Ezekiel - Lesson 35

Lesson 35, The Good Shepherd Returns, The Salvation of Yahweh's Flock, Ezekiel 34 1-22. Let's begin by talking about the historical context of Ezekiel 34-48. This will be our introduction to the good, good news of this long section. Our adventure into the world of Ezekiel began in southern Palestine at the turn of the 7th and 6th centuries BC. The relative calm that the nation of Judah had enjoyed during the reign of the young and godly King Josiah came crashing down in 609 BC when he was killed by an Egyptian arrow at Megiddo. His successors were all spiritual and disastrous spiritually and politically. Jehoahaz lasted only three months before he was removed by the Egyptians and replaced by Jehoiakim, who occupied the throne for a decade. However, Jeremiah described him as a violent and bloodthirsty monster for whom the prophet predicted a donkey's burial. Jeremiah 22, 13-23. Late in 598 BC, Nebuchadnezzar had had enough of his insubordination and replaced him with his son Jehoiakim. But Jehoiakim was equally insubordinate, so three months later, Nebuchadnezzar took him hostage to Babylon along with 10,000 craftsmen and smiths who could serve the Babylonian economy. He installed Zedekiah, Mathaniah his given name, Jehoiakim's uncle, but he turned out to be the worst of the lot. And with his capture and execution in 586 BC, the Davidic dynasty disappeared and the once thriving land of Judah turned into a dark and gloomy Mordor. 2 Kings 23, 28-25, 21. Let's talk about the theological and rhetorical context of Ezekiel 34-48. These developments, these historical developments, threw into question Yahweh's fidelity to his covenant promises, which had been the pillars of their security to the bitter end. First, Yahweh had entered into an eternal covenant with his people. Second, Yahweh had given the nation the land of Canaan as their eternal possession. Third, Yahweh had chosen Jerusalem as his eternal residence from which he exercised sovereignty over his people. And fourth, Yahweh had promised the Davidic house eternal title to and occupancy of the throne of Israel. Ezekiel had warned the people repeatedly in chapters 4-24 that access to the benefits of covenant relationship with Yahweh was contingent on fidelity to him and his covenant, and to the mission for which God had ordained Israel. And as we saw in 33, 21-22, and 30, verses 30-33, the fall of Jerusalem had proved him and Yahweh right. However, if his compatriots in exile had listened, they would have heard hints of a different future. Yahweh's promises were indeed eternal, and he would remain true to his word. We've heard the hints of a different future. First, remember that little tuft of hair that Ezekiel had stashed away in the hem of his garment when he had disposed of the burning one-third, chopping one-third, and scattering one-third to the wind, 5-1-3. Second, remember the Lord's promise to the exiles in 11, 14-21, when their relatives back home were claiming their property. The Lord had promised to regather them and bring them home while performing a heart transplant in their bodies. Third, remember how, after rehearsing Jerusalem's horrific adulteries, Yahweh promised to remember his covenant and re-establish his covenant relationship with them in 16, 60-63. Four, remember Yahweh's promise in 17, 22-25 to restore the Davidic line and have all the world finding refuge in its wings, the Davidic line. Five, remember Yahweh's promises of restoration in phases 6 and 7 of his review of Israel's history in 20, 33-35 and 39-40. And these are not all the hints of the better things eventually to come. The time had come now for the prophet to pick up these threads and create a magnificent tapestry portraying the return of Yahweh to his people and the return of his people to the shire to borrow another image from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. In the next few studies, we will observe the world that had disintegrated completely. It would be totally reconstructed and restored with a glory that the original Israel could scarcely have imagined. Yahweh had carefully designed and crafted this gospel according to Ezekiel. These last 15 chapters divide into two major blocks. In chapter 34-39, the prophet's proclamation of the good news, which involves a series of exciting oracles received from God. In chapter 40-48, Yahweh revealed the good news in the form of a long, complex vision, but they all focused on Yahweh's restorative actions for the glory of his name according to a grand apologetic scheme. In 34-31, our first text, he spoke of restoring Yahweh's role as Israel's divine shepherd king. Two, he spoke of restoring Yahweh's land in 35-1 to 36-15. Three, he spoke of restoring Yahweh's honor, 36-16 to 38. Four, restoring Yahweh's people, 37-1 to 14. Five, restoring Yahweh's covenant with all Israel, 37-15 to 