Va'era

Parashas Va’era

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 is the fourteen Parashas in the Torah reading cycle, begins with the Creator’s revelation to Moses: I am יהוה. The Name of the Creator, which represents a high level of revelation and Light.  יהוה goes on to say I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as EL SHADDAI, but by this NAME יהוה, I did not make myself  known to them. To Moses, however, the CREATOR is revealing a greeted Light of HIMSELF.

Why does the revelation of the higher Name of the CREATOR occur in the Portion of Va’era? It has to do with the conclusion of the last Parashas Shemot. In it Moses tells the CREATOR that the suffering of the Yisraelites had only become worst since he spoke to Pharaoh. This seams to imply that Moses did not have the necessary revelation of Light from the CREATOR to affect the necessary change in Pharaoh Response. Therefore, the CREATOR decide to reveal HIMSEL as יהוה.

In this Parasha, יהוה made it clear that HE had given more to Moses that anyone else before him. In this Parasha we can draw from the lesson of Moses, when we do not accept the establish status quo, we can press the יהוה for a further revelation of HIMSELF to us.

Moses skillfully coined the phrase that if the Believers, the children of light did not believe in his present level of enlightenment, how would the Pharaoh the prince of darkness. The Torah tells us that the Children of Light could not hear him, because of the years of slavery. This influence of the darkness was so great that it was keeping the generation of Moose from responding to the Light. Moose was the right conduit, however the Children of Light could not respond to the level of light Moses was reflecting, due to the effect of slavery in the flesh.

In this Parasha, we may call on the ABBA יהוה to help us the see and ask for a great revelation of the broadcast Light. As we overcome the doubts that block our revelation from flowing. Elisha was in a hopeless situation, because of the King of Aram intent on killing he and his apprentice. The next morning the two men woke up to find themselves surrounded by Aran’s army. The Apprentice Gehazi did not know what to do, Elisha took him by the hand, and ask him what do you see? He reply, I see angels surrounding the mountain to protect us. It was only then that a miracle happened. The light of the sun grew so bright that it blinded the eyes of Aran’s soldiers.

Why was it so important for Elisha to take Gehazi by the hand and ask him what he saw? By taking Gehazi by the hand, Elisha establish a spiritual bond between them, he took Gehazi a set higher for him to received a higher revelation, where he could see the world in its spiritual context. The spiritual perspective of a person in the valley is not the same as one on the mountain top.

The message Moses was conveying to ABBA יהוה is that because of the time spend in slavery in Egypt, they had developed a spirit of doubt which would make them unable to accept the light that Moses brought. Like Gehazi, it is all about their spiritual consciousness. On this Sabbath of Va’era we may pray earnestly for El Yahushua to grant us grace that we may ask for more revelation of Light for us and our family.

There is a reason why Aaron and not Moses was ask to create the first plague of the turning the Nile into blood. When Moses was place in the ark and place on the water, it was the river that protected Moses, it would be spiritually inappropriate for ABBA יהוה to ask Moses to strike the very river that protected him.

We may read this and think what feeling does a river have? Here in this Parasha we have been provided with an insight into the nature of consciousness. All inanimate object are connect through a network of energy of light.

There are four level of consciousness: inanimate, vegetable, animal, and human. Everything in our world are alive, even a chair.  By developing the awareness of the interaction between ourselves and everything else will help us to complete our correction our tikkum, for that is the purpose of life. Throughout our life as it were in Moses we also need assistance from object such as water, trees, rocks, fire, he was constantly interacting with inanimate object. However, most of us are unaware of the role inanimate object play in our spiritual development.

On this Shabbat Moses approaches the ABBA יהוה and ask how he can bring about the final correction the Gemar HaTikkun if the Yisraelites of his time did not listen to him. Moses was not just talking about the believers of his day; he was speaking prophetically about us. Without the awareness of faith or belief, how can we escape the war machine of the Mighty Army of Pharaoh? How can we overcome the force of darkness and bring the Light of the CREATOR in our world.

Without faith in Messiyah Yahushua, we just cannot do it. So how can we arrive at Fait? We achieve it by looking for the Truth that dwells in Messiyah Yahushua, because the whole world speaks of Him, much the same way we desire the Word of Torah.

The prophet Isaiah explain that prior to the Final Correction, the dark before the calm, there has to be some level of concealment, so we must find a way to see through the darkness.

One of the blessings of Va’era is that we can ask for the Spirit of Might and Council of Moses by not accepting things as they are and by treating all things with respect. When we see the world as a source of infinite possibility, when we look through the Spirit of Wisdom, we will be looking beyond the surface to the greater truth that lies beyond the veils of what is to what it will be, our doubts become the fertilizer for our faith, and miracles become possible.

 

At the end of the last Parashas 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 Parashas 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, he was so disillusioned that he could not wait for 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 Parashas 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.

From here until the end of the Torah, the Scripture focuses on this primary relationship between יהוה and Moses because Moses is יהוה mouthpiece and ambassador, through this intimate relationship with יהוה, Moses models the fealty and loyalty to יהוה  that is expected of the people.

In the daily interaction between Moses and יהוה, we see how יהוה insert HIMSELF into the most important moments in place and time. With יהוה Moses, was HIS longest and most establish relationship until the coming of Messiyah. It was through Moses that  יהוה spoke the most curtail messages of guidance, instruction and inspiration, until Messiyah.       

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 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 persecution of the Children of Yisrael increase. As a type of the Messiyah, he was to deliver the people from slaver. Moses knew the type of power and authority the Messiyah would operate under.

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 pair-pressure knows that 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 could now began.

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 sojournings, in which they have sojourned. – Moreover, not only did I appear to them, I also established a covenant with them to give them the Land, Genesis 13 –14. A covenant by definition cannot be altered or abrogated, even if one of the parties become undeserving.

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 propose. 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. The slavery end in Tishrei, but they did not leave Egypt until six months later.

The second cup – I shall rescue you, Sanctification. EL YAHVEH would take Egypt out of the Hebrew people by the process of sanctification.

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’s power over the Children of Yisrael for good.

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. That was the climax, the purpose, of the exodus. 

