mh_parser/vol_split/26 - Ezekiel/Chapter 21.xml

<div2 id="Ez.xxii" n="xxii" next="Ez.xxiii" prev="Ez.xxi" progress="58.01%" title="Chapter XXI">
<h2 id="Ez.xxii-p0.1">E Z E K I E L.</h2>
<h3 id="Ez.xxii-p0.2">CHAP. XXI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ez.xxii-p1" shownumber="no">In this chapter we have, I. An explication of the
prophecy in the close of the foregoing chapter concerning the fire
in the forest, which the people complained they could not
understand (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.1-Ezek.21.5" parsed="|Ezek|21|1|21|5" passage="Eze 21:1-5">ver. 1-5</scripRef>),
with directions to the prophet to show himself deeply affected with
it, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.6-Ezek.21.7" parsed="|Ezek|21|6|21|7" passage="Eze 21:6,7">ver. 6, 7</scripRef>. II. A
further prediction of the sword that was coming upon the land, by
which all should be laid waste; and this expressed very
emphatically, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.8-Ezek.21.17" parsed="|Ezek|21|8|21|17" passage="Eze 21:8-17">ver. 8-17</scripRef>.
III. A prospect given of the king of Babylon's approach to
Jerusalem, to which he was determined by divination, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.18-Ezek.21.24" parsed="|Ezek|21|18|21|24" passage="Eze 21:18-24">ver. 18-24</scripRef>. IV. Sentence passed
upon Zedekiah king of Judah, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.25-Ezek.21.27" parsed="|Ezek|21|25|21|27" passage="Eze 21:25-27">ver.
25-27</scripRef>. V. The destruction of the Ammonites by the sword
foretold, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.28-Ezek.21.32" parsed="|Ezek|21|28|21|32" passage="Eze 21:28-32">ver. 28-32</scripRef>.
Thus is this chapter all threatenings.</p>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21" parsed="|Ezek|21|0|0|0" passage="Eze 21" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.1-Ezek.21.7" parsed="|Ezek|21|1|21|7" passage="Eze 21:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxii-p1.9">
<h4 id="Ez.xxii-p1.10">Threatenings against Israel; Judgments
Predicted. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p1.11">b. c.</span> 592.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxii-p2" shownumber="no">1 And the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p2.1">Lord</span> came unto me, saying,   2 Son of man,
set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop <i>thy word</i> toward the
holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,   3 And
say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p2.2">Lord</span>; Behold, I <i>am</i> against thee, and will
draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee
the righteous and the wicked.   4 Seeing then that I will cut
off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my
sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south
to the north:   5 That all flesh may know that I the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p2.3">Lord</span> have drawn forth my sword out of his
sheath: it shall not return any more.   6 Sigh therefore, thou
son of man, with the breaking of <i>thy</i> loins; and with
bitterness sigh before their eyes.   7 And it shall be, when
they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer,
For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and
all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all
knees shall be weak <i>as</i> water: behold, it cometh, and shall
be brought to pass, saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p2.4">God</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p3" shownumber="no">The prophet had faithfully delivered the
message he was entrusted 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. Note, He that
<i>speaks with tongues</i> should <i>pray that he may
interpret,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.14.13" parsed="|1Cor|14|13|0|0" passage="1Co 14:13">1 Cor. xiv.
13</scripRef>. When we speak to people about their souls we should
study plainness, and express ourselves as we may be the best
understood. Christ <i>expounded his parables to his disciples,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Mark.4.34" parsed="|Mark|4|34|0|0" passage="Mk 4:34">Mark iv. 34</scripRef>. 1. The prophet
is here more plainly directed against whom to level the arrow of
this prophecy. He must <i>drop his word towards the holy places</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.2" parsed="|Ezek|21|2|0|0" passage="Eze 21:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), towards
Canaan the holy land, Jerusalem the holy city, the temple the holy
house. These were highly dignified above other places; but, when
they polluted them, that word which used to drop in the holy places
shall now drop against them: <i>Prophesy against the land of
Israel.</i> It was the honour of Israel that it had prophets and
prophecy; but these, being despised by them, are turned against
them. And justly is Zion battered with her own artillery, which
used to be employed against her adversaries, seeing she knew not
how to value it. 2. He is instructed, and is to instruct the
people, in the meaning of the fire that was threatened to consume
the forest of the south: it signified a sword drawn, the sword of
war which should make the land desolate (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.3" parsed="|Ezek|21|3|0|0" passage="Eze 21:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): <i>Behold, I am against thee, O
land of Israel!</i> There needs no more to make a people miserable
than to have God against them; for as, if he be for us, we need not
fear, whoever are against us, so, if he be against us, we cannot
hope, whoever are for us. And God's professing people, when they
revolt from him, set him against them, who used to be for them. Was
the fire there of God's kindling? The sword here is his sword,
which he has prepared, and which he will give commission to; it is
he that will <i>draw it out of its sheath,</i> where it had laid
quiet and threatened no harm. Note, When the sword is unsheathed
among the nations God's hand must be eyed and owned in it. Did the
fire devour <i>every green tree</i> and <i>every dry tree?</i> The
sword in like manner shall <i>cut off the righteous and the
wicked.</i> Good and bad were involved in the common calamities of
the nation; the righteous were <i>cut off from the land of
Israel</i> when they were sent captives in Babylon, though perhaps
few or none of them were cut off from the land of the living; and
it was a threatening omen to the land of Israel that in the
beginning of its troubles such excellent men as Daniel and his
fellows, and Ezekiel, were cut off from it and conveyed to Babylon.
