Ezekiel 24:21 Komentář

After the ten tribes were carried into captivity, and that kingdom was made quite desolate, the remains of it by degrees incorporated with the kingdom of Judah, and gained a settlement (many of them) in Jerusalem; so that the two sisters had in effect become one again; and therefore, in these verses, the prophet takes those to task jointly who were thus conjoined: "Wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah together? Eze 23:36. Wilt thou go about to frame an excuse for them? Thou seest the matter is so bad as not to bear an excuse." Or, rather, "Thou shalt now be employed, in God's name, to judge them, Eze 20:4. The matter is rather worse than better since the union." I. Let them be made to see the sins they are guilty of: Declare unto them openly and boldly their abominations. 1. They have been guilty of gross idolatry, here called adultery. With their idols they have committed adultery (Eze 23:37), have broken their marriage-covenant with God, have lusted after the gratifications of a carnal sensual mind in the worship of God. This is the first and worst of the abominations he is to charge them with. 2. They have committed the most barbarous murders, in sacrificing their children to Moloch, a sin so unnatural that they deserve to hear of it upon all occasions: Blood is in their hands, innocent blood, the blood of their own children, which they have caused to pass through the fire (Eze 23:37), not that they might be dedicated to the idols, but that they might be devoured, a sign that they loved their idols better than that which was dearest to them in the world. 3. They have profaned the sacred things with which God had dignified and distinguished them: This they have done unto me, this indignity, this injury, Eze 23:38. Every contempt put upon that which is holy reflects upon him who is the fountain of holiness, and from a relation to whom whatever is called holy has its denomination. God had set up his sanctuary among them, but they defiled it, by making it a house of merchandise, a den of thieves; nay, and much worse; there they set up their idols and worshipped them, and there they shed the blood of God's prophets. God had revealed to them his holy sabbaths, but they profaned them, by doing all manner of servile work therein, or perhaps by sports and recreations on that day, not only practised, but allowed and encouraged by authority. They defiled the sanctuary on the same day that they profaned the sabbath. To defile the sanctuary was bad enough on any day, but to do it on the sabbath day was an aggravation. We commonly say, The better day the better deed; but here, the better day the worse deed. God takes notice of the circumstances of sin which add to the guilt. He shows (Eze 23:39) what was their profanation both of the sanctuary and of the sabbath. They slew their children, and sacrificed them to their idols, to the great dishonour both of God and of human nature; and then came, on the same day, their hands imbrued with the blood of their children and their clothes stained with it, to attend in God's sanctuary, not to ask pardon for what they had done, but to present themselves before him, as other Israelites did, expecting acceptance with him, notwithstanding these villanies which they were guilty of; as if God either did not know their wickedness or did not hate it. Thus they profaned the sanctuary, as if that were a protection to the worst of malefactors; for thus they did in the midst of his house. Note, It is a profanation of God's solemn ordinances when those that are grossly and openly profane and vicious impudently and impenitently so intrude upon the services and privileges of them. Give not that which is holy unto dogs. Friend, how camest thou in hither? 4. They have courted foreign alliances, been proud of them, and reposed a confidence in them. This also is represented by the sin of adultery, for it was a departure from God, not only to whom alone they ought to pay their homage and not to idols, but in whom alone they ought to put their trust, and not in creatures. Israel was a peculiar people, must dwell alone and not be reckoned among the nations; and they profane their crown, and lay their honour in the dust, when they covet to be like them or in league with them. But this they have now done; they have entered into strict alliances with the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians, the most renowned and potent kingdoms at that time; but they scorned alliances with the petty kingdoms and states that lay near them, which yet might have been of more real service to them. Note, Affecting an acquaintance and correspondence with great people has often been a snare to good people. Let us see how Jerusalem courts her high allies, thinking thereby to make herself considerable. (1.) She privately requested that a public embassy might be sent to her (Eze 23:40): You sent a messenger for men to come from far. It seems, then, that the neighbours had no desire to come into a confederacy with Jerusalem, but she thrust herself upon them, and sent under-hand to desire them to court her: and, lo, they came. The wisest and best may be drawn unavoidably into company and conversation with profane and wicked people: but it is no sign either of wisdom or goodness to covet an intimacy with such and to court it. (2.) Great preparation was made for the reception