Ezekiel 34:1-16 - "Of Shepherds and Sheep"

Ezekiel 34:1-16

"And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment."

Ezekiel 34 sets before us a solemn contrast between false shepherds and the LORD Jesus Christ Himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-21). The passage opens with rebuke, exposing those who fed themselves rather than the flock. Shepherds were given care of sheep, yet instead of strengthening the weak or healing the sick, they consumed what belonged to the flock. The charge is direct: they did not feed the sheep. The absence of true nourishment left the flock scattered, wounded, and preyed upon by false teachers for their own self interests (John 10:8).

This Scripture speaks to a time of crisis and spiritual decline and failure in ancient Israel among the leaders of the day, and how that affected the people. The prophet addresses the leaders—often referred to as “shepherds”—who have neglected and exploited the people, leaving them scattered and vulnerable. Spiritually, this passage offers a profound reminder of God’s care and justice for His own true sheep, elected by His grace and for whom Christ would come and pay their sin debt. God Himself declares that He will seek out the lost, tend to the weak, and restore the scattered, portraying the Shepherd’s tender and vigilant Love in Christ for His own.

This failure is not merely negligence but cruelty. Sheep are weak by nature. Left without guidance, they wander (Isaiah 53:6). Ruled by force rather than care, they are driven further from safety. Ezekiel describes the result plainly: none sought them, none searched for them, and they were scattered upon every high hill. Yet even in this bleak picture, the LORD continues to name them as His sheep. Ownership is never lost, even when care is absent among men and religion. The LORD knows those that are His (2 Timothy 2:19) and His eye is ever on His true sheep, wherever they may be scattered in the world.

Against this darkness, the LORD speaks with resolve. He declares that He Himself will do what unfaithful shepherds refused to do. He will search for His sheep and seek them out (Luke 19:10). He will deliver them from the places where they were scattered. The work of gathering belongs to God alone. The sheep do not find the Shepherd; the Shepherd finds the sheep.

The language of Ezekiel 34 anticipates the work of Christ. The LORD promises to feed His flock, to cause them to lie down, to bind up the broken, and to strengthen the sick. These are not tasks delegated to human effort but works accomplished by God's mercy and grace in Christ. The pasture is good because the Shepherd is faithful. The fold is safe because He Himself gathers the sheep into it (John 10:16). This promise unfolds fully in the Good Shepherd, Who gives His Life for the sheep (John 10:11). He does not rule by force or abandon the flock when danger comes. He bears their judgment, seeks them in their lost estate, and gathers them by His accomplished work. The cloudy and dark day in Ezekiel’s prophecy finds its fulfillment in the hour of darkness at the cross, where redemption was obtained (John 17).

The comfort of this passage rests in God’s repeated declaration: My sheep, My flock (John 10:27,28). Preservation does not depend upon the faithfulness of under-shepherds, nor upon the strength of the sheep themselves. It rests upon the Shepherd Who seeks, gathers, feeds, protects, defends, and causes His flock to rest. Where He feeds, there is nourishment. Where He gathers, there is peace. And where He shepherds, not one sheep will be lost (John 6:37).