near." Compo re the hmguage of the Ba,ptist reference to the former), should eee the word (Mo.tt. iii. 2), of our Lord (Matt. iv. 17), of of Jehovah fulfilled in their own clays. One t:,;t. Po.ul (Rom. xiii. 11). For the true notes how the prophet dwells on the word prophet there is always e. neo.r fulfilment, prolonged, e.s though that had specially though there me.y be also an ultimate and stirred his indignation. So again- more complete reality of which that is the Vers. 26, 27.-The worcls imply another in• pledge and earnest. The " vision " shall terval of eilence, meditation, and then a fresh not fail; every word (so in the Hebrew) shall utterance to the same effect as before. In become a reality. this case (ver. 27) we trace a slight modifi- Ver. 24.-Flattering divination. The cation in the language of the gainsayers. word is the so.me as the "smooth things" of They recognize Ezekiel both as e. seer and Isa. xxx. 10, the "flattering lips" of Ps. xii. a prophet. They do not say that his 2, 3. LXX., p.a.ll'l'EUO/J-EVOS 'l'a. wpos xd.p,v; vision "fe.ileth." They content themselves Vulge.te, ambigua. Tbe "divinations" (the with throwing the fulfilment into the dis- Hebrew word is found only here e.nd in tant future. Their thought is that of the eh. xiii. 7, though cognate words a.re found proverb which has been ascribed to more elsewhere) are so described, not without a than one king or statesman, .A.pres moi le touch of scorn in the use of a word which dlluge. To these his answer is nearly in is not applied to the utterance of the true the same terms as before. Still harping prophets, because they promised a speedy on the offensive word, he tells them the.t deliverance, even within "two full years" nothing that he has spoken shall be " pro- (Jer. xxviii. 3). longed." The destruction of the temple Ver. 25.-The thought of ver. 23 is re- and the holy city, the departure of the iterated with emphasis. The rebellious Divine Presence from the sanctuary, these house, whether at Tel-Abib or in Jeruae.lem were already within measurable distance (probably the word is used with special
HOMILETICS. Ver. 2.-Blind eyes and deaf ears. I. ALL MEN HAVE ORGANS FOR PERCEIVING SPIRITUAL TRUTH. These blind Jews have eyes and the deaf have ears. Neither class is deformed or mutilated in respect of their organs of sense. Here is the paradox, the surprising situation. It is men with eyes and ears who are blind and deaf. It is no wonder that the lower animals should live without man's religion in a life of brutish appetite. But it is surprising that beings endowed with higher faculties should degrade themselves to such a life. 'l'bat this is the case with the most hardened and ignorant may be proved by the experience of life. 1. The most brutalized sinner was once a child. 'l'hen he had the child's wondering, open-eyed vision of truth. 2. The most degraded have been restored. Then the faculty of spiritual perception has been reawakened. This proves that it was only dormant, not absent. 3. Even in a con- dition of indifference a degraded, deadened soul may be aroused. The bow drawn at a venture may send an arrow into a joint of the armour of worldly thought and find the natural sensitiveness beneath. II. SOME MEN HAVE I-OST THE POWER OF PERCEIVING SPIRITUAL TRUTH. Their eyes are blind and their ears deaf. 'l'his does not mean merely that they have not the gifts Joel referred to (Joel ii. 28). It means that they do not perceive the truth which is declared to them by the messengers of God. 1. The words spoken a.re not heeded. 'l'hey are mere sound. Immediately they are spoken in the ear a rush of unsympathetic thoughts sweeps them away. It is like sowing by the wayside. 'l'be scrd is trampled underfoot. 2. If the words are attended to, the personal significance of them is not grasped. They are mere ideas unrealized. They are not felt to have any relation to life. Thus a biblical scholar may be blind to the truth of God. III. Tms STA'l'E OF BPlnITUAL BLINDNESS AND DEAFNESS IS CAUSED BY SIN. The 'People are" a rebellious house," and therefore they cannot perceive the Divine message. We have come upon one of the worst consequences of sin. It deadens the soul against its own guilt and against the messages from God to the sinner. This is very different from intellectual dulness. The will of God is so revealed that "the wayfaring man, though a fool, may not err therein." Indeed, mere intellectual acumen does very little in helping us to perceive spiritual and moral truth. God has hidden from the "wise and prndent" what he has revealed to "babes and sucklings." The preaching 216 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [CH, xn. 1-28.
of the cross of Christ is foolishness to many of the world's wise men (1 Cor. i. 18 19), because they have not spiritual sympathy with it (1 Cor. ii, 14), Note the bli~ding and deafening which are sometimes a.scribed to God (e.g. Isa. vi, 9, 10)-because it is the abuse of God's action that leads to such a condition, nnd because it is a condition of Divine judgment-are here brought back to man's guilt. IV. Gou DOES NOT NEGLECT THE BLIND AND DEAF. Their state is one of guilt-for they brought it on themseh-es-and also one of danger. But they are not left alone in it. Ezekiel is to proceed to more simple and striking action, in order to extort attention from the indifferent. \Ve must shake the sleeper when his house is on fire. We want more rousing preaching. God ha.s pity on the blind and deaf, and it is according to his mercy that every effort should be made to reach them, Christ gives new sight a.nd hearing (Luke iv. 18).