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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E Z E K I E L.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXIV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Here are two sermons in this chapter, preached on a particular
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occasion, and they are both from Mount Sinai, the mount of terror, both
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from Mount Ebal, the mount of curses; both speak the approaching fate
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of Jerusalem. The occasion of them was the king of Babylon's laying
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siege to Jerusalem, and the design of them is to show that in the issue
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of that siege he should be not only master of the place, but destroyer
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of it.
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I. By the sign of flesh boiling in a pot over the fire are shown the
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miseries that Jerusalem should suffer during the siege, and justly, for
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her filthiness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:1-14">ver. 1-14</A>.
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II. By the sign of Ezekiel's not mourning for the death of his wife is
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shown that the calamities coming upon Jerusalem were too great to be
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lamented, so great that they should sink down under them into a silent
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despair,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:15-27">ver. 15-27</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Parable of the Boiling Pot; The Explanation of the Parable.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 590.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth
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<I>day</I> of the month, the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me, saying,
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2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, <I>even</I> of this
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same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this
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same day.
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3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto
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them, Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Set on a pot, set <I>it</I> on, and
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also pour water into it:
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4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, <I>even</I> every good piece,
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the thigh, and the shoulder; fill <I>it</I> with the choice bones.
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5 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under
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it, <I>and</I> make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it
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therein.
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6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Woe to the bloody city, to
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the pot whose scum <I>is</I> therein, and whose scum is not gone out
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of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
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7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top
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of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with
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dust;
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8 That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have
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set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be
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covered.
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9 Therefore thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Woe to the bloody city! I
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will even make the pile for fire great.
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10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice
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it well, and let the bones be burned.
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11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of
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it may be hot, and may burn, and <I>that</I> the filthiness of it may
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be molten in it, <I>that</I> the scum of it may be consumed.
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12 She hath wearied <I>herself</I> with lies, and her great scum
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went not forth out of her: her scum <I>shall be</I> in the fire.
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13 In thy filthiness <I>is</I> lewdness: because I have purged thee,
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and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy
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filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon
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thee.
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14 I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> have spoken <I>it:</I> it shall come to pass, and I
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will do <I>it;</I> I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither
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will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy
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doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here,</P>
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<P>
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I. The notice God gives to Ezekiel in Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar's
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laying siege to Jerusalem, just at the time when he was doing it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>Son of man,</I> take notice, <I>the king of Babylon,</I> who is now
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abroad with his army, thou knowest not where, <I>set himself against
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Jerusalem this same day.</I>" It was many miles, it was many days'
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journey, from Jerusalem to Babylon. Perhaps the last intelligence they
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had from the army was that the design was upon Rabbath of the children
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of Ammon and that the campaign was to be opened with the siege of that
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city. But God knew, and could tell the prophet, "<I>This day,</I> at
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this time, Jerusalem is invested, and the Chaldean army has sat down
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before it." Note, As all times, so all places, even the most remote,
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are present with God and under his view. He tells the prophet, that the
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prophet might tell the people, that so when it proved to be punctually
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true, as they would find by the public intelligence in a little time,
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it might be a confirmation of the prophet's mission, and they might
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infer that, since he was right in his news, he was so in his
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predictions, for he owed both to the same correspondence he had with
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Heaven.</P>
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<P>
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II. The notice which he orders him to take of it. He must enter it in
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his book, <I>memorandum,</I> that <I>in the ninth year</I> of
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Jehoiachin's captivity (for thence Ezekiel dated,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:2"><I>ch.</I> i. 2</A>,
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which was also the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, for he began to
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reign when Jehoiachin was carried off), in the tenth month, on the
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tenth day of the month, the king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem;
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and the date here agrees exactly with the date in the history,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+25:1">2 Kings xxv. 1</A>.
