Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 (NRSV)
Read Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 on biblegateway.com
Verse 11For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. Verse 12As 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. Verse 13I 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. Verse 14I will feed them with good pasture, 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. Verse 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. Verse 16I 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. Verse 20Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Verse 21Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, Verse 22I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. Verse 23I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. Verse 24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
Devotion
We cannot escape shepherding imagery in scripture. Either God or Jesus is the self-proclaimed shepherd, while the Israelites or Christ's followers are claimed as sheep of the divine pasture. Sometimes God even appoints another shepherd figure as is the case with King David in Ezekiel 34. Whether we have experience in a farming community or not, scripture pushes us to enter into the metaphoric language of husbandry.
So, what do you hear? What does it mean for you and me to imagine God as our shepherd who seeks us out—the sheep scattered, lost and in need of rescue. What does it mean to be led to good pasture and lie down under the watchful care of the Good Shepherd? Settle in. Because throughout the week this metaphor will guide us and, dare I say, shepherd us to the God who will bind up the injured, strengthen the weak and feed us all with justice.
Prayer
We pray: "Shepherd us, O God, beyond all our wants, beyond all our fears, from death into life."
And God responds: "I will seek out my sheep; I will rescue you from all the places to which you have been scattered." Amen.