of these foreign ministers, for their public entry and public audience, which is compared to the pains that an adulteress takes to make herself look handsome. Jezebel-like, thou paintedst thy face and deckedst thyself with ornaments, Eze 23:40. The king and princes made themselves new clothes, fitted up the rooms of state, beautified the furniture, and made it look fresh. Thou sattest upon a stately bed (Eze 23:41), a stately throne; a table was prepared, whereon thou has set my oil and my incense. This was either, [1.] A feast for the ambassadors, a noble treat, agreeable to the other preparations. There was incense to perfume the room and oil to anoint their heads. Or, [2.] An altar already furnished for the ambassadors' use in the worship of their idols, to let them know that the Israelites were not so strait-laced but that they could allow foreigners the free exercise of their religion among them, and furnish them with chapels, yea, and complimented them so far as to join with them in their devotions; though the law of their God was against it, yet they could easily dispense with themselves to oblige a friend. The oil and incense God calls his, not only because they were the gift of his providence, but because they should have been offered at his altar, which was an aggravation of their sin in serving idols and idolaters with them. See Hos 2:8. (3.) There was great joy at their coming, as if it were such a blessing as never happened to Jerusalem before (Eze 23:42): A voice of a multitude being at east was with her. The people were very easy, for they thought themselves very safe and happy now that they had such powerful allies; and therefore attended the ambassadors with loud huzzas and acclamations of joy. A great confluence of people there was to the court upon this occasion. The men of the common sort were there to grace the solemnity, and to increase the crowd; and with them were brought Sabeans from the wilderness. The margin reads it drunkards from the wilderness, that would drink healths to the prosperity of this grand alliance, and force them upon others, and be most noisy in shouting upon this occasion. Whoever they were, in honour of the ambassadors they put bracelets upon their hands and beautiful crowns upon their heads, which made the cavalcade appear very splendid. (4.) God by his prophets warned them against making these dangerous leagues with foreigners (Eze 23:43): "Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, that from the first was fond of leagues with the heathen, of matching with their families (Jdg 3:6), and afterwards of making alliances with their kingdoms, and, though often disappointed therein, would never be dissuaded from it (this was the adultery she was old in), I said, Will they now commit whoredoms with her and she with them? Surely experience and observation will by this time have convinced both them and her that an alliance between the nation of the Jews and a heathen nation can never be for the advantage of either." They are iron and clay, that will not mix, nor will God bless such an alliance, or smile upon it. But, it seems, her being old in these adulteries, instead of weaning her from them, as one would expect, does but make her the more impudent and insatiable in them; for, though she was thus admonished of the folly of it, yet they went in unto her, Eze 23:44. A bargain was soon clapped up, and a league made, first with this, and then with the other, foreign state. Samaria did so, Jerusalem did so, like lewd women. They could not rest satisfied in the embraces of God's laws and care, and the assurances of protection he gave them; they could not think his covenant with them security enough. But they must by treaties and leagues, politic ones (they thought) and well-concerted, throw themselves into the arms of foreign princes, and put their interests under their protection. Note, Those hearts go a whoring from God that take a complacency in the pomp of the world and put a confidence in its wealth, and in an arm of flesh, Jer 17:5. II. Let them be made to foresee the judgments that are coming upon them for these sins (Eze 23:45): The righteous men, they shall judge them. Some make the instruments of their destruction to be the righteous men that shall judge them. The Assyrians that destroyed Samaria, the Chaldeans that destroyed Jerusalem, those were comparatively righteous, had a sense of justice between man and man and justly resented the treachery of the Jewish nation; however, they executed God's judgments, which, we are sure, are all righteous. Others understand it of the prophets, whose office it was, in God's name, to judge them and pass sentence upon them. Or we may take it as an appeal to all righteous men, to all that have a sense of equity; they shall all judge concerning these cities, and agree in their verdict, that forasmuch as they have been notoriously guilty of adultery and murder, and the guilt is national, therefore they ought to suffer the pains and penalties which by law are inflicted upon women in their personal capacity that shed blood and are adulteresses. Righteous men will say, "Why should bloody filthy cities escape any better than bloody filthy persons? Judge, I pray thee," Isa 5:3. This judgment being given by the righteous men, the righteous God will award execution. See here, 1. What the execution will be, Eze 23:46, Eze 23:47. The same as before, Eze 23:23, etc. God will bring a company of enemies upon them, who shall be made to serve his holy purposes even when they are serving their own sinful appetites and passions. These enemies shall easily prevail, for God will give them into their hands to be removed and spoiled; this company shall stone them with stones as malefactors, shall single them out and dispatch them with their swords; and, as was sometimes done in severe executions (witness that of Achan), they shall slay their children and burn their houses. 