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See how God reveals things to his servants the prophets, especially
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those things which serve to confirm their word, and so to confirm their
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own faith. Note, It is good to keep an exact account of the date of
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remarkable occurrences, which may sometimes contribute to the
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manifesting of God's glory so much the more in them, and the explaining
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and confirming of scripture prophecies. <I>Known unto God are all his
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works.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. The notice which he orders him to give to the people thereupon,
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the purport of which is that this siege of Jerusalem, now begun, will
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infallibly end in the ruin of it. This he must say <I>to the rebellious
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house,</I> to those of them that were in Babylon, to be by them
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communicated to those that were yet in their own land. A rebellious
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house will soon be a ruinous house.</P>
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<P>
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1. He must show them this by a sign; for that stupid people needed to
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be taught as children are. The comparison made use of is that of a
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<I>boiling pot.</I> This agrees with Jeremiah's vision many years
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before, when he first began to be a prophet, and probably was designed
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to put them in mind of that
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+1:13">Jer. i. 13</A>,
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<I>I see a seething pot, with the face towards the north;</I> and the
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explanation of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>,
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makes it to signify the besieging of Jerusalem by the <I>northern</I>
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nations); and, as this comparison is intended to confirm Jeremiah's
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vision, so also to confront the vain confidence of the princes of
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Jerusalem, who had said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+11:3"><I>ch.</I> xi. 3</A>),
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<I>This city is the caldron and we are the flesh,</I> meaning, "We are
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as safe here as if we were surrounded with walls of brass." "Well,"
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says God, "it shall be so; you shall be boiled in Jerusalem, as the
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<I>flesh in the caldron,</I> boiled to pieces; let the pot be set on
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with water in it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>);
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let it be filled with the flesh of the <I>choice of the flock</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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with the choice pieces
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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and the marrow-bones, and let the other bones serve for fuel, that, one
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way or other, either in the pot or under it, the whole beast may be
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made use of." A fire of bones, though it be a slow fire (for the siege
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was to be long), is yet a sure and lasting fire; such was God's wrath
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against them, and not like the <I>crackling of thorns under a pot,</I>
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which has noise and blaze, but no intense heat. Those that from all
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parts of the country fled into Jerusalem for safety would be sadly
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disappointed when the siege laid to it would soon make the place too
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hot for them; and yet there was not getting out of it, but they must be
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forced to abide by it, as the flesh in a boiling pot.</P>
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<P>
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2. He must give them a comment upon this sign. It is to be construed as
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a <I>woe to the bloody city,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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And again
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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being <I>bloody,</I> let it <I>go to pot,</I> to be boiled; that is the
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fittest place for it. Let us here see,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) What is the course God takes with it. Jerusalem, during the siege,
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is like a pot boiling over the fire, all in a heat, all in a hurry.
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[1.] Care is taken to keep a good fire under the pot, which signifies
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the closeness of the siege, and the many vigorous attacks made upon the
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city by the besiegers, and especially the continued wrath of God
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burning against them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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<I>I will make the pile for fire great.</I> Commission is given to the
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Chaldeans
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>)
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to <I>heap on wood, and kindle the fire,</I> to make Jerusalem more and
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more hot to the inhabitants. Note, The fire which God kindles for the
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consuming of impenitent sinners shall never abate, much less go out,
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for want of fuel. <I>Tophet has fire and much wood,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+30:33">Isa. xxx. 33</A>.
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[2.] The meat, as it is boiled, is taken out, and given to the
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Chaldeans for them to feast upon. "<I>Consume the flesh;</I> let it be
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thoroughly boiled, boiled to rags. <I>Spice it well,</I> and make it
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savoury, for those that will fees sweetly upon it. <I>Let the bones be
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burnt.</I>" either the bones <I>under</I> the pot ("let them be
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consumed with the other fuel") or, as some think, the bones <I>in</I>
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the pot--"let it boil so furiously that not only the flesh may be
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sodden, but even the bones softened; let all the inhabitants of
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Jerusalem be by sickness, sword, and famine, reduced to the extremity
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of misery." And then
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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"<I>Bring it out piece by piece;</I> let every man be delivered into
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the enemy's hand, to be either put to the sword or made a prisoner. Let
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them be an easy prey to them, and let the Chaldeans fall upon them as
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eagerly as a hungry man does upon a good dish of meat when it is set
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before him. <I>Let no lot fall upon it;</I> every piece in the pot
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shall be fetched out and devoured, first or last, and therefore it is
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no matter for casting lots which shall be fetched out first." It was a
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very severe military execution when David measured Joab with <I>two
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lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+8:2">2 Sam. viii. 2</A>.