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 is another example of the heritage waiting the true sons of Yisrael. Wherever we are, whichever land we are from, whenever we accept Yahushua as Lord and Savior we have the right to become part 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 due not to lack of faith, but to the difficult physical and emotional circumstances under which they labored. There were too much of Egypt still lift in them. We will see in future verse how the influence of Egypt will prevent them from going into the land.

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 centuries 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. – EL YAHVEH responds in the next verse by including Aaron in the commandment, thus implying that he would be Moses’ mouthpiece.

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 according to their divisions.” – EL YAHVEH did not choose the leadership of Yisrael haphazardly. Instead of choosing His emissaries from the eldest tribe, He searched until He found the suitable man.

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 so-called 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 spread as the Oracles 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 severe 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 believers 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 approach to life.

The Holy Spirit Know us all, She know the heart of Her children, what will make this child believer will be a stumbling 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, it will be against Pharaoh for his sins.

                                                                                           

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. – Some vessels are created for honor some for dishonor. My sign and My wonders. A sign validate the messenger’s claim that he was sent by EL YAHVEH; that is why Moses performed sign only for the Hebrew people, who believe in EL YAHVEH and His Son El Yahushua. These sign are to validate the sheep from the goats.

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 by great judgments. – Because of the stubbornness of Pharaoh heart, EL YAHVEH will lay His Hands, His ten fingers, the ten plaque on Pharaoh until he release the Children of Yisrael. My legions, the term refers to an organized group, rather than a large number of people. An army can be describe as a legion, so do Angels or any Heavenly body. The fact that the Children of Yisrael are describe in this manner is highly commendable; for it indicates that they will leave Egypt with a common purpose of serving EL YAHVEH.

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 shall know that He is EL YAHVEH. The purpose of the plaque was not to destroy Egypt; it was design to bring them to a complete knowledge of YAHVEH, even if it is the last word from there lips, but all should must at one point in their lives acknowledge that YAHVEH is Meleck and Yahushua is Messiyah. Those who choose to leave Egypt would be called Children of Yisrael. Those who choose to stay behind are called Egyptians.

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 economy with the Rod, the Authority of My servant Moses and it shall turn to blood.

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, both in wooden and in stone containers. – The Authority of Aaron rod was the Holy Spirit; stretch it out over all the Waters of Egypt. Where else did we see the same thing happens? In Genesis 1:2 The Spirit of YAHVEH was hovering over the water. Water is the file blood of every community, the first actions EL YAHVEH did was to demonstrate that He as the power to touch all aspect of out lives.

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. - Only the Egyptian were affected by the Plague of Blood, but none of the Children of Yisrael.

                                                                                             

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 dignitaries 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. The Children of Yisrael was not affected. Moses and Aaron apply themselves to their work without further objection: They did as YAHVEH commanded them, verse 6. Their obedience, all things considered, was well worthy to be celebrated, as it is by the Psalmist (ps. 105:28), They rebelled not against his word, namely, Moses and Aaron, whom he mentions, verse 26. Thus Jonah, though at first he was very averse, at length went to Nineveh. Notice is taken of the age of Moses and Aaron when they undertook this glorious service. Aaron the elder (and yet the inferior in office) was eighty-three, Moses was eighty; both of them men of great gravity and experience, whose age was venerable, and whose years might teach wisdom, verse 7. Joseph, who was to be only a servant to Pharaoh, was preferred at thirty years old; but Moses, who was to be a god to Pharaoh, was not so dignified until he was eighty years old. It was fit that he should long wait for such an honor, and be long in preparing for such a service.

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.’  - Once again the command was to affect the water. The second Egyptian deity was the frog. It had it source in the Nile that brought life to Egypt. What was supposed to be a blessing to Egypt now became a curse.

                                                                                                                          

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.  -  How it was threatened. Moses, no doubt, attended the divine Majesty daily for fresh instructions, and (perhaps while the river was yet blood) he is here directed to give notice to Pharaoh of another judgment coming upon him, in case he continue obstinate: If thou refuse to let them go, it is at thy peril.

                                  

Exo 8:3 And the magicians did so with their magic, and brought up frogs on the land of Mitsrayim. – The magician also duplicate this same sign.

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 favor 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 impact 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 outside of the Ark, Deu 31:26.

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 Christians 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.’ – This plague had its origin in the flesh. Since the building block of the flesh is the dust of the earth, this plague was directed at the flesh of the people of 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. - 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. 

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 tried to duplicate what the two servant of YAHVEH had done, but they fail. Since Moses had already used up all the material for making lice, the magician of Egypt tried and fails; they had no resources on which to produce the effect of lice.

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 plagues. This was to prove to Pharaoh That EL YAHVEH is the El Elohim in the land of Yisrael. He is not only the Creator but He is intimately involved in every event on earth.

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 removed.

  

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 and secondly, the animals would not harm a Hebrew person even among the Egyptians.

The animals would not enter Goshen was a miracle in its self. These animals were carried by the air, who has this total control over nature that even the flying swarms of insects had a limit place over them.

                                                                                                          

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. Only then can true worship be done in Spirit and in truth. This is a very sobering principle Torah is trying to teach even Pharaoh and Us at the same time.

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, but he offers another condition: do not go far. To escape the influence of the Egyptian culture the Children of Yisrael need not travel three days; it would be sufficient for them merely to leave the cities, and present their offering. Moses did not contest this request. He merely warned Pharaoh not to mock the people by going back on his word.

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. The three plagues, the Nile turning to blood, frogs, and lice had already overrun Egypt. Pharaoh’s magicians acknowledge that this is much more than the kind of magic they can produce. They concede, saying this is the finger of YAHVEH. But Pharaoh will still not let the Hebrew slaves go. So, the fourth plague, swarms of insects, comes. Pharaoh is overwhelmed, now he seems ready to partially relent.

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 swam of flies to be taken away the next day. The next day could have been from sundown on.

What an amazing statement! The plagues have had an effect on Pharaoh’s heart. He recognizes the power of the godwithin Moses, who was the represented of YAHVEH. He ask Moses to intervene with the Hebrew God for him. Pharaoh has been touched in his godself, he now began to recognizes the godwithin, so he ask for prayer.

Exo 8:26 And Mosheh went out from Pharaoh and prayed to יהוה . – Sadly, the godwithin influence with Pharaoh is short lived, and he quickly returns to his hard hearted, stubborn ways.

