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Ezekiel Chapter
Twenty-four
Ezekiel 24
Chapter Contents
The fate of Jerusalem. (1-14) The extent of the
sufferings of the Jews. (15-27)
Commentary on Ezekiel 24:1-14
(Read Ezekiel 24:1-14)
The pot on the fire represented Jerusalem besieged by the
Chaldeans: all orders and ranks were within the walls
prepared as a prey for
the enemy. They ought to have put away their transgressions
as the scum
which
rises by the heat of the fire
is taken from the top of the pot. But they grew
worse
and their miseries increased. Jerusalem was to be levelled with the
ground. The time appointed for the punishment of wicked men may seem to come
slowly
but it will come surely. It is sad to think how many there are
on whom
ordinances and providences are all lost.
Commentary on Ezekiel 24:15-27
(Read Ezekiel 24:15-27)
Though mourning for the dead is a duty
yet it must be
kept under by religion and right reason: we must not sorrow as men that have no
hope. Believers must not copy the language and expressions of those who know
not God. The people asked the meaning of the sign. God takes from them all that
was dearest to them. And as Ezekiel wept not for his affliction
so neither
should they weep for theirs. Blessed be God
we need not pine away under our
afflictions; for should all comforts fail
and all sorrows be united
yet the
broken heart and the mourner's prayer are always acceptable before God.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Ezekiel》
Ezekiel 24
Verse 1
[1] Again in the ninth year
in the tenth month
in the
tenth day of the month
the word of the LORD came unto me
saying
In the ninth year — Of Zedekiah's reign.
Came unto me — The prophet was now in Babylon.
Verse 2
[2] Son of man
write thee the name of the day
even of this
same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.
Set himself — Sat down to besiege.
Verse 4
[4] Gather the pieces thereof into it
even every good
piece
the thigh
and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
Every good piece — All the chief of the
inhabitants of the land
the wealthiest
who will fly from their country-houses
to live in safety in Jerusalem: the most war-like
who will betake themselves
to Jerusalem for its defence.
Fill it — With those pieces that are biggest
fullest of marrow
and which are divided according to the bones; these are the principal members
of the state
the king
princes
priests
magistrates
and the most wealthy
citizens.
Verse 5
[5] Take the choice of the flock
and burn also the bones
under it
and make it boil well
and let them seethe the bones of it therein.
The bones — Not of the pieces to be boiled
but of the many innocents murdered in Jerusalem; for their blood crieth for
vengeance
and their bones scattered on the face of the earth
will both make
and maintain this fire.
Verse 6
[6] Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody
city
to the pot whose scum is therein
and whose scum is not gone out of it!
bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
The bloody city — Jerusalem.
Whose scum — Her wickedness is still within
her.
Piece by piece — One piece after another 'till all
be consumed.
No lot — Lots are for saving some
but here shall be no sparing
any.
Verse 7
[7] For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon
the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground
to cover it with dust;
The blood — Innocent blood which she hath
shed.
The top of a rock — Where it might be
long seen.
To cover it — These butchers of innocent ones
leave their blood uncovered.
Verse 8
[8] That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I
have set her blood upon the top of a rock
that it should not be covered.
I have set — I will openly punish
and in such
a manner as shall not be soon forgotten.
Verse 10
[10] Heap on wood
kindle the fire
consume the flesh
and
spice it well
and let the bones be burned.
And spice it well — To express this
justice
that is acceptable to God and men.
The bones — The greatest
strongest
and
firmest of the Jews shall perish in this fiery indignation.
Verse 11
[11] Then set it empty upon the coals thereof
that the brass
of it may be hot
and may burn
and that the filthiness of it may be molten in
it
that the scum of it may be consumed.
The filthiness — A type of the unreformed
sinfulness of the city.
Molten — That their wickedness may be taken away with their
persons
and city.
Verse 12
[12] She hath wearied herself with lies
and her great scum
went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.
She — Jerusalem.
With lies — Her allies
their promises
their
forces
and their idols
all prove a lie to the house of Judah.
Her scum — Her unrepented sins shall be punished in the fire that
burns their city.
Verse 13
[13] In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged
thee
and thou wast not purged
thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness
any more
till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.
Lewdness — Or obstinacy and boldness.
Purged thee — Used all means to purge thee.
Verse 16
[16] Son of man
behold
I take away from thee the desire of
thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep
neither shall
thy tears run down.
With a stroke — A sudden stroke
by my own
immediate hand. We know not how soon the desire of our eyes may be removed from
us. Death is a stroke
which the most pious
the most useful
the most amiable
are not exempted from.
Verse 17
[17] Forbear to cry
make no mourning for the dead
bind the
tire of thine head upon thee
and put on thy shoes upon thy feet
and cover not
thy lips
and eat not the bread of men.
