The Good Shepherd cares for the weak and the injured
Ezekiel 34:17-24
17 As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats: 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? 19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet?
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
Ezekiel 34 is an extended metaphor of the people of Israel as a flock of sheep. Earlier in the chapter God had condemned the shepherds, the leaders of Israel, for abusing the flock and causing the sheep to be scattered and hurt, to be preyed upon and lost. God launches a search mission to find the hurting, the lost, the scattered.
In vs. 17 the focus shifts, some of the sheep have been taking advantage of other sheep. The sheep have not been playing fair and the shepherd, God, is going to step in a fix the situation. The mis-behaving sheep have been tromping down the grass so that other sheep can not eat, and they have been mudding the water – they have damaged the environment so others cannot get enough (vs. 18, 19). As well, the fat, well-fed, “successful” sheep have used their size and power to push aside the weaker, leaner sheep (vs. 21).
Clearly the passage is not about sheep, but about human beings and the way they treat the environment and one another. The people of God are to be different than the cultures around them – caring for the other, putting the other first, protecting the weaker – these are the actions of the people of God. God is sending a new shepherd, a descendent of David (that would be Jesus), who will protect the weaker sheep, bringing the flock back into proper order.
The question is worth asking: if we are the sheep of God’s flock – how are we treating other sheep in God’s flock, are we seeking our best at their expense, or are we living in such a way that the weaker and non-pushy are cared for so that they can flourish?
PRAYER:
Lord God, we confess that we, the sheep, the people, of your flock have not always behaved well. Teach us the patterns of being faithful sheep who live in caring relationship with the other sheep of your flock. In Jesus’ name. Amen.