But though the sword <i>cut off the righteous and the wicked</i>
(for it <i>devours one as well as another,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.11.25" parsed="|2Sam|11|25|0|0" passage="2Sa 11:25">2 Sam. xi. 25</scripRef>), yet far be it from us to
think that <i>the righteous are as the wicked,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.18.25" parsed="|Gen|18|25|0|0" passage="Ge 18:25">Gen. xviii. 25</scripRef>. No; God's graces and
comforts make a great difference when his providence seems to make
none. The <i>good figs</i> are sent into Babylon <i>for their
good,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.24.5-Jer.24.6" parsed="|Jer|24|5|24|6" passage="Jer 24:5,6">Jer. xxiv. 5,
6</scripRef>. It is only in outward appearance that there is <i>one
event to the righteous and to the wicked,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.8" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.2" parsed="|Eccl|9|2|0|0" passage="Ec 9:2">Eccl. ix. 2</scripRef>. But it speaks the greatness of
God's displeasure against the land of Israel. Well might it be
said, <i>His eye shall not spare,</i> when it shall not spare, no,
not the <i>righteous</i> in it. Since there are not righteous men
sufficient to save the land, to make the justice of God the more
illustrious the few that there are shall suffer with it, and God's
mercy shall make it up to them some other way. Did the fire <i>burn
up all faces from the south to the north?</i> The sword shall go
<i>forth against all flesh from the south to the north,</i> shall
go forth, as God's sword, with a commission that cannot be
contested, with a force that cannot be resisted. Were all flesh
made to know that God kindled the fire? They shall be made to know
that he has <i>drawn forth the sword,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.9" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.5" parsed="|Ezek|21|5|0|0" passage="Eze 21:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. And, <i>lastly,</i> Shall the
fire that is <i>kindled never be quenched?</i> So when this sword
of the Lord is drawn against Judah and Jerusalem the scabbard is
thrown away, and it shall never be sheathed: It <i>shall not return
any more,</i> till it has made a full end. 3. The prophet is
ordered, by expressions of his own grief and concern for these
calamities that were coming on, to try to make impressions of the
like upon the people. When he has delivered his message he must
<i>sigh</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.10" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.6" parsed="|Ezek|21|6|0|0" passage="Eze 21:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>),
must fetch many deep sighs, <i>with the breaking of his loins;</i>
he must sign as if his heart would burst, <i>sigh with
bitterness,</i> with other expressions of bitter sorrow, and this
publicly, <i>in the sight</i> of those to whom he delivered the
foregoing message, that this might be a sermon to their eyes as
that was to their ears; and it was well if both would work upon
them. The prophet must sigh, though it was painful to himself and
made his breast sore, and though it is probable that the profane
among the people would ridicule him for it and call him a whining
canting preacher. But, <i>if we be beside ourselves it is to
God;</i> and, if <i>this be to be vile, we will be yet more so.</i>
Note, Ministers, if they would affect others with the things they
speak of, must show that they are themselves in the greatest
sincerity affected with them, and must submit to that which may
create uneasiness to themselves, so that it will promote the ends
of their ministry. The people, observing the prophet to sigh so
much and seeing no visible occasion for it, would ask,
"<i>Wherefore sighest thou?</i> These sighs have some mystical
meaning; let us know what it is." And he must answer them
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.11" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.7" parsed="|Ezek|21|7|0|0" passage="Eze 21:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): "It is
<i>for the tidings,</i> the heavy tidings, that we shall hear
shortly; the <i>tidings come</i> (the judgments come which we hear
the tidings of), they come apace, and then you will all sigh; nay,
that will not serve. <i>every heart shall melt</i> and <i>every
spirit fail;</i> your courage will all be gone and you will have no
animating considerations to support yourselves with. And, when
<i>heart</i> and <i>spirit</i> fail, it will follow of course that
<i>all hands will be feeble</i> and unable to fight, and all
<i>knees will</i> be <i>weak as water</i> and unable to flee or to
stand their ground." Those who have God for them when flesh and
heart fail have him to be <i>the strength of their heart;</i> but
those who have God against them have no cordial for a fainting
spirit, but are as Belshazzar when <i>his thoughts troubled
him,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p3.12" osisRef="Bible:Dan.5.6" parsed="|Dan|5|6|0|0" passage="Da 5:6">Dan. v. 6</scripRef>. But some
people are worse frightened than hurt; may not the case be so here
and the event prove better than likely? No: <i>Behold it
cometh,</i> and <i>shall be brought to pass.</i> It is not a
bugbear that they are frightened with, but <i>according to the fear
so is the wrath,</i> and more grievous than is feared.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xxii-p3.13" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.8-Ezek.21.17" parsed="|Ezek|21|8|21|17" passage="Eze 21:8-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxii-p3.14">
<h4 id="Ez.xxii-p3.15">Judgments Predicted. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p3.16">b. c.</span> 592.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxii-p4" shownumber="no">8 Again the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p4.1">Lord</span> came unto me, saying,   9 Son of man,
prophesy, and say, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p4.2">Lord</span>; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and
also furbished:   10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter;
it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it
contemneth the rod of my son, <i>as</i> every tree.   11 And
he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this
sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand
of the slayer.   12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be
upon my people, it <i>shall be</i> upon all the princes of Israel:
terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite
therefore upon <i>thy</i> thigh.   13 Because <i>it is</i> a
trial, and what if <i>the sword</i> contemn even the rod? it shall
be no <i>more,</i> saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p4.3">God</span>.   14 Thou therefore, son of man,
prophesy, and smite <i>thine</i> hands together, and let the sword
be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it <i>is</i> the
sword of the great <i>men that are</i> slain, which entereth into
their privy chambers.   15 I have set the point of the sword
against all their gates, that <i>their</i> heart may faint, and
<i>their</i> ruins be multiplied: ah! <i>it is</i> made bright,
<i>it is</i> wrapped up for the slaughter.   16 Go thee one
way or other, <i>either</i> on the right hand, <i>or</i> on the
left, whithersoever thy face <i>is</i> set.   17 I will also
smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p4.4">Lord</span> have said <i>it.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p5" shownumber="no">Here is another prophecy of the sword,
which is delivered in a very affecting manner; the expressions here
used are somewhat intricate, and perplex interpreters. The sword
was unsheathed in the <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.1-Ezek.21.7" parsed="|Ezek|21|1|21|7" passage="Eze 21:1-7">foregoing
verses</scripRef>; here it is fitted up to do execution, which the
prophet is commanded to lament. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p6" shownumber="no">I. How the sword is here described. 1. It
is <i>sharpened,</i> that it may cut and wound, and make <i>a sore
slaughter.</i> The wrath of God will put an edge upon it; and,
whatever instruments God shall please to make use of in executing
his judgments, he will fill them with strength, courage, and fury,
according to the service they are employed in. Out of the mouth of
Christ goes a <i>sharp sword,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.19.15" parsed="|Rev|19|15|0|0" passage="Re 19:15">Rev.