                 

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. – The expression go also me come, it implies that Moses and Aaron was to enter Pharaoh’s private chambers without permission. The term to speak to him, implies strong talk, unlike the other warning the firmness of the voice would accentuate the urgency of the message.

                                                                    

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 who were secret believer about all impending events. There was a network of information going around Egypt within the Redeem community.

                                                                          

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 will die, but those of us who are called the Children of Yisrael will lived.  

                                                         

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 comes 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 1^st day after reading that they must keep the 7^th 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 Tsunami, 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, where rain is very rare and hail virtually non-existence.

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 5^th and 7^th plague there were still animals left in Egypt? Now however, Moses urges that the call should go out that all men and animals should be inside immediately. In the spiritual this is a call for repentance, those who are animals would be the unsaved, those who were define, as men were the ones who were already saved. Remain under the protection of our Lord Yahushua, and we will be saved. This plague was a good expression of the role of our Lord and Savior.

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, the time to join the Children of Yisrael is now. All the plague so far slowly adds to the population of the Children of Yisrael. I can just imagine the refugee trail heading for Goshen after each plague.

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 4^th 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. – Remember I eluded to the fact that Moses rod like Aaron rod represents the Holy Spirit, in particular the Spirit of Power or Authority. Isaiah 11:2.   

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 all that was in the field, both man and beast. And the hail smote every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field.  – The lesson to be learn here is that the very element of water and fire work together to achieve, yet human who were given the choice to choose cannot work together for the common good of achieving spiritual maturity.

                                                                                        

Exo 9:26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Yisra’ĕl were, there was no hail. – When we are under the protection of our Master and Savior Yahushua, ten thousand will fall by my right hand yet no harm will come against me. All this week we hear of the destruction in 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 were not so profound this would never have happen to them. The number of missionaries who when to them to bring them to Salvation, finally came up before EL YAHVEH. We will hear soon about the different miracle that happen to those who were messenger among the people in 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, how well it deserved the judgments coming to destroy it and how much it needed these judgments to refine it. Let the prophet tell her plainly, "Thou art the land that is not cleansed, not refined as metal is, and therefore needest to be again put into the furnace. Means and methods of reformation have been ineffectual; thou art not rained upon in the day of indignation.’’ This was one of the judgments which YAHVEH TSEBAOTE brought upon them in the day of his wrath; he withheld the rain from them, Jer. 14:4. Or, "When thou art under the tokens of YAH’s displeasure, even in the day of indignation thou art not rained upon; thou hast not received instruction by the prophets, whose doctrine is said to descend as the rain.’’ Or, "When thou art corrected thou art not cleansed; thy filth is not carried away as that in the streets is by a sweeping rain. Nay, though it be a day of indignation with thee, yet thy filthiness, which should be done away, has become more offensive, as that of a city is in dry weather, when it is not rained upon.’’ Or, "Thou hast nothing to refresh and comfort thyself with in the day of indignation; thou art not rained upon by divine consolations.’’ So the rich man in torment had not a drop of water, or rain, to cool his tongue.

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 Jerusalem 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, he will discover him and be well pleased with him.

                                                                                       

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 Jerusalem, are considered distinctly. Here is, 

The apostasy of Yisrael and Samaria from YAHVEH verse 1-8 and their ruin for it verse 9, 10. 

The apostasy of Judah and Jerusalem 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, They committed harlotry in their youth; Their breasts were there embraced, Their virgin bosom was there pressed . - In this verse we learn of their character: They committed whoredoms in Egypt, for there they were guilty of idolatry, as we read before, ch. 20:8. The representing of those sins which are most provoking to ABBA YAHVEH and most ruining to a people by the sin of whoredom plainly intimates what an exceedingly sinful sin uncleanness is, how offensive, how destructive. Doubtless it is itself one of the worst of sins, for the worst of other sins are compared to it here and often elsewhere, which should increase our detestation and dread of all manner of fleshly lusts, all appearances of them and approaches to them, as warring against the soul, infatuating sinners, bewitching them, alienating their minds from ABBA YAHVEH and all that is good, debauching conscience, rendering them odious in the eyes of the pure and holy EL, and drowning them at last in destruction and perdition.

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 Jerusalem 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.’’ Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah bear the name of Aholibah, my tabernacle is in her, because their temple was the place which YAHVEH HIMSLF had chosen to put HIS name there. He acknowledged it to be HIS, and honored them with the tokens of HIS presence in it.

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 from ABBA YAHVEH: Aholah played the harlot when she was mine. Though the ten tribes had deserted the house of David, yet YAHVEH owned them for his still; though Jeroboam, in setting up the golden calves, sinned, and made Yisrael to sin, yet, as long as they worshipped the YAHVEH of Yisrael only, though by images, he did not quite cast them off. But they way of sin is down-hill.

                               

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, For in her youth they had lain with her, Pressed her virgin bosom, And poured out their immorality upon her. - Whatever creature we adore, pay homage to, and put a confidence in, we make an idol of that creature; and whatever we make an idol of, we defile ourselves with. And now again the conviction looks back as far as the original of their nation: Neither left she her whoredoms which she brought from Egypt. 

Their had idolaters in Egypt, it was a thing never to be forgotten, the golden calf was an example. They loved there Egypt’s idols even when they were continually in fear of Egypt’s tyrants and task-masters! 

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 had been a house of bondage to them. Therefore the corrupt affections and inclinations which we brought into the world with us we have not lost, nor got clear of, but still retain them, though the iniquity we were born in was the source of all the calamities which human life is liable to.

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 for their apostasy from ABBA YAHVEH: I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers. YAHVEH first justly gave her up to her lust (Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone), and then gave her up to her lovers.

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 shall hear and fear.

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 had been in their inordinate love of idols. 

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. Jerusalem grew worse in her whoredoms than her sister Samaria had been in her whoredoms. This was observed before (ch. 16:51), Neither has Samaria committed half of thy sins.

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. - Jerusalem, 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 produced. "See how richly, how neatly, they are dressed, clothed most gorgeously; how well they sit a horse; they are horsemen riding on horses; how charmingly they look, all of them desirable young men.

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 Jerusalem grew worse than Samaria. For, if we stretch out our hand to a strange god, will not YAHVEH search this out?

