Ezekiel 39:18

Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. YE SHALL EAT THE FLESH OF THE MIGHTY, AND DRINK THE BLOOD OF THE PRINCES OF THE EARTH, OF RAMS, OF LAMBS, AND OF GOATS, OF BULLOCKS. By these various animal victims used in sacrifices are meant various ranks of men, princes, generals, and soldiers (cf. ). ALL OF THEM FATLINGS OF BASHAN - ungodly men of might (). Bashan, beyond Jordan, was famed for its fat cattle. Fatness implies prosperity, which often makes men refractory toward God ()....

11-22 How numerous the enemies which God destroyed for the defence of his people Israel! Times of great deliverances should be times of reformation. Every one should help the utmost he can, toward cleansing the land from reproach. Sin is an enemy every man should strive against. Those engaged in public work, especially of cleansing and reforming a land, ought to be men who will go through with what they undertake, who will be always employed. When good work is to be done, every one should further it. Having received special favours from God, let us cleanse ourselves from all evil. It is a work which will require persevering diligence, that search may be made into the secret recesses of sin. The judgments of the Lord, brought upon sin and sinners, are a sacrifice to the justice of God, and a feast to the faith and hope of God's people. See how evil pursues sinners, even after death. Afte...

Verse Ezekiel 39:18. _YE SHALL - DRINK THE BLOOD OF THE PRINCES OF THE EARTH_] I need not mention the custom of the Scandinavians: they were accustomed to drink the blood of their enemies out of the skulls of the dead. But this is spoken of _fowls_ and _beasts_ here-_rams,_ _lambs_, and _goats_. The feast shall be as grateful and as plenteous to the _fowls_ and _beasts_, as one made of the above animals, the fattest and best of their kind, (because fed in the fertile fields of Bashan,) would be to the guests of him who makes a sacrifice....

The purposes of the past dispensation shall be made clear to God’s people themselves and to the pagan. His judgments were the consequence of their sins; and these sins once abandoned, the favor of their God will return in yet more abundance. Ezekiel 39:29 Compare Acts 2:17. Peter distinctly appropriates these prophecies (marginal references) to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and the inauguration of the Church of Christ by that miraculous event. This was the beginning of the fulfillment. They shall find their consummation when time shall be no more....

EXPOSITION Of the two main divisions of this chapter, the first (Ezekiel 39:1) depicts the greatness of the overthrow of Gog; the second (Ezekiel 39:21) records the impression made by it upon Both Israel and the heathen, and adds a closing promise to the former. EZEKIEL 39:1 In the first main division Ezekiel repeats the substance of what has already been advanced concerning the defeat of Gog (verses 1-8), after which he strives to represent its completeness (verses 9-20), by setting forth (1) the immense quantity of spoil Israel should obtain from the fallen foe (verses 9, 10). (2) the length of time it should take Israel t

YE SHALL EAT THE FLESH OF THE MIGHTY,.... Of the soldiers, men of strength and courage, and fit for war, with which the army of Gog will abound: AND DRINK THE BLOOD OF THE PRINCES OF THE EARTH: both the princes of his own family and court, and those of his allies and auxiliaries that will come along with him: OF RAMS, OF LAMBS, AND OF GOATS, OF BULLOCKS; which the Targum Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret of kings, princes, dukes, rulers, and governors; and so does John, in the Revelation, of kings, captains, and mighty men, Revelation 19:18: ALL OF THEM FATLINGS OF BAASHA; which was a country in Israel, very fruitful, and full of pastures, where much fat cattle were bred; and to which these great personages in Gog's army are compared, for their bulk, strength, and wealth. So the Targum, "all of them rich in substanc

Ezekiel 38:1; Ezekiel 39:1. There will be at that time of restoration a great and final invasion of the land of Israel. Gog and Magog will invade the land “that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people.” The invaders come “against the mountains of Israel which have always been waste; but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely, all of them.” In Ezekiel 38:11, the evil purpose of the invader is made known. From all this we learn that the invasion takes place at the time when the Lord has brought back His people and resumed His relationship with the remnant of Israel. The invasion will happen some time after the beastly empire with its beast head, the revived Roman e

Ezekiel's imagination, never weary of contemplating the destruction of those alien hordes, now pictures them as a sacrifice, to devour which Yahweh invites the birds and beasts, who gorge themselves with their flesh and blood....

PRINCES. leaders....

The actual victims sacrificed were princes and mighty men; here they are described as rams and goats the usual animals sacrificed. Jeremiah 51:40. _fatlings of Bashan_ Bashan was a pastoral country, producing the fattest and greatest beasts. Cf. Deuteronomy 32:14; Amos 4:1; Isaiah 34:6-7; Psalms 22:12....