PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2
Edward Hayes Plumptre [1821-1891] · 422,810 words · 476 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 61
Yers. 8-11.-The si'.n and punislwumt of the Moabites, "Thus saith the Lord Goel• Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all th; heathen," etc. 'l'he Moabites were the descendants of Moab, the son of Lot by his elder daughter. They occupied the fertile district east of the Dead Sea…
737 wordsSECTION 62The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 62
26, 27). 2. A denial of the superiority of the Lord Jehovah 01Jer heathen gods. This aspect of the sin of the Moabites is clearly nnd forcibly presented hy Hengstenber"': "'l'be guilt consists in the denial of the true Deity of the God of Israel; for only ~n this ground could Israel be placed on the same level with all…
835 wordsSECTION 63The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 63
wicked, cruel, malignant. The accusation 3eo-ainst the Edomites is revenge. Schroder translates, "Because Edom exercises vindictive revenge upon the house of Judah." The hatred of Esau towards his brother Jacob for fraudulently depriving him of his blessing seems to have run down through all his generations. And it …
866 wordsSECTION 64The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 64
Israel," eto.; "And the house of Jacob shall be a. fire, and the house of Joseph a. flame, and the house of Esau for stubble," et.c, (Oba.d. 18). The prophecy points to Judas the Maccabee and his army, and yet more to John Hyrca.nus, who completely subjugated the country of Edom, and annihilated the nationality of the …
836 wordsSECTION 65The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 65
not occasional, but habitual. They "dealt bf, revenge," as if it had 'been their trnde or occupation. "A perpetually enduring war,' says Schroder, "is the standing feature of the relation, while fixed hostility was the root of it." 6. This hatred was destructive in it.s design. "Have taken vengeance with despite of so…
770 wordsSECTION 66The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 66
Hebrow or the Vulgllle while the LXX. che.ngee, apparent revival followed by inserts the ''first mont1i./• In eh. xxxii. 17 another period of decay, the present condi- we hllve o. like omission, e.nd in both co.sea it tion of Tyre strikingly corresponds with it. is nnturnl to o.ssume e.n error of trllnecription. The…
1,044 wordsSECTION 67The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 67
city, as it were, of the anoient world-emi- exult in their deliverance, but mourn over nent no less for its oultnre than its commerce the captured city whose commeroe had con- (comp. eh. :uviii. 13). The description of tributed to their prosperity. The "terror" tne desolation of the captured city is summed of ver. 1…
928 wordsSECTION 68The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 68
were merohante. Th111 she was like our "nation of shopkeepers." 3. By seafaring, The early commerce of Syria was carried on by Midlanites over the desert (Gen. xxxvii. 28); but the later and more profitable commerce was over the waters west- ward, round the coast of the Mediterranean and to as far as Cornwall in Britai…
817 wordsSECTION 69The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 69
whole body. War brings nothing but loss in the long run. SeHhh. corrimerce does not ultimately pay. Greedy competition overreaches itself and reaps a Nemesis of general commercial depression. It is often found that the ruin of one house of business is followed by that of others. A market is injured, and all concerned w…
1,263 wordsSECTION 70The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 70
Ver. 18.-Song, silmced, Bongs may be silenced either because they are found to be unworthy to be sung or because the singers aro no longer able to sing them. The hnrp may be broken, or the minstrel may be in no mood to touch its chords. Our old joys may be given up for either of these reasons. We may find them to be un…
1,158 wordsSECTION 71The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 71
genera.Uy, but refere especially to the attitude theee peoples had ta.ken towards bis own countrymen, their land, and their motropolis, No doubt there was patriotism in this we.y of looking at matters. But the frequency and evident deliberateness of such references show that it was not mere personal and patriotic feeli…
821 wordsSECTION 72The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 72
greatest and most commanding cit.ies whose deeds and fa.me adorn the annals of man- kind. The Ruler of men does not, indeed, allow the meanest to defy his authority with impunity; his sway extends to the most insignificant of peoples, of tribes, But on the other hand, the proudest and the mightiest are subject to hi…
