THE PARABLE OF THE ABANDONED CHILD. JERUSALEM"S IDOLATRY. THE PROMISES OF RESTORATION.
Chapter xvi.
After the parable of the unfruitful vine in which the vain hope and boast of Jerusalem is briefly exposed, another parable was uttered by the Prophet, which more fully establishes Jerusalem"s great wickedness.
The chapter before us is one of the greatest in the prophetic Scriptures. It contains a wonderful history of Jerusalem, past, present and future, and G.o.d"s dealings with her.
We give first a brief survey of this interesting chapter before we take up a more a.n.a.lytical study. The parable of the abandoned child and Jehovah"s love and mercy in taking her up, saving the perishing one from death and bestowing upon her such gracious labor and gifts, forms the first part of the chapter (verse 1-14). It is a most beautiful description of what Jehovah had done for Jerusalem. After this, the terrible ingrat.i.tude and fall of Jerusalem is uncovered. She, whom Jehovah lifted so high, upon whom He bestowed such love and grace, turned against Jehovah and became an abandoned prost.i.tute. The idolatries of Jerusalem and corresponding moral degradations are vividly pictured in this second section of the chapter (verses 15-34).
Then follows the announcement of the doom of Jerusalem. In this third section Samaria and her daughters, as well as Sodom and her daughters are introduced, and their return to the former estate with Jerusalem is announced.
These restoration promises are frequently used by teachers of the so-called "larger hope," who deny the eternal punishment of the wicked.
It is claimed that Sodom and her daughters, all the inhabitants of wicked Sodom, who perished in the great judgment, will be raised from the dead and have another chance. We shall, in considering this portion of the chapter (verses 35-59), show the unscripturalness of this theory as well as the true meaning of the promise. The fourth section (verses 59-63) promises the establishment of Jehovah"s covenant with Jerusalem.
I. The Parable of the Abandoned Child.
Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and say, Thus saith the Lord G.o.d unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hitt.i.te. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou was not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compa.s.sion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. And when I pa.s.sed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy b.r.e.a.s.t.s are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now when I pa.s.sed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness; yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord G.o.d, and thou becamest mine. Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers" skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen and silk and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey and oil; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord G.o.d (verses 1-14).
In the beginning of the chapter the purpose of the parable is stated.
"Son of Man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations." To convict Jerusalem of all her guilt and wickedness the Lord shows first of all what He had done for her. While Jerusalem is specially mentioned, the parable has a wider application to the nation itself. The different dealings of the Lord with His people can be traced in this beautiful parable. First, Jerusalem"s origin is mentioned. "Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite and thy mother a Hitt.i.te." This does not mean Abraham and Sarah, from which the nation sprang, but it refers to the origin of the city itself, which was Canaanitish. The Amorites were the original possessors of Palestine, as we learn from Genesis xv:16. The name for Palestine in the cuneiform inscriptions is "Land of the Amorites." The Hitt.i.tes are also mentioned in Genesis as the inhabitants of the land. (Genesis xxiii:3, 10; xxvii:46). Thus Jerusalem is described as coming from a base and unclean parentage. The Lord had mercy on her whose condition was like an abandoned child cast out into an open field. He pa.s.sed by and spoke the word, which He alone could speak--Live! Then He began His work of mercy. He caused her to multiply as the bud of the field. He made her to increase. He entered into a covenant with her. "Yea, I swear unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord G.o.d, and thou becamest mine." Furthermore we read, "I washed thee with water"; "I anointed thee with oil"; "I clothed"; "I girded thee"; "I covered thee with silk." Ornaments were bestowed upon the beloved one. Bracelets upon the hands; a chain for the neck; a jewel for the forehead; earrings for the ears; decked with gold and silver; arrayed in fine linen and silk and broidered work, feeding on fine flour, honey and oil--such were Jehovah"s gifts to Jerusalem. A beautiful crown was put upon her head.