Bind the tire — Adorn thy head
as thou wast used
to do; go not bare-headed as a mourner.
Thy shoes — ln great mournings the Jews went
bare-footed.
Cover not thy lips — It was a custom among
them to cover the upper lip.
Eat not — Of thy neighbours and friends
who were wont to visit
their mourning friends
and send in choice provision to their houses.
Verse 18
[18] So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even
my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
I spake — Told them what I expected would be.
Verse 21
[21] Speak unto the house of Israel
Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold
I will profane my sanctuary
the excellency of your strength
the
desire of your eyes
and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your
daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.
Profane — Cast off
and put into the hands of Heathens.
The excellency of your strength — So it was while God's
presence was there.
The desire — As much your desire
as my wife
was mine; most dear to you.
Verse 22
[22] And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your
lips
nor eat the bread of men.
Ye shall do — When you are in captivity
where
you may not use your own customs.
Verse 23
[23] And your tires shall be upon your heads
and your shoes
upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your
iniquities
and mourn one toward another.
Pine away — You shall languish with secret
sorrow
when you shall not dare to shew it openly.
Verse 25
[25] Also
thou son of man
shall it not be in the day when I
take from them their strength
the joy of their glory
the desire of their
eyes
and that whereupon they set their minds
their sons and their daughters
Their strength — Their walls and fortifications.
The joy — All their public and private joys and hopes shall be
destroyed in the destruction of the kingdom
and their children.
Verse 26
[26] That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee
to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?
To hear it — To give thee a narrative of all he
had seen.
Verse 27
[27] In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is
escaped
and thou shalt speak
and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign
unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
No more dumb — From this prophecy for eighteen months
during the siege
he does not prophesy of Israel
but of other nations.
Thou shalt be a sign — Until the event shall
convince the Jews
thou shalt by sign
signify to them
what is coming.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Ezekiel》
24 Chapter 24
Verses 1-27
Verses 1-14
Set on a pot.
The boiling cauldron: the doings and doom of a wicked city
I. The sins of any
city are an offence to God.
1. Seen by Him. The whole city in its greed for gain
its
intemperance
its hollowness
its lust.
2. Seen by Him with anger. He is a Moral Governor
and has the moral
nature that breaks into the sunlight of a smile on goodness
and gathers into
the thunder cloud of a frown upon wickedness.
II. The sins of any
city will ensure its doom.
1. History illustrates this. The cities of the plain
the dynasties
of the old world.
2. Prophecy predicts this.
3. The law of causation involves this. The disease of sin naturally
works the death of destruction.
III. The sins of any
city concern every individual inhabitant.
1. They bring sorrow on all.
2. They give a mission to all. Hence learn--
The boiling cauldron
1. Those who profess a true religion and possess a bad character
defile their creed by their character. The youth who belongs to an honourable
family and lives a vicious life brings the very name of his family into
ill-repute. The man who calls himself a Christian
and lives an un-Christlike
life
defiles the name he bears.
2. The possession of a correct creed will not preserve a nation or an
individual from moral degeneration unless it has its outcome in a life in
accordance with it. The child who has a Bible given to it by his father may
treasure the book carefully and boast of his possession. But the mere holding
of the book will not save him from going down in the scale of morality. To do
this he must translate the law of God into life
and thus create a new thing in
the earth--a holy character which is all his own
and which he would not
inherit from his parent.
3. There are higher claims than those springing from human
relationships. The man who descends into the depths of a coal mine to rescue
another who is perishing
while his wife stands at the pit’s mouth
beseeching
him not to venture his life
recognises this law. So does the citizen soldier
who leaves his home and family to fight for the oppressed
and the doctor who
from choice follows the army on campaign to relieve the sufferings of the
wounded. (A London Minister.)
Verse 13
Thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness.
Obstinacy in sin
1. Obstinacy in sin provokes God to the destruction of sinners. “Her
scum shall be in the fire.” Jerusalem shall be burnt
and why? “In thy
filthiness is lewdness”; thou art obstinate
hardened in thy wickedness. All
sin offends
some sins provoke to judgments
obstinacy provokes to destruction
(Jeremiah 44:15).
2. In Scripture language
that is said to be done which God or men
endeavour to do
though it be not done. “I have purged thee.” God using means
and endeavouring
by His prophets
mercies
threats
and judgments
to purge
Jerusalem from her sin
is called purging
though Jerusalem were not purged.
3. A people may have the means
and not improve the same for their
good.
4. People may so slip the time of repenting
and turning to God
as
that it may be too late for them to go about the same; they may sin away the
time of mercy. Time present is the acceptable time (2 Corinthians 6:2).
