Parsha Va’eira
Exodus 6:2 –
9:35
Please pray this
Prayer
before reading
In the name of Yahushua
Our
Messiyah,
I
pray for the Spirit of Understanding
The
Spirit of Knowledge and
The Spirit of Wisdom
As
I read through this Parasha
This Torah portion of Va’era begins with the Creator’s revelation
to Moses: I am יהוה. The Name of the Creator, which represents a very high level of
revelation and Light. יהוה goes on to say I appeared to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by EL SHADDAI, but by this NAME יהוה, I
did not make myself known to them. To
Moses, however, the CREATOR is revealing a greated Light of HIMSELF.
At the end of the last Parsha Moses
was seen complaining that Elohim had send him in vain, for instead of helping
the people, he had only make it worst for them. In this Parsha we see EL YAHVEH
response to Moses. YAHVEH spoke sternly to Moses, comparing him to unfavorably
to the Patriarchs, who maintain their faith without complaint, even though they
were not privilege to see the fulfillment of the promise. While Moses who had
been told that the redemption was at hand, was so disillusioned that he could
not wait foe EL YAHVEH to carry His plan to its conclusion, as he defined it.
Exo 6:2 And Elohim spoke to Mosheh and said to
him, “I am יהוה . – It is always a
good thing when our Creator talks to us. It is my desire for everyone who read
these Parsha to allow the Holy Spirit to help them come to maturity. Obeying
the law is a good thing, but it must be done in the Love generated by the Holy
Spirit. If you love me keep My Commandments. If the love for the
One who died on the Cross is in you, you will keep the Commandments. The
original commandments was thou shall not, today it is if you Love Me you will
not; it is not and was never about obedient, it is always about LOVE.
Exo 6:3 “And I appeared to Aḇraham, to
Yitsḥaq, and to Yaʽaqoḇ, as Ěl SHADDAI. And by My Name, יהוה ,
was I not known to them? - I am EL SHADDAI, YAHVEH the
EL that is all sufficient; this term implies Elohim’s trustworthiness to carry
out His Word, which includes punishment for sin and reward for virtue.
Therefore EL YAHVEH begins to rebuttal of Moses by assuring him that his pledge
to the Patriarchs would be fulfilled, and that Moses had been sent as His
emissary to do so.
Why does the revelation of the
higher NAME of יהוה occur
in this Torah portion? At the conclusion of of the first portion in the Book of
Exodus, Moses tells יהוה that the suffering of Yisraelites became worst since he had
spoken to Pharaoh. It seems like Moses was not satisfied with the level of
light that was revealed to him. He was unwilling to settle for the lesser Light
represented by the Name EL SHADDAI, in response to this request the CREATOR
agreed to reveal HIMSELF at the level of
יהוה. By
demanding more from the CREATOR Moses successfully pushed EL SHADDAI to reveal
a higher level of HIS Light to Moses
This Torah portion is a time
when believers can say to the CREATOR that we are no willing to accept the
present Light we are under. This is the time to ask the CREATOR that we know
the CREATOR plans for the redemption to happen sometime in the future, but we
want it know.
At this time in our spiritual
cycle we are given an opportunity to say no, even to something good, in order
to ask for something better. Moses knew of the Messiyah to come, that He would
operate under a greater Light than what he was given.
I believe that after Moses
arrived in Egypt
The evil one will always used
intimidation tactics to achieve its goal. Therefore, when you see any form of
intimidation, anger, violence, sexual, economical, or even pear pressure knows
this it is always from the evil one.
The Egyptians could not be
punish until their measure of sin was full, for YAHVEH is patient even with the
wicked. By Pharaoh cruel deeds in denying the straw to the hapless Hebrew
slave, was the preverbal straw that broke the Camel back.
Pharaoh had reached his lowest
point and so the process of the exodus and the punishment of Egypt
Therefore YAHVEH response to
Moses was that, far from coming to Egypt in vain, his arrival expedited the
process of the Exodus, which was about to begin. As is well known, YAHVEH’s
various Names represent the different ways in which He reveals Himself, so that
the Names used in the different context, represent the differing ways in which YAHVEH
revealed Himself to the Patriarchs and to Moses. Moses had the revelation as
SHADDAI, YAHVEH’S highest manifestation, yet he questioned His Ways, while the
Patriarchs had maintained their strong faith even through YAHVEH had revealed
Himself to them with other Names such as El SHADDAI.
The name SHADDAI, meaning
sufficient, and denotes YAHVEH as the One Who sets limits on Creations by
establishing the law of nature, the limitation within the Universe. Also it
represents Elohim’s establishments of limits to the success one enjoys and the
suffering he must endure. By comparing the revelation of Moses with that of the
Patriarchs, YAHVEH was chastising him for his insufficient lack of faith.
El SHADDAI describes Elohim
when He performs miracles that do not openly disrupt the normal course of
Nature. This was the way the Patriarchs perceived YAHVEH when He assured their
survival in times of famine or make them victorious over physically superior
enemies, and give them extraordinary success in amassing wealth.
Though miraculous, none of the above openly
violated the laws of nature. Therefore, the Patriarchs had seen YAHWEH show
Himself only in the guise as El SHADDAI. Moses, however, would soon witness
miracles of a magnitude that dwarfed anything the Patriarchs had experience.
His Name SHADDAI represented the essence of YAHVEH; only Moses had the degree
of prophecy that enabled him to comprehend its significance to the highest spiritual
degree possible to man Kind
Exo 6:4 “And I also established My covenant
with them, to give them the land
of Kenaʽan
The land of their sojourning.
Because the Patriarchs attitude towards this world was that they were but
temporary sojourners, and that their true residence was in the Heavenly kingdom
among the Spirits, I promised top give them the country on earth that is most
conducive to spiritual greatness.
Exo 6:5 “And I have also heard the groaning of
the children of Yisra’ĕl whom the Mitsrites are enslaving, and I have
remembered My covenant. – Moreover, since I have made
a covenant and acknowledge my obligation to fulfill it, I am ready to do so. YAHVEH
covenant always have a time table, or a certain action on the part of man, for
certain things must be fulfill its porpose. The outcry of the Hebrew people
proves that the Egyptians overstep their bounds in caring out YAHVEH’s decree
that the children of Yisrael would be subjugated, and through the outcry has
precipitated the beginning of the process of their redemption.
The covenant’s promise of the
Land was mentioned in verse 4; this verse refers to the portion of the covenant
made with Abraham in which EL YAHVEH pledge to judge and punish the nations
that bring suffering upon Yisrael.
Verse 6 –7 we see the four expression of
redemption portrait by the Passover Feast. Having told Moses that the impending
revelation would be greater than that which was revealed to the Patriarchs, and
that He was about to redeem the Hebrew people, YAHVEH commanded him to go once
again to the Hebrew people and tell them that he EL YAHVEH, the Name that
denotes His power and mercy, was about to redeem them.
Exo 6:6 “Say, therefore, to the children of
Yisra’ĕl, ‘I am יהוה , and I shall bring you out from
under the burdens of the Mitsrites, and shall deliver you from their enslaving,
and shall redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments, - These two verse contain four different
expressions, representing progressive stages of the redemption. These four
stages are the basis for the requirement of the four cups at the Passover
Table.
The first cup – I shall take
you out, justification, bethroal. EL YAHVEH would remove the Hebrew people by a
Mighty Hand from the burden of slavery to sin, even before they were permitted
to leave the country and while they were still the chattels of Egypt Egypt
The second cup – I shall
rescue you, Sanctification. EL YAHVEH would take Egypt
The third cup – I shall redeem
you, accept, pay the bride price. The splitting of the Red Sea, when EL YAHVEH
outstretch arm with great judgment crushed Egypt
The forth Cup – I shall take
you, marriage feast of the lamb. EL YAHVEH took the Children of Yisrael as His
people when He gave them the Torah at Mt. Sinai
Exo 6:7 and shall take you as My people, and I shall be your
Elohim. And you shall know that I am יהוה your Elohim who is bringing you out from under
the burdens of the Mitsrites. – these last two verses is another example of the full plan of
Salvation, just like the sixth days of Creation.
Exo 6:8 ‘And I shall bring you into the land which I swore to
give to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Yaʽaqoḇ, to give it to you as an
inheritance. I am יהוה . – The promise of the heritage is sign with the
Name of EL YAHVEH. This is more than an inheritance for those who reach
maturity or for those who become the Bride. The Land of Yisrael
Exo 6:9 And Mosheh spoke thus to the children of Yisra’ĕl, but they did not listen
to Mosheh, because of shortness of spirit, and from hard slavery. – But like most of us we do
not heed. The Hebrew people did not respond favorably to Moses’ assurance. This
verse explain that their negative attitude was deu not to lack of faith, but to
the difficult physical and emotional circumstances under which they labored.
There were too much of Egypt Egypt
Moses said to EL SHADDAI that
if the yisraelites did not hear him, how would Pharaoh? The Torah tells us that
the Yisraelites could not hear Moses. Their suffering in slavery was to great
that it kept Moses’ revelation from been heard. Moses like the Messiyah
centries later was the right conduit, yet the Yisraelites could not accept the
Light because they were so overworked and dispirited.
Exo 6:10 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Exo 6:11 “Go in, speak to Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim, to let the children of
Yisra’ĕl go out of his land.” – again the appeal to Pharaoh continue.
Exo 6:12 And Mosheh spoke before יהוה , saying, “The children of Yisra’ĕl
have not listened to me, and why would Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of
uncircumcised lips?” – The Children of Yisrael had
not listen to Moses, in fact they blame him for there demise. Moses thought
that the Children of Yisrael had lost confidence in his ability to speak on
their behalf. This convince him that it would be fool hearted to try to
convince Pharaoh who did whatever he please with them and had no motivation to
take Moses seriously.
Once again Moses raised the
issue of his stuttering, even after EL YAHVEH had already address the issue.
But now EL YAHVEH had instructed him to speak to Pharaoh, thus raising Moses
fear that he was unqualified.
Exo 6:13 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to
Aharon, and gave them a command for the children of Yisra’ĕl and for Pharaoh,
sovereign of Mitsrayim, to bring the children of Yisra’ĕl out of the land of Mitsrayim
In a sense, the mission of
redemption begins only now. Up until this point, Moses and Aaron had presented
their case to Pharaoh, with no positive result. The first meeting between Moses
and Pharaoh was to bring to fulfillment the level of sin, before judgment is
served. This was fulfilled and Moses and Aaron was once again being charge with
their mission, but this time it was for its final execution. From now on
Pharaoh would begin to see and experience the ten fingers or the Mighty Hand of
EL YAHVEH.
Verse 13 – 30 introduce a new
beginning and then interrupt it with the genealogy, after which it returns to
the mission. The Torah takes great effort to point out that contrary to the
claims made by other religion, the leadership of Hebrew people were humans.
The following verses give
their family backgrounds to make a point that their compatriots knew them and
their cousins, remembered their parent and uncles. This also show how the land
will be divided up according to the different clans, when division is taken
place in the Heavens.
Exo 6:14 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Re’uḇĕn, the
first-born of Yisra’ĕl: Ḥanoḵ and Pallu, Ḥetsron and Karmi. These are the
clans of Re’uḇĕn.
Exo 6:15 And the sons of Shimʽon: Yemu’ĕl, and Yamin, and Ohaḏ, and Yaḵin, and
Tsoḥar, and Sha’ul the son of a Kenaʽanite woman. These are the clans of
Shimʽon.
Exo 6:16 These are the names of the sons of Lĕwi according to their generations:
Gĕreshon, and Qehath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Lĕwi were one
hundred and thirty-seven.
Exo 6:17 The sons of Gĕreshon: Liḇni and Shimʽi according to their clans.
Exo 6:18 And the sons of Qehath: Amram, and Yitshar, and Ḥeḇron, and Uzzi’ĕl. And
the years of the life of Qehath were one hundred and thirty-three.
Exo 6:19 And the sons of Merari: Maḥli and Mushi. These are the clans of Lĕwi
according to their generations.
Exo 6:20 And Amram took for himself Yoḵeḇeḏ, his father’s sister, as wife. And
she bore him Aharon and Mosheh. And the years of the life of Amram were one
hundred and thirty-seven.
Exo 6:21 And the sons of Yitshar: Qoraḥ, and Nepheḡ, and Ziḵri.
Exo 6:22 And the sons of Uzzi’ĕl: Misha’ĕl, and Eltsaphan, and Sithri.
Exo 6:23 Aharon took to himself Elisheḇa, daughter of Amminaḏaḇ, sister of
Naḥshon, as wife. And she bore him Naḏaḇ, and Aḇihu, Elʽazar, and Ithamar.
Exo 6:24 And the sons of Qoraḥ: Assir, Elqanah, and Aḇiyasaph. These are the clans
of the Qorḥites.
Exo 6:25 And Elʽazar, Aharon’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of
Puti’ĕl as wife. And she bore him Pineḥas. These are the heads of the fathers
of the Lĕwites according to their clans.
Exo 6:26 This is Aharon, and Mosheh, to whom יהוה said, “Bring out the children of Yisra’ĕl from
the land of Mitsrayim
Exo 6:27 They were the ones who spoke to
Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim, to bring out the children of Yisra’ĕl from
Mitsrayim. This is Mosheh, and Aharon. – Who do we send to confront Lucifer, do
we send a child? No we send a spiritual mature individual, a spiritual warrier
to confront the enemy. Today most of our socalled Ministers, Pastor, and church
leaders are children spiritually. Isa 3:12 As for my people, children are
their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee
cause thee to err, and destroy
the way of thy paths. Most
churches today does not led there people to maturity, they just oppress the
people with denomination doctrine, instead of freeing them with the truth of
Torah.
Exo 6:28 And it came to be, on the day when יהוה spoke to Mosheh in the land of Mitsrayim
Exo 6:29 that יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
“I am יהוה . Speak to Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim all that I say to you.” - ABBA YAHVEH is
the KING. When we as members of the Mighty Hand: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist,
Pastors and Teachers speak to the people we must spead as the Oricles of ABBA
YAHVEH. HIS Voice is not ours, it is YAHVEH. Too often many of us speak and
says God says, when that god is their own opinion. They used God’s name to
validate their Denomination doctrine.
Exo 6:30 And Mosheh said before יהוה , “See, I am of uncircumcised
lips, and why would Pharaoh listen to me?” - Having interrupted the
narrative to give the above family background, the Torah reviews what had been
said above, after which it continues with the chain of events leading up to the
exodus. Moses understand the gravity of what he was called to do. Moses said
that he was of an unclean lips, how can I speak for the Absolute Perfect
CREATOR. But Moses next comment was one
of doubt, why would Pharaoh listen to me. The same is true today, do not cast
your pearls, your Words among swines. How many time have I spoken to Christians
about the Sabbath day, yet they dig their heals in more. Yet the judgement of
Pharaoh could not start until Pharaoh heard the Word he was destine to hear. When
we as believers speak to disobedient believers, it take them one more step to
judgement. ABBA YAHVEH will not judge the world until the Besorah the good new
is preach into all the world. If we want the Messiyah to return soon, we all
need to get bussy in preaching to the world.
Chapter 7
In response to Moses’ doubts
of his chances for success, EL YAHVEH tells him that he will now begin to
exercise domination over Pharaoh and that Aaron will speak for him, so that
Moses’ speech impediment will not be a factor.
As a boy, I suffer from a
sevare case of Speech impediment. Yet when I teach or preach the Word, Never
once do I ever stutter. This my friend is how I know that the Holy Spirit is
with me.
EL YAHVEH reiterates, however,
that Pharaoh will refuse at first and that even when he is ready to succumb, YAHVEH
will cause him to continue his refusal to obey by his stubbornness.
As belivers we do not know
what is the straw that break the Camel back, what is that Word, what is that
story that cause a person to make a life shattering change in their approch to
life.
The Holy Spirit Know us all,
She know the heart of Her children, what will make this child believer will be
a stubling block for another.
Exo 7:1 So יהוה said to Mosheh, “See, I have made you an
elohim1 to Pharaoh, and Aharon your brother is your prophet.
Footnote: 1Or mighty one
– see footnote at 4:16. – The Hebrew word Elohim, mean mighty ones, however in this case it
also mean master. Moses would be a master in the sense that he would have the
authority to impose his will upon Pharaoh and punish him, like an officer of
the court. Like the Law that was place on the outside of the Ark
Exo 7:2 “You shall speak all that I command
you, and Aharon your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, to let the children of
Yisra’ĕl go out of his land. – Again as any good Commander in Chief, EL YAHVEH reminded Moses and
Aaron only say what YAHVEH have commanded them to say. There was a woman who
added to the commandment in Genesis 1 –2 and the evil one used it against her.
This is a very valuable lesson
to believers; especially those who pretend to speak on behalf of YAHVEH. We
should only speak what the Word says.
Exo 7:3 “But I am going to harden the heart of Pharaoh, and shall increase My
signs and My wonders in the land
of Mitsrayim
A wonder offer proof of the
authenticity of the sender; that is why Moses performed wonders for Pharaoh who
in 5:2, questioned the very existence of EL YAHVEH.
Exo 7:4 “And Pharaoh is not going to listen to you, and I shall
lay My hand on Mitsrayim, and bring My divisions and My people, the children of
Yisra’ĕl, out of the land
of Mitsrayim
Exo 7:5 “And the Mitsrites shall know that I am יהוה , when I
stretch out My hand on Mitsrayim. And I shall bring the children of Yisra’ĕl
out from among them.” – There is a theme that is repeated throughout the ensuing narrative,
that even Egypt Egypt Egypt
Exo 7:6 And Mosheh and Aharon did as יהוה commanded them, so they did. – All true leaders of the Children of Yisrael, the called out ones; will
always do exactly what they are commanded to do. They will not add to scripture
as some false Christian teachers have done, they will not nail EL YAHVEH
commandments to the cross as some leaders have done. Every good army
only do what the Commander and Chief command them to do.
Exo 7:7 Now Mosheh was eighty years old and
Aharon eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh. – Add some intensity to the narrative, EL YAHVEH include Moses and
Aaron age, to create a timeline for us to prove His Word.
Exo 7:8 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to
Aharon, saying, - In every military campaign, which this rescue operation was. The
Commander in Chief, regularly communicate with His generals. Regular briefings
are an essential part of the Head communication with the Mighty Hand (Moses and
Aaron).
Exo 7:9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then
you shall say to Aharon, ‘Take your rod and throw it before Pharaoh, and let it
become a serpent.’ - Show us some proof, the
boastful Pharaoh ask the two humble servant of EL YAHVEH. As if he would caught
them off guard. But little did Pharaoh that the Elohim Who see and know
everything already prepare His warriors for every conceivable event. As
believers we must never be caught off guard. If we walk in the Spirit of Wisdom
we will always be prepared. Moses and Aaron were walking in the Spirit of
Wisdom and Power when they confronted Pharaoh. The flexing of spiritual muscles
starts the process. Who had the bigger stick? We will see later.
Exo 7:10 So Mosheh and Aharon went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, as יהוה commanded. And Aharon threw his rod before
Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. - The Spirit of Wisdom is the
ability to do all that EL YAHVEH has asks us to do. A fully mature believer
will always walk in the seven Spirits of EL YAHVEH, Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit
of YAHVEH will rest on him- the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit
of advice and power, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of YAHVEH.
Exo 7:11 But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the practisers of witchcraft. And
they, the magicians of Mitsrayim, also did so with their magic. – Necromancers a form of magic
that inquires of the dead genesis 41:8. The evil spirit will always want people
to think because they can do one or may be two seemingly miracle that they are
authentic. Let see who have the bigger stick.
Exo 7:12 And they, each one, threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But the
rod of Aharon swallowed up their rods. – The
preverbal question, “Who is your daddy” apply here. Who have the bigger stick
Pharaoh?
Exo 7:13 And Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as יהוה had said. – Like most
spiritually destitute leader, he cannot see the forest for the trees.
Exo 7:14 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “The heart of Pharaoh is hard,
he refuses to let the people go. - There was a
spiritual link between EL YAHVEH and Moses; an immediate down load call
discernment was given to Moses at a moment notice. This same communication
ability is what Yahushua spoke of when He says My Father and I are one. What EL
YAHVEH plans are Moses will know also? The last chance for Pharaoh to change
His mind before the next level of judgment.
Exo 7:15 “Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he goes out to the water, and you shall
stand by the river’s bank to meet him. And take in your hand the rod, which was
turned into a serpent. – Go to Pharaoh in the morning, after he has had time to sleep on the
event of yesterday, and do all that I tell you to do.
Exo 7:16 “And you shall say to him, ‘יהוה the EL of the Heḇrews has sent me to you,
saying, “Let My people go, so that they serve Me in the wilderness,” but see,
until now you have not listened! – The Commander and Chief of the Hebrew people have sent me, I am not
here on my own. You have not listen! “Let His people go.” This is the cry of
every Evangelist, one of the fivefold ministry the Mighty Hand of Elohim.
Exo 7:17 ‘Thus said יהוה , “By this you know that I am יהוה .
See, I am striking the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my
hand, and they shall be turned to blood, - By My little finger I will strike the water of Egypt , the life line of Egypt
Exo 7:18 and the fish in the river shall die.
And the river shall stink, and the Mitsrites shall find it impossible to drink
the water of the river. – The first three plagues were design to prove to Pharaoh that contrary
to Pharaoh skepticism, He is EL YAHVEH. This series of Plagues achieved its
purpose when Pharaoh’s magicians were forced to acknowledge, it is a finger of EL
YAHVEH.
Exo 7:19 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, “Say to Aharon, ‘Take your
rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Mitsrayim, over their streams,
over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that
they become blood. And there shall be blood in all the land of Mitsrayim
Exo 7:20 And Mosheh and Aharon did so, as יהוה commanded. And he lifted up the rod and struck
the waters that were in the river, in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of
his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. – A small demonstration of the Power of EL YAHVEH
to Pharaoh.
Exo 7:21 And the fish that were in the river died, and the river stank, and the
Mitsrites were unable to drink the water of the river. And the blood was in all
the land of Mitsrayim
Exo 7:22 And the magicians of Mitsrayim did the same with their
magic. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as
יהוה had said. – Pharaoh ordered his
magicians to duplicate the miracle. If all the water was turn into blood, where
did they get the water from? The magician must have bought water from the
Children of Yisrael, to duplicate their version of this plague.
Exo 7:23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and his heart was not moved by
this either. – Pharaoh was not impress so to speak. Have you ever try talking to a
religious person about the Word of Elohim. It is much like talking to Pharaoh,
they will never listen, even if you show them what is written.
Exo 7:24 And all the Mitsrites dug all around the river for water to drink, for
they were unable to drink the water of the river. – It seems that it was only the water that was above ground that turn
to blood that why everyone were digging wells close to the river.
Exo 7:25 And seven days were
completed after יהוה had struck the river. - The plague continued seven days, and, in all that
time, Pharaoh’s proud heart would not let him so much as desire Moses to
intercede for the removal of it. The hypocrites in heart, heap up wrath; they
cry not when he ask them (Job 36:13); and then no wonder that his anger is
not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Exo 7:26 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, “Go to Pharaoh and say to
him, ‘Thus said יהוה , “Let My people go, so that they
serve Me. – They were to go to Pharaoh palace again, where
they would be surrounded by digniteries and petitioners, so that all would see
that the frogs were being brought by EL YAHVEH’s prophet.
The first plague demonstrates
that one of the Egyptian deities, the river, was powerless against EL YAHVEH’s
Will. The second plague, during which the River itself produced the frog,
demonstrates that it too, was only a mere servant of EL YAHVEH.
