1UND es erging an mich das Wort des Herrn: Jer. 23,1-4. 2Menschensohn, weissage wider die Hirten Israels, weissage und sprich zu ihnen: So spricht Gott der Herr: Wehe den Hirten Israels, die sich selbst geweidet haben! Sollten die Hirten nicht die Schafe weiden? 3Die Milch geniesst ihr, mit der Wolle bekleidet ihr euch, und das Gemästete schlachtet ihr; die Schafe aber weidet ihr nicht. Sach. 11,16. 4Das Schwache habt ihr nicht gestärkt, das Kranke nicht geheilt und das Gebrochene nicht verbunden; ihr habt das Versprengte nicht heimgeholt und das Verirrte nicht gesucht, und das Kräftige habt ihr gewalttätig niedergetreten. 5So zerstreuten sich denn meine Schafe, weil kein Hirte da war, und wurden allem Getier des Feldes zum Frasse. 6Auf allen Bergen und auf jedem hohen Hügel irrten meine Schafe umher, über das ganze Land waren meine Schafe zerstreut; doch es war niemand, der nach ihnen fragte, niemand, der sie suchte. 7Darum, ihr Hirten, höret das Wort des Herrn! 8So wahr ich lebe, spricht Gott der Herr, weil meine Schafe zum Raube und allem Getier des Feldes zum Frasse geworden sind, da sie keinen Hirten hatten, und weil meine Hirten nicht nach meinen Schafen fragten und sie nur sich selbst und nicht meine Schafe weideten, 9darum höret, ihr Hirten, das Wort des Herrn! 10So spricht Gott der Herr: Siehe, ich will an die Hirten, will meine Schafe von ihnen fordern; sie sollen - dafür will ich sorgen - meine Schafe nicht mehr weiden. Die Hirten sollen nicht mehr sich selber weiden; ich will ihnen meine Schafe aus dem Rachen reissen, sie sollen ihnen nicht mehr zum Frasse werden. 11Denn so spricht Gott der Herr: Siehe, ich, ich selbst will nach meinen Schafen fragen, will nach ihnen sehen. Jes. 40,11. 12Wie ein Hirte nach seiner Herde sieht am Tage des Unwetters, wenn seine Schafe versprengt sind, so werde ich nach meinen Schafen sehen und sie erretten von allen Orten, wohin sie zerstreut worden sind am Tage des Gewölks und des Dunkels. 13Und ich werde sie aus den Völkern herausführen und sie aus den Ländern sammeln; ich werde sie in ihre Heimat führen und werde sie weiden auf den Bergen Israels, in den Talschluchten und an allen Wohnstätten des Landes. 14Auf guter Weide werde ich sie weiden, und auf den hohen Bergen Israels wird ihre Trift sein; dort sollen sie lagern auf schöner Trift und fette Weide haben auf den Bergen Israels. 15Ich selber werde meine Schafe weiden, werde selber sie lagern lassen, spricht Gott der Herr. 16Das Verirrte werde ich suchen, das Versprengte zurückholen und das Gebrochene verbinden, das Schwache werde ich stärken und das Fette und Kräftige behüten; ich werde sie weiden, wie es recht ist. 17Und ihr, meine Schafe, so spricht Gott der Herr: Siehe, nun werde ich Recht schaffen einem Schafe gegen das andre, gegen Widder und Böcke. 18War's euch nicht genug, dass ihr die beste Weide abweiden konntet? musstet ihr auch noch das übrige Weideland mit euren Füssen zertreten? nicht genug, dass ihr das klare Wasser trinken konntet? musstet ihr auch noch in dem, was übrigblieb, mit den Füssen herumstampfen? 19sodass meine Schafe abweiden mussten, was eure Füsse zertreten, und trinken mussten, was eure Füsse zerstampft hatten. 20Darum spricht Gott der Herr also: Siehe, ich selbst will Recht sprechen zwischen den fetten und den magern Schafen: 21weil ihr die schwachen alle mit Seite und Schulter gedrängt und mit euren Hörnern gestossen habt, bis ihr sie hinausgetrieben hattet, 22will ich nun meinen Schafen zu Hilfe kommen; sie sollen nicht mehr zum Raube werden, und ich werde Recht schaffen einem Schafe gegen das andre. 