E
Z E K I E L
CHAP. XXXIII.
The
prophet has now come off his circuit, which he went as judge, in God's name,
to try and pass sentence upon the neighbouring nations, and, having finished
with them, and read them all their doom, in the eight chapters foregoing, he
now returns to the children of his people, and receives further instructions
what to say to them. I. He must let them know what office he was in among them
as a prophet, that he was a watchman, and had received a charge concerning
them, for which he was accountable, ver. 1-9. The substance of this we had
before, ch. iii. 17, &c. II. He must let them know upon what terms
they stand with God, that they are upon their trial, upon their good
behaviour, that if a wicked man repent he shall not perish, but that if a
righteous man apostatize he shall perish, ver. 10-20. III. Here is a
particular message sent to those who yet remained in the land of Israel, and
(which is very strange) grew secure there, and confident that they should take
root there again, to tell them that their hopes would fail them because they
persisted in their sins, ver. 21-29. IV. Here is a rebuke to those who
personally attended Ezekiel's ministry, but were not sincere in their
professions of devotion, ver. 30-33.
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The
Watchman's Office; The Prophet a Watchman to Israel.
B. C. 587.
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1 Again the word of the LORD
came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy
people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people
of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn
the people; 4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and
taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be
upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took
not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall
deliver his soul. 6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and
blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and
take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but
his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. 7 So thou, O son
of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou
shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. 8 When I
say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost
not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in
his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 9
Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not
turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy
soul.
The prophet had been, by express order from God, taken off from prophesying to
the Jews, just then when the news came that Jerusalem was invested, and close
siege laid to it, ch. xxiv. 27. But now that Jerusalem is taken, two
years after, he is appointed again to direct his speech to them; and there his
commission is renewed. If God had abandoned them quite, he would not have sent
prophets to them; nor, if he had not had mercy in store for them, would he
have shown them such things as these. In these verses we have,
I. The office of a watchman laid down, the trust reposed in him, the charge
given him, and the conditions adjusted between him and those that employ him, v.
2, 6. 1. It is supposed to be a public danger that gives occasion for the
appointing of a watchman--when God brings the sword upon a land, v.
2. The sword of war, whenever it comes upon a land, is of God's bringing; it
is the sword of the Lord, of his justice, how unjustly soever men draw
it. At such a time, when a country is in fear of a foreign invasion, that they
may be informed of all the motions of the enemy, may not be surprised with an
attack, but may have early notice of it, in order to their being at their arms
and in readiness to give the invader a warm reception, they set a man of
their coast, some likely person, that lives upon the borders of their
country, where the threatened danger is expected, and is therefore well
acquainted with all the avenues of it, and make him their watchman.
Thus wise are the children of this world in their generation.
Note, One man may be of public service to a whole country. Princes and
statesmen are the watchmen of a kingdom; they are continually to employ
themselves, and, if occasion be, as watchmen, to expose themselves for the
public safety. 2. It is supposed to be a public trust that is lodged in the
watchman and that he is accountable to the public for the discharge of it. His
business is, (1.) To discover the approaches and advances of the enemy; and
therefore he must not be blind nor asleep, for then he cannot see the sword
coming. (2.) To give notice of them immediately by sound of trumpet, or,
as sentinels among us, by the discharge of a gun, as a signal of danger. A
special trust and confidence is reposed in him by those that set him to be
their watchman that he will faithfully do these two things; and they venture
their lives upon his fidelity. Now, [1.] If he do his part, if he be betimes
aware of all the dangers that fall within his cognizance, and give warning of
them, he has discharged his trust, and has not only delivered his soul,
but earned his wages. If the people do not take warning, if they either will
not believe the notice he gives them, will not believe the danger to be so
great or so near as really it is, or will not regard it, and so are surprised
by the enemy in their security, it is their own fault; the blame is not to be
laid upon the watchman, but their blood is upon their own head. If any person
goes presumptuously into the mouth of danger, though he heard the sound of the
trumpet, and was told by it where the danger was, and so the sword comes
and takes him away in his folly, he is felo de se--a suicide;
foolish man, he has destroyed himself. But, [2.] If the watchman do not
do his duty, if he might have seen the danger, and did not, but was asleep, or
heedless, or looking another way, or if he did see the danger (for so
the case is put here) and shifted only for his own safety, and blew not the
trumpet to warn the people, so that some are surprised and cut off in
their iniquity (v. 6), cut off suddenly, without having time to
cry, Lord, have mercy upon me, time to repent and make their peace with
God (which makes the matter much the worse, that the poor creature is taken
away in his iniquity), his blood shall be required at the watchman's
hand; he shall be found guilty of his death, because he did not give
him warning of his danger. But if the watchman do his part, and the people
do theirs, all is well; both he that gives warning and he that takes warning
have delivered their souls.
