Ezekiel 34:6 Kommentar

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 (Eze 34:1-6 and Eze 34:8). II. Their discharge from their trust, for their insufficiency and treachery (Eze 34:7-10). 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 (Eze 34:11-16). 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 (Eze 34:17-22). 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 (Eze 34:23-31).

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 34 In the former chapter the prophet prophesies against the people of the Jews, both those of the captivity, and those who were not; and here against the shepherds of Israel. This he is bid to do, Eze 34:1, whose cruelty to the flock, negligence and unfaithfulness are exposed, Eze 34:3, for which reasons they are threatened to be deprived of their office, Eze 34:7, and the Lord promises to take the care of the flock upon himself, to seek out his sheep, and feed them, and do every kind office to them, Eze 34:11 and then the strong of the flock, that oppressed the weak, are threatened with punishment, Eze 34:17 and the promise of the Messiah, as the shepherd of the flock, is made, under whom all prosperity and happiness might be expected, Eze 34:23.

My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill,.... As sheep do, when gone astray, go from mountain to hill; so the people of Israel fled from place to place, through the cruelty of their rulers, or through the force of the enemy, being carried captive into many kingdoms and nations, signified by mountains; and perhaps there is some allusion, to their worshipping of idols on hills and mountains, being drawn into it by the false prophets: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth; so great and general was the dispersion by the several captivities: the Lord has sheep, or some of his elect, some that belong to his flock, in all parts of the world: and none did search or seek after them; but he will himself, as in Eze 34:11, for he will lose none of them; but this does not excuse the shepherds.

