Ezekiel 34:20

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. BEHOLD, I, EVEN I, WILL JUDGE BETWEEN THE FAT CATTLE AND BETWEEN THE LEAN CATTLE - "fat ... lean," the rich oppressors ... the humble poor. Compare this verse with , "Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle" (sheep and sheep). He here defines the two classes meant by 'sheep and sheep'-namely, the fat or rich on the one hand, and the lean or poor on the other....

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....

Verse Ezekiel 34:20. _I WILL JUDGE BETWEEN THE FAT CATTLE AND BETWEEN THE_ _LEAN CATTLE._] Between the _rich_ and the _poor_; those who _fare_ _sumptuously_ every day and those who have not the _necessaries of_ _life_....

Yahweh having promised to be a Ruler of His people, the administration of the divine kingdom is now described, as carried on by One King, the representative of David, whose dominion should fulfill all the promises originally made to the man after God’s own heart. Ezekiel does not so much add to, as explain and develope, the original promise; and as the complete fulfillment of the spiritual blessings, which the prophets were guided to proclaim, was manifestly never realized in any temporal prosperity of the Jews, and never could and never can be realized in any earthly kingdom, we recognize throughout the Sacred Volume the one subject of all prophecy - the Righteous King, the Anointed Prince, the Son and the Lord of David. Ezekiel 34:23 ONE SHEPHERD - One, as ruling over an undivided people, the distinction between th

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...

THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD UNTO THEM,.... To the rams and he goats of the flock, that use the pastures and defile the waters after this manner, and make them unfit for the lesser cattle; or that use the poor people of God after this sort: BEHOLD, I, EVEN I, WILL JUDGE BETWEEN THE FAT CATTLE AND BETWEEN THE LEAN CATTLE. The Targum is, "between the rich man and the poor man;'' this is repeated, and in very strong terms, for the confirmation of it: this the Lord promised to do, and he has done it by his son, to whom he committed all judgment; and who, in the days of his flesh, made a difference between those who were full of themselves, self-righteous persons; who were self-sufficient, and needed not repentance, nor any other righteousness but their own; who trusted in themselves, and despised others: and may be meant by the "fat cattle": and between those who were low and mean in...

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...