Ezekiel 5

Eze 5:1-17.

VISION OF

CUTTING THE

HAIRS, AND THE

CALAMITIES

FORESHADOWED

THEREBY.

1. knife . . . razor--the sword of the foe (compare

Isa 7:20).

This vision implies even severer judgments than the Egyptian

afflictions foreshadowed in the former, for their guilt was greater

than that of their forefathers.

thine head--as representative of the Jews. The whole hair being shaven

off was significant of severe and humiliating

(2Sa 10:4, 5)

treatment. Especially in the case of a priest; for priests

(Le 21:5)

were forbidden "to make baldness on their head," their hair being the

token of consecration; hereby it was intimated that the ceremonial must

give place to the moral.

balances--implying the just discrimination with which Jehovah

weighs out the portion of punishment "divided," that is, allotted to

each: the "hairs" are the Jews: the divine scales do not allow even one

hair to escape accurate weighing (compare

Mt 10:30).

2. Three classes are described. The sword was to destroy one third

of the people; famine and plague another third ("fire" in

Eze 5:2

being explained in

Eze 5:12

to mean pestilence and famine); that which remained was to be scattered

among the nations. A few only of the last portion were to escape,

symbolized by the hairs bound in Ezekiel's skirts

(Eze 5:3;

Jer 40:6; 52:16).

Even of these some were to be thrown into the fiery ordeal again

(Eze 5:4;

Jer 41:1, 2,

&c.; Jer 44:14,

&c.). The "skirts" being able to contain but few

express that extreme limit to which God's goodness can reach.

5, 6. Explanation of the symbols:

Jerusalem--not the mere city, but the people of Israel generally, of

which it was the center and representative.

in . . . midst--Jerusalem is regarded in God's point of view as center

of the whole earth, designed

to radiate the true light over the nations in all directions. Compare

Margin ("navel"),

Eze 38:12;

Ps 48:2;

Jer 3:17.

No center in the ancient heathen world could have been selected more

fitted than Canaan to be a vantage ground, whence the people of God

might have acted with success upon the heathenism of the world. It lay

midway between the oldest and most civilized states, Egypt and Ethiopia

on one side, and Babylon, Nineveh, and India on the other, and

afterwards Persia, Greece, and Rome. The Phœnician mariners were

close by, through whom they might have transmitted the true religion to

the remotest lands; and all around the Ishmaelites, the great

inland traders in South Asia and North Africa. Israel was thus

placed, not for its own selfish good, but to be the spiritual

benefactor of the whole world. Compare

Ps 67:1-7

throughout. Failing in this, and falling into idolatry, its guilt was

far worse than that of the heathen; not that Israel literally

went beyond the heathen in abominable idolatries. But "corruptio

optimi pessima"; the perversion of that which in itself is the best

is worse than the perversion of that which is less perfect: is in fact

the worst of all kinds of perversion. Therefore their punishment was

the severest. So the position of the Christian professing Church now,

if it be not a light to the heathen world, its condemnation will be

sorer than theirs

(Mt 5:13; 11:21-24;

Heb 10:28, 29).

6. changed . . . into--rather, "hath resisted My judgments

wickedly"; "hath rebelled against My ordinances for wickedness"

[BUXTORF]. But

see on

Eze 5:7,

end.

7. multiplied--rather, "have been more abundantly outrageous";

literally, "to tumultuate"; to have an extravagant rage for idols.

neither have done according to the judgments of the nations--have not

been as tenacious of the true religion as the nations have been of the

false. The heathen "changed" not their gods, but the Jews changed

Jehovah for idols (see

Eze 5:6,

"changed My judgments into wickedness," that is, idolatry,

Jer 2:11).

The Chaldean version and the Masora support the negative.

Others omit it (as it is omitted in

Eze 11:12),

and translate, "but have done according to the

judgments," &c. However, both

Eze 11:12

and also this verse are true. They in one sense "did according to the

heathen," namely, in all that was bad; in another, namely, in that

which was good, zeal for religion, they did not.

Eze 5:9

also proves the negative to be genuine; because in changing their

religion, they have not done as the nations which have not

changed theirs, "I (also) will do in thee that which I have not

done."

