Ezekiel 34:1-10
WOE UPON THE SHEPHERDS OF ISRAEL... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UPON THE SHEPHERDS OF ISRAEL... [ Continue Reading ]
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,... [ Continue Reading ]
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, the spiritual leaders of the people, but especially their civil governors, the men responsible for their welfare, set to guard the interests and provide for the good of their subjects, PROPHESY AND SAY UNTO THEM, in rebuking them for the selfishn... [ Continue Reading ]
Ye eat the fat, taking the best part for themselves, AND YE CLOTHE YOU WITH THE WOOL, in the sense in which the term "fleecing the flock" is used even in our days, YE KILL THEM THAT ARE FED, the most excellent of the flock; BUT YE FEED NOT THE FLOCK. The action of the rulers was thus to be condemned... [ Continue Reading ]
The diseased have ye not strengthened, though they were weak with the effects of illness, NEITHER HAVE YE HEALED THAT WHICH WAS SICK, NEITHER HAVE YE BOUND UP THAT WHICH WAS BROKEN, such as were crippled by the fracture of some member, NEITHER HAVE YE BROUGHT AGAIN THAT WHICH WAS DRIVEN AWAY, namely... [ Continue Reading ]
And they were scattered because there is no shepherd, none who really performed the true ruler's function in keeping his subjects together in peace and safety; AND THEY BECAME MEAT TO ALL THE BEASTS OF THE FIELD, WHEN THEY WERE SCATTERED, the children of Israel being harassed and robbed by all the s... [ Continue Reading ]
My sheep, as the Lord still desired to regard and treat them, WANDERED THROUGH ALL THE MOUNTAINS AND UPON EVERY HIGH HILL, as their captors scattered them throughout the nations of the world; YEA, MY FLOCK WAS SCATTERED UPON ALL THE FACE OF THE EARTH, AND NONE DID SEARCH OR SEEK AFTER THEM, no one b... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord, in His rebuke upon the unfaithfulness of these rulers,... [ Continue Reading ]
As I live, saith the Lord God, the sovereign Ruler of the world, SURELY BECAUSE MY FLOCK BECAME A PREY, AND MY FLOCK BECAME MEAT TO EVERY BEAST OF THE FIELD, as a result of the shepherds' neglect, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO SHEPHERD, none who really performed the work of a true shepherd, NEITHER DID MY SH... [ Continue Reading ]
therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord, the sentence pronounced upon them by the supreme Ruler:... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, sternly opposed to them, AND I WILL REQUIRE MY FLOCK AT THEIR HAND, demanding an accounting from them, AND CAUSE THEM TO CEASE FROM FEEDING THE FLOCK, take away their position of rulers by which they had enriched themselves; NEITHER SHALL... [ Continue Reading ]
For thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep and seek them out, giving them the solicitous attention which their condition demanded and which their earthly rulers failed to give them.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jehovah as Israel's true Shepherd... [ Continue Reading ]
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock, inspecting them with careful solicitude, IN THE DAY THAT HE IS AMONG HIS SHEEP THAT ARE SCATTERED, earnestly concerned about ways and means to bring them together again after a severe storm or after a raid by wild beasts, SO WILL I SEEK OUT MY SHEEP, going after... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will bring them out from the people, from the nations into whose lands they had been deported, AND GATHER THEM FROM THE COUNTRIES, and will bring them to their own land, AND FEED THEM UPON THE MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL BY THE RIVERS, in full abundance, AND IN ALL THE INHABITED PLACES OF THE COUNTRY,... [ Continue Reading ]
I will feed them in a good pasture, Psalms 23:2, AND UPON THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL SHALL THEIR FOLD BE, where the rich meadows of the uplands offered food in luscious abundance; THERE SHALL THEY LIE IN A GOOD FOLD, in safe dwelling-places, AND IN A FAT PASTURE SHALL THEY FEED UPON THE MOUNTAINS... [ Continue Reading ]
I will feed My flock, taking charge of this important function himself, AND I WILL CAUSE THEM TO LIE DOWN, SAITH THE LORD GOD, so that they will be secure under His protection.... [ Continue Reading ]
I will, by way of contrast to the selfish behavior of the false shepherds, SEEK THAT WHICH WAS LOST, AND BRING AGAIN THAT WHICH WAS DRIVEN AWAY, AND WILL BIND UP THAT WHICH WAS BROKEN, crippled by some misfortune or accident, AND WILL STRENGTHEN THAT WHICH WAS SICK, thereby faithfully discharging th... [ Continue Reading ]
