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Commentary on Jeremiah 23 verses 1–8
I. Here is a word of terror to the negligent shepherds. The day is at hand when God will reckon with them concerning the trust and charge committed to them: Woe be to the pastors (to the rulers, both in church and state) who should be to those they are set over as pastors to lead them, feed them, protect them, and take care of them. They are not owners of the sheep. God here calls them the sheep of my pasture, whom I am interested in, and have provided good pasture for. Woe be to those therefore who are commanded to feed God's people, and pretend to do it, but who, instead of that, scatter the flock, and drive them away by their violence and oppression, and have not visited them, nor taken any care for their welfare, nor concerned themselves at all to do them good. In not visiting them, and doing their duty to them, they did in effect scatter them and drive them away. The beasts of prey scattered them, and the shepherds are in the fault, who should have kept them together. Woe be to them when God will visit upon them the evil of their doings and deal with them as they deserve. They would not visit the flock in a way of duty, and therefore God will visit them in a way of vengeance.
II. Here is a word of comfort to the neglected sheep. Though the under-shepherds take no care of them, no pains with them, but betray them, the chief Shepherd will look after them. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord taketh me up. Though the interests of God's church in the world are neglected by those who should take care of them, and postponed to their own private secular interests, yet they shall not therefore sink. God will perform his promise, though those he employs do not perform their duty.
1.The dispersed Jews shall at length return to their own land, and be happily settled there under a good government, Jer 23:3, Jer 23:4. Though there be but a remnant of God's flock left, a little remnant, that has narrowly escaped destruction, he will gather that remnant, will find them out wherever they are and find out ways and means to bring them back out of all countries whither he had driven them. It was the justice of God, for the sin of their shepherds, that dispersed them; but the mercy of God shall gather in the sheep, when the shepherds that betrayed them are cut off. They shall be brought to their former habitations, as sheep to their folds, and there they shall be fruitful, and increase in numbers. And, though their former shepherds took no care of them, it does not therefore follow that they shall have no more. If some have abused a sacred office, that is no good reason why it should be abolished. "They destroyed the sheep, but I will set shepherds over them who shall make it their business to feed them." Formerly they were continually exposed and disturbed with some alarm or other; but now they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed; they shall be in no danger from without, in no fright from within. Formerly some or other of them were ever and anon picked up by the beasts of prey; but now none of them shall be lacking, none of them missing. Though the times may have been long bad with the church, it does not follow that they will be ever so. Such pastors as Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, though they lived not in the pomp that Jehoiakim and Jeconiah did, nor made such a figure, were as great blessings to the people as the others were plagues to them. The church's peace is not bound up in the pomp of her rulers.
2.Messiah the Prince, that great and good Shepherd of the sheep, shall in the latter days be raised up to bless his church, and to be the glory of his people Israel, Jer 23:5, Jer 23:6. The house of David seemed to be quite sunk and ruined by that threatening against Jeconiah (Jer 22:30), that none of his seed should ever sit upon the throne of David. But here is a promise which effectually secures the honour of the covenant made with David notwithstanding; for by it the house will be raised out of its ruins to a greater lustre than ever, and shine brighter far than it did in Solomon himself. We have not so many prophecies of Christ in this book as we had in that of the prophet Isaiah; but here we have one, and a very illustrious one; of him doubtless the prophet here speaks, of him, and of no other man. The first words intimate that it would be long ere this promise should have its accomplishment: The days come, but they are not yet. I shall see him, but not now. But all the rest intimate that the accomplishment of it will be glorious. (1.) Christ is here spoken of as a branch from David, the man the branch (Zac 3:8), his appearance mean, his beginnings small, like those of a bud or sprout, and his rise seemingly out of the earth, but growing to be green, to be great, to be loaded with fruits. A branch from David's family, when it seemed to be a root in a dry ground, buried, and not likely to revive. Christ is the root and offspring of David, Rev 22:16. In him doth the horn of David bud, Psa 132:17, Psa 132:18. He is a branch of God's raising up; he sanctified him, and sent him into the world, gave him his commission and qualifications. He is a righteous branch, for he is righteous himself, and through him many, even all that are his, are made righteous. As an advocate, he is Jesus Christ the righteous. (2.) He is here spoken of as his church's King. This branch shall be raised as high as the throne of his father David, and there he shall reign and prosper, not as the kings that now were of the house of David, who went backward in all their affairs. No; he shall set up a kingdom in the world that shall be victorious over all opposition. In the chariot of the everlasting gospel he shall go forth, he shall go on conquering and to conquer. If God raise him up, he will prosper him, for he will own the work of his own hands; what is the good pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in the hands of those to whom it is committed. He shall prosper; for he shall execute judgment and justice in the earth, all the world over, Psa 96:13. The present kings of the house of David were unjust and oppressive, and therefore it is no wonder that they did not prosper. But Christ shall, by his gospel, break the usurped power of Satan, institute a perfect rule of holy living, and, as far as it prevails, make all the world righteous. The effect of this shall be a holy security and serenity of mind in all his faithful loyal subjects. In his days, under his dominion, Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely; that is, all the spiritual seed of believing Abraham and praying Jacob shall be protected from the curse of heaven and the malice of hell, shall be privileged from the arrests of God's law and delivered from the attempts of Satan's power, shall be saved from sin, the guilt and dominion of it, and then shall dwell safely, and be quiet from the fear of all evil. See Luk 1:74, Luk 1:75. Those that shall be saved hereafter from the wrath to come may dwell safely now; for, if God be for us, who can be against us? In the days of Christ's government in the soul, when he is uppermost there, the soul dwells at ease. (3.) He is here spoken of as The Lord our righteousness. Observe, [1.] Who and what he is. As God, he is Jehovah, the incommunicable name of God, denoting his eternity and self-existence. As Mediator, he is our righteousness. By making satisfaction to the justice of God for the sin of man, he has brought in an everlasting righteousness, and so made it over to us in the covenant of grace that, upon our believing consent to that covenant, it becomes ours. His being Jehovah our righteousness implies that he is so our righteousness as no creature could be. He is a sovereign, all-sufficient, eternal righteousness. All our righteousness has its being from him, and by him it subsists, and we are made the righteousness of God in him. [2.] The profession and declaration of this: This is the name whereby he shall be called, not only he shall be so, but he shall be known to be so. God shall call him by this name, for he shall appoint him to be our righteousness. By this name Israel shall call him, every true believer shall call him, and call upon him. That is our righteousness by which, as an allowed plea, we are justified before God, acquitted from guilt, and accepted into favour; and nothing else have we to plead but this, "Christ has died, yea, rather has risen again;" and we have taken him for our Lord.
3.This great salvation, which will come to the Jews in the latter days of their state, after their return out of Babylon, shall be so illustrious as far to outshine the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt (Jer 23:7, Jer 23:8): They shall no more say, The Lord liveth that brought up Israel out of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth that brought them up out of the north. This we had before, Jer 16:14, Jer 16:15. But here it seems to point more plainly than it did there to the days of the Messiah, and to compare not so much the two deliverances themselves (giving the preference to the latter) as the two states to which the church by degrees grew after those deliverances. Observe the proportion: Just 480 years after they had come out of Egypt Solomon's temple was built (Kg1 6:1); and at that time that nation, which was so wonderfully brought up out of Egypt, had gradually arrived to its height, to its zenith. Just 490 years (70 weeks) after they came out of Babylon Messiah the Prince set up the gospel temple, which was the greatest glory of that nation that was so wonderfully brought out of Babylon; see Dan 9:24, Dan 9:25. Now the spiritual glory of the second part of that nation, especially as transferred to the gospel church, is much more admirable and illustrious than all the temporal glory of the first part of it in the days of Solomon; for that was no glory compared with the glory which excelleth.
