house." The truth must" be set before their eyes," says Hengstenberg, "in rough ralpable, overpowering reality, if His to find entrance to their minds, and succeed i~ emancipating them from those dreams of the future which are preventing their repent- ance. . .. The greater the weakness of their eyes, the more conspicuous must be the exhibition of the truth." God is unwilling to abandon the wicked to their sin and doom. He has long patience with them, sends to them messenger after messenger, anu employs means after means, both various and oft-repeated, in order to lead them to turn from sin to himself. In illustration and confirmation of this, see eh. xxxiii. 11; Jer. xliv. 4; Hos. xi. 8, 9; Nch. ix. 26-31; Matt. xxi. 33-44. And in the incident before us, he not only addresses to them this stirring parable to arrest their attention and awaken their consideration, but he also instructs the prophet to m:ike known to them the interpretation of it, that even the most indifferent and the most insensible might be made acquainted with the truths co=unicated. III. THE EXTRAORDINARY DIVINE APPEAL TO THE INCONSIDERATE AND REBELLIOIJS PEOPLE. This parable (vers. 3-7) was the Lord's appeal to the insensible and rebellious people. It does not require any exposition from us, as the inspired interpre- tation is here given (vers. 8-16), and this also is interpreted by its remarkable fulfil- ment in history. But we may mark the several stages of the mournful history here predicted, the fulfilment of which is recorded in 2 Kings xxv.; Jer. xxxix. 1-10; Iii. 1-30. 1. Here is a picture of the king and people of Jerusalem going into cap- tivity. (Vers. 3, 4, 10, 11.) "The stuff for removing," or "baggage of the emigrant" (vers. 3, 4), "is the equipment made Ly one who enters on a journey never to return." And" as they that go forth into captivity," or "like the removals of the emigrant" (ver. 4), signifies, according to Hengstenberg, "in the costume and with the manner of emigrants; 'with a bag on the shoulder and a. staff in the hand;' 'sad and with drooping head.'" Thus Ezekiel was to typify the departure of prince and people into exile. 2. Here is a picture of going into captivity by sorrowful and stealthy flight. (Vers. 5-7, 12.) He is to go forth in the twilight so as to elude the vigilance of the enemies, and with his face covered so as not to see the beloved land which he is leaving. And all the accounts of the flight agree that it was made in fright and furtively under cover of night. 3. Here is a veiled announcement of the king's deprivation of sight and an explicit declaration of his destination as an exile. (Ver. 13.) According to Josephus(' Ant.,' x. vii. 2), Ezekiel sent an account of this prophecy to Jerusalem to strengthen the influence of Jeremiah with the king, who was personally consider- ably disposed to heed the counsel of that prophet. But the king compared the announcements of the two prophets, and finding that while Jeremiah said he should be carried in bonds to Babylon, Ezekiel said he should not see it, he disbelieved both of them. And yet the event showed that both of them were true. The king was carried as a prisoner to Babylon, but he did not see it, for Nelmchadnezzar had put out bis eyes at Riblah in the land of Hamath. 4. Here is a declaration that the king should be left without defence or helper. "I will scatter toward every wind all tbat a.re about him to help him, and all his bands" (ver. 14). And the sacred historian tells us that when the army of the Chaldea.ns overtook the fleeing king "in the plains of Jericho, all his army were scattered from him." 5. Here is the intention expressed to spare a Rmall remnant for the acknowledgment of the supremacy of Jehovah a.nd the confession of their sins. (Vers. 15, 16.) Only "a. few men," or "men of number," should be left, i.e. so few that they might be easily counted; and they should be spared iu order that they might acknowledge the many aggravated and persistent sins of the people, which had led to these stern judgments, aud so vindicate the justice of God in the infliction of them. And by these judgments they would become convinced that Jehovah is the living and the true God. "They shall know that I am the Lord." These words, which "recur as a refrain" in these prophecies, we have already considered (in eh. vi. 7, 10). CONCLUSION. Learn: 1. The peril of disregarding the Word of the Lord. Such conduct, persisted in, leads to spiritual blindness and deafness. 2. The obligation of the good to put forth persistent ~(forts for the conversion ef the wicked. 3. The importance of employing various means for the conversion of the wicked.-W. J.
Vars. 17-20.-Deprivations caused by sin. "Moreover the word of tho Lord came EZEKIEL. Q 226 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [on. xu.1-28.