Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition)
An Exliotialiwi to Eepentarux, EZEKIEL XIV. Jmfear of God' ss Judgmenia.
sent wilh him/com Ji/c/ca (Jeremiah 51. 59). The prophet's reply, first, reflectiiig on the character of the iiitii Hrers, ami, ^^ec^>ll Uly, foretelling the calainilios coming on J udea, may furnish au idea of the subject of their inquiry, sat bt'lore lue—uot at once able to find a bet;inning'of their spee(th; indicative of anxiety and despondency.
vile, and to "jirove" His people (Deuteronomj13.3; 1 Kings 22. '23; Jeremiah 4. It); 2 Thessalonians 2. 11,12). Evil comes not from, (jod, though God overrules it to serve His will (Job 12. Hi; James 1. 13). This declaration of God is intended to answer their objection, "Jeremiah and Ezekiel are but two opposed to the many prophets who announce 'peace' to us." "Nay, deceive not yourselves, those prophets of yours are deluding you, and I permit them to do so as a righteous judgment on your wilful blindness." 10. As they dealt deceitluiiy wilh God by seeking answers of peace without repentance, so God would let them be dealt deceitfully with by the prophets •whom they consulted. God would chastise their sin with a corresponding sin; as they rejected the sale directions of the true light, he would send the pernicious delusions
3. Iicai-t . . . face—the lieail is first corrupted, and then tlie uatw Hrd. maiii/eslatiuii of idol-worship follows; they s<.t their idols be/ore their eyes. With all their pretence of consulting God now, they have not even put away their idols oatwardiy ; implying gross contempt of Gml. "8et u\i," lU., raised aloj'l; implying that their idols had gained the snprenie a>icen<iaiii:y over them, stinutolinj^- l>iovk of . . . iniqiiity—Hee Proverbs 3. lil, %i, " Lot not liiein (God's lawsj depart fro'm thine eyes, then . . . thy of a talse one; prophets would be given them who should re-echo the deceitfulness that already wrought in their own bosom, to their ruin. [FaiiibaiUN.] The people had themselves alone to blame, lor they were long ago lorewarned how to discern and to treat a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13. 3); the very existence of such deceivers among them was .a sign of God's judicial displeasure (cf.
foot shall not stumble." Instead of God's law, which, by being kept before their eyes, would have saved them from stninuling, tliey set up their idols before their eyes, which proved a stumljling-block, causing them to stumble (ch.
7. 11)). inquired of at all lit., should I with inquiry be in-
(juired o/ by such hypocrites as they are? (I'salm (iO. IS; Proverbs V\2i); 28.9.) 1. and coinetli and yet cometh, feigning himself to be a true \yorshipper of Jehovah, in Saul's case, 1 Samuel IG. 14; 28. 0,7). They and the prophet, being dupes of a cominou delusic>u. should be involved in a common ruin. 11. Love was "ihe spring of God's very judgments on His people, who were incurable by any otlier process (ch. 11. 20 ; 37. 27). Vi, The second part of the chapter : the ell'ecl which the presence of a few righteous persons was to have on the purposes of God liijii tliat coiiM-tli—so the Mare/in Hebrew reads. But the tc.cl Hebrew reading is, "according to ti, according to the jiiultilude of his idols:" the anticipative clause with the pronoun not being pleonastic, but increasing the empiiasis of the following clause with the noun. "I will answer," Zi/'., reflexively, "1 will myself (or /or myself) answer him." according to . . . Idols—thus, "answering a fool according to his folly;" making the sinner's sin his punishment; retributive justice (Proverbs 1.31;
(cf. Genesis 18.24-32). God had told Jeremiah tliat the guilt of Judah was too great to be pardoned even for the intercession of Moses aiKl Samuel (Psalm 99. 6; Jeremiah
26. 5,1. 5. That I may take— i. e., unveil and overtake with 'punishment the dissimulation and impiety of Israel hid in their own heart. Or, rather, " That I may punish them by answering them arter their own hearts;" corresponding to
14.2; 15. 1), whiclt had prevailed formerly (Exodus 32. 11-
14; Numbers 14.13-20; I Samuel 7. 8-12), implying the extraordinary heinousness of their guilt, since in ordinary cases "the ett'ectual fervent prayer of a righteous luau
(for others)availeth much " (James 5. IG). Ezeliiel supplements Jeremiah by adding that not only those two once successl'iU intercessors, but uot even the three pre-eminently righteous men, Noah, Daniel, and, Job, could stay God's judgments by their riglileousness. 13. stall;" of . . . l>read—on which man's existence is supported as on a
"according to the multitude of his idols" {Note, v. 4); an instance is given, u. 9; llomansl. 28; 2 Thessalonians 2.
