Ezekiel 34:19

Seemeth 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? SEEMETH 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? Not content with appropriating to their own use the good of others, they, from mere wantonness, spoiled what they did not use, so as to be of no use to the owners. AND TO HAVE DRUNK OF THE DEEP WATERS, BUT YE MUST FOUL THE RESIDUE WITH YOUR FEET? - "deep waters," i:e., limpid as deep waters are generally clear. Grotius explains the image as referring to the usuries with which the rich ground the poor (;...

17-31 The whole nation seemed to be the Lord's flock, yet they were very different characters; but he knew how to distinguish between them. By good pastures and deep waters, are meant the pure word of God and the dispensing of justice. The latter verses, Ezekiel 34:23, prophesy of Christ, and of the most glorious times of his church on earth. Under Him, as the good Shepherd, the church would be a blessing to all around. Christ, though excellent in himself, was as a tender plant out of a dry ground. Being the Tree of life, bearing all the fruits of salvation, he yields spiritual food to the souls of his people. Our constant desire and prayer should be, that there may be showers of blessings in every place where the truth of Christ is preached; and that all who profess the gospel may be filled with fruits of righteousness....

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...

AND AS FOR MY FLOCK, THEY EAT THAT WHICH YE HAVE TRODDEN WITH YOUR FEET,.... They are forced to do it, not being able to come at any thing else; being as sheep without a shepherd, or worse: AND THEY DRINK THAT WHICH YE HAVE FOULED WITH YOUR FEET; which, as it cannot be agreeable and relishing, so neither wholesome; as the leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees; the traditions of the elders; the false doctrines of false teachers, whose words eat as do a canker. The Targum of the whole verse is, "and my people eat the residue of the food of your ministers, and drink the residue of the drink of your ministers.''...

Ezekiel 34:11. _For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As 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._ What a glorious promise! Christ's elect run hither and thither, in the darkness of their ignorance, into sin of every kind, but he will find every one of them out. There is no jungle so thick but Christ will track his own through it; There are no bogs of sin so dangerous but Christ will traverse them and find every lamb of his flock. And if through your backslidings, O people of God, you have wandered far from him, yet he perceives you with that eye which sees in the dark as well us in the light; and he will follow after you and bring you back. Bles

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

But among the flock there were differences too, the strong (_i.e._ the rich) treating the weak with selfishness and brutality. This too will end....

B. The Divine Shepherd 34:11-22 TRANSLATION (11) For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, Here am I, and I will search for My sheep, and seek them out. (12) As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day he is in the midst of his flock that are separated, thus I will seek out My sheep; and I will deliver them from all the places to which they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick darkness. (13) And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the lands; and I will bring them unto their land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the habitable portions of the land. (14) In a good pasture I will feed them, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be; there shall they lie down in a good fold, and in a lush pasture shall they graze upon the mountains of Israel. (15) I will feed My sheep, and I will make them to lie...

THE NEW ISRAEL (EZEKIEL 33-48) So long as the Jewish kingdom remained in existence Ezekiel's prophecies (those in Ezekiel 1-24) dealt almost exclusively with the nation's sin, and with the certainty of its overthrow. But when these prophecies were fulfilled by the fall of Jerusalem his message assumed a new and hopeful character. God's punishment of Israel's sin was not the end of His dealings with His people. The destruction of the old sinful Israel would be followed by the establishment of a perfect kingdom of God. The humiliation of the foreign nations (described in Ezekiel 25-32) would prepare the way for this, and would be succeeded by the restoration of the exiles. The new kingdom would be set up under new conditions of worship and fellowship with God. This concluding part of the book falls into two sections, the first dealing with the restoration from captivity (Ezekiel 33-39), an...

EZEKIEL: “THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM GOD” GOD’S PLANS FOR *ISRAEL AND THE NATIONS EZEKIEL CHAPTER S 25 TO 39 _IAN MACKERVOY_ CHAPTER 34 THE FALSE *SHEPHERDS OF *ISRAEL – EZEKIEL 34:1-10 V1 The *LORD spoke to me again. V2 ‘*Son of man, *prophesy against the leaders of *Israel. They lead the *Israelites as *shepherds lead sheep. Say to those leaders, “The *LORD your King says this to you. It will be terrible for you. You have fed yourselves. But *shepherds should feed the sheep. V3 You drink the milk. You wear the clothes that you make from the wool. You kill and you eat the best sheep. But you do not feed the sheep. V4 You have not made the weak sheep stron