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But here is no line, no lot of mercy, made use of; all goes one way,
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and that is to destruction.
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[3.] When all the broth is boiled away the pot is set empty upon the
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coals, that it may burn too, which signifies the setting of the city on
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fire,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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The scum of the meat, or (as some translate it) <I>the rust of the
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meat,</I> has so got into the pot that there is no making it clean by
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washing or scouring it, and therefore it must be done by fire; so let
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the filthiness be burnt out of it, or, rather, <I>melted in it</I> and
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burnt with it. Let the vipers and their nest be consumed together.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) What is the quarrel God has with it. He would not take these
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severe methods with Jerusalem but that he is provoked to it; she
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deserves to be thus dealt with, for,
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[1.] It is a bloody city
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>):
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<I>Her blood is in the midst of her.</I> Many a barbarous murder has
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been committed in the very heart of the city; nay, and they have a
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disposition to cruelty in their hearts; they inwardly delight in
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blood-shed, and so it is <I>in the midst of them.</I> Nay, they commit
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their murders in the face of the sun, and openly and impudently avow
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them, in defiance of the justice both of God and man. She did not
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<I>pour out</I> the blood she shed <I>upon the ground, to cover it with
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dust,</I> as being ashamed of the sin or afraid of the punishment. She
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did not look upon it as a filthy thing, proper to be concealed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+23:13">Deut. xxiii. 13</A>),
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much less dangerous. Nay, she poured out the innocent blood she shed
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upon a rock, where it would not soak in, upon <I>the top of a rock,</I>
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in despite of divine views and vengeance. They shed innocent blood
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under colour of justice; so that they gloried in it, as if they had
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done God and the country good service, so put it, as it were, <I>on the
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top of a rock.</I> Or it may refer to the sacrificing of their children
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on their high places, perhaps on the top of rocks. Now thus they
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<I>caused fury to come up and take vengeance,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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It could not be avoided but that God <I>must</I> in anger <I>visit for
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these things; his soul must be avenged on such a nation as this.</I> It
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is absolutely necessary that such a bloody city as this should have
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blood given her to drink, for she is worthy, for the vindicating of the
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honour of divine justice. And, the crime having been public and
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notorious, it is fit that the punishment should be so too: <I>I have
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set her blood on the top of a rock.</I> Jerusalem was to be made an
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example, and therefore was made a spectacle, to the world; God dealt
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with her according to the law of retaliation. It is fit that those who
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<I>sin before all</I> should be <I>rebuked before all;</I> and that the
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reputation of those should not be consulted by the concealment of their
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punishment who were so impudent as not to desire the concealment of
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their sin.