11, God giving them up in wrath to their own lie. idols tliough pretending to "inquire" of me, "in their hearts" they are "estranged from me," and love "idols." 0. Though God so threatened the people for tlieir idolatry
(v. o), .vet He would ratlier they should avert the calamity by "repentance." turn yourselves — Calvin translates, "turn others" {viz., the stranger proselytes in the land). As ye have been the advisers of others (see «. 7, "the stall' (ch. 4. 16; 5. 16; Leviticus 26. '26; Psalm 104. 15; IsaiaU
3. 1). I will send a famine. 14. Noali, Daniel . . . Job specified in particular as having been saved from overwhelming calamities for tlieir personal righteousness. Noah had the members of his family alone given to hiiu, amidst the general wreck. Daniel saved from the fury of the king of Babylon tile three yoi Hhs (Daniel 2. 17, 18, 48,
Bl ranger that sojourneth in Israel") to idolatry, so bestow at least as much pains in turning them to the truth: the KUi-est proof of repentance. But the parallelism to v. 3, 4 lavours Eni/lish Version; their sin was twofold: (l.)"Iu tiieir heart" or inner man. (2.) "Put before their face,"
49). Thouglt liis prophecies mostly were later than those of Ezekiel, his fame for piety and ivisdom was already established, and the events recorded (Daniel 1.2) had transpired. The Jews would naturally, in their fallen condition, pride themselves on one who rejlectetl such glory oU i. e., e.Nliibited outivardly. So their repentance is generally expressed by " repent,'" and is then divided into: (1.) "Turn j/ourspZw* (in wanily) from your idols." (2.) "Turn away your/ace* toutwardly) from all your abominations." It is uot likely that au exhortation to convert others .siiouUl come between the two iitlecting tliemselves. 7. uti anger—the prosidyle, tolirated in Israel only oU conili Mon of Worshipping no God but Jehovah (Leviticus 17.
Ills nation at the heathen capital, and would build vain hopes (liere set aside) on his inlluence in averting ruin from lliem. Thus the olijection to the authenticity of Daniel from this passage vanishes. "Job" forms the climax (and is therefore jnit out of chronological order), having uot even been leltasou or a daughter, and having had himself to pass through an ordeal of suH'ering before his final deliverance, and therefore forming the most simple instance of the righteousness of God, which would save the righteous themselves alone in tho nation, and thataftcran ordeal ot suli'ering, but not spare even a son or daughti.''r for their sake (u. 10, 18, 20; cf. Jeremiah 7. 10; 11. 14; 14. U). deliver . . . souls by . . . rlgliteousness—(Proverbs 11.4); not the righteousness of works, but that of grace, a truth less clearly understood under tlie law (Komans 4. 3). 15-'ll. Theargument is cuinidative. Ilellrstpuls thecase of the land sinning so as to fall under the judglnent ol" a famine (u. 13); tlien (r. 15) " noisome beasts" ^Levitlcllll
8, inqniB-e of liiin concerning ine—i.e., concerning my will, by myself—not by word, but by deed, i.e., by judymrnts, niarlcin;/ my hanil and direct agency ; instead of aiiswcring him through the i>r()phet he consults. F'Alli- )JAIUN translates, as it is tlie sanu.' y/c6rpa'as in the jirevious clause, "concerning ine," it is natural that God should use the same expression in His reply as was used in the consultation of Him. But the sense, I till nk, is the same. The hypocrite Inquires of the prophet concerning God; and God, instead of replying through the proijhct, reiilies lor IlimtiiK concerning Himself. 8. make Itiin a sign—///., " I will d< stroy him so as to become a sign ;" It will be no ordinmy destruction, but such as will malco liim bo an object pointed at with wonder l)y all, as Korah, &ti. (Numbers
2(5. 22); then " the sword ;" then, worst of all, " pcstilenco:" the three most rlgliteous of men should deliver only theiaselves, in those several four eases. In o. 21 he concentrates the whole in one mass of condemnation. If Noah, I>anlel, Job, could not deliver tlio land, when deserving only one Judgment, "how muoU more" when all /our J udgmonis
2ii. 1'); Deuleronomy 2.S. 37). U. I tlic Loi-d Itave deeei\-cd t'.i.it projtliet-not directly, but through Satan and his lui ulsl,(;r.s ; not merely perinissi vely, but by overruling Ihfir evil to serve the puri.os(^s of His righteous Judgment, to be a touclistouc to separuie the precious Irom tho 5S2