And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy
face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and
prophesy against the land of Israel. And say to the land of Israel,
Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth
my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous
and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the
righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of
his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: That all
flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of his
sheath: it shall not return any more. Sigh, therefore, thou son of
man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before
their eyes. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore
sighest thou? that thou shall answer, For the tidings, because it
cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble,
and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water:
behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God
(verses 1-7).
A fearful word it is coming from the lips of Jehovah, who had yearned
over Jerusalem and the nation, "Behold, I am against thee, and will draw
forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the
righteous and the wicked." It was to be an indiscriminate execution of
God's judgment, those who claimed righteousness were to fall under the
sword of vengeance like the wicked. It was to be a widespread judgment.
"My sword shall go forth out of its sheath against all flesh--that all
flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its
sheath; it shall not return any more." While here it refers to all the
nations, to Jerusalem as well as to Judea, there are other prophecies
which include under the term "all flesh" the Gentile nations as well.
"For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh, and
the slain of the Lord shall be many" (Isa. lxvi:16). Fear and the pit,
and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth" (Isa. xxiv:17).
This will be at the close of the present age. And do not the events in
the world to-day indicate the rapid approach of the judgment sword?
And God's servant was commanded to sigh with bitterness before their
eyes. He was to tell them the reason of his agony. "Because it cometh;
and my heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit
shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water. Behold it cometh and
shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God." It was not the time for
rejoicing, but for weeping and sighing. The prophet was called upon to
show forth in his behavior the solemn days which were now to come. And
our Lord has predicted for our age upon earth distress of nations, with
perplexity; the sea and the waves thereof roaring. "Men's hearts failing
them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on
the earth, for the powers of heaven shall be shaken" (Luke xxi:25-26).
But how little sighing with bitterness there is to-day among God's
servants in view of what is in store for an ungodly and unbelieving age!