Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 7 · Ezekiel · Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
HERE the Lord biddeth Ezekiel by signes to foretell the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, he must upon a Tile pourtray, a City, and an Army besieging it, &c. The Tile to be taken saith Lyra, must be one unburnt, and so fit to pourtray any thing upon, and this must be done to make that which was to come upon the Jews for their sins the more plain, as was then the manner of Gods teaching. But all this, saith Calvin, might seem Calvin.to be childish and ridiculous, onelyonly being done at the Word of the Lord it was a matter of great moment, for hereby was shewed, that Jerusalem should most certainly be thus dealt withall by the Caldees. And this is that which maketh the sacraments instituted by God to be reverend, because they are done at his Word, although there appeareth nothing in them but contemptible, in respect of the ends for which they were ordained, there being nothing Note. in the one but Water, and in the other Bread and Wine. But Gods Word coming, they are most excellent and heavenly means of sanctification and salvation, although no such thing appeareth outwardly to the eye of the beholder, he that commanded Baptisme, hereby cleansing the soul invisibly from the filthinesse of sin; and in our receiving that Bread and Wine strengthening and refreshing our souls to eternall life. But the outward ceremonies in the Church of Rome having no word, but being meerly mens inventions are ridiculous indeed, yea vain and impious, and therefore to be cast out.
Lye upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it, 390 days, V. 4, 5. V. 6.days being to set forth years. v. 6. Then lie on thy right side 40 days, &c. That which was before done serving to represent Jerusalems destruction, now he is bidden by lying upon his left, and then on his right side to make a demonstration of the time unto the said destruction. Touching which time Calvin.Calvin conjectureth, that for Israel, that is, the Kingdome of the 10 tribes, the years set forth by the 390 days began with Jeroboam, and ended when in 2 King. 17.the time of Hosea the Assyrians carryed Israel away into captivity; for those years were just 390, and touching the 40 years of Judahs standing after this, till the destruction of Jerusalem; he reckoneth 22 from Josiah, and the other 18 either in the time of Manosseh his reign, wherein sin most abounded, or so many years of Josiah his reign before the Book of the Law was found. But who so shall compute the time from Jeroboams beginning to reign, to the 9 year of Hosea, shall find that he was much mistaken, for there was not above 272 years; and it were strange by the 40 years of Judah to understand some in another Kings reign, that is, Manassehs, one going between, or in the reign of Josiah, taking them for the former 18, and then over-leaping the latter 13, to make them up out of the years of Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah; wherefore we must necessarily seek some other interpretation; and here not to trouble the Reader with many, I find one amongst them all, that most arrides me; which is, that by the 390 days, and 40 days are meant, so many days of the siege of Jerusalem before pourtrayd upon a tile, for he is both bidden to set his face towards the siege of Jerusalem, v. 7. And to make bare his arm in token of action, wherein the Lord would soon be against her, because men in preparing to work put off their upper garment, hanging otherwise about their arms, and troubling them. And to eat base bread 390 days, and that by weight, to shew, that they should in the time of the siege or many days live in great scarcity and want through the famin, that should be; and the event was answerable, for Nebuchadnezzar began his siege against Jerusalem, ann. 9. of Zedekiah, the 10 monethmonth, the 10 day, and ann. 11. the 4 monethmonth, the 9 day took it; so that all the days of the siege, counting 30 days to a monethmonth, were 390 dayes of famine, although the famine began not after the siege, till the fifth monethmonth after the siege laid▪ then for the forty days more of his lying on his right side, in which time nothing is said of his diet; this time disagreeth not much from the time of Nebuzaradans coming to burn the house of the Lord, and other principall houses in Jerusalem, which was the 5 monethmonth, the 7 day, that is, 28 days after, so that by the time of finishing those burnings, 12 days more might well passe; and thus we come to the number of 40; all which both 390 and 40 dayes, Judah may well be said to have born her iniquities; and because many of Israel were mixed amongst them, Israel also, and Ezekiel being set for a pertentum or sign of that which was to come unto them, is said to bear their iniquities in token hereof so many days, and it is added [a day for a year] to shew, that in