Exo 7:27 “But if you refuse to
let them go, see, I am smiting all your border with frogs. – The Plague of Frogs was only in the land of Egypt
Exo 7:28 “And the river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and shall come
into your house, and into your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the houses of
your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading
bowls, - Frogs, Frogs and more Frogs.
Exo 7:29 and the frogs shall come up on you and on your people and
on all your servants.” – except for the land where the Children of Yisrael.
Chapter 8
In response to the plague of
Blood, Pharaoh stubbornly ignored Moses, but in the case with the frog, even
after his magicians duplicates the plague, as with the blood. Pharaoh begged
Moses to remove the plague.
When the other plague affects
him, he sometime offered to submit to EL YAHVEH’s Will and other time he did
not. It was a spirit of stupidity that came upon Pharaoh, just like the spirit
of stupidity that come upon someone who cannot see the Sabbath day for what it
is.
It seems that when the plague
struck Pharaoh and he believes that his kingdom was threatened, he offers to
relent; otherwise, he remains adamant. Lets look at the following.
§
Blood – the plague was not
life threatening because the Egyptians could buy water from the Children of
Yisrael. Or by digging well by the river.
§
Frogs – in addition to the
unbearable annoyance of the around the clock croaking, the frogs actually creep
into the innards of the Egyptians and threatened their lives.
§
Lice – although Pharaoh’s
magicians finally concede, that the plague could not only have been brought by
anyone else but EL YAHVEH, Pharaoh would not budge, because the plague was
uncomfortable but not dangerous.
§
Wild Beast – Anyone would have
feared for his life when surrounded by beasts of the wild. Pharaoh for the
first time promised to capitulate to all of Moses’ demands.
§
Epidemic – Only animals died,
not people.
§
Boils – Again, the plague
cause extreme discomfort, but no one got killed.
§
Hail – the loud thunder and
flames from Heavens terrified everyone, making them fear they would suffer the
same faith as Sodom
§
Locus – Pharaoh said
explicitly, remove this death from me.
§
Darkness – Pharaoh did not ask
Moses to pray on his behalf. During the first three days of the plague, the
Egyptians could have used lanterns; thereafter, they could not see to move. As
soon as the plague was over, he offered to let the people go, but attached a
unacceptable condition.
§
Killing of the First Born –
Pharaoh’s resistance was finally broken, for he experience the death of his own
son.
Exo 8:1 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Say to
Aharon, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers,
and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Mitsrayim Egypt Egypt
Exo 8:2 So Aharon stretched out his hand over the waters of Mitsrayim, and the
frogs came up, and covered the land
of Mitsrayim
Exo 8:3 And the magicians did so with their
magic, and brought up frogs on the land
of Mitsrayim
Exo 8:4 Pharaoh then called for
Mosheh and Aharon, and said, “Pray to יהוה to take away the frogs from me and from my
people, and I shall let the people go to slaughter to יהוה .” - YAHVEH does not punish men for sin unless they
persist in it. If he turn not, he will whet his sword (Ps. 7:12), which
implies favour if he turn. So here, If thou refuse, I will smite thy
borders, intimating that if Pharaoh complied the controversy should
immediately be dropped. The plague threatened, in case of refusal, was
formidably extensive. Frogs were to make an inpact upon them as should make
them uneasy in their houses, in their beds, and at their tables; they should
not be able to eat, nor drink, nor sleep in quietness, but, wherever they were,
should be infested by them. YAH’s curse upon a man will pursue him wherever he
goes, and lie heavily upon him whatever he does. See Deu. 28:16, etc. There is
no avoiding divine judgments when they invade with commission. This is an
application of the Law that was place on the otside of the Ark
Exo 8:5 And Mosheh said to Pharaoh, “Glorify yourself over me: When am I to pray
for you, and for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from
you and your houses, and remain only in the river?” – Moses made a request to Pharaoh, for him to
make a request that he feel Moses cannot fulfill, and if you are right, you
will be able to say that I failed your test. Tell me the moment when you want
the frog-infestation to end.
Exo 8:6 So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, so
that you know that there is no one like יהוה our Elohim. – Pharaoh attempted to outwit Moses, by asking for the plague to end
the next day. Moses obliged him. This demonstrates Pharaoh’s stubborn
wickedness. Though the plague hurt enough to make him beg for mercy, he was
willing for his people to endure another night in order to embarrass Moses.
Pharaoh asked for total
removal of the frogs from his country that would have happened. But he asked
only that they be taken away from him and his servants.
- Pharaoh sets the time for to-morrow. And why not immediately?
Was he so fond of his guests that he would have them stay another night with
him? No, but probably he hoped that they would go away of themselves, and then
he should get clear of the plague without being obliged either to YAHWEH or
Moses. However, Moses joins issue with him upon it: "Be it according to
thy word, it shall be done just when thou wouldst have it done, that
thou mayest know that, whatever the magicians pretend to, there is none
like unto YAHWEH our EL. None has such a command as he has over all the
creatures, nor is any one so ready to forgive those that humble themselves
before him. land stank.
Exo 8:7 “And the frogs shall turn aside from you, and from your houses, and from
your servants, and from your people – they shall remain in the river only.” – Some frogs found a new habitat in the river and the other died in the
land, so that their stench befouled the whole country. In Deutoronomy 31:28 Take this book of the law, and put it in the
side of the ark of the covenant of YAHVEH your EL, that it may be there for a witness
against thee. Coll 2:14Blotting out the handwriting of
ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it
out of the way, nailing it to his cross; Moses a form of Messiyah cause the curse of
the frog to turn aside from the people. Today we who believe in Messiyah
Yahushua do not have to worry, we have a Moses who pray from us that the curse
of the law, Deu 28:15-68 may never come against us.
Exo 8:8 And Mosheh and Aharon went out from Pharaoh. And Mosheh cried out to יהוה concerning the frogs, which He had brought
against Pharaoh. – Moses Prayed to EL YAHVEH concerns the frogs and He heard.
Exo 8:9 And יהוה did according to the word
of Mosheh. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out
of the fields. – And YAHVEH did according to the Prayer of Moses for mosses had obeyed
the commandment of EL YAHVEH. We as believer often wonder why our prayers do
not get answered. It is because we are not obedient to the Word of EL YAHVEH.
We do not do what He says we must do. Notice here it say
the word of Moses, and we know that Moses was told that when he visited Pharaoh
he was only to speak the Words of ABBA YAHVEH. So when Chjristians say the Law
of Moses they are speaking of the Law of YAHVEH.
Exo 8:10 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the - They all
died, and, that it might appear that they were real frogs, their dead bodies
were left to be raked together in heaps, so that the smell of them became
offensive. The great Sovereign of the world makes what use he pleases of the
lives and deaths of his creatures; and he that gives a being life, to serve one
purpose, may, without wrong to his justice, call for it again immediately, to
serve another purpose.
Exo 8:11 And when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did
not listen to them, as יהוה had said. – The term “that they had been a relief” is found in no other
description about the plague. This was a decisive factor in Pharaoh’s response
to the cessation of the frogs. Although the plague ended, its memory should
have been strong enough to influence Pharaoh’s mind, for the foul smell from
the pile of dead frogs were everywhere. Nevertheless Torah tells us that there
was a relief, and this was sufficient for Pharaoh to become stubborn again.
The term “kept making his
heart stubborn” is an infinitive verb, representing a continuous process
whereby Pharaoh constantly conditioned himself the warning and punishment of
Moses. This seems to be an example similar to one who becomes demon poses.
Exo 8:12 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Say to
Aharon, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it
becomes gnats in all the land
of Mitsrayim Egypt
Exo 8:13 And they did so, and Aharon stretched out his hand with his rod and struck
the dust of the earth, and it became gnats on man and beast. All the dust of
the land became gnats in all the land
of Mitsrayim
Exo 8:14 And the magicians did similarly with their magic to bring forth gnats, but
they were unable. And there were gnats on man and beast. – The magician of Egypt Egypt
The great Sovereign
of the world makes what use he pleases of the lives and deaths of his
creatures; and he that gives a being, to serve one purpose, may, without wrong
to his justice, call for it again immediately, to serve another purpose.
Exo 8:15 The magicians then said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of Elohim!” But
the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as יהוה had said. – These Magicians are no fools; they were well learned in their craft.
They finally realize that this plague was only one of the fingers of EL YAHVEH,
and they informed Pharaoh accordingly.
Exo 8:16
And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Rise
early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water, and
say to him, ‘Thus said יהוה , “Let
My people go, so that they serve Me. – Moses and Aaron
was commanded to go to Pharaoh and present another plea to let the children of
Yisrael go. Pharaoh refusal would trigger the second set of three plague. This
was to prove to Pharaoh That EL YAHVEH is the El Elohim in the land of Yisrael
The narrative stress that these
three plagues did not affect the Hebrew people, which demonstrated that EL
YAHVEH controlled all minutiae of earthly events.
Exo 8:17 “Or else, if you do not let My people go, see, I am sending swarms of
flies on you and your servants, and on your people and into your houses. And
the houses of the Mitsrites shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the
ground on which they stand. – This plague consist of all manner of aggressive wild animals, from
snakes, to scorpions, wild dogs and even domesticated animals. The natural fear
of humans was taken away from even the domesticated animals. This fear of
mankind that was place there by our Creator on the sixth day of creation was
remove.
Exo 8:18 “And in that day I shall separate the land of Goshen, in which My people
dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, so that you know that I am יהוה in the midst of the land. – In this verse the term “I shall set apart, or make a distinction”
This apparent redundancy refers to two separate features of the distinction
between Hebrew and Egyptians. The first, EL YAHVEH said He would keep the swarm
from entering Goshen
The animals would not enter Goshen
Exo 8:19 “And I shall put a distinction between
My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.” - That means that my next-door neighbor could be
five feet away from me and their house would be infested and I could sleep in
peace. How assume is our Creator!
Exo 8:20 And יהוה did so, and thick swarms
of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and
into all the land of Mitsrayim, and the land was ruined because of the swarms
of flies. – The land was being ruined. The animals
stripped every tree, destroying the crops. Like great swarms of cloud these
insects would roam over the land, in a search and destroy mission.
Exo 8:21 Pharaoh then called for Mosheh and Aharon, and said, “Go, slaughter to
your Elohim in the land.” – for the first
time Pharaoh’s resistance began to break, but he offered to let Yisrael bring
offerings to EL YAHVEH, only on his terms: if they did not leave Egypt
Exo 8:22 And Mosheh said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be slaughtering
the deity of the Mitsrites to יהוה our Elohim. See, if we slaughter the deity of
the Mitsrites before their eyes, would they not stone us? – The deity or Abomination of Egypt, the sacred thing. The Torah refers
to all idols as abomination, but when Moses address Pharaoh, he use a more
respectful terms. It is never proper to use the practice of the Egyptian in our
worship of EL YAHVEH. A drum that was used in idol worship cannot be use to
worship YAHVEH.
Exo 8:23 “Let us go three days’ journey into
the wilderness, then we shall slaughter to יהוה our Elohim, as He commands us.” – Three day journey represent a complete separation from the things of Egypt
Exo 8:24 And Pharaoh said, “I am letting you go, then you shall slaughter to יהוה your Elohim in the wilderness. Only, do not go
very far away! Pray for me.” – Pharaoh finally concedes that it would be improper to slaughter sheep
in Egypt
This is the form of subtle
intimidation that the world practices, if they can get the believer to concede
even a little they will have won.
Exo 8:25 And Mosheh said, “See, when I leave you I shall pray to יהוה , and tomorrow
the swarms of flies shall depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his
people. But do not let Pharaoh again deceive, not to let the people go to
slaughter to יהוה .” – Moses would pray after leaving Pharaoh presence, for the swams of
flies to be taken away the next day. The next day could have been from sundown
on.
Exo 8:26 And Mosheh went out from Pharaoh and prayed to יהוה .
Exo 8:27 And יהוה did according to the word
of Mosheh and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and
from his people. Not one remained. – When EL YAHVEH does anything it is usually total in scope. This verse
reminds us that not one of the millions of flies remains. The total control EL
YAHVEH have over nature was displayed in this verse.
Exo 8:28 But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time too, and did not let the
people go. – Even though he had promise to let the people
go. Even though the wild animals were still alive and Pharaoh should have
feared their possible return. Even though his magician concedes that the plague
were of Divine origin. Stupid Pharaoh still hardens his heart, a perfect
description of a vessel of dishonor.
Chapter 9
Exo 9:1 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Go in to Pharaoh and speak to
him, ‘Thus said יהוה Elohim of the Heḇrews, “Let My people go, so
that they serve Me.
Exo 9:2 “For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them, - Moses delivered the message the message with a
particular urgency, because once the epidemic killed the animals, it would be
too late to reverse the effect of the plague.
Exo 9:3 see, the hand of יהוה is on your livestock in the field, on the
horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the cattle, and on the sheep – a very
grievous pestilence. – This plague would strike every livestock in the field. The believers
among the Egyptians who were wise enough took their livestock inside and they
were saved. These were the one who make up part of the mix multitude.
Exo 9:4 “And יהוה shall separate between
the livestock of Yisra’ĕl and the livestock of Mitsrayim, and let no matter die
of all that belongs to the children of Yisra’ĕl. – Here again we see that the Mighty Hand of EL
YAHVEH spared those who are obedient. The children of Yisrael were those who
heed to the warning set by Moses. The Job of the elders was to inform those
believers in Egypt Egypt
Exo 9:5 And יהוה set an appointed time, saying, “Tomorrow יהוה is going to do this word in the land.” – Moses inform Pharaoh of the exact time of the
plague so that he would have enough time to take their animals inside. A mature
believer is one with the Creator he is close to HIM, he see what and know what
the CRETOR is doing.
Exo 9:6 And יהוה did this word on the next
day, and all the livestock of Mitsrayim died, but of the livestock of the
children of Yisra’ĕl, not one died. – In the final judgment all those who are of the kingdom of Egypt
Exo 9:7 Then Pharaoh sent, and see, not even one of the livestock of the
Yisra’ĕlites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not
let the people go. – Even though he saw that an undeniable miracle had occurred, Pharaoh
refused to relent! The spirit of stupor came over Pharaoh again, similar to the
deceitful spirit that come upon our Christian brothers that they should believe
a lie.
This action is beyond
comprehension. Why would anyone harden their heart after seeing that
devastating plague? Why would any believer go to church on the 1st
day after reading that they must keep the 7th day holy? The lying
spirit that what.
With this plague ended, a new
phenomenon began. Pharaoh’s personal stubbornness was broken and he would have
freed the people, but EL YAHVEH send the spirit of stubbornness to strengthen
his resolve so that he could still be punish for his earlier sins. All sins
must be accounted for, all prices must be paid, even though forgiveness has
been made, restitution must always be made.
Today all the Tsumie, and
earth quakes and hurricane around the world, yet we cannot see the Mighty Hand
of YAHVEH at work.
Exo 9:8 And יהוה said to Mosheh and
Aharon, “Fill your hands with ashes from a furnace and let Mosheh scatter it
toward the Heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh. – Moses and Aaron
was told to both take an handful of ash from a furnace, but only Moses was to
scattered it in the air in the presence of Pharaoh.
Exo 9:9 “And it shall become fine dust in all the land of Mitsrayim, and it shall
cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast in all the land of
Mitsrayim.” – Ash is the byproduct of that which have already been consumed. This
is the catalyst by which the next plague was to be implemented. The ash of the
red heifer were used to heal the people, here we see the opposite, the ash from
the furnace of the Judgment of EL YAHVEH, will be upon the flesh of the
unbeliever.
Exo 9:10 So they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Mosheh
scattered them toward the Heavens. And they caused boils, breaking out in sores
on man and beast. – Apparently not all the
animals were destroyed in the fifth plague. The Egyptian must have brought some
of their animals inside after the plague had started.
Now even those that survive
the last plague, both they and the Egyptian broke out in boils.
Exo 9:11 And the magicians were unable to stand
before Mosheh because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on
all the Mitsrites. – The so-called magician was now
stripped of their authority, by the painful boils, which they were powerless to
stop. Were ashamed to stand before Pharaoh. Who have the bigger stick now?
Moses walked softly and carries a big stick!
Exo 9:12 But יהוה hardened the heart of
Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as יהוה had said to Mosheh. – Again the spirit of stupor
came upon Moses and he again hardens his heart, a vessel of dishonor.
Exo 9:13 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Rise
early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus said יהוה Elohim of the Heḇrews, “Let My people go, so
that they serve Me, - As we learn in Genesis EL
YAHVEH people always rise early to perform YAH’s Will, and stand before
Pharaoh. Every time Moses stands before Pharaoh he seem to be getting a little
bit taller.
Exo 9:14 for at this time I am sending all My plagues unto your heart, and on your
servants and on your people, so that you know that there is no one like Me in
all the earth. – These final sets of Plagues
were to prove to Pharaoh and to us that EL YAHVEH has no equal in the entire
universe. The term all My Plague implies that this plague that was about to
begin would be the severist of all the plague before. The reason why this
plague was so serious was because it struct at the food supply. This plague
consist of hail, fire, rain , thunder, and destruction of crops.
Exo 9:15 “Now if I had stretched out My hand
and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut
off from the earth. – EL YAHVEH now introduces a
new dimension to the plague and their purpose: The public sanctification of His
Name. Moses and Aaron was to informed pharaoh that he deserved to die during
these epidemic, but EL YAHVEH allowed him to survive for a reason: so that he
would be force to recognize Yah’s Greatness and proclaim it to the world.
Exo 9:16 “And for this reason I have raised you up, in order to show you My power,
and in order to declare My Name in all the earth. - Clearly, the ultimate goal of universal
recognition of YAHVEH’s Sovereignty requires that all nations acknowledge Him,
as we proclaim in our days His Name.
Exo 9:17 “You still exalt yourself against My people in that you do not let them
go! - Moses now
standing ten feet tall begins to rebuke Pharaoh as the Voice of EL YAHVEH
himself. It is surprising what a little expose to Yah’s Glory can do for a
righteous man.
Exo 9:18 “See, tomorrow about this time I am causing very heavy hail to rain down,
such as has not been in Mitsrayim, from the day of its founding until now. – The sense of this verse is
that there has never been such a hail anywhere in the world, and certainly not
in Egypt
Exo 9:19 “And now send, bring your livestock to safety, and all
that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every
beast which is found in the field and is not brought home, and they shall die.”
- even after
the 5th and 7th plague there were still animals left in Egypt
Exo 9:20 Those among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of יהוה made their servants and livestock flee to the
houses. – Even those who were still among the nation of Egypt Goshen
Exo 9:21 But those who did not set their heart on the word of יהוה left their servants and livestock in the field. – It is inconceivable that
anyone would be so foolish to have disobeyed the warning of Moses, yet even
today there is still some who do not keep the 4th commandment.
Exo 9:22 Then יהוה said to Mosheh, “Stretch out your hand toward
the Heavens, and let there be hail in all the land of Mitsrayim – on man, and
on beast, and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Mitsrayim.” – When the Mighty Hand of EL YAHVEH stretch forth
their hands and connect with our Father, the power to do miracles will be
unleash to us. The power to effect changes even on Mother Nature.
Exo 9:23 Then Mosheh stretched out his rod toward the Heavens. And יהוה sent thunder and hail, and fire came down to
the earth. And יהוה rained hail on the land of Mitsrayim
Exo 9:24 Thus there came to be hail, and fire
flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy, such as had not been
in all the land of Mitsrayim since it became a nation. – The flaming amid the hail
was miracle within a miracle. The first miracle was that fire shooting down,
though it usually rise, and the second was that fire and water function
together. To serve water and fire decided to function together to achieve His
purpose.
Exo 9:25 And the hail smote in all the land
of Mitsrayim
Exo 9:26 Only in the land
of Goshen Haiti ,
lets remember what EL YAHVEH says; it will not come upon the Children of
Yisrael, those in Goshen
Exo 9:27 Pharaoh then sent and called for Mosheh and for Aharon, and said to them,
“I have sinned this time. יהוה is righteous, and my people and I are wrong. – Finally Pharaoh sent for Moses, what a turn of
event? Instead of Moses going to Pharaoh, Pharaoh is calling for Moses. This
purpose of most epidemic is to bring a hard of hearing people to call out for
help, to admit that they have sinned.
If the stubbornness of the
people in Haiti Haiti
Exo 9:28 “Pray to יהוה , for there has been enough of
the thunder and hail of Elohim. And I am letting you go, so that you stay no
longer.” - The thundering represents the Word, and the fire the Holy Spirit. Even
after all this Pharaoh did not have the spiritual sense to say, Moses can I go
with You.
Exo 9:29 And Mosheh said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city,
let me spread out my hands to יהוה , let the
thunder cease and the hail be no more, so that you know that the earth belongs
to יהוה . – Right in this verse there is another spiritual lesson. It is obvious
that the Plague was still in effect, Moses was able to walk in it and was not
effected. As soon as I go out of the city I will lift up my and ask for the
plague to stop.
Exo 9:30 “But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear before יהוה Elohim.” – when we talk to those who do not choose to obey EL YAHVEH Commandment,
remind them in parting, that they do not fear ABBA YAHVEH!
Exo 9:31 And the flax and the barley were smitten, for the barley was in the head
and the flax was in bud. – The flax and the Barley were smitten is indicative that is was getting
close to Passover. The Flax and the Barley were closes to harvest.
Exo 9:32 But the wheat and the spelt were not smitten, for they were late crops. – The wheat and the spelt were crop that would
be harvest in the fall.
Exo 9:33 And Mosheh went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to יהוה ,
and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. – When so much is happing in a believer’s life,
he or she need to get out of Dodge and find a quite place and lift our hand to EL
YAHVEH and just say I LOVE YOU ABBA.
Exo 9:34 And Pharaoh saw that the rain, and the hail, and the thunder had ceased,
yet he sinned again and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. – It is some thing that often
bothers me! How is it possible for some one to continue down the same path day
after day and never realize that they have been going around the same mountain
for the last 40 years?
Exo 9:35 And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the children of
Yisra’ĕl go, as יהוה had said through Mosheh. – Most powerful spirit anyone
have to deal with is the religious spirit, it give one the impression that all
is well when it is not. The mindset of Pharaoh was is similar to a lot of
believer today, they have many encounter with a messenger from EL YAHVEH, yet
there is no change in their lives.
To prevent the mindset of
Pharaoh to become a permanent fixture in our lives, we need the Spirit of Truth
in our lives. It will give us the Spirit of Understanding, the Spirit of
Knowledge, and the Spirit of Wisdom.
There are four level of life:
Inanimate, vegetable, animal, and human. Everying in our world is alive, even a
rock. By developing an awareness of the constant interaction between ourselves
and everything around us help us to complete our Tikkun, the correction
that is the reason we were born into this lifetime. Throughout his life, Moses
needed assistance with such object as water, rock, and wooden staff; he was
constantly interacting with inanimate object. Most of us, however, are aware of
the role inanimate object play in our spiritual growth and development.
We cannot achieve our Gemar
HaTikkum without the assistance of all four aspect of life, so we must
strive to be respectful of everything in the kingdom, whether it is inanimate,
vegetable, animal, or human.
With the support of all
things, we can move closer to certainty.
N the Shabbat of Ve’era, Moses approaches the CREATOR and ask how he can bring
about the Gemar HaTikkum if the Yisraelites did not listen to him. Moses
is not just speaking here about the Yisraelite of his time; he is speaking
about us. Without the consciousness of certainty, how can we hope to escape the
chariots of mighty Pharaoh? Hpw can we overcome the forces of death and bring
about bila hamavet lanezach, the
sentence of death.
