Chapter 31

The chapter opens with a vision. The temple, shaken by the Angel of the Lord in its very foundations, falls down, and buries Judah and Israel under its ruins. Without a figure,--the breach of the Covenant by the Covenant-people brings destruction upon them. The prophet endeavours to strengthen the impression of this threatening upon their mind, by breaking down the supports of false security by which they sought to evade it. There is no deliverance, no escape, vers. 2-4, for the Almighty God is the enemy and pursuer, vers. 5, 6. There is no mercy on account of the Covenant, for Israel is no more the Covenant-people. They shall not, however, be altogether destroyed; but the destruction of the sinful mass shall be accompanied by the preservation of a small number of the godly, vers. 7-10. This great sifting is followed, however, by the restoration; the tabernacle of David which is fallen, the kingdom of God among Israel, connected with the family of David, shall be raised up again, ver. 11; rendered glorious by its extension over the heathen, ver. 12; and blessed with the abundance of the divine gifts, vers. 12-15.

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Ver. 1. "_I saw the Lord standing over the altar; and He said, Smite the chapiter, and make the thresholds tremble, and break them upon the heads of all; and I will kill their remnant by the sword: he that fleeth away of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered._"

The principal question which here arises is:--Who is here addressed,--to whom is the commission of destruction given by the Lord? As, in accordance with the dramatic character of the prophetical discourse, the person is not more definitely marked out, we can think of Him only who, throughout, executes God's judgments upon the enemies of His kingdom. But He is the same to whom the preservation and protection of the true members of His kingdom are committed, viz., the Angel of the Lord. It was He, who, as המשחית, the destroying Angel, smote the first-born of Egypt, Exod. xii. 2, 3, compared with 12, 13. It was from Him that the destruction of the [Pg 364] Assyrians proceeded, 2 Kings xix. 34, 35; Is. xxxvii. 35, 36. After the numbering of Israel, when the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, it was He who inflicted the punishment, 2 Sam. xxiv. 1, 15, 16. As He encampeth round about them who fear the Lord, so He is, in regard to the ungodly, like the wind which carries away the chaff, Ps. xxxiv. 8, xxxv. 5, 6.--In opposition to the objection raised by _Baur_,--"That, with the exception of the passage in Is. vi., nowhere, in the books composed before the Chaldee period, do angels appear to act as mediators in the execution of the divine commands,"--it is sufficient to refer to Joel iv. (iii.) 9-11, and, as regards _the_ Angel of the Lord, to Hosea xii. 5 (4). But we have, in addition, a special reason for thinking here of the Angel of the Lord. This is afforded to us by the ninth chapter of Ezekiel, which must be considered, throughout, as a further expansion of the verse under consideration, and as the oldest and most trustworthy commentary upon it. In that chapter, there appear (at the command of the Lord who is about to avenge the apostasy of His people) the servants of His justice--six in number--and in the midst of them, "a man clothed with linen;"--the former, with instruments of destruction; the latter, with writing materials. They step (the scene is in the temple) by the side of the brazen altar. Thither there comes to them out of the holy of holies, to the threshold of the temple, the glory of the Lord, and gives to Him who is clothed with linen the commission to preserve the faithful, while the others receive a commission to destroy the ungodly, without mercy. But now, Who is the man clothed in linen? None