II. The application of this to the prophet, v. 7, 9.
1. He is a watchman to the house of Israel. He had occasionally given
warning to the nations about, but to the house of Israel he was a watchman by
office, for they were the children of the prophets and the covenant
They did not set him for a watchman, as the people of the land, v.
2 (for they were not so wise for their souls as to secure the welfare of them,
as they would have been for the protection of their temporal interests); but
God did it for them; he appointed them a watchman.
2. His business as a watchman is to give warning to sinners of their misery
and danger by reason of sin. This is the word he must hear from God's mouth
and speak to them. (1.) God has said, The wicked man shall surely
die; he shall be miserable. Unless he repent, he shall be cut off from God
and all comfort and hope in him, shall be cut off from all good. He shall fall
and lie for ever under the wrath of God, which is the death of the soul, as
his favour is its life. The righteous God has said it, and will never unsay
it, nor can all the world gainsay it, that the wages of sin is death. Sin,
when it is finished, brings froth death. The wrath of God is revealed from
heaven, not only against wicked nations, speaking ruin to them as nations, but
against wicked persons, speaking ruin to them in their personal capacity,
their personal interests, which pass into the other world and last to
eternity, as national interests do not. (2.) It is the will of God that the
wicked man should be warned of this: Warn them from me. This intimates
that there is a possibility of preventing it, else it were a jest to give
warning of it; nay, and that God is desirous it should be prevented. Sinners
are therefore warned of the wrath to come, that they may flee from
it, Matt. iii. 7. (3.) It is the work of ministers to give him warning, to
say to the wicked, It shall be ill with thee, Isa. iii. 11. God ways in
general, The soul that sinneth it shall die. The minister's business is
to apply this to particular persons, and to say, "O wicked man! thou
shalt surely die, whoever thou art; if thou go on still in thy trespasses,
they will inevitably be thy ruin. O adulterer! O robber! O drunkard! O
swearer! O sabbath-breaker! thou shalt surely die." And he must
say this, not in passion, to provoke the sinner, but in compassion, to warn
the wicked from hi way, warn him to turn from it, that he may live.
This is to be done by the faithful preaching of the word in public, and by
personal application to those whose sins are open.
3. If souls perish through his neglect of his duty, he brings guilt upon
himself. "If the prophet do not warn the wicked of the ruin that is at
the end of his wicked way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity;
for, though the watchman did not do his part, yet the sinner might have taken
warning from the written word, from his own conscience, and from God's
judgments upon others, by which his mouth shall be stopped, and God will be
justified in his destruction." Note, It will not serve impenitent sinners
to plead in the great day that their watchmen did not give them warning, that
they were careless and unfaithful; for, though they were so, it will be made
to appear that God left not himself without witness. "But he shall
not perish alone in his iniquity; the watchman also shall be called to an
account: His blood will I require at thy hand. The blind leader shall
fall with the blind follower into the ditch." See what a desire God has
of the salvation of sinners, in that he resents it so ill if those concerned
do not what they can to prevent their destruction. And see what a great deal
those ministers have to answer for another day who palliate sin, and flatter
sinners in their evil way, and by their wicked lives countenance and harden
them in their wickedness, and encourage them to believe that they shall have
peace though they go on.
4. If he do his duty, he may take the comfort of it, though he do not see the
success of it (v. 9): "If thou warn the wicked of his way,
if thou tell him faithfully what will be the end thereof, and call him
earnestly to turn from it, and he do not turn, but persist in it, he shall
die in his iniquity, and the fair warning given him will be an aggravation
of his sin and ruin; but thou hast delivered thy soul." Note, It
is a comfort to ministers that they may through grace save themselves, though
they cannot be instrumental to save so many as they wish of those that hear
them.
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The
Cavils of the People Answered.
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B.
C. 587.
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10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the
house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be
upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? 11 Say
unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD,
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from
his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O
house of Israel? 12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the
children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver
him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he
shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither
shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day
that he sinneth. 13 When I shall say to the righteous, that
he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit
iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his
iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 14 Again,
when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin,
and do that which is lawful and right; 15 If the wicked
restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of
life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not
die. 16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned
unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely
live. 17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord
is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. 18 When the
righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall
even die thereby. 19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness,
and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. 20
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will
judge you every one after his ways.