Without certainty, we just
can’t do it. So how can we arrive at certainty? We do so by looking for the
truth that lies beyond the mere appearance of things, much the same way we
parse the words of the Torah.
Isaiah the prophet explains
that prior to the Gemar HaTikkun, the final Correction, there has to be
some level of concealment, so we must find a way to see through it. One of the
greatest gifts of the Shabbat of Ve’are is that we can awaken the strength of
Moses by accepting things as they are and by treating all things with respect.
When we see the world of great
possibilities when we look beyond the surface to the greater truth that lies
behind the veil of concealment, our doubts become certainty and miracles become
a possibility.
Haftarah
Yechezkel Ezekiel
22:25 –29:21
Ezekiel 22:23 And the Word of EL YAHVEH came to me,
saying, -
Ezekiel
22:24“Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or
rained on in the day of indignation.’ - A
general idea given of the land
of Yisrael
Ezekiel
22:25“The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst
is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have
taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. - A particular charge drawn up against the several
orders and degrees of men among them, which shows that they had all helped to
fulfill the measure of the nation’s guilt, but none had done any thing towards
the solution to the problem; they are therefore all alike.
They were all corrupted his way, and those who
should have been the brightest examples of virtue were supporters in iniquity
and the patterns of vice.
The prophets or ministers, who pretended
to make known the mind of ABBA YAHVEH to the nation, were not only deceivers, but devourers , and hardened them in
their wickedness both by their preaching, wherein they promised them impunity
and prosperity, and by their conversation, in which they were as profligate as
any.
There is a conspiracy of her prophets against ABBA YAHVEH and the Word, against the true prophets and all
good men; they conspired together to be all in one song, as Ahab’s prophets
were, to assure them of peace in their sinful ways. The unity which is found
among pretenders to infallibility, and which they so much boast of, is only the
result of a secret conspiracy
against the truth. Satan is not divided
against himself.
The prophets are in conspiracy with the spiritual murderers
and oppressors, to patronize and protect them in their wickedness, and justify
what they did with their false prophecies, provided they may come in sharers
with them in the profits of it. They are like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they thunder out threats
against those whose ruin is aimed at, terrify them, or make them odious to the
people, and so make themselves masters, of their lives: They have devoured souls, have been
accessory to the shedding of the blood of many an innocent person, and so have
made many to become sorrowful widows who were comfortable wives. They have
persecuted those to death who witnessed against their pretensions to prophecy
and would not be imposed upon by their counterfeit commission. Or, they
devoured souls by flattering sinners into a false peace and a vain hope, and
seducing them into the paths of sin, which would be their eternal ruin. Those
who draw men to wickedness, and encourage them in it, are the devourers and
murderers of their souls.
Of their estates.
When Naboth is slain they take possession of his vineyard; They have seized the treasure and precious
things, as forfeited; some way or other they had of devouring the widows’ houses, as the
Pharisees, Mt. 23:14. Or, they got this treasure,
and all these precious things,
as fees for false and flattering prophecies; for he that puts not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him,
Mic. 3:5. It was said with Yerushalayim when such men as these passed for
prophets.
Ezekiel
22:26“Her priests have violated My law and profaned My
holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have
they made known the difference between the unclean and
the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am
profaned among them. - The priests, who were suppose to teachers the people,
and who had the custody of the sacred things, and should have called the false
prophets to account, were as bad as they were.
[1.] They violated
the law of ABBA YAHVEH, which they should have observed and taught others to do
like wise. They made no conscience of the law of the priesthood, but openly
broke it, and with contempt, as Hophni and Phinehas. They did what they had a
mind, with an express notwithstanding
to the Word of Torah. How can they teach the people their duty when they lived
in contradiction to Torah?
[2.] They profaned YAH’s holy things, about
which they were to minister, and which they ought to have restrained others
from the profanation of. They suffered those to eat of the holy things who were
unqualified by the law. The table of ABBA YAHVEH was contemptible with them. By
dealing in holy things with such unhallowed hands they did themselves profane
them.
[3.] They did not
make a distinction, nor did they show the people how to put a difference, between the holy and profane, the clean and the
unclean, according to the directions and distinctions of the law. They
did not exclude those from YAH’s courts who were excluded by the law, nor teach
the people to observe the difference the law had made between food clean and
unclean, between times and places holy and common; but they lived at large
themselves and encouraged the people to do so too.
[4.] They hid their eyes from YAH’s Sabbaths;
they took no care about them; it was all one to them whether YAH’s Sabbaths
were kept holy or no; they neither gave countenance to those who observed them
nor check to those who profaned them, nor did they themselves show any regard
to them or veneration for them. They winked at those who did servile works on
that day, and looked another way when they should have inspected the behavior
of the people on Sabbath days. YAH’s Sabbaths have such a beauty and glory put
upon them by the divine institution as may command respect; but they hid their eyes from them and would
not see that Excellency in them.
[5.] By all this
ABBA YAHVEH HIMSELF was profaned among
them; HIS authority was slighted, HIS goodness made light of, and the
highest affront and contempt imaginable were put upon his holiness. The
profanation of the honor of the scriptures, of Sabbaths and sacred things, is a
profanation of the honor of YAHVEH himself, who is interested in them.
Ezekiel
22:27“Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to
shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. - The princes, who should have interposed with their
authority to redress these grievances, were as daring transgressors of the law
as any: They are like wolves ravening the prey; for such is power
without justice and goodness to direct it. All their business was to gratify,
their own pride and ambition, by making themselves arbitrary and formidable.
Their own malice and revenge, by shedding blood and destroying souls,
sacrificing to their cruelty all those that stood in their way or had in any
thing disobliged them.
Ezekiel 22:28 “Her
prophets plastered them with untempered mortar,
seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says ABBA YAHVEH,’ when YAHVEH had not spoken. – The prophets in those day aim at getting dishonest
gain, by crushing and oppressing their subject. Sweet is the odour of gain, from whatever
substance it ascends. Money, money, by fairness or by fraud, get money.
But, though they had power sufficient to carry them on in their oppressive
courses, yet how could they answer it both to their credit and to their
consciences? We are told how: The prophets daubed them with untempered
mortar, they preach in YAH’s name (horrid wickedness!) that there was no
harm in what they did, that they might dispose of the lives and estates of
their subjects as they pleased, and could do no wrong, nay, that in prosecuting
such and such whom they had marked out they did YAHVEH service; and thus they
stopped the mouth of their consciences.
They also justified what they did, to the
people, magnified it as if it were all for the public good, and so saved
their reputation, and kept their oppressed subjects from murmuring. Daubing
prophets are the great supporters of ravening princes, but will prove at last
their great deceivers, for they daub with untempered mortar which will not
hold, nor will the wall stand long that is built up with it. They pretend to be
seers, but they see vanity; they pretend to be diviners, but they divine
lies; they pretend a warrant from Heaven for what they say, and that it is
all as true as gospel; they say, Thus saith YAHVEH in Yahushua name, but
it is all a sham, for ABBA YAHVEH has not spoken any such thing.
Ezekiel
22:29“The people of the land have used
oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they
wrongfully oppress the stranger. - The people that had any power in their hands learned
from their spiritual princes to abuse it. Those that should have complained of
the oppression of the subject, and have put in a claim of rights on
behalf of the injured, that should have stood up for liberty and property, were
themselves invaders of them: The people of the land have used oppression and
exercised robbery.
The rich oppress the
poor, masters their servants, landlords their tenants, and even parents their
own children; nay, the buyers and sellers will find some way to oppress one
another. This is such a sin as, when it is national, is indeed a national
judgment, and is threatened as such. Isa. 3:5, The people shall be oppressed
every one by his neighbour. It is an aggravation of the sin that they have vexed
the poor and needy, whom they should have relieved, and have oppressed
the stranger and deprived him of his right, to whom they ought to
have been not only just, but kind. Thus was the apostasy universal and the
disease epidemical.
Ezekiel
22:30 “So I sought for a man among them who would
make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I
should not destroy it; but I found no one. – There
is none that appears as an intercessor for them: I sought for a man among
them that should stand in the gap, but I found none. Sin makes a gap in the
hedge of protection that is about a people at which good things run out from
them and evil things pour in upon them, a gap by which YAHVEH enters to destroy
them. There is a way of standing in the gap, and making up the breach against
the judgments of YAHVEH, by repentance, and prayer, and reformation. Moses
stood in the gap when he made intercession for Yisrael to turn away the
wrath of YAHVEH TSEBAOTE, Ps. 106:23.
When YAHVEH TSEBAOTE
is coming forth against a sinful people to destroy them he expects some to
intercede for them, and enquires if there be but one that does; so much is it
his desire and delight to show mercy. If there be but a man that stands in the
gap, as Abraham for Sodom
Ezekiel
22:31“Therefore I have poured out My indignation
on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed
their deeds on their own heads,” says ABBA YAHVEH.- It bodes ill to a people when judgments are breaking in upon them, and
the spirit of prayer is restrained, so that not one is found that will either give them a good word or speak
a good word for them. When it is so, what can be expected but utter ruin? Therefore have I poured out my indignation
upon them, have given it full scope, that it may come upon them in a
full stream; yet, whatever YAH’s wrath inflicts upon a people, it is their own way that is therein recompensed upon their heads, and YAHVEH
deals with them no worse, but even much better, than their iniquity deserves.
Chapter 23
This long chapter (as before ch. 16 and 20) is a
history of the apostasies of YAH’s people against HIM and the aggravations of
those apostasies under the similitude of corporal whoredom and adultery. Here
the kingdoms of Israel and
Judah, the ten tribes and the two, with their capital cities, Samaria
and Yerushalayim, are considered distinctly. Here is,
The apostasy of Yisrael and Samaria
The apostasy of Judah and Yerushalayim from YAHVEH
verse 11–21 and sentence passed upon them, that they shall in like manner be
destroyed for it verse 22–35.
The joint wickedness of them both together verse
36–44 and the joint ruin of them both verse 45–49. And all that is written for
warning against the sins of idolatry, and confidence in an arm of flesh, and
sinful leagues and confederacies with wicked people (which are the sins here
meant by committing whoredom), is that others may hear and fear, and not sin
after the similitude of the transgressions of Yisrael and Judah.
Ezekiel
23:1 The word of EL YAHVEH came again to me, saying:
Ezekiel
23:2 “Son of man, there
were two women, The daughters of one mother. - YAHVEH had often spoken to Ezekiel, and by him to the people, to this
effect, but now his word comes again;
for YAHVEH speaks the same
thing once, yea, twice, yea,
many a time, and all little enough, and too little, for man perceives it not.
To convince sinners
of the evil of sin, and of their misery and danger by reason of it, there is
need of line upon line, so loth
we are to know the worst of ourselves. The sinners that are here to be exposed
are two women, two kingdoms,
sister-kingdoms, Yisrael and Judah, daughters
of one mother, having been for a long time but one people. Solomon’s kingdom was so large, so populous, that
immediately after his death it divided into two.
Ezekiel
23:3 They committed harlotry in Egypt Egypt
Ezekiel
23:4 Their names: Oholah
the elder and Oholibah her sister; They were Mine, And they bore sons and
daughters. As for their names, Samaria
is Oholah, and Yerushalayim is Oholibah. - Their names when they became two. The kingdom of Yisrael is called the elder
sister, because that first made the breach, and separated from the family
both of kings and priests that YAHVEH had appointed, the greater sister
(so the word is), for ten tribes belonged to that kingdom and only two to the
other.
YAHVEH says of them
both, They were mine, for they were the seed of Abraham HIS friend
and of Jacob HIS chosen; they were in covenant with YAHVEH, and carried
about with them the sign of their circumcision, the seal of the
covenant. They were mine; and therefore their apostasy was the highest
injustice. It was alienating YAH’s property, it was the basest ingratitude to
the best of benefactors, and a perfidious treacherous violation of the most
sacred engagements.
Those who have been
in profession the people of YAHVEH, but have revolted from him, have a great
deal to answer for more than those who never made any such profession. "They
were mine; they were espoused tome, and to me they bore sons and
daughters;’’ there were many among them that were devoted to YAH’s honor,
and employed in his service, and were the strength and beauty of these
kingdoms, as children are of the families they are born in.
In this parable
Samaria and the kingdom of Israel shall bear the name of Aholah, her own
tabernacle, because the places of worship which that kingdom had were of
their own devising, their own choosing, and the worship itself was their own
invention; YAHVEH never owned it.
Her tabernacle to
herself (so some render it);
"let her take it to herself, and make her best of it.’’ Yerushalayim and
the kingdom of Judah
Ezekiel
23:5 “Oholah played the harlot even though she
was Mine; And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring Assyrians, - Of those that stand in relation to YAHVEH, and
make profession of his name, some have greater privileges and advantages than
others; and, as those who have greater are thereby rendered the more
inexcusable if they revolt from YAHVEH, so those who have less will not thereby
be rendered inexcusable. The treacherous departure of the kingdom of Yisrael
Ezekiel
23:6 Who were clothed in purple, Captains and
rulers, All of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. - Aholah played the harlot, brought in the worship of
Baal (1 Ki. 16:31), set up that other gods, that dunghill-gods, in competition
with YAHVEH (1 Ki. 18:21), as a vile adulteress dotes on her lovers,
because they are well dressed and make a figure, because they are young and
handsome, clothed with blue, captains and rulers, desirable young men,
genteel, and that pass for men of honor, so she doted upon her neighbours,
particularly the Assyrians, who had extended their conquests near them; she
admired their idols and worshipped them, admired the pomp of their courts and
their military strength and courted alliances with them upon any terms, as if
her own EL were not sufficient to be depended upon.
Ezekiel
23:7 Thus she committed her
harlotry with them, All of them choice men of Assyria ;
And with all for whom she lusted, With all their idols, she defiled herself. -
We find one of the kings of Yisrael giving a thousand
talents to the king of Assyria , to
engage him in his interests, 2 Ki. 15:19. She doted on the chosen men of Assyria , as worthy to be trusted and employed in the
service of the state, and on all their idols with which she defiled herself.
Ezekiel
23:8 She has never given up
her harlotry brought from Egypt Egypt
Their had idolaters
in Egypt Egypt ’s idols
even when they were continually in fear of Egypt
But (as some have
observed) therefore, at that time, when Satan boasted of his having walked
through the earth as all his own, to disprove his pretensions YAHVEH did
not say, Hast thou considered my people Yisrael in Egypt? (for they had
become idolaters, and were not to be boasted of), but, Hast thou considered
my servant Job in the land
of Uz
This corrupt
disposition in them, when they were first formed into a people, is an emblem of
that original corruption which is born with us and is woven into our
constitution, the ability to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, a strong bias towards the world and the flesh, like that in the
Yisraelites towards idolatry; it was bred in the bone with them, and was
charged upon them long after, that they left not their whoredoms brought
from Egypt.
It would never out
of the flesh, though Egypt
Ezekiel
23:9 “Therefore I have
delivered her Into the hand of her lovers, Into the hand of the Assyrians, For
whom she lusted. - The
destruction of the kingdom
of Yisrael
Ezekiel 23:10
They uncovered her nakedness, Took away her sons and daughters, And slew
her with the sword; She became a byword among women, For they had executed
judgment on her. - The neighbouring
nations, whose idolatries she had conformed to and whose friendship she had
confided in, and in both had affronted YAHVEH, are now made use of as the
instruments of her destruction. The Assyrians, on whom she doted, soon
spied out the nakedness of the land, discovered her blind side, on which
to attack her, stripped her of all her ornaments and all her defences, and so uncovered
her, and made her naked and bare, carried her sons and daughters
into captivity, slew her with the sword, and quite destroyed that
kingdom and put an end to it.
We have the story at
large 2 Ki. 17:6, etc., where the cause of the ruin of that once flourishing
kingdom by the Assyrians is shown to be their forsaking the YAHVEH of Yisrael, fearing
other gods, and walking in the statutes of the heathen; it was for
this that YAHVEH was very angry with them and removed them out of his sight,
verse 16. And that the Assyrians, whom they had been so fond of, should be
employed in executing judgments upon them was very remarkable, and shows
how YAHVEH, in a way of righteous judgment, often makes that a scourge to
sinners which they have inordinately set their hearts upon. The devil will for
ever be a tormentor to those impenitent sinners who now hearken to him and
comply with him as a tempter.
Thus Samaria became famous
among women, or infamous rather; she became a name (so the
word is); not only she came to be the subject of discourse, and much talked of,
as the desolations of cities and kingdoms fill the newspapers, but she was thus
ruined for her idolatries in terrorem, for warning to all people to take
heed of doing likewise; as the public execution of notorious malefactors makes
them such a name, such an ill name, as may serve to frighten others from
those wicked courses which have brought them to a miserable and shameful end.
Deu. 21:21, All Israel
Ezekiel
23:11“Now
although her sister Oholibah saw this,
she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt
than her sister’s harlotry. - The
prophet Hosea, in his time, observed that the two tribes retained their
integrity, in a great measure, when the ten tribes had apostatized (Hos. 11:12,
Ephraim indeed compasses me about with lies, but Judah yet rules with
YAHHWEH and is faithful with the saints; and this was justly expected from
them: Hos. 4:15, Though thou Yisrael play the harlot, yet let not Judah
offend); but this lasted not long. By some unhappy matches made between the
house of David and the house of Ahab the worship of Baal had been brought into
the kingdom of Judah, but had been by the reforming kings worked out again; and
at the time of the captivity of the ten tribes, which was in the reign of
Hezekiah, things were in a good posture: but it lasted not long. In the reign
of Manasseh, soon after the kingdom of
Judah had seen the destruction of the kingdom of Yisrael ,
they became more corrupt than Israel
Instead of being
made better by the warning which that destruction gave them, they were made
worse by it, as if they were displeased because ABBA YAHVEH had made that
breach upon Yisrael, and for that reason became disaffected to him and to
his service.
Instead of being
made to stand in awe of HIM as a jealous EL, they therefore grew strange
to him, and liked those gods better that would admit of partners with them.
Those may justly expect YAH’s judgments upon themselves who do not take warning
by his judgments upon others, who see in others what is the end of sin and yet
continue to make a light matter of it.
But it is bad indeed
with those who are made worse by that which should make them better, and have
their lusts irritated and exasperated by that which was designed to suppress
and subdue them. Yerushalayim grew worse in her whoredoms than her
sister Samaria Samaria
Ezekiel 23:12 “She
lusted for the neighboring Assyrians, Captains and rulers, Clothed most
gorgeously, Horsemen riding on horses, All of them desirable young men. - Yerushalayim, that had been a faithful city,
became a harlot, Isa. 1:21. She also doted upon the Assyrians,
joined in league with them, joined in worship with them, grew to be in love
with their captains and rulers, and cried them up as finer and more
accomplished gentlemen than any that ever the land of Yisrael
Ezekiel
23:13 Then I saw that she
was defiled; Both took the same
way. -
And they grew to affect every thing
that was foreign and to despise their own nation; and even the religion of it
was mean and homely, and not to be compared with the curiosity and gaiety of
the heathen temples.
The faithful EL justly
gives a bill of divorce to this now faithless city, that has become a
harlot. His jealousy soon discovered her lewdness: I saw that she was
defiled, that she was debauched, and saw which way her inclination was,
that the two sisters both took one way, and that Yerushalayim grew worse
than Samaria
Ezekiel
23:14 But she increased her
harlotry; She looked at men portrayed on the wall, Images of Chaldeans
portrayed in vermilion, - She increased
her whoredoms; she fell in love, fell in league, with the Chaldeans.
Hezekiah himself was faulty this way when he was proud of the court which the
king of Babylon
Ezekiel 23:15 Girded with belts around their waists, Flowing turbans on their heads,
All of them looking like captains, In the manner of
the Babylonians of Chaldea , The land of their
nativity. – She acquire the
principles of the Babylonian captains, joined in alliance with that kingdom,
invited them to come and settle in Yerushalayim, that they might refine the
genius of the Jewish nation and make it more polite; nay, they sent for
patterns of their images, altars, and temples, and made use of them in their
worship.
Ezekiel
23:16 As soon as her eyes
saw them, She lusted for them And sent messengers to them in Chaldea .
– She desire therelife style and made an alliance with them.
Ezekiel
23:17“Then
the Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love, And they defiled her with
their immorality; So she was defiled by them, and alienated herself from them.
- Thus was she polluted with her whoredoms . Her desire to have
many masters.
Ezekiel
23:18 She revealed
her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness. Then I alienated Myself from her, As
I had alienated Myself from her sister.- She discovered
her own whoredom , her own strong inclination to idolatry. No doubt he
will; and when he has found it can he be pleased with it? No: Then my mind
was alienated from her, as it was from her sister. How could the pure and
holy EL any longer take delight in such a lewd generation? Sin alienates YAH’s
mind from the sinner, and justly, for it is the alienation of the sinner’s mind
from YAWEH; but woe, and a thousand woes, to those from whom YAH’s mind is
alienated; for whom he turns from he will turn against.
Ezekiel
23:19 “Yet she multiplied her harlotry In calling
to remembrance the days of her youth, When she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt
They pleased themselves with the remembrance
of it. When they began to set their affections upon Egypt, they encouraged
themselves to put a confidence in that kingdom, because of the old acquaintance
they had with it, as if they still retained the gust and relish of the leeks
and onions they ate there, or rather of the idolatrous worship they learned
there, and brought up with them thence.
When they began an
acquaintance with Egypt they
remembered how merrily their fathers worshipped the golden calf, what music and
dancing they had at that sport, which they learned in Egypt
Ezekiel
23:20 For she lusted for her
paramours, Whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys,
And whose issue
is like the issue of horses. -
They pleased themselves with the remembrance of it. When they began to set
their affections upon Egypt, they encouraged themselves to put a confidence in
that kingdom, because of the old acquaintance they had with it, as if they
still retained the gust and relish of the leeks and onions they ate
there, or rather of the idolatrous worship they learned there, and brought up
with them thence. When they began an acquaintance with Egypt they remembered how merrily their fathers
worshipped the golden calf, what music and dancing they had at that sport,
which they learned in Egypt
Ezekiel
23:21 Thus you called
to remembrance the lewdness of your youth, When the Egyptians pressed your
bosom Because of your youthful breasts. - They
called it YAH’s remembrance, and provoked HIM to remember it against
them. YAHVEH had said indeed that HE would reckon with them for the golden
calf, that idol of Egypt (Ex. 32:34); but such was his patience that
he seemed to have forgotten it till they, by their league now with the
Egyptians against the Chaldeans, did, as it were, put him in mind of it; and in
the day when he visits he will now, as he has said, visit for that.
It is very
observable how this adulteress changes her lovers: she first on the Assyrians;
then she thought the Chaldeans finer and courted them; after a while her mind
was alienated from them, and she thought the Egyptians more powerful and she
must contract an intimacy with them. This shows the folly,of fleshly lusts;
when they are indulged they grow humoursome and fickle, are soon surfeited but
never satisfied; they must have variety, and what is loved one day is loathed
the next. Unius adulterium matrimonium vocant, One adultery is called
marriage, as Seneca observes.
Ezekiel
23:22“Therefore, Oholibah, thus says YAHVEH
TSEBAOTE: ‘Behold, I will stir up
your lovers against you, From whom you have alienated yourself, And I will
bring them against you from every side: - Yerushalayim
stands indicted by the name of Aholibah, for that she, as a false
traitor to her KING YAHVEH EL-YON of heaven, not having his fear before her
eyes, but moved by the instigation of the devil, had revolted from her
allegiance to him, had compassed and imagined to shake off his government, had
kept up a correspondence had joined in confederacy with his enemies, and the
pretenders to a deity, in contempt of his crown and dignity. To this indictment
she has pleaded, Not guilty: I am not polluted; I have not gone after
Baalim. But it is found against her by the notorious evidence of the fact,
and she stands convicted of it, nor has any thing material to offer why
judgment should not be given and execution awarded according to law. In these
verses, therefore, we have the sentence.