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 made to him and complimented his ambassadors with the sight of all his treasures, Isa. 39:2. And the humour increased.

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 Jerusalem, 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 called to remembrance the days of their youth, the lewdness of their youth.

 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; and they hoped they should now have a fair pretence to come to that again. Thus she multiplied her whoredoms, repeated her former whoredoms, and encouraged herself to close with present temptations, by calling to remembrance the days of her youth. Note, Those who, instead of reflecting upon their former sins with sorrow and shame, reflect upon them with pleasure and pride, contract new guilt thereby, strengthen their own corruptions, and in effect bid defiance to repentance. This is returning with the dog to his vomit.

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; and they hoped they should now have a fair pretence to come to that again. She multiplied her whoredoms, repeated her former whoredoms, and encouraged herself to close with present temptations, by calling to remembrance the days of her youth. Those who, instead of reflecting upon their former sins with sorrow and shame, reflect upon them with pleasure and pride, contract new guilt thereby, strengthen their own corruptions, and in effect bid defiance to repentance. This is returning with the dog to his vomit.

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: - Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem, but the more formidable when they came to chastise its treachery and aimed at no less than its ruin.

                                                      

 

 

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 anymore.’ - They shall be better, much better, and this fire, though consuming to many, shall be refining to a remnant : Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee. The judgments which were brought upon them by their sins parted between them and their sins, and taught them at length to say, What have we to do any more with idols? Observe, How inveterate the disease was: Thy whoredoms were brought from the land of Egypt. Their disposition to idolatry was early and innate, their practice of it was ancient, and had gained a sort of prescription by long usage.

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; they shall not retain any of that affection for idols which they had from the very infancy of their nation.’’

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’s fate. It is common, in giving judgment, to have an eye to precedents; so has YAHVEH in passing this sentence on Jerusalem: "Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister, notwithstanding the warning thou hast had given thee, by the fatal consequences of her wickedness; and therefore I will give her cup, her portion of miseries, into thy hand, the cup of the Lord’s fury, which will be to thee a cup of trembling.

                                                  

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, was such defilement.

                

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. - 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? 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 Jerusalem; so that the two sisters had in effect become one again; and therefore, in these verses, the prophet takes those to task jointly who were thus conjoined: "Wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah together? 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 was a peculiar people, must dwell alone and not be reckoned among the nations; and they profane their crown, and lay their honor in the dust, when they covet to be like them or in league with them.

But this they have now done; they have entered into strict alliances with the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians, the most renowned and potent kingdoms at that time; but they scorned alliances with the petty kingdoms and states that lay near them, which yet might have been of more real service to them. Affecting an acquaintance and correspondence with great people has often been a snare to good people. Let us see how Jerusalem courts her high allies, thinking thereby to make herself considerable.

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 Jerusalem, but she thrust herself upon them, and sent under-hand to desire them to court her: and, lo, they came. The wisest and best may be drawn unavoidably into company and conversation with profane and wicked people: but it is no sign either of wisdom or goodness to covet an intimacy with such and to court it.

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 Jerusalem 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, Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem, those were comparatively righteous, had a sense of justice between man and man and justly resented the treachery of the Jewish nation; however, they executed 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 Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem. The occasion of them was the king of Babylon’s laying siege to Jerusalem, 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 Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem; 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 Jerusalem this very day. – The notice ABBA YAHVEH gives to Ezekiel in Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar’s laying siege to Jerusalem, 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 Jerusalem this same day.’’

It was many miles, it was many days’ journey, from Jerusalem to Babylon. Perhaps the last intelligence they had from the army was that the design was upon Rabbath of the children of Ammon and that the campaign was to be opened with the siege of that city.

But YAHVEH knew, and could tell the prophet, "This day, at this time, Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem, 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, to be by them communicated to those that were yet in their own land. A rebellious house will soon be a ruinous house. The pot of our indignation was about to boil over.

                                                                                                                    

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 Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem, 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 Jerusalem, 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 Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem 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.

 

Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem 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. Jerusalem, 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 Jerusalem’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 Jerusalem; for after this, though he prophesied much concerning other nations, he said no more concerning Jerusalem, 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, Jer. 7:4.

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 Jerusalem, 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 Jerusalem 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, Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem. 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, and has been so many years, and knows little of the state of his own nation, much less of the nations that were about it; but YAHVEH tells him both what they were doing and what he was about to do with them. And thus by the spirit of prophecy he is enabled to speak as pertinently to their case as if he had been among them.

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 Jerusalem (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, - The leason to be learn in this verse, is we must be carefull not to celebrate when we see bad thing happen to Yisrael or YAH’s people.

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 and Seir say, ‘Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations,’ – Three more of Yisrael’s ill-natured neighbours are here arraigned, convicted, and condemned to destruction, for contributing to and triumphing in Jerusalem’s fall. The Moabites. Seir, which was the seat of the Edomites kingdom, is joined with them, because they said the same as the Moabites; but they were afterwards reckoned with by themselves, verse 12.

What was the sin of the Moabites; they said, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen. They triumphed, in the apostasies of Yisrael, were please to keep their EL and worship idols, and hoped that in a while their religion would be quite lost and forgotten and the house of Judah would be like all the heathen, perfect idolaters. When those that profess religion walk unworthy of their profession they encourage the enemies of religion to hope that it will in time sink, and be run down, and quite abandoned; but let the Moabites know that, though there are those of the house of Judah who have made themselves like the heathen, yet there is a remnant that retain their integrity, the religion of the house of Judah shall recover itself, its peculiarities shall be preserved, it shall not lose itself among the heathen, but distinguish itself from them, till it deliver itself honorably into a better institution. 

In the calamities of Yisrael. They said, "The house of Judah is like all the heathen, in as bad a state as they; their EL is no more able to deliver them from this overflowing scourge of these parts of the world than the gods of the heathen are to deliver them. Where are the promises they gloried in and all the wonders which they and their fathers told us of? What the better are they for the covenant of peculiarity, upon which they so much valued themselves? Those that looked with so much scorn upon all the heathen are now set upon a level with them, or rather sunk below them.’’ 

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 be put in possession of the land of the Moabites, who are soldiers, men of war, and cunning hunters, that live turbulently. 