These verses are the substance of what we had before (ch. xviii. 20,
&c.) and they are so full and express a declaration of the terms on which
people stand with God (as the former were of the terms on which ministers
stand) that it is no wonder that they are here repeated, as those were, though
we had the substance of them before. Observe here,
I. The cavils of the people against God's proceedings with them. God was now
in his providence contending with them, but their uncircumcised hearts were
not as yet humbled, for they were industrious to justify themselves, though
thereby they reflected on God. Two things they insisted upon, in their
reproaches of God, and in both they added iniquity to their sin and misery to
their punishment:-- 1. They quarrelled with his promises and favours, as
having no kindness nor sincerity in them, v. 10. God had set life
before them, but they plead that he had set it out of their reach, and
therefore did but mock them with the mention of it. The prophet had said, some
time ago (ch. xxiv. 23), You shall pine away for your iniquities;
with that word he had concluded his threatenings against Judah and Jerusalem;
and this they now upbraided him with, as if it had been spoken absolutely, to
drive them to despair; whereas it was spoken conditionally, to bring them to
repentance. Thus are the sayings of God's ministers perverted by men of
corrupt minds, who are inclined to pick quarrels. He puts them in hopes of
life and happiness; and herein they would make him contradict himself;
"for" (say they) "if our transgressions and our sins be upon
us, as thou hast often told us they are, and if we must, as thou sayest, pine
away in them, and wear out a miserable captivity in a fruitless
repentance, how shall we then live? If this be our doom, there is no
remedy. We die, we perish, we all perish." Note, It is very common
for those that have been hardened with presumption when they were warned
against sin to sink into despair when they are called to repent, and to
conclude there is no hope of life for them. 2. They quarrelled with his
threatenings and judgments, as having no justice or equity in them. They said,
The way of the Lord is not equal (v. 17, 20), suggesting that
God was partial in his proceedings, that with him there was respect of persons
and that he was more severe against sin and sinners than there was cause.
II. Here is a satisfactory answer given to both these cavils.
1. Those that despaired of finding mercy with God are here answered with a
solemn declaration of God's readiness to show mercy, v. 11. When they
spoke of pining away in their iniquity God sent the prophet to them,
with all speed, to tell them that though their case was sad it was not
desperate, but there was yet hope in Israel. (1.) It is certain that
God has no delight in the ruin of sinners, nor does he desire it. If they will
destroy themselves, he will glorify himself in it, but he has no pleasure in
it, but would rather they should turn and live, for his goodness is
that attribute of his which is most his glory, which is most his delight. He
would rather sinners should turn and live than go on and die. He has said it,
he has sworn it, that by these two immutable things, in both which it is
impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation. We have his word
and his oath; and, since he could swear by no greater, he swears by
himself: As I live. They questioned whether they should live,
though they did repent and reform; yea, says God, as sure as I live,
true penitents shall live also; for their life is hid with Christ in God.
(2.) It is certain that God is sincere and in earnest in the calls he gives
sinners to repent: Turn you, turn you, from your evil way. To repent is
to turn from our evil way; this God requires sinners to do; this he urges them
to do by repeated pressing instances: Turn you, turn you. O that they
would be prevailed with to turn, to turn quickly, without delay! This he will
enable them to do if they will but frame their doings to turn to the Lord,
Hos. v. 4. For he has said, I will pour out my Spirit unto you, Prov. i.
23. And in this he will accept of them; for it is not only what he commands,
but what he courts them to. (3.) It is certain that, if sinners perish in
their impenitency, it is owing to themselves; they die because they will die;
and herein they act most absurdly and unreasonably: Why will you die, O
house of Israel? God would have heard them, and they would not be heard.
2. Those that despaired of finding justice with God are here answered with a
solemn declaration of the rule of judgment which God would go by in dealing
with the children of men, which carries along with it the evidence of its own
equity; he that runs may read the justice of it. The Jewish nation, as a
nation, was now dead; it was ruined to all intents and purposes. The
prophet must therefore deal with particular persons, and the rule of judgment
concerning them is much like that concerning a nation, Jer. xviii. 8-10. If
God speak concerning it to build and to plant, and it do wickedly, he will
recall his favours and leave it to ruin. But if he speak concerning it to
pluck up and destroy, and it repent, he will revoke the sentence and deliver
it. So it is here. In short, The most plausible professors, if they apostatize,
shall certainly perish for ever in their apostasy from God; and the most
notorious sinners, if they repent, shall certainly be happy for ever in their
return to God. This is here repeated again and again, because it ought to be
again and again considered, and preached over to our own hearts. This was
necessary to be inculcated upon this stupid senseless people, that said, The
way of the Lord is not equal; for these rules of judgment are so plainly
just that they need no other confirmation of them than the repetition of them.
(1.) If those that have made a great profession of religion throw off their
profession, quit the good ways of God and grow loose and carnal, sensual and
worldly, the profession they made and all the religious performances with
which they had for a great while kept up the credit of their profession shall
stand them in no stead, but they shall certainly perish in their iniquity, v.
12, 13, 18. [1.] God says to the righteous man that he shall surely
live, v. 13. He says it by his word, by his ministers. He that
lives regularly, his own heart tells him, his neighbours tell him, He shall
live. Surely such a man as this cannot but be happy. And it is certain, if he
proceed and persevere in his righteousness, and if, in order to that, he be
upright and sincere in it, if he be really as good as he seems to be, he shall
live; he shall continue in the love of God and be for ever happy in that love.