5. Those who have had means
and not profited thereby
God will deal
most severely with--there is no mercy
but altogether judgment for them. The
fig tree in the vineyard had stood there three years
and was not better at
last than at first; the influences of heaven
and fatness of the earth
had
done it no good; and behold the severity of the owner: “Cut it down; why
cumbereth it the ground?” (Luke 13:7). (W. Greenhill
M. A.)
Verses 15-27
So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife
died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
Sin the worst sorrow
I. Other sorrows
may have no evil
but even good in them; this is essentially and eternally
evil. In a bereavement
in a national calamity
as also in bodily sufferings
and many social griefs
it is manifest there may be no moral wrong. There may
indeed
be the highest moral good. But sin is
in its essence
in its
indulgence
in its outcome
utterly evil
an object of nothing else than
commiseration
loathing
and hatred.
II. Other sorrows
are remediable; this leads to destruction.
III. Other sorrows
may come direct from God; this is ever in direct antagonism to Him.
IV. Other sorrows
have to do with men in their relation to others; this with his own inner being
and his relation to God. Conclusion--
1. Rightly weigh your own sorrows.
2. Rightly deal with the world’s sorrows. Pity their poverty
heal
their sickness
but most of all grieve for and contend with their sin.
3. Rightly value the Saviour’s mission. (Urijah R. Thomas.)
Unwept bereavement: or
a great soul in a great sorrow
Individual characteristics are as marked and distinctive in the
new life of the soul as they are in the old life of sin. While the graft draws
its sap from the parent stock
it yields its own kind of fruit. Thus in the
Christian life--it is the same spirit working variously in and through the
mental trend
temperament
and educational attainments of the agent. Ezekiel is
manifestly the spiritual dramatist of the prophetic order. He speaks in action
and voices by signs the stern purposes of his God. He is a seer in symbols
The
touching incidents recorded in the chapter before us is marked by dramatic
representation of Divine truth. First the “pot
” from which parable he utters
the terrible “Woe to the bloody city.” Here
in his suppressed and even crushed
grief over his deceased wife
“the desire of his eyes” taken away from him
“with a stroke
” is the picture in miniature of the unwept desolation of
Jerusalem. In the painful experience of the prophet we have a great soul under
a great trial.
I. The woman--the
wife. “At eve my wife died.” To the pure and noble and thoughtful
no sorrow
can be greater. Where the wife is what God intended she should be
the helpmeet
of man
the loss here stated is without a parallel. “At eve my wife died”: not
my crops were blasted
or my cattle killed or taken away
but my wife
the best
part of myself
the light of life’s darkest hour; the one that buoys up the man
when all others throw on heavier burdens to press him down. My wife! What
dreadful significance! What fulness of meaning! Many a man has been lifted to
the highest places
and has been transported into fullest conditions
by the
wisdom
piety
and thoughtfulness of a good wife. Young men sinking into debt
danger
and degradation have lifted up their heads above every flood when they
have taken the float of a good wife--thus proving that “scanty fare for one
will often make a royal feast for two.” There are thousands in the Church
today
or in heaven
who would certainly have made shipwreck of faith but for
the firmer trust and steadier piety of a devoted wife--when the strong man has
been weakened by the hard struggle of life
the weak woman
strong by devotion
and radiant hope
has held him up in her heaven-derived might
till the man has
regained his strength. The prophet is here called to pass through a most painful
experience
and the terms used are touching. His wife is spoken of as the
“desire of his eyes
” and the “taking away” is to be done with a stroke. Not a
gradual fading away of the life and love
with all the touching farewells and
hopes of future meeting which characterise a death bed
but by one fell stroke
the desire of the eye
the joy of the heart
the flower of the garden
the sun
of the home
the star of earth’s hope
shall be taken from him. The Lord
frequently brings judgment near the heart
that He may plant His mercy in the
heart. He kills for the purpose of making alive. The desire of the heart is
often taken
that the heart may desire a Diviner portion. Note the time. At
“eve
” not in the morning ere work began
nor at night when the weaknesses of
old age had rendered life a burden and death a release. But at “eve
” after the
toil but before the rest. Work accomplished
but not enjoyed. How like this
now. Many a good wife who has toiled and struggled and denied her own needy
appetite for the sake of husband and family
has lived just long enough to drag
the household to the top of the hill; and when an easy plain way appeared in
view
and a season of rest gilded the sky
she has fallen dead--not with the
weight of years
so much as with the burden of hard work and heavy care.
