Ezekiel 31:7

Eze 31:7 Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.

Ver. 7. Thus was he fair in his greatness] Once again he setteth forth with how great power and glory God had adorned this first monarchy.

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.

Thus was he fair in his greatness,.... Amiable, lovely, delightful to look upon in the greatness of his majesty, in his royal glory and dignity:

in the length of his branches; in the extent of his empire, and the provinces of it:

for his root was by great waters; his kingdom was well established, firmly rooted among a multitude of people; from whom he had a large revenue to support his throne and government, and the dignity of it; by tribute, taxes, customs, and presents; and through the large trade and traffic of his subjects in different parts, from whence he received great profit and advantage. The Targum is,

"and he became victorious by his auxiliaries, by the multitude of his mighty ones, so that his terror was upon many people.''

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

Fair; beautiful, lovely, and desirable. In his greatness; not exerted in tyranny and oppression, but exercised in the royal art of imitating the greatest and best being who is King over all, for he doth good to all.

In the length of his branches; how far soever remote, yet the justice and goodness of the government appeared the beauty of those provinces, as well as of the whole kingdom.

His root, whence he sprung, which supported and supplied the kingdom, was right, the laws, punishments, rewards, and encouragements neither founded in cruelty, nor maintained by violence.

By great waters; not by blood, which is no proper kindly nourishment for such cedars, but by waters, which are kindly and proper, and these great enough for his own growth and to nourish others too.

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

The root and the waters.

I THE TREE FLOURISHES THROUGH ITS ROOT.

1. The root supports the tree. It is the foundation. Unless the root is deep and strong the tree will fall, blown over by the hurricane or swept away by the flood. Our life needs a root, a foundation.

2. The root brings nourishment to the tree. It sucks in moisture from the earth and draws the rich juices of the soil up into the plant. When the roots are cut the tree must wither and die. The child"s Christmas-tree looks green for the short season of festivities, but according to a common custom, being cut off without a proper root, it cannot live. There are souls that have no root in themselves. (Mat_13:21) They can only endure for a while. We must find supplies of spiritual nourishment if we are to persevere unto everlasting life.

3. The root lies low. The lordly branches of the cedar wave in the air and toss themselves proudly against the sky, but they could not thus thrive without the lowly root. Souls thrive on their humbler experiences. They grow strong in humility and trust.

4. The root is unseen. It lies in dark underground regions. He is but a shallow being whose every experience lies on the surface. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him". (Psa_25:14) The tree will die if the root be laid bare to the sun. Spiritual experience should be decently covered, not dragged to the light and made a matter of common talk. Let the leaves and fruit be seen; keep the root in the dark.

5. The root must press down to deep sources of supply. If the water be far from the surface, the root must go after it. "The well is deep"; (Joh_4:11) then the water will be all the more cool and refreshing. It is good to press down to the deeper experiences of the Christian life.

II THE ROOT NEEDS GOOD SUPPLIES OF WATER.

1. It needs water. Trees will not grow on the Sahara Desert. But a little moisture will bring vegetation. On the rare occasion of rain falling in the desert a sudden greenness appears on the sand; but the minute vegetable growth disappears as quickly as it comes, for the moisture rapidly evaporates in the heated air. Souls need the living waters. They need these waters because, like trees, they are alive. The statue does not droop in the noonday sun, because it is of stone, dead stone. There are statuesque souls that seem to thrive without any spiritual supplies, but they have no vitality in them. They are too stolid to faint. Fiery souls pine and wither when deprived of living water.

2. It must be within reach of water. It is nearly useless for the water to fall on the leaves if the root is not reached, but when the root is in moisture, though the leaves are covered with dust and sadly need cleansing showers, the tree will still live. We can bear heat and drought in the world if the soul"s hidden roots are supplied by Divine grace. But we do not merely require superficial refreshment; we need such deep soul-supplies as shall penetrate to the roots of our being. For this purpose the roots must be near the water. Cattle can go down to the brooks and drink, but trees must be planted in moist soil. It is customary in the East to cut channels for water deflected from larger streams, that this may run among the roots of trees. The best trees grow by rivers of water. (Psa_1:3) Souls must be within reach of Divine supplies. It is not sufficient that God is gracious and that Christ can give of the water of life. We must be near the water ourselves. There must be personal appropriation. This is only possible by means of that spiritual neighborhood which is sympathy. The use of "means of grace prayers, Christian fellowship, meditation on Scripture, etc. helps to rouse that sympathy, and so to bring the roots near to the great waters.

HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Ver. 7. The source of strength and beauty.

The "great power" of Assyria is likened in this parable to a noble cedar planted in (or transferred to) the garden of Eden, raising its head high above all the other trees in that "garden of God;" its eminence and its beauty being largely due to the fact that it was so well watered at its roots, that "the waters nourished him, the deep made him to grow; her rivers ran about her plantations" (Ver. 4, Revised Version); and that "his root was by many waters" (Revised Version). Here we have a picture of strength showing itself beautiful, extending its influence far and wide, owing everything to the hidden source below.

I GREAT STRENGTH. The greatness of Assyria was the greatness of national power. We are accustomed to speak of the greater nations of the earth as the "great powers." As history has shown us, such "powers" have often proved to be little better than weakness when the hour of trial came; still, in appearance, in size, in equipment, in eminence, or in reputation, they have been comparatively great and strong. Greatness, as we recognize it, is seen in national position, in physical strength and skill, in mental grasp and literary accomplishment, in art and science, in social rank, in statesmanship, in character and moral weight. In any one of these spheres a community or a man may be "great" in the sight of its (his) contemporaries.

II GREATNESS SHOWING ITSELF FAIN. "He was fair or, "beautiful" in his greatness." Greatness may be either

(1) imposing, compelling the homage of all who behold it, instantly commanding their regard and their tribute; or it may be

(2) admirable, such that the longer it is watched by observant and critical eyes the more it is esteemed and the higher it is prized; or it may be

(3) attractive, of such gracious and winning mien that every one is drawn towards it and desires to come into closer association with it. There is much "greatness," or what commonly passes for such, that is distinctly unbeautiful. Possibly, indeed, it may be imposing or attractive to minds that are easily imposed upon or readily captivated; but it is devoid of all that is really excellent, and no true eye, that can distinguish the good from the pretentious, would call it fair. All beauty that is worthy of the name, and the only excellency that will last, is that which commends itself to the mind of the heart-searching Truth beauty on which purity can look with pleasure, and which love can regard with genuine delight.

III EXTENDING ITS INFLUENCE. One of its characteristics is "the length of its branches." It is the province of greatness to make itself felt on every hand, just as a noble tree throws out its branches far around its stem. This it may do deliberately and determinately; or it may do this unconsciously, as the simple and inevitable result of its own nature and life. The extension of our influence should be regarded by us, not as a right, but as a duty and a privilege. So far as we can make ourselves felt, and inasmuch as we believe ourselves to be the possessors and exponents of what is right and true, we should seek, even diligently, to "spread the branches" of our power as far as they will go. We should therefore shun all acts and extirpate all habits that tend to dwarf these branches, to diminish the influence we might be and should be exerting.

IV THE SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND BEAUTY. This great cedar was what it was because "its root was by great many waters." It was always nourished from below. It drew its strength from its roots, and its roots found their resources in the abundant streams that never failed to water and to refresh them. Strength and beauty grow out of character, moral and spiritual, as the leaves and the branches and the stem grow out of the roots of the tree. And character must be fed by the living streams of truth that flow in the garden of God; not any one truth, nor yet one set or class of truths, but "all the truth" (Joh_16:13) which we are able to receive: our root is to be "by many waters." We must, if we would be the symmetrical and fruit-bearing tree we should aspire to become, take care that mind and heart are well nourished by all the truth we can gather from the great Teacher, or glean from those who spoke in his Name. Nor must we forget that, beside the root drinking in the moisture below, there are the myriad leaves drinking in the air and sunshine above. We must open all the leaves of our nature to receive the warm sunshine of the love of God, and to admit all the direct Divine influences which the Spirit of God will breathe upon us. C.

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

And it became beautiful [Heb. וַיִיף,] an expression of beauty (יֹפִי).

its tendrils [Heb. דָּלִיוֹתָיו.] They too are an expression used for branches: [those] that extend lengthwise in every direction, like the tendrils of a vineyard, ses treilles in French, its climbing vines.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.