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[2.] It is a filthy city. Great notice is taken, in this explanation of
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the comparison, of the <I>scum of this pot,</I> which signifies the sin
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of Jerusalem, working up and appearing when the judgments of God were
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upon her. It is the pot <I>whose scum is therein</I> and has <I>not
|
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gone out of it,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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The <I>great scum</I> that <I>went not forth out of her</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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that stuck to the pot when all was boiled away, and was <I>molten in
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it</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
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some of this runs over <I>into the fire</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
inflames that, and makes it burn the more furiously, but <I>it shall
|
|
all be consumed</I> at last,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
When the hand of God had gone out against them, instead of humbling
|
|
themselves under it, repenting and reforming, and accepting the
|
|
punishment of their iniquity, they grew more impudent and outrageous in
|
|
sin, quarrelled with God, persecuted his prophets, were fierce to one
|
|
another, enraged to the last degree against the Chaldeans, snarled at
|
|
the stone, gnawed their chain, and were like a wild bull in a net. This
|
|
as <I>their scum;</I> in their distress they <I>trespassed yet more
|
|
against the Lord,</I> like <I>that king Ahaz,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+28:22">2 Chron. xxviii. 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
There is little hope of those who are made worse by that which should
|
|
make them better, whose corruptions are excited an exasperated by those
|
|
rebukes both of the word and of the providence of God which were
|
|
designed for the suppressing and subduing of them, or of those whose
|
|
scum boiled up once in convictions, and confessions of sin, as if it
|
|
would be taken off by reformation, but afterwards returned again, in a
|
|
revolt from their good overtures; and the heart that seemed softened is
|
|
hardened again. This was Jerusalem's case: <I>She has wearied with
|
|
lies,</I> wearied her God with purposes and promises of amendment,
|
|
which she never stood to, wearied herself with her carnal confidences,
|
|
which have all deceived her,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, Those that follow after lying vanities weary themselves with the
|
|
pursuit. Now see her doom,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Because she is incurably wicked she is abandoned to ruin, without
|
|
remedy. <I>First,</I> Methods and means of reformation had been tried
|
|
in vain
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>In thy filthiness is lewdness;</I> thou hast become obstinate and
|
|
impudent in it; thou hast got a habit of it, which is confirmed by
|
|
frequent acts. <I>In thy filthiness</I> thee is a rooted lewdness; as
|
|
appears by this, <I>I have purged thee and thou wast not purged.</I> I
|
|
have given thee medicine, but it has done thee no good. I have used the
|
|
means of cleansing thee, but they have been ineffectual; the intention
|
|
of them has not been answered." Note, It is sad to think how many there
|
|
are on whom ordinances and providences are all lost. <I>Secondly,</I>
|
|
It is therefore resolved that no more such methods shall be sued:
|
|
<I>Thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more.</I> The fire
|
|
shall no longer be a refining fire, but a consuming fire, and therefore
|
|
shall not be mitigated and shortened, as it has been, but shall be
|
|
continued in extremity, till it has done its destroying work. Note,
|
|
Those that will not be healed are justly given up and their case
|
|
adjudged desperate. There is a day coming when it will be said, <I>He
|
|
that is filthy, let him be filthy still. Thirdly,</I> Nothing remains
|
|
then but to bring them to utter ruin: <I>I will cause my fury to rest
|
|
upon thee.</I> This is the same with what is said of the later Jews,
|
|
that <I>wrath has come upon them to the uttermost,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+2:16">1 Thess. ii. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
They deserve it: <I>According to thy doings they shall judge thee,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
And God will do it. The sentence is bound on with repeated
|
|
ratifications, that they might be awakened to see how certain their
|
|
ruin was: "<I>I the Lord have spoken it,</I> who am able to make good
|
|
what I have spoken; <I>it shall come to pass,</I> nothing shall prevent
|
|
it, for <I>I will do it</I> myself, <I>I will not go back</I> upon any
|
|
entreaties; the decree has gone forth, and <I>I will not spare</I> in
|
|
compassion to them, <I>neither will I repent.</I>" He will neither
|
|
change his mind nor his way. Hereby the prophet was forbidden to
|
|
interceded for them, and they were forbidden to flatter themselves with
|
|
hopes of an escape. God hath said it, and he will do it. Note, The
|
|
declarations of God's wrath against sinners are as inviolable as the
|
|
assurances he has given of favour to his people; and the case of such
|
|
is sad indeed, who have brought it to this issue, that either God must
|
|
be false or they must be damned.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Eze24_27"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Death of the Prophet's Wife; A Sign of Jerusalem's Ruin.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 590.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 Also the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me, saying,
|
|
16 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.
|
|
17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire
|
|
of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and
|
|
cover not <I>thy</I> lips, and eat not the bread of men.
|
|
18 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.
