Ezekiel 34:25

Ezekiel 34:25 says, 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.  God said that He was going to remove all their enemies from the land.  This did not happen with the people of Israel then and will not happen with followers of Christ today in the world in which we live, but it will happen when Jesus Christ returns to claim those who are His. 

Verse twenty-six adds, 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 said that He was going to make the people of Isreal, His chosen people, to be a blessing to the world and that showers of blessings would pour down on them.  We know that this never was really true at any time during the days of the nation of Israel, and it won’t be true for Christians in the world today, but it will be true in the world to come.  

Verse twenty-seen continues, 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 said that He was going to cause the trees to yield their fruit and the people of Israel to be safe in their land, and that when He did this they would know that He is God.  Though there were times of peace and prosperity for Israel, it never lasted.  The peace and prosperity of the people of Israel then and of Christians today is not in this world, but in our heavenly home.   

Verse twenty-eight concludes, 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.  God said that when He delivered the people of Israel that they would never again be the prey of any nation or beast and that they would live without fear.  Once more, this refers to our heavenly home and not to any time here in the world today.   

Verse twenty-nine states, 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.  God said that He wa going to feed the people and that they would no longer need to fear the heathen, those who did not put their faith in Him.  No matter what happens in this lifetime, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, this will be true forever once He calls us home to glory.   

Verse thirty adds, Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God.  God said that when this happened that the people would know that He is God and that they were His people.  Though it references Israel, I believe it means all those who are set aside from the world because of their relationship with Jesus Christ.   

Verse thirty-one continues, And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.  God said His flock wasn’t sheep, but people, and those who were people of His kingdom by faith would know that He is God.   As Christians, this still applies to us today and it always will.  

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.