{"id":21341,"date":"2022-09-24T08:57:41","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T13:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-ezekiel-3417\/"},"modified":"2022-09-24T08:57:41","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T13:57:41","slug":"exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-ezekiel-3417","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-ezekiel-3417\/","title":{"rendered":"Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 34:17"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 align='center'><b><i> And [as for] you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. <\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n<p> <strong> 17<\/strong>. Not only shall the cruel shepherds be removed and the flock delivered out of their hands and fed by the Lord himself, the injuries inflicted by members of the flock on each other shall no more prevail. The strong shall no more push the weak or drive them from the good pasture.<\/p>\n<p><em> between cattle and cattle<\/em> ] between <strong> sheep and sheep<\/strong>, even <strong> the rams and the he-goats.<\/strong> The &ldquo;rams&rdquo; and &ldquo;he-goats&rdquo; explain the second word &ldquo;sheep.&rdquo; Jehovah will judge between one class (the poor and weak) and another (the rams). Cf. <span class='bible'>Eze 22:27<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Eze 22:29<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Amo 2:7<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Amo 3:9<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Amo 4:1<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><span class='bible'>Eze 34:17-22<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>I judge between cattle and cattle.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Selfish scramble and Christian service<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It presents to us the scene, far too often enacted in human life, of a selfish scramble&#8211;a scramble for position, for money, for power, for enjoyment. We find this in business, in professions as well as in trade and commerce, in art, in politics, in pleasure, and, it must be admitted, sometimes in the sacred sphere of religion. Of this selfish scramble we may remark&#8211;<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>I. <\/strong>Its essential sinfulness.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <\/strong>Self-elevation is right and good. To make the most of our powers and opportunities; to rise by honest, patient industry, and to walk along the high level of honourable usefulness&#8211;this is admirable.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <\/strong>Emulation is allowable and helpful. The boy who has no ambition to reach the top of his class, the manufacturer or tradesman who does not care to make or to sell the best possible goods, is not likely to accomplish much. But a selfish scramble, in which we only care to secure our own comfort or enlargement, and do not care at all who is stranded or last, in which we present such a picture in life as that given in the text of cattle in the field, is ugly and evil. And if it seems thus to us, how much more guilty must it appear to Him who is Love itself, who lives to love and bless&#8211;how hateful and offensive must it be in His pure sight!<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>II. <\/strong>Its indurating influence. The struggling cattle in the field are no worse for their heedlessness, or even for their violence. They suffer no spiritual harm; they do not rise and fall, in a moral sense. But we do. He who is living the life of selfish scramble is losing all the finer and nobler elements of his nature, is sinking to that base condition in which his own wants and tastes are everything to him and all else is nothing.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>III. <\/strong>The contrast of Christian service. We look at the life of our Lord, and we find Him positively declining to use His power to turn the stone into bread, though He must have sorely needed food (<span class='bible'>Mat 4:4<\/span>); refusing to accept the opportunity of self-aggrandisement at the expense of the sacrificial mission on which He came (<span class='bible'>Mat 4:9<\/span>); compelling all things to give place in order that He might give food to the hungry, and healing to the sick, and hope to the abandoned, and rest to the weary. Let us use those powers which we have from God, that we may follow where Christ is leading. (<em>W. Clarkson, B. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Divine discrimination<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>I.<\/strong><strong><em> <\/em><\/strong>The objects of the Divine discrimination.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <\/strong>He will judge between the Church of God and its enemies, the genuine professors of religion and its opposers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <\/strong>He will distinguish between the hypocrite anti the sincere believer. Counterfeit graces will bear no comparison with sterling piety, when exhibited in the light of heaven, though for the present they may obtain a surreptitious currency.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. <\/strong>A distinction will likewise be made between saints and saints; for the Lord shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people. According to the talents they possess, the improvement they make of them, and their process in the Divine life; according to the strength or weakness of their graces, the honour or disgrace which their conduct reflects upon religion,&#8211;such will be their sentence from the supreme Judge, who will reward every man according to his works.