Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side; the Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the a.s.syrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses. And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an a.s.sembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels. Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy wh.o.r.edom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more. For thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated: And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy wh.o.r.edoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy wh.o.r.edoms.

I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.

Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much. Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria. Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the shreds thereof, and pluck off thine own b.r.e.a.s.t.s: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord G.o.d.

Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou thy lewdness and thy wh.o.r.edoms (verses 22-35).

And those with whom she had sinned were to be her chastisers. "Behold I will raise up thy lovers against thee.... I will bring them against thee on every side." Her well-deserved judgment would be, as it was, in the hands of the Babylonians, all the Chaldeans, as well as the a.s.syrians.... And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons and wheels, with an a.s.sembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about, and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgment." A holy and righteous G.o.d in His wrath moved these vile nations to heap upon this disobedient and idolatrous people the worst punishments. "They shall deal furiously with thee, they shall take away thy nose and thine ears, and thy remnant shall fall by the sword; they shall take thy sons and thy daughters, and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire." The explorations in a.s.syria have brought to light wall-sculptures in which such atrocities are depicted. G.o.d is righteous, and divine retribution was thus manifested in Jerusalem's shameful history. And in our own times we behold similar judgments in the earth meted out upon nations, professedly Christian, who forgot G.o.d and rejected His holy Word.

Jerusalem had walked in the ways of her vile sister Samaria and had even outdone her in wickedness. She was, therefore, to drink her cup, "because thou hast forgotten me and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy wh.o.r.edoms." Jerusalem had seen all what happened to the northern kingdom when Shalmaneser had carried them away, yet she kept right on in her evil course and did not repent of her idolatries, her vile immoralities and wickedness. And so it is to-day.

Nations reap what they have sown, and other nations, like our own, do not take the warning. They continue in the downward course, rejecting G.o.d's holy Word and are guilty of the same sins as the nations who drink now the cup of divine displeasure. Ere long the judgments of G.o.d will reach every nation for the evil they have done.

V. Final Rehearsal of their Sins and Punishments.

The Lord said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pa.s.s for them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house. And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments, And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil. And a voice of a mult.i.tude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads. Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit wh.o.r.edoms with her, and she with them? Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.

And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands. For thus saith the Lord G.o.d; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled. And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.

Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord G.o.d (verses 36-49).

Little comment is needed on this final section; there is a recapitulation of the sins of Aholah and Aholibah. They committed adultery with their idols, both in a spiritual way and also literally.

Their offspring were cast into the fiery arms of Moloch and thus slain to their idols. They profaned the sanctuary of the Lord. Adulterers they were and blood was in their hands. What degradation! Licentiousness, violence and child sacrifice were the leading sins of the nation and these were produced by having forgotten G.o.d and by idolatry. The punishment of the adulterers, according to the law, stoning, awaited Jerusalem. "And the company shall stone them with stones and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire. Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women (surrounding nations who knew of Jerusalem's vileness) be taught not to go after your lewdness. And they (the heathen nations) shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols, and ye shall know that I am the Lord." The Lord had manifested Himself to Jerusalem as a Lord of grace and power. He had dealt with that nation as He had not dealt with others. "You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities" (Amos iii:2). In awful judgments they were to learn that He is the Lord; what they should have known through His mercies, they found out by the punishment from the hands of a righteous Lord. All this will be repeated in future history. The time is not distant when still greater judgments will be poured out upon nations as well as upon the Jewish people. During that time the world will find out that He is the Lord. "For when thy judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Is. xxvi:9).

THE BOILING POT AND THE LAST WORD.

Chapter xxiv.

We have reached the final message of this great Prophet concerning the judgment and overthrow of Jerusalem. The fatal siege of the city which sealed its doom, so long announced, had started. Ezekiel receives the information directly from the Lord and then utters the solemn words of the Lord in which for the last time the wickedness of the b.l.o.o.d.y city is made known. First, he spoke in a parable and afterwards in the death of his wife he was a sign unto them.

I. The Parable of the Boiling Pot and its Significance.

Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day. And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it: Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein. Wherefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Woe to the b.l.o.o.d.y city, to the pot whose sc.u.m is therein, and whose sc.u.m is not gone out of it, bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it. For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust; That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered. Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Woe to the b.l.o.o.d.y city! I will even make the pile for fire great. Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned. Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the bra.s.s of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the sc.u.m of it may be consumed. She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great sc.u.m went not forth out of her: her sc.u.m shall be in the fire. In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pa.s.s, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord G.o.d (verses 1-14).

The Prophet is instructed to note the exact date, the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year. The same date we find in 2 Kings xxv:1.