[2.] Righteous men, who have very good hopes of themselves and whom others
have a very good opinion of, are yet in danger of turning to iniquity by
trusting to their righteousness. So the case is put here: If he trust to
his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, and come to make a trade of
sin--if he not only take a false step, but turn aside into a false way and
persist in it. This may possibly be the case of a righteous man, and it is the
effect of his trusting to his own righteousness. Note, Many eminent professors
have been ruined by a proud conceitedness of themselves and confidence in
themselves. He trust to the merit of his own righteousness, and thinks he has
already made God so much his debtor that now he may venture to commit
iniquity, for he has righteousness enough in stock to make amends for it; he
fancies that whatever evil deeds he may do hereafter he can be in no danger
from them, having so many good deeds beforehand to counterbalance them. Or, He
trust to the strength of his own righteousness, thinks himself now so well
established in a course of virtue that he may thrust himself into any
temptation and it cannot overcome him, and so by presuming on his own
sufficiency he is brought to commit iniquity. By making bold on the confines
of sin he is drawn at length into the depths of hell. This ruined the
Pharisees; they trusted to themselves that they were righteous, and
that their long prayers, and fasting twice in the week, would atone for their
devouring widows' houses. [3.] If righteous men turn to iniquity, and
return not to their righteousness, they shall certainly perish in their
iniquity, and all the righteousness they have formerly done, all their
prayers, and all their alms, shall be forgotten. No mention shall be made, no
remembrance had, of their good deeds; they shall be overlooked, as if they had
never been. The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him
from the wrath of God, and the curse of the law, in the day of his
transgression. When he becomes a traitor and a rebel, and takes up arms
against his rightful Sovereign, it will not serve for him to plead in his own
defence that formerly he was a loyal subject, and did many good services to
the government. No; he shall not be able to live. The remembrance of
his former righteousness shall be no satisfaction either to God's justice or
his own conscience in the day that he sins, but rather shall, in the
estimate of both, highly aggravate the sin and folly of his apostasy. And
therefore for his iniquity that he committed he shall die, v.
13. And again (v. 18), He shall even die thereby; and it is
owing to himself.
(2.) If those that have lived a wicked life repent and reform, forsake their
wicked ways and become religious, their sins shall be pardoned, and they shall
be justified and saved, if they persevere in their reformation. [1.] God says to
the wicked, "Thou shalt surely die. The way that thou art in leads to
destruction. The wages of thy sin is death, and thy iniquity will shortly be
thy ruin." It was said to the righteous man, Thou shalt surely live,
for his encouragement to proceed and persevere in the way of righteousness;
but he made an ill use of it, and was emboldened by it to commit iniquity. It
was said to the wicked man, Thou shalt surely die, for warning to him
not to persist in his wicked ways; and he makes a good use of it, and is
quickened thereby to return to God and duty. Thus even the threatenings of the
word are to some, by the grace of God, a savour of life unto life, while even
the promises of the word become to others, by their own corruption, a savour
of death unto death. When God says to the wicked man, Thou shalt surely
die, die eternally, it is to frighten him, not out of his wits, but out of
his sins. [2.] There is many a wicked man who was hastening apace to his own
destruction who yet is wrought upon by the grace of God to return and repent,
and live a holy life. He turns from his sin (v. 14), and is
resolved that he will have no more to do with it; and, as an evidence of his
repentance for wrong done, he restores the pledge (v. 15) which
he had taken uncharitably from the poor, he gives again that which he had
robbed and taken unjustly from the rich. Nor does he only cease to do
evil, but he learns to do well; he does that which is lawful and
right, and makes conscience of his duty both to God and man--a great
change, since, awhile ago, he neither feared God nor regarded man. But many
such amazing changes, and blessed ones, have been wrought by the power of
divine grace. He that was going on in the paths of death and the destroyer now
walks in the statues of life, in the way of God's commandments, which
has both life in it (Prov. xii. 28) and life at the end of it, Matt. xix. 17.
And in this good way he perseveres without committing iniquity, though
not free from remaining infirmity, yet under the dominion of no iniquity. He
repents not of his repentance, nor returns to the commission of those gross
sins which he before allowed himself in. [3.] He that does thus repent and
return shall escape the ruin he was running into, and his former sins shall be
no prejudice to his acceptance with God. Let him not pine away in his
iniquity, for, if he confess and forsake it, he shall find mercy. He shall
surely live; he shall not die, v. 15. Again (v. 16), He
shall surely live. Again (v. 19), He has done that which is
lawful and right, and he shall live thereby. But will not his
wickednesses be remembered against him? No; he shall not be punished for them
(v. 12): As for the wickedness of the wicked, though it was very
heinous, yet he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turns from his
wickedness. Now that it has become his grief it shall not be his ruin. Now
that there is a settled separation between him and sin there shall be no
longer a separation between him and God. Nay, he shall not be so much as
upbraided with them (v. 16): None of his sins that he has committed
shall be mentioned unto him, either as a clog to his pardon or an allay to
the comfort of it, or as any blemish and diminution to the glory that is
prepared for him.
