GRACE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP | 恩道堂

One of the major reasons why Israel was judged is because of the fault of the leaders, depicted as shepherds. They only cared about themselves and their material gains, while they neglected the sheep and even took advantage of the people. For such evil, God promised to remove these evil leaders.

The people were responsible for their own sins and consequences. But God is a faithful shepherd who will send His faithful Messianic shepherd, the Son of David, to gather God’s scattered sheep. This is referring to end times gathering, not the gathering from the Babylonian exile because it references the eternal Davidic ruler in v. 23. Also, this ultimate restoration of Israel will be accomplished through a covenant of peace in v. 25, which is referring to the New Covenant (Eze. 36:25-32).

The true shepherd of God’s people is the Lord himself. Whereas human leaders capitalize on positions of power and privilege for personal gain, Yahweh has the interests of his people at heart. He gathers the strays, nurtures the sick, feeds the flock from the finest of pastures, offers them his personal presence, and protects them from enemies, whether inside or out. Looking back on this text from the perspective of the NT, the reaction of the Jewish leaders to Jesus’ characterization of them as “thieves and robbers” and his own assumption of the title “Good Shepherd” become understandable. This was not merely an attack on them or simply the statement of a lunatic (John 10:19–21); it was a blasphemous identification with deity, worthy of death (vv. 31–33).^[1]

 

 

 

 

以色列受审判的主因之一是她的首领有误，也就是文中的牧人。他们只照自己，为自己谋取钱财利益，却忽略了羊群，甚至利用他们。因着这样的罪孽，神承诺要消除这些作恶的首领。

人对自己所犯的罪极其后果要负责。然而，神是信实的牧者；祂会差派祂忠实的牧人弥赛亚，即大卫之字，招聚神四散的羊。这里指的是末日的招聚，不是被巴比伦放逐后的聚集，因为第23节指的是永恒世代里的大卫王。另外，以色列最后的复兴要借着第25节所指的平安之约而起，也就是新约（结36:25-32）。

用经文祷告

神子民的真实牧人就是主自己。人类首领仗着势力和特权为自己谋取利益，但耶和华在乎的是祂子民的利益。祂聚集四散的羊，医治有病的，在最好的草地上喂养羊群，亲自与它们同在，并保护它们落入内外仇敌的手中。从新约时代回看这个篇章时，我们就能明白耶稣为何称他们是“贼”和“强盗”。又称自己是“好牧人”。这不是纯粹为了攻击他们，或是疯子所说的话（约10:19-21）；这是与神作等号的亵渎性言语，能因此被致死（31-33节）。^[1]