Sermon Tone Analysis

Ezekiel 34:11-24.

"The Love of the Shepherd".

Ezekiel 34:11-24.

11 "For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.

12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

13 And I 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 ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land.

There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.

16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.

I will feed them in justice.

17 "As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.

18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?

19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

20 "Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

21 Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, 22 I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey.

And I will judge between sheep and sheep.

23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.

24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them.

I am the LORD; I have spoken.

(ESV)

"Merry Christmas!"

"Happy New Year!"

As the end of the year approaches, everywhere we turn someone is telling us we should be happy.

But for those who've recently lost someone they love, this time of year can seem more like something to survive than to enjoy.

The traditions and events that can add so much joy and meaning to the season are punctuated with painful reminders of the person we love who is not here to share in it.

Many have wished they could find a quiet place to hide until January 2. While those of us who surround grieving people can't fix the pain of loss, we can bring comfort as we come alongside those who hurt with special sensitivity to what grief is like during the holidays.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-grieving-people-wish-you-knew-at-christmas?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=204dcce7-ae35-4a38-a850-db9af5cb870b&utm_campaign=reshare&fbclid=IwAR2Mr1T6u6k9DcPfF3UZhMUEJymWpvcjfXJQl8KuClKwG1LzlBj7e20s-j0

The situation of the people of God described in Ezekiel 34, are of a suffering people, who feel alienated from their homeland, abused and feeling abandoned by God.

Those who were taken from the northern kingdom of Israel to multiple destinations after the fall of Samaria (2 Kgs.

17:6.

From a historical perspective, perhaps it was inevitable that a small national state such as Judah would fall to the expansionist Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar.

The serious social divisions within Judah made it so much the easier for the Babylonians to complete their destruction of Judah (Vawter, B., & Hoppe, L. J. (1991).

A new heart: a commentary on the book of Ezekiel (pp.

155-156).

Grand Rapids; Edinburgh: Eerdmans; Handsel Press.).

It is in these conditions that we hear Ezekiel's declaration of the love of God to His flock.

These sheep were obstinate, stubborn and rebellious (see Ezek. 2:3-5) but still God reached out to them.

They were guilty of great sin but even then there was mercy and forgiveness offered if they would repent.

God's love is not soft and weak, as if it cares nothing about sin, but, rather, exactly the opposite.

He cares deeply and sin grieves him.

While he will not tolerate it or excuse it, he will pardon it, and it is against this backdrop of divine holiness that God's love shines most brightly.

The great love and concern God has for his people is seen clearly in Ezekiel 34.

They are like a flock of sheep who have been neglected by their earthly shepherds, but the heavenly shepherd vows, 'I myself will search for my sheep and look after them' (v.

11).

Rebellious humanity does not love God, nor seek to be loved by God.

Human nature and mind are so darkened by sin that people are naturally ignorant of God's love and mercy.

People take the blessings of life for granted: health, food, breath, and the beauty of creation are never acknowledged as gifts of God.

People talk about Mother Nature, while the Bible talks about the Creator God.

People talk about the Laws of Nature, while the Bible talks about the will and providence of God.

Because people exclude God, they do not seek him.

But he seeks us!

In Jesus, (God came to earth that we remember this time of year) to seek and save the lost.

It was not that we loved him but that he loved us.

(He came to a lost, scattered, despondent sheep with the great love of a shepherd).

(Jeffery, P. (2004).

Opening up Ezekiel's Visions (p.

102-104).

Leominster: Day One Publications.

In this time of year, we remember the coming of Christ shoring The Love of the Shepherd".

This love is shown in three wonderful ways.

In Ezekiel 34:11-24 we see:1) The Love of the Good Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:11-16), 2) The Love for the Shepherd's Flock (Ezekiel 34:17-22), and the 3) The Love of the Messianic Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:23-24).

The Love of the Shepherd is evident as seen from:

1) The Love of the Good Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:11-16),

Ezekiel 34:11-24.

11 "For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.

12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

13 And I 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 ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land.

There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.

16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.

I will feed them in justice.

(ESV)

The LORD's relationship with His people is often described using the metaphor of a shepherd (Pss.

23:1; 78:52-54; 80:1; Isa.

40:11; Jer.

23:3; Mic.

7:14), and it is in this character that He presents himself as resolving the predicament of the exiled people.

Building on His declaration that he would deliver his flock (34:10), Ezekiel 34:11 and following provides greater detail of his promise that he would kindly seek his sheep and restore them.

His actions will contrast strongly with those of their former rulers (compare, for instance, 34:4 and 34:16).

To reverse their irresponsible misconduct requires the direct intervention of the true owner of the flock, the LORD God himself.

It is into this environment that Jesus first came.

He came to a people who felt abandoned by their shepherd and under the oppression of their rules.

In verse 11 we see the LORD's purpose and promise: He himself would act as a true shepherd.

The emphatic repetition in Behold I, I myself focused a brilliant spotlight on the LORD, and the false shepherds utterly faded from view.

He will search/inquire for (dāraš) His sheep, which repeats the verb which depicted a concerned inquiry after (cf.

34:6, 10)-not withdrawal and abandonment of the downtrodden, but active involvement on their behalf.

He will seek them out/scrutinise/ 'inspect'/ 'search through' (bāqar) It is a different term from those in 34:6, one which was probably drawn from Ezekiel's priestly background to denote a careful examination to establish the condition of something (cf.

Lev.

13:36; 19:20; 27:33; Prov.

20:25).

The corresponding Aramaic verb occurred in Ezra for careful examination of archives to find a relevant document (Ezra 4:15, 19; 5:17; 6:1).

The LORD as the Good Shepherd was not satisfied merely with the presence of the sheep, but also wished to ascertain and ensure that they were in good condition.

He will search for those who have been scattered and bring them safely home to the mountains of Israel, the center of the land God promised to Abraham (Sproul, R. C. (Ed.).

(2015).

The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (p.

1435).

Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.)

In verse 12 we see the shepherd's scrutiny.

The description of His flock employs a noun found only here in Ezekiel, but its meaning was essentially the same as that of the term found elsewhere for flock.

The intimacy of His presence is that "He is among His sheep that have been scattered/spread".

This describes a shepherd's check of his recovered flock to ascertain if any had injuries or were weak, after suffering the trauma of being scattered.

Through His power He will "rescue/deliver them".

(naṣal; cf.