2. What will be the effects of it. (1.) Thus they shall suffer for their sins: Their lewdness shall be recompensed upon them (Eze 23:49); and they shall bear the sins of their idols, Eze 23:35, Eze 23:49. Thus God will assert the honour of his broken law and injured government, and let the world know what a just and jealous God he is. (2.) Thus they shall be broken off from their sins: I will cause lewdness to cease out of the land, Eze 23:27, Eze 23:48. The destruction of God's city, like the death of God's saints, shall do that for them which ordinances and providences before could not do; it shall quite take away their sin, so that Jerusalem shall rise out of its ashes a new lump, as gold comes out of the furnace purified from its dross. (3.) Thus other cities and nations will have fair warning given them to keep themselves from idols. That all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. This is the end of the punishment of malefactors, that they may be made examples to others, who will see and fear. Smite the scorner and the simple will beware. The judgments of God upon some are designed to teach others, and happy are those who receive instruction from them not to tread in the steps of sinners, lest they be taken in their snares; those who would be taught this must know God is the Lord (Eze 23:49), that he is the governor of the world, a God that judges in the earth, and with whom there is no respect of persons.

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 24 Is this chapter the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem is prophesied of; the former under the parable of a boiling pot; the latter is represented by the sudden death of Ezekiel's wife. The time of this prophecy was that very day the king of Babylon began the siege of Jerusalem, Eze 24:1, the parable of the boiling pot, Eze 24:3, the explanation and application of it to the city of Jerusalem, Eze 24:6, the prophet is told of the death of his wife, and bid not to mourn on that account, which accordingly came to pass, Eze 24:15, upon the people's inquiring what these things meant, he informs them that hereby was signified the profanation of the temple; and that their distress should be so great, that they should not use any set forms of mourning, but pine away and die, Eze 24:19, and the chapter is closed with assuring the prophet, that the day these things should come to pass, a messenger should be sent him, to whom he should open his mouth, and be no more dumb, Eze 24:25.

And ye shall do as I have done,.... When his wife died, and as he was ordered by the Lord; the meaning of Which they were now inquiring: ye shall not cover your lips; as a token of mourning; nor use any other of their country rites and ceremonies, for fear of provoking their enemies, in whose hands they shall be: nor eat the bread of men; or "of mourners", as the Targum; there shall be none to comfort them, or send bread to them; they shall all be alike mourners.

(Verse 15 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with a plague, and you shall not mourn or weep, neither shall your tears flow. Sigh in silence, you shall not mourn for the dead. Your turban shall be on your head, and your sandals shall be on your feet; you shall not cover your lips nor eat the bread of mourners. Therefore, I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. And I did in the morning as I was commanded. And the people said to me: Why don't you tell us what these things mean, which you are doing? And I said to them: The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Speak to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will defile my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the longing of your soul, and your sons and daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. And you will do as I have done: you will not cover your heads with a veil, and you will not eat the food of mourners. You will have crowns on your heads and sandals on your feet. You will not weep or cry, but you will waste away in your iniquities, and each one will groan to his brother. And Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, so you will do. And you will know that I am the Lord God. And you, son of man, behold, on the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, and the desire of their eyes, their sons and daughters. In that day, when the one fleeing comes to you to announce it to you, on that day, I say, your mouth will be opened together with the one fleeing, and you will speak and not be silent any longer, and you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord. LXX: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, behold, I will take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke (or in preparation); you shall not mourn or weep, and tears shall not come to you, the groaning of