John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 14:23

"And they shall comfort you, when ye see their way and their doings; and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord Jehovah." — Ezekiel 14:23 (ASV)

He now puts the verb for comforting in the third person, but in the same sense, because after the Jews have been led captive, they will bear certain and special marks of God’s justice against their sins. This, then, is the consolation, as I explained it yesterday, while the exiles acknowledge that cruelty cannot be ascribed to God, as if he had exceeded moderation in exacting punishment; for the desperate wickedness of the people demanded it.

But this passage contains a useful doctrine, since we gather from it that we are never tranquil in our minds unless the greatest equity and justice appears in God’s judgments and becomes present to our minds. As long, therefore, as we do not acknowledge God to be severe in just cases, our minds must necessarily be disturbed and unsettled. Hence, the word “consolation” is opposed to those turbulent thoughts.

But since nothing is more miserable than to be distracted and drawn here and there, and to be anxiously disturbed, let us learn that those profit most who acquiesce in God’s judgments, although they do not perceive the reason for them, yet modestly adore them.

But when God shows why he treats either us or others so severely, this is a special favor, since he offers us material for joy and tranquillity.

Let us proceed.