In this paragraph we read of their future punishment and also of the mercy which is in store for the believing remnant of the nation in the future restoration, of which all the prophets of God have spoken. In the wilderness of people, their dispersion among all the nations of the world, He will plead with them and bring them under the rod. The rebels will be purged out from the nation and they shall not enter into the land of Israel. In verses 40-44 we have a prophecy concerning their true restoration. They will be accepted, brought back and gathered out from all the countries and brought into the land of Israel, as God has promised them. Then the remnant of Israel will remember their ways and repent of their evil. IV. The Forest Consumed by Fire. And the word of the Lord came unto me saying, Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field; And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. Then said I, Ah Lord God! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables (verses 45-49). It is a parable. The forest of the south field is Judea; its complete and terrible conquest is here again predicted. The fire of judgment is to sweep through it, like a mighty forest fire which cannot be quenched. And when Ezekiel had faithfully delivered his message, his hearers said, "Doth he not speak in parables?" They refused to understand. THE IMPENDING JUDGMENT. Chapter xxi. "Then said I, Oh, Lord God! they say of me, Doth he not speak in parables?" This is the last verse of the preceding chapter. It showed the hardened conditions of their hearts, which rejected the Word of God, the word of warning and the call to repentance. These sad conditions of the people in Ezekiel's day are deeply significant for our times. We see the outwardly professing people of God, the large numbers of unsaved, nominal Christians in the same hardened condition. Though God speaks loudly, the Word is not heeded. A stronger judgment message follows in which the sword of the Lord is prominent. Critics have acknowledged the majestic character of the so-called "Song of the Sword," and say that the prophet now speaks in "maddened frenzy," carried away by his own passion, breaking out, "in a state of wild excitement," denouncing the nation. But it is not the prophet who gives way to his own feeling. The first verse dispels at once such a conception. "And the Word of the Lord came unto me, saying:" It is the Lord who speaks through Ezekiel. I. The Sword to be Drawn.