Post by Lee on Sept 16, 2014 2:07:52 GMT
And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. (Verses 10, 11.)
Just as Ezekiel is a man of sign representing others, so “Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan” with “seventy men, every man having his censer in his hand,” are also men of sign representing reprobate Israel. For this Jaazaniah who ought according to his name to have been one “who hears the Lord,” and one “who is attentive to the Lord,” is said to be “the son of Shaphan.” Now the name Shaphan signifies rabbit, or wild rat, unclean animals: thus the name fully represents the breaking away from the right way and the uncleanness of Israel.
Moreover, the seventy elders of Israel who saw the God of Israel in the mount (Exod. 24:1–10) did not act according to their privilege, but joined with Aaron in idolatry (ibid. 32.). These also figuratively represented the evil elements in the constituents of the wall. Their thick cloud of incense, conceit and self-praise, obscuring the light of heaven from entering their benighted intellects.
Sulley, H. (1997). The Temple of Ezekiel’s Prophecy (electronic ed.) (137). West Beach, South Australia: Logos Publication.