Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 21:3

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 21:3. Behold, I am against thee — Dismal news! When God is against us, who can be for us?

And will draw forth my sword — War.

And will cut off from thee — The land of Judea.

The righteous and the wicked. — All shall be removed from thee. Some shall be cut off-removed by the sword; shall be slain in battle, or by the pestilence; and some shall be cut off - die by the famine; and some shall be cut off - removed from the land by captivity. Now, among the two latter classes there might be many righteous as well as wicked. And when all the provisions were consumed, so that there was no more bread in the city, during the siege by Nebuchadnezzar, the righteous must have suffered as well as the wicked; for they could not be preserved alive, but by miracle, when there was no bread; nor was their perishing for want any loss to them, because the Lord would take them straight to his glory. And however men in general are unwilling to die, yet there is no instance, nor can there be, of any man's complaint that he got to heaven too soon. Again, if God had permitted none to be carried off captive but the wicked, the case of these would be utterly hopeless, as there would be none to set a good example, to preach repentance, to reprove sin, or to show God's willingness to forgive sinners. But God, in his mercy, permitted many of the righteous to be carried off also, that the wicked might not be totally abandoned, or put beyond the reach of being saved. Hence, both Ezekiel and Daniel, and indeed several others, prophets and righteous men, were thus cut off from the land, and carried into captivity. And how much was God's glory and the good of men promoted by this! What a seed of salvation was sown, even in the heathen countries, by thus cutting off the righteous with the wicked! To this we owe, under God, many of the Psalms, the whole of the Book of Ezekiel, all the prophecies of Daniel, the bright example of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, the decrees passed in favour of the religion of the true God by Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Darius, &c. And to this dispensation of God's merciful providence we owe the Books and example of Ezra and Nehemiah. Where then is the injustice, so loudly declaimed against, of God's thus cutting off from the land of Judea the righteous with the wicked? The righteous were not cut off for the crimes of the wicked, (see Ezekiel 18:20, &c.,) nor were these crimes visited upon them, yet several of them shared in the common calamity, but none perished. Those that were removed by a violent death, (and I believe we shall find few such,) got a speedier entrance into eternal glory.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Babylon’s terrifying attack (20:45-21:17)

The usual way to travel from Babylon to Jerusalem was by a semi-circular route that avoided the Arabian desert by following the Euphrates River to the north-west then turning south towards Judah. (See map ‘Near East in the time of Jeremiah.) Ezekiel put himself in the position of the Babylonian army as it moved south into Judah, overrunning and destroying the country as an uncontrollable bushfire. None would escape its terror (45-48). But the people did not understand Ezekiel’s message (49).
Ezekiel therefore changed his symbol of God’s judgment from fire to a sword. This sword would bring slaughter, not just to Jerusalem but to the whole land of Judah (21:1-5). Ezekiel’s display of bitter grief showed his hearers how frightening this coming judgment would be (6-7).
To emphasize his message and illustrate its urgency, Ezekiel gave a dramatic demonstration of a swordsman cutting down his enemy. The Judeans had not heeded when God used a stick to discipline them. He would therefore use the sharpened sword of Babylon to slay them (8-13). While acting the part of a swordsman, Ezekiel also acted the part of the onlookers, by occasionally clapping his hands at the swordsman’s display. In this way he indicated God’s approval of Judah’s destruction (14-17).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel; and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north. And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more. Sigh therefore, thou son of man; with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness shalt thou sigh before their eyes. And it shall be when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say, Because of the tidings, for it cometh; and every heart shalt melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord Jehovah."

The parable of the great fire is fully explained here. The South is Jerusalem; the field of the South is Palestine; the forest of the field of the South is the people; every green tree and every dry tree are references to the wicked and the righteous, both of whom are marked for destruction. The great fire stands for war, symbolized here as "the sword."

"Sigh, therefore, thou son of man" We have frequently noted the behavior of God's prophets who actually confirmed the predictive nature of their prophecies by their bizarre behavior at the time of giving the prophecy. Isaiah went barefoot for two years; Jeremiah wore an ox yoke to the king's court; Micah screamed like a jackal and wallowed in the dirt; here Ezekiel sighed and manifested great grief as a man with a broken heart, provoking an inquiry from the people, as to what it all meant. This behavior is the complete and irrevocable refutation of nonsense that Ezekiel "might not have written this chapter."John T. Bunn in the Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1871), p. 293. No man would possibly have behaved in the manner indicated here concerning an event that had already happened.