xix. 15</scripRef>. 2. It is <i>furbished,</i> that <i>it may
glitter,</i> to the terror of those against whom it is drawn. It
shall be a kind of <i>flaming sword.</i> If it have rusted in the
scabbard for want of use, it shall be rubbed and brightened; for
though the glory of God's justice may seem to have been eclipsed
for a while, during the day of his patience and the delay of his
judgments, yet it will shine out again and be made to glitter. 3.
It is a victorious sword, nothing shall stand before it (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.10" parsed="|Ezek|21|10|0|0" passage="Eze 21:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): <i>It contemneth the
rod of my son as every tree. Israel,</i> said God once, <i>is my
son, my first-born.</i> The government of that people was called a
<i>rod,</i> a <i>strong rod;</i> we read (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.19.11" parsed="|Ezek|19|11|0|0" passage="Eze 19:11"><i>ch.</i> xix. 11</scripRef>) of the <i>strong
rods</i> they had <i>for sceptres.</i> But when the sword of God's
justice is drawn it <i>contemns this rod,</i> makes nothing of it;
though it be a <i>strong rod,</i> and the <i>rod of his son,</i> it
is no more than <i>any other tree.</i> When God's professing people
have revolted from him, and are in rebellion against him, his sword
<i>despises</i> them. What are they to him more than another
people? The marginal reading gives another notion of this sword:
<i>It is the rod of my son;</i> and we know of whom God has said
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.2.7" parsed="|Ps|2|7|0|0" passage="Ps 2:7">Ps. ii. 7</scripRef>), <i>Thou art my
Son, this day have I begotten thee,</i> and (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.9" parsed="|Ezek|21|9|0|0" passage="Eze 21:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>) <i>Thou shalt break them with a
rod of iron.</i> This sword is <i>that rod of iron</i> which
<i>contemns every tree</i> and will bear it down. Or, This sword is
<i>the rod of my son,</i> a correcting rod, for the chastening of
the transgression of God's people (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.7.14" parsed="|2Sam|7|14|0|0" passage="2Sa 7:14">2
Sam. vii. 14</scripRef>), not to cut them off from being a people.
It is a sword to others, a rod to my son.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p7" shownumber="no">II. How the sword is here put into the hand
of the executioners: "It is <i>the rod of my Son,</i> and he has
<i>given it that it may be handled</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.11" parsed="|Ezek|21|11|0|0" passage="Eze 21:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), that it may be made use of
for the end for which it was drawn. <i>It is given into the
hand,</i> not of the fencer to be played with, but <i>of the
slayer</i> to do execution with. The sword of war my Son makes use
of as a sword of justice, and to him <i>all judgment is
committed.</i> It is <i>made bright</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.15" parsed="|Ezek|21|15|0|0" passage="Eze 21:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), <i>it is wrapped up,</i> that
it may be kept safe, and clean, and sharp <i>for the slaughter,</i>
not as Goliath's sword was wrapped <i>up in a cloth</i> only for a
memorial," <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.21.9" parsed="|1Sam|21|9|0|0" passage="1Sa 21:9">1 Sam. xxi.
9</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p8" shownumber="no">III. How the sword is directed, and against
whom it is sent (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.12" parsed="|Ezek|21|12|0|0" passage="Eze 21:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>): <i>It shall be upon my people;</i> they shall fall
by this sword. It is repeated again, as that which is scarcely
credible, that <i>the sword</i> of the heathen shall be upon God's
own people; nay, it shall be <i>upon all the princes of Israel;</i>
their dignity and power as princes shall be no more their security
than their profession of religion as princes of Israel. But, if the
sword be at any time upon God's people, have they not comfort
within sufficient to arm them against every thing in it that is
frightful? Yes, they have, while they conduct themselves as becomes
his people; but these had not done so, and therefore <i>terrors, by
reason of the sword,</i> shall be upon those that call themselves
<i>my people.</i> Note, While good men are quiet, not only from
evil, but from the fear of it, wicked men are disturbed not only
with the sword, but with the terrors of it, arising from a
consciousness of their own guilt. This sword is directed
particularly <i>against the great men,</i> for they had been the
greatest sinners among them; they had <i>altogether broken the yoke
and burst the bonds</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.5.5" parsed="|Jer|5|5|0|0" passage="Jer 5:5">Jer. v.
5</scripRef>), and therefore with them in a special manner God's
controversy is, who had been the ringleaders in sin. The <i>sword
of the slain</i> is <i>the sword of the great men that are
slain,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.14" parsed="|Ezek|21|14|0|0" passage="Eze 21:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>.
