Ezekiel 34:17-22 And as for you, O my flock, thus said the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.… It was not only the shepherds, but some of the sheep, of" the rams and the he-goats," that were injuring and robbing the sheep. It was not only the kings and the princes, but the strong and wealthy among the people of Israel, that were disturbing and distressing the land. It is not only those "who have the rule over" the Churches of Christ, but some of the fellow-members, who have to be corrected, and whose conduct needs to be transformed. Ezekiel's vision was that of a flock of sheep seeking nourishment "in the green pastures and by the still waters" of Israel; but instead of each one taking its turn and making room for its fellow, he saw the strong ones eating and drinking themselves, and befouling the grass and the water for those who came after, or else pushing violently at the weaker ones and driving them away, "scattering them abroad" to pine and to perish, for anything they cared. A painful picture of a selfish society, each man struggling for himself, and "the weaker going to the wall." How utterly unlike should this scene be to any community that claims to be Christian! And yet shall we venture to say that them are no societies that bear that name, and that write themselves among the number of the good, to whose condition this prophet's picture bears a sad resemblance? Do we not see in countries and communities where nothing like this should be seen, a selfish scramble, a disregard for the claims and the necessities of others, a cruel indifference to the wants of the weaker, a willingness and an eagerness, and indeed a determined struggle, to be well pastured and well watered, however many there may be that are perishing for lack of food and shelter? We may well dwell upon - I. ITS UNLOVELINESS. Even to the eye of the loving and tender-hearted man such unrelieved selfishness is offensive; it is unsightly and repellent in a high degree. How utterly unbeautiful must it, then, seem in the sight of him who is Love itself! Surely it is one of those things which he is" of purer eyes than to behold," which he "cannot look upon" save with profound aversion. II. ITS HEARTLESSNESS AND DEMORALIZING EFFECT UPON THE AGENTS OF IT. It argues a pitiful inconsiderateness of other people's need, a guilty indifference to the wants and sufferings of other souls. And such cruel carelessness as this is not only a great and sad evil in itself, a sin and a wrong in itself; it is a hardening, mischief-working course. It indurates the soul, and leads down to such an immoral condition that at last a man's own personal comfort and enlargement are everything to him, and the wants and woes of his brethren and sisters nothing. III. ITS UTTER UN-CHRISTLIKENESS. Can anything be more painfully and completely unlike the spirit and the conduct of Jesus Christ than a selfish struggle for the first place, let who will go hungry and thirsty and be driven away? Anything more diametrically opposed to the spirit and contrary to the will of that "Son of man who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many," it would be difficult to discover. IV. ITS CONDEMNATION AND ITS DOOM. "I will judge between the fat cattle and the lean" (ver. 20). The day will come when we shall give account of the use we have made of our power. And if then it be found that we have used our horns (ver. 21) to thrust aside our brother from the good he was seeking, in order that we might enjoy it; that we have not used our power to help the needy, to strengthen the weak, to give drink unto the thirsty, to raise them that are bowed down, we may expect the language of condemnation from the Judge of quick and dead (see Matthew 25:41-46). - C. Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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