By William Oldham

Every Bible student should read Ezekiel, chapters 34-39. The Lord gave those prophecies (promises) to Israel roughly 600 years before Christ. They were for the distant future of Israel; a portion of the Lord’s word has literally come to pass in our day; the remainder is yet to be fulfilled.

Chapter 34 begins with the Lord calling out the shepherds of Israel and confronting them with their unfaithfulness to His flock. They had been entrusted with the care of the Lord’s flock, but Jehovah is the Chief Shepherd of Israel, and He never sleeps or slumbers; He was watching how they treated His flock.

The shepherds of Israel were mainly the priests, who were responsible for the spiritual welfare of the people. But, the king and civic leaders had a responsibility for their well-being also. What the Lord was witnessing was their utter disregard for His chosen people. They were a parable of what we are witnessing in the professing church today.

The shepherds were only interested in their own well-being. They exploited the people for their own profit. They had no concern for those who had strayed away from the Lord; they cared less about the faithfulness of the people, or trying to help them; and they weren’t feeding them the word of the Lord. They were worthless and unfaithful. The Lord told them He was against them and was going to remove them.

There are amazing prophecies (promises) given to Israel by the Lord through many of the prophets. But in chapter 34 of Ezekiel, I find the key to the certainty of all of the Lord’s promises to Israel. In removing the faithless shepherds, the Lord God says, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.” Ezekiel 34:11-12

In this passage, Israel is given the reason for the absolute certainty of their future and complete restoration. Jehovah will be their Shepherd. Their being scattered to the four corners of the earth, and being hated by all nations, was the severe chastisement for the rejection and crucifixion of God’s Son. But through it all, Jehovah remains their Shepherd.

The Lord God promised Israel that He Himself would be their Shepherd. In the remaining 20 verses of chapter 34, the Lord emphatically says 21 times, “I will”, and tells them in particular what He will do. I will address those next week, the Lord willing.

600 years after the Lord God said He Himself would be their Shepherd,  He appeared in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ. And Christ confirmed exactly what the Lord had said. In contrast to the unfaithful shepherds, here’s a portion of what Jesus said about Himself:

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep…I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep and My own know Me…I have other sheep which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd…My sheep hear My voice, and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10

Roughly 600 years before Christ, we find this compelling prophecy regarding Jesus’ oneness with the Father and His crucifixion.

“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion.” Zechariah 13:7

The crucifixion of Christ was God’s plan for our salvation; here the Lord God calls Jesus “My Shepherd” and “My Companion.” In the mind and heart of God, the Good Shepherd will round up ALL of God’s lost sheep: there will be one flock and one Shepherd.

Brother Bill is a Bible teacher and can be contacted at bboldham@sbcglobal.net