28. Six, restoring Yahweh's supremacy, 38-1 to 39-29. Seven, restoring Yahweh's presence among his people, 40-1 to 46-24. And eight, restoring Yahweh's presence in the land, 47-1 to 48-35. The book ends on a dramatic and climactic note, an announcement that Yahweh is there, Yahweh Shammah, the Lord is there. These chapters offer an amazing picture of Yahweh's fidelity to his word and his people. If the first 24 chapters were about what do you say to a people whose God has abandoned them, that's chapters 1 to 24. Here it's all about what do you say to a people whose God is coming back. It's an amazing portrait, kaleidoscope, and they open with a remarkable picture in which Yahweh, his covenant people, and the covenant land come together, and in so doing, reconstitute the covenant triangle that was established long ago. Humpty Dumpty will indeed be put together again, finally fulfilling the ideals of the original Israelite covenant. So now we come to chapter 34. This is the introduction. Let's talk first about the structure of this chapter. The boundaries of this oracle are set literarily by the preamble in verses 1 to 2, which we've come to expect, which ends with the prophetic formula, thus has the Lord Yahweh declared, and it ends with a signatory formula in verse 31, the declaration of the Lord. However, coming immediately after Yahweh's pronouncement of judgment against the shepherd-less Judeans in Jerusalem and in exile, this passage opens with one more judgment oracle surprise, verses 1 to 10, but this is the foil for the wonderful news to come. The opening charge, Son of Man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, O shepherds of Israel. And then we have a call for the addressee's attention with, Hey, shepherds of Israel. This prepares us for what's coming here, the erection of a literary foil against which to interpret the remainder of this restoration oracle and actually of all the rest. However, the utterance ends with a brilliant reminder, identifying who the true shepherd is and whose flock these people are at the end. Now you are my flock. You are the human flock of my pasture, and I am your God. This statement summarizes the essentials of the covenant triangle with beautiful pastoral picture. Yahweh, the God of Israel, is the shepherd. Israel, the people of Yahweh, this is his flock, and Yahweh's land is a gift given to them for their flourishing. After the horrors of the past two or three decades, Ezekiel's audience should have been inspired by the brilliance of his gospel, and so should we. Between this framework, we recognize a carefully structured oracle. It starts with the announcement of the flock's deliverance, verses 1 to 10. We'll give you the big outline first. B, the nature of the flock's deliverance, verses 11 to 22, and then third, the goal of the flock's deliverance, Yahweh's covenant of peace, verses 21 to 30. The first part, the announcement of the flock's deliverance, verses 1 to 10, consists of two parts, the indictment of the shepherds of Israel, 1 to 6, and then the sentencing of the shepherds of Israel. Our exposition in this lesson here is limited to the first two major headings. Because of its focused messianic significance, the third, verses 21 to 30, deserves its own separate treatment. But before we begin, we need to observe also the linkage of this chapter to Jeremiah 23, verses 1 to 6. Hearers familiar with the book of Jeremiah will hear clear echoes of Jeremiah 23, 1 to 6, in this passage. We may highlight the connections by marking the common expressions and themes in the Jeremiah text. So here's Jeremiah 23, 1 to 6. O shepherds who are destroying and scattering the flock of my pastor, the declaration of Yahweh, therefore thus has Yahweh the God of Israel declared concerning the shepherds who are tending my people. You have scattered my flock and driven them away. You have not attended to them. Take note, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your misdemeanors, the declaration of Yahweh. I myself shall gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them. I shall bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. I shall also install over them shepherds who will tend them. They will be afraid no longer, nor will they be terrified, nor will they be unaccounted for, the declaration of Yahweh. Take note. Behold, days are coming, the declaration of Yahweh, when I shall install for David a righteous branch. He will reign as king, and he will act wisely. He will exercise justice and righteousness in the land. In his day, Judah will be delivered, and Israel will dwell securely. This is the name by which he shall be called Yahweh our righteousness, Yahweh Tzidkenu. We do not know when Jeremiah proclaimed his oracle, but it had obviously found its way to Babylon. We may speculate that Ezekiel could have been reading Jeremiah's prophecy when this