John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 7:19

"They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be as an unclean thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels; because it hath been the stumblingblock of their iniquity." — Ezekiel 7:19 (ASV)

Now the Prophet threatens that the desperation of the people would be so great that they would forget both gold and silver, for we know that people are more anxious about those possessions than about life itself.

But gold, unless it is prepared for use, has no value in itself; yet we see that the majority are so inflamed with the desire of gold that they cast themselves into the certain danger of death.

For how many neglect their own life to acquire wealth! Therefore, when people despise gold, they are certainly so overcome by fear and anxiety that they lose their natural senses. The Prophet means this when he says, they shall cast their gold into the streets, because if they thought they would survive, and if there were any hope of life left, they would undoubtedly hide their gold and silver.

But when gold is cast away, it is certain, as I have said, that everything is full of despair. Their gold, he says, shall be cast away. I prefer this interpretation to an unclean thing. נדה, nedeh, signifies pollution, defilement, and separation. If any prefer the translation "separation," I do not object, only let us understand that the Jews would treat their gold as valueless, and so willingly separate from it.

For we know that people are so attached to their gold and silver that it grieves them to be torn from what they so much love—no less than if you tore away their entrails. But the word "a casting away" is clearer and will correspond better with the former part of the sentence.

He adds, their gold and silver will be unable to preserve them in the day of Jehovah’s anger. Here the Prophet derides the perverse confidence of those who thought themselves safe because they were fortified with great wealth. For when people see themselves protected by guards, they fear nothing, and such security is not easily wrested from them.

For this reason also, Ezekiel proclaims that gold and silver would be useless to the Jews when God was fierce against them. At the same time, he indirectly rebukes their sloth, because they despised God’s judgments since they were spared at the time. Therefore he declares, the day of God’s burning wrath shall come: then he says, they shall not satisfy their souls, and they shall not fill their bellies. Here he means that even the richest would be famished.

When any famine afflicts the people, those who have money at home usually do not suffer. Besides, the rich have all kinds of produce in their barns and granaries. But the Prophet says that the scarcity will be so severe as to affect even the rich, so that they will not have food to refresh themselves.

Thus the reason is added: because it was the stumblingblock of their iniquity. Some take this clause generally, meaning that the Jews would stumble on account of their iniquity; that is, then will be the time of receiving their punishment. For God had seemed to pardon them and not to notice the many iniquities with which they provoked Him.

He says therefore, in that day shall be a stumblingblock, if you prefer that interpretation, but I would rather restrict it to money itself. Since silver and gold will profit nothing, inasmuch as it shall be a stumblingblock of iniquity, that is, it will be the material or occasion of sinning. The next verse confirms this sense when it says—