For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations within the house of Israel, Sermons
I. A SPECIOUS PROVERB OF HUMAN WISDOM. 1. Its import. This was twofold - it asserted the postponement indefinitely of righteous judgment, and the failure of authorized prophecy. No doubt retribution was deferred; but this, which was a sign of Divine forbearance, was interpreted as a proof that judgment there was none, on earth or in heaven. No doubt the warnings were uttered long before the calamity overtook the people; and, in consequence, the threatened, the unbelievers, instead of using the opportunity to repent and reform, abused it to their own condemnation. 2. Its plausibility. It is described as a "flattering divination;" for it was intended to fall in with and to encourage the carelessness, the impenitence, and the unspirituality of men. 3. Its illusiveness. The opponents of the inspired prophet had but a "vain vision" to boast of. Time unmasks all false, deceitful appearances; in a short time it was seen that the proverbial wisdom of the impenitent was utterly baseless, was indeed nothing but folly. II. A VERACIOUS DECLARATION OF DIVINE COUNSELS. I. The proverb dishonouring to God is exposed and refuted. "I will make this proverb to cease." Events should make its currency impossible. There is a destructive power in truth - it shatters illusions to pieces. Great swelling words of vanity collapse when they encounter the simple but authoritative utterances of Divine truth. 2. The truthfulness of the Lord's prophets is established. Every word is fulfilled. Most unlikely events come to pass in accordance with prophetic utterance. God speaks, and the pride of the haughty is humbled, and things that are not vanquish things that are. The faithful admonitions of the Lord's servants are proved to be just and wise. 3. A new proverb is created by the action of Divine providence. "There shall none of my words be deferred any more." The time came, and came speedily, when this could not be questioned. And what happened in the days of Ezekiel has happened wherever God has spoken. For us it is chiefly of practical concern to notice that he who came from God and went to God, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, uttered forth the Divine mind and will with a unique completeness; and that though heaven and earth shall pass away, his words shall not pass away. - T.
It shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God. Do not enter a fool's paradise; do not enter upon vain imaginations, saying, As it was yesterday, so it will be tomorrow, — for there is a moment which changes all things. Study the action of time, and you will see how many critical moments there are. It is only a moment that separates the night from the day, the day from the not-day, the positive from the negative — an almost incalculable line, so minute, so infinitesimal. God can work wonders in a moment. He may take eternity for some works, but in many a moment He strikes men blind, and turns men into perdition. There is but a step between thee and death. Thy breath is in thy nostrils: a puncture in the right place, and life is gone. One touch, and the balance is lost, and he who was strong an hour since will be buried next week. Seizing these realities, grasping them with the whole mind and heart, the Church ought not to be other than in dead earnest.(J. Parker, D. D.) (J. Ellis.) People EzekielPlaces Babylon, Chaldea, JerusalemTopics FALSE, Divination, Divinations, Flattering, Longer, Midst, Secret, Smooth, Vain, Vision, Visions, WithinOutline 1. Under the type of Ezekiel's removing8. is shown the captivity of Zedekiah 17. Ezekiel's trembling shows the Jews' desolation 21. The Jews' presumptuous proverb is reproved 26. The speediness of the vision Dictionary of Bible Themes Ezekiel 12:21-25Library A Common Mistake and Lame Excuse'... He prophesieth of the times that are far off.'--EZEKIEL xii. 27. Human nature was very much the same in the exiles that listened to Ezekiel on the banks of the Chebar and in Manchester to-day. The same neglect of God's message was grounded then on the same misapprehension of its bearings which profoundly operates in the case of many people now. Ezekiel had been proclaiming the fall of Jerusalem to the exiles whose captivity preceded it by a few years; and he was confronted by the incredulity … Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The End The Last Agony The Purpose in the Coming of Jesus. 'As Sodom' A Believer's Privilege at Death Ezekiel Links Ezekiel 12:24 NIVEzekiel 12:24 NLT Ezekiel 12:24 ESV Ezekiel 12:24 NASB Ezekiel 12:24 KJV Ezekiel 12:24 Bible Apps Ezekiel 12:24 Parallel Ezekiel 12:24 Biblia Paralela Ezekiel 12:24 Chinese Bible Ezekiel 12:24 French Bible Ezekiel 12:24 German Bible Ezekiel 12:24 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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