"With the breaking of thy loins" The KJV and the Revised Standard Version are better here, reading "breaking of thy heart." In ancient times the loins (kidneys) were thought to be the seat of the emotions, now said to be "in the heart," not the physical heart, of course, but the brain, which is the seat of intelligence and the emotions.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn now in our Bibles to Ezekiel 21 , the twenty-first chapter of Ezekiel.

Now the prophets of God were often very colorful persons. And because people would not always listen to the Word of God, they would often do things to draw the people's attention to create a question in their mind, curiosity, "What in the world is he doing now?" And when these questions would arise or when they would draw the people's attention, then they would preach the message of God to them. And so, oftentimes their ministry was extremely colorful, as they were attracting attention, creating the questions in order that they might deliver their message to the people. And as we come in to chapter 21, Ezekiel is getting a lot of attention grabbers here from the Lord and his ministry to the people.

The word of the LORD came unto me saying, Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel ( Ezekiel 21:1-2 ),

So we see what the background is. The prophecies are to be against Jerusalem the land of Israel.

Say unto the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more. Now sigh, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes ( Ezekiel 21:2-6 ).

So, at this point having uttered these words, "God has stretched out His sword against Jerusalem," he would have said, "Just hold his loins, bend over and start just sighing." And just really wailing in a sense, just sighing and all.

And it shall be, when they say unto you, Why are you sighing? that you shall answer, For the tidings, because it is coming: every heart shall melt, and all of the hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all of the knees shall be weak as water: behold, it is coming, it shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord ( Ezekiel 21:7 ).

So he is to go into this little scene of this heavy sighing as he holds his loins and bends. Until they say, "What are you sighing about?" He said, "I'm sighing because of the tidings that are going to be coming. And, of course, when they come, all of you will be sighing and mourning when you hear that Jerusalem has been destroyed, the cities have been murdered." Many of them had families back in Jerusalem still. They are soon to be receiving word that their families had been wiped out.

And again the word of the LORD came unto me saying, Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished [or polished]: It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? ( Ezekiel 21:8-10 )

Is it time for joy? Is it time for a hilarity?

it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. Cry and howl, son of man; for it shall be upon my people ( Ezekiel 21:10-12 ),

Now from sighing he goes to crying and howling. And as he cries and howls and draws the attention of the people, then he speaks to them about this sword of the Lord that is to be stretched out against Jerusalem. How God is coming with His sword to judge the people. And, of course, it will be wielded at the hand of the Babylonians.

Verse Ezekiel 21:14 :

Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite your hands together ( Ezekiel 21:14 ),

So he's doing a lot of things to get attention. So now he's just clapping his hands.

and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which enter into their private chambers. For I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter. Go thee one way or the other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set. I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it. The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city. Now appoint a way, that the sword [literally, the arrow] may come to Rabbath ( Ezekiel 21:14-20 )

Which was the capitol of the Ammonites.

and to Judah in Jerusalem the defensed. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: and he shook his arrows [literally], and consulted with images, and looked in the liver ( Ezekiel 21:20-21 ).

Now these were methods by which they sought to divine the purposes of their god. And when Nebuchadnezzar came to the parting of the ways, one road led to the capitol of the Ammonites, to the city of Rabbath, the other road led to Jerusalem. He has his troops; they are going to march. "Against whom shall we march? Let's consult the gods." And so they would take these arrows, and on one arrow they would write the name Rabbath; on the other arrow they would write the name Jerusalem. They would put the arrows into a sack and shake them up and then they reach in and pull out an arrow and whatever name is on the arrow they have discerned as the purpose of god that that is what we will smite.

And then they would cut a lamb and lay out its liver and then they would watch these lines on the liver. Again, to determine the direction that they were to go. And so they would divine by liver or by this shaking of the arrows. And so he is to speak to the people about how that Nebuchadnezzar was standing at the fork of the road. One road leading to Rabbath, the other to Jerusalem to divine, to seek, to get guidance from his god as to where he was to strike.

