Scripture Reading: Psalms 23:1-2; Ezekiel 34:14-515
Psalms 23:1-2; ‘The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me besides the still waters.’
Eze 34:14-15; ‘I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.
Sheep are the most frequently mentioned animal in the Bible, and those who take care of them (the Shepherds), appears in approximately one hundred biblical passages. In the ancient Near East, a common description of a leader is the shepherd. He walks ahead of his sheep, leads them to pasture and defends them from wild animals. Most of the most prominent people in the Old Testament were shepherds by vocation. Both Moses and David are described as ‘shepherds’ to their people — and both served their apprenticeship looking after real sheep.
Civil and religious leaders in the Bible are often spoken of as shepherds of the people or the flock. In the New Testament, we see the metaphorical use of Shepherds for examples of leadership in the church, to describe how church pastors and elders should fill their responsibilities. Because sheep are helpless, if left to themselves, a shepherd must have qualities such as care and compassion. Sheep has always been a representation of human, that is, us. And we are always referred to as God’s flock. Actually Vernon McGee says ‘all sheep are stupid’ and that is such an accurate description of us. We are a timid defenceless creature.
Here in Ezekiel 34 he delivers the Lord’s judgment on the leaders who have been Israel’s shepherds in the recent past. They had been false Shepherds. They have behaved scandalously: exploiting their people, neglecting the weak and allowing the nation to be scattered. They have used and abused the flock. It is said that a society can be no better or rise no higher than its leaders. I also like to say that a church can be no better or rise no higher than its leaders. As a result of that, God takes on the role of the Shepherd himself.
Here in this portion of scripture, God takes on the role of the Shepherd. Actually Jesus said in John 10:11, ‘I am the good Shepherd.’ David himself says ‘The LORD is my Shepherd.’ These are God’s words of comfort to the children of God in their captivity. And as children we should listen to Him. He’s the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, and the Great Shepherd. He said, “I will search out my sheep.’ The thing that impresses me in the rest of Ezekiel chapter 34 is the repetition of a wonderful statement by God, “I will,’ which occurs eighteen times. What can we learn from these two portions of scriptures?
1. Rest of Faith
Psalms 23:1-2; ‘The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me besides the still waters.’
Eze 34:14-15; ‘I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.
By listening to these two portions of scriptures, immediately we are given the pictures of Rest, the sheep resting. It is a rest of faith in God.
The Phrase ‘He maketh me to lie down’ is repeated in Psalms 23:2 and Ezekiel 34:15. It is a picture of sheep resting with legs folded in sheepfold. Of course this is easier said than done. Many times our lives is not a rest as a result of our faith in Christ. What is he resting from? Stress, anxiety, fear, pressure, danger, striving and self-effort. These are real issues in life and it cannot be avoided. I look at my life. Do I wake up every morning with a troubled dreams? There is a Chinese idiom that says ‘日有所思，夜有所夢’. It means whatever you are thinking in the daytime is manifested in the night dream. Many of us sad to say, lives in stress, anxiety, fear, pressure, danger and striving. And it is even manifested in your facial countenance. This is a picture of captivity. We live in bondages. The Good Shepherd says that He has come to give us rest. It is a rest of peace. Peace is an evidence that the inner life is at rest from striving, struggling. Peace is a gift that God imparts to us when we learn to trust (John 14:27). Anything that disturbs our inner peace is a signal something is wrong. I have to be honest. Many times, as I try to move forward the expansion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I will be bombarded with news that literally threaten to take away the peace in my life. At times I allow the anger to rise up within me. Then I will strive to refute the lies that has been said. But then I realise in the midst of the striving, I lost my peace. There is no Rest of Faith in Christ. How about my family. There is no shadow of doubt that God has well taken care of my two daughters. But then, faithless as I am, I would be concern for their spirituality, whether their values in life is aligned with God. I will worry for the second daughter finding a good man in her life. At times both will be so rebellious, their views I felt are ungodly, and then I will be troubled for them. Concerning my children, I have to admit emotions of sadness, anger, hopelessness and strife. How about finances? Does finance take away your peace easily? Here God says so clearly that ‘I am the Good Shepherd.’ Colossians 3:15 “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts….” To rule is to prevail over your heart. Let the peace of God prevail over your heart.