message came to him far away, five hundred miles across the desert. Perhaps the fugitive who had announced the fall of Jerusalem in 3321 had brought with him a briefcase of Jeremiah's writings. More likely, Sariah ben Neriah, the brother of Baruch, may have brought a case of Jeremiah's prophecies in 594-93 BC, when he accompanied Zedekiah on an official trip to Babylon, Jeremiah 51-59-64. I admit that both scenarios are speculative, but since our word pastor, a transliteration of the Latin word pastor in the Vulgate, translates the Hebrew word for shepherd, roer, we recognize Ezekiel 34 as an eminently pastoral text. Actually, it involves three types of pastors. The shepherds of Israel, plural, in verses 1-10, referring to the line of Israel's kings. Second, Yahweh as the divine shepherd of Israel, verses 11-22 and 31. And third, a revived David died, whom Yahweh will install as shepherd king of the restored Israel, verses 23-24. We need to take a closer look at each of these shepherds, though the last one will receive full attention in the next lesson. The prophet's focus shifted from shepherd to shepherd in each of these three major sections. So let's begin with the shepherds of Israel who were Ezekiel's addressees in the first part. It begins with the announcement of the flock's deliverance, verses 1-10. Hear the preamble, verses 1-2. The following message of Yahweh came to me, human, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, O shepherds, thus has the Lord Yahweh declared, hey, shepherds of Israel. He's calling for their attention. After the tragedy the Judeans had experienced during the past decade, we might have expected Yahweh to have the Babylonians in his crosshairs and to announce here that he would rescue the Israelites from their bondage in Babylon, as he had done a long ago with the signs and wonders by which he rescued his people from slavery in Egypt. But Ezekiel never spoke of the exile status in Babylon as enslavement. The agents of oppression and enslavement in this oracle were the kings of Israel. It's from them that they need deliverance. It's doubtful that any of the exiles viewed their fate this way, but in a sense, Nebuchadnezzar's taking these 10,000 people to Babylon was Yahweh's first act of deliverance. And he rescued Johoiachin from the horrible fate that awaited what remained of the Davidic house back home. That was, in fact, a deliverance, though I'm sure he didn't feel that way. Well, Ezekiel may have included the rulers of the northern kingdom of Israel that existed from 932 to 722 BC in the epithet shepherds of Israel. His primary addressees were the Davidic line of kings that had ruled continuously in Jerusalem from 1011 BC to 586 BC. Remarkably, that's one of the longest continuous dynasties in the ancient world. Ezekiel 34, 1 to 10, represents a scathing indictment of that dynasty. To be sure, there had been positive exceptions like David, the ancestor of the line, and Hezekiah, 2 Kings 18, 1 to 6, and Josiah, 2 Kings 22 to 23. Nevertheless, this phase of the oracle is a semi-independent utterance indicting the Davidic house after the fact. This is rhetoric. At the time of its delivery, the dynasty had been dismantled and was hanging on by a thread in the person of Jehoiak and also exiled in Babylon. In verses 1 to 10, Yahweh offered an ex-eventu, after the event, explanation for his demolition of the Davidic house. Compare chapter 19 where you have a whole lament for the Davidic house. When Ezekiel received this revelation, Yahweh's Babylonian agent had already executed the judgment on the dynasty. However, the flock was still languishing under the effects of the punishment of the kings and of their people. While Yahweh held the kings primarily responsible for the demise of the nation, the people had themselves also been wicked to the core. But neither story concerning the house of David or the house of Israel could end there. The purpose of this phase of the utterance was to set the context for the deliverance of the nation. Ezekiel's portrayal of kings as shepherds of the people was common throughout the ancient Near Eastern world. Among the titles claimed by Hammurabi, the 18th century B.C. king of Babylon, among those titles were faithful shepherd, beloved shepherd of Marduk or Ninurta, shepherd favorite of Enlil, Shamash, and Marduk, shepherd of the great people, shepherd of the black-headed. Indeed, reminding us of Yahweh's appointment of David as shepherd of my people Israel, 2 Samuel 5.2, in the prologue to Hammurabi's law code, the king spoke eloquently but bombastically of having been specially chosen by the gods to shepherd the black-headed sheep of Babylon. When the august god Anu, king of the Anunnaki deities and the god Enlil, lord of heaven and earth who determines the destinies of the land, when he allotted supreme power over all peoples to