Her old confederates
must be her executioners; and those whom she had courted to be her leaders in
sin are now to be employed as instruments of her punishment: "I will
raise up thy lovers against thee, the Chaldeans, whom formerly thou didst
so much admire and covet an acquaintance with, but from whom thy mind is since
alienated and with whom thou hast perfidiously broken covenant.’’
They are called thy
lovers and yet in verse 8 we see those whom thou hatest. It is
common for sinful love soon to turn into hatred; as Amnon’s to Tamar. Those of
headstrong and unreasonable passions are often very hot against those persons
and things that a little before they were as hot for. Fools run into extremes;
nay, and wise men may see cause to change their sentiments. And therefore, as
we should rejoice and weep as if we rejoiced not and wept not, so we should
love and hate as if we loved not and hated not. Love as one who may have
cause to feel aversion.
Ezekiel
23:23 The Babylonians, All
the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, All the Assyrians with them, All of them
desirable young men, Governors and rulers, Captains and men of renown, All of
them riding on horses. - Her enemies shall come against her on every side,
those of the several nations that constituted the Chaldean army, all of them great
lords and renowned, whose pomp, and grandeur, and splendid appearance made
them look the more amiable when they came as friends to protect and patronise Yerushalayim,
but the more formidable when they came to chastise its treachery and aimed at
no less than its ruin.
Ezekiel
23:24 And they shall come
against you With chariots, wagons, and war-horses, With a horde of people. They
shall array against you Buckler, shield, and helmet all around. I will delegate
judgment to them, And they shall judge you according to their judgments. - They shall come with a great deal of military
force, with chariots and wagons
furnished with all necessary provisions for a camp, with arms and ammunition,
bag and baggage, with a vast army, and well armed.
They shall have
justice on their side: "I will
set judgment before them’’ (they shall have right with them as well as
might; for the king of Babylon had just cause to make war upon the king of
Judah, because he had broken his league with him), "and therefore they shall judge thee, not only according
to YAH’s judgments, as the instruments of his justice, to punish thee for the
indignities done to him, but according
to their judgments, according to the law of nations, to punish thee for
thy perfidious dealings with them.’’
They
shall prosecute the war with a great deal of fury and resentment. It being a
war of revenge, they shall deal with
thee hatefully, verse 29. This will make the execution the more severe
that their swords will be dipped in poison. Thou hatest them, and they shall
deal hatefully with thee; those that hate will be hated and will be hatefully
dealt with. YAHVEH himself will lead them on, and his anger shall be mingled
with theirs will set my jealousy
against thee; that shall kindle this fire, and then they shall deal furiously with thee.
If men deal ever so hatefully, ever so furiously, with us, yet, if we have YAHVEH
on our side, we need not fear them; they can do us no real hurt. But if men
deal furiously with us, and YAHVEH set his jealousy against us too, what will
become of us?
Ezekiel 23:25 I will set My jealousy against you, And they
shall deal furiously with you; They shall remove your nose and your ears, And
your remnant shall fall by the sword; They shall take your sons and your
daughters, And your remnant shall be devoured by fire. - That her children shall go into captivity. "They shall take thy
sons and thy daughters, and make slaves of them; for they are children
of whoredoms, unworthy the dignities and privileges of Yisraelites,’’ Hos.
2:4.
That she shall be
stigmatized and deformed: "They shall take away thy nose and thy ears,
shall mark thee for a harlot, and render thee for ever odious.’’ This intimates the many cruelties of the
Chaldean soldiers towards the Jews that fell into their hands, whom, it is
probable, they used barbarously. Some will have this to be understood
figuratively; and by the nose they think is meant the kingly dignity, and by
the ears that of the priesthood.
That she shall be exposed
to shame: Thy lewdness and thy whoredoms shall be discovered , as, when
a malefactor is punished, all his crimes are ripped up, and repeated to his
disgrace; what was secret then comes to light, and what was done long since is
then called to mind.
Ezekiel
23:26
They shall also strip you of your clothes And take away your
beautiful jewelry. - The particulars of the sentence here passed upon this notorious
adulteress are. That all she has shall be seized on. The clothes and the
fair jewels, with which she had endeavoured to recommend herself to her
lovers, these she shall be stripped of. All those things that were the
ornaments of their state shall be taken away: "They shall take away all
thy labour, all that thou hast gotten by thy labour, and shall leave
thee naked and bare.’ Both city and
country shall be impoverished and all the wealth of both swept away.
Ezekiel
23:27 ‘Thus I will make you cease your lewdness and
your harlotry Brought from the land of Egypt ,
So that you will not lift your eyes to them, Nor remember Egypt land of Egypt
How complete the
cure was notwithstanding: "Though it has taken root, yet it shall be made
to cease, so that thou shalt not so much as lift up thy eyes to the
idols again, nor remember Egypt with pleasure any more.’’ They
shall avoid the occasions of this sin, for they shall not so much as look upon
an idol, lest their hearts should unawares walk after their eyes. And
they shall abandon all inclinations to it: "They shall not remember Egypt
Ezekiel
23:28 “For thus says YAHVEH EL-ELYON: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the
hand of those you hate, into the hand of
those from whom you alienated
yourself. - That she shall be quite
cut off and ruined: "The remnant of thy people that have escaped
the famine and pestilence shall fall by the sword; and the residue of
thy houses that have not been battered down about thy ears shall be devoured
by the fire,’’ and this shall be the
end of Christianity.
Ezekiel
23:29 ‘They will deal hatefully with you, take away all you
have worked for, and leave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotry
shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotry. - Because she has trod in the steps of Samaria ’s sins, she must expect no other than Samaria
Ezekiel
23:30‘I will do these things to you because you have gone as a harlot after the gentiles,
because you have become defiled by their idols. – The demise of the Christian faith, when in 324 they disregard YAHVEH
ways for the worship of the sun god. The lure of popularity, the prestige of
been chosen by Constantine to be the religion of
the Roman Kingdom
Ezekiel
23:31‘You
have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your
hand.’ - This cup is said to be deep and large, and to contain much, abundance of YAH’s
wrath and abundance of miseries, the fruits of that wrath. It is such a cup as
that which we read of, Jer. 25:15, 16. The cup of divine vengeance holds a
great deal, and so those will find into whose hand it shall be put.
Ezekiel
23:32“Thus says YAHVEH EL-ELYON: You shall drink of your sister’s cup,
The deep and wide one; You shall be laughed to scorn And held in derision; It
contains much.- Being so intoxicated, they
shall become, as drunkards deserve to be, a laughing-stock to all about them : Thou
shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision, as acting ridiculously in
every thing thou goest about. When YAHVEH is about to ruin a people he makes
their judges fools and pours contempt on their princes, Job 12:17,
21.
Ezekiel
23:33 You will be filled
with drunkenness and sorrow, The cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your
sister Samaria
Who would think that
that which is such a force upon nature, such a scandal to it, which deprives
men of their reason, disorders them to the last degree, and is therefore
expressive of the greatest misery, should yet be with many a beloved sin, that
they should damn their own souls to distemper their own bodies? Who has woe and sorrow like them? Prov. 23:29.
Ezekiel
23:34 You shall drink and
drain it, You shall break its shards, And tear at your own breasts; For I have
spoken,’ Says YAHVEH EL-ELYON. - They
shall be made to drink the very dregs of this cup, as the wicked are
said to do (Ps. 75:8): "Thou shalt drink it and suck it out, not
because it is pleasant, but because it is forced upon thee; thou shalt break
the shreds thereof, and pluck off thy own breasts, for indignation
at the extreme bitterness of this cup, being full of the fury of YAHVEH
TSEBAOTE (Isa. 51:20), as men in great anguish tear their hair, and throw
every thing from them. Finding there is no remedy, but it must be drank (for I
have spoken it, saith YAHVEH EL-ELYON), thou shalt have no manner of
patience in the drinking of it.’.
Ezekiel
23:35“Therefore
thus saysYAHVEH EL-ELYON: ‘Because
you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, Therefore you shall bear
the penalty Of your lewdness and your harlotry.’ - They shall be intoxicated by it, made sick, and be
at their wits’ end, as men in drink are, staggering, and stumbling, and ready
to fall: Thou shalt be filled with
drunkenness and sorrow. Drunkenness has sorrow attending it, to such a
degree that the utmost confusion and astonishment are here represented by it.
Who would think that that which is such a force upon nature, such a scandal to
it, which deprives men of their reason, disorders them to the last degree, and
is therefore expressive of the greatest misery, should yet be with many a
beloved sin, that they should damn their own souls to distemper their own
bodies?
Ezekiel
23:36 YAHVEH also said to me: “Son of man, will
you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. - 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 Yerushalayim; 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? 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 YAH’s name, to judge them, ch. 20:4. The matter is
rather worse than better since the union.
Ezekiel
23:37“For they have committed adultery, and blood
is on their hands. They have
committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they
bore to Me, passing them through the
fire, to devour them. - Let them be made to see the sins they are guilty of: Declare unto them openly and boldly their abominations. They have been
guilty of gross idolatry, here called adultery.
With their idols they have committed adultery , have broken their
marriage-covenant with YAHVEH, have lusted after the gratifications of a carnal
sensual mind in the worship of YAHVEH.
This is the first
and worst of the abominations he is to charge them with. 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 , 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.
Ezekiel
23:38 “Moreover they have
done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My
Sabbaths. - They have profaned the sacred
things with which YAHVEH had dignified and distinguished them: This they
have done unto me, this indignity, this injury. 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.
YAHVEH 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 YAH’s prophets.
YAHVEH 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.
Ezekiel
23:39“For after they had slain their children for
their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and
indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house. - We commonly say, The
better day the better deed; but here, the better day the worse deed. YAHVEH
takes notice of the circumstances of sin which add to the guilt. He shows 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 dishonor both of YAHVEH 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 YAH’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 YAHVEH either did not know their wickedness or
did not hate it.
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. It is a
profanation of YAH’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?
Ezekiel 23:40“Furthermore
you sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and there they came. And you washed yourself for them,
painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. - 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 YAHVEH, 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
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. Affecting an
acquaintance and correspondence with great people has often been a snare to
good people. Let us see how Yerushalayim courts her high allies, thinking
thereby to make herself considerable.
She privately
requested that a public embassy might be sent to her: 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 Yerushalayim, 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.
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.
Ezekiel
23:41“You sat on a stately couch, with a table
prepared before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil. - 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 , a stately throne; a
table was prepared, whereon thou has set my oil and my incense. This was
either, 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.
An altar already
furnished for the ambassadors’ use in the worship of their idols, to let them
know that the Yisraelites 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 EL was against it, yet they could easily dispense with
themselves to oblige a friend. The oil and incense YAHVEH 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.
Ezekiel 23:42“The
sound of a carefree multitude was
with her, and Sabeans were
brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on
their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. - There was great joy at their coming, as if it were such a blessing as
never happened to Yerushalayim before: A
voice of a multitude being from the 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 honor of the ambassadors they put bracelets
upon their hands and beautiful crowns upon their heads, which made the
cavalcade appear very splendid.
Ezekiel
23:43“Then I said concerning her who had grown old in adulteries, ‘Will they
commit harlotry with her now, and she with
them?’ – ABBA YAHVEH by HIS prophets warned them against
making these dangerous leagues with foreigners: "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 YAHVEH bless such an alliance, or
smile upon it.
Ezekiel
23:44“Yet they went in to her, as men go in to a
woman who plays the harlot; thus they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd
women. - 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.
A bargain was soon
clapped up, and a league made, first with this, and then with the other,
foreign state. Samaria did so, Yerushalayim did
so, like lewd women. They could not rest satisfied in the embraces of YAH’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. Those hearts go a whoring from YAHVEH 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.
Ezekiel 23:45“But
righteous men will judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the
manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands. - Let
them be made to foresee the judgments that are coming upon them for these sins:
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 Yerushalayim, 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 YAH’s
judgments, which, we are sure, are all righteous.
Others understand it
of the prophets, whose office it was, in YAH’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 YAHVEH
will award execution.
Ezekiel
23:46“For thus says YAHVEH EL-ELYON: ‘Bring up an assembly against them,
give them up to trouble and plunder. –
What the execution will be. The same as before, in verse 23, etc. YAHVEH 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.
Ezekiel
23:47‘The assembly shall stone them with stones
and execute them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their
daughters, and burn their houses with fire.
– These enemies shall easily prevail, for YAHVEH 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.
Ezekiel
23:48‘Thus I will cause lewdness to cease from
the land, that all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness. – What will be the effects of it. Thus they shall
suffer for their sins: Their lewdness shall be recompensed upon them ;
and they shall bear the sins of their idols, v. 35, 49. Therefore EL
YAHVEH will assert the honor of HIS broken law and injured government, and let
the world know what a just and jealous EL HE is. They shall be broken off from
their sins: I will cause lewdness to cease out of the land, verse 27.
Ezekiel
23:49‘They
shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall pay for your idolatrous sins.
Then you shall know that I am YAHVEH
EL-ELYON.’ - The destruction of YAH’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 Yerushalayim shall rise out of its ashes a new lump, as gold comes out of
the furnace purified from its dross. Therefore 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 YAHVEH
TSEBAOTE on 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 YAHVEH EL-ELYON,
that he is the governor of the world, a EL that judges in the earth, and with
whom there is no respect of persons.
Chapter 24
Here are two sermons
in this chapter, preached on a particular occasion, and they are both from
Mount Sinai, the mount of terror, both from Mount
Ebal , the mount of curses; both speak
the approaching fate of Yerushalayim. The occasion of them was the king of
Babylon’s laying siege to Yerushalayim, and the design of them is to show that
in the issue of that siege he should be not only master of the place, but destroyer
of it.
I. By the sign of
flesh boiling in a pot over the fire are shown the miseries that Yerushalayim
should suffer during the siege, and justly, for her filthiness verse 1–14.
II. By the sign of
Ezekiel’s not mourning for the death of his wife is shown that the calamities
coming upon Yerushalayim were too great to be lamented, so great that they
should sink down under them into a silent despair verse 15–27.
Ezekiel
24:1 Again, in the
ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of YAHVEH came to me, saying, - The notice which he orders him to take of it. He
must enter it in his book, memorandum, that in the ninth year of
Jehoiachin’s captivity (for thence Ezekiel dated, ch. 1:2, which was also the ninth
year of Zedekiah’s reign, for he began to reign when Jehoiachin was carried
off), in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the king of Babylon
laid siege to Yerushalayim; and the date here agrees exactly with the date in
the history, 2 Ki. 25:1. See how ABBA YAHVEH reveals things to HIS servants the
prophets, especially those things which serve to confirm their word, and so to
confirm their own faith.
It is good to keep
an exact account of the date of remarkable occurrences, which may sometimes
contribute to the manifesting of YAH’s glory so much the more in them, and the
explaining and confirming of scripture prophecies. Known unto YAHVEH are all
his works.
Ezekiel
24:2“Son
of man, write down the name of the day, this very day—the king of Babylon started his siege against Yerushalayim this very
day.
– The notice ABBA YAHVEH gives to
Ezekiel in Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar’s laying siege to Yerushalayim, just at
the time when he was doing it: "Son of man, take notice, the
king of Babylon, who is now abroad with his army, thou knowest not where, set
himself against Yerushalayim this same day.’’
It was many miles,
it was many days’ journey, from Yerushalayim to Babylon
But YAHVEH knew, and
could tell the prophet, "This day, at this time, Yerushalayim is
invested, and the Chaldean army has sat down before it.’’
As all times, so all
places, even the most remote, are present with ABBA YAHVEH and under his view.
He tells the prophet, that the prophet might tell the people, that so when it
proved to be punctually true, as they would find by the public intelligence in
a little time, it might be a confirmation of the prophet’s mission, and they
might infer that, since he was right in his news, he was so in his predictions,
for he owed both to the same correspondence he had with Heaven.
Ezekiel
24:3“And
utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says YAHVEH
EL-ELYON: “Put on a pot, set it on, And also pour water into it. - The notice which ABBA orders him to give to the
people thereupon, the purport of which is that this siege of Yerushalayim, now
begun, will infallibly end in the ruin of it. This he must say to the rebellious house, to those of
them that were in Babylon
Ezekiel
24:4 Gather pieces of meat in it, Every good piece, The thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with choice cuts; - He must show them this by a sign; for that stupid
people needed to be taught as children are. The comparison made use of is that
of a boiling pot. This agrees with Jeremiah’s vision many years before,
when he first began to be a prophet, and probably was designed to put them in
mind of that (Jer. 1:13, I see a seething pot, with the face towards the
north; and the explanation of it, verse 15, makes it to signify the
besieging of Yerushalayim by the northern nations); and, as this
comparison is intended to confirm Jeremiah’s vision, so also to confront the
vain confidence of the princes of Yerushalayim, who had said (ch. 11:3), This
city is the caldron and we are the flesh, meaning, "We are as safe
here as if we were surrounded with walls of brass.’’ "Well,’’ says YAHVEH,
"it shall be so; you shall be boiled in Yerushalayim, as the flesh in
the caldron, boiled to pieces; let the pot be set on with water in it ;
Ezekiel
24:5 Take the choice of the flock. Also pile fuel bones under it, Make it boil
well,
And let the cuts
simmer in it.” - let it be filled with the
flesh of the choice of the flock , with the choice pieces verse 4, and
the marrow-bones, and let the other bones serve for fuel, that, one way or
other, either in the pot or under it, the whole beast may be made use of.’’
A fire of bones,
though it be a slow fire (for the siege was to be long), is yet a sure and
lasting fire; such was YAH’s wrath against them, and not like the crackling
of thorns under a pot, which has noise and blaze, but no intense heat.
Those that from all parts of the country fled into Yerushalayim for safety
would be sadly disappointed when the siege laid to it would soon make the place
too hot for them; and yet there was not getting out of it, but they must be
forced to abide by it, as the flesh in a boiling pot.
Ezekiel
24:6‘Therefore thus says YAHVEH: “Woe to the bloody city, To the pot
whose scum is in it, And whose
scum is not gone from it! Bring it out piece by piece, On which no lot has
fallen. - The meat, as it is boiled, is
taken out, and given to the Chaldeans for them to feast upon. "Consume
the flesh; let it be thoroughly boiled, boiled to rags. Spice it well,
and make it savoury, for those that will fees sweetly upon it. Let the bones
be burnt.’’ either the bones under the pot ("let them be
consumed with the other fuel’’) or, as some think, the bones in the pot,
"let it boil so furiously that not only the flesh may be sodden, but even
the bones softened; let all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim be by sickness, sword,
and famine, reduced to the extremity of misery.’’
"Bring it
out piece by piece; let every man
be delivered into the enemy’s hand, to be either put to the sword or made a
prisoner. Let them be an easy prey to them, and let the Chaldeans fall upon
them as eagerly as a hungry man does upon a good dish of meat when it is set
before him. Let no lot fall upon it; every piece in the pot shall be
fetched out and devoured, first or last, and therefore it is no matter for
casting lots which shall be fetched out first.’’ It was a very severe military
execution when David measured Joab with two lines to put to death and one
full line to keep alive, 2 Sa. 8:2. But here is no line, no lot of mercy,
made use of; all goes one way, and that is to destruction.
When all the broth
is boiled away the pot is set empty upon the coals, that it may burn too, which
signifies the setting of the city on fire, as in verse 11. The scum of the
meat, or (as some translate it) the rust of the meat, has so got into
the pot that there is no making it clean by washing or scouring it, and
therefore it must be done by fire; so let the filthiness be burnt out of it,
or, rather, melted in it and burnt with it. Let the vipers and their
nest be consumed together.
Ezekiel
24:7 For her blood is in
her midst; She set it on top of a rock; She did not pour it on the ground, To
cover it with dust. - What
is the quarrEL YAHVEH TSEBAOTE has with it. HE would not take these severe
methods with Yerushalayim but that he is provoked to it; she deserves to be
thus dealt with, for,
It is a bloody city Her
blood is in the midst of her. Many a barbarous murder has been committed in
the very heart of the city; nay, and they have a disposition to cruelty in
their hearts; they inwardly delight in blood-shed, and so it is in the midst
of them.
They commit their
murders in the face of the sun, and openly and impudently avow them, in
defiance of the justice both of YAH and man. She did not pour out the
blood she shed upon the ground, to cover it with dust, as being ashamed
of the sin or afraid of the punishment. She did not look upon it as a filthy
thing, proper to be concealed (Deu. 23:13), much less dangerous.
She poured out the
innocent blood she shed upon a rock, where it would not soak in, upon the
top of a rock, in despite of divine views and vengeance. They shed innocent
blood under colour of justice; so that they gloried in it, as if they had done
God and the country good service, so put it, as it were, on the top of a
rock. Or it may refer to the sacrificing of their children on their high
places, perhaps on the top of rocks.
Ezekiel
24:8 That it may raise up
fury and take vengeance, I have set her blood on top of a rock, That it may not
be covered.”- Now thus they caused
fury to come up and take vengeance. It could not be avoided but that YAHVEH
TSEBAOTE must in anger visit
for these things; his soul must be avenged on such a nation as this. It is
absolutely necessary that such a bloody city as this should have blood given
her to drink, for she is worthy, for the vindicating of the honor of divine
justice. And, the crime having been public and notorious, it is fit that the
punishment should be so too: I have set her blood on the top of a rock.
Yerushalayim was to
be made an example, and therefore was made a spectacle, to the world; YAHVEH
dealt with her according to the law of retaliation. It is fit that those who sin
before all should be rebuked before all; and that the reputation of
those should not be consulted by the concealment of their punishment who were
so impudent as not to desire the concealment of their sin.
Ezekiel
24:9‘Therefore thus says YAHVEH: “Woe to the bloody city! I too will
make the pyre great.- Care is taken to
keep a good fire under the pot, which signifies the closeness of the siege, and
the many vigorous attacks made upon the city by the besiegers, and especially
the continued wrath of YAHVEH burning against them: I will make the pile for
fire great. Commission is given to the Chaldeans to heap on wood, and
kindle the fire, to make Yerushalayim more and more hot to the inhabitants.
Ezekiel
24:10 Heap on the wood,
Kindle the fire; Cook the meat well, Mix in the spices, And let the cuts be
burned up. - What is the course ABBA YAHVEH
takes with it. Yerushalayim, during the siege, is like a pot boiling over the
fire, all in a heat, all in a hurry.
The fire which YAHVEH
kindles for the consuming of impenitent sinners shall never abate, much less go
out, for want of fuel. Tophet has fire and much wood, Isa. 30:33.
Ezekiel
24:11 Then set the
pot empty on the coals, That it may become hot and its bronze may burn, That its filthiness may be melted in
it, That its scum may be
consumed. - The great scum
that went not forth out of her, that stuck to the pot when all was
boiled away, and was molten in it, some of this runs over into the
fire in verse 12, inflames that, and makes it burn the more furiously, but it
shall all be consumed at last.
When the hand of YAHVEH
had gone out against them, instead of humbling themselves under it, repenting
and reforming, and accepting the punishment of their iniquity, they grew more
impudent and outrageous in sin, quarreled with YAHVEH, persecuted his prophets,
were fierce to one another, enraged to the last degree against the Chaldeans,
snarled at the stone, gnawed their chain, and were like a wild bull in a net.
