Ezekiel Chapter 34 Verses 1 – 10
• There were many things that the Lord discusses here that He brings against the shepherds of Israel but the one most egregious is that they neglected to feed the flock. Five times in ten verses, amongst other things, God makes mention of feeding the flock. Why? Because that is primary, it is first. All of these other things are symptomatic of the first.
• You don’t feed that which you do not love. If you don’t love them, you don’t provide for them. And therefore, they go without (here are the other things), they become weak, the become sick, they have to look for food elsewhere and they are driven away. Yes, there is the work of protection and guiding and all that a shepherd is to do, but if there is no food, the flock is doomed.
• The contextual indictment against the leaders of Israel is that they weren’t caring for the people, they were caring for themselves. Three things we can liken to food in terms of relevancy to the church today (relevant to any situation really where there is leadership, implicitly or explicitly…your home or your place of employment if you are a supervisor, etc.). The Lord Himself, the Word of God and the fruit of the Spirit. I truly believe this is what enables a flock to thrive, produces healthy sheep, and blesses the Lord.
• First, Jesus is the Head of the church and the source for direction, sustenance, and guidance…and no matter the issue, He presides. Jesus said in John 6:51, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven.” Second, the Word of God. If the church no longer deals the Word of God, not just from the pulpit but also in the pews, then we are no longer strong, well and fed. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” And finally, preaching Jesus and teaching the whole counsel of God’s word is activated and made not effective but sweet, kind, loving, as it should be, when you allow for the fruit of the Spirit. Love is indeed nourishing to the spirit and heals the broken, sets free the captive and calls home the sinner.
• We hold there, don’t transgress that set, Jesus as the Head, the Word of God uncompromised and the Fruit of the Spirit a must…and the flock of God will thrive, it will produce healthy sheep and it will bless the Lord.
• Now, an important thing to remember, lest condemnation set in…many will yet scatter…many. Not all desire Jesus to preside, the Word of God to be universally applied and the Fruit of the Spirit being a must. Most all say they do but the proof is in the actions, not the words. And where would the flock be if the shepherd busied himself with courting the wolves, and so an important thing to remember is that not all are the flock of God. Jesus said in John 10:26-27, “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Even Jesus, when they were ready to throw Him off of the cliff in Luke Chapter 4, even He left them there and went to another city…
• So how do you know? Because this becomes difficult. Folks are around for years and then they lose their minds seemingly and bear the teeth of the wolf…how do you know what to do? Back to the food. Jesus, the Word of God, the Fruit of the Spirit. Go to prayer. Respond…don’t react. Give time for prayer. Seek the Lord and if someone must be dealt with then look, the Lord knows whom are His. How? They listen to Him. Ultimately God goes after His own and although many can out run a pastor, or a pastoral team, or a church or a brother or a sister in the Lord, no one can outrun the Holy Spirit…unless they are not of His flock.
• One more thing here because I just mentioned it. Thank God for pastoral teams. I am well equipped and enabled to love this flock. Teach the Word. Blessed by God with direction and leadership…and just as I am well equipped in these areas, God has raised up others alongside me well equipped in areas that I am not…and so it is important that the church not be led solely by a man…but by the Lord. And the Lord calls, equips, enables and places men and women, under-shepherds under the under-shepherds, to do the work of the ministry.
Ezekiel Chapter 34 Verses 11 – 16
• It is almost impossible to make a sheep lie down. This is the result of the leadership and lordship of Jesus Christ in a church…because to set these conditions is just impossible under the strength of men…but if we relentlessly report to the Lord…these are the conditions that He will set (over time – be patient, stay the course, the trial will be worth the triumph).
• Sheep will only lie down if these four requirements are met: 1) Because they are social, they will not lie down if there is friction in the flock. 2) Sheep will not lie down when flies and parasites are present. 3) Sheep won’t lie down until they are free from fear. 4) They won’t lie down as long as they feel the need to find food. God does this work. How do we let Him? Report to Jesus. Serve up the Word of God. And for dessert, a healthy continuous flow of the Fruit of the Spirit.
Ezekiel Chapter 34 Verses 17 – 19
• Very interesting! God not only deals with the shepherds, but with the flock itself! You’ve been given good pasture and clear water and with your feet, the idea is with your running about, you are fouling it? God declares that He will deal with that as well.
Ezekiel Chapter 34 Verses 20 – 24
• This is most certainly a reference to the Good Shepherd of the line of David, that Jesus will be the Head of the church and the sitting leader of the world in the Millennial Reign period but many also believe that this is literally prophecy and that during the Millennial Reign of Christ on this earth that David himself will re-assume the throne of Israel and rule over the Jewish people.
Ezekiel Chapter 34 Verses 25 – 31
• This is the coming age for the nation of Israel. All of this is yet to come but will indeed come to pass! It should be noted that the flock is God’s. Not mans. And even for the shepherds that do tend the flock of God well, serving the Lord, not enslaving but freeing folks, not exploiting but feeding, even in those ministries, it is God who alone is able to provide the showers of blessings and the fruit on the trees. So He gets the all of the credit!
Ezekiel Chapter 35 Verses 1 – 6
• Ok, I know what you are thinking. Aren’t we out of the section of this book of judgment on surrounding nations? And the answer is yes, but this is forward looking. Yet to come. Mt. Seir is in modern day Jordan and it is the land of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau to this day.
• The contest between the Israelites and the Edomites, as it says here, began in ancient times. Esau was the older brother of Jacob and from the time that Jacob received their fathers blessing over his older brother, they have been enemies. As a people…because as we know from scripture, Jacob and Esau were able to work it out… But even yet still today, the Edomites or the Arabs are at continual war with the Jews. (For more information on the final judgement coming from the Edomites, check out Obadiah Chapter 1.)
• Notice, while there are many things we could stop and talk about here, just one…God says, because you have not hated blood (violence), blood will pursue you…there is a great truth here that I’ve mentioned many times in the past. There is no defense when it comes to the flesh. To hate blood, to hate the things of the flesh is aggressive, it is active, it is driver seat language…and if I am not active against the flesh in my heart of hearts then it will become my aggressor.
Ezekiel Chapter 35 Verses 7 – 11
• So many times God speaks against this nation (a total of 40 times in all of scripture)…that it will take a tragedy or a series of tragedies to bring them to know that God is Lord. Contrast that with Malachi 3:10-12, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts; “And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.”
• If we would just bring God everything in the first place, give over our lives to Him in the first place, then He shows that He is Lord just the same! By pouring down blessing after blessings! Would to God that we would learn that the King reigns through wisdom and not through regret!
Ezekiel Chapter 35 Verses 12 – 15
• One note of confidence for the church, for the people of God, is that when people set their hearts against the people of God, they will have God Himself to deal with. God says, “I have heard your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel,” and then in the next breath God says, “Thus with your mouth you have boasted against Me and multiplied your words against Me…”
• Wonderful truth to remember and to draw comfort and confidence from…and you know what else that means? You don’t have to answer back. When they insult, threaten, accuse and attack, just stand your ground, keep your peace, it is the Lord’s battle if you are His…and you know what, there’s some good satisfaction there, because when you do that, it will drive your adversary into a rage of crazy…while you sip coffee watching the Holy Spirit work. A simple application of Jesus as the Head, the Word of God as the direction and the Fruit of the Spirit as the strength.