other than the Angel of the Lord. This appears from Daniel x. 5, xii. 6, 7, where Michael = the Angel of the Lord (compare _Dissertations on the Genuineness of Daniel_, p. 135 ff.) is designated in the same way,--a remarkable coincidence in these two contemporary prophets, to which we omitted to direct attention in our work on Daniel. It is _further_ evident from the subject itself. The dress is that of the earthly high priest (_Theodoret_ remarks: "The dress of the seventh is that of the high priest, for he was not one of the destroyers, but the redeemer of those who were worthy of salvation"); compare Lev. xvi. 4, 23. It is especially from the former of these passages that the plural בדים is to be accounted for. According to it, the various parts [Pg 365] of the high priest's dress are of linen. But the heavenly Mediator, High Priest, and Intercessor, is the Angel of the Lord; compare, _e.g._, Zech. i. 12, where He makes intercession for the Covenant-people, and the Lord answers Him with good and comfortable words. Concerning the earthly high priest as a type of Christ, and hence a type of the Angel of the Lord, compare the remarks on Zech. iii. But we must not imagine that He who is clothed with linen is commissioned solely for the work of delivering the godly, and hence stands contrasted with the six ministers of justice. On the contrary, these are rather to be considered as being subordinate to Him, as carrying out the work of destruction only by His command and authority. From Him, punishment no less than salvation proceeds. This is sufficiently evident for general reasons. The punishment and deliverance have both the same root, the same aim, viz., the advancement of the kingdom of God. We cannot by any means think of evil angels in the case of the six; such could be assumed only in opposition to the whole doctrine of Scripture on the point, which is always consistent in ascribing the punishment of the wicked to the good angels, and the temptation of the godly, with the permission of God, to the evil angels. In proof of this, we have only to think of Job's trial, of Christ's temptation, and of the angel of Satan by whom Paul was buffeted. This subject has already been very well treated by _Ode_, who, in his work _De Angelis_, p. 741 ff., says: "God sends good angels to punish wicked men, and He employs evil angels to chasten the godly."[1] But if this be established, it is then established at the same time, that the judgment here belongs to the Angel of the Lord. For to Him, as the Prince of the heavenly host, all inferior angels are subordinate, so that everything [Pg 366] which they do belongs to Him.--To these general reasons, we may, however, add special reasons which are altogether decisive. That He who is clothed with linen is closely connected with the six, is indicated by the number seven. He also appears at the side of the altar, and comes in the midst of the others, who follow after Him, ver. 2. But of conclusive significance are the words in chap. x. 2 and 7: "And the Lord spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels under the cherubim, and fill Thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city. And He went in, in my sight. And a cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim, unto the fire that was between the cherubim, and took, and put it into the hands of Him who was clothed with linen. And He took it and went out." The _fire_ here is not the symbolical designation of wrath, but natural fire; for it is the setting on fire and burning of the city which is here to be prefigured. The wheels denote the natural powers,--in the first instance, the wind, chap. x. 13, but the fire also; while the cherubim denote the living creation. The Angel of the Lord is here expressly designated as He who executeth the judgments of divine justice.