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>II. <\/strong>The manner in which these various characters shall be distinguished.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <\/strong>Judgment sometimes signifies the same as discernment. In this sense God judgeth all men; He knoweth their inward principles, as well as their outward conduct and behaviour. He is not influenced by prejudice, or liable to mistake.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <\/strong>It implies correction, or judging in a way of punishment. God is a light to Israel, but a consuming fire to their enemies. Or if He sees fit to correct the former, it shall be in measure; He will not punish them with severity, though He does not leave them altogether without chastisement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. <\/strong>Though the Lord often makes a wide distinction between the righteous and the wicked in the present life, yet He will do it more effectually and more awfully in the last great day. (<em>B. Beddome, M. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><P> Verse <span class='bible'>17<\/span>. <I><B>And<\/B><\/I><B> as for <\/B><I><B>you, O my flock<\/B><\/I>] After having spoken to the <I>shepherds<\/I>, he now addresses the <I>flock<\/I>.<\/P> <P> <\/P> <P> <I><B>I judge between cattle and cattle<\/B><\/I>] Between <I>false<\/I> and <I>true<\/I> professors; between them that have only the <I>form<\/I> and them that have the <I>power<\/I> of godliness; between the <I>backslider in heart<\/I> and the <I>upright man<\/I>.<\/P> <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Adam Clarke&#8217;s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><P> <B>I judge between cattle and cattle; <\/B>make a different estimate and judgment between men and men, between the smaller and weaker that need more tenderness, and the greater and stronger whose violence is to be restrained; and as becomes me, and their different state requires, I will do. <\/P> <P><B>Rams; <\/B>the hieroglyphic of rulers in their authority, humours, and carriage towards their subjects, who are also observed and shall be dealt with accordingly, when God makes good all this his word. <\/P> <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><P><B>17. you, . . . my flock<\/B>passingfrom the rulers to the people. <\/P><P>       <B>cattle and cattle<\/B>rather,&#8221;sheep and sheep&#8221;; <I>Margin,<\/I> &#8220;small cattle,&#8221;or &#8220;flocks of lambs and kids,&#8221; that is, I judge between oneclass of citizens and another, so as to award what is right to each.He then defines the class about to be punitively &#8220;judged,&#8221;namely, &#8220;the rams and he-goats,&#8221; or &#8220;great he-goats&#8221;(compare <span class='bible'>Isa 14:9<\/span>, <I>Margin;<\/I><span class='bible'>Zec 10:3<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Mat 25:32<\/span>;<span class='bible'>Mat 25:33<\/span>). They answer to &#8220;thefat and strong,&#8221; as opposed to the &#8220;sick&#8221; (<span class='bible'>Eze34:16<\/span>). The rich and ungodly of the people are meant, whoimitated the bad rulers in oppressing their poorer brethren, as if itenhanced their own joys to trample on others&#8217; rights (<span class='bible'>Eze34:18<\/span>).<\/P><\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown&#8217;s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><strong>And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God<\/strong>,&#8230;. Having done with the shepherds, and the complaint against them, the Lord proceeds to take notice of the flock, or the people themselves, and the evils that were among them; for in the Lord&#8217;s own flock, in the nation and church of Israel, as now in the visible congregated churches of Christ, there were two sorts of persons, some good, others bad; some that behaved well, and others ill; some were sheep, and others goats:<\/p>\n<p><strong>behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats<\/strong>: between the smaller and weaker cattle, the sheep and the lambs; and the larger and stronger cattle, the rams and he goats; by which latter may he meant persons of superior power and authority, of greater wealth and riches, and of more wisdom and knowledge, at least in their own conceits; and who were oppressive and injurious to the poor and common people, and less knowing, at least as they thought; who may be intended by the former: now, the Lord, as he observed a difference between them, he would make this manifest, and take the part of the one against the other; even the part of the weaker against the stronger. The Targum is,<\/p>\n<p> &#8220;behold, judge between man and man, sinners and the ungodly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: John Gill&#8217;s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><TABLE BORDER=\"0\" CELLPADDING=\"1\" CELLSPACING=\"0\"> <TR> <TD> <P ALIGN=\"LEFT\" STYLE=\"background: transparent;border: none;padding: 0in;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: none\"> <span style='font-size:1.25em;line-height:1em'><I><SPAN STYLE=\"background: transparent\"><SPAN STYLE=\"text-decoration: none\">God&#8217;s Care of His Flock; Prediction of Messiah&#8217;s Kingdom.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> <TD> <P ALIGN=\"RIGHT\" STYLE=\"background: transparent;border: none;padding: 0in\"> <SPAN STYLE=\"text-decoration: none\"><FONT SIZE=\"1\" STYLE=\"font-size: 8pt\"><SPAN STYLE=\"font-style: normal\"><SPAN STYLE=\"font-weight: normal\"><SPAN STYLE=\"background: transparent\"><SPAN STYLE=\"text-decoration: none\">B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><SPAN STYLE=\"text-decoration: none\"><SPAN STYLE=\"font-style: normal\"><SPAN STYLE=\"font-weight: normal\"><SPAN STYLE=\"background: transparent\"><SPAN STYLE=\"text-decoration: none\"> 587.