Exposition of Ezekiel 30-48, Commentary on Ezechiel · Chapter 36 · Verses 1-7
Verſ. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Alſo, thou ſon of man, propheſie unto the mountains of Iſrael, and ſay, Ye mountains of Iſrael, hear the word of the Lord.
Thus ſaith the Lord God, Becauſe the enemy had ſaid againſt you, Alas, even the ancient high places are ours in poſſeſſion:
Therefore propheſie and ſay, Thus ſaith the Lord God, Becauſe they have made you deſolate, and ſwallowed you up on every ſide, that ye might be a poſſeſſion unto the reſidue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:
Therefore ye mountains of Iſrael, hear the word of the Lord God, Thus ſaith the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, to the deſolate waſtes, and to the Cityes that are forſaken, which became a prey and deriſion to the reſidue of the heathen that are round about.
Therefore thus ſaith the Lord God, Surely in the fire of my jealouſie have I ſpoken againſt the reſidue of the heathen, and againſt all Idumea, which have appointed my Land into their poſſeſſion, with the joy of all their hearts, with deſpitefull minds to caſt it out for a prey.
Propheſie therefore concerning the Land of Iſrael, and ſay unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus ſaith the Lord God, Behold, I have ſpoken in my jealouſie and in my fury, becauſe ye have born the ſhame of the heathen.
Therefore thus ſaith the Lord God, I have lifted up mine hand, ſurely the heathen that are about you, they ſhall bear their ſhame.
THe Jews being deprived of their Comforts, carryed into captivity, they ſuffered hard things, and lay under great reproach among the Nations; whereupon the Lord here in this Chapter doth
1. Denounce judgement againſt the Heathen, ſetting out the Cauſes moving him thereunto, from the 1. verſ. to the end of the 7.
2. Promiſe mercy to the Land of Iſrael, which is ſpecified in ſeverall particulars, from the beginning of the 8. verſ. unto the 16.
3. Shew the cauſes why the Jews were driven out of their Countrey, from 6. verſ. to the 21.
4. Set out the ground of their reſtauration, from the 21. to the 25.
5. Multiply promiſes of ſpiritual and temporal things upon them and their Land, from the 25. to the end.
Verſ. 1. Thou ſon of man, propheſie unto the mountains of Iſrael.
In the former Chapter he propheſied againſt Mount Seir, in this he is to propheſie to the mountains of Iſrael; againſt that he propheſied judgement, unto theſe he propheſieth mercies. Theſe Mountains of Iſrael by a Synecdoche are put for the whole Land of Judaea, and by a Metonomie for the people, contained therein, or who had lived therein.
Hear the word of the Lord.
The Land mourn'd becauſe the profane Nations had laid it waſte, and taken poſſeſſion of it; the Lord therefore calls to the Land and People that had inhabited it, to let them know that the one ſhould not long, lye in ſo deſolate a condition, nor the other alwayes be kept out by enemies from their inheritance.
Verſ. 2. Thus ſaith the Lord God.
Theſe words are in the 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7. verſes alſo. The Jewes being caſt into ſo low a condition, might think God had forgotten them, and would leave them to periſh in the hands of their enemies; to take off ſuch thoughts, he commands the Prophet to ſay in 6 verſes together, Thus ſaith the Lord God. It is not the voice of Ezekiel, but of Jehovah, who is affected with the inſolency of your enemies, and the grievous things you ſuffer.
Becauſe the enemy had ſaid againſt you, Aha.
The Hebrew word for enemy, is from Ajaf to bear ill will, to hate. This enemy principally was the Edomite, who had a perpetual hatred againſt the Jewes, Ezek. 35.5. and the Ammonite who cryed Aha, Ezek: 25.3. and entred upon the Jews inheritance, Jerem: 49.1. with the Moabite who reproached the people of God, Zeph: 2.8, 10. Theſe and others were diſaffected to the Jews, and hated them, inſulted in the day of their calamity, ſaying Aha. The Hebrew is Heach which to Mercer is vox inſultantis, and to others, vox provocatoria cum contemptu, an inſulting provoking ſcornfull word.
The ancient high places are ours in poſſeſſion.
