Ezekiel 34

REVIEW QUESTIONS

Why does Ezekiel repeat the material about the watchman and his responsibilities at this point?

Why does Ezekiel underscore the potential of repentance in Ezekiel 33:10-20?

In what way does Ezekiel envision a sinner manifesting his repentance?

In what sense are God’s promises to the righteous conditional?

Why did some Jews feel that the ways of God were not equal?

How long after the actual event did a fugitive arrive in Babylon with the news that Jerusalem had fallen?

In what sense was the silence imposed on Ezekiel now lifted?

What attitude characterized the pitiful remnant that remained in Judah after the catastrophe of 587 B.C.?

What evidence is there that the survivors of the destruction of Jerusalem really had not changed?

What was the attitude of the exiles toward Ezekiel?

Who were the shepherds condemned by Ezekiel? How had they failed in their duty?

In what way would those shepherds immediately be re placed?

In the more distant future who would God provide for the leadership of His people?

Why is the future covenant referred to as a covenant of peace?

In what way is God’s flock like Adam?

Why is Edom singled out for special condemnation in chapter 35?

Ezekiel 34:1-10

II. REPLACEMENT OF CORRUPT LEADERS

34:1-31

Israel’s past sin and punishment stemmed largely from corrupt and selfish leadership. The first step in Ezekiel’s program of reconstruction for the nation was the replacement of those worthless leaders by a new breed of rulers. God would place at the head of His restored people a scion of the house of David. Under His rule God’s people would enjoy peace, safety and prosperity.

A. The Evil Shepherds of the Past 34:1-10

TRANSLATION

(1) And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? (3) You eat the fat, and with the wool you cloth yourselves, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the flock. (4) The weak you have not made strong, nor the sick have you healed, nor have you bound up the broken, nor have you brought back those which strayed away, nor have you sought those that are lost; but with force and rigor you have ruled them. (5) So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and became food for every beast of the field, and were scattered. (6) My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill, and over the face of the land My sheep were scattered, and none did search and seek. (7) Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: (8) As 1 live (oracle of the Lord COD) surely in as much as My sheep became a prey, and My sheep became food to every beast of the field because they had no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and did not feed My sheep, (9) therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD. (10) Thus says the Lord COD: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require My sheep at their hand, and I will cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver My sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.

COMMENTS

The shepherds against whom Ezekiel is told to prophesy were the kings, princes and other leaders of the now defunct nation of Judah. These men stand under a divine woe because they had been concerned only about their own welfare and not that of the sheep which had been committed to their guardianship (Ezekiel 34:2). They lived sumptuously at the expense of the flock. But still they did not feed, i.e., care for the needs of, the masses (Ezekiel 34:3). The needs of the weak, sick, straying, and lost sheep the poor and defenseless among the population had been ignored. They had been ruled with force, not with consideration and justice (Ezekiel 34:4). Unprotected by their national rulers, God’s people became a prey to surrounding nations. Attacked by these beasts of prey the sheep scattered in all directions (Ezekiel 34:5). They wandered through strange hills and valleys all over the face of the land in their efforts to escape the invaders. None of their leaders made any efforts to regroup the flock or avert the flight. The flock was simply abandoned (Ezekiel 34:6).

Concerning those worthless leaders God had a word (Ezekiel 34:7). God refers to the national leaders as Any shepherds because they were answerable to Him. God’s people had suffered immensely because of these greedy shepherds (Ezekiel 34:8). Therefore, God bound Himself by an oath (as I live) that He was implacably opposed to those leaders. He would hold these undershepherds responsible for all loses sustained by the flock. He would deprive them of the privilege of leadership. No more would they be able to further their personal aims and ambitions at the expense of the flock. These shepherds virtually had become beasts of prey, and God would finally liberate His people from their leadership (Ezekiel 34:10). From one point of view at least the Babylonian exile was a liberating experience.

Ezekiel 34:11-22

B. The Divine Shepherd 34:11-22

TRANSLATION

(11) For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, Here am I, and I will search for My sheep, and seek them out. (12) As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day he is in the midst of his flock that are separated, thus I will seek out My sheep; and I will deliver them from all the places to which they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick darkness. (13) And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the lands; and I will bring them unto their land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the habitable portions of the land. (14) In a good pasture I will feed them, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be; there shall they lie down in a good fold, and in a lush pasture shall they graze upon the mountains of Israel. (15) I will feed My sheep, and I will make them to lie down (oracle of the Lord GOD). (16) That which is lost I will seek, and that which has strayed I will bring back, the broken I will bind up, and the sick I will strengthen; and the fat and the strong I will destroy, I will feed them in justice. (17) As for you, O My sheep, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to judge between stock and stock, between ram and he-goats. (18) 1s it a small matter to you to have fed upon the good pasture, but you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? and have drunk of the settled water, but you must stir up the rest with your feet. (19) And as for My sheep, they eat that which you have trampled with your feet, and they drink that which you have stirred up with your feet. (20) Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD unto them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and lean cattle. (21) Because you push with side and shoulder, and with your horns you shove about all the weak, till you have scattered them abroad; (22) therefore I will save My sheep, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

COMMENTS

God’s people would not be left without a shepherd. The hirelings having been removed from office, the Good Shepherd Himself would take over direct responsibility. He would begin His task by searching out His sheep. His sheep are those who hear and respond to His word (John 10:27). So the searching process was that of proclaiming the prophetic word among the exiles (Ezekiel 34:11). What a beautiful picture! The Lord God takes the initiative in reclaiming His own. Wherever they have been scattered the Faithful Shepherd would find them. The day of clouds and thick darkness, i.e., calamity, is past. The age of regathering and restoration had begun (Ezekiel 34:12).

