“I Am The Good Shepherd!”

“I Am The Good Shepherd!”(Ez.34:11-19).
Israel was a theocracy when they first settled in the promised land. God ruled through the priests and from time to time he raised Judges who defended the Israelites against their enemies.
The prophet Samuel was the last of the Judges and ruling propget. The people asked Samuel to appoint for them a king so that they could be like other nations (I Sam.8:5b&20). So it is that Samuel established the Israelite kingdom with the appointment of Saul as the first king.
We take it therefore that when God talks of restoration, it is not just about bringing back the exiles, but also reinnaugurating the theocracy where he himself will be their shepherd.
Ezekiel was from a priestly family. He too was in the Babylonian captivity and it is there that he received his prophetic assignment.
We may wonder whether his longing for a restoration was motivated by his pedigree, since a return to theocracy was to the advantage of the priests.
Sadly though, “from the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit…”; dressing up the people’s wounds “as though it were not serious, saying, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.'”
With such a world greatly contaminated and corrupted by sin, God’s theocratic rule could not be earthly.
No wonder Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world…my kingdom is from another place”(Jn.18:36).
The restored kingdom according to our text found fulfilment in Jesus who said, *”I am the good shepherd” who lays down his life for the sheep. Whereas the hired hand at the least indication of danger abandon the sheep and runs away(Jn.10:11-14).
When God rules through his earthly representatives, be they secular or sacral, he expects that there should be social justice. The earth is the LORD’S and everything in it. Everything of the earth belongs to all of us.
Believers should be at the forefront of advocacy for social justice.
My friend, God’s best possible world is possible through you. Do not disappoint him.
Prayer: LORD make me a shepherd worthy of your name; an advocate of social justice. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.