the Fourth Week of Advent
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Green's Literal Translation
Joel 3:18
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"On that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine. The hills will flow with milk, and water will flow through all the empty rivers of Judah. A fountain will come from the Lord 's Temple. It will give water to Acacia Valley.
And on that day The mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house of the LORD And water the Valley of Shittim.
"On that day wine will drip from the mountains, milk will flow from the hills, and water will run through all the ravines of Judah. A fountain will flow from the Temple of the Lord and give water to the valley of acacia trees.
On that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the dry stream beds of Judah will flow with water. A spring will flow out from the temple of the Lord , watering the Valley of Acacia Trees.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of Yahweh, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
And in that day The mountains will drip with sweet wine And the hills will flow with milk; And all the brooks and riverbeds of Judah will flow with water, And a fountain will go out from the house of the LORD To water the [desert] Valley of Shittim.
"And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim.
It will happen in that day, That the mountains will drop down sweet wine, The hills will flow with milk, All the brooks of Judah will flow with waters; And a fountain will come forth from the house of Yahweh, And will water the valley of Shittim.
And it schal be, in that dai mounteyns schulen droppe swetnesse, and litle hillis schulen flowe with mylke, and watris schulen go bi alle the ryueris of Juda; and a welle schal go out of the hous of the Lord, and schal moiste the stronde of thornes.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.
On that day, fruitful vineyards will cover the mountains. And your cattle and goats that graze on the hills will produce a lot of milk. Streams in Judah will never run dry; a stream from my house will flow in Acacia Valley.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
And it will come about in that day that the mountains will be dropping sweet wine, and the hills will be flowing with milk, and all the streams of Judah will be flowing with water; and a fountain will come out from the house of the Lord, watering the valley of acacia-trees.
class="poetry"> "After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions; and also on male and female slaves in those days I will pour out my Spirit. I will show wonders in the sky and on earth — blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and terrible Day of Adonai ." At that time, whoever calls on the name of Adonai will be saved. For in Mount Tziyon and Yerushalayim there will be those who escape, as Adonai has promised; among the survivors will be those whom Adonai has called.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the water-courses of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
[4:18] And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
And it shall come to passe in that day, that the mountaines shal drop downe new wine, and the hils shall flow with milke, and all the riuers of Iudah shall flow with waters, and a fountaine shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. Water will fill the streambeds of Judah, and a fountain will burst forth from the Lord 's Temple, watering the arid valley of acacias.
"In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine and the hills will flow with milk. All the rivers of Judah will flow with water. And a river will go out from the house of the Lord to water the valley of Shittim.
In that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, the hills shall flow with milk, and all the stream beds of Judah shall flow with water; a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Wadi Shittim.
And in that day shal the mountaines drop downe newe wine, and the hilles shall flowe with milke, and al the riuers of Iudah shall runne with waters, and a fountaine shall come forth of the House of the Lorde, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drip sweetness and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow down with milk, and, all the channels of Judah, shall flow down with waters, - and, a spring, out of the house of Yahweh, shall come forth, and shall water the torrent-valley of the acacias.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweetness, aud the hills shall flow with milk: and waters shall flow through all the rivers of Juda: and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the torrent of thorns.
"And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the stream beds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD and water the valley of Shittim.
And in that day shall the mountaynes drop downe sweete wine, and the hylles shall flowe with mylke, & all the riuers of Iuda shall runne with water, and a fountayne shall come out of the house of the Lorde, and shall water the valley of Sittim.
And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the fountains of Juda shall flow with water, and a fountain shall go forth of the house of the Lord, and water the valley of flags.
At that time the mountains will be covered with vineyards, and cattle will be found on every hill; there will be plenty of water for all of Judah. A stream will flow from the Temple of the Lord , and it will water Acacia Valley.
In that daythe mountains will drip with sweet wine,and the hills will flow with milk.All the streams of Judah will flow with water,and a spring will issue from the Lord’s house,watering the Valley of Acacias.