II. The man--the
husband. The sublime self-possession
the equanimity of the prophet
the
forgetfulness of a loss so great and a sorrow so deep
seem altogether beyond
the range of common men
and can only be viewed in the light of a purpose as
mysterious as it is beneficent. The Lord apprised him of his loss
but forbade
the assumption of those signs of grief which characterise the obsequies of
oriental countries. “Forbear to cry.” Revised Version renders it--“Sigh
but
not loud.” The margin reads--“Be silent.” Grief in the heart cannot be wholly
quenched; it would be against nature to expect such a thing; but those
extravagant signs of it were what the Lord corn
rounds the prophet against.
This wonderful state of soul under an affliction so bitter may seem to some
both unnatural and sinful. It win be a sufficient reply
perhaps
to say that
exceptional circumstances defy ordinary modes of interpretation. We act wisely
as we suspend judgment upon individual actions in the abstract
and consider
them in the fight of surrounding circumstances and Divine purposes. We are now
in the presence of a great soul whose vast proportions defy all the narrow
measurements of popular conventionalism
and is a standing reproof to those
mere appearances of grief and simulations of sorrow
and those extravagant
habiliments of mourning
which are too often deeper than the grief they are
supposed to represent. The full beauty and the whole worth of the Ezekiel
conduct expresses itself in one word
“Obedience.” To blame the prophet for
what he did is to blame the Almighty who commanded it. It was at the bidding of
the great God that he bare with such magnanimity so tremendous a loss. “He that
ruleth his own spirit is better than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32). The man who can hold in
check
and keep in obedience to the high behests of heaven
all the powers
passions
and tender susceptibilities of the soul
has reached an altitude far
beyond the level of common mortals. Look at this grand old prophet whose wild
eye flings off the tear
and decks itself with the full blaze of the day of
God. There he stands in the attitude of strength
dressed for action
and not
muffled for lamentation. If
then
you can attribute the prophet’s spirit and
conduct to weakness or inhumanity
it must be because we view the same things
from different standpoints. I confess that
personally
I am awed into
littleness in presence of a soul so great. To my mind
the whole thing is
explained
and
the mystery cleared up
in the doctrine of a future life. Deny
this
and death is an unmitigated sorrow and an irretrievable loss
without a
ray to relieve the darkness or a prospect to cheer the soul. (M.
Brokenshire.)
Ezekiel’s wife not merely symbolic
Reuss is hardly right in regarding Ezekiel’s wife and her death as
fictions: the language used implies that she was a real person
and that her
death occurred as stated
though
as usual
the prophet employed the incident
for didactic purposes
and some of the details may be creations of idealism;
for it is characteristic of him that real events float before his eve in a
moral atmosphere which magnifies them and gives them an outline which is ideal
only. (A. B. Davidson
D. D.)
Loneliness through bereavement relieved by service
John Bright sat mourning in his sitting room; life was cold and
drear to him
the body of his young wife lay dead in the room above. Richard
Cobden
clear-sighted
enthusiastic
and withal practical
came to his friend
and said: “You have your sorrow; there are more sorrows in the world than
yours; your opportunity has come; people are hungering in this England of ours.
Come with me
and we will never rest until the Corn Laws are repealed.” I am
not making a political application of that utterance
but we do know that
England was wretched and hungry
and that the lot of the poor was sadder than
it is even today. That lion-hearted pair went out and fought in the midst of
obloquy
misunderstanding
contempt
and persecution
until victory crowned
their efforts
and in 1846 the tribune of the people and his friend rejoiced
over their victory. (R. J. Campbell
M. A.)
The prophet’s discipline of sorrow
Sorrow is here set before us not as personal chastisement
but as
part of the prophet’s training for his work. Duty is often incompatible with
the indulgence of personal sorrow. Business arrangements
public obligations
engagements that must be fulfilled
often summon men from the house of death;
sorrow must give way to necessity.
1. The prophet’s insight necessitates a discipline of peculiar
sorrow. In some states of the body men’s sensitiveness is acute even to
suffering. They see too much
their hearing and sense of smell are too keen. In
other states of the body the perception is too intense; the feeling of time and
space and weight is enlarged till minutes prolong themselves
and vast abysses
open out
and there is a sense of overwhelming pressure. Poets
philosophers
who see in all around them the moving of an eternal life
are not
light-hearted men. To the prophet
who sees not only life everywhere
but God;
who recognises not order only
but moral purpose; who sees the infinite
holiness and the unerring judgment: there is oppressiveness even in his joy.
But he must see the largeness of God’s designs and the certainty of His
operation before he can proclaim them; the word of the Lord is to him a burden
before it is a word. The prophet sees
moreover
not only God
but man; he has
insight into the human heart
its self-will and wickedness.
