Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 7:1

Clarke's Commentary

CHAPTER VII

This chapter, which also forms a distinct prophecy, foretells

the dreadful destruction of the land of Israel, or Judah, (for

after the captivity of the ten tribes these terms are often

used indiscriminately for the Jews in general,) on account of

the heinous sins of its inhabitants, 1-15;

and the great distress of the small remnant that should escape,

16-19.

The temple itself, which they had polluted with idolatry, is

devoted to destruction, 20-22;

and the prophet is directed to make a chain, as a type of that

captivity, in which both king and people should be led in bonds

to Babylon, 23-27.

The whole chapter abounds in bold and beautiful figures, flowing

in an easy and forcible language.

NOTES ON CHAP. VII

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

The end is near (7:1-27)

Many Jews thought that Jerusalem would never be conquered. Ezekiel announced with certainty that the city would fall. God had been longsuffering and merciful, and had saved the city many times, but the people stubbornly refused to repent. Now the time for God’s judgment had come (7:1-4). One disaster would follow another, till the wicked city was destroyed (5-9).
As a tree blossoms, so Jerusalem’s sin was full-grown. The city was about to fall; rich and poor were about to lose everything. Therefore, a buyer was not to rejoice in a good deal he had made, nor a seller mourn because he had lost his property. Neither was the seller to hope that one day he would regain his property (10-13).
The citizens of Jerusalem might prepare for battle, but all such preparation would be useless. Jerusalem was doomed (14). People trapped in the besieged city would die of starvation. Those in the fields and villages outside would be killed by enemy soldiers. Any who managed to escape would only face a miserable existence in their mountain hiding places (15-16). Everywhere there would be a feeling of hopelessness. The money that the Jerusalemites had unjustly gained would be of no use to them when there was no food to buy. In despair they would throw their money away (17-19). Their idols, richly ornamented and expensive, would be stolen by the invaders, and God’s ‘precious place’, the Jerusalem temple, would be profaned as irreverent Babylonian soldiers invaded, plundered and in the end destroyed it (20-22).
Terrified by the violence of the attack, people would look on helplessly as the invaders seized their houses (23-25). Neither religious nor civil leaders would be able to save Jerusalem from being overrun by the hated foreigners. The calamity would be a fitting judgment on the city for its religious rebellion and moral waywardness (26-27).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

MORE ON THE DOOM OF ISRAEL

Some have called this chapter a dirge; but, "There are four oracles in it: (1) Ezekiel 7:2-4, (2) Ezekiel 7:5-9, (3) Ezekiel 7:10-11, and (4) Ezekiel 7:12-13, followed by an exposition of their common theme (Ezekiel 7:14-27)."G. R. Beasley-Murray in the New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 669.

The date of this section of the prophecy as given in 1:1 would leave about seven years before the capture of the city, the blinding of Zedekiah, and the destruction of the temple; but Ezekiel 7:2 here states that. "Now the end has come upon thee (Jerusalem)"; and upon that declaration Beasley-Murray dated this chapter shortly before the fall of the city, supposing that, "The date at the head of a section does not necessarily embrace everything that follows till the next date is given."Ibid.

THE END IS NEAR

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto the land of Israel. An end: the end is come upon the four corners of the land. Now is the end upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity; but I will bring thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah."

Dummelow has an excellent summary of this whole chapter. "Here is a final message of doom upon the whole land; the judgment is inevitable and close at hand; social relations will be broken up; preparations will be of no avail; wealth misused for idolatry and luxury will become the spoil of the heathen; priests, prophets, king and nobles will be helpless to deliver; the Temple will be profaned, and the remnant shall be overwhelmed with SORROW."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 496.

A feature of this prophecy is the repetition. The end has come (Ezekiel 7:2); the day has come (Ezekiel 7:10); the time has come (Ezekiel 7:7); and doom has come (Ezekiel 7:7; Ezekiel 7:12). This repetition was explained by Taylor. "It can be explained only against the background of popular belief in the inviolability of Jerusalem. Its destruction was inconceivable to the Israelite mind. Their view was that, "As long as God is God, God's Temple and God's city would stand.'"J. B. Thompson, p. 92.

"The end is come" "This is a standard announcement of doom as in Genesis 6:13. It serves for the eschatological end-time of Daniel 8:17."Moshe Greenberg, p. 147.

