Ezekiel 34:10

Thus 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. BEHOLD, I AM AGAINST THE SHEPHERDS; AND I WILL REQUIRE MY FLOCK AT THEIR HAND - () rather, 'I require,' etc., for God already had begun to do so, having punished Zedekiah with the deprivation of eyesight, after having first caused his sons to be killed, and then the other princes to be slain ( )....

7-16 The Lord declared that he intended mercy towards the scattered flock. Doubtless this, in the first place, had reference to the restoration of the Jews. It also represented the good Shepherd's tender care of the souls of his people. He finds them in their days of darkness and ignorance, and brings them to his fold. He comes to their relief in times of persecution and temptation. He leads them in the ways of righteousness, and causes them to rest on his love and faithfulness. The proud and self-sufficient, are enemies of the true gospel and of believers; against such we must guard. He has rest for disquieted saints, and terror for presumptuous sinners....

Verse Ezekiel 34:10. _I WILL - CAUSE THEM TO CEASE FROM FEEDING THE FLOCK_] God, in this country, _unpriested_ a whole hierarchy who fed not the flock, but _ruled them with force and cruelty_; and he raised up a new set of shepherds better qualified, both by sound doctrine and learning, to feed the flock. Let these be faithful, lest God cause _them to cease_, and raise up other feeders....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 34:1 AND THE WORD OF THE LORD, etc. As no date is given, we may infer that what follows came as an almost immediate sequel to that which precedes it. The kernel of the chapter is found in the Messianic prophecies of Ezekiel 34:23, Ezekiel 34:24, as the first stage in the restoration of Israel which is beginning to open to the prophet's gaze. We can hardly avoid seeing in it the deliberate expression of words that had been spoken by Ezekiel's master (Jeremiah 23:1), and which in his case also were followed by a directly Messianic announcement. In...

THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD, BEHOLD, I AM AGAINST THE SHEPHERDS,.... His heart was against them; his hand was against them; his face was against them, to cut them off. The Targum is, "behold, I will send my fury upon the governors;'' and there was good reason for it, they were against him and his glory, against his flock, his people, his cause, and interest; sad it is for any to have God against them, and to be against God; for none ever hardened themselves against him and prospered, Job 9:4: AND I WILL REQUIRE MY FLOCK AT THEIR HAND; the full tale of them that have been committed to their care, and will punish them for the neglect of them; their blood, their life, and the loss of them, I will require at their hands; thus he punished Zedekiah and his princes, and the priests and prophets: AND CAUSE THEM TO CEASE FROM FEEDING THE FLOCK; take t

Ezekiel 34:1. The shepherds of Israel were the kings and princes and all who had authority over them. The prophet Jeremiah had received a similar message Jeremiah 23:1. These shepherds of Israel were responsible for the deplorable condition of the flock. Utterly selfish, they cared not for the sheep of His pasture; they feared not God nor did they have a heart for God's people. The flock was scattered and spoiled. Such was the sad condition of the people Israel. And when the Lord Jesus appeared in their midst to seek the lost sheep of the house of Israel, He found them as sheep without a shepherd, and He had compassion upon them Mark 6:34. But they rejected Him and the Shepherd was smitten. Zechariah's prophecy was fulfilled

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD GOVERNMENT. But besides moral excellence on the part of its citizens (Ezekiel 33) a state needs good government. This chapter is a very severe indictment of the rulers or kings of Israel in the past, who are compared to shepherds and the figure is maintained throughout the chapter that have neglected or abused the flock. Governors should govern in the interests of the governed; but those shepherds had used their power to feed themselves and not the flock they are even compared in Ezekiel 34:10 to ravenous beasts (notice mouth). It was this misgovernment that in part accounted for the miseries, the defeats, the exile of Israel....

BEHOLD. Figure of speech _Asterismos_. App-6....

AND CAUSE THEM TO CEASE— _And will discharge them._...

II. REPLACEMENT OF CORRUPT LEADERS 34:1-31 Israel's past sin and punishment stemmed largely from corrupt and selfish leadership. The first step in Ezekiel's program of reconstruction for the nation was the replacement of those worthless leaders by a new breed of rulers. God would place at the head of His restored people a scion of the house of David. Under His rule God's people would enjoy peace, safety and prosperity. A. The Evil Shepherds of the Past 34:1-10 TRANSLATION (1) And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? (3) You eat the fat, and with the wool you cloth yourselves, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the flock. (4) The weak you...