John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 7:10

"Behold, the day, behold, it cometh: thy doom is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded." — Ezekiel 7:10 (ASV)

Now Ezekiel uses another figure, but for the same purpose. He repeats what he had said before: the day is come, and he adds another part, that the morning had advanced. But we said that the impious, when God overlooks their sins, rejoice as if in darkness, without shame or fear.

Since, therefore, they were as unrestrained as if they had obtained the freedom of night, the Prophet declares that morning is near, because God would suddenly bring to light what they thought would always be hidden. Therefore, since they imagined themselves to be in complete darkness when God withdrew, the Prophet calls them back to consider the daily order of things, for light emerges immediately from the dawn.

Thus he mocks their folly, because they thought that God had His eyes shut when, for a time, He seemed inactive. This, therefore, is the reason, as was fully explained yesterday, why the Prophet calls the sudden change morning. Therefore, the morning has arisen; afterwards, the rod has blossomed, pride has flourished. It is certain that he means Nebuchadnezzar by the rod, but interpreters vary on the context, for many refer the following verse to the king of Babylon; but others, in my judgment rightly, understand it to refer to the Israelites themselves.

Regarding his statement, the rod has blossomed, it refers to God’s forbearance. For when the Israelites had sinned for a long time with impunity, they thought, as I said yesterday, that their peace with God would be perpetual. But here Ezekiel declares, in opposition to this, that God had, as if, a hidden root, just as one who plants a tree waits for the time until it rises to its proper size.

Hence, he compares Nebuchadnezzar to a rod that was growing. God could indeed destroy the Israelites without human assistance and could also compel others to obey Him, for all creatures are ready to fulfill His commands. But here Ezekiel highlights God’s forbearance, even though He had planted the tree from which the rod would spring up to strike the Israelites. So he rebukes their spiritual laziness, because they did not reflect upon the time of their visitation, which God had determined in His secret counsel.

Overall, in saying the rod has flourished, he refers to those steps God takes in carrying out His judgments. For He does not act hastily in the manner of men, but just as a farmer does in sowing and planting. Hence, God provides for His own use agents of vengeance, and permits them to grow and reach maturity.

Therefore, if God does not act as quickly as we wish, we may know that He still has rods prepared; and if they have not yet grown to maturity, it is because the time the Almighty has previously fixed has not yet arrived. Now it follows, that pride has budded. I have just said that some referred this to the Babylonians, but I prefer to understand it as referring to the Israelites.

Hence, God shows how the staff grew in Chaldea by which the Israelites were to be struck, and yet the root was among themselves. For here the noun “pride” is to be understood, as usual, in a negative sense: it does not simply mean haughtiness or arrogance, but that licentiousness which springs from a contempt of God.

But this does not apply to the Babylonians insofar as God guided them with His hand when He wished to take vengeance on the Israelites. However, in this interpretation, there is nothing strained in saying that the staff with which the Israelites were to be struck had increased, and yet it had no other origin than their sins; and hence, no other root than this needs to be sought.

Thus, it flourished; but from where did it spring? From pride. The seed, therefore, of this staff was the pride of the Israelites. This pride is related to impiety, and we know that they were blinded by their confidence when they despised God and treated all His threats as worthless. Consequently, the Prophet points out pride as the source of all evils.