At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort. And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity that they may be taken. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins to appear; because, I say, that you are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it to him ( Ezekiel 21:22-27 ).

Here is a marvelous prophecy in Ezekiel that actually comes out to our present day and into the future. As the Lord said, "And thou profane and wicked prince of Israel." Now the direct prophecy is against Zedekiah, who was to be the last of the kings of Israel until the king whose right it is shall come to reign. But this prophecy also has a double interpretation in that the profane king referred to here, "Thou profane wicked prince of Israel," is actually the antichrist in the last days. The words, "when iniquity shall have an end," literally is, "at the end of the days of iniquity." So it is in the last days when the antichrist arises and is accepted by the Jews as their Messiah, worshipped by them in a sense, acclaimed by them as their deliverer.

Now, Jesus said to the Jews, "I came in My Father's name but you did not receive Me. Another is going to come in his own name and him you will receive" ( John 5:43 ). Daniel tells us that the prince of the people that shall come, the antichrist, will make a covenant with the nation Israel and in the midst of the final seven-year period he'll break that covenant as he sets up the abomination that causes desolation. Now this world ruler that will arise soon upon the scene, known in the scripture as the son of perdition, the beast, commonly called the antichrist, is going to arise with great power, blasphemies and all, going to take over this European confederation of nations. Going to make a covenant with the nation Israel, going to be hailed by them in the beginning as their Messiah.

If you go to Israel today, you will hear that there is much talk about the Messiah. They are really expecting the Messiah to come very soon. In fact, a couple of respected rabbis have been making some predictions that the Messiah is coming very soon and the people are all excited about it. Incidentally, there is some fellow here in the United States going around declaring that the man who has the answers for all of the world's problems is going to appear in the first part of 1982. And he is featured on so many of the television talk shows and all, and he is lecturing all over the United States on this man that the world is waiting for and has been looking for. The man who has the solutions and the answers and is gonna bring peace and all. And he's sort of a forerunner, he declares, of this man who will make himself known in the early part of 1982, will take over the governments, and will bring peace to mankind. The answers to your prayers are about upon us, he is telling people. And he's going around lecturing. Interesting, only inasmuch as people are looking for some kind of a leader to lead us into sanity from the insanity that seems to prevail in the world diplomacy.

But if you go to Israel today, they'll tell you they're expecting Messiah very soon. They will tell you that they do not look for the Son of God. They do not believe the Messiah will be the Son of God, that he will be a man just like Moses was a man. Moses said, "And there shall come another prophet like unto myself. Unto him shall ye give heed." He was prophesying concerning the Messiah. So they say he'll be a man just like Moses. He'll not be the Son of God. So then you must question them, well then how will you know he's your Messiah? And immediately their answer will come back, "Because he will help us to rebuild our temple." Just, that's where it is. And so in Israel today, they are looking for some man who will come and help them to rebuild their temple. Of course, Daniel tells us he'll make a covenant with them. Surely this covenant is to rebuild their temple. He will make the covenant whereby they will be able to rebuild their temple.

We will get in a couple of weeks, three or four weeks, to a fascinating prophecy here in Ezekiel. In fact, Ezekiel starts getting more exciting all the while now as we move on into this latter portion. You see, it sort of starts with Israel's history, but then it keeps coming chronologically and it goes right on out to what's happening today, yesterday, last year, the last few years. And it goes right in to what is going to happen next year, and the next few years in Israel. And it goes into the rebuilding of the temple which is coming very soon. And he gives you dimensions of the temple. And then he makes one very interesting comment concerning the temple, which I think is an extremely significant prophecy, and we will point that out to you when we get to... stay tuned.

Now, here he is predicting this profane wicked person who will arise in the end of the days of iniquity. "Thus saith the Lord God, 'Remove the diadem.'" And the word diadem there is miter. It is the little head thing that priest wore, not the crown of the king. But also the crown. Now Satan gives unto this man his authority and his power. He comes as a spiritual leader to Israel. That is, in the making of the covenant which is related and associated to the rebuilding of the temple. People are excited. They acclaim him as their Messiah. He has the answers; he has the solutions. He has the most simple solution for the rebuilding of the temple, one that doesn't upset the Muslims, the great Moslem world. They're not upset by his solution. He's just a genius and the whole world wonders after the genius of this man, as he comes up with this solution that is so simple yet so practical and so easy to fulfill and everybody is happy.