23Ich werde über sie einen einzigen Hirten bestellen, der sie weiden soll, meinen Knecht David; der wird sie weiden, und der wird ihr Hirte sein. Hes. 37,24; Jer. 23,5. 24Und ich, der Herr, werde ihr Gott sein, und mein Knecht David wird Fürst sein in ihrer Mitte. Ich, der Herr, habe es geredet. 25Ich werde einen Friedensbund mit ihnen schliessen und alle wilden Tiere aus dem Lande vertreiben, dass sie in der Steppe sicher weilen und in den Wäldern schlafen können. Hes. 37,26; 3.Mo. 26,6; Hos. 2,18. 26Ich werde ihnen Sprühregen geben zur rechten Zeit, werde den (Herbst- und Frühjahrs-)Regen zu seiner Zeit herniedersenden; Wasser des Segens werden es sein. 3.Mo. 26,4. 27Dann werden die Bäume des Feldes ihre Früchte tragen, und das Land wird seinen Ertrag geben. Sie werden sicher sein auf ihrem Boden und werden erkennen, dass ich der Herr bin, wenn ich die Hölzer ihres Joches zerbreche und sie errette aus der Hand derer, die sie knechten. Ps. 85,13. 28Sie werden nicht mehr eine Beute der Heiden werden, und das Getier des Landes wird sie nicht mehr fressen, sondern sie werden sicher wohnen, ohne dass jemand sie aufschreckt. Jer. 30,10; 46,27. 29Ich werde ihnen einen Garten des Heils einrichten, und sie werden nicht mehr vom Hunger dahingerafft werden im Lande und die Schmähung der Heiden nicht mehr zu tragen haben. Hes. 36,30. 30Dann werden sie erkennen, dass ich, der Herr, ihr Gott bin und dass sie, das Haus Israel, mein Volk sind, spricht Gott der Herr. 31Meine Schafe, die Schafe meiner Weide seid ihr, und ich, der Herr, bin euer Gott, spricht Gott der Herr.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 2 REPROOF OF THE FALSE SHEPHERDS; PROMISE OF THE TRUE AND GOOD SHEPHERD. (Eze. 34:1-31)
Jer 23:1 and
Zech 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 (
Ezek 34:23-
Ezek 34:24), was taken from being a shepherd (
2Sam 5:2;
Ps 78:70-
Ps 78:71); 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-
Jer 23:2).
3 fat--or, by differently pointing the Hebrew, "milk" [Septuagint]. Thus the repetition "fat" and "fed" is avoided: also the eating of "fat" would not probably be put before the "killing" of the sheep. The eating of sheep's or goats' milk as food (
Deut 32:14;
Pro 27:27) was unobjectionable, had not these shepherds milked them too often, and that without duly "feeding" them [BOCHART], (
Isa 56:11). The rulers levied exorbitant tributes.
kill . . . fed--kill the rich by false accusation so as to get possession of their property.
feed not . . . flock--take no care of the people (
John 10:12).
4 The diseased--rather, those weak from the effects of "disease," as "strengthened" (that is, with due nourishment) requires [GROTIUS].
broken--that is, fractures from wounds inflicted by the wolf.
brought again . . . driven away-- (
Exod 23:4). Those "driven away" by the enemy into foreign lands through God's judgments are meant (
Jer 23:3). A spiritual reformation of the state by the rulers would have turned away God's wrath, and "brought again" the exiles. The rulers are censured as chiefly guilty (though the people, too, were guilty), because they, who ought to have been foremost in checking the evil, promoted it.
neither . . . sought . . . lost--Contrast the Good Shepherd's love (
Luke 15:4).
with force . . . ruled-- (
Exod 1:13-
Exod 1:14). With an Egyptian bondage. The very thing forbidden by the law they did (
Lev 25:43; compare
1Pet 5:3).