Though they have furnished themselves with places of retirement,
places of concealment, where they flatter themselves with hopes
that they shall be safe, they will find that the sword will
<i>enter into their privy chambers,</i> and find them out there, as
the <i>frogs,</i> when they were one of Egypt's plagues, found
admission into the <i>chambers of their kings.</i> The sword, the
<i>point of this sword,</i> is directed <i>against their gates,</i>
against <i>all their gates</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.15" parsed="|Ezek|21|15|0|0" passage="Eze 21:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), against all those things with
which they thought to keep it out and fortify themselves against
it. Note, The strongest gates, though they be <i>gates of
brass,</i> ever so well barred, ever so well guarded, are no fence
against the point of the sword of God's judgments. But when that is
pointed against sinners, 1. They are ready to fear the worst;
<i>their hearts faint,</i> so that they are not able to make any
resistance. 2. The worst comes; whatever resistance they make, it
is to no purpose, but they are ruined, and <i>their ruins are
multiplied.</i> But what need have we to observe the particular
directions of this sword when it has a general commission, is sent
with a running warrant? (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.16" parsed="|Ezek|21|16|0|0" passage="Eze 21:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>): "<i>Go thee, one way or other,</i> which way thou
wilt, turn <i>to the right hand or to the left,</i> thou wilt find
those that are obnoxious, for there are none free from guilt; and
thou hast authority against them, for there are none exempt from
punishment; and therefore, <i>whithersoever thy face is set,</i>
that way do thou proceed, and, like Jonathan's sword, <i>from the
blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, thou shalt never
return empty,</i>" <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.1.22" parsed="|2Sam|1|22|0|0" passage="2Sa 1:22">2 Sam. i.
22</scripRef>. Note, So full is the world of wicked people that,
which way soever God's judgments go forth, they will find work,
will find matter to work upon. That fire will never go out on this
earth for want of fuel. And such various methods God has of meeting
with sinners that the sword of his justice is still as it was at
first when it flamed in the hand of the cherubim: it <i>turns every
way,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p8.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.3.24" parsed="|Gen|3|24|0|0" passage="Ge 3:24">Gen. iii. 24</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p9" shownumber="no">IV. What is the nature of this sword, and
what are the intentions and limitations of it as to the people of
God, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.13" parsed="|Ezek|21|13|0|0" passage="Eze 21:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. It is a
correction; it is designed to be so; the sword to others is a rod
to them. This is a comfortable word which comes in in the midst of
these terrible ones, though it be expressed somewhat obscurely. 1.
The people of God begin to be afraid that <i>the sword will contemn
even the rod,</i> that the sword will go on with such fury that it
will despise its commission to be a rod only, will forget its
bounds and become a sword indeed, even to God's own people. They
fear lest the Chaldeans' sword, which is the rod of God's anger,
contemn its being called a rod, and become as the <i>axe</i> that
<i>boasts itself against him that heweth therewith</i> or <i>the
staff that lifts up itself as if it were no wood,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.10.15" parsed="|Isa|10|15|0|0" passage="Isa 10:15">Isa. x. 15</scripRef>. Or, "<i>What if the
sword contemn even the rod?</i> that is, what if this sword make
the former rods, as that or Sennacherib, to be contemned as nothing
to this? What if this should prove not a correcting rod, but a
destroying sword, to make a full end of our church and nation?"
This is that which the thinking, but timorous, few are apprehensive
of. Note, When threatening judgments are abroad it is good to
suppose the worst that may be the consequences of them, that we may
provide accordingly. <i>What if the sword contemn the tribe or
sceptre?</i> namely, that of Judah and the house of David (so some
think <i>Shebet</i> here signifies); what if it should aim at the
ruin of our government? If it do, <i>the Lord is righteous</i> and
<i>will be gracious</i> notwithstanding. But, 2. These fears are
silenced with an assurance that it is not so; the sword shall not
forget itself, nor the errand on which it is sent: <i>It is a
trial,</i> and it is <i>no more than a trial.</i> He that sends it
makes what use of it, and sets what bounds to it, he pleases. Here
shall its proud waves be stayed. Note, It is matter of comfort to
the people of God, when his judgments are abroad, and they are
ready to tremble for fear of them, that, whatever they are to
others, to them they are but trials; and, <i>when they are tried,
they shall come forth as gold,</i> and the proving of their faith
shall be the improving of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p10" shownumber="no">V. Here the prophet and the people must
show themselves affected with these judgments threatened. 1. The
prophet must be very serious in denouncing these judgments. He must
say, <i>A sword! a sword!</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.9" parsed="|Ezek|21|9|0|0" passage="Eze 21:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. Let him not study for fine
words, and a variety of quaint expressions; when the town is on
fire people do not so give notice of it, but cry, with a frightful
doleful voice, <i>Fire! fire!</i> So must the prophet cry, <i>A
sword! a sword!</i> and (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.14" parsed="|Ezek|21|14|0|0" passage="Eze 21:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>), <i>Let the sword be doubled</i> the <i>third
time</i> in thy preaching. God speaks once, yea, twice, yea,
thrice; it were well if men, after all, would perceive and regard
it. It shall be <i>doubled the third time</i> in God's providence;
for it was Nebuchadnezzar's third descent upon Jerusalem that
<i>made a full end</i> of it. Ruin comes gradually, but at last
comes effectually, upon a provoking people. Yet this is not all:
the prophet is not only as a herald at arms to proclaim war, and to
cry, <i>A sword! a sword!</i> once and again, and a third time,
but, as a person nearly concerned, he must <i>cry and howl</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.12" parsed="|Ezek|21|12|0|0" passage="Eze 21:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), must sadly
lament the desolations that the sword would make, as one that did
himself not only sympathize with the sufferers, but feel from the
sufferings. Again (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.14" parsed="|Ezek|21|14|0|0" passage="Eze 21:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>), <i>Prophesy, and smite thy hands together,</i>
wring <i>thy hands,</i> as lamenting the desolation, or clap thy
hands, as by thy prophecy instigating and encouraging those that
were to be the instruments of it, or as one standing amazed at the
suddenness and severity of the judgment. The prophet must <i>smite
his hands together;</i> for (says God) <i>I will also smite my
hands together,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.17" parsed="|Ezek|21|17|0|0" passage="Eze 21:17"><i>v.</i>
17</scripRef>. God is in earnest in pronouncing this sentence upon
them, and therefore the prophet must show himself in earnest in
publishing it. God's <i>smiting his hands together,</i> as well as
the prophet's smiting, is in token of a holy indignation at their
wickedness, which was really very astonishing. When Balak's anger
was kindled against Balaam he <i>smote his hands together,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Num.24.10" parsed="|Num|24|10|0|0" passage="Nu 24:10">Num. xxiv. 10</scripRef>. Note, God
and his ministers are justly angry at those who might be saved and
yet will be ruined. Some make it an expression of triumph and
exultation, agreeing with that (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.24" parsed="|Isa|1|24|0|0" passage="Isa 1:24">Isa.
