O# Ezekiel 34
v.2
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?
v.5-6
So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
This is why we are filled with compassion when see sheep without a shepherd: they are left for dead for ravaging wild beasts. The lost are left for dead with no savior from the wild beasts of suffering and meaninglessness in this life.
v.11
“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.
v.16
I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.
v.17
“‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats.
Don’t read into ‘rams and he-goats’ (v. 17) the New Testament image of ‘sheep and goats’ as found in Matthew 25:31–46, because in Bible times, it was customary for shepherds to have both sheep and goats in the flocks.
v.25
“‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety.
v.31
You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
Ezekiel’s phrasing here (you are men, and I am your God) acknowledged the great divide between humanity and deity. In Ezekiel’s day that divide had not yet been completely bridged by the Messiah, Jesus Christ, both God and man.