Posted: 7/06/05
Explore the BIble Series for July 17
Act as God leads by caring for the oppressed
• Ezekiel 34
By Dennis Tucker
Truett Seminary, Waco
Beginning with chapter 34, the book of Ezekiel makes a radical shift from that of judgment to that of consolation and hope. Yet in some ways the opening theme of this chapter—judgment against the shepherds—appears to relate to the former emphasis on judgment. The judgment against the shepherds, however, is merely the bridge to the more promissory claims to follow in the chapter.
In the ancient world, the metaphor of shepherd was frequently applied to kings. For example, in the Sumerian King list, Etana is referred to as a shepherd, and later the better known king, Hammurabi, is dubbed a shepherd as well. There is a Babylonian proverb that reads, “a people without a king is like sheep without a shepherd.” The metaphor is well known in Israelite literature as well (Psalm 23; 1 Kings 22:17; Psalm 95).
The indictment in Ezekiel 34 is most likely against Judah’s last kings—those who ruled in the years leading up to the exile. And they are charged with failing to act as shepherd/kings.
A primary responsibility of kingship in the ancient Near East was care for the people, particularly those who were poor and oppressed. Hammurabi states one of the three reasons he set up his code was to “give justice to the oppressed.”
The primary rationale in the ancient Near East and in ancient Israel was that the king was the vice regent of God—in other words the king acted on behalf of God or the gods. In the Old Testament, there is ample evidence that God sides with the oppressed and marginalized. If an Israelite king was truly to serve as the vice regent of God, then how could he do other than care for the oppressed and down-trodden in society?
Verses 1-10 in chapter 34, however, depict a very different scene in Judah. The shepherds are taking care of themselves, they have not bound up the injured, nor have they sought out the lost sheep and returned them. As a result, the sheep “became food for all the wild animals” (v. 5). The most damning line, however, appears at the end of verse 10, “I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.” The kings are no longer depicted as shepherds—as vice regents of God—but as wild animals that feed in frenzied fashion upon the weak and vulnerable sheep.
As churches changed over the course of the 20th century, so too did our expectations of leadership. Often we size up our pastor or minister based on whether he or she can “manage the organization” well. If revenue is up, enrollment increases and the bottom line appears healthy, then we assume the pastor is doing things right. Unfortunately business criteria do not appear in the biblical text as a standard of leadership.
Instead, the biblical text often challenges us to see leadership in radically new ways. Ezekiel 34 returns us to a model of leadership that almost appears antiquated in modern Christianity—leadership is based on pastoral care for the least among us. If God is a God who time and time again sides with the broken, the injured and those that appear most vulnerable, should we not also expect the same from our leaders—and from each other. Modern churches have not lost some of their credibility with the larger society because they have failed to act as businesses—we have lost it because we have failed to act as God would act, demonstrating pastoral care for the least among us.
Six times in the opening verses God refers to “my flock” or “my sheep.” This prepares us for the grand announcement in verse 11 by God, “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.” Later, in verse 16, God announces, “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.”
Perhaps as a church, a Sunday school class, or even as individuals, we may wonder whether we are “succeeding” in our spiritual journey. Greater yet, we may wonder, “Where is God among us?” Perhaps the perceived absence of God says more about where we are not than where God is.
Verses 23-24 speak of a new shepherd to come from the line of David. While Ezekiel may have been speaking to his immediate circumstance and possible leaders, as Christians, we understand this to be fulfilled ultimately in the Shepherd, Jesus Christ. And yet in page after page of the Gospels, we find the Shepherd mixing in circles with the poor, the victimized and the downtrodden. He is the model of leadership—he is the shepherd/king. Perhaps if we desire to hear his voice, we should find those same circles—and listen carefully. “The sheep hear his voice … and they know his voice” (John 10:3).
Discussion questions
• What models of leadership do you think are important for a minister? For a lay person? How does care for the poor and oppressed figure into your answer?
• How could your Sunday school class embody such a model of ministry?
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