Ezekiel 30:7

Eze 30:7 And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries [that are] desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities [that are] wasted.

Ver. 7. And they shall be desolate.] See Eze 29:10.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

in the midst of . . . countries . . . desolate--Egypt shall fare no better than they (Eze 29:10).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. Shall be desolate] All these countries shall be desolated, and the places named shall be chief in these desolations.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) Shall be desolate.—This verse is almost an exact repetition of Eze_29:12.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. A frequently recurring expression; cf. Eze_29:12.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate,.... Or among them, shall be ranked with them, and be as desolate as they are; as Judea and other countries, ravaged by the same enemy:

and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted; undergo the same fate as they have done, as Jerusalem and others. The cities of Egypt were very numerous; Diodorus Siculus (n) says, that in ancient times Egypt had cities and villages of note, more than 18,000. Herodotus (o) writes, that it was said, that under King Amasis there were 20,000 cities in it; and the first mentioned writer (p) says, under Ptolemy Lagus they were reckoned more than 30,000; and, according to Theocritus (q), under Ptolemy Philadelphus they were 33,339.

(n) Bibl. l. 1. p. 19. (o) Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 177. (p) Bibl. l. 1. p. 19. (q) Idyll. 17. v. 82.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They, all those before mentioned,

shall be desolate; as much wasted as any of them that are most wasted. Her cities, of Egypt, equally wasted with other cities that have been sacked, as Jerusalem, Tyre, Zidon, Rabbath, &c.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Desolation.

Egypt is to be desolate in the midst of countries that are desolate, and her cities laid waste in the midst of other ruined cities. A picture of widespread and general desolation.

I THERE IS A DESOLATION OF LANDS AND CITIES. Having lived free from the ravages of an invader ever since the Norman conquest, we find it impossible to imagine the agonies of war among the people who suffer from them. The excitement of battle may drown those horrors for a season. But when that excitement is over, the consequent distress is deep and hitter, widespread and lasting. War is a demon of destruction. It literally ravages a country. No incursion of wild beasts from the forest, no pestilence or famine, can bring about evils equal to those of war. It is the duty of all Christian people to band themselves together into a league of peace. The war-mongers often raise cries of "British interests in danger!" The country should learn that the greatest British interest is peace.

II THERE IS A DESOLATION OF HOMES.

1. This happens in bankruptcy, which is often brought about by wicked devices of cunning men. The successful promoter of a company entraps unwary people, pockets a rich premium, escapes before the crash, and leave his victims to ruin and misery. Gambling ruins multitudes of homes. If a man considered his duty to his wife and children, he would see that this terribly prevalent national vice is selfish and cruel.

2. This happens in external prosperity. Drunkenness makes a home desolate even before it has brought poverty, and no home can be more wretched for the children than that of drunken parents. Therefore the self-indulgence of intemperance is brutally cruel. Quarrelling desolates a home. Many a house that is envied by the ignorant for its affluence and luxury is a very prison of misery. When love departs, the best-appointed home is desolate. Dreary souls then drag out a beclouded existence among the melancholy ruins of wasted affection.

III THERE IS A DESOLATION OF CHURCHES.

1. This may be physical. The Mohammedans simply stamped out the relics of a decaying and quarrelsome Christianity in North Africa the home of Tertullian, Cyprian, and Augustine, The seven Churches of Asia have nearly all disappeared. If we are not true and strong in the Christian life, our candlestick will at length be taken away from us.

2. It may be spiritual. The ruined abbeys of England are famed for their beauty, and few may regret their present condition when admiring the relies of architectural splendor. But there is a worse desolation for Churches than roofless naves and crumbling walls. A Church is indeed desolate when the Spirit of Christ has forsaken her. She may seem to flourish in numbers, finance, and mechanical enterprise. But in the sight of Heaven she is a moldering ruin.

IV THERE IS A DESOLATION OF SOULS.

1. This may come in great sorrow. When "the desire of his eyes" is taken from a man, how can he be other than desolate? Job was desolate indeed when his children were killed. Rizpah was desolate when she sat by the corpses of her two sons to drive off the foul birds of prey, (2Sa_21:10) and Naomi when she returned to Bethlehem a childless widow. But God can comfort this desolation and fill its victim with heavenly peace.

2. The worst desolation is in sin. The soul is a wreck. Its very constitution is a ruin. God is driven from his seat in conscience. Here is the most dire and dreadful desolation that of the prodigal, who feeds swine in a far country, and who would fain fill himself with the husks that the swine cat! It reaches its climax in pitiless solitude no man gave unto him". (Luk_15:16)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They - All those before mentioned.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.