blood, the mourning of the kidneys. Your hair will be bound up on you, and your shoes on your feet; you will not console yourself on their lips, and you will not eat the bread of men. I spoke to the people in the morning, as I was commanded, and in the evening my wife died, and I did in the morning as I was commanded. And the people said to me: do you not tell us what these things are that you are doing? And I said to them, the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will defile my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the souls of your beings whom you spare. Your sons and daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword, and you will do as I have done. You will not be comforted by their mouth, and you will not eat the bread of men, and your hair will be on your heads, and your shoes on your feet. You will not weep nor mourn, and you will be consumed by your iniquities, and each one will comfort his brother, and Jezechiel will be a sign to you. According to all that he has done, you will do. And when these things come, you will know that I am the Lord Adonai. And you, son of man, on the day when I take away their strength, the pride of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and their soul's delight, their sons and daughters. On that day the one who has been saved will come to you to announce it in your ears. On that day your mouth will be opened to the one who has escaped, and you will speak and not be silent anymore, and you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord. Above the pots and pans, the burning of the olive oil, had shown the siege of the city, now taken and destroyed, and the whole people either killed by the sword, or led into captivity, the prophetic speech testifies. And first, according to our custom, let us lay the foundations of the history. Son, he said, behold, I will take away from the sight of your eyes whatever is desirable to you, and I will take it away in a stroke, or, as the Septuagint renders it, in preparation: so that you may prepare yourself for not doing those things which are accustomed to be done in mourning. Do not cry, nor will you weep, nor will flowing tears reveal the pain of your heart: but if perhaps you are overcome by excessive sorrow, keep your groaning silent, nor let it burst forth into words. You will not make a lamentation for the dead, or, as LXX suggests, groaning is the shedding of blood, lamentation is the affliction of the kidneys. By which he indicates that his wife is about to die. For immediately after he says: And my wife died in the evening (Prov. XIX); which properly pertains to the conjunction of the kidneys. For nothing is more lovable to a man than a good wife, who is provided by God for him and joined to him by the Lord's law, and with her alone his body becomes one. And what follows, 'Let your crown be bound around you, and let your shoes be on your feet,' signifies this: You shall have hair that is cut in mourning, and shoes on your feet, which mourners are accustomed to cast off. Hence, even David, fleeing from Absalom his son and repenting of the death of Uriah, walks with bare feet (1 Samuel 12:15, 18). The Hebrews say that the Babylonian teachers, who observe the precepts of the Law, write the Ten Commandments on small parchments and bind them around their heads, and these are what they are commanded to keep before their eyes and hang on their foreheads, so that they always see the precepts. And because Ezekiel was a priest, he should not at all remove the crown of glory from his head, but have it bound. This is what they said. But we, according to the Septuagint, understand the crown of hair to be the hair: although even their interpretation did not accurately express the meaning of the Hebrew language. And she said, 'You shall neither cover your face with a veil, nor eat the foods of mourners, which are accustomed to be made in mourning, to cover the face, and which the Greeks call περίδειπνα, let them receive from the comforters. I spoke,' she said, 'to the people in the morning, the things which the Lord had commanded me, and in the evening my wife, the desire of my eyes, and the mourning of my loins and blood, died. And immediately on the next day in the morning, I did all the things which had been commanded to me: and the people asked me why I had acted contrary to the custom of all.' To those who were inquiring about the causes of such great patience, I replied: The word of the Lord that was spoken to me, to speak to the people of Israel, commanded me to say these things: Behold, I, that is, will now defile my sanctuary, so that the temple may be burned and made open to all foreigners and profane people, and in which you had pride, that is, confidence and hope and desire for your salvation, and over which your souls were fearing siege; and I will also destroy with the sword the sons and daughters that famine and pestilence have made for you. Whatever I have done, you will do. When custom is observed in mourning, the pain is moderate; but when such a great necessity of evils comes upon us that the mourning is greater than all weeping, each person, troubled by their own need, does not groan over the miseries of others, however close they may be. 