To rest means to cease from Works, cease from Struggling. Is our lives full of works to be done to earn a blessing; and more often than not our works seems to be forever? Are we continually relying on our own efforts and strength which results in striving and struggling? And again the striving and struggling often leads to cycles of defeats, frustration, trying ‘to be good enough’. People lean towards self-effort which to them is the key to success instead of faith in God. We have books and resources that abounds in keys to success; works to do to be successful. But they are all so wrong, with nothing about faith in God, or rather the rest of faith.
Hebrews 6:12 gives a very clear answer that we should cease from works which he calls dead work and instead have faith towards God.
Dead Works – Faith
Striving – Rest
Self-Effort – Grace of God
Reasoning – Revelation
Anxiety/Pressure – Peace
Self Centered – God Dependent (Faith)
Rest will come when we overcome inner pressure by faith in God and His Word. Also you will enter into rest when you believe in your heart what God says and act upon it. You will enter into rest when you focus your effort on believing and not doing. Finally the Holy Spirit rests on men of peace who have come to rest of faith.
2. Feed on the Green Pastures
One of the role of the Shepherd is lead the sheep to green pastures. The green pastures is symbolic of the Word of God. Usually after the sheep had fed on the green pastures, they will rest and sleep. God is angry with the false shepherd because they did not feed the people with the Word of God. Vernon McGee says that any Christian work should be feeding the people – they should be giving out the Word of God. He says, I quote, ‘I feel that an organization has no right to fleece people for an offering when it has not given the people something first. We should be able to support ministries where we ourselves have received a blessing. The business of the ministry is not to beg for money all the time, but to give out the Word of God and to be feeding the sheep. This was God’s criticism of the false prophets – they had not given the people the Word of God. I feel that it should still be the standard by which we judge a ministry.’
Here the scripture says, God, the Good Shepherd will lead his people to green pastures. God will see to it, in this church that, as sheep prosper with good places to eat and rest, the members prosper with the Word of God. I thank God that many times, I heard from speakers that this congregation, I am referring to the majority, are attentive to the Word of God.
Charles Spurgeon have understood green pastures to be the place of most substantial feeding. Good pasture also indicate the abundant blessings in the land. They will have bread enough and to spare. They will go in and out of the house and always find good pastures, blessings. It will be fat, sweet and plentiful.
Green pastures also mean we will be given things which is impossible naturally speaking. Actually there are very few “green pastures” in the land of Israel. But that phrase tends to provoke the thought of a lush, green carpet of grass, where sheep are grazing to their heart’s content. What this verse meant is that He will provide things impossible naturally speaking, I believe that only those who has Christ as a Shepherd will constantly experience the miraculous, the supernatural, and the impossible made possible.
3. God’s promises to the Sheep
In place of corrupt shepherd, God promises to take personal responsibility as our shepherd. If the sheep were to be rescued and restored, the Great Shepherd would need to rescue them Himself. God says, ‘I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them.’ God would intervene personally on your behalf. God will rescue the scattered sheep and bring them back to their home (7–10). He will feed them and care for them (11–15). While being sympathetic to those who are afflicted, he will act with strict justice against those who are oppressive towards them. Notice the “I will’s” of the Lord God on behalf of his sheep.
The Shepherd and the sheep:—
V. 11 I will search them and seek them out.
V. 12 I will deliver them.
V. 13 I will bring them out.
V. 13 I will gather them together.
V. 13 I will bring them in.
V. 14 I will feed them.
V. 15 I will cause them to lie down.
V. 16 I will bind up the broken.
V. 16 I will strengthen the sick.
Vernon McGee says ‘My friend, Vernon McGee is going to be in heaven – not because he’s a smart sheep; all sheep are stupid – I am going to be there because I’ve got a wonderful Shepherd, and He (the wonderful Shepherd) says ‘I will, I will, again and again.’ When you go through verse 11 to 16, you will realize we need not be faithless when we encounter cloud and darkness, trials and testings but rest in faith in the Good Shepherd.