Now lay all this together, and then judge whether the way of the Lord be
not equal, whether this will not justify God in the destruction of sinners
and glorify him in the salvation of penitents. The conclusion of the whole
matter is (v. 20): "O you house of Israel, though you are
all involved now in the common calamity, yet there shall be a distinction of
persons made in the spiritual and eternal state, and I will judge you every
one after his ways." Though they were sent into captivity by the
lump, good fish and bad enclosed in the same net, yet there he will separate
between the precious and the vile and will render to every man according to
his works. Therefore God's way is equal and unexceptionable; but, as for
the children of thy people, God turns them over to the prophet, as he
did to Moses (Exod. xxxii. 7): "They are thy people; I can scarcely own
them for mine." As for them, their way is unequal; this way which
they have got of quarrelling with God and his prophets is absurd and
unreasonable. In all disputes between God and his creatures it will certainly
be found that he is in the right and they are in the wrong.
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Message
to Inhabitants of Judah; Rebuke to the Proud Jews.
B. C. 587.
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21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of
our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the
month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying,
The city is smitten. 22 Now the hand of the LORD
was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my
mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was
no more dumb. 23 Then the word of the LORD
came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man, they that inhabit those
wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited
the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.
25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed
blood: and shall ye possess the land? 26 Ye stand upon your sword,
ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall
ye possess the land? 27 Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the
Lord GOD;
As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the
sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to
be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die
of the pestilence. 28 For I will lay the land most desolate, and
the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be
desolate, that none shall pass through. 29 Then shall they know
that I am the LORD,
when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations
which they have committed.
Here we have,
I. The tidings brought to Ezekiel of the burning of Jerusalem by the
Chaldeans. The city was burnt in the eleventh year of the captivity and the
fifth month, Jer. lii. 12, 13. Tidings hereof were brought to the prophet by
one that was an eye-witness of the destruction, in the twelfth year, and the
tenth month (v. 21), which was a year and almost five months after the
thing was done; we may well suppose that, there being a constant
correspondence at this time more than ever kept up between Jerusalem and
Babylon, he had heard the news long before. But this was the first time he had
an account of it from a refugee, from one who escaped, who could be
particular, and would be pathetic, in the narrative of it. And the sign given
him was the coming of such a one to him as had himself narrowly escaped the
flames (ch. xxiv. 26): He that escapes in that day shall come unto
thee, to cause thee to hear it with thy ears, to hear it more
distinctly than ever, from one that could say, Quæque ipse miserrima vidi--These
miserable scenes I saw.
II. The divine impressions and influences he was under, to prepare him for
those heavy tidings (v. 22): The hand of the Lord was upon me before
he came, and had opened my mouth to speak to the house of Israel what we
had in the former part of this chapter. And now he was no more dumb; he
prophesied now with more freedom and boldness, being by the event proved a
true prophet, to the confusion of those that contradicted him. All the
prophecies from ch. xxiv. to this chapter have relation purely to the
nations about, it is probable that the prophet, when he received them from the
Lord, did not deliver them by word of mouth, but in writing; for he could not Say
to the Ammonites, Say unto Tyrus, Say unto Pharaoh, &c., so and so,
but by letters directed to the persons concerned, as Zacharias, when he could
not speak, wrote; and herein he was as truly executing his prophetic office as
ever. Note, Even silenced ministers may be doing a great deal of good by
writing letters and making visits. But now the prophet's mouth is opened,
that he may speak to the children of his people. It is probable that he
had, during these three years, been continually speaking to them as a friend,
putting them in mind of what he had formerly delivered to them, but that he
never spoke to them as a prophet, by inspiration, till now, when the hand
of the Lord came upon him, renewed his commission, gave him fresh
instructions, and opened his mouth, furnished him with power to speak
to the people as he ought to speak.
