mh_parser/vol_split/26 - Ezekiel/Chapter 34.xml

<div2 id="Ez.xxxv" n="xxxv" next="Ez.xxxvi" prev="Ez.xxxiv" progress="62.94%" title="Chapter XXXIV">
<h2 id="Ez.xxxv-p0.1">E Z E K I E L.</h2>
<h3 id="Ez.xxxv-p0.2">CHAP. XXXIV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ez.xxxv-p1" shownumber="no">The iniquities and calamities of God's Israel had
been largely and pathetically lamented before, in this book. Now in
this chapter the shepherds of Israel, their rulers both in church
and state, are called to an account, as having been very much
accessory to the sin and ruin of Israel, by their neglecting to do
the duty of their place. Here is, I. A high charge exhibited
against them for their negligence, their unskillfulness, and
unfaithfulness in the management of public affairs, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.1-Ezek.34.6 Bible:Ezek.34.8" parsed="|Ezek|34|1|34|6;|Ezek|34|8|0|0" passage="Eze 34:1-6,8">ver. 1-6 and ver. 8</scripRef>. II. Their
discharge from their trust, for their insufficiency and treachery,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.7-Ezek.34.10" parsed="|Ezek|34|7|34|10" passage="Eze 34:7-10">ver. 7-10</scripRef>. III. A
gracious promise that God would take care of his flock, though they
did not, and that it should not always suffer as it had done by
their mal-administrations, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.11-Ezek.34.16" parsed="|Ezek|34|11|34|16" passage="Eze 34:11-16">ver.
11-16</scripRef>. IV. Another charge exhibited against those of the
flock that were fat and strong, for the injuries they did to those
that were weak and feeble, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.17-Ezek.34.22" parsed="|Ezek|34|17|34|22" passage="Eze 34:17-22">ver.
17-22</scripRef>. V. Another promise that God would in the fulness
of time send the Messiah, to be the great and good Shepherd of the
sheep, who should redress all grievances and set every thing to
rights with the flock, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.23-Ezek.34.31" parsed="|Ezek|34|23|34|31" passage="Eze 34:23-31">ver.
23-31</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxxv-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34" parsed="|Ezek|34|0|0|0" passage="Eze 34" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxxv-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.1-Ezek.34.6" parsed="|Ezek|34|1|34|6" passage="Eze 34:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxxv-p1.8">
<h4 id="Ez.xxxv-p1.9">The Shepherds Reproved. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p1.10">b. c.</span> 587.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxxv-p2" shownumber="no">1 And the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p2.1">Lord</span> came unto me, saying,   2 Son of man,
prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p2.2">God</span> unto
the shepherds; Woe <i>be</i> to the shepherds of Israel that do
feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?   3
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that
are fed: <i>but</i> ye feed not the flock.   4 The diseased
have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was
sick, neither have ye bound up <i>that which was</i> broken,
neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither
have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty
have ye ruled them.   5 And they were scattered, because
<i>there is</i> no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts
of the field, when they were scattered.   6 My sheep wandered
through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock
was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search
or seek <i>after them.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p3" shownumber="no">The prophecy of this chapter is not dated,
nor any of those that follow it, till <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.40.1-Ezek.40.49" parsed="|Ezek|40|1|40|49" passage="Eze 40:1-49"><i>ch.</i> xl.</scripRef> It is most probable that it
was delivered after the completing of Jerusalem's destruction, when
it would be very seasonable to enquire into the causes of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p4" shownumber="no">I. The prophet is ordered to <i>prophesy
against the shepherds of Israel</i>—the princes and magistrates,
the priests and Levites, the great Sanhedrim or council of state,
or whoever they were that had the direction of public affairs in a
higher or lower sphere, the kings especially, for there were two of
them now captives in Babylon, who, as well as the people, must have
their transgressions shown them, that they might repent, as
Manasseh in his captivity. God has something to <i>say to the
shepherds,</i> for they are but under-shepherds, accountable to him
who is the great <i>Shepherd of Israel,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.80.1" parsed="|Ps|80|1|0|0" passage="Ps 80:1">Ps. lxxx. 1</scripRef>. And that which he says is, <i>Woe
to the shepherds of Israel!</i> Though they are shepherds, and
shepherds of Israel, yet he must not spare them, must not flatter
them. Note, If men's dignity and power do not, as they ought, keep
them from sin, they will not serve to exempt them from reproof, to
excuse their repentance, or to secure them from the judgments of
God if they do not repent. We had a <i>woe to the pastors,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.23.1" parsed="|Jer|23|1|0|0" passage="Jer 23:1">Jer. xxiii. 1</scripRef>. God will in
a particular manner reckon with them if they be false to their
trust.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p5" shownumber="no">II. He is here directed what to charge the
shepherds with, in God's name, as the ground of God's controversy
with them; for it is not a causeless quarrel. Two things they are
charged with:—1. That all their care was to advance and enrich
themselves and to make themselves great. Their business was to take
care of those that were committed to their charge: <i>Should not
the shepherds feed the flocks?</i> No doubt they should; they
betray their trust if they do not. Not that they are to put the
meat into their mouths, but to provide it for them and bring them
to it. But <i>these</i> shepherds made this the least of their
care; they <i>fed themselves,</i> contrived every thing to gratify
and indulge their own appetite, and to make themselves rich and
great, fat and easy. They made sure of the profits of their places;
they did <i>eat the fat,</i> the <i>cream</i> (so some), for he
<i>that feeds a flock eats of the milk of it</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.9.7" parsed="|1Cor|9|7|0|0" passage="1Co 9:7">1 Cor. ix. 7</scripRef>), and they made sure of
the best of the milk. They made sure of the fleece, and <i>clothed
themselves with the wool,</i> getting into their hands as much as
they could of the estates of their subjects, yea, and <i>killed
those that were</i> well <i>fed,</i> that what they had might be
fed upon, as Naboth was put to death for his vineyard. Note, There
is a woe to those who are in public trusts, but consult only their
own private interest, and are more inquisitive about the benefice
than about the office, what money is to be got than what good to be
done. It is an old complaint, <i>All seek their own,</i> and too
many <i>more than their own.</i> 2. That they took no care for the
benefit and welfare of those that were committed to their charge:
<i>You feed not the flock.</i> They neither knew how to do it, so
ignorant were they, nor would they take any pains to do it, so lazy
and slothful were they; nay, they never desired nor designed it, so
treacherous and unfaithful were they. (1.) They did not do their
duty to those of the flock that were distempered, did not
strengthen them, nor heal them, nor bind them up, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.4" parsed="|Ezek|34|4|0|0" passage="Eze 34:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. When any of the flock
were sick or hurt, worried or wounded, it was all one to them
whether they lived or died; they never looked after them. The
princes and judges took no care to right those that suffered wrong
or to shelter injured innocency. They took no care of the poor to
see them provided for; they might starve, for them. The priests
took no care to instruct the ignorant, to rectify the mistakes of
those that were in error, to warn the unruly, or to comfort the
feeble-minded. The ministers of state took no care to check the
growing distempers of the kingdom, which threatened the vitals of
it. Things were amiss, and out of course, every where, and nothing
was done to rectify them. (2.) They did not do their duty to those
of the flock that were dispersed, that were driven away by the
enemies that invaded the country, and were forced to seek for
shelter where they could find a place, or that <i>wandered</i> of
choice upon <i>the mountains and hills</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.6" parsed="|Ezek|34|6|0|0" passage="Eze 34:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), where they were exposed to the
beasts of prey and became <i>meat to them,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.5" parsed="|Ezek|34|5|0|0" passage="Eze 34:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. Every one is ready to seize a
waif and stray. Some went abroad and begged, some went abroad and
traded, and thus the country became thin of inhabitants, and was
weakened and impoverished, and wanted hands both in the fields of
corn and in the fields of battle, both in harvest and in war: <i>My
flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.6" parsed="|Ezek|34|6|0|0" passage="Eze 34:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. And they were never
enquired after, were never encouraged to return to their own
country: <i>None did search or seek after them.</i> Nay, <i>with
force and cruelty they ruled them,</i> which drove more away, and
discouraged those that were driven away from all thoughts of
returning. <i>Their</i> case is bad who have reason to expect
better treatment among strangers than in their own country. It may
be meant of those of the flock that went astray from God and their
duty; and the priests, that should have taught the good knowledge
of the Lord, used no means to convince and reclaim them, so that
they became an easy prey to seducers. Thus were <i>they scattered
because there was no shepherd,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.5" parsed="|Ezek|34|5|0|0" passage="Eze 34:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. There were those that called
themselves shepherds, but really they were not. Note, Those that do
not do the work of shepherds are unworthy of the name. And if those
that undertake to be shepherds are <i>foolish shepherds</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p5.7" osisRef="Bible:Zech.11.15" parsed="|Zech|11|15|0|0" passage="Zec 11:15">Zech. xi. 15</scripRef>), if they
are proud and above their business, idle and do not love their
business, or faithless and unconcerned about it, the case of the
flock is as bad as if it were without a shepherd. Better no
shepherd than such shepherds. Christ complains that his flock were
<i>as sheep having no shepherd,</i> when yet the scribes and
Pharisees <i>sat in Moses' seat,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p5.8" osisRef="Bible:Matt.9.36" parsed="|Matt|9|36|0|0" passage="Mt 9:36">Matt. ix. 36</scripRef>. It is ill with the patient when
his physician is his worst disease, ill with the flock when the
shepherds drive them away and disperse them, <i>by ruling them with
force.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xxxv-p5.9" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.7-Ezek.34.16" parsed="|Ezek|34|7|34|16" passage="Eze 34:7-16" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxxv-p5.10">
<h4 id="Ez.xxxv-p5.11">The Shepherds Reproved. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p5.12">b. c.</span> 587.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxxv-p6" shownumber="no">7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p6.1">Lord</span>;   8 <i>As</i> I live,
saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p6.2">God</span>, surely because
my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of
the field, because <i>there was</i> no shepherd, neither did my
shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves,
and fed not my flock;   9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the
word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p6.3">Lord</span>;   10 Thus
saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p6.4">God</span>; Behold, I
<i>am</i> against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at
their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither
shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my
flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.  
