Eze 38:7-23 | JFB | STEP | 7. Irony. Prepare thee and all thine with all needful accoutrements for war-- that ye may perish together. be ... a guard unto them-- that is, if thou canst.

‏ Ezekiel 38:7-23

7. Irony. Prepare thee and all thine with all needful accoutrements for war--that ye may perish together.

be ... a guard unto them--that is, if thou canst.

8. thou shall be visited--in wrath, by God (Is 29:6). Probably there is allusion to Is 24:21, 22, "The host of the high ones ... shall be gathered ... as prisoners ... in the pit ... and after many days shall they be visited." I therefore prefer English Version to Grotius rendering, "Thou shalt get the command" of the expedition. The "after many days" is defined by "in the latter years," that is, in the times just before the coming of Messiah, namely, under Antiochus, before His first coming; under Antichrist, before His second coming.

the mountains of Israel ... always waste--that is, waste during the long period of the captivity, the earnest of the much longer period of Judea's present desolation (to which the language "always waste" more fully applies). This marks the impious atrocity of the act, to assail God's people, who had only begun to recover from their protracted calamities.

but it is brought ... and they shall dwell--rather, "And they (the Israelites) were brought ... dwelt safely" [Fairbairn]. English Version means, "Against Israel, which has been waste, but which (that is, whose people) is now (at the time of the invasion) brought forth out of the nations where they were dispersed, and shall be found by the invader dwelling securely, so as to seem an easy prey to him."

9. cloud to cover the land--with the multitude of thy forces.

10. an evil thought--as to attacking God's people in their defenseless state.

11. dwell safely--that is, securely, without fear of danger (compare Es 9:19). Antiochus, the type of Antichrist, took Jerusalem without a blow.

12. midst of the land--literally, "the navel" of the land (Jud 9:37, Margin). So, in Eze 5:5, Israel is said to be set "in the midst of the nations"; not physically, but morally, a central position for being a blessing to the world: so (as the favored or "beloved city," Re 20:9) an object of envy. Grotius translates, "In the height of the land" (so Eze 38:8), "the mountains of Israel," Israel being morally elevated above the rest of the world.

13. Sheba, &c.--These mercantile peoples, though not taking an active part against the cause of God, are well pleased to see others do it. Worldliness makes them ready to deal in the ill-gotten spoil of the invaders of God's people. Gain is before godliness with them (1 Maccabees 3:41).

young lions--daring princes and leaders.

14. shalt thou not know it?--to thy cost, being visited with punishment, while Israel dwells safely.

16. I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me--So in Ex 9:16, God tells Pharaoh, "For this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee My power; and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth."

17. thou he of whom I have spoken in old time--Gog, &c. are here identified with the enemies spoken of in other prophecies (Nu 24:17-24; Is 27:1; compare Is 26:20, 21; Jr 30:23, 24; Joe 3:1; Mi 5:5, 6; Is 14:12-14; 59:19). God is represented as addressing Gog at the time of his assault; therefore, the "old time" is the time long prior, when Ezekiel uttered these prophecies; so, he also, as well as Daniel (Da 11:1-45) and Zechariah (Zec 14:1-21) are included among "the prophets of Israel" here.

many years--ago.

18. fury shall come up in my face--literally, "nose"; in Hebrew, the idiomatic expression for anger, as men in anger breathe strongly through the nostrils. Anthropopathy: God stooping to human modes of thought (Psa 18:8).

19. great shaking--an earthquake: physical agitations after accompanying social and moral revolutions. Foretold also in Joe 3:16; (compare Hag 2:6, 7; Mt 24:7, 29; Re 16:18).

20. fishes--disturbed by the fleets which I will bring.

fowls, &c.--frightened at the sight of so many men: an ideal picture.

mountains--that is, the fortresses on the mountains.

steep places--literally, "stairs" (So 2:14); steep terraces for vines on the sides of hills, to prevent the earth being washed down by the rains.

every wall--of towns.

21. every man's sword ... against his brother--I will destroy them partly by My people's sword, partly by their swords being turned against one another (compare 2Ch 20:23).

22. plead--a forensic term; because God in His inflictions acts on the principles of His own immutable justice, not by arbitrary impulse (Is 66:16; Jr 25:31).

blood ... hailstones, fire--(Re 8:7; 16:21). The imagery is taken from the destruction of Sodom and the plagues of Egypt (compare Psa 11:6). Antiochus died by "pestilence" (2 Maccabees 9:5).