August 26,2012
Lesson Focus:
God delievers and
provides for His people
Lesson Scripture
Ezekiel 34:23-31
INTRODUCTION.At the time of our lesson, Babylon had overtaken Judah and carried many of them into captivity including Ezekiel.In chapter 34:1-22,God revealed the sins of Israel’s leaders whom He called pastors (or shepherds)as well as those sheep or Israelites who oppressed their own countrymen. God promised to harshly judge both these groups, the unworthy leaders as well as the unworthy people and then usher in a time of blessing for His purified flock of Israel.The Lord pledged that ultimately He Himself will find His scattered flock and care for them.
II. GOD PROMISES AN IDEAL GOVERNMENT (Ezekiel 34:23-24)
A. There will be One Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:23).After condemning and pronouncing judgment on Israel’s leaders, God spoke through Ezekiel promising “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them,even my servant David;he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.” God’s people had many shepherds, but a time would come (during the millennial reign of Christ) when God “will set up one shepherd over them (Israel).”This implies that there will be one nation again. Israel will never again be divided into two nations ruled by separate kings.This one Shepherd will not only reign over Israel but He “shall feed them.”One would think that it wouldn’t be necessary to say that a shepherd will feed the flock because that’s what shepherds do. However, the former shepherds had oppressed and scattered the people instead of feeding or caring for them.God wanted to make it plain that the shepherd He would set up would actually perform the work of a good shepherd (see John 10:11-14). God identified this Shepherd as “my servant David.”
B. There will be One God (Ezekiel 34:24). In this verse God continued to say “And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.” The Lord declared that during the millennial reign, He will be Israel’s only God. The phrase “and my servant David a prince among them” again is a reference to the Messiah and His role as God’s servant and a prince among the Jews.The word “prince” can refer to any exalted leader but here it is used of the Messiah (see Ezekiel 37:25). As a result of His obedience to the cross, the Messiah will be exalted to princely rule (see Philippians 2:9-11). We can be assured of this because God said in the last part of this verse “I the Lord have spoken it.”III. GOD WILL PROVIDE A SECURE ENVIRONMENT (Ezekiel 34:25-27)
1. (vs. 26). In addition to peace the Lord said “And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.” The term “them” refers to the people of Israel and “hill” refers to Mount Zion, the site of the temple. It can also refer to the whole city of Jerusalem. God said that He would make His people and the places around Jerusalem, or throughout the land, a blessing. This will be the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant (see Genesis 12:1-3). No longer will other nations mock the Jews or Jerusalem because their God had chastised them for their disobedience (see Lamentations 2:15-17; Ezekiel 5:14-15). The people and the land will be seen as a blessing or benefit to the world (see Isaiah 2:3; Zechariah 8:13, 22-23). The Lord also promised to send the seasonal rains at their proper times and the people would acknowledge them as “showers of blessing.” These rains in their season would be a blessing because in the Near East land is normally dry and water is precious. The lack of these showers causes droughts and famines. But in the future age of Messiah, the rain will come regularly and bring blessing and abundance upon the land (see Leviticus 26:4-5; Deuteronomy 28:12).
2. (vs. 27a). As a result of the abundant rainfall, the Lord said “And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase.” God promised that the showers of blessing or the abundant rains will cause both the trees and the land to be fruitful. No more will the land be unproductive due to lack of rain. Famines will be a thing of the past.
IV. THE LORD WILL PROVIDE A PERMANENT DELIVERANCE (Ezekiel 34:27b-29)
A. There will be freedom from oppression (Ezekiel 34:27b-28).
1. (vs.27b). In addition, the Lord said “and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.” God promised that His people would be safe in their land from all oppressors, which is the meaning of “when I have broken the bands of their yoke.” The Lord also promised to deliver His people “out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.” This refers to those nations who took advantage of Israel’s services by force and oppression. The Lord said that after He had done all of this His people “shall know that I am the Lord.” Once God has made His people safe and delivered them from all oppression, they would have no doubt that He was their Lord. He will get His glory!
2. (vs. 28). As part of Israel’s deliverance during Messiah’s reign, God said “And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.” Throughout history Israel has been the prey for other nations including the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and many other anti-Semitic oppressors of medieval and modern times. But the time will come when Jews “shall no more be a prey to the heathen.” The word “heathen” means “Gentile” or any non-Jew. The Lord also said “ neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.” Israel will no longer be attacked by Gentiles nor will they be harmed by wild animals. They will know no fear.
C. There will be freedom from scarcity (Ezekiel 34:29). In this verse the Lord promised “And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.” God promised that He would “raise up for them a plant of renown.” This could be another reference to the Messiah who will of course be “renown,” for His name will be well known. However, the word for “plant” is from a Hebrew word that describes not a single plant but a garden plot. Thus the “plant of renown” more likely refers to Israel itself occupying the land God will give to His people. God’s people will “be no more consumed with hunger in the land” because there will be good harvests and a plenteous food supply. Israel will be known for its prosperity. Over the years Israel has suffered the scorn of foreign nations, but under Messiah Israel will “neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.” All the calamities that Israel has faced brought humiliation before their neighbors. That will no longer be the case.
V. THE LORD WILL PROVIDE A DIVINE PRESENCE (Ezekiel 34:30-31)
A. The Lord is with His people (Ezekiel 34:30). Here the Lord says “Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God.” As a result of all the blessings Israel will enjoy during the millennium including the role of the Davidic Shepherd, who will care for them as a good Shepherd, Israel will finally and fully acknowledge that God is “with them” and that they are His people. The people should’ve known this from the moment God selected them as His own (see Genesis 17:7-8; Exodus 19:3-8). However, they continued to be stubborn and rebellious causing the Lord to continuously discipline them. But during the reign of Christ, a repentant remnant of Israel will acknowledge The Messiah as their crucified and risen Lord and Saviour (see Zechariah 12:10-13:1; Romans 11:25-27). In that day, Israel’s sins will be forgiven and they will have an intimate knowledge of Christ.
B. Israel in God’s divine presence (Ezekiel 34:31). In our final verse, God sums up His relationship with Israel. He said “And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.” The Lord reminded Israel that they were His flock and “the flock of my pasture.” But the Lord said that they were “men” and not sheep. The word for “man” here is “adam” which is related to the word “earth” or “land.” This would remind the Jews that they were mere humble human beings created from the earth and destined to return to it. However, even as frail human beings, the Lord claimed them as His own and said “I am your God.” At a time when they were in Babylonian Captivity and at a low point in their history, this message was very much needed by Israel. It confirmed that Yahweh, their God would always be with them just as He has promised to be with us (see Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5).
No comments:
Post a Comment