5 scattered, because . . . no shepherd--that is, none worthy of the name, though there were some called shepherds (
1Kgs 22:17;
Matt 9:36). Compare
Matt 26:31, where the sheep were scattered when the true Shepherd was smitten. God calls them "My sheep"; for they were not, as the shepherds treated them, their patrimony whereby to "feed themselves."
meat to all . . . beasts--They became a prey to the Syrians, Ammon, Moab, and Assyria.
6 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].
10 I will require my flock-- (
Heb 13:17), rather, "I require," &c., for God already had begun to do so, punishing Zedekiah and the other princes severely (
Jer 52:10).
11 I . . . will . . . search--doing that which the so-called shepherds had failed to do, I being the rightful owner of the flock.
12 in the day that he is among--in the midst of (Hebrew) His sheep that had been scattered. Referring to Messiah's second advent, when He shall be "the glory in the midst of Israel" (
Zech 2:5).
in the cloudy . . . day--the day of the nation's calamity (
Joel 2:2).
13 And I will bring them out from the people, &c.-- (
Ezek 28:25;
Ezek 36:24;
Ezek 37:21-
Ezek 37:22;
Isa 65:9-
Isa 65:10;
Jer 23:3).
14 good pasture-- (
Ps 23:2).
high mountains of Israel--In
Ezek 17:23;
Ezek 20:40, the phrase is "the mountain of the height of Israel" in the singular number. The reason for the difference is: there Ezekiel spoke of the central seat of the kingdom, Mount Zion, where the people met for the worship of Jehovah; here he speaks of the kingdom of Israel at large, all the parts of which are regarded as possessing a moral elevation.
16 In contrast to the unfaithful shepherds (
Ezek 34:4). The several duties neglected by them I will faithfully discharge.
fat . . . strong--that is, those rendered wanton by prosperity (
Deut 32:15;
Jer 5:28), who use their strength to oppress the weak. Compare
Ezek 34:20, "the fat cattle" (
Isa 10:16). The image is from fat cattle that wax refractory.
with judgment--that is, justice and equity, as contrasted with the "force" and "cruelty" with which the unfaithful shepherds ruled the flock (
Ezek 34:4).
17 you, . . . my flock--passing from the rulers to the people.
cattle and cattle--rather, "sheep and sheep"; Margin, "small cattle," or "flocks of lambs and kids," that is, I judge between one class of citizens and another, so as to award what is right to each. He then defines the class about to be punitively "judged," namely, "the rams and he-goats," or "great he-goats" (compare
Isa 14:9, Margin;
Zech 10:3;
Matt 25:32-
Matt 25:33). They answer to "the fat and strong," as opposed to the "sick" (
Ezek 34:16). The rich and ungodly of the people are meant, who imitated the bad rulers in oppressing their poorer brethren, as if it enhanced their own joys to trample on others' rights (
Ezek 34:18).
18 Not content with appropriating to their own use the goods of others, they from mere wantonness spoiled what they did not use, so as to be of no use to the owners.
deep waters--that is, "limpid," as deep waters are generally clear. GROTIUS explains the image as referring to the usuries with which the rich ground the poor (
Ezek 22:12;
Isa 24:2).
19 they eat--scantily.
they drink--sorrowfully.
20 fat . . . lean--the rich oppressors . . . the humble poor.
21 scattered them abroad--down to the time of the carrying away to Babylon [GROTIUS].
22 After the restoration from Babylon, the Jews were delivered in some degree from the oppression, not only of foreigners, but also of their own great people (Neh. 5:1-19). The full and final fulfilment of this prophecy is future.
