The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 1 — Section 381

nnd rny to tho forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lon! God; llohold I will kindle a firo in thee .... Son of man, set thy face toward ,Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; and say to the ln,nd of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee," etc. Ezekiel was now in Chaldea, of which the prophets generally spoke as the north country; not becanso it was strictly north of Palestine, but because its armies entered Palestine from the north by way of Syria, and in returning they travelled by the same northern way. Hence the south denotes Jerusalem and the land of Israel. And the people are spoken of as " the forest of the south." It has been sug~ested that the figure of a forest is employed in order to denote the density of the population. Others have suggested that it is used to indicate the fact that the people bad degenerated from a noble vine or a fruitful field to an unproductive forest. But this at least is certain, that the judgment was about to be inflicted upon the Holy Land, the royal and sacred city, and the people chosen of God. Their former favours will not screen them from the righteous retribu- tion of their sins. Their privileges will rather aggravate their punishment. They had presumed upon those privileges; they bad abused God's great gooduess to them; and because they bad done these things his judgment upon them will be all the more terrible. Here is solemn admonition to those who occupy eminent positions or possess exceptional privileges (cf. Matt. xi. 20-24). III. TrrE NATURE OF THIS JUDGMENT, 1. It is destructive in its character. "Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree. . . . Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked." Fire and sword are employed to denote all the miseries and teiTors which came upon the people in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. Famine and pestilence, slaughter and captivity, then fell fiercely upon the people (cf. cb. v., vi., vii.). 2. It is general in its infliction. The fire "shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree, . . and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein . . . . I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north." In national judgments the righteous suffer with the. wicked, and the innocent with the guilty, so far as the outward calamities are concerned. But though the outward event be the same to all, its inward character is not. The ri~hteous shall not be as the wicked. " God's graces and comforts make a great difference when his providence seems to make none." So that this general character of the judgment "is not in contradiction with eh. ix. 4, according to which the righteous amid the impending catastrophe are the object of the protecting and sustaining activity of God. For if two suffer the same, yet it is not the same. To those who love God· must all things be for the best (Rom. viii. 28)" (Hengstenberg). 3. It is irresistible in its might. "The flaming flame shall not be quenched. . . . I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath: it shall not return any more." The Jews in Jerusalem imagined that, with the aid of Egypt, they could safely bid defiance to the Cbaldean forces; but those forces utterly overwhelmed them. When God is against either a man or a nation, they are unable to stand before their enemies. "Hast thou an arm like God? and canst thou thunder with a voice like him?" "He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who bath hardened himself against him, and prospered?" "'l.'hou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?" "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in tho way," etc. (Ps. ii. 12). IV. '!'HE DISINCLINATION OF MEN TO CREDIT THE ANNOUNCEMENTS OF TBISJUDGMENT, "'l'hou said, I, Ah Lord God I they say of me, Doth be not speak parables?" Notice: l. The mean attempt to cast upon the prophet the blame which was due to themselues. They said of the prophet, "ls he not a speaker of parables?" '!'hey did not want to understand his announcements to them. They could have understood them without difficulty had they been disposed to do so. The truths which he proclaimed were dis- pleasing to them, and they would not recognize them. Then they disingenuously complained of the form in which he expressed his messa~e. " Is he not a speaker of parables?" . ':!,'heir _conduct in this respect fin?s its n?alogue i_n some_ bearers of the Christian mm1stry m our day. If the preachers style 1s figurative, he 1s too obscure- " a speaker of parables; " if it be plain and unadorned, he is too timple and homely; 384 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [oH. xxr. 1-320