Chapters 34-39 of Ezekiel prophesy the restoration of Israel. There are some specific prophesies that clearly are in the “not yet fulfilled” category. It begins with this judgment on the wicked shepherds of Israel and the promise that God Himself will shepherd His people through the Son of David.
Israel’s shepherds were the leaders including
prophets, priests and the house of David.
They are condemned as woeful shepherds because they failed to properly
care for the sheep while they themselves became fat off of the sheep (v1-10). They did not feed the flock, strengthen the weak, heal the sick (diseased), bind up
the broken, bring back those who were driven away by other sheep, nor seek the
lost that strayed away.
The result was that the sheep were scattered
and became food for wild beasts (v5-6). Therefore
God utters the same fearful words He had said to the wicked of the nations: “I
am against you!” (v10). This passage is
the basis for Matthew 23, Luke 15:1-7 and John 9:39-10:30 where Jesus judges
the wicked shepherds of Israel in His own day.
In Ezekiel 34:11-22 God paints a picture of the
“Good Shepherd”. He will care for the
flock that the wicked shepherds have fleeced. God will seek them out (v12), bringing them
back from the nations to the feed in the Promised Land (v13). He will do what the wicked shepherds did not
do (v16). And he will make sure the
bigger, stronger sheep do not take advantage of the weaker ones (v17-22). This is the Shepherd of Ps. 23.
How God does this specifically involves two
tremendous realities. First God will
personally be their Shepherd (v23-24).
This He will do through the Messiah who is God in the flesh. The language here is specific, that a
descendent of David will be the “prince” among them when the Messiah
reigns. This will be seen more clearly
when we come to the closing chapters of Ezekiel.
Second God will establish a “covenant of peace”
with Israel (v25-31). This covenant will
bring about great physical blessing because it will establish Israel in a true
relationship with God. This “covenant of
peace” is none other than the promised “new covenant” of Jer. 31:31-33.
This passage has constant application at all
times, including our own day. It is
grievous the way, in the body of Christ, there are shepherds who simply want to
have the public ministry of teaching and preaching but do not want to become
involved in the lives of sheep who are broken or diseased with sin or being
driven away by false teaching. They
place burdens on the people but will not lift a finger to help them bear that
burden (Mt. 23:4). So often these woeful
shepherds are making a grand living off the sheep without caring for the
sheep. Every leader is a shepherd; this
passage has made it clear what God values in shepherds. May we “hear and fear” the Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment