Ezekiel 24
DOYLYEzekiel 24:3
- — Because thou saidst, Aha.] Because thou didst insult and rejoice in the profanation of my sanctuary. Bp. Hull. Compare Job xxxix. 25.
Ezekiel 24:4
- — to the men of the east] By the men of the East may be meant the Chaldeans, chap. xxi. 19, 20. Ammon is likewise reckoned amongst those countries, which God foretold by Jeremiah should be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, Jer. xxv. 21. W. Lowth. It is possible, however, that the Arabians may be here meant, the Ishmaelites, the tented inhabitants of Arabia Deserta. God might be said to give the country of Moab and Ammon to them, not that they ever subdued it by their arms, but because, when the inhabitants were carried captive beyond the Euphrates, the neighbouring Arabs, charmed with the beauty and the fertility of these provinces, rushed into the country and occupied their seats.
This exposition seems to be confirmed by the latter part of this, and by the following verse, which express clearly the genius and the mode of life of the Arabs. “They shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk; and I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching-place for flocks.” Their food is milk, their riches flocks, and upon camels they transport themselves and their property from place to place. Calmet, Harmer.
— their palaces] The word may also mean their a Jer. 49. 1, &c.
Ezekiel 24:9
- — I will even make the pile for fire great.] I will greatly aggravate her judgments. Bp. Hall.
Ezekiel 24:10
10, 11. Heap on wood, — consume the flesh, &c.] See that full and exquisite vengeance be executed upon the wicked city. Bp. Hall.
Ezekiel 24:11
- — that the brass of it] The burning of the brass denotes that the judgments of God would fall upon the city as well as upon the inhabitants. Abp. Newcome. 12. She hath wearied herself with lies. She hath multiplied her idolatries: idols being elsewhere called lies. W. Lowth. — and her great scum went not forth] All her wickedness is still within her unrepented of, unamended. Bp. Hall.
Ezekiel 24:13
- In thy filthiness is lewdness:] That rust and scum which is in thee is thine abominable lewdness, or idolaty. Bp. Hall. — because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged.] I did what was requisite on my part towards thy conversion, but thou refusedst to comply with those frequent calls and exhortations which I gave thee; (see the note on Jer. xxxi. 18; and therefore my Spirit shall not strive with thee any longer, but I will proceed to execute my judgments upon thee. W. Lowth.
Ezekiel 24:16
- — the desire of thine eyes] Thy wife, the object of thy affection. W. Lowth. — with a stroke:] Not by an ordinary death, but by an unexpected blow. Calmet.
Ezekiel 24:17
- — bind the tire &c.] Abstain from all mourning: use thy ordinary dress upon thine head. Whereas in the times of mourning it was customary sometimes to shave the head: see Lev. xiii. 45; Jer. vii. 29; xvi. 6. The priests were particularly forbidden to uncover their heads in the time of mourning. W. Lowth. VOL. II. — and put on thy shoes upon thy feet.] Going barefoot was another expression of sorrow, 2 Sam. xv. 30. W. Lowth. Addison, in his account of the modern mourning of the Jews in Barbary, says, “The relations of the deceased, for seven days after the interment, stir not abroad; or if by some extraordinary occasion they are forced to go out of doors, it is without shoes; which is a token with them that they have lost a dear friend.” Harmer. — cover not thy lips.] Covering the lips was another token of mourning, Lev. xiii. 45; Micah iii. 7. W. Lowth. The author above mentioned, in his account of the Jews of Barbary, thus describes one of their mourning rites: “They return from the grave to the house of the deceased, where one as chief mourner receives them, with his jaws tied up with a linen cloth, after the same manner that they bind up the dead; and by this the mourner is said to testify, that he was ready to die with his friend. And thus muffled, the mourner goes for seven days; during which time the rest of his friends come twice every twenty-four hours to pray with him.” Harmer. — and eat not the bread of men.] Of mourners. Abp. Secker. Eat not the bread of consolation wont to be prepared by the humane, and sent to those in deep affliction. Harmer. See the note on Jer. xvi. 7.
Ezekiel 24:18
- — and I did in the morning &c.] Of the next day. Syriack Version, Abp. Secker.
Ezekiel 24:21
- — I will profane my sanctuary, &c.] I will deliver my temple into the hands of the heathen, and they shall profane and destroy it, chap. vii. 19, 20. That temple wherein you placed your glory, and thought my residence there your greatest protection. W. Lowth. — whom ye have left] Whom ye left behind you in the city, when you were carried captive. W. Lowth.
Ezekiel 24:24
- Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign.] See the note on chap. xii. 6, from Fragments to Calmet.
Ezekiel 24:26
- That he that escapeth in that day] See chap. xxxiii. 21, 22.
Ezekiel 24:27
- In that day shall thy mouth be opened] Then will I give thee a new commission to speak, and that not by signs as at present, but with freedom and plainness: the event, so exactly answering thy predictions, shall give a new authority to what thou speakest. See chap. iii. 26; xxix. 21. W. Lowth.
— and thou shalt be a sign] See ver. 24.
Ezekiel was a sign to the house of Israel in various instances, and described by sensible representations the miseries which God was about to bring upon that people. That his predictions were fully accomplished we learn from the conclusion of the books of Kings and Chronicles; from the 39th and 52nd chapters of Jeremiah; and most particularly from the Lamentations of that Prophet, who was an eye-witness of the desolations of his country, and the captivity of his people. How long did God wait! how often did He call, “Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited!” But she refused to be instructed, and God’s soul did depart from her. Let us hear, and fear, and take better impressions from such words of exhortation, and cleanse our hands, and purify our hearts, from the defilement of our sins. Let us speedily embrace the overtures of our peace, whilst the door of mercy stands open: turning without delay from our rebellious ways, and doing those things which are well pleasing to God, that so we may be reconciled to Him, and rejoice in the light of his countenance, and finally obtain from Him the salvation of our souls and bodies, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Reading.
Chap. XXV. ver. 2. — against the Ammonites.] The chronological order of this chapter is after chap. xxxiii. 21, &c. at a time when not only the taking of Jerusalem