[Brother V]

Ezekiel 34-36

Ezekiel 34

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?

Either God is really pissed at actual shepherds, or the word shepherd is used instead of princes/kings.

3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

The people aren't taking care of the sheep, like they are supposed to.

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.

Apparently, that is the job description for a shepherd. There's more to it than just sitting there trying to diddle a lamb.

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;

It turns out that the shepherds didn't own the sheep, they were hired hands for the job. Once again, we see an absentee LORD, who then blames others for his shortcomings. If the employees at a company are not doing their jobs, it's a leadership problem. It seems to be a recurring theme. God starts something, puts someone else in charge because he goes on an extended vacation, then comes back and the place is ruined.

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.

If he paid any attention, he'd have fixed the issue before it became a real problem. Additionally, his interview process isn't the greatest.

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.

Apparently, it's now ok to eat on the mountains unlike in Ezekiel 18:11.

20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

Now, after clearing house of the crappy shepherds, he's going to pick out the sheep that managed to be the best, during the time of poor shepherding.

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 whole process could have been avoided, if he vetted the applicants better.

Ezekiel 35

2 Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,

3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.

If you can remember back to Genesis, Esau lived in Seir. So, the people that are being prophesied against here are the Edomites (possibly).

5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:

Sounds like the Edomites.

9 I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Edomites don't really exist anymore, so this one came true. PRAISE JESUS!!!

Ezekiel 36

1 Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:

Great, what did the mountains do?

3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:

Oh, God is reassuring the mountains that they won't always be filled with heathens. He's telling them to be happy because in the future, God's chosen people will once again, be climbing on those mountains.

8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.

9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:

I'm sure this makes the mountains very happy.

10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:

Apparently the greatest thing a mountain can do is be the home of a jew.

God then (kind of) apologizes to the mountains for putting the people there. But he promises that the people he brings back are going to be good.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

This apparently hasn't happened yet. Since the jews don't keep God's statutes.

So what have we learned today?

1. The shepherds didn't do a good job of tending the LORD's flock. However, you should probably look at the hiring practices that got those crappy shepherds their jobs in the first place. Nepotism isn't a good thing, just because someone's dad is a good shepherd, doesn't mean the son will be a good one.

2. Edom sucks.

3. The mountains will be happy again, when the Jews return.

YIC
V

[Cranky Old Man]

Impressed as always!

[Dirk]

This is pretty inspiring!

[Felicity]

[repented harlot70]

Thank you again for the instruction in righteousness.

[Rev. Edward Clement]

As always, your teachings are spot on, and very astounding.

[True Disciple]

Originally Posted by Brother V

1. The shepherds didn't do a good job of tending the LORD's flock. However, you should probably look at the hiring practices that got those crappy shepherds their jobs in the first place. Nepotism isn't a good thing, just because someone's dad is a good shepherd, doesn't mean the son will be a good one.

I'm deeply moved by the Loving Care of Our Sweet LORD, He even gives directions for running a company and dealing with employees!

Clearly, He foresaw a time in which His People would face these same problems, and separate the lazy negroes and messicants from the slightly less lazy ones when we hire them to tend our gardens and shine our shoes. Praise the LORD!