And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 34 opens the way the rest of the book does: a word comes from God for the prophet to pass on. This time it is not sent to the nation as a whole, but to the men at the top who were meant to care for God's people.
God does not address Ezekiel by name. His dealings with Israel had changed, and the title He gives the prophet shows it.
The new attitude is remarkably shown in another way by the title God gives to the prophet, who had fallen on his face, in chapter 2 and from then on. For when the voice spoke from the likeness of the glory of Jehovah, the words were, Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak to you. Daniel was called this once (Dan. 8:17), and Ezekiel more than a hundred times. It is the title Jesus took as the rejected Messiah who would suffer, be exalted, and return in glory as the Son of man. His servants have the same title, since they are identified with the glory of God, who now declares Himself outside Israel and even judges them by the Gentiles.
The word "shepherds" here does not mean men with sheep. It means the men who ruled the nation.
Next comes a solemn, righteous, but severe condemnation of the kings or shepherds of Israel. Jehovah lays the blame on them for selfishly afflicting and ruining His people.
The warning is aimed at leaders, but one writer says it is the people under them who should listen hardest.
It is not often that the shepherds are addressed in Scripture. Where they are, it is well for the Lord's people to pay particular attention.
The charge is that the position itself became the profit.
They are charged with using their position to exalt themselves at the expense of the flock. They fed themselves; they indulged themselves; they clothed themselves, but they allowed the flock to perish for lack of food.
Under the cruelty lies a mistake about ownership.
Without the fear of God or love for His people, they forgot how both they and Israel stood in relation to Jehovah. Everything went wrong, as it had to once His rights had no place in their eyes. Like the Gentile kings, they treated the people they governed as their own, not as the flock of God — so came confusion and every evil work.
What keeps a shepherd from that mistake is knowing who owns the sheep.
And it was the flock of God that they were to feed. What a solemn and sweet thought! How impossible it is for anyone to think of the flock as his own, once he has grasped that it is God's flock, and that God lets us feed it!
Kelly sets these rulers beside the King who is coming.
What a contrast with Him who stoops to be Son of David and King of Israel! He will rule over them justly, reigning in righteousness. He will be a hiding place from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like rivers of water in a dry land.
Writers do not leave the chapter in Israel's past.
The special application of Ezekiel 34 is to the shepherds of Israel. But it surely carries a solemn and needed lesson to everyone who takes up the work of a pastor among God's people.
The same writer traces the failure back past the sheep to the Shepherd.
May it be a warning to us all! When we think more of ourselves than of the great Shepherd, then we shall think more of ourselves than of the sheep. Christianity consists of self-giving, not self-getting.
This opening also tells us where the chapter sits in the book.
Again we have no date given for the time of the message, and there is no other until we come to the closing vision of the temple in the restored land. What follows here seems to pour out without any pause. And while judgment comes once more at the opening, it is now clearly connected with blessing, as the way to it.
- Commission. God speaks to Ezekiel as "son of man." Daniel bore the title once. Jesus took it as the rejected Messiah who would suffer and return in glory.
- Target. The word is aimed at the shepherds — Israel's rulers. Scripture speaks to leaders so seldom that the passage deserves close attention.
- Charge. They used their position for themselves. They fed and clothed themselves while the flock starved for lack of food.
- Root. They treated the people as their own property, not as God's flock. Once His rights counted for nothing, everything else went wrong.
- Reach. The lesson reaches everyone who cares for God's people. Put yourself before the great Shepherd, and you will put yourself before the sheep.
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy; and say unto them, unto the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah Woe to the shepherds of Israel that feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?
God tells Ezekiel to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. The charge comes as a question that answers itself: men set over a flock were living off it instead of feeding it. Behind that charge lies a deeper one — whose sheep were they, and who must answer for them?
The word does not mean farmhands. It covers everyone who held authority over the nation. Another prophet had already brought the same complaint.
The shepherds of Israel were the kings and princes and all who had authority over them. The prophet Jeremiah had received a similar message (Jer. 23:1-2). These shepherds of Israel were responsible for the deplorable condition of the flock. They were utterly selfish. They did not care for the sheep of His pasture. They did not fear God, and they had no heart for God's people. The flock was scattered and spoiled.
The first charge is not incompetence. These men turned their position into profit, and the sheep paid for it.
They are charged with using their position to exalt themselves at the expense of the flock… They fed themselves. They indulged themselves. They clothed themselves. But they let the flock perish for lack of food.
A shepherd is meant to be a channel of supply. These men reversed the flow, and the reversal starts in the heart long before it shows in the hands.
The first complaint is that the shepherds fed themselves and not the sheep. They took from the sheep, instead of giving to the sheep…
When we think more of ourselves than of the great Shepherd, we will think more of ourselves than of the sheep. Christianity consists of self-giving, not in self-getting.
The flock belonged to God, not to the men who ruled it. Forgetting that one fact corrupted everything else they did.
So, without the fear of God or love for His people, they forgot what both they and Israel were to Jehovah. So everything went wrong, as it could not fail to do when His rights had no place in their eyes. Like the kings of the nations around them, they treated the people they governed as their own, not as the flock of God. So came confusion and every evil work.
God's judgment on these men is not cold. He steps in for sheep He loves, and He ends one thing in particular.
The doom of the shepherds is therefore now announced. It is the judgment of love that strikes to deliver. There must be an end of this false claim to the shepherd's place without the shepherd's heart. That claim is deeply offensive to Him whose heart is with the sheep. He is afflicted in all the afflictions of His people, and when He rises up to help them, He will make a thorough work of it.
Ezekiel spoke to Israel, but these principles reach further.
What need there is for care in the Church of God! Ezekiel 34 is a very remarkable chapter, and it speaks entirely to the shepherds and sheep of Israel. Yet the divine principles it unfolds apply just as clearly to shepherds or pastors in the Christian world. Everyone who cares for the Lord's people would do well to read this wonderful chapter until its lessons sink deep into their hearts.