2. The prophet’s relation to men involves a peculiar discipline of
sorrow. He utters his message
and it is disregarded. He is treated as a vain
dreamer
a raver; then as an actor
whose skill brings together affecting
images which may relieve the tedium of an idle hour. There is no distress so
great as to have earnestness thus trifled with; to feel for men an apprehension
which they will not share. Moreover
it exposes the prophet to severe strokes
from God. God will arouse men; if the prophet’s words cannot make them
thoughtful
He seeks to touch them by the prophet’s sufferings. The common
saying that a man’s life is more efficacious than his teaching
is of wide
application.
3. His discipline of sorrow fits the prophet for speaking to men in
another way: God had a remnant in Israel
a remnant who should be won. If you
are to comfort mourners
you must have seen affliction; you must know the smart
of the wounds you seek to heal You desire to strengthen the faith of the
doubting; one way of doing this is to fight your own doubts and gather
strength. You would appeal to the tempted; you must know what temptation means
must vanquish the lying spirit
the worldly spirit
the spirit of
unrighteousness; in manic a battle
hard “pressed and sorely won
must come the
skill you seek. (A. Mackennal
D. D.)
The departure of friends
I. The departure
of dear friends by death is under the direction of the great God. Death is not
the result of accident
necessity
or any chemical or mechanical force
but of
the will of God. This doctrine teaches three practical lessons.
1. The grand aim of life should be to please God.
2. The grand aim in bereavement should be to acquiesce in the will of
God.
3. Our grand impression at every deathbed should be that the Lord is
at hand.
II. The departure
of dear friends by death is the source of great sorrow. Sorrow for the dead
indicates--
1. Something good in human nature. It always springs out of love
and
love is Divine.
2. Something wrong in human nature. “As by one man sin entered into
the world
” etc. Man loves because he is human; man’s love turns into agony
because he is sinful.
3. Something wanted for human nature.
III. The departure
of dear friends by death should not interfere with moral duty.
1. Because indulgence in sorrow confers no benefit on others; the
fulfilment of duty does.
2. Because indulgence in sorrow injures self
and the fulfilment of
duty does good to self.
3. Because indulgence in sorrow does not suspend the claims of duty.
(Homilist.)
Death of a wife
The union of two hearts in wedded love is close
beautiful
and
strong. But the tie
however strong
sooner or later is broken by a stroke
and
death parts whom God had joined together.
I. The primary
cause of death is God. The secondary causes may be any of the thousand ills
that flesh is heir to
but God says
“I take away the desire of thine eyes with
a stroke.” “The Lord is at hand” in every death scene.
II. The death of a
wife is the cause of great sorrow. This world is called a “vale of tears
” and
rightly so; and if there is one place where tears flow faster than any other
it is where a loving wife and precious mother lies cold in death. Where there
is most love there is keenest sorrow.
III. The death of a
wife should not interfere with the husband’s duty. Though we may feel our
hearts breaking
though all sunshine seems shut out
and the world can never be
the same to us again
yet the full discharge of life’s duties should be the
most pressing thought. A sorrow that unmans us is evil. Duty-doing is
grief-assuaging and God-honouring. (Homiletic Review.)
The desire of the eyes taken away
I. What is the
desire of thine eyes?
1. Some loved object of human relationship whom with “the body you
worship.”
2. Some dazzling dream of ambition that with the mind you grasp at;
or
3. Some ideal condition of spirituality that with the soul you aspire
after.
II. Why is the
desire of thine eyes thus taken away at a stroke by a wise and just God?
1. To wean you from setting your affections too much upon perishable
disappointing earthly objects.
2. To develop in you the passive virtues of patience
fortitude
etc.
which men are so prone to sacrifice to the active virtues
such as
courage
etc.
which they are compelled to display in the battle of life.
3. To make you look to eternal love
to eternal grandeur
and to
eternal happiness to be realised hereafter in the presence of God
as alone
calculated to satisfy the aspirations of your own immortal spirits.
III. In what spirit
should you bear the loss when thus the desire of the eyes is taken away?
1. Not in a spirit of passionate anger against the Creator for taking
away what was His own to give or take away.
2. Not in a spirit of repining
tearful melancholy
weeping
fruitlessly for “the things that might have been.”
3. Not in a spirit of sullen and voiceless despair
sorrowing “as one
without hope.”
4. Not in a spirit of affected stoical indifference
gnawed as to the
inward heart by the bitterest disappointment
and careful only to hide from the
eyes of men all outward signs of sorrow or chagrin.
5. But in a spirit of gentle resignation to
and of full trust in
the providence of God
exclaiming with the patriarch of old
“The Lord
” etc. (R.
Young
M. A.)
The stroke of death
I. The force of
the words.
1. The conjugal relation is a very tender and sensible one. It is
natural
it is right
it is commendable in a gracious husband to consider and
regard his wife as the “desire of his eyes”; as the most valuable of earthly
objects.
