Audio Download

Ezekiel 34:17-31 The Shepherds of Israel – Part II

[Study Aired October 21, 2024]

INTRODUCTION

In today’s study, we shall continue the second part of Ezekiel chapter 34. The first part of this chapter dealt with the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves, instead of the flock of the Lord under their care. As a result, the Lord’s children are scattered, that is, they wander about like lost sheep without a shepherd.

Today’s study focuses on the Lord coming to us to separate us from the flock of cattle and to make us lie in green pastures as He leads us besides the still waters.

Psa 23:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psa 23:5  Thou preparest table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The Lord also assures us that He is the good shepherd after the order of David who will make a covenant of peace with us. The latter part of the study reveals what this covenant of peace entails.

The Lord will Judge Between Cattle and Cattle

Eze 34:17  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. 

The flock of the Lord consists of the ninety-nine sheep which have no need of repentance and the one sheep which has gone astray that knows her situation and therefore becomes repentant. We, the Lord’s elect are the one-sheep that went astray. The ninety-nine sheep represent Babylon or the physical churches of this world signified by the Pharisees and scribes that need no repentance.

Luk 15:3  And he spake this parable unto them (Pharisees and scribes), saying,
Luk 15:4  What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luk 15:5  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luk 15:6  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
Luk 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

The word “judge” by implication, means to vindicate or punish according to Strong’s Dictionary. Judging between cattle and cattle and between the rams and the he-goats in verse 1 therefore means justifying the righteous and condemning the wicked as indicated in the following verses:

Deu 25:1  If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.

Deu 1:16  And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

The Lord is the one who is vindicating us, His elect, even though we went astray at a certain stage of our walk with Him. This vindication is at the expense of our brothers and sisters in Babylon who think they are righteous and need no repentance.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Eze 34:18  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? 

This verse is another way of saying that after we have received the gold and silver which signify the truth of His words, when we started walking with the Lord, we turn around and use His gold and silver to make images of men. The images of men means the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. In other words, the good pasture that we have eaten in verse 18 represents the truth of the Lord’s words and trampling our feet on the pastures means having human imprint on the truth of His words which means churning up false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. That is what characterized our walk in the churches of this world.

Again, drinking from the deep water in verse 18 refers to taking in clean water which symbolizes the truth of the word of the Lord, and muddying the water with our feet means turning the truth of the Lord’s words into false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. As a result, we have sacrificed the Lord’s sons and daughters or His elect to be devoured by the enemy. In the sight of the Lord, this is a grievous offence.

Eze 16:13  Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
Eze 16:14  And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 16:15  But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
Eze 16:16  And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
Eze 16:18  And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
Eze 16:19  My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 16:20  Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter?

Eze 34:19  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. 
Eze 34:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. 

As we have indicated, the trodden food and water with our feet refers to the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition which was what we ate and drank during our sojourn in the churches of this world. As a result, we became food for the beasts of the field. That is to say that we became dominated by our flesh or our old man who is powered by the devil. Since we have been chosen by God before the foundation of this world, the Lord comes to us in the fulness of time to vindicate us through His judgement of our old man. This is what it means to judge between the fat cattle and the lean cattle, indicated in verse 20. The lean cattle refers to us, His elect and the fat cattle signifies our brothers and sisters in Babylon who seem to be spiritually rich or fat in this life but are spiritually lean.

Psa 37:20  But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

This reminds me of Joseph’s dream where the lean-fleshed cattle ate up the fat-fleshed cattle. This signifies that as the lean-fleshed cattle of the Lord (the Lord’s elect), we shall dominate, that is rule over our brothers and sisters in Babylon who represent the fat-fleshed cattle, in the fulness of time.

Gen 41:17  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
Gen 41:18  And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
Gen 41:19  And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
Gen 41:20  And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:
Gen 41:21 And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

It is insightful to note that in Genesis 41:21, the lean-fleshed cattle were not looking different even after they had eaten up the fat-fleshed cattle. This is to let us know that even though we are called and chosen of the Lord (lean cattle), and therefore we are destined to rule over our brothers and sisters in Babylon (fat cattle), our current situation does not depict our rulership status as we still grapple with the evil experience (judgement) the Lord has given to us in this life.

Ecc 1:13  And I gave my heart to seek and to investigate by wisdom concerning all which is done under the heavens. It is an evil task God has given to the sons of men, to be afflicted by it.

Eze 34:21  Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 
Eze 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

Verse 21 is telling us that the fat cattle push the skinny ones with their sides and shoulders. When we were in Babylon as the Lord’s elect, we were dominated by the fat sheep of Babylon as we were blown by every wind of doctrine propagated by these fat cattle in Babylon. It is instructive to note in verse 21 that the diseased are pushed about with the horns of the fat ones until they scattered abroad. The horns here symbolize the strength the Lord has given to the churches of this world to scatter us as diseased cattle by every wind of doctrine in Babylon.

Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

This strength that the Lord has given to the fat cattle of Babylon through their horns is to ensure that ‘hearing we shall hear and not understand and seeing we shall see and not perceive’. As a result, we become scattered or divided by doctrine. The various denominations and church systems of this world therefore attest to the fact that the flock of the Lord are scattered.

Isa 6:9  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isa 6:10  Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Isa 6:11  Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Isa 6:12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

In our time in Babylon, we were also scattered as the Lord’s elect until the Lord came to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to judge between cattle and cattle as indicated in verse 22. The Lord coming to us is to save us through His judgement and as a result, vindicates us from the other cattle of the Lord ‘who need no repentance’. We were therefore the fat cattle whom the Lord is sending leanness to us through His judgement.