11 For thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p6.5">God</span>;
Behold, I, <i>even</i> I, will both search my sheep, and seek them
out.   12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that
he is among his sheep <i>that are</i> scattered; so will I seek out
my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have
been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.   13 And I will
bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries,
and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the
mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places
of the country.   14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and
upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall
they lie in a good fold, and <i>in</i> a fat pasture shall they
feed upon the mountains of Israel.   15 I will feed my flock,
and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p6.6">God</span>.   16 I will seek that which was lost,
and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up
<i>that which was</i> broken, and will strengthen that which was
sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them
with judgment.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p7" shownumber="no">Upon reading the foregoing articles of
impeachment drawn up, in God's name, against the shepherds of
Israel, we cannot but look upon the shepherds with a just
indignation, and upon the flock with a tender compassion. God, by
the prophet, here expresses both in a high degree; and the
shepherds are called upon (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.7 Bible:Ezek.34.9" parsed="|Ezek|34|7|0|0;|Ezek|34|9|0|0" passage="Eze 34:7,9"><i>v.</i>
7, 9</scripRef>) to <i>hear the word of the Lord,</i> to hear this
word. Let them hear how little he regards them, who made much of
themselves, and how much he regards the flock, which they made
nothing of; both will be humbling to them. Those that will not
<i>hear the word of the Lord</i> giving them their direction shall
be made to hear the word of the Lord reading them their doom. Now
see here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p8" shownumber="no">I. How much displeased God is at the
shepherds. Their crimes are repeated, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.8" parsed="|Ezek|34|8|0|0" passage="Eze 34:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. God's flock became a prey to the
deceivers first that drew them to idolatry, and then to the
destroyers that carried them into captivity; and these shepherds
took no care to prevent either the one or the other, but were as if
there had been <i>no shepherds;</i> and therefore God says
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.10" parsed="|Ezek|34|10|0|0" passage="Eze 34:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>), and
confirms it with an oath (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.8" parsed="|Ezek|34|8|0|0" passage="Eze 34:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>), <i>I am against the shepherds.</i> They had a
commission from God to feed the flock, and made use of this name in
what they did, expecting he would stand by them. "No," says God,
"so far from that, <i>I am against them.</i>" Note, It is not our
having the name and authority of shepherds that will engage God for
us, if we do not the work enjoined us, and be not faithful to the
trust reposed in us. God is <i>against them,</i> and they shall
know it; for, 1. They shall be made to account for the manner in
which they have discharged their trust: "<i>I will require my flock
at their hands,</i> and charge it upon them that so many of them
are missing." Note, Those will have a great deal to answer for in
the judgment-day who take upon them the care of souls and yet take
no care of them. Ministers must <i>watch</i> and work as those that
<i>must give account,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Heb.13.17" parsed="|Heb|13|17|0|0" passage="Heb 13:17">Heb. xiii.
17</scripRef>. 2. They shall be deprived <i>officio et
beneficio—both of the work and of the wages. They shall cease from
feeding the flock,</i> that is, from pretending to feed it. Note,
It is just with God to take out of men's hands that power which
they have abused and that trust which they have betrayed. But, if
this were all their punishment, they could bear it well enough;
therefore it is added, "<i>Neither shall the shepherds feed
themselves any more,</i> for <i>I will deliver my flock from their
mouth,</i> which, instead of protecting, they had made a prey of."
Note, Those that are enriching themselves with the spoils of the
public cannot expect that they shall always be suffered to do so.
