Let us turn to the chapter that
we read, Ezekiel chapter 34, and reading for our text the
words that we have in verse 11. Ezekiel 34, 11. For thus saith the Lord God,
Behold I, even I will both search my sheep and seek them out. Ezekiel 34, 11. For thus saith the Lord God,
Behold I, even I will both search my sheep and seek them out."
Considering then the theme of the faithful shepherding of the
Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah shepherding his sheep and just two points
that I want to deal with this morning first of all to consider
the shepherd himself and then in the second place the manner
of his seeking for thus said the Lord God behold
I even I will both search my sheep and seek them out first
of all the shepherd and clearly a comparison is being
drawn when we consider the context here in the previous verse we
read 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. The comparison is that the Lord
God compares himself with that work that the faithful shepherd
will be engaged in. The Lord is likening himself
to a shepherd. And of course we just sang that
shepherd's psalm, Psalm 23, where David acknowledges the Lord is
my shepherd. I shall not want how the Lord
is that God who cares for his sheep, who watches over them,
who protects them, who provides all that is necessary for them. And down here in the text we
are bidden to consider the Lord God under this particular comparison. He says, behold, I, even I will
both search my sheep and seek them out." And of course we know
the significance of that word, behold, it's a strong word, it's
an exhortation that we're to fix the eye, we're to look carefully,
we're to ponder and consider and study the matter that is
laid before us. Behold, I, even, I, and we see
that the word even is in italics, in other words, introduced by
the translators, not the rendering of a word that was there in the
original. Literally, it says, behold I, I. And so, surely here we are being
exhorted very much to consider God himself. And now this is
the great message of the prophets in Israel, constantly setting
before the people God, and God in comparison to all the idols
of those nations round about them, those nations that Israel
so much wanted to be like unto. We can think of the words of
the prophet Isaiah as the mouthpiece of God, there in Isaiah 14, 18,
to whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare
unto him? The workman mounteth a graven
image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold and casteth
silver chains. He that is so impoverished that
he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot. He seeketh unto him a cunning
workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved. O, the
vanity of these idols! Have ye not known? asks the Lord. Have ye not heard? Has it not
been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from
the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the
circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers,
that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them
out as a tent to dwell in. bringeth the princes to nothing,
he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. O behold, I, I, how
God's people are ever to consider Him, and the wonder of all that
He is, the greatness of God, the glory of God, the majesty
of God. Again in Isaiah 46.5, To whom
will ye liken me, and make me equal, and Compare me that we
may be alike, says God. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there
is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from
ancient times of things that are not yet done, saying, My
counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. We are then to be those who,
as we come together to worship, must consider who it is that
we approach, the one that we seek to render praises to, that
this is God. And there is none like unto this
God. Behold, he says, behold I, even
I. But we're not to consider God
abstractly. how God has condescended to reveal
himself and in scripture we have what they call these anthropomorphisms
where God likens himself to a man and here of course as I said
God speaks of himself in terms of a shepherd and the work of
a shepherd what a gracious thing it is that
God should speak to us in such terms, terms that we might begin
to understand and to comprehend. And of course in the context
here we see how that the prophet as the Lord's servant is given
this charge to reprove the shepherds of Israel. Now who are these
shepherds that are being reproved? 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
these are not those men who literally were employed in the business
of caring for sheep or herdsmen caring for their cattle no the
there's a figure being used here and the The shepherds are those
who had the charge of caring for God's children, the children
of Israel. Who were the shepherds in? They
were the prophets. They were the priests. They were
the princes, the kings of Israel. There is clearly in the Old Testament
that threefold office. how those prophets were to care
for the people as they ministered to them the word of God as they
spoke to them the faithful words that the Lord God had revealed
to his servants the prophets those holy men of God says Peter
how they spoke as they were moved by the Spirit of God but alas
there were many false prophets and it is these false prophets
that are being rebuked and reproved. But as there were those prophets
who were unfaithful, so there were also unfaithful priests.