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR>  <\/TABLE> <P>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 17 And <I>as for<\/I> you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord G<B>OD<\/B>; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. &nbsp; 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? &nbsp; 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. &nbsp; 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord G<B>OD<\/B> unto them; Behold, I, <I>even<\/I> I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. &nbsp; 21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; &nbsp; 22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. &nbsp; 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. &nbsp; 24 And I the <B>LORD<\/B> will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the <B>LORD<\/B> have spoken <I>it.<\/I> &nbsp; 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. &nbsp; 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. &nbsp; 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 <B>LORD<\/B>, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. &nbsp; 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. &nbsp; 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. &nbsp; 30 Thus shall they know that I the <B>LORD<\/B> 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 G<B>OD<\/B>. &nbsp; 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 G<B>OD<\/B>.<\/P> <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 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><span class='bible'><I> John ix. 39<\/I><\/span>, to <I>fill the hungry with good things and to send the rich empty away,<\/I><span class='bible'><I> Luke i. 53<\/I><\/span>), 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> (<span class='bible'>Mat 25:32<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Mat 25:33<\/span>), which seems to have reference to this. We have here,<\/P> <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; I. Conviction spoken to those of the flock that were fat and strong, the <I>rams and the he-goats<\/I> (<span class='bible'><I>v.<\/I><\/span><span class='bible'> 17<\/span>), 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, <span class='bible'>2 Sam. xii. 4<\/span>. Do not the rich oppress the poor merely with the help of their riches, and <I>draw them before the judgment-seats?<\/I><span class='bible'><I> Jam. ii. 6<\/I><\/span>. 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, <span class='bible'>Eze 34:18<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Eze 34:19<\/span>. 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 (<span class='bible'><I>v.<\/I><\/span><span class='bible'> 21<\/span>): 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, <span class='bible'><I>v.<\/I><\/span><span class='bible'> 23<\/span>. They devoured widows&#8217; 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><span class='bible'><I> Zech. xi. 11<\/I><\/span>. 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, <span class='bible'>Acts xx. 30<\/span>.<\/P> <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; II. Comfort spoken to those of the flock that are poor and feeble, and that wait for the consolation of Israel (<span class='bible'><I>v.<\/I><\/span><span class='bible'> 22<\/span>): &#8220;<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.&#8221; 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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1. Concerning the Messiah himself. (1.) He shall have his commission from God himself: I will <I>set him up<\/I> (<span class='bible'><I>v.<\/I><\/span><span class='bible'> 23<\/span>); <I>I will raise him up,<\/I><span class='_0000ff'><I><U><span class='bible'> v.<\/span><span class='bible'> 29<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. 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&#8217;s servant,<\/I> employed by him and for him, and doing all in obedience to his will, with an eye to his glory&#8211;his servant, to re-establish his kingdom among men and advance the interests of that kingdom. (4.) He is David, one after God&#8217;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> (<span class='bible'>Jer. xxiii. 5<\/span>), a branch of the Lord, that is <I>beautiful<\/I> and <I>glorious,<\/I><span class='bible'><I> Isa. iv. 2<\/I><\/span>. 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><span class='bible'><I> Isa. lxi. 3<\/I><\/span>. <I>Its name shall be remembered<\/I> (<span class='bible'>Ps. xlv. 17<\/span>) and Christ&#8217;s in it.<\/P> <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 2. Concerning the great charter by which the kingdom of the Messiah should be incorporated, and upon which it should be founded (<span class='bible'><I>v.<\/I><\/span><span class='bible'> 25<\/span>): <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: &#8220;<I>I the Lord will be their God,<\/I> a God all-sufficient to them (<span class='bible'><I>v.<\/I><\/span><span class='bible'> 24<\/span>), 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.&#8221; 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: &#8220;<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.&#8221;<\/P> <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 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, <span class='bible'><I>v.<\/I><\/span><span class='bible'> 31<\/span>. 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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (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> (<span class='bible'><I>v.<\/I><\/span><span class='bible'> 25<\/span>), 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 (<span class='bible'><I>v.