"And it came to pa.s.s in the ninth year of his reign in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about." The same statement is made by Jeremiah (chapter lii:4). But how did Ezekiel, far away from the scene of the siege, know the exact date when the king of Babylon began to carry out the threatened divine judgment? It was the Lord who gave him this information. This is the statement of the second verse, "Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this selfsame day, the king of Babylon set himself (literally, leaned upon) against Jerusalem this same day." Higher Criticism shows its teeth in connection with such definite statements which introduce the power of G.o.d. We quote the following from a recent commentator: "This verse (verse 2) forces on us in the clearest fashion the dilemma--either Ezekiel was a deliberate deceiver, or he was possessed of some kind of second sight." According to these words Ezekiel was either an out-and-out deceiver, a wicked man, or, he was a clairvoyant. That the word of the Lord came to him and imparted unto him the news that on the same day Jerusalem's siege had begun, is neither considered nor believed. Such is the blind unbelief of the modern critics. The boiling pot or caldron mentioned in this parable is the symbol of Jerusalem. What is cast into this pot typifies the guilty people; the choice bones and the choice of the flock, the leaders. All are to be thrown in one common caldron to seethe therein, the symbol of the fiery judgments which had now come upon the city. The sc.u.m[16] in the pot is symbolical of Jerusalem's sins. The woe is p.r.o.nounced upon the b.l.o.o.d.y city on account of the sc.u.m; it is to be consumed. "She hath wearied Me with lies, and her great sc.u.m went not forth out of her; her sc.u.m shall be in the fire." While the inhabitants of the city are thus described suffering for their sins, the city itself will be dealt with (verse 11). This parable becomes still more interesting if we compare it with the message of the eleventh chapter.

Then the people of Jerusalem had said, "This city is the caldron, and we be the flesh" (xi:3). The Lord had answered them, "This city shall not be your caldron, within shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof"

(xi:11). They gave the caldron a different meaning from the parable here. As the flesh is preserved in a pot, a caldron, so they thought themselves secure and safe in Jerusalem. And now the Lord tells them that Jerusalem shall be a caldron, but not for their preservation, but for their judgment. They had deceived themselves when they thought themselves safe. His fury is now to be displayed upon b.l.o.o.d.y, filthy Jerusalem. "I the Lord have spoken it, it shall come to pa.s.s, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings shall they judge thee, saith the Lord G.o.d." What the Lord hath spoken will come to pa.s.s; He will do it. This is a solemn word. Men ignore what G.o.d has spoken.

Others sneer at it and are unbelieving. The ma.s.s of professing Christians are indifferent and have no thought that G.o.d will do what He has spoken about judgments to come. But they will as surely come upon our age, as the threatened judgments came upon Jerusalem.

[16] Literally, Rust.

II. The Death of the Wife of Ezekiel.

Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.

Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded (verses 15-18).

The second message which is given to Ezekiel in this chapter concerns himself. He is to lose the desire of his eyes, his wife, with a stroke.

And the Lord tells him that he is not to mourn or weep, nor is he to shed tears on account of the bereavement. All the customary signs of grief are forbidden him. These were the taking off of the headdress, the turban, and putting ashes on the head; taking off the shoes, walking barefooted (2 Sam. xv:30); the covering of the lips, the beard (Micah iii:7; see also Lev. xiii:45), and the eating of certain food, mourning-food. All this he was not to do. And while he faithfully delivered the Word of the Lord in the morning, at even his wife was taken from him and faithfully he obeyed the commandment of the Lord.

Death had dissolved the marriage union and taken from the prophet the beloved wife. Even so the relationship between Jehovah and Jerusalem was now to be completely severed. And instead of a wild lamentation, a wailing cry, there should be a solemn silence. A similar message was also given to Jeremiah, "They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented.... For thus saith the Lord, Enter not in the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them" (Jer. xvi:4-9).

III. The Question of the People and the Answer.

And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. And ye shall do as I have done; ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do; and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord G.o.d. Also, thou son of man, shall it not be, in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters. That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb; and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the Lord (verses 19-27).

The people then inquired of Ezekiel about the meaning of his actions.

They wanted to know about the caldron and about his strange behaviour in not mourning over the death of his wife. The answer is again given by the Word of the Lord. The captives on the river Chebar, who surrounded the Prophet, hear now that the Lord is going to profane His own sanctuary. It was the object in which they boasted, the excellency of their strength and the desire of their eyes. Their sons and daughters who had been left behind by them were now to fall by the sword. As suddenly as the stroke bereft him of his wife, so should they lose their loved ones and they also were not to lament. Ezekiel was unto them a sign. As previously so now again he foreshadowed in his experience what was the common lot of the people. But more than that should come upon them. They were to pine away on account of their iniquities and moan one toward another; their grief would be manifested in groans and moans of deepest anguish. In all they were to know that He whom they rejected is the Lord. And so the world will make the same discovery before long, perhaps even now this solemn fact is being demonstrated before our eyes.

Nations have forgotten G.o.d. They have rejected His Word. They trampled under foot His truth and the best the Lord has given. The measure of wickedness is rapidly being filled up and G.o.d, a holy, righteous G.o.d, must act in judgment and deal with man according to his ways and according to his works. The moans and the groans are on the earth.

And when all the prophet announced was accomplished, when Jerusalem had fallen, then one that escaped should come to Ezekiel and tell him about it. Even so it happened. "And it came to pa.s.s in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came into me, saying, The city is smitten" (x.x.xiii:21). It was also announced to the Prophet that when this messenger came he should no more be dumb, but his mouth should be opened, and he would speak. Of this we read in chapter x.x.xiii:22; then he would resume his public activities.

