affords a plausible motive for some parts, offers no explanation of others which are equally characteristic, any more than it explains why the one part should have been linked so closely with the other, if it was not a whole from the beginning. It is important to estimate these positive and substantive facts at their true value, because they seem to furnish definite material, which it is alike impossible to set aside and to reconcile with any theory of the late origin of Daniel. However we are to deal with the miraculous and prophetic elements of the book, it is at all events not fair to minimize the value of these facts in order to depreciate the ostensible importance of the miracles and prophecies contained in it. If we are honest and earnest students, therefore, we cannot ignore the fact that the external testimony, direct and indirect, to the existence of Daniel at a time antecedent to the age of Antiochus Epiphanes is very strong. It would certainly be held to be conclusive in the absence of any motives for setting it aside. 5. Another point deserves to be more carefully noted than it seems commonly to have been. We have in the prophet Ezekiel distinct reference to the existence of the prophet Daniel in his time. In the fourteenth chapter he twice couples him with Noah and Job, as a notable instance of deliverance, and in chap. 28 : 3 he says of Tyre, "Behold thou art wiser than Daniel, there is no secret that they can hide from thee." Ezekiel and Daniel were contemporaries. It is plain that Ezekiel knew of Daniel as one who had either wrought some great deliverance for others or had been himself the subject of it, and also as of one who was a great revealer of secrets. Now we may not assume that Ezekiel was acquainted with the Book of Daniel, but as these are the only two references we have to Daniel in the Hebrew literature, we must either assume, if the book was late in date, that it was a story based entirely on these two meagre and fragmentary references to the history of Daniel, which were consequently sufficient to supply the foundation and framework of it, or else that more extensive traditions sufficient for supplying it were in existence, and had survived in adequate measure for the space of three centuries and a half till they suggested the remarkable compilation which we now know as the Book of Daniel. It seems to me that this is a point that is well worthy of note, and we may be absolutely certain that the writer of Daniel in the second century before Christ either fabricated his romance entirely out of the materials supplied by Ezekiel, or else made use of traditions of which there is no trace elsewhere, or else gave the rein to his imagination to create a story in substantial agreement with the brief allusions to Daniel in Ezekiel. I do not believe that any of these courses was probable or possible, nor do I believe that the whole compass of literature supplies any case corresponding to what this would have been. The fact that certain stories, such as that of Bel and the dragon, and of Susanna, became attached to the Book of Daniel, but did not find a place in the Hebrew canon, serves at least to show that there was felt to be an intrinsic difference between them, whether it was that of age or anything else, and neither of these stories can have originated in the way it is assumed that the Book of Daniel arose from a desire to encourage the Jews when suffering under the severities of the Antiochian persecution, though indeed it is useless to speculate as to what may or may not have been the possible origin of any book whose apparent and traditional origin is disputed. Arguments on the Other Side. The arguments which are advanced against the genuineness of the Book of Daniel are as follows : The fact that its place in the Hebrew canon is not among the prophets, but in the so-called Sacred Writings, is advanced to show that the book was not known when the division was made which consisted of the writings of the prophets. This may possibly have been made by Ezra or Nehemiah somewhere about 450 B.C., or more than one hundred years after the age of Daniel. In the Septuagint version, however, which was probably made in the third century B.C., Daniel follows Ezekiel as he does in our own version. And it is a very reasonable explanation of the place of Daniel in the Hebrew canon, that he was not officially a prophet with a distinct call, as is recorded in the case of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, but only a prophet in virtue of his gifts. His book is regarded rather as an historical treatise, and therefore is classed with those of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. In like manner, though Daniel was pre-eminently a prophet and acknowledged as a prophet, he is not classed among the prophets in the canon, but is placed in the forefront of the Sacred Writings. It is obvious that these two considerations entirely neutralize any impression arising from the position of Daniel in the Hebrew canon, and fully account for it. A second reason is conceived to exist in the silence of Jesus the son of Sirach, in Eclus. 