831 wordsSECTION 73The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 73
power al}d his resources were such as to render him formidable even to the mightiest, Flushed with previous successes, confident in the irresistible force of his arms, this puissant monarch, in unconscious obedience to Divine behests, turned his sword against the proud mistress of the seas. II. Tm: HOSTILE ABMY AND TH…
798 wordsSECTION 74The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 74
to be found. Terror and trembling are upon those who dwell ln the lelands of the deep. Where Tyre reared herself in opulence, grandeur, and pride, the eea breaks upon the deserted rocks, and upon the ruins strewn in disorder by the lonely shore, The waters engulf the merchants, the seafaring men, and all those who m…
1,101 wordsSECTION 75The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 75
Vera. 7-14.-.A miracle of foreknowledge. False prophets discourse only in general terms and in ambiguous language. Their announcements may have the most contrary meanings. At best they are happy conjectures, fortunate guesses. But the prophecies of Scripture are like sunlight compared with such a phosphorescent flam…
673 wordsSECTION 76The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 76
Vers. I5-2I.-Nationa1 disaster becomes a public lesson. The world of men µ, one, although nationalities are many. There is a thread of unity on which the separate jewels of humanity are strung. What affects one affects, in some measure, the whole. I. TBERE IS MUTUAL INTERDEPENDENCE OF NATIONS. Nations, like individual…
611 wordsSECTION 77The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 77
I. THE BIN OF TYRE, "Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha I she is broken that was the gate of the peoples; she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste." The sin which is here charged against Tyre is extreme and cruel selfishness. There is no evidence in this chap…
860 wordsSECTION 78The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 78
ml\ke her s bare rock," eto. (vers. 4, 5, 14, 19-21). This part of the prophecy wae not fully accomplished until centuries had passed away. Nebuchadnezzar, as we have said besieged Tyre for thirteen years. He would be able soon to take Palmtyrus, on th; mainland, which was dismantled, if not entirely destroyed, by h…
863 wordsSECTION 79The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 79
"My griers so great, Thot no supporter but the hnge firm earth Can hold it up: here I and sorrow sit; Here is my throne, bid kings come bow to it." These great men, moreover, were seized with amazement and continual trembling. 3. The lamentation awalcened by her destruction. "And they shall take up a lamentation for…
829 wordsSECTION 80The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 80
and defiled their high places-not excepting even the high place near Jerusalem, which Solomon the friend of Hiram had built to Ashtoreth the queen of heaven, and which for more than three hundred and fifty years had been a striking memorial of the reciprocal good will which once united the two monarchs and the two nati…
845 wordsSECTION 81The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 81
Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall," etc.? These verses suggest the following observations. I. THE JUDGMENTB OF Goo ABE SOMETIMES BO AWl!'UL AB TO FILL THE EXALTED AND MIGHTY WITH AMAZEMENT AND DISMAY. (Vere. 15, 16; cf. Jer. iv. 7-9.) The isles are the islands of the Mediterranean, and places o…
810 wordsSECTION 82The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 82
Ver. 20.-.An encouraging assurance /01· a depi·essed people. "And I shall set glory in the land of the living." Accepting this rendering as expreseing the meanincr0 of the original, and as applicable to Judah, we see in it- I. A REMARKABLE DESIGNATION OF THE HOLY LAND. It is here called "the land of the living." He…
817 wordsSECTION 83The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 83
EXPOSITION. CHAPTER XXvn. tioned here lot the erection of hfa pala.oo; the house of the forest of Lebanon (l Kingt Ver. 2.-Takenp a lamentation for Tyms. vii. 2). The fir tree was more commonly The dlxge over the merchant-city that used for ships, the cedar for houses (Virgil, follows, the doom sic transit gloria mu…
966 wordsSECTION 84The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 84
Egyptian and Assyrian remains (' Diet. between Beirnt and Tripoli, Its modern Bible,' '·"· "Ivory"). name, Gebail, retains the old Semitio form, Ver. 7.-For the fine linen ot Egypt, the and its ruins abound in marble and granite bYBSDB famous in its oommerce, see columns of Phamioian and Egyptian Gen. xli. 42; Exod…