The importance of the preceding investigation extends beyond the mere clearing up of the passage under consideration. We have here obtained the Old Testament foundation for the New Testament doctrine, that all judgment has been committed to the Son, while the harmony of the two Testaments is exhibited in a remarkable instance. Compare with the already cited Old Testament declarations, such passages as Matt. xiii. 41: Ἀποστελεῖ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὑτοῦ, καὶ συλλέξουσιν ἐκ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ σκάνδαλα, καὶ τοὺς ποιοῦντας τὴν ἀνομίαν· and xxv. 31: Ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὑτοῦ, καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄγγελοί μετ' αὐτοῦ, τότε καθίσει ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης αὑτοῦ. In order to be convinced of the identity of the Angel of the Lord and Christ (compare above, p. 107 sqq. and _Commentary on Rev._ i. p. 466), we may further direct attention to the fact that the Angel of the Lord, who meets us throughout the whole of the Old Testament, suddenly disappears in the New Testament, and that to Christ all is ascribed which was in the Old Testament attributed to the Angel of the Lord.

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A second important question is:--What is to be understood by _the_ altar, המזבח? Several interpreters adopt the opinion of _Cyril_, and think of the altar at Bethel, or some other idolatrous altar in the kingdom of Israel. Others (_e.g._, _Marckius_) are of opinion that the article stands here without meaning, and that it is the intention of the prophet only to represent God as appearing on some altar, leaving it undetermined on which, in order thereby to indicate that He required the blood of many men. But against such expositions the article is conclusive. _The_ altar can be that altar only, of which every one would think, if an altar κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν, and without a more definite designation, were spoken of. Such was the brazen altar, or altar of burnt-offering in the outer court of the temple at Jerusalem. That it was this altar, and not the altar of incense before the holy of holies, which received, in the common language of the people, the name of _the_ altar, is easily explained from the circumstance that it stood in a much closer relation to the people than did the other which was withdrawn from their view. On this altar all the sacrifices were offered, and it must, throughout, be understood, when _the_ altar of the Lord is spoken of; compare remarks on Rev. vi. 9. But that which removes all doubt is the comparison with the parallel passage in Ezekiel. There, the scene is the temple at Jerusalem. The ministers of justice step beside the brazen altar. At the threshold of the temple-building proper, the glory of the Lord moves toward them. This parallel passage, moreover, does not leave any doubt as to the reason why the Lord appears here beside the altar. _Jerome_ remarks on this: "They are introduced standing beside the altar, ready for the order of their commander; so that they know every one whose sins are not forgiven, and who is liable, therefore, to the sentence of the Lord, and to destruction." The Lord's appearing beside the altar is a visible representation of the truth, that wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. The altar is the place of transgression; it is there that there lies accumulated the unexpiated guilt of the whole nation, instead of the rich treasure of love and faith, which alone should be there, embodied in the sacrifice. The Lord appears at the place of transgression, in order that He may be glorified in the destruction of those who would not glorify Him in their lives. [Pg 368]--Now several interpreters (_e.g._, _Michaelis_), who have correctly defined the meaning of the altar, would infer from the mention of the temple at Jerusalem, that the whole prophecy refers to the kingdom of Judah. But such an assumption is altogether inadmissible. Even the general reason, that a prophecy which refers exclusively to Judah cannot be at all expected from a prophet who had received his special mission to Israel, militates against it. _Further_,--The close of this prophecy, the proclamation of salvation, belongs, as we have already proved, to the whole collection. If this be referred to Judah alone, there is then an essential element awanting in that portion which is addressed to Israel; we should then have judgment without mercy, threatening without consolation,--a thing which could not well be conceived of, and would be without analogy in any of the prophets. To this we must _further_ add the express references, or co-references to Israel throughout the whole chapter,--such as the mention of Carmel in ver. 3; of the children of Israel, in ver. 7; of the house of Jacob, in ver. 8; of the house of Israel, in ver. 9; of פרציהן, in ver. 11; of My people Israel, in ver. 14. The whole assumption of an exclusive reference to Judah owes its origin to the circumstance, that features which are only symbolical have been erroneously interpreted as actual. But if they be viewed and explained as symbols, every reason for denying the reference to Israel is then at once removed. The temple symbolizes the kingdom of God; its falling down upon the people is symbolical of the punishment which is inflicted upon them, in consequence of this kingdom. The destruction of the temple in the literal sense is not, primarily, spoken of; although the latter, it is true, be inseparable from the former. If the Covenant-people in general were outwardly desecrated, because they had desecrated themselves inwardly, then also the outward sanctuary which they had, by their wickedness, converted into a den of thieves, was taken from them; compare the remarks on Dan. ix. 27. If Israel then, at that time, still belonged to the kingdom of God (and this can certainly not be doubted, and is sufficiently proved by the very mission of our prophet to Israel), there exists no reason at all for excluding it. For Israel also, the temple at Jerusalem formed the seat and centre from which it was governed,--the place from which blessings and punishments [Pg 369] proceeded. The prophet indeed, at the very opening of his prophecies, describes the Lord as roaring from Zion, and uttering His voice from Jerusalem. On the altar at Jerusalem the crimes of Israel were deposited, no less than those of Judah; for there was the place where the people of both kingdoms were to deposit the embodied expression of their godly disposition. It was there, then, that, in reality, the fruits of the opposite were lying, although, as regards the place, they were offered elsewhere.--So much indeed is certain, that the co-reference to Judah is necessarily required by the symbolical representation. The rejection of Israel alone could not be symbolized by the destruction of the temple. And no less does this appear from the announcement of salvation. For this does not by any means promise the re-establishment of the Davidic dominion among the people of Israel, but the restoration of the entire fallen Davidic government. The tabernacle of David that is fallen refers to the destroyed temple. Both signify, substantially, the same thing. With the destruction of the temple, the Davidic tabernacle also fell; and its fall included the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel; for, in this also, the Davidic race had still the dominion _de jure_, although it was suspended _de facto_.

