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Eze_39:1-20
In the first main division Ezekiel repeats the substance of what has already been advanced concerning the defeat of Gog (verses 1-8), after which he strives to represent its completeness (verses 9-20), by setting forth
(1) the immense quantity of spoil Israel should obtain from the fallen foe (verses 9, 10).
(2) the length of time it should take Israel to bury the dead and cleanse the land from defilement (verses 11-16, and
(3) the horrible carnage which should ensue on Gog's destruction, symbolized by a vast sacrificial feast prepared by Jehovah for the beasts and birds (verses 17-20).
Eze_39:1
The chief prime of Meshech and Tubal; or, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal (see on Eze_38:2).
Eze_39:2
I will … leave but the sixth part of thee. The word ùÀÑùÅÌÑàúÄéêÈ is derived either from the numeral six, ùÅÑùÑ , or from the root ùÈÑùÈÑà , the import of which is uncertain, although a cognate root in Ethiopic suggests the idea of "going on" or "proceeding"—a meaning Havernick also finds in the Hebrew. The former derivation has been followed by the Authorized Version, which renders in the margin, "I will strike thee with six plagues," or "draw thee back with a hook of six teeth," and by Hengstenberg, With whom Plumptre agrees, "1 will six thee," i.e. "afflict thee with six plagues," viz. those mentioned in Eze_38:22. The latter derivation, presumably the more correct, is adopted by the LXX. ( καθοδογήσω ), the Vulgate (educam), the Revised Version ("I will lead thee on"), and by modern expositors generally. Hitzig and Smend approve of Ewald's translation, "I entice thee astray, and lead thee with leading, strings."
Eze_39:3
I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand. Bows and arrows were characteristic weapons of the Scythians, whom Herodotus (4:46) styles ἱπποτοξόται (comp. Jer_5:16; Jer_6:23; and see note on Eze_38:15).
Eze_39:4-6
I will give thee unto ravenous birds of every sort; or, wing. The language depicts an army on the march, followed by jackals, vultures, and other birds of prey, ready to feast upon the corpses of slaughtered men (comp. Eze_33:27; 1Sa_17:46; and Homer's 'Iliad,' 1.4, 5). In addition to destroying Cog, causing him to fall upon the mountains of Israel and upon the open field; literally, upon the face of the field, Jehovah engages to carry the fire of war and generally of devastation (cf. Eze_33:22; Amo_2:2, Amo_2:5; Rev_20:1-15 :29) into Cog's own land, Magog (see on Eze_38:2), and among them that dwell carelessly (better, securely) in the isles; or, coast-lands (Eze_27:7); i.e. not merely the merchants of Tarshish or the "isles" of the trading nations mentioned in Eze_38:13, as Hengstenberg and Plumptre prefer, but, as Smend, Schroder, and Keil explain, all the distant peoples of the coast-lands from whom Gog's armies were drawn (Eze_38:5, Eze_38:6), and in whom were many of Gog's sympathizers.
Eze_39:8
Behold! it is come. "The words which a man might speak on he-holding his purpose accomplished are, with Ezekiel's Bold anthropomorphism, put into the mouth of Jehovah" (Plumptre).
Eze_39:9, Eze_39:10
set forth as the first proof of the greatness of Gog's overthrow the immense booty in the shape of weapons of war which should be obtained by the inhabitants of the cities of Israel. So huge should be the quantity of weapons left behind by the slain, that the Israelites should burn them with fire seven years. This burning of the weapons has been explained by Havernick, on the ground that weapons of war, as incompatible with Messianic times, should be no more required (cf. Isa_2:4); by Ewald, as in accordance with the custom of the Hebrews (Isa_9:5) and other ancient peoples (Livy, 38.23; Virgil, 'AEneid,' 8.562); by Hitzig and Smend, as prompted by the consideration that Israel, for whom Jehovah had fought, should have no further need of weapons; by Schroder, as indicating that for Israel these warlike instruments should then so completely lose their power to terrify that they might be looked upon simply as so much firewood; and by Keil, as designed to annihilate the enemy and remove every trace of him. Kliefoth appears nearest the mark, in suggesting that the emphasis lies upon the length of time the burning should continue; and that this was intended, by conveying an idea of the vastness of the spoil, to represent the thoroughness of Gog's destruction and of Israel's deliverance. That the whole delineation is symbolical appears from the number of years the weapons are said to serve for fuel, viz. seven, and from the character of the weapons themselves, which, if not entirely wooden, were at least all combustible. Of the "armor" generally ( ðÆùÆÑ÷ , "something joined," from a root signifying "to join") the pieces mentioned—the shields and the bucklers (see Eze_38:4), the bows and arrows (see Eze_39:3), the hand-staves, or, javelins (margin), perhaps, as Hitzig and Smend suggest, the staff with which a horseman strikes his beast (see Num_22:27), and the spears—were mostly composed of timber. When all should have been given to the flames, it would then appear that on their late owners the lex talionis had worked out its literal avengement, that they who had intended to despoil Israel were themselves spoiled; and they who hoped to plunder Israel were themselves plundered (comp. Isa_17:14).
Eze_39:11-16
Contain a second proof of the completeness of Gog's destruction, viz. the length of time occupied in burying the slain and cleansing the land.