Nor will God always permit his people to be trampled upon by those
that should support them, but will find a time to deliver them from
the shepherds their false friends, as well as from the lions their
open enemies.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p9" shownumber="no">II. How much concerned God is for the
flock; he speaks as if he were the more concerned for them because
he saw them thus neglected, for <i>with him the fatherless finds
mercy.</i> Precious promises are made here upon the occasion, which
were to have their accomplishment in the return of the Jews out of
their captivity and their re-establishment in their own land. Let
the shepherds <i>hear this word of the Lord,</i> and know that they
have no part nor lot in the matter. But let the poor sheep hear it
and take the comfort of it. Note, Though magistrates and ministers
fail in doing their part, for the good of the church, yet God will
not fail in doing his; he will take the flock into his own hand
rather than the church shall come short of any kindness he has
designed for it. The under-shepherds may prove careless, but the
chief Shepherd <i>neither slumbers nor sleeps.</i> They may be
false, but God <i>abides faithful.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p10" shownumber="no">1. God will gather his sheep together that
were scattered, and bring those back to the fold that had wandered
from it: "<i>I, even I,</i> who alone can do it, will do it, and
will have all the glory of it. <i>I will both search my sheep and
find them out</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.11" parsed="|Ezek|34|11|0|0" passage="Eze 34:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>) as a <i>shepherd</i> does (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.12" parsed="|Ezek|34|12|0|0" passage="Eze 34:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), and bring them back as he
does the stray-sheep, upon his shoulders, <i>from all the places
where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.</i>"
There are cloudy and dark days, windy and stormy ones, which
scatter God's sheep, which send them hither and thither, to divers
and distant places, in quest of secresy and safety. But, (1.)
Wherever they are the eye of God will <i>find them out;</i> for his
eyes run to and fro through the earth, in favour of them. <i>I will
seek out my sheep;</i> and not one that belongs to the fold, though
driven ever so far off, shall be lost. <i>The Lord knows those that
are his;</i> he <i>knows their work</i> and <i>where they dwell</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.2.13" parsed="|Rev|2|13|0|0" passage="Re 2:13">Rev. ii. 13</scripRef>), and where
they are hidden. (2.) When his time shall come his arms will
<i>fetch them home</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.13" parsed="|Ezek|34|13|0|0" passage="Eze 34:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>): <i>I will bring them out from the people.</i> God
will both incline their hearts to come by his grace and will by his
providence open a door for them and remove every difficulty that
lies in the way. They shall not return one by one, clandestinely
stealing away, but they shall return in a body: "<i>I will gather
them from the countries</i> into which they are dispersed, not only
the most considerable families of them, but every particular
person. <i>I will seek that which was lost and bring again that
which was driven away,</i>" <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.16" parsed="|Ezek|34|16|0|0" passage="Eze 34:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>. This was done when so many thousand Jews returned
triumphantly out of Babylon, under the conduct of Zerubbabel, Ezra,
and others. When those that have gone astray from God into the
paths of sin are brought back by repentance, when those that erred
come to the acknowledgment of the truth, when God's outcasts are
gathered and restored, and religious assemblies, that were
dispersed, rally again, upon the ceasing of persecution, and when
the churches have rest and liberty, then this promise has a further
accomplishment.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p11" shownumber="no">2. God will feed his people as the <i>sheep
of his pasture,</i> that had been famished. God will bring the
returning captives safely to their own land (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.13" parsed="|Ezek|34|13|0|0" passage="Eze 34:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), <i>will feed them upon the
mountains of Israel,</i> and that is a <i>good pasture,</i> and a
<i>fat pasture</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.14" parsed="|Ezek|34|14|0|0" passage="Eze 34:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>); there shall their <i>feeding</i> be, and there
shall be <i>their fold;</i> and it is a <i>good fold.</i> There God
will not only <i>feed them,</i> but <i>cause them to lie down</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.15" parsed="|Ezek|34|15|0|0" passage="Eze 34:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), which
denotes a comfortable rest after they had tired themselves with
their wanderings, and a constant continuing residence; they shall
not be driven out again from these green pastures, as they have
been, nor shall they be disturbed, but shall lie down in a sweet
repose and there shall be <i>none to make them afraid.</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.23.2" parsed="|Ps|23|2|0|0" passage="Ps 23:2">Ps. xxiii. 2</scripRef>, <i>He makes me
to lie down in green pastures.</i> Compare this with the like
promise (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.23.3-Jer.23.4" parsed="|Jer|23|3|23|4" passage="Jer 23:3,4">Jer. xxiii. 3,
4</scripRef>), when God restored them not only to the milk and
honey of their own land, to the enjoyment of its fruits, but to the
privileges of his sanctuary on Mount Zion, the chief of the
mountains of Israel. When they had an altar and a temple again, and
the benefit of a settled priesthood, then they were fed in a good
pasture.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p12" shownumber="no">3. He will succour those that are hurt,
will <i>bind up that which was broken and strengthen that which was
sick,</i> will comfort those that <i>mourn in Zion</i> and with
Zion. If ministers, who should speak peace to those who are of a