We think of the sons of Eli, what wicked sons they were, all
they were concerned for was themselves and not for the good of the people. And there were of course princes,
there were kings who were ungodly men. who led the children of
Israel astray and surely it is these sort of people who are
being rebuked and it's not just the ministry of Ezekiel but how
the Lord's faithful servants will all engage in such a ministry
as this Jeremiah the prophet he speaks clearly against those
false prophets in Israel and even there right at the beginning
of his ministry in Jeremiah 2. And verse 8 he says, The priests
said not, Where is the Lord's? And they that handled the law
knew me not. The pastors also transgressed
against me, and the prophets prophesied by veil, and walked
after things that do not profit. Oh, it's the same characters.
that Jeremiah speaks against, that here Ezekiel in the whole
of this chapter is reprimanding and reproving. The reference here in the context
is to these false shepherds, these false pastors in Israel. And the contrast then is drawn
with God himself. But here we have mentioned of
King David, who was, of course, a faithful servant of God. He
had been a shepherd boy. He was called from caring for
the sheep when he was anointed by Samuel to be the king in Israel. And what does God say? As he
reproves these false men so he speaks of one who will be faithful.
Verse 23 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 and I the Lord will be their God and my servant David
a prince among them I the Lord have spoken it. Now, historically
this is what had happened many many centuries before the ministry
of Ezekiel the prophet. We read of how David is that
one who becomes the king after the death of Saul and his son
Jonathan. There in the second book of Samuel
we see how it is David who now comes to the throne and first
of all he is anointed king over Judah. And then he's anointed
king over the whole of Israel. And there in chapter 5 of 2 Samuel
we're told, Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto
Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh,
Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he
that led us out and brought us in Israel. And the Lord said
to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain
over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came
to the king to Hebron, and King David made a league with them
in Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king
over Israel. And see how, as king, he is to
be their pastor, their shepherd. They shall feed my people, he
says. And not only is he to lead, but
he is to lead them out, to bring them in. He is to do the work
of a faithful shepherd. Not only there but also in the
book of Psalms we're told about David was that one who was to
be the shepherd. Look at the language that we
have at the end of the 78th Psalm concerning David's ministry. There in verse 70 following he
chose David also his servant and took him from the sheepfolds,
from following the ewes great with young, he brought him to
feed Jacob his people and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them
according to the integrity of his hearts and guided them by
the skillfulness of his hands." Well, this is that David, you
see, who is being spoken of, referred to here in verses 23
and 24 but we know we know that David was long since dead and
buried, his tomb was there amongst the children of Israel and yet
here is that promise here is that that is referring to some
future events I will set up, God says, 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. And I, the Lord, will
be their God, and my servant David a prince among them. I,
the Lord, have spoken it." The reference clearly is not to David
who was long since dead and buried. The reference here is to David's
greater son. The reference is to the Lord
Jesus Christ, of whom David is but a type. And as we know the
very name, David, which means beloved, directs us to the Lord
Jesus, who is that one who is beloved. Even as the Lord God
declares from heaven, this is my beloved son. in whom I am
well pleased, hear ye Him." Oh, it is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now the Lord Jesus Christ is that One who has the care of
His sheep. And that One who is speaking
here because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is God. He is the Eternal
Son of God. He is God manifest in the flesh. And here it is the Lord God Himself
who speaks, Behold I, even I, will both search my sheep and
seek them out. And how the Lord in the course
of His earthly ministry does we see on occasion speak of Himself
and speak of His ministry in terms of the shepherd who is
seeking out his sheep. In Matthew And there in the 18th
chapter of the Gospel of Matthew we see the Lord speaking in this
fashion concerning himself as that one who will seek out the
sheep that are lost. How think ye, he asked, if a
man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray? Doth
he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains,
and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he
find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep
than of the ninety-nine which went not astray. Even so it is
not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these
little ones should perish." Well, the Lord Jesus is that one who
cares for His sheep, who watches over His sheep, who makes every
provision for His sheep. It is the Lord Jesus Christ then
who is spoken of here in the words of our text the one who
seeks after his sheep the one who searches out his sheep and
how the Lord in his wisdom of course in this day of grace has
appointed his under shepherds and that to be like the Lord
Jesus not to be driving and browbeating the sheep but dealing tenderly
with them those who are doubtful and fearful Those who are referred
to surely hear at verse 4, for example, the diseased. Or as
the Lord rebukes these unfaithful men, He says, 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 out that which was lost, but with force and with
cruelty have ye ruled. How different the Lord, of whom
we are told a bruised ridge shall he not break, and a smoking flag
shall he not quench, until he send forth judgment on the victim. And how he is that one who is
the pattern, you see. How the undershepherds are to
be like him, and to seek faithfully to minister to those amongst
the flock who are full of doubts and fears, troubled, perplexed,
assaulted by Satan, beset by their own unbelief, and they
need to be tenderly dealt with, just as the Lord is that one
who is ever kind, compassionate, tender in all his dealings, the
Shepherd. The Shepherd that is being spoken
of here is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. But now, here, in the text, there
is a certain emphasis upon the manner in which he seeks out
his sheep. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold
I, even I will both search my sheep, he says, and seek them
out. He will search and he will seek. Now, again, let me remind you
of the context historically, because this man Ezekiel is ministering
at the time of the captivity. Israel has been overrun, the
Babylonians have come under Nebuchadnezzar, Jerusalem itself has fallen,
the temple has been razed to the ground, the glory has departed
from Israel, and the people have been transported into exile. This is the context there. And now it's interesting because
as a faithful servant of God what must this man Ezekiel do?