Eze_39:11
Gog, who should invade Israel in the hope of acquiring the entire mastery of her land, would obtain at Jehovah's hands only a place there of graves, i.e. either, as Hitzig, Ewald, Keil, and Smend suggest, a place where a grave might be possible—a place large enough to receive his slaughtered carcasses; or as Havernick proposes, "an altogether special grave as no other in Israel;" or as Schroder interprets, "a place where there is a grave for him and nothing else." Concerning both the designation and the site of this divinely provided sepulcher controversy has arisen.
(1) As to its site. The notion of Michaelis and Eiehhom, that the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea was in some way related to the mountains of Abarim mentioned in Num_27:12 and Deu_32:49, and that of Hitzig, that it signified "the valley of the opposite heights," as in 1Sa_17:3, and was to be sought for in the "very great valley" of Zec_14:4, may at once be dismissed—the former as untenable, and -the latter as far-fetched. The suggestion of Hengstenberg and Kliefoth, that by the burial-place of Gog was meant the valley of Megiddo, where Josiah fell in battle against Pharaoh-Necho (2Ki_23:29), derives support from these considerations, that the very name of Megiddo points to battles, that in its vicinity are found such passes as are here described, and that its modern designation Lejun (Leqio), in all probability contains a reminiscence of the present passage. It is, however, open to the obvious objections that the place of Gog's burial was not contiguous to the field of his overthrow, and that the clause locating it "on the east of the sea," by which on this hypothesis must be understood the Mediterranean, is rather descriptive of the entire land than of any particular spot therein. Hence the view of Havernick, Ewald, Keil, and Smoud, which finds the valley in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea, is to be preferred, though, even with agreement as to this, interpreters are not unanimous as to the spot intended. Ewald thinks of "the horrible, unwholesome valley over against the sea, i.e. (comp. Eze_47:8) the Dead Sea, that valley which covers the ancient overbearing ones (die Zerreisenden), the Sodomites, who resemble these;" Keil, translating kidmath as "in front of," holds by "the valley of the Jordan above the Dead Sea;" Havernick and Smend advocate "a place outside the Holy Land," though the clause, "a grave in Israel," seems against this. Dr. Currey, in the 'Speaker's Commentary,' hints, net without reason, that the valley was "imaginary."
(2) As to its designation. That in the word "passengers" lies a paronomasia is apparent; but whether threefold or only twofold is uncertain.
In the present verse äÈòÉáÀøÄéí may signify either
(1) such travelers as were wont to pass through the valley (Keil), which is the obvious and natural interpretation; or
(2) the warriors of Gog (Ewald, Hitzig), who intended to pass through the land, but whose invasion had only proved a passing storm; or
(3) the commissioners who should be appointed to pass through the land in search of bones (Zec_14:15). The notion of Ewald, who derives òÉáÄøÄéí from òÆáÀøÈä , and translates "haughty," "overbearing," meaning the Gogites, is countenanced by no ether expositor. If the first sense be taken, then the verse will read, "The valley of the passers through, and it (the valley, in consequence of having become the grave of Gog) stops (the way of) the passers through;" i.e. it becomes thereafter impassable for travelers (Rosenmüller, Keil); or, it stops the noses, or breath, of such travelers by reason of its horrible stench (Ewald, Havernick). If the second meaning be selected, the valley must be understood to have afterwards received its name from the fact that Gog's warriors lay entombed beneath its sod, and "the stopping of the passengers" to signify that whereas Gog purposed to overrun the land, his destructive career was there ignominiously arrested (Schroder). If the third rendering be preferred, then the valley will be held to have derived its designation, after the event, from the passing through it or through the land of the searchers, in which case the stepping of the passengers can only have alluded to the fact that, as the "buriers" proceeded with the work of interment, they were compelled to turn away their faces and stop their noses because of the noisome effluvium which arose from the corpses. The first interpretation is the best, though the first and second might be combined by making the first "passengers" stand for the travelers and the second for the invaders, whose career should there be stopped; and to this view a certain countenance is lent by the statements which follow, that there should Gog and all his multitude—literally, all his noisy tumult—be buried, and that the valley ever afterwards should bear the name of Hamon-gog, or, Gog' s multitude.
Eze_39:12, Eze_39:13
The time that should be occupied in Gog's funeral should be seven months—so great should be the number of the dead—the sacred number seven recalling the seven years consumed in the burning of the weapons (Eze_39:9), and reminding one of the "seven times heated" furnace into which the Hebrew children were cast, and of the "seven times" of Nebuchadnezzar's humiliation (Dan_3:19; Dan_4:23). The parties who should conduct his obsequies should be the house of Israel, even all the people of the land, indicating the common joy occasioned by the barbaric chieftain's overthrow. The motive which should impel them in their work would be a desire to cleanse the land from the defilement it had contracted from the corpses of the slain (comp. Num_19:11,Num_19:22; Num_31:19; Num_35:33); and the end should be that the work should be to them, not for "a remembrance" (Ewald), but a renown, not because they should have helped to bury Gog (Hengstenberg), or through burying Gog should have proved themselves his conquerors (Smend), and in virtue of Jehovah's protection the possessors of his grave (Hitzig), but because in the day when Jehovah glorified himself through Gog's destruction, he (Jehovah) should also be glorified by their (Israel's) zeal "to show themselves a holy people by sweeping all uncleanness away" (Keil).