2. The stroke of death will assuredly part them. Whatever situation
we are placed in
however prosperous our circumstances
however successful our
pursuits
however harmonious and agreeable our tempers and dispositions
however weighty and numerous our cares
however advantageous our mutual
counsels and assistances
and however reluctant we may be to a separation
the
stroke will come
and will break in pieces this tenderest of all connections
known on earth.
3. Such a stroke is peculiarly painful and calamitous to the
surviving husband. It closes forever those dear eyes which have always been
observant of what might contribute to his welfare; it gives a fatal dash to
those capacities which have been united and exerted in a manner and to a degree
scarcely possible in any other
to alleviate her partner’s distresses
and
advance his joys
as if those joys and distresses of her husband had been her
own; it disconcerts their most pleasing schemes
though formed with the most
perfect harmony of which mortals are capable
and though pursued with the most
glowing ardour. It ought to silence all our murmurings
and excite a holy
humble resignation
to hear our merciful God and Father say
“The stroke is
from Me.” “Is it not lawful for Him to do what He will with His own?” What He
does
and why He does it
we are frequently ignorant now; but
so far as it
will contribute to our happiness
or be necessary to justify His proceedings
“we shall know hereafter.” It will probably constitute one part of the
happiness of saints in heaven to review and admire the dispensations of a wise
and gracious God towards them while upon earth.
II. A few
observations on the stroke of death
as it respects mankind in general and
believers in particular.
1. Respecting mankind in general.
2. Let us consider this stroke as it respects the true believer in
particular.
III. What practical
instructions are deducible?
1. Hence we learn what is the one thing needful
and the folly and
danger of neglecting it. Nothing will answer every purpose in life
death
and
eternity but the knowledge and enjoyment of Jesus Christ
and salvation by Him.
2. Let me assist your inquiries respecting the way to enjoy this
great blessing
and so to be prepared for the stroke of death.
3. From this view of death I call you to praise a merciful God
who
has given His dear Son to deliver us from the fear of it
and recommend the
blessed Jesus to you all
as your only
all-sufficient support and deliverer in
your last trying moments.
4. The pitiable state of those who are practically preferring
anything else to an immediate preparation for death.
5. Let all true believers
from hence
lift up an eye of faith
and
take a pleasing view of that blessed world where the stroke of death shall be
known no more.
6. Be diligent in improving the present moments for God. Employ all
the members of your bodies
exert all the capacities of your mind
and all the
superfluities of your earthly possessions
to support and advance your
Redeemer’s interest. Adorn it by a holy conversation; and recommend it to
others by every prudent method.”
7. Act as in continual expectation of death.
8. Is anything of equal consequence with dying safe? (D.
Taylor.)
The stroke of death under the direction of God
I. Social
connections are desirable enjoyments.
1. They are various; being derived from different sources.
2. They are justly desirable. They are so
because our present state
is a state of--
II. These
enjoyments are subject to the stroke of death.
1. The stroke of death should be expected by us all. However useful
to society
beloved by mankind
dear to God--all must die (2 Samuel 14:14; Ecclesiastes 3:21; Hebrews 9:27).
2. We should seriously prepare for the stroke of death; because death
is awfully important in its effects.
3. Our preparation for this stroke should be habitual. We should immediately
seek this preparation
and very carefully retain it
because the time when this
stroke will be laid on us is to us unknown (Matthew 24:44).
4. The saint’s recovery from this stroke should be anticipated
by
faith in God’s promises (Hosea 13:14; Philippians 3:21)
and hope of renewed
communion with saints in heavenly glory (1 Thessalonians 5:8-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 1:18). This reminds us--
III. The stroke of
death is under the direction of God.
1. The death of our pious friends is only a removal; it is not
annihilation--they still live with God (1 Thessalonians 5:10)
and to Him (Luke 20:38). They are taken away from
toil
sorrow
and danger (Revelation 7:16)
to complete rest
happiness
and security (Revelation 14:13).
2. They are taken away by God; by God heir proprietor
who had a
right to dispose of them (Matthew 20:15); by God their rewarder
who has taken them to crown them (2 Timothy 4:7-8); by God our
benefactor
who kindly indulged us with their society (1 Timothy 6:7) Hence His hand in
their removal should be piously acknowledged
both with resignation and
gratitude (Job 1:21). (Sketches of Four Hundred
Sermons.)
Funeral sermon
I. Our near
relatives
when they are what they ought to be
are deservedly the desire of
our eyes. The ties of nature are strong and tender. Those who are related by
blood are led by instinct to love one another fervently. But of all relations
the conjugal is the nearest
and is the foundation of the strongest affection
and delight. Where that relation is properly formed
and the parties unite on
proper principles
the bond is the firmest
and the reciprocal affection the
strongest; insomuch that it is mentioned as the emblem of the relation between
Christ and His Church.