|
|
19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what
|
|
these <I>things are</I> to us, that thou doest <I>so?</I>
|
|
20 Then I answered them, The word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me,
|
|
saying,
|
|
21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>;
|
|
Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your
|
|
strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul
|
|
pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall
|
|
fall by the sword.
|
|
22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover <I>your</I>
|
|
lips, nor eat the bread of men.
|
|
23 And your tires <I>shall be</I> upon your heads, and your shoes
|
|
upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine
|
|
away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.
|
|
24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he
|
|
hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I
|
|
<I>am</I> the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
|
|
25 Also, thou son of man, <I>shall it</I> not <I>be</I> 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 minds, their
|
|
sons and their daughters,
|
|
26 <I>That</I> he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to
|
|
cause <I>thee</I> to hear <I>it</I> with <I>thine</I> ears?
|
|
27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is
|
|
escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou
|
|
shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I <I>am</I> the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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, he said no more concerning Jerusalem, till he heard of
|
|
the destruction of it, almost three years after,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+33:21"><I>ch.</I> xxxiii. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
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. Observe here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The sign by which this was represented to them, and it was a sign
|
|
that cost the prophet very dear; the more shame for them that when he,
|
|
by a divine appointment, was at such an expense to affect them with
|
|
what he had to deliver, yet they were not affected by it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He must lose a good wife, that should suddenly be taken from him by
|
|
death. God gave him notice of it before, that it might be the less
|
|
surprise to him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Behold, I take away from thee the desire of thy eyes with a
|
|
stroke.</I> Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) A married state may very well agree with the prophetical office;
|
|
it is <I>honourable in all,</I> and therefore not sinful in ministers.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Much of the comfort of human life lies in agreeable relations. No
|
|
doubt Ezekiel found a prudent tender yoke-fellow, that shared with him
|
|
in his griefs and cares, to be a happy companion in his captivity.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Those in the conjugal relation must be to each other not only a
|
|
<I>covering of the eyes</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+20:16">Gen. xx. 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
to restrain wandering looks after others; but a <I>desire of the
|
|
eyes,</I> to engage pleasing looks on one another. A beloved wife is
|
|
the <I>desire of the eyes,</I> which find not any object more grateful.
|
|
|
|
(4.) That is least safe which is most dear; we know not how soon the
|
|
desire of our eyes may be removed from us and may become the sorrow of
|
|
our hearts, which is a good reason why those that <I>have wives</I>
|
|
should be <I>as though they had none,</I> and those <I>who rejoice</I>
|
|
in them <I>as though they rejoiced not,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+7:29,30">1 Cor. vii. 29, 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
Death is a stroke which the most pious, the most useful, the most
|
|
amiable, are not exempted from.
|
|
|
|
(5.) When the desire of our eyes is taken away with a stroke we must
|
|
see and own the hand of God in it: <I>I take away the desire of thy
|
|
eyes.</I> He takes our creature-comforts from us when and how he
|
|
pleases; he gave them to us, but reserved to himself a property in
|
|
them; and <I>may he not do what he will with his own?</I>
|
|
|
|
(6.) Under afflictions of this kind it is good for us to remember that
|
|
we are <I>sons of men;</I> for so God calls the prophet here. If thou
|
|
art a <I>son of Adam,</I> thy wife is a daughter of <I>Eve,</I> and
|
|
therefore a dying creature. It is an affliction which the children of
|
|
men are liable to; and <I>shall the earth be forsaken for us?</I>
|
|
According to this prediction, he tells us
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>I spoke unto the people in the morning;</I> for God sent his
|
|
prophets, <I>rising up early</I> and sending them; then he thought, if
|
|
ever, they would be disposed to hearken to him. Observe,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Though God had given Ezekiel a certain prospect of this affliction
|
|
coming upon him, yet it did not take him off from his work, but he
|
|
resolved to go on in that.
