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. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. And 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. And…there shall be showers of blessing…. And 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. Thus 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. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God—Ezekiel 34:23-31

Renewal! Blessed renewal! This is the theme of Ezekiel 34, and is a much welcome change. For the theme in the first thirty-three chapters of the book has been judgment: judgment after judgment, chapter after chapter! And rightly so, for Judah had sinned greatly and continually against God. And yet, out of the dark backdrop of sin and judgment shines forth a ray of hope. Renewal and restoration is announced by the prophet—beginning with the coming of its blessed source: the coming of the Royal Shepherd of Jehovah’s sheep.

AN ASTOUNDING COMING

These verses we consider announce the astounding coming of the Royal Shepherd—a coming that is also much needed. It was much needed because God’s people suffered greatly under the rule of unfaithful royal shepherds.

We do well to consider what royal shepherds (or shepherd kings) are all about. A shepherd is one who leads his sheep: he leads them unto green pastures and still waters for their nourishment and care. Besides leading them, he also protects them from predators. And that is what kings do too. Good kings are like good shepherds who lead by their good rule. And as part of their good rule, good kings also provide good protection for their citizens, just as good shepherds do. When the prophet combines these two descriptions into one, he makes plain that he is referring to One who is very special, and sent from God: One who would be the promised Seed of the woman and be of royal nobility (Gen. 49:10); One who would be closely linked to King David, who grew up a shepherd boy and who received the promise that his royal throne would be forever.

The need for such a Royal Shepherd was due to unfaithful royal shepherds or kings ruling over Israel, whom the prophet railed against (Ezek. 34:1-2a). These unfaithful shepherds cared not for the people, but instead ruled in such a way to enrich themselves at the expense of the people (Ezek. 34:2b-5). And that resulted in the scattering of the people of God—likened to lost sheep scattered by their unfaithful shepherds. Even then, Jehovah provided faithful prophets (Elijah and Elisha in the northern kingdom of Israel, and Ezekiel and Daniel during the captivity of Judah in Babylon) to care for them. And beyond that, Jehovah would also intervene in other significant ways, ways that would reverse the abusive rule of the unfaithful shepherds. Jehovah tells us that He will declare His word of wrath and judgment against these unfaithful shepherds (v. 10). He also promises to search for His lost sheep, to feed them, to strengthen the sick among them, and to gather them (vv. 11-16). Indeed, He is going to accomplish all these things through the coming of His Royal Shepherd.

An astounding coming! For it will be one that is humanly impossible. And why is that? Because verse 23 declares that “my servant David” will be the one who feeds His people. How can that be? By the time of these prophet’s words, David had come and gone hundreds of years before! Surely the Royal Shepherd promised was not David. Nor could it refer to the kings of Judah, that is, the line of kings from the royal house of David. For these kings had repeatedly failed the people. Besides, the line of kings had all but ended with the destruction of Jerusalem. Even after God’s people returned to Canaan after exile, they would have no king of their own. Nor would there be any prophetic voice heard after Malachi. How was this Royal Shepherd to come?

But make no mistake. The Royal Shepherd would come as promised! He came two thousand years ago. We see this only when we understand that the identity of this Royal Shepherd is Jesus Christ. He is the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep and gathers all His sheep into one fold (John 10:11, 16). And He is also King: the King of kings and Lord of lords (Phil. 2). He is the Shepherd-King who rules us, His sheep, by a rule of grace within our hearts. David was but a type of Christ, the Royal Shepherd. The believing Jews knew that and waited faithfully and patiently for Him to come. And He came two thousand years ago! That is what the birth of Christ and the ushering in of the New Testament age was all about. It would be a time when all believers and sheep from all the nations would be called and gathered by this Royal Shepherd through His Spirit and Word: “And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries”(v. 13a).

ITS BOUNTIFUL BLESSINGS

Christ has come! He is the Royal Shepherd who comes and brings bountiful blessings to His sheep. The source of those blessings is Jehovah’s covenant of peace (v. 25a). Jesus came in order to establish that covenant of peace with God for us, and with it opened up the enjoyment of bountiful blessings for us. Unlike unfaithful shepherds who took advantage of the sheep and fed themselves at their expense, Jesus laid down His life for His sheep, giving Himself to die in our place for our sins at the cross. Through His death on the cross, Jesus took away the punishment of our sins, removed the enmity and barrier of sin, and gave us the right and ability to be and to live as covenant friends with God. He established that covenant of peace by His blood, and with it, has given us access to bountiful blessings!

Those blessings begin with peace with God through Him (cf. Rom. 5:1). And with that peace comes the enjoyment of covenant friendship with God, through which the many great blessings of God’s salvation come to be enjoyed by us! In a word, spiritual prosperity comes to be enjoyed by us! This spiritual prosperity is pictured by the various descriptions of earthly prosperity set forth in verses 25-29; one of which is the “showers of blessing” (v. 26) that Jehovah causes to come upon the land, a beautiful picture of Him feeding us, refreshing our souls, and caring for us. We are also told that Jehovah raises up “a plant of renown” (v. 29). That refers to the church of Jesus Christ, for Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches joined to Him by faith (John 15). It is through the church that we are fed, refreshed, and cared for by the Royal Shepherd through the means of grace, chief of which is the preaching of the gospel, by which we hear His voice!

Nor is that all. Not to be overlooked is the blessing of sure protection and safety we enjoy as the sheep of our Royal Shepherd, who “will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land,” so that “they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods” (v. 25). We who are in the midst of the wilderness of this world, facing all kinds of temptations and enemies who would do us harm, are kept safe by our Royal Shepherd. While this safety is pictured in the Old Testament, it is set forth plainly and explicitly in the New Testament. Jesus puts it this way in John 10:28-29: “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” We are kept safe in Father’s hand! Accordingly, the apostle Paul exults in triumph when it comes to the abiding and everlasting nature of the safety and love of God in Jesus Christ:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed the day long: we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35-39).

Dear reader, you are not a stranger to these bountiful blessings of peace, prosperity, and the ever-abiding safety and love of God in Christ, are you? It is little wonder, therefore, that the prophet concludes chapter 34 with these wonderful words of assurance: “Thus 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. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.” (vv. 30-31). What wonderful comfort and assurance God’s people in the prophet’s day enjoyed— and we enjoy with them—while we are yet here in the “wilderness” and the “woods” of this world!

THE FITTING RESPONSE

What, then, ought to be a fitting response from all who are unworthy recipients of such bountiful blessings from our Royal Shepherd? May it be a life of thankful service and heartfelt praises—marked by joyful celebration during this season of Advent and Christmas!

You can access the Spanish version of this article, translated by Jorge Carbajal, by clicking the following link. LA VENIDA DEL PASTOR REY