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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Ezekiel XXV].</TITLE>
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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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[<A HREF="MHC26024.HTM">Previous</A>]
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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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. XXV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Judgment began at the house of God, and therefore with them the
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prophets began, who were the judges; but it must not end there, and
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therefore they must not. Ezekiel had finished his testimony which
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related to the destruction of Jerusalem. As to that he was ordered to
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say no more, but stand upon his watch-tower and wait the issue; and yet
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he must not be silent; there are divers nations bordering upon the land
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of Israel, which he must prophesy against, as Isaiah and Jeremiah had
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done before; and must proclaim God's controversy with them, chiefly for
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the injuries and indignities which they had done to the people of God
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in the day of their calamity. In this chapter we have his prophecy,
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I. Against the Ammonites,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:1-7">ver. 1-7</A>.
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II. Against the Moabites,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:8-11">ver. 8-11</A>.
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III. Against the Edomites,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:11-14">ver. 11-14</A>.
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IV. Against the Philistines,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:15-17">ver. 15-17</A>.
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That which is laid to the charge of each of them is their barbarous and
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insolent conduct towards God's Israel, for which God threatens to put
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the same cup of trembling into their hand. God's resenting it thus
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would be an encouragement to Israel to believe that though he had dealt
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thus severely with them yet he had not cast them off, but would still
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own them and plead their cause.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Eze25_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_7"> </A>
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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>Various Nations Threatened.</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 The word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came again unto me, saying,
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2 Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy
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against them;
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3 And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>;
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Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my
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sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel,
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when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they
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went into captivity;
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4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east
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for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and
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make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they
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shall drink thy milk.
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5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites
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a couching-place for flocks: and ye shall know that I <I>am</I> the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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6 For thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Because thou hast clapped
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<I>thine</I> hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart
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with all thy despite against the land of Israel;
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7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and
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will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee
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off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the
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countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I <I>am</I>
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. The prophet is ordered to address himself to the Ammonites, in the
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name of <I>the Lord Jehovah</I> the <I>God of Israel,</I> who is also
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the God of the whole earth. But what can Chemosh, the god of the
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children of Ammon, say, in answer to it? He is bidden to <I>set his
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face against the Ammonites,</I> for he is God's representative as a
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prophet, and thus he must signify that God <I>set his face against
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them,</I> for <I>the face of the Lord is against those that do
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evil,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+34:16">Ps. xxxiv. 16</A>.
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He must speak with boldness and assurance, as one that knew whose
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errand he went upon, and that he should be borne out in delivering it.
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He must therefore <I>set his face as a flint,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:7">Isa. i. 7</A>.
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He must show his displeasure against these proud enemies of Israel, and
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face them down, though they were very impudent, and thus must show
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that, though he had prophesied so much and so long <I>against
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Israel,</I> yet still he was for Israel, and, while he witnessed
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against their corruptions, he adhered to and gloried in God's covenant
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with them. Note, Those are miserable that have the preaching and
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praying of God's prophets against them, against whom their faces are
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set.</P>
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<P>
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II. He is directed what to say to them. Ezekiel is now a captive in
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Babylon, and has been so many years, and knows little of the state of
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his own nation, much less of the nations that were about it; but God
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tells him both what they were doing and what he was about to do with
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them. And thus by the spirit of prophecy he is enabled to speak as
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pertinently to their case as if he had been among them.</P>
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<P>
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1. He must upbraid the Ammonites with their insolent and barbarous
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triumphs over the people of Israel in their calamities,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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The Ammonites said, when all went against the Jews, <I>Aha! so would we
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have it.</I> They were glad to see,
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(1.) The temple burned, <I>the sanctuary profaned</I> by the victorious
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Chaldeans. This is put first, to intimate what was the cause of the
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controversy; they had an enmity to the Jews for the sake of their
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religion, though it was only some poor remains of the profession of it
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that were to be found among them.
