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 34:7

Ezekiel 34:7 says, Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; God called on the shepherds, those who were supposed to be leading the people of Israel by God’s commandments to hear His word.  The shepherds, or pastors, of those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, the people of God today, should always hear God’s word if they are going to proclaim the truth.   

Verse eight adds, As I live, saith 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;  God said that His sheep had become the prey of the beasts of the field because His shepherds had not defended them but only looked to enrich themselves.  They also didn’t look for the lost sheep but were only concerned with themselves.  I believe this is a warning to preachers today that they need to be concerned with guiding their congregation according to God’s word and not be interested in just enriching themselves.   

Verse nine continues, Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;  God once more called on the shepherds to hear His word, this time as a warning to them about their disobedience.  I believe that God will always warn Christian leaders today if they are proclaiming something other than His truth and are more interested in their wealth than they are in their congregation and teaching them the truth of God's word.   

Verse ten concludes, Thus saith 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 told the shepherds that He was against them because of their disobedience to His word and that He would deliver the flock from their mistreatment of them.  If followers of Christ are listening to God, they will know when a preacher or teacher is proclaiming something other than God’s word, and He will lead them away from that person if they will only listen. 

Ezekiel 34:1

 Ezekiel 34:1 says, And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  Again, we aren't told exactly when this was as we sometimes are.   

Verse two adds, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?  God then had a message for the shepherds of Israel.  He said that they were more interested in feeding themselves than they were in caring for their sheep.  This was really a prophecy against the rulers of Israel, who were supposed to shepherd the people and put their welfare above their own.  The same can be said of preachers today, and I believe even of government officials, who should put the welfare of those they are over above their own welfare.   

Verse three continues, Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.  God said that the shepherds ate the fat of the sheep and used their wool to make clothes for themselves, and they killed those who couldn’t be of service to them.  They failed to feed the sheep, which were the source of their comfort.  Some rulers today only care about what is best of themselves and have little or no concern for those they are in a position of power over.   

Verse four states, 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.  Still comparing the leaders of Israel to shepherd, God said they had failed completely in carrying out their duties.  They didn’t take care of the sick, bind the limbs that were broken or seek those that had gone astray.  Taking care of the poor and seeking those who have gone astray is the responsibility of the shepherd of God’s people today, but they are often more interested in what will enrich themselves than they are in caring for the poor and reaching out to those who have gone astray.  I also believe this can apply to governmental leaders in the world today.   

Verse five adds, And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.  God said that when there was no shepherd that the sheep were scattered and became food for the wild beasts.  If the shepherd of the flock of God’s people is not carrying out his responsibility, those that he is responsible for may be scattered into the world and fall prey to many false teachings.   

Verse six continues, 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.   God said that His flock, the people of Israel, were scattered everywhere and no one sought them.  Even though lost people are not a part of God’s flock or people, as Christians it is our responsible to seek all those who are lost and invite them into the family of God.  Also, if a Christian goes astray, we are to seek them and call them back into God’s way.