The failure of these shepherds is the dark background for a promise. God says He will require His flock from them, and will do Himself what they would not do.
So the shepherds were to hear the word of Jehovah, who is against the shepherds and will require His flock at their hands. He Himself will both search and seek out His sheep. He will deliver them out of all the places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. He will gather them from the countries, bring them to their own land, and feed them on the mountains of Israel by the rivers. There they shall lie in a good fold and feed in a good pasture. More than all, He will set up over them one shepherd who shall feed them, His servant David, who is not less Jehovah than Himself.
- Trust. Shepherd here means ruler — kings, princes, all in authority. The sheep were never their own.
- Theft. They fed themselves: they took from the flock instead of giving to it, and left it to starve.
- Owner. Their root failure was forgetting God's rights. They treated His people as their own property.
- Verdict. God ends the shepherd's place held without the shepherd's heart — judgment that strikes to deliver.
- Shepherd. What these shepherds refused to do, God does Himself: seek, gather, and feed His flock in good pasture.
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool; ye kill them that are fattened [but] ye feed not the flock.
God speaks through Ezekiel against the men who should have cared for His people. Verse 3 names what they took from the flock — the fat, the wool, the best animals — while the sheep went unfed. The charge raises a question that outlives Israel: what is a shepherd for?
Ezekiel is not talking about farmers. He is talking about the men who held power over God's people.
The shepherds of Israel were the kings and princes and all who had authority over them. The prophet Jeremiah had received a similar message (Jeremiah 23:1-2). These shepherds of Israel were responsible for the terrible state of the flock. They were completely selfish. They did not care for the sheep of His pasture, they did not fear God, and they had no heart for God's people. The flock was scattered and ruined.
The three things listed in the verse add up to a single accusation.
They are charged with using their position to lift themselves up at the expense of the flock. They fed themselves. They indulged themselves. They clothed themselves. But they let the flock die for lack of food.
Everything ran in the wrong direction.
The first complaint is that the shepherds fed themselves and not the sheep. They took from the sheep, instead of giving to the sheep.
One writer follows the wool into three other Bible stories.
The fleece is the wool taken from the sheep. It seems to picture taking away from the owner what rightly belonged to him. It is striking that Scripture mentions sheep-shearing three times, and each time there was evil. Judah sinned with Tamar at his sheep-shearing. Nabal insulted David at the same kind of time. Absalom killed his brother on a similar occasion.
Behind the eating and the clothing lies a forgotten fact of ownership.
They had no fear of God and no love for His people. So they forgot what they themselves were to the Lord, and what Israel was to Him. Everything went wrong, as it was bound to do once His rights counted for nothing in their eyes. Like the kings of the nations around them, they treated the people they governed as their own, not as the flock of God. The result was confusion and every evil work. … The shepherds had fed themselves, not the flock. They did not feed the sheep, no matter what benefits they had drawn from them. None of the sheep's sorrows drew out their sympathies.
What they had made their table, God took away.
Because of this selfish conduct the Lord said, "Behold, I am against the shepherds." He would hold them to account for the flock. As a punishment they would no longer be allowed to feed the flock, nor to feed themselves — that last part a fitting punishment indeed.
The warning did not stop with Israel's rulers.
Ezekiel 34 applies first of all to the shepherds of Israel. Yet it carries a serious and needed lesson for everyone who takes up the work of a pastor among God's people.
The test is simple, and it starts with who fills our thoughts.
May it be a warning to us all! When we think more of ourselves than of the great Shepherd, then we shall think more of ourselves than of the sheep. Christianity consists of self-giving, not in self-getting.
This dark picture has a bright opposite.
This may carry our thoughts back to Ezekiel 34, where we find a tremendous indictment of the former shepherds of Israel. These religious leaders fed themselves and not the sheep. They set such a bad example that the stronger sheep bullied the weaker. The strong ate up the good pasture and trampled down the rest of it (verse 18). So for the poor of the flock there was no pasture at all. Jesus, the true Shepherd of Israel, leads His own sheep into an abundance of spiritual food.
Kelly sets these men beside the King who is coming.
What a contrast with Him who stoops to be Son of David and King of Israel! He will rule over them justly, reigning in righteousness, like a hiding place from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like rivers of water in a dry land, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
- Trust. The shepherds were Israel's kings, princes and rulers. God gave them authority over a flock that was never theirs.
- Theft. Fat, wool and the best of the flock all went one way: they took from the sheep instead of giving to the sheep.
- Root. They treated the people as their own property. God's rights counted for nothing, so everything else went wrong.
- Judgment. They fed only themselves. So God declared Himself against them. He stopped them feeding the flock — and stopped them feeding themselves.
- Contrast. The true Shepherd does the opposite. He leads His own sheep into plenty of food. Christianity is self-giving, not self-getting.
The weak have ye not strengthened, nor have ye healed the sick, and ye have not bound up [what was] broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought for that which was lost; but with harshness and with rigour have ye ruled over them.
Ezekiel 34 speaks to the shepherds of Israel, the men God trusted with His people. Verse 4 lists, one by one, the things they never did. The charge is not vague corruption. It is neglect you can count: five needs left unmet, and then a way of ruling that made everything worse.
The verse works through the flock case by case. Each case names a real sheep the shepherds walked past.
The charge against the shepherds is that they completely neglected the flock. There were weak sheep, but they had not strengthened them. There were sick sheep, but they had not healed them. There were wounded sheep, but they had not bound up their wounds. There were sheep driven away from the flock, but they made no effort to get them back. There were wandering sheep, but they had not gone after the lost. They were taken up with themselves, and they completely neglected the good of the sheep.
The second half of the verse adds a separate charge. Neglect was not the whole of it. The ESV says "with force and harshness"; the older wording quoted here is "with force and with cruelty."