i. 24</scripRef>), <i>Ah! I will ease me of my adversaries;</i> and
that (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.8" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.26" parsed="|Prov|1|26|0|0" passage="Pr 1:26">Prov. i. 26</scripRef>), <i>I
also will laugh at their calamity.</i> And so it follows here, <i>I
will cause my fury to rest,</i> not only it shall be perfected, but
it shall be pleased. And observe with what solemnity, with what
authority, this sentence is ratified: "<i>I the Lord have said
it,</i> who can and will make good what I have said. I have said
it, and will never unsay it. I have said it, and who can gainsay
it?" 2. The people must be very serious in the prospect of these
judgments. An intimation of this comes in in a parenthesis
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.9" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.10" parsed="|Ezek|21|10|0|0" passage="Eze 21:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): <i>Should
we then make mirth?</i> Seeing God has drawn the sword, and the
prophet sighs and cries, <i>Should we then make mirth?</i> The
prophet seems to give this as a reason why he sighs; as <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.10" osisRef="Bible:Neh.2.3" parsed="|Neh|2|3|0|0" passage="Ne 2:3">Neh. ii. 3</scripRef>, <i>Why should not my
countenance be sad,</i> when Jerusalem lies waste? Note, Before we
allow ourselves to be merry, we ought to consider whether we should
be merry or no. Should we make mirth, we who are sentenced to the
sword, who lie under the wrath and curse of God? Shall we <i>make
mirth as other people,</i> who have <i>gone a whoring from our
God?</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.11" osisRef="Bible:Hos.9.1" parsed="|Hos|9|1|0|0" passage="Ho 9:1">Hos. ix. 1</scripRef>. Should
we now make mirth, when the hand of God has gone out against us,
when God's judgments are abroad in the land and he by them <i>calls
to weeping and mourning?</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.12" osisRef="Bible:Isa.22.11 Bible:Isa.22.13" parsed="|Isa|22|11|0|0;|Isa|22|13|0|0" passage="Isa 22:11,13">Isa.
xxii. 11, 13</scripRef>. Shall we now make mirth as the king and
Haman, when the church is in perplexity (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.13" osisRef="Bible:Esth.3.15" parsed="|Esth|3|15|0|0" passage="Es 3:15">Esther iii. 15</scripRef>), when we should be <i>grieving
for the affliction of Joseph?</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p10.14" osisRef="Bible:Amos.6.6" parsed="|Amos|6|6|0|0" passage="Am 6:6">Amos
vi. 6</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xxii-p10.15" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.18-Ezek.21.27" parsed="|Ezek|21|18|21|27" passage="Eze 21:18-27" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxii-p10.16">
<h4 id="Ez.xxii-p10.17">Judgments Predicted. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p10.18">b. c.</span> 592.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxii-p11" shownumber="no">18 The word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p11.1">Lord</span> came unto me again, saying,   19 Also,
thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king
of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land:
and choose thou a place, choose <i>it</i> at the head of the way to
the city.   20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to
Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
  21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way,
at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made <i>his</i>
arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.
  22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to
appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up
the voice with shouting, to appoint <i>battering</i> rams against
the gates, to cast a mount, <i>and</i> to build a fort.   23
And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to
them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the
iniquity, that they may be taken.   24 Therefore thus saith
the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p11.2">God</span>; Because ye have made
your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are
discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear;
because, <i>I say,</i> that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be
taken with the hand.   25 And thou, profane wicked prince of
Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity <i>shall have</i> an end,
  26 Thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p11.3">God</span>;
Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this <i>shall</i> not
<i>be</i> the same: exalt <i>him that is</i> low, and abase <i>him
that is</i> high.   27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn,
it: and it shall be no <i>more,</i> until he come whose right it
is; and I will give it <i>him.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p12" shownumber="no">The prophet, in the verses before, had
shown 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p13" shownumber="no">I. He must see and show the Chaldean army
coming against Jerusalem and determined by a supreme power so to
do. The prophet must <i>appoint him two ways,</i> that is, he must
upon a paper draw out two roads (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.19" parsed="|Ezek|21|19|0|0" passage="Eze 21:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>), as sometimes is done in maps;
and he must bring the king of Babylon's army to the place where the
roads part, for there they will make a stand. They both <i>come out
of the same land;</i> but when they come to the place where one
road leads to Rabbath, the head city of the Ammonites, and the
other to Jerusalem, he makes a pause; for, though he is resolved to
be the ruin of both, yet he is not determined which to attack
first; here his politics and his politicians leave him at a loss.