Isa 10:16  Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Eze 34:23  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. 
Eze 34:24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. 

Our deliverance from the physical churches of this world implies the coming of the Lord’s elect into the church of the firstborn or the assembly of the Lord where we are shepherded by our Lord Jesus Christ, symbolized here in verse 23 as the Lord’s servant David. It is the Lord who comes to us with His words as we are fed by His words through what every joint supplies.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

It is in the church of the firstborn or the elect that the Lord raises ministers of the gospel to perfect us as we come into the unity of the faith such that we no longer are tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The Lord Jesus Christ, symbolized in both verses 23 and 24 by David, is the good shepherd or the prince among us who ensures that we are well fed such that we lack nothing. It is our Lord who makes us to rest in Him, as He feeds us in the green pastures and causes us to drink the still waters.

Psa 23:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psa 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The Lord’s Covenant of Peace

Eze 34:25  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. 

The Lord’s making with us the covenant of peace implies that what He has said, He will surely bring to completion.  This is the covenant of peace that the Lord has made with us, His elect:

Heb 6:16  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Heb 6:17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Heb 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Heb 6:20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

It is worth noting that this covenant of peace entails the Lord causing the evil beasts to cease out of our land. In other words, the Lord shall destroy our old man or flesh such that we shall not be dominated by it. This is a process which takes a lifetime and it is accomplished through the judgement of our old man which causes us to learn righteousness.

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Psa 119:67  Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.

Psa 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Our walk in this world is like walking through the wilderness. Here in verse 25, the Lord’s covenant of peace is assuring us that we shall dwell safely in the wilderness such that we shall be able to sleep in the woods and not worry about any beast devouring us. Being able to dwell safely in this life means trusting in the Lord with all our hearts and not leaning on our own understanding. That is what makes the Lord our refuge and fortress. We can see that all of this is the work of the Lord. Being able to sleep in the woods means resting in the Lord which implies having the confidence that what He has started in us, He shall bring to completion.

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psa 91:3  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
Psa 91:4  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Psa 91:5  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Psa 91:6  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Psa 91:7  A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Psa 91:8  Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Psa 91:9  Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
Psa 91:10  There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Psa 91:11  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Psa 91:12  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Psa 91:13  Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Psa 91:14  Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Psa 91:15  He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
Psa 91:16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Eze 34:26 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. 

Here in this verse, the Lord is assuring us of being a blessing. What does it mean to be a blessing? In the Bible, the first time that the Lord said that someone will be a blessing was the case of Abraham when the Lord visited him to tell him to leave his country and kindred and go to the land of Canaan.

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Later, the Lord appeared to Abraham to assure him of his descendants inheriting the land by making a covenant with him. This implies that being a blessing entails being a possessor of the land of promise. Abraham being a blessing therefore means that it was through his walk of faith that ensured that the people of Israel were able to possess the land of Canaan.

Gen 28:3  And God Almighty bless thee (Jacob), and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
Gen 28:4  And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

As we are aware, the land signifies our bodies which we must possess to qualify us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord. The Lord telling us that we shall become a blessing therefore implies that it is as we overcome the flesh and take possession of our bodies that we shall be a blessing to the whole world. Our walk of faith to overcome the flesh and possess our bodies will pave the way for all humanity to be blessed as they also overcome the old man.

In verse 26, we are also told that the places round about the Lord’s hill shall also become a blessing.  The Lord’s hill refers to the assembly of the Lord’s elect which is a blessing to us as we receive from what every joint supplies.

The showers coming down in its season means that we shall receive the truth of the word of the Lord at the appropriate time of the Lord which is the acceptable year of the Lord for our lives.

Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Eze 34:27  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. 

We were those who served themselves of the people of the Lord during our time in the physical churches of this world. It is when we have broken the bands of the yoke of Babylon that we can experience the yielding of the fruit of the tree of the field as well as the increase of the earth. The tree of the field is man’s life as shown in the following verse:

Deu 20:19  When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the siege:

The tree of the field yielding her fruit therefore means that we shall produce fruit in our due season. That means that we shall produce the fruit of the spirit in our lives at the appointed time of the Lord. The earth refers to us, the Lord’s people. The earth yielding her increase therefore means that we shall bear the fruit of the spirit. Bearing fruit is through the Lord’s judgement of our old man or flesh. It is through this judgement experience that we shall come to know the Lord. This judgement of the Lord takes place in our lives after we leave Babylon.

Eze 34:28  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. 

When we are privileged to be judged in this life, we no longer become prey to the heathen and the beast of the land. The heathen and the beast of the land are the same and refer to our old man or our flesh. The judgement of the Lord destroys the influence of the flesh or the old man in our lives as we learn righteousness and therefore we are no longer afraid of the flesh. That is when we shall dwell safely in the secret place of the most high as we abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Eze 34:29  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. 
Eze 34:30  Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. 
Eze 34:31  And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD. 

Here in verse 29, the Lord is saying that He will give us a place that is known for its good crops so that we will no longer experience hunger in the land and bear the shame of the heathen. Bearing the shame of the heathen means living according to the standards of this world. Spiritually, what the Lord is telling us is that He will not only open our eyes and ears to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but also give us the power to live according to His words. That is what will make us not bear the shame of the heathen. Verse 29 is therefore the same as Revelation 9:13-14 where we are given to hear the voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God as we are loosed from the great river Euphrates (false doctrines).

Rev 9:13  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Rev 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

It is as we are loosed from the river Euphrates that we come to see who the Lord is. That is when our understand is deepened to appreciate that we are indeed the spiritual house of Israel, that is, the Lord’s elect, and also the sheep of His pasture!!

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.