Now, take from him this miter, for he is a false Messiah; he is not the true Messiah. He is not the true priest that shall come. He's not the true king.

take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. [For God said,] I will overturn, I will overturn, will overturn: and it shall be no more, until he comes [that is Jesus Christ] whose right it is; and I will give it to him ( Ezekiel 21:26-27 ).

So when Jesus Christ returns, He will destroy this man of sin with the brightness of His coming, with a sharp sword that goes forth out of His mouth. And He shall sit upon the throne of David and will be acclaimed King of kings and Lord of lords. And He will bring in the glorious Kingdom Age.

So there is this false hope that they will hold on to at the beginning. In the scriptures we read, "Because they would not believe the truth of God, God gave them over to a strong delusion that they would believe a lie" ( 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 ). He will come with such power, such exciting miracles, such charisma that the whole world, except for the elect, will be deceived and were if possible even deceive the elect. Now, that word elect there does not refer to the church, but to Israel. Those elect of Israel who have been elected of God, the 144,000 elected of God to be sealed and preserved in the Great Tribulation period. Coming with lying wonders, but God is going to overturn, and he who is exalted himself will be abased, and he who was abased will be exalted and will come and sit upon the throne whose right it is.

When we get into the book of Revelation chapter 5 we see a scroll in the right hand of Him who was sitting upon the throne, God. The scroll is sealed with seven seals; it has writing both within and without. And an angel proclaims with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals thereof?" The scroll is the title deed to the earth. Who is worthy to redeem the earth back to God? is the whole idea.

The earth originally was God's. God gave it to man; man turned it over to Satan. Satan governs and rules the world today. Jesus came to redeem the world back to God, not by force, but by the price of His blood. The just for the unjust. "For by one man's sin entered the world, and death by sin so that death passed unto all men because all sin. Even so, by one man's righteousness shall many be made righteous." And so in heaven, the day is come, the transaction, the time of redemption.

There is the scroll, the instrument that was drawn up. "'Who is worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals?' John began to sob convulsively because no man was found worthy in heaven and earth or under the sea to take the scroll or even to look upon it. But the elder said, 'Don't weep, John. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed to take the scroll and loose the seals.' And I turned and I saw Him as He stepped forth and He took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat upon the throne. And when He did, the twenty-four elders came forward with their vials, golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints and they offered them before God. And they sang a new song, saying, 'Thou art worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals. For Thou was slain and hath redeemed us by Thy blood'" ( Revelation 5:2-5 , Revelation 5:7-9 ).

Now, "whose right it is." You see, He is going to come and reign. Satan's kingdom is going to be overthrown. Satan will no longer rule over the earth. In fact, Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss. And He will rule whose right it is, and then we will see the world that God intended when He made Adam and placed him upon the earth. You'll see the earth renewed and restored to the beauty and glory of the Garden of Eden. You'll see and earth in which righteousness will reign. You will see an earth in which there is no sickness, no blindness, no lameness, no deformities. You'll see an earth that is covered with righteousness, even as the waters do cover the sea. An earth without deserts, an earth without hurricanes, an earth that is lush and beautiful and glorious and doesn't have polluted skies. You'll see the earth that God intended. And you'll live and dwell with Him upon this earth for a thousand years. Glorious day, and we look forward to it.

But it's interesting. Here is the prophecy, "There will be no king in Israel until He comes whose right it is." There's not going to be any diadem, not going to be any royal crown until Jesus comes. It's interesting that when the Jews return from their Babylonian captivity, they didn't reestablish monarchy. They didn't anoint a king to rule over them. The monarchy ended with Zedekiah. It is interesting that when the Jews returned to Israel again in 1948 they did not establish a monarchy which was their traditional form of government. And there will not be a monarchy or a king until He comes whose right it is. And Jesus Christ will be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. So beautiful prophecy here concerning Jesus Christ in this twenty-first chapter.

Now thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites ( Ezekiel 21:28 ).

Now you remember one of the arrows was marked with the Ammonites on it.

and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering: While they see vanity unto thee, while they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end. Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity ( Ezekiel 21:28-30 ).

