Ezekiel 7:16
Ver. 16. But they that escape of them shall escape,.... Some few should escape the pestilence, famine, and sword, and flee to the mountains, where they should live a very miserable and uncomfortable life; so that this is no contradiction to the wrath of God being upon the whole multitude, Eze 7:12; as it follows:
and shall be on the mountains; whither they shall flee, when the city is broken up and taken; and so the Syriac version reads it, in connection with the preceding words, "and they that escape of them shall escape to the mountains"; barren and desert places, where they shall find no subsistence, nor have any agreeable company and conversation, but live in solitude and distress: like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, everyone for his iniquity: like doves that live in valleys, or gather together there, and hide themselves in the holes of the rocks, on the sides of the valleys, from birds of prey; or are so called, to distinguish them from wild doves, which, when they have lost their mates, make a very mournful noise, though not loud and clamorous. So those Jews that escaped, being in such an uncomfortable condition, turned out of house and home, and deprived of their substance, should lament their fate; not in loud cries, lest they should be heard by the enemy and taken, but in secret sighs, and in a mournful tone; acknowledging to God, and to one another, their sins; they now became sensible of, which brought these calamities upon them. So God's people, the remnant according to the election of grace, who "escape" the general ruin sin has brought on mankind, are for the most part "upon the mountains", in an afflicted and persecuted state; they are like "doves" for their harmlessness, amiableness, cleanness, modesty chastity, sociableness, and timorous disposition; and like doves "of the valleys", in a low estate, through corruption, temptation, desertion, affliction, and persecution; and "mourn" over their own "iniquity", the sin of their nature, their unbelief and various transgressions being committed against a God of love, contrary to his grace, grieving to his Spirit, and dishonourable to his Gospel; and being what break their bereave them of comfort, and deprive them of communion with God. Ezekiel 7:17Ver. 17. All hands shall be feeble,.... No strength in them, to lay hold on weapons of war to defend themselves, or fight the enemy; no heart nor courage in them, to go forth and meet him; and even afraid to lift up their voice in mourning, lest they should be heard, and pursued, and taken:and all knees shall be weak [as] water; tremble and beat one against another, for fear of the enemy; or,"shall flow with water,''as the Targum; either with sweat or urine, which are sometimes both caused by fear. Ezekiel 7:18Ver. 18. They shall also gird [themselves] with sackcloth,.... As a token of mourning, Ge 37:34;and horror shall cover them: either the horror of a guilty conscience, or the perpetual dread and terror of the enemy:and shame [shall be] upon all faces; because of their sins and transgressions, which they shall now be convinced of; or because of their desolate condition, their sins had brought them into:and baldness upon all their heads; through the plucking off of the hair of their heads in their distress; for to make baldness as a token of mourning for the dead was forbidden the Jews, De 14:1. Ezekiel 7:19Ver. 19. They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed,.... As being of no use unto them to preserve them from famine and pestilence, and as being an hinderance to them in their flight from the enemy. Kimchi observes that this may be interpreted of their idols of gold and silver, which shall now be had in contempt by them, and cast away, when they shall find they cannot save them from ruin; see Isa 2:20;their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; these can neither deliver from temporal judgments nor from wrath to come; see Pr 10:2; nor idols made of them:they shall not satisfy their souls, nor fill their bowels; gold and silver cannot be eaten; these will not satisfy the craving appetite, nor fill the hungry belly: the words show that the famine would be so great, that bread could not be got for any money; and therefore gold and silver would be of no avail; since they could not be fed upon, or give any satisfaction to a famishing soul; nor could idols of gold and silver neither:because it is the stumbling block of their iniquity; what was the occasion of their iniquity, covetousness, and idolatry, at which they stumbled, and fell into sin, and so into punishment for it. Ezekiel 7:20Ver. 20. As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty,.... Or, "for pride" {i}. The gold, silver, jewels, riches, and treasure, which the Lord gave to this people, they made a bad use of; and instead of contributing to the support of his worship and interest, and of giving liberally to the poor, they converted it to their own pride and luxury: or rather the temple, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it, is meant; which was a beautiful structure, and adorned with gifts, and set for glory, majesty, and excellency by the Lord; yea, where his excellent Majesty dwelt himself:but they made the images of their abominations [and] of their detestable things therein; or, "of it" {k}; that is, of their gold and silver, which is another bad use they put their riches to: or rather "in it" {l}; that is, the temple; where, having made their idols, they placed them; see Jer 7:30;therefore have I set it far from them; that being destroyed, and they being carried away captive into a strange land, far from that.{i} Nwagl "in superbiam", V. L. Calvin, Starckius. {k} wb "ex eo", Tigurine version. {l} "In eo". Pagninus, Montanus, Polanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Starckius. Ezekiel 7:21Ver. 21. