In
this chapter we have, I. The vision of the holy waters, their rise, extent,
depth, and healing virtue, the plenty of fish in them, and an account of the
trees growing on the banks of them, ver. 1-12. II. An appointment of the
borders of the land of Canaan, which was to be divided by lot to the tribes
of Israel and the strangers that sojourned among them, ver. 13-23.
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The
Vision of the Holy Waters.
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B.
C. 574.
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1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door
of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the
house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east,
and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the
south side of the altar. 2 Then brought he me out of the
way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter
gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on
the right side. 3 And when the man that had the line in his hand
went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me
through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. 4
Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were
to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the
waters were to the loins. 5 Afterward he measured a
thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the
waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed
over. 6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this?
Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very
many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 Then said he unto
me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the
desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea,
the waters shall be healed. 9 And it shall come to pass, that
every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come,
shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these
waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall
live whither the river cometh. 10 And it shall come to pass, that
the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall
be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to
their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. 11
But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed;
they shall be given to salt. 12 And by the river upon the bank
thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose
leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall
bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they
issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and
the leaf thereof for medicine.
This part of Ezekiel's vision must so necessarily have a mystical and
spiritual meaning that thence we conclude the other parts of his vision have
a mystical and spiritual meaning also; for it cannot be applied to the
waters brought by pipes into the temple for the washing of the sacrifices,
the keeping of the temple clean, and the carrying off of those waters, for
that would be to turn this pleasant river into a sink or common sewer. That
prophecy, Zech. xiv. 8, may explain it, of living waters that shall go
out from Jerusalem, half of them towards the former sea and half of
them towards the hinder sea. And there is plainly a reference to this in
St. John's vision of a pure river of water of life, Rev. xxii. 1.
That seems to represent the glory and joy which are grace perfected. This
seems to represent the grace and joy which are glory begun. Most
interpreters agree that these waters signify the gospel of Christ, which
went forth from Jerusalem, and spread itself into the countries about, and
the gifts and powers of the Holy Ghost which accompanied it, and by virtue
of which it spread far and produced strange and blessed effects. Ezekiel had
walked round the house again and again, and yet did not till now take notice
of those waters; for God makes known his mind and will to his people, not
all at once, but by degrees. Now observe,
I. The rise of these waters. He is not put to trace the streams to the
fountain, but has the fountain-head first discovered to him (v. 1): Waters
issued out from the threshold of the house eastward, and from under
the right side of the house, that is, the south side of the alter.
And again (v. 2), There ran out waters on the right side,
signifying that from Zion should go forth the law and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem, Isa. ii. 3. There it was that the Spirit was poured
out upon the apostles, and endued them with the gift of tongues, that they
might carry these waters to all nations. In the temple first they were to
stand and preach the words of this life, Acts v. 20. They must preach
the gospel to all nations, but must begin at Jerusalem, Luke xxiv.
47. But that is not all: Christ is the temple; he is the door; from him
those living waters flow, out of his pierced side. It is the water that he
gives us that is the well of water which springs up, John iv. 14. And
it is by believing in him that we receive from him rivers of living
water; and this spoke he of the Spirit, John vii. 38, 39. The
original of these waters was not above-ground, but they sprang up from under
the threshold; for the fountain of a believer's life is a mystery; it is hid
with Christ in God, Col. iii. 3. Some observe that they came forth on
the right side of the house to intimate that gospel-blessings are
right-hand blessings. It is also an encouragement to those who attend at
Wisdom's gates, at the posts of her doors, who are willing to lie at the
threshold of God's house, as David was, that they lie at the fountainhead of
comfort and grace; the very entrance into God's word gives light and life,
Ps. cxix. 130. David speaks it to the praise of Zion, All my springs are
in thee, Ps. lxxxvii. 7. They came from the side of the altar,
for it is in and by Jesus Christ, the great altar (who sanctifies our
gifts to God), that God has blessed us with spiritual blessings in
holy heavenly places. From God as the fountain, in him as the channel,
flows the river which makes glad the city of our God, the holy place of
the tabernacles of the Most High, Ps. xlvi. 4. But observe how much the
blessedness and joy of glorified saints in heaven exceed those of the best
and happiest saints on earth; here the streams of our comfort arise from
under the threshold; there they proceed from the throne the
throne of God and of the Lamb, Rev. xxii. 1.
