The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 14

when the evil-doers are ripe for judgment; and then the Divine executioners go forth against tht>m. II. THE DIVINE VISITATION ON ACCOUNT OF THE PEOl'LE'B BINS, 1. 'J.'hey bec01n5 a reproach among the nations. "Therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the nations, and a mocking to all the countries, Thoso that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, thou infamous one nod full of tumult." We noticed (on eh. :,;:xi. 28) how :he Ammonites reproached the people of Judah, and were to ho pu~1shed fo_r so do!ng. Yet although the people of Ammon had no right to reprol\ch their suffenng neighbours, the Jews deserved reproach. Jerusalem had made itself infamous by its wickedness before it became a reproach and a mockina unto the nations. "Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any poop~" 2. They shall be dispersed amcng the nations. "And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee through the countries." We have noticed this point in eh. v. 12; xii. 1-16; xx. 23 (of. Deut. iv. 27; xxviii. 25, 64). 3. They shall be dishonoured in the sight of the nations. "And thou shalt be profaned in thyself, in the sight of the nations," etc. (ver. 16). "Thou shalt by thine own fault forfeit the privile1?;es of a holy nation." Mark the retributiveness of this. "Jerusalem has desecrated the holy things of the Lord (ver. 8); therefore shall it also be desecrated for a requital (ver. 16), It bas wickedly insulted the dignity of God; for this it must suffer tho loss of its own dignity" (Hengstenberg). 4. They woul,d be unable to withstand this visitation of fudgment. " Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee?" (ver. 14). Says Greenhill, "0 Jerusalem I be thine heart never so stout or strong, my judgments will be too heavy for thee to bear them; when they come, thine heart will fail thee, fail thee of counsel, that thou shalt not know what to do, and fail thee of strength, that thou shalt not be able to do what thou knowest." When God in judgment visits any one, "heart and band, courage and power, fail" (cf. Job xl 9; Ps. lxxvi. 7; Nab. i. 6). CoNcLusroN. Many are the lessons deducible from our subject. We mention three. I. The fe,arful growth of sin. Forgetfulness of God may develop into idolatry, adultery, murder. 2. The essential ruinousness of sin. It is of its very nature to blight and destroy everything that is true and beautiful, wise and good, right and strong, both in individuals and communities. "Sin, when it is full-grown, bringeth forth death." 3. The righteous judgment of God against sin. (Rom. ii. 2-11.) -W.J. Vers. 17-22.-DeploralJle deterioration and deserved destruction. "And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, the· house of Israel is to me become dross," etc. Notice-- I. THE DEl'LOB.ABLE DETEBIOBATION OF THE BOUSE OF lBBAEL. 1. Here are several varieties of sinful character. We will notice them as they are here adduced. (1) Dross. "The house of Israel is to me become dross ; . . . they are tbe dross of silver." This does not mean ore which contains silver, but dross which has been separated from the silver-the refuse of dirt and rubbish which is removed from the • precious metal in the cleansing, melting, and refining of it. The people of Judah and Jerusalem had become "the ignoble dross of noble silver." "The metaphor denotes the corruption of the people, who had become like base metal." (2) " Braes" probably indicates the hardihood of the people in sin ; that they bad become impudent in wickedness (cf. Isa. xlviii. 4). (3) "Tin" is suggestive of hypocrisy, being brilliant in appearance, but inferior in substance and value. So there were those in Jerusalem who made great profession of true religion, but whose moral character and conduct were base. (4) "Iron" may denote harshness and cruelty. 'fhat such was a charac- teristic of some of their great men and rulers is clear from ver. 27; eh. xxxiv. 2-4; and Zeph. iii. 3. (5) "Lead," pliable, yet not precious as compared with silver and gold., indicates the moral dulnees and stupidity of the house of Israel. They were pliable to evil, yet not available for any high or holy uses (cf. Jer. iv. 22). Thus in Jerusalem there were various types of evil character; and these types are reproduced in our own age and country. 2. Here is one characteristic which marka each of these varieti,es of sinful eharacter. They were each and all marked by degeneracy. In every one of these elasses of evil character there had been a lamentable deterioration, "Thy oH. xxH. 1-31.J THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 15