The dispensation in which we live is the dispensation of Grace; Grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom. v:21). The message delivered by G.o.d to Ezekiel is in fullest keeping with the character of the law-covenant, though Grace is also manifested in it. Righteousness has not the meaning here as in the New Testament. We are const.i.tuted righteous by faith in Jesus Christ. It is now not the question of doing righteous deeds in order to be saved and live. We are saved by Grace through faith. "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned as of grace but as of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him, who justifieth the unG.o.dly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness" (Romans iv:4). And he who is justified by faith has peace with G.o.d. The true believer may sin, but he does not deliberately practice and live in sin, for "he that is born of G.o.d doth not commit (practice) sin" (1 John iii:9). If he falls in sin a gracious provision is made. We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and therefore we can confess our sins; forgiveness and cleansing follow according to the divine promise (1 John i:9; ii:1-2).[3]
[3] The responsibility of Ezekiel in delivering the message was great.
Every servant of the Lord Jesus Christ with a far greater message than Ezekiel"s should also feel that responsibility. If it were felt more, there would be more earnestness, more prayer and greater results.
After this solemn charge the hand of the Lord rested upon Ezekiel and he was commanded to go into the plain, where Jehovah would talk with him.
He obeyed and beheld again the Glory of the Lord, which he had seen by the river of Chebar. Once more he fell on his face. Then the Spirit entered into him and said unto him: "Go, shut thyself within thy house."
He had no opportunity to exercise his office as watchman and deliver the warning message. Immediately after the charge he was commanded to separate himself from the captives and then became a prisoner in his house. But more than that. They were to put bands upon him and bind him with them.
Does this mean that the people would bind him so that he could not leave the house? It probably meant the opposite. He was to shut himself in the house and they came with bands and bound him, to get him out of the house by force. But he was not to go among them. Then G.o.d Himself made the Prophet dumb. "And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover, for they are a rebellious house (verses 25-26). First he was to be bound so that he could not go amongst them, and then G.o.d Himself would make him dumb so that he could not reprove the people. Different suggestions have been made about the meaning of the condition in which the Prophet was put. Some have even declared that there is a contradiction in all this, in view of verses 16-21, while rationalistic expositors think that the Prophet suffered from some nervous disorder which deprived him temporarily of the power of speech. That the Prophet was unfitted by G.o.d to go amongst the people and deliver the message in public was a testimony against the nation. They were beyond hope, therefore, on account of their rebelliousness; he was not to be a reprover to them. It witnessed to the fact that judgment upon the nation could not now be arrested. And yet his dumbness was not complete nor constant. The last verse of the chapter makes this clear. "But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; he that heareth let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear; for they are a rebellious house." Thus the Prophet was completely cast upon Jehovah. Jehovah directed him in being silent or in uttering His message. Blessed are all servants of the Lord, who know the same path of dependence and who declare the Word of the Lord, "Thus saith the Lord," whenever they speak.
The Prophet"s mouth was opened completely and his power of speech permanently restored after Jerusalem had fallen. "And it came to pa.s.s in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth day, in the fifth day of the month, that all that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, the city is smitten. Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening, before he that 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" (chapter x.x.xiii:21-22). This had been previously announced. "In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb; and thou shalt be a sign unto them, and they shall know that I am the Lord" (chapter xxiv:27). Thus Ezekiel"s dumbness was a sign to the nation; the sign of G.o.d"s displeasure and the coming judgment upon Jerusalem.
THE FOUR SYMBOLICAL SIGNS.
Chapters iv and v.
The divine predictions of the impending doom for Jerusalem was not believed by the exiles. The messages of the false prophets who moved among them encouraged the rebellious spirit and therefore the threatened disaster was thought incredible by the captives. The mission of Ezekiel was to dispel the false hope of a speedy return to the land. After he had received his solemn commission and the message he was to deliver to the rebellious people, he is commanded to enact four signs, which were to teach the captives that which would speedily come upon their beloved city Jerusalem.
=I. The Sign of the Tile.= The first symbolical sign is that of the tile, which the Prophet was to use to picture the coming siege of Jerusalem.
Thou also, son of man, take thee a brick, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it the city, Jerusalem; And lay siege against it, and build forts against it, and cast a mound against it; set the camps also against it, and set battering-rams against it round about.