Eze_39:14
When the work of burying Gog should have gone on for seven months, at the end of that time the Israelites should sever out (comp. Deu_10:8) men of continual employment; literally, men of con-t/nuance; i.e. persons hired for a continuous work or devoted to a constant occupation, whose business it should be passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain—or, as the Revised Version reads, to bury them that pass through, that remain—upon the face of the land. Here, again, the old play upon the word "passengers" recurs, and with it two or three difficulties.
(1) It is not clear whether the commissioners consisted of two classes of officers, "passers through," or "searchers," who scoured the land in search of unburied skeletons or bones, which, however, they did not bury; and "buriers" proper, who, accompanying these searchers, conducted the interment of suck skeletons or bones as were found (Hengstenberg, Keil); or whether the commissioners were only one body, who both searched and buried (Ewald and Smend).
(2) It is doubtful whether the àÆú in àÆúÎäÈòÉáÀøÄéí should be taken as the sign of the accusative, and the clause translated as in the Revised Version, in which case the "passengers" that should be buried could only be the "invaders" as above (see Eze_39:11); or as a preposition, in which case the rendering of the Authorized Version must stand, and the "passengers" be regarded as the "searchers."
(3) It is open to debate whether Eze_39:14 should not close with the initial words of Eze_39:15, as Ewald proposes, "And the passengers shall search and pass through in the land;" or at least whether the first clause in Eze_39:15 should not form an independent sentence, thus: "And they that pass through in the land shall pass through," as in the Revised Version, in which case the sighting of unburied bones (Eze_39:15) would not necessarily be the work of "searchers," but of any one, the verb åÀøÈàÈä being impersonal. It is impossible to decide dogmatically in a question of so much difficulty; but the Revised Version appears to present the most exact rendering of the Hebrew, and upon the whole the most intelligible account of what was intended to take place, viz. the appointment of a special body of commissioners, who should be designated both "passengers," in ironical allusion to Gog who had meant to pass through the land, and "buffers," from the nature of the task delegated to them, viz. the interment of the "passengers," i.e. the Gogites, and who should begin their work after the main body of the slain had been removed, i.e. at the end of the seven months of burying.
Eze_39:15
describes the method of procedure these "searchers" and "buriers," should follow. If these were distinct from each other, the "searchers"—if they were the same, any others—on discovering a man's bone should set up a sign by it; literally, build near it a pillar; erect a heap of stone to call the attention of the butlers, who, on coming to the spot, should inter it in the valley of Hamon-gog.
Eze_39:16
As another mark to distinguish Gog's tomb, a city should arise in its vicinity, bearing the name Hamonah, or "Multitude" (comp. Isa_19:18, "the city of destruction"), though Schmieder thinks it must have been "a city of graves," since a city of houses could not exist in such a valley of the dead, and indeed the LXX. gives as the city's name Πολυάνδριον , by which later Greek writers were accustomed to call the common ground in a cemetery as distinguished from its paternal sepulchers. If quite improbable that Bethshan or Scythopolis near Megiddo was Ezekiel's Hamonah, it is possible the actual city may have been named after the ideal. Plumptre cites as a modern parallel the English town of Lichfield (or "Field of corpses"), which, according to tradition, commemorates the destruction of the Danes. When the work of the buriers should be finished, the land would be completely cleansed.
Eze_39:17-20
exhibit in a third way the severity of Gog's overthrow by setting forth the bloody carnage which should attend it.
Eze_39:17
Expanding the thought of Eze_39:4, and borrowing the imagery of the older prophets, Isaiah (Isa_34:6; Isa_56:9) and Jeremiah (Jer_46:10; Jer_1:1-19 :29; Jer_51:40), Ezekiel represents Gog's destruction as a great sacrifice—literally, slaying; hence a sacrificial feast or simply banquet (as in Gen_31:54)—upon the mountains of Israel, prepared by Jehovah for the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field, which he, therefore, invites to come from all quarters to eat flesh and drink blood.
Eze_39:18
specifies the victims whose flesh and blood should form their banquet, viz. the mighty, as in Eze_32:12, Eze_32:27, and the princes of the earth, meaning the nobles and other dignitaries in Gog's army, who, in accordance with the symbol of a feast, are spoken of as "rams," "lambs," "goats," "bullocks," and "fatlings of Bashan" (comp. Psa_22:12). "Per haec animantium, quae in saarificiis usurpari solebant, nomina varii hominum ordines intelliguntur, principum, ducum, militum, quod et Chaldaeus observat" (Grotius. Comp. Rev_19:17, Rev_19:18). In Zep_1:7 the heathen are the guests, and his people the victims, at Jehovah's banquet.
Eze_39:21-29
record the impression Gog's overthrow should make upon both Israel and the heathen.
Eze_39:22
The house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. What should convince them of this would be their triumph and deliverance through Gog's annihilation.
Eze_39:28, Eze_39:24
And the heathen shall know. The special lesson for them should be not so much teaching concerning God's supremacy over them, or concerning their relation to Israel, as concerning the principles of God's dealings with Israel. They should learn that if Israel had for a season been abandoned to the sword and driven into exile, it was not because of Jehovah's inability to protect them, but because of their wickedness which had caused him to hide his face from them—an expression which in Ezekiel occurs only here and in verse 29, though it is found in the Pentateuch (Deu_31:17, Deu_31:18) and in the older prophets (Isa_8:17; Isa_54:8; Isa_57:17; Isa_64:7; Jer_33:5).