II. A dissolution
must take place
and we are to expect even the nearest and dearest friends soon
to be taken from us. All the mutual offices of love and friendship must cease.
All the pleasures and benefits arising from their society must be suspended. No
longer can we take sweet counsel together
and go to the house of God in
company; no longer unite in our prayers and praises at the family altar.
III. The stroke
which separates between friends and kindred is sometimes sudden and unexpected.
Not a few even in early life
and to all appearance in the full possession of
health and vigour
are in a moment struck by the arrows of death
though they
themselves and their friends had presumed that they had years to come. It would
be our wisdom and happiness often to think of this
not only to quicken us in
preparing for our own dissolution
but to prepare us for the loss of our
friends and kindred
and engage us to improve the opportunities we have for our
mutual benefit while they are continued; and to prevent that immoderate
attachment to them which would be the source of excessive grief and surprise on
their sudden removal.
IV. It is God who
takes them away. “Son of man
behold
I take away from thee the desire of thine
eyes with a stroke.” In which words the Lord calls his attent on not only to
the event
but to Himself as the agent. And He is equally the agent in the
events which befall us and our friends
whatever be the instruments or second
causes. That it is God who takes away our comforts as well as gives them is
what none can doubt who have any just acquaintance with His holy word and
believe what it teaches. We are there told
in general
that all things are of
God
that a sparrow does not fall to the ground
and much less any human being
without our heavenly Father. “Behold
” says Job
“He takes away
and none can
hinder Him.” Such a stroke ought to be felt
and it may be lamented as a heavy
affliction. But when you consider the hand from whence it comes
you will see
reason not only to submit
but to adore; and duty to Him requires that you
should.
V. Guard against
immoderate grief. Were it not for the hope of the Gospel--the hope of a blessed
immortality beyond the grave--death would indeed be a most formidable object.
When our friends leave the world
if we believed that there was an utter end of
them
and they sunk into an eternal sleep
the thought of parting with them
would be terrible. But if
when our dear friends die
we are fully persuaded
that they live to God--if
when they are taken from us
we are well assured
that they are gone to be with Christ
which is far better--we can have no just
cause to mourn on their account; and if we have a Gospel foundation of hope
that we are following them to glory
and shall ere long meet them there
whatever reason we have to mourn our own present loss
our sorrows ought to be
mingled with joy.
Conclusion--
1. Let us bless God for those dear friends and relatives who are
deservedly the desire of our eyes.
2. Let us remember how precarious the continuance of them is
as well
as of all earthly enjoyments
and be prepared for the loss of them.
3. Nor let us forget that this change is as likely to be effected by
our removal as by that of our friends.
4. Under all the afflictions of this mortal life
and especially
amidst our sorrows for our departed friends
let us bless God for the comforts
of the Gospel; and let us never cast them from us
but by faith make
application of them to ourselves. (S. Palmer.)
Verse 19
Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us
that thou doest
so?
An ancient question modernised
Just as Ezekiel
at his Lord’s command
did many strange things
entirely with a view to other people
we must remember that many things that we
do have some relation to others. As long as we are here we can never so isolate
ourselves as to become absolutely independent of our surroundings; and it is
often well
when we note the behaviour of other people
to say to somebody
if
not to them
as the people did to Ezekiel
“Wilt thou not tell us what these
things are to us?”
I. This should be
your question to the Lord Jesus. Very reverently
though
let us approach our
Divine Master
and looking at Him in His wondrous passion
let us earnestly ask
Him
“Wilt Thou not tell us what these things are to us
that Thou doest so?”
His answer is
“Sin is an exceedingly bitter thing; and to remove it costs Me
the agony of My soul.” But do you see through the trees the lanterns twinkling?