The charge against these shepherds is that they ruled God's flock "with force and with cruelty." They had not only neglected the sheep. They had crushed and oppressed them for their own selfish ends.
Behind the cruelty lay a false idea of ownership.
Like the kings of the nations around them, they treated the people they governed as their own, not as the flock of God. So came confusion and every evil work… They ruled harshly and severely. They scattered the sheep and left them as prey to wild animals, with no shepherd's care.
Where does neglect like this start? One writer traces it back to self.
May it be a warning to us all! When we think more of ourselves than of the great Shepherd, then we shall think more of ourselves than of the sheep. Christianity consists of self-giving, not in self-getting.
When Jesus began His public ministry, He took up the very list these shepherds ignored.
Then light sprang up for those who sat in the region and shadow of death. Then the Shepherd of Israel began to feed the flock. Unlike those who had come before Him, He began to strengthen the diseased, to heal the sick, to bind up the broken, and to seek the lost.
God Himself takes up the shepherd's work, and where He does it matters.
He does not do it from far off, from some high position, sending down directions for the care of the sheep. He does it as a shepherd "among his sheep that are scattered." … If we have driven them away, will He desert them? Never. If we have scattered them, will He forsake them? Never.
Commentators apply the verse well past ancient Israel.
Times and places differ. Even so, has the Church not repeated similar practices through its history, at times even inside local churches? Harshness and severity have scattered people. Sheep end up sick, wounded, and wandering when no one gives them proper care, and when only "the fat and the strong" get attention.
This kind of cruelty seldom looks like cruelty. It often comes dressed as faithfulness.
Is there not a tendency to treat with coldness and severity those we would class as "diseased" — to keep our distance from those we might class as weak and feeble? … What cruelty and injustice people have done in the name of Christ, perhaps not willingly or on purpose, but often through mistaken ideas of faithfulness!
Harsh rule drives the sheep away. That gives a simple test for anyone who cares for others.
Do we seek after the lost sheep today? Do we bring back those who have been driven away? Do we bind up the broken and strengthen the sick? How much of the scattering there has been, and how little of gathering. The flesh scatters. It is the Spirit who gathers. Anyone can scatter, but it takes divine power to do the gathering.
- Self. The shepherds were taken up with themselves. Every failure in verse 4 grows from that one root: self-getting instead of self-giving.
- Neglect. Five kinds of sheep went untouched: weak, sick, wounded, driven away, lost. The sin shows in the list of who got no help.
- Force. A second charge follows the first. The rulers treated God's people as their own property, so they crushed the flock as well as ignored it.
- Contrast. Christ took up the same list and did it all: strengthening, healing, binding up, seeking. He tends His sheep from among the scattered, and never deserts those others drove away.
- Test. Scattering is the fruit of self. Gathering takes the Spirit. Anyone can scatter, so ask a hard question: are we calling coldness toward the weak faithfulness?
And they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.
Ezekiel 34 opens with God's charge against the shepherds of Israel. Verse 5 gives the result: a flock with no one to lead it, broken up and left to the wild beasts. How could a nation full of leaders have no shepherd? And what does God do when the men responsible for His people abandon them?
The word covers everyone who held authority over the people. God lays the state of the flock at their door.
The shepherds of Israel were the kings and princes and all who had authority over them. The prophet Jeremiah had received a similar message (Jer. 23:1-2). These shepherds of Israel were responsible for the terrible condition of the flock. They were completely selfish. They did not care for the sheep of His pasture. They did not fear God, and they had no heart for God's people. The flock was scattered and ruined.
So "no shepherd" does not mean the office stood empty. Men filled it without the heart that belongs to it.
This false claim to the shepherd's place, without the shepherd's heart, must come to an end. Such a claim is deeply offensive to Him. His heart is with the sheep. He is afflicted in all the afflictions of His people. And when He rises up to help them, He will do a thorough work.
The root problem was ownership. These men treated the people as their own property, not as God's flock.
Like the Gentile kings, they saw the people they governed as their own, not as the flock of God. From this came confusion and every evil work... The shepherds had fed themselves, not the flock... They ruled with harshness and severity, and scattered them, a prey to all the wild beasts, with no shepherd's care.
The verse sets out a chain: no shepherd, then scattering, then the beasts. The scattering is what leaves each sheep an easy meal.
The sheep are scattered because there is no shepherd to lead them. Once scattered, they become a prey to the beasts of the field... Instead of one flock — one beautiful flock — we have scattered, harassed, wandering sheep, with no one to search or seek after them... United, they could have resisted the attacks of the enemy. Scattered, they fall an easy prey to every evil.
Centuries later the Lord looked at Israel and saw the same thing. He saw it in a time full of religious activity.
"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." And yet there was much religion then — though this was how the Great Shepherd judged them. There were many sects. They kept the feast-days. There was a great stir in everything that might mark a day of public religious decency and devotion... There were plenty of teachers, and plenty of zeal. And yet, in the eyes of Him who saw them as God saw them, Israel was without a shepherd, an unkept, unfed flock.
Commentators hold this verse up as a mirror for anyone who cares for God's people now. The test is how they treat the hurt and the wandering.
A hard and legal spirit will never restore such a person. It will only drive him further away. I have watched in deep distress as one of these soul doctors set out to put a fallen brother right. I saw him drive that brother far away. Instead of picking him up, he knocked him further down. More than one fallen person has cried to me with tears: "They drove me away!" I knew it was true and I thought of Ezekiel 34, and the shepherds there... How we need some true shepherds today.
The chapter does not end with the damage. The judgment on the shepherds is the rescue of the sheep.
But if God is against the shepherds, He is for the sheep. He says, "I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them." And in the verses that follow we have a magnificent description of how God shepherds His flock.
God's remedy is one Shepherd of His own choosing.