(Chapter 23, Verse 1 and following) Woe to the shepherds who scatter and tear apart the flock of my pasture, says the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord God of Israel to the shepherds who feed my people: You have scattered my flock, driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to the evil of your doings, says the Lord. And I will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their pasture (or I will restore them to their pastures), and they shall increase and multiply. And I will raise up shepherds over them, and they shall feed them. They shall not fear anymore, nor be terrified, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord. The prophetic discourse is directed to the shepherds, or concerning the shepherds. And because we read in the writing about Jechoniah, the second-to-last king of Judah, who was of the lineage of David: 'Earth, earth, earth, hear the words of the Lord, write down this man as childless, as a man who will not have any descendants to sit on the throne of David' (Jeremiah 22:29-30), all hope of the kingdom of Judah had been cut off: it passes on to the leaders of the Church, and the Synagogue is abandoned and condemned with its shepherds, the discourse is directed to the Apostles, of whom it is said: 'And I will raise up shepherds over them, and they shall feed them, they shall not fear anymore, nor be terrified, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord' (Ezekiel 34:24). For the apostles, with confidence and without any fear, will feed the Church's flock, and the remnant of the people of Israel will be saved from all lands and will return to their fields or pastures, and they will grow and multiply. But the Lord will visit the wicked shepherds, the scribes and Pharisees, because of the malice of their studies. And we can understand this in a tropological sense, and apply it to the leaders of the Church, who do not govern the Lord's sheep worthily. In this way, the people who have been rejected and condemned are saved, while those who are deserving will remain and be saved. The shepherds who teach heresy destroy the sheep. Those who create schisms tear apart and scatter. They cast them out, those who separate from the Church against justice. Those who withhold their hand from the repentant do not visit. The Lord will have mercy on all of them, restoring them to their former pastures and removing the wicked shepherds.
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 23:2 delivers a potent divine indictment against the unfaithful leaders of Israel, whom God metaphorically designates as "pastors" or shepherds. The Lord unequivocally condemns them for their profound dereliction of duty, specifically for actively scattering His flock, driving them away through neglect and misguidance, and failing to provide diligent care. Consequently, God declares His righteous judgment, promising to hold these leaders fully accountable and to visit upon them the destructive consequences of their wicked actions, ensuring that their unfaithful stewardship will not go unpunished.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 23:2 is profoundly rich in literary devices that amplify its message of divine condemnation and impending judgment. The primary and most pervasive device is Metaphor, where the leaders of Israel are vividly portrayed as "pastors" or shepherds, and the people are consistently referred to as "my flock." This metaphor powerfully conveys the expected role of nurturing care, protective oversight, and wise guidance, creating a stark and tragic contrast with the leaders' actual destructive and negligent behavior. There is significant Wordplay and Repetition centered on the Hebrew verb paqad (H6485), translated as "visited." It is first used to describe the leaders' profound failure ("have not visited them") and then immediately reiterated to describe God's coming judgment ("I will visit upon you"). This strategic repetition creates a profound sense of Poetic Justice, where the divine punishment precisely mirrors the leaders' crime. Furthermore, the verse employs powerful Contrast between the ideal shepherd (who diligently gathers, feeds, and protects the flock) and the corrupt, unfaithful leaders (who actively scatter, drive away, and neglect the people), thereby highlighting their egregious failure to fulfill their divinely appointed responsibilities. The use of strong, active, and damning verbs such as "scattered" and "driven away" also contributes to the vivid and disturbing imagery of destruction, abandonment, and disunity.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 23:2 stands as a profound theological statement on divine justice and the sacred trust inherent in all forms of leadership. It unequivocally reveals God's deep and abiding concern for His people, His righteous indignation against those who abuse their positions of authority, and His unwavering commitment to hold accountable those who lead the flock astray rather than nurturing them. The verse underscores the foundational biblical principle that all leadership, particularly spiritual leadership, is a solemn stewardship for which there will be ultimate and inescapable accountability to God. The egregious failures of these "pastors" led directly to the spiritual and physical scattering of Israel, powerfully demonstrating that unrighteous governance and corrupt stewardship have devastating, far-reaching consequences for the entire community. God's solemn promise to "visit upon you the evil of your doings" affirms His active and sovereign role in upholding justice and ensuring that wickedness, especially from those in authority, does not go unpunished. This divine intervention is not merely punitive but also serves a restorative purpose, clearing the way for the eventual establishment of true, righteous leadership.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 23:2 serves as a timeless and piercing mirror for all individuals who hold positions of influence, whether within the church, family, community, or professional sphere. It issues a profound call to self-examination for leaders, prompting them to honestly assess if their actions truly reflect selfless care, vigilant protection, and wise guidance for those entrusted to their charge, or if, consciously or unconsciously, they contribute to scattering, neglect, or harm. For those who are led, this verse encourages a spirit of discernment and earnest prayer for those in authority, serving as a powerful reminder that true, God-honoring leadership builds up, unifies, and gathers, while corrupt or negligent leadership tears down and disperses. It challenges us to hold leaders accountable to biblical standards of righteousness and stewardship, while simultaneously recognizing that ultimately, all human authority operates under the sovereign scrutiny and impending judgment of God. The sobering promise of God's "visitation" for "evil doings" is a powerful reminder that every act of stewardship, whether good or ill, will ultimately be brought to account, compelling us all to walk in integrity, compassion, and faithful obedience.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who are the "pastors" in Jeremiah 23:2, and why are they being condemned?
