Ezekiel 16:10 Komentář

Still God is justifying himself in the desolations he is about to bring upon Jerusalem; and very largely, in this chapter, he shows the prophet, and orders him to show the people, that he did but punish them as their sins deserved. In the foregoing chapter he had compared Jerusalem to an unfruitful vine, that was fit for nothing but the fire; in this chapter he compares it to an adulteress, that, in justice, ought to be abandoned and exposed, and he must therefore show the people their abominations, that they might see how little reason they had to complain of the judgments they were under. In this long discourse are set forth, I. The despicable and deplorable beginnings of that church and nation (Eze 16:3-5). II. The many honours and favours God had bestowed upon them (Eze 16:6-14). III. Their treacherous and ungrateful departures from him to the services and worship of idols, here represented by the most impudent whoredom (v. 15-34). IV. A threatening of terrible destroying judgments, which God would bring upon them for this sin (Eze 16:35-43). V. An aggravation both of their sin and of their punishment, by comparison with Sodom and Samaria (v. 44-59). VI. A promise of mercy in the close, which God would show to a penitent remnant (Eze 16:60-63). And this is designed for admonition to us.

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 16 In this chapter the Jewish nation is represented under the simile of a female infant, whose birth, breeding, marriage, grandeur, and conduct, are described, in order to show the wickedness and ingratitude of, his people; who, on account thereof, are threatened with judgments; though mercy is promised to a remnant that should repent. The prophet is directed to make known to Jerusalem her abominable sins, Eze 16:1; and, in order to this, is bid to take up the following parable of a female infant; whose descent, birth, and wretched condition, at the time of it, are pointed at, Eze 16:3; which are expressive of the low and forlorn estate of the Jews originally; and then follow the benefits and blessings of God bestowed upon them, both in their infant and adult state; the preserving them alive in Egypt, and their multiplication there; and afterwards the covenant made with them, when brought out from thence; and the Lord's espousal of them to himself, as his own people, having a strong affection for them, Eze 16:6; the large provision of good things he made for them, both in the wilderness, and especially in the land of Canaan; the riches he bestowed upon them, and the flourishing and prosperous kingdom he raised them to, which made them famous among all the nations round about them, Eze 16:9; and yet, after all this, such was the ingratitude of this people, as to commit spiritual whoredom, that is, idolatry, to a very great degree, Eze 16:15; which is aggravated by their converting and applying the good things which the Lord gave them to idolatrous uses, Eze 16:16; by sacrificing their sons and daughters to idols, which were the Lord's, Eze 16:20; by not calling to mind the former wretched estate out of which they were brought, Eze 16:22; by building high places in every street and way, and there committing idolatries, Eze 16:23; by the various nations, whose examples they followed, and with whom they joined, as the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans, Eze 16:26; and by the great difference between them and all other harlots, whom they exceeded, Eze 16:30; wherefore, on account of all this, they are threatened to be dealt with as an adulterous woman; made a spectacle of; condemned to die, to be stripped, stoned, and burned, Eze 16:35; and, that the Lord might appear to be just in executing such judgments on them, they are declared to be as bad as the Hittites and Amorites their parents; and worse than their sisters Samaria and Sodom; and therefore could expect to fare no better than they; and should become proverb and a byword, and bear their sins, shame, and punishment, in the sight of their neighbours, and be despised by them, Eze 16:44; nevertheless, the covenant of grace made with his chosen people among them should stand firm; which being manifested to them, would be a means of bringing them to a sense of sin, shame for it, and an acknowledgment of the Lord's grace and goodness to them Eze 16:60.