8. I, even I--awfully emphatic. I, even I, whom thou thinkest to be

asleep, but who am ever reigning as the Omnipotent Avenger of sin, will

vindicate My righteous government before the nations by judgments on

thee.

9. See on

Eze 5:7.

that which I have not done--worse than any former judgments

(La 4:6;

Da 9:12).

The prophecy includes the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and

the final one by Antichrist

(Zec 13:8, 9; 14:2),

as well as that by Nebuchadnezzar. Their doom of evil was not exhausted

destiny, because there would be, as the Lord foresaw, a germinating

evil in their character. As God connected Himself peculiarly with

Israel, so there was to be a peculiar manifestation of God's wrath

against sin in their case [FAIRBAIRN]. The higher

the privileges the greater the punishment in the case of abuse of them.

When God's greatest favor, the gospel, was given, and was abused by

them, then "the wrath was to come on them to the uttermost"

(1Th 2:16).

10. fathers . . . eat . . . sons--alluding

to Moses' words

(Le 26:29;

De 28:53),

with the additional sad feature, that "the sons should eat their

fathers" (see

2Ki 6:28;

Jer 19:9;

La 2:20; 4:10).

11. as I live--the most solemn of oaths, pledging the self-existence

of God for the certainty of the event.

defiled my sanctuary--the climax of Jewish guilt: their defiling

Jehovah's temple by introducing idols.

diminish--literally, "withdraw," namely, Mine "eye" (which

presently follows), that is, My favors;

Job 36:7

uses the Hebrew verb in the same way. As the Jews had

withdrawn from God's sanctuary its sacredness by "defiling" it,

so God withdraws His countenance from them. The significance of

the expression lies in the allusion to

De 4:2,

"Ye shall not diminish aught from the word which I command you";

they had done so, therefore God diminishes them. The reading

found in six manuscripts, "I will cut thee off," is not so good.

12. Statement in plain terms of what was intended by the symbols

(Eze 5:2;

see

Eze 6:12;

Jer 15:2; 21:9).

draw out . . . sword after them--

(Le 26:33).

Skeptics object; no such thing happened under Zedekiah, as is here

foretold; namely, that a third part of the nation should die by

pestilence, a third part by the sword, and a third be scattered unto

all winds, and a sword sent after them. But the prophecy is not

restricted to Zedekiah's time. It includes all that Israel suffered, or

was still to suffer, for their sins, especially those committed at that

period

(Eze 17:21).

It only received its primary fulfilment under Zedekiah: numbers then

died by the pestilence and by the sword; and numbers were scattered in

all quarters and not carried to Babylonia alone, as the objectors

assert (compare

Ezr 1:4;

Es 3:8;

Ob 14).

pestilence . . . and famine--signified by the symbol "fire"

(Eze 5:2).

Compare

Isa 13:8;

La 5:10;

plague and famine burning and withering the countenance, as fire

does.

13. cause my fury to rest upon them--as on its proper and permanent

resting-place

(Isa 30:32,

Margin).

I will be comforted--expressed in condescension to man's conceptions;

signifying His satisfaction in the vindication of His justice by His

righteous judgments

(De 28:63;

Pr 1:26;

Isa 1:24).

they shall how--by bitter experience.

14. reproach among the nations--They whose idolatries Israel had

adopted, instead of comforting, would only exult in their calamities

brought on by those idolatries (compare

Lu 15:15).

15. instruction--literally, "a corrective chastisement," that is, a

striking example to warn all of the fatal consequences of sin. For

"it shall be"; all ancient versions have "thou," which the

connection favors.

16. arrows of famine--hail, rain, mice, locusts, mildew (see

De 32:23, 24).

increase the famine--literally, "congregate" or "collect." When ye

think your harvest safe because ye have escaped drought, mildew, &c., I

will find other means

[CALVIN], which I will congregate as the

forces of an invading army, to bring famine on you.

17. beasts--perhaps meaning destructive conquerors

(Da 7:4).

Rather, literal "beasts," which infest desolated regions such as

Judea was to become (compare

Eze 34:28;

Ex 23:29;

De 32:24;

2Ki 17:25).

The same threat is repeated in manifold forms to awaken the careless.

sword--civil war.