Eze_39:25-29
This section Hengstenberg regards as the close of the whole system of prophecies of a predominantly comforting character from Eze_33:21 onwards;" Keil views it as the proper conclusion to the prophecy concerning Gog and the series of predictions from Eze_35:1 onwards. It is in substance a recapitulation of God's gracious promise to bring again the captivity of Israel, of which the prophet had just been reminded in verse 23, and to which accordingly he now in thought goes back. It traces the whole course of the Divine dealings with the nation from the point of the exile onwards.
Eze_39:25
I will bring again the captivity of Jacob. (For the use of "Jacob" as a designation of the people, see Eze_28:25; Eze_37:25.) The promise goes back to Deu_30:3; Jer_29:14; Jer_30:3; Jer_31:23; Jer_32:44; and other passages. That its fulfillment began with the return from Babylon is not inconsistent with the view that its fulfillment will terminate with the final ingathering of Israel out of the nations by her conversion to Christianity, and her consequent admission to the Church. That its first cause will be "mercy" to the whole house of Israel will not prevent that cause from being at the same time a jealous regard for the Divine holiness (comp. Eze_36:21, Eze_36:22).
Eze_39:26
After they have borne their shame (comp. Eze_16:52, Eze_16:54; Eze_32:24, Eze_32:30; Eze_34:29; Eze_36:6). The captivity of Israel would not be brought back until her people had been thoroughly chastised for their iniquities, and that chastisement had wrought in them a spirit of penitence and a disposition towards obedience. Then should Jehovah interpose for their deliverance by gathering them out of their enemies' lands and leading them back to their own land; and these two experiences, the Captivity and the Restoration, the driving out and the bringing in, should complete their conversion to Jehovah, and secure their perpetual enjoyment of Jehovah's favor.
Eze_39:29
I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel. Already Jehovah had promised to put his Spirit in his people (Eze_36:27; Eze_37:14); now the fact that he has implemented that promise by a copious effusion of the same he cites as a proof that Israel shall no more forfeit his favor because no more shall she forsake his ways (comp. Isa_59:21). The same promise had been previously given by Joel (Joe_2:28), and was afterwards renewed by Zechariah (Zec_12:10). The citation of Joel's words by Peter on the Day of Pentecost (Act_2:17) shows that he regarded the remarkable effusion of the Holy Ghost on that memorable occasion as a fulfillment of the premise here recorded by Ezekiel. Yet the promise was not then exhausted. Rather it has often since been implemented, and will doubtless receive its consummation in the New Jerusalem. "No historical Church, Jewish or Gentile," writes Plumptre, "has ever yet realized the picture here sketched by Ezekiel. We ask, as before—Will it ever be realized on earth? or must we look for it only in the heavenly city whose Builder and Maker is God?"
NOTE.—In addition to what has been stated at the beginning of this prophecy (Eze_38:1) with reference to the general significance of this invasion by and overthrow of Cog, that it points to some tremendous conflict in the latter days between the powers of the world and the Church of Christ, a few words may be offered in support of the preposition that nevertheless there is no reason to expect that this conflict will take the form of an actual invasion of the land of Israel or of a real fire-and-sword battle with the Church, or that Gog will step upon the field as a veritable flesh-and-blood personality, and his armies find a grave in the manner sketched by the prophet. That the whole delineation is symbolic, and embodies spiritual truths under material emblems, will hardly be doubted by one who impartially weighs the following considerations, which have been admirably brought together by Fairbairn.
1. The designation given to the great assailant of the latter times—Gog, which discovers itself to be an ideal name, if by nothing else by the manner in which it has been formed.
2. The composition of his army, which is drawn from the four quarters of the globe, in fact, from the extremities of the earth, and consists of peoples not only remote from one another, but "the most unlike naturally to act in concert for any particular purpose."
3. The object of his attack—the land of Israel, a territory so small that it is inconceivable a host so great should have been required to capture it, and so poor that had the invaders got all it contained it "could not have served to maintain them for a single day."
4. The fruits of Israel's victory—firewood for seven years out of the enemies' weapons, and seven months of labor in burying their corpses. "It would be but a very moderate allowance, on the literal supposition, to say that a million of men would thus be engaged, and that on an average each would consign two corpses to the tomb in one day; which for the hundred and eighty working days of the seven months would make an aggregate of three hundred and sixty millions of corpses! Then the putrefaction, the pestilential vapors arising from such masses of slain victims, before they were all buried. Who could live at such a time?"
5. The impossibility of harmonizing prophecy on the hypothesis that Ezekiel's picture must receive a literal interpretation, since Isaiah (34.), Joel (Joe_3:12, Joe_3:14), and Zechariah (14), who all appear to depict the same conflict as Ezekiel portrays, each pitches its scene in a different locality.
6. The gross carnality of the whole picture on the assumption that it must be literally interpreted, which is wholly inconsistent with that spirituality one associates with the Messianic times. "Persons," writes Fairbairn, "who in the face of all these considerations can still cling to the literal view of this prophecy, must be left to themselves; they are incapable of being convinced in the way of argument."
I. IN CREATION. God spake, and it was done. He said, "Let there be light; and light was." The creative word was with power. Men plan great things, but they are quite incompetent to carry the best of them out. The greater the artist is the more he must feel that his execution falls lamentably short of his design. It is not so with God. When he carries out his idea in his work it can be said of each stage of creation, "And God saw that it was good." He is mighty to perform all his will.