It will happen in that day, That the mountains will drop down sweet wine, The hills will flow with milk, All the brooks of Yehudah will flow with waters; And a fountain will come forth from the house of the LORD, And will water the valley of Shittim.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the Lord , and shall water the valley of Shittim.
And it will happen on that day; the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the channels of Judah will flow with water. A spring from the house of Yahweh will come forth, and it will water the valley of Acacia Trees.
And it hath come to pass, in that day, Drop down do the mountains juice, And the hills do flow [with] milk, And all streams of Judah do go [with] water, And a fountain from the house of Jehovah goeth forth, And hath watered the valley of Shittim.
Then shal the moutaynes droppe swete wyne, & the hylles shall flowe with mylcke, All the ryuers of Iuda shal haue water ynough, & out of the LORDES house, there shal flowe a sprynge, to water ye broke of Sitim:
"What a day! Wine streaming off the mountains, Milk rivering out of the hills, water flowing everywhere in Judah, A fountain pouring out of God 's Sanctuary, watering all the parks and gardens! But Egypt will be reduced to weeds in a vacant lot, Edom turned into barren badlands, All because of brutalities to the Judean people, the atrocities and murders of helpless innocents. Meanwhile, Judah will be filled with people, Jerusalem inhabited forever. The sins I haven't already forgiven, I'll forgive." God has moved into Zion for good.
And it will come to pass in that day That the mountains shall drip with new wine, The hills shall flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water; A fountain shall flow from the house of the LORD And water the Valley of Acacias.
And in that day The mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house of the LORD To water the valley of Shittim.
And it will be in that day,That the mountains will drip with sweet wine,And the hills will flow with milk,And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water;And a spring will go out from the house of YahwehTo water the valley of Shittim.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the mountains: Job 29:6, Isaiah 55:12, Isaiah 55:13, Amos 9:13, Amos 9:14
and all: Isaiah 30:25, Isaiah 35:6, Isaiah 41:17, Isaiah 41:18
flow: Heb. go
and a: Psalms 46:4, Ezekiel 47:1-12, Zechariah 14:8, Revelation 22:1, Revelation 22:2
the valley: Numbers 25:1, Micah 6:5
Reciprocal: Genesis 49:11 - he washed Numbers 24:6 - as gardens Joshua 5:6 - a land Psalms 72:3 - mountains Isaiah 2:11 - in that day Isaiah 4:2 - the fruit Isaiah 43:20 - to give Isaiah 44:3 - pour water Isaiah 45:8 - Drop down Isaiah 49:9 - They shall feed Isaiah 66:11 - ye may suck Jeremiah 31:12 - wheat Ezekiel 20:40 - in mine Ezekiel 36:9 - General Ezekiel 36:11 - will do Joel 2:24 - General Zechariah 9:17 - corn Mark 14:25 - new Acts 1:5 - but Acts 11:16 - but Revelation 21:6 - the fountain
Cross-References
And Jehovah God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all beasts, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.
know certainly that Jehovah your God shall not continue to dispossess these nations from before you, and they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which Jehovahyour God has given you.
And he said, I came naked out of my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away. Blessed be the name of Jehovah.
The hungry eat his harvest, and take him to the thorns, and the snare snuffs up their wealth.
let thorns come forth instead of wheat, and a weed instead of barley. The words of Job are finished.
You turn man to dust, and say, Return, O sons of men.
covering Yourself with light like a cloak, and stretching out the heavens like a curtain;
Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse, he who keeps his soul shall be far from them.
