XXXIV. The latter part of the Book of Ezekiel, after the fulfilment of the great judgment in the destruction of Jerusalem, is consolatory in its character, and full of rich promises to the afflicted people of God. But as this necessarily involves denunciations of the oppressors and enemies of the pe... [ Continue Reading ]
SHEPHERDS OF ISRAEL. — This is a common Scriptural expression for rulers, and the whole context shows that these are the persons here intended. In the passage in Jeremiah 23 they are treated under this name separately from the prophets and priests, and also in Jeremiah 2:8 they are distinguished fro... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY WERE SCATTERED, BECAUSE.... — The calamities of the people are attributed to the fault of the rulers, not because the people themselves were free from sin — the contrary has already been abundantly asserted in this book — but because the people’s sins were largely due to the evil example, the i... [ Continue Reading ]
MY SHEEP WANDERED. — In the pronouns, _my_ sheep and _my_ flock, God again claims the people for His own. Without proper guides, they have indeed strayed far away from Him, and there has been none to inquire after or seek them out in their lost condition. The two words _search_ and _seek_ refer, the... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, I, EVEN I. — The rich promises of the following verses are all essentially contained in this, that Jehovah Himself will be the Shepherd of His flock. It is the same assurance as that given by the Saviour in John 10, and here, as there, must necessarily be understood spiritually. In the follo... [ Continue Reading ]
BRING THEM TO THEIR OWN LAND. — It is not to be forgotten that this is a part of the same figurative language with “the cloudy and dark day” of the preceding verse, and that they must be explained in the same way. God’s people have wandered in the gloom, and they shall be gathered back to Him again.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FAT AND THE STRONG. — While fatness is in general an emblem of prosperity, it is frequently used in Scripture, as here, for that prosperity which begets hardness of heart and forgetfulness of God. (See Deuteronomy 32:15; Acts 28:27, &c.) WITH JUDGMENT. — This does not mean, as the ambiguous sen... [ Continue Reading ]
BETWEEN CATTLE AND CATTLE. — In other words, _between one and another of the flock._ They are not all alike to be saved and blessed, but only those who turn in penitence and submission to God, their Shepherd. The same contrast is again expressed in Ezekiel 34:20; Ezekiel 34:22. It is not between “th... [ Continue Reading ]
TREAD DOWN... FOUL THE RESIDUE. — The charge against them is that they not only first supplied and took care of themselves, but with careless insolence destroyed what should have been for others.... [ Continue Reading ]
SET UP ONE SHEPHERD. — He is _one_ both with reference to the many evil rulers who have gone before (and this implies the perpetuity of His rule), and also with reference to the two kingdoms of Israel, which are hereafter to be for evermore united in the one Church of God. Obviously this prophecy ca... [ Continue Reading ]
BOUND ABOUT MY HILL. — “My hill” is Zion. (Comp. the similar figurative language in Isaiah 31:4.) The centre of the old theocracy is always spoken of in Scripture as also the centre from which goes forth the new covenant of salvation, and this was historically fulfilled in the coming of Christ and t... [ Continue Reading ]
WILL RAISE UP FOR THEM A PLANT OF RENOWN. — Better, _a plantation for renown._ The same Hebrew word occurs in Ezekiel 17:7; Ezekiel 31:4, and means _plantation._ The thought is that God would provide Israel with such a fair and fruitful land as should make them famous for their blessings. The idea o... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FLOCK OF MY PASTURE. — The chapter closes with the strongest and tenderest assurance that the object of its figurative language is to point out the renewed and close communion which is to come about between God and His people. They are to be His flock, and He is to be their God. Yet still, the v... [ Continue Reading ]