This as their scum; in their distress they trespassed yet more
against ABBA YAHVEH, like that king Ahaz, 2 Chr. 28:22.
Ezekiel
24:12 She has grown weary
with lies, And her great scum has not gone from her. Let her scum be
in the fire! - There is little hope of
those who are made worse by that which should make them better, whose
corruptions are excited an exasperated by those rebukes both of the word and of
the providence of YAHVEH which were designed for the suppressing and subduing
of them, or of those whose scum boiled up once in convictions, and confessions
of sin, as if it would be taken off by reformation, but afterwards returned
again, in a revolt from their good overtures; and the heart that seemed
softened is hardened again. This was Yerushalayim’s case: She has wearied
with lies, wearied her with purposes
and promises of amendment, which she never stood to, wearied herself with her
carnal confidences, which have all deceived her. Those that follow after lying
vanities weary themselves with the pursuit.
Ezekiel
24:13 In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed
you, and you were not cleansed, You will not be cleansed of your filthiness anymore,
Till I have caused My fury to rest upon you. - Now see her doom, because she is incurably wicked she is abandoned to
ruin, without remedy.
First, Methods and means of reformation had been tried in
vain: "In thy filthiness is lewdness; thou hast become obstinate
and impudent in it; thou hast got a habit of it, which is confirmed by frequent
acts. In thy filthiness thee is a rooted lewdness; as appears by this, I
have purged thee and thou wast not purged. I have given thee medicine, but
it has done thee no good. I have used the means of cleansing thee, but they
have been ineffectual; the intention of them has not been answered.’’ It is sad
to think how many there are on whom ordinances and providences are all lost.
Secondly, It is therefore resolved that
no more such methods shall be sued: Thou shalt not be purged from thy
filthiness any more. The fire shall no longer be a refining fire, but a
consuming fire, and therefore shall not be mitigated and shortened, as it has
been, but shall be continued in extremity, till it has done its destroying
work. Those that will not be healed are justly given up and their case adjudged
desperate. There is a day coming when it will be said, He that is filthy,
let him be filthy still. Thirdly, Nothing remains then but to bring them to
utter ruin: I will cause my fury to rest upon thee.
Ezekiel
24:14 I, YAHVEH, have spoken it; It shall come to pass, and I will
do it; I will not hold back,
Nor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways And according to your
deeds They will judge you,” Says YAHVEH TSEBAOTE.’ - They deserve it: According to thy doings they shall judge thee.
And YAHVEH will do it. The sentence is bound on with repeated ratifications,
that they might be awakened to see how certain their ruin was: "I YAHVEH
TSEBAOTE have spoken it, who am able to make good what I have spoken; it
shall come to pass, nothing shall prevent it, for I will do it
myself, I will not go back upon any entreaties; the decree has gone
forth, and I will not spare in compassion to them, neither will I
repent.’’
He will neither
change his mind nor his way. Hereby the prophet was forbidden to interceded for
them, and they were forbidden to flatter themselves with hopes of an escape. YAHVEH
hath said it, and he will do it. The declarations of YAH’s wrath against
sinners are as inviolable as the assurances he has given of favor to his
people; and the case of such is sad indeed, who have brought it to this issue,
that either YAHVEH must be false or they must be damned.
Ezekiel 24:15 Also the word of EL YAHVEH came to me,
saying, - These verses conclude what we have been upon all along from the
beginning of this book, to wit, Ezekiel’s prophecies of the destruction of Yerushalayim;
for after this, though he prophesied much concerning other nations, he said no
more concerning Yerushalayim, till he heard of the destruction of it, almost
three years after, ch. 33:21. He had assured them, in the former part of this
chapter, that there was no hope at all of the preventing of the trouble; here
he assures them that they should not have the ease of weeping for it.
The sign by which
this was represented to them, and it was a sign that cost the prophet very
dear; the more shame for them that when he, by a divine appointment, was at
such an expense to affect them with what he had to deliver, yet they were not
affected by it.
Ezekiel
24:16 “Son of man, behold, I
take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall
neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. - He must lose a good wife, that should suddenly be taken from him by
death. YAHVEH gave him notice of it before, that it might be the less surprise
to him: Behold, I take away from thee the desire of thy eyes with a stroke.
A married state may very well agree with the prophetical office; it is honorable
in all, and therefore not sinful in ministers.
Much of the comfort
of human life lies in agreeable relations. No doubt Ezekiel found a prudent
tender yoke-fellow, that shared with him in his grief’s and cares, to be a
happy companion in his captivity.
Those in the
conjugal relation must be to each other not only a covering of the eyes
(Gen. 20:16), to restrain wandering looks after others; but a desire of the
eyes, to engage pleasing looks on one another. A beloved wife is the desire
of the eyes, which find not any object more grateful.
Ezekiel
24:17“Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the
dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not
cover your lips, and do not eat
man’s bread of sorrow.” - That is least safe which is most dear; we know not
how soon the desire of our eyes may be removed from us and may become the
sorrow of our hearts, which is a good reason why those that have wives
should be as though they had none, and those who rejoice in them as
though they rejoiced not, 1 Co. 7:29, 30. Death is a stroke which the most
pious, the most useful, the most amiable, are not exempted from. When the
desire of our eyes is taken away with a stroke we must see and own the hand of YAHVEH
in it: I take away the desire of thy eyes. He takes our
creature-comforts from us when and how he pleases; he gave them to us, but
reserved to himself a property in them; and may he not do what he will with
his own?
Ezekiel
24:18 So I spoke to the
people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did
as I was commanded. - Under afflictions of
this kind it is good for us to remember that we are sons of men; for so YAHVEH
calls the prophet here. If thou art a son of Adam, thy wife is a
daughter of Eve, and therefore a dying creature. It is an affliction
which the children of men are liable to; and shall the earth be forsaken for
us? According to this prediction, he tells us, I spoke unto the people
in the morning; for YAHVEH sent his prophets, rising up early and
sending them; then he thought, if ever, they would be disposed to hearken to
him.
Though YAHVEH had
given Ezekiel a certain prospect of this affliction coming upon him, yet it did
not take him off from his work, but he resolved to go on in that. We may the
more easily bear an affliction if it find us in the way of our duty; for
nothing can hurt us, nothing come amiss to us, while we keep ourselves in the
love of YAHVEH.
Ezekiel
24:19 And the people said to me, “Will you not
tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”
- The explication and application of this sign. The people enquired the
meaning of it: Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us that thou
doest so? They knew that Ezekiel was an affectionate husband, that the
death of his wife was a great affliction to him, and that he would not appear
so unconcerned at it but for some good reason and for instruction to them; and
perhaps they were in hopes that it had a favourable signification, and gave
them an intimation that YAHVEH would now comfort them again according to the
time he had afflicted them, and make them look pleasant again.
Ezekiel
24:20 Then I answered them,
“The word of EL YAHVEH came to me, saying, - When
we are enquiring concerning the things of YAHVEH our enquiry must be,
"What are those thing to us? What are we concerned in them? What
conviction, what counsel, what comfort, do they speak to us? Wherein do they
reach our case?’’ Ezekiel gives them an answer verbatim, word for word
as he had received it from ABBA YAHVEH, who had told him what he must speak
to the house of Yisrael.
Ezekiel
24:21‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says YAHVEH
EL-ELYON: ‘Behold, I will profane
My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your
soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.
- Let them know that as Ezekiel’s wife was taken from
him by a stroke so would YAHVEH take from them all that which was dearest to
them. If this was done to the green tree, what shall be done to the dry?
If a faithful servant of YAHVEH was afflicted only for his trial, shall such a
generation of rebels against YAHVEH go unpunished?
By this awakening
providence YAHVEH showed that he was in earnest in his threatenings, and
inexorable. We may suppose that Ezekiel prayed that, if it were the Will of
ABBA YAHVEH, his wife might be spared to him, but YAHVEH would not hear him;
and should he be heard then in his intercessions for this provoking people?
No, it is
determined: YAHVEH will take away the desire of your eyes. The removal of the comforts of others should
awaken us to think of parting with ours too; for are we better than they?
We know not how soon the same cup, or a more bitter one, may be put into our
hands, and should therefore weep with those that weep, as being ourselves also
in the body.
YAHVEH Will take
away that which their soul pities, that is, of which they say, What a pity
is it that it should be cut off and destroyed! That for which your souls are
afraid (so some read it); you shall lose that which you most dread the loss
of. And what is that?
That which was their
public pride, the temple: "I will profane my sanctuary, by giving
that into the enemy’s hand, to be plundered and burnt.’’ This was signified by
the death of a wife, a dear wife, to teach us that YAH’s sanctuary should be
dearer to us, and more the desire of our eyes, than any creature-comfort
whatsoever. Messiyah’s church, that is his spouse, should be ours too. Though
this people were very corrupt, and had themselves profaned the sanctuary, yet
it is called the desire of their eyes.
Many that are
destitute of the power of godliness are yet very fond of the form
of it; and it is just with YAHVEH to punish them for their hypocrisy by
depriving them of that too. The sanctuary is here called the excellency of
their strength; they had many strong-holds and places of defence, but the
temple excelled them all. It was the pride of their strength; they
prided in it as their strength that they were the temple of YAHVEH EL-ELYON
The
church-privileges that men are proud of and are profaned by their sins, and it
is just with YAHVEH to profane them by HIS judgments. And with these YAHVEH
will take away.
That which was their family-pleasure, which
they looked upon with delight: "Your sons and your daughters (which
are the dearer to you because they are but few left of many, the rest having
perished by famine and pestilence) shall fall by the sword of the Chaldeans.’’
What a dreadful
spectacle would it be to see their own children, pieces, pictures, of
themselves, whom they had taken such care and pains to bring up, and whom they
loved as their own souls, sacrificed to the rage of the merciless conquerors!
This, this, was the punishment of sin.
Ezekiel
24:22‘And you shall do as I have done; you shall
not cover your lips nor eat
man’s bread of sorrow. – Let them know that as Ezekiel wept not for his affliction so neither
should they weep for theirs. He must say, You shall do as I have done. You
shall not mourn nor weep, verse 23. Jeremiah had told them the same, that
men shall not lament for the dead nor cut themselves (Jer. 16:6); not
that there shall be any such merciful circumstance without, or any such degrees
of wisdom and grace within, as shall mitigate and moderate the sorrow; but they
shall not mourn, for. Their grief shall be so great that they shall be
quite overwhelmed with it; their passions shall stifle them, and they shall
have no power to ease themselves by giving vent to it. Their calamities shall
come so fast upon them, one upon the neck of another, that by long custom they
shall be hardened in their sorrows (Job 6:10) and perfectly stupefied,
and moped (as we say), with them.
Ezekiel
24:23‘Your turbans shall be on your heads and
your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine
away in your iniquities and mourn with one another. - They shall not dare to express their grief, for fear of being deemed
disaffected to the conquerors, who would take their lamentations as an affront
and disturbance to their triumphs.
They shall not have
hearts, nor time, nor money, wherewith to put themselves in mourning, and
accommodate themselves with the ceremonies of grief: "You will be so
entirely taken up with solid substantial grief that you will have no room for
the shadow of it.’’
Ezekiel 24:24‘Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to
all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am YAHVEH EL-ELYON.’ – Particular
mourners shall not need to distinguish themselves by covering their lips,
and laying aside their ornaments, and going barefoot; for it is well
known that every body is a mourner.
There shall be none of
that sense of their affliction and sorrow for it which would help to bring them
to repentance, but that only which shall drive them to despair; so it follows: "You
shall pine away for your iniquities, with seared consciences and reprobate
minds, and you shall mourn, not to YAHVEH in prayer and confession of
sin, but one towards another,’’ murmuring, and fretting, and complaining
of YAHVEH, thus making their burden heavier and their wound more grievous, as
impatient people do under their afflictions by mingling their own passions with
them.
An appeal to the
event, for the confirmation of all this: "When
this comes, as it is foretold, when Yerushalayim, which is this day
besieged, is quite destroyed and laid waste, which now you cannot believe will
ever be, then you shall know that I am
YAHVEH EL-ELYON, who have given you this fair warning of it. Then you
will remember that Ezekiel was to you a sign.’’ Those who regard not the
threatenings of the word when they are preached will be made to remember them
when they are executed.
Ezekiel
24:25‘And you, son of man—will it not be in the day when I take from them
their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that
on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters: - The great
desolation which the siege of Yerushalayim should end in: In that day,
that terrible day, when the city shall be broken up, I will take from them.
That which they depended on, their strength, their walls, their
treasures, their fortifications, their men of war; none shall stand them in
stead. That which they boasted of, the joy of their glory, that which
they looked upon as most their glory, and which they most rejoiced in, the
temple of their YAHVEH and the palaces of their princes.
That which they
delighted in, which was the desire of their eyes, and on which they set
their minds.
Carnal people set
their minds upon that on which they can set their eyes; they look at, and dote
upon, the things that are seen; and it is their folly to set their
minds upon that which they have no assurance of and which may be taken from
them in a moment, Prov. 23:5. Their sons and their daughters were all
this, their strength, and joy, and glory; and these shall go into
captivity.
Ezekiel
24:26‘on that day one who escapes will come to
you to let you hear it with your ears; - The
notice that should be brought to the prophet, not be revelation, as the notice
of the siege was brought to him verse 2, but in an ordinary way: "He
that escapes in that day shall, by a special direction of Providence, come
to thee, to bring thee intelligence of it,’’ which we find was done, ch.
33:21. The ill-news came slowly, and yet to Ezekiel and his fellow-captives it
came too soon.
Ezekiel
24:27‘on that day your mouth will be opened to him
who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign
to them, and they shall know that I am
YAHVEH EL-ELYON.’ - The divine impression which he should be
under upon receiving that notice. Whereas, from this time to that, Ezekiel was
thus far dumb that he prophesied no more against the land of Israel, but
against the neighbouring nations, as we shall find in the following chapters,
then he shall have orders given him to speak again to the children of his
people (ch. 33:2, 22); then his mouth shall be opened. He was
suspended from prophesying against them in the mean time, because, Yerushalayim
being besieged, his prophecies could not be sent into the city, because, when YAHVEH
was speaking so loudly by the rod, there was the less need of speaking by the
word, and because then the accomplishment of his prophecies would be the full
confirmation of his mission, and would the more effectually clear the way for
him to begin again. It being referred to that issue, that issue must be waited
for.
Therefore Messiyah
forbade his disciples to preach openly that he was Messiyah till after his
resurrection, because that was to be the full proof of it. "But then thou
shalt speak with the greater assurance, and the more effectually, either to
their conviction or to their confusion.’’ YAH’s prophets are never silenced but
for wise and holy ends. And when YAHVEH gives them the opening of the mouth
again (as he will in due time, for even the witnesses that are slain
shall arise) it shall appear to have been for his glory that they were
for a while silent, that people may the more certainly and fully know
that YAHVEH is King.
Chapter 25
Judgment began at the
house of YAHVEH, and therefore with them the prophets began, who were the
judges; but it must not end there, and therefore they must not.
Ezekiel had finished his
testimony which related to the destruction of Yerushalayim. As to that he was
ordered to say no more, but stand upon his watch-tower and wait the issue; and
yet he must not be silent; there are divers nations bordering upon the land of
Israel, which he must prophesy against, as Isaiah and Jeremiah had done before;
and must proclaim YAH’s controversy with them, chiefly for the injuries and
indignities which they had done to the people of YAHVEH in the day of their
calamity. In this chapter we have his prophecy:
I. Against the Ammonites
verse 1-7.
II. Against the Moabites
verse 8–11.
III. Against the Edomites
verse 11–14.
IV. Against the
Philistines verse 15–17.
That which is laid to the
charge of each of them is their barbarous and insolent conduct towards YAH’s
Yisrael, for which YAH threatens to put the same cup of trembling into their
hand. YAH’s resenting it thus would be an encouragement to Yisrael to believe
that though he had dealt thus severely with them yet he had not cast them off,
but would still own them and plead their cause.
Ezekiel
25:1 The Word of YAHVEH
came to me, saying, -
Ezekiel
25:2 “Son of man, set your
face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them. - The prophet is ordered to address himself to the
Ammonites, in the name of YAHVEH EL-ELYON the EL of Yisrael, who is also
the EL of the whole earth. But what can Chemosh, the god of the children of
Ammon, say, in answer to it? He is bidden to set his face against the
Ammonites, for he is YAH’s representative as a prophet, and therefore he
must signify that YAHVEH set his face against them, for the face of YAHVEH
TSEBAOTE is against those that do evil, Ps. 34:16.
He must speak with boldness and assurance, as one
that knew whose errand he went upon, and that he should be borne out in
delivering it. He must therefore set his face as a flint, Isa. 1:7. He
must show his displeasure against these proud enemies of Yisrael, and face them
down, though they were very impudent, and thus must show that, though he had
prophesied so much and so long against Yisrael, yet still he was for
Yisrael, and, while he witnessed against their corruptions, he adhered to and
gloried in YAH’s covenant with them. Those are miserable that have the
preaching and praying of YAH’s prophets against them, against whom their faces
are set.
He is directed what
to say to them. Ezekiel is now a captive in Babylon
Ezekiel
25:3 “Say to
the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of YAHVEH EL-ELYON! Thus saysYAHVEH EL-ELYON: “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My
sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Yisrael when it was
desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, - He must upbraid the Ammonites with their insolent
and barbarous triumphs over the people of Yisrael in their calamities. The
Ammonites said, when all went against Yisrael, Aha! so would we have it.
They were glad to see, the temple burned, the sanctuary profaned by the
victorious Chaldeans. This is put first, to intimate what was the cause of the
controversy; they had an enmity to the Jews for the sake of their religion,
though it was only some poor remains of the profession of it that were to be
found among them.
Ezekiel
25:4 “indeed,
therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the men of the East, and they
shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they
shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. - He must threaten the Ammonites with utter ruin
for this insolence which they were guilty of. YAHVEH turns away his wrath from
Yisrael against them, as is said, Prov. 24:17, 18. ABBA YAHVEH is jealous for
his people’s honor, because his own is so nearly interested in it. And
therefore those that touch that shall be made to know that they touch the apple
of his eye. He had before predicted the destruction of the Ammonites, ch.
21:28. Had they repented, that would have been revoked; but now it is ratified.
A destroying enemy
is brought against them: I will deliver thee to the men of the east,
first to the Chaldeans, who came from the north-east, and whose army, under the
command of Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the country of the Ammonites, about five
years after the destruction of Yerushalayim (as Josephus relates, Antiq.
10.181), and then to the Arabians, who were properly the children of the
east, who, when the Chaldeans had made the country desolate, and quitted
it, came and took possession of it for themselves, probably with the consent of
the conquerors. Shepherds’ tents were their palaces; these they set up in the
country of the Ammonites; there they made their dwellings.
Ezekiel
25:5“And
I will make Rabbah a stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks.
Then you shall know that I am YAHVEH
EL-ELYON.” – They enjoyed the products of
the country: They shall eat thy fruit and drink thy milk; and the milk
from the cattle is the fruit of the ground at second-hand. They made use even
of the royal city for their cattle: I will make Rabbath, that was a nice
and splendid city, to be a stable for camels; for its new masters, whose
wealth lies all in cattle, will not think they can put the palaces of Rabbath
to a better use. Rabbath had been a habitation of brutish men; justly therefore
is it now made a stable for camels and the country a couching-lace
for flocks, more innocent beasts than those with which it had been before
replenished.
Ezekiel
25:6‘For thus says YAHVEH EL-ELYON: “Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and
rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Yisrael
Ezekiel
25:7“indeed,
therefore, I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to
the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to
perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am YAHVEH EL-ELYON.” –
YAHVEH HIMSELF acts as an enemy to them : I will stretch out my hand upon
thee, a hand that will reach far and strike home, which there is no
resisting the blow of, for it is a mighty hand, nor bearing the weight of, for
it is a heavy hand.
YAH’s hand stretched
out against the Ammonites will not only deliver them for a spoil to the
heathen, so that all their neighbours shall prey upon them, but will cut
them off from the people and made them perish out of the countries,
so that there shall be no remains of them in that place. Compare with this,
Jer. 49:1, etc. What can sound more terrible than that resolution, I will
destroy thee? For the almighty YAHVEH is able both to save and to
destroy, and it is a fearful thing to fall into his hands. Both the
threatenings here conclude with this, You shall know that I am the Lord.
For, therefore YAHVEH
will maintain his own honor, and will make it appear that he is the EL of
Yisrael, though he suffers them for a time to be captives in Babylon
Therefore YAHVEH
will bring those that were strangers to him into an acquaintance with him, and
it will be a blessed effect of their calamities. Better know YAHVEH and be poor
than be rich and ignorant of HIM.
Ezekiel 25:8
‘Thus
says YAHVEH EL-ELYON: “Because Moab
What was the sin of the
Moabites; they said, Behold, the house of Judah Judah
In the calamities of
Yisrael. They said, "The house of Judah
Those who judge only by
outward appearance are ready to conclude that the people of YAHVEH have lost
all their privileges when they have lost their worldly prosperity, which does
not follow, for good men, even in affliction, in captivity among the heathen,
have graces and comforts within sufficient to distinguish them from all the
heathen. Though the event seem one to the righteous and wicked, yet
indeed it is vastly different.
Ezekiel
25:9 “therefore,
behold, I will clear the territory of Moab of cities, of the cities on its
frontier, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kirjathaim. – What should be the punishment of Moab for this
sin; because they triumphed in the overthrow of Judah, their country shall be
in like manner overthrown with that of the Ammonites, who were guilty of the
same sin: "I will open the side of Moab, will uncover its shoulder,
will take away all its defences, that it may become an easy prey to any that
will make a prey of it.’’
See here how it
shall be exposed; the frontier-towns, that were its strength and guard, shall
be demolished by the Chaldean forces, and laid open. Some of the cities are
here named, which are said to be the glory of the country, which they
trusted in, and boasted of as impregnable; these shall decay, be deserted, or
betrayed, or fall into the enemies’ hands, so that Moab shall lie exposed, and
whoever will may penetrate into the heart of the country.
Those who glory in
any other defence and protection than that of the divine power, providence, and
promise, will sooner or later see cause to be ashamed of their glorying.
Ezekiel
25:10“To the men of the East I will give it as a
possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites may not be
remembered among the nations. – In this verse we see to whom it shall be exposed: The
men of the east, when they come to take possession of the country of the
Ammonites, shall seize that of the Moabites too. YAHVEH, the Lord of all lands,
will give them that land; for the kingdoms of men he gives to whomsoever he
will. The Arabians, who are shepherds, and live quietly, plain men dwelling in
tents, shall by an overruling Providence
The Chaldeans shall
get it by war, and the Arabians shall enjoy it in peace. Concerning the
Ammonites it is said, They shall no more be remembered among the nations,
for they had been accessory to the murder of Gedaliah, Jer. 40:14. But of the
Moabites it is said, I will execute judgments upon Moab; they shall feel
the weight of YAH’s displeasure, but perhaps not to that degree that the
Ammonites shall; however, so far as that they shall know that I am YAHVEH,
that the EL of Yisrael is a EL of power, and that HIS covenant with HIS people
is not broken.