sorrowful spirit, neglect their duty, yet the Holy Ghost the
Comforter will be faithful to his office. But, as it follows, the
<i>fat and the strong shall be destroyed.</i> He that has rest for
disquieted saints has terror to speak to presumptuous sinners. As
<i>every valley</i> shall be <i>filled,</i> so <i>every mountain
and hill shall be brought low,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.3.5" parsed="|Luke|3|5|0|0" passage="Lu 3:5">Luke
iii. 5</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xxxv-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.17-Ezek.34.31" parsed="|Ezek|34|17|34|31" passage="Eze 34:17-31" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxxv-p12.3">
<h4 id="Ez.xxxv-p12.4">God's Care of His Flock; Prediction of
Messiah's Kingdom. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p12.5">b. c.</span> 587.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxxv-p13" shownumber="no">17 And <i>as for</i> you, O my flock, thus saith
the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p13.1">God</span>; Behold, I judge
between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
  18 <i>Seemeth it</i> a small thing unto you to have eaten up
the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue
of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must
foul the residue with your feet?   19 And <i>as for</i> my
flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they
drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.   20 Therefore
thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p13.2">God</span> unto them;
Behold, I, <i>even</i> I, will judge between the fat cattle and
between the lean cattle.   21 Because ye have thrust with side
and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns,
till ye have scattered them abroad;   22 Therefore will I save
my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge
between cattle and cattle.   23 And I will set up one shepherd
over them, and he shall feed them, <i>even</i> my servant David; he
shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.   24 And I
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p13.3">Lord</span> will be their God, and my
servant David a prince among them; I the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p13.4">Lord</span> have spoken <i>it.</i>   25 And I will
make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts
to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the
wilderness, and sleep in the woods.   26 And I will make them
and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the
shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of
blessing.   27 And the tree of the field shall yield her
fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be
safe in their land, and shall know that I <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p13.5">Lord</span>, when I have broken the bands of
their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served
themselves of them.   28 And they shall no more be a prey to
the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but
they shall dwell safely, and none shall make <i>them</i> afraid.
  29 And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they
shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the
shame of the heathen any more.   30 Thus shall they know that
I the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p13.6">Lord</span> their God <i>am</i> with
them, and <i>that</i> they, <i>even</i> the house of Israel,
<i>are</i> my people, saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p13.7">God</span>.   31 And ye my flock, the flock of my
pasture, <i>are</i> men, <i>and</i> I <i>am</i> your God, saith the
Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxxv-p13.8">God</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p14" shownumber="no">The prophet has no more to say to the
shepherds, but he has now a message to deliver to the flock. God
had ordered him to speak tenderly to them, and to assure them of
the mercy he had in store for them. But here he is ordered to make
a difference between some and others of them, to separate between
the precious and the vile and then to give them a promise of the
Messiah, by whom this distinction should be effectually made,
partly at his first coming (for <i>for judgment he came into this
world,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:John.9.39" parsed="|John|9|39|0|0" passage="Joh 9:39">John ix. 39</scripRef>, to
<i>fill the hungry with good things and to send the rich empty
away,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.53" parsed="|Luke|1|53|0|0" passage="Lu 1:53">Luke i. 53</scripRef>), but
completely at his second coming, when he shall, as it is here said,
<i>judge between cattle and cattle, as a shepherd divides between
the sheep and the goats, and shall set the sheep on his right hand
and the goats on his left</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.25.32-Matt.25.33" parsed="|Matt|25|32|25|33" passage="Mt 25:32,33">Matt. xxv. 32, 33</scripRef>), which seems to have
reference to this. We have here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p15" shownumber="no">I. Conviction spoken to those of the flock
that were fat and strong, the <i>rams and the he-goats</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.17" parsed="|Ezek|34|17|0|0" passage="Eze 34:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>), those
that, though they had not power, as shepherds and rulers, to
oppress with, yet, being rich and wealthy, made use of the
opportunity which this gave them to bear hard upon their poor
neighbours. Those that have much would have more, and, if they set
to it, will have more, so many ways have they of encroaching upon
their poor neighbours, and forcing from them the one ewe-lamb,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.4" parsed="|2Sam|12|4|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:4">2 Sam. xii. 4</scripRef>. Do not the
rich oppress the poor merely with the help of their riches, and
<i>draw them before the judgment-seats?</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Jas.2.6" parsed="|Jas|2|6|0|0" passage="Jam 2:6">Jam. ii. 6</scripRef>. Poor servants and tenants are
hardly used by their rich lords and masters. The <i>rams</i> and
the <i>he-goats</i> not only kept all the good pasture to