(Chapter 34.) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds (or to the shepherds) of Israel, prophesy, and say to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves. (Or: O shepherds of Israel, do the shepherds not feed themselves?) Do not the flocks feed on the shepherds? (Or do the sheep not feed the shepherds?) You have eaten the curds, and you have clothed yourselves with the wool, and you have slaughtered the fat animals, but you have not fed my flock. You did not strengthen what was weak (or comforted); and you did not heal what was sick; you did not bind up what was broken, and you did not bring back what was cast away (or wandering); you did not seek what was lost; but with severity you commanded them, and with power (or what happened to be, you afflicted them with labor). And my sheep were scattered because there was no shepherd (or shepherds), and they became a prey to all the beasts of the field, and they were scattered. My flocks (or sheep) had wandered upon all the mountains, and upon every high hill, and were scattered upon the face of the whole earth; and there was none to seek them, there was no one, I say, to seek (or bring back) them. Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, says the Lord God, forasmuch as my flocks (or sheep) have been made a prey, and my sheep have been devoured by every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd (or shepherds), for my shepherds sought not after my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and did not feed my flocks. Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will require my flock from their hand, and I will make them cease to shepherd my flock any longer; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves (or the sheep) any longer, and I will deliver my flock (or sheep) from their mouth, and they shall no longer be food for them. I have often advised to mix both editions, in order to magnify the greatness of the books, in those parts only, which do not differ much from themselves in translation. After the capture of Jerusalem, after he announced in Babylon that he had fled, he spoke about those who dwelt in the ruined Jerusalem, and then about those who were placed in captivity but nevertheless persisted in evil, unwilling to hear the words of the prophets: now he directs his speech to the shepherds, that is, to the leaders, whose fault the sheep, that is, the people, were scattered. And this should be noted, that from the twelfth year, tenth month, fifth day of the month of transmigration, or captivity of Jechoniah, and those who were captured with him, until the twenty-fifth year, when the temple is built on the mountain of the city, and the incredible sacraments of the Church are revealed, there is no middle year, and no specific time is mentioned; but it is simply said: The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, speak to those and to them, that we may understand everything that is read in thirteen years, at different times; and yet certain intervals of time are not specified among them. But the word is directed to the shepherds of Israel, whom we must understand as either kings, or princes, scribes and Pharisees, and teachers of the Jewish people. Or certainly in the Gospel people, the bishops, presbyters, and deacons: or according to mystical understanding, the Angels of the individual Churches, to whom John wrote in his Apocalypse (Apoc. I), and whose Angels daily see the face of God (Matthew XV). And it is said first: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who, although they should feed the Lord's flock and provide for its salvation, hasten to satisfy their own luxury. Therefore, great caution must be taken, and those precepts must be observed: Do not seek to become a judge, lest you may not be able to remove injustices (Eccli. VII, 6). And again: The greater you are, the more you should humble yourself, and in the sight of the Lord you will find favor (Ibid. III, 29). And again: They have made you a leader, do not be exalted, but be among them as one of them (Eccli. XXXII, 1). Thus the Apostle says that he is like a little child and a nursing infant among the disciples (I Cor. III). And that which follows: You were eating milk, and were clothed with wool, speaks metaphorically of the shepherds to the princes, of whom it is written elsewhere: Who devour my people like bread (Ps. LII, 5). Understand all food in milk: in wool, the various variety of garments. But when it is said: And you killed the fat, it speaks of the rich in the people, whom the wicked princes are said to slay in the churches, while they preach to them, and dare not rebuke their vices. Concerning whom the prophet also says: 'My people, who call you blessed, deceive you and undermine the path of your feet' (Isaiah 3:12). Concerning whom also James speaks (James 2:3), that when they enter, they are honored with precious clothing and a gold ring, and to the holy poor it is said: 'But you, sit on a stool, or on the ground, or stand.' They do not strengthen or consolidate what is weak. And Paul also speaks: Receive the weak (Rom. XIV, 1). And: receive the weak in faith. And: Many among you are weak and sick. To whom divine speech is sent, about which it is written in the Psalms: He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions (Ps. CV, 10). And he says that what is broken is not bound: not considering mortal wounds in the people, such as adultery, murder, sacrilege. And they do not bring back what has been rejected or what they have seen to be in error, allowing them to be deceived by heretics. And they do not seek what has been lost, not desiring to save those who are perishing, but rather to devour those who are in the Churches: but they command them with severity and with power, which properly belongs to the superciliousness of the bishops, namely, those who disgrace the dignity of their name by their actions and assume pride in humility, so that they consider themselves to have gained honor, not burden: and they strive to oppress anyone in the Church whom they see as powerful and as having the word of God. Where in the Septuagint it is written: And what was by chance, you afflicted with labor. And the people of God was dispersed, either by vices or by the error of heretics: because there was no good shepherd who would lay down his life for the sheep: but all were mercenaries, who only considered their own profit from the flocks, and when they saw a wolf, they fled. By their negligence, the flock of the Lord is devoured by the beasts of the field, of which it is written: You have set darkness, and it became night: in it all the beasts of the field shall pass, the lion's whelps roaring, that they may snatch and seek food from God (Ps. 103:20-21). And they are scattered and wander on all the mountains, which rise up against the knowledge of God, and on every lofty hill, which through heretical pride despise the simplicity of the Church. And they are scattered over the whole face of the earth, seeking earthly things, not heavenly. And there was no one who would seek or lead them back, because they are occupied with pleasures and do not care for the losses of the Lord's flock. Therefore, the word of the Lord is addressed to the wicked shepherds, because they have done these things that I have explained above, and which are enumerated a second time: Behold, I myself will come to the shepherds and seek my flock from their hand, for it is expedient that the millstone of the donkey be tied around their neck (Matthew 18), rather than they cause the least scandal to my people. And this will be their punishment or rather the greatest punishment, that they shall no longer pasture my flock: lest under the excuse of feeding the sheep they feed on themselves, and gather riches: And I will deliver my people from their mouth. I will require, says the Lord, from their hand, and I will deliver from their mouth what is devoured by greedy jaws.

Pursuing all earthly objects, things that glitter obviously on the face of the earth, they love them, they set their hearts on them. They do not want to die, that their life may be hidden with Christ.… Not all heretics are to be found all over the face of the earth, but still heretics are to be found all over the face of the earth. Some here, others there, but there is no lack of them anywhere.

The prophet is commanded to declare the dreadful judgments of God against the covetous shepherds of Israel, who feed themselves, and not their flocks; by which emblem the priests and Levites are intended, who in Ezekiel's time were very corrupt, and the chief cause of Israel's apostasy and ruin, Eze 34:1-10. From this gloomy subject the prophet passes to the blessedness of the true Israel of God under the reign of David, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ being named after this prince by a figure exceedingly frequent in the sacred oracles, of putting the type for the antitype, vv. 11-31.