Ezekiel
25:11“And
I will execute judgments upon Moab
It is a great
offence to ABBA YAHVEH for us to revenge ourselves upon our brother; for YHWEH
has said, Vengeance is mine. We are forbidden to revenge or to bear
a grudge. Suppose Judah
had been hard upon Edom
Ezekiel 25:12‘Thus says
YAHVEH EL-ELYON: “Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah
Ezekiel
25:13‘therefore
thus says YAHVEH EL-ELYON: “I will
also stretch out My hand against Edom Edom
Ezekiel
25:14“I
will lay My vengeance on Edom
by the hand of My people Yisrael, that they may do in Edom
They had taken
vengeance on Yisrael, and YAHVEH will lay HIS vengeance on them by the hand
of HIS people Yisrael. They suffered much by the Chaldeans, which seems to
be referred to, Jer. 49:8. But besides that there were saviours to come upon
Mount Zion, who should judge the mount of Esau (Obad. 21), and Yisrael’s
Redeemer comes with dyed garments from Bozrah (Isa. 63:1), this implies
a promise that Israel should recover itself again to such a degree as to be in
a capacity of curbing the insolence of its neighbours. And we find (1 Mac. 5:3)
that Judas Maccabeus fought against the children of Esau in Idumea, gave
them a great overthrow, abated their courage, and took their spoil; and
Josephus says (Antiq. 13.257), that Hircanus made the Edomites
tributaries to Yisrael.
The equity of YAH’s
judgments is to be observed when he not only avenges injuries upon those that
did them, but by those against whom they were done.
Ezekiel
25:15‘Thus says YAHVEH EL EL-YON: “Because the Philistines dealt
vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the
old hatred,” – The Philistines. And, 1.
Their sin is much the same with that of the Edomites: They have dealt by
revenge with the people of Israel, and have taken vengeance with a
despiteful heart, not to disturb them only, but to destroy them, for
the old hatred, the old grudge they bore them, or (as the margin reads
it) with perpetual hatred, a hatred that began long since and which they
resolved to continue. The anger was implacable: they dealt by revenge,
traded in the acts of malice; it was their constant practice, and their heart,
their spiteful heart, was upon it.
Ezekiel 25:16‘therefore
thus says YAHVEH EL EL-YON: “I
will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites
and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. – Their punishment likewise is much the same.
Ezekiel 25:17“I will execute great vengeance on them with
furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I
lay My vengeance upon them.” - Those that
were for destroying YAH’s people shall themselves be cut off and destroyed;
and those that were for avenging
themselves shall find that YAHVEH will execute great vengeance upon them.
This was fulfilled when that country was wasted by the Chaldean army, not long
after the destruction of Yerushalayim, which is foretold, Jer. 47. It was
strange that these nations, which bordered upon the land of Israel, were not
alarmed by the success of the Chaldean army, and made to tremble in the
apprehension of their own danger; when their neighbour’s house was on fire it
was time to look to their own; but their impiety and malice made them forget
their politics, till YAHVEH by his judgments convinced them that the cup was
going round, and they were the less safe for being secure.
Chapter 26
The prophet had soon done
with those four nations that he set his face against in the foregoing chapters;
for they were not at that time very considerable in the world, nor would their
fall make any great noise among the nations nor any figure in history. But the
city of Tyre is next set to the bar; this, being
a place of vast trade, was known all the world over; and therefore here are
three whole chapters, this and the two that follow, spent in the prediction of
the destruction of Tyre
We have "the burden
of Tyre
I.
The sin charged
upon Tyre , which was triumphing in the
destruction of Yerushalayim verse 2.
II. The destruction of
Tyrus itself foretold.
1. The extremity of this
destruction: it shall be utterly ruined verse 4–6, 12-14.
2. The instruments of
this destruction, many nations verse 3, and the king of Babylon
3. The great surprise
that this should give to the neighbouring nations, who would all wonder at the
fall of so great a city and be alarmed at it verse 15–21.
Ezekiel
26:1 And it came to pass in
the eleventh year, on the first day
of the month, that the word of YAHVEH
came to me, saying, - The mont h a Abib or Nis mont
Ezekiel 26:2 “Son of man, because Tyre
has said against Yerushalayim, ‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I
shall be filled; she is laid waste.’ – This
prophecy is dated in the eleventh year, which was the year that Yerushalayim
was taken, and in the first day of the month, but it is not said what
month, some think the month in which Yerushalayim was taken, which was the
fourth month, others the month after; or perhaps it was the first month, and so
it was the first day of the year.
The pleasure with
which the Tyrians looked upon the ruins of Yerushalayim. Ezekiel was a great
way off, in Babylon , but ABBA YAHVEH told him
what Tyrus said against Yerushalayim: "Aha! she is broken, broken
to pieces, that was the gates of the people, to whom there was a great
resort and where there was a general rendezvous of all nations, some upon one
account and some upon another, and I shall get by it; all the wealth, power,
and interest, which Yerushalayim had, it is hoped, shall be turned to Tyre, and
so now that she is laid waste I shall be replenished.’’ We do not
find that the Tyrians had such a hatred and enmity to Yerushalayim and the
sanctuary as the Ammonites and Edomites had, or were so spiteful and
mischievous to the Jews.
They were men of
business, and of large acquaintance and free conversation, and therefore were
not so bigoted, and of such a persecuting spirit, as the narrow souls that
lived retired and knew not the world. All their care was to get estates, and
enlarge their trade, and they looked upon Yerushalayim not as an enemy, but as
a rival. Hiram, king of Tyre, was a good friend to David and Solomon, and we do
not read of any quarrels the Jews had with the Tyrians; but Tyre promised
herself that the fall of Yerushalayim would be an advantage to her in respect
of trade a commerce, that now she shall have Yerushalayim’s customers, and the
great men from all parts that used to come to Yerushalayim for the
accomplishing of themselves, and to spend their estates there, will now come to
Tyre and spend them there; and whereas many, since the Chaldean army became so
formidable in those parts, had retired into Yerushalayim, and brought their
estates thither for safety, as the Rechabites did, now they will come to Tyre,
which, being in a manner surrounded with the sea, will be thought a place of
greater strength than Yerushalayim, and thus the prosperity of Tyre will rise
out of the ruins of Yerushalayim.
To be secretly
pleased with the death or decay of others, when we are likely to get by it,
with their fall when we may thrive upon it, is a sin that does most easily
beset us, but is not thought to be such a bad thing, and so provoking to YAHVEH,
as really it is. We are apt to say, when those who stand in our light, in our
way, are removed, when they break of fall into disgrace, "We shall be replenished
now that they are laid waste.’’ But this comes from a selfish covetous
principle, and a desire to be placed alone in the midst of the earth, as
if we grudged that any should live by us.
This comes from a
want of that love to our neighbour as to ourselves which the law of God so
expressly requires, and from that inordinate love of the world as our happiness
which the love of YAHVEH so expressly forbids. And it is just with YAHVEH to
blast the designs and projects of those who thus contrive to raise themselves
upon the ruins of others; and we see they are often disappointed.
Ezekiel
26:3 “Therefore thus says YAHVEH EL EL-YON: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre
YAHVEH will bring
formidable enemies upon her: Many nations shall come against thee, an
army made up of many nations, or one nation that shall be as strong as many.
Those that have YAHVEH against them may expect all the creatures against them;
for what peace can those have with whom YAHVEH TSEBAOTE is at war? They shall
come pouring in as the waves of the sea, one upon the neck of another,
with an irresistible force. The person is named that shall bring this army upon
them, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, that had many
kings tributaries to him and dependents on him, besides those that were his
captives, Can 2:37, 38. He is that head of gold. He shall come with a
vast army, horses and chariots, etc., all land-forces.
Ezekiel
26:4 ‘And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre
Ezekiel 26:5‘It
shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’
says YAHVEH EL EL-YON; ‘it shall
become plunder for the nations. –
Ezekiel 26:6‘Also her daughter villages which are
in the fields shall be slain by the sword. Then they shall know that I am YAHVEH EL EL-YON.’ - A great deal of blood shall be shed: Her
daughters who are in the field, the cities upon the continent, which were
subject to Tyre
Ezekiel
26:7“For
thus says the YAHVEH EL EL-YON:
‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon, king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an
army with many people.
Ezekiel
26:8 ‘He will slay with the
sword your daughter villages in
the fields; he will heap up a siege mound against you, build a wall against
you, and raise a defense against you. - YAHVEH
TSEBAOTE will bring formidable enemies upon her: Many nations shall come
against thee, an army made up of many nations, or one nation that shall be
as strong as many. Those that have YAHVEH TSEBAOTE against them may expect all
the creatures against them; for what peace can those have with whom TSEBAOTE is
at war? They shall come pouring in as the waves of the sea, one upon the
neck of another, with an irresistible force. The person is named that shall
bring this army upon them, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
Ezekiel
26:9 ‘He will direct his battering rams against your
walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. - We do not find that he had any naval force, or any thing wherewith he
might attack it by sea, which made the attempt the more difficult, as we find
ch. 29:18, where it is called a great service which he served against Tyrus.
He shall besiege it in form, make a fort, and cast a mount, and shall set
engines of war against the walls.
Ezekiel
26:10 ‘Because of the abundance of his horses,
their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen,
the wagons, and the chariots, when he enters your gates, as men enter a city
that has been breached. - His
troops shall be so numerous as to raise a dust that shall cover the city. They
shall make a noise that shall even shake the walls; and they shall shout
at every attack, as soldiers do when they enter a city that is broken
up; the horses shall prance with so much fury and violence that they shall
even tread down the streets though so ever well paved.
Ezekiel
26:11 ‘With the hooves of his horses he will
trample all your streets; he will slay your people by the sword, and your
strong pillars will fall to the ground. – They
shall do terrible execution. The enemy shall make themselves masters of all
their fortifications, shall destroy the walls and break down the
towers, verse 4. For what walls are so strongly built as to be a fence
against the judgments of YAHVEH? Her strong garrisons shall go down to the
ground. And the walls shall be broken down, verse 12. The city held out a
long siege, but it was taken at last.
A great deal of
blood shall be shed: Her daughters who are in the field, the cities upon
the continent, which were subject to Tyre as the mother-city, the inhabitants
of them shall be slain by the sword, verse 6. The invaders begin with
those that come first in their way. In this verse he shall slay thy people
with the sword; not only the soldiers that are found in arms, but the
burghers, shall be put to the sword, the king of Babylon being highly
incensed against them for holding out so long.
Ezekiel
26:12‘They will plunder your riches and pillage
your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant
houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of
the water. - The wealth of the city shall
all become a spoil to the conqueror: They shall make a prey of the
merchandise. It was in hope of the plunder that the city was set upon with
so much vigour. See the vanity of riches, that they are kept for the owners
to their hurt; they entice and recompense thieves, and not only cease to
benefit those who took pains for them and were duly entitled to them, but are
made to serve their enemies, who are thereby put into a capacity of doing them
so much the more mischief.
The city itself
shall be laid in ruins. All the pleasant houses shall be destroyed
, such as were pleasantly situated, beautified, and furnished, shall become a
heap of rubbish. Let none please themselves too much in their pleasant houses,
for they know not how soon they may see the desolation of them. Tyre
I will scrape her
dust from her; not only shall the
loose dust be blown away, but the very ground it stands upon shall be torn up
by the enraged enemy, carried off, and laid in the midst of the water.
Ezekiel
26:13 ‘I will
put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be
heard no more. – shall be a full period
to all its mirth and joy: I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease. Tyre Tyre
Ezekiel
26:14 ‘I will make you like the top of a rock; you
shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I EL
YAHVEH have spoken,’ says YAHVEH EL EL-YON. - The foundation is in the dust; that dust shall be all
taken away, and then the city must fall of course. When Yerushalayim was
destroyed it was ploughed like a field, Mic. 3:12. But the destruction
of Tyre is carried further than that; the very soil of it shall be scraped
away, and it shall be made like the top of a rock , pure rock that has
no earth to cover it; it shall only be a place for the spreading of nets
; it shall serve fishermen to dry their nets upon and mend them.
Lastly, It shall be built no more, not built any
more as it had been, with such state and magnificence, nor built any more in
the same place, within the sea, nor built any where for a long time; the
present inhabitants shall be destroyed or dispersed, so that this Tyre shall be
no more. For YAHVEH has spoken it ; and when what he has said is
accomplished they shall know thereby that HE is YAHVEH, and not
a man that HE should lie nor the son of man that HE should repent.
Ezekiel
26:15“Thus says the YAHVEH TSEBAOTE to Tyre Tyre
See what a
consternation all the neighbours are in upon the fall of Tyre
Or, when they see
one fail and become bankrupt of a sudden, in debt a great deal more than he is
worth, it makes them afraid for themselves, lest they should do so too. Thus the
isles, which thought themselves safe in the embraces of the sea, when they
see Tyrus fall, shall tremble and be troubled, saying, "What
will become of us?’’
And it is well if
they make this good use of it, to take warning by it not to be secure, but to
stand in awe of YAHVEH and his judgments. The sudden fall of a great tower
shakes the ground round about it; thus all the islands in the Mediterranean Sea
shall feel themselves sensibly touched by the destruction of Tyre, it being a
place they had so much knowledge of, such interests in, and such a constant
correspondence with.
Ezekiel
26:16‘Then all the princes of the sea will come
down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered
garments; they will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the
ground, tremble every moment,
and be astonished at you. – The princes
of the sea shall be affected with it, who ruled in those islands. Or the
rich merchants, who live like princes (Isa. 23:8), and the masters of ships,
who command like princes, these shall condole the fall of Tyre
Ezekiel
26:17‘And they will take up a lamentation for
you, and say to you: “How you have perished, O one inhabited by seafaring men,
O renowned city, Who was strong at sea, She and her inhabitants, Who caused
their terror to be on all her inhabitants! - Or they shall by their own act and deed make
themselves to tremble upon this occasion; they shall sit upon the ground in shame and sorrow; they shall tremble every moment at the thought
of what has happened to Tyre , and for fear of
what may happen to themselves; for what island is safe if Tyre Tyre
Ezekiel
26:18 Now the coastlands
tremble on the day of your fall; Yes, the coastlands by the sea are troubled at
your departure.” ’
Ezekiel
26:19“For
thus says ABBA YAHVEH: ‘When I
make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the
deep upon you, and great waters cover you, -
Ezekiel 26:20‘then
I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of
old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places
desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may
never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory in the land of the living. - See how the irreparable ruin of Tyre
is aggravated by the prospect of the restoration of Israel Tyre
Though this land of the
living may for a time lie under disgrace, yet YAHVEH will again set glory
in it; the glory that had departed shall return, and the restoration of what
they had been deprived of shall be so much more their glory. YAHVEH will
himself be the glory of the lands that are the lands of the living.
It will aggravate the misery of those that
have their portion in the land of the dying, of those that are for ever dying,
to behold the happiness of those, at the same time, that shall have their
everlasting portion in the land of the living. When the rich man was himself in
torment he saw Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, and glory set for him in the
land of the living.
Ezekiel
26:21‘I will
make you a terror, and you shall
be no more; though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’
says YAHVEH EL EL-YON.” - It
shall be a great surprise to them, and they shall be affected with wonder, that
a place so well fortified by nature and art, so famed for politics and so full
of money, which is the sinews of war, that held out so long and with so much
bravery, should be taken at last : I make thee a terror. It is just with
YAHEH to make those a terror to their neighbours, by the suddenness and
strangeness of their punishment, who make themselves a terror to their
neighbours by the abuse of their power.
Chapter 27
Still we are attending
the funeral of Tyre
I. A large account of the
dignity, wealth, and splendour of Tyre, while it was in its strength, the vast
trade it drove, and the interest it had among the nations verse 1–25, which is
designed to make its ruin the more lamentable.
II. A prediction of its
fall and ruin, and the confusion and consternation which all its neighbours
shall thereby be put into verse 26–36. And this is intended to stain the pride
of all worldly glory, and, by setting the one over-against the other, to let us
see the vanity and uncertainty of the riches, honors, and pleasures of the
world, and what little reason we have to place our happiness in them or to be
confident of the continuance of them; so that all this is written for our
learning.
Ezekiel
27:1 The Word of YAHVEH came again to me, saying,
Ezekiel
27:2“Now, son
of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre
Even those that live
at ease are to be lamented if they be not preparing for trouble. He must lament
it because its ruin is hastening on apace; it is sure, it is near; and though
the prophet foretel it, and justify YAHVEH in it, yet he must lament it.
We ought to mourn
for the miseries of other nations, as well as for our own, out of an affection
for mankind in general; it is a part of the honor we owe to all men to bewail
their calamities, even those which they have brought upon themselves by their
own folly.
He is directed what
to say, and to say it in the name of YAHVEH EL EL-YON, a name not
unknown in Tyre, and which shall be better known, ch. 26:6.
Ezekiel
27:3
“and say to Tyre , ‘You who are
situated at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples on many
coastlands, thus says the YAHVEH EL EL-YON:
“O Tyre , you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’- He
must upbraid Tyre Zion
But Tyre
It is the folly of
the children of this world to value themselves on the pomp and pleasure they
live in, to call themselves beauties for the sake of them, and, if in these
they excel others, to think themselves perfect. But ABBA YAHVEH takes notice of
the vain conceits men have of themselves in their prosperity when the mind is
lifted up with the condition, and often, for the humbling of the spirit, finds
a way to bring down the estate. Let none reckon themselves beautified any
further than they are sanctified, nor say that they are of perfect beauty till
they come to heaven.
He must upbraid Tyre Tyre
The prophet must
describe her height and magnificence, that YAHVEH may be the more glorified in
her fall, as the YAHVEH who looks upon every one that is proud and abases
him, hides the proud in the dust together, and binds their faces in secret,
Job 40:12.
Ezekiel
27:4 Your borders are in the midst of the seas. Your
builders have perfected your beauty.- The
city of Tyre Levant
parts; so that she became a merchant of the people for many isles. Lying
between Greece and Asia , it became the great emporium, or mart-town, the
rendezvous of merchants from all parts:
They borders are
in the heart of the seas. It was
surrounded with water, which was a great advantage to its trade; it was the
darling of the sea, laid in its bosom, in its heart. It is a great convenience,
upon many accounts, to live in an island: seas are the most ancient
land-mark, not which our fathers have set, but the EL of our
fathers, and which cannot be removed as other land-marks may, nor so easily got
over. The people so situated may the more easily dwell alone, if they
please, as not reckoned among the nations, and yet, if they please, may
the more easily traffic abroad and keep a correspondence with the nations. We
therefore of this island must own that he who determines the bounds of men’s
habitations has determined well for us.
Ezekiel
27:5 They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir;
They took a cedar from Lebanon
They made the boards, or planks, for the hulk of the ship, of fir-trees
fetched from Senir, a mount in the land of Yisrael Lebanon ,
another mountain
of Israel
Ezekiel 27:6 Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; The
company of Ashurites have inlaid your planks With ivory from the coasts of Cyprus Bashan (Isa.
2:13), to make oars of; for it is probable that their ships were mostly
galleys, that go with oars. The people of Israel
Ezekiel
27:7 Fine embroidered linen
from Egypt
They hung those
rooms on ship-board with blue and purple, the richest cloths and richest
colours they could get from the isles they traded with. For though Tyre
So very prodigal
were they that they made their sails of fine linen fetched from Egypt
Ezekiel
27:8 “Inhabitants of
Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; Your wise
men, O Tyre Tyre Syria
Ezekiel
27:9 Elders of Gebal
and its wise men Were in you to caulk your seams; All the ships of the sea And
their oarsmen were in you To market your merchandise. - To do this they had the ancients and wise men; for there
is more need of wisdom and prudence to repair what has gone to decay than to
build anew. In public matters there is occasion for the ancients and wise
men to be the repairers of the breaches and the restorers of paths to
dwell in.
All the countries
they traded with were at their service, and were willing to send men into their
pay, to put their youths apprentice in Tyre
Ezekiel
27:10 “Those from Persia ,
Lydia , and Libya
These bore their
arms when there was occasion, and in time of peace hung up the shield and
buckler in the armoury, as it were to proclaim peace, and let the world
know that they had at present no need of them, but they were ready to be taken
down whenever there was occasion for them. Their walls were guarded
by the man of Arvad; their towers were garrisoned by the
Gammadim, robust men, that had a great deal of strength in their arms;
yet the vulgar Latin renders it pygmies, men no longer than one’s arm.
They hung their
shields upon the walls in their magazines or places of arms; or hung them
out upon the walls of the city, that none might dare to approach them, seeing
how well provided they were with all things necessary for their own defence.
"Thus they set forth thy comeliness , and made they beauty
perfect.’’
It contributed as
much as any thing to the glory of Tyre that it had those of all the surrounding
nations in its service, except the land of Israel (though it lay next them),
which furnished them with timber, but we do not find that it furnished them
with men; that would have trenched upon the liberty and dignity of the Jewish
nation, 2 Chr. 2:17, 18.
It was also the
glory of Tyre that it had such a militia, so fit
for service, and in constant pay, and such an armoury, like that in the tower of David
Ezekiel
27:11 Men of Arvad
with your army were on your
walls all around, And the men
of Gammad were in your towers; They hung their shields on your walls all around; They made your beauty
perfect. - They had a vast trade
and a correspondence with all parts of the known world. Some nations they dealt
with in one commodity and some in another, according as either its products or
its manufactures were, and the fruits of nature or art were, with which it was
blessed. This is very much enlarged upon here, as that which was the principal
glory of Tyre
The critics have
abundance of work here to find out the several places and nations spoken of. Concerning
many of them their conjectures are different and they leave us in the dark and
at much uncertainty; it is well that it is not material. Modern surveys come
short of explaining the ancient geography. And therefore we will not amuse
ourselves here with a particular enquiry either concerning the traders or the
goods they traded in. We leave it to the critical expositors, and observe that
only which is improvable.
Ezekiel
27:12“Tarshish
was your merchant because of
your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your
goods. -
Let every nations therefore thank YAHWEH
for the productions of its country; though they be not so rich as those of
others, yet there is use for them in the public service of the world.
See what a blessing trade and merchandise are
to mankind, especially when followed in the fear of YAHVEH, and with a regard
not only to private advantage, but to a common benefit. The earth is full of
YAH’s riches, Ps. 104:24. There is a multitude of all kinds of riches
in it gathered off its surface and dug out of its bowels. The earth is also
full of the fruits of men’s ingenuity and industry, according as their genius
leads them. Now by exchange and barter these are made more extensively useful;
thus what can be spared is helped off, and what is wanted is fetched in, in
lieu of it, from the most distant countries. Those that are not tradesmen
themselves have reason to thank YAHVEH for tradesmen and merchants, by whom the
productions of other countries are brought to our hands, as those of our own
are by our husbandmen.
Ezekiel
27:13“Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered
human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. - The earth is also full of the fruits of men’s ingenuity and industry,
according as their genius leads them. Now by exchange and barter these are made
more extensively useful; thus what can be spared is helped off, and what is
wanted is fetched in, in lieu of it, from the most distant countries. Those
that are not tradesmen themselves have reason to thank God for tradesmen and
merchants, by whom the productions of other countries are brought to our hands,
as those of our own are by our husbandmen.
Ezekiel
27:14 “Those from the house of Togarmah traded for
your wares with horses, steeds, and mules. - Here are horns of ivory and ebony , that are brought for a
present, exposed to sale, and offered in exchange, or (as some think)
presented to the city, or the great men of it, to obtain their favour. Here are
emeralds, coral, and agate , all precious stones, and gold,
which the world could better be without than iron and common stones. Here are,
to please the taste and smell, the chief of all spices, cassia and
calamus.