The sword must go either to Rabbath or <i>to Judah in
Jerusalem.</i> Many of the inhabitants of Judah had now taken
shelter in Jerusalem, and all the interests of the country were
bound up in the safety of the city, and therefore it is called
<i>Judah in Jerusalem the defenced;</i> so strongly fortified was
it, both by nature and art, that it was thought impregnable,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Lam.4.12" parsed="|Lam|4|12|0|0" passage="La 4:12">Lam. iv. 12</scripRef>. The prophet
must describe this dilemma that the king of Babylon is at
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.21" parsed="|Ezek|21|21|0|0" passage="Eze 21:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>); for <i>the
king of Babylon stood</i> (that is, he shall stand considering what
course to take) <i>at the head of the two ways.</i> Though he was a
prince of great foresight and great resolution, yet, it seems, he
knew neither his own interest nor his own mind. Let not the wise
man then glory in his wisdom nor the mighty man in his arbitrary
power, for even those that may do what they will seldom know what
to do for the best. Now observe, 1. The method he took to come to a
resolution; he <i>used divination,</i> applied to a higher and
invisible power, perhaps to the determination of Providence by a
lot, in order to which he <i>made his arrows bright,</i> that were
to be drawn for the lots, in honour of the solemnity. Perhaps
<i>Jerusalem</i> was written on one arrow and <i>Rabbath</i> on the
other, and that which was first drawn out of the quiver he
determined to attack first. Or he applied to the direction of some
pretended oracle: he <i>consulted with images</i> or
<i>teraphim,</i> expecting to receive audible answers from them. Or
to the observations which the augurs made upon the entrails of the
sacrifices: <i>he looked in the liver,</i> whether the position of
that portended good or ill luck. Note, It is a mortification to the
pride of the wise men of the earth that in difficult cases they
have been glad to make their court to heaven for direction; as it
is an instance of their folly that they have taken such ridiculous
ways of doing it, when in cases proper for an appeal to Providence
it is sufficient that <i>the lot be cast into the lap,</i> with
that prayer, <i>Give a perfect lot,</i> and a firm belief that the
<i>disposal thereof</i> is not fortuitous, but <i>of the Lord,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.16.33" parsed="|Prov|16|33|0|0" passage="Pr 16:33">Prov. xvi. 33</scripRef>. 2. The
resolution he was hereby brought to. Even by these sinful practices
God served his own purposes and directed him to go to Jerusalem,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.22" parsed="|Ezek|21|22|0|0" passage="Eze 21:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. <i>The
divination for Jerusalem</i> happened to be <i>at his right
hand,</i> which, according to the rules of divination, determined
him <i>that way.</i> Note, What services God designs men for he
will be sure in his providence to lead them to, though perhaps they
themselves are not aware what guidance they are under. Well,
Jerusalem being the mark set up, the campaign is presently opened
with the siege of that important place. <i>Captains</i> are
appointed for the command of the forces to be employed in the
siege, who must <i>open the mouth in the slaughter,</i> must give
directions to the soldiers what to do and make speeches to animate
them. Orders are given to provide every thing necessary for
carrying on the siege with vigour; <i>battering rams</i> must be
prepared and <i>forts built.</i> O what pains, what cost, are men
at to destroy one another!</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p14" shownumber="no">II. He must show both the people and the
prince that they bring this destruction upon themselves by their
own sin.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p15" shownumber="no">1. The people do so, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.23-Ezek.21.24" parsed="|Ezek|21|23|21|24" passage="Eze 21:23,24"><i>v.</i> 23, 24</scripRef>. They slight the notices
that are given them of the judgment coming. Ezekiel's prophecy is
to them a <i>false divination;</i> they are not moved or awakened
to repentance by it. When they hear that Nebuchadnezzar by his
divination is directed to Jerusalem, and assured of success in that
enterprise, they laugh at it and continue <i>secure,</i> calling it
a <i>false divination;</i> because <i>they have sworn oaths,</i>
that is, they have joined in a solemn league with the Egyptians,
and they depend upon the promise they have made them to <i>raise
the siege,</i> or upon the assurances which the false prophets have
given them that it shall be raised. Or it may refer to the oaths of
allegiance they had sworn to the king of Babylon, but had violated,
for which treachery of theirs God had given them up to a judicial
blindness, so that the fairest warnings given them were slighted by
them as false divinations. Note, It is not strange if those who
make a jest of the most sacred oaths can make a jest likewise of
the most sacred oracles; for where will a profane mind stop? But
shall their unbelief invalidate the counsel of God? Are they safe
because they are secure? By no means; nay, the contempt they put
upon divine warnings is a sin that brings to remembrance their
other sins, and they may thank themselves if they be now remembered
against them. (1.) Their present wickedness is discovered. Now that
God is contending with them so perverse and obstinate are they that
whatever they offer in their own defence does but add to their
offence; they never conducted themselves so ill as they did now
that they had the loudest call given them to repent and reform:
"<i>So that in all your doings your sins do appear.</i> Turn
yourselves which way you will, you show a black side." This is too
true of every one of us; for not only there is <i>none that lives
and sins not,</i> but <i>there is not a just man upon earth that
does good and sins not.</i> Our best services have such allays of
weakness, and folly, and imperfection, and so much <i>evil</i> is
<i>present with us</i> even when we <i>would do good,</i> that we
may say, with sorrow and shame, <i>In all our doings,</i> and in
all our sayings too, <i>our sins do appear,</i> and witness against
us, so that if we were under the law we were undone. (2.) This
brings to mind their former wickedness: "<i>You have made your
iniquity to be remembered,</i> not by yourselves that it might be
repented of, but by the justice of God that it might be reckoned
for. Your own sins make the sins of your fathers to be remembered
against you, which otherwise you should never have smarted for."
