14:23. And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God.—When the others see their evil ways and doings, they will be content as to the need of the Time of Trouble, for they shall realize that not without good cause shall God have done all that He will do to Christendom.
Ezekiel 15—Fit For Fuel Only
15:1-8. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work? Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned? Therefore thus saith the Lord God, As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set My face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.—Ecclesiasticism, which imagines itself to be the true vine (John 15:1) with the sects as branches, is a wild vine (Rev. 14:18), unable to support itself and clinging like a parasite upon others for support. It brings forth no character fruitage, is unfit for any Divine purpose, is slender, half-charred by the assaults of Higher Criticism, and fit only to be destroyed.—Psa. 80:8-16.
Ezekiel 16—Unfaithfulness Of God's People
16:1-5. Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou was born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.—Chapter 16 is an amplification of the symbolic description of Babylon the Great (Jerusalem), ecclesiasticism (Rev. 17), as a once virgin but now apostate woman (church). The peoples of whom the church was composed were originally heathen (16:3), in and of the world (field).
16:6-8. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread My skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest Mine.—God through Christ loved these people and espoused them, He caused the church to grow beautiful.
16:9-12. Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badger's skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.—He anointed them with the Holy Spirit (16:9, oil), clothed them with the robe of Christ's [pg 440] righteousness (Matt. 22:11) with the embroidery of character fruits (Psa. 45:14), and gave them precious ornament of Divine (golden) promises, put a jewel (pure, diamond-sparkling Truth—1 Cor. 3:12) on their forehead (minds—Rev. 7:3), golden earrings in their ears (ears to hear Divine things—Gen. 24:22), and a beautiful crown on their head (tentative kingship).—Rev. 2:10.