He must be all together identified with the children of Israel.
He has to go and sit where they sit. That's what we're told at
the beginning of the book there in chapter 3. And verse 15, Then I came, he says,
to them of the captivity at Tel Aviv, that dwelt by the river
of Kebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished
among them seven days. These are the people he is to
minister to as that one who is a faithful shepherd. He has to sit where they are
sitting astonished. And of course he's going to minister
to them and eventually there will be that restoration, that
return from the captivity. God says it in verse 13, 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 and by the rivers and in all the inhabited
places of the country. Now this chapter is full of these
reassurances to the people. God will bring them again to
their own land and He will make the land to prosper As he says
there at the end, verse 27, the tree of the field shall yield
her fruit, the earth shall yield her increase. 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 serve themselves of them. They shall no more be
a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour
them, but they shall go out safely, and none shall make them fry. This is the context. They're
going to be restored. They're going to be brought again.
Although God has dealt with them and punished them, and principally
because of the unfaithfulness of those who were their pastors,
how the priests and the prophets and the kings had so utterly
failed the children of Israel and led them astray. But He is
His equal and He is One, who is to exercise that ministry
as a faithful shepherd in Israel. And as I said, he has to go and
identify with the people when they're there in bondage, in
captivity. He sits where they sit and is
astonished amongst them for seven days, it says there in that third
chapter. And again, doesn't this direct
us to the Lord Jesus Christ and His incarnation, how He comes
where His people are. When the fullness of the time
has come, God sends forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law. Oh yes, the seed of the woman,
the woman was first in the transgression. But He's not just made of a woman,
He is also made under the law, He is subject to that law that
His people have transgressed and broken. And there when we
consider His birth and that great mystery of the Incarnation, remember
what we're told in Hebrews chapter 2, for as much as the children
were partakers of flesh and blood, He likewise took part of the
same. Verily it took not on Him the
nature of angels, he took upon him the seed of Abraham the seed
of the woman the seeds of Abraham and how he comes just where his
people are we read of God sending his own son in the likeness of
sinful flesh and for sin well he comes just where they are
he becomes sin he that knew no sin his mates. He comes to suffer then in the
place of his people to bear that punishment that was really there
just deserted. He's the Good Shepherd. I am
the Good Shepherd, he says. The Good Shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. And isn't really this the manner
in which he seeks them out? This is the way in which he comes
to save them, he identifies with them. He doesn't come to call
the righteous, he comes to call sinners to repentance. Or this
is that man who receiveth sinners and eateth with them. This is
the wonder of the grace of God as we see it displayed in the
Lord Jesus Christ. As I said, here we are bidden
to consider God himself. Behold, I, even I. And where do we behold God? Why, it's the Lord Jesus Christ
who is the image of the invisible God. It's only in Christ that
we can really understand anything of the character and the nature
of God. What a revelation no man has
seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is
in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. He is that
One who has come to reveal unto us the great I AM. And He is Jehovah. He is Jehovah
Jesus. And we have those statements
throughout John's Gospel where Christ reveals Jehovah. and as I said amongst other of
those statements he says I am the good shepherd we don't come
to consider God in some abstract fashion as I said we are to behold
him only in the Lord Jesus and when we consider him as that
shepherd oh he is the shepherd of the sheep but he himself is
that one who is not only the shepherd He is of the sheep. He is the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world. This is the manner in which we
find the Lord Jesus Christ then seeking after His people. He comes to save them and He
comes to save them by the sacrifice of Himself. But then also that
salvation that He has wrought and accomplished must be must
be applied to them, they must come to experience the blessing
of that that the Lord has done for sinners. And so, think for
a moment of that way in which He seeks them out in their experiences. I was a shepherd We're told in