Marduk, the firstborn son of Ea, he exalted him among the Igigi deities, he named the city of Babylon with its august name and made it supreme within the regions of the world and established for him within it eternal kingship whose foundations are as fixed as heaven on earth. This is the prologue to the Hammurabi law code. He established for him within it eternal kingship whose foundations are as fixed as heaven on earth. At that time, Anu and Enlil, for the enhancement of the well-being of the people, named me by my name, Hammurabi, a pious prince who venerates the gods to make justice prevail on the land, to abolish the wicked and the evil, to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak, to rise like the sun god Shamash over all humankind, to illuminate the land. I am Hammurabi, the shepherd, selected by the god Enlil, who heaps high abundance and plenty, who perfects every possible thing for the city of Nippur, the city known as a band of heaven and earth, the pious provider of the Akur, the temple there in Nippur. End of Hammurabi's quote. Indeed, according to a Babylonian proverb, quote, a people without a king is like sheep without a shepherd. This is the image we're talking about. It was common all over the ancient world. This leads to Yahweh's indictment of the royal shepherds of Israel, verses 2c to 5. What was it about these Israelite shepherd kings that had made them the object of Yahweh's fury? Whereas beginning with Solomon and all down the line to Manasseh and Zedekiah, the kings had persistently sponsored apostasy in the form of worshiping other gods. Remarkably, Ezekiel said nothing about that here. His focus was on how the kings had treated their subjects, that is, the humans who had been created as God's image and had been put into the king's charge. Notice how direct, how forthright the prophet was. Verse 2. Hey, shepherds of Israel who have been tending themselves alone, surely it is the flock that shepherds ought to tend, the milk you consume, the wool you wear, and the fatlings you butcher. But the flock you do not tend, the weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not sought. With harsh you have not bound up, the stray you have not fetched, and the lost you have not sought. With harshness and ruthlessness you have mistreated them, they have been scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they have become prey for every animal. That's a pathetic report. Just as the function of shepherds was to care for their flock, so the function of Israel's kings and leaders in any position, for that matter, was to care for the people in their charge. But these miserable shepherds had exploited the flock, using and abusing them entirely in self-interest, as if their subjects were their property. And the effects were disastrous. Because the flock lacked true shepherds, the Hebrew word means tenders, one assigned to tend to care for others, they were scattered all over the hills with no one to feed them or attend to their wounds or protect them from wild animals. But the issue was more fundamental than that. As Yahweh's comment in verse 6 indicates, the king's behavior represented a fundamental betrayal of Yahweh's trust. My flock wander about among the mountains and on every high hill. My flock have been scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one to search and no one to look for them. The people were Yahweh's flock, not the king's. As David had recognized long ago in 2 Samuel 7, Israel's kings were installed as administrators of the covenant to keep the covenant relationship involving Yahweh, the nation, and the land well oiled. But in defiance of Deuteronomy 17, 14 to 20, they had claimed absolute authority and become monsters, using the office in their own rapacious interest. In verses 7 to 10, we have Yahweh's sentence for the royal shepherds of Israel. Yahweh reinforced this assessment in the sentence he imposed on the shepherds in these verses. Therefore, when you hear Lachan, therefore, all shepherds of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh. As I live the declaration of the Lord Yahweh, surely because my flock has become spoiled and my flock has become prey for every wild animal for lack of a shepherd, and my shepherds have not searched for my flock, and the shepherds have tended themselves instead of tending my flock, and he doesn't finish the sentences. Therefore, all shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh. Thus has the Lord Yahweh declared, look, I am against you, against the shepherds. I will hold them responsible for my flock and terminate their tending my flock. The shepherds will not tend themselves any longer. I will rescue my flock from their jaws, so they will no longer be prey for them. The last sentence is particularly shocking in several respects. First, the verb rescue. I will rescue, deliver, and heal. Cast Yahweh's action on behalf of the sheep in Exodus language. In Exodus 5, 23, Moses had complained to Yahweh, since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil harm to his people, and you have not rescued your people at all. Same word. Ezekiel may also have had in mind the prophecy of Micah, who had used the verb of rescue from vicious animals metaphorically more than a hundred years ago. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of the sheep, which when it goes through, treads down, and tears in pieces, and there is none to rescue. Micah 5, 8. But in this text, the monster was not an animal that attacks an unsuspecting flock in the pasture, but the people's own royal Davidic rulers. This was God's assessment of those who had sat on his throne. 2 Chronicles 20, 9, 3 calls the throne on which David and his descendants sat, the throne of Yahweh. But the second feature of this last statement may be even more shocking. Yahweh promised that he would rescue his flock from the king's jaws. The imagery borders on caricature. What makes this form of the metaphor extraordinary is that it involved the verb rescue and the adverb from their jaws, literally mouth, which occurs only once anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible. And it comes from the mouth of David in describing his qualification to rescue Israel from the Philistine Goliath. David said to King Saul, Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and when a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, I went out after him, and I beat him, and I rescued the lamb out of its jaws. And if it reared up against me, I caught him by his mane, and struck him, and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God. 1 Samuel 17, 34 to 36. To Yahweh, David's descendants had become wild animals devouring their own people. Now Yahweh promised to rescue them from these monster beasts. Again, remarkably, the monster was not Nebuchadnezzar. The monster was the people's own leaders. For the rulers, this was an announcement of judgment. But for the flock, this was a brilliant announcement of hope. We turn then to verses 11 to 22 for the nature of the deliverance. Having reviewed how the royal shepherds had performed, or rather twisted, their pastoral duties, in verses 11 to 22, the focus shifted to the second shepherd in this picture, Yahweh himself. It is not that he hereby newly introduced his own shepherding role. He had spoken at length of the effects of Israel lacking a shepherd in verses 5 to 8, and had referred to the royal household as my shepherds, verse 8. But he had never claimed the title of shepherd in verses 1 to 10. However, by referring to Israel as my flock nine times, verses 6, twice, verse 8, four times, ten, three times, he had certainly cast himself in that role. The perception of gods as shepherds of the people was also widespread in the ancient world. In the era epic, one of Marduk's titles was shepherd of the people, and the Akkadian records mention one person whose name was Shamash Ri'u'ah, which is Shamash is my shepherd, which is strikingly similar to Yahweh is my shepherd, the opening words of Psalm 23. The role of Shamash, the sun god, is celebrated in an ancient great hymn to Shamash, the sun god. You climb to the mountains surveying the earth. You suspend from the heavens the circle of the lands. You care for all the peoples of the lands, and everything that Ea, king of the counselors, had created is entrusted to you. Whatever has breath, you shepherd without exception. You are their herdsman, their keeper in upper and lower regions. Regularly and without ceasing, you traverse the heavens. Every day you pass over the broad earth. Shepherd of that beneath, herdsman keeper of that above. You, Shamash, direct. You are the light of everything. You never fail to cross the wide expanse of sea. Ezekiel's characterization of Yahweh as the shepherd of Israel draws on a long-standing Israelite tradition, dating back to the patriarch Jacob, who had acknowledged God as my shepherd all my days, Genesis 48, 15. But what we need to hear in our text is how Yahweh performed his shepherding role. We heard a hint of his passion in verses 8 to 10. As I live the declaration of the Lord Yahweh, surely because my flock has become a spoil, and my flock has become prey for every wild animal, for lack of a shepherd, and my shepherds have not searched for my flock, and the shepherds have tended themselves instead of tending my flock. We have a hint there. But as we observe many times with, as I live, or by my life, chai ani, Yahweh put his life on the line if he did not defend his flock. But what specific actions did he promise in their defense and to secure their restoration and well-being? We've already heard that he would rescue his sheep from the jaws of their Davidic rulers, the monsters. In effect, that