|
|
|
|
[2.] We may the more easily bear an affliction if it find us in the way
|
|
of our duty; for nothing can hurt us, nothing come amiss to us, while
|
|
we keep ourselves in the love of God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. He must deny himself the satisfaction of mourning for his wife,
|
|
which would have been both an honour to her and an ease to the
|
|
oppression of his own spirit. He must not use the natural expressions
|
|
of sorrow,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
He must not give vent to his passion by <I>weeping,</I> or letting
|
|
<I>his tears run down,</I> though tears are a tribute due to the dead,
|
|
and, when the body is sown, it is fit that it should thus be watered.
|
|
But Ezekiel is not allowed to do this, though he thought he had as much
|
|
reason to do it as any man and would perhaps be ill thought of by the
|
|
people if he did it not. Much less might he use the customary
|
|
formalities of mourners. He must dress himself in his usual attire,
|
|
must bind his turban on him, here called the <I>tire of his head,</I>
|
|
must <I>put on his shoes,</I> and not go barefoot, as was usual in such
|
|
cases; he must not <I>cover his lips,</I> not throw a veil over his
|
|
face (as mourners were wont to do,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+13:45">Lev. xiii. 45</A>),
|
|
|
|
must not be of a <I>sorrowful countenance, appearing unto men to
|
|
fast,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+6:18">Matt. vi. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
He must not <I>eat the bread of men,</I> nor expect that his neighbours
|
|
and friends should send him in provisions, as usually they did in such
|
|
cases, presuming the mourners had no heart to provide meat for
|
|
themselves; but, if it were sent, he must not eat of it, but go on in
|
|
his business as at other times. It could not but be greatly against the
|
|
grain to flesh and blood not to lament the death of one he loved so
|
|
dearly, but so God commands; and <I>I did in the morning as I was
|
|
commanded.</I> He appeared in public, in his usual habit, and looked as
|
|
he used to do, without any signs of mourning.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Here there was something peculiar, and Ezekiel, to make himself a
|
|
sign to the people, must put a force upon himself and exercise an
|
|
extraordinary piece of self-denial. Note, Our dispositions must always
|
|
submit to God's directions, and his command must be obeyed even in that
|
|
which is most difficult and displeasing to us.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Though mourning for the dead be a duty, yet it must always be kept
|
|
under the government of religion and right reason, and we must not
|
|
<I>sorrow as those that have no hope,</I> nor lament the loss of any
|
|
creature, even the most valuable, and that which we could worst spare,
|
|
as if we had lost our God, or as if all our happiness were gone with
|
|
it; and, of this moderation in mourning, ministers, when it is their
|
|
case, ought to be examples. We must at such a time study to improve the
|
|
affliction, to accommodate ourselves to it, and to get our acquaintance
|
|
with the other world increased, by the removal of our dear relations,
|
|
and learn with holy Job <I>to bless the name of the Lord</I> even when
|
|
he takes as well as when he gives.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The explication and application of this sign. The people enquired
|
|
the meaning of it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us that thou doest
|
|
so?</I> They knew that Ezekiel was an affectionate husband, that the
|
|
death of his wife was a great affliction to him, and that he would not
|
|
appear so unconcerned at it but for some good reason and for
|
|
instruction to them; and perhaps they were in hopes that it had a
|
|
favourable signification, and gave them an intimation that God would
|
|
now comfort them again according to the time he had afflicted them, and
|
|
make them look pleasant again. Note, When we are enquiring concerning
|
|
the things of God our enquiry must be, "What are those thing <I>to
|
|
us?</I> What are we concerned in them? What conviction, what counsel,
|
|
what comfort, do they speak to us? Wherein do they reach our case?"