verse 12, "...he 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." He goes out after them. He goes out to find them. And
again, it's not just the language of this prophet, it's also the
language of other prophets. It's a language that we find
also in the book of Isaiah. There in Isaiah 14. Verse 10, Behold, the Lord God
will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold,
his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed
his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead
those that are with the arm. But again how we are bidden here
to consider the manner in which He comes after them with strong
hands. His reward is with Him, His work
before Him, He has a work to do in the way in which He seeks
after them. Now, I referred just now to how
the Lord speaks in In Matthew 15, of the shepherd going after
that one sheep of the 100, 99 was safe and secure, but one
was lost, and he goes after that lost sheep. And those words are
repeated when the Lord speaks that parable, the parable of
the lost sheep, and we have it there in In Luke chapter 15,
at verse 3, and the following verses, we read how he speaks
a parable unto them. He spake this parable unto them,
saying, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one
of them, doth not leave the ninety, and nine in the wilderness, and
go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he
has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. The very
language that we have in Isaiah 14, laying that sheep upon his
shoulders as he finds it and restores it to the fold. When
he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying
unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was
lost. I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons
which need no repentance. For the Lord is that one determined
then to seek after his sheep. And though he searches after
them, and though he separates them, I will both search, it
says, and seek them Now, this verb here that we have in the
text, to search, has the idea of distinguishing them from others. And we know that the ministry
of the Lord Jesus Christ was such a ministry that it made
a difference and a distinction between men. His ministry was
so discriminating. His ministry was so dividing.
On those various occasions in John's Gospel we're told of a
division and we're told of the cause of the division, a division
among the people because of Him, it says, or a division amongst
the people because of His sayings. Yes, He is One who deals tenderly,
kindly, graciously with those sinners that come to Him. But
how He doesn't deal with all men the same. Oh, He tells us
quite plainly at the end of John chapter 9 that He came into this
world for judgment. There we see Him rebuking the
scribes and the Pharisees. For judgment He says, I am coming
to the world that they which see not might see, and that they
which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which
were with him heard these words and said unto him, Are we blind
also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were
blind, ye should have no sin. But now ye say, We see. Therefore
your sin remaineth. And they were satisfied, self-satisfied
with their own self-righteousness. And they were those who were
supposedly the leaders of the people, the people looked to
the Pharisees. They were those who sat in Moses'
seat. But they were just like these
false shepherds in the Old Testament, the false prophets, the unfaithful
priests, the wicked kings. They were just of that character
and the Lord is rebuking them there. Oh, the Lord is that one
you see who calms his eyes where it were as a flame of fire. How his eyes are so searching,
so penetrating, how he looks deep into the hearts of men.
The Lord is that one who looks upon the heart. Man looks on
the outward appearance. The Lord looks upon the heart
and those eyes searching, sifting. as he comes to the sinner, he
shows the sinner where he is, he shows the sinner what he is.
He works that very real conviction in the soul of the sinner. Oh,
he is that one who is a faithful shepherd, a true and faithful
prophet of the Lord. Why? He is the prince of all
preachers. He is the fulfillment of the
prophetic office. Remember what the Lord says to
his servant Jeremiah concerning his ministry, if thou take forth
the precious from the vial, he says, thou shalt be as my mouth. And how the Lord Jesus is as
God's mouth, he separates, he takes the precious from the vial. He doesn't just seek after his
sheep, he searches his sheep out. He brings them to that place
where they are made so very conscious of their sin. Oh, how they feel
that sore within, how they must cry out for mercy as He comes
to seek and search after them. And is He not one of the marks
of those who are His sheep? That they will have the Lord
deal with them in that fashion. What does David say? Search me,
O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts.
