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Commentary on Ezekiel 5 verses 5–17
We have here the explanation of the foregoing similitude: This is Jerusalem. Thus it is usual in scripture language to give the name of the thing signified to the sign; as when Christ said, This is my body. The prophet's head, which was to be shaved, signified Jerusalem, which by the judgments of God was now to be stripped of all its ornaments, to be emptied of all its inhabitants, and to be set naked and bare, to be shaved with a razor that is hired, Isa 7:20. The head of one that was a priest, a prophet, a holy person, was fittest to represent Jerusalem the holy city. Now the contents of these verses are much the same with what we have often met with, and still shall, in the writings of the prophets. Here we have,
I. The privileges Jerusalem was honoured with (Eze 5:5): I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her, and those famous nations and very considerable. Jerusalem was not situated in a remote obscure corner of the world, far from neighbours, but in the midst of kingdoms that were populous, polite, and civilized, famed for learning, arts, and sciences, and which then made the greatest figure in the world. But there seems to be more in it than this. 1. Jerusalem was dignified and preferred above the neighbouring nations and their cities. it was set in the midst of them as excelling them all. This holy mountain was exalted above all the hills, Isa 2:2. Why leap you, you high hills? This is the hill which God desires to dwell in, Psa 68:16. Jerusalem was a city upon a hill, conspicuous and illustrious, and which all the neighbouring nations had an eye upon, some for good-will, some for ill-will. 2. Jerusalem was designed to have a good influence upon the nations and countries round about, was set in the midst of them as a candle upon a candlestick, to spread the light of divine revelation, which she was blessed with, to all the dark corners of the neighbouring nations, that from them it might diffuse itself further, even to the ends of the earth. Jerusalem was set in the midst of the nations, to be as the heart in the body, to invigorate this dead world with a divine life as well as to enlighten this dark world with a divine light, to be an example of every thing that was good. The nations that observed what excellent statutes and judgments they had concluded them to be a wise and understanding people (Deu 4:6), fit to be consulted as an oracle, as they were in Solomon's time, Kg1 4:34. And, had they preserved this reputation and made a right use of it, what a blessing would Jerusalem have been to all the nations about! But, failing to be so, the accomplishment of this intention was reserved for its latter days, when out of Zion went forth the gospel law and the word of the Lord Jesus from Jerusalem, and there repentance and remission began to be preached, and thence the preachers of them went forth into all nations. And, when that was done, Jerusalem was levelled with the ground. Note, When places and persons are made great, it is with design that they may do good and that those about them may be the better for them, that their light may shine before men.
II. The provocations Jerusalem was guilty of. A very high charge is here drawn up against that city, and proved beyond contradiction sufficient to justify God in seizing its privileges and putting it under military execution. 1. She has not walked in God's statutes, nor kept his judgments (Eze 5:7); nay, the inhabitants of Jerusalem had refused his judgments and his statutes (Eze 5:6); they did not do their duty, nay, they would not, they said that they would not. Those statutes and judgments which their neighbours admired they despised, which they should have set before their face they cast behind their back. Note, A contempt of the word and law of God opens a door to all manner of iniquity. God's statutes are the terms on which he deals with men; those that refuse his terms cannot expect his favours. 2. She had changed God's judgments into wickedness (Eze 5:6), a very high expression of profaneness, that the people had not only broken God's laws, but had so perverted and abused them that they had made them the excuse and colour of their wickedness. They introduced the abominable customs and usages of the heathen, instead of God's institutions; this was changing the truth of God into a lie (Rom 1:25) and the glory of God into shame, Psa 4:2. Note, Those that have been well educated, if they live ill, put the highest affront imaginable upon God, as if he were the patron of sin and his judgments were turned into wickedness. 3. She had been worse than the neighbouring nations, to whom she should have set a good example: She has changed my judgments, by idolatries and false worship, more than the nations (Eze 5:6), and she has multiplied (that is, multiplied idols and altars, gods and temples, multiplied those things the unity of which was their praise) more than the nations that were round about. Israel's God is one, and his name one, his altar one; but they, not content with this one God, multiplied their gods to such a degree that according to the number of their cities so were their gods, and their altars were as heaps in the furrows of the field; so that they exceeded all their neighbours in having gods many and lords many. They corrupted revealed religion more than the Gentiles had corrupted natural religion. Note, If those who have made a profession of religion, and have had a pious education, apostatize from it, they are commonly more profane and vicious than those who never made any profession; they have seven other spirits more wicked. 4. She had not done according to the judgments of the nations, Eze 5:7. Israel had not acted towards their God, as the nations had acted towards their gods, though they were false gods; they had not been so observant of him nor so constant to him. Has a nation changed its gods, or slighted them, so as they have? Jer 2:11. or it may refer to their morals; instead of reforming their neighbors, they came short of them; and many who were of the uncircumcision kept the righteousness of the law better than those who were of the circumcision, Rom 2:26, Rom 2:27. Those who had the light of scripture did not according to the judgments of many who had only the light of nature. Note, There are those who are called Christians who will in the great day be condemned by the better tempers and better lives of sober heathens. 5. The particular crime charged upon Jerusalem is profaning the holy things, which she had been both entrusted and honoured with (Eze 5:11): Thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, with thy idols and idolatries. The images of their pretended deities, and the groves erected in honour of them, were brought into the temple; and the ceremonies used by idolaters were brought into the worship of God. Thus every thing that is sacred was polluted. Note, Idols are detestable things any where, but more especially so in the sanctuary.
