Thoughts, Prayers & Art

Ezekiel 34:17–31”

Originally published: June 6, 2025

There are moments in scripture when God’s voice breaks through not only as a call but as a cry. Ezekiel 34 is one such moment. First, God grieves the failure of shepherds, the leaders who were meant to guide and guard the people. But then, in verses 17–31, God does something more piercing: God turns to the flock itself.

"As for you, my flock... I shall judge between sheep and sheep."

This is not easy to hear. Many of us identify with the sheep who have been hurt, overlooked, cast aside. And yet, this Word invites us into deep self-examination. Have we, perhaps unknowingly, been the well-fed sheep trampling the pasture behind us? Have we pushed with flank and shoulder, elbowing out the vulnerable for our comfort?

In today’s world, this divine judgment speaks volumes.

It speaks to the family that hoards while others go hungry.
To the corporation that profits while the earth groans.
To the citizen who demands safety but turns away the refugee.
To the church that preaches love but remains silent in the face of injustice.

Ezekiel gives us no room to hide behind victimhood or self-righteousness. Even among the flock, there is responsibility.

And yet, this passage is not a threat. It is an invitation.

Because God does not leave us there. God promises a new Shepherd, a servant in the line of David, who will gather the scattered, feed the hungry, bind the wounded, and offer a covenant of peace.

It is a covenant not just for one nation, one church, or one kind of sheep, but for all. The lean and the fat. The lost and the loyal. The ones who’ve been hurt and, yes, the ones who’ve done the hurting. Because our Shepherd is not only just—He is merciful.

So, what is God requiring of us through this word?

God is calling us to humble self-reflection:
To look at our lives and ask, Where have I crowded others out? Where have I remained silent when my voice was needed?

God is calling us to reorient our discipleship:
Not toward spiritual status, but toward servant-heartedness. To follow the Shepherd means to seek out the weak, to uplift the broken, and to stop trampling the blessings others are meant to share.

God is calling us to live into the covenant of peace:
To be people of restoration, not rivalry. To bless the earth and her creatures. To build safety not through exclusion but through beloved community.

In these days when so many feel scattered, weary, and mistrustful of leaders, Ezekiel’s words remind us that God has not forgotten the flock. We are not abandoned. We are not doomed to be divided.

There is a Shepherd who gathers. A God who judges not to shame, but to heal. And we, you and I, are called to live as those who believe this is true.

So let us tend the pasture gently.
Let us walk with grace and not force.
Let us be the kind of sheep that make room at the stream,
and follow the Shepherd not only with our feet but with our hearts.

Amen.