So the Ammonites will not escape, but then God said, "Don't think that you're going to be delivered. I will judge thee, the nation Israel, in the place where you were created. Right in the land. And the land of your nativity."

And I will pour out my indignation upon thee; I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, those who are skilful to destroy. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it ( Ezekiel 21:31-32 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The interpretation of the parable 21:1-7

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Ezekiel was to announce that Yahweh stood opposed to His people (cf. Luke 9:5; Luke 9:41; Luke 19:41; Luke 21:20-24). Instead of being their divine defender (cf. Deuteronomy 32:41; Joshua 5:13-15; Isaiah 31:8; Isaiah 34:5-8; Isaiah 66:16; Jeremiah 25:31; Jeremiah 50:35-37; Zephaniah 2:12), He was going to turn against them. He would put them to death with a sword (cf. fire, Ezekiel 20:47-48), both the righteous (the green tree) and the wicked (the dry tree) throughout the whole land. The Book of Habakkuk deals with the problem of how and why God would use the wicked Babylonians as His instrument of chastening, a problem that the Israelites could not solve on their own. Everyone would know that He had been responsible for the judgment, and He would not sheath His sword (quench the fire, Ezekiel 20:48). This chapter has more references to the sword of the Lord as a figure of God’s judgment than any other chapter in the Bible.

"Unfortunately, some of the righteous would suffer along with the wicked, but this is often the case in times of war." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 202.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And say to the land of Israel,.... The inhabitants of it, signified by the "forest of the south field", Ezekiel 20:47:

thus saith the Lord, behold, I am against thee; and sad it is to have the Lord against a people, a nation, a city, or a family, or a particular person; for there is no contending with him, or standing before him; there is always a reason for it, it is for sin when God is against a people, even his own professing people:

and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath; bring the Chaldean army out of Babylon; which interprets what is meant by the "fire" he would kindle in the land of Israel, Ezekiel 20:47, namely, the sword of the enemy, which he would bring upon it; or war, with all its desolating train of judgments:

and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked; meant by the green and dry tree, Ezekiel 20:47, who, though they shall not perish everlastingly together, yet may fall together in temporal calamities; the one may be chastised, and the other condemned; or the one be carried captive for their good, as Ezekiel and Daniel, c. and others be cut off by sword and famine and such as were captives, never the better for their captivity. The Targum is,

"I will remove out of thee thy righteous ones, that I may destroy thy wicked ones.''

Some think that only such who were righteous in appearance, or in their own sight, are here meant. R. Saadiah Gaon, as Kimchi quotes him, interprets them of such as were righteous to Baal, and served him continually, in distinction from such as were wicked to him, and did not serve him continually; and both were wicked before the Lord, and therefore justly cut off.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,   2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,   3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.   4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:   5 That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.   6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.   7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.