Note, God remembers former iniquities against those only who by the
present discoveries of their wickedness show that they do not
repent of them. (3.) That they may suffer for all together, they
are turned over to the destroyed, that they may be taken (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.23" parsed="|Ezek|21|23|0|0" passage="Eze 21:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>): "<i>You shall be
taken with the hand</i> that God had appointed to seize you and to
hold you and out of which you cannot escape." Men are said to be
<i>God's hand</i> when they are made use of as the ministers of his
justice, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.17.14" parsed="|Ps|17|14|0|0" passage="Ps 17:14">Ps. xvii. 14</scripRef>.
Note, Those who will not be taken with the word of God's grace
shall at last be taken by the hand of his wrath.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p16" shownumber="no">2. The prince likewise brings his ruin upon
himself. Zedekiah is the <i>prince of Israel,</i> to whom the
prophet here, in God's name, addresses himself; and, if he had not
spoken in God's name, he would not have spoken so boldly, so
bluntly; for <i>is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked?</i>
(1.) He gives him his character, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.25" parsed="|Ezek|21|25|0|0" passage="Eze 21:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>. Thou profane and <i>wicked
prince of Israel!</i> He was not so bad as some of his
predecessors, and yet bad enough to merit his character. He was
himself profane, lost to every thing that is virtuous and sacred.
And he was wicked, as he promoted sin among his people; he sinned,
and <i>made Israel to sin.</i> Note, Profaneness and wickedness are
bad in any, but worst of all in a prince, a prince of Israel, who
as an Israelite should know better himself, and as a prince should
set a better example and have a better influence on those about
him. (2.) He reads him his doom. His iniquity <i>has an end;</i>
the measure of it is full, and therefore <i>his day has come,</i>
the day of his punishment, the day of divine vengeance. Note,
Though those who are wicked and profane may flourish awhile, yet
<i>their day will come</i> to fall. The sentence here passed is,
[1.] That Zedekiah shall be deposed. He has forfeited his crown,
and he shall no longer wear it; he has by his profaneness profaned
his crown, and it shall be <i>cast to the ground</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.26" parsed="|Ezek|21|26|0|0" passage="Eze 21:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>): <i>Remove the
diadem.</i> Crowns and diadems are losable things; it is only in
the other world that there is a crown of glory that fades not away,
a <i>kingdom that cannot be moved.</i> The Chaldee paraphrase
expounds it thus: <i>Take away the diadem from Seraiah the chief
priest, and I will take away the crown from Zedekiah the king;
neither this nor that shall abide in his place, but shall be
removed. This shall not be the same,</i> not the same that he has
been; <i>this not this</i> (so the word is); profane and wicked
perhaps he is as he has been. Note, Men lose their dignity by their
iniquity. Their profaneness and wickedness remove their diadem, and
take off their crown, and make them the reverse of what they were.
[2.] That great confusion and disorder in the state shall follow
hereupon. Every thing shall be turned upside down. The conqueror
shall take a pride in <i>exalting him that is low</i> and
<i>abasing him that is high,</i> preferring some and degrading
others, at his pleasure, without any regard either to right or
merit. [3.] Attempts to re-establish the government shall be
blasted and come to nothing, Gedaliah's particularly, and Ishmael's
who was <i>of the seed-royal</i> (to which the Chaldee paraphrase
refers this); neither of them shall be able to make any thing of
it. <i>I will overturn, overturn, overturn,</i> first one project
and then another; for who can build up what God will throw down?
[4.] This monarchy shall never be restored till it is fixed for
perpetuity in the hands of the Messiah. There <i>shall be no
more</i> kings of the house of David after Zedekiah, till Christ
comes, <i>whose right the kingdom is,</i> who is that seed of David
in whom the promise was to have its full accomplishment, and <i>I
will give it to him.</i> He shall have <i>the throne of his father
David,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.32" parsed="|Luke|1|32|0|0" passage="Lu 1:32">Luke i. 32</scripRef>.
Immediately before the coming of Christ there was a long eclipse of
the royal dignity, as there was also a failing of the spirit of
prophecy, that his shining forth in the fulness of time both as
king and prophet might appear the more illustrious. Note, Christ
has an incontestable title to the dominion and sovereignty both in
the church and in the world; the kingdom is his right. And, having
the right, he shall in due time have the possession: <i>I will give
it to him;</i> and there shall be a general overturning of all
rather than he shall come short of his right, and a certain
overturning of all the opposition that stands in his way to make
room for him, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.45 Bible:1Cor.15.25" parsed="|Dan|2|45|0|0;|1Cor|15|25|0|0" passage="Da 2:45,1Co 15:25">Dan. ii. 45; 1
Cor. xv. 25</scripRef>. This is mentioned here for the comfort of
those who feared that the promise made in David would fail for
evermore. "No," says God, "that promise is sure, for the Messiah's
kingdom shall last for ever."</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xxii-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.28-Ezek.21.32" parsed="|Ezek|21|28|21|32" passage="Eze 21:28-32" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxii-p16.6">
<h4 id="Ez.xxii-p16.7">The Destruction of the
Ammonites. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p16.8">b. c.</span> 592.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxii-p17" shownumber="no">28 And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus
saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p17.1">God</span> concerning the
Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword,
the sword <i>is</i> drawn: for the slaughter <i>it is</i>
furbished, to consume because of the glittering:   29 Whiles
they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to
bring thee upon the necks of <i>them that are</i> slain, of the
wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity <i>shall have</i> an
end.   30 Shall I cause <i>it</i> to return into his sheath? I
will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land
of thy nativity.   31 And I will pour out mine indignation
upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and
deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, <i>and</i> skilful to
destroy.   32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood
shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no <i>more</i>
remembered: for I the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxii-p17.2">Lord</span> have
spoken <i>it.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p18" shownumber="no">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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p19" shownumber="no">I. The sin of the Ammonites is here
intimated; it is <i>their reproach,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.28" parsed="|Ezek|21|28|0|0" passage="Eze 21:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>. 1. The reproach they put upon
themselves when they hearkened to their false prophets (for such it
seems there were among them as well as among the Jews), who
pretended to foretel their perpetual safety in the midst of the
desolations that were made of the countries round about them: "They
<i>see vanity unto thee and divine a lie,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.29" parsed="|Ezek|21|29|0|0" passage="Eze 21:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>. They flatter thee with
promises of peace, and thou art such a fool as to suffer thyself to
be imposed upon by them and to encourage them therein by giving
credit to them." Note, Those that feed themselves with a
self-conceit in the day of their prosperity prepare matter for a
self-reproach in the day of their calamity. 2. The reproach they
put upon the Israel of God, when they triumphed in their
afflictions, and thereby added affliction to them, which was very
barbarous and inhuman. Their divines, by puffing them up with a
conceit that they were a better people than Israel, being spared
when they were cut off, and with a confidence that their prosperity
should always continue, made them so very haughty and insolent that
they did even <i>tread on the necks of the Israelites that were
slain, slain by the wicked Chaldeans,</i> who had commission to
execute God's judgments upon them when their <i>iniquity had an
end,</i> that is, when the measure of it was full. We shall meet
with this again, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.25.3" parsed="|Ezek|25|3|0|0" passage="Eze 25:3"><i>ch.</i> xxv.