49, when the worthies of Israel are enumerated. The entire passage extends from chap. 44 to chap. 50. Daniel, however, is not the only name omitted; no mention is made of Esther or of Mordecai, whereas Nehemiah finds his place somewhat inappropriately between Zerubbabel and Enoch. It is manifest that no valid argument can be raised on this circumstance, seeing that the entire catalogue is of a rhetorical character, and the selection made on arbitrary principles. The date of Eclus. is probably about 180-200. If, therefore, Daniel was of the age suggested, and not genuine, this would of course account for the silence of the son of Sirach, though of course it may very well arise from other causes. Clearly, if we are right in assigning the LXX translation to the third century B.C., the place of Daniel in that version is alone conclusive as furnishing positive evidence to his existence in opposition to the negative evidence deduced from the silence of the son of Sirach. And it must always be remembered that Ezekiel was manifestly acquainted with a Daniel, whether or not the book bearing his name has a right to be received as genuine. Indeed, as I have already stated, the reference made by Ezekiel is altogether inexplicable if the Book of Daniel is a forgery of the second century B.C. Who was the Daniel to whom Ezekiel refers? and how is it that, being so eminent as he clearly was, we know nothing whatever about him? If he was held worthy of being classed with Noah and Job, how is it that tradition was absolutely silent as to his history for some four centuries, till it suddenly blazed forth in the age of Antiochus Epiphanes with this profusion of supernatural incident and enigmatical prediction? Thirdly, it is said that there is no mention of Daniel in Haggai, Zechariah or Malachi. But why is it necessary to suppose there should have been, considering the specific character of these writers and the brevity of their writings? There is no mention of Ezekiel in Jeremiah, or of Jeremiah in Ezekiel, though they were contemporary. To all appearance, however, this negative feature is more than neutralized by what is probably a verbal reference to Daniel in Nehemiah. The words of Nehemiah (1:5) are a reproduction of Daniel (9:4), and the peculiar phrase, "great and terrible God," is used only in Deuteronomy and in this place of Daniel. The position in which Nehemiah found himself was not unlike that of Daniel, and so far calculated to bring to his recollection the words of Daniel. In Neh. 9:32 we see also that Nehemiah has adopted an alteration of De. 7:9, which Daniel has made in 9:4. If, in the former instance, we might question which of the two was the original, there is hardly the same opportunity of doing so here, where we seem to have the result of a longer and wider experience. It is, moreover, at least probable that two of Zechariah's visions are more or less adapted and borrowed from Daniel (Zech. 1:18-21; 6:1-5), and if this is so, we have quite as much indication of acquaintance with Daniel in the post-Captivity prophets as we can reasonably expect. Indeed, the visions of Zechariah may very well be thought to lean upon those of Ezekiel and Daniel. It has even been suggested that the frequent asseverations of truth are blinds to conceal a consciousness of falsehood on the part of the writer. This only shows the perversity of the spirit of the objector, just as, in certain chapters of Isaiah, we are asked to believe them not genuine because they do not claim to be his; whereas in chapters like the thirteenth and fourteenth, which do claim to be his, the authority of the superscription is without scruple set aside. Doubtless, had there been no vouchers for truthfulness in Daniel, that would have been advanced as an indication of spuriousness, just as the frequency of them is construed into a tacit admission of forgery. So just and appropriate is our Lord's remark: "Whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the market-place and crying unto their fellows: We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented." So difficult is it to conceive the circumstances in which the excuse for objection should not arise. It is to be remembered that, with regard to the Book of Daniel, the question as to its date lies only between the actual date, which we may suppose to be that of the old age of Daniel, or about the middle of the sixth century B.C., and that of the death of Antiochus Epiphanes (163 B.C.), a distance of more than three centuries and a half. No other date has ever been suggested; but it is not hard to see that, even conceding the latter date as the true one, there is a distinct prophecy as early as the second