Ezekiel 34
McGeeCHAPTER 34THEME: Israel’s false shepherds; God’s true shepherd
Ezekiel 34:1
ISRAEL’S FALSE SHEPHERDSThe false prophets of Israel have now been shown to be liars because the destruction of Jerusalem as prophesied by Ezekiel has become a reality. God has a word to say about these false prophets: Ezekiel did not say these things about the false prophetsGod said them. Very candidly, I have always been opposed to promotionthat is, furthering the growth or development of a Christian work. This does not mean that there aren’t many very wonderful and fine works which deserve our financial support. My point is that they should not be just a promotion agency; they should be feeding the peoplethey should be giving out the Word of God. 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 prophetsthey had not given the people the Word of God. I feel this should still be the standard by which we judge a ministry today.
Ezekiel 34:4
All of us are needy people, and the only thing which can minister to our deep needs is the Word of God. If a minister is not giving the Word of God, he is not ministering to the people. The Word must be given out. These little sermonettes delivered to Christianettes by preacherettes are not quite doing the job today.
Ezekiel 34:5
“Meat” could also be translated “food.” In other words, when people are not being fed in a church, they will scatter. They’ll go find some place where they can be fed. There is no point in criticizing them, because sheep want to be fed. That is also the nature of the child of God: he wants to hear the Word of God.
Ezekiel 34:7
God holds these false shepherds responsible. He says, “I am against them, and I am as much opposed to them as I am to any sinner or any sin. I’m going to hold them responsible.”
Ezekiel 34:11
GOD’S TRUE SHEPHERDHere you have God’s ShepherdJesus, who said “I am the Good Shepherd.” Ezekiel said that Christ would come, and, my friend, He is coming again because He has not yet fulfilled all the prophecies concerning His shepherding of this earth. Now we begin to look into the future. These are God’s words of comfort to the children of Israel in their captivitythey should listen to Him. He’s the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, and the Chief Shepherd of the sheep. He says, “I will search out my sheep.” David said, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psa_23:1). The thing that impresses us in the rest of this chapter is the repetition of a wonderful statement by God, “I will,” which occurs eighteen times in verses Eze_34:11 through Eze_34:29. I get a little weary listening to men speak of what they have done. This is a new note hereGod says, “I will.” This is grace when God says this. The Good Shepherd one day said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest [rest you]” (Mat_11:28, italics mine). The Shepherd also said, “I [will] give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish …” (Joh_10:28). That is what my wonderful Shepherd said.
Ezekiel 34:12
The Good Shepherd came more than nineteen hundred years ago, and He still says, “My sheep hear my voice …” (Joh_10:27). Do you know why they hear His voice? There are two reasons: He is calling them, and His sheep know Him. They hear His voice, and they know Him. What a wonderful Shepherd we have!
Ezekiel 34:13
The Shepherd is talking about the nation of Israel, what He is going to do for them in the future. They are in captivity now because of their sin and because they listened to the false prophets. But He says, “I am not through with them. I have not thrown them overboard. You amillennialists ought to read the Book of Ezekiel; then you would find out that I am not through with My sheepI intend to bring them back to their land.”
Ezekiel 34:14
He will feed them in a good pasture, and when they lie down they will be safe. Obviously this is for a future time. The land of Israel does not lie in safety at all today.
Ezekiel 34:16
When He has one lost sheep, this Shepherd goes out to find it. He will do that for the nation Israel, and He will do that for the church today. When our Lord told the parable of the lost sheep, that shepherd had one hundred sheep, and one sheep got lost. What did the shepherd do? Did he just forget about that sheep? Did he say, “Well, if one little one wants to run off, that’s all right; after all, ninety-nine sheep is a pretty good number to come through with”? No, this shepherd said, “I started out with one hundred and I am going to come through with one hundred.” My friend, Vernon McGee is going to be in heavennot because he’s a smart sheep; all sheep are stupidI am going to be there because I’ve got a wonderful Shepherd, and He says, “I will, I will,” again and again.
Ezekiel 34:20
God is going to do the separating. In Matthew 13, the Lord Jesus gave the parable of the tares among the wheat. He told of a man who sowed good seed in his field, but an enemy came in and sowed tares among the good seed. The man’s servant said, “Let’s go pull up the tares,” but the man said, “You let them alone; let the wheat and the tares grow together. I’ll do the separating.” I am glad that the separating is the Lord’s job. That is His business. 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’s the Lord’s business. He knows the ones who are His.
Ezekiel 34:21
It is my firm conviction that the earth will be the eternal home of Israel and that David will rule here on this earth throughout eternity. He will be vice-regent of the Lord Jesus. I believe the church will be in the New Jerusalem with the Lordthe Lord Jesus said that He was coming again to take the church, “…that where I am, there ye may be also” (Joh_14:3). And throughout eternity when He comes to earth, we will come also, but just for a visit. Therefore, don’t buy too much real estate down hereyou won’t be needing itbut be sure you are sending up plenty of material to build a good home in heaven! “I the LORD have spoken it.” My friend, He says He is not through with the nation Israel.
Ezekiel 34:25
It is quite interesting that the land and the people of Israel go together in Scripture. When they are in the land and being blessed, that means that the people are in a right relationship to God.
Ezekiel 34:28
The day will come when Israel will “no more be a prey to the heathen [the nations].” They are still that today, but God says, “I will,” and when He says that, He is going to do it, my friend.