Major Prophets · Chapter 34 of 48

Ezekiel 34

God indicts the shepherds of Israel, its leaders, for feeding themselves while the flock is scattered, sick, and preyed upon. He will remove them and himself seek out his sheep, gather them from every place, feed them in good pasture, bind the injured, and judge between fat and lean. He promises to set over them one shepherd, his servant David, and to make a covenant of peace, raising up a plant of renown.

What happens in Ezekiel 34

God commands Ezekiel to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves rather than the flock. They eat the fat and wear the wool but do not strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind the injured, or seek the lost; instead they rule with force, and the sheep are scattered and devoured. Therefore God is against these shepherds and will rescue his flock from their mouths. He declares that he himself will search for his sheep, gather them from all the places they were scattered on a dark and cloudy day, bring them to their own land, and feed them in rich pasture, seeking the lost, binding the broken, and strengthening the sick, while judging the fat and strong who shoved the weak aside.

Then he promises one shepherd over them, his servant David, a covenant of peace, showers of blessing, and a plant of renown, so all will know the LORD is with them.

Ezekiel 34 in context

A high point of Ezekiel, shifting fully from judgment to restoration. Ancient kings and leaders were commonly called shepherds, so the indictment targets Judah's failed rulers, and by extension its priests and prophets. The chapter blends God's promise to shepherd the flock himself with the promise of my servant David, the anticipated Davidic messiah, since the historical David was long dead.

This dual promise, God as shepherd and the Davidic shepherd, is the background Jesus directly claims in John 10.

Main themes of Ezekiel 34

Ezekiel 34 (KJV)

1And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 5And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. 7Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 8As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; 9Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 10Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. 11For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13And I will bring them out from the people, 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, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. 16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. 17And 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. 18Seemeth 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? 19And 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. 20Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. 21Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 22Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. 23And 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. 24And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. 25And 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. 26And 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. 27And 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. 28And 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. 29And 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. 30Thus 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. 31And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.

Verses to carry from Ezekiel 34

“For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.”Ezekiel 34:11

“I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.”Ezekiel 34:16

“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.”Ezekiel 34:23

Reflection

However badly you have been led or scattered, this chapter reveals a God who refuses to leave his sheep to careless shepherds and comes searching himself. In Jesus the good shepherd, he seeks the lost, binds the broken, and lays down his life for you. Let yourself be found, and if you lead others, shepherd them as he does.

A prayer from Ezekiel 34