Jerusalem became exceedingly beautiful and prospered into a kingdom. Her renown went forth among the nations on account of her beauty. All this is a striking allegory of Jehovah"s mercy to Jerusalem, and the culmination refers to the days of the glorious kingdom under Solomon.
There is no need of applying every statement to some historical fact in the history of Jerusalem as it has been attempted by certain expositors.
The purpose, as already stated, is to convict Jerusalem of her abominations, and for this reason Jehovah"s goodness to her is so vividly described. Jehovah had done all for her and not a word is said about grat.i.tude or love from the side of Jerusalem. All was done for her by Him. "It was perfect through my comeliness (magnificence), which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord G.o.d."
And this sweet parable ill.u.s.trates, as few other portions in the Old Testament do, the grace which the Lord bestows upon the believer in the Gospel. Thy father an Amorite and thy mother a Hitt.i.te reminds us of what is true of all men, so tersely expressed in David"s confession, "Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me"
(Psalm li:5). Like the child pictured in the parable, we are lost, perishing in the field (the world). What could that perishing child do to save itself? Even so we cannot do anything to save ourselves. The Lord pa.s.sing by had compa.s.sion and spoke His Word of power--Live. He came from Heaven to this earth, into the field to seek and save what is lost. He found man in the vile and helpless condition so aptly pictured by the miserable child. And more than that, He died to save man. He gave His life so that we might live. The first thing He does for the believing sinner is to give him life. When the spiritual dead hear His voice they live. The washing with water, the anointing with oil (type of the Holy Spirit), the announcement "thou becamest mine," as well as the clothing, the beautifying and the crowning, all ill.u.s.trates what His marvelous grace does for the trusting, believing sinner. It is all grace from start to finish, from the impartation of life in the new birth to the crowning in glory.
II. Jerusalem"s Idolatries and Moral Degradation.
But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that pa.s.sed by; his it was. And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colors, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so. Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit wh.o.r.edom with them. And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them. My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savor: and thus it was, saith the Lord G.o.d.
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy wh.o.r.edoms a small matter. That thou has slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pa.s.s through the fire for them? And in all thine abominations and thy wh.o.r.edoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood. And it came to pa.s.s after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord G.o.d,) That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee a high place in every street. Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that pa.s.sed by, and multiplied thy wh.o.r.edoms. Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbors, great of flesh; and hast increased thy wh.o.r.edoms, to provoke me to anger. Behold, therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way. Thou hast played the wh.o.r.e also with the a.s.syrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and couldest not be satisfied. Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord G.o.d, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; in that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest hire; but as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! They give gifts to all wh.o.r.es: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side of thy wh.o.r.edom.
And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy wh.o.r.edoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit wh.o.r.edoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary (verses 15-34).
Upon the beautiful background of Jehovah"s love and mercy, there is now written the dark picture of Jerusalem"s wh.o.r.edoms, symbolical of her wicked idolatries. "But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and played the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that pa.s.sed by; his it was" (verse 15). It started all with pride. Jerusalem did not acknowledge the giver, who had made her great.
Instead of worshipping in Jehovah"s appointed way, they established the "high places" and conformed to all the wicked Canaanitish practices. The wickedness of the Amorites and Hitt.i.tes, from which she came, were reproduced in her. Their little ones were given to Moloch as a sacrifice. "Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy wh.o.r.edoms a small matter, that thou hast slain thy children, and delivered them to pa.s.s through the fire for them?"
(verses 20-21). From the Second Book of Kings we learn that Ahaz was the first king who committed this atrocity. "He made his son pa.s.s through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel" (2 Kings xvi:3). And Mana.s.seh, the wicked son of a pious father, also followed the same horrible practice (2 Kings xxi:6). The historical books of Second Kings and Second Chronicles must be read to understand more fully the symbolical language used by Ezekiel and to learn the idolatry and degradation of Jerusalem. All Jehovah had given and bestowed upon her was devoted to practice this spiritual fornication. What Jehovah had done for her was forgotten.
"And in all thine abominations and thy wh.o.r.edoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood" (verse 22). But worse than that followed.
Not enough that Jerusalem had her high places and revived the practices of the Canaanitish natives, she began to have also idolatrous intercourse with the idol-G.o.ds of Egypt, a.s.syria and Chaldea (verses 23-34). She sought them out and courted them all to increase her harlotry. So great became Jerusalem"s abominations that the daughters of the Philistines became ashamed of her lewd way (verse 27). And while such was the religious degradation of Jerusalem in following the basest and most corrupt idolatries, a corresponding moral degradation was linked with it. All the rites of the Canaanites and the other nations consisted in the grossest immoralities. The most shameless and the vilest things of the flesh were practiced in the midst of the idolatrous city. "How is the faithful city become a harlot!" (Isaiah i:21). In the next section the Lord addresses her by that t.i.tle and once more her judgment doom is announced. "Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord" (verse 35).
The spiritual adultery which characterizes the end of the present age is even greater than that of Jerusalem. The apostacy of Jerusalem is overshadowed by the rising tide of an approaching, final apostasy in which Satan"s man and masterpiece will demand and receive the worship which belongs to the Lord. Antichrist, yet to come, his shadow cast so sharply in our days, will be the consummation of the greatest departure from G.o.d and defiance of G.o.d the world has ever seen. And therefore the coming judgment will also be greater.
After the beautiful parable of the abandoned child, from which we learned Jehovah"s grace and mercy shown to Jerusalem, and the description of Jerusalem"s idolatries and moral degradation, we find her judgment doom announced once more. In connection with this the prophet beholds the time when Sodom and her daughters and Samaria and her daughters, as well as Jerusalem and her daughters, will return to their former estate.
III. The Doom of Jerusalem on account of Her Wickedness.
Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy wh.o.r.edoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them; Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more. So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry. Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord G.o.d: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.
Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. Thou art thy mother"s daughter, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hitt.i.te, and your father an Amorite. And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand is Sodom and her daughters. Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. As I live, saith the Lord G.o.d, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride. Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about. Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the Lord. For thus saith the Lord G.o.d; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant (verses 35-59).
The Word of the Lord is now addressed not to the beloved city, but to the harlot. She had committed the most awful spiritual fornication, with which she had insulted Jehovah, and utterly rejected His love and mercy.
All the idols of abominations were found in her. The different nations which surrounded the land were given to the most degrading idolatries, and Jerusalem had not alone taken up this wicked idol worship, but she became worse than the heathen which practised these things. "They did after the abominations of the heathen which the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel" (2 Kings xxi:2). Graven images were set up in Jerusalem. Moloch service (sacrifice of children) became general.
Sorceries and demon-cults flourished. The vilest immoralities were linked with all this false worship. Jerusalem had become a harlot in the fullest sense of the word, a sink of iniquity. And her lovers, the nations, whose idolatries she had accepted, would now be gathered against her to be used in her judgment (verse 37). Her judgment would be "as a woman that breaks wedlock," that is, an adulteress--"and I will give thy blood in fury and jealousy" (verse 38). Stoning was the judgment for a woman who committed adultery (Lev. xx:10; John viii:5).