and, lo, it was all risen up with thistles; nettles had covered its surface, and its stone wall was broken down.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And it shall come to pass in that day,.... When antichrist shall be destroyed; the Jews converted; the power of godliness revived, and the presence of God among his people enjoyed. Vitringa, in his Commentary on Isaiah, frequently applies this, and such like prophecies, to the times of the Maccabees; though, he owns, they were but an emblem of better times under the Gospel dispensation; nor does he deny the mystical and spiritual sense of them;
[that] the mountains shall drop down new wine; which, and the following expressions, are to be understood not in a strict literal sense, as Lactantius t seems to have understood them; who says, that, in the Millennium, God will cause a rain of blessing to descend morning and evening; the earth shall bring forth all kind of fruit without the labour of man; honey shall drop from the rocks, and the fountains of milk and wine shall overflow: but hyperbolically, just as the land of Canaan is said to flow with milk and honey; not that it really did, but the phrase is used to denote the fertility of it, and the abundance of temporal blessings in it. The literal sense is this, that the mountains shall be covered with vines, on which they are often planted; these vines shall be full of large clusters of grape; and these grapes, being pressed, shall yield a large quantity of new wine; and so, by a metonymy, the mountains are said to drop it down u, that is, abound with it, or produce an abundance of it: but the spiritual or mystical sense is, that the churches of Christ in those times, comparable to mountains, and so to hills in the next clause, for their exalted and visible glorious state in which they now will be; and for the rich gifts and graces of the Spirit within them; and for the pasture upon them, and the trees of righteousness that grow thereon; and also for their firmness and stability, their immovableness and perpetual duration; these shall abound with fresh and large discoveries of the love of God and Christ, which is better than wine, Song of Solomon 1:2; like wine, cheering and refreshing; like new wine, though old as to its original, yet new in the manifestations of it; and which are usually made in the church, and the ordinances of it, to the making glad the hearts of the Lord's people; also they shall abound with the blessings of grace, the fruits of love, such as pardon, peace, justification, c. which, like wine, fill with joy, revive and comfort and though they are ancient blessings, provided long ago, they are exhibited under the Gospel dispensation in a new covenant way; and the application of them is made in the churches, in Zion, where the Lord commands the blessing, even life for evermore. This may also take in the Gospel, which brings the good news of these blessings, and so is very reviving and cheering; and, though ordained and preached of old, is newly revealed under the present dispensation; and will be more clearly in later times, when all the mountains or churches will abound with it, and even the whole earth be filled with the knowledge of it, Isaiah 11:9; likewise the ordinance of the Lord's supper, that feast of fat things, of wines on the lees well refined, made in the mountain of the Lord, for all his people may be included; and both in that, and in the ministry of the word, the Lord is sometimes pleased, as he may more abundantly hereafter, to give his saints some foretaste of that new wine, which Christ and they shall partake of in his Father's kingdom; see Song of Solomon 7:9
Matthew 26:29;
and the hills shall flow with milk: that is, there shall be much pasturage upon them, and a great number of cattle feeding thereon, which shall yield large quantities of milk; and so, by the same figure as before, the hills may be said to flow with it w. The spiritual meaning is, that the churches of Christ, comparable to hills, for the reasons before given, shall abound with the means of grace, with the sincere milk of the word; to which the Gospel is compared for its whiteness and purity, for every word of God is pure and purifying; for assuaging the wrath the law produces; it being easy of digestion, even to newborn babes; and its salutary nourishing virtue and efficacy; and of this there will be great abundance in the latter day; see Song of Solomon 4:11 1 Peter 2:2;