III. The particular message he was entrusted with, relating to these Jews that
yet remained in the land of Israel, and inhabited the wastes of
that land, v. 24. See what work sin had made. The cities of
Israel had now become the wastes of Israel, for they lay all in ruins; some
few that had escaped the sword and captivity still continued there and began
to think of re-settling. This was so long after the destruction of Jerusalem
that it was some time before this that Gedaliah (a modest humble man) and his
friends were slain; but probably at this time Johanan, and the proud men
that joined with him, were at the height (Jer. xliii. 2); and before they came
to a resolution to go into Egypt, wherein Jeremiah opposed them, it is
probable that the project was to establish themselves in the wastes of the
land of Israel, in which Ezekiel here opposed them, and probably despatched
the message away by the person that brought him the news of Jerusalem's
destruction. Or, perhaps, those here prophesied against might be some other
party of Jews, that remained in the land, hoping to take root there and to be
sole masters of it, after Johanan and his forces had gone into Egypt. Now here
we have,
1. An account of the pride of these remaining Jews, who dwelt in the wastes
of the land of Israel. Though the providence of God concerning them had
been very humbling, and still was very threatening, yet they were intolerably
haughty and secure, and promised themselves peace. He that brought the news to
the prophet that Jerusalem was smitten could not tell him (it is likely) what
these people said, but God tells him, They say, "The land is given us
for inheritance, v. 24. Our partners being gone, it is now all our
own by survivorship, or, for want of heirs, it comes to us as occupants; we
shall now be placed alone in the midst of the earth and have it all to
ourselves." This argues great stupidity under the weighty hand of God,
and a reigning selfishness and narrow-spiritedness; they pleased themselves in
the ruin of their country as long as they hoped to find their own account in
it, cared not though it were all waste, so that they might have the
sole property--a poor inheritance to be proud of! They have the impudence to
compare their case with Abraham's, glorying in this, We have Abraham to our
father. "Abraham," say they, "was one, one family,
and he inherited the land, and lived many years in the peaceable
enjoyment of it; but we are many, many families, more numerous than he;
the land is given us for inheritance." (1.) They think they can
make out as good a title from God to this land as Abraham could: "If God gave
this land to him, who was but one worshipper of him, as a reward of his
service, much more will he give it to us, who are many worshippers of him, as
the reward of our service." This shows the great conceit they had of the
own merits, as if they were greater than those of Abraham their father, who
yet was not justified by works. (2.) They think they can make good the
possession of this land against the Chaldeans and all others invaders, as well
as Abraham could against those that were competitors with him for it: "If
he, who was but one, could hold it, much more shall we, who are many, and have
many more at command than his 300 trained servants." This shows
the confidence they had in their own might; they had got possession, and were
resolved to keep it.
2. A check to this pride. Since God's providences did neither humble them nor
terrify them, he sends them a message sufficient to do both.
(1.) To humble them, he tells them of the wickedness they still persisted in,
which rendered them utterly unworthy to possess this land, so that they could
not expect God should give it to them. They had been followed with one
judgment after another, but they had not profited by those means of grace as
might be expected; they were still unreformed, and how could they expect that
they should possess the land? "Shall you possess the land? What! such
wicked people as you are? How shall I put thee among the children, and give
thee a pleasant land? Jer. iii. 19. Surely you never reflect upon
yourselves, else you would rather wonder that you are in the land of the
living than expect to possess this land. For do you now know how bad you
are?" [1.] "You make no conscience of forbidden fruit, forbidden
food: You eat with the blood," directly contrary to one of the
precepts given to Noah and his sons when God gave them possession of the
earth, Gen. ix. 4. [2.] "Idolatry, that covenant-breaking sin, that sin
which the jealous God has been in a particular manner provoked by to lay your
country waste, is still the sin that most easily besets you and which you have
a strong inclination to: You lift up your eyes towards your idols,
which is a sign that though perhaps you do not bow your knee to them so much
as you have done, yet you set your hearts upon them and hanker after
them." [3.] "You are as fierce, and cruel, and barbarous as ever: You
shed blood, innocent blood." [4.] "You confide in your own
strength, your own arm, your own bow, and have no dependence on, or regard to,
God and his providence: You stand upon your sword (v. 26); you
think to carry all before you, and make all your own, by force of arms."
How can those expect the inheritance of Isaac (as these did) who are of
Ishmael's disposition, that had his hand against every man (Gen. xvi.
12), and Esau's resolution to live by his sword? Gen. xxvii. 40. We met
with those (ch. xxxii. 27) who, when they died, thought they could not
lie easy underground unless they had their swords under their heads. Here we
meet with those who, while they live, think they cannot stand firmly above
ground unless they have their swords under their feet, as if swords were both
the softest pillows and the strongest pillars; though it was sin, it was sin,
that first drew the sword. But, blessed be God, there are those who know
better, who stand upon the support of the divine power and promise and lay
their heads in the bosom of divine love, not trusting in their own sword,
Ps. xliv. 3. [5.] "You are guilty of all manner of abominations, and,
particularly, you defile every one his neighbour's wife, which is an
abomination of the first magnitude, and shall you possess the land?
What! such vile miscreants as you?" Note, Those cannot expect to possess
the land, nor to enjoy any true comfort or happiness here or hereafter,
who live in rebellion against the Lord.