II. The progress and increase of these waters: They went forth eastward
(v. 3), towards the east country (v. 8), for so they
were directed. The prophet and his guide followed the stream as it ran down
from the holy mountains, and when they had followed it about a thousand
cubits they went over across it, to try the depth of it, and it was to
the ankles, v. 3. Then they walked along on the bank of the river
on the other side, a thousand cubits more, and then, to try the depth of it,
they waded through it the second time, and it was up to their knees, v.
4. They walked along by it a thousand cubits more, and then forded it the
third time, and then it was up to their middle--the waters were to the
loins. They then walked a thousand cubits further, and attempted to
repass it the fourth time, but found it impracticable: The waters had
risen, by the addition either of brooks that fell into it above ground
or by springs under ground, so that they were waters to swim in, a river
that could not be passed over, v. 5. Note, 1. The waters of the
sanctuary are running waters, as those of a river, not standing waters, as
those of a pond. The gospel, when it was first preached, was still spreading
further. Grace in the soul is still pressing forward; it is an active
principle, plus ultra--onward still, till it comes to perfection. 2.
They are increasing waters. This river, as it runs constantly, so the
further it goes the fuller it grows. The gospel-church was very small in its
beginnings, like a little purling brook; but by degrees it came to be to
the ankles, to the knees: many were added to it daily, and the grain
of mustard seed grew up to be a great tree. The gifts of the
Spirit increase by being exercised, and grace, where it is true, is growing,
like the light of the morning, which shines more and more to the perfect
day. 3. It is good for us to follow these waters, and go along with
them. Observe the progress of the gospel in the world; observe the process
of the work of grace in the heart; attend the motions of the blessed Spirit,
and walk after them, under a divine guidance, as Ezekiel here did. 4. It is
good to be often searching into the things of God, and trying the depth of
them, not only to look on the surface of those waters, but to go to the
bottom of them as far as we can, to be often digging, often diving, into the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, as those who covet to be intimately
acquainted with those things. 5. If we search into the things of God, we
shall find some things very plain and easy to be understood, as the waters
that were but to the ankles, others more difficult, and which require a
deeper search, as the water to the knees or the loins, and some quite beyond
our reach, which we cannot penetrate into, or account for, but, despairing
to find the bottom, must, as St. Paul, sit down at the brink, and adore the depth,
Rom. xi. 33. It has been often said that in the scripture, like these waters
of the sanctuary, there are some places so shallow that a lamb may wade
through them, and others so deep that an elephant may swim in them. And it
is our wisdom, as the prophet here, to begin with that which is most easy,
and get our hearts washed with those things before we proceed to that which
is dark and hard to be understood; it is good to take our work before
us.
III. The extent of this river: It issues towards the east country,
but thence it either divide itself into several streams or fetches a
compass, so that it goes down into the desert, and so goes into
the sea, either into the dead sea, which lay south-east,
or the sea of Tiberias, which lay north-east, or the great sea, which
lay west, v. 8. This was accomplished when the gospel was
preached with success throughout all the regions of Judea and Samaria (Acts
viii. 1), and afterwards the nations about, nay, and those that lay most
emote, even in the isles of the sea, were enlightened and leavened by it.
The sound of it went forth to the end of the world; and the enemies
of it could no more prevail to stop the progress of it than that of a mighty
river.
IV. The healing virtue of this river. The waters of the sanctuary, wherever
they come and have a free course, will be found a wonderful restorative.
Being brought forth into the sea, the sulphureous lake of Sodom, that
standing monument of divine vengeance, even those waters shall be healed
(v. 8), shall become sweet, and pleasant, and healthful. This
intimates the wonderful and blessed change that the gospel would make,
wheresoever it came in its power, a a great change, in respect both of
character and condition, as the turning of the dead sea into a fountain of
gardens. When children of wrath became children of love, and those that were
dead in trespasses an sins were made alive, then this was fulfilled. The
gospel was as that salt which Elisha cast into the spring of the waters of
Jericho, with which he healed them, 2 Kings ii. 20, 21. Christ,
coming into the world to be its physician, sent his gospel as the great
medicine, the panpharmacon; there is in it a remedy for every malady.
Nay, wherever these rivers come, they make things to live (v.
9), both plants and animals; they are the water of life, Rev. xxii.
1, 17. Christ came, that we might have life and for that end he sends
his gospel. Every thing shall live whither the river comes. The grace
of God makes dead sinners alive and living saints lively; everything is made
fruitful and flourishing by it. But its effect is according as it is
received, and as the mind is prepared and disposed to receive it; for (v.