"The four corners of the land" "A glance at Isaiah 11:12 shows that the phrase here means `the four corners of the earth.'"Ibid. Here is far more than the heavenly chastisement of one small nation such as Israel. "This signifies the coming of the end upon the four corners of the earth; this means the end coming upon all mankind. This refers to a world-wide catastrophe, such as we find in the mythological expectations of disaster of ancient oriental nations, and such as Israel associated with the coming of Jehovah the world-judge." The end here is "the day of the Lord," the final day, the one spoken of by Zephaniah, Amos, Jeremiah and Micah. This reference to that great and final Day of Judgment, however, appears here as an overtone accompanying the prophecy of immediate and impending doom for Jerusalem.

All of God's great judgments upon evil nations are, in fact, omens of that ultimate Judgment when the Books shall be opened and the Judgment of the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11 ff) shall occur. It was true of the flood, of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, of the fall of Tyre, and of Sidon, of Moab, Ammon, Edom. Gaza, Damascus, Israel (Samaria), and of Judah.

The first two chapters of Amos record eight of those judgments. The fall of Nineveh and Babylon are others; and many of the judgments upon wicked cities in the current dispensation of God's grace may also be considered as prophecies of the ultimate Judgment before Christ seated upon the Throne of Glory (Matthew 25). Certainly, the fall of Jerusalem, Rome, and Berlin must be viewed as further examples of the same truth.

"Amos first mentioned that, `the end is come,' (Amos 8:2); and from him this phrase came to be associated with eschatological times."International Critical Commentary, p. 76.

"Thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee" (Ezekiel 7:4). The meaning here is that, "The people will reap what they have sown, and their sins shall be recognized in their punishment."E. H. Plumptre in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 118.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

A dirge. Supposing the date of the prophecy to be the same as that of the preceding, there were now but four, or perhaps three, years to the final overthrow of the kingdom of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

Ezekiel seems here too verbose; for he repeats the same sentiments almost in the same words. But the reason which I have brought forward must be marked, if God had only uttered his commands shortly, when the people were not only slow to believe but of a perverse disposition, his message had proved cold and ineffectual. With this design he uses, as we have seen, many words, and now repeats the same: he now changes his expression, because he ought by all means to stimulate that sloth, or rather sluggishness, under which the people labored. Another thing to be noted is, that he came not once only by God’s command to preach to the people, but. that he was often sent to stir up their minds. For if he had included in one context what God had enjoined, the Israelites might for the time have thought of God’s judgment, but a prophecy once uttered would have easily escaped them. Besides, when Ezekiel testifies that he was sent by God, and afterwards returns and affirms that he brings new commands, this was more effectual to influence their minds. Now we see the meaning of the phrase, the word was given by Jehovah For this prophecy is distinguished from the former, and yet the matter is the same, without any difference, as it seems to weave in with the same discourse: this, indeed, is true, but he ought to be sent twice, that the people may understand that not once only, but twice and perpetually, what he heard from God’s mouth was to be repeated: since it was sufficiently clear, that God was anxious for their safety, since he never ceased to exhort them. Thus, therefore, says the Lord Jehovah concerning the land of Israel: an end is coming, an end upon the four corners of the land Here God seems to regard the moderate punishments which he had already inflicted on the kingdom of Israel. For we know that they often felt God’s hand, but when some relaxation was afforded them, they thought themselves escaped, so they forgot their wickedness and went on in it so carelessly that it was very clear that they despised God, unless when he oppressed them with his dreadful power. This seems the meaning of the word end, and it is emphatically repeated: an end is coming, an end upon the four corners of the land He puts, indeed, wings, but intends it metaphorically for four different regions. God, therefore, reproves the Israelites for their obstinacy, because though often chastised they did not cease to transgress, through not supposing that any thing more grievous could happen. He puts therefore the word end, as if he said, hitherto I have treated you moderately. And surely God had displayed a remarkable specimen of clemency in punishing the Israelites so lightly when he might utterly have cut them off. Since, therefore, he had so refrained himself in punishing, the sluggishness of the people was on that account the less tolerable, since they thought all was over as soon as God had withdrawn his hand. An end, says he, an end is come, that is, after this you must not hope for any moderation. I see there is no hope of repentance in you, and so I shall utterly consume you; and he adds, on the four corners of the land, as he had just said, in all your dwellings. Again, therefore, he teaches, that no part of the earth should be free from the slaughter which he predicts. It follows —

Smith's Bible Commentary

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.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The Lord’s word came to Ezekiel again (cf. Ezekiel 6:1). This verse serves as a heading for the oracles that make up the rest of the chapter.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Or again, as the Arabic version; for this is a distinct prophecy from the former; though of the same kind with it; and was delivered out, either immediately upon the former; or, however, some time between that and the following in the next chapter, which has a date to it. The Targum calls it the word of prophecy from the Lord.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,   2 Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land.   3 Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations.   4 And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: 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.   5 Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come.   6 An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.   7 The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.   8 Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.   9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.   10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.   11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them.   12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.   13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.   14 They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.   15 The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.

