Page 268 - NOTES ON EZEKIEL

262 NOTES ON EZEKIEL.
point of view the words of the translator referred to'
may be cited, though they need correction :—“ Having
left the temple, the seat of the divine residence, and
the source whence blessings were to flow to the restored
Hebrew nation, the prophet is carried in vision south­
ward into the regions of the Dead Sea, which had been
noted for everything that was forbidden and noxious in
its aspect—the very embodiment of barrenness and de­
solation. These were now to be converted into fer­
tility and beauty. As in their previous condition they
were strikingly symbolical of the spiritually unproduc-
tive and abhorrent character of idolatrous Israel, so*
they were now to serve as images of the renewed state
of things when God should bring back His people, and,,
according to His promises, bless them, by conferring
upon them abundantly the rich tokens of His regard.
Instead of a barren wilderness, they should now be­
come as the garden of Eden. By the copious effusions
of the influences of His Holy Spirit He would restore-
His church to spiritual life, and render her instru­
mental in diffusing blessings to the world around.”
The intelligent reader will see, not only the confu­
sion of the Jew with the church, but also the mistake
of supposing that this vision regards Israel’s blessing.
It is distinctly the divine blessing which will change
the familiar, yet awful, scene of death outside into
life and fruitfulness, though flowing out from the house
of Jehovah. But, whatever may be the effusion of
the Holy Ghost which accompanies it, there is no solid
ground to question that this part of the vision is just as
literal as what precedes and follows. All is really
homogeneous.