Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 7

Verses 1-27

Chapter 7

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel ( Ezekiel 7:1-2 );

Now, the other was to the mountains, now to the land.

the end is come upon the four corners of the land ( Ezekiel 7:2 ).

This is actually written in a poetic form in the Hebrew. It doesn't come through. If you have some modern translations, sometimes they put it out in the poetic form.

Now has the end come upon thee, and I will send my anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations ( Ezekiel 7:3 ).

No mercy here, no grace here, but judgment according to their deeds. Recompensing them according to their ways. We thank God for His mercy and for His grace. David prayed, " Have mercy upon me, O God, according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions" ( Psalms 51:1 ). And God is merciful, but if people reject His mercy, then there remains only that certain fearful looking forward to of judgment. So they have rejected the mercies of God. They had done despite to the spirit of grace, and now God pronounces His judgment that is coming upon them according to their abominations.

And my eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity [no mercy]: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD ( Ezekiel 7:4 ).

In contrast to these idols that you have been worshipping, you'll know that I am the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. An end is come, an end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. The morning has come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time has come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish my anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and recompense thee for all your abominations. And my eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thy abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth ( Ezekiel 7:5-9 ).

Now we find repetition here, and again, as I told you, it is written in Hebrew poetry and Hebrew poetry involves repetition. And that's why in English it gets a little repetitious to us, but in Hebrew it's really very poetic, and in reading it in the Hebrew you get the rhyme of it and you feel the poetry of the thing. You get not the rhyme, but the rhythm of it, and you feel the poetry. There is no rhyme.

Behold the day, behold, it has come: the morning has gone forth; the rod has blossomed, pride has budded. Violence is risen up into the rod into a rod of wickedness: and none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be any wailing for them. The time has come, the day is drawing near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for the wrath is upon all of the multitude thereof. For the seller shall not return to that which is sold ( Ezekiel 7:10-13 ),

Now, in those days quite often the seller had to sell because of financial problems, and so there was always that, "Oh, you know, this is the family's and it's the family inheritance." And they would hate to sell that because when you inherited from your parents the land, it was sort of a holy trust. Your whole goal of life was to pass on to your children that which you received as the inheritance from your family. And so you would devote your whole life to the maintaining of that inheritance so that you could pass it on. Sometimes a person would get strapped, they would have to sell it, but in the deed there was always the reversionary clause--you could always buy it back in a specified period of time by adhering to the covenant that was drawn up at the time that it was sold. Or, if you could not redeem it, then a close relative could redeem it so it remained in the family. So there was usually sorrow involved in the selling of property. It was a holy trust. It was a sacred thing. This is the family's and now I'm selling it. And the buyer, of course, if you could ever buy property, with it was a very happy time, you would rejoice. So he is saying, "Hey, look, the time is at an end. You that are going around buying, you don't need to rejoice in it because you're not going to really have it long. And you that are selling don't really mourn, because you're not going to buy it back again. You won't be able to use your option to repurchase because you're all going to be taken out of the land. So the seller shall not return to that which is sold, you're not going to come back to it."

although they are still alive ( Ezekiel 7:13 ):

But you'll be a captive carried away to Babylon.

for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which will not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life. They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to battle: for my wrath is upon the multitude thereof ( Ezekiel 7:13-14 ).

Now the blowing of the trumpet really was more than just the summoning of the people to battle, but with Israel it was more or less an acknowledgment that the Lord comes forth to battle with us. But God said, " I'm not coming forth with you any more. You can blow the trumpet; it's not going to do any good. I'm not going to fight for you any longer. You're going to be turned over unto the hands of your enemies."

For the sword is without, the pestilence and the famine is within: and he that is in the field will die with the sword; and he that is in the city, the famine and the pestilence will devour him. But they that escape of them shall escape, and be on the mountains like doves of the valley, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity ( Ezekiel 7:15-16 ).

So those that escape from the sword and pestilence, scattered throughout the mountains, weeping, mourning, wailing for that which has happened.

All hands shall be feeble, all knees will be as weak as water. They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all their faces, and baldness upon their heads ( Ezekiel 7:17-18 ).

That is in mourning, the cutting of their hair and all.

They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is a stumblingblock of their iniquity. And as for the beauty of his ornament, he is set in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they'll pollute it ( Ezekiel 7:19-21 ).

And it's talking about, of course, the sanctuary, the place of majesty and the ornament of beauty, it's is going to be destroyed, polluted.

My face will I turn also from them, they shall pollute my holy place ( Ezekiel 7:22 ):

Actually, the secret place the holy of holies will be profaned and polluted.

for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it. Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I also will make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled. Destruction comes; and they will seek peace, and there will be none. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumor shall be upon rumor; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and the counsel from the ancients. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them according to their ways, and according to what they deserve will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD ( Ezekiel 7:22-27 ).

This terrible judgment that God is going to bring, as the temple of God is destroyed and profaned. And the people are driven out and killed with the sword, pestilence, and famine.

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