Introduction
Today’s sermon touched on the theme of social justice. But social justice only gives us the context of God’s judgment. It is not the main focus of the passage. The main theme remains on what God has done and what He is going to do with his flock. For the past few months, we have examined the many failings of Israel’s political and religious leaders. They have betrayed their own people by submitting to their neighboring nations. They have prostituted themselves before foreign gods. They have betrayed God, their husband and lover. What is God going to do with them now?
In today’s passage, we see two imageries of God: 1) God as the Judge and Deliverer, and 2) the Shepherd-King.
1) God, the Judge (the Deliverer), who rescues his flock (vv. 17, 20, 22, 27)
The first image of God as portrayed here in Ezekiel 34 is God as the Judge and Deliverer. Actually, the original Hebrew word for “judge” (sapat) bears the same meaning as deliverer. When God judges Israel, He would also deliver them from harm. This is a side of God we do not often recognize. When we talk about God’s judgment, we are immediately concerned with his punishment and destruction of the wicked. Of course, this will happen. But the more important purpose of God’s judgment is deliverance and restoration. In fact, some would say that God’s act of deliverance is of a greater importance than the punishment of the wicked (Cf. Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p. 218). God’s primary concern as the Judge is to deliver his flock from harm. Let’s take a look at some of these verses (vv. 17, 20, 22, 27).
17″As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.
20″Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
22I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep.
27 And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them.
God will be judging “between the sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats” (v. 17). Who are the fat sheep and who are the lean sheep? The fat sheep are the political and religious leaders in Israel. The lean sheep are those who have suffered injustice under the hands of these fat sheep. The fat sheep were taking advantage of the lean sheep, by treading down on them. After satisfying their thirst, they would muddy the rest of the water with their feet, polluting it for the rest of the sheep. The lean sheep eat what has been trodden with their feet and drink the muddy water.
This is the social context of the times in Ezekiel. Today, we would label this social context as social injustice. The rich and the poor. The powerful and the powerless. The strong and the weak. This social injustice has been around since the beginning of time! As early as when Cain, the Farmer murdered his own brother, Abel, the Shepherd (Gen. 4:1-8). Abel was a shepherd of a flock, while Cain cultivated the land. The first murder recorded in the Bible was the murder of a shepherd. It was over an offering to the Lord. One was pleasing and acceptable but the other was not. Out of jealousy, Cain attacked his brother in the field, and killed him. The field was the common area of work between the shepherd and the farmer.
Social injustice occurs in biblical times and also in present times, only in different forms. From racial discrimination as portrayed beautifully in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird [i], Adolf Hilter’s genocide of the Jews [ii] during WWII, to the poorest countries in the world. CIA World Factbook 2008 lists Congo as THE POOREST country in the world, with a national GDP of $300 [iii]. Some of us have more than that in a week than this nation has for a year! We see social injustice all around us. Closer to home, we hear of stories about family violence and abuse, sometimes, verbal and sexual abuse by fathers on their own daughters and sons. The homeless and the hunger are at our door-steps, but we are throwing away food because we ordered too much. Some of us may not think that, individually and directly, we are contributing to the problem of poverty, but collectively, Singapore as a rich nation, may be consuming more than we need.
Social injustice was prevalent during Ezekiel’s times, and God warns the fat sheep that He will personally rescue his flock, and the skinny sheep will no longer be a prey (v. 22).
2) God, the Shepherd-King, who sets up a shepherd-prince among his people (vv. 23 -24)
The second image portrayed here is God as the Shepherd-King. The imagery of the sheep and the shepherd is heavily used in today’s passage. The Israelites remember well that David was a shepherd-boy who became a shepherd-king during the monarchy era. But here, the Lord God, intentionally, does not refer to David as a shepherd-king, but a prince instead. David as a shepherd, a servant, and a prince. A prince will always be one step below the king in the hierarchy of royalty.
23And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.
Ezekiel, like his contemporary prophet, Jeremiah, perceives Israel as a theocracy, a nation that is governed by God himself. More specifically, the restoration of theocracy – the restoration of the true King of Israel. From last week’s sermon, we learn that God is the ultimate shepherd-king of Israel. Even though, throughout Israel’s colorful history, we see the rise and fall of many shepherds. God may have commissioned prophets, judges and human kings as his representative on earth, but in many ways, they remain only as God’s representatives. Ultimately, God is still Israel’s true shepherd-king. “The shepherds have failed the flock. The kings have failed Israel. But all is not lost, for Israel’s true king and shepherd was always Yahweh himself.” (Christopher Wright, Ezekiel, p. 276)
Even though God is the Shepherd-King of Israel, he “installs in office” a human shepherd-prince, a shepherd and servant like King David. This does not mean that God is going to raise David from beyond his grave but rather, to raise a messianic leader in the line of David’s descendants. The expectation of a divinely installed king like David is a long-standing prophetic tradition. Many Jews, even until today, continue to expect a Messiah in the line of David (a branch from David’s descendants). This human-ruler “will neither be self-appointed nor elected by the people, but chosen by Yahweh himself” (Daniel L. Block, NICOT: The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25-48, p. 297). It is not surprising that the national symbol on Israel’s flag is the Star of David. The Jews believe that God will install in office for them a messianic king like King David.
This ruler translates as “prince” in the text, will also be a single ruler. This reference to a single shepherd brings to attention the division of the two kingdoms: Israel and Judah, who had two kings during the Divided Monarchy era, after the death of Solomon. God intends to reverse this division. Israel and Judah will be united under one Shepherd-King, the Messiah.