had already happened in 586 BC. No heir to David remained in Jerusalem. The only remnant of this once-proud dynasty was Jehoiachin, but at this time he was still languishing in prison in Babylon with no hope of return. Therefore, the flock could neither count on him to rescue them, nor did they need to fear that he would continue to oppress and abuse them. In verses 11 to 22, Yahweh portrayed his shepherds' style from two perspectives. One, he promised to deliver them from their external threats, their kings, verses 11 to 16. And two, he promised to deliver them from the bullies, the abuse of rams and billy goats, or is it bully goats among the flock, verses 17 to 22. So let's look first at Yahweh's rescue of his flock from external threats, verses 11 to 16a. The divine savior began his glorious message of deliverance by announcing his presence among the oppressed. Here I am, Himeni, look at me. Literally, behold me, I. And then he followed this up with a long chain of verbs, highlighting himself, Yahweh, as the subject of everyone. For thus has the Lord Yahweh declared, here I am, I will seek the welfare of my flock and examine them carefully, just as a shepherd examines his herd when he is present among his scattered flock, so I will examine my flock.

I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. I will lead them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land. I will tend them on the mountain of Israel, mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the land. In lush meadows I will tend them, and on the lofty mountains of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in lush pasture and feed on rich meadows on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my flock, and I myself will let them lie down, the declaration of the Lord Yahweh. The lost I will seek, the strays I will fetch, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will strengthen. The last half of verse 11 announces the key idea, I will seek my flock. That really is shorthand for, I will seek the welfare of my flock, the shalom, and I will examine them carefully. Since Beqer speaks of careful examination of the sheep's condition, to seek my flock may mean either to examine carefully or look for problems in their sheep, or more likely it serves as an abbreviation for, I will seek the welfare of my flock. In verse 6, the verb darash had meant to seek, to look for, and in the sense of to demand, to hold accountable. But verses 12 to 15 outline Yahweh's restorative procedures by listing a series of divine actions. One, having arrived at the scene of the scattered flock, Yahweh will examine their physical condition. Two, Yahweh will rescue the flock from the clutches of the enemy, now cast as the places where the exiles were found, rather than their predator rulers. Verse 10. Three, he will bring the flock out of their places of exile. Four, he will gather kibbets, the flock from the countries that hold them. Five, he will bring them to their own land. Six, he will tend the flock on Israelite soil, that is, the mountains, the valleys, the hills, and the ravines of their homeland. Compare this with chapter 6 verse 3. Verses 14 to 15 elaborate on Yahweh's shepherding style. In contrast to the self-serving rulers of Israel, he promised to graze the flock in fine meadows and on the lofty mountains of Israel. However, he summarized the effects of his care from the sheep's perspective. They will lie down, that is, be secure in good pasture and graze in fertile meadows on the mountains of Israel. He reinforced this picture in verse 15, though he added, I myself highlighted Yahweh's personal role in providing rest and provender. He sealed this promise with the divine signatory formula. And in 16a to b, Yahweh reviewed his saving activity with six short sentences cast as mirror images of verse four. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the stray you have not fetched, the lost you have not sought. And that's a-b-c-d-e. And now notice what happens in the Lord's response. He reverses the order. The lost I will seek, the stray I will fetch, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will strengthen. By inverting the sequence, Ezekiel emphasized that with Israel's restoration, the tragedies of the past will be reversed. By recasting negative statements as positive affirmations, he deliberately portrayed Yahweh as the good shepherd, the antithesis of the earlier evil shepherds. This is the Lord's rescue from external threats. Then we have Yahweh's rescue of his flock from internal threats, 16b to 22. The last statements in verse 16 are difficult, but in this context, it seems best to follow the ancient versions, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, and to see Hebrew here, I will watch, guard, ashmir, as a spelling mistake for I will destroy, ashmid, which ESV preserves.