<\/I><\/span><span class='bible'> 27<\/span>): <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: &#8220;<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.&#8221; This is explained, and applied to our gospel-state, <span class='bible'>Luke i. 74<\/span>. <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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (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><span class='_0000ff'><I><U><span class='bible'> v.<\/span><span class='bible'> 29<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. 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><span class='_0000ff'><I><U><span class='bible'> v.<\/span><span class='bible'> 26<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. 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, <span class='bible'>Eze 34:26<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Eze 34:27<\/span>. 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&#8217;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&#8217;s favour and God&#8217;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, <span class='bible'>Isa. xix. 24<\/span>. 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> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 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><span class='bible'><I> Isa. lxv. 8<\/I><\/span>. 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><\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Matthew Henry&#8217;s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>(17) <strong>Between cattle and cattle.<\/strong>In other words, <em>between one and another of the flock.<\/em> 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 <span class='bible'>Eze. 34:20<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Eze. 34:22<\/span>. It is not between the cattle on the one side, and the rams and the he-goats on the other, but between the cattle themselves, and also between the rams and he-goats themselves; all the evil, of whatever class, are to be rejected. <span class='bible'>Eze. 34:18-19<\/span> are addressed to those who will be rejected.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Ellicott&#8217;s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> <strong> 17-22<\/strong>. <strong> <\/strong> The divine Shepherd will not permit the strong, proud <strong> rams <\/strong> and the fat <strong> he goats <\/strong> (the priests, the prophets, and the rulers) to drive away or take advantage of their weaker companions. They, too, are members of the flock, but they must be disciplined or restrained so that they shall not feed upon the pasture to the disadvantage of the weak. <strong> Deep waters <\/strong> (<span class='bible'>Eze 34:18<\/span>) R.V., &ldquo;clear waters.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Whedon&#8217;s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> &ldquo;But as for you, O my flock, thus says the Lord Yahweh, Behold I will judge between cattle and cattle, as well the rams as the he-goats. Does it seem a small thing to you to have fed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture. And to have drunk of the clear waters, but you must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my sheep, they eat what you have trodden with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> The wider under-leadership are likened to the rams and the he-goats, lords of the flock. They fed themselves on good pasture and clear water and then trampled the pasture down and muddied the water. They did not care what happened to the remainder of the flock. So God&rsquo;s people continually received tainted teaching and the harder side of life, while the rich prospered.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> Here we have, in the midst of many gracious promises, the Lord&#8217;s address to the flock itself. As in the circumstances of life, in a wilderness state, even the flock of Jesus, like the flock of the field, will have their contentions with each other, the Lord noticeth this, and declares he will judge between them. Reader! what a sad thing it is that quarrels should arise among the people of the Lord. But so it is, and so it will be, from the infirmities of fallen nature. In the world, the peaceable, and harmless, will he too often injured by the great and the mighty. Jesus knows all this; and Jesus saith he wilt take part with the oppressed.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Hawker&#8217;s Poor Man&#8217;s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> Eze 34:17 And [as for] you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.<\/p>\n<p> Ver. 17. <strong> And as for you, O my flock.<\/strong> ] I have a saying to you also, such as are unruly especially, as well as to your shepherds. <\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/p>\n<p> Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle.<\/strong> ] Between sincere Christians and hypocrites, sheep and goats; and can soon shed them, and show them to the world, who are fierce rams, and who are nasty goats. At last day, howsoever, all shall out, and a separation shall be made. The precious shall be taken out from the vile.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: John Trapp&#8217;s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 34:17-19<\/p>\n<p> 17As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord GOD, &#8216;Behold, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. 18Is it too slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet? 19As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you foul with your feet!