chapter, which probably reappears afterward, that renders absolutely futile any such hypothesis, for it is not possible to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream without perceiving that the rise of the Christian Church as a kingdom that should last forever is definitely promised therein. Of course, in the case of any prophecy, no matter how close its correspondence with what purports to be its fulfilment, it is always possible, on a priori grounds, to affirm that the fulfilment does not establish the prophecy because we cannot be certain that it was so fulfilled. The correspondence may be fortuitous, but for all that there is a natural inability in the human mind to reject the inference which forces itself on us in consequence of any such correspondence, especially when repeated again and again. An aggregate of threads, each of which may be weak in itself, is yet strong enough to hold the mind enchained; and there can be no doubt that prophecy may not only be rewarded as one of such threads, but also that this particular prophecy is really one of the strongest of them; and though it may be unwise to dwell with too great exclusiveness even on this indication of antecedent design, it is equally unwise to shut our eyes altogether to the cogency of it. The Book of Daniel, like that of Ezra, is written partly in Hebrew and partly, as already stated, in the Aramaic dialect, commonly called Chaldee. Some have affirmed that the Chaldee of Daniel is a disguised imitation of that of Ezra; but sufficient linguistic differences have been pointed out to negative this assumption. These differences are, indeed, slight, and the Chaldee of Ezra and Daniel is more nearly alike than that of either is to the language of the oldest of the Chaldee Targums. There is reason to believe that neither the Hebrew nor the Chaldee of Daniel was in use in the time of the Maccabees, and hence the notion of a Maccabean origin for the Book of Daniel is rendered the more improbable. To any one who is at all open to belief, the question of the genuineness of Daniel is decided by the fact that there are two prophecies in the book which no hypothesis of its late origin can at all account for: these are the prophecies of the fifth empire and that of the seventy weeks. If there is any meaning at all in 2 : 44 ; 7 : 27, it can only be the promise of a vast and permanent spiritual kingdom, such as that which claims to have been founded by Christ. It is, humanly speaking, as unlikely that this should have been foreseen in the second century as in the sixth before Christ ; and still more unlikely is it that a person writing in the second century before Christ the kind of imaginary fiction this book would have been, should have framed so lofty a conception as this, and have put it into the mouth of Nebuchadnezzar, and have asserted it so confidently. And the same may be said of the prophecy of the seventy weeks. This is absolutely unintelligible on the supposition of its late origin ; whereas if it is part, as it professes to be, of a Divine vision, it is not only susceptible of a marvellously minute interpretation, but seems to have furnished the only conceivable basis upon which our Lord declared, when He commenced His ministry, that the time was fulfilled ; for in the whole compass of Scripture there is nothing to show that the Messianic hopes and promises were to be fulfilled in the age of Christ—who claimed to have fulfilled them—more than at any other time, and yet we have independent evidence that, at that time, there was a very general impression that they were then to be fulfilled. It is for these reasons, then, that we regard the Book of Daniel as a genuine work of the age of Daniel, and as coming to us with his authority and sanction. Leathes. With respect to the genuineness and authenticity of this Book of Daniel there is abundance both of external and of internal evidence. Of external evidence there is all that can well be had or desired in a case of this nature : not only the testimony of the whole Jewish Church and nation, who have constantly received this book as canonical ; but of Josephus particularly, who recommends him as the greatest of the prophets ; of the Jewish Targums and Talmuds, which frequently cite and appeal to his authority ; of Paul and John, who have copied many of his prophecies ; of our Saviour Himself, who citeth his words and styleth him “Daniel the prophet ;” of ancient historians, who relate many of the same transactions ; of the mother of the seven sons and of the father of the Maccabees, who both recommend the example of Daniel to their sons ; of old Eleazar in Egypt, who, praying for the Jews then suffering under the persecution of Ptolemy Philopator (3 Mac. 7 : 6, 7), mentions the deliverance of Daniel out of the den of lions, together with the deliverance of the three men out of the fiery furnace ; of the Jewish high-priest, who showed Daniel’s prophecies to Alexander the Great while he was at Jerusalem ; and still higher, of Ezekiel, a contemporary writer, who greatly extols his piety and wisdom. Nor is the internal less powerful and convincing than the external evidence, for the language, the style, the manner of writing, and all other internal marks and characters are perfectly agreeable to that age ; and he appears plainly and undeniably to have been a prophet by the exact accomplishment of his prophecies, as well those which have already been fulfilled as those which are now fulfilling in the world. Bp. Newton.