Albert Barnes Commentary Ezekiel 47
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezekiel 47
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezekiel 47
"And he brought me back unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; (for the forefront of the house was toward the east;) and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar." — Ezekiel 47:1 (ASV)
The vision of the waters; or, the blessings which flow from this source to enliven and refresh all the inhabitants of the earth. Compare Isaiah 44:8; Joel 3:18. Ezekiel’s description is adopted and modified by Zechariah and in Revelation (compare the marginal references).
Hebrew tradition speaks of a spring of water named Etham, said to be identical with the waters of the well of Nephtoah (Joshua 18:15), on the west of the temple. Its waters were conducted by pipes into the temple courts for the uses needed in the service of the priests. The waters of Shiloah (Psalms 46:4; Isaiah 8:6) flowed from the rocks beneath the temple hill.
It is quite characteristic of Ezekiel’s visionary style to start from an existing feature and then proceed to an ideal picture from which to draw a spiritual lesson. The deepening of the waters in their course shows the continual deepening of spiritual life and multiplication of spiritual blessings in the growth of the kingdom of God.
As long as the stream is confined to the temple courts, it is merely a small rill, for the most part unseen; but when it issues from the courts, it immediately begins to deepen and to widen. So on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the company of believers—small then, but soon to develop into the infant Church in Jerusalem.
"Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way without unto the outer gate, by the way of [the gate] that looketh toward the east; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side." — Ezekiel 47:2 (ASV)
Out of the way of the gate northward - Rather, by the way of the northward gate.
"When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles." — Ezekiel 47:3 (ASV)
The ankles - This may coincide with the step gained in the baptism of Cornelius (Acts 10:0), and the opening of the Church to the Gentiles. The dispersion which had followed the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 11:19) had carried believers into various countries, and so paved the way for the foundation of Gentile Churches.
"Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through [the waters], waters that were to the loins." — Ezekiel 47:4 (ASV)
The knees - The mission of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:1–4) is another marked epoch in the Church’s history; and the time of Paul’s martyrdom denotes an increase in the Gentile Church, which corresponds with the waters reaching the loins.
"Afterward he measured a thousand; [and it was] a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through." — Ezekiel 47:5 (ASV)
The rivers in Palestine were for the most part mere watercourses, dry in summer, in winter carrying the water along the wadys to the sea. The river of the vision is to have a continuous flow.
Waters to swim in - When under Constantine the Roman empire had become Christian, the Church may be contemplated as the full river, to flow on through time until the final completion of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 11:9).
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