Ezekiel 5:1-5

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 5:3

Verse 3 It is now added: Thou shalt take then a small number, and bind them, (that is, that number, but the number is changed,) viz., those hairs of which the number is small in the skirts of thy clothing It either takes away the confidence which might spring up from a temporary escape, or else it signifies that very few should be safe in the midst of the destruction of the whole people, which came to pass wonderfully. If that is received, the correction is added, that God would give some hope... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 5:4

Verse 4 We just saw that there were many reprobate in that small number. Hence, therefore, it is easily gathered how desperate was the impiety of the whole people. After this, he says, take: this adverb is used that those who survived after the slaughter of the city should not think that all their punishments were over: after this, says he, that is, when they shall fancy all their difficulties over, thou shalt take from that part which thou hast preserved, and shalt cast it into the fire.... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 5:5

Verse 5 Now God shows the reason why he determined to act so severely and harshly towards that holy city which he had selected as the royal residence. For the greater the benefits with which he had adorned the city, by so much the baser and grosser was their ingratitude. God recounts, therefore, his benefits towards Jerusalem, and that for the sake of reproving it. For if the Jews had embraced the blessing of God, doubtless he would have enriched them more and more with his gifts: but when he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:1

Take thee a barber's razor, etc. The series of symbolic acts is carried further. Recollections of Isaiah and Leviticus mingle strangely in the prophet's mind. The former had made the "razor" the symbol of the devastation wrought by an invading army ( Isaiah 7:20 ). The latter had forbidden its use for the head and beard of the priests (Le Leviticus 19:27 ; Leviticus 21:5 ). Once again Ezekiel is commanded to do a forbidden thing as a symbolic act. He is, for the moment, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:1-4

A barber's razor. The coming siege and destruction of Jerusalem are described under the image of the prophet shaving his head and then disposing of his hair in various ways. The razor stands for the Divine judgment, the hair for the people, the different treatment of the hair for the difference in the doom of the people. I. DIVINE JUDGMENT IS KEEN AS A RAZOR . Some judgments crush, others cut. The latter do not dispose of their victims at a blow. More is reserved for the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:1-4

The prophetic office involves self-sacrifice. The prophet in every age has to be himself a sign. It is not so much what he says, not so much what he does, but what he is, that impresses others. In this enterprise character is everything. Ezekiel was a servant of God to the very core. He completely identified himself with the nation. Its misery became his misery. Thus he became a type and symbol of the Saviour; and, in his measure, suffered vicariously for the people. I. THE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:1-4

The sword of the Divine judgment. "And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor," etc. In this paragraph the prophet represents both Jehovah and the people. In taking the sharp sword he represents the former; and in having his hair shaved off, the latter. Notice— I. THE EXERCISE OF THE DIVINE JUDGMENT . "And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp sword, as a barber's razor thou shalt take it, and cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard."... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:2

Thou shalt burn with fire, etc. The symbolism receives its interpretation in Ezekiel 5:12 . A third part of the people (we need not expect numerical exactness) was to perish in the city of pestilence and famine, another to fall by the sword in their attempts to escape, yet another third was to be scattered to the far off land of their exile, and even there the sword was to follow them. The words, in the midst of the city, and the days of the siege , find their most natural explanation... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:3-4

Thou shalt also take, etc. The words may point read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 5:5

This is Jerusalem, etc. The strange acted parables cease, and we have the unfigurative interpretation. The words that follow point to the central position of Jerusalem in the geography, and therefore in the history, of the ancient East: Egypt to the south, Assyria and Babylon to the north, and in the nearer distance Moabites and Ammonites, and Edomites, and Phoenicians, and Philistines; to all of these Jerusalem might have been as a city set on a hill, as the light of the Gentiles. That had... read more

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