Bamoth Olam, Excelſa Saculi, The ancient Mountains which have kept their ſtation and height i nal ages; Septuagint is foreign, The everlaſting ſolitudes; Vulgar Altitudines ſempiterna, The everlaſting height; French is Les hauts lieux du monde, The high places of the world. The Land of Iſrael had many high Mountains, which being ſolitary and deſolate, the enemy ſaid, they are ours in poſſeſſion, we ſhall inherit them for ever. The Edomites being from Eſau, Jacobs elder brother; the Ammonites and Moabites from Lot, Abrahams brother, they challenged the ancient high places of Iſrael for their poſſeſſions, call'd Excelſa Saeculi, becauſe God and his Worſhip had been there many years, and the Land was promiſed the Jews for ever.
Becauſe they have made you deſolate, and ſwallowed you up on every ſide.
The enemies of the Jews were bitter and bloudy, they ſtript them of what they had, and devoured them; they did eat them up. Shaaph ſignifies to draw in the aire, to ſuck it up, and metaphorically to ſwallow, to devoure; they did not like Caniball, eat the fleſh of the Jews, but they dealt cruelly with them, not in one place only, but on all ſides, thoſe that were their neighbours cut them off and deſtroyed them round about.
That ye might be a poſſeſſion unto the reſidue of the heathen.
So little did they care for the Church of God, his people, and their inheritance, they rule over theſe few Jews that were left. This made Jeremy to complain, Lamen: 5.2. Our inheritance is turned to ſtrangers, our houſes to aliens.
Ye are taken up in the lips of talkers.
In the Hebrew its thus, And ye have aſcended upon the lip of the tongue, or, ye are made to aſcend, ye are the common talk of men, as we uſe to ſay, Table talk; They were made a reproach, a proverb, a taunt, and a curſe amongſt the people, according to what is written, Jer: 24.9. Junius and Piſcator both have it Traducti eſtis in labia Nationum, You are traduced and ſlandered through the tongues of the Nations, they talk at large of you. The lip of the tongue is an Hebraiſme, noting a talkative perſon, as Job 11.2. A man of lips is the Hebrew, that is, A man of talk; and Pſal. 140.11. Let not an evill ſpeaker, in Hebrew a man of tongue, ſuch an one utters much evill, and falls under the denomination of an evill ſpeaker.
And are an infamy of the people.
The word Dibbah, infamy, is from Davaf, which ſignifies to ſpeak, and to relate the evills of others. The enemies of the Jews related what evils they knew or heard of concerning them, and made them infamous. The Septuagint is foreign, a reproach or ſcorn to the Nations.
Verſ. 4. Thus ſaith the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, to the deſolate waſtes, and to the Cityes that are forſaken.
He mentioned the mountains of Iſrael before, and the ancient high places; here he adds Hills, Rivers, Valleys, Waſtes, Cityes, to ſhew that he would vindicate the whole Land from the poſſeſſion of the Nations, who did ſo greatly villifie his Church and people.
Which became a prey and deriſion unto the reſidue of the heathen.
The Heathen did not only ſpoile and make a prey of Judaea, but alſo deride the Jews, they ſcoffed at thoſe that were left, and thoſe were carryed away. The word for deriſion is foreign Laag, which notes deriding with ſcorn and contempt; and therefore by the Septuagint is rendred foreign, Conculcatio, they derided them as worthy to be trodden under feet.
Verſ. 5. Surely in the fire of my jealouſie have I ſpoken againſt the reſidue of the heathen, &c.
The Hebrew for ſurely, is Im lo, which implyes an oath, Si non or niſi, unleſſe I have ſpoken in the fire of my jealouſie, let me not be God, let me never be believed. To ſpeak in the fire of jealouſie is an Hebraiſme, ſaith Pintus; Pro effundere verba cum ſtomacho, it notes hot diſpleaſure, Pſal. 79.5. Shall thy jealouſie burn like fire? Here the Lords jealouſie was on fire; he was not only angry with the Heathen, but in a fierie jealouſie, for jealouſie is more then anger, Deut: 29.20. Men in their jealouſie are extreamly mov'd and carryed out with heat and fury to be revenged on thoſe they apprehend have done them wrong; and ſo God after the manner of men is ſaid to ſpeak in the fire of his jealouſie againſt the Heathens, who had wronged him, his people, and the Land.