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey,.... The Babylonians, who lived in a foreign country, and were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel; the temple was suffered of the Lord to fall into their hands as a prey; who spoiled it of all its riches and glory, and carried away the vessels of gold, of silver, and of brass, and other valuable things; see Jer 52:17;and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; meaning the same persons, and the same thing, and the same use they should make of it; for not the wicked of the world in general are meant, but of the land, or this land; the land of Babylon, where the prophet was:and they shall pollute it; by entering into it and spoiling it, by pillaging and burning it. Ezekiel 7:22Ver. 22. My face will one turn also from them,.... Deny them his presence, and withdraw his protection from them; show them no favour, nor afford them any help and succour in their distress, when they cry unto him; so the Targum,"I will cause my Shechinah to remove from them:''unless the Chaldeans are meant, as some think, whose robberies and ravages the Lord would wink at, and not restrain, but suffer them to plunder and spoil at pleasure: since it follows,and they shall pollute my secret [place]; the holy of holies, by going into it, which none but the high priest might do, and he but once a year; though the Targum understands this of the Jews, and makes it to be a reason of what is threatened in the preceding clause, rendering it thus,"because they have profaned the land of the house of my Shechinah:''for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it; as did the king of Babylon and his army; and afterwards, in the second temple, Antiochus, Pompey, and Titus Vespasian. Ezekiel 7:23Ver. 23. Make a chain,.... To bind them; not the robbers, the Chaldeans, but the Jews; in order either to bring them to the bar to be tried for capital crimes hereafter mentioned, or to be led bound in chains into captivity; see Ne 3:10;for the land is full of bloody crimes; or, "judgment of bloods" {m}; capital crimes, such as are deserving of death, particularly murder, or shedding of innocent blood; so the Targum interprets it of sins of murder:and the city is full of violence; rapine, oppression, and injury done to the poor, the widow, and the fatherless; meaning the city of Jerusalem, where was the great court of judicature, and where justice ought to have been administered.{m} Mymd jpvm "judicio sanguiuum", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin, Polanus, Starckius; "criminibus capitalibus", Piscator; "sanguianariis judiciis", Castalio. Ezekiel 7:24Ver. 24. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the Heathen,.... The Chaldeans, notorious for their cruelty, savageness, and barbarity:and they shall possess their houses; which they have built, and thought to have lived and died in, and left them to their children for an inheritance; but the Chaldeans, and not their children, became their heirs, and inherited their houses and lands:I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; or, "the pride of the mighty ones" {n}; the noble and the rich; their wealth and substance, by which their pride and grandeur were supported, being takes away from them:and their holy places shall be defiled; the temple, in which were the holy place, and the holy of holies: or, "they that sanctify them"; the priests that offered sacrifices, which only sanctified to the purifying of the flesh; even these holy persons and things, as well as holy places, would be defiled.{n} Myze Nwag "superbiam fortium", Calvin; "superbiam robustorum", Starckius. Ezekiel 7:25Ver. 25. Destruction cometh,.... Upon the temple, city, nation, and people; the king of Babylon, the destroyer of the Gentiles, and now of the Jews, being on his way, Jer 4:7;and they shall seek peace, and [there shall be] none; that is, the Jews will seek to make peace with the Chaldeans; but the latter will not hearken to them, but go on with the siege, till they have taken the city, put part to the sword, and carried the other captive. Ezekiel 7:26Ver. 26. Mischief shall come upon mischief,.... One misfortune or calamity after another; first one unhappy event, and then another, as was Job's case. The Targum is,"breach upon breach shall come {o}:''and rumour shall be upon rumour; that the Chaldean army is in such a place; and then that it is in another place still nearer; and then that it is but a few miles off, and, will be here immediately: rumours of wars, as well as wars, themselves, are very distressing; see Mt 24:6;then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; apply to him for a prophecy, to know the event of things, whether and when they might expect a deliverance:but the law shall perish from the priest; whose lips should keep knowledge, and from whose mouth the law, the doctrine and interpretation of it, might be expected; but now either there would be no priests at all; or such as were would be ignorant and unlearned, and incapable of instructing the people:and counsel from the ancients; with whom it usually is; and which is of great service in a time of distress: this therefore adds greatly to the calamity, that there would be no prophet to tell them what should come to pass; no priest to instruct them; nor senator or wise man to give them counsel.{o} So R. Sol. Urhin. Ohel Moed, fol. 96. 1. Ezekiel 7:27Ver. 27. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation,.... Meaning one and the same person, Zedekiah not being able to save himself and his people; and who falling into the hands of the king of Babylon, his children were slain before him; then his own eyes put out, and he bound in chains, and carried captive to Babylon, Jer 39:6;and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled; weakened through fear and distress; incapable of business, and unable to help themselves and others; and the more so, when they found their case desperate; which was manifest by the mourning and desolation of their king, in whom their confidence had been placed:I will do unto them after their way; or, "for their way" {p}; because of their evil ways and works:and according to their deserts will I judge them; take vengeance on them, as the Targum: or, "in their judgments will I judge them" {q}; the same measure they have meted out to others shall be measured out to them, Mt 7:1:and they shall know that I [am] the Lord; the only Lord God, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, true and faithful, holy, just, and good.{p} Mkrdm "pro viis ipsorum", Calvin; "pro via ipsorum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, {q} Mjpva Mhyjpvmbw "et in", sive "pro judiciis eorum judicabo eos", Calvin, Polanus, Cocceius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.