Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

34 Then this message came to me from the Lord: ² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? ³ You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. ⁴ You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. ⁵ So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. ⁶ They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them.

⁷ “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve. ⁹ Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. ¹⁰ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.

¹¹ “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. ¹² I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. ¹³ I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. ¹⁴ Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. ¹⁵ I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁶ I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice!

¹⁷ “And as for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to his people: I will judge between one animal of the flock and another, separating the sheep from the goats. ¹⁸ Isn’t it enough for you to keep the best of the pastures for yourselves? Must you also trample down the rest? Isn’t it enough for you to drink clear water for yourselves? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? ¹⁹ Why must my flock eat what you have trampled down and drink water you have fouled?

²⁰ “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will surely judge between the fat sheep and the scrawny sheep. ²¹ For you fat sheep pushed and butted and crowded my sick and hungry flock until you scattered them to distant lands. ²² So I will rescue my flock, and they will no longer be abused. I will judge between one animal of the flock and another. ²³ And I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them. ²⁴ And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among my people. I, the Lord, have spoken!

²⁵ “I will make a covenant of peace with my people and drive away the dangerous animals from the land. Then they will be able to camp safely in the wildest places and sleep in the woods without fear. ²⁶ I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. ²⁷ The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the Lord. ²⁸ They will no longer be prey for other nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will frighten them.

²⁹ “And I will make their land famous for its crops, so my people will never again suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations. ³⁰ In this way, they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them. And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Sovereign Lord. ³¹ You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

35 Again a message came to me from the Lord: ² “Son of man, turn and face Mount Seir, and prophesy against its people. ³ Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord:

“I am your enemy, O Mount Seir,
    and I will raise my fist against you
    to destroy you completely.
⁴ I will demolish your cities
    and make you desolate.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.

⁵ “Your eternal hatred for the people of Israel led you to butcher them when they were helpless, when I had already punished them for all their sins. ⁶ As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, since you show no distaste for blood, I will give you a bloodbath of your own. Your turn has come! ⁷ I will make Mount Seir utterly desolate, killing off all who try to escape and any who return. ⁸ I will fill your mountains with the dead. Your hills, your valleys, and your ravines will be filled with people slaughtered by the sword. ⁹ I will make you desolate forever. Your cities will never be rebuilt. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “For you said, ‘The lands of Israel and Judah will be ours. We will take possession of them. What do we care that the Lord is there!’ ¹¹ Therefore, as surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will pay back your angry deeds with my own. I will punish you for all your acts of anger, envy, and hatred. And I will make myself known to Israel by what I do to you. ¹² Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard every contemptuous word you spoke against the mountains of Israel. For you said, ‘They are desolate; they have been given to us as food to eat!’ ¹³ In saying that, you boasted proudly against me, and I have heard it all!

¹⁴ “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The whole world will rejoice when I make you desolate. ¹⁵ You rejoiced at the desolation of Israel’s territory. Now I will rejoice at yours! You will be wiped out, you people of Mount Seir and all who live in Edom! Then you will know that I am the Lord.

36 “Son of man, prophesy to Israel’s mountains. Give them this message: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! ² This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Your enemies have taunted you, saying, ‘Aha! Now the ancient heights belong to us!’ ³ Therefore, son of man, give the mountains of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Your enemies have attacked you from all directions, making you the property of many nations and the object of much mocking and slander. ⁴ Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. He speaks to the hills and mountains, ravines and valleys, and to ruined wastes and long-deserted cities that have been destroyed and mocked by the surrounding nations. ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My jealous anger burns against these nations, especially Edom, because they have shown utter contempt for me by gleefully taking my land for themselves as plunder.

⁶ “Therefore, prophesy to the hills and mountains, the ravines and valleys of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am furious that you have suffered shame before the surrounding nations. ⁷ Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I have taken a solemn oath that those nations will soon have their own shame to endure.

⁸ “But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit for my people—for they will be coming home again soon! ⁹ See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted. ¹⁰ I will greatly increase the population of Israel, and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people. ¹¹ I will increase not only the people, but also your animals. O mountains of Israel, I will bring people to live on you once again. I will make you even more prosperous than you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹² I will cause my people to walk on you once again, and you will be their territory. You will never again rob them of their children.

