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EZEKIEL

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Jan 25, 1905

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 31, No. 4.

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EZEKIEL.

By F. D. Starr

BY F. D. STARR.
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them." Eze. 36:26, 27.
THE Gospel doctrine of the new birth, the change of heart, is nowhere more clearly taught than in this quotation. Its evangelical nature being thus clearly shown, no question can exist as to the benefits to be derived from a perusal of this book. From the picture of the beautiful rainbow encircling the throne of God as described in chapter one to the closing words of the last chapter: "The name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there," the entire book is full of celestial suggestions, and lofty ideas that transport the mind of the reader from earth to heaven. Sublime are the visions given.

An Important Topic.

One of the most important topics of the book is the subject of the Sabbath. The combined testimony of the three major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, constitutes a very strong evidence for the importance and enduring nature of this institution. It will be profitable to consider what the Lord has said concerning this subject by the mouth of these three seers of old. In Isaiah 56 we read:
"Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice; for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. . . . Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of My covenant; even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer."
In Isaiah 58 is found this testimony concerning the blessedness of the Sabbath. "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord;" etc. Its existence in the new earth is proven in chapter 66 where we read: "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord."
In the book of Jeremiah we find foretold the consequences of observing the Sabbath, and also the results of disregarding it. "If ye diligently harken unto Me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein . . . this city shall remain forever. . . . But if ye will not harken unto Me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." Jer. 17:24-27.
The sanctifying influence of the Sabbath is thus set forth by Ezekiel: "Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." "And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Chapter 20:12, 20.

The Sacred and the Common.

The distinction between this day and the other days of the week is shown in Eze. 46:1. "Thus saith the Lord God: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened." These texts taken together furnish a very comprehensive treatise on the Sabbath question.
Its history is thus briefly traced from Creation in the past to Eternity in the future. It is spoken of in distinction from the six working days. What made the other days of the week working days? The act of God Himself, in working the first six days, thus making the first day of the week, with those that follow a working day. If the first day of the week was a working day with the Creator it surely is such for the creature, man, for whom it was made. Being such a divine institution from the beginning, it is clear that Divine Wisdom would perpetuate it in the new earth, and we see from the closing words of Isaiah's prophecy that such is the case.

The Book of Ezekiel

The Book of Ezekiel abounds in topics of deep interest, and tho in reading the book one is brought into waters that are ankle deep, then knee deep, then waters to the loins, then waters to swim in, as was the prophet himself, according to chapter 47, yet the exercise and the experience are transporting and delightful. Who has not been thrilled with rapture in accompanying the prophet in his vision of the dry bones as found in chapter 37? A lively portrayal of the resurrection indeed! That resurrection power is found in the Word of God. If we feel like saying with Israel of old: "Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost," let us take hold of God and His mighty power as revealed in this book and be revived.