II. IN REDEMPTION. This new creation was a harder work than the first creation. No human agent could accomplish it, and God's own arm brought salvation. But though it involved the sacrifice of his Son, he carried out his great design of redeeming the lost world. The dying Jesus exclaimed, "It is finished!" The application of this redemption is not yet complete. The promise concerning this is, "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied" (Isa_53:11). But St. Peter looked forward to the grand restitution of all things, when all shall be brought in subjection to Christ (Act_3:21). We know that he who has begun a good work in us is able to finish it (Php_1:6).
III. IN JUDGMENT. If God accomplishes his designs in creation and redemption, it cannot be supposed that he will fail to carry them out in regard to judgment. Delay is no proof of failure, for the long-promised Messiah was slow to appear, yet in due lime Christ was born. The mercy of God is no sign of the failure of judgment, for God was as merciful when he threatened wrath as he will be when the time comes for executing the threat. The day of judgment, that dreadful "day of the Lord," as the prophets called it, came to the nations and to Israel with fearful calamities. Assuredly it will come, and its work will be done also among all sinners.
IV. IN PROVIDENCE. God made great promises to Abraham, and the patriarch did not live to reap their accomplishment. Yet God was true to his word. All the might of Egypt could not frustrate God's gracious designs. He has great purposes for his people now. Satan may oppose the execution of them; sin, unbelief, and worldliness may rise up against them. Yet God will not desert his own inheritance. Indeed, he does now accomplish his gracious providential designs in spite of all opposition.
V. IN OBEDIENCE. There is one region in which the purpose of God is more slow to realize itself. That is the region of human will. There man is free to resist its demands for obedience. God's kingdom has not yet fully come, his will is not yet done on earth as it is in heaven. But we pray for this glorious consummation. It is our duty to labor to help it on. If God's design is accomplished in every other respect, it is monstrous for man's stubborn will to hold out against it. The spirit of the life of Christ—"Lo, I come to do thy will, O God"—is the spirit which should animate his people.
Eze_39:21
1. For its own sake. God cares for his glory and desires to be glorified. Such a conception applied to a man would suggest selfishness. This is not the case with God, because his glory resides in his goodness. The spread of his glory is the vindication of righteousness. The eternal claims of holiness demand assertion. To suppress them is to give the victory to sin; to spread the glory of God is to assert them.
2. For the sake of the heathen. Ignorance of God's glory is their loss. To know God is life eternal. It is for the supreme good of men that they should understand their heavenly Father. "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace" (Job_22:21).
II. GOD HAS MEANS FOR SPREADING HIS GLORY AMONG THE HEATHEN.
1. In judgments. This seems to be the method suggested in the chapter now under consideration. The restoration of Israel and the accompanying overthrow of her enemies will strike dismay into the host of the enemy, and so impress them with the might and majesty of the true God. This is a fearful process in the eyes of the heathen, and yet it is educational, and may help to lead them out of superstition and foolish opposition to wiser ways. God arrests the careless now by his judgments.
2. In the gospel. When the gospel is preached to the heathen God's glory is revealed among them—surely the happier method of making it known. This was already foreshadowed in Old Testament times (Isa_52:15). It was in part accomplished by the labors of St. Paul. Now, we must ever bear in mind that this is God's work. Though human agents preach the gospel, God himself shows forth his glory in his truth. He too awakens the souls of the hearers by his Spirit. All perception of the glory of God comes from his own revelation of himself.
III. CHRISTIANS SHOULD TAKE PART IN SPREADING GOD'S GLORY AMONG THE HEATHEN. We sometimes hear missionary enterprises described as quixotic schemes of amiable fanatic, and so-called practical people tell us that we had much better spend our money and our energies in endeavoring to better the condition of the poor of our own cities. "These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Mat_23:23). It is Christ's command that his gospel should be preached to all people, and whether our wisdom commend the command or not, if we are true Christians it is our plain duty to render unquestioning obedience (Mat_28:19). But the heathen need the knowledge of the truth of Christ. Experience proves that the most ignorant and the most cultivated can both receive it and profit by it. There is no more practical work than that of wise labor in the missionary field. It is the bounden duty of all Christians to support it. The Church that has no missionary spirit is not Christian, for it has not the Spirit of Christ.
Eze_39:23, Eze_39:24
1. In relation to righteousness. It is iniquity. It is falling short of what is right, an unjust treatment of life, a living lie. The sinner is unequal. He does not truly balance his life. His whole being is corrupted and distorted.
2. In relation to God. It is a trespass against him. The prodigal confesses that he has sinned against Heaven, as well as in his father's sight (Luk_15:21). David even describes the murder of Uriah as a sin against God only, so utterly does the transgression of God's Law swallow up all other considerations (Psa_51:4). Whenever we sin we directly rebel against our Father. Sin always has this ugly personal feature.
3. In relation to purity. Uncleanness.
4. In relation to law. Transgression.
II. THE DISMAL CONSEQUENCES OF SIN.
1. The loss of the vision of God. "Therefore hid I my face from them." This is the first consequence of sin. It is reaped immediately the soul falls away from God. Without holiness it is impossible to see him (Mat_5:8). To some it may seem a light penalty. Like Adam and Eve, they may even try to hide themselves from God. But the attempt is vain, because, though we may easily lose sight of God, he never ceases to behold us. Moreover, though we may not be aware of our loss, it is not the less great. But to the sensitive soul this spiritual consequence of sin is most bitter to endure. Such a one will beseech God not to hide his countenance, and will cry, "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me" (Psa_51:11). All joy and hope vanish from the Christian life when the sweet vision of God is darkened by sin.
