Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 (NRSV)
Read Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 on biblegateway.com
Verse 11For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. Verse 12As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. Verse 13I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. Verse 14I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. Verse 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. Verse 16I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice. Verse 20Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Verse 21Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, Verse 22I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. Verse 23I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. Verse 24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
Devotion
I find it noteworthy that the ancient imagery of the shepherd and his sheep still has a wide appeal. Few of us ever actually see shepherds interacting with a flock of sheep. Yet Ezekiel's ancient pronouncement, that our Lord God would actually be our shepherd, is very comforting. Somehow we still make sense of the shepherd who will seek us out, rescue us when lost, bring us safely together, feed us with good pasture, bind us when we are injured, and give us strength when we are weak.
The centuries roll by and yet we want the love and protection of this good shepherd. We have in mind King David's greater son, our Lord Jesus, who is for us both our heavenly king and our very present good shepherd.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, Shepherd us through these days fraught with danger, challenges and lots of blessings, too. Amen