In the book of Ezekiel, God had a dispute with both the shepherds and the sheep. He exposes their sins and threatens them with judgment. Then, in the most moving way possible, He pours out His compassion for the weak remnant of the flock: "because there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep... therefore I will rescue my flock... And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them and be their shepherd." (Ezek. 34:8, 22, 23.)
- No heart, no shepherd. Israel had kings, princes and teachers. God still calls it a flock without a shepherd. Men filled the place; the shepherd's heart was missing.
- No shepherd, no flock. With no one to lead, the sheep break apart. They scattered because the leaders fed themselves, not because the sheep were weak.
- No flock, no safety. Together they could have held off the enemy. Alone, each one is easy food.
- No shepherd then either. When Christ came, religion was busy and teachers were many. He still saw an unfed, unkept flock — and had compassion on it.
- One Shepherd, and the flock is safe. God turns against the false shepherds because He is for the sheep. He rescues them from the mouths that fed on them, and sets one Shepherd over them: His servant David.
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill, and my sheep have been scattered upon all the face of the earth, and there was none that searched, or that sought for them.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah
Chapter 34 has just listed, charge after charge, what Israel's shepherds did to the flock God gave them. Now the word turns back on the shepherds themselves and calls them to listen. Who were these men? What had they failed to do, and what will God do about it?
Verse 7 reads like a courtroom. God has read the charges. Now He tells the accused to stand and listen. One writer sets this summons against a God who had been watching all along:
But He who had called men to the throne over Israel was not indifferent to His people groaning under their wicked rulers… Their sin is laid out. The shepherds stand convicted and sentenced. But the LORD promises to rescue His sheep.
The word "shepherds" here is not a picture of farm life. It names the men who held power over the nation:
The shepherds of Israel were the kings and princes and all who had authority over them. The prophet Jeremiah had received a similar message (Jer. 23:1-2). These shepherds of Israel were responsible for the terrible condition of the flock. They were completely selfish. They did not care for the sheep of His pasture. They did not fear God, and they had no heart for God's people. The flock was scattered and plundered.
The command to hear rests on what came before it. Much of the indictment is not about cruelty done, but about care withheld — a list of things left undone:
There were weak sheep, but they had not strengthened them. There were sick sheep, but they had not healed them. There were wounded sheep, but they had not bound up their wounds. Some sheep had been driven away from the flock, but they made no effort to bring them back. Others were wandering, but they had not gone after the lost (v. 4). Taken up with themselves, they had completely neglected the good of the sheep.
The damage spread outward from that neglect. Sheep with no one leading them drift, and drifting sheep are easy to pick off:
The sheep scatter because there is no shepherd to lead them. Once scattered, they become prey to the wild animals. Hunted by those animals, they wander over all the barren mountains and every high hill. Instead of one flock — one beautiful flock — we have sheep scattered, hunted and wandering, with no one to search for them.
What follows the summons is a sentence — but the motive behind the sentence is affection for the sheep:
So now God announces the doom of the shepherds. It is the judgment of love that strikes to deliver. This false claim to the shepherd's place without the shepherd's heart must end. It is especially offensive to Him whose heart is with the sheep. He suffers in all the sufferings of His people, and when He rises up to help them He will do a thorough work.
The same act has two faces, depending on which side of it you stand:
But if God is against the shepherds, He is for the sheep. He says, "I will rescue my flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them." In the verses that follow we have a wonderful description of how God shepherds His flock. And the shepherds under Him should act as the Chief Shepherd acts.
The chapter speaks first to Israel's own rulers. It does not stop there:
Ezekiel 34 applies in a special way to the shepherds of Israel. But it surely carries a serious and needed lesson for everyone who takes up the work of a pastor among God's people.
One writer traces the failure back to its starting point:
May it be a warning to us all! When we think more of ourselves than of the great Shepherd, then we shall think more of ourselves than of the sheep. Christianity consists of self-giving, not in self-getting.
- Hear the charge. The shepherds are the kings, princes and rulers. God holds them responsible for the ruined state of the flock.
- Hear the neglect. Men busy with themselves left the weak, the sick, the wounded and the lost with no one to help.
- Hear the damage. Leaderless sheep scatter. Scattered sheep become prey. One flock ends up as wanderers with no one searching for them.
- Hear the sentence. The doom announced is the judgment of love that strikes to deliver. God ends the claim to a shepherd's place held without a shepherd's heart.
- Hear the promise. God against the shepherds means God for the sheep. The way the Chief Shepherd then acts sets the pattern for everyone who cares for His people.
[As] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, verily because my sheep have been a prey, and my sheep have been meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, and my shepherds searched not for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock,
God speaks here under oath. Before He sentences Israel's leaders, He lists the charges again: sheep torn by wild animals, no one looking for them, shepherds feeding off the flock.
The word "shepherd" here is not a picture of a farm worker. It names the men who held power over the nation.
The shepherds of Israel were the kings and princes and all who had authority over them. The prophet Jeremiah had received a similar message (Jer. 23:1-2). These shepherds of Israel were responsible for the terrible condition of the flock. They were completely selfish. They did not care for the sheep of His pasture. They did not fear God, and they had no heart for God's people. The flock was scattered and plundered.
Five times in this one verse God says "my" — my sheep, my shepherds, my sheep again. That word is the hinge of the charge: the men in office had reversed it. Kelly sets their rule against the rule of the King who is coming.
So, without the fear of God or love for His people, they forgot the relations both of themselves and of Israel to Jehovah. So everything went wrong, as it could not fail to do when His rights had no place in their eyes. Like the Gentile monarchs, they regarded the people whom they governed as their own, not as the flock of God. The result was confusion and every evil work. What a contrast with Him who humbles Himself to be Son of David and King of Israel, and who will rule over them justly, reigning in righteousness!
The same mistake is still available to anyone in spiritual charge of others.