III. The punishments that Jerusalem should fall under for these provocations: Shall not God visit for these things? No doubt he shall. The matter of the sentence here passed upon Jerusalem is very dreadful, and the manner of expression makes it yet more so; the judgments are various, and the threatenings of them varied, reiterated, inculcated, that one may well say, Who is able to stand in God's sight when once he is angry?
1.God will take this work of punishing Jerusalem into his own hands; and who knows the power of his anger and what a fearful thing it is to fall into his hands? Observe what a strong emphasis is laid upon it (Eze 5:8): I, even I, am against thee. God had been for Jerusalem, to defend and save it; but miserable is its case when he has turned to be its enemy and fights against it. If God be against us, the whole creation is at war with us, and nothing can be for us so as to stand us in any stead: "You think it is only the Chaldean army that is against you, but they are God's hand, or rather the staff in his hand; it is I, even I, that am against thee, not only to speak against thee by prophets, but to act against thee by providence. I will execute judgments in thee (Eze 5:10), in the midst of thee (Eze 5:8), not only in the suburbs, but in the heart of the city, not only in the borders, but in the bowels of the country." Note, Those who will not observe the judgments of God's mouth shall not escape the judgments of his hand; and God's judgments, when they come with commission, will penetrate into the midst of a people, will enter into the soul, into the bowels like water and like oil into the bones. I will execute judgments. Note, God himself undertakes to execute his own judgments, according to the true and full intent of them; whatever are the instruments, he is the principal agent.
2.These punishments shall come from his displeasure. As to the body of the people, it shall not be a correction in love, but he will execute judgments in anger, and in fury, and in furious rebukes (Eze 5:15), strange expressions to come from a God who has said, Fury is not in me, and who has declared himself gracious, and merciful, and slow to anger. But they are designed to show the malignity of sin, and the offence it gives to the just and holy God. That must needs be a very evil thing which provokes him to such resentments, and against his own people too, that had been so high in his favour, and expressed with so much satisfaction (Eze 5:13): "My anger, which has long been withheld, shall now be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them; it shall not only light upon them, but lie upon them, and fill them as vessels of wrath fitted by their own wickedness to destruction; and, justice being hereby glorified, I will be comforted, I will be entirely satisfied in what I have done." As, when God is dishonoured by the sins of men, he is said to be grieved (Psa 95:10), so when he is honoured by their destruction he is said to be comforted. The struggle between mercy and judgment is over, and in this case judgment triumphs, triumphs indeed; for mercy that has been so long abused is now silent and gives up the cause, has not a word more to say on the behalf of such an ungrateful incorrigible people: My eye shall not spare, neither will I have any pity, Eze 5:11. Divine compassion defers the punishment, or mitigates it, or supports under it, or shortens it; but here is judgment without mercy, wrath without any mixture or allay of pity. These expressions are thus sharpened and heightened perhaps with design to look further, to the vengeance of eternal fire, which some of the destructions we read of in the Old Testament were typical of, and particularly that of Jerusalem; for surely it is nowhere on this side hell that this word has its full accomplishment, My eye shall not spare, but I will cause my fury to rest. Note, Those who live and die impenitent will perish for ever unpitied; there is a day coming when the Lord will not spare.