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, and they shall know that I am YAHVEH EL-ELYON.” – Now they would pay off all the old scores, and not only incensed the Babylonians against Jerusalem, crying, Rase it, rase it (Ps. 137:7), but cut off those that escaped, as we find in the prophecy of Obadiah, which is wholly directed against Edom, etc. It is called here revenging a revenge, which intimates that they were not only eager upon it, but very cruel in it, and recompensed to the Jews more than double. "Herein he has greatly offended.’’

 

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 formerly, it was a base thing for the Edomites now, in revenge for it, to smite them secretly. But the Jews had a divine warrant to reign over the Edomites, for that therefore they ought not to have made reprisals; and it was the more disingenuous for them to retain the old enmity when YAHVEH had particularly commanded HIS people to forget it.

Ezekiel 25:¹²‘Thus says YAHVEH EL-ELYON: “Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them,” - Deu. 23:7, Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite.

      

Ezekiel 25:¹³‘therefore thus says YAHVEH EL-ELYON: “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; Dedan shall fall by the sword. - The judgments threatened against them for this sin. YAHVEH will take them to task for it: I will stretch out my hand upon Edom Their country shall be desolate from Teman, which lay in the south part of it; and they shall fall by the sword unto Dedan, which lay north; the desolations of war should go through the nation.

Ezekiel 25:¹⁴“I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Yisrael, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says YAHVEH EL-ELYON. - They had taken vengeance, and therefore YAHVEH TSEBAOTE will lay his vengeance upon them: They shall know my vengeance. Those that will not leave it to YAHVEH to take vengeance for them may expect that he will take vengeance on them; and those that will not believe and fear his vengeance shall be made to know and feel his vengeance; they shall be dealt with according to YAH’s anger and according to his fury, not according to the weakness of the instruments that are employed in it, but according to the strength of the arm that employs them.

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 Jerusalem, 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,’’ Isa. 23. It is but just mentioned in Jeremiah, as sharing with the natives in the common calamity, 25:22; 27:3; 47:4. But Ezekiel is ordered to be copious upon that head. In this chapter we have, 

I.                The sin charged upon Tyre, which was triumphing in the destruction of Jerusalem 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 by name with his vast victorious army verse 7–11. 

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 month a Abib or Nissan not January. The month when the Wheat turn white and a new moon appears.

Ezekiel 26:² “Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘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 Jerusalem was taken, and in the first day of the month, but it is not said what month, some think the month in which Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem. Ezekiel was a great way off, in Babylon, but ABBA YAHVEH told him what Tyrus said against Jerusalem: "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 Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem would be an advantage to her in respect of trade a commerce, that now she shall have Jerusalem’s customers, and the great men from all parts that used to come to Jerusalem 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 Jerusalem, 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 Jerusalem, and thus the prosperity of Tyre will rise out of the ruins of Jerusalem.

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, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. - The displeasure of God against them for it. The providence of YAHVEH had done well for Tyrus. Tyrus was a pleasant and wealthy city, and might have continued so if she had, as she ought to have done, sympathized with Jerusalem in her calamities and sent her an address of condolence; but when, instead of that, she showed herself pleased with her neighbour’s fall, and perhaps sent an address of congratulation to the conquerors, then YAHVEH says, Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus!  And let her not expect to prosper long if YAHVEH be against her.

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 and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. - They shall do terrible execution. The enemy shall make themselves masters of all their fortifications, shall destroy the walls and break down the towers. For what walls are so strongly built as to be a fence against the judgments of God? Her strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. And the walls shall be broken down. The city held out a long siege, but it was taken at last.

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 as the mother-city, the inhabitants of them shall be slain by the sword. The invaders begin with those that come first in their way.

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, 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 26:⁹ ‘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 shall be utterly ruined; the enemy shall not only pull down the houses, but shall carry away the stones and the timber, and shall lay them in the midst of the water, not to be recovered, or ever made use of again.

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 had been a joyous city (Isa. 23:7).; with her songs she had courted customers to deal with her in a way of trade. But now farewell all her profitable commerce and pleasant conversation; Tyre is no more a place either of business or of sport.           

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 Jerusalem 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: ‘Will the coastlands not shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you? – See what a distress the inhabitants of Tyre are in: There is a great slaughter made in the midst of thee, many slain, and great men. It is probable that, when the city was taken, the generality of the inhabitants were put to the sword. Then did the wounded cry, and they cried in vain, to the pitiless conquerors; they cried quarter, but it would not be given them; the wounded are slain without mercy, or, rather, that is the only mercy that is shown them, that the second blow shall rid them out of their pain.

See what a consternation all the neighbours are in upon the fall of Tyre. This is elegantly expressed here, to show how astonishing it should be. The islands shall shake at the sound of thy fall , as, when a great merchant breaks, all that he deals with are shocked by it, and begin to look about them; perhaps they had effects in his hands, which they are afraid they shall lose.

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 in a most compassionate and pathetic manner: They shall come down from their thrones, as neglecting the business of their thrones and despising the pomp of them. They shall lay away their robes of state, their broidered garments, and shall clothe themselves all over with tremblings, with sackcloth that will make them shiver.

                                                                                                         

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 be not? They shall take up a lamentation for thee, shall have elegies and mournful poems penned upon the fall of Tyre, v. 17. How art thou destroyed!

Tyre had caused her terror  and now is made a terrible example. It shall be a great affliction to them, and they shall be affected with sorrow; they shall take up a lamentation for Tyre, as thinking it a thousand pities that such a rich and splendid city should be thus laid in ruins. When Jerusalem, the holy city, was destroyed, there were no such lamentations for it; it was nothing to those that passed by (Lam. 1:12); but when Tyre, the trading city, fell, it was universally bemoaned. Note, Those who have the world in their hearts lament the loss of great men more than the loss of good men.

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. Thus shall Tyre sink when I shall set glory in the land of the living. The holy land is the land of the living; for none but holy souls are properly living souls. Where living sacrifices are offered to the living YAHVEH, and where the lively oracles are, there the land of the living is; there David hoped to see the goodness of EL YAHVEH, Ps. 27:13. That was a type of heaven, which is indeed the land of the living.