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(2.) The nation ruined. They rejoiced when <I>the land of Israel was
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made desolate,</I> the cities burnt, the country wasted, and both
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depopulated, and when the house of <I>Judah went into captivity.</I>
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When they had not power to oppress God's Israel themselves they were
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pleased to see the Chaldeans oppress them, partly because they envied
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their wealth and the good land they enjoyed, partly because they feared
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their growing power, and partly because they hated their religion and
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the divine oracles they were favoured with. It is repeated again
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>They clapped with their hands,</I> to irritate the rage of the
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Chaldeans, and to set them on as dogs upon the game; or they clapped
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their hands in triumph, attended this tragedy with their
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<I>Plaudite--Give us your applause,</I> thinking it well acted; never
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was there any thing more diverting or entertaining to them. They
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<I>stamped with their feet,</I> ready to leap and dance for joy upon
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this occasion; they not only <I>rejoiced in heart,</I> but they could
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not forbear showing it, though every one that had any sense of honour
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and humanity would cry shame upon them for it, especially considering
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that they rejoiced thus, not for any thing they got by Israel's fall
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(if so, they would have been the more excusable: most people are for
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themselves); but this as purely from a principle of malice and enmity:
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<I>Thou hast rejoiced in heart with all thy despite</I> (which
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signifies both scorn and hatred) <I>against the land of Israel.</I>
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Note, The people of God have always had a great deal of ill-will borne
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them by this wicked world; and their calamities have been their
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neighbours' entertainments. See to what unnatural instances of malice
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the enmity that is in the seed of the serpent against the seed of the
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woman will carry them. The Ammonites, of all people, should not have
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rejoiced in Jerusalem's ruin, but should rather have trembled, because
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they themselves had such a narrow escape at the same time; it was but
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"cross or pile" [the toss of a halfpenny] which should be besieged
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first, Rabbath or Jerusalem,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:20"><I>ch.</I> xxi. 20</A>.
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And they had reason to think that the king of Babylon would set upon
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them next. But thus were their hearts hardened to their ruin, and their
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insolence against Jerusalem was to them an <I>evident token of
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perdition,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+1:28">Phil. i. 28</A>.
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It is a very wicked thing to be glad at the calamities of any,
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especially of God's people, and a sin that God will surely reckon for;
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such delight has God in showing mercy, and so backward is he to punish,
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that nothing is more pleasing to him than to be stopped in the ways of
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his judgments by intercessions, not any thing more provoking than to
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<I>help forward the affliction</I> when he is but <I>a little
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displeased,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+1:15">Zech. i. 15</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. He must threaten the Ammonites with utter ruin for this insolence
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which they were guilty of. God turns away his wrath from Israel against
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them, as is said,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+24:17,18">Prov. xxiv. 17, 18</A>.
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God is jealous for his people's honour, because his own is so nearly
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interested in it. And therefore those that touch that shall be made to
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know that they touch the apple of his eye. He had before predicted the
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destruction of the Ammonites,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+21:28"><I>ch.</I> xxi. 28</A>.
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Had they repented, that would have been revoked; but now it is
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ratified.
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(1.) A destroying enemy is brought against them: <I>I will
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deliver thee to the men of the east,</I> first to the Chaldeans, who
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came from the north-east, and whose army, under the command of
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Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the country of the Ammonites, about five
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years after the destruction of Jerusalem (as Josephus relates,
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<I>Antiq.</I> 10.181), and then to the Arabians, who were properly the
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<I>children of the east,</I> who, when the Chaldeans had made the
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country desolate, and quitted it, came and took possession of it for
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themselves, probably with the consent of the conquerors. Shepherds'
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tents were their palaces; these they set up in the country of the
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Ammonites; there they <I>made their dwellings,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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They enjoyed the products of the country: <I>They shall eat thy fruit
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and drink thy milk;</I> and the milk from the cattle is the fruit of
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the ground at second-hand. They made use even of the royal city for
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their cattle
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>I will make Rabbath,</I> that was a nice and splendid city, to be
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<I>a stable for camels;</I> for its new masters, whose wealth lies all
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in cattle, will not think they can put the palaces of Rabbath to a
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better use. Rabbath had been a habitation of brutish men; justly
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therefore is it now made a <I>stable for camels</I> and the country a
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<I>couching-lace for flocks,</I> more innocent beasts than those with
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which it had been before replenished.
