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| 1 I saw Jehovah himself standing beside the altar: and he said, Smite the capitals, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape. |
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| 2 Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down. |
Though they – Israel, as a nation or individually. E374
Dig into hell – Sheol, oblivion, death--not torment. R828:6*; E374
A figurative expression, but certainly pits of earth are the only hells men can dig into. R2599:3
Israel, as a nation, did dig its way toward national oblivion. Yet God shall prevent this. E374
Shall mine hand – My power. E374
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| 3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and it shall bite them. |
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| 4 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. |
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| 5 For the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, is he that toucheth the land and it melteth, and all that dwell therein shall mourn; and it shall rise up wholly like the River, and shall sink again, like the River of Egypt; |
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| 6 it is he that buildeth his chambers in the heavens, and hath founded his vault upon the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; Jehovah is his name. |
Stories – Chambers. (R.V.) R1812:2
Troop – Vault. (R.V.) Highly figurative and poetic language, as in the vaulted sky. R1812:2,3
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| 7 Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith Jehovah. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? |
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| 8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; save that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah. |
Will destroy it – As a kingdom. R2357:5
Not utterly destroy – The people of Israel would be preserved as a separate people from others. R2357:5
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| 9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth. |
I will sift – Disperse. R107:2*
The house of Israel – Though scattered throughout the whole earth, they have not lost their identity. R2357:5
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| 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us. |
The evil – The evil the Lord creates and does is the calamities and judgment that he visits upon the ungodly nations in opposition to, and in condemnation of, the evil of sin, which is an abomination in his sight. R1299:6*
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| 11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; |
In that day – In the dawning of the Millennial day. E374
The restitution times, under the terms of the New covenant. R2357:6
This prophecy is about to be fulfilled. R3425:4
Quoted by the Apostle James in Acts 15:16,17. R3425:4, R2357:6, R2124:3
Will I raise up – Permanently. C257
The rebuilding of the tabernacle of David, which fell after Jesus left their house desolate, takes place at the second advent. R107:2*
The tabernacle – The house, royalty, or dominion. A81; C257
The standard. R2357:6
Of David – Of David's posterity, The Christ. C257
The throne of David was over all the tribes, and here represents the throne of the greater David--the Beloved Son of God--to be established after the taking out of a people for his name. (Acts. 15:14) R2124:3
Raise up his ruins – The ruins of fleshly Israel. B86; R3425:4
And I will build it – "And so all Israel shall be saved." (Rom. 11:26) B217
After the establishment of Messiah's Kingdom. R5817:5
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| 12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name, saith Jehovah that doeth this. |
That they may possess – Called to be members of the Body of Christ, the great Mediator, that through them the "residue of men might seek after the Lord." (Acts 15:17) R4512:2
To be no longer a house of servants under Moses, but the house of sons, under Jesus. R5817:5
The remnant of Edom – Christendom. D15
All the heathen – "All the Gentiles." (Acts 15:13-18) HG336:4
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| 13 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. |
The plowman – The great time of trouble that will prepare the world for the Millennial seed-sowing. C216; R1162:1, R5761:2; Q74:2
In the time of trouble the Lord will run the plowshare of truth in every direction throughout the world. R2627:5
In the Jewish Harvest Jesus was the plowman and the reaper. A double work was being accomplished--reaping the Jewish people and preparing for a new dispensation. Q74:2
Shall overtake – Shall follow close after. R2627:5
The time of trouble will overtake the reaping work and bring it to a close. R5761:2
The Harvest will hardly have accomplished its intention of gathering the Church and Great Company until the plowman of trouble will be running his furrows through the world. Q74:2
The plowman will keep on plowing after all our reaping efforts have ended. R5761:2[R5761:13 (Sep. 1915)]
The plowman is already beginning, and he is overtaking the reapers. Q74:2, R1162:1[R1161:18]
So accurately timed is every feature of the divine plan that part fits to part, and work to work, closely. SM187:2
The reaper – The Lord. R5761:2
Gathering God's elect. R1162:4
Began with the presence of the Lord of the Harvest, 1874 AD. R1161:6
Treader of grapes – The forces engaged in the final combat. R1162:4[R1162:2]
Drop sweet wine – Referring to the blessed reinvigorating influence of the Lord's Kingdom. R1162:4
Hills shall melt – The mountain (Kingdom) of the Lord's house shall be exalted above the melting hills (kingdoms) of the old dominion. R1162:4
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| 14 And I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. |
I will bring again – After spiritual Israel has been developed (verses 11 & 12) favor shall return to natural Israel. R2357:6, R2358:1, R5817:5
My people of Israel – A scattered, homeless, desolate and persecuted people, they are still a distinct and homogeneous people. C245
The waste cities – In which they formerly lived. C245
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| 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, saith Jehovah thy God. |
I will plant them – Not yet fulfilled in the return of the Jews to Palestine. Referred to by James in Acts 15:16 "I will build again the tabernacle of David." R2124:3
From 1878 AD onward. C259, C258
Their land – The land that God says he had given them, the land that he promised to Abraham. (Gen. 13:14-17; Gen. 17:8) C245
No more be pulled up – This could not refer to the return from the captivity in literal Babylon, since after that return they were again pulled down and plucked up. C259
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