3</scripRef>, &amp;c. Note, Those are ripening apace for misery who
trample upon the people of God in their distress, whereas they
ought to tremble when <i>judgment begins at the house of
God.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxii-p20" shownumber="no">II. The utter destruction of the Ammonites
is threatened. For the reproach cast on the church by her
neighbours will be returned into their own bosom, <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.79.12" parsed="|Ps|79|12|0|0" passage="Ps 79:12">Ps. lxxix. 12</scripRef>. Let us see how
terrible the threatening is and the destruction will be. 1. It
shall come <i>from the wrath of God,</i> who resents the
indignities and injuries done to his people as done to himself
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.31" parsed="|Ezek|21|31|0|0" passage="Eze 21:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>): <i>I will
pour out my indignation</i> as a shower of fire and brimstone
<i>upon thee.</i> The least drop of divine <i>indignation and
wrath</i> will create <i>tribulation and anguish</i> enough to the
<i>soul of man that does evil;</i> what then would a full stream of
that indignation and wrath do? "<i>I will blow against thee in the
fire of my wrath;</i> that is, I will blow up the fire of my wrath
against thee; it shall burn with the utmost vehemence." <i>Thou
shalt be for fuel to this fire,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.32" parsed="|Ezek|21|32|0|0" passage="Eze 21:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>. Note, Wicked men make
themselves fuel to the fire of God's wrath; they are consumed by
it, and it is inflamed by them. 2. It shall be effected by the
sword of war; to them he must cry, as before to Israel, because
they had triumphed in Israel's overthrow: <i>The sword, the sword
is drawn</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.28 Bible:Ezek.21.9-Ezek.21.10" parsed="|Ezek|21|28|0|0;|Ezek|21|9|21|10" passage="Eze 21:28,Eze 21:9,10"><i>v.</i>
28, compare <i>v.</i> 9, 10</scripRef>); it is drawn <i>to consume
because of the glittering,</i> because it is brandished and
glitters, and is fit to be made use of. God's executions will
answer his preparations. This sword, when it is drawn, <i>shall not
return into its sheath</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.21.30" parsed="|Ezek|21|30|0|0" passage="Eze 21:30"><i>v.</i>
30</scripRef>) till it has done the work for which it was drawn.
When the sword is drawn it does not return till <i>God causes it to
return,</i> and <i>he is in one mind and who can turn him?</i> Who
can change his purpose? 3. The persons employed in it are
<i>brutish men, and skilful to destroy.</i> Men of such a bad
character as this, who have the wit of men to do the work of wild
beasts—human reason, which makes them skilful, but no human
compassion, which makes them skilful only to destroy—though they
are the scandal of mankind, yet sometimes are made use of to serve
God's purposes. God <i>delivers the Ammonites into the hands of
such,</i> and justly, for they themselves were brutish, and
delighted in the destruction of God's Israel. We have reason to
pray, as Paul desired to be prayed for, that we may be <i>delivered
from wicked and unreasonable men</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:2Thess.3.2" parsed="|2Thess|3|2|0|0" passage="2Th 3:2">2
Thess. iii. 2</scripRef>), men that seem made for doing mischief.
4. The place where they should thus be reckoned with: "<i>I will
judge thee where thou wast created,</i> where thou wast first
formed into a people, and where thou hast been settled ever since,
and therefore where thou seemest to have taken root; <i>the land of
thy nativity</i> shall be the land of thy destruction." Note, God
can bring ruin upon us even where we are most secure, and turn us
out of that land which we thought we had a title to not to be
disputed and a possession of not to be disturbed. <i>Thy blood
shall be shed</i> not only in thy borders, but <i>in the midst of
thy land. Lastly,</i> it shall be an irreparable ruin: "Though thou
mayest think to recover thyself, it is in vain to think of it; thou
<i>shalt be no more remembered</i> with any respect," <scripRef id="Ez.xxii-p20.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.9.6" parsed="|Ps|9|6|0|0" passage="Ps 9:6">Ps. ix. 6</scripRef>. Justly is their name blotted
out who would have Israel's name for ever lost.</p>
</div></div2>