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(2.) God himself acts as an enemy to them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>I will stretch out my hand upon thee,</I> a hand that will reach far
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and strike home, which there is no resisting the blow of, for it is a
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mighty hand, nor bearing the weight of, for it is a heavy hand. God's
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hand stretched out against the Ammonites will not only deliver them
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<I>for a spoil to the heathen,</I> so that all their neighbours shall
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prey upon them, but will <I>cut them off from the people</I> and
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<I>made them perish out of the countries,</I> so that there shall be no
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remains of them in that place. Compare with this,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+49:1">Jer. xlix. 1</A>,
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&c. What can sound more terrible than that resolution
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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<I>I will destroy thee?</I> For the almighty God is able both <I>to
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save and to destroy,</I> and it is <I>a fearful thing to fall into his
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hands.</I> Both the threatenings here
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:5,7"><I>v.</I> 5 and <I>v.</I> 7</A>)
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conclude with this, <I>You shall know that I am the Lord.</I> For,
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[1.] Thus God will maintain his own honour, and will make it appear
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that he is the God of Israel, though he suffers them for a time to be
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captives in Babylon.
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[2.] Thus he will bring those that were strangers to him into an
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acquaintance with him, and it will be a blessed effect of their
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calamities. Better know God and be poor than be rich and ignorant of
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him.</P>
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<A NAME="Eze25_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze25_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Various Nations Threatened.</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>8 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Because that Moab and Seir do say,
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Behold, the house of Judah <I>is</I> like unto all the heathen;
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9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the
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cities, from his cities <I>which are</I> on his frontiers, the glory
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of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim,
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10 Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give
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them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered
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among the nations.
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11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know
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that I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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12 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Because that Edom hath dealt
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against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly
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offended, and revenged himself upon them;
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13 Therefore thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; I will also stretch out
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mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and
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I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall
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by the sword.
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14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my
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people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger
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and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith
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the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
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15 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Because the Philistines have dealt
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by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to
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destroy <I>it</I> for the old hatred;
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16 Therefore thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Behold, I will stretch
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out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the
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Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.
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17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious
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rebukes; and they shall know that I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, when I shall
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lay my vengeance upon them.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Three more of Israel's ill-natured neighbours are here arraigned,
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convicted, and condemned to destruction, for contributing to and
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triumphing in Jerusalem's fall.</P>
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<P>
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I. The Moabites. Seir, which was the seat of the Edomites, is joined
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with them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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because they said the same as the Moabites; but they were afterwards
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reckoned with by themselves,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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Now observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. What was the sin of the Moabites; they said, <I>Behold, the house of
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Judah is like unto all the heathen.</I> They triumphed,
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(1.) In the apostasies of Israel, were please to see them forsake their
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God and worship idols, and hoped that in a while their religion would
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be quite lost and forgotten and the <I>house of Judah</I> would be
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<I>like all the heathen,</I> perfect idolaters. When those that profess
|
|
religion walk unworthy of their profession they encourage the enemies
|
|
of religion to hope that it will in time sink, and be run down, and
|
|
quite abandoned; but let the Moabites know that, though there are those
|
|
of the house of Judah who have made themselves <I>like the heathen,</I>
|
|
yet there is a remnant that retain their integrity, the religion of the
|
|
house of Judah shall recover itself, its peculiarities shall be
|
|
preserved, it shall not lose itself <I>among the heathen,</I> but
|
|
distinguish itself from them, till it deliver itself honourably into a
|
|
better institution.
|
|
|
|
(2.) In the calamities of Israel. They said, "<I>The house of Judah is
|
|
like all the heathen,</I> in as bad a state as they; their God is no
|
|
more able to deliver them from this <I>overflowing scourge</I> of these
|
|
parts of the world than the gods of the heathen are to deliver them.