In any case, it seems that in Hebrew, a D and an R are very easily confused or mistaken. The difference is only the little tittle on the D as opposed to the R. In any case, it seems that the rulers were not the only ones exploiting the weak. The fat and the strong among the flock were bullying the scrawny and the weaker in the flock. Verses 17 to 22 reinforce this interpretation, offering commentary on what policing and tending the bullies with justice involved. Although this segment began as a matter of policing and administering justice among the population, the last sentence, I will rescue hoshiyah, it's a different word, I will save my flock, put the issue of justice in the category of deliverance. The weak sheep need to be rescued from the bullies. Apparently, even when the predatory royals had been removed, the scum kept rising to the top. Yahweh described the scummy behavior of the bullies in great detail. Verse 17, now as for you, my sheep, thus has the Lord Yahweh declared, look, I will judge between one sheep and another that is between the rams, aleem, and the bucks, etudim. It is not enough for you to feed, is it not enough for you to feed on the lush pasture that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? And is it not enough for you to drink the clear water that you must foul that which is left with your feet? Meanwhile, my flock must feed on what your feet have trampled and drink what your feet have fouled. Therefore, thus says the Lord Yahweh declared to them, look, I myself will judge between the fat and scrawny sheep because you throw your weight around with flank and shoulder and you butt all the weak with your horns until you have scattered them abroad. Therefore, I will save my flock so that they will no longer be prey. I will judge between the sheep one and another. Now, I have never worked with goats, but I have worked with cattle and sheep a little, and I know how this works. According to an anecdote in my parents' autobiography, interestingly named, Our Shepherd, All Our Days, as a toddler I was a victim of a mean bully ram who one day kept butting me with his horns and had my mother not looked outside the window just then.

I probably would not be working with you all on Ezekiel here. In contexts involving a single species of creatures, bullies are generally the first to the watering hole, and if they are not, those who preceded them know that when they arrive they'd better leave in self-interest. And on a hot day, as is often the case in Palestine, the strong tend to linger in the watering hole, muddying the waters with their hooves and fouling it with their excrement and urine. Yes, I've seen that happen. And this was what was left for the weak to drink. Well, in the second paragraph, verses 20 to 22, Yahweh shifted attention from how bullies behave out in the pasture and at the watering holes and how they behave within the fold. They throw their weight around. They butt with their horns and they shove with their shoulders until the weak give up. They leave the fold and they scatter on the hills, which is where they have fled to escape abusive kings. The strong among the animals have learned from their leaders, unfortunately. Such bullying called for a response from the divine shepherd. Here the verb to judge, shafat, refers not simply to solving legal cases in court, as in 20, 32 to 38, but in this context where the crime and the offender are both known, the word spoke of establishing justice, removing the cause of relational dysfunction and restoring shalom. As the divine shepherd, Yahweh promised to intervene to rescue the weak from the strong and to reestablish order in the community. However, instead of introducing an anticipated announcement of judgment upon the greedy and the abusive animals, therefore, Lacan, in verse 20, rhetorically signals an after wave, announcing divine intervention in the troubled situation. Yahweh reiterated that he himself would mediate and thereby offered hope to the oppressed by taking his stand on their side. Consistent with the foregoing, verse 22 highlights the fact that this phase of the oracle was not primarily about the punishment of the wicked, but the rescue of the flock and securing their well-being. In the next address, we will see that verses 23 to 31 declare in full color what that sort of security looks like. Now, the theological implications of this very pastoral text, literally so, Ezekiel 34, 1 to 22, are both profound and exhilarating. What lessons do we learn? First, when Yahweh extends his grace to Israel again, the disintegrated deity-nation land triangle is restored. Ezekiel's vision of the messianic age recognized a measure of truth in his contemporary theological formulations. Yahweh had indeed entered into an eternal marriage covenant with Israel, which meant that he had an enduring interest also in his land. His promise to David of eternal