It was and still is of the greatest importance to regard "the flock" as God's. This matters all the more because even excellent souls usually forget this truth. They assume that the sheep they feed and care for are their own flocks. Such a thought betrays an unwitting denial of God's rights, and falsifies the relation of His sheep.
The charge is not laziness. The flow ran the wrong way: what should have gone to the sheep came out of them instead.
The first complaint is that the shepherds fed themselves and not the sheep. They took from the sheep, instead of giving to the sheep. They ate the fat and clothed themselves with the wool. Further, they did not strengthen the diseased or heal the sick, and they ruled with force and cruelty.
The verse links three things: no shepherd, scattered sheep, easy prey. Hamilton Smith traces that chain down to God's people now.
The sheep are scattered for lack of a shepherd to lead them. Once scattered, they become a prey to the beasts of the field… Instead of one flock — one beautiful flock — we have scattered, harassed, wandering sheep with no one to look for them… When the leaders fail, God's people are scattered, and once scattered they fall a prey to the enemy. United they could have resisted the enemy's attacks; scattered, they fall an easy prey to every evil.
"As I live" turns a complaint into a legal judgment. The sentence that follows has a rescue inside it.
Their sin is laid out. The shepherds stand convicted and sentenced. But Jehovah promises to deliver His sheep.
God's judgment on the shepherds and His care for the sheep move together:
The doom of the shepherds is therefore now announced. It is the judgment of love which smites for deliverance. There must be an end of this false claim to the shepherd's place without the shepherd's heart. Such a claim is especially offensive to Him whose heart is with the sheep. He is afflicted in all the afflictions of His people, and when He rises to help them, He will do a thorough work.
This chapter speaks to Israel's shepherds first. It does not stop there.
Ezekiel 34 applies in a special way to the shepherds of Israel. Yet it certainly carries a solemn and needed lesson for everyone who takes up the work of a pastor among God's people.
- Mine. God calls them my sheep and my shepherds. The leaders treated the people as their own property, and every other evil followed.
- Taking. The charge is about direction: they took from the sheep instead of giving to them. They ate the fat and wore the wool, and never fed the flock.
- Scattered. No shepherd means scattered sheep, and scattered sheep mean easy prey. United they could have resisted; divided, they fall to every evil.
- Sworn. "As I live" turns the complaint into a verdict. God convicts and sentences the shepherds, and it is the judgment of love that strikes to deliver.
- Ours. The chapter speaks first to Israel's rulers. It still carries a solemn lesson for everyone who pastors God's people.
-- therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah.
Two verses earlier God told Israel's shepherds to hear His word, and here He says it again. The repetition is deliberate: God is about to pass sentence, and the shepherds must listen.
This word is aimed at leaders, and the rest of God's people are meant to listen in.
It is not often that the shepherds are addressed in Scripture. Where they are it is well for the Lord's people to pay particular attention.
This call to hear is the pause before a verdict. And the verdict is not the last word.
But He who called them to rule over Israel was not indifferent to His people groaning under their wicked rulers… He sets out their sin. He convicts and sentences the shepherds. But the Lord promises to deliver His sheep.
The "shepherds" here are Israel's kings. The "therefore" of verse 9 reaches back to what they had done, and the root of it was a false sense of ownership.
This is a solemn, righteous, but severe denunciation of the kings or shepherds of Israel, at whose door the Lord lays the blame for selfishly afflicting and ruining His people… So without the fear of God or love for His people, they forgot what both they and Israel were to the Lord. So everything went wrong, as it could not fail to do when His rights had no place in their eyes. Like the Gentile kings, they regarded the people they governed as their own, not as the flock of God. The result was confusion and every evil work. The shepherds had fed themselves, not the flock… They ruled with harshness and severity. They scattered the sheep, leaving them a prey to all the wild beasts, with no shepherd's care.
The doom announced right after this summons is not cold revenge. God strikes so that His sheep can live.
The doom of the shepherds is therefore now announced. It is the judgment of love which strikes to deliver. There must be an end of this false claim to the shepherd's place without the shepherd's heart. Such a claim is especially offensive to Him whose heart is with the sheep. He is afflicted in all the afflictions of His people, and when He rises up to help them, He will make a thorough work of it.
The same words that condemn the leaders comfort the sheep.
But if God is against the shepherds, He is for the sheep. He says, "I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them." And in the verses that follow we have a magnificent description of how God shepherds His flock. And as the Chief Shepherd acts, so should the under-shepherds.
The address was to Israel's leaders, but the lesson did not die with them.
The special application of Ezekiel 34 is to the shepherds of Israel. But it surely carries a solemn and needed lesson to everyone who takes up the work of a pastor among God's people.
The warning comes with a simple test: who do we think about most?
May it be a warning to us all! When we think more of ourselves than of the great Shepherd, then we shall think more of ourselves than of the sheep. Christianity consists of self-giving, not self-getting.
- Hear. Scripture does not often address leaders. When it does, God's people should pay close attention.
- Why. The shepherds treated the people as their own property, not as God's flock. Everything else went wrong from there.
- Verdict. The doom announced is the judgment of love that strikes to deliver. God will not tolerate the shepherd's place held without the shepherd's heart.
- Rescue. God is against the shepherds and for the sheep in one act. He rescues the flock from the mouths that fed on it, then feeds it Himself.
- Mirror. The Chief Shepherd sets the pattern for every under-shepherd: self-giving, not self-getting.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock that the shepherds may feed themselves no more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
For thus saith the Lord Jehovah Behold I, [even] I, will both search for my sheep, and tend them.
Israel's shepherds had failed the flock completely. Now God turns from their failure and says what He Himself will do: "I, I myself will search." Who are these sheep, and when does He come for them?
The verse is the hinge of the chapter.
The shepherds have failed completely, so the care of the sheep falls on Jehovah Himself. He undertakes not only to hold those set over the sheep to account for them, but to search for them and seek them out wherever they are scattered.
There is a detail in how God says this. He acts as a shepherd here, but never takes the title for Himself. He gives it later in the chapter to another.
