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Monday 5/24/21
The Good Shepherd

 1And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
 2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
 3Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
 4The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
 5And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
 6My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
 7Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
 8As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
 9Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
 10Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
 11For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
 12As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
 13And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
 14I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
 15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
 16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
 17And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
 18Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
 19And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
 20Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
 21Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
 22Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
 23And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
 24And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
 25And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
 26And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.
 27And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.
 28And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.
 29And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.
 30Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD.
 31And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
Today's Scripture Meaning 

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Ezekiel
Date Penned: BC 571
Overview: Messages of Hope (c 33-48)
Theme: Restoring the People (c 33-39)
Message: God Reminds Ezekiel is a Watchman (v 1-20) Those in Judah will not possess the land (v 21-33)
 
Ezekiel: Chapter 33 Commentary
 
(33:1) This chapter sets forth a new direction for Ezekiel’s prophecies. Up to this point, Ezekiel has pronounced judgment upon Judah (chapters 1 through 24) and the surrounding evil nations (chapters 25 to 32) for their sins. Now that Jerusalem has fallen, he turns from messages of doom and judgment to messages of comfort, hope, and future Restoration for God’s people (chapters 33 through 48) God previously appointed Ezekiel to be a watchmen warning the nation of judgment to come (chapter 3) Here God appoints him to be a watchmen again, but this time to preach a message of hope. There are still sections of fall warnings (chapters 33 through 34) but they still are part of a larger picture of hope. God will remember to bless those who are faithful to him. We must pay attention to both aspects of Ezekielā€˜s message: Warnings and Promise. Those who persist in rebelling against God should take warning. Those faithful to God should find encouragement and hope.

(33:10-12) The exiles were discouraged by their past sins. This is an important turning point in this book, elsewhere in Ezekiel all the people had refused to face their sins. Now, they feel heavy guilt for rebelling against God for so many years. Therefore, God assured them Of forgiveness if they repeated. God wants everyone to turn to him. He looks at what we are and will become, not what we have been. God gives you the opportunity to turn to him, if you will take it. Sincerely follow him, and ask him to forgive you when you fail.

(33:13) Passing good deeds will not save a person who decides to turn to a life of sin. Some people think they have done enough good deeds to overshadow the sins they don’t want to give up. But it is useless to try to be good at some areas so you can’t be deliberately bad in others. God wants the whole heart and love and obedience.

(33:15) wow good deeds will not save us, our salvation will lead to righteous actions. This will include our desire to make restitution for past sense. God expects us to make restitution, whatever necessary, for the wrongs we have committed against others.

(33:21,22) Near the beginning of his ministry, Ezekiel was unable to speak, except to give specific messages from God. Now that his prophecies have come true and false prophets have been exposed, Ezekiel is again able to talk freely. No longer needing to prove himself, he is free to offer God’s message of Restoration and hope.

(33:30-32) The people refuse to act upon a Z Keel’s message. When people mark your witness for Christ or fail to act upon your advice, don’t give up. You are not witnessing for them alone, but out of faithfulness to God. You cannot make them accept your message, you can only be faithful and deliver it.

(33:31) In your heart, do you really love God? These people gave the appearance of following God. But they love their money more. Many today also give the outward impression of being religious while remaining inwardly greedy. Jesus warned that we cannot love God and money at the same time in Matthew chapter 6. It’s easy to say ā€œI will surrender allā€ when we don’t have much. It’s when we start to accumulate wealth that it becomes difficult to avoid loving it.

(33:32) The people were coming to listen to Ezekiel in order to be in our team. They weren’t interested in hearing a message from the Lord. Many people see Church as entertainment. They enjoy the music, the people, and the activities, but they don’t take the messages to heart. They don’t seek to be challenged or to Sarah. Have You reduced church services to the level of entertainment, or does your worship truly have an impact on your life?
Today's Scripture Application

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue the Book of Ezekiel with Chapter 34. In our text today we see Israel is God's flock and the difference between Good Shepard's and Bad Shepard's as leaders in our Churches with the good taking care of the flock while the bad take care of themselves. In making application we see that we have bad Shepard's amongst us but good also that follow the example of the ultimate Good Shepard - the Lord Jesus-Christ. How about you? Do you see the characteristics of good spiritual leadership? Let us learn from our text today and the example of Ezekiel to realize that as children of God we are like sheep and as we gather and serve in our Churches there are characteristics of Good Spiritual Leadership for us to exhibit and to follow as we all serve the Ultimate Good Shepard, our Lord and Savior Jesus-Christ.
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Sincerely,
Dr. Dave Burnette
Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.
Today's Prayer Requests

  • Patricia | I need Prayers for open doors of Divine Favour for my children in all their heart desires, and for God's Abundant Blessings all round in their lives, open doors, turnaround encounter and breakthrough in Jesus Powerful Name . Thank You all for praying with us!!
  • Shalene | I need prayer for my two kids and I for protection,financial,safety,house,car,happiness, but need special prayer for my daughter Diamond to be able to walk again and be able to do the things she loved to do before her situation. 
  • Benny yesu. | Please pray for my Country. And my ministry.
  • vijay | Worried about debts
  • Simon Amaefule | I need you my brothers and sisters to pray for me for God innervation in my life. Also, God's mercy, peace of mind, good health etc.
  • Marissa | Please pray for Missy she is sick
  • Vijay | Worried about debts
  • Silas wabuti | My wife and mom have been very sick. Still very weak after discharge. Our income is low.