And as for you, O My flock, thus saith the Lord God, in announcing His policy over against the entire nation, BEHOLD, I JUDGE BETWEEN CATTLE AND CATTLE, literally, "between sheep and sheep," or the small cattle, lamb and kids, BETWEEN THE RAMS AND THE HE-GOATS, so that the fat sheep with the rams an... [ Continue Reading ]
Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, as the rich and powerful did in oppressing the poor, BUT YE MUST TREAD DOWN WITH YOUR FEET THE RESIDUE OF YOUR PASTURES? thereby preventing the poorer members of the nation from obtaining what the rich and mighty, for some cause or... [ Continue Reading ]
And as for My flock, consisting of the poor, weak, and helpless, THEY EAT THAT WHICH YE HAVE TRODDEN WITH YOUR FEET, being compelled to be satisfied with the food discarded and spoiled by the mighty; AND THEY DRINK THAT WHICH YE HAVE FOULED WITH YOUR FEET, for want of anything cleaner.... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore, thus saith the Lord God unto them, Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle, between the powerful with their presumption and pride and the weak and oppressed, who were practically at the mercy of the former.... [ Continue Reading ]
Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, like cattle fighting their way to the trough or feeding-rack, AND PUSHED ALL THE DISEASED WITH YOUR HORNS TILL YE HAVE SCATTERED THEM ABROAD,... [ Continue Reading ]
therefore will I save My flock, delivering the poor and helpless from the power of the oppressors, AND THEY SHALL NO MORE BE A PREY, at the mercy of unscrupulous rulers, AND I WILL JUDGE BETWEEN CATTLE AND CATTLE, so that justice would be done. The Virgin Mary was right in saying that God hath put d... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, a singular and preeminent one, the Messiah, who claims this honor for himself, John 10:14, EVEN MY SERVANT DAVID, the king who was often named as the antitype of Jesus Christ; HE SHALL FEED THEM, AND HE SHALL BE THEIR SHEPHERD, the on... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MESSIAH AS THE TRUE SHEPHERD... [ Continue Reading ]
And I, the Lord, will be their God, once more occupying this position over against them, AND MY SERVANT DAVID, the great Son of David, A PRINCE AMONG THEM, as a Ruler in the best sense of the word; I, THE LORD, HAVE SPOKEN IT.... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will make with them a covenant of peace, namely, by virtue of the atonement of the Savior, Romans 5:1, AND WILL CAUSE THE EVIL BEASTS, the various enemies who tried to hinder the course of the Gospel, TO CEASE OUT OF THE LAND; AND THEY SHALL DWELL SAFELY IN THE WILDERNESS, secure in the very m... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing, literally, "I give them [the people of God] and the environments of My hill as a blessing"; for this is the function of the Church of God in all its congregations, the visible exponents of the invisible communion of saints; AND I WI... [ Continue Reading ]
And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, the believers being rich in good works as the outgrowth of faith, AND THEY SHALL BE SAFE IN THEIR LAND, leading a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, AND SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD WHEN I H... [ Continue Reading ]
And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, to the enemies of God everywhere, NEITHER SHALL THE BEAST OF THE LAND DEVOUR THEM, said of the various dangers threatening the existence of the Lord's Church; BUT THEY SHALL DWELL SAFELY, in the security afforded by God's almighty hand, AND NONE SHALL... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, literally, "a plantation for a name," the expression evidently including both the Messiah Himself, as the Branch of the Lord, Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:6, and the Church founded by him as a garden of the Lord, Isaiah 60:21, AND THEY SHALL BE NO MORE CON... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus shall they know that I, the Lord, their God, am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, those who are Israelites in truth, by faith in the one Redeemer, ARE MY PEOPLE, SAITH THE LORD GOD.... [ Continue Reading ]
And ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, who have derived all their spiritual food and strength from the Lord alone, ARE MEN, enrolled under His banner and standing up for the truth of His Gospel, AND I AM YOUR GOD, SAITH THE LORD GOD. This is the preliminary restoration of tile Garden of Eden, in... [ Continue Reading ]