PREDICTIONS OF JUDGMENT AGAINST THE NATIONS.

Chapters xxv-x.x.xii.

PREDICTIONS AGAINST AMMON, MOAB, EDOM AND THE PHILISTINES.

Chapter xxv.

A new section begins with this chapter. The prophet is now made the mouthpiece of Jehovah to utter prophecies concerning other nations. Two years after the message of the preceding chapter, the news came to Ezekiel announcing the fall of the city and after that, Ezekiel received the greater messages concerning Israel and her glorious future. The prophecies contained in chapters xxv-x.x.xii concerning the nations which came in touch with Israel were delivered at different times. See the dates in chapters xxvi:1, xxix:1, 17, x.x.x:20, x.x.xi:1 and x.x.xii:1, 17.

The predictions concern just seven nations, and these are divided into four and three. The first four were the immediate neighbors of Israel.

Then come larger prophecies against Tyre, with a message on the future return of Israel against Sidon and Egypt; a.s.syria is also mentioned.

Isaiah, Jeremiah and Amos likewise received similar messages against the same nations. Their guilt is uncovered and their judgment and overthrow makes the way for Israel's blessing and peace. While these judgments have had a partial, past fulfilment, the complete fulfilment is yet to come, for the prophetic Word shows that the nations who have sinned against Jehovah and His people will be judged in a coming day, when Israel will be restored and be blest. Such is evident when we read the gracious, still future promises to His earthly people. See chapters xxviii:24-26 and xxix:21. These unfulfilled promises concerning Israel's restoration as well as spiritual prosperity make it clear that these judgments hold a definite relation to future events.

I. The Prophecy Concerning Ammon.

The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord G.o.d; Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Because thou saidst; Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the East for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. For thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord (verses 1-7).

A message concerning Ammon had been given before to Ezekiel (chapter xxi:28-32). The prophet Jeremiah also announced the coming judgment for the Ammonites: "It shall be a desolate heap and her daughters shall be burned with fire." But Jeremiah predicted a restoration of Ammon after the judgment. "And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the Lord" (Jer. lxix:1-6). G.o.d will accomplish this in His own time and way. We do not need to trouble ourselves how He will fulfil His Word; He takes care of that. Still another prophet speaks concerning them. Zephaniah (ii:8-11) shows that they reproached G.o.d's people and were filled with pride. As we know, both Ammon and Moab had a deeply humiliating origin (Gen. xix:37-38) and had a racial connection with Israel. As the past history shows they were in constant conflict with Israel. When the sanctuary in the midst of G.o.d's people was profaned, the land laid desolate and the house of Judah went into captivity, they greatly rejoiced. Their exultation over Israel's sin and G.o.d's punishment revealed their own wicked, G.o.d-defying, unbelieving character. Therefore G.o.d is going to punish them. The men of the East were to conquer them and take them for a possession. The men of the East are the Bedouins. The word "palaces" must be translated "encampments."

The Bedouins set up their tents in stone rings. And this prophecy has been fulfilled. The Bedouin nomads wander through Ammon's possession.

II. Prophecy Concerning Moab.

Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen; Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon and Kiriathaim, Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord (verses 8-11).

Moab was the kin of Ammon.[17] Their country lay east of the Dead Sea.

Other interesting prophetic messages on Moab are contained in Isaiah xv and xvi; Jer. xlviii and Amos ii:1. Jeremiah also gives a promise of Moab's restoration. "Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord" (Jer. xlviii:47). Here the time of Moab's blessing is stated; it will be "in the latter days," the days still to come connected with the day of the Lord, the second Coming of Christ.

Where Ammon and Moab are now, among what nations their descendants exist, is known to an omniscient G.o.d. How Moab will be brought back from captivity and installed in their territory in the latter days, we repeat, will be accomplished by the wisdom and power of G.o.d. The teaching which one hears occasionally, that the Ammonites and Moabites will be raised from the dead and restored physically is more than a fanciful speculation; it is an evil, unscriptural doctrine. The Word of G.o.d nowhere teaches a physical resurrection of unG.o.dly nations of the past for a second chance. Moab also sneered at the house of Judah and mockingly declared "the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen."

They were a proud and arrogant people. "We have heard of the pride of Moab, he is exceedingly proud, his loftiness and his arrogancy and his pride and the haughtiness of his heart" (Jer. xlviii:29). Isaiah gives the same description of their character (Isa. xvi:6). And the G.o.d of Israel who governs the nations and deals with them in judgment humbled them into the dust. The Bedouins are now likewise the possessors of their country. "And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord." And these judgments upon proud, self-exalting, G.o.d-forgetting nations, are not confined to the past.

Some nations of Europe, who claimed to be nations of civilization and making for righteousness, so often called "Christian nations," have been lifted up in pride, forgetting G.o.d in their prosperity, and now a righteous G.o.d has put His hand upon them, so that they should find out that He is the Lord.

[17] Moab and Ammon were the incestuous offspring of Lot. (Genesis xix:37-38.)

III. Prophecy Concerning Edom.