and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters; that is, the channels in which the rivers run; these, in a time of drought, are sometimes empty, and the bottoms of them to be seen, but now full of water, and flow with it: grace is often in Scripture compared to "water" because of its refreshing, cleansing, and fructifying nature; and "rivers" denote, an abundance of it; and the "channels", through which it is conveyed to men, out of the fulness of Christ, are the ordinances; see Zechariah 4:12; and the prophecy suggests, that these should not be dry and empty, but that large measures of grace shall be communicated by means of them to the souls of men, to their great comfort and edification, and for the supply of their wants; see
Ezekiel 36:25;
and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord; not meaning baptism, as some; nor Christ, the fountain of grace, life, and salvation; but the Gospel, the word of the Lord, that fountain full of excellent truths and doctrines; of the blessings of grace; of exceeding great and precious promises; and of much spiritual peace, joy, and comfort: this is the law or doctrine of the Lord, that should come out of Zion, or the church, Isaiah 2:3; the living waters that shall come out of Jerusalem, Zechariah 14:8; and the same with the waters in Ezekiel's vision, that came from under the threshold of the house, Ezekiel 47:1; it seems to denote the small beginnings of the Gospel, and the great increase and overflow of it in the world, as it does in all the above passages: this is referred by the ancient Jews x to the times of the Messiah;
and shall water the valley of Shittim; a plain or valley near Jordan, upon the borders of Moab, at the farther end of Canaan that way,
Numbers 33:49. Benjamin of Tudela y says, that from the mount of Olives may be seen the plain and brook of Shittim, unto or near Mount Nebo, which was in the land of Moab. This valley or plain, as the Targum, was so called, either from the "shittah" tree, Isaiah 41:19; of which was the wood "shittim", so much used for various things in the tabernacle and temple, that grew there; and which Jerom on this place says was a kind of tree that grew in the wilderness, like a white thorn in colour and leaves, though not in size, for otherwise it was a very large tree, out of which the broadest planks might be cut, and its wood very strong, and of incredible, smoothness and beauty; and which grew not in cultivated places, nor in the Roman soil, but in the desert of Arabia; and therefore one would think did not grow in this plain near Jordan, and so could not be denominated from hence: but Dr. Shaw z observes, that the Acacia is by much the largest and the most common tree of these deserts (that is, of Arabia), as it might likewise have been of the plains of Shittim, over against Jericho, from whence it took its name; and adds, we have some reason to conjecture that the shittim wood, whereof the various utensils, c. of the tabernacle, c.
Exodus 25:10, &c. were made, was the wood of the acacia. Or it may be this place had its name from the rushes which grew on the banks of Jordan, near to which it was for so, is the word interpreted by some a: and Saadiah Gaon says, this valley is Jordan so called, because Jordan was near to a place called Shittim: however, be it as it will, this can never be understood in a literal sense, that any fountain should arise out of the temple, and flow as far as beyond Jordan, and water any tract of land there; but must be understood spiritually, of the same waters of the sanctuary as in Ezekiel's vision, Ezekiel 47:1; at most, the literal sense could only be, that the whole land should be well watered from one end to the other, and, become very fertile and fruitful, by the order and direction of the Lord, that dwells in his temple. The mystical sense is best. Jarchi makes mention of a Midrash, that interprets it of the expiation of the sins of the Israelites, in the affair of Baalpeor at Shittim, Numbers 25:1; but the true spiritual sense is, that the Gospel shall be carried to the further parts of the earth; that the whole world shall be filled and watered with it, and become fruitful, which before was like a desert; these living waters shall flow, both toward the former and the hinder seas, the eastern and west: era, as in Zechariah 14:8; see Isaiah 11:9. Some render it, "shall water the valley of cedars" b; the shittim wood being a kind of cedar, of which many things belonging to the tabernacle, a type of the church, was made, being firm, sound, incorruptible, and durable; see
Exodus 25:10; saints are compared to cedars for their height in Christ, their strength in him, and in his grace; their large and spreading leaves, branches, and roots, or growth in grace; and for their duration and incorruption; see Numbers 24:5; a valley may signify the low estate of God's people; or be an emblem of lowly, meek, and humble souls, to whom the Gospel is preached, and who are watered and revived by it, and to whom more grace is given; see
Isaiah 40:4. It is by Symmachus rendered "the valley of thorns"; and so Quinquarboreus c says the word signifies and designs such who are barren in good works.