The good Shepherd has a pastor’s heart. Some people, including a certain type of preacher, try to suggest that the God of the OT is a harsh and unloving Deity, in contrast to God as He is presented in the NT. John Taylor beautifully ties together the revelations of God as Shepherd in both Testaments for us:
‘The picture of the shepherd searching out the wanderer, in verse 12, is a remarkable foreshadowing of the parable of the lost sheep (Lk. 15:4ff.), which our Lord doubtless based on this passage in Ezekiel. It illustrates as clearly as anything can do the tender, loving qualities of the God of the Old Testament, and strikes a death-blow at those who try to drive a wedge between Yahweh, God of Israel, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Nor is it the only passage that speaks of the tender shepherd.’
Here in a promise by the Good Shepherd that the sheep’s future is assured by his determination to “look for” them.
Beginning with verse 11 (I will search them and seek them out), the Lord Himself will regather Israel from all the nations among which they are scattered. They will be brought to the land that the Lord promised to Abraham. The terms of verse 16 indicate a spiritual ministry. In today’s contact, God will gather all people among which they are scattered and will be brought together to the land of Worship which is His sanctuary. Etab as a church witness this truth when God restore us to our land after a period of persecution and scattering. In this church there will also be a spiritual ministry that is given us, that is, ‘I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
In verse 12 it says, ‘I will deliver them.’ God will protect them. They will live in safety and fear no one. God will rescue them from cloud and darkness.
In Verse 14, it says, ‘I will feed My flock. In contrast to self-indulgent leaders who took advantage of the sheep, God will meet the needs of His sheep (people). This is clearly reminiscent of Ps. 23 and will be fulfilled by the Good Shepherd (John 10:1ff.), who will reign as Israel’s Shepherd. Not only will the Good Shepherd feed them but verse 14 says he will feed them upon the mountains of the height of Israel.’ The best summer pasture in the Near East has always been in the mountains. They will be placed on the very summit of sacred privilege, they should be sheep feeding on the mountain-heights of the Holy Land. Mount Zion was “the holy mountain”, where the best spiritual pasture was given to the hungering heart of the devout sheep. They will have the knowledge of the living God. They will have the fullest trust, the strongest affection that the human soul could obtain from the Good Shepherd. God will feed them in good pasture. There will be food for the soul and it will be fat pastures. They will lie in pleasant places and feed in lush pastures.
Verse 16 says, He will succour(relieve) those that are hurt, will bind up that which was broken and strengthen that which was sick, will comfort those that mourn in Zion. As ministers, the Good Shepherd will speak peace to those who are of a sorrowful spirit. The Holy Ghost, the Comforter will be faithful to his office. But you – you serve your God and he’ll bless your food and your water. I’ll get rid of the sickness among you; there won’t be any miscarriages nor barren women in your land. I’ll make sure you live full and complete lives. (Exodus 23:25-26) God will release a blessing of protection upon these instruments of harms.
In Eze 34:17–22 God says, ‘I will judge between.’ Once He has judged the leaders, God will also judge the abusive members of the flock as to their true spiritual state. This passage anticipates the judgment of the people given by Jesus Christ in Matt. 25:31–46. The ungodly are known because they trample the poor. The Lord alone is able to sort out the true from the false (cf. parables of Matt. 13), and will do so in the final kingdom. God will separate the sheep from the goat. The Chinese all over the world just had their Lunar New Year celebration which took place on February 19. The Lunar New Year also usher in the year of the Goat. But in the Chinese character the word ‘羊’ refers to both a sheep and a goat. There was no differentiation. That is the characteristics that is within the church; where we have the sheep and the goat. In the eyes of the world there is no differentiation but in the eyes of God, he can see the differentiation of the sheep from the goat. God says he will remove the goat from the sheep, the wheat from the tares. In this church let us be the wheat and not the tares, because God is going to do the separating. When someone comes to me and says, ‘Do you think so and so is a believer?’ I have to say that I don’t know. That’s not my business, that the Lord’s business. He knows the ones who are His. This focus has shifted to the need for God to judge both the good and the bad within Israel, or the church, according to the principle of individual responsibility. We must all realize as much as all Israelites that not all will move on to new Age of blessing. Within ethnic Israel, and even the church, there would be a separation of righteous from unrighteous based on God’s good and fair judgment.