¹³ “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The other nations taunt you, saying, ‘Israel is a land that devours its own people and robs them of their children!’ ¹⁴ But you will never again devour your people or rob them of their children, says the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁵ I will not let you hear those other nations insult you, and you will no longer be mocked by them. You will not be a land that causes its nation to fall, says the Sovereign Lord.”

¹⁶ Then this further message came to me from the Lord: ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by the evil way they lived. To me their conduct was as unclean as a woman’s menstrual cloth. ¹⁸ They polluted the land with murder and the worship of idols, so I poured out my fury on them. ¹⁹ I scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they had lived. ²⁰ But when they were scattered among the nations, they brought shame on my holy name. For the nations said, ‘These are the people of the Lord, but he couldn’t keep them safe in his own land!’ ²¹ Then I was concerned for my holy name, on which my people brought shame among the nations.

²² “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. ²³ I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. ²⁴ For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

²⁵ “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. ²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

²⁸ “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. ³⁰ I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. ³¹ Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. ³² But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!

³³ “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I cleanse you from your sins, I will repopulate your cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The fields that used to lie empty and desolate in plain view of everyone will again be farmed. ³⁵ And when I bring you back, people will say, ‘This former wasteland is now like the Garden of Eden! The abandoned and ruined cities now have strong walls and are filled with people!’ ³⁶ Then the surrounding nations that survive will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted the wasteland. For I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say.

³⁷ “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am ready to hear Israel’s prayers and to increase their numbers like a flock. ³⁸ They will be as numerous as the sacred flocks that fill Jerusalem’s streets at the time of her festivals. The ruined cities will be crowded with people once more, and everyone will know that I am the Lord.”

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Ezekiel 34-36:

1. What does this chapter tell me about God?

2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?

Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.

Ezekiel 34

1. God is a good shepherd who cares for His sheep (people) and will deal with under-shepherds who only use and abuse the flock. 

2. People are like sheep that are weak, injured, sick, wandering, lost, abused, confused, misled, and easy prey for those who mean them harm. 

Ezekiel 35

1. God will bring back on the enemies of His people what they have done to His people. God will deal with antisemites!

2. In God’s time, people will suffer for their mistreatment of the Jews. 

Ezekiel 36

1. God will gather His scattered people and bring them back to the land He has promised them. He will prosper them there, and they will live in peace.

2. For millennia God’s people, the Jews, have been dislocated, maligned, and mistreated, but if they will repent, God promises to restore them for His own name’s sake. 

Prayer:

3. How might I pray regarding Ezekiel 34-36?

LORD, You are my shepherd. You take good care of me, one of Your sheep. I am only one of many who have turned to You in faith and obedience. Holy Spirit, enable me to reach out and help other sheep who are weak, injured, sick, wandering, lost, abused, confused, misled, or have become easy prey for those who mean them harm. Good Head Shepherd, I trust You to deal appropriately with those under-shepherds who only use, neglect, and/or abuse their flocks. Bring back on these enemies of Your people what they have done to other people, especially Your beloved children. God, deal with antisemites and Christ haters! In Your time, O God, these enemies of You and the people You created will suffer for mistreating the Jews, Christians, and all the people that You love (and who love You). In the end, You, LORD God, will gather Your scattered people and bring them back to the land You have promised them since You first spoke to Abraham. You will prosper them there, and they will live in peace. For millennia, God, Your chosen people, the Jews have been dislocated, maligned, and mistreated. But if they repent and turn back to You, LORD God, You promise to restore them for Your own name’s sake. When the time is right, You will establish the new heavens and the new earth where every person and thing You created will bring You glory, LORD, forever and ever. AMEN

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)

4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Ezekiel 34-36? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:

• I will study the history of the land and people of Israel so that I can explain it to other people who may be believing a false narrative.
• I will pray for the peace of Jerusalem and Israel.
• I will examine how I treat the “flock of God”–Jewish people, Christians, and people in general–and ask the Holy Spirit to help me to correct any wrong behavior or attitudes I may have. 
• I will look for specific ways to help Israel and/or Jewish people, then enact them. 

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.