988 wordsSECTION 85The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 85
perfeot" by it. The custom reappee.rs in Ver. 14.-Togarmah, The name appears 1 Maco. iv. 57. in eh. xxxviii. 6 as an ally of Gog, in Gen. Ver. 12.-Tarahish, The description of x. 8 as a son of Gomer. Jerome identifies the oity is followed by a catal.ogue raisonnl,e it with Phrygia, others with Cappadocia, of the count…
1,003 wordsSECTION 86The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 86
Ver. 17.-J'udo.h o.nd the lo.nd of Iarael. here be Greece, though it may possibly The narrow strip of land oooupied by the refer to Greek traders. It also ho.e been Phcenicians wa.s unable to supply its crowded identified coujeotumlly with e.n Ambie.n population. It wall dependent on Ismel for oity. The words, going…
1,071 wordsSECTION 87The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 87
Mecca and Medina. The preoiou1 1tone1 The LXX. gives Oharman, a town near tha includes onyx, rubies, agates, und cornelians Euphrates, mentioned in Xenophon, 'Anab.,' found in the mountains of He.dradiant, and i. 5, 10, BB Charmo.nde. It can scarcely the jaspers and crystals of Yemen. In the have been a place of much g…
1,222 wordsSECTION 88The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 88
HOMILETICS. Ver. 2.-.A lamentati.on for Tyre. In the previous chapter the prophet denounced judgment on Tyre; in this chapter he utters a lamentation over the doomed city. The one is in the spirit of vengeance, the other in the spirit of sympathy. The prophet thus reveals to us two elements in the Divine treatment of …
600 wordsSECTION 89The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 89
elegy did not deliver Tyre. Even Christ'd tears did not eave Jerusalem. 3. The cross of Ghrist is the supreme condition of salvation. Our own tears, a prophet's tears, even Christ's tears, will not se.ve. But Christ's death brings deliverance for all who will have it, by atoning for sin and reconciling the sinner to Go…
794 wordsSECTION 90The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 90
depopulated. We are here face to face with one of the most glgantio evils of the human race. II. Tm: &LAVE-TRADE IS DIABOLICALLY CRUEL, There is cruelty in the very seizing of innocent human beings, depriving them of their liberty, tearing them from their families, driving them from their native villages, and expor…
804 wordsSECTION 91The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 91
where the sea is running high. It is no fault of the waters that the ship is thus thrnst into danger. Men rush headlong into trouble by folly and sin. They have no right to set down the consequences to the inscrutable mystery of Providence. IV. Goo 18 THE ONE REFUGE FROM THE GREAT WATERS OF AFFLICTION. 1. He may still…
828 wordsSECTION 92The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 92
uniform, But every now and then the unexpected happens, as though to warn us that things may not continue for ever in their present quiet state. The antediluvians were too much accustomed to the regular rotation of the seasons to believe Noah's preaching. Vesuvius had slumbered for unknown years before the great eru…
1,095 wordsSECTION 93The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 93
Vers. 26, 27.-National shipwreck. The metaphor employed in this passage by the poet-prophet is peculiarly appropriate. What so fitted to represent the maritime city Tyre as a gallant ship? In figurative language Ezekiel pictures the stateliness and prosperity, followed by the wreck and destruction, of the famous mistre…
456 wordsSECTION 94The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 94
wide was the city's commerce, that no people, however dist::mt, could be unaffected by the catastrophe; and so awful was its fate, that no sensitive mind could contemplate it unmoved. To the vision of the prophet-poet, the galley labours and strains, and at l88i sinks in the waters of the Meditermnean. The dwellers …
801 wordsSECTION 95The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 95
The overplus of material substance in one land may thus be conveyed to lands where lack is felt. Interchange promotes mutual advantage, mutual confidence, mutual good will. The nation so employed is a blessing to the world, Knowledge is diffused, healthy emulation is aroused, religious truth is disseminate<l. IV. E…
842 wordsSECTION 96The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 96
Tyre, and its ships might go forth into all seas with their merchandise. Those towns which are situated on navigable rivers, or on seaports, generally become rich and prosperous. The situation of Tyre was favourable both to its safety and to its com• mercial prosperity. 2. The grandewr of her buildings. "Thy builders …
872 wordsSECTION 97The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 97
