Ezekiel 28:25, 26 Thus said the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered… In the writings of Ezekiel, as in those of other prophets, we cannot but observe the remarkable conjunction of passages denouncing judgment with passages revealing Divine grace and promising Divine clemency. The attentive reader cannot but be surprised and charmed upon meeting with such a promise as is contained in these two verses, coming in between the denunciation of Tyre and the denunciation of Egypt. Undoubtedly, the fate of surrounding nations had relation to the history and prospects of Israel, though it would be presumption in us to define those relations too exactly. It was not a mere rhetorical art which led to the introduction of this portion of the prophecies just in this place. Yet we feel that its position both enhances its beauty and deepens its interest and significance. I. THE FAVOR TO BE SHOWN TO ISRAEL IS IN CONTRAST TO THE FATE OF OTHER NATIONS. Tyre should perish from off the earth; Egypt should be trodden underfoot, and should be degraded in the scale of nations; but Israel should dwell in their own land with confidence. II. THE FAVOR SHOWN TO ISRAEL IS CONSEQUENT UPON ISRAEL'S DEPRESSION, CONQUEST, AND CAPTIVITY. It is not to be supposed that Israel, because the chosen nation, was exempt from calamity and discipline. On the contrary, it was because, to some extent, the discipline was answering its intended purpose, that brightness followed the storm, that the winter of Israel's discontent was succeeded by the genial and happy springtime. III. THE FAVOR SHOWN TO ISRAEL WAS, HOWEVER, UNDESERVED BY ISRAEL'S OWN CHARACTER AND ACTION. So it had been from the beginning. Israel was a rebellious and stiff-necked people, lapsing now into idolatry and again into murmuring or licentiousness. God had a purpose in Israel's election, and that purpose must needs be carried out. But in any case, it was no virtue, excellence, or merit in Israel that accounted for the forbearance continually and repeatedly extended towards the people of the covenant. IV. THE FAVOR SHOWN TO ISRAEL WAS OWING TO THE CLEMENCY OF THE DIVINE RULER. Why such clemency was extended to Israel, and was withheld from Tyre, it may not be possible for us to explain. But there is no caprice in the government of God; justice and mercy are his attributes, and it would be folly in man to impugn them. Who is there who is not indebted to Divine long-suffering and loving-kindness? What nation has not been spared and delivered from its enemies, once and again in the course of its history? Certainly, the mercy of the God of Abraham towards the people that sprang from the father of the faithful was great and marvelous. V. THE FAVOR SHOWN TO ISRAEL WAS MANIFEST IN THE DELIVERANCE OF THE PEOPLE FROM CAPTIVITY AND EXILE. They were "gathered from the people among whom they were scattered." Instead of being reduced to perpetual bondage or absorbed by their conquerors, the Hebrew people, though appointed to exile, were in due time redeemed from their subjection, dependence, and expatriation. VI. THE FAVOR SHOWN TO ISRAEL WAS MANIFEST IN THEIR PEACEFUL RE-ESTABLISHMENT IN THEIR OWN LAND. It was the land given by Jehovah to his servant Jacob, the land of promise, the land of the covenant. God had his own wise purposes to work out by this replanting and resettling of the people of Israel upon the sacred soil. There it was appointed for them to dwell in safety and confidence, to build their houses and to plant their vineyards, and above all to worship the God of their fathers in his chosen sanctuary. VII. THE FAVOR SHOWN TO ISRAEL WAS INTENDED TO AWAKEN THE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OF GRATEFUL PIETY. The services and their motives may not always have been spiritual and pure, free from every taint of selfishness and self-satisfaction. The Israelites, thinking of the judgments God had executed upon all those who had despised them round about them, congratulating themselves that, whilst their foes had been humiliated or destroyed, they had been spared, restored, and blessed, may, perhaps, have allowed some feelings of self-righteousness to take possession of their hearts. Yet they could not fail to acknowledge Jehovah as their true Friend and mighty Deliverer; they could not but offer grateful sacrifices of adoring praise to him who had remembered them in their low estate; for his mercy endureth forever. They could not but know and confess him as the Lord their God. - T. Parallel Verses KJV: Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. |
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