23 set up--that is, raise up by divine appointment; alluding to the declaration of God to David, "I will set up thy seed after thee" (
2Sam 7:12); and, "Yet have I set My king on My holy hill of Zion" (
Ps 2:6; compare
Acts 2:30;
Acts 13:23).
one shepherd--literally, "a Shepherd, one": singularly and pre-eminently one: the only one of His kind, to whom none is comparable (
Song 5:10). The Lord Jesus refers to this prophecy (
John 10:14), "I am THE Good Shepherd." Also "one" as uniting in one the heretofore divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and also "gathering together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and on earth" (
Eph 1:10); thus healing worse breaches than that between Israel and Judah (
Col 1:20). "God by Him reconciling all things unto Himself, whether things in earth or in heaven."
David--the antitypical David, Messiah, of the seed of David, which no other king after the captivity was: who was fully, what David was only in a degree, "the man after God's own heart." Also, David means beloved: Messiah was truly God's beloved Son (
Isa 42:1;
Matt 3:17). Shepherd means King, rather than religious instructor; in this pre-eminently He was the true David, who was the Shepherd King (
Luke 1:32-
Luke 1:33). Messiah is called "David" in
Isa 55:3-
Isa 55:4;
Jer 30:9;
Hos 3:5.
24 my servant--implying fitness for ruling in the name of God, not pursuing a self-chosen course, as other kings, but acting as the faithful administrator of the will of God; Messiah realized fully this character (
Ps 40:7-
Ps 40:8;
Isa 42:1;
Isa 49:3,
Isa 49:6;
Isa 53:11;
Phil 2:7), which David typically and partially represented (
Acts 13:36); so He is the fittest person to wield the world scepter, abused by all the world kings (
Dan 2:34-
Dan 2:35,
Dan 2:44-
Dan 2:45).
25 covenant of peace . . . evil beasts . . . to cease . . . dwell safely--The original promise of the law (
Lev 26:6) shall be realized for the first time fully under Messiah (
Isa 11:6-
Isa 11:9;
Isa 35:9;
Hos 2:18).
26 them and the places round about my hill--The Jews, and Zion, God's hill (
Ps 2:6), are to be sources of blessing, not merely to themselves, but to the surrounding heathen (
Isa 19:24;
Isa 56:6-
Isa 56:7;
Isa 60:3;
Mic 5:7;
Zech 8:13). The literal fulfilment is, however, the primary one, though the spiritual also is designed. In correspondence with the settled reign of righteousness internally, all is to be prosperity externally, fertilizing showers (according to the promise of the ancient covenant,
Lev 26:4;
Ps 68:9;
Mal 3:10), and productive trees and lands (
Ezek 34:27). Thus shall they realize the image of
Ezek 34:14; namely, a flock richly pastured by God Himself.
27 served themselves of them--availed themselves of their services, as if the Jews were their slaves (
Jer 22:13;
Jer 25:14; compare
Gen 15:13;
Exod 1:14).
28 dwell safely-- (
Jer 23:6).
29 plant of renown--Messiah, the "Rod" and "Branch" (
Isa 11:1), the "righteous Branch" (
Jer 23:5), who shall obtain for them "renown." FAIRBAIRN less probably translates, "A plantation for a name," that is, a flourishing condition, represented as a garden (alluding to Eden,
Gen 2:8-
Gen 2:11, with its various trees, good for food and pleasant to the sight), the planting of the Lord (
Isa 60:21;
Isa 61:3), and an object of "renown" among the heathen.
31 ye my flock . . . are men--not merely an explanation of the image, as JEROME represents. But as God had promised many things which mere "men" could not expect to realize, He shows that it is not from man's might their realization is to be looked for, but from GOD, who would perform them for His covenant-people, "His flock" [ROSENMULLER]. When we realize most our weakness and God's power and faithfulness to His covenant, we are in the fittest state for receiving His blessings.
Another feature of Israel's prosperity; those who exulted over Israel's humiliation, shall themselves be a "prey." Already stated in
Ezek 25:12-
Ezek 25:14; properly repeated here in full detail, as a commentary on
Ezek 34:28. The Israelites "shall be no more a prey"; but Edom, the type of their most bitter foes, shall be destroyed irrecoverably.