title to the throne of Jerusalem still stood. These covenant hopes would all be fulfilled in the messianic age. At that time, when Yahweh's people live securely in their land, are ruled by divinely appointed David, and enjoy the shalom of God's presence and grace, they will finally acknowledge him as their Savior and covenant Lord. But more on that matter in the next session. Second, leaders do not have a monopoly on abusing power. In any given congregation or association of people, those with power are often tempted to bully others to satisfy their own agendas and appetites. This text gives readers a clear picture of God's disposition toward those who do this. Maturity and spirituality requires God's people to use their influence for the well-being of others, not self-interest. The more obvious one's power, the greater one's responsibility to look out for others. Third, even those who are chosen as God's leaders, the leaders of God's people, have a horrific propensity to abuse that divine calling. They forget their role is to and self-sacrificially seek their well-being. This is especially true of pastors, shepherds. That's what this text is about. And by this definition, it applies to anyone who is identified as the leader of a group of people. Biblically, the first principle of leadership is to embody godliness and righteousness and love in one's own life, Deuteronomy 17, 19-20. And the second is to seek the welfare of the people one leads. Leaders exist for the sake of the led, not vice versa. This is precisely what the apostle Peter, whom Jesus had commissioned to shepherd my sheep, John 21, 15-17. This is what he had in mind, what Peter had in mind when he wrote, so I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God. Notice, the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God does, kata theon, as God does, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders, clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you. One small phrase here is critical, kata theon, which means, according to, that is, the standard embodied by God. Where human leaders capitalize on positions of power and privilege for personal gain, Yahweh always has the interests of the people at heart. He gathers the strays, he nurtures the sick, he feeds the flock from the finest of pastures, he offers them his personal presence, he protects them from his enemies. Looking back on this text from the perspective of the New Testament, both the reaction of the Jewish leaders to Jesus characterizing them as thieves and robbers, heirs of these shepherds, thieves and robbers, and his assumption of the title, the good shepherd, this becomes understandable. His words were not only an attack on them, nor simply the statement of a lunatic, John 10, 19 to 21. They were blasphemous, because he cast himself in the role of a deity, a crime worthy of death. Jesus put himself into that picture in Psalm 23, which is brilliant, a brilliant poem composed by a sheep in praise of his divine shepherd. We find a magnificent literary portrait here of what Yahweh's shepherding looks like. Yahweh is my shepherd, therefore. But how has the psalmist, presumably David, experienced the shepherding of God? When we see how he fulfilled this role, we know what it means to be shepherds, kathathahon, shepherds after the order of God, embodied in Jesus Christ. First, the Lord is the one shepherd who knows what his sheep need, more than anything else, and he provides it nourishment and rest. If his flock is not refreshed and healthy, it's not his fault. He provides nourishment and rest. Second, the Lord leads his sheep in paths of righteousness, but he does not do so only by telling us where to go. He does it by walking that path ahead of us. He will not ask of us what he is not willing himself to do.Third, the Lord walks with his people through the darkest valleys when we need the comforting presence of God. The Lord identifies with us in our loneliness. He comforts us in our grief. He reassures us in our anxiety, and he holds us in our trepidation. Yea, though I walk through the valley of deepest darkness. Fourth, the Lord puts on the spread for his people and invites his sheep to live with him. This is the ultimate in condescension and identification. This is not just an eternal hope. It can be a present reality. The psalmist used the expression, for length of days, which meant as long as I live in the present world. Every day is a day in the royal residence. Indeed, the Lord sends after his sheep the hounds of heaven called tov wachesed, goodness and mercy. These are the hounds of heaven. This is the kind of leader the Lord is. I need to end this reflection on the Lord as our shepherd with a pastoral benediction, my favorite benediction in the New Testament. Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good, that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13, 20 to 21.