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.