at.tack their city, Rabbe.th. Reproach is a bitter thing, nnd hard to bear. David found it ~o, and said, "Reproach_ bath broken my heart." And it is a mean and cruel thing to mfhct reproaches, especially upon the weak, the unfortunate, or the suffering. '].'ho ~mmonit~~ reproached the Israelites: (2) By deeds. Rabbath, their capital city, was situated ' Ill the country ea.st of the Jordan, and east of the possessions of the lsraelites on that side the river. David, in his war with the Ammonites took it from them, and annexed it to the territories of the tribe of Gad . . . . On th~ sep[ua.- tion of the realm into two kingdoms, this, with all the territory beyond the Jordan went to the kingdom of Israel; an~ when that kingdom was dissolved by the Assyria.ns: or rather, probably, when the tribes beyond the Jordan were first of all led into captivity, the Ammonites quietly took possession of their ancient territories, and apparen\.Jy of something more" (Kitto). This seizure of a portion of the territory of the former kingdom of Israel is sternly denounced by the prophets (cf. Jer, xlix, 1, 2 • Amos i. 13-15; Zeph. ii. 8). It was a practical reproach of the vanquished people'. 3. They had trusted in their divine,·s. "Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine lies unto thee." The Ammonites preferred false divinations to true prophets, especially as their diviners buoyed them up with vain assurances of their safety. If men \\ill believe a lie, the lie will prove disastrous to them. II. THE NATURE OF THIS JUDGMENT. 1. Terrible slaughter. "A sword, a sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning." The seer beheld a sword drawn for execution, sharpened for slaughter, and glittering so as to strike terror into those against whom it was drawn. The line, •• To cast thee upon the necks of them that are slain," is rendered in the 'Speaker's Commentary,' "To give thee over to the heaps of the slain," and is thus explained: •••The necks of them that are slain' is simply a poetical expression for the slain, perhaps because the corpses were headless." lt seems to indicate that the slaughter of the Ammonites would be so terrible that the slain would not lie apart, but in revolting heaps. The clause, "Thy blood shall be in the midst of the land," probably also points to the dreadful extent of the slaughter. 2. Complete overthrow. "Thou shalt be no more remembered." The ruin of the Ammonites was to be irre- parable. Thus saith the Lord God to them, "I will cut thee off from the peoples, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries" (eh. xxv. 7). Not until long after the time of Ezekiel was this part of the jud,,crment executed, but in due season it was completely accomplished. "From the times of the Maccabees, the Ammonites and Moabites have quite disappeared out of history" (Hengstenberg). IIL THE AUTHOR OF 'l'HIS JUDGMENT. "I will judge thee, . . . and I will p!>UT out mine indignation upon thee; I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy." God himself was the Author of this judgment. The sword was his, though it was wielded by the hand of N ebuchad.nezzar. By their siw the Ammonites bad aroused the indignation of the Lord; and he would pour out that indignation upon them. 1. That this Judgmen~ proceeded from him was a fl'IJ,<Lrantu of its irresistible'M!ls· When ~e puts forth his hand ~o smite his obdurate foes he breaks them as "with a rod of ll'on," or dashes "them m pieces like a potter's v~ssel." To attempt to resist ~im .is ~tterly useless, v:ain, a~d ruinous. "Hast thou an arm like God's?" "He 1s W1Se m heart, and mighty m strength : who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered? " 2. That this judgment proceed,ed from him was a guarantee of its righteousness. "He loveth right.eousness and judgment." "His work is perfect; For ell his ways are jndgment: .A. God of faithfulness and without iniquity, JUBt and right is he."
IV. THE INSTRUMENTS OF THIS JUDGMENT. "I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men skilful to destroy·" margin, "burning men." So also Hengsten- berg. Schrode; " consuming men.:' Thus the Chaldeans are designated. They ~re so ea.lied becau:ie they were to prepar~ " t~e fire," or because ~her were filled with glowirw anger. They were the unconscious rnstruments accomphshmg the purpose of the Lo~d Jehovah, Thus he made the wrath of man to praise him. He can never lack on. xx1. 1-32.J THE BOOK OF '£HE PROPHET EZEKIEL.
fitting instruments for the execution of his designs; for he can employ whomsoever ancl wlmtsoevor he will. V. 'l'nE BOENE OF ms JUDGMEN'r. "In the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy birth, will I judge thoe." They were not to be carried into captivity as the people of Israel and Judah were. In their own land they were to suffer the retribution of their evil doings. The scene of their sin was to be also the scene of their punishment. The Lord can find out the wicked anywhere; and no place can hide them from his judgments when the time for their infliction arrives. "Thou"h0 they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them," etc. (Amos ix. 2, 3). VI. TnE CERTAINTY OF 1'IIIB JUDGMENT. "I the Lord have spoken it." The Ammonites deemed themselves quite safe when Nebuchadnezzar turned away from Rabbath, and went to besiege Jerusalem; and in their triumph they reproached the suffering people of Judah. But they bad to learn that the postponement of their judgment was not its revocation; that their reprieve was not their pardon. Sentence against them here goes forth from Jehovah. Its fulfilment was rendered certain by both his power and his faithfulness. He is all-mighty. He "is not a man, that he should lie," etc. (Numb. xxiii. 19). And, according to Josephus(' Ant.,' x. 9. 7), in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar made war against the Ammonites, and subdued them, "God's words of mercy and of ju~ament are alike a111e,"-W, J, HOMILETICAL INDEX TO
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL.
VOLUME I. CHAPTER L Tlll'!ME PAGR