And I decked thee also with ornaments,.... The Targum interprets this of the ornament of the words of the law; see Pro 1:8; but may be as well understood of good works done in obedience to them, from a right principle, and to right ends; which adorn professors of religion, their profession, and the doctrines of Christ, which they profess, Ti1 2:9; or rather the graces of the Spirit, which are all of them very ornamental to the saints, as faith, hope, love, humility, &c. and are in the sight of God of great price, Pe1 3:3; and I put bracelets upon thine hands; which the Targum also explains of the law, written on two tables of stone, and given by the hands of Moses; the words of which, as Jarchi says, were put one against another, five against five; "hands" being the instruments of action may denote good works, which the Lord enables his people to perform; and which appear beautiful, as hands with bracelets on them, when they spring from love, are done in faith, and with a view to the glory of God: and a chain on thy neck; this the Targum understands of sanctification, paraphrasing it, "and with the holiness of my great name I sanctified you;'' and may be applied to the graces of the Spirit, which are as a chain, whose links are inseparably joined together; for, where one grace is, there are all the rest, faith, hope, charity, &c. see Sol 1:10; or else to the blessings of grace, which also are linked together, and cannot be parted; where the one is, the other are likewise, Eph 1:3, Rom 8:30; and both graces and blessings make the saint very beautiful.

(Verse 10.) And you clothed yourself in various colors. LXX: And you adorned yourself with various garments: engaging in the rituals of the law, you abandoned idols. These are the various garments with which Joseph was clothed: and his brothers could not sell him unless they first stripped him of his varied tunic (Gen. XXXVII). And it is said of the bride in the forty-fourth psalm: The queen stood at your right hand in a robe adorned with gold, surrounded by variety (Ps. XLIV, 10). This is the clothing about which the Apostle speaks: Put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of the Creator (Ephesians 4:24). We want to know what are the various garments? Let the same Apostle teach us, writing to the believers: Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering (Colossians 3:12). What is more beautiful than this variety? About which Job also spoke: Who gives to women the wisdom of weaving, or the skill of variety (Job 38:36, Septuagint). And the high priest, once a year, when he offered incense for the people, entered into the Holy of Holies, using various garments (Exodus XXXIX; Hebrews IX). Certainly, if riches made the variety of garments and not holiness, and if diversity of virtues did not exist, then Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar would be recorded as having had these garments, and not Joseph, who, under a foreign and pastoral father, could not have colored or royal garments. And you put on purple shoes. LXX: And you put on hyacinth shoes ((Al. Hyacinthino)). Aquila and Symmachus, purple; Septuagint and Theodotion, hyacinth. For which it is written in Hebrew Thas (). And because the speech is beautifully directed towards Jerusalem, and under the persona of a woman, all her adornments are described, purple or hyacinth shoes are mentioned, which do not suit male persons. Finally, for those who will observe Passover it is commanded that they should be dressed in plain clothing, with no diversity of color, and have their loins girded and their feet shod. These are the shoes about which the Apostle writes: having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Philo, a very eloquent man among the Jews, compares the hyacinth in the high priest's garments to the air, through which he believes heavenly and celestial things are signified. Jerusalem is not adorned with hyacinth until it is washed with water. Hence, the feet of the Apostles, to whom the Lord had previously commanded to shake off the dust from their feet (Matthew X), are washed by the Savior. And the bride says in the Song of Songs: I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them? (Song of Songs 5:3). And the divine word testifies about both Moses and Joshua (Exodus 3), that they should loosen the strap of their sandals, for the place on which they stand is holy. But once their feet have been washed and cleansed of all dirt, they are adorned with hyacinths or jacinths, which are of a golden and blue color, respectively: so that they may be swept up into the presence of the Lord in the air, and hasten to the heavenly kingdom. And I have encircled you with fine linen. Jerusalem is adorned not only with various colors and wears hyacinth shoes, but also is girded with fine linen, from which the finest threads are woven into the priest's garment. And the wife in Proverbs, who weaves double garments for her husband, for both the present and future, is said to have made clothing for herself from linen and purple (Prov. XXXI). With this linen, the loins are girded whenever the thick incentives of lust are to be restrained and nothing of gross humor is left in them. And we fulfill the precept of the Apostle who says: Stand therefore, having your loins girded with truth (Ephes. VI, 14); as if he were saying in other words, with linen. And the Lord said to the Apostles: Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning in your hands (Luke 22:35). For unless we shall have bound up the flowing of the loins from rheumatism, we cannot have lamps in our hands. From this the Lord also speaks to Job: Gird up thy loins like a man (Job 38:3). And those who are about to eat the lamb, having their feet shod, holding a staff, standing in the truth of the Gospel, and being prepared for the blood of Christ, are said to have their loins girt (Exodus 12). Elias and John the Baptist also gird themselves with a mortifying girdle around the loins (2 Kings 1; Mark 1). Concerning them, the penitent sighs mournfully, saying: For my loins are filled with illusions (Psalm 37:8). And I clothed you in fine linen. LXX: And I surrounded you with triple-threaded fabric. For which Aquila used the Hebrew word 'Messe' (meaning 'flourishing' or 'palpable'): Symmachus, with clothing: Theodotio. And when I diligently inquired about the meaning of the word 'triple-threaded', which the LXX translated, and since I could not find its use or etymology in any Greek sources, I finally learned from the LXX that it is a compound (for new things, new names must be created) and that it was clothing of such great delicacy that it is believed to have the thinness of hair and thread. And I, wishing to express the thinness of the garment, translated it as 'subtilibus', because it was woven with a fine thread and a covering. And fittingly to those, about whom he had said, 'This people's heart has become fat, and Jacob ate and drank, and was satisfied and became fat, and kicked, and abandoned his God, their Maker' (Deut. XXXII, 15), now the thinness of clothing is pardoned. For also in the Book of Wisdom, which is inscribed by some as Solomon's, the spirit of wisdom, the only-begotten and manifold, is called 'tenuis' and 'mutabilis' (Sap. VII). And manna, of which it is written, 'Man ate the bread of angels' (Ps. LXXVII, 25), is said to have been as fine as hoarfrost and have resembled coriander seed (Exod. XVI). According to the interpretation of the second edition of Aquila, who translated it floridly, we can understand it as a metaphor for the abundance of the land of Judah or the beauty of divine worship.