The evil lay in the shepherds — that is, in the kings and princes of Israel. They were not true shepherds; indeed there were none true. The flock was diseased, scattered, afflicted and ill-treated, and a prey to their enemies. But Jehovah now points it out to say that He Himself would seek out His poor sheep... Notice here how Jehovah Himself delivers His sheep, without calling Himself their shepherd. Then He raises up a plant of renown, the true David, as their shepherd.
The word "my" carries the whole promise. Scattering did not cancel ownership.
God says, "Behold, I, I myself will... SEARCH for my sheep." They have been scattered, and they have wandered. But they are "mine," says God, and "I will SEARCH for them." May we never forget, whatever the condition of the sheep, they belong to Christ. He thought of them from all eternity, but we can only give them the odd moments of our lives. He left His home of glory to seek His sheep, and can we not leave our poor homes to seek them? He went to the uttermost distance of the cross to find His sheep, but we can hardly go into the next street to seek them.
To "seek out" is more than recovery. It includes looking into how the sheep came to be where they are.
The Lord declares that He will come in and search for His sheep and examine their condition. The language is human language... God speaks as if He did not know, so examining everything comes first... God takes care to expose in full the evil He is dealing with, so that all His creatures may own that His government is right... Their scatterings will cease when they hear the Voice His people know — a Voice that does not scatter, but brings together... Yet at times the scattering may be the very thing that is of God. He permits it to avoid worse evil. Still, He permits it only for a short time. What is in His heart is gathering, not scattering.
Commentators differ over how far this promise reaches, and when it is paid.
Jehovah arises on behalf of His scattered sheep. He will Himself carry out the office of a true shepherd, seeking out His flock... And all this has not yet come to pass. Some apply these words to the return of a remnant from the Babylonian captivity. They see no future fulfilment of these promises. It is clear that the returning remnant did not have these blessings. Others make a spiritual application. They claim it means the Church, and the blessing Gentiles will receive as the sheep of Christ.
Others read the search as already begun in the ministry of Jesus, and as wider than Israel from the start.
In Matthew's Gospel we find the Shepherd-King viewing His poor sheep as they surround Him... "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). The Lord had come to fulfil Ezekiel's prophecy. He came to bring them back to God — not only those who were Jews, but Gentiles also, forming "one flock" with "one Shepherd."
Some translations render the second half of the verse "tend them." Finding the sheep is not the end of it. The way God cares matters as much as the fact that He cares.
Having sought them, He tends them... His sheep are the objects of His tender care... But not only does the Lord tend His sheep, He does it in a very blessed way. It is not as one far removed in some high position giving directions for the care of the sheep, but as a shepherd "among his sheep that are scattered."... If we have driven them away, will He desert them? Never. If we have scattered them, will He forsake them? Never.
- Cause — The shepherds failed the flock completely. That failure puts the sheep into God's own hands.
- Search — He searches because they are still His. Scattering changed their location, not their ownership.
- Examine — The search looks into their whole condition. God exposes the evil in full, so that all can own He is right.
- Gather — God may permit scattering, but only for a short time. His heart is set on gathering.
- Shepherd — He delivers the flock Himself, then raises up one shepherd over them. Commentators differ on the timing: some say it still waits for Israel; others see it begun in the one flock under one Shepherd.
As a shepherd tendeth his flock in the day that he is among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
Ezekiel has just exposed Israel's shepherds — the kings and princes who fed themselves and left the flock scattered and preyed on. Now God answers their failure with a promise about Himself: He will go after His sheep on the day the darkness is thickest.
(These writers use an older translation. It has "the cloudy and dark day" for "a day of clouds and thick darkness," and "tend" for "seek out.")
The problem was never the flock. It was the shepherds — so God takes the sheep into His own hands. Watch how He describes Himself as He does it.
The evil lay in the shepherds — that is, in the kings and princes of Israel. They were not true shepherds; in fact there were none who were true. The flock was diseased, scattered, afflicted and badly treated, and their enemies preyed on them. The shepherds devoured them, and neither protected nor cared for them. But now Jehovah points this out to say that He Himself would seek out His poor sheep. He would judge between sheep and sheep, and would deliver them from the mouth of those that devoured them... Notice here the way in which Jehovah Himself delivers His sheep, without calling Himself their shepherd.
The comparison is with an ordinary shepherd on the day his flock breaks up. Where that shepherd stands tells you how the Lord treats His own.
Having sought them He "tends" them, for that is how the passage should read: "I will both search for My sheep and TEND them as a shepherd tends his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered." His sheep are the objects of His tender care... The Lord not only tends His sheep; He does it in a very blessed way. He is not far away in some high position, sending down orders about the care of the sheep. He is a shepherd "among his sheep that are scattered." We speak of the Lord being present where two or three gather in His name, and that is true and blessed. But we should remember there is also such a thing as the Lord "among His sheep that are scattered." If we have driven them away, will He desert them? Never. If we have scattered them, will He forsake them? Never.
The scattering and the darkness belong together. One writer points to who darkens the sky.
"I will DELIVER them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." While leaders are busy darkening the sky with their arguments, the enemy is busy scattering the sheep. While the shepherds quarrel, the sheep wander. We can scatter, but what little power we have to deliver. But the Lord will deliver. Not one of His sheep will be left behind when He acts in delivering power.
Scattering can be something God allows. It is never what He wants.
Their scatterings will stop when they hear the Voice His people know — a Voice that does not scatter but brings together. It gathers them by removing every cause of scattering. Yet at times scattering may be the very thing that is of God, which He permits to avoid a worse evil. Still, He permits it only for a short time. What is in His heart is gathering, not scattering.
The timing is not accidental. The same pattern shows up in how God deals with one person.
In the coming day, it will be "in the cloudy and dark day" that the Lord will seek out and gather His wandering sheep. In the same way, God's grace recovers each soul when all seems darkest, when the evil is brought out into the light.