2. Fearful external ruin. "And gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword." If men do not care for the present spiritual consequences of sin, other more easily recognized consequences will follow. The most blunt and hardened soul can be made to quake under the wrath of God.
In conclusion, observe that all this was to be known to the heathen,
(1) that they might not boast themselves as though the result were directly due to their prowess;
(2) that they might not despise God as though his designs were frustrated;
(3) that they might take warning. God warns us by the history of the past punishment of sin. But he also points out a way of escape in Jesus Christ, who came to save his people from their sins.
Eze_39:25-29
1. The people of God. This is promised for the Jews, the ancient people of God. God does not forget his people in their captivity any more than he forgot them in their Egyptian bondage. Now, we know that God regards the whole human race as one family (Act_17:26). Though many reject him and many know him not, he cares for all. As all belong by right to their heavenly Father, so the perfect restoration in Christ is now offered to all men.
2. Sinners. This gracious promise is not only for the unfortunate—like the Hebrews in Egypt; it is for the guilty who were driven into captivity on account of their own wickedness. This fact shows
(1) the grace of God, who is willing to be reconciled to his worst foes, to pardon his rebel subjects, to receive back his lost and disgraced children; and
(2) the hope of the world. The peculiarity of the mission of Christ was that he came to seek and to save that which was lost. The most degraded may hope to share in the glorious restoration of Israel if they will rightly seek to have their part in it.
II. THE MEANS BY WHICH IT IS BROUGHT ABOUT.
1. God's saving work. God brought back the captivity of Israel. If Nebuchadnezzar was his servant for punishment, Cyrus was even his "Messiah" for restoration (Isa_45:1). The great restoration of souls is God's work. He does not wait for men to regenerate their own characters, and then consent to give them a welcome home. He himself effects the regeneration. It was God's thought to send his Son to be the Savior of the world. This Divine action springs
(1) from God's mercy;
(2) from his jealousy for his holy Name.
God is most glorified in saving his people. Righteousness is most honored not by the punishment of sin, but by the cure of it.
2. On condition of confession. "And they shall take upon them their shame, and all their trespass which they have committed against me." The restored Jews will own the guilt of the sin that drove them into captivity. Thus the chastisement will produce its bitter but wholesome fruit. God only forgives sin on condition of man's confession (1Jn_1:9). When the penitent takes the shame of his sin God removes the guilt of it.
III. THE BLESSINGS WHICH IT BRINGS.
1. Return to the old home and its privileges. The Jews came back to Palestine from their captivity. Redeemed man is restored to the true human inheritance which he has lost by sin. Science, art, literature, social and domestic life, etc; will be enjoyed at their best when men are regenerated in heart. The earth will never yield her choicest increase until the people of God inherit it. But with these secular advantages, and far above them, is restoration to the spiritual home—to the kingdom of heaven here, to the glory of heaven hereafter.
2. Peace and security. "When they dwell safely in their land, and none make them afraid." This suggests a striking contrast to the former position, when Israel was harassed by enemies on every side—not the least being those of their own household in the long feud between the northern and the southern kingdoms. That feud was now ended forever. Still, the subsequent time was scarcely one of solid security. We must look to the spiritual restoration for the perfect accomplishment of the happy vision. The redeemed people of God enjoy peace and safety. Christ said, "My peace I give unto you" (Joh_14:27).
3. Closer communion with God. Then they shall know God better than before, with the knowledge of experience, and enjoy the never-failing light of his countenance. This is the Christian's highest privilege.
Eze_39:29
I. THE BEATIFIC VISION OF GOD. God will no more hide his face.
1. The restoration of God's favor. The averted countenance signifies disapproval. God hides his countenance when he refuses to hold communion with those of his creatures with whom he is angry. Therefore we are here reminded that sin leads to an action on God's part—to his veiling his bright countenance. There m then a need, not only for man to be reconciled to God, but for God to change his grieved and wrathful attitude towards man. This is an essential element in the atonement, which is suggested by the word "propitiation" (Rom_3:25; 1Jn_2:2). When God ceases to hide his countenance he looks favorably on his people.
2. The enjoyment of God's presence. The favor of a king secures many privileges, and the favor of God the best privileges; but no gift of God can equal in value the enjoyment of his own presence To behold his countenance is to have the greatest of blessings.
(1) God is our Father; to see him is to be at home.
(2) He is the center of all light and truth; the vision of God is the highest knowledge.
(3) He is supreme brightness and beauty; to behold God is to gaze on the "beatific vision." Heaven consists in the undimmed vision of God.
3. An eternal blessedness. God will not hide his face any more. The hiding was an abnormal thing. The words before us suggest the idea that it is natural for God to reveal himself, and that the hiding was something temporally superinduced by man's sin. Not to know God is a monstrously defective experience. When the black cloud has been dispelled the sun will shine out in unwaning splendor. There is no fading of the glory of heaven. The blessedness of God's restored people is eternal.