Answer: The "pastors" (Hebrew: râʻâh, meaning "shepherds") in Jeremiah 23:2 refer metaphorically to the unfaithful leaders of Israel during Jeremiah's prophetic ministry. This designation primarily encompasses the kings of Judah, but also extends to corrupt priests and false prophets who were divinely appointed to guide, protect, and nourish God's people. They are being condemned because they utterly failed in their sacred, divinely appointed duty. Instead of faithfully feeding, diligently protecting, and compassionately caring for the flock, they exploited, neglected, and actively misled them. Their actions caused the people to be "scattered" and "driven away" both spiritually (leading to idolatry, sin, and apostasy) and physically (contributing to social instability, national decline, and eventual exile). Their conduct constituted a profound betrayal of their sacred trust, leading directly to God's righteous and severe judgment against them.
What is the significance of the word "visit" being used twice in Jeremiah 23:2?
Answer: The Hebrew word translated "visit" is pâqad (H6485), and its deliberate dual usage in Jeremiah 23:2 is highly significant, creating a powerful example of wordplay and poetic justice. First, the verse states that the leaders "have not visited them" (the flock), meaning they failed to attend to, care for, or inspect the well-being of the people entrusted to them. This highlights their profound neglect and dereliction of duty. Second, God declares, "behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings." In this instance, pâqad takes on its other, more punitive meaning: to inspect with hostile intent, to punish, or to hold rigorously accountable. The intentional repetition of this single word underscores a powerful principle of divine justice: just as the leaders failed to "visit" (care for) God's people, God promises to "visit" (punish and hold accountable) them for their wickedness. It emphasizes that divine judgment is a direct and fitting consequence of unfaithful stewardship, mirroring the leaders' actions back upon them.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 23:2, with its stark condemnation of unfaithful shepherds who scattered God's flock, powerfully sets the stage for the glorious and redemptive promise of the true and ultimate Shepherd, Jesus Christ. The catastrophic failures of Israel's "pastors"—their profound neglect, active scattering, and abandonment of the people—reveal humanity's desperate and inherent need for a perfect, righteous leader. Immediately following this denunciation, Jeremiah prophesies the coming of a "Righteous Branch" from David's royal line who will "reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land" (Jeremiah 23:5). This profound prophecy finds its complete and perfect fulfillment in Jesus, who is the promised Messiah, the Son of David. He definitively identifies Himself as the "Good Shepherd" (John 10:11), standing in absolute contrast to the "hired hand" who abandons the sheep in times of danger (John 10:12-13). Jesus not only gathers the scattered sheep of Israel, having compassion on them because they were "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36), but He supremely demonstrates His shepherd heart by laying down His very life for them (John 10:15). He is the one who truly "visits" His people, not with judgment for their evil, but with transformative grace, redemptive salvation, and eternal life. Ultimately, Jesus is the "Chief Shepherd" (1 Peter 5:4) who perfectly cares for His flock, leading them into eternal pastures and ensuring their everlasting security.