Our True Shepherd

Ezekiel 34 is a powerful chapter in which God announces judgment on the Shepherds of Israel. A shepherd is to be selfless and serve the sheep. But Israel's leaders had grown self-interested and fat. They had used the sheep to enjoy a life of privilege. It's important to see this text not simply in a pastoral sense but also in a governance sense. The spiritual leaders of Israel were to be their civic leaders. And in this, they failed miserably. 

Ezekiel 34:1–2 (ESV) The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?

The shepherds had fattened themselves off the people. 

Ezekiel 34:3 (ESV) You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.

The shepherds had no concern for the hurts and pains of the people. 

Ezekiel 34:4 (ESV) The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.

God holds the leaders accountable for the wandering of the sheep, which led to the scattering of the nation. Ezekiel 34:5–6 (ESV) So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 6 they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

This is incredibly important to note: A nation's leaders bear a moral responsibility. If they do not live with integrity, the people suffer, but they also learn from their example and destroy themselves.

The worst part for the shepherds? God Himself was turned against them. 

Ezekiel 34:10 (ESV) Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

It's one thing to be at odds with nations the Lord raises up against you; it's another thing to be at odds with God. That will never end well. 

God turns to attend to the shepherds' failed work. How? By becoming the shepherd the people needed. 

Ezekiel 34:11–13 (ESV) “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

God promises to feed them richly:

Ezekiel 34:14 (ESV) I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

God promises to seek out the lost:

Ezekiel 34:15–16 (ESV) I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

God will judge and separate the true sheep from the false

Ezekiel 34:17 (ESV) “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.

And God will do this finally by establishing a true shepherd in the same nature as David. 

Ezekiel 34:23–24 (ESV) And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.

Few Old Testament passages point this clearly to Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd who does not take but gives to the sheep, even at the cost of His life. He is the True Shepherd who fed the thousands and gave us His flesh to eat and blood to drink. He is the True Shepherd who seeks the lost and brings them home. 

YET, He is also the true Shepherd who will judge the living and the dead, separating the goats from the sheep, welcoming home the righteous while casting out the wicked. 

If you know Christ and love Him, know that He sought you out first and saved you to set you apart for God's good purpose - to do what these shepherds failed to do - reign with Him in justice in the land.