Our good shepherd

God called Ezekiel to speak to and against Israel’s shepherds, or leaders.

Shepherds should not only consider their own interests, but also those of the people they lead.

They take care of themselves well, with the best, but they do not take care of the people.

What should it look like to take care of their flock?

• strengthening the weak
• healing the sick and weak
• binding the injured’s wounds
• retrieving strays
• searching for the lost
• Lost sheep are those who wander as an “aimless flock,” go astray, and may perish.¹
• The shepherds did none of these things. Instead, they ruled harshly and brutally.
• With an ineffective, absent shepherd, the sheep were allowed to scatter. They may have been driven away.²
• Scattered sheep are prey for wild animals.
• The word picture here may refer to “Israel dispersed among the nations in fulfillment of God’s curse.”³
• The Lord’s sheep wandered and no one searched for them.

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).

Throughout this chapter, we encounter the concept of seeking. Ezekiel used four different words to describe the role of a good shepherd. This person would seek the lost and search and inquire about their whereabouts. Related forms of the word(s) refer to the “seeking and caring of a shepherd for his flock when they are scattered.” This shepherd is the Lord himself who “seeks and cares for … His sheep, His people.”⁴

Why do you think God compares his people and their leaders to sheep and shepherds?

In what ways are God’s people scattered today, and what are the consequences?

Read Ezekiel 34:7-10.

• Shepherds, this is the word of the Lord.
• His flock had no shepherd and had become prey for wild animals.
• In this context, they were “prey to evil shepherds as well as enemies.”⁵
• The shepherds didn’t search for the flock.
• They cared for themselves instead of the flock.
• God held the shepherds accountable.
• He removed them from tending the flock, which also took away the shepherds’ livelihood and sustenance.
• God rescued his flock. He is more powerful and stronger than the evil shepherds.

How has God held his shepherds accountable then and now?

How have you seen God rescue his sheep?

Read Ezekiel 34:11-13.

• God would search for his sheep.
• He would look after them and care for his scattered sheep.
• He rescued them from a day of clouds and darkness, the “ominous day of the Lord.” 875
• The Lord’s promises in this passage apply to more than one fulfillment.
• He brought the exiles back from captivity into their own land again.
• He gently leads and guides his people now.
• He will gather his own to himself when he comes again.

“He tends his flock like a shepherd: he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young” (Isaiah 40:11).

What is the significance of God searching for his sheep and bringing them back from captivity?

How does the Lord lead and guide his people now?

Read Ezekiel 34:14-16.

• The Lord would provide good pasture after he rescued his sheep.
• He personally would tend them and provide resting places.
• His sheep would rest “in security and safety.”⁶
• According to Baker, “restored pasture lands of rich quality are a part of a renewed Israel.”⁷
• The Lord searches for the lost and brings them back to himself.
• He takes care of the injured and strengthens the weak.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. … He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isaiah 40:28-29).

• God would destroy those who cared only for their own strength and security.

Why do you think God provided restored pasture lands in a renewed Israel?

Read Ezekiel 34:17-24.

• Next, the Lord addressed the sheep.
• He would judge between them to discern those who truly belonged in the flock.
• Baker defined goats as ungodly (?) “leaders or people of strong character or position.”⁸
• God drew a strong contrast between pure water clean enough to drink and muddy water trampled by animals.
• Nourish yourselves only in the place God has placed you.
• Don’t trample or muddy that which belongs to your fellow sheep.
• Take care of one another.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

• The Lord would judge between the strong and the weak.
• Ezekiel used the word “lean” to refer to strong, powerful people who “oppress the weak.”⁹
• Do not drive away those who are weaker than you.
• God is the one who rescues his sheep, fulfilling the “protective duty of [their] shepherd.”¹⁰
• He would set his shepherd over them, one from David’s line.
• This Person will tend them and be their shepherd.

“‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.’” (John 10:14-16).

• And the Lord alone would be their God.

How do you interpret what God said to the sheep in this passage?

How has God spoken to you as your shepherd?

Read Ezekiel 34:25-31.

• God would make a new covenant of peace with his sheep. We’ll read about that covenant in a later chapter in Ezekiel.
• He would protect his flock from evil and wild animals.
• Ezekiel described physical blessings regarding rainfall and harvest: God would provide for their needs.
• This part of Ezekiel’s message surely felt like refreshing rain after his words of judgment.
• In this passage, God declared they will know that I AM the Lord when he rescued them from captivity.
• They would no longer be devoured and enslaved, living in fear and trembling.
• God would provide for them and remove the curse of famine and shame.
• As God declared the nations would know I AM the Lord in judgment, now the nations would know I AM is with them and they are his people in blessing.
• The Lord clearly declared his people are indeed his sheep.
• I AM is Lord always and forever, and his word is true always and forever.

Why might a new covenant be important for God’s sheep?

What connections do you make between Psalm 23 and this chapter?

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care” (Psalm 95:7).

John Michael Talbot set this verse about our relationship with our shepherd to music.

 

1. Warren Baker, D.R.E., Eugene Carpenter, Ph.D. The Complete WordStudy Dictionary: Old Testament. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 1, 1101
2. Ibid., 710
3. Ibid., 893
4. Ibid.,159
5. Ibid., 125
6. Ibid., 1032
7. Ibid., 672
8. Ibid., 883
9. Ibid., 1044
10. Ibid., 484