      We have here fair warning given of the destruction of the land of Israel, which was now hastening on apace. God, by the prophet, not only sends notice of it, but will have it inculcated in the same expressions, to show that the thing is certain, that it is near, that the prophet is himself affected with it and desires they should be so too, but finds them deaf, and stupid, and unaffected. When the town is on fire men do no seek for fine words and quaint expressions in which to give an account of it, but cry about the streets, with a loud and lamentable voice, "Fire! fire!" So the prophet here proclaims, An end! an end! it has come, it has come; behold, it has come. He that hath ears to hear let him hear.

      I. An end has come, the end has come (Ezekiel 7:2; Ezekiel 7:2), and again (Ezekiel 7:3; Ezekiel 7:6), Now has the end come upon thee--the end which all their wickedness had a tendency to, and which God had often told them it would come to at last, when by his prophets he had asked them, What will you do in the end hereof?--the end which all the foregoing judgments had been working towards, as means to bring it about (their ruin shall now be completed)--or the end, that is, the period of their state, the final destruction of their nation, as the deluge was the end of all flesh,Genesis 6:13. They had flattered themselves with hopes that they should shortly see an end of their troubles. "Yea," says God, "An end has come, but a miserable one, not the expected end" (which is promised to the pious remnant among them, Jeremiah 29:11); "it is the end, that end which you have been so often warned of, that last end which Moses wished you to consider (Deuteronomy 32:29), and which, because Jerusalem remembered not, therefore she came down wonderfully," Lamentations 1:9. This end was long in coming, but now it has come. Though the ruin of sinners comes slowly, it comes surely. "It has come; it watches for thee, ready to receive thee." This perhaps looks further, to the last destruction of that nation by the Romans, which that by the Chaldeans was an earnest of; and still further to the final destruction of the world of the ungodly. The end of all things is at hand; and Jerusalem's last end was a type of the end of the world,Matthew 24:3. Oh that we could all see that end of time and days very near, and the end of our own time and days much nearer, that we may secure a happy lot at the end of the days!Daniel 12:13. This end comes upon the four corners of the land. The ruin, as it shall be final, so it shall be total; no part of the land shall escape; no, not that which lies most remote. Such will the destruction of the world be; all these things shall be dissolved. Such will the destruction of sinners be; none can avoid it. Oh that the wickedness of the wicked might come to an end, before it bring them to an end!

      II. An evil, an only evil, behold, has come,Ezekiel 7:5; Ezekiel 7:5. Sin is an evil, an only evil, an evil that has no good in it; it is the worst of evils. But this is spoken of the evil of trouble; it is an evil, one evil, and that one shall suffice to affect and complete the ruin of the nation; there needs no more to do its business; this one shall make an utter end, affliction needs not rise up a second time,Nahum 1:9. It is an evil without precedent or parallel, an evil that stands alone; you cannot produce such another instance. It is to the impenitent an evil, an only evil; it hardens their hearts and irritates their corruptions, whereas there were those to whom it was sanctified by the grace of God and made a means of much good; they were sent into Babylon for their good,Jeremiah 24:5. The wicked have the dregs of that cup to drink which to the righteous is full of mixtures of mercy,Psalms 75:8. The same affliction is to us either a half evil or an only evil according as we conduct ourselves under it and make use of it. But when an end, the end, has come upon the wicked world, then an evil, an only evil, comes upon it, and not till then. The sorest of temporal judgments have their allays, but the torments of the damned are an evil, an only evil.