Moreover take thou unto thee an iron plate, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city; and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel (verses 1-3).
The word translated "tile" means a brick. The Babylonians used clay bricks to keep their records; whole libraries consisting of a very large number of such bricks have been uncovered by the spade of the excavator.
These bricks were almost square, fourteen by twelve inches. Many have been found which have engraven upon them various building plans and astrological figures. Such a brick Ezekiel was commanded to take and draw upon the soft clay surface a city, which was to represent Jerusalem. The second verse shows Jerusalem in the state of siege. The coming calamity was vividly pictured in this first sign. The Prophet was also to take an iron pan (literally: plate) and use it for a wall of iron between him and the city and set his face against it. In all this the Prophet was to show Jehovah"s action against Jerusalem. He impersonated Jehovah in laying siege against it in marking the clay brick and raising the iron-plate between himself and the city. In connection with the latter sign we may well think of Isaiah lix:2: "Your iniquities have separated between you and your G.o.d." Thus in this first sign the certainty of the successful siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans was set forth in plain view of the captives. Yet they heard not and continued their foolish dreams and believed rather the false prophets.
G.o.d has everywhere set forth in His Word coming judgments. Our age, so self-secure and boasting in many of its G.o.dless achievements, will end in a great judgment-catastrophe. Every portion of G.o.d"s Word testifies of this fact. G.o.d will fulfil the prophecies of His servants the prophets. The past fulfilment of G.o.d"s threatened judgments vouch for the literal fulfilment of those still future. Yet our blinded age (2 Cor. iv:4) heeds it not. More than ever they say, "Peace and safety,"
and ridicule G.o.d"s message and G.o.d"s messengers, who give a faithful warning.
=II. The Sign of the Prophet"s Physical Position.= While in the first sign Jehovah"s action against Jerusalem was pictured, in the next signs a portrayal is given of the punishments which should come upon the people. The Prophet"s divinely commanded actions witnessed beforehand what should come upon the disobedient, rebellious nation. In his own person Ezekiel had to taste the great degradation and judgment which was about to become the portion of the people.
Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on the right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another till thou hast ended the days of thy siege (verses 4-8).
Expositors and critics have interpreted this and the other signs in various ways. Higher Criticism maintains that the whole description is purely ideal and that the Prophet never did in person what was asked of him. They point to the fact that nowhere is a statement made that he did these things. We quote from the "Expositor"s Bible":
"It is clear that these signs could never have been enacted, either in view of the people or in solitude, as they are here described. It may be doubted whether the whole description is not purely ideal, representing a process which pa.s.sed through the prophet"s mind, or was suggested to him in the visionary state but never actually performed."
Other critics have tried to explain the Prophet"s actions by some kind of a catalepsy, from which, they claim, he suffered. All these theories are pure inventions, springing from a denial of inspiration. They make much of the physical impossibility of this command to lie continuously for 390 days on the left side and for 40 days on the right side. But it does not say that the Prophet should be in that position day and night during that allotted time. The fact that he was to prepare food to eat during these days excludes this extreme view. The Prophet no doubt carried out the divine command as he understood it, and thereby gave the people a sign concerning their iniquity and the deserved punishment. But what do the 390 days of Israel and 40 days of Judah mean? The text shows that the days here mean years.[4] The 390 and 40 days make 430 days.
This reminds us of Exodus xii:40-41, where the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt is given as 430 years. The 40 years of Judah recall the years of wandering in the wilderness. The 390 days apply to the period of Israel"s unfaithfulness, which lead up to their punishment. These 390 years must be reckoned from Jeroboam, who was the first King of the house of Israel by divine appointment as revealed through Ahijah, the Prophet (1 Kings xi:31). The 40 years of Judah, for which Ezekiel was to lie upon his right side for 40 days must mean the 40 years of Solomon"s reign. Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the vile G.o.ddess of the Zidonians. Judah worshipped besides Ashtoreth, Chemosh, the G.o.d of the Moabites and Milcom, the G.o.d of Ammon (1 Kings xi:33). Thus the captives were reminded by the Prophet"s painful position of the shameful history of the long years of apostasy of their nation. But more than that. The Lord said expressly to Ezekiel: "I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity ... so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel." By consulting other pa.s.sages in the Old Testament, especially in Exodus and Leviticus,[5] it will be found that the phrase "bear their iniquity" always means to endure the punishment due to sin or iniquity. Ezekiel"s sign therefore pictured the actual results in punishment, which was now to fall upon the people for their sins. The 390 years and the 40 years therefore must be primarily applied to the period of their punishment. The Prophet, therefore, had put upon him suffering typical of the nation"s punishment. He is in this a blessed type of the great Sinbearer, who bore our sins in His own body on the tree. Of Him it is written, "He shall bear their iniquities." And the believing remnant of Israel in a future day, looking upon Him, whom they pierced, will yet confess "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastis.e.m.e.nt of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah liii:5).
