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TRHCK THROUGH THE BIBLE
By G. CH TIP BELL TlORQAfti Westminster Chapel, London, England.
Appearing Ebety Week “During 1707. {Copyright American teriUl Hights Applied for by the 0 olden Age Publishing Co. All “Rights Keserbed.)
EZEKIEL—THE PROPHET OF HOPE.
A. The Prophet s Pr ® b. Reprobation. iv.-xxiv. C. Restoration. xxv.-xlvlii.
I. The Visions. I. I- Results of Reprobation. 1. The Nations. xxv.-xxxii.
i. Fire. 14 iv.-xiv. 1. The Doom of Four, Ammon, Moat)', Edom,
ii. Living Ones. 5-14 L The Four Signs. iv., v. Philistia. • xxv.
ili. Wheels. 15-21 ii. The Denunciations ii. The Doom of Two, Tyre and Sidon.
iV, The Likeness. 22-28 vi., vii - xxvi.-xxviii. 24
ill. The Judgment, viii.-xiv. (Parenthesis. Restoration of Israel xxviii.
11. The Voice. 11., ill. 25 26.)
1. The Message. 11.-111. 3"■ Reason of Reprobation iU The of One> Egypt xxix .. xxxii .
11* The Equipment xv.-xix.
ili. 4-15 1. The Two General Fig- ||. The Nation. xxxiii.-xxxix.
iii. The Responsibility. ures. xv., xvl. 1. The Watchman. xxxiii.
iii. 16-21 ii- The Riddle. xvii. ii. Shepherds false and true. xxxiv.
iV. The Commissibh. iii. The False Excuse, xviii. iii. The new Order. xxxv., xxxvi.
iii. 22-27 'i'he Lament. xix. iv. The Vision of the Bones. xxxvii.
111. Righteousness of v ‘ Th ® last Enemy. xxxviii., xxxix.
bation - xx.-xxiv. in Th6 Order. xl.-xlii.
i. Vindicated to Elders. L T he Temple. xl.-xlii.
xx. 1-44 h Jehovah. xlili.
ii. The Song of the Sword. ilt T he service of the Temple, xliv.-xlvl.
45-xxla iv The River xlvii. 142
Hi. The Utter Evil of the! v The Land xlvii 13 . 23
eity. xx ii- vi. The People. xlviii, 1-29
iv. Ohoiah; Oholibah. xxiil. vii< The City « <The Lcrd is there ». 30 . 35
v. The Destruction of the
Title Page, 2, 3 city. xxiv.
Ezekiel —(Concluded.)
T
HE second figure the prophet wrought
out at greater length. It was that of
Jerusalem tlie faithless city, as afi
adulteress. Maintaining his figure
throughout, he traced the history of the
city. An abandoned child, born and
forsaken, was found and nurtured by
Jehovah. At maturity the child was
taken in marriage and loaded with
benefits. Then as wife she trusted in her beauty
and turned to harlotry, in which she prostituted
her husband’s wealth. This harlotry had been
w 7 orse than the common in which the harlot receives
gifts, in that in this case she had bestowed gifts
to seduce others. The punishment of the adulteress
was that of stripping and shame. Yet this very
process was intended to produce in the heart of
the sinning city a shame and a repentance. The
last movement is one in which the prophet fore
told the restoration of the wife by the remembrance
of the covenant and its re-establishment by Je
hovah.
The prophet then, commanded by Jehovah, put
forth a riddle. A great eagle came upon Lebanon,
took off the top of the cedar, carried away the seed
of the land, planted it in a fruitful soil where it
became a spreading vine. Toward a second eagle
it bent its roots that he might water it. The vine
was denounced for this act of treachery, its judg
ment being that it should be plucked up by the
roots and withered by the east wind. The riddle
was then explained. The first eagle was the king of
Babylon, who earned away the king and planted
the seed royal in Babylon. The second eagle was
the king of Egypt, whose help Zedekiah sought, and
who was punished by Jehovah in consequence. The
riddle ended with the promise of Jehovah that He
would ultimately plant again a cedar in the moun
tain of the height of Israel, and as a result there
should be universal recognition of the activity of
Jehovah.
The men of his time had made the proverb, “The
fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s
teeth are set on edge,” by which they intended to
lay the blame of their present suffering upon their
fathers. This the prophet denied, first by illustra
tions, declaring that the righteous man lives, that
the wicked son of a righteous man dies, that the
righteous son of a wicked father lives. He then
stated the principle that God deals with individuals
directly, and consequently declared that the sinner
turning to righteousness should live, and the right-
The (folded Age sot Beeember 19, 1907.
eous man turning to sin must die.- Then in the name
of Jehovah, he appealed to Israel to turn from
transgression, and declared that God had “no pleas
ure in the death of him that dieth.”