The prince in the passage will be a prince among the people and not a prince over Israel. The shepherd-prince identifies with his people whom he governs. There is a balance between authority and identification with the sheep. In this way, David is God’s representative and deputy among the flock. In this light, I believe that the pastoral office is the same. It plays a mediator role between God and his flock. Pastors must live among his sheep, grow up and grow old together, with his sheep. The pastor represents the flock before God and acts as God’s representative before his church. We preach God’s Word in human words. Our authority comes not from our personhood, but in the vocation of the pastoral office. Individually, we are just like one of the sheep. Take away our titles and our collar and robe; we are no different from the flock. But when we assume the role of the shepherd, we become their leader and guide.
This shepherd-prince will also be a servant of Yahweh. Ezekiel’s repetition of “my servant” is in contrast with the self-seeking shepherds of vv. 1-10 and recalls the traditional view of David’s willing subordination to Yahweh. Pastors [iv] would be the modern equivalent of the shepherd-prince. Pastors are called to be servants of God. They serve God and the church. But sometimes pastors, over time, develop a strong sense of ownership to their ministry or church and start to govern it like a king rather than a servant. Ministry leaders, elders and deacons can also fall into the same trap. “This is my ministry, my church, my sheep,” rather than “God’s ministry, God’s church and God’s flock.”
I think today’s passage is a good reminder for us leaders in ministry, that we are all called to be God’s shepherd-servant, someone installed into office to participate in God’s work of restoration. In fact, I would even say that all of us are called to be God’s servant in his kingdom. We are individually called to serve God and his church and the world in our own capacity. Even though, we have election and nominations every year, it is important to recognize that it is God who has called us as his servant. Our work would be to share his gospel and witness Christ to the world.
3) God will re-establish a covenant of peace (vv. 25-31)
What does the world look like after God’s restoration? The book of Ezekiel gives us a glimpse of it here. From vv. 25-31, God describes in vivid detail of his restoration plan. The focus again is on what God wills to do. It is encapsulated in the phrase, “I will”, which occurs several times here. God will first and foremost establish “a covenant of peace” or “a covenant of shalom” (v. 25). It means “a covenant in which there will be wholeness and harmony. ‘Shalom’ means much more than absence of strife.” (Christopher Wright, Ezekiel, p. 281)
This covenant of peace is further described with three major changes in the physical world: [v]
a) Freedom from danger from wild animals
b) Abundant fertility of vegetation and crops; and
c) Deliverance from all human oppressors
It is a world as God intended it to be before the disobedience of Man. It describes the Garden of Eden at the Beginning of Creation. There is harmony between the animals and humans, between humans and God. There is a harmonious relationship between man and woman, between the land and Man. The land is futile and harvest is plentiful. In some sense, God sought to reverse the curse of the land with the promise of his blessing. No matter how corrupted the world may have become, the blessing of God is endless. The promise of God’s covenant of peace will reign forever.
And in many ways, we see these major changes already happening in the world today. Some wild animals are tamed in zoos or kept as pets at home. Some wild animals are re-habituated back in the forest. Those born to be wild will remain wild but they will no longer be dangerous to Mankind. We see a greater respect and love and care for animals today. Even though there is still much work to be done in preventing animal cruelty and poaching. Better facilities are created for animals reared for food consumption [vi]. Green technology and ethical procedures are slowly being implemented to make the world a better place for us and for our children and children’s children. Cars are made more efficient. Renewable resources and alternative energy are being researched and tested every day. Scientists, doctors, engineers are collaborating more than before in designing and inventing better technology.
A great collaboration is the TED movement, which I am a big fan of. TED, which stands for Technology Entertainment and Design, is a global conference gathering of great minds to disseminate “ideas worth spreading”. It started in 1984 as a one-time event but became an annual event since 1990. Wiki: “They address an increasingly wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture. The speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can. Past presenters include Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates… and many Nobel Prize winners.” [vii] I love their motto. Their ideas are truly “ideas worth spreading,” indeed. You could simply watch a short video clip each day and be amazed at how far they have pushed our boundaries. Truly, echoing the words in Ezekiel, they rain “showers of blessings” to the world (v. 26).
http://youtu.be/EoeKCCpkgrw
The greatest message of comfort comes from God in the final two verses:
Ezek. 34:30-31
30And they shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord GOD. 31And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.”
In the first 32 chapters of Ezekiel, we hear the horrific description of God’s judgment on Israel. From chap. 33 onwards, the tide will turn. God moves from punishment to protection, from judgment to restoration. God is no longer their enemy, but their deliverer. The “house of rebellion” will soon be restored as the “house of Israel”. They will once again become the human sheep of God’s pasture. The church is the embodiment of this relationship. We, too, are like the lost sheep of Israel. But God does not give up on us. God is our Shepherd-King who protects and redeems us with His own life. The covenant of peace will soon be in place. Peace as God sees it. Peace as harmony and wholesomeness. Peace as Christ is our Good Shepherd.
Let us pray.
Endnotes:
[i] https://www.jubilee.org.sg/sermons/?sermon_id=62
[ii] https://www.jubilee.org.sg/sermons/?sermon_id=119
[iii] http://www.hottnez.com/the-10-poorest-countries-of-the-world/
[iv] I am using the term “Pastors” as part of the pastoral office, where they perform the role of pastoral care. This pastoral office may include elders and deacons and anyone actively involved in pastoral ministry, as discussed previously by Rev. Wong Siow Hwee in his sermon last week.
[v] The three categories have been made clear by Christopher Wright in The Message of Ezekiel, p. 281.
[vi] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin_%28film%29
[vii] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TED_(conference)