11) with respect to the marshes and miry places thereof, that are
settled in the mire of their own sinfulness, and will not be healed, or
settled in the moisture of their own righteousness, and think they need no
healing, their doom is, They shall not be healed; the same gospel
which to others is a savour of life unto life shall to them be a savour of
death unto death; they shall be given to salt, to perpetual
barrenness, Deut. xxix. 23. Those that will not be watered with the grace of
God, and made fruitful, shall be abandoned to their own hearts' lusts, and
left for ever unfruitful. He that is filthy, let him be filthy still.
Never fruit grow on thee more for ever. They shall be given to salt,
that is, to be monuments of divine justice, as Lot's wife that was turned
into a pillar of salt, to season others.
V. The great plenty of fish that should be in this river. Everything living
moving thing shall be found here, shall live here (v. 9),
shall come on and prosper, shall be the best of the kind, and shall increase
greatly; so that there shall be a very great multitude of fish, according
to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many. There
shall be as great plenty of the river fish, and as vast shoals of them, as
there is of salt-water fish, v. 10. There shall be no great numbers
of Christians in the church, and those multiplying like fishes in the rising
generations and the dew of their youth. In the creation the waters
brought forth the fish abundantly (Gen. i. 20, 21), and they
still live in and by the waters that produced them; so believers are begotten
by the word of truth (James i. 18), and born by it (1 Pet. i.
23), that river of God; by it they live, from it they have their maintenance
and subsistence; in the waters of the sanctuary they are as in their
element, out of them they are as fish upon dry ground; so David was
when he thirsted and panted for God, for the living God. Where the fish are
known to be in abundance, thither will the fishers flock, and there they
will cast their nets; and therefore, to intimate the replenishing of
these waters and their being made every way useful, it is here foretold that
the fishers shall stand upon the banks of this river, from En-gedi,
which lies on the border of the dead sea, to En-eglaim, another city,
which joins to that sea, and all along shall spread their nets. The
dead sea, which before was shunned as noisome and noxious, shall be
frequented. Gospel-grace makes those persons and places which were
unprofitable and good for nothing to become serviceable to God and man.
VI. The trees that were on the banks of this river--many trees on the one
side and on the other (v. 7), which made the prospect very
pleasant and agreeable to the eye; the shelter of these trees also would be
a convenience to the fishery. But that is not all (v. 12); they are
trees for meat, and the fruit of them shall not be consumed, for
it shall produce fresh fruit every month. The leaf shall be for
medicine, and it shall not fade, This part of the vision is
copied out into St. John's vision very exactly (Rev. xxii. 2), where, on
either side of the river, is said to grow the tree of life, which yielded
her fruit every month, and the leaves were for the healing of the
nations. Christians are supposed to be these trees, ministers
especially, trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord (Isa.
lxi. 3), set by the rivers of water, the waters of the sanctuary (Ps.
i. 3), grafted into Christ the tree of life, and by virtue of their union
with him made trees of life too, rooted in him, Col. ii. 7. There is
a great variety of these trees, through the diversity of gifts with which
they are endued by that one Spirit who works all in all. They grow on
the bank of the river, or they keep close to holy ordinances, and
through them derive from Christ sap and virtue. They are fruit-trees,
designed, as the fig tree and the olive, with their fruits to honour God
and man, Judg. ix. 9. The fruit thereof shall be for meat, for
the lips of the righteous feed many. The fruits of their
righteousness are one way or other beneficial. The very leaves of these
trees are for medicine, for bruises and sores, margin.
Good Christians with their good discourses, which are as their leaves, as
well as with their charitable actions, which are as their fruits, do good to
those about them; they strengthen the weak, and bind up the
broken-hearted. Their cheerfulness does good like a medicine, not
only to themselves, but to others also. They shall be enabled by the grace
of God to persevere in their goodness and usefulness; their leaf shall
not fade, or lose its medicinal virtue, having not only life in their
root, but sap in all their branches; their profession shall not wither
(Ps. i. 3), neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed; that is,
they shall not lose the principle of their fruitfulness, but shall still
bring forth fruit in old age, to show that the Lord is upright
(Ps. xcii. 14, 15), or the reward of their fruitfulness shall abide for
ever; they bring forth fruit that shall abound to their account in the great
day, fruit to life eternal; that is indeed fruit which shall not
be consumed. They bring new fruit according to their months, some
in one month and others in another: so that still there shall be one or
other found to serve the glory of God for the purpose he designs. Or each
one of them shall bring forth fruit monthly, which denotes an abundant
disposition to fruit-bearing (they shall never be weary of well-doing), and
a very happy climate, such that there shall be a perpetual spring and
summer. And the reason of this extraordinary fruitfulness is because
their waters issued out of the sanctuary; it is not to be ascribed to
any thing in themselves, but to the continual supplies of divine grace, with
which they are watered every moment (Isa. xxvii. 3); for, whoever
planted them, it was that which gave the increase.
