Ezekiel Sermon 6: False Shepherds and the One True Shepherd

Although  certainly  responsible  for  her  own  sins,  Israel's  failure  to  keep  the  Mosaic  covenant  was  directly  related  to  the  failure  of  her  leaders.  In  Ezekiel  34  these  leaders  are  portrayed  as  "shepherds,"  condemned  for  their  lack  of  care  for  the  "flock"  (Israel).  Israel's  kings  were  more  than  military  and  political  figures.  They  also  bore  responsibility  for  the  moral  and  spiritual  well  being  of  the  nation.  A  succession  of  ungodly  kings  eventually  brought  the  nation  to  ruin.  Ezekiel  34  contrasts  Israel's  past  false  shepherds  (leaders)  and  the  one  future  true  Shepherd  of  Israel,  her  Messiah.  The  chapter  roughly  divides  into  two  parts:  a  warning  to  the  leaders  of  Israel  (34:1-16)  and  messages  of  judgment  and  deliverance  to  the  people  of  Israel  (34:17-31).  In  the  New  Testament  (John  10),  Jesus  announced  himself  as  the  fulfillment  of  this  prophecy.