Post by DrGadget on Jun 19, 2007 15:47:47 GMT -5
Overlooked Messianic Prophecies (OMP) Part 2: Ezekiel 34
This is a series on Messianic prophecies that the Jews should have understood but didn’t. All through the Old Testament, God was pointing to a Messiah to fulfill a massive chunk of prophecy.
Ezekiel described the Messiah.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel both quoted God as saying He would raise up David as king. But David was already long dead and buried. Clearly, God was talking about another man, who would be another “David”. This would be Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah 30:9
[9] But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Ezekiel 37:24
[24] And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
Matthew 1:20
[20] But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew 9:27
[27] And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.
Jesus was born into the House of David. Joseph was descended from the full line of the kings of Judah, from David to Jeconiah (Matthew 1:6-11) But there is more to it than Jesus simply being descended from the line of kings (most importantly David).
First off, realize that within Ezekiel Chapter 34, the word “sheep” refers to men. God considers people to be lost sheep.
Ezekiel 34:31
[31] And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
Our main text will be the full chapter of Isaiah 34 (see the bottom of this post). God said two seemingly-conflicting prophecies.
God said that He would personally act as the shepherd to take care of His sheep.
Ezekiel 34:11-12
[11] For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
[12] As 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.
God also said that David would be the shepherd over His sheep.
Ezekiel 34:23
[23] And 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.
So who is this shepherd? Is it God or is it David? The only way both prophecies can be true is that the new David is God Himself.
Jesus is God. Jesus is the new David. Jesus is the good shepherd.
John 10:11-15
[11] I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
[12] But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
[13] The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
[14] I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
[15] As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
The Jews would not accept the idea of a man who was also God. But there is no other way Ezekiel 34 could have been fulfilled. God and David had to be one.
John 10:30-33
[30] I and my Father are one.
[31] Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
[32] Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
[33] The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Ezekiel 34 was fulfilled in their sight. The Jews should have seen these prophecies being fulfilled before their eyes, but they did not. They were blind and deaf to Jesus because their hearts were far from God.
Matthew 13:15-17
[15] For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
[16] But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
[17] For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
God came to Earth as a man (Jesus), into the House of David to become king. Jesus didn’t establish an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom. Later, during the thousand years (Revelation 20:1-8) Jesus will reign as king over all the Earth. He will be Earthly and spiritual king. Right now, He is the spiritual king only.
Today, Satan is the prince of this world.
John 14:30
[30] Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Full Chapter of Ezekiel 34:1-31.
[1] And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
[2] Son 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?
[3] Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
[4] The 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.
[5] And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
[6] My 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.
[7] Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
[8] As 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;
[9] Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
[10] Thus 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.
[11] For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
[12] As 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.
[13] And 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.
[14] I 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.
[15] I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
[16] I 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.
[17] And 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.
[18] Seemeth 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?
[19] And 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.
[20] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
[21] Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
[22] Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
[23] And 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.
[24] And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
[25] And 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.
[26] And 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.
[27] And 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.
[28] And 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.
[29] And 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.
[30] Thus 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.
[31] And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
This is a series on Messianic prophecies that the Jews should have understood but didn’t. All through the Old Testament, God was pointing to a Messiah to fulfill a massive chunk of prophecy.
Ezekiel described the Messiah.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel both quoted God as saying He would raise up David as king. But David was already long dead and buried. Clearly, God was talking about another man, who would be another “David”. This would be Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah 30:9
[9] But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Ezekiel 37:24
[24] And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
Matthew 1:20
[20] But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew 9:27
[27] And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.
Jesus was born into the House of David. Joseph was descended from the full line of the kings of Judah, from David to Jeconiah (Matthew 1:6-11) But there is more to it than Jesus simply being descended from the line of kings (most importantly David).
First off, realize that within Ezekiel Chapter 34, the word “sheep” refers to men. God considers people to be lost sheep.
Ezekiel 34:31
[31] And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
Our main text will be the full chapter of Isaiah 34 (see the bottom of this post). God said two seemingly-conflicting prophecies.
God said that He would personally act as the shepherd to take care of His sheep.
Ezekiel 34:11-12
[11] For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
[12] As 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.
God also said that David would be the shepherd over His sheep.
Ezekiel 34:23
[23] And 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.
So who is this shepherd? Is it God or is it David? The only way both prophecies can be true is that the new David is God Himself.
Jesus is God. Jesus is the new David. Jesus is the good shepherd.
John 10:11-15
[11] I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
[12] But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
[13] The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
[14] I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
[15] As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
The Jews would not accept the idea of a man who was also God. But there is no other way Ezekiel 34 could have been fulfilled. God and David had to be one.
John 10:30-33
[30] I and my Father are one.
[31] Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
[32] Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
[33] The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Ezekiel 34 was fulfilled in their sight. The Jews should have seen these prophecies being fulfilled before their eyes, but they did not. They were blind and deaf to Jesus because their hearts were far from God.
Matthew 13:15-17
[15] For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
[16] But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
[17] For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
God came to Earth as a man (Jesus), into the House of David to become king. Jesus didn’t establish an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom. Later, during the thousand years (Revelation 20:1-8) Jesus will reign as king over all the Earth. He will be Earthly and spiritual king. Right now, He is the spiritual king only.
Today, Satan is the prince of this world.
John 14:30
[30] Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Full Chapter of Ezekiel 34:1-31.
[1] And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
[2] Son 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?
[3] Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
[4] The 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.
[5] And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
[6] My 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.
[7] Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
[8] As 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;
[9] Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
[10] Thus 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.
[11] For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
[12] As 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.
[13] And 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.
[14] I 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.
[15] I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
[16] I 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.
[17] And 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.
[18] Seemeth 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?
[19] And 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.
[20] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
[21] Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
[22] Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
[23] And 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.
[24] And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
[25] And 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.
[26] And 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.
[27] And 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.
[28] And 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.
[29] And 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.
[30] Thus 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.
[31] And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
