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Ezekiel Chapter
Thirty-nine
Ezekiel 39
Chapter Contents
The destruction of Gog. (1-10) Its extent. (11-22) Israel
again favoured. (23-29)
Commentary on Ezekiel 39:1-10
(Read Ezekiel 39:1-10)
The Lord will make the most careless and hardened
transgressors know his holy name
either by his righteous anger
or by the
riches of his mercy and grace. The weapons formed against Zion shall not
prosper. Though this prophecy is to be fulfilled in the latter days
it is
certain. From the language used
it seems that the army of Gog will be
destroyed by miracle.
Commentary on Ezekiel 39:11-22
(Read Ezekiel 39:11-22)
How numerous the enemies which God destroyed for the
defence of his people Israel! Times of great deliverances should be times of
reformation. Every one should help the utmost he can
toward cleansing the land
from reproach. Sin is an enemy every man should strive against. Those engaged
in public work
especially of cleansing and reforming a land
ought to be men
who will go through with what they undertake
who will be always employed. When
good work is to be done
every one should further it. Having received special
favours from God
let us cleanse ourselves from all evil. It is a work which
will require persevering diligence
that search may be made into the secret
recesses of sin. The judgments of the Lord
brought upon sin and sinners
are a
sacrifice to the justice of God
and a feast to the faith and hope of God's
people. See how evil pursues sinners
even after death. After all that
ambitious and covetous men do and look for
"a place of graves" is
all the Lord gives them on earth
while their guilty souls are doomed to misery
in another world.
Commentary on Ezekiel 39:23-29
(Read Ezekiel 39:23-29)
When the Lord shall have mercy on the whole house of
Israel
by converting them to Christianity
and when they shall have borne the
shame of being cast off for their sins
then the nations shall learn to know
worship
and serve him. Then Israel also shall know the Lord
as revealed in
and by Christ. Past events do not answer to these predictions. The pouring out
of the Spirit is a pledge that God's favour will continue. He will hide his
face no more from those on whom he has poured out his Spirit. When we pray that
God would never cast us from his presence
we must as earnestly pray that
in
order thereto
he would never take his Holy Spirit from us.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Ezekiel》
Ezekiel 39
Verse 2
[2] And I will turn thee back
and leave but the sixth part
of thee
and will cause thee to come up from the north parts
and will bring
thee upon the mountains of Israel:
The sixth part — I will leave in thy country but
one in six.
Verse 3
[3] And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand
and will
cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
Thy bow — What is said of the bow rendered useless
is to be
understood of all other weapons of war; this is one kind
the bow
being most
in use with the Scythians
is mentioned for all the rest.
Verse 8
[8] Behold
it is come
and it is done
saith the Lord GOD;
this is the day whereof I have spoken.
It is come — As sure as if already come.
The day — That notable day of recompences against the last great
enemies of the church.
Verse 9
[9] And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go
forth
and shall set on fire and burn the weapons
both the shields and the
bucklers
the bows and the arrows
and the handstaves
and the spears
and they
shall burn them with fire seven years:
The weapons — The warlike provision
instruments
engines
carriages and wagons.
Shall burn — It may be wondered why they burn
these weapons
which might be of use to them for defence; but it was done in
testimony that God was their defence
on whom only they relied.
With fire — In such a country where the need
of fire is much less than with us
it will not seem incredible
that the
warlike utensils of so numerous an army might be enough to furnish them with
fuel for many years.
Verse 11
[11] And it shall come to pass in that day
that I will give
unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel
the valley of the passengers on the
east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall
they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of
Hamongog.
Gog — And to many of those with him; but many were given to
the birds and beasts to be devoured.
Graves — Gog came to take possession; and so he shall
but not
as he purposed and hoped. He shall possess his house of darkness in that land
which he invaded.
The valley of the passengers — So called from the
frequent travels of passengers through it from Egypt and Arabia Felix
into the
more northern parts
and from these again into Egypt and Arabia.
The sea — The Dead Sea.
Hamon Gog — That is
the multitude of Gog.
Verse 13
[13] Yea
all the people of the land shall bury them; and it
shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified
saith the Lord
GOD.
Glorified — The day of my being glorified
shall be a renown to Israel.
Verse 14
[14] And they shall sever out men of continual employment
passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the
face of the earth
to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they
search.
They — The rulers of Israel.
Sever — Chuse out men who shall make it their work.
Passing — To go up and down over the whole land; for many of
Gog's wounded
flying soldiers
died in thickets
and corners into which they
crept.
The passengers — Whose assistance they would
desire of courtesy.
Remain — Unburied by the public labour of the house of Israel
during the seven months.
Verse 16
[16] And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus
shall they cleanse the land.
The city — That is
the multitude: the city which is next to this
common tomb of Gog.
Verse 17
[17] And
thou son of man
thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak
unto every feathered fowl
and to every beast of the field
Assemble
yourselves
and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do
sacrifice for you
even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel
that ye
may eat flesh
and drink blood.
I do sacrifice — The punishment of these God calls
a sacrifice
which he offers to his own justice.