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 and the lamentations made for the fall of that renowned city. In this chapter we have, 

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, - The prophet is ordered to take up a lamentation for Tyrus. It was yet in the height of its prosperity, and there appeared not the least symptom of its decay; yet the prophet must lament it, because its prosperity is its snare, is the cause of its pride and security, which will make its fall the more grievous.

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 with her pride: O Tyrus! thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty, of universal beauty (so the word is), every way accomplished, and therefore every where admired. Zion, that had the beauty of holiness, is called indeed the perfection of beauty (Ps. 1. 2); that is the beauty of ABBA YAHVEH.

But Tyre, because well-built and well-filled with money and trade, will set up for a perfect beauty.

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 with her prosperity, which was the matter of her pride. In elegies it is usual to insert encomiums of those whose fall we lament; the prophet, accordingly, praises Tyre for all that she had that was praiseworthy. He has nothing to say of her religion, her piety, her charity, her being a refuge to the distressed or using her interest to do good offices among her neighbours; but she lived great, and had a great trade, and all the trading part of mankind made court to her.

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 was advantageously situated, at the entry of the sea, having many commodious harbours each way, not as cities seated on rivers, which the shipping can come but one way to. It stood at the east end of the Mediterranean, very convenient for trade by land into all the 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 to make you a mast. - It had its haven replenished with abundance of gallant ships, Isa. 33:21. The ship-carpenters did their part, as well as the house-carpenters theirs. The Tyrians are thought to be the first that invented the art of navigation; at least they improved it, and brought it to as great a perfection perhaps as it could be without the loadstone.

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, joined with Hermon, Cant. 4:8. Planks of fir were smooth and light, but not so lasting as our English oak. They had cedars from Lebanon, another mountain of Israel, for their masts.

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. – They had oaks from 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 built few ships for themselves, but they furnished the Tyrians with timber for shipping. Thus one country uses what another produced, and so they are serviceable one to another, and cannot say to each other, I have no need of thee.

Ezekiel 27:⁷ Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sail; Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was what covered you – The word signifies a banner as well as a sail. Such magnificence did they affect in building their ships that they made the very benches of ivory, which they fetched from the isles of Chittim, from Italy or Greece, and had workmen from the Ashurites or Assyrians to make them, so rich would they have their state-rooms in their ships to be.

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 was itself famous for purple, which is therefore called the Tyrian dye, yet they must have that which was far-fetched.

So very prodigal were they that they made their sails of fine linen fetched from Egypt, and that embroidered too. Or it may be meant of their flags (which they hoisted to notify what city they belonged to), which were very costly.

Ezekiel 27:⁸ “Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you; They became your pilots. - These gallant ships were well-manned, by men of great ingenuity and industry. The pilots and masters of the ships, that had command in their fleets, were of their own city, such as they could put a confidence in: Thy wise men, O Tyrus! that were in thee, were thy pilots. But, for common sailors, they had men from other countries; The inhabitants of Arvad and Zidon were thy mariners. These came from cities hear them; Zidon was sister to Tyre, not two leagues off, to the northward; there they bred able seamen, which it is the interest of the maritime powers to support and give all the countenance they can to. They sent to Gebal in Syria for calkers, or strengtheners of the clefts or chinks, to stop them when the ships come home, after long voyages, to be repaired.

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, or to put them on board their fleets; so that all the ships in the sea with their mariners were ready to occupy thy merchandise. Those that give good wages shall have hands at command.

Ezekiel 27:¹⁰ “Those from Persia, Lydia, and Libya Were in your army as men of war; They hung shield and helmet in you; They gave splendor to you. - Their city was guarded by a military force that was very considerable. The Tyrians were themselves wholly given to trade; but it was necessary that they should have a good army on foot, and therefore they took those of other states into their pay, such as were fittest for service, though they had them from afar (which perhaps was their policy), from Persia, Lud, and Phut. 

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, where hung the shields of mighty men, Cant. 4:4. It is observable that there and here the armouries are said to be furnished with shields and helmets, defensive arms, not with swords and spears, offensive, though it is probable that there were such, to intimate that the military force of a people must be intended only for their own protection and not to invade and annoy their neighbours, to secure their own right, not to encroach upon the rights of others.

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, and which supported all the rest. We do not find any where in scripture so many nations named together as are here; so that this chapter, some think, gives much light to the first account we have of the settlement of the nations after the flood, Gen. 10.

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 was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies. - for ornament, purple, broidered work, and fine linen, precious clothes for chariots , 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. Upon the review of this invoice, or bill of parcels, we may justly say, What a great many things are here that we have no need of, and can live very comfortably without!

Ezekiel 27:¹⁷ “Judah and the land of Yisrael were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and balm. – Though Tyre was a city of great merchandise, and they got abundance by buying and selling, importing commodities from one place and exporting them to another, yet manufacture-trades were not neglected. The wares of their own making, and a multitude of such wares, are here spoken of. It is the wisdom of a nation to encourage art and industry, and not to bear hard upon the handicraft-tradesmen; for it contributes much to the wealth and honor of a nation to send abroad wares of their own making, which may bring them in the multitude of all riches.

Ezekiel 27:¹⁸ “Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items, with the wine of Helbon and with white wool. –

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 and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold.

        

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 was a city of great merchandise, and they got abundance by buying and selling, importing commodities from one place and exporting them to another, yet manufacture-trades were not neglected. The wares of their own making, and a multitude of such wares, are here spoken of. It is the wisdom of a nation to encourage art and industry, and not to bear hard upon the handicraft-tradesmen; for it contributes much to the wealth and honor of a nation to send abroad wares of their own making, which may bring them in the multitude of all riches. All this made Tyrus very great and very proud: The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in they market ; thou wast admired and cried up by all the nations that had dealings with thee; for thou wast replenished in wealth and number of people, wast beautified, and made very glorious, in the midst of the seas. Those that grow very rich are cried up as very glorious; for riches are glorious things in the eyes of carnal people, Gen. 31:1.

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 falling, and great is the fall of it, so much the greater for its having made such a figure in the world. The most mighty and magnificent kingdoms and states, sooner or later, have their day to come down. They have their period; and, when they are in their zenith, they will begin to decline. But the destruction of Tyre was sudden. Her sun went down at noon. And all her wealth and grandeur, pomp and power, did but aggravate her ruin, and make it the more grievous to herself and astonishing to all about her.

