Now that the kids are in school (I just saw Jessica off to her first day of middle school. Yikes.), I'm going to try to get back into more regular morning QTs between Jessica getting on the bus and me going to work.
Ezekiel 34:1-6 - A warning to those who would be shepherds: God takes this role seriously. You are to take care of his people. Your position is not one of prestige, power and privilege. You are God's servant. You can hear the disappointment and hurt in God's voice in verse 6:
My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.
Ezekiel 34:11-16 - God will do what the shepherds have failed to do - he with gather them, reuse them and feed them. But notice the end of verse 16 (emphasis mine):
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
Not only does God stand against the shepherd who grew fat while the sheep were neglected, he stands against the fat sheep who took more than their fair share. This is continued in Ezekiel 34:17-24. A scary principal for those of us in a wealthy nation.
Ezekiel 34:23 - "And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd." The promise of Jesus. Take note, Jesus the shepherd. Protector. Provider. Caretaker. Not the picture I see in mind usually. I see Jesus the task master. The disciple.
Ezekiel 34:30 - "And they shall know that I am the Lord their God ..." A recurring theme in Ezekiel, "they shall know". But there are two ways, in tension with one another, that the people will know that He is God. One, through is judgement, wrath and power displayed. Two, as seen here, through his provision and compassion.
Ezekiel 34:31 - "And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God."" Cool.
There was a time when Ezek 34 was what kept me from despair. In spite of how the "shepherds" were treating the sheep at the time, here was a promise that God would come and take care of the needs of his sheep. The injustices would be made right.
This is also a passage that causes me as much sober fear as any in the scriptures. Am I being a good shepherd? Are there straying sheep I should be retrieving? Are the needs of the flock adequately met? Sometimes I feel inadequate for the task.