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| 1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, |
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| 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?
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Shepherds of Israel – All who accept the position of elders are, to some extent, representing the Lord, who is the Great Shepherd of the flock. R5389:4
Hireling shepherds of the pulpit. D62; HG715:6
Greedy, ignorant, lazy teachers. F287
Feed themselves – Divide amongst themselves the spoils of filthy lucre, honors, reverence, titles, etc. R1895:6
Many preachers have discerned the Plan but, instead of preaching it, have hidden it, to cause themselves to shine. R3138:4
These are warned by the Lord of his displeasure, and could not be expected to thrive spiritually. R3138:5
Feed the flocks – Not nominal Christians, but the true saints of God. R5693:3
Leading them to the "green pastures" of God's Word and to the "still waters" of divine truth. R5693:2
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| 3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. |
Ye kill – Slaughter their influence, cast out their names as evil. R633:2
Them that are fed – They that find pastures of truth and feed, despite the neglect of the shepherds. R633:2
Feed not – Their church arrangements are often especially for the goat or tare class. R5693:3
Very few of the flock of the Lord's consecrated people any longer seek spiritual food at their hands. R5693:6
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
All the mountains – Kingdoms. A318
The Lord's sheep are intermixed with various nations. R633:2
Every high hill – Societies of earth--churches. R633:2
Or seek after them – The shepherds sanction the scattered and divided condition of the Lord's sheep, and claim that it is the Chief Shepherd's will that they should be separated in various sects. R633:2
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| 7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; |
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| 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; |
There was no shepherd – Preferring to act a lie, to destroy the faith of the too-confident sheep whom they lead and whose praise and money they enjoy. SM298:1
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| 9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; |
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| 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. |
The shepherds – Theological professors and pastors, by not explaining the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words Sheol and hades, have permitted God's character and plan to be traduced. R2598:6
Require my flock at – Take my flock from. R633:1, R2599:1
Cease from feeding – They shall not continue to be God's mouthpieces, nor shepherd his flock. R2599:1
Feed themselves – Upon the husks of science and man-made theology, and in honoring each other with titles. R633:2
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| 11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. |
Behold, I, even I – Behold I am here and will enquire for my flock. R633:1
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| 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. |
In the day – The "Day of the Lord." R487:3
He is among – Present among. R487:3
Will I seek out – This is having a fulfillment in the gathering of the sheep of both folds, natural and spiritual Israelites, out of their respective bondages and dispersions. R487:3
Will deliver them – Mark well that this will be when he is present, "here," and "among his flocks that are scattered." R633:2, R5693:6
Cloudy and dark day – The Day of the Lord, the time of trouble. R487:3, R633:2
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| 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. |
Gather them – He is about to complete his flock of this Gospel age. R5693:6
Their own land – The homeland of the Lord's sheep of this Gospel age is heaven itself. R5694:1
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| 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. |
A good fold – The whole world will become "the fold." R5694:6
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| 15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. |
Will feed my flock – This promised feeding of the Lord's flock is now taking place. R633:4
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| 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. |
With judgment – A righteous recompense. R5694:3
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| 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. |
O my flock – The beguiling of the attention of the flock from the one true shepherd to a fellow sheep is not always the fault of the leaders. There is a tendency of those of the sheep nature to follow one another. R2080:2, R5694:3
The rams – Elders in the church. R5389:1
The he goats – Whenever any one manifests the goat disposition the ecclesia should strictly avoid making him a leader. R5389:4
Owners of sheep sometimes use a goat as leader of the flock because a goat is more combative than a sheep, and thus supplies the sheep courage. R5389:4
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| 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? |
The deep waters – Of truth. R3076:1; C65
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| 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. |
They eat that – Each sheep must see to it that he eats only "clean provender" and drinks only "pure water" as directed by the Shepherd. R2080:4
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| 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. |
I, will judge – This already has begun in respect to the Gospel Church. R5694:4
The fat cattle – Some who have been considered quite prominent in Christendom, pushing and managing its affairs, will be reproved by the Lord in this day. R5694:4
The lean cattle – The poor, the outcasts, the peculiar, are styled his flock, which he is now gathering and feeding. R5694:4
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| 21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; |
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| 22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. |
I will judge – See comments on verse 20.
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| 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. |
My servant David – The Christ, Head and Body. R5694:5
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| 24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. |
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| 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. |
The evil beasts – The evildoers, those who will devour, destroy and do harm. R5694:6
In the woods – A quiet and restful condition. R5694:6
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
Yield her increase – In the "Times of Restitution" of Messiah's reign. R4674:1, R1248:3; A192; HG515:1
Already we have evidence of how these scriptures may be fulfilled. R4431:5
For the microbes of destruction and disease shall be restrained. R1771:6
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 31 And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD. |
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