The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 39

the same is the case with nations. Israel had to wander and to fight in the wilderness. England has only reached her present position by means of many generations of conflict and many epochs of adversity. God has "purged" his people, not because he is indifferent to their sufferings, but because he is solicitous for their welfare, which only through sufferings can be achieved. III. THE APPARENT FAILURE OF DIVINE DISCIPLINE, There is a pllthetic tone in the ~erti~n, "I have p~rged thee, an~ thou wast not purged." The explanation of this failure_ 1s to be found 10 the mystenous fact of hum~n liberty. An eminent philosopher bas said that h~ would ~ content to be wound up like a clock every morning, if that would ensure his going right throughout the day. Determinism is mechanism ; it rednccs man to the level of a machine. But this is not the true, the Divine idea of man. God evidently designs to do somethir;g better with man than to constrain him. He even gives to man the prerol(ative of resisting the high motives which he in wisdom and mercy brings to bear upon him. And when he perceives that the purposes of dis- cipline are not fulfilled, he laments, " I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged." Yet it is not for us to say that even in such cases there has been real failure. Ende may be answered of which we cannot judge ; good may be done which we cannot 11ee; preparation may be making for advanced stages which we are now incapable of com- prehending. Doubtless in many cases the "purging" which is ineffectual here and now will be brought about hereafter, and perhaps above. It is open to us to believe, with the poet- "That nothing we.Ike with aimless feet, That not one life shall be destroyed Or cast e.e rubbish to the void, When God ho.e me.de hie work complete." T. Vers. 15--21.-Speec'hless and tearless sorrow. If tbe event here described· really happened, and if the death of the prophet's wife was a fact and not a mere vision or pare.hie, at all events there is no reason to suppose that this death took place from other than natural causes. Foreseeing what would happen, the God of men and of nations used the affliction of his servant and turned it to account, me.king it the occasion and the means of spiritual instruction and impression for the benefit of the Hebrew com- munity. 'l'he decease of Ezekiel's wife symbolized the fate of the guilty Jerusalem. It was- I. SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED. The Lord took away from the prophet the desire of his eyes "with e. stroke." How touching is the prophet's record I-" At even my wife died." It is the simplicity of truth, the simplicity of submission, which speaks in this language. The terms Ezekiel employs show how great was hie love and attachment to his wife ; all the more was this sudden bereavement a shock of distress and anguish to him. Similarly swift was the stroke of retribution and ruin which came upon the Jewish metropolis. Notwithstanding repeated warnings and threatenings, the Israelites would not believe that their beloved Jerusalem, "the joy of tbe whole earth," could fall before the mighty conqueror from the east. But their confidence was misplacecl, and their pride was destined to humiliation. The deathstroke came, and it came with the 1harpness and suddenness which corresponded with the prophet's bereavement. II. SEVERE. No affliction which could befall Ezekiel could be so distressing and so crushing as the loss of his beloved wife. In this it was emblematical of the blow which was about to descend upon Jerusalem. "Behold," said the Lord," I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth." Patriotism, historical associations, religious pride, and other ekmen ts of feeling conspired to render their metropolis dear to the sons of Abraham; and its destruction and the dispersion of its citizens could not be contemplated by them without the liveliest emotions of anguish and anxiety. No heavier blow could fall upon them than this. Distress, as of the bereaved and desolate, must nueds take possession of every true Hebrew heart, when predictions of Divine wrath were fulfilled, when the heathen entered :i.nd possessed the sanctuary of Jehovah. III. INEVITABLE AND IBREPARADLE, Life is in the hands of the Lord and Giver of life. When he recalls his &ift, his creatures can do nothing but submit. So Ezekiel err. xx1v. 1-27.J Tl-IE BOOK OF THE PMPHET EZEKIEL. 41