3.Punishments shall be public and open: I will execute these judgments in the sight of the nations (Eze 5:8); the judgments themselves shall be so remarkable that all the nations far and near shall take notice of them; they shall be all the talk of that part of the world, and the more for the conspicuousness of the place and people on which they are inflicted. Note, Public sins, as they call for public reproofs (those that sin rebuke before all), so, if those prevail not, they call for public judgments. He strikes them as wicked men in the open sight of others (Job 34:26), that he may maintain and vindicate the honour of his government, for (as Grotius descants upon it here) why should he suffer it to be said, See what wicked lives those lead who profess to be the worshippers of the only true God! And, as the publicity of the judgments will redound to the honour of God, so it will serve, (1.) To aggravate the punishment, and to make it lie the more heavily. Jerusalem, being made waste, becomes a reproach among the nations in the sight of all that pass by, Eze 5:14. The more conspicuous and the more peculiar any have been in the day of their prosperity the greater disgrace attends their fall; and that was Jerusalem's case. The more Jerusalem had been a praise in the earth the more it is now a reproach and a taunt, Eze 5:15. This she was warned of as much as any thing when her glory commenced (Kg1 9:8), and this was lamented as much as any thing when it was laid in the dust, Lam 2:15. (2.) To teach the nations to fear before the God of Israel, when they see what a jealous God he is, and how severely he punishes sin even in those that are nearest to him: It shall be an instruction to the nations, Eze 5:15. Jerusalem should have taught her neighbours the fear of God by her piety and virtue, but, she not doing that, God will teach it to them by her ruin; for they have reason to say, If this be done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? If judgment begin at the house of God, where will it end? If those be thus punished who only had some idolaters among them, what will become of us who are all idolaters? Note, The destruction of some is designed for the instruction of others. Malefactors are publicly punished in terrorem - that others may take warning.
4.These punishments, in the kind of them, shall be very severe and grievous. (1.) They shall be such as have no precedent or parallel. Their sins being more provoking than those of others, the judgments executed upon them should be uncommon (Eze 5:9): "I will do in thee that which I have not done in thee before, though thou hast long since deserved it; nay, that which I have not done in any other city." This punishment of Jerusalem is said to be greater than that of Sodom (Lam 4:6), which was more grievous than all that went before it; nay, it is such as "I will not do any more the like, all the circumstances taken in, to any other city, till the like come to be done again to this city, in the final overthrow by the Romans." This is a rhetorical expression of the most grievous judgments, like that character of Hezekiah, that there was none like him, before or after him. (2.) They shall be such as will force them to break the strongest bonds of natural affection to one another, which will be a just punishment of them for their wilfully breaking the bonds of their duty to God (Eze 5:10): The fathers shall eat the sons, and the sons shall eat the fathers, through the extremity of the famine, or shall be compelled to do it by their barbarous conquerors. (3.) There shall be a complication of judgments, any one of them terrible enough, and desolating; but what then would they be when they came all together and in perfection? Some shall be taken away by the plague (Eze 5:12); the pestilence shall pass through thee (Eze 5:17), sweeping all before it, as the destroying angel; others shall be consumed with famine, shall gradually waste away as men in a consumption (Eze 5:12); this is again insisted on (Eze 5:16): I will send upon them the evil arrows of famine; hunger shall make them pine, and shall pierce them to the heart, as if arrows, evil arrows, poisoned darts, were shot into them. God has many arrows, evil arrows, in his quiver; when some are discharged, he has still more in reserve. I will increase the famine upon you. A famine in a bereaved country may decrease as fruits spring forth; but a famine in a besieged city will increase of course; yet god speaks of it as his act: "I will increase it, and will break your staff of bread, will take away the necessary supports of life, will disappoint you of all that which you depend upon, so that there is no remedy, but you must fall to the ground." Life is frail, is weak, is burdened, so that, if it have not daily bread for its staff to lean upon, it cannot but sink, and is soon gone if that staff be broken. Others shall fall by the sword round about Jerusalem, when they sally out upon the besiegers; it is a sword which God will bring, Eze 5:17. The sword of the Lord, that used to be drawn for Jerusalem's defence, is now drawn for its destruction. Others are devoured by evil beasts, which will make a prey of those that fly for shelter to the deserts and mountains. They shall meet their ruin where they expected refuge, for there is no escaping the judgments of God, Eze 5:17. And, lastly, those who escape shall be scattered into all parts of the world, into all the winds (so it is expressed, Eze 5:10, Eze 5:12), intimating that they should not only be dispersed, but hurried, and tossed, and driven to and fro, as chaff before the wind. Nay, and Cain's curse (to be fugitives and vagabonds) is not the worst of it neither; their restless life shall be cut off by a bloody death: "I will draw out a sword after them, which shall follow them wherever they go." Evil pursues sinners; and the curse shall come upon them and overtake them.