 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. The pilots, her princes and governors, when they see how wretchedly they have mismanaged and how much they have contributed to their own ruin, shall cry out so loud as to make even the suburbs shake , such a vexation shall it be to them to reflect upon their own bad conduct.

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, Destroyed in the midst of the sea? - How Tyre should be upbraided with her former honor and prosperity; she that was Tyrus the renowned shall now be called Tyrus the destroyed in the midst of the sea. "What city is like Tyre? Did ever any city come down from such a height of prosperity to such a depth of adversity?

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, that made such a noise and bustle in the world. This great blaze goes out in a snuff.

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 should be matter of terror to some and laughter to others, according as they were differently interested and affected. Some shall be sorely afraid, and shall be troubled, concluding it will be their own turn to fall next.

                

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 Jerusalem’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, who, in the destruction of that city, is particularly set up as a mark for YAH’s arrows verse 1–10. 

II. A lamentation for the king of Tyre, when he has thus fallen, though he falls by his own iniquity verse 11–19.

III. A prophecy of the destruction of Zidon, which as in the neighbourhood of Tyre and had a dependence upon it verse 20–23. 

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 had as necessary a dependence upon him as the world has upon the EL that made it, and that he was himself independent as EL and unaccountable to any.

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 said, I will be like the Most High (Isa. 14:14), not like the Most Holy.

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 was a man of very good natural parts, maybe even a philosopher, and well read in all the parts of trade, commerce, and politice and one that had great dexterity in managing the affairs of state. And then he thought himself wiser than Daniel.

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 dreams himself to be a god he says, I am wiser than Daniel.

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 loved merchandise, and by it he got riches, increased his riches, and filled his treasures with gold and silver. See what the wisdom of this world is; those who desire to be the wisest men that know how to get money and by right or wrong to establish lucrative estates; and yet spiritually this their way is their folly, Ps. 49:13. It was the folly of the king of Tyre, that he attributed the increase of his wealth to himself and not to the providence of YAHVEH NISSI, forgetting him who gave him the power to get wealth, Deu. 8:17, 18.

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, ch. 27. If any of those nations had been brought against it, they would have had some compassion upon it, for old acquaintance-sake; but these strangers will have none. They are people of a strange language, which the king of Tyre himself, wise as he is, perhaps understands not. They are the terrible of the nations; it was an army made up of many nations, and it was at this time the most formidable both for strength and fury. These El has at command, and these he will bring upon the king of 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 shall fare no better than the people.

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 is ratified by a divine authority: I have spoken it, saith EL YAHVEH. And what HE has said HE will do. None can gainsay it, nor will he unsay it.

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, and say to him, ‘Thus says EL YAHVEH: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. – What was the King of Tyre renown for. It is said of him as having lived in great splendour. He as a man, but it is here owned that he was a very considerable man and one that made a mighty figure in his day.

He far exceeded other men. Hiram and other kings of Tyre had done so in their time; and the reigning king perhaps had not come short of any of them: Thou sealest up the sum full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. But the powers of human nature and the prosperity of human life seemed in him to be at the highest pitch.

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; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. - He seemed to be as wise and happy as Adam in innocency: "Even hast been in Eden, even in the garden of YAHVEH; He was living as if he were in paradise all his days, he had a full complement of enjoyment in every thing that is good for food or pleasant to the eyes, and an uncontroverted dominion over all about thee, as Adam had.’’

One instance of the magnificence of the king of Tyre is, that he outdid all others princes in jewels, which those who have the luxury as he did: Every precious thing was at his disposal.

Ezekiel 28:¹⁴ “You were the anointed cherub who covers;I established you; You were on the holy mountain of YAHVEH; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. - There is a great variety of precious things available to him; he had of every sort and in such plenty that besides what were treasured up in his cabinet, and were the ornaments of his crown, he had his clothes trimmed with them; they were his covering.

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 to cover it, Gen. 3:24. 

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; he thought himself as bright as one of them. He appeared in as much splendour as the high priest when he was clothed with his garments for glory and beauty: "Thou wast upon the holy mountain of YAHVEH, as president of the temple built on that holy mountain; thou didst look as great, and with as much majesty and authority, as ever the high priest did when he walked in the temple, which was garnished with precious stones (2 Chr. 3:6), and had his habit on, which had precious stones both in the breast and on the shoulders; in that he seemed to walk in the midst of the stones of fire.’’ Thus glorious is the king of Tyre; at least he thinks himself so.

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. His kingly power was high as a mountain, setting him above others; it was called the mountain of YAHVEH, for the powers that he was  ordained of YAHVEH, and have something in them that is sacred; but, having abused his power, he is reckoned profane, and is therefore deposed and expelled. 

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, this vengeance. He is reduced in the sight of all those that behold him: Those that know him shall be astonished at him, and shall wonder how one that stood so high could be brought so low. The king of Tyre’s palace, like the temple at Jerusalem, when it is destroyed shall be an astonishment and a hissing, 2 Chr. 7:20, 21. So fell the king of Tyre. Lucifer was a Churibin 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, and prophesy against her, -

Ezekiel 28:²²“and say, ‘Thus says the EL YAHVEH: “Behold, I am against you, O Sidon; I will be glorified in your midst; And they shall know that I am EL YAHVEH, When I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her. - YAH’s glory is HIS great end, both in all the good and in all the evil which proceed out of the mouth of the Most High; so we find in these verses.

YAHVEH will be glorified in the destruction of Zidon, a city that lay near to Tyre, was more ancient, but not so considerable, had a dependence upon it and stood and fell with it. YAHVEH says here, I am against thee, O Zidon! and I will be glorified in the midst of thee. And again, "Those that would not know be gentler methods shall be made to know that I am EL YAHWEL, and I alone, and that I am a just and jealous EL, when I shall have executed judgments in her, destroying judgments, when I shall have done execution according to justice and according to the sentence passed, and so shall be sanctified in her.’’

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, where YAHVEH was known, and where they might have got the knowledge of him and have learned to glorify him; but, instead of that, they seduced Yisrael to the worship of their idols.

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 and its king. This is the first of them. 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 or no, it would be of use to Yisrael, to take them off from their confidence in their alliance with it.

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 foretold verse 8–12. 

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 verse 17–20. 