IV. A CELEBRATION OF BEMABKABLE PBOSPEBITY DISASTROUSLY TERMINATED. "Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters," etc. (vers. 26, 27). The figure of a ship, which was dropped while narrating the trade of Tyre, is here resumed, and her fall is depicted as a shipwreck. The great waters and the east wind, which in tha…
822 wordsSECTION 98The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 98
MUTUAL RELATIONS. Mutual dependence and interests should beget mutual considera- tion. Misunderstandings and wars amongst nations are exceedingly prejudicial to commercial development and prosperity, Wars severely check both the cultivation and the distribution of the products of the countries which aro engaged therein…
681 wordsSECTION 99The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 99
EXPOSITION. Bide-thrust at Nebuchadnezzar and his OHAPTER XXVIII. tendencies in the same direction, " Is not Ver. 1.-From the oity the prophet pa.sees this great Babylon, which I have builded?" to its rnler, who concentrated in himself Ver. 7.-I will bring strangers, etc. whatever wae most arroge.nt and boastful in …
985 wordsSECTION 100The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 100
(Gen. iii. 24), covered with all imaginable The Vulgate, however, tracing it to another splendour. Ezekiel returns to the phrase root, gives eztentus et protegem, and is in eh. xxxi. 8, 16, 18 and xxxvi. 35. Other followed by Luther, Geeenius, Ewald, and instances meet us in Joel ii. 3 and Isa. li. 3, others. Keil a…
975 wordsSECTION 101The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 101
Ver. 17.-Thlne heart was lifted up, eto. siege. Ithobal was "king" during the In yet another point Ezekiel sees the fall of thirteen yenrs, but afterwards "judges" Adam reproduced in that of the Tyrian were appointed, and these rnled for periods king. He had forfeited his beauty and his wisdom through the pride which o…
879 wordsSECTION 102The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 102
that the sentence, "Thou shalt never be any no.anite races. Israel, he implies, hnd been more," seems to be reoeiving its fulfilment. wounded with those thorns and briers, ho.d There was for it no prospect of an earthly caught (as e.g. in the <'e.se of Jezebel) the restoration, still Jess that of a transfigured tain…
861 wordsSECTION 103The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 103
to blame. They are highly culpable who encourage him in a belief in his own great- ness by their base adulation. All people in office need to beware of the honeyed words of those beneath them. III. THE PRIDE OF ITTGH Oll'FICE IS ill INSULT TO GoD. 'l'he prince compare& himself to a god, and bis throne to the seat of e…
827 wordsSECTION 104The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 104
by temporary success, they despise all other considerations as dreamy. The intelli- gence that makes money is with them true wisdom; all else is but so much wasted thinking. 2, Its folly. This wisdom, when held to be supreme, is really foolishness, because then it blinds men t-0 the great facts of life and eternity. It…
851 wordsSECTION 105The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 105
wickedness (e.g. Luke x. 14). There is no security in such companionship. We gain nothing by following a multitude to do evil (Exod. xxiii. 2). When a large province rebels, there is more hope of immunity than when a few citizens behave seditiously, because the central government may not be strong enough to cope with t…
1,075 wordsSECTION 106The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 106
Ver. 26.-0onfiden~. I. CHRISTIANS MAY ENJOY CONFIDENOE. This is named as part of the blessedness of the restoration: "Yea, they shall dwell with confidence.'' Confidence is good on many accounts. 1. It glorifies God. To be for ever doubting, questioning, and fearing shows an unworthy want of appreciation of God's gl…
583 wordsSECTION 107The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 107
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 2.-The height of arrogance, In addressing the Prince of Tyre, the prophet is in reality dealing with what may be called the national spirit pervading the proud and mighty city-a spirit regarded as embodying itself in the person of the chief ruler. The claim made by Tyre, and disputed …
808 wordsSECTION 108The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 108
Vers. 3-10.-The folly of worldly wz"sdom. It might not have occurred to an ordina..-y observer that Tyre owed its position to its wisdom, and its downfall to an unwise confidence in that wisdom. But the Prophet Ezekiel looked below the surfocc, and traced the arrogance and presumptuous ungodliness of tho great city …
829 wordsSECTION 109The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 109