t Epitome Divin. Institut. c. 11. Vid. Institut. l. 7. c. 24. u "Incultisque rubens pendebit sentibus uva, Et durae quercus sudabunt roscida mella". Virgil. Eclog. 4. l. 29, 30. w "Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant, Flavaque de viridi stillabant ibice mella". Ovid. Metamorph. l. 1. x Midrash Kohelet, fol. 63. 2. y Itineranium, p. 44. z Travels, c. 3. p. 444, 459. Ed. 2. a Vid. Relaud. Palestina Illustrata, l. 1. c. 54, p. 351, 352. b ×ת × ×× ×ש××× "vallem cedrorum lectissimorum", Junius & Tremellius, Tarnovius. c Scholia in Targum in loc.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And it shall come to pass in that Day - After the destruction of antichrist, there will, it seems, still be a period of probation, in which the grace of God will abound and extend more and more widely. The prophet Zechariah, who continues on the image, of the âliving waters going out from Jerusalemâ Zechariah 14:8, places this gift after God had gathered all nations against Jerusalem, and had visibly and miraculously overthrown them Zechariah 14:2-4. But in that the blessings which he speaks of, are regenerating, they belong to time; the fullness of the blessing is completed only in eternity; the dawn is on earth, the everlasting brightness is in heaven. But though the prophecy belongs eminently to one time, the imagery describes the fulness of spiritual blessings which God at all times diffuses in and through the Church; and these blessings, he says, shall continue on in her for ever; her enemies shall be cut off for ever. It may be, that Joel would mark a fresh beginning and summary by his words, âIt shall be in that Day.â The prophets do often begin, again and again, their descriptions. Union with God, which is their theme, is one. Every gift of God to His elect, except the beatific vision, is begun in time, union with Himself, indwelling, His Spirit flowing forth from Him into His creatures, His love, knowledge of Him, although here through a glass darkly.
The promise cannot relate to exuberance of temporal blessings, even as tokens of Godâs favor. For he says, âa fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.â But âthe valley of Shittimâ is on the other side Jordan, beyond the Dead Sea, so that by nature the waters could not flow there. The valley of Shittim or acacia trees is a dry valley, for in such the Easten Acacia, i. e., the sant or sandal wood grows. âIt is,â says Jerome (on Isa 12:1-6 :19), âa tree which grows in the desert, like a white thorn in color and leaves, not in size. For they are of such size, that very large planks , are cut out of them. The wood is very strong, and of incredible lightness and beauty. They do not grow in cultivated places, or in the Roman soil, save only in the desert of Arabia.â It does not decay ; and when old becomes like ebony . Of it the ark of God was made, its staves, the table of showbread, the tabernacle and its pillars, the altar for burnt-offerings, and of incense Exodus 25:5, Exodus 25:10, Exodus 25:13, Exodus 25:23, Exodus 25:28; Exodus 26:15, Exodus 26:26, Exodus 26:32, Exodus 26:37; Exodus 27:1, Exodus 27:6; Exodus 30:1; Exodus 35:7, Exodus 35:24; Exodus 36:20, Exodus 36:31, Exodus 36:36; Exodus 37:1, Exodus 37:4, Exodus 37:10, Exodus 37:15, Exodus 37:25, Exodus 37:28; Exodus 38:1, Exodus 38:6; Deuteronomy 10:3. The valley is about six miles from Livias , seven and a half beyond the Dead Sea . It was the last station of Israel, before entering the land of promise Numbers 33:49, from where Joshua sent out the spies Joshua 2:1; where God turned the curse of Balaam into a blessling Numbers 23:0; Numbers 24:0; Micah 6:5; and he prophesied of the Star which should arise out of Israel, even Christ Numbers 24:17; where Israel sinned in Baal Peor, and Phineas turned aside His displeasure Numbers 25:1, Numbers 25:7, Numbers 25:11.
The existence of a large supply of water under the temple is beyond all question. While the temple was still standing, mention is made up of âa fountain of ever-flowing water under the temple,â as well as pools and cisterns for preserving rain-water. One evidently well acquainted with the localities says , âThe pavement has slopes at befitting places, for the sake of a flush of water which takes place in order to cleanse away the blood from the victims. For on festivals many myriads of animals are sacrificed. But of water there is an unfailing supply, a copious and natural fountain within gushing over, and there being moreover wonderful underground-receptacles in a circuit of five furlongs, in the substructure of the temple, and each of these having numerous pipes, the several streams inter-communicating, and all these closed up below and on the sides - There are also many mouths toward the base, invisible to all except those to whom the service of the temple belongs. So that the manifold blood of the sacrifices being brought together are cleansed by the gush (of water down) the slope.â
This same writer relates that, more than half a mile from the city, he was told to stoop down and heard the sound of gushing waters underground. The natural fountain, then, beneath the temple was doubtless augmented by waters brought from a distance, as required for the âdivers washingsâ both of the priests and other things, and to carry off the blood of the victims. Pools near the temple are mentioned by writers of the third and fourth century ; and Omar, on the surrender of Jerusalem, 634 a.d., was guided to the site of the ancient temple (whereon he built his Mosk) by the stream of water which issued through a water-channel from it . Whencesoever this water was derived, whether from a perennial spring beneath the temple itself, or whether brought there from some unfailing source without, it afforded Jerusalem an abundant supply of water.