Therefore the Lord said, "They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones and thrust thee through with their swords" (verse 40). The judgment would be exhaustive upon her and she would be caused to cease playing the harlot--"thou shalt also give no hire any more" (verse 41). Without following the description of her doom and Jehovah"s scathing condemnation in detail, we turn to that which is of much importance and interest. Samaria is mentioned and her daughters as the elder sister of Jerusalem, and Sodom and her daughters as her younger sister (verse 46). And though the corruption of Samaria and Sodom were so great, yet Jerusalem "was corrupted more than they" in all her ways. "As I live, saith the Lord G.o.d, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters"
(verse 48). Samaria is called the elder sister, because the northern kingdom was the larger; and Sodom is called the younger, because her territory was smaller. The daughters mentioned in connection with each has reference to the allied towns of Jerusalem, Samaria and the region south of Jerusalem, where Sodom was the chief city. Then Sodom"s sin is mentioned. Pride stands first (verse 49); luxurious living, and then followed abomination, and G.o.d took them away. After the sins of Samaria are briefly rehea.r.s.ed we find in this chapter the following words: "When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them" (verse 53). And again we read: "When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate" (verse 55). These two statements are used by a certain cla.s.s of teachers to back up their unscriptural theory of a future rest.i.tution of the wicked dead. They say that these two pa.s.sages predict a restoration of Sodom and the other wicked cities which perished in judgment by fire (Gen. xix), and also a restoration of Samaria as well as Jerusalem, and upon this they built their hope that all the wicked dead will be raised up and restored to a place of blessing. They make therefore much of a restoration of the wicked dead by resurrection.[13] Besides these two pa.s.sages they also use the following Old Testament scriptures to confirm their theory: Eze.
x.x.xvii:1-14; Hosea xiii:14; Jere. xlviii:47; Is. xxv:7-8, and others.
These pa.s.sages are applied by these teachers to a rest.i.tution of the wicked dead by resurrection. But this is the wrong interpretation. They have nothing to do with the resurrection of the physical dead. They refer to national resurrection and restoration. Three facts will show the error of making the Old Testament teach the restoration of the wicked dead:
_I. The Old Testament is not that part of the divine Revelation where teachings and doctrines about the future state are given._
[13] Millennial Dawn, or a.s.sociated Bible Students, Restorationists, etc., do this.
This is a most important fact. The Old Testament shows man as upon the earth, on this side of death, and not beyond death. The future of Israel on the earth, their supremacy and destiny of glory amidst the nations of the earth, the judgments of G.o.d in the earth, as well as the future blessings for the nations inhabiting the earth during the coming age, are all clearly revealed in the Old Testament. The state after death, that which is beyond this life, is shrouded in mystery in the Old Testament Scriptures. That great judgment, the great white throne judgment, is nowhere mentioned in the Old Testament, nor do we read a word there of "the second death." Resurrection of the dead, no doubt, was known to individual saints of Old Testament times; the Spirit of G.o.d revealed it to their hearts, but as a doctrine, resurrection is not found in the Old Testament. In Psalm xvi is revealed the hope of resurrection of the body, and there is a prophecy of the resurrection of our Lord.
_II. Should we find anything in the Old Testament concerning the future state, the state of the righteous and the unrighteous after death, such a hint or statement can only be rightly understood and interpreted by the great doctrine concerning the future state as revealed in the New Testament._
By this, of course, we do not say that the Old Testament needs correction by the revelation of the New, nor do we say that the Old is inferior to the New; all _is_ the Word of G.o.d. However, as the Old Testament does not show man"s condition after death, any pa.s.sage which appears to relate to such a condition must be interpreted by the full light as given in the New Testament.
_III. If such pa.s.sages as Ezekiel xvi:53 and Ezekiel x.x.xvii:1-14, etc., teach the rest.i.tution of the wicked by resurrection for another chance, we must then find such a doctrine of the restoration of the wicked dead for another chance to accept salvation most clearly and fully revealed as one of the great doctrines of the New Testament._
In vain, however, do we look in the New Testament for such a restoration--second probation doctrine. Such a doctrine is not even hinted at in the New. However, the New Testament gives the fullest revelation concerning resurrection and the future state. It tells us that there is indeed a resurrection of the body for every human being.
This revelation of resurrection as contained in the New Testament leaves no room whatever for the Sodomites and all the wicked idolatrous Israelites, to be raised up for another chance. Our Lord in John v:29 reveals a two-fold resurrection, a resurrection unto life and a resurrection unto d.a.m.nation. The human race, those who have died, are therefore in resurrection divided into two cla.s.ses: they must come forth either unto life or unto d.a.m.nation; there is no middle cla.s.s. Later the New Testament teaches a first resurrection, an out resurrection from the dead. Only those who have believed and died in Christ will have a share in this resurrection. Both Old and New Testament saints belong to it, but none have a part in it who died in their sins. The rest of the dead, meaning of course, the wicked dead, are not raised up till after the thousand years. This is a second resurrection and this takes place not when the Lord comes the second time, but after His millennial reign (Rev. xx). The subjects of this second resurrection appear before the great white throne and are cast into the lake of fire. Now, these teachers claim that the return of Sodom and Samaria to their former estate means their resurrection for another chance when the Lord comes.
