ir priests, and their
prophets." 2. The word [Hebrew: klbi] contains an evident allusion to 1
Sam. xiii. 14, where it is said of David: "The Lord hath sought him, a
man after His own heart, and the Lord hath appointed him to be a prince
over His people." 3. All doubt is removed by the parallel passage,
chap. xxiii. 4: "And I raise shepherds over them, and they feed them,
and they fear no more, nor are dismayed." That, by the shepherds, in
this verse, only the rulers can be understood, is evident from the
contrast to the bad rulers of the present, who were spoken of in chap.
xxii., no less than from the connection with ver. 5, where that which,
in ver. 4, was expressed in general, is circumscribed within narrow
limits, and the concentration of the fulfilment of the preceding
promise is placed in the Messiah: "Behold, days come, saith the Lord,
and I raise unto David a righteous _Branch_, and He reigneth as a king
and acteth wisely, and setteth up judgment and justice in the land."
This parallel passage is, in so far also, of importance, as it shews
that the prophecy under consideration likewise had its final reference
to the [Pg 383] Messiah. The kingdom of the ten tribes was punished by
bad kings for its apostacy from the Lord, and from His visible
representative. In the whole long series of Israelitish kings, we do
not find any one like Jehoshaphat, or Hezekiah, or Josiah. And that is
very natural, for the foundation of the Israelitish throne was
rebellion. But, with the cessation of sin, punishment too shall cease.
Israel again turns to that family which is the medium and channel
through which all the divine mercies flow upon the Church of the Lord;
and so they receive again a share in them, and particularly in their
richest fulness in the exalted scion of David, the Messiah. The passage
under consideration is thus completely parallel to Hosea iii. 5: "And
they seek Jehovah their God, and David their king;" and that which we
remarked on that passage is here more particularly applicable; compare
also Ezek. xxxiv. 23: "And I raise over them one Shepherd, and He
feedeth them, my servant David, he shall feed them, and he shall be
their shepherd." The antithesis to the words: "According to mine
heart," is formed by the words in Hos. viii. 4: "They have set up kings
not by me, princes whom I knew not,"--words which refer to the past
history of Israel. Formerly, the rebellious chose for themselves kings
according to the desir