Much as Jerusalem suffered in sieges by famine, and its besiegers by thirst, thirst was never any part of the sufferings of those within . The superfluous water was and still is carried off underground, to what is now âthe fountain of the Virginâ , and thence again, through the rock, to the pool of Siloam . Thence it carried fertility to the gardens of Siloam, in Joelâs time doubtless âthe kingâs gardensâ , still âa verdant spot, refreshing to the eye in the heat of summer, while all around is parched and dun.â The blood of the victims flowed into the same brook Kidron, and was a known source of fertility, before the land was given to desolation. The waters of Kidron, as well as all the waters of Palestine, must have been more abundant formerly.
Isaiah speaks of it as âflowing softlyâ Isaiah 8:6; Josephus , of the âabundant fountain;â an official report , of the âfountain gushing forth with abundance of water.â Still its fertilizing powers formed but one little oasis, where all around was arid. It fertilized those gardens live miles from the city, but the mid-space was waterless , thirsty, mournful . Lower down, the rivulet threaded its way to the Dead Sea, through a narrow ravine which became more and more wild, where Saba planted his monastery. âA howling wilderness, stern desolation. stupendous perpendicular cliffs, terrific chasms, oppressive solitudeâ are the terms by which one endeavors to characterize âthe heart of this stern desert of Judaeaâ .
Such continues to be its character, in the remaining half of its course, until it is lost in the Dead Sea, and is transmuted into its saltness. Its valley bears the name of desolation, Wady en Nar , âvalley of fire.â No human path lies along it. The Kidron flows along âa deep and almost impenetrable ravineâ Psalms 46:4, âin a narrow channel between perpendicular walls of rock, as if worn away by the rushing waters between those desolate chalky hills.â That little oasis of verdure was fit emblem of the Jewish people, itself bedewed by the stream which issued from the Temple of God, but, like Gideonâs fleece, leaving all around dry. It made no sensible impression out of, or beyond itself. Hereafter, âthe streamâ, the Siloah, whose âstreamlets,â i. e., the artificial fertilizing divisions, âmade glad the city of Godâ Ezekiel 47:1-12, should make the wildest, driest spots of our mortality âlike the garden of the Lord.â Desolation should become bright and happy; the parched earth should shoot up fresh with life; what was by nature barren and unfruitful should bring forth good fruit; places heretofore stained by sin should be purified; nature should be renewed by grace; and that, beyond the borders of the promised land, in that world which they had left, when Joshua brought them in there.
This, which it needs many words to explain, was vivid to those to whom Joel spoke. They had that spot of emerald green before their eyes, over which the stream which they then knew to issue from the temple trickled in transparent brightness, conducted by those channels formed by manâs diligence. The eyes of the citizens of Jerusalem must have rested with pleasure on it amid the parched surface around. Fresher than the gladliest freshness of nature, brighter than its most kindled glow, is the renewing freshness of grace; and this, issuing from mount Zion, was to be the portion not of Judea only, but of the world.
The vision of Ezekiel Ezekiel 47:1-12, which is a comment on the prophecy of Joel, clearly belongs primarily to this life. For in this life only is there need for healing; in this life only is there a desert land to be made fruitful; death to be changed into life; death and life, the healed and unhealed, side by side; life, where the stream of Godâs grace reacheth, and death and barrenness, where it reacheth not. The fishers who spread their nests amid âthe fish, exceeding many,â are an emblem which waited for and received its explanation from the parables of our Lord.