themselves, ate the fat and drank the sweet, but they would not let
the poor of the flock have any comfortable enjoyment of the little
that was left them; they <i>trod down the residue of the pastures
and fouled the residue of the waters,</i> so that the flock was
obliged to eat that which they had trodden into the dirt, and drink
that which they had muddied, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.18-Ezek.34.19" parsed="|Ezek|34|18|34|19" passage="Eze 34:18,19"><i>v.</i> 18, 19</scripRef>. This intimates that the
great men not only by extortion and oppression made and kept their
neighbours poor, and scarcely left them enough to subsist on, but
were so vexatious to them that what little coarse fare they had was
embittered to them. And this <i>seemed a small thing</i> to them;
they thought there was no harm in it, as if it were the privilege
of their quality to be injurious to all their neighbours. Note,
Many that live in pomp and at ease themselves care not what straits
those about them are reduced to, so they may but have every thing
to their mind. Those that <i>are at ease,</i> and <i>the proud,</i>
grudge that any body should live by them with any comfort. But this
as not all; they not only robbed the poor, to make them poorer, but
were troublesome to the sick and weak of the flock (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p15.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.21" parsed="|Ezek|34|21|0|0" passage="Eze 34:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>): They <i>thrust with
side and shoulder</i> those that were feeble (for the weakest goes
to the wall) and <i>pushed the diseased with their horns,</i>
because they knew they could be too hard for them, when they durst
not meddle with their match. It has been observed concerning sheep
that if one of the flock be sick and faint the rest will secure it
as well as they can, and shelter it from the scorching heat of the
sun; but these, on the contrary, were most injurious to the
diseased. Those that they could not serve themselves of they did
what they could to rid the country of, and so <i>scattered them
abroad,</i> as if the poor, whom, Christ says, we must have always
with us, were public nuisances, not to be relieved, but sent far
away from us. Note, It is a barbarous thing to <i>add affliction to
the afflicted.</i> Perhaps these <i>rams</i> and <i>he-goats</i>
are designed to represent the scribes and Pharisees, for they are
such troublers of the church as Christ himself must come to deliver
it from, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p15.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.23" parsed="|Ezek|34|23|0|0" passage="Eze 34:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>.
They devoured widows' houses, took away the key of knowledge,
corrupted the pure water of divine truths, and oppressed the
consciences of men with the traditions of the elders, besides that
they were continually vexatious and injurious to <i>the poor of the
flock</i> that <i>waited on the Lord,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p15.7" osisRef="Bible:Zech.11.11" parsed="|Zech|11|11|0|0" passage="Zec 11:11">Zech. xi. 11</scripRef>. Note, It is no new thing for
the flock of God to receive a great deal of damage and mischief
from those that are themselves of the flock, and in eminent
stations in it, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p15.8" osisRef="Bible:Acts.20.30" parsed="|Acts|20|30|0|0" passage="Ac 20:30">Acts xx.
30</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p16" shownumber="no">II. Comfort spoken to those of the flock
that are poor and feeble, and that wait for the consolation of
Israel (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.22" parsed="|Ezek|34|22|0|0" passage="Eze 34:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>):
"<i>I will save my flock,</i> and they shall no more be spoiled as
they have been by the beasts of prey, by their own shepherds or by
the rams and he-goats among themselves." Upon this occasion, as is
usual in the prophets, comes in a prediction of the coming of the
Messiah, and the setting up of his kingdom, and the exceedingly
great and precious benefits which the church should enjoy under the
protection and influence of that kingdom. Observe what is here
foretold,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p17" shownumber="no">1. Concerning the Messiah himself. (1.) He
shall have his commission from God himself: I will <i>set him
up</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.23" parsed="|Ezek|34|23|0|0" passage="Eze 34:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>);
<i>I will raise him up,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.29" parsed="|Ezek|34|29|0|0" passage="Eze 34:29"><i>v.</i>
29</scripRef>. He sanctified and sealed him, appointed and anointed
him. (2.) He shall be the great <i>Shepherd</i> of the sheep, who
shall do that for his flock which no one else could do. He is the
<i>one Shepherd,</i> under whom Jews and Gentiles should be <i>one
fold.</i> (3.) He is <i>God's servant,</i> employed by him and for
him, and doing all in obedience to his will, with an eye to his
glory—his servant, to re-establish his kingdom among men and
advance the interests of that kingdom. (4.) He is David, one after
God's own heart, set as his King upon the holy hill of Zion, made
the head of the corner, with whom the covenant of royalty is made,
and to whom God would <i>give the throne of his father David.</i>
He is both the <i>root and offspring of David.</i> (5.) He is the
<i>plant of renown,</i> because a <i>righteous branch</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.23.5" parsed="|Jer|23|5|0|0" passage="Jer 23:5">Jer. xxiii. 5</scripRef>), a branch
of the Lord, that is <i>beautiful</i> and <i>glorious,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.4.2" parsed="|Isa|4|2|0|0" passage="Isa 4:2">Isa. iv. 2</scripRef>. He has a name
above every name, a throne above every throne, and may therefore
well be called a <i>branch of renown.</i> Some understand it of the
church, the <i>planting of the Lord,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.61.3" parsed="|Isa|61|3|0|0" passage="Isa 61:3">Isa. lxi. 3</scripRef>. <i>Its name shall be
remembered</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.45.17" parsed="|Ps|45|17|0|0" passage="Ps 45:17">Ps. xlv.
