Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 (NRSV):
11 For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 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 watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 14 I will feed them with good pastures, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says 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, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder; and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 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, the LORD, have spoken.
The number of “I will” statements in the Ezekiel 34 scripture inspires today’s message. In this passage alone, the Lord says “I will” at least 15 times, which leaves us with the impression that God makes promises and is willing to act on those promises. At this current time, we are in the middle of the Thanksgiving season, with Christmas and Advent just around the corner. And with this, we are drawing close to the end of another year, which leaves many of us wondering what the next year will bring.
Returning to the Biblical text, these words come to us from the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel lived during one of the darkest chapters in Israel’s history, the Babylonian exile, around 593 B.C. He was among the first group of captives taken from Jerusalem to Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion in 597 B.C. Ezekiel and many others settled near the Chebar Canal, a network of irrigation channels near Babylonia. Life in exile was not the brutal imprisonment we might imagine; the people had homes, fields, and even opportunities to work and prosper. They were far from free, but they were allowed to live, to build, and to worship God as best they could in a foreign land.
Ezekiel carried God’s truth to the people who had lost nearly everything. They had lost their land, their temple, their hope. He ministered among the exiles who struggled to understand why God had allowed such devastation, reminding them that even in Babylon, God was still present. History tells us that Babylon was a city of splendor, filled with temples, palaces, and idols. Ezekiel had seen its wealth and power firsthand, yet he also saw how empty it was compared to the glory of God.
While Ezekiel lived comfortably and had a measure of stability, his heart and ministry were not concerned with material life. His mission was spiritual: to proclaim that God’s presence was not confined to Jerusalem, and that His desire was to restore His people, to cleanse their hearts, and to renew His covenant with them. Even in exile, Ezekiel called his people to remember who they were and to trust that God had not abandoned them, but was preparing them for renewal.
In today’s scripture, we see a picture of God being the True Shepherd. Bernhard Anderson, an Old Testament scholar, states, “Yahweh is the God Shepherd who goes out to seek for sheep that are lost, crippled, or strayed, in order to restore them to their home pasture.”
Ezekiel 34:11 states:
For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.” Again, the I Will statements are made to indicate how far God is willing to go and all that God is willing to do. An interesting observation about the I Will Statements is that there is no direct word-for-word translation from the ancient Hebrew (as the Old Testament was written in Hebrew). Instead, there is a Hebrew word given for each phrase, for example, “I will search” or “I will rescue” is stated with one word, ‘er’eh, which means “I will shepherd.” God merely begins to say ‘I will” meaning he is determined to do so. Then, according to a list of Hebrew words, there is a list of what God will do:
- I will require
- I will search
- I will rescue
- I will lead
- I will gather
- I will shepherd
- I will seek
- I will bring back
- I will bind up
- I will strengthen
- I will destroy
- I will judge
- I will save
- I will establish
- I will be
God could have also added, “I will be very busy!” For again, with everything it says God will do, God will do it for these people. Therefore, I have to believe that this must have been a hope-filled message to the original hearers. But, there’s more!
There is a Messianic prophecy. While God states he intends to do this all Himself, toward the end of the text, he says:
23 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, the LORD, have spoken.
It’s important to note that God doesn’t plan on resurrecting King David. King David reigned roughly from 1010 to 970 B.C.
During David’s reign, Israel was united as one kingdom. King David was at least 400 years prior to this message from Ezekiel and King David had established Jerusalem as the capital, brought the Ark of the Covenant there, and made worship central to national life. By Ezekiel’s time, the unified kingdom David had established was long gone. Jerusalem, the city David had made the heart of Israel’s faith, was in ruins. The temple Solomon (King David’s son) had built was destroyed. So, God isn’t actually referring to King David directly in this text. Instead, he is talking to the descendants of David. The gospels of Matthew and Luke record taht Jesus was born a descendant of David. So, quite naturally, Jesus comes along (maybe 600 years later but it still aligns directly with what’s been prophesied about Christ), and said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11, NRSV). Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the one who would care for the sheep.
What do we learn from this message today?
Jesus is the good shepherd, the one and true shepherd who genuinely cares for his people today. Just like in Ezekiel’s time, and then just like Jesus’ time, we still see the same people often led astray by religious leaders. For this reason, many people may argue with us when we tell them that they need to go to church. Almost immediately, some people will boast, “I don’t want to go to church because it is filled with hypocrites.” But this line gets old. You aren’t going to find a “perfect” Christian.
Another way of applying this text is by seeing it through the context of the liturgical calendar. We are in the season of Thanksgiving and nearing the end of the liturgical year. It is appropriate to begin looking at Messianic prophesies because they reveal to us what God has done in history to prepare for the coming of His Son into the world. Year after year we start to see our world become more absorbed in the commercialized idea of Christmas. The problem I see is that the season of Christmas isn’t long enough for people to fully rasp its real meaning. For many people, Christmas begins when they put up their outdoor lights or when they buy their Christmas tree. Christmas begins when Walmart starts putting up the holiday bundles, candy, and decorations. Christmas is definitely long enough for the corporate businesses that are profiting off the holiday.
But the spirituality of Christmas, we have to recognize that we are celebrating not just a child placed in a manger but we are celebrating Advent, the season that works its way up to the meaning of Christmas. So, maybe we are starting off early since Thanksgiving isn’t for a few more weeks, but let us understand that Thanksgiving is not so much a religious holiday. There is no biblical foundation for celebrating Thanksgiving Day. The Bible tells us to be thankful to God (Psalm 100), but for Christians, this is a reminder to be thankful, express gratitude, to be glad that we have a God who is willing to do so much for us.
The “I Will” Statement reveals more than just a promise that God made to Ancient Israel. God promised that He would give them a shepherd. Jesus came into the world as the Good Shepherd. He came to seek and to save the lost, and he’s still doing it. Let’s prepare our hearts for thanksgiving, giving thanks to God for all that He has done for us. And, as we prepare for Thanksgiving and the holiday rush, let us begin our spiritual preparation, rejoicing because the wonderful season of Advent will begin and Christmas is filled with such a wonder, that we do not want to miss any of it.
Adapted from “I Will…” by Rev. Dennis Alan RobertsFulbright, M.Div (November 21, 1999 – Paradise, CA)