II. THE INSPIRATION THAT RESTORES THE VISION OF GOD. This vision has been lost, and God now promises a restoration of it, indicating the means by which the happy result will be brought to pass. It is because God has poured out his Spirit upon the house of Israel. Revelation is a result of inspiration. This is the process in prophecy. God reveals his will through prophets, i.e. by means of inspired men. Here we see that the spiritual revelation of the saint, who may learn no new truth, but who is brought into the enjoyment of the favor of God and into communion with him, is also a result of inspiration.
1. Christ's redemption leads to a bestowal of the Spirit of God. John the Baptist promised that he who came after him would baptize with the Holy Ghost (Mat_3:11). Christ promised the Spirit as "the Comforter" (Joh_14:16, Joh_14:17). Pentecost followed the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Christ has ascended up on high to give gifts unto men; and the best of his gifts, the gift that includes all others, is that of the Holy Spirit.
2. The bestowal of the Spirit of God unveils the countenance of God.
(1) It purges men's hearts of the thick film of doubt and earthly-mindedness that hides the vision of God.
(2) It puts men into right relations with God, so that he can manifest his grace to them.
(3) It directly opens the eyes of the soul to see the truth of God.
(4) It is itself a communing Spirit communicating God to us.
I. WHAT IS GOD'S NAME? An examination of the passages in Old Testament Scripture in which the expression occurs will convince the student that by the Name we are to understand the attributes and the character of God. It is generally held that the name Jehovah signifies the self-existing Being; and it might be argued that all Divine perfections are involved in and may be developed from the very definition. But it will be found that when "the Name" of God is used, as in this passage, it calls attention to these two attributes of Deity.
1. He is righteous in his judgments.
2. He is faithful to his promises.
II. AMONG WHOM WOULD GOD MAKE HIS NAME KNOWN? To whom would he have his attributes and the characteristics of his moral government revealed with clearness and unmistakable power? The text gives an explicit answer to this question.
1. Among the Hebrews: "In the midst of my people Israel." These, his people, had been prone to forget or to misunderstand his Name, and needed that their attention should be recalled to the revelation which Jehovah had given of himself.
2. Among the heathen: "The heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel." In this case it was not a revival of knowledge that had lapsed or grown dim; it was a fresh communication. Those who had trusted in their false gods should have their foolish confidence shaken; those who had thought lightly of Jehovah should learn to revere his power, and (better still) should learn to contemplate the moral attributes of the Supreme Power, and thus receive a special illumination, which might be for their spiritual good.
III. HOW WOULD GOD EFFECT THIS END, AND MAKE HIS NAME KNOWN?
1. By delivering his people. The dangers threatening Israel were great, and their foes were formidable. All the more marvelous was the interposition wrought upon their behalf. The Name of God, as the great Deliverer, was manifested and glorified by the experience of the rescued and saved.
2. By destroying the enemies of his people. In this manner the fame of the Most High, the God of hosts, was spread abroad, so that distant nations were impressed by the revelation of his power, by the proof of his universal sway.
APPLICATION. The preacher and teacher of religion should never lose sight of the fact that his one great aim is the honor and exaltation of the Name of God. This is often utterly misrepresented, either through the childishness or the malice of the enemies of religion, and it is affirmed to involve an unworthy conception of the Deity, as though in vanity God delighted in the adulations of men. This is anthropomorphism indeed. The Name of God is truth, righteousness, holiness, and love. To manifest and extol his Name is to display the supremacy of his glorious attributes. And than this man can have no higher object at which to aim. If man's chief end is to glorify God, if human life does not find its law and its aim in itself, then it is evident that the exaltation of the Divine Name is a worthy and most noble end for the Christian man, and for the Christian minister, to set before him.—T.
Eze_39:10
I. THIS FACT IS ENTIRELY CONTRARY TO HUMAN UNDERSTANDING AND EXPECTATION.
II. THIS FACT IS AN EXEMPLIFICATION OF A DIVINE PRINCIPLE THAT THE BATTLE. IS NOT TO THE STRONG,
III. THIS FACT IS A PROOF OF GOD'S CARE AND SOLICITUDE FOR HIS OWN.
IV. AND OF GOD'S UNIVERSAL GOVERNMENT AND CONTROL.
V. THIS FACT IS AN EARNEST OF FINAL AND EVERLASTING SECURITY AND VICTORY FOR THOSE WHOM GOD DELIVERS AND REDEEMS.
APPLICATION. In preaching the gospel of Christ, stress should be laid upon the Lord's power, as well as upon his love. Christ, in his resurrection, was proved to be "the Son of God with power." The same might which was then manifested is ever exercised for the protection and preservation of all sincere Christians. They who adhere faithfully to the Savior need to be encouraged by the assurance that Omnipotence is upon their side. Enemies and opposition they may have to encounter; but the Lord will deliver their foes into their hands. They shall be more than conquerors through him that loved them. There is therefore no ground for fear or for depression. The Lord shall fight for them, and they shall hold their peace. In returning and in rest they shall be saved. They shall pass through victory to rest.—T.
Eze_39:23, Eze_39:24
I. THE FACT OF ISRAEL'S SIN. Various terms are employed to set this forth: "iniquity," "trespass," "uncleanness," "transgression." By these various terms the Lord, speaking by his prophet, denotes our attitude in respect to God, in respect to moral law, in respect to the ideal of perfect human conduct. Nationally and individually, Israel transgressed and sinned.