And see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the
way everlasting. Christ's sheep desire then to
be searched and sifted because they want to know that what they
have is something real. It's the work of God. It's something
that God has wrought in their souls. They've not made themselves
Christians. they are not those who are full
of presumption before God no, they are those who are of a tender
conscience and they want to know that what is in them is that
that is real that the Lord himself is the one who has sought them
and searched them out but he doesn't just search out his sheep
and separate his sheep in that fashion as the faithful shepherds,
the Lord also feeds them, and satisfies them. Isn't that the
promise that we have in verse 23? 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. And how the
Lord does indeed come to feed His sheep, and how does He feed
them? Why? He feeds them with Himself. He feeds them with His
person. He feeds them with His work.
He feeds them with His blood. He feeds them with His righteousness. Isn't that how we are to understand
those remarkable words that we have in the 6th chapter of John's
Gospel? There in John 6 53. Verily, verily, O how the Lord
prefixes these words with that double verily. Here is a truth
underlined, underscored. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last
day. for my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him." Oh, there's union.
There's union with the Lord Jesus. There's communion with the Lord
Jesus Christ. But what is it? What is it to
eat his flesh to drink his blood? Oh, it's not some sort of cannibalism.
Neither is it anything to do with the blasphemy of the Romish
mass and their so-called doctrine of transubstantiation, that the
priest, by some magic trick, can turn the wafer into the body
and blood, the soul and divinity of Christ. And as they partake
of that wafer, the poor deluded papist thinks that he is eating
the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ. It's nothing at all
to do with that. It's a spiritual feeding. that is being spoken
of. It's the doctrine. It's the doctrine
of the person of Christ. It's the doctrine of the work
of Christ. It's a great subject matter of the apostolic gospel. Or Paul says he determined not
to know anything among those Corinthians say Jesus Christ
and him crucified. We preach Christ, he says, and
Christ crucified setting before them the glories of the person
and as we think of him as we meditate upon his person and
the great mystery of godliness how God is manifest in the flesh
how it feeds our souls when we come to understand the wonder
of that that he is God never anything less than God and yet
in the fullness of the time he becomes a very real man the man
who is touched with the feeling of all our infirmities tempted
in all points like as we are yet without sin or what comfort
when we understand that he is that one who can feel for us
and he is that one who can also as God raise us above all our
doubts and all our fears but not only to meditate upon his
person all but the work also that the Lord came to do Jesus
Christ and Him crucified His blood. All the shedding of that
precious blood, His obedience unto death, how He is satisfied.
All the demands of the Holy Lord of God for His people. He has
lived, He has died, He has wrought a righteousness wherewith He
clothes His people. And He has also as that Holy,
Righteous and Just One made that great sin-atoning sacrifice.
and born that dreadful punishment that was due to sinners or to
feed upon these truths this is how the Lord feeds his people
this is how he satisfies them he gives them himself he gives
them himself I the Lord will be their God or he is that one who is the God and Saviour of his
people and that's how he feeds them he feeds them with his flesh
and with his blood and so he seeks after them and as Christ
is that one who comes to seek after his sheep so another mark of those sheep
is that they seek after him there's a certain mutuality here the Lord says to his servant
Jeremiah ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search
after me with all your heart you see the Lord here in the
text is that one who searches and seeks I even I will both
search my sheep and seek them out when the Lord does that he
brings his people also to be seeking after him and searching
him out He shall seek me and find me when you shall search
for me with all your heart. Oh, we're to be wholehearted
then in our seeking after Him, our desire towards Him, our affection
set upon those things in heaven where Christ is at God's right
hand. Oh, we're to come, we're to come
in His name, ask. He says, and it shall be given
you, seek and you shall find. knock and it shall be opened
unto you. Why we were looking at those
very words in Matthew 7 only last Thursday. That great promise
that the Lord has given to those who ask, to those who seek, to
those who knock. Everyone that asketh receiveth.
He that seeketh findeth. To him that knocketh it shall
be opened. For that the Lord then would
come and be the one who seeks us, who searches us out, who
moves us to constantly be seekers after Him, that we might know
something of that real communion with Him who is the Good Shepherd
of the sheep, the Shepherd who giveth His life for the sheep. May the Lord then be pleased
to bless His truth to us. conclude as we sing the hymn
804