Ezekiel 34:21

Ezekiel 34:21 says, Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;  God said the people of Isreal not only didn’t help the poor and needy but that they shoved them aside instead.  Today, we often push the poor and needy out of our sight instead of looking on them with compassion and trying to help them if it is going to cost us something to help them.  I don’t believe that God will ever be pleased with those who profess to be Christians if we do this. 

Verse twenty-two adds, Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.  God said that since those who were supposed to be His people were not saving those who were weaker that He would save them Himself so that they would no longer be prey and He would judge between them based on their relationship with Him.  God is the only One Who can save us spiritually, and even if the world tries to cast us aside as people who are to be used only for their benefit.  We may never be treated fairly or even with respect in our time here on earth, but if we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, He will always protect us spiritually.  

Verse twenty-three continues, 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.  God said that He was going to set up one Shepherd over the people of Israel.  Though the reference is made to David, it is one of his descendants, Jesus Christ, who is the only Shepherd of those who put their faith in Him and is the only Shepherd Who can save those who haven’t.   There is no other way to redemption except through faith in Jesus Christ.  

Verse twenty-four concludes, And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.  God said that He would be God of those who had put their faith in Jesus Christ, who was a descendant of David.  Though David was referred to as a man after God’s own heart and a great king of Israel, he could not save people spiritually and did not live forever, but his descendent, Jesus Christ, can and does.    

Ezekiel 34:17

Ezekiel 34:17 says, And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.  God then gave another warning to all the people of Israel.  He was going to judge them each according to their worthiness to be a part of His people, just as cattle are separated by their worthiness and sheep are separated from goats.  One day, every individual will be judged by their worthiness to be a part of God’s kingdom, and this worthiness will only come by having accepted Jesus Christ as one’s Savior and Lord.  

Verse eighteen adds, Seemeth it 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?  God asked if the people of Israel thought it was a good thing to not only eat all the good out of the pasture but to also trample down what was left.  He asked the same thing about the water, where they drank most of it and fouled what was left.  I believe that this was a reference to people only thinking about doing what was good for themselves and not being concerned that nothing was left for the poor and needy.  I don’t believe that God will ever be pleased with anyone amassing great riches, especially those who profess to be followers of Christ, while ignoring the less fortunate around them and leaving them with very little or nothing.   

Verse nineteen continues, 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.  God said that His flock, those who had put their faith in Him, were left with what those who didn’t had trodden down to eat and what they had fouled to drink.  Christians aren’t always blessed with the best things in the world but are often left with very little to survive on, but this doesn’t mean that God doesn’t know what is happening.  We may think it is unfair of God to allow this, but if everyone who accepts God’s gift of salvation was immediately made very wealthy then everyone would want to become a Christian.  Even when we are struggling in the world as followers of Christ, we have already gained our everlasting reward in heaven, where we will no longer lack for anything.   

Verse twenty concludes, Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.   God said that He was going to judge between the fat and the lean cattle.  I believe that the fat cattle would be those who thought only of themselves with no concern for others or God and the lean would be those who thought of others and not just themselves and were faithful to God.  I don’t believe that this means that all rich people will be sent away to everlasting punishment and all poor people will be redeemed, but that it means how we treat others and more importantly our relationship with God will be the determining factor. 

Ezekiel 34:11

Ezekiel 34:11 says, For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.  God said that He was going to search for His sheep.  God still calls on everyone to become a part of His flock, or family, today and He seeks them out if they are already a part of His family and are being led astray by false preachers and teachers.  Though a preacher or teacher may proclaim something other than God’s word, He will always let people know His truth, so they cannot just blame it on those who are proclaiming something other than His word.  As Christians, we should study the Bible under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and if we do, we will never be led astray.   

Verse twelve adds, As a shepherd seeketh 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.  God said that just as a true shepherd sought his sheep if they were scattered that He was going to seek His sheep that had been scattered.  If we stray from God’s word, He is always going to be seeking us and calling us back to Him.   

Verse thirteen continues, 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.  God said that He was going to seek His lost sheep, the people of Isreal who had been scattered and bring them once more to the promised land, and that then He would care for them if they were obedient to Him.  I don’t believe that He was going to do this just because of where they were born, but because of their covenant relationship with Him.  God is one day going to call all His people, those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, home to heaven.  It will not matter what part of the world they may be in.  

Verse fourteen states, 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.  God said that He was going to provide a good pasture for His sheep or meet the needs of His people in other words.  God will always care for those who are His people and one day will call them home to heaven, the final promised land.   

Verse fifteen adds, I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.  God said when He called His sheep home that He would cause then to lie down in peace.  We may never reach that point in the world today, but when God calls us home, we will live in everlasting security.  

Verse sixteen continues, 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.  God said He was going to care for those who were His sheep, even if they had been broken and were sick because of their mistreatment.  We may suffer in the world because of our belief in God, but one day He will heal us from all our suffering, and we will live in everlasting security.  Those who had grown fat from the suffering of His people would be destroyed or sent away to everlasting destruction.  In both cases, it will depend on the person’s relationship with God and not on any earthly factor.