|
|
Ezekiel gives them an answer <I>verbatim--word for word</I> as he had
|
|
received it from the Lord, who had told him what he must <I>speak to
|
|
the house of Israel.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. Let them know that as Ezekiel's wife was taken from him by a stroke
|
|
so would God take from them all that which was dearest to them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
If this was <I>done to the green tree, what shall be done to the
|
|
dry?</I> If a faithful servant of God was thus afflicted only for his
|
|
trial, shall such a generation of rebels against God go unpunished? By
|
|
this awakening providence God showed that he was in earnest in his
|
|
threatenings, and inexorable. We may suppose that Ezekiel prayed that,
|
|
if it were the will of God, his wife might be spared to him, but God
|
|
would not hear him; and should he be heard then in his intercessions
|
|
for this provoking people? No, it is determined: <I>God will take away
|
|
the desire of your eyes.</I> Note, The removal of the comforts of
|
|
others should awaken us to think of parting with ours too; for <I>are
|
|
we better than they?</I> We know not how soon the same cup, or a more
|
|
bitter one, may be put into our hands, and should therefore weep with
|
|
those that weep, as being ourselves also in the body. God will <I>take
|
|
away that which their soul pities,</I> that is, of which they say, What
|
|
a pity is it that it should be cut off and destroyed! That <I>for which
|
|
your souls are afraid</I> (so some read it); you shall lose that which
|
|
you most dread the loss of. And what is that?
|
|
|
|
(1.) That which was their public pride, the temple: "<I>I will profane
|
|
my sanctuary,</I> by giving that into the enemy's hand, to be plundered
|
|
and burnt." This was signified by the death of a wife, a dear wife, to
|
|
teach us that God's sanctuary should be dearer to us, and more <I>the
|
|
desire of our eyes,</I> than any creature-comfort whatsoever. Christ's
|
|
church, that is his spouse, should be ours too. Though this people were
|
|
very corrupt, and had themselves profaned the sanctuary, yet it is
|
|
called <I>the desire of their eyes.</I> Note, Many that are destitute
|
|
of <I>the power of godliness</I> are yet very fond of <I>the form</I>
|
|
of it; and it is just with God to punish them for their hypocrisy by
|
|
depriving them of that too. The sanctuary is here called the
|
|
<I>excellency of their strength;</I> they had many strong-holds and
|
|
places of defence, but the temple excelled them all. It was the
|
|
<I>pride of their strength;</I> they prided in it as their strength
|
|
that they were <I>the temple of the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+7:4">Jer. vii. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, The church-privileges that men are proud of are profaned by their
|
|
sins, and it is just with God to profane them by his judgments. And
|
|
with these God will take away,
|
|
|
|
(2.) That which was their family-pleasure, which they looked upon with
|
|
delight: "<I>Your sons and your daughters</I> (which are the dearer to
|
|
you because they are but few left of many, the rest having perished by
|
|
famine and pestilence) shall <I>fall by the sword</I> of the
|
|
Chaldeans." What a dreadful spectacle would it be to see their own
|
|
children, pieces, pictures, of themselves, whom they had taken such
|
|
care and pains to bring up, and whom they loved as their own souls,
|
|
sacrificed to the rage of the merciless conquerors! This, this, was the
|
|
punishment of sin.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Let them know that as Ezekiel wept not for his affliction so neither
|
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should they weep for theirs. He must say, <I>You shall do as I have
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done,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
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<I>You shall not mourn nor weep,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
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Jeremiah had told them the same, that men <I>shall not lament for the
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dead nor cut themselves</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+16:6">Jer. xvi. 6</A>);
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not that there shall be any such merciful circumstance without, or any
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such degrees of wisdom and grace within, as shall mitigate and moderate
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the sorrow; but they <I>shall not mourn,</I> for,
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(1.) Their grief shall be so great that they shall be quite overwhelmed
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with it; their passions shall stifle them, and they shall have no power
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to ease themselves by giving vent to it.
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(2.) Their calamities shall come so fast upon them, one upon the neck
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of another, that by long custom they shall be <I>hardened in their
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sorrows</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+6:10">Job vi. 10</A>)
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and perfectly stupefied, and moped (as we say), with them.
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(3.) They shall not dare to express their grief, for fear of being
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deemed disaffected to the conquerors, who would take their lamentations
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as an affront and disturbance to their triumphs.
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(4.) They shall not have hearts, nor time, nor money, wherewith to put
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|
themselves in mourning, and accommodate themselves with the ceremonies
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|
of grief: "You will be so entirely taken up with solid substantial
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|
grief that you will have no room for the shadow of it."