      The prophet had faithfully delivered the message he was entrusted with, in the close of the foregoing chapter, in the terms wherein he received it, not daring to add his own comment upon it; but, when he complained that the people found fault with him for speaking parables, the word of the Lord came to him again, and gave him a key to that figurative discourse, that with it he might let the people into the meaning of it and so silence that objection. For all men shall be rendered inexcusable at God's bar and every mouth shall be stopped. Note, He that speaks with tongues should pray that he may interpret,1 Corinthians 14:13. When we speak to people about their souls we should study plainness, and express ourselves as we may be the best understood. Christ expounded his parables to his disciples,Mark 4:34. 1. The prophet is here more plainly directed against whom to level the arrow of this prophecy. He must drop his word towards the holy places (Ezekiel 21:2; Ezekiel 21:2), towards Canaan the holy land, Jerusalem the holy city, the temple the holy house. These were highly dignified above other places; but, when they polluted them, that word which used to drop in the holy places shall now drop against them: Prophesy against the land of Israel. It was the honour of Israel that it had prophets and prophecy; but these, being despised by them, are turned against them. And justly is Zion battered with her own artillery, which used to be employed against her adversaries, seeing she knew not how to value it. 2. He is instructed, and is to instruct the people, in the meaning of the fire that was threatened to consume the forest of the south: it signified a sword drawn, the sword of war which should make the land desolate (Ezekiel 21:3; Ezekiel 21:3): Behold, I am against thee, O land of Israel! There needs no more to make a people miserable than to have God against them; for as, if he be for us, we need not fear, whoever are against us, so, if he be against us, we cannot hope, whoever are for us. And God's professing people, when they revolt from him, set him against them, who used to be for them. Was the fire there of God's kindling? The sword here is his sword, which he has prepared, and which he will give commission to; it is he that will draw it out of its sheath, where it had laid quiet and threatened no harm. Note, When the sword is unsheathed among the nations God's hand must be eyed and owned in it. Did the fire devour every green tree and every dry tree? The sword in like manner shall cut off the righteous and the wicked. Good and bad were involved in the common calamities of the nation; the righteous were cut off from the land of Israel when they were sent captives in Babylon, though perhaps few or none of them were cut off from the land of the living; and it was a threatening omen to the land of Israel that in the beginning of its troubles such excellent men as Daniel and his fellows, and Ezekiel, were cut off from it and conveyed to Babylon. But though the sword cut off the righteous and the wicked (for it devours one as well as another,2 Samuel 11:25), yet far be it from us to think that the righteous are as the wicked,Genesis 18:25. No; God's graces and comforts make a great difference when his providence seems to make none. The good figs are sent into Babylon for their good,Jeremiah 24:5; Jeremiah 24:6. It is only in outward appearance that there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked,Ecclesiastes 9:2. But it speaks the greatness of God's displeasure against the land of Israel. Well might it be said, His eye shall not spare, when it shall not spare, no, not the righteous in it. Since there are not righteous men sufficient to save the land, to make the justice of God the more illustrious the few that there are shall suffer with it, and God's mercy shall make it up to them some other way. Did the fire burn up all faces from the south to the north? The sword shall go forth against all flesh from the south to the north, shall go forth, as God's sword, with a commission that cannot be contested, with a force that cannot be resisted. Were all flesh made to know that God kindled the fire? They shall be made to know that he has drawn forth the sword,Ezekiel 21:5; Ezekiel 21:5. And, lastly, Shall the fire that is kindled never be quenched? So when this sword of the Lord is drawn against Judah and Jerusalem the scabbard is thrown away, and it shall never be sheathed: It shall not return any more, till it has made a full end. 3. The prophet is ordered, by expressions of his own grief and concern for these calamities that were coming on, to try to make impressions of the like upon the people. When he has delivered his message he must sigh (Ezekiel 21:6; Ezekiel 21:6), must fetch many deep sighs, with the breaking of his loins; he must sign as if his heart would burst, sigh with bitterness, with other expressions of bitter sorrow, and this publicly, in the sight of those to whom he delivered the foregoing message, that this might be a sermon to their eyes as that was to their ears; and it was well if both would work upon them. The prophet must sign, though it was painful to himself and made his breast sore, and though it is probable that the profane among the people would ridicule him for it and call him a whining canting preacher. But, if we be beside ourselves it is to God; and, if this be to be vile, we will be yet more so. Note, Ministers, if they would affect others with the things they speak of, must show that they are themselves in the greatest sincerity affected with them, and must submit to that which may create uneasiness to themselves, so that it will promote the ends of their ministry. The people, observing the prophet to sigh so much and seeing no visible occasion for it, would ask, "Wherefore sighest thou? These sighs have some mystical meaning; let us know what it is." And he must answer them (Ezekiel 21:7; Ezekiel 21:7): "It is for the tidings, the heavy tidings, that we shall hear shortly; the tidings come (the judgments come which we hear the tidings of), they come apace, and then you will all sigh; nay, that will not serve. every heart shall melt and every spirit fail; your courage will all be gone and you will have no animating considerations to support yourselves with. And, when heart and spirit fail, it will follow of course that all hands will be feeble and unable to fight, and all knees will be weak as water and unable to flee or to stand their ground." Those who have God for them when flesh and heart fail have him to be the strength of their heart; but those who have God against them have no cordial for a fainting spirit, but are as Belshazzar when his thoughts troubled him,Daniel 5:6. But some people are worse frightened than hurt; may not the case be so here and the event prove better than likely? No: Behold it cometh, and shall be brought to pass. It is not a bugbear that they are frightened with, but according to the fear so is the wrath, and more grievous than is feared.