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The
Borders of the Land Appointed.
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B.
C. 574.
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13 Thus saith the Lord GOD;
This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according
to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the
which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land
shall fall unto you for inheritance. 15 And this shall be
the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of
Hethlon, as men go to Zedad; 16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which
is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath;
Hazar-hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran. 17 And
the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the
north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north
side. 18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and
from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by
Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east
side. 19 And the south side southward, from Tamar even to
the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this
is the south side southward. 20 The west side also shall
be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath.
This is the west side. 21 So shall ye divide this land
unto you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 And it shall come
to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you,
and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children
among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the
children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of
Israel. 23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe
the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance,
saith the Lord GOD.
We are now to pass from the affairs of the sanctuary to those of the state,
from the city to the country. 1. The Land of Canaan is here secured to them
for an inheritance (v. 14): I lifted up my hand to give it unto
your fathers, that is, promised it upon oath to them and their
posterity. Though the possession had been a great while discontinued, yet
God had not forgotten his oath which he swore to their fathers. Though God's
providences may for a time seem to contradict his promises, yet the promise
will certainly take place at last, for God will be ever mindful of his
covenant. I lifted up my hand to give it, and therefore it shall without
fail fall to you for an inheritance. Thus the heavenly Canaan is sure
to all the seed, because it is what God, who cannot lie, has promised.
2. It is here circumscribed, and the bounds and limits of it are fixed,
which they must not pass over to encroach upon their neighbours and which
their neighbours shall not break through to encroach upon them. We had such
a draught of the borders of Canaan when Joshua was to put the people in
possession of it, Num. xxxiv. 1, &c. That begins with the salt sea in
the south, goes round and ends there. This begins with Hamath about Damascus
in the north, and so goes round and ends there, v. 20. Note, It is
God that appoints the bounds of our habitation; and his Israel shall
always have cause to say that the lines have fallen to them in pleasant
places. The lake of Sodom is here called the east sea, for it,
being healed by the waters of the sanctuary, it is no more to be called a salt
sea, as it was in Numbers. 3. It is here ordered to be divided among the
tribes of Israel, reckoning Joseph for two tribes, to make up the number of
twelve, when Levi was taken out to attend the sanctuary, and had his lot
adjoining to that (v. 13, 21): You shall inherit it, one as well
as another, v. 14. The tribes shall have an equal share, one as
much as another. As the tribes returned out of Babylon, this seems unequal,
because some tribes were much more numerous than the other, and indeed the
most were of Judah and Benjamin and very few of the other ten tribes; but as
the twelve tribes stand, in type and vision, for the gospel-church, the
Israel of God, it was very equal, because we find in another vision an equal
number of each of the twelve tribes sealed for the living God,
just 12,000 of each, Rev. vii. 5, &c. And to those sealed ones these
allotments did belong. It intimates likewise that all the subjects of
Christ's kingdom have obtained like precious faith. Male and female,
Jew and Gentile, bond and free, are all alike welcome to Christ and made
partakers of him. 4. The strangers who sojourn among them, who shall
beget children and be built up into families, and so help to people
their country, shall have inheritance among the tribes, as if they
had been native Israelites (v. 22, 23), which was by no means allowed
in Joshua's division of the land. This is an act for a general
naturalization, which would teach the Jews who was their neighbour, not
those only of their own nation and religion, but those, whoever they were,
that they had an opportunity of showing kindness to, because from them they
would be willing to receive kindness. It would likewise invite strangers to
come and settle among them, and put themselves under the wings of the divine
Majesty. But it certainly looks at gospel-times, when the partition-wall
between Jew and Gentile was taken down, and both one in Christ, in whom there
is no difference, Rom. x. 12. This land was a type of the heavenly
Canaan, that better country (Heb. xi. 16), in which believing
Gentiles shall have a blessed lot, as well as believing Jews, Isa. lvi. 3.