17</scripRef>) and Christ's in it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p18" shownumber="no">2. Concerning the great charter by which
the kingdom of the Messiah should be incorporated, and upon which
it should be founded (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.25" parsed="|Ezek|34|25|0|0" passage="Eze 34:25"><i>v.</i>
25</scripRef>): <i>I will make with them a covenant of peace.</i>
The covenant of grace is a covenant of peace. In it God is at peace
with us, speaks peace to us, and assures us of peace, of all good,
all the good we need to make us happy. The tenour of this covenant
is: "<i>I the Lord will be their God,</i> a God all-sufficient to
them (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.24" parsed="|Ezek|34|24|0|0" passage="Eze 34:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>), will
own them and will be owned by them; in order to this <i>my servant
David shall be a prince among them,</i> to reduce them to their
allegiance, to receive their homage, and to reign over them, in
them, and for them." Note, Those, and those only, that have the
Lord Jesus for <i>their prince</i> have the Lord Jehovah for
<i>their God.</i> And then <i>they, even the house of Israel, shall
be my people.</i> If we take God to be <i>our God,</i> he will take
us to be <i>his people.</i> From this covenant between God and
Israel there results communion: "<i>I the Lord their God am with
them,</i> to converse with them; and <i>they shall know it,</i> and
have the comfort of it."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p19" shownumber="no">3. Concerning the privileges of those that
are the faithful subjects of this kingdom of the Messiah and
interested in the covenant of peace. These are here set forth
figuratively, as the blessings of the flock. But we have a key to
it, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.31" parsed="|Ezek|34|31|0|0" passage="Eze 34:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>. Those
that belong to this flock, though they are spoken of as
<i>sheep,</i> are really men, men that have <i>the Lord for their
God,</i> and are in covenant with him. Now to them it is
promised,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p20" shownumber="no">(1.) That they shall enjoy a holy security
under the divine protection. Christ, our good Shepherd, has
<i>caused the evil beasts to cease out of the land</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.25" parsed="|Ezek|34|25|0|0" passage="Eze 34:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>), having vanquished all
our spiritual enemies, broken their power, and triumphed over them;
the roaring lion is not a roaring devouring lion to them; <i>they
shall no more be a prey to the heathen</i> nor the heathen a terror
to them, <i>neither shall the beasts of the land devour them.</i>
Sin and Satan, death and hell, are conquered. And then <i>they
shall dwell safely,</i> not only in the folds, but in the fields,
<i>in the wilderness, in the woods,</i> where the beasts of prey
are; they shall not only dwell there, but they shall sleep there,
which denotes not only that the beasts being <i>made to cease</i>
there shall be no danger, but, their consciences being purified and
pacified, they shall be in no apprehension of danger; not only safe
from evil, but quiet from the fear of evil. Note, Those may lay
down and sleep securely, sleep at ease, that have Christ for their
prince; for he will be their protector, and make them to dwell in
safety. None shall hurt them, nay, <i>none shall make them
afraid.</i> If God be for us, who can be against us? <i>Therefore
will not we fear, though the earth be removed.</i> Through Christ,
God delivers his people not only from the things they have reason
to fear, but from their fear even of death itself, from all that
fear that has torment. This safety from evil is promised (<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.27" parsed="|Ezek|34|27|0|0" passage="Eze 34:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>): <i>They shall be safe
in their land,</i> in no danger of being invaded and enslaved,
though their great plenty be a temptation to their neighbours to
<i>desire their land;</i> and that which shall make them think
themselves safe is their confidence in the wisdom, power, and
goodness of God: <i>They shall know that I am the Lord.</i> All our
disquieting fears arise from our ignorance of God and mistakes
concerning him. Their experience of his particular care concerning
them encourages their confidence in him: "<i>I have broken the
bands of their yoke,</i> with which they have been brought and held
down under oppression, and have <i>delivered them out of the hand
of those that served themselves of them,</i> whence they shall
argue, He that has delivered does and will, therefore will we dwell
safely." This is explained, and applied to our gospel-state,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.74" parsed="|Luke|1|74|0|0" passage="Lu 1:74">Luke i. 74</scripRef>. <i>That we,
being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him
without fear,</i> as those may do that serve him in faith.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p21" shownumber="no">(2.) That they shall enjoy a spiritual
plenty of all good things, the best things, for their comfort and
happiness: <i>They shall no more be consumed with hunger in the
land,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.29" parsed="|Ezek|34|29|0|0" passage="Eze 34:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>.