Which have appointed my Land into their poſſeſſion.
Judaea, ſaith God, was my Land, I dwelt there, and ſet up my worſhip there, I gave it my people for a poſſeſſion; and though at preſent they be driven out for their ſins, yet I keep it for them, and none ought to meddle with, or challenge that Land; how is it then that the Edomites and Heathens have conſulted and determined to take my Land into their poſſeſſion? they are reſolved to rob me and my people of our right, to ſwallow up our inheritance.
With the joy of all their heart.
Joy is a dilatation of the heart from apprehenſion of good; theſe Heathens apprehended it good that the Jews were cut off and carryed away, that hereupon the Land ſhould be theirs; this fill'd them with joy, and made them attempt with all their hearts, the poſſeſſion of the Land.
With deſpitefull minds to caſt it out for a prey.
The words in the Hebrew are thus, In contempt of mind; for expulſion of it for a prey, ſo Montanus: Sheat ſignifies Depopulation, as well as contempt; and ſo Junius hath it, Cum depopulatione animoſa, ut ſedes expulſorum ejus fit direptioni, with greedy depopulation; they were very earneſt and violent in depopulating the Land, that the ſeat of its expelled ones might be for a prey; Piſcator ſaith, that its fields or ſuburbs might be for spoyle. The people being ſlain or carried away captive, the Edomites and others did with malicious minds expoſe the Land to the ſpoyl of any.
Verſ. 6. Behold, I have ſpoken in my jealouſie, and in my fury.
Here is an addition of fury to jealouſie; fury is fervor ir…e, or fera ira, heat of anger, or ſevere anger; fury is ira cum vehementia; when its given to God, it notes the ſevere, holy, and juſt indignation of God.
Becauſe ye have born the ſhame of the heathen.
The Heathens have reproached you, poured ſcorn and contempt upon you, made you the filth of the world, Zeph: 2.8, 10. they ſo reproached them, that it affected God himſelf; and Jeremy (Lam: 5.1.) was ſo pierced with the reproachings of the Heathen, that he complains, and cryes out, Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us; conſider, and behold our reproach. They jeer'd and ſcoff'd at them for their Temple, Worſhip, City, Mountains, Songs, yea, for their God. Of bearing the ſhame of the Heathen, ſee Chap: 34.29.
Verſ. 7. Therefore, thus ſaith the Lord God, I have lifted up mine hand.
Lifting up the hand was a geſture uſed by men in taking of oaths, as Gen: 14.22. Abraham lifted up his hand unto the Lord, that was in ſwearing; and this metaphorically is applyed unto God, who when he ſwears is ſaid to lift up his hand, ſo that ſwearing and lifting up the hand are equivalent; Numb: 14.30. Doubtleſſe ye ſhall not come into the Land, concerning which I ſwear to make you dwell therein. The Hebrew for I ſwear, is I lifted up my hand: So then, Gods lifting up his hand here is his ſwearing, that he would make the Nations bear their ſhame for reproaching his people.
Surely the heathen that are about you, they ſhall bear their ſhame.
As ſure as I am God, the Heathen which have made you a reproach, a proverb, a taunt, and a curſe, they ſhall be a reproach, a proverb, a taunt, and a curſe; they have made you infamous, and they ſhall be infamous; they have covered, loaded you with ſhame, and they ſhall be covered and loaded with ſhame.
Firſt, Obſerve
God hath a ſpeciall care of his Church when its in an afflicted condition.
