11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
17 “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? 19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
20 “Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, 22 I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken. Ezekiel 34: 11-24
Ezekiel 34: 11-24 ESV The Good Shepherd
…10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness. 11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock.… John 10: 10-12
11-16 I, I Myself will search for My sheep - Who is the good Shepherd? It is God, and so is the claim of Christ, that He must do what even the best of fallen shepherds could not fulfill. It is the same with our salvation, not of my works, and so I have no boast, because Christ had to fulfill all aspects of the law and at every stage. He was born a babe, then was a child, a teenager, a young man and an adult, entering the ministry at the age of 30, a Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. The holiness of God required absolute perfection in every stage and office, as prophet, priest and king. He has to come, secure the 90 and 9, and go out and look for the lost sheep of Israel Himself.
There is a subtle but clear testimony here to the deity of Jesus Christ. Without doubt, Ezekiel 34 presents Yahweh as the good and perfect shepherd of Israel. Without ambiguity, Jesus took that title to Himself (most clearly in John 10:1-18), demonstrating that He is God. - E Word
…16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.… - Matthew 16: 16-18
I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered - Now, this is certainly referring to the house of Israel, and it is quite literal that they were scattered; we know that from history. The northern kingdom had been taken by Assyria, now Judah has been taken to Babylon, and the Jewish people have been dispersed throughout the ages, literally. Some will return from this dispersion, but will come under Roman rule, and you will not see a king from the line of David till Christ returns. Since there was a literal dispersion why would we interpret the gathering any other way?
As promised in other places (Ezekiel 11:17, 36:24), God made promises associated with the New Covenant. These promises had a partial fulfillment in the return from exile but still await their true and perfect fulfillment. - E Word
i. “In beautiful and unforgettable words Ezekiel predicted a literal return and restoration of the people of Israel to their own land. Notice it will be a regathering from worldwide exile and dispersion.” (Feinberg)
ii. “In Ezekiel’s time, the Lord brought His people back from Babylon; but the picture here is certainly much broader than that, for the Lord spoke about ‘countries.’” (Wiersbe)
I will feed them in justice - Those who have fed off His other sheep, not addressed their sickness, their lost state, have not told the truth in order to divert attention from God to themselves, the flock fleecers will face honest and real judgement from Him Who knows not only the deeds, but the thoughts of men. We have been warned that there are those among us who dress like sheep, that there are tares sewn amongst the wheat, and God tells us no such thing in vain.
…39When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ 40And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ 41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.… Matthew 25: 39-41
17-24 As for you My flock - They had bad leadership, but these were human leaders of a human flock, so while the leadership will be judged as all men, based upon the wages of sin, yet theirs is the worse judgement as leaders, but this in no way excludes the flock from divine judgment. Remember, many leaders are in their position because people wanted their ears tickled, both people above them in the hierarchy or as we say, "chain of command", but also those who follow them. The flock is not exempt that keeps its mouth shut when leaders stray, for we have the words of the living God to hold up and compare to what men say and do. It is popular in our time to blame one's sins or actions on parents, teachers, government and so forth, and even warrant our behavior based upon that of others, even others long since dead, yet we would not tolerate the same behavior in others towards ourselves.
Modern western culture often divides the world into two categories: oppressors and victims. Great attention is given to the sins and crimes of the oppressors, and often rightly so. Yet we err when we think there are never circumstances when one thought to be a victim can also have responsibility for their own sins and failings before God. - E Word
…21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’… Matthew 7: 21-23
“The flock will in fact be purified, not only of its bad leadership but also of its bad members.” (Taylor)
Tread down with your feet the rest of the pasture - These sheep took no consideration of other sheep, and they were well fed but destroyed the pasture for future use. It is a sad thing to see in church of all places, but there are members that see it as a social place, and as long as they are happy and full then things are fine. There are others that see it this way, but are also high maintenance, thinking the whole of the church staff should be at their call, yet they give as little as they can. They draw upon it's resources for they are there for the fish and the bread, and would allow a widow and her children to go hungry that they may take her seat at the table. If they hear the word free then they devise a story of how that needs to be allotted to them. When the good Shepherd comes He will be able to distinguish between sheep and sheep, every member, individually, perfectly.
…20Now then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat. 21For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without sharing his meal. While one remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? No, I will not!… 1 Corinthians 11: 20-22
Drink what you have muddied with your feet - They have, as those in the dark ages, been able to read the Word of God in Latin, which it was not originally written in, and then passed along their soiled versions or takes on, acting as though they speak from the authority of Scripture. In Ezekiel's time, the Scribes and other shepherds, elders, and priests, should have held to the purity of God's word, but they passed along what was advantageous to them, kept the parts they liked and robbed God of His glory. The version of religion passed on to those who were not as educated or were more reliant upon these elders and teachers, was ritualism mixed with paganism. It would leave the drinker still thirsty and make them sick. The elders during Ezekiel's time had the temple, yet worshiped idols in it, they had the law and the prophets, yet looked to the cultures around them, they had the only true God, yet looked to Pharaoh, a lost man, for their deliverance. True religion, followers of the real God, were hard to find, and what was being passed down was apostasy, like that of Jeroboam.
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” John 4: 7-26
“The poor, misled, and muzzled people are glad to eat such as they can catch. They are fed with traditions, legendary fables, indulgences, vowed pilgrimages, penances.” (Trapp)
And thrust at all the weak with your horns - They lived more like pure atheist then many a professing atheist, as though it is only survival of the fittest, and were not inclined to believe that the meek shall inherit the new earth. They were Job's companions, but even worse.
Note, Many that live in pomp and at ease themselves care not what straits those about them are reduced to, so they may but have every thing to their mind. Those that are at ease, and the proud, grudge that any body should live by them with any comfort. But this as not all; they not only robbed the poor, to make them poorer, but were troublesome to the sick and weak of the flock (v. 21): They thrust with side and shoulder those that were feeble (for the weakest goes to the wall) and pushed the diseased with their horns, because they knew they could be too hard for them, when they durst not meddle with their match. It has been observed concerning sheep that if one of the flock be sick and faint the rest will secure it as well as they can, and shelter it from the scorching heat of the sun; but these, on the contrary, were most injurious to the diseased. Those that they could not serve themselves of they did what they could to rid the country of, and so scattered them abroad, as if the poor, whom, Christ says, we must have always with us, were public nuisances, not to be relieved, but sent far away from us. Note, It is a barbarous thing to add affliction to the afflicted. - Matthew Henry
…26It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”… Matthew 20: 26-28
My servant David - This will be the return of Davidic rule, for they know that David is dead, yet they know that Messiah is promised. It is interesting that he says David twice, and some writers believe this to mean that King David will also return to rule a portion under Messiah, just as those 12 disciples will each rule over one of the tribes. Jesus fulfilled the Davidic Covenant, in that His pedigree is given both in the line of His adopted earthly father, Joseph, from David's line, and His mother, Mary, also of the line of David. In Jeremiah the Righteous branch is referred to as King, and David here is referred to as prince, so there is the possibility that David will once again have a shepherding role in the New Kingdom.
…4I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD. 5Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land. 6In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.… Jeremiah 23: 4-6
Also, it says in verse 22, that they shall no longer be a prey, and this has yet to be fulfilled literally and completely, but I believe it will be just as the dispersion was. Once the time of the gentiles is complete, then Israel will be rescued from that time of great travail. The only possible realization of this sort of worldwide and lasting peace, will be promised by antichrists in every generation, but delivered by the Son of God when He sets all things right. Until then I pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and the Lord's speedy return.
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