(2.) To terrify them, he tells them of the further judgments God had in store
for them, which should make them utterly unable to possess this land, so that
they could not stand it out against the enemy. Do they say that they shall
possess the land? God has said they shall not, he has sworn it, As I live,
saith the Lord. Though he has sworn that he delights not in the death
of sinners, yet he has sworn also that those who persist in impenitency
and unbelief shall not enter into his rest. [1.] Those that are in the
cities, here called the wastes, shall fall by the sword, either
by the sword of the Chaldeans, who come to avenge the murder of Gedaliah, or
by one another's swords, in their intestine broils. [2.] Those that are in the
open field shall be devoured by wild beasts, which swarmed, of
course, in the country when it was dispeopled, and there were none to master
them and keep them under, Exod. xxiii. 29. When the army of the enemy had
quitted the country still there was no safety in it. Noisome beasts
constituted one of the four sore judgments, ch. xiv. 15. [3.]
Those that are in the forts and in the caves, that think themselves
safe in artificial or natural fastnesses, because men's eyes cannot discover
them nor men's darts reach them, there the arrows of the Almighty shall find
them out; they shall die of the pestilence. [4.] The whole land, even
the land of Israel, that had been the glory of all lands, shall be most
desolate, v. 28. It shall be desolation, desolation, all
over as desolate as desolation itself can make it. The mountain of Israel,
the fruitful mountains, Zion itself the holy mountain not excepted, shall
be desolate, the roads unfrequented, the houses uninhabited, that none
shall pass through; as it was threatened (Deut. xxviii. 62), You shall
be left few in number. [5.] The pomp of her strength, whatever she
glories in as her pomp and trusts to as her strength, shall be made to cease.
[6.] The cause of all this was very bad; it is for all their abominations
which they have committed. It is sin that does all this mischief, that
makes nations desolate; and therefore we ought to call it an abomination. [7.]
Yet the effect of all this will be very good: Then shall they know that I
am the Lord, am their Lord, and shall return to their allegiance, when
I have made the land most desolate. Those are untractable unteachable
indeed that are not made to know their dependence upon God when all their
creature-comforts fail them and are made desolate.
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Hypocritical
Professions.
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B.
C. 587.
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30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy
people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the
houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I
pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.
31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as
my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their
mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their
covetousness. 32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very
lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an
instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. 33 And
when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a
prophet hath been among them.
The foregoing verses spoke conviction to the Jews who remained in the land of
Israel, who were monuments of sparing mercy and yet returned not to the Lord;
in these verses those are reproved who were now in captivity in Babylon, under
divine rebukes, and yet were not reformed by them. They are not indeed charged
with the same gross enormities that the others are charged with. They made
some show of religion and devotion; but their hearts were not right with God.
The thing they are here accused of is mocking the messengers of the lord,
one of their measure-filling sins, which brought this ruin upon them, and yet
they were not cured of it. Two ways they mocked the prophet Ezekiel:--
I. By invidious ill natured reflections upon him, privately among themselves,
endeavouring by all means possible to render him despicable. The prophet did
not know it, but charitably thought that those who spoke so well to him to his
face, with so much seeming respect and deference, would surely not speak ill
of him behind his back. But God comes and tells him, The children of thy
people are still talking against thee (v. 30), or talking of
thee, no good, I doubt. Note, Public persons are a common theme or subject
of discourse; every one takes a liberty to censure them at pleasure. Faithful
ministers know not how much ill is said of them every day; it is well that
they do not; for, if they did, it might prove a discouragement to them in
their work not to be easily got over. God takes notice of all that is said
against his ministers, not only what is decreed against them, or sworn against
them, not only what is written against them, or spoken with solemnity and
deliberation, but of what is said against them in common talk, among
neighbours when they meet in an evening, by the walls and in the doors of
their houses, where whatever freedom of speech they use, if they reproach
and slander any of God's ministers, God will reckon with them for it; his
prophets shall not be made the song of the drunkards always. They had no crime
to lay to the prophet's charge, but they loved to talk of him in a careless,
scornful, bantering way; they said, jokingly, "Come, and let us hear
what is the word that comes forth from the Lord; perhaps it will be
something new, and will entertain us, and furnish us with matter for
discourse." Note, Those have arrived as a great pitch of profaneness who
can make so great a privilege, and so great a duty, as the preaching and
hearing of the word of God, a matter of sport and ridicule, yea though it be
not done publicly, but in private conversation among themselves. Serious
things should be spoken of seriously.