The final movement in this section is that of the
lament of the prophet over Jehoahaz, in which he
first described Judah, the lioness mother and the
captured whelp; then over Jehoiachin, the second
whelp, and his capture; finally, over Zede
kiah, whose mother, Judah, was like a vine plucked
up, and destroyed by fire proceeding out of her rods
—that is, from her children.
In the next section we have a series of prophecies
showing the righteousness of reprobation. This
was first vindicated to the elders; secondly, cele
brated in the song of the sword; thirdly, declared
in a description of the utter evil of the city; fourth
ly, shown in a description of the sins of Samaria
and Jerusalem; and, finally, manifested in a de
scription of the destruction of the city.
Certain of the elders of Israel came to inquirfe
o’s the Lord, and Ezekiel was commissioned to an
swer them. This he did, first by reviewing their
past history, and showing how God had dealt with
them for His name’s sake in delivering them from
Egypt, in delivering them in the wilderness, and in
sparing them there. He then examined the rela
tion of the present sin to the past. The fathers
had sinned in the land, so also had the sons, and
consequently they were punished. He then fore
told the future. The Lord God by a mighty hand
would gather His people to the wilderness and dis
cipline them, and sanctify His name among them*
As a result, Israel would be restored, and Jehovah’s
name sanctified among the nations, and all this for
His name’s sake.
The prophet was then commissioned to prophesy
against the forest of the south, that a fire should
be kindled in it. The prophet, not understanding
the meaning of the message, made his appeal to
God that men would say to him that he was a
speaker of parables, and immediately the explana
tion was given. The sword of Jehovah was about
to proceed against the land of Israel. The proph
et’s anguish in the presence of the judgment was
to become a sign to the people. All this prepared
the way for the song of the sword, in which in
graphic language the process of its sharpening and
its readiness for use were described, and its com
mission was uttered. The song was immediately
followed by an interpretation announcing that the
king of Babylon was coming against the city, and
the prince of Israel was to be degraded by Jehovah,
who would overturn until the coming of the right-
ful King. This interpretation was followed by a
brief address to the children of Ammon, who hadl
drawn the sword, commanding them to sheathe' it,
and declaring the judgment decreed against them.
The' next movement described the utter evil of
the city. Its fundamental sins of bloodshed and
idolatry were named, and the resultant evils of op.
pressions by princes, irreligion, lewdness, and greed
were described. On account of these things the
judgment of Jehovah would be terrible, would pro
ceed to purpose which was illustrated under th®
figure of the furnace into which Israel was cast.
Again the prophet described the corruption of the
inhabitants, first in general statement, in which
he described a land with no water, having no teach
ing; and the springs as polluted, having no proph
ets; and then proceeded to make particular charges
against priests, princes, prophets, people. He con
cluded by describing the utter hopelessness of the'
case. There was no man to stand iri the' gate.
Therefore the fire of wrath must proceed u’poa its
way.
The next prophecy dealt with the sins of Sa
maria and Jerusalem under the figure of two wo
men, Ohoiah and Oholibah. Samaria was charged
with unfaithfulness in her confederacy with As
syria and Egypt, this being the cause of her judg
ment. Jerusalem was charged with unfaithfulness
with Assyria, with Babylon, with Egypt, this be
ing the cause of her judgment. In other terms the
prophet declared their sins. They were guilty of
idolatry and bloodshed, profanation of the sanctu
ary and unholy alliances. They were therefore
counted worthy of judgment by religious men, of
stoning by consent of the assembly, in order that;
the land might be purged.
Under this section the last prophecy described
the destruction of the city. This was first done
under the parable'of the cauldron set upon a fire,
filled with water, and made to boil, which symbol
ized the coming destruction of Jerusalem and its
people.
The prophet was then bereft of his wife, and
commanded not to mourn in order that he might be
a sign to the people of coming judgment. Ezekiel
vas then told that the news would be conveyed to
him of the fall of the city, and that in that day
his mouth would be opened, and he would be able
to speak with assurance the messages of Jehovah.
* *
That Old Earm Gate.
By Frank Worden Wood.
In rustic spo.t, by old oak tree,
Where sporting there in childish glee,
The children played at “seek and hide,”
The old farm gate stands swinging wide.
Though ancient is its make and form,
Yet has it borne full many a storm
And braved the gale through changing years
To tell its tale of hope and fears.
That old farm gate has opened oft
For velvet hands so white and soft,
And oft has swung its rugged frame
To welcome in the guests that came.
Upon its panel’s lengths are seen
Decaying fir and mosses green,
And on its posts now rotting down,
The children’s names are carved around.
With steady swing it went and came,
Admitting wealth, or power, or fame;
Shut in the peasant’s little farm,
And kept his humble cot from harm.
The hand of fortune well supplied
The stream from life’s exhaustless tide,
Who destined for some noble fate,
Passed in and out that old farm gate.
Decatur, Texas.