Year 2, Week 21, Day 1 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 21, Day 1

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Ezekiel 33-34.

Today’s reading begins the final major section of the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 33-48 can be divided into two segments: Ezekiel 33-39 is composed of prophecies about the judgment upon but also the future restoration of Judah, while Ezekiel 40-48 is composed of Ezekiel’s vision about the new temple and new land. Ezekiel 33 contains a parable about a watchman, whose task it was to keep in the lookout and warn the people of the city concerning any impending danger: “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me” (Ezekiel 33:7). These words from Ezekiel 33 reflect the task that Ezekiel was given at the start of his prophetic ministry: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me” (Ezekiel 3:17). With the statement of this commission, Ezekiel acknowledges that he would be held accountable for sounding the warning, but not for how the people responded to the warning: “If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul” (Ezekiel 33:8-9). Ezekiel 34 addresses the leaders of Jerusalem whom Ezekiel refers to as shepherds: “The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?” (Ezekiel 34:1-2).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was the stark contrast between the notes of judgment followed by the notes of hope. Ezekiel confronts the leaders of Jerusalem. The shepherds took care of themselves but not the flock: “You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep” (Ezekiel 34:3). The flock was neglected: “The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them” (Ezekiel 34:4). As a result, the flock was greatly harmed: “So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them” (Ezekiel 34:5-6). But the neglect of the flock would come to an end, for the LORD Himself would step in and hold the shepherds accountable: “Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them” (Ezekiel 34:10).

The LORD would not merely deal with the unfaithful shepherds, He Himself would step in and reclaim the scattered flock: “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 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” (Ezekiel 34:11-12). With language reminiscent of how the LORD led the Israelites through the wilderness (see Deuteronomy 4:11;5:22), the LORD would return His people to the Land: “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” (Ezekiel 34:13). The LORD Himself would be His people’s shepherd, doing all the things that the leaders had failed to do: “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 34:15). 

The word of hope intensifies as the LORD clarifies that He would shepherd His people and raise up another shepherd as well: “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. 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 34:23-24). The line of David, who was a shepherd after God’s own heart, would be re-established and the LORD’s flock would be in good hands. Through this One who would come from the line of David, a new agreement would emerge that would insure that the flock would have all the blessings of generous provision and abundant protection: “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing” (Ezekiel 34:25-26). This covenant of peace, which is most likely another description of the New Covenant, would come through the One who confessed: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe