Ezekiel 7:18

They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. HORROR SHALL COVER THEM - as a garment. BALDNESS - a sign of mourning (; ; )....

He continues the same sentiment. He says, such was the slaughter of the people that they should all gird themselves with sackcloth. But it seems little in accordance with this, that those who should be astonished should gird themselves with sackcloth, so as not to bewail the dead. But the prophets so vary their discourse because they cannot otherwise affect obstinate minds. Although therefore these things do not seem at first sight to agree, _that they should bind themselves in sackcloth, and upon all their heads should be baldness: _then that all should perish without grief or sorrow: yet these things suit well enough, because the Prophet does not express what they should do, but what the event should be. Since, therefore, slaughter shall occur on every side, at length God shall consume some by pestilence, others by famine: therefore he adds, there should be material for grief, although...

16-22 Sooner or later, sin will cause sorrow; and those who will not repent of their sin, may justly be left to pine away in it. There are many whose wealth is their snare and ruin; and the gaining the world is the losing of their souls. Riches profit not in the day of wrath. The wealth of this world has not that in it which will answer the desires of the soul, or be any satisfaction to it in a day of distress. God's temple shall stand them in no stead. Those are unworthy to be honoured with the form of godliness, who will not be governed by its power....

Various signs of mourning common in eastern countries. Baldness was forbidden to the Israelites Deuteronomy 14:1. They seem, however, in later times to have adopted the custom of foreign nations in this matter, not without permission. Compare Isaiah 22:12....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 7:1 The absence of any fresh date, and the fact that it is simply tacked on to the previous chapter by the copulative conjunction, shows that what follows belongs to the same group. The use of the phrase, THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME, shows, however, that there was an interval of silence, perhaps of meditation, followed by a fresh influx of inspiration; and, so far as we may judge from the more lyrical character of the chapter, a more intense emotion. EZEKIEL 7:2 AN END, etc. The iteration of the word once more gives emphasis. The words read like an echo of Amos 8:2. The FOUR CORNERS (Hebrew, "wings...

THEY SHALL ALSO GIRD [THEMSELVES] WITH SACKCLOTH,.... As a token of mourning, Genesis 37:34; AND HORROR SHALL COVER THEM: either the horror of a guilty conscience, or the perpetual dread and terror of the enemy: AND SHAME [SHALL BE] UPON ALL FACES; because of their sins and transgressions, which they shall now be convinced of; or because of their desolate condition, their sins had brought them into: AND BALDNESS UPON ALL THEIR HEADS; through the plucking off of the hair of their heads in their distress; for to make baldness as a token of mourning for the dead was forbidden the Jews, Deuteronomy 14:1....

Ezekiel 7:1. This chapter closes the first great message of Ezekiel. This great judgment message is written in beautiful language, which, in the Authorized Version, is marred by numerous incorrect renderings. The reader will find a reliable metrical translation in our larger commentary on Ezekiel. First, the end is announced to come upon the entire land; it could no longer be averted. There is another day coming in which the Lord will deal in fearful judgments with this earth. Now is the day of salvation in which God speaks in love through His Son, When wickedness and apostasy has reached its climax, the day of salvation will end and “the day of vengeance of our God” will begin. Then He will speak in His wrath and vex them in His sore displeasure Psalms 2:5. Then will they say to the mountains and rocks, “Fal

That dreadful day, which would extinguish their political existence, would no less bring to an end all their social and commercial life. The proud blossoms of Judah would soon be smitten and withered. Buyers need no more rejoice when they made a good bargain, nor need sellers be sorry when they came off badly, for very soon they would all be levelled in one common catastrophe. The enemy would come, the alarm of war would be raised, but none would have the courage to go forth to the fight, so that destruction in its every form would reign unchecked, alike on those who remained in the city, and on those who escaped to the mountains, and everywhere would be seen the signs of mourning (sackcloth, shaven head, etc.). (This passage bristles with textual obscurities, which would not repay discussion here. Suffice it to say that in Ezekiel 7:10 the rod is probably Judah or the royal house, and...

BALDNESS.. sign of mourning....

Second Section. Ch. Ezekiel 3:22 to Ezekiel 7:27 The second section of the Book contains these parts: (1) Ch. Ezekiel 3:22-27. A preface in which the prophet is commanded to confine himself to his own house, and abandon for a time his public ministry. (2) Ch. Ezekiel 4:1-4. A series of symbols representing the siege of Jerusalem, the scarcity during it, the pollution of the people in exile among the nations, and the terrible fate of the inhabitants on the capture of the city. (3) Ch. Ezekiel 5:5-17. Exposition of these s