One writer refuses to soften this promise into something already past.
The complete failure of the shepherds throws the care of the flock onto Jehovah Himself. He undertakes not only to demand the sheep back from those set over them, but to search for them and seek them out wherever they have been scattered... It is useless here, as in similar passages, to dodge what He says about the work He will yet do for Israel on earth, once He has finished gathering His assembly for heaven. These words have never yet been fulfilled. So they must be. Their certainty and security rest on Himself.
- Failure. The shepherds fed themselves, and the sheep scattered. God names the cause before He promises the cure.
- Presence. The shepherd in the comparison does not stay at a distance. He is among the scattered sheep, and so is the Lord.
- Darkness. The rescue comes on the cloudy and dark day. God works when things look most hopeless — for a nation and for one soul.
- Gathering. Scattering may be permitted for a short time; what is in His heart is gathering, and He will leave none behind.
- Certainty. These words have never yet been fulfilled, so they must be — their security rests on the One who spoke them.
And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the water-courses, and in all the habitable places of the country.
Israel's shepherds were heartless and greedy, and the flock scattered. God now takes the flock into His own hands with four acts — bring out, gather, bring home, feed — and commentators ask two questions about them: who does the work, and when?
The verse keeps repeating "I will." One writer traces that back to the failure of Israel's shepherds. He also says the words are too plain to explain away.
So the complete failure of the shepherds throws the care of the flock onto Jehovah Himself. He does not only hold the men set over the sheep to account for them. He searches for the sheep and seeks them out wherever they are scattered. Verses 13 and 14 spell this out in words so simple and plain that here, as in similar passages, no one can dodge His testimony. He will yet do this work for Israel on earth, once He has finished gathering His assembly for heaven. These words have never been fulfilled; so they must be.
Commentators have taken this promise in more than one direction. One writer names the two main readings, rejects both, and says when the promise will be kept.
And all this has not yet come to pass. Some apply these words to the return of a remnant from captivity in Babylon and see no future fulfilment of these promises. It is clear that the returning remnant did not have these blessings. Others make a spiritual application and claim it means the Church and the blessing Gentiles will receive as the sheep of Christ. This is the common path most commentators follow. It needs no long refutation, for neither Ezekiel nor the other prophets know anything of the Church... When the Church is complete in its full number, when the Lord has come for His saints and the true Church has passed from earth into glory, then the Lord will turn in mercy to His people Israel, and these promises given by Ezekiel will be fulfilled.
The sheep come home to their own land. One writer says it never stopped being theirs.
The land has been their own land in His mind all the way through. For a time it refused to own them as its people, but that cancels nothing: God never goes back on His purposes. The mountains of Israel will welcome them again. Every spring will run for their benefit, and they will fill all the habitable places of the country.
One writer follows what the true Shepherd does, from the rescue of the sheep to a homecoming that ends in peace.
How beautiful to turn from these heartless, greedy and cruel shepherds to see what the true Shepherd would do. He would seek out the scattered sheep. He would deliver them. He would bring them to their own land. No doubt this will happen when the Lord gathers Israel, now scattered among the nations, back to their own land. He will purify the land by the great tribulation. He will give the spirit of grace and of supplication to His ancient people. Then, for the first time, they will truly keep the great day of atonement. They will welcome their Messiah — the Shepherd of Israel — and so He will keep them in peace and security.
This verse undoes a scattering. One writer says God sometimes allows scattering, but it is never what He wants.
Their scattering will stop when they hear the Voice His people know — the Voice that does not scatter but brings together. It brings them together by removing every cause of scattering. Yet at times scattering may be the very thing that is of God, and He allows it to avoid a worse evil. Even then, He allows it only for a short time. What is in His heart is gathering, not scattering.
The verse does not stop at rescue; God also gathers. One writer draws a rule from that for anyone who cares for God's people.
The Lord does not deliver His people from the power of the enemy and then leave them. He also gathers them... "Separation" and "gathering" must go together. Separation without gathering only puffs up and leads to the spirit of the Pharisee, and to further scattering. When the Lord separates His people from evil He gathers them around Himself. Christ is God's great gathering centre. We may get Christians together, but if it is not gathering to Christ and with Christ it will only add to the scattering.
- Failure. Israel's shepherds scattered the flock they should have fed. So the whole care of the sheep falls back on God Himself.
- Promise. Four acts run through this verse — bring out, gather, bring home, feed. God claims every one of them as His own work.
- Timing. None of this has happened yet. The remnant that came back from Babylon never had these blessings, and commentators differ over whether the church is meant.
- Heart. God may allow scattering for a time to avoid a worse evil. But gathering is what He wants, and He gathers by removing every cause of scattering.
- Centre. Rescue is not finished until the sheep are gathered to Christ. Separation without a centre only scatters again.
I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be there shall they lie down in a good fold, and in a fat pasture they shall feed upon the mountains of Israel.
God has just exposed Israel's shepherds. They fed themselves and let the flock scatter. Now He says what He will do Himself: feed His sheep on good pasture and give them a place to lie down.
God names the failure, then announces what He Himself will do:
But Jehovah now points it out to say what He Himself would do. He would seek out His poor sheep. He would judge between sheep and sheep. He would deliver them from the mouth of those that devoured them. And He would feed them on the mountains of Israel, and in rich pastures.
The promise is too detailed to explain away. Nothing in Israel's history has matched it, so it still waits:
Verses 13 and 14 spell this out in language so simple and plain that it is useless to try to escape it. Here, as in similar passages, He testifies to the work He will yet do for Israel on earth, once He has finished gathering His assembly for heaven. These words have never yet been fulfilled; so they must be. Their certainty and security rest on Himself, and on that mercy which endures forever.
