34:17-19
Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats is another one that alludes to these words. “I will judge”. A fundamental feature of the Bible from beginning to end is that God will judge all mankind, including you and me. Now look at man’s attitude. So often it is based on the premise that we are the judges! This is demonstrated most obviously in matters relating to sexual morality. Arguments against the Bible come down to saying we don’t like God’s rules. I have news for us, we are not the ultimate judges! The leaders of Ezekiel’s time did not merely make sure that they got their own pickings, they then made it difficult for the sheep to get anything. We can perhaps see an example of this today in organisations like BLM. There have been stories of some of their leaders buying mansions, while their policies, such as defund the police, actually make life worse for black people. Or in the UK there have long been examples of socialists who campaigned against selective schools but then sent their own children to private schools. These are two left wing examples, but the right wing are no better. Rich people exploiting poor people is a part of the human condition, but God does not like the poor being exploited. So whether you are right or left wing, we need to watch out if we exploit the poor.
34:20-24
So what is God’s response? He will judge between the “fat and lean sheep”. The leaders should have cared for the flock, instead they shoved them out of the way. So God will intervene to stop the plundering. He will place a good shepherd over them, one like David. This is, of course, pointing forward to Jesus, the ultimate Good Shepherd. This is all part of the Lord being our God.
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