First will come the gathering of the dispersed sheep into an identifiable and dedicated band. Then comes restoration to Canaan, the Promised Land. There God would feed His flock upon the mountains and by the streams. Israel would occupy all the land which was capable of supporting population (Ezekiel 34:13). Lush pasture and secure fold awaited the flock of God in Canaan (Ezekiel 34:14). The flock, torn and driven about by beasts of prey (adversary nations), would at last lie down under the watchful care of the Good Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:15).

Unlike the faithless shepherds of the pre-exilic era, the Good Shepherd would devote special attention to the weak and Vulnerable members of the flock. Those which were lost through foolish straying would be retrieved. Those sheep hurt and sick as a result of the neglect of their shepherds and the attacks of adversaries would be nursed back to health. But on the other hand, those which were fat and strong the wealthy land owners would be destroyed. Previous shepherds had shown favoritism to these powerful persons, but God would feed them in justice. He would care for them, but they would receive no more than is due them. Thus, as a class within the flock the fat and the strong would be eliminated (Ezekiel 34:16).

God would judge between members of the flock, between the oppressed poor and their rich oppressors. The latter are referred to here as the rams and the he-goats, those which ruthlessly shove the others aside during grazing time (Ezekiel 34:17). These leaders among the flock by force had appropriated all the good pasture and clear water for themselves. But they had done yet more. They had spoiled the rest of the pasture and muddied the rest of the water with their feet (Ezekiel 34:18) thus depriving the weak among the flock of adequate sustenance (Ezekiel 34:19). But all that would change. God repeats in Ezekiel 34:20 His intention to judge between fat and lean cattle the prosperous and the poor among the people (Ezekiel 34:20). By the exercise of brute force the fat and strong animals had scattered the others. That is to say, the fat cattle had been responsible for the dispersion of Israel (Ezekiel 34:21). But God would save His flock from the bullying of such tyrants. Class distinctions would disappear from the flock as the Good Shepherd judges between cattle, i.e., treats all the flock with absolute equity.

Ezekiel 34:23-31

C. The Future Shepherd 34:23-31

TRANSLATION

(23) And I will raise up over them one shepherd, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. (24) And I the LORD mill be their God, and My servant David prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. (25) And I will make a covenant of peace for them, and I will cause the evil beasts to cease from the land; and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. (26) And I will make them and the areas surrounding My hill a blessing; and I will cause the rain to come in its season; there shall be showers of blessing. (27) And the tree of the field shall give its fruit, and the land shall give its increase, and they shall be safe upon their land, and they shall know that I am the LORD when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and I have delivered them from the hand of those who made them bondmen. (28) And they shall not again be a prey to the nations, nor shall the wild beasts of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. (29) And I will raise up unto them a famous plantation, and they shall not again be consumed by hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more. (30) And they shall know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people (oracle of the Lord GOD. (31) And you My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are Adam, and I am your God (oracle of the Lord GOD.

COMMENTS

After the return from exile and the period of direct divine supervision of the flock, God would set up a shepherd over His people. This Shepherd must be the long-awaited Messiah, a ruler of the house of David. The Davidic dynasty would be restored. The responsibility of feeding and tending the flock of God would be committed to Him (Ezekiel 34:23). Yahweh would still be their God; but His servant David would be prince among them (Ezekiel 34:24). What a marvelous foregleam of the New Testament doctrine of the Father and the Son (Ezekiel 34:24).

A new covenant is a prominent feature of the Messianic age (cf. Jeremiah 31:31), Here it is called a covenant of peace. Under the supervision of the Messianic David the flock would be safe. Evil beasts, i.e., bad rulers, would not be part of His domain. Even those most dangerous areas the wilderness and woods would be free from the ravenous beasts (Ezekiel 34:25).

The entire region around God’s hill (Zion) would be blessed of God as well as those who inhabit those regions. Showers of blessing would descend upon them thus assuring abundant harvest (Ezekiel 34:26). The inhabitants of that blessed and secure land would all know by personal experience that the Lord had delivered them from captivity the bars of their yoke. No longer would they be slaves to the enemies of God (Ezekiel 34:27). The Messianic flock would never fall victim to the beast of the earth, nor would adversary nations be able to carry them off as prey. In their divinely provided security they would manifest a boldness uncharacteristic of sheep (Ezekiel 34:28).

Because of the amazing fertility of the land, Israel would be known far and wide. Famine so common in Bible days would be a thing of the past. The inhabitants of God’s land would never have to suffer the humiliation of having to look to other nations for material assistance (Ezekiel 34:29). Israel would realize that God was with them and that they were in fact God’s special people (Ezekiel 34:30). God’s flock is more than mere sheep; they are Adam, i.e., a special creation of God (Ezekiel 34:31). The entire passage relates to the new Israel of God God’s present-day chosen people (Galatians 6:16). The spiritual blessings which God in this Messianic age showers down upon His people are here portrayed in terms of agricultural prosperity,