Ezekiel
27:15“The men of Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. - They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment. Besides the necessaries that are here traded in, see
what abundance of things are here mentioned that only serve to please fancy,
and are made valuable only by men’s humour and custom; and yet YAHVEH allows us
to use them, and trade in them, and part with those things for them which we
can spare that are of an intrinsic worth much beyond them. Here are horns of
ivory and ebony , that are brought for a present, exposed to sale,
and offered in exchange, or (as some think) presented to the city.
Ezekiel
27:16 “Syria
Ezekiel
27:17 “Judah and the land of Yisrael Tyre
Ezekiel
27:18 “Damascus
Ezekiel
27:19 “Dan and Javan paid for your wares,
traversing back and forth. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your
merchandise. –
Ezekiel
27:20 “Dedan was
your merchant in saddlecloths for riding. –
Ezekiel
27:21 “Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your regular merchants. They
traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats. –
Ezekiel
27:22 “The merchants of Sheba
Ezekiel
27:23 “Haran , Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba , Assyria ,
and Chilmad were your merchants. –
Ezekiel
27:24 “These were
your merchants in choice items—in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in
chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords, which were in your
marketplace.- Here are emeralds, coral,
and agate verse 16, all precious stones, and gold verse 22, which
the world could better be without than iron and common stones. Here are, to
please the taste and smell, the chief of all spices verse 22, cassia
and calamus verse 19, and, for ornament, purple, broidered work, and
fine linen verse 16, precious clothes for chariots verse 20, blue
clothes (which Tyre was famous for), broidered work, and chests
of rich apparel, bound with rich cords, and made of cedar, a
sweet wood to perfume the garments kept in them.
Ezekiel
27:25 “The ships of
Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise. You were filled and very glorious
in the midst of the seas. - Though
Tyre
Ezekiel
27:26 Your oarsmen brought
you into many waters, But the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas. - We have seen Tyre
flourishing; here we have Tyre Tyre
How the ruin of Tyrus will be brought about.
She is as a great ship richly laden, that is split or sunk by the indiscretion
of her steersmen: Thy rowers have themselves brought thee into great
and dangerous waters; the governors of the city, and those that had the
management of their public affairs, by some mismanagement or other involved
them in that war with the Chaldeans which was the ruin of their state.
By their insolence, by
some affront given to the Chaldeans or some attempt made upon them, in
confidence of their own ability to contend with them, they provoked
Nebuchadnezzar to make a descent upon them, and, by their obstinacy in standing
it out to the last, enraged him to such a degree that he determined on the ruin
of their state, and, like an east wind, broke them in the midst of the seas.
It is ill with a people when those that sit at the stern, instead of putting
them into the harbour, run them aground.
Ezekiel
27:27 Your riches, wares,
and merchandise, Your mariners and pilots, Your caulkers and merchandisers, All
your men of war who are in you,
And the entire company which is
in your midst, Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin. - How great and general the ruin will be. All her
wealth shall be buried with her, her riches, her fairs, and her merchandise
; all that had any dependence upon her, and dealings with her, in trade, in
war, in conversation, shall ball with her into the midst of the seas, in the
day of her ruin.
Those who make
creatures their confidence, place their happiness in their interest in them and
rest their hopes upon them, will of course fall with them; happy
therefore are those that have the God of Jacob for their help, and whose
hope is in YAHVEH their EL, who lives for ever.
Ezekiel
27:28 The common-land
will shake at the sound of the cry of your pilots. - What sad lamentation would be made for the
destruction of Tyre
Ezekiel
27:29 “All who handle the oar,The mariners, All
the pilots of the sea Will come down from their ships and stand on the shore. - The
inferior officers, that were as the mariners of the state, shall be forced to
come down from their respective posts, and they shall cry out against thee,
as having deceived them, in not proving so well able to hold out as they
thought thou hadst been; they shall cry bitterly for the common ruin,
and their own share in it.
Ezekiel
27:30 They will make their
voice heard because of you; They will cry bitterly and cast dust on their
heads; They will roll about in ashes;
Ezekiel
27:31 They will shave
themselves completely bald because of you, Gird themselves with sackcloth, And
weep for you With bitterness of heart and
bitter wailing. - They shall use all the
most solemn expressions of grief; they shall cast dust on their heads, in indignation against themselves,
shall wallow themselves in ashes,
as having bid a final farewell to all ease and pleasure; they shall make themselves bald, with tearing their hair; and, according to
the custom of great mourners, those shall gird themselves with sackcloth who used to wear find linen, and,
instead of merry songs, they shall weep
with bitterness of heart. Losses and crosses are very grievous, and hard
to be borne, to those that have long been wallowing in pleasure and sleeping in
carnal security.
Ezekiel
27:32 In their wailing for you They will take up a
lamentation, And lament for you: ‘What city
is like Tyre Tyre Tyre
Ezekiel
27:33 ‘When your wares went
out by sea, You satisfied many people; You enriched the kings of the earth With
your many luxury goods and your merchandise. - Time was when thy wares, those of thy own making and those that
passed through thy hands, went forth out of the seas, and were exported
to all parts of the world; then thou filledst many people, and didst enrich
the kings of the earth and their kingdoms.’’ The Tyrians, though they bore
such a sway in trade, were yet, it seems, fair merchants, and let their
neighbours not only live, but thrive by them. All that dealt with them were
gainers; they did not cheat or oppress the people, but did enrich them with the
multitude of their merchandise.
Ezekiel
27:34 But
you are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters; Your merchandise and
the entire company will fall in your midst. - "But now those that used to be enriched by thee shall be ruined
with thee’’ (as is usual in trade); "when thou shalt be broken, and
all thou hast is seized on, all thy company shall fall too.’’ There is an end of Tyre
Ezekiel
27:35 All the inhabitants of
the isles will be astonished at you; Their kings will be reatly afraid, And their countenance will be troubled. – How the fall of Tyre
Ezekiel
27:36 The merchants among
the peoples will hiss at you; You will become a horror, and be no more forever.’ - Others shall hiss at her, shall ridicule her
pride, and vanity, and bad management, and think her ruin just. She triumphed
in Yerushalayim’s fall, and there are those that will triumph in hers. When YAHVEH
casts his judgments on the sinner men also shall clap their hands at
him and shall hiss him out of his place, Job 27:22, 23. Is this
the city which men called the perfection of beauty?
Chapter 28
In this chapter we
have,
I. A prediction of the
fall and ruin of the king of Tyre
II. A lamentation for the
king of Tyre
III. A prophecy of the
destruction of Zidon, which as in the neighbourhood of Tyre
IV. A promise of the
restoration of YAHVEH’S Yisrael, though
in the day of their calamity they were insulted over by their neighbours verse
24–26.
Ezekiel
28:1 The Word of YAHVEH EL
EL-YON came to me again, saying, -
Ezekiel
28:2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus
says the YAHVEH EL EL-YON:
“Because your heart is lifted
up, And you say, ‘I am a EL, I
sit in the seat of gods, In the
midst of the seas,’Yet you are
a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a YAHVEH. - He must tell him of his pride. His people are proud
(ch. 27:3) and so is he; and they shall both be made to know that YAHVEH
resists the proud. Let us see.
What were the
expressions of his pride: His heart was lifted up. He had a great
conceit of himself, was puffed up with an opinion of his own sufficiency, and
looked with disdain upon all about him. Out of the abundance of the pride of
his heart he said, I am a god; he did not only say it in his heart, but
had the impudence to speak it out.
YAHVEH has said of
HUMAN, They are gods (Ps. 82:6) John 10:35; if we say we are gods, we
are correct about ourselves, that is why it is an insult to call the Creator
God. HIS name is YAHVEH; it is a high affront to him who is YAHVEH alone,
and will not give his glory or name to another. He thought that the city of Tyre
YAHVEH thought
HIMSELF to have as much wisdom and strength as EL HIMSELF, and as incontestable
an authority, and that his prerogatives were as absolute and his word as much a
law as the word of YAHVEH. He challenged divine honors, and expected to be
praised and admired as a god, and doubted not to be deified, among other
heroes, after his death as a great benefactor to the world. Therefore, the king
of Babylon
Ezekiel 28:3 (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden
from you! - We are
here told in this verse what it was that he was proud of. His wisdom. It is
probable that this prince of Tyre
As we have learn before,
that Daniel, even as a young man, was celebrated for his prevalency in prayer,
ch. 14:14. Here we find he was famous for his prudence in the management of the
affairs of this world, a great scholar and statesman, a great saint, and yet
not a prince, but a poor captive.
It was strange that under
such external disadvantages his lustre should shine forth, so that he had
become wise to a proverb. When the king of Tyre
There is no secret
that they can hide from thee.
Probably he challenged Daniel many times to probing him with questions,
as Solomon was proved, and he had unriddled all their enigmas, had solved all
their problems, and no one could match wit with Daniel.
The Prince had perhaps
been successful in discovering plots, and diving into the counsels with the
neighbouring princes, and therefore thought himself omniscient, and that no thought
could be beyond his understanding; therefore he said, I am a god. Knowledge
puffeth up; it is hard to know much and not to know it too well and to be
elevated with it? He that was wiser than Daniel was proud as Lucifer.
Those therefore that are knowlegable must study to be humble and to evidence
that they are so.
Ezekiel
28:4 With your wisdom and
your understanding You have gained riches for yourself, And gathered gold and
silver into your treasuries; - His
wealth, it is not said that by his wisdom he searched into the arcana either of
nature or government, modelled the state better than it was, or made better
laws, or advanced the interests of the commonwealth of learning; but his wisdom
and understanding were of use to him in trade. As some of the kings
of Judah loved husbandry
(2 Chr. 26:10), so the king of Tyre Tyre
Ezekiel
28:5 By your great wisdom
in trade you have increased your riches, And your heart is lifted up because of
your riches),” - The prince thought himself a wise man because he was
a rich man; whereas a fool may even have an estate (Eccl. 2:19), and a fool may
even inherit an estate, for the secular
world has been often known to favour such, when bread is not exclusively to
the wise, Eccl. 9:11. The prince heart was lifted up because of his
riches, because of the increase of his wealth, which made him so arrogant,
imperious, and which set his heart as the heart of a god.
The man of sin,
when he had a great deal of worldly pomp and power, showed himself as a god,
2 Th. 2:4. Those who are rich in this world have therefore need to charge that
upon themselves which the word of YAHVEH charges upon them, that they be not
high-minded, 1 Tim. 6:17.
Ezekiel 28:6‘Therefore thus says YAHVEH EL EL-YON: “Because you have set your heart as
the heart of a El, - Since pride goes
before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall, he must tell him of
that destruction, of that fall, which was now hastening on as the just
punishment of his presumption in setting up himself a rival with YAHVEH.
"Because the prince hast pretended to be a god, therefore he shalt not be
long a man,’’ verse 7.
The instruments of
his destruction: I will bring strangers upon thee, the Chaldeans, whom
we do not find mentioned among the many nations and countries that traded with Tyre Tyre Tyre
Ezekiel
28:7 Behold,
therefore, I will bring strangers against you, The most terrible of the
nations; And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom,
And defile your splendor. – The
extremity of the destruction: They shall draw their swords against the
beauty of thy wisdom, against all those things which men gloriest in as thy
beauty and the production of our wisdom.
It is just with YAHVEH that our enemies should make that their goal
which we have made our pride. The king of Tyre’s palace, his treasury, his
city, his navy, his army, these he glories in as his brightness, these, he
thinks, made him illustrious and glorious as a god on earth.
But all these the
victorious enemy shall defile, shall deface, shall deform. He thought them
sacred, things that none durst touch; but the conquerors shall seize them as
common things, and spoil the brightness of them. But, whatever becomes of what
he has, surely his person is sacred.
Ezekiel
28:8 They shall
throw you down into the Pit, And you shall die the death of the slain In the
midst of the seas. – They
shall bring thee down to the pit, to the grave; thou shalt die the death. It shall not be an honorable
death, but an ignominious one. He shall be so vilified in his death that he may
despair of being deified after his death. He shall die the deaths of those
that are slain in the midst of the seas, that have no honor done them at
their death, but their dead bodies are immediately thrown overboard, without
any ceremony or mark of distinction, to be a feast for the fish. Tyre is likely to be destroyed in the midst of the sea
(ch. 27:32) and the prince of Tyre
Ezekiel
28:9 “Will
you still say before him who slays you, ‘I am a god’? But you shall
be a man, and not a god, In the
hand of him who slays you. – The
effectual disproof that this will be of all his pretensions to deity:
"When the conqueror sets his sword to thy breast, and thou seest no way of
escape, wilt thou then say, I am a god? Wilt thou then have such a
conceit of thyself as thou now hast? No; thy being overpowered by death, and by
the fear of it, will force thee to own that thou art not a god, but a weak,
timorous, trembling, dying man. In the hand of him that slays thee (in
the hand of YAHVEH, and of the instruments that he employed) thou shalt be a
man, and not YAHVEH, utterly unable to resist, and help thyself.’’ I
have said, You are gods; but you shall die like men, Ps. 82:6, 7. Those who
pretend to be rivals with YAHVEH shall be forced one way or other to let go off
their claims. eath at furthest, when we come into his hand, will make us know
that we are men.
Ezekiel
28:10 You shall die the
death of the uncircumcised By the hand of aliens; For I have spoken,” says EL
YAHVEH.’ - It shall not be a happy death, but a miserable one.
He shall die the deaths of the uncircumcised , of those that are
strangers to YAHVEH and not in covenant with him, and therefore die under his
wrath and curse. It is deaths, a double death, temporal and eternal, the
death both of body and soul. He shall die the second death; that is
dying miserably indeed. The sentence of death here passed upon the king of Tyre
Ezekiel
28:11 Moreover the word of
EL YAHWEL came to me, saying, -
Ezekiel
28:12 “Son of
man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre Tyre
He far exceeded
other men. Hiram and other kings of Tyre
He was looked upon
to be as wise as the reason of men could make him, and as happy as the wealth
of this world and the enjoyment of it could make him; in him you might see the
utmost that both could do; and therefore seal up the sum, for nothing
can be added; he is a complete man, perfect in his kind.
Ezekiel
28:13 You were in Eden , the garden of YAHVEH
One instance of the
magnificence of the king of Tyre
Ezekiel
28:14 “You were
the anointed cherub who covers;I established you; You were on the holy mountain of YAHVEH
He walked up and
down in the midst of the stones of fire, that is, these precious stones,
which glittered and sparkled like fire. His rooms were in a manner decorated
with jewels, so that he walked in the midst of them, and he fancied himself as
glorious as if, like YAHVEH, he had been surrounded by so many praise as glory,
who can compared to a flame of fire.
If he achieved such
an admirer as precious stones, as to think them as bright as angels, no wonder
that he is such an admirer of himself as to think himself as great as YAHVEH.
Nine types of
previous stones are described here, which were all in the high priest’s ephod.
Perhaps they are particularly named because he, in his pride, used to speak
particularly of them, and tell those about him, with a great deal of foolish
pleasure, "This is such a precious stone, of such a value, and so and so
are its virtues.’’
Therefore he overcome
with his vanity. Gold is mentioned last, as far inferior in value to
those precious stones; This Gold was the attribute of ABBA YAHVEH, this was
last on his mind, and he used to speak of it accordingly. Another attribute that
made him think his palace a paradise was the curious music he had, the tabrets
and pipes, hand-instruments and wind-instruments.
The workmanship
of these was extraordinary, and they were prepared for him on purpose; prepared
in thee, the pronoun is feminine, in thee, O Tyre! or it denotes
that the king was effeminate in doting on such things. They were prepared in
the day he was created, that is, either born, or created king; they were
made on purpose to celebrate the joys either of his birth-day or of his
coronation-day. These he prided himself much in, and would have all that came
to see his palace take notice of them.
He looked like an
incarnate angel: Thou art the anointed cherub that covers or protects;
that is, he looked upon himself as a guardian angel to his people, so bright,
so strong, so faithful, appointed to this office and qualified for it. Anointed
kings should be to their subjects as anointed cherubim, that cover them with
the wings of their power; and, when they are such, ABBA YAHVEH will own them.
Their advancement was from him: I have set thee so. Some think, because
mention was made of Eden , that it refers to the
cherub set on the east of Eden
He thought himself
as able to guard his city from all invaders as that angel was for his charge.
Or it may refer to the cherubim in the most holy place, whose wings covered the
Ark Tyre
Ezekiel
28:15 You were perfect in your ways from the
day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. – Let us now see what was the ruin of the king of
Tyre, what it was that stained his glory and laid all this honor in the dust: "Thou
wast perfect in thy ways; thou didst prosper in all thy affairs and every
thing went well with thee; thou hadst not only a clear, but a bright
reputation, from the day thou wast created, the day of thy accession to
the throne, till iniquity was found in thee; and that spoiled all.
Ezekiel
28:16 “By the abundance of your trading You became
filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane
thing Out of the mountain of YAHVEH; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones. - What was
the iniquity or flaw that was the ruin of the king of Tyre
The iniquity of his traffic (so it is
called, both his and his people’s, for their sin is charged upon him, because
he connived at it and set them a bad example: By the multitude of thy
merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thus thou
hast sinned.
The king had so much
to do with his merchandise, and was so focus upon the gains of his kingdom,
that he took no care to do justice, to give redress to those that suffered
wrong and to protect them from violence; in the name of prosperity, of
business, of balancing the budget many wrong was done to many by oversight or
by purpose; and in his dealings he made use of his power to invade the rights
of those he dealt with.
Those that have much
to do in the world are in great danger of doing much damage; and it is hard to
deal with overspending as a government without causing harm to some. Trades are
called mysteries; but too often many make them mysteries of iniquity.
What the ruin was
that this iniquity brought him to. He was thrown out of his dignity and
dislodged from his palace, which he took to be his paradise and temple: I
will cast thee as profane out of the mountain
of YAHVEH mountain
of YAHVEH
He disgraces the
crown he wears, and so has forfeited it, and shall be removed from the midst
of the stones of fire, the precious stones with which his palace was
garnished, as the temple was; and they shall be no protection to him.
Ezekiel
28:17 “Your heart was lifted
up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your
splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might
gaze at you. – His pride and vain-glory: "Thy
heart was lifted up because of thy beauty;
the Prince wast in love with himself, as Lucifer was with his own shadow.
Therefore he hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of the brightness, the
pomp and splendour, wherein he reside.’’ He focus so much upon his position
that it blinded his eyes and prevented him from seeing his way. He appeared so
puffed up with his greatness that it robed him both of his wisdom and of the
reputation of it. He really became a fool in glorying. Those who make a
bad bargain for themselves that part with their wisdom for the gratifying of
their honor, and, to please a vain humour, lose a real excellency.
He was exposed in
this verse to contemplate contempt and disgrace, or we will be trampled upon by
our neighbours: "I will cast thee to the ground, will cast thee
among the pavement-stones, from the midst of the precious stones,
and will lay thee a rueful spectacle before kings, that they may
behold thee and take warning by thee not to be proud and oppressive.’’
Ezekiel
28:18 “You
defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity
of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And
I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you. – He was totally consumed, his city and he in it: the
kingdom of darkness in which Lucifer is prince over, like the King of Tyre will
eventually be destroyed. I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee.
The conquerors, when they have plundered the city, will kindle a fire in the
heart of it, which shall lay it, and the palace will be reduce to ashes.
Or it may be taken
more generally for the fire of YAHVEH judgments, which shall devour both prince
and people, and bring all the glory of both to ashes upon the earth; and
this fire shall be brought forth from the midst of thee. All YAH’s
judgments upon sinners take rise from themselves; they are devoured by a fire
of their own kindling.
Ezekiel
28:19 All who knew you among the peoples are
astonished at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more
forever. – In this verse we learn
that all those who follow after will be astonished by the fall of Lucifer the
prince of Tyre Tyre ’s
palace, like the temple at Yerushalayim, when it is destroyed shall be an
astonishment and a hissing, 2 Chr. 7:20, 21. So fell the king of Tyre Chu ribin next only to ABBA YAHVEH, in the whole Galaxie,
how far he has fallen.
Ezekiel
28:20 Then the Word
of EL YAHVEH came to me, saying, -
Ezekiel
28:21“Son of man, set your face toward Sidon
Ezekiel
28:22“and
say, ‘Thus says the EL YAHVEH:
“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon
YAHVEH will be
glorified in the destruction of Zidon, a city that lay near to Tyre
The Zidonians, it
should seem, were more addicted to idolatry than the Tyrians were, who, being
men of business and large conversation, were less under the power of bigotry
and superstition. The Zidonians were renown for the worship of Ashtaroth;
Solomon introduced it, 1 Ki. 11:5. Jezebel was daughter to the king of Zidon,
who brought the worship of Baal into Yisrael (1 Ki. 16:31); so that YAHVEH had
been much dishonored by the Zidonians. Now, says he, I will be glorified, I
will be sanctified. The Zidonians were borderers upon the land of Yisrael
Ezekiel
28:23 For I will send
pestilence upon her, And blood in her streets; The wounded shall be judged in
her midst By the sword against her on every side; Then they shall know that I am EL YAHVEH. - When
YAHVEH is sanctified He is been glorified, for HIS holiness is HIS glory; and
those whom HE is not sanctified and glorified by HE will be sanctified and
glorified upon, by executing judgments upon them, which declare HIS a just
avenger of HIS own and HIS people’s injured honor. The judgments that shall be
executed upon Zidon are war and pestilence, two wasting depopulating judgments.
They are YAH’s
messengers, which HE sends on HIS missions, and they shall accomplish that for
which HE sends them. Pestilence and blood shall be sent into
her streets; there the dead bodies of those shall lie who perished, some by
the plague, occasioned perhaps through ill diet when the city was besieged, and
some by the sword of the enemy, most likely the Chaldean armies, when the city
was taken, and all were put to the sword.
Therefore, the
wounded shall be judged; when they are dying of their wounds they shall judge
themselves, and others shall say, they fall justly. Or, as some read it, They
shall be punished by the sword, that sword which has commission to destroy on
every side.
Ezekiel
28:24 “And there shall no longer be a pricking
brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am EL YAHVEH. – They shall
return to the possession of their own land again: I will gather the house of
Yisrael out of their dispersions, in answer to that prayer (Ps. 106:27), Save
us, O YAHVEH our EL! and gather us from among the heathen; and in pursuance
of that promise (Deu. 30:4), Thence will YAHVEH thy EL gather thee.
Being gathered, they shall be brought in a body, to dwell in the land that I
have given to my servant Jacob. EL YAHVEH had an eye to the ancient grant,
in bringing them back, for that remained in force, and the discontinuance of
the possession was not a defeasance of the right. He that gave it will again
give it.
They shall enjoy
great tranquillity there. When those that have been vexatious to them are taken
off they shall live in quietness; there shall be no more a pricking brier
nor a grieving thorn.
Ezekiel
28:25‘Thus
says the EL YAHVEH: “When I have
gathered the house of Yisrael from the peoples among whom they are scattered,
and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in
their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. - When YAH’s people are under his correcting hand for their faults he
takes care, as he did concerning flaws that were scourged, that they shall
not seem vile to those that are about them, and therefore takes it bad of
those who despise them and so help forward the affliction when he is but
a little displeased, Zec. 1:15. YAHVEH regards them even in their low
estate; and therefore let not men despise them.
YAHVEH will be glorified
in the restoration of his people to their former safety and prosperity. YAHVEH
had been dishonored by the sins of HIS people, and their sufferings too had
given occasion to the enemy to blaspheme (Isa. 52:5); but YAHVEH will now both
cure them of their sins and ease them of their troubles, and so will be
sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, will recover the honor of
his holiness, to the satisfaction of all the world.