'You will do nothing,' he says, 'that used to be done in mourning: but with the city and temple set on fire, you will be astonished at the magnitude of the calamities. You will not be stunned, nor will you walk with bare feet, nor will you lament, nor will you cover your faces with garments, nor will you take food from those who would console you: but you will waste away, and you will be consumed by your injustices, and you will hardly have the freedom to groan, lest you offend the pride of the conquerors, if you are seen to weep in public; so that the prophet Ezekiel may be a portent to you, and that you may not do all the things that he did not do at the death of his wife, in the destruction of the city and temple. And yet more clearly: 'Oh,' he says, 'son of man, at the time when I take away from them their strength, the confidence and joy of the temple, as we have said, and the desire in which their souls find rest, and moreover their sons and daughters, as is implied in the preceding words, when I take away all these things from them, at that time, when someone comes to you fleeing from Jerusalem or who has escaped, saying that the city is laid waste, then you, who were previously silent and had no freedom to sigh, and who showed such great patience that even in the murder of your wife and the pain in your loins, you did not shed a tear, you will open your mouth and speak, not to the one who has come but with him, so that whatever you had foretold about the future, he may now report as fulfilled, and you will no longer keep silent; but you will accuse them and say that all these things have happened justly to them: so that you may be a sign to them, according to what is written in Zechariah: 'They are signs of men who will be prophets' (Zech. 3:8). And the Lord speaks elsewhere: 'I have spoken through the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by the hands of the prophets I have been likened.' (Hosea 12:10) Let these things be said by way of history. Let us come to the spiritual interpretation (if it has not been thought too violent for the cautious prudence of the reader). That the Son of Man is called the Lord and Savior, there is no doubt, who in the last hour, that is, at the evening of this world, lost his former wife, and did not weep for her, nor did he cover his face with a veil, nor did he receive any consolation from men. And in the morning he foretold these things that would come, which were fulfilled in the evening, and again in the morning, in his second coming, he proved to be true what he had foretold would come: that the sanctuary of the Jews, and what they had desired in their eyes, and on which their souls trembled, had been polluted, and also that their sons and daughters had been slain by the Roman sword. But when it is said, 'You will have a crown on your heads and sandals on your feet,' we will refer that to the fact that they should never mourn or take on signs of mourning, for they have received the truth instead of shadows and have become Nazarenes. And each one will console their brother, just as God the Father strengthened Ezekiel to be a sign for them, foretelling things to come. And after Jerusalem has been destroyed and the temple burned, and the whole world has heard of this and the dispersion of Israel, which inhabits the ends of the earth, then the words of the Lord, when the work is complete, will have freedom. And with his sanctuary defiled, the Law fulfilled or destroyed according to the western interpretation, the glory of the Gospel will be revealed, and Israel will recognize that he is the Lord and God, who foretold these things in the morning and saw them fulfilled in the evening and at the consummation of the world, proving his coming.

The prophet now informs those of the captivity of the very day on which Nebuchadnezzar was to lay siege to Jerusalem, (compare Jer 52:4), and describes the fate of that city and its inhabitants by a very apt similitude, Eze 24:1-14. As another sign of the greatness of those calamities the prophet is forbidden to mourn for his wife, of whom he is to be deprived; intimating thereby that the sufferings of the Jews should be so astonishing as to surpass all expressions of grief; and that private sorrow however affectionate and tender the object, ought to be absorbed in the public calamities, Eze 24:15-18. The prophet, having farther expressed his prediction in plain terms, intimates that he was to speak to them no more till they should have the news of these prophecies having been fulfilled, Eze 24:19-27.

VISION OF THE BOILING CALDRON, AND OF THE DEATH OF EZEKIEL'S WIFE. (Eze. 24:1-27) Ezekiel proves his divine mission by announcing the very day, ("this same day") of the beginning of the investment of the city by Nebuchadnezzar; "the ninth year," namely, of Jehoiachin's captivity, "the tenth day of the tenth month"; though he was three hundred miles away from Jerusalem among the captives at the Chebar (Kg2 25:1; Jer 39:1).

excellency of your strength--(compare Amo 6:8). The object of your pride and confidence (Jer 7:4, Jer 7:10, Jer 7:14). desire of . . . eyes-- (Psa 27:4). The antitype to Ezekiel's wife (Eze 24:16). pitieth--loveth, as pity is akin to love: "yearned over." Profane--an appropriate word. They had profaned the temple with idolatry; God, in just retribution, will profane it with the Chaldean sword, that is, lay it in the dust, as Ezekiel's wife. sons . . . daughters . . . left--the children left behind in Judea, when the parents were carried away.