Famine and scarcity, when Israel was punished with that judgment,
turned as much to their reproach among the heathen as any other,
because the fruitfulness of Canaan was so much talked of. But now
<i>they shall not bear that shame of the heathen any more</i> For
the <i>showers shall come down in their season,</i> even <i>showers
of blessing,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.26" parsed="|Ezek|34|26|0|0" passage="Eze 34:26"><i>v.</i>
26</scripRef>. Christ is a Shepherd that will feed his people; and
they shall <i>go in and out, and find pasture.</i> [1.] They shall
not be consumed with hunger; for they shall not be put off with the
world for a portion, which is not bread, which satisfies not, and
which leaves those that are put off with it to be <i>consumed with
hunger.</i> The ordinances of the ceremonial law are called
<i>beggarly elements,</i> for there was little in them, compared
with the Christian institutes, <i>wherewith the mower fills his
hand and he that binds sheaves his bosom.</i> Those that <i>hunger
and thirst after righteousness</i> shall not be consumed with that
hunger, for <i>they shall be filled.</i> And he that drinks of the
water that Christ gives him, the still waters by which he leads his
sheep, shall <i>never thirst.</i> [2.] <i>Showers of blessings</i>
shall come upon them, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.26-Ezek.34.27" parsed="|Ezek|34|26|34|27" passage="Eze 34:26,27"><i>v.</i>
26, 27</scripRef>. The heavens shall yield their dews; the <i>trees
of the field</i> also shall <i>yield their fruit.</i> The seat of
this plenty is <i>God's hill,</i> his holy hill of Zion, for on
that mountain, in the gospel church, it is, that God has <i>made to
all nations a feast;</i> to that those must join themselves who
would partake of gospel benefits. The cause of this plenty is the
<i>showers that come down in their season,</i> that descend upon
the mountains of Zion, the graces of Christ, his doctrine that
drops as the dew, the graces of Christ, and the fruits and comforts
of his Spirit, by which we are made fruitful in the fruits of
righteousness. The instances of this plenty are the blessings of
heaven poured down upon us and the productions of grace brought
forth by us, our comfort in God's favour and God's glory in our
fruit-bearing. The extent of this plenty is very large, to all the
<i>places round about my hill;</i> for <i>out of Zion shall go
forth the law,</i> shall go forth light to a dark world, and the
river that shall water a dry and desert world; all that are in the
neighbourhood of Zion shall fare the better for it; and the nearer
the church the nearer its God. And, <i>lastly,</i> The <i>effect of
this plenty</i> is, <i>I will make them a blessing,</i> eminently
and exemplarily blessed, patterns of happiness, <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.19.24" parsed="|Isa|19|24|0|0" passage="Isa 19:24">Isa. xix. 24</scripRef>. Or, They shall be blessings to
all about them, diffusively useful. Note, Those that are the
<i>blessed of the Lord</i> must study to make themselves blessings
to the world. He that is good, let him do <i>good;</i> he that has
received the gift, the grace, let him minister the same.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxxv-p22" shownumber="no">Now this promise of the Messiah and his
kingdom spoke much comfort to those to whom it was then made, for
they might be sure that God would not utterly <i>destroy</i> their
nation, how low soever it might be brought, as long as that
<i>blessing</i> was <i>in</i> the womb of <i>it,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxxv-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.65.8" parsed="|Isa|65|8|0|0" passage="Isa 65:8">Isa. lxv. 8</scripRef>. But it speaks much more
comfort to us, to whom it is fulfilled, who are the sheep of this
good Shepherd, are fed in his pastures, and <i>blessed with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly things</i> by him.</p>
</div></div2>