Charles Spurgeon Commentary Ezekiel 34:17-18

"And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the he-goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?" — Ezekiel 34:17-18 (ASV)

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. Seemeth it 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?

Oh, how many there are, even of God's sheep, that foul the waters very much! They come up to God's house, where, perhaps, they get some sweet morsel in the sermon; but there are some things in it with which they do not quite agree. They are walking home with some young Christian, and he is thinking how blessedly he felt under the sermon; while, perhaps, that old professor is grumbling all the time, and stirring up the waters with his feet. If the pasture is not good enough for you, you should let the lambs eat of it, without treading it down; others like it, though you may not; and if you do not like it, you can always leave it!

But what is the use of finding fault with it, and treading it under your feet, and not letting others eat of it? It is a great crime, says God: Seemeth it a small thing to tread it down under your feet, to spoil the spiritual enjoyment of your fellow believers? It seems, to some, of very little consequence what harm they do to God's weak ones; but it is not so, it is a great sin to tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures, so you fault-finders and critics had better beware.

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. Seemeth it 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?

Sometimes when God's people get very strong in themselves, they grow proud, and they find great fault; precious truth is not good enough for them unless it is very daintily spoken; they have eaten, and now they tread down the pasture and spoil it for others. This may seem a very small offense, but the great Shepherd does not think so; he looks with indignation upon these fat and strong, who foul the waters with their feet.

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. Seemeth it 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?

Truly, there are some vainglorious Christians who not only will not receive the gospel themselves but actually find fault with it, insinuate doubts into the minds of others, and prevent the simple people of God from feeding on the pasture which the Lord provides for them. See one of the evils of being great and strong in your own esteem: you are then pretty sure to despise the very pasture which was quite good enough for you when you were weaker and feebler.

That very truth of Jesus Christ which was marrow and fatness to you when you were hungry then comes to be despised, just as the manna was by the children of Israel when they called it "light bread." There is no savour in it that you should desire it. Blessed, blessed hunger that makes the word of God always sweet!