The Jews were diſpoſſeſſed of their Land, carryed into captivity, made infamous, and their Land u…ped by others; hereupon the Lord ſends Ezekiel unto them, to propheſie comfort unto them in the deſtruction of their enemies: Son of man, propheſie unto the Mountains of Iſrael, and ſay, Hear the word of the Lord. He hath a terrible word for your enemies, a comfortable word for you; threatnings for them, promiſes for you. Though men hated his people, yet God himſelf pityed them; though men ſwallowed up their habitation, yet God would reſtore it to them again; Jer: 30.6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Wherefore do I ſee every man with his hands on his loyns, as a woman in travel, and all faces are turned into paleneſs? Alas, for that day is great, ſo that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacobs trouble, but he ſhall be ſaved out of it. For it ſhall come to paſſe in that day, ſaith the Lord of Hoaſts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burſt thy bonds, and ſtrangers ſhall no more ſerve themſelves of him: but they ſhall ſerve the Lord their God, and David their King, whom I will raiſe up unto them. Therefore fear thou not, O my ſervant Jacob, ſaith the Lord, neither be diſmayed, O Iſrael; for lo, I will ſave thee from afar, and thy ſeed from the Land of their captivity, and Jacob ſhall return, and ſhall be in reſt and quiet, and none ſhall make him afraid. The Church was in great affliction, like a woman in travail; and here the Lord ſhewed his goodneſs towards it, and ſpeciall care over it; he would break Babyloniſh yokes and bonds, ſet it at liberty, reſtore it to the former, yea a better condition, viz: ſuch priviledges, and ſecurity it never had.
Secondly, Obſerve
When Gods people are under affliction, their enemies are glad thereof, and take advantage to diſgrace them, and make a prey of what was theirs.
The Iſraelites ſuffered hard things by the Babylonians, upon this the enemies cryed Aha, they were glad at the heart, they talked their pleaſures of them, and made them the infamy of the people; they ſwallowed them up on every ſide, and ſaid, The Mountains of Iſrael are ours, and we will poſſeſſe the ancient high places. When Sion goes down, Babylon rejoyces, the Heathens diſgrace and …ure it, adding affliction to the afflicted; ſee Zeph: 2.8. Obad: 10.11, 12, 13, 14. All the enemies which heard of Sions trouble were glad, Lam: 1.21. They reproached Sion and her children, Lament: 2.15, 16. and ſaid, They ſhall no more ſojourn there, Lam: 4.15. Judaea ſhall never be repoſſeſſed by them, it ſhall be ours.
Thirdly, Obſerve
That rejoycing at the ſufferings of Gods people, diſgracing and wronging of them, doth greatly offend the Lord.
Becauſe the enemy cryed Aha, defamed the Jews, arrogated the Land for their poſſeſſion; therefore the Lord ſpake againſt them in the fire of his jealouſie, and in his fury; he was exceedingly wroth, and would deal ſeverely with them: it went to his heart, and inflamed his ſpirit, that his people who were ſo dear unto him, ſhould be derided, deſpitefully uſed, what was theirs made a prey of, and that by Heathens, Jerem: 50.11, 12. Becauſe ye were glad, becauſe ye rejoyced, O ye deſtroyers of mine heritage, becauſe ye are grown fat as the Heifer at graſſe, and bellow as Bulls, your mother ſhall be ſore confounded; that is, the City Babylon, or the Land of Chaldaea, or both; becauſe the Babylonians had dealt ſo by the people of God and their Land, God would not only confound them, but ſorely confound them.
Fourthly, Obſerve
Thoſe that make the people of God infamous, ſhall themſelves be made infamous.
The Nations made the Jewes the infamy of the people, they loaded them with reproaches and ſhame; and God ſweares Surely the Heathen ſhall bear their ſhame. Do you mock and hiſs at my people? ye ſhall be mocked and hiſſed at? In Lam: 2.15, 16. You have the carriage of all towards Jeruſalem; they clapt their hands, they hiſſed, they wagged their heads, they opened their mouths, and gnaſhed their teeth, and ſaid, Is this the City men call the perfection of beauty? we have ſwallowed her up; this is the day we have looked for. In other places you may obſerve how God returned their revilings upon their heads, Jerem: 49.17. Edom ſhall be a deſolation, every one that goeth by it ſhall be aſtoniſhed, and ſhall hiſſe at all the plagues thereof. Nineveh was proud and inſulted, and God made her infamous: All that paſſed by hiſſed and wagged the hand at her, Zeph. 2.15. Babylon had the ſame meaſure, Jer: 51.37. She was made an hiſſing, without inhabitant, ſo Chap: 50.13. And Iſaiah tells us the inſulting proverb which was uſed againſt the King and City of Babylon when they were deſtroyed, Iſa: 14.4. How hath the oppreſſor ceaſed? the golden City ceaſed?