II. By dissembling with him in their attendance upon his ministry. Hypocrites
mock God and mock his prophets. But their hypocrisy is open before God, and
the day is coming when, as here, it will be laid open. Observe here,
1. The plausible profession which these people made and the speciousness of
their pretensions. They are like those (Matt. xv. 8) who draw nigh to God
with their mouths and honour him with their lips, but their hearts are far
from him. (1.) They were diligent and constant in their attendance upon
the means of grace: They come unto thee as the people come. In Babylon
they had no temple or synagogue, but they went to the prophet's house (ch.
viii. 1), and there, it is probable, they spent their new moons and their
sabbaths in religious exercises, 2 Kings iv. 23. When the prophet was
bound the word of the Lord was not bound; and the people, when they had not
the help for their souls that they wished for, were thankful for what they
had; it was a reviving in their bondage. Now these hypocrites came, according
to the coming of the people, as duly and as early as any of the prophet's
hearers. Their being said to come as the people came seems to intimate
that the reason why they came was because other people came; they did not come
out of conscience towards God, but only for company, for fashion-sake, and
because it was now the custom of their countrymen. Note, Those that have no
inward principle of love to God's ordinances may yet be found much in the
external observance of them. Cain brought his sacrifice as well as Abel; and
the Pharisee went up to the temple to pray as well as the publican. (2.) They
behaved themselves very decently and reverently in the public assembly; there
were none of them whispering, or laughing, or gazing about them, or sleeping.
But they sit before thee as my people, with all the shows of gravity,
and sereneness, and composure of mind. They sit out the time, without
weariness, or wishing the sermon done. (3.) They were very attentive to the
word preached: "They are not thinking of something else, but they hear
thy words, and take notice of what thou sayest." (4.) They pretended
to have a great kindness and respect for the prophet. Though, behind his back,
they could not give him a good word, yet, to his face, they showed much
love to him and his doctrine; they pretended to have a great concern lest
he should spend himself too much in preaching or expose himself to the
Chaldeans, for they would be thought to be some of his best friends and
well-wishers. (5.) They took a great deal of pleasure in the word; they delighted
to know God's word, Isa. lviii. 2. Herod heard John Baptist gladly,
Mark vi. 20. Thou art unto them as a very lovely song. Ezekiel's matter
was surprising, his language fine, his expressions elegant, his similitudes
apt, his voice melodious, and his delivery graceful; so that they could sit
with as much pleasure to hear him preach as (if I may speak in the language of
our times) to see a play or an opera, or to hear a concert of music. Ezekiel
was to them as one that had a pleasant voice and could sing well, or
play well on an instrument. Note, Men may have their fancies pleased by
the word, and yet not have their consciences touched nor their hearts changed,
the itching ear gratified and yet not the corrupt nature sanctified.
2. The hypocrisy of these professions and pretensions; it is all a sham, it is
all a jest. (1.) They have no cordial affection for the word of God. While
they show much love it is only with the mouth, from the teeth
outward, but their heart goes after their covetousness; they are as
much set upon the world as ever, as much in love and league with it as ever.
Hearing the word is only their diversion and recreation, a pretty amusement
now and then for an hour or two. But still their main business is with their
farm and merchandise; the bent and bias of their souls are towards them, and
their inward thoughts are employed in projects about them. Note,
Covetousness is the ruining sin of multitudes that make a great profession of
religion; it is the love of the world that secretly eats the love of God out
of their hearts. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of
riches are the thorns that choke the seed, and choke the soul
too. And those neither please God nor profit themselves who, when they are
hearing the word of God, are musing upon their worldly affairs. God has his
eye on the hearts that do so. (2.) They yield no subjection to it. They hear
thy words, but it is only a hearing that they give thee, for they will
not do them, v. 31. And again (v. 32), they do them not.
They will not be persuaded by all the prophet can say, either by authority or
argument, to cross themselves in any instance, to part with any one beloved
sin, or apply themselves to any one duty that is against the grain to flesh
and blood. Note, There are many who take pleasure in hearing the word, but
make no conscience of doing it; and so they build upon the sand, and deceive
themselves.
3. Let us see what will be in the end hereof: Shall their unbelief and
carelessness make the word of God of no effect? By no means. (1.) God
will confirm the prophet's word, though they contemn it, and make light of it,
v. 33. What he says will come to pass, and not one jot or one tittle
shall fall to the ground. Note, The curses of the law, though they may be
bantered by profane wits, cannot be baffled. (2.) They themselves shall rue
their folly when it is too late. When it comes to pass they shall know,
shall know to their cost, know to their confusion, that a prophet has been
among them, though they made no more of him than as one that had a
pleasant voice. Note, Those who will not consider that a prophet is among
them, and who improve not the day of their visitation while it is continued,
will be made to remember that a prophet has been among them when the things
that belong to their peace are hidden from their eyes. The day is
coming when vain and worldly men will have other thoughts of things than now
they have, and will feel a weight in that which they made light of. They shall
know that a prophet has been among them when they see the event exactly
answer the prediction, and the prophet himself shall be a witness against them
that they had fair warning given them, but would not take it. When Ezekiel is
gone, whom now they speak against, and there is no more any prophet,
nor any to show them how long, then they will remember that once they
had a prophet, but knew not how to use him well. Note, Those who will not know
the worth of mercies by the improvement of them will justly be made to know
the worth of them by the want of them, as those who should desire to see one
of the days of the Son of man, which now they slighted, and might not see it.
Contents
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