      III. The time has come, the set time, for the inflicting of this only evil and the making of this full end; for to all God's purposes there is a time, a proper time, and that prefixed, in which the purpose shall have its accomplishment; particularly the time of reckoning with wicked people, and rendering to them according to their desserts, is fixed, the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of god; and he sees, whether we see it or no, that his day is coming. This they are here told of again and again (Ezekiel 7:10; Ezekiel 7:10): Behold, the day that has lingered so long has come at last, behold, it has come. The time has come, the day draws near, the day of trouble is near,Ezekiel 7:7; Ezekiel 7:12. Though threatened judgments may be long deferred, yet they shall not be dropped; the time for executing them will come. Though God's patience may put them off, nothing but man's sincere repentance and reformation will put them by. The morning has come unto thee (Ezekiel 7:7; Ezekiel 7:7), and again (Ezekiel 7:10; Ezekiel 7:10), The morning has gone forth; the day of trouble dawns, the day of destruction is already begun. The morning discovers that which was hidden; they thought their secret sins would never come to light, but now they will be brought to light. They used to try and execute malefactors in the morning, and such a morning of judgment and execution is now coming upon them, a day of trouble to sinners, the year of their visitation. See how stupid these people were, that, though the day of their destruction was already begun, yet they were not aware of it, but must be thus told of it again and again. The day of trouble, real trouble, is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains, that is, not a mere echo or report of troubles, as they were willing to think it was, nothing but a groundless surmise; as if the men that came against them were but the shadow of the mountains (as Zebul suggested to Gaal, Matthew 9:36) and the intelligence they received were but an empty sound, reverberated from the mountains. No; the trouble is not a fancy, and so you will soon find.

      IV. All this comes from God's wrath, not allayed, as sometimes it has been, with mixtures of mercy. This is the fountain from which all these calamities flow; and this is the wormwood and the gall in the affliction and the misery, which make it bitter indeed (Ezekiel 7:3; Ezekiel 7:3): I will send my anger upon thee. Observe, God is Lord of his anger; it does not break out but when he pleases, nor fasten upon any but as he directs it and gives it commission. The expression rises higher (Ezekiel 7:8; Ezekiel 7:8): Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee in full vials, and accomplish my anger, all the purposes and all the products of it, upon thee. This wrath does not single out here and there one to be made examples, but it is upon all the multitude thereof (Ezekiel 7:12; Ezekiel 7:14); the whole body of the nation has become a vessel of wrath, fitted for destruction. God does sometimes in wrath remember mercy, but now he says, My eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity,Ezekiel 7:4; Ezekiel 7:9. Those shall have judgment without mercy who made light of mercy when it was offered them.

      V. All this is the just punishment of their sins, and it is what they have by their own folly brought upon themselves. This is much insisted on here, that they might be brought to justify God in all he had brought upon them. God never sends his anger but in wisdom and justice; and therefore it follows, "I will judge thee according to thy ways,Ezekiel 7:3; Ezekiel 7:3. I will examine what thy ways have been, compare them with the law, and then deal with thee according to the merit of them, and recompense them to thee," Ezekiel 7:4; Ezekiel 7:4. Note, In the heaviest judgments God inflicts upon sinners he does but recompense their own ways upon them; they are beaten with their own rod. And, when God comes to reckon with a sinful people, he will bring every provocation to account: "will recompense upon thee all thy abominations (Ezekiel 7:3; Ezekiel 7:3); and now thy iniquity shall be found to be hateful (Psalms 36:2) and thy abominations shall be in the midst of thee" (Ezekiel 7:4; Ezekiel 7:4); that is, the secret wickedness shall now be brought to light, and that shall appear to have been in the midst of thee which before was not suspected; and thy sin shall now become an abomination to thyself. So the abomination of iniquity will be when it comes to be an abomination of desolation,Matthew 24:15. Or, Thy abominations (that is, the punishments of them) shall be in the midst of thee; they shall reach to thy heart. See Jeremiah 4:18. Or therefore God will not spare, nor have pity, because, even when he is recompensing their ways upon them, yet in their distress they trespass yet more; their abominations are still in the midst of them, indulged and harboured in their hearts. It is repeated again (Ezekiel 7:8; Ezekiel 7:9), I will judge thee, I will recompense thee. Two sins are particularly specified as provoking God to bring these judgments upon them--pride and oppression. 1. God will humble them by his judgments, for they have magnified themselves. The rod of affliction has blossomed, but it was pride that budded,Ezekiel 7:10; Ezekiel 7:10. What buds in sin will blossom in some judgment or other. The pride of Judah and Jerusalem appeared among all orders and degrees of men, as buds upon the tree in spring. 2. Their enemies shall deal hardly with them, for they have dealt hardly with one another (Ezekiel 7:11; Ezekiel 7:11): Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness; that is, their injuriousness to one another is protected and patronised by the power of the magistrate. The rod of government had become a rod of wickedness, to such a degree of impudence was violence risen up. I saw the place of judgment, that wickedness was there,Ecclesiastes 3:16; Isaiah 5:7. Whatever are the fruits of God's judgments, it is certain that our sin is the root of them.

      VI. There is no escape from these judgments nor fence against them, for they shall be universal and shall bear down all before them, without remedy. 1. Death in its various shapes shall ride triumphantly, both in town and in country, both within the city and without it, Ezekiel 7:15; Ezekiel 7:15. Men shall be safe nowhere; for he that is in the field shall die by the sword (every field shall be to them a field of battle) and he that is in the city, though it be a holy city, yet it shall not be his protection, but famine and pestilence shall devour him. Sin had abounded both in city and country, Iliacos intra muros peccator et extra--Trojans and Greeks offend alike; and therefore among both desolations are made. 2. None of those that are marked for death shall escape: There shall none of them remain. None of those proud oppressors that did violence to their poor neighbours with the rod of wickedness, none of them shall be left, but they shall be all swept away by the desolation that is coming (Ezekiel 7:11; Ezekiel 7:11): None of their multitude, that is, of the rabble, whom they set on to do mischief, and to countenance them in doing it, to cry, "Crucify, crucify," when they were resolved on the destruction of any, none of them shall remain, nor any of theirs; their families shall all be destroyed, and neither root nor branch left them. This multitude, this mob, divine vengeance will in a particular manner fasten upon; for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof (Ezekiel 7:12; Ezekiel 7:14) and the vision was touching the whole multitude thereof (Ezekiel 7:13; Ezekiel 7:13), the bulk of the common people. The judgments coming shall carry them away by wholesale, and they shall neither secure themselves nor their masters whose creatures and tools they were. God's judgments, when they come with commission, cannot be overpowered by multitudes. Though hand join in hand, yet shall not the wicked go unpunished. 3. Those that fall shall not be lamented (Ezekiel 7:11; Ezekiel 7:11): There shall be no wailing for them, for there shall be none left to bewail them, but such as are hastening apace after them. And the times shall be so bad that men shall rather congratulate than lament the death of their friends, as reckoning those happy that are taken away from seeing these desolations and sharing in them, Jeremiah 16:4; Jeremiah 16:5. 4. They shall not be able to make any resistance. The decree has gone forth, and the vision concerning them shall not return,Ezekiel 7:13; Ezekiel 7:13. God will not reveal it, and they cannot defeat it; and therefore it shall not return re infecta--without having accomplished any thing, but shall accomplish that for which he sends it. God's word will take place, and then, (1.) Particular persons cannot make their part good against God: No man shall strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life; it will be to no purpose for sinners to set God and his judgments at defiance as they used to do. None ever hardened his heart against God and prospered. Those that strengthen themselves in their wickedness will be found not only to weaken, but to ruin, themselves, Psalms 52:7. (2.) The multitude cannot resist the torrent of these judgments, nor make head against them (Ezekiel 7:14; Ezekiel 7:14): They have blown the trumpet, to call their soldiers together, and to animate and encourage those whom they have got together, and thus they think to make all ready; but all in vain; none enlist themselves, or those that do have not courage to face the enemy. Note, If God be against us, none can be for us to do us any service. 5. They shall have no hope of the return of their prosperity, with which to support themselves in their adversity; they shall have given up all for gone; and therefore, "Let not the buyer rejoice that he is increasing his estate and has become a purchaser; nor let the seller mourn that he is lessening his estate and has become a bankrupt," Ezekiel 7:12; Ezekiel 7:12. See the vanity of the things of this world, and how worthless they are--that in a time of trouble, when we have most need of them, we may perhaps make least account of them. Those that have sold are the more easy, having the less to lose, and those that have bought have but increased their own cares and fears. Because the fashion of this world passes away, let those that buy be as though they possessed not, because they know not how soon they may be dispossessed, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31. It is added (Ezekiel 7:13; Ezekiel 7:13), "The seller shall not return, at the year of jubilee, to that which is sold, according to the law, though he should escape the sword and pestilence, and live till that year comes; for no inheritances shall be enjoyed here till the seventy years be accomplished, and then men shall return to their possessions, shall claim and have their own again." In the belief of this, Jeremiah, about this time, bought his uncle's field, yet, according to the charge, the buyer did not rejoice, but complain, Jeremiah 32:25. 6. God will be glorified in all: "You shall know that I am the Lord (Ezekiel 7:4; Ezekiel 7:4), that I am the Lord that smiteth,Ezekiel 7:9; Ezekiel 7:9. You look at second causes, and think it is Nebuchadnezzar that smites you, but you shall be made to know he is but the staff: it is the hand of the Lord that smiteth you, and who knows the weight of his hand?" Those who would not know it was the Lord that did them goo shall be made to know it is the Lord that smiteth them; for, one way or other, he will be owned.