Upon the mountains — Where more thousands
are offered at once
than ever were at any time offered; 'tis a sacrifice so
great
that none ever was
or will be like it.
Verse 18
[18] Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty
and drink the
blood of the princes of the earth
of rams
of lambs
and of goats
of
bullocks
all of them fatlings of Bashan.
Ye shall eat — In these two and the following
verses
God takes on him the person of one that makes a feast
invites his
guests
and promises to satisfy them. Of the two former
the first is an
Enigmatical invitation
or an invitation in a riddle; the latter is the key to
this character.
The mighty — Who had great authority
great
courage and strength
the giant-like ones
commanders of great note in the
army.
Princes — Many princes came with their country men and subjects
to assist in this war.
Rams — These are compared to rams which lead the flock.
Lambs — Lambs are the more ordinary in the army.
Goats — Goats signify the more lascivious
and impetuous among
them.
Bullocks — Bullocks
such as though more slow
were of great
strength.
Fatlings — Well fed.
Bashan — A mountain of most rich
and sweet soil.
Verse 20
[20] Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and
chariots
with mighty men
and with all men of war
saith the Lord GOD.
At my table — In the field where Gog
his
princes
and army
are slain
compared to a table.
Horses — Horsemen
not common foot soldiers.
Chariots — The men that ride in them.
Verse 21
[21] And I will set my glory among the heathen
and all the
heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed
and my hand that I have
laid upon them.
All the heathen — In the countries to which the
news shall come.
Verse 26
[26] After that they have borne their shame
and all their
trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me
when they dwelt safely in
their land
and none made them afraid.
Their shame — Reproach for their sins.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Ezekiel》
39 Chapter 39
Verses 1-29
Verse 8
Behold
it is come
and it is done
saith the Lord God; this is
the day whereof I have spoken.
Christmas Day
We should search the whole range of Scripture in vain for words
more forcibly bringing home to our minds all the great truths upon which the
Christian loves to dwell on this our own peculiar and joyful Festival.
I. “It is come.”
1. Pardon and salvation are come to sinful man: they that have long
sat in the darkness of unatoned transgression
have now seen that true light
which is given to be the guide of their feet along the paths of pleasantness
into the way of which peace is the beginning
and joy is the end. The message
“is come
” which alone can bind up the broken heart
and speak comfort to the
troubled spirit.
2. Reconciliation with the Father “is come” for all but those who
wilfully reject the means that His Son has given.
3. In the coming of the Son of Man upon earth
there is a special
blessing come unto us. By His birth
as on this day
into the flesh
we are born
again into the Spirit.
II. “It is done.”
The power of the tempter is once and forever subdued
his usurped dominion is
done away. Not that in the great event this day before us
the whole scheme of
redemption is brought to its full accomplishment: to perfect that scheme
greater things yet must come to pass. Not till the Saviour had died upon the
Cross; and descended into the abodes of death; and raised Himself from the
silent grave on the third day; and ascended with His reassumed body
to the
place which He had ever occupied at the right hand of the Father; and from that
high place had sent down the gifts of the promised Spirit “for the perfecting
of the saints
for the work of the ministry”; not till all this had come to
pass
was the whole glorious scheme of man’s redemption complete in all its
full and free loving kindness. Yet may we still
on this beginning of joyful
tidings which came to us even now
say with the Prophet in the spirit of joy
and thankfulness
“It is done.” From this event all the rest naturally and
connectedly springs. Even among those who saw the promises from afar off
there
was a sure word of prophecy; whereunto they did well that they took heed
as
unto a light that shineth in a dark place. Ezekiel looked unto the promised redemption
as clearly when he said
“Behold
it is come
and it is done
saith the Lord
God; this is the day of which I have spoken”; as when the aged Simeon held the
infant Jesus in his arms
and with abundant thankfulness exclaimed
“Lord
now
lettest Thou
” etc. Lessons--
1. He who came unto us as a little child
expects in every true
follower of His
that mind of guileless simplicity which is the mind of little
children. And then
as newborn babes
we are further to desire the sincere milk
of the word
that we may grow thereby.
2. Let us remember
in the midst of all our thankfulness for the
great mercy of which this day is the celebration
to have some sobering and
self-humbling thoughts. If it is fitting
on the one hand
that our hearts
should be filled with joy
as we think upon His love to man
it is no less
fitting
on the other hand
that we should remember the sin of man
which
brought the Saviour from His throne on high.
3. Let us not think of the newborn King
and yet forget the “new
commandment” which He gave unto us; that commandment was
that we should love
one another
and it was a new commandment
because it placed Christian charity
on a new and higher footing.
4. With all these glorious sayings
which in the services of this day
are brought before us at one view
with all these still sounding in your ears
reflect continually on the great privileges that you enjoy
and the clear light
of revelation
in the fulness of which you have your portion. And not only
think of these things
but let me “beseech you
” in the words of St. Paul
“that ye walk worthy of the vocation
” etc. (H. W. Sulivan
M. A.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》