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(5.) Particular mourners shall not need to distinguish themselves by
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<I>covering their lips,</I> and laying aside their ornaments, and
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<I>going barefoot;</I> for it is well known that every body is a
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mourner.
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(6.) There shall be none of that sense of their affliction and sorrow
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|
for it which would help to bring them to repentance, but that only
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|
which shall drive them to despair; so it follows: "<I>You shall pine
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|
away for your iniquities,</I> with seared consciences and reprobate
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minds, and <I>you shall mourn,</I> not to God in prayer and confession
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of sin, but <I>one towards another,</I>" murmuring, and fretting, and
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complaining of God, thus making their burden heavier and their wound
|
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more grievous, as impatient people do under their afflictions by
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mingling their own passions with them.</P>
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<P>
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III. An appeal to the event, for the confirmation of all this
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>):
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"<I>When this comes,</I> as it is foretold, when Jerusalem, which is
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this day besieged, is quite destroyed and laid waste, which now you
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cannot believe will ever be, <I>then you shall know that I am the Lord
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God,</I> who have given you this fair warning of it. Then you will
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remember that Ezekiel was to you a sign." Note, Those who regard not
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the threatenings of the word when they are preached will be made to
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remember them when they are executed. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. The great desolation which the siege of Jerusalem should end in
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>):
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<I>In that day,</I> that terrible day, when the city shall be broken
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up, <I>I will take from them,</I>
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(1.) That which they depended on--<I>their strength,</I> their walls,
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|
their treasures, their fortifications, their men of war; none shall
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|
stand them in stead.
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(2.) That which they boasted of--the <I>joy of their glory,</I> that
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|
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.
|
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(3.) That which they delighted in, which was the <I>desire of their
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|
eyes,</I> and on which they <I>set their minds.</I> Note, Carnal people
|
|
set their minds upon that on which they can set their eyes; they look
|
|
at, and dote upon, <I>the things that are seen;</I> and it is their
|
|
folly to <I>set their minds</I> upon that which they have no assurance
|
|
of and which may be taken from them in a moment,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+23:5">Prov. xxiii. 5</A>.
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<I>Their sons and their daughters</I> were all this--<I>their strength,
|
|
and joy, and glory;</I> and these shall go into captivity.</P>
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<P>
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2. The notice that should be brought to the prophet, not be revelation,
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|
as the notice of the siege was brought to him
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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|
but in an ordinary way
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>):
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"<I>He that escapes in that day</I> shall, by a special direction of
|
|
Providence, <I>come to thee,</I> to bring thee intelligence of it,"
|
|
which we find was done,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+33:21"><I>ch.</I> xxxiii. 21</A>.
|
|
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|
The ill-news came slowly, and yet to Ezekiel and his fellow-captives it
|
|
came too soon.</P>
|
|
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|
<P>
|
|
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|
3. The divine impression which he should be under upon receiving that
|
|
notice,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+24:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
Whereas, from this time to that, Ezekiel was thus far dumb that he
|
|
prophesied no more against the land of Israel, but against the
|
|
neighbouring nations, as we shall find in the following chapters, then
|
|
he shall have orders given him to <I>speak again to the children of his
|
|
people</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+33:2,22"><I>ch.</I> xxxiii. 2, 22</A>);
|
|
|
|
then <I>his mouth shall be opened.</I> 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 loudly by the rod, there was the less need of
|
|
speaking by the word,--and because then the accomplishment 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 <I>thou shalt speak</I> with the greater assurance, and the more
|
|
effectually, either to their conviction or to their confusion." Note,
|
|
God's prophets are never silenced but for wise and holy ends. And when
|
|
God gives them the opening of the mouth again (as he will in due time,
|
|
for even the witnesses that are <I>slain</I> shall <I>arise</I>) it
|
|
shall appear to have been for his glory that they were for a while
|
|
silent, that people may the more certainly and fully <I>know</I> that
|
|
<I>God is the Lord.</I></P>
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