II. THE DIVINE DISPLEASURE WITH ISRAEL. The Lord expresses this by a remarkable idiom: "I hid my face from them." The metaphor is simple. As favor is denoted by an open, radiant, smiling countenance, so the veiling or averting of the face which is clouded with a frown denotes censure and dissatisfaction. Making proper allowance for the imperfections of human speech, and the impossibility of using adequate language when referring to the Supreme, we may assuredly say that there is nothing in this representation derogatory to God. It is no infirmity, but a perfection of our Divine Ruler, that he is not indifferent to the moral conduct of his subjects. He is angry with the' wicked every day. He cannot look upon sin.
III. ISRAEL'S ENEMIES THE MINISTERS OF DIVINE RETRIBUTION. "I gave them into the hands of their adversaries;" "According to their transgressions did I unto them." There were many forms of chastisement from which Israel suffered. This was perhaps the sorest. David entreated the Lord that, whatever might happen to him, he might not be delivered into the hands of his enemies. It was an enfeebling and an humiliating form of chastisement which God's people were called upon to endure The attacks of the foe may not have been in themselves justifiable, but the Ruler of nations (as is shown nowhere more effectively than in this book) employs instruments to fulfill his purposes that are animated by no desire for justice and for the kingdom of God. The surrounding nations were employed as the scourge by which the culprits were chastised.
IV. ISRAEL'S CAPTIVITY AS PUNITIVE DISCIPLINE. It is remarkable that the chosen people of Jehovah, whose nationality was cradled (so to speak) in the bondage of Egypt, were called upon, centuries afterwards, to endure the hitter humiliation of exile and captivity in the East. They "went into captivity for their iniquity." Punishment is thus declared to be a characteristic of Divine government when dealing with the sinful and rebellious. There were certain ends answered by the special form which Israel's punishment and humiliation assumed; it is well known that, when the people returned, they returned free from the taint of idolatry and from all temptation to return to the heathen practices into which they had been misled. Still, it was punishment which they endured—punishment for past offences, as well as correction with a view to future Obedience and subjection. They learned by bitter experience that "the way of transgressors is hard."—T.
Eze_39:25-29
I. DELIVERANCE AND RESTORATION ARE WROUGHT BY THE SAME POWER THAT DECREED CAPTIVITY. "He that scattereth Israel shall gather." The Father who smites has pity; and he who wounds is he also who heals. The righteous Ruler and Judge who visits transgression with penalties proves himself to be the God to whom belong forgivenesses. He is not indifferent to sin; yet he delights in mercy. Men are wont to picture to themselves a Deity all wrath or all benignity. But revelation shows us, in that Supreme Being who hates sin and who corrects the sinner, "the Savior of all men, specially of them that believe."
II. TEMPORAL BLESSINGS, SECURITY AND PROSPERITY, ARE ASSURED TO THE RESTORED. To Israel the promise was given that they should, upon their return, dwell safely in their land, and none should make them afraid. We know that this promise was only partially realized, and that it must accordingly, so far as it refers to Israel, be considered as comparative; the people enjoyed a measure of security and peace beyond what they had experienced or could expect to experience. It is right to regard prosperity and all external blessings as the gift of God s goodness. And whether enjoyed now in this Christian dispensation or in the period of millennial happiness to which the Church looks forward, it must ever be considered as the gift of Divine bounty and the expression of Divine love.
III. SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS ARE PROMISED AS THE CHOICEST EXPRESSION OF GOD'S FAVOR TO THE RESTORED.
1. These blessings are conveyed by the outpouring of the Spirit of God. It is impossible to do other than refer this event to the Day of Pentecost, and to the dispensation of the Spirit which was then inaugurated. Other prophets concurred with Ezekiel in this prediction; and Peter authoritatively recognized the fulfillment of such prophetic words in the bestowal of the promise of the Father, and in that effusion which commenced at Pentecost, but which has never ceased.
2. These blessings are equivalent to the manifestation of the Divine favor. The Lord's promise was no more to hide his face from his restored ones. We know that Israel passed through many afflictions subsequently to the restoration; and that, on account of the rejection of the Messiah, Israel was condemned to endure Divine displeasure. We are therefore constrained to refer this promise to the accepted people of God, to whom is no con-detonation, and who walk in the light of his countenance.
3. These blessings are the occasion of the acknowledgment and of the hallowing of the Lord's Name. As is ever the ease, God is himself made the End of all. All things are of him and to him.
IV. IMPRESSION FOR GOOD IS TO BE PRODUCED UPON THE NATIONS. In former times Israel was a lesson for the world, as is the Church of Christ in these latter days. In the favor shown to God's people, his Divine hand is recognized. He is glorified both by the affliction and by the elevation of his own. All nations and all ages are summoned to behold the work of the Lord, to submit to his power and to adore his wisdom. His treatment of his own people does not end with them; it is designed for the instruction and for the highest benefit of mankind. There shall thus be made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God.—T.
I. MARTIAL AGGRESSION IS GOD'S SNARE FOR DESTRUCTION. When a man resists every friendly counsel of God, God allows him to pursue his own way, and removes even the restraints which before impeded his ruin. In a similar way he deals with kings and with nations. "Ephraim is joined to his idols: let him alone!" Thus God dealt with Pharaoh. In the first stages of Moses' intercourse with Pharaoh, we read, "And Pharaoh hardened his heart." But as the negotiation proceeded, and the proud king grew more obstinate, we read, "The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart." It is true that "God