In this chapter the mercy of God to Jerusalem, (or the Jewish Church and nation), is set forth by the emblem of a person that should take up an exposed infant, bring her up with great tenderness, and afterwards marry her, Eze 16:1-14. She is then upbraided with her monstrous ingratitude in departing from the worship of God, and polluting herself with the idolatries of the nations around her, under the figure of a woman that proves false to a tender and indulgent husband, vv. 15-52. But, notwithstanding these her heinous provocations, God promises, after she should suffer due correction, to restore her again to his favor, Eze 16:53-63. The mode of describing apostasy from the true religion to the worship of idols under the emblem of adultery, (a figure very frequent in the sacred canon), is pursued with great force, and at considerable length, both in this and the twenty-third chapter; and is excellently calculated to excite in the Church of God the highest detestation of all false worship.

I clothed thee also with broidered work - Cloth on which various figures, in various colors, were wrought by the needle. With badgers'skin - See Exo 25:6. The same kind of skin with which the tabernacle was covered. Fine linen - בשש beshesh, with cotton. I have seen cloth of this kind enveloping the finest mummies. I covered thee with silk - משי meshi. Very probably the produce of the silk-worm.

DETAILED APPLICATION OF THE PARABOLICAL DELINEATION OF THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER TO JERUSALEM PERSONIFIED AS A DAUGHTER. (Eze. 16:1-63) cause Jerusalem to know--Men often are so blind as not to perceive their guilt which is patent to all. "Jerusalem" represents the whole kingdom of Judah.

eze 16:10Psa 45:13-14, similarly describes the Church (Israel, the appointed mother of Christendom) adorned as a bride (so Isa 61:10). It is Messiah who provides the wedding garment (Rev 3:18; Rev 19:8). badgers' skin--tahash; others translate, "seal skins." They formed the over-covering of the tabernacle, which was, as it were, the nuptial tent of God and Israel (Exo 26:14), and the material of the shoes worn by the Hebrews on festival days. (See on Exo 25:5). fine linen--used by the priests (Lev 6:10); emblem of purity.