Ezekiel 34:15

13 And ^aI will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel,¹ in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14 ^aI will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. ^bThere they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God.

16 ^a“I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy ^bthe fat and the strong, and feed them ^cin judgment.”

17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: ^a“Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.

18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the¹ residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet?

19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”

20 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: ^a“Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep.

21 Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad,

22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

23 I will establish one ^ashepherd over them, and he shall feed them—^bMy servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.

24 And ^aI, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David ^ba prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does Ezekiel 34:15 Mean?

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Ezekiel condemns the ministry as a whole for being more concerned for self and paycheck than for the "sheep," the members of the church. Rather than helping, healing, and leading, government was often administered with force and cruelty. Talking the talk was followed far more frequently than walking the walk. God also charges them with defiling the doctrine, which verse 18 pictures as trodden pasture and fouled water. Paul, James, Peter, John, and Jude all warn about "wolves" at the end time infiltrating the flock, introducing another gospel, and rending the sheep.

Is it any wonder respect for the ministry is at low ebb? God Himself is very upset with shepherds who cared more for themselves than for the sheep. Through misuse and abuse, wolves in sheep's clothing ripped and tore the sheep. God and man deplore and reject such a ministry. The ministry today is in sad disarray, distrusted and despised by many. Some ministers are reckoned as hirelings who cared not for the sheep, but only for their paychecks. These men would compromise the truth, even teach what they knew was wrong, to retain their salaries. Zechariah 11:3 describes a forsaken ministry, howling over the loss of their flocks, which they mistreated.

Screaming for "respect for the ministry" will not help. These hurts can only be healed by proper example and time, combined with a forgiving heart, established by God, in those who have been harmed.

Because of these abuses, insidious Laodiceanism, and our natural proclivity to resent any government except our own, we have a church despised and blown apart by God Himself. (Read all of Lamentations, Ezekiel 22:25-29; and 24:21 to confirm who is behind the separation.)

John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)
For the Perfecting of the Saints

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What Does Ezekiel 34:15 Mean?

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