My sheep wandered through all the mountains - They all became idolaters, and lost the knowledge of the true God. And could it be otherwise while they had such pastors? "Himself a wanderer from the narrow way; His silly sheep, no wonder that they stray!" Reader, if thou be a minister, a preacher, or a person in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, or art one pretending to holy orders, look at the qualifications of a good shepherd as laid down by the prophet. 1. He professes to be a shepherd, and to be qualified for the office. 2. In consequence he undertakes the care of a flock. This supposes that he believes the great Bishop of souls has called him to the pastoral office; and that office implies that he is to give all diligence to save the souls of them that hear him. His Qualifications 1. He is skillful; he knows the disease of sin and its consequences; for the Eternal Spirit, by whom he is called, has convinced him of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. 2. He knows well the great remedy for this disease, the passion and sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ. 3. He is skillful, and knows how to apply this remedy. 4. The flock over which he watches is, in its individuals, either, - 1. Healthy and sound. 2. Or, in a state of convalescence, returning to health. 3. Or, still under the whole power of the general disease. 4. Or, some are dying in a state of spiritual weakness. 5. Or, some are fallen into sin, and sorely bruised and broken in their souls by that fall. 6. Or, some have been driven away by some sore temptation or cruel usage. 7. Or, some have wandered from the flock, are got into strange pastures, and are perverted by erroneous doctrines. Or, 8. Some wolf has got among them, and scattered the whole flock. Now, the true shepherd, the pastor of God's choosing, knows: - 1. How to keep the healthy in health; and cause them to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. 2. How to nourish, feed, and care for the convalescent, that they may be brought into a state of spiritual soundness. 3. How to reprove, instruct, and awaken those who are still under the full power of the disease of sin. 4. How to find out and remove the cause of all that spiritual weakness of which he sees some slowly dying. 5. How to deal with those who have fallen into some scandalous sin, and restore them from their fall. 6. How to find out and turn aside the sore temptation or cruel usage by which some have been driven away. 7. How to seek and bring back to the fold those who have strayed into strange pastures, and have had their souls perverted by erroneous doctrines; and knows also how, by a godly discipline, to preserve him in the flock, and keep the flock honourably together. 8. How to oppose, confound, and expel the grievous wolf, who has got among the flock, and is scattering them from each other, and from God. He knows how to preach, explain, and defend the truth. He is well acquainted with the weapons he is to use, and the spirit in which he is to employ them. In a word, the true shepherd gives up his life to the sheep; spends and is spent for the glory of God; and gives up his life for the sheep, in defense of them, and in laboring for their welfare. And while he is thus employed, it is the duty of the flock to feed and clothe him; and see that neither he nor his family lack the necessaries and conveniencies of life. The laborer is worthy of his meat. He who does not labor, or, because of his ignorance of God and salvation, cannot labor, in the word and doctrine, deserves neither meat nor drink; and if he exact that by law, which he has not honestly earned by a proper discharge of the pastoral function, let him read this chapter, and learn from it what a fearful account he shall have to give to the chief Shepherd at the great day; and what a dreadful punishment shall be inflicted on him, when the blood of the souls lost through his neglect or inefficiency is visited upon him! See the notes on Eze 3:17, etc.

REPROOF OF THE FALSE SHEPHERDS; PROMISE OF THE TRUE AND GOOD SHEPHERD. (Eze. 34:1-31) Jer 23:1 and Zac 11:17 similarly make the removal of the false shepherds the preliminary to the interposition of Messiah the Good Shepherd in behalf of His people Israel. The "shepherds" are not prophets or priests, but rulers who sought in their government their own selfish ends, not the good of the people ruled. The term was appropriate, as David, the first king and the type of the true David (Eze 34:23-24), was taken from being a shepherd (Sa2 5:2; Psa 78:70-71); and the office, like that of a shepherd for his flock, is to guard and provide for his people. The choice of a shepherd for the first king was therefore designed to suggest this thought, just as Jesus' selection of fishermen for apostles was designed to remind them of their spiritual office of catching men (compare Isa 44:28; Jer 2:8; Jer 3:15; Jer 10:21; Jer 23:1-2).

every high hill--the scene of their idolatries sanctioned by the rulers. search . . . seek--rather, "seek . . . search." The former is the part of the superior rulers to inquire after: to search out is the duty of the subordinate rulers [JUNIUS].