Monday
Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: “As surely as I live,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,” therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: This is what the Sovereign says: “I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.”
For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they are scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down,” declares the Sovereign Lord. “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”
(Ezekiel 34:7-16, NIV)
Ezekiel was one of the Jews exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C., and while he was in exile he received a call from God to become a prophet. He was from a priestly family and therefore served in that unusual role of both prophet and priest, just as Zechariah did, as we noted in Sunday’s verses.
Ezekiel’s world was one of tremendous upheaval. The Assyrian empire, which had destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, was itself under attack by the Babylonians. Palestine once again became a battleground for the “superpowers” as Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians all jockeyed for control of this area because of its strategic location.
God’s call to Ezekiel is to pronounce his judgment against Judah for her sins and then to extend this judgment against the seven nations surrounding her. Ezekiel witnessed the time when Jerusalem was destroyed (586 B.C.) and serves as a voice of consolation to God’s faithful for fifteen years following the capture of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple.
Today’s verses combine God’s judgment against the political and religious leadership of Israel, referred to as “shepherds,” with the prediction that a Good Shepherd is coming who will “rule with justice” (v. 16). Isaiah (56:11) and Jeremiah (23:9-11; 25:18-19) use the term “shepherds” to describe Israel’s leadership, who care only for themselves, and not for the people. Note Ezekiel’s charge that the shepherds care only about feeding themselves – hardly what we expect from people who are responsible for seeing that the sheep are fed! Israel had degenerated to the place where its ruling elites were concerned only with their own self-interests.
This is a prophecy that Jews pass down through both oral and written traditions. Have hope: a Good Shepherd is coming! When Jesus describes himself, as the “Good Shepherd,” as recorded in John 10:14, can you imagine how that excited the hearts of the faithful Jews who were eagerly awaiting his arrival?
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for sending us your Son, the Good Shepherd, who cared so deeply for his flock that he was willing to lay down his life to save them. We praise you, Jesus, for searching for those who are lost, binding up the injured, and ruling us with justice. Amen.