1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, 'Thus says the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?'"
“The shepherds” were the leaders of the Jews, spiritual as well as political. Kings were often called shepherds in ancient times. These leaders were much more concerned with increasing their own wealth than making sure their people were cared for.
3 "'Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.'"
It would be a pretty stupid shepherd who used the wool and meat from his flock but never took them out to pasture where they could eat.
In the same way, it is a pretty stupid government official who just keeps raising taxes without allowing the people to have enough to take care of themselves. This is “killing the goose who lays the golden egg,” a fault all too common with politicians in every country throughout history.
4 "'The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.'"
Rulers have a lot of influence and power. They can do a lot of good if they have a mind to. But it seems inevitable that they get greedy and begin abusing their people, no matter what type of political or religious system they are in.
5 "'And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.'"
Domestic sheep have absolutely no defense against predators. They can’t fight and they run too slow to get away. They need human shepherds to protect them.
When the humans in government quit taking care of the people, they become lost and vulnerable to any predator who comes along.
6 "'My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, My flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.'"
The Jews were at a total loss for leadership. Even before they had a king, they had judges to guide them. But now, their king was ignoring them and they were just left hanging. They had fallen prey to false prophets, pagan ideas, charlatans, and anyone who wanted to deceive or abuse them.
7 "'Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;
8 "'As I live, says the Lord God, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not My flock;
9 "'Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;
10 "'Thus says the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require My flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.'"
God removed the king from Judah. He changed the entire governmental and religious system.
11 "'For thus says the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep, and seek them out.'"
God loves His people and will provide for them, even if this means putting them into captivity to:
1) bring about their own repentance and
2) remove the evil, selfish rulers from their midst. This applies today as much as it did in Ezekiel’s time.
12 "'As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.'"
Ultimately, God is our Shepherd. He will provide for us and care for us, in spite of what our leaders might do to us.
He had just scattered the Jews throughout the known world, destroyed their city, and killed their king. Now He promised that He would gather them back into the fold.
13 "'And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.'"
He promised a return to the homeland He gave to Abraham.
14 "'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.
15 "'I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord God.'"
A shepherd must sometimes force his sheep to lie down and rest. God provided the rest that the Jews need by bringing them back to Judah.
16 "'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.'"
He would repair the damage done by the selfish shepherds, especially to the weak. But He would continue to ignore the strong and selfish.
Those who are well off often don’t think they need God. And in His ultimate politeness, God will not force His way into the lives of those who don’t want Him. He will let them have their way.
So these self-centered rich who had said they didn’t want God bothering them while they ruled weren’t bothered by God when He healed the rest of the nation.
17 "'And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he-goats.'"
Now God turns His attention to the people instead of the leaders.
Sheep and goats are very similar in some ways and very different in others. (See "The Sheep and the Goats")
18 "'[Does it seem] a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? And to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?'"
The people had enjoyed the blessings of God, and then fixed it so others couldn’t.
This is like the people today who become mega-rich through capitalism and then try to change America into a socialist country. They are trying to destroy the very system that they profited from so others can’t do the same.
19 "'And as for My flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
20 "'Therefore thus says the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.'"
God divided the rich from the poor, those who had enjoyed His prosperity and those who had been shut out.
21 "'Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;'"
Not all animals in a herd have horns. In fact, when possible, we breed the horns out of them to make them safer to handle. Goats, however, have a genetic condition that only allows one fourth of them to be hornless.
Whichever animal in any species has the horns rules the herd. They will bully the hornless ones.
22 "'Therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.'"
God gathered His people the politicians and priests had not protected and then He judged the “sheep” (believers) differently than the “goats” (unbelievers).
23 "'And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even My servant David; He shall feed them, and He shall be their shepherd.'"
King David lived a good 500-600 years before Ezekiel wrote this. God is, of course, speaking of David’s descendant, Jesus Christ. He did not favor the rich or powerful but tenderly saves all who will ask. He then cares for us, providing all our needs (and a whole lot of our wants, too!).
24 "'And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David (Jesus) a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.
25 "'And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.'"
We who serve God are no longer at the mercy of the spiritual predators. We have our Protector. And we can live and sleep safely in the most hostile of countries, knowing God is caring for us.
26 "'And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.'"
God did bless Judah upon the return to their land and they became rich again.
27 "'And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.'"
God provides for us all we need to accomplish His will in our lives, including removing those officials who interfere with our work. Sometimes it takes a while because He is giving them time to repent; and sometimes He is trying to get our attention because we have been distracted from His purpose. But in the end, He will always care for us.
28 "'And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.'"
We are not at the mercy of our leaders, whether political or religious. We can each have a personal relationship with Christ.
29 "'And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.'"
When it boils right down to it, our Jesus is the most glorious leader in the world. There are no scandals in His life, nothing to cause shame for His followers.
30 "'Thus shall they know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are My people, says the Lord God.'"
All who love God are part of Israel. We are His.
(See the commentary on Romans 11 at http://www.prophecy.BreadOfLifeCF.com)
31 "'And ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, says the Lord God. Amen.'"