5.These punishments will prove their ruin by degrees. They shall be diminished (Eze 5:11); their strength and glory shall grow less and less. They shall be bereaved (Eze 5:17), emptied of all that which was their joy and confidence. God sends these judgments on purpose to destroy them, Eze 5:16. The arrows are not sent (as those which Jonathan shot) for their direction, but for their destruction; for god will accomplish his fury upon them (Eze 5:13); the day of God's patience is over, and the ruin is remediless. Though this prophecy was to have its accomplishment now quickly, in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, yet the executioners not being named here, but the criminal only (this is Jerusalem), we may well suppose that it looks further, to the final destruction of that great city by the Romans when God made a full end of the Jewish nation, and caused his fury to rest upon them.
6.All this is ratified by the divine authority and veracity: I the Lord have spoken it, Eze 5:15 and again Eze 5:17. The sentence is passed by him that is Judge of heaven and earth, whose judgment is according to truth, and the judgments of whose hand are according to the judgments of his mouth. he has spoken it who can do it, for with him nothing is impossible. He has spoken it who will do it, for he is not a man that he should lie. He has spoken it whom we are bound to hear and heed, whose ipse dixit - word commands the most serious attention and submissive assent: And they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it, Eze 5:13. There were those who thought it was only the prophet that spoke it in his delirium; but God will make them know, by the accomplishment of it, that he has spoken it in his zeal. Note, Sooner or later, God's word will prove itself.
(Vers. 8, 9.) Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have surpassed the nations that are around you, and have not walked in my commandments, and have not kept my judgments, and have not acted according to the judgments of the nations that are around you, therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I myself will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. And I will do in you what I have not done, and the like of which I will not do again, because of all your abominations. Therefore, because we have understood: Because you have surpassed the nations that are around you, Symmachus translated: Because your multitude was from the nations that are around you. Aquila's second edition: Because you have been counted among the nations that are around you. Moreover, the Septuagint: Because your occasion is from the nations that are around you. And the meaning is, either that Jerusalem, by its own crimes, surpassed all the nations around it, or that its multitude, not the people of Israel, but the crowd of other nations, should be called. Certainly, among the other nations that are around it, they had been converted, or had every opportunity to teach the nations that they should be inclined towards the good. 'Why,' He says, 'have you not followed my commandments and not observed my judgments, when you have even conquered all the nations around you with your wickedness, and have not done what they often did, which is written by natural law in their hearts?' Therefore, I will not do my judgments through Angels or through any other ministers, but I myself will do them in you, with everyone watching, things that I have not done before and will not do again. By speaking of judgments, he shows the truth of his sentences, so that anger does not appear to exceed the measure of punishments. And he did not do in any nation the things that he did in Jerusalem: Because the servant who knows the will of his master and does not do it will be beaten with many lashes (Luke 12:48). And the mighty endure mightily severe torments (Wis. 6:7). And he says, I will not do the same again. He spoke well, I will not do the same again. For much harsher things he will do after the killing of Christ. For it is one thing to have at times worshipped idols for which they were previously punished, and another to have killed the Son of God.
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SUMMARY
Ezekiel 5:8 presents a formidable and unequivocal declaration from the Lord GOD, articulating His direct and personal opposition to Jerusalem and Judah. This verse serves as the divine commentary and theological underpinning for the preceding symbolic acts Ezekiel was commanded to perform, emphasizing that the impending, severe judgments are not random occurrences but a deliberate, sovereign act of God, executed publicly "in the sight of the nations" as a profound testament to His unyielding holiness and perfect justice.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ezekiel 5:8 masterfully employs several potent literary devices to convey its message of divine judgment with profound impact. The most prominent is Divine Pronouncement, powerfully signaled by the formulaic "Thus saith the Lord GOD," which unequivocally establishes the absolute authority and unalterable nature of the message. This is immediately followed by a powerful form of Emphasis through the Hebrew idiom "I, even I," which functions as a type of Repetition or intensification. This emphatic declaration transforms the abstract concept of judgment into a deeply personal and direct confrontation from God Himself. The phrase "am against thee" utilizes Anthropomorphism, attributing a human-like posture of opposition to God, thereby making His stance against Jerusalem vividly clear and personally felt. Finally, the declaration that judgments will be executed "in the sight of the nations" employs the device of Public Spectacle as a means of divine communication. This ensures that Jerusalem's devastating downfall serves not only as a just punishment for Israel's rebellion but also as a didactic demonstration of God's justice and unchallengeable sovereignty to a watching world, transforming their humiliation into a powerful testimony of God's righteous character.