Ezekiel 14:13

Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: THEN WILL I ... BREAK THE STAFF OF THE BREAD - on which man's existence is supported as on a staff (; ; ; ; ). I will send a famine....

The next verse thought to be joined: for some interpreters altogether pervert the Prophet’s sense by finishing the sentence there, as if he had said, I will extend my hand over it, e. But the sentence is dependent, as we shall see —...

12-23 National sins bring national judgments. Though sinners escape one judgment, another is waiting for them. When God's professing people rebel against him, they may justly expect all his judgments. The faith, obedience, and prayers of Noah prevailed to the saving of his house, but not of the old world. Job's sacrifice and prayer in behalf of his friends were accepted, and Daniel had prevailed for the saving his companions and the wise men of Babylon. But a people that had filled the measure of their sins, was not to expect to escape for the sake of any righteous men living among them; not even of the most eminent saints, who could be accepted in their own case only through the sufferings and righteousness of Christ. Yet even when God makes the greatest desolations by his judgments, he saves some to be monuments of his mercy. In firm belief that we shall approve the whole of God's dea...

Verse Ezekiel 14:13. _BY TRESPASSING GRIEVOUSLY_] Having been frequently warned, and having refused to leave their sin, and so filled up the measure of their iniquity....

Jeremiah 14; Jeremiah 15 is a remarkable parallel to this prophecy. Here, as elsewhere, Ezekiel is commissioned to deliver to the exiles the same message which Jeremiah conveys to the inhabitants of Judaea. The answer discovers the nature of the questions which had been expressed or implied. (1) Can God cast out a people who are holy unto Himself? (2) Is it just to punish them with utter desolation? The prophet answers: (1) That when a people is so corrupt as to call down national judgment, individual piety shall save none but the individuals themselves....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 14:1 As the result, probably, of the previous utterances, certain ELDERS OF ISRAEL, _i_._e_. of the exiles in Tel-Abib, came to consult Ezekiel, wishing to know what counsels or what predictions he had for them. In Ezekiel 8:1 we have "the elders of Judah," and it is possible that there were two groups in the Population of the town, and that these represented Israel as distinct from Judah—a deputation, as it were, from the earlier exiles. The term appears again in Ezekiel 20:1. More probably, however, the terms are used interchangeably. Ezekiel 14:

SON OF MAN, WHEN THE LAND SINNETH AGAINST ME BY TRESPASSING GRIEVOUSLY,.... That is, the inhabitants of the land, when they are in general become sinners against God and his law; and not merely sinners, as all men are, but grievous ones, notorious sinners, guilty of very gross enormities, of great prevarication, perfidy, and treachery; for God is a God longsuffering, and has great patience with a people; and does not usually come forth in his judgments against nation, until sin has universally prevailed among them, and they are guilty of grievous abominations, and those continued in: but when this is the case, THEN WILL I STRETCH OUT MINE HAND UPON IT; his hand of vindictive wrath and justice, and cause it to fall heavily, and men to feel it: AND WILL BREAK THE STAFF OF THE BREAD THEREOF; take away bread corn from the nation, the support of human life; which is that unto it, and the st...

Ezekiel 14:1. These inquiring elders, with wickedness in their hearts, give another illustration of the depth of degradation in which the people had sunk. He who searches the hearts knew what was in them. They came with pious, religious pretensions. It sounded well to inquire of the Lord and seek the prophet-priest for that purpose. Their hearts were full of evil. While their lips spoke of asking the Lord, their hearts were full of idolatry. They liked idolatry. Their hearts were in it and this stumbling-block of their iniquity they had put before their faces, which means they openly defied the Lord God of Israel by their doings. “Should I be inquired of at all by them?” To seek the Lord and inquire of Him in such a condition reveals a brazen spirit and the deepest depravity. Yet this also belongs to the conditions in which the professing people of God are when judgment overtakes them....

THE RIGHTEOUS CANNOT SAVE THE CITY, BUT ONLY THEMSELVES. In spite of all Ezekiel's visions and warnings, the people still cherish the illusion that Jerusalem will be spared if for no other reason, at least for the sake of the righteous to be found in it, on the principle of solidarity. Why might it not, like Sodom (Genesis 18:32), be spared for ten's sake? In this very interesting and rhetorical passage, where Ezekiel develops the broad doctrine of individual responsibility, at which he has just hinted (Ezekiel 14:10) and which he had touched upon before (Ezekiel 3:16), he strikes away this illusion. When the judgment comes, he tells them be it in the form of famine, wild beasts, or pestilence the most godly men, for

THE LAND. a land. SINNETH. Hebrew. _chata._ App-44. TRESPASSING. Hebrew ma'al. App-44. Note the Figure of speech _Polyptoton_ (App-6). Hebrew. to trespass. trespass i.e. to trespass exceedingly. See note on Genesis 26:28. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 5:16; Leviticus 6:2; Leviticus 26:40; Numbers 5:6; Numbers 5:12; Numbers 5:27). App-92....