Indeed, extends into Europe, and subsists even in England." 1 The significance of !his syml)o! is stated: "Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread 11,mong the Gentiles, whither I will drive them." The reference is to the impurities of heathenism. Those who in their own land had disregarded the commands of God would in their exile find the corruptions of heathenism a grievous offence unto them. And then in its close (vers. 16, 17) the chapter recurs to the sufferings during the siecre, The misery was to grow and to become so great as to cause amazement and dism~y. The people would take their scanty portion in deep sorrow; and so great would be the scarcity of the prime necessaries of lire as to strike them dumb with anguish. Such were the miseries which they bad brought upon themselves by their long course of sin. III. APPLY TRE INSTRUCTIONS WHICH THIS SUBJECT HAS FOR us. 1. An impressive ?°llustrati'on if the omniscience of God. Nothing less than infinite knowledge could have foretold to Ezekiel the things symbolized in this chapter. They did not seem in the least degree probable when he published them. "If we accept," says Dr. Currey, "the fifth year of Jeboiachin's captivity (as is most probable) for the year in which Ezekiel received this communication, . . . it was a time at which such an event would, according to hnman calculation, have appeared improbable. Zedekiah was the creature of the King of Babylon, ruling by his authority in the place of Jehoiachin, who was still alive; and it could scarcely have been expected that Zedekiah would have been so infatuated as to provoke the anger of the powerful Nebuchadnezzar." Yet be did so; and this prophecy was fulfilled. Nothing can be hidden from God (Ps. cxxxix.). 1'o him the future is visible as the present. This is exhibited by Isaiah as an evidence that the Lord is the true God (Isa. xli. 21-29; xliv. 6-8; xlvi. 9-11). 2. Sin traniforms persons and places un the sight of God. Think or what Jerusalem had been before him: "the city of God;" " the faithful city;" "the holy city ; " "the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth." But now, alas, how changed it is I Formerly he had been its Defender; now he has become its Besieger. Sin darkens and deforms human character; it takes away the glory of cities and covers them with shame. 3. The certainty of the punishment of sin. The chosen people shall not escape punishment if they persist in sin. The sacred city, with the temple which God had chosen as bis dwelling-place (Ps. cxxxii. 13, 14:), will afford no protection to a people who have obstinately rebelled against him. "Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished;" "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," etc. Sin carries within itself the germ of its own punishment. 4. The power of God to inflict punishment upon the obstinately rebellious. He can use the heathen as his instruments for this purpose. He can break the staff of bread, and dry up the sprin:rs of water, etc. 5. The heinousness and perilousness of sin. (Cf. Jer, ii. 19; xliv. 4.) Let us cultivate hearty obedience to the Lord God.-W. J,
EXPOSITION. razor that is hired." The word for "barber" CHAPTER V. (perhaps" hair-cutter") does net occur else- Ver. 1.-Take thee a barber's razor, etc. where in the Old Testament, but its use The series of symbolic acts is carried fur- may be noted as showing that then, es now, ther. Recollections of Isaiah and Leviticus the ''barber" was a recognized institution mingle strangely in the prophet's mind. in every Eastern town. The word for The former l.J. l made the "razor" the sym- " knife" (Josh. v. 2 ; 1 Kings xv iii. 28) is bol of ilie devastation w1·ought by an in- used in ver. 2, and commonly throughout vading army (faa. vii. 20). The latter bad the Old Testament, for "sword," and is so forbidden its use for the head and beurd of translated here by the .LXX. and Vulgate. the priests (Lev. xix. 27; xxi. 5). O,~ce The prophet is to take a "sword" and use e.cain Ezekiel is commanded to do a forb1<l- it as a razor, to make the symbolism more <len 1hirw0 as a s,·mbolic act. He is, for the effective. mr,meut, the repreaentaiive of the people of Ver. 2.-Thou shalt bum with fire, eto. Jerurnlem, ftnd there is tfJ be, as of old, a The symbolism receives its interpretation in grrnt destruction of that people as "by a ver. 12. A third part of the people (we 1 See Kitto's 'Daily Bible lllustration~.' on. v. 1-11.) THE BOOK OF THE PROPH:ET EZEKIEL. 85