The passage under consideration is remarkable also, inasmuch as it furnishes a proof for the custom of designating the kingdom of God from its existing seat and centre, and thus furnishes us, for other passages also, with the right of freeing the thought from the figurative clothing.

A _further_ reason against referring _the_ altar to the altar at Bethel, is, that the latter enjoyed no such pre-eminence in the kingdom of Israel. The temple at Bethel was, to the ten tribes, by no means what the temple at Jerusalem was to Judah. The law regarding the unity of the place of worship was, among the ten tribes, regarded as non-existing. Even in the verse immediately preceding, in viii. 14, Dan and Beersheba had been mentioned as the chief seats of the Israelitish worship; and in chap. iv. 4, Gilgal appears beside Bethel as possessing the same importance. In chap. v. 5, Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba are mentioned together. Hosea, in chap. viii. 11, reproves Israel for having made many altars to sin. Hence, there did not exist in Israel an altar κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν. Such an altar existed only in [Pg 370] Judah. Nor had the sanctuary at Bethel such importance, as that it could be considered as the spiritual abode of the whole people.--_Hofmann_ (_Weissagung u. Erfüllung_, S. 203) raises the following objection against the reference to the altar at Jerusalem:--"The prophet, it is true, reproves the sins in Judah as well as those in Israel; but it is only to the kingdom of Jeroboam that he announces destruction, while to the house of David he promises that Jehovah would raise it up from its fallen condition." But in opposition to this objection, we need only refer to ii. 5: "And I send fire in Judah, and it devours the palaces of Jerusalem." Passages such as i. 14, 15, ii. 3, absolutely forbid us to make an exception of the palace of the king; and, by chap. vii. 9, where destruction is announced to all the sanctuaries of Isaac, we have as little warrant for excepting the temple. To assume any such exceptions, would be contrary to the analogy of all other threatenings. _Hofmann_ further objects (l. c. S. 204), "As the threatening announcement of the prophet had last remained suspended over Israel, we are at liberty to think of the altar at Bethel only." But already, in the third chapter, all Israel is addressed, according to ver. 1; and we may further refer to v. 25, where likewise Israel can mean only the whole people,[2] while in vi. 1, Judah is expressly mentioned beside Israel. The prophet employs, throughout, the name of Israel with a certain ambiguity; so that it would be vain to attempt to determine whether it be used in the wider, or in the more limited sense. Wherever he wishes to be distinctly understood as speaking of the ten tribes, he speaks of Joseph and Samaria. Still less would the prophet have employed the names of Jacob (iii. 13, vi. 8, vii. 2, 6) and of Isaac (vii. 9, 16), which were quite uncommon as a designation of the ten tribes,[3] [Pg 371] if it had been of importance, and intentional on his part strictly to separate the boundaries of Judah from those of Israel, and, if there were not everywhere here, only a special application to the ten tribes of that which concerned the whole who were connected by a common fate. But it is especially suitable, that just the close of the whole should, in a remarkably distinct manner, bring into view the two kingdoms, the destinies of which were so intimately connected.--_Hitzig_, further, with a view to favour the reference to the temple in Bethel, adduces the consideration that this vision is connected with the close of viii. 14, and forms a kind of explanation of it. But we have here an entirely new beginning, just as in chap. viii. in its relation to chap. vii. The three visions are altogether independent of, and co-ordinate with each other.--נצב with על is commonly used of a prominent position _at the side of_: Gen. xviii. 2; 1 Sam. iv. 20; compare עמד with על 1 Kings xiii. 1. In Ezek.