Ezekiel
28:26 “And
they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will
dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise
them. Then they shall know that I am
YAHVEH their EL. – When
the Kingdom of heaven is restored we shall have a happy settlement, for they
shall build houses, and plant vineyards; and they shall enjoy a
happy security and serenity there; they shall dwell safely, shall dwell
with confidence, and there shall be none to disquiet them or make them
afraid.
This was never fully
accomplishment in Yisrael as a nation, for after their return out of captivity
they were ever and anon molested by some bad neighbour. Nor has the post
Messsiyah church been ever quite free from pricking briers and grieving thorns;
yet sometimes in the future the church will rest, and believers always
dwell safely under the divine protection and may be quiet from the fear of
evil. But the full accomplishment of this promise is reserved for the
heavenly Canaan , when all the saints shall be
gathered together, and every thing that offends shall be removed, and all
griefs and fears for ever banished.
Chapter 29
The
last three chapters we were concerning Tyre and
its king; next follow four chapters concerning Egypt Egypt had
formerly been a house of bondage to YAH’s people; of late they had had but too
friendly a correspondence with it, and had depended too much upon it; and
therefore, whether the prediction reached Egypt
The prophecies against
Egypt, which are all laid together in these four chapters, were of five several
dates; the first in the 10th year of the captivity verse 1, the second in the
27th verse 17, the third in the 11th year and the first month (30:20), the
fourth in the 11th year and the third month (31:1), the fifth in the 12th year
(32:1), and another in the same year verse 17. In this chapter we have:
I. The destruction of
Pharaoh foretold, for his dealing deceitfully with Yisrael verse 1-7.
II. The desolation of the
land of Egypt
III. A promise of the
restoration thereof, in part, after forty years verse 13–16.
IV. The possession that
should be given to Nebuchadnezzar of the land of Egypt
V. A promise of mercy to
Yisrael verse 21.
Ezekiel
29:1 In the tenth
year, in the tenth month, on
the twelfth day of the month,
the word of EL YAHVEH came to me, saying, - The date of this prophecy against Egypt
Ezekiel 29:2“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh
king of Egypt , and prophesy
against him, and against all Egypt Egypt , and against
all Egypt Tyre
Ezekiel 29:3 “Speak,
and say, ‘Thus says EL YAHVEH:
“Behold, I am against you, O
Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies in the midst of his rivers, Who
has said, ‘My River is my own;
I have made it for myself.’ – The prophecy itself. Pharaoh Hophrah (for so was the
reigning Pharaoh surnamed) is here represented in the likeness of a great
dragon, or crocodile, that lies in the midst of his rivers, as
Leviathan in the waters, to play therein. Nilus, the river of Egypt Egypt
The pride and
security of Pharaoh. He lies in the midst of his rivers, rolls himself
with a great deal of satisfaction in his wealth and pleasures; and he says, My
river my doctrine is my own. He boasts that he is an absolute prince (his
subjects are his vassals; Joseph bought them long ago, Gen. 47:23), that he is
a sole prince, and has neither partner in the government nor competitor for it,
that he is out of debt (what he has is his own, and none of his
neighbours have any demands upon him), that he is independent, neither
tributary nor accountable to any. Worldly carnal minds please themselves with,
and pride themselves in, their property, forgetting that whatever we have we
have only the use of it, the property is in YAHVEH.
We ourselves are not
our own, but his. Our tongues are not our own, Ps. 12:4. Our river is
not our own, for its springs are in YAHVEH. The most potent prince
cannot call what he has his own, for, though it be so against all the world, it
is not so against ABBA YAHVEH. But Pharaoh’s reason for his pretensions is yet
more absurd: My river is my own, for I have made it for myself.
Here he usurps two of the divine prerogatives, to be the author and the end of
his own being and felicity. He alone is the great Creator can say of this
world, and of every thing in it, I have made it for myself. He calls his
river his own because he looks not unto the Maker thereof, nor has respect
unto him that fashioned it long ago, Isa. 22:11. What we have we have
received from EL YAHVEH and must use for YAHVEH, so that we cannot say, We made
it, much less, We made it for ourselves; and why then do we boast? Self is the great idol that all the world
worships, in contempt of YAHVEH and HIS sovereignty.
Ezekiel
29:4 But I will put hooks in your jaws,And cause
the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales; I will bring you up out of the
midst of your rivers, And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales. – The course EL
YAHVEH will talk with this proud man, to humble him. He is a great dragon in
the waters, and YAHVEH will accordingly deal with him.
He will draw him out
of his rivers, for he has a hook and a cord for this leviathan,
with which he can manage him, though none on earth can (Job 41:1): "I
will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, will cast thee out of
thy palace, out of thy kingdom, out of all those things in which takest such a complacency
and placest such a confidence.’’ Herodotus related of this Pharaoh, who was now
king of Egypt, that he had reigned in great prosperity for twenty-five years,
and was so elevated with his successes that he said that EL YAHVEH himself
would not cast him out of his kingdom; but he shall soon be convinced of
his mistake, and what he depended on shall be no defence. EL YAHVEH can force
men out of that in which they are most secure and easy.
All his fish shall be drawn out with him, his servants, his
soldiers, and all that had a dependence on him, as he thought, but really such
as he had dependence upon. These shall stick to his scales, adhere to
their king, resolving to live and die with him.
Ezekiel 29:5 I will leave you in the wilderness, You and
all the fish of your rivers; You shall fall on the open field; You shall not be
picked up or gathered. I have given you as food To the beasts of the field And
to the birds of the heavens. - The
king and his army, the dragon and all the fish that stick to his scales, shall
perish together, as fish cast upon dry ground, and shall be meat to the
beasts and fowls. Now this is supposed to have had its accomplishment soon
after, when this Pharaoh, in defence of Aricius king of Libya, who had been
expelled his kingdom by the Cyrenians, levied a great army, and went out
against the Cyrenians, to re-establish his friend, but was defeated in battle,
and all his forces were put to flight, which gave such disgust to his kingdom
that they rose in rebellion against him. He was left and thrown into the wilderness, he and all the
fish of the river with him. Thus issue men’s pride, and presumption, and
carnal security. Thus men justly lose what they might call their own, under
ABBA, when they call it their own against him.
Ezekiel 29:6 “Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
The king of Egypt, it is
probable, had encouraged Zedekiah to break his league with the king of Babylon,
with a promise that he would stand by him, which, when he failed to do, to any
purpose, it could not but put them into a great consternation. EL YAHVEH had
told them, long since, that the Egyptians were broken reeds, Isa. 30:6, 7.
Rabshakeh had told them so, Isa. 36:6. And now they found it so.
It was indeed the folly
of Yisrael to trust them, and they were well enough served when they were
deceived in them. YAHVEH was righteous in suffering them to be so. But that is
no excuse at all for the Egyptians’ falsehood and treachery, nor shall it
secure them from the judgments of that EL who is and will be the avenger of all
such wrongs. It is a great sin, and very provoking to EL YAHVEH, as well as
unjust, ungrateful, and very dishonorable and unkind, to put a cheat upon those
that put a confidence in us.
Ezekiel 29:7 When they took hold of you with the hand,
You broke and tore all their shoulders; When they leaned on you, You broke and
made all their backs quiver. - They broke under them, to their great
disappointment and amazement, so that they rent their shoulder and made
all their loins to be at a stand.
Ezekiel
29:8‘Therefore
thus says EL YAHVEH: “Surely I
will bring a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast. - Multitudes of them shall be cut off by the sword of
war, a sword which God will bring upon them to destroy both man and beast,
the sword of civil war.
Ezekiel
29:9 “And the land of Egypt Egypt
The country shall be depopulated. The land of Egypt
Ezekiel
29:10 “Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your
rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from
Migdol to Syene, as far as the
border of Ethiopia. - The
wealth of both was their pride, and that EL YAHVEH will take away. It shall
be utterly waste (wastes of waste, so the margin reads it), and desolate. The river was the source of life for Egypt
Ezekiel
29:11“Neither foot of man shall pass through it
nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years. - neither men nor beasts shall pass through
it, nor shall it be inhabite;
Ezekiel
29:12“I
will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid
waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will scatter the
Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”- it shall be desolate in the midst of the
countries that are so. This was the effect not so much of those wars spoken
of before, which were made by them, but of the war which the king of Babylon tower of Syene
even unto the border of Ethiopia
Ezekiel 29:13‘Yet,
thus says EL YAHVEH: “At the end
of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they
were scattered. - Of the restoration of Egypt Egypt shall lie desolate
forty years verse 12 and then I will bring again the captivity of Egypt Egypt , others from the desolation of Egypt some time before; however, they end about
the first year of Cyrus, when the seventy years’ captivity of Judah
Ezekiel
29:14“I
will bring back the captives of Egypt
and cause them to return to the land
of Pathros
Ezekiel
29:15“It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it
shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that
they will not rule over the nations anymore.
- That yet they shall not make a figure again as they have done. Egypt
For two reasons it
shall be thus mortified: That it may not domineer over its neighbours, that it
may not exalt itself above the
nations, nor rule over the
nations, as it has done, but that it may know what it is to be low and
despised. Those who abuse their power will justly be stripped of it; and EL
YAHVEH, as King of nations, will find out a way to maintain the injured rights
and liberties, not only of his own, but of other nations.
Ezekiel 29:16“No
longer shall it be the confidence of the house of Yisrael, but will remind them
of their iniquity when they turned
to follow them. Then they shall know that I am EL YAHVEH. – That it may
not deceive the people of EL YAHVEH: It shall no more be the confidence of
the house of Israel; they shall no more be in temptation to trust in it as
they have done, which is a sin that brings their iniquity to remembrance,
that is, provokes EL YAHVEH to punish them not for that only, but for all their
other sins. Or it puts them in mind of their idolatries to return to
them, when they look to the idolaters, to repose a confidence in them.
The creatures we confide
in are often therefore ruined, because there is no other way effectually
to cure us of our confidence in them. Rather than Yisrael shall be ensnared
again, the whole land
of Egypt
Ezekiel
29:17 And it came to pass in
the twenty-seventh year, in the first month,
on the first day of the month,
that the word of EL YAHVEH came to me, saying, -
Ezekiel
29:18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder
rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor
which they expended on it. – Upon
what considerations ABBA YAHVEH would give Nebuchadnezzar this success against Egypt ; it was to be a recompence to him for the
hard service with which he had caused his army to serve against Tyre
The taking of Tyre
A large current of
the sea, between Tyre and the continent, was filled up with earth, and many
other difficulties which were thought insuperable they had to struggle with;
but so great a prince, having begun such an undertaking, thought himself bound
in honor to push it on, whatever it cost him. How many thousand lives have been
sacrificed to such points of honor as this as! In prosecuting this siege every
head was made bald, and every shoulder peeled, with carrying burdens and
labouring in the water when they had a strong tide and a strong town to contend
with. Egypt , a large
kingdom, being divided within itself, is easily conquered; Tyre
Ezekiel
29:19“Therefore thus says the EL YAHVEH: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt
to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her
spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. –
Ezekiel 29:20‘I have given him the land of Egypt
Even good or bad men are
tools that EL YAHVEH can use, and are working for him even when they are
pursuing their own covetous and ambitious designs; so wonderfully does YAHVEH
EL EL-YON rule all to HIS Creation.
For this service he had no
wages nor his army. He was at a vast expense to take Tyre
Therefore are the
children of this world ordinarily frustrated in their highest expectations from
it. Therefore, He shall have the spoil of Egypt
to recompense him for his service against Tyre
The service done for him
by worldly men, with worldly designs, shall be recompensed with a mere worldly
reward, which his faithful servants, that have a sincere regard to his will and
glory, would not be put off with. This accounts for the prosperity of wicked
men in this world; EL YAHVEH is in it paying them for some service or other, in
which he has made use of them. Verily they have their reward. The
conquest of Egypt
Ezekiel 29: 21‘In
that day I will cause the horn of the house of Yisrael to spring forth, and I
will open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am EL YAHVEH.’ - The mercy EL YAHVEH had in store for the house of
Yisrael soon after. When the tide is at the highest it will turn, and so it
will when it is at the lowest. Nebuchadnezzar was in the zenith of his glory
when he had conquered Egypt
The day of their
deliverance shall begin to dawn, and they shall have some little reviving in
their bondage, in the honor that shall be done. To their princes; they are the horns
of the house of Yisrael, the seat of their glory and power. These began to
bud forth when Daniel and his fellows were highly preferred in Babylon Egypt
This might very well be
called the budding forth of the horn of the house of Yisrael. And, some
years after, this promise had a further accomplishment in the enlargement and
elevation of Jehoiachin king of Judah, Jer. 52:31, 32. They were both tokens of
God’s favour to Israel
To their prophets. And I
will give thee the opening of the mouth. Though none of Ezekiel’s
prophecies, after this, are recorded, yet we have reason to think he went on
prophesying, and with more liberty and boldness, when Daniel and his fellows
were in power, and would be ready to protect him not only from the Babylonians,
but from the wicked ones of his own people. It speak well to a people when EL
YAHVEH enlarges the liberties of his ministers and they are countenanced and
encouraged in their work.
Brit
Chadasha
Romiyan
Romans 9:14-17
Romans 9:14 What shall we say then? Is
there unrighteousness with EL
YAHVEH? Certainly not! – The apostle,
having asserted the true meaning of the promise, comes here to maintain and
prove the absolute sovereignty of EL YAHVEH, in disposing of the children of
men, with reference to their eternal state.
EL YAHVEH is to be
considered, not as a rector and governor, distributing rewards and punishments
according to HIS revealed laws and covenants, but as an owner and benefactor,
giving to the children of men such grace and favour as HE has determined in and
by his secret and eternal will and counsel: both the favour of visible Yisrael membership
and privileges, which is given to some people and denied to others, and the
favour of effectual grace, which is given to some particular persons and denied
to others.
Now this part of HIS discourse
is in answer to two objections. First, it might be objected, Is there
unrighteousness with EL YAHVEH? If YAHVEH, in dealing with the children of
men, do thins , in an arbitrary manner against HIS Words, having two sets of
rules one Old Testament and one New Testament, may it not be suspected that
there is unrighteousness with him? This the apostle startles at the thought of:
EL YAHVEH forbid! Far be it from us to think such a thing; shall not the
judge of all the earth do right? Gen. 18:25; ch. 3:5, 6. He denies the
consequences, and proves the denial.
Romans 9:15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will
have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” – In
respect of those to whom he shows mercy. He quotes that scripture to show YAH’s
sovereignty in dispensing HIS favours (Ex. 33:19): I will be gracious to
whom I will be gracious. All YAH’s reasons of mercy are taken from within
HIMSELF.
All the children of men being plunged alike into a
state of sin and misery, equally under guilt and wrath, EL YAHVEH, in a way of
sovereignty, picks out some from this fallen apostatized race, to be vessels of
grace and glory. HE dispenses HIS gifts to whom HE will, without giving us any
reason: according to HIS own good pleasure HE pitches upon some to be monuments
of mercy and grace, preventing grace, effectual grace, while HE passes by
others.
The expression is very emphatic, and the repetition
makes it more so: I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. It
imports a perfect absoluteness in YAH’s Will; HE will do what HE will, and
giveth not account of any of his matters, nor is it fit HE should. As these
great words, I am that I am (Ex. 3:14) do abundantly express the
absolute independency of HIS being, so these words, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy, do as fully express the absolute prerogative and
sovereignty of HIS will. To vindicate the righteousness, in showing mercy to
whoever follow HIS commandments, the apostle appeals to that which EL YAHVEH
HIMSELF had spoken, wherein HE claims this sovereign power and liberty.
EL YAHVEH is a competent judge, even in HIS own
case. Whatsoever YAHVEH does, or is resolved to do, is both by the one and the
other proved to be just. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.
When I begin, I will make an end, that is why HIS Words does not change.
Romans 9:16 So then it is not of him
who wills, nor of him who runs, but of YAHVEH CHESID who shows mercy. – Therefore YAH’s mercy endures for ever, because the
reason of it is fetched from within himself; therefore HIS gifts and callings
are without repentance. Hence HE infers, It is not of him that willeth.
Whatever good comes from EL YAHVEH to man, the glory of it is not to be
ascribed to the most generous desire, nor to the most industrious endeavour, of
man, but only and purely to the free grace and mercy of YAHVEH.
In Jacob’s case it was not
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth; it was not the earnest will
and desire of Rebecca that Jacob might have the blessing; it was not Jacob’s
haste to get it (for he was compelled to run for it) that procured him the
blessing, but only the mercy and grace of YAHVEH.
Wherein the holy happy
people of YAHVEH differ from other people, it is YAHVEH and his grace that make
them differ. Applying this general rule to the particular case that Paul has
before him, the reason why the unworthy, undeserving, ill-deserving Gentiles
are called, and grafted into Yisrael, while the greatest part of the Jews are
left to perish in unbelief, is not because those Gentiles were better deserving
or better disposed for such a favour, but because of YAHVEH’s free grace that
made that difference.
The Gentiles did neither
will it, nor run for it, for they sat in darkness, Mt. 4:16. In
darkness, therefore not willing what they knew not; sitting in darkness,
a contented posture, therefore not running to meet it, but anticipated with
these invaluable blessings of goodness. Such is the method of YAH’s grace
towards all that partake of it, for he is found of those that sought him not
(Isa. 65:1); in this preventing, effectual, distinguishing grace, he acts as a
benefactor, whose grace is his own. Our eye therefore must not be evil because
his is good; but, of all the grace that we or others have, he must have the
glory: Not unto us, Ps. 115:1.
Romans 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised
you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in
all the earth.” – In respect of those
who perish. YAH’s sovereignty, manifested in the ruin of sinners, is here
discovered in the instance of Pharaoh; it is quoted from Ex. 9:16.
What YAHVEH TSEBAOTE did
with Pharaoh. HE raised him up, brought him into the world, made him famous,
gave him the kingdom and power, set him up as a beacon upon a hill, as the mark
of all his plagues (compare Ex. 9:14) hardened his heart, as HE had said HE
would (Ex. 4:21): I will harden his heart, that is, withdraw softening
grace, leave him to HIMSELF, let Satan loose against him, and lay hardening
providences before him.
By raising him up may be
meant the intermission of the plagues which gave Pharaoh respite, and the
reprieve of Pharaoh in those plagues. In the Hebrew, I have made thee stand,
continued thee yet in the land of the living. EL YAHVEH sinners to florish, as
HE gave every tree on the 5th day of Creation to grow, so for fruits
some for fire wood.
He make them for himself,
even for the day of evil (Prov. 16:4), raise them up in outward prosperity,
external privileges (Mt. 11:23), sparing mercies.
II
Corinthians 6:14-7:1
II Corinthians 6:14 Do
not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has
righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? –
ABBA YAHVEH on the first day of Creation
separate light from darkness, truth from lies, right from wrong. The children
of ligh from the children of darkness. When Lucifer fell he institute darkness
into the Kingdom
of Heavens
ABBA YAHVEH purpose of
Creation is to replace those one third stars or sons that fell with obedient or
faithfull sons of light, who would never consider of ever rebelling again. In
the quote in this verse, Paul is saying the same thing, what does the children
of light have to do with the children of darkness. Or what does those who break
the law of ABBA YAHVEH with those who choose to keep the Law. What does Jacob
have to do with Essau.
The caution or
exhortation itself, not to mingle with unbelievers, not to be unequally
yoked with them, Either:
1. In stated relations.
It is wrong for good people to join in affinity with the wicked and profane;
these will draw different ways, and that will be galling and grievous. Those
relations that are our choice must be chosen by rule; and it is good for those
who are themselves the children of LIGHT to join with those who are so
likewise; for there is more danger that the bad will damage the good than hope
that the good will benefit the bad.
2. In common
conversation. We should not yoke ourselves in friendship and acquaintance with
wicked men and unbelievers. Though we cannot wholly avoid seeing, and hearing,
and being with such, yet we should never choose them for our bosom-friends.
II Corinthians 6:15 And
what accord has Messiyah with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an
unbeliever? – The purpose of Creation
is to restore the Kindom of Heaven to its original glory before the fall of
man. Much less should we join in religious communion with them; we must not
join with them in their idolatrous services, nor concur with them in their
false worship, nor any abominations; we must not confound together the table of
YAHVEH SABAOTE and the table of devils, the house of YAHVEH and the house of
Rimmon.
The apostle gives several
good reasons against this corrupt mixture. It is a very great absurdity. It is
an unequal yoking of things together that will not agree together; as bad as
for the Jews to have ploughed with an ox and an ass or to have sown divers
sorts of grain intermixed. What an absurdity is it to think of joining righteousness
and unrighteousness, or mingling light and darkness, fire and water, together!
Believers are, and should
be, righteous; but unbelievers are unrighteous. Believers are made light in the
world, but unbelievers are in darkness; and what comfortable communion can
these have together? Messiyah and Belial are contrary one to the other; they
have opposite interests and designs, so that it is impossible there should be
any concord or agreement between them. It is absurd, therefore, to think of
enlisting under both; and, if the believer has part with an infidel, he does
what in him lies to bring Messiyah and Belial together
II Corinthians 6:16 And
what agreement has the temple
of YAHVEH temple
of YAHVEH
II Corinthians 6:17 Therefore
“Come out from among them And be separate, says EL YAHVEH. Do not touch what is
unclean, And I will receive you.” - There
is a great deal of danger in communicating with unbelievers and idolators,
danger of being defiled and of being rejected; therefore the exhortation is to
come out from among them, and keep at a due distance, to be separate,
as one would avoid the society of those who have the leprosy or the plague, for
fear of taking infection, and not to touch the unclean thing, lest we be
defiled.
II Corinthians 6:18 “I
will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says ABBA YAHVEH
EL.” -
Who can touch pitch, and not be
defiled by it? We must take care not to defile ourselves by converse with those
who defile themselves with sin; so is the Will of YAHVEH, as we ever hope to be
received, and not rejected, by him. It is base ingratitude to EL YAHVEH for all
the favours he has bestowed upon believers and promised to them. EL YAHVEH has
promised to be a Father to them, and that they shall be his sons and his
daughters; and is there a greater honor or happiness than this? How ungrateful
a thing then must it be if those who have this dignity and felicity should
degrade and debase themselves by mingling with unbelievers! Do we thus
requite EL YAHVEH, O foolish and unwise?
II Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of YAHVEH. - These
verses contain a double exhortation: To
make a progress towards holiness, or to perfect holiness in the fear of ABBA
YAHVEH.
This exhortation is given
with most tender affection to those who were dearly beloved, and enforced by
strong arguments, even the consideration of those exceedingly great and
precious promises which were mentioned in the former chapter, and which the Corinthians
had an interest in and a title to.
The promises of ABBA YAHVEH
are strong inducements to sanctification, in both the branches thereof; namely,
The dying unto sin, or mortifying our lusts and corruptions: we must cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. Sin is filthiness, and
there are defilements of body and mind. There are sins of the flesh, that are
committed with the body, and sins of the spirit, spiritual wickednesses; and we
must cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of both, for YAHVEH is to be
glorified both with body and soul.
The living unto
righteousness and holiness. If we hope YAHVEH our ABBA must Endeavour to be partakers
of hilliness, to be holy as HE holy, and perfect as our Father in heaven is
perfect.
We as believer in
Messiyah must be holy and not be contented with sincerity (which is our gospel
perfection), without aiming at sinless perfection, though we shall always come
short of it while we are in this world; and this we must do in the fear of YAHVEH
which is the root and principle of all religion, and there is no holiness
without it. Faith and hope in the promises of ABBA YAHVEH must not destroy our
fear of YAHVEH, who taketh pleasure in those that fear him and hope in HIS
mercy.
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