Commentators differ over who this good pasture is for. One writer sets out the main views and answers both:
And all this has not yet come to pass. Some apply these words to the return of a remnant from the Babylonian captivity. They see no future fulfilment of these promises. It is evident that the returning remnant did not have these blessings. Others make a spiritual application and claim that it means the Church, and the blessing which Gentiles will receive as the sheep of Christ. This is the path most commentators follow. It needs no long answer, for neither Ezekiel nor the other prophets know anything of the Church. That is unrevealed in the Old Testament. These promises wait while God is still gathering the Church, His body, out from all nations.
Writers also draw a lesson from the good pasture for Christians now. Food is not only supply. It shapes the one who eats it:
Having led His flock into their own land the Lord feeds them "with good pasture." The true food for the Christian is in the heavenly country... We need to feed on all the glories and perfections of Christ in the place where He is. And what we feed on forms us. To feed on Christ in His earthly path of humiliation will win our affections. But to feed on Christ in His glories will change our characters.
The verse says they will feed, and also that they will lie down in good grazing land. That rest is a test. A hungry sheep in rich grass does not lie down. It eats:
Hungry sheep will not lie down in a rich pasture, they will feed. If they lie down it is a sure proof they are satisfied. The great Shepherd of the sheep leads them into a region of satisfied desire.
The same principle is drawn out elsewhere from the shepherd psalm, where being made to lie down carries no idea of compulsion:
A sheep only lies down when satisfied. When it says "He makes me," the idea is not force, but the result of satisfaction because of the Shepherd's care.
This picture is not only about God's own care. It sets the standard for anyone who leads others:
In the verses that follow we have a magnificent description of how God shepherds His flock. And as the Chief Shepherd acts, so should the under-shepherds. So in these verses (11–16) we have the perfect example for the true-hearted shepherd, whether in Israel or among God's people today.
- The Shepherd acts. Israel's leaders failed. God does not appoint better ones. He says He will feed the flock Himself on the mountains of Israel, in rich pasture.
- The Shepherd promises. The wording is too plain to explain away. Nothing in Israel's past has matched it. So the promise still waits.
- The Shepherd's own flock. Some limit the promise to the return from exile. Others apply it to the church. But the returning remnant never had these blessings, and Ezekiel knows nothing of the church.
- The Shepherd feeds. Good pasture does more than fill the sheep. What the flock feeds on is what the flock becomes.
- The Shepherd satisfies. Lying down is the proof that the sheep are satisfied. Full sheep rest; hungry sheep keep eating. That same care is the pattern for anyone shepherding people today.
I will myself feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Israel's shepherds fed themselves and left the flock scattered. From verse 11 on, God answers that failure by taking the flock into His own hands. This verse is the heart of that answer. Who is this "I," and when does the promise come true?
The force of the verse lies in the repeated "I myself." The appointed shepherds failed, so the care of the flock passes to God.
So the complete failure of the shepherds casts their care on Jehovah Himself. He does not only hold those set over the sheep to account for them. He searches for the sheep and seeks them out wherever they are scattered. In verses 13 and 14 He says this so simply and plainly that no one can dodge it, here or in similar passages. He testifies to the work He will yet do for Israel on earth, once He has finished gathering His assembly for heaven. These words have never yet come true; so they must still happen. Their certainty and security rest on Himself, and on that mercy which lasts for ever.
Commentators differ on how far this reaches. Some say the return from exile in Babylon already fulfilled it. One writer looks instead to a morning still ahead for Israel.
"Behold, I myself, even I, will search for My sheep and will seek them out." Jehovah rises up on behalf of His scattered sheep. He will Himself carry out the work of a true shepherd, seeking out His flock. The cloudy and dark day is gone and another morning breaks, the morning His people have waited for so long… And all this has not yet come to pass. Some apply these words to the return of a remnant from the Babylonian captivity. They see no future fulfilment of these promises. It is clear that the returning remnant did not have these blessings.
At times God Himself allowed the scattering. So what does He want for His people?
Their scatterings will stop when they hear the Voice His people know — a voice that does not scatter, but brings together. It gathers them by removing every cause of scattering. Yet scattering may at times be the very thing that is of God, and He allows it to avoid worse evil. Even so, He allows it only for a brief time. What is in His heart is gathering, not scattering.
"I myself will make them lie down" sounds like something done to the sheep. So consider what actually makes a sheep lie down.
A sheep only lies down when it is satisfied. When it says "He makes me," the idea is not force, but the result of satisfaction because of the Shepherd's care.
Where they lie down matters too.
Finally, in that heavenly land He gives His people "Rest": "I myself will make them lie down" (v. 15)… And when God brings His people to rest it is "on rich pasture" (v. 14). Hungry sheep will not lie down on rich pasture; they will feed. If they lie down it is sure proof they are satisfied. The great Shepherd of the sheep leads them into a region of satisfied desire.
The chapter goes on to say more about who this Shepherd will be.
He Himself will both search for and seek out His sheep, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land… More than all, He will set up over them one shepherd who will feed them, His servant David, who is no less Jehovah than Himself.
This picture is not only prophecy.
But if God is against the shepherds, He is for the sheep… And in the verses that follow we have a magnificent description of how God shepherds His flock. And as the Chief Shepherd acts, so should the under-shepherds. So in these verses (11–16) we have the perfect example for the true-hearted shepherd, whether in Israel or among God's people today.
- Failure — when the shepherds collapsed, the care of the flock did not stop. It passed to God Himself, who says "I myself will."
- Gathering — God may allow scattering, but only for a short time. His heart is set on gathering.
- Feeding — He does not simply rescue the sheep and leave them; He brings them to good pasture and feeds them there.
- Rest — lying down is the last step and the proof of the others. A full sheep lies down, and no one forces it.
- Fulfilment — the promise has never yet come true in Israel's history, so it must still be ahead. The one Shepherd who carries it out is God Himself.
I will seek the lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up the broken, and will strengthen that which was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong I will feed them with judgment.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.