Men are coming
evil men
with rough voices
with torches
and lanterns
and
staves
to take the blessed pleading One. Dear Master
while the traitor’s kiss
is still wet upon Thee
and Thou art being led away bound to Caiaphas
tell me
I pray Thee
what meanest Thou by all this? What has this to do with us? He
answers
“I go willingly; I must be bound
for sin has bound you; sin has bound
your hands
sin has hampered and crippled you
and made you prisoners. You are
the bond slaves of Satan
and I must be bound to set you free.” But now they
have taken Him before His judges. He stands before Annas
and Caiaphas
and
Pilate. Blessed Sufferer
like a lamb in the midst of wolves
tell us
if Thou
wilt speak a word
why this silence? And He whispers into the hearts of His
beloved
“I was silent
for there was nothing to say; willing to be your
Advocate
what could I say? You had sinned
though I had not. I might have
pleaded for Myself; but I stood there for you
in your room
and place
and
stead; and what could I say
what excuse
what apology
what extenuation could
I urge?” But now they are scourging Him
they are crowning Him with thorns
they are mocking Him
blindfolding Him
and then smiting Him with the palms of
their hands. What scorn
what shame they poured on Him: Blessed One
blessed
One
wilt Thou not tell us what these things are to us? But now
you see
they
take Him out through the streets of Jerusalem; along the Via Dolorosa He
pursues His weary walk
blood drops falling on the pavement
Himself staggering
beneath the load of the Cross. Tell me
Jesus
why goest Thou out there
to the
place of public execution
the Old Bailey
the Tyburn of Jerusalem? And He
answers
“I suffer without the gate because God will not tolerate sin in His
city. Sin is an unclean thing; and I
though not Myself unclean
yet standing
in the stead of the unclean
must die outside the city gates.” And He answers
“That I may draw all men unto Me. Earth refuses Me
and heaven denies Me
shelter. I hang here
the Just for the unjust
that I may bring men to God.”
They take Him down from the Cross
for He is dead; but before they take Him
down they pierce His heart
and even after death that heart for us its tribute
pours. But they have buried Him
and He lies in His cell alone through the
long
dark night of death; but the third morning sees Him rise. Or ever the sun
is up
the Sun of Righteousness has arisen
with healing in His wings. Jesus
has quitted the tomb
and I invite all sinners to say to the risen Redeemer
“Wilt Thou not fell us what these things are to us
that Thou doest so?” This
is what I understand that His Resurrection means to us
He is able to save to
the uttermost them that come unto God by Him
seeing He ever liveth to make
intercession for them. He not only rises from the dead; but He ascends to His
Father. Ask Him what He means by that
and He will tell you that He has led
captivity captive
and “received gifts for men
yea
for the rebellious also.”
II. This may be
your question to the church. We are coming here
to keep Christ’s death in
remembrance. Every first day of the week
if you can
come to the table as a
part of your Sabbath worship. This service is intended to be a memorial of
Christ’s death. The best memorial of any event is to associate with it the
observance of some rite
or some ceremony frequently repeated; this will cause
it to be a perpetual memorial. Now
as long as half a dozen Christians meet
together for the breaking of bread
Christ’s death can never be forgotten. We
are not
however
coming to the table merely to look at the bread and the wine.
We are coming there to eat and to drink
to show our personal benefit by Jesus
Christ’s death. We wish all who see us to know that we enjoy the result of
Christ’s death. We have a life that feeds upon His sacrifice; we have a hope
that makes Christ to be its very meat and drink. But we not only come to the
table to eat and to drink
but there is this point about the communion
that we
come together to declare our unity in Jesus Christ. If I went home
and broke
bread
and drank of the juice of the vine by myself alone
it would not be the
observance of the Lord’s Supper. It is a united participation. It is a
festival. It is a token and display of brotherhood. Once more
when this
communion is over
if we live
we shall meet again next Lord’s day
and when
that is over
if we are spared
we shall meet again the following Lord’s day.
We meet continually
to show our belief in Jesus Christ’s coming again. Perhaps
you still inquire
“Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us
that
thou doest so?” Well
they are this to you
that
whether you remember Jesus
Christ’s coming or not
He is coming; He is coming quickly. Let Him come when
He may
His coming will be full of love and joy to all who have trusted Him.
III. This is our
question to you
“Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us
that thou
doest so?” First
there are some of you who are here who do not often go to a
place of worship; I know you. By seldom coming to the Lord’s house you teach us
your utter indifference. Your carelessness seems to say to me
“God is nobody
put Him in a corner. Get on in business; mind the main chance. Gospel?
Salvation? Oh
they are trifles
not worth anybody’s consideration!” There are
others of you who are not indifferent; you come to the services
and you are
attentive listeners; but just observe what you are going to do. The Lord’s
table is spread
Christ is to be remembered
fellowship is to be had with Him
and you are going home! I hear another say
“I am not going home; I shall
remain at the ordinance as a spectator.” I always like to see you look on. You
are getting into a place of happy danger. Get where the shots fly
and one of
them may make a target of you. Oh
that it might be so! But tonight you are
going to be only a spectator. Will you tell me what that means--only a
spectator? In Paris
during the siege
when it was straitly shut up
there were
meals given at certain times in appointed places; but what would you have
thought if you had been there
and had been allowed to come to the window and
see the feeding
and yourself remain only a spectator? Do not be merely
spectators; but if you mean to be so
then I say this to you
there will be no
spectators in heaven. They will all partake of the feast above
or they will
not be there. And
I grieve to add
there will be no spectators in hell. You
will have to participate in the award of vengeance
or else in the gift of
mercy. Therefore have done with being spectators. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》