these their grievons suffering so many days, they were not too rigorously dealt withall; considering, that for so many years living in idolatry and other grosse sins, they suffered and were in straights but so many days, a day for a year; and then Ezekiels bearing of their iniquities so long, was his bearing onelyonly of the punishment thereof. For the counting of those years, if we begin at Jeroboam, and reckon to the captivity of Israel, of his reign 20, of the reign of Asa King of Iudah 41, Iehosaphat 35, Iehoram 8, Ahaziah 1, Athaliah 6, Ioash 40, Amaziab 29, Ʋzziah 52, Iotham 16, Ahaz 16, Hezekiah 6, at the time that Israel was subdued by the Assyrians, after this he reigned 23, Manasseh 55, Iosiah 31, Iehoiakim 11, Zedekiah 11: So that to the Captivity of Israel were 270 years, from thence to the destruction of Ierusalem 131, all together 401: But according to this account, the sinnings of Israel and Iudah are put together, which are here distinguished; and together also they are not onelyonly 401, but 430 years. Lyra therefore counteth Lyra. Judg. 9.the years of Israel in two parts, 1. from Abimelech the son of Gedeon, in whose days Israel went a whoring after his Ephod, and sinned by idolatry, till Samuels time, who made them put away their idols, which time was about 1 Sam. 7.120 years; secondly, from Ieroboam to Hosea, as was said before, 270, together 390. Then for Iudahs 40 years he assigneth the 16 first years of Manasseh his reign, of Amons 2, and of Iehoiakim, and Zedekiah 22; and this is the best that I have met withall, or can excogitate; if the years were more from Abimelech to Samuel, it is to be understood, that it is not said, that they went a whoring, even the whole house of Israel after the Ephod made by Gedeon, but that they did so; but haply, although they in Ophrah where it was, did so at the first, after he was dead, yet there was no generall defection, till many years after. And for Iudahs sinning, there was no reason to reckon any more time hereof, then was notorious, sith Hezekiah kept the people in better order all his days, and Iosiah in his and Manasseh, after his deliverance from imprisonment and restitution to his Kingdome again. For the Prophets lying thus long on his left side, and then on his right, it is not to be conceived, that he lay continually all this time indeed, but in imagination, or at certain times, till so many days were expired. Ierome reckoneth the 390 years of Israels sufferings from the captivity of the ten Hieron.tribes, an. 9. of Hosea, to the destruction of Ierusalem, or rather from Pha…e the son of Remaliah, in whose time the Captivity of two tribes and an halfe began, 164 years, from whence to Cyrus were 70, from thence to Ahashuerosh, who delivered the Jews from Hamans Conspiracy 155, all together 389. and the 40 years of Iudah from the destruction of the temple to Cyrus; whereas those years, as he had said before, were 70; and therefore this falleth, and both this and the other, because the days of their sufferings, and not the years are here set forth, but the years of their sinning, as hath been said, which brought their sufferings. Some Hebrews putting all these years together, so making up 430. say, that hereby was shewed the deliverance of the Jews, after that they had suffered so long a time from the destruction of their City by the Romans, and some of them by 390 the deliverance of the ten tribes this time being ended, and of Iudah in 40 years, but all these are vain speculations. For the Prophets lying on his right side for Iudah, on his left for Israel, the worthinesse of Iudah above, Israel is set forth in that Iudah persisted longer, by far in the service of the true God then Israel.
After his l…ving so many dayes, now his diet for the 390 days is prescribed, viz. bread of wheat and barly, beans, &c. whereof men doe not use to make bread, but being driven to it through necessity by famine; therfore hereby a famin to come to Ierusalem so long a time is foreshewed, of which enough hath been said before, and to make it more plain it is applyed so, v. 13, 16, 17. both to Israel and Judah. Of Israel, it being said, that they shall eat their bread V. 13.defiled amongst the Gentiles; and of Judah, I will break the staffe of bread in Jerusalem: And to shew their eating of defiled bread, he was bidden to bake his bread in mans dung; and then upon complaint, in the dung of beasts; but either way it was made unclean by Legall uncleannesse, and stinking, even such as the Jews were never used to, who were required to eat onelyonly things Levit. 7. 21.clean and sweet, but for the dung of man or beast not to touch it. And therefore Ezekiel, who walked according to Gods laws, abhorred from eating any thing defiled or unclean, as Peter also said of himself; so cautelous Act. 10.are the servants of God of not offending his laws in any thing, and therefore Note. much more by any spirituall uncleannesse.