[4] Some have concluded on account of this pa.s.sage, that throughout the prophetic word wherever "days" are mentioned, they mean "years." This is incorrect. The "year-day" theory is not a scriptural one. Where we find days, it means days unless the text itself, as it is here in Ezekiel, explains the days as years.
[5] Exod. xxviii:38-43; Lev. v:1, 17, vii:8, x:17, etc.
=III. The Sign of the Famine and the Defiled Bread.= The siege of Jerusalem had been portrayed in the tile sign; the hardships in divine judgments in the second and the third sign describes additional punishments to come upon Jerusalem.
Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shall thou eat it. Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them (verses 9-13).
Then the Priest-Prophet, horrified at the defilement he was to be subjected to, spoke to Jehovah and received an answer from Him granting his request and giving further instructions about the sign.
Then said I, Ah, Lord G.o.d! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth. Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow"s dung for man"s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: That they may want bread and water, and be astonished one with another, and consume away for their iniquity (verses 14-17).
This sign then shows the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem and what was to come upon the people during the period of their punishment. The wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and fitches[6] were to be put into one vessel, because a little of each was available. To eat things by weight and not to be satisfied with it, was announced through Moses as one of the threatened judgments. "And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight; and ye shall eat and not be satisfied" (Lev. xxvi:26). The sign meant famine as the Lord told Ezekiel (verse 16).
[6] Or spelt, a kind of corn.
Then uncleanness, defilement, is added. The famine stands connected with the siege, the defilement refers more to that, which was to come upon them in their captivity among the Gentiles. It pictured the unclean religious conditions into which the people were to be plunged during the exile. "Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them." The same judgment was announced by Hosea. "They shall not dwell in the Lord"s land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in a.s.syria. They shall not offer wine to the Lord, neither shall they be pleasing unto Him; their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted" (Hosea ix:3-4). And Ezekiel baked the bread in the prescribed way, while no doubt, the captives looked on in horror, that a Priest like Ezekiel could act thus.
The sign found its fulfillment. G.o.d"s predicted judgments were always literally fulfilled. G.o.d means what He has declared in His Word. The future will yet witness to it.
IV. The Sign of the Shaving of the Head and the Face.
And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber"s razor, and cause it to pa.s.s upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts. Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel (chapter v:1-4).
In this final sign we have the symbol of what was to befall the nation as such. Through the Prophet Isaiah a prediction had been given concerning the King of a.s.syria, which explains the meaning of the sharp knife. "In the same day shalt the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the King of a.s.syria, the head, and the hair of the feet, and it shall also consume the beard" (Isa.
vii:20). The sharp knife[7] represents in Ezekiel"s sign the King of Babylon. He was Jehovah"s instrument executing His wrath. The people are represented by the hairs. The sharp knife, the sword of justice, was to cut them off. The third part of the hair burned with fire pictured the fate of a part of the people during the siege. Besides the fire, the pestilence and the famine were to consume them (verse 12). Another part was to be destroyed by the sword round about Jerusalem, while still another part should be scattered unto all the winds, that is dispersed among the Gentiles, where the sword would also follow the fugitives.
Only a few in number, a small remnant were to be preserved which was symbolically enacted when Ezekiel took a few hairs and bound them in his skirt. But even some of them should be put into the fire. Such a remnant, saved and preserved and ultimately blessed, is often mentioned in the prophetic Word. See Isaiah vi:13; x:22; Jere. xxiii:3; Ezek.
vi:8; Zech. xiii:8-9. All these judgments came upon the city and upon the nation. A remnant also was saved and in due time returned.
[7] The literal meaning is sword, the same as in verse 12.
Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d, Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations. Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds. Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord G.o.d; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity. A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them. Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pa.s.s by. So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken it. When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread: So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pa.s.s through thee: and I will bring the sword upon thee. I, the Lord, have spoken it (verses 5-17).
After these few signs had announced to the captives what was to come upon the city and upon the people, Jehovah begins to speak. The solemn words we have quoted need but little comment. He speaks of Jerusalem"s exalted place, her wickedness, which had become greater than that of the nations, her disobedience and her judgments. One must read the Lamentations of Jeremiah to find how all was fulfilled in the final overthrow of Jerusalem. Compare verse 10 with Lament. iv:10. How terrible are the judgments of a righteous and holy G.o.d! The calamity which fell upon Jerusalem and the land through the hands of Nebuchadnezzar was repeated on a more fearful scale in the year 70, after the greater One than Ezekiel, the Lord Jesus Christ, had given His solemn warnings and had wept over the city. And once more will Jerusalem taste of wrath and judgment in that end of the age, which is called the great tribulation. And after that the day-break, when Jerusalem will rise out of the dust and her history of shame and sorrow will be ended.
THE TWO JUDGMENT MESSAGES.
Chapter vi-vii.
Two judgment messages follow. Each message is a direct communication from Jehovah to the Prophet. "And the Word of the Lord came unto me."
Both messages end in the same way: "And they shall know that I am the Lord." In the first message the judgment of the whole land is announced.
The second message announces the completeness of the judgment. The predicted end is described with its accompanying perplexities and sufferings.
I. The Coming Judgment against the Mountains and the Land.
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set they face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord G.o.d; Thus saith the Lord G.o.d to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Behold I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places; and your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. And I will lay the dead carca.s.ses of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. In all your dwelling-places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. And the slain shall fall in the midst of you; and ye shall know that I am the Lord (chapter vi:1-7).
The denunciation against the mountains of Israel stands in the first place. Jerusalem was mostly in view in the preceding chapters, but now the Lord announces that the whole land is to become desolate through His wrath. The mountains of Israel"s land were used as places for idolatry; they are called "the high places." Images and shrines were erected upon these heights where the vile and idolatrous worship of heathen G.o.ds was practiced. These images were idols dedicated to sun-worship. That Israel would become idolatrous had been revealed to Moses, who also announced the judgment which should ultimately fall upon Israel for their idolatry. "And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carca.s.ses upon the carca.s.ses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors. And I will bring the land into desolation, and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished. And I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste" (Lev. xxvi:30-33). This remarkable prophetic statement was made to Moses, who wrote it hundreds of years before. And now the time for its fulfillment had at last come.
G.o.d in His patience had delayed the judgment, but when the time had come He remembered all that Moses heard from His lips and executed His own Word. A careful comparison of the pa.s.sage in Leviticus with verses 3-6 of this chapter shows the literal fulfillment.
Yet will I leave a remnant that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I shall have broken their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations, and they shall know that I am the Lord, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them. Thus saith the Lord G.o.d: Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel!
for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine; thus will I accomplish my fury upon them. Then shall ye know that I am the Lord, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate; yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the Lord (verses 8-14).
The Lord promised that in mercy He would leave a remnant. That remnant would acknowledge the evil they had done. "They shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations." This is the result of Jehovah"s action towards themselves. The words "because I am broken with their whorish heart" are literally translated "when I shall have broken their whorish heart which has departed from me." No judgment which came upon G.o.d"s peculiar people ever made a complete end of the nation. A remnant always remained and turned to the Lord. During the greatest and longest judgment which has ever befallen the people Israel, their world-wide dispersion in the present age, there is also a remnant amongst them (Romans xi:5). And when Jehovah resumes His dealings with them during the last seven years of the Times of the Gentiles, the time of their greatest trouble, a remnant will turn to Him and be converted. That remnant will be carried through the mighty judgments of the end time and receive the blessings and the glory of the promised kingdom.
Ezekiel was also commanded to smite with his hand and to stamp with his foot. Clapping the hands and stamping with the feet may denote exultation (chapter xxv:6). But here it is more an outward expression of the vehemence of the judgment. In chapter xxi:7 we read of the Lord smiting His hands. "I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest, I the Lord have said it." A repet.i.tion of the impending judgments forms the conclusion of this first message.