“I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. 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, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” (Ezekiel 34:15-16)
The prophet Ezekiel proclaimed these words as he pronounced God’s condemnation on the shepherds of Judah, the kings and religious authorities who had failed to fulfill their God anointed responsibility. They had been placed in their office by God to care for His people as a shepherd cares for a flock of sheep that belongs to someone else. Today we might compare them to our politicians. They are elected by citizens but have a calling from God to ensure justice and freedom for all including the oppressed and weak, not advantage for just the rich, powerful, and famous. This calling most politicians neglect in favor of using their rank for fame, wealth, and self-glorification as if such things would give them comfort and peace and establish for them a legacy that will last for generations.
What Ezekiel reveals in this prophecy is that God is the Chief Shepherd, a prophecy about Jesus the Savior of all mankind. Jesus did what earthly leaders cannot, that is, protect His people from the external dangers of idolatry and compromise as well as from internal dissent and disunity. He provides them with truth, mercy, love, and healing. He ensures justice for the poor, oppressed, and downtrodden and forgiveness for sinners.
Those who do not have faith in Jesus lack this comfort. Their lives are full of turmoil and hatred because they can find no rest in the pleasures of the world or the desires of their own hearts and minds. Thus they lash out at others with evil words and violence. The words of Ezekiel provide the comfort they seek, the comfort we believers share. They speak of the Lord’s mercy and love. They remind us of the faithfulness of the Lord. He will resolve all the injustice and violence that now surrounds us and resolve the chaos into peace in His heavenly Kingdom.