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.