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. It was in the tenth year of the captivity, and yet it is placed after the prophecy against Tyre, which was delivered in the eleventh year, because, in the accomplishment of the prophecies, the destruction of Tyre happened before the destruction of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar’s gaining Egypt was the reward of his service against Tyre; and therefore the prophecy against Tyre is put first, that we may the better observe that. But particular notice must be taken of this, that the first prophecy against Egypt was just at the time when the king of Egypt was coming to relieve Jerusalem and raise the siege (Jer. 37:5), but did not answer the expectations of the Jews from them. Note, It is good to foresee the failing of all our creature-confidences, then when we are most in temptation to depend upon them, that we may cease from man.

Ezekiel 29:²“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt. – The scope of this prophecy. It is directed against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and against all Egypt. The prophecy against Tyre began with the people, and then proceeded against the prince. But this begins with the prince, because it began to have its accomplishment in the insurrections and rebellions of the people against the prince, not long after this.

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, was famed for crocodiles. And what is the king of Egypt, in YAH’s account, but a great dragon, toxic and mischievous? Therefore says YAHVEH, I am against thee. I am above thee; so it may be read. How high is the princes and potentates of the earth are, there is a higher than they (Eccl. 5:8), a EL above them, that can control them, and, if they be tyrannical and oppressive, a EL against them, that will be free to reckon with them.

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 Shall know that I am ABBA YAHVEH, Because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Yisrael. - The ground of the controversy EL has with the Egyptians; it is because they have cheated his people. They encouraged them to expect relief and assistance from them when they were in distress, but failed them: Because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Yisrael. They pretended to be a staff for them to lean upon, but, when any stress was laid upon them, they were either weak and could not or treacherous and would not do that for them which was expected.

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 shall become desolate and waste; then they will know that I am EL YAHVEH, because he said, ‘The River is mine, and I have made it.’ - Of the ruin of Egypt. The threatening of this is very full and particular; and the sin for which this ruin shall be brought upon them is their pride. They said, The river is mine and I have made it; therefore their land shall spue them out.  YAHVEH is against them, both against the king and against the people, against thee and against thy rivers. Waters signify people and multitudes, Rev. 17:15.

 The country shall be depopulated. The land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste, the country not cultivated, the cities not inhabited.

                                                                                                 

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, there is a source of life or a river for the children of darkness in the heavens, YAHVEH TSEBOUTE will declare war against the life blood of the Children of darkness When this river turn to blood again as it will be when the six angel poured out his bowl on the great river

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 made upon them. It shall be desolate from one end of the land to the other, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. The sin of pride is enough to ruin a whole nation.

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 after awhile. Egypt shall lie desolate forty years verse 12 and then I will bring again the captivity of Egypt. Some date the forty years from Nebuchadnezzar’s destroying 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 ended, or soon after. Then this prediction was accomplished.

Ezekiel 29:¹⁴“I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. - That EL YAHVEH will gather the Egyptians out of all the countries into which they were dispersed, and make them to return to the land of their habitation, and give them a settlement there again. Though EL YAHVEH will find out a way to humble the proud, yet he will not contend for ever, no, not with them in this world.

         

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 shall be a kingdom again, but it shall be the basest of the kingdoms ; it shall have but little wealth and power, and shall not extend its conquests as formerly; it shall be the tail of the nations, and not the head. It is a mercy that it shall become a kingdom again, but, to humble it, it shall be a despicable kingdom; it shall be a long time before it recover any thing like its ancient lustre.

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 Yisrael; 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 shall be laid waste. He that once gave Egypt for their ransom (Isa. 43:3) will now give Egypt for their cure; and it shall be destroyed rather than Israel shall not in this particular be reformed. EL YAHVEH, not only in justice, but in wisdom and goodness to us, breaks those creature-stays which we lean too much upon, and makes them to be no more, that they may be no more our confidence

            

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 was a tedious piece of work; it cost Nebuchadnezzar abundance of blood and treasure. It held out thirteen years; all that time the Chaldean army was hard at it, to make themselves masters of it.

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, a single city, being unanimous, is with difficulty subdued. Those that have much to do in the world find some affairs go on a great deal more readily and easily than others.

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 for his labor, because they worked for Me,’ says EL YAHVEH. – In this verse EL YAHVEH explain that Nebuchadnezza wroke for HIM. He set them at work, for the humbling of a proud city and its king, though they meant not so, neither did their heart think so, who were employed in it.

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; and when he had it, though it was a very rich city, and he promised himself good plunder for his army from it, he was disappointed; the Tyrians sent away by ship their best effects, and threw the rest into the sea, so that they had nothing but bare walls.

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. EL YAHVEH will be behind-hand with none for any service they do for him, but, one way or other, will recompense them for it; none shall kindle a fire on his altar for nought.

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 is spoken of as Nebuchadnezzar’s full reward, for that completed his dominion over the then known world in a manner; that was the last of the kingdoms he subdued; when he was master of that he became the head of gold.

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, but within a year after he ran mad was seven years, and within a year or two after he had recovered his senses he resigned his life. When he was at the highest Yisrael was at the lowest; then were they in the depth of their captivity, their bones dead and dry; but in that day the horn of the house of Yisrael shall bud forth.

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; Daniel sat in the gate of the city; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were set over the affairs of the province (Dan. 2:49); these were all of the king’s seed, and of the princes, Dan. 1:3. And it was within a year after the conquest of Egypt that they were thus preferred; and, soon after, three of them were made famous by the honor EL YAHVEH put upon them in bringing them alive out of the burning fiery furnace.

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, and happy omens.

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 5^th 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, when a third of the stars followed him, it brought darkness to apart of the Kingdom.

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 with idols? For you are the temple of the living EL. As YAHVEH has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their EL, And they shall be MY people.” - It is a dishonor to our faith; for believers who should be in reality, the temples of the living EL, who are dedicated to, and employed for, the service of EL YAHVEH, who has promised to reside in them, to dwell and walk in them, to stand in a special relation to them, and take a special care of them, that YAHVEH will be their EL and they shall be his people. Now there can be no agreement between the temple of YAHVEH and idols. Idols are rivals with YAHVEH for HIS honor, and YAHVEH is a jealous EL, and will not give his glory to another.

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.