But as these departed wicked people are wicked still, how can they have part in the first resurrection when the Lord comes, which is the resurrection of the righteous?
They surely cannot belong to this resurrection. And there is nowhere in the New Testament a word about another special resurrection in which all the wicked are raised from dead for another chance. After the resurrection of the righteous dead there is but one more resurrection, the resurrection of the wicked unto d.a.m.nation. In the light of these facts the flimsy theory built upon misapplied texts of the Old Testament, texts which relate to national restoration and blessing, breaks down completely. And now having seen what the statements in this chapter of Ezekiel do not mean, let us see what is their meaning. While these statements cannot mean the resurrection of individuals, they mean a _national_ restoration. There is promised in many pa.s.sages of the Old Testament a national restoration of Israel. The ten tribes are to be brought back to their former possessions. Historically they have been lost.[14] But they are not lost to G.o.d. He knows where they are. He has kept track of them, and in His own time He will make good the promises of their restoration and will bring back the remnants of the house of Israel, now scattered still among the nations. The Jews will also be restored to their territory. Repeatedly this national restoration of the ancient people is promised under the picture of a resurrection. But to other nations there is also promised such a national restoration in the days to come, when the Lord comes and begins His Kingdom reign over the earth. Such a national revival is beyond a doubt promised for a future day to Moab, Ammon, a.s.syria and Egypt. Edom and Babylon, however, are doomed as nations and no revival whatever is promised to them.
[14] The so-called Anglo-Israel theory lacks all Scriptural and historical support.
We do not know of course how G.o.d will accomplish these promises of restoration and national revivals, and how He will gather the remnants of these former nations from the great sea of nations. We can leave this and other difficulties with Him who will see to the fulfillment of all these things.
And so there is promised not alone a return of Samaria to her former estate, but also to Sodom and the cities which were wiped out by judgment. Here is the difficulty which is used to prove that a literal resurrection of the wicked Sodomites must be meant. Were they not all totally destroyed? How then can there be a national restoration when they all perished? But while it is true that all who were in Sodom and the other cities perished, we do not know how many of the inhabitants of these prosperous cities, thickly populated, no doubt, happened to be away from home, on journeys or outside of the doomed district, and thus escaped the fate of others. G.o.d knows all this and keeps track of all.
There is certainly promised a healing for the territory occupied by Sodom and her sister cities. The vision of the stream issuing from the temple (Ex. xlvii) is seen emptying into the sea, which is the Dead Sea, "and the waters shall be healed and everything shall live whithersoever the river cometh." See also Zechariah xiv:8. And what else it may mean we do not know. But of one thing we can be a.s.sured, it does _not_ mean the resurrection of the wicked Sodomites for a second chance, for we know that they are "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7).
IV. The Covenant Remembered and Established.
The closing paragraph of this interesting chapter is the divine a.s.surance that the covenant made in the days of Israel"s youth is to be remembered.
Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord G.o.d (verses 60-63).
The covenant will be remembered and established as an everlasting covenant. Then Jerusalem will receive the elder and younger sister, Samaria and Sodom, not as sisters, but as daughters. They will be added in the coming days of blessing to Jerusalem. This, however, will not be done "by thy covenant," which means the law covenant but by "His covenant," the covenant of promise and of grace (xvi:8). "And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord." Of this great restoration and blessing in store for Jerusalem we shall hear much in the closing visions of Ezekiel.
THE PARABLE OF THE TWO EAGLES. THE CEDAR AND THE VINE.