In the Revelation, above all, the peace, glory, holiness, vision of God, can only be fulfilled in the sight of God. Yet here too the increase of the Church, and the healing of the nations Revelation 21:24-26; Revelation 22:21, belong to time and to a state of probation, not of full fruition.
But then neither can those other symbols relate to earthly things.
The mountains shall drop down new wine - Literally, âtroddenâ out. What is ordinarily obtained by toil, shall be poured forth spontaneously. âAnd the hills shall flow with milk,â literally, âflow milk,â as though they themselves, of their own accord, gushed forth into the good gifts which they yield. âWineâ ever new, and ever renewing, sweet and gladdening the heart; âmilk,â the emblem of the spiritual food of childlike souls, of purest knowledge, holy devotion, angelic purity, heavenly pleasure. And these shall never cease. These gifts are spoken of, as the spontaneous, perpetual flow of the mountains and hills; and as the fountain gushes forth from the hill or mountain-side in one ceaseless flow, day and night, streaming out from the hidden recesses to which the waters are supplied by God from His treasure-house of the rain, so day and night, in sorrow or in joy, in prosperity or adversity, God pours out, in the Church and in the souls of His elect, the riches of His grace. âAll the rivers,â literally âchannels, of Judah shall flow with water.â Every âchannel,â however narrow and easily drying up, shall âflow with water,â gushing forth unto everlasting life; the love of God shall stream through every heart; each shall he full according to its capacity and none the less full, because a larger tide pours through others. How much more , âin those everlasting hills of heaven, âthe heavenly Jerusalem,â resting on the eternity and Godhead of the Holy Trinity, shall that long promise be fulfilled of the land flowing with milk and honey, where God, through the beatific vision of Himself, shall pour into the blessed âthe torrent of pleasure,â the unutterable sweetness of joy and gladness unspeakable in Himself; and âall the rivers of Judah,â i. e., all the powers, capacities, senses, speech of the saints who âconfessâ God, shall flow with a perennial stream of joy, thanksgiving, and jubilee, as of all pleasure and bliss.â
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. In that day — After their return from their captivities.
The mountains shall drop down new wine — A poetic expression for great fertility. Happy times: peace and plenty. The vines shall grow luxuriantly on the sides of the mountains; and the hills shall produce such rich pastures that the flocks shall yield abundance of milk.
And all the rivers of Judah — Far from being generally dry in the summer, shall have their channels always full of water.
And a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord — See the account of the typical waters in Ezekiel, Ezekiel 47:1-23, to which this seems to have a reference; at least the subject is the same, and seems to point out the grace of the Gospel, the waters of salvation, that shall flow from Jerusalem, and water the valley of Shittim. Shittim was in the plains of Moab beyond Jordan; Numbers 33:49; Joshua 3:1; but as no stream of water could flow from the temple, pass across Jordan, or reach this plain, the valley of Shittim must be considered symbolical, as the valley of Jehoshaphat. But as Shittim may signify thorns, it may figuratively represent the most uncultivated and ferocious inhabitants of the earth receiving the Gospel of Christ, and being civilized and saved by it. We know that briers and thorns are emblems of bad men; see Ezekiel 2:6. Thus all the figures in this verse will point out the happy times of the Gospel: the mountains shall drop down new wine; the hills flow with milk; the thorny valleys become fertile, c. Similar to those almost parallel words of the prince of poets: -
Mistaque ridenti colocasia fundet acantho.--
Ipsae lacte domum referent destenta capellae
Ubera: nec magnos metuent armenta leones.--
Molli paullatim flavescet campus arista,
Incultisque rubens pendebit sentibus uva:
Et durae quercus sudabunt roscida mella.
VIRG Ecl. iv. 20.
Unbidden earth shall wreathing ivy bring,
And fragrant herbs the promises of spring.
The goats with streaming dugs shall homeward speed
And lowing herds, secure from lions, feed.
Unlabour'd harvests shall the fields adorn,
And cluster'd grapes shall grow on every thorn:
The knotted oaks shall showers of honey weep.
DRYDEN.