—To reject the prophecies of Daniel is to reject the Christian religion ; for this religion is founded upon his prophecy concerning the Messiah (Sir Isaac Newton) ; but to read this book with attention and intelligence, and with an unbiased mind to follow the advice of our Saviour when He quoted this very prophecy, “Let him that readeth understand,” might be sufficient to convert an unbeliever from deism to Christianity. Bp. Watson. The prophecies of Daniel are in a style of which the Old Testament offers no precisely similar example ; but when the choice is proposed between two alternatives : shall this be explained—so far as critical considerations alone are concerned—from the facts of the age and circumstances in which it professes to have been composed, or by the help of a theory which counts the prophecies of the book the work of a “romancer” inspired by ardent patriotism, or feverish zeal, or exuberant imagination ? there can be but little doubt whether facts or theory will be preferred. Facts point to a writer bred in Babylonia, as the author ; theories to a Maccabean. The facts recorded agree with other facts proved to be true, and with that probability which, according to Laplace, has "reference partly to our ignorance, partly to our knowledge," and is consequently a certain gauge of credibility. It is now simply impossible to condemn offhand as fictions or inventions the historical statements put forward in the Book of Daniel. They can be measured, in the majority of cases, by their agreement or disagreement with the facts, practices, manners, and customs brought to light by cuneiform discovery. The "records of the past" are only partly open to the student; but quite enough is in his hands to enable him to compare still undecided historical allegations with proved historical facts, and by the comparative method of criticism obtain inferences which are, if negative, circumstantial and sound. . . . In conclusion, the broad truth stands out that "the coloring of the narrative is exactly Babylonian. The details of the manners and customs of the Babylonian court are given with an exactitude, remarkably confirmed by the monuments, which no writer in Palestine of the third or second century B.C. could have possibly attained." Positive and negative evidences all tend to the same conclusion. The message is often that of "sealed words" (12 : 9), but in the utterance of the message a real man appears. No one can take up this inspired book without finding in it true marks of authenticity. There is historical accuracy and spiritual profit, and not that puerility of fiction or merely intellectual stimulant which would have marked the work had it been a production of the Maccabean period. B. C. The one fact of importance is that we find a settled canon and arrangement of the sacred Scriptures universally accepted by the Jews long before the time of our Lord; a general consent that Malachi was the last inspired prophet; and numerous traditions, more or less trustworthy, throwing light upon the manner in which the canon was formed. And we receive the Book of Daniel as being one of those Scriptures which the Jews received into their canon. The books of the Old Testament come down to us with a great weight of authority to back them, just as those of the New Testament come with all the authority of the councils of the Church in the fourth century. We do not say that either the Jewish rabbins or the doctors of the Church could not make a mistake; but we do say that this mistake must be clearly proved before we reverse their decision. Too generally, modern criticism has ignored this fact, and men have written as if their fancies and notions were as solid grounds for forming a judgment as the full knowledge possessed by the Jews and by the fathers of the fourth century, who performed for the writings of the apostles that same work of careful discrimination which the men of the great synagogue performed, after the return from exile, for the Hebrew Scriptures. Lay whatever stress you like upon the fact that the admission of a book into the canon of Scripture was the work of men, yet it remains that it was done by men who were competent for the task, and that their judgment has stood the test of ages. R. P. S. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/