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezekiel 5:8 stands as a profound theological statement on God's unwavering commitment to His own holiness and perfect justice, even when it necessitates severe judgment upon His chosen people. It underscores that God's covenant relationship with Israel, while undeniably built on grace and election, also entailed clear expectations and dire consequences for persistent disobedience. The "judgments" executed are not arbitrary acts of capricious wrath but righteous and measured responses to their pervasive idolatry, spiritual rebellion, and the defilement of God's holy name among the nations. This verse reveals a God who is both intimately involved in the affairs of His people ("I, even I, am against thee") and globally concerned with His reputation and vindication before all peoples ("in the sight of the nations"). It teaches that God's justice is not hidden or private but is openly displayed, serving as a powerful testimony to His character and a solemn warning to all who would dare to defy Him.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ezekiel 5:8, despite its stern declaration of divine judgment, offers timeless and profound truths for reflection and application in contemporary life. It serves as a potent reminder that God is utterly holy and perfectly just, and His immutable character demands that sin be addressed and accounted for. For individuals and communities today, this verse compels us to understand that persistent, unrepentant rebellion against God's revealed will inevitably carries serious and unavoidable consequences. It challenges us to critically examine our own lives and communal practices, prompting us to ask if we are truly living in faithful obedience to God's covenant, or if we are, perhaps unknowingly, allowing idolatry (whether of self, success, material possessions, or ideologies) and injustice to fester within our hearts and institutions, much like ancient Jerusalem. Furthermore, the "in the sight of the nations" aspect powerfully highlights the public dimension of our faith. Our lives, both as individual believers and as the corporate body of Christ, are a visible testimony to the world. When the church compromises its witness through sin or hypocrisy, its failures can become a public spectacle, bringing dishonor to God's holy name. Conversely, when we live righteously, faithfully, and justly, our lives can become a powerful, positive witness to God's goodness, transforming power, and redemptive grace, drawing others to Him. This verse ultimately calls us to cultivate a deeper reverence for God's holiness, a sincere commitment to genuine repentance, and a faithful, consistent witness that glorifies Him before all.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did God need to execute judgment "in the sight of the nations"?
Answer: God's decision to execute judgment "in the sight of the nations" was multifaceted and critically important for His self-revelation and the vindication of His name. Firstly, it served as a powerful demonstration of His holy character and His unwavering commitment to justice. Israel, as God's chosen people, was intended to be a beacon of light to the nations, showcasing the wisdom and righteousness of God's laws and the blessedness of living in covenant with Him (Deuteronomy 4:6-8). However, their persistent idolatry, moral corruption, and covenant breaking brought shame and reproach to God's name among the surrounding pagan peoples, who might have concluded that Israel's God was weak, indifferent, or simply one among many deities. By publicly judging His own people, God unequivocally demonstrated that He is not only supremely powerful but also perfectly righteous and just, holding even His covenant people rigorously accountable for their sin. This public display corrected misconceptions about His character and affirmed His unique sovereignty over all nations. Secondly, it served as a stark warning to other nations, illustrating the severe consequences of defying the one true God. The devastating destruction of Jerusalem was a visible, undeniable testament to God's power and His absolute intolerance for sin, even among those He had specially chosen. It was a universal lesson that no nation, no people, could defy the Lord GOD with impunity.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Ezekiel 5:8, with its stark declaration of God's personal opposition and impending judgment against His people "in the sight of the nations," finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment not in God's judgment on His people, but in God's judgment for His people, executed upon His beloved Son. The righteous "judgments" that were justly due to humanity for its rebellion against God's holiness and covenant were fully and perfectly borne by Jesus Christ on the cross. He became the ultimate "spectacle" "in the sight of the nations" (comprising both Jewish and Gentile observers), enduring the full, unmitigated wrath of God against sin, so that all who believe in Him might be mercifully spared from that very judgment. Just as Jerusalem's judgment was a public demonstration of God's unwavering justice, the crucifixion of Jesus was the ultimate public display of God's profound justice and His boundless, sacrificial love, where, as 2 Corinthians 5:21 powerfully declares, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Through Christ's atoning sacrifice, the "nations" now witness not only God's righteous judgment on sin but also His glorious mercy and the divinely provided path to reconciliation and eternal life. The church, comprised of believers from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, is now called to be the new "light to the nations," demonstrating God's transforming power and redemptive grace (Matthew 5:14-16), thereby fulfilling the positive witness Israel ultimately failed to achieve. Thus, the terrifying "I, even I, am against thee" of judgment from the Old Testament is gloriously transformed into the comforting and empowering "I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20) for all who are found in Christ, through His perfect and complete atoning work.