A London Minister Ezekiel 34:1-10 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,… I. HUMAN RULERS STAND IN THE SAME RELATION TO THE PEOPLE WHOM THEY RULE AS SHEPHERDS TO THEIR FLOCKS. Therefore the qualifications required are similar. 1. A special knowledge (Genesis 46:34). So to rule men successfully requires a knowledge of men. Christ is the preeminent Ruler of men, because He knows them — because He needs not that any should "testify of any man" whom He is shepherding for eternity (John 2:25). 2. A willingness to endure hardship for those whom they shepherd (Genesis 31:40). Shepherds of men must likewise be willing to deny themselves for their flock, even as Christ was willing to spend His nights upon the mountains (Luke 6:12) and to be consumed with labour during the day, in order to be "the Good Shepherd." 3. Affection for the flock (1 Samuel 17:34). It cannot be dispensed with in ruling men. To love men is to understand them. To love them is to be willing to suffer for them, and must beget a correspondent feeling. The Great Shepherd had as much love for His flock as He had knowledge of them (John 10:11). II. THE RULERS OF ISRAEL HAD LACKED THESE QUALIFICATIONS. 1. Their self-indulgence had led them to neglect to feed the flock. 2. They had gone from neglect to positive acts of crime. They had taken the lives of their subjects in order to enjoy their possessions. Sins of omission lead to sins of commission. III. THE EFFECT OF THE NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE TRANSGRESSIONS OF ISRAEL'S RULERS. "My sheep were scattered." They were so widely sundered as to be beyond the recall of any but the Omniscient One, who alone knew the mountains upon which they were wandering. IV. GOD HIMSELF WOULD RAISE UP A SHEPHERD WHO WOULD COMBINE ALL THE QUALITIES NEEDED TO GATHER IN THE SCATTERED FLOCK. 1. The name given to this divinely appointed shepherd — David. The Messiah is called by this name in Isaiah 55:3, 4; Jeremiah 30:9; Hosea 3:5. 2. His two-fold office. His Father's servant and His people's king (ver. 24). V. THAT WHICH IS INTENDED TO BE A GREAT BLESSING TO OURSELVES AND OTHERS, NAMELY, POWER, MAY BECOME THE GREATEST CURSE TO BOTH. (A London Minister.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, |
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