&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Eze 34:17 As for you, My flock Ezekiel is making a comparison between the future condition of<\/p>\n<p>1. the current leadership<\/p>\n<p>2. the people<\/p>\n<p> I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats This refers to a judgment between the strong and the weak, between the greedy shepherds and the true shepherds (cf. Eze 34:22).<\/p>\n<p>Eze 34:18 Is it too slight a thing for you This is an idiom of inappropriate actions (cf. Eze 16:20; Num 16:9; Num 16:13; Jos 22:17; 2Sa 7:19; Isa 7:13).<\/p>\n<p> Sheep do not like to feed in trampled pastures nor drink from muddied waters (cf. Psalms 23). The wealthy not only exploited the weak, poor, and socially ostracized, they made it such that they could not prosper and become free of their situation. This violates many passages in Leviticus and Deuteronomy about how the covenant people should treat each other.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>cattle and cattle: i.e. between the sheep and the goats: rams being the sheep, while the he-goats are set in contrast. <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>Showers of Blessing <\/p>\n<p>Eze 34:17-31<\/p>\n<p>Though God now often seems to make no difference between the oppressors and the oppressed, the time is fast coming when He will make momentous and lasting distinctions, Mat 25:32-33. No wrong shall then be unredressed. Note the designation of our Lord as the One Shepherd, peerless and matchless in dignity and authority. Once He died to save His flock from the wolf, but He is destined to reign forever as their Great Shepherd in the midst of them, Eze 34:24. They shall be everlastingly exempted from hunger, harm, and reproach. Jesus has been raised up from the dead to be our plant of renown. Planted in the grave of death, He has become with His faithful people a Vine, whose shadow covers the hills, and enriches the hearts and lives of men with luscious fruit. And because He lives, we shall live also. His resurrection implies and guarantees our own.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: F.B. Meyer&#8217;s Through the Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>I judge: Eze 34:20-22, Eze 20:37, Eze 20:38, Zec 10:3, Mat 25:32, Mat 25:33 <\/p>\n<p>cattle and cattle: Heb. small cattle of lambs and kids <\/p>\n<p>he goats: Heb. great he goats <\/p>\n<p>Reciprocal: Jer 25:34 &#8211; ye principal Eze 24:5 &#8211; the choice Eze 34:22 &#8211; and I Eze 39:18 &#8211; goats Amo 9:10 &#8211; the sinners Heb 10:30 &#8211; The Lord shall<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>Eze 34:17. The rulers and other outstanding men were not the only members who took advantage of the weaker ones. Among the &#8220;common people or unofficial members of the flock there were some who were selfish and defrauded the others hence the Lord declares He will make a distinction between different members of the flock. The cattle refers to the weaker members of the flock and the he goats the stronger.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>Eze 34:17; Eze 34:19. As for you, O my flock  The prophet, having finished what he had to say to the shepherds, now delivers Gods message to the flock. God had before ordered him to speak tenderly to them, and to assure them of the mercy which he had in store for them. But now 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 would be effectually made; partly at his first coming, when for judgment he should come into this world, Joh 9:39; but completely at his second coming, when he shall, as it is here said, judge between cattle as a shepherd divides between the sheep and the goats, and shall set the sheep on his right hand and the goals on his left, Mat 25:32-33. Between the rams and the he-goats  The Hebrew, it seems, may be better rendered, Between the small cattle, and the cattle of rams and of he-goats, between the weak and the strong cattle; that is, between the rich and the poor, as the Chaldee Paraphrase explains the sense upon Eze 34:20. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture? &amp;c.  This reproof may be fitly applied to those of the rich and great, who take no care that the poor may enjoy the benefit of their superfluities, but will rather let them be thrown away and lost, than they will take the trouble of seeing them disposed of for the relief of those that stand in need. As for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden, &amp;c.  They are compelled to live upon the relics of what you have spoiled and destroyed.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>Eze 34:17-22. But among the flock there were differences too, the strong (i.e. the rich) treating the weak with selfishness and brutality. This too will end.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Peake&#8217;s Commentary on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>The Lord announced too that He would distinguish among the members of His flock, judging them individually (cf. Mat 25:31-46). Here the Lord viewed the exilic leaders as sheep among His sheep rather than as shepherds. They were, after all, also His sheep. Some of these leaders had not only eaten good pasture and drunk clear water but had made it impossible for the other sheep to eat good food and drink good water. The ordinary sheep had to get by with trampled grass and muddy water.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>And [as for] you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. 17. Not only shall the cruel shepherds be removed and the flock delivered out of their hands and fed by the Lord himself, the injuries inflicted by members of &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-ezekiel-3417\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 34:17&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21341\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}