|
|
Where are the promises they gloried in and all the wonders which they
|
|
and their fathers told us of? What the better are they for the covenant
|
|
of peculiarity, upon which they so much valued themselves? Those that
|
|
looked with so much scorn upon <I>all the heathen</I> are now set upon
|
|
a level with them, or rather sunk below them." Note, Those who judge
|
|
only by outward appearance are ready to conclude that the people of God
|
|
have lost all their privileges when they have lost their worldly
|
|
prosperity, which does not follow, for good men, even in affliction, in
|
|
captivity among the heathen, have graces and comforts within sufficient
|
|
to distinguish them from all the heathen. Though the event seem one to
|
|
the <I>righteous and wicked,</I> yet indeed it is vastly different.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. What should be the punishment of Moab for this sin; because they
|
|
triumphed in the overthrow of Judah, their country shall be in like
|
|
manner overthrown with that of the Ammonites, who were guilty of the
|
|
same sin
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I will open the side of Moab,</I> will uncover its shoulder, will
|
|
take away all its defences, that it may become an easy prey to any that
|
|
will make a prey of it."
|
|
|
|
(1.) See here how it shall be exposed; the frontier-towns, that were
|
|
its strength and guard, shall be demolished by the Chaldean forces, and
|
|
laid open. Some of the cities are here named, which are said to be
|
|
<I>the glory of the country,</I> which they trusted in, and boasted of
|
|
as impregnable; these shall decay, be deserted, or betrayed, or fall
|
|
into the enemies' hands, so that Moab shall lie exposed, and whoever
|
|
will may penetrate into the heart of the country. Note, Those who glory
|
|
in any other defence and protection than that of the divine power,
|
|
providence, and promise, will sooner or later see cause to be ashamed
|
|
of their glorying.
|
|
|
|
(2.) See here to whom it shall be exposed: <I>The men of the east,</I>
|
|
when they come to take possession of the country of the Ammonites,
|
|
shall seize that of the Moabites too. God, the Lord of all lands, will
|
|
give them that land; for the kingdoms of men he gives to whomsoever he
|
|
will. The Arabians, who are shepherds, and live quietly, plain men
|
|
dwelling in tents, shall by an overruling Providence be put in
|
|
possession of the land of the Moabites, who are soldiers, men of war,
|
|
and cunning hunters, that live turbulently. The Chaldeans shall get it
|
|
by war, and the Arabians shall enjoy it in peace. Concerning the
|
|
Ammonites it is said, They shall no <I>more be remembered among the
|
|
nations</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
for they had been accessory to the murder of Gedaliah,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+40:14">Jer. xl. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
But of the Moabites it is said, <I>I will execute judgments upon
|
|
Moab;</I> they shall feel the weight of God's displeasure, but perhaps
|
|
not to that degree that the Ammonites shall; however, so far as that
|
|
<I>they shall know that I am the Lord,</I> that the God of Israel is a
|
|
God of power, and that his covenant with his people is not broken.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The Edomites, the posterity of Esau, between whom and Jacob there
|
|
had been an old enmity. And here is,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The sin of the Edomites,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
They not only triumphed in the ruin of Judah and Jerusalem, as the
|
|
Moabites and Ammonites had done, but they took advantage from the
|
|
present distressed state to which the Jews were reduced to do them some
|
|
real mischiefs, probably made inroads upon their frontiers and
|
|
plundered their country: <I>Edom has dealt against the house of Judah
|
|
by taking vengeance.</I> The Edomites had of old been tributaries to
|
|
the Jews, according to the sentence that the elder should serve the
|
|
younger. In Jehoram's time they revolted. Amaziah severely chastised
|
|
them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+14:7">2 Kings xiv. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
and for this they <I>took vengeance.</I> Now they would pay off all the
|
|
old scores, and not only incensed the Babylonians against Jerusalem,
|
|
crying, <I>Rase it, rase it</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+137:7">Ps. cxxxvii. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
but cut <I>off those that escaped,</I> as we find in the prophecy of
|
|
Obadiah, which is wholly directed against Edom,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. It is called here <I>revenging a revenge,</I> which intimates that
|
|
they were not only eager upon it, but very cruel in it, and recompensed
|
|
to the Jews more than double. "Herein he <I>has greatly offended.</I>"
|
|
Note, It is a great offence to God for us to revenge ourselves upon our
|
|
brother; for God has said, <I>Vengeance is mine.</I> We are forbidden
|
|
to <I>revenge</I> or to <I>bear a grudge.</I> Suppose Judah had been
|
|
hard upon Edom formerly, it was a base thing for the Edomites now, in
|
|
revenge for it, <I>to smite them secretly.</I> But the Jews had a
|
|
divine warrant to reign over the Edomites, for that therefore they
|
|
ought not to have made reprisals; and it was the more disingenuous for
|
|
them to retain the old enmity when God had particularly commanded his
|
|
people to forget it.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+23:7">Deut. xxiii. 7</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The judgments threatened against them for this sin. God will take
|
|
them to task for it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will stretch out my hand upon Edom</I> Their country shall be
|
|
desolate <I>from Teman,</I> which lay in the south part of it; and
|
|
<I>they shall fall by the sword unto Dedan,</I> which lay north; the
|
|
desolations of war should go through the nation.