Ver. 16.-Bin and destruction. No doubt the inspired prophet of the Lord saw in the fate of Tyre what was not discernible to worldly and enlightened minds. These would look for political causes and motives and consequences in the rise and fall of states. But Ezekiel saw below the surface. He knew that there Wa.9 Divine …
834 wordsSECTION 110The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 110
L THE FAVOUR 'l'O BE SHOWN TO 181!.AEL I8 IN CONTRAST TO THE FATE OF OTHER NATIONS. Tyre should perish from off the earth ; Egypt should be trodden underfoot, and should be degraded in the soale of nations; but Israel should dwell in their own land with confidence. JI. THE FAVOUR SHOWN TO lsBAEL IS OONSEQUENT UPON …
779 wordsSECTION 111The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 111
and gold. It is God's 11ill that the nations of the earth should interchange their products. The wisdom requisite for enterprise and commerce God himself gives. "Say not in thine heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth; but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for he it is who giveth thee p…
865 wordsSECTION 112The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 112
gave him a great "coign of vantage." In this respect he was made after the pattern of God-he was God-like. All that ministered to his needs was within hie reach. Not a thing was denied to him that could meet a want or satisfy a just desire. His home was stored with every form of beauteous vegetation and with every k…
845 wordsSECTION 113The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 113
but it may be taken that he was representative of hie court and of his people, and that; the denunciation and doom here recorded apply to the ete.te as well as to its head. We have _suggested to us the course as-well as the doom of arrogance. I. IT BEGINS IN A DANGEROUS A.ND mBEVEBENT COMPLACENCY. The consciousness o…
872 wordsSECTION 114The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 114
enemy when unrighteousness had bred corruption (ver. 15), and corruption had ended in weakness and downfall. No wealth of favouring circumstance, no multiplication of earthly good, even though a. man should have (as this king is imagined to have) the choicest adrnntages of different generations, will secure lasting …
842 wordsSECTION 115The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 115
trouble to the home and sorrow to the soul, is restorative. He seeks to enlighten, and, by enlightening, to restore us. 1. He wishes us to understand clearly that tbe earthly forces and human attachments in which we have been putting our trust and seeking our satisfaction are wholly insufficient to us; that they break …
854 wordsSECTION 116The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 116
connection with the Divine, might be warranted in claiming, through its head, some- thing like supernatural strength and absolute perpetuity of being." 3. Pride of wisdom, « Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee." Three facts concerning the wisdom of the Prince of Tyre a…
880 wordsSECTION 117The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 117
ptJA1,ishment. 11 Thus saith the Lord God . . . Behold, I will bring strangers upon thee," etc. (ver. 7), God himself, in the operations of his providence, would thus bring down his pride or heart and vain-glorious boasting. 3. The in6truments of thii punish- ment. "I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of …
855 wordsSECTION 118The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 118
"Thou wast perfect in all thy ways from the day that thou wast created 11 (ver. 15). 2. Here are most feUcito'l/,S circumstances. (Vers. 13, 14.) (1) Delightful residence. "Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God." The reference is probably to the luxurious- ness an<l beauty and gran<leur ?f Tyre. The king had lived th…
1,145 wordsSECTION 119The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 119
a fire of their own kindling." "The fire of lust and covetous desire draws after it the otber fire of judgment." CONCLUSION. Several important leRsons are enforced by this subject. We mention three of them. 1. The unsatiifactoriness of temporal prosperity when dissociated from righteous principles and intelligent pi…
548 wordsSECTION 120The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 120
Zidonians seem to have rejoiced in their troubles and distresses. They are said to have done "despite unto them" (ver. 24). They had made them smart with their contempt and derision. 'l'he Lord takes notice of this, and will judge them for it, Says Heng- stenberg, "While the Lord chastises his own people with an uns…
814 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.