“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
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?
The Summons Before the Sentence
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:
William KellyBut 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.
Who the Shepherds Were
The word "shepherds" here is not a picture of farm life. It names the men who held power over the nation:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe 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 "Therefore" Behind the Call
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:
Hamilton SmithThere 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:
Hamilton SmithThe 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.
Judgment That Is Really Rescue
What follows the summons is a sentence — but the motive behind the sentence is affection for the sheep:
F. W. GrantSo 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:
Hamilton SmithBut 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.
Who Else Should Be Listening
The chapter speaks first to Israel's own rulers. It does not stop there:
C. H. MackintoshEzekiel 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:
A J PollockMay 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.
Summary
- 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.