|
|
|
|
(1.) They had taken vengeance, and therefore God will <I>lay his
|
|
vengeance</I> upon them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They shall know my vengeance.</I> Those that will not leave it to
|
|
God to take vengeance for them may expect that he will take vengeance
|
|
on them; and those that will not believe and fear his vengeance shall
|
|
be made to know and feel his vengeance; they shall be dealt with
|
|
<I>according to God's anger</I> and <I>according to his fury,</I> not
|
|
according to the weakness of the instruments that are employed in it,
|
|
but according to the strength of the arm that employs them.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They had taken vengeance on Israel, and God will lay his vengeance
|
|
on them <I>by the hand of his people Israel.</I> They suffered much by
|
|
the Chaldeans, which seems to be referred to,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+49:8">Jer. xlix. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
But besides that there were <I>saviours</I> to come <I>upon Mount
|
|
Zion,</I> who should judge the mount of Esau
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:21">Obad. 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
and Israel's Redeemer comes <I>with dyed garments from Bozrah</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+63:1">Isa. lxiii. 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
this implies a promise that Israel should recover itself again to such
|
|
a degree as to be in a capacity of curbing the insolence of its
|
|
neighbours. And we find
|
|
|
|
(<U>1 Mac. v. 3</U>)
|
|
|
|
that <I>Judas Maccabeus fought against the children of Esau in Idumea,
|
|
gave them a great overthrow, abated their courage, and took their
|
|
spoil;</I> and Josephus says (<I>Antiq.</I> 13.257), that Hircanus made
|
|
the Edomites tributaries to Israel. Note, The equity of God's judgments
|
|
is to be observed when he not only avenges injuries upon those that did
|
|
them, but by those against whom they were done.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The Philistines. And,
|
|
|
|
1. Their sin is much the same with that of the Edomites: They have
|
|
<I>dealt by revenge</I> with the people of Israel, and have <I>taken
|
|
vengeance with a despiteful heart,</I> not to disturb them only, but to
|
|
<I>destroy them,</I> for <I>the old hatred</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
the old grudge they bore them, or (as the margin reads it) <I>with
|
|
perpetual hatred,</I> a hatred that began long since and which they
|
|
resolved to continue. The anger was implacable: they <I>dealt by
|
|
revenge,</I> traded in the acts of malice; it was their constant
|
|
practice, and their heart, their spiteful heart, was upon it.
|
|
|
|
2. Their punishment likewise is much the same,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that were for destroying God's people shall themselves be cut off
|
|
and destroyed; and
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>)
|
|
|
|
those that were for avenging themselves shall find that God will
|
|
<I>execute great vengeance upon them.</I> This was fulfilled when that
|
|
country was wasted by the Chaldean army, not long after the destruction
|
|
of Jerusalem, which is foretold,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+47:1-7">Jer. xlvii</A>.
|
|
|
|
It was strange that these nations, which bordered upon the land of
|
|
Israel, were not alarmed by the success of the Chaldean army, and made
|
|
to tremble in the apprehension of their own danger; when their
|
|
neighbour's house was on fire it was time to look to their own; but
|
|
their impiety and malice made them forget their politics, till God by
|
|
his judgments convinced them that the cup was going round, and they
|
|
were the less safe for being secure.</P>
|
|
|
|
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