Ezekiel 34:11-16

God will always protect those who place their trust in Him.

Trust Him to do everything that you cannot!

Luke 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Gift me with simple joy.
When my day goes well, may I rejoice.
When it grows difficult, surprise me with
New possibilities.
When life is overwhelming, call me to
Sabbath moments
To restore your Peace and Harmony.
May my living today reveal your Goodness.
Pat Bergen, C.S.J.

"God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?" (Numbers 23:19).

God is unchanging.

God is unwavering.

God is forever faithful, and His Word is forever true.

I pray we let these truths fill our hearts with great peace today as we choose to place our trust in Him. Now, let's live like we believe God is faithful. Because He is. First5 

11 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. 16 “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.” The New King James Version

Since the shepherds would not search for the sheep, Yahweh must do so Himself. The failure of Israel’s leaders has left Ezekiel with little faith in any earthly leader; he trusts in the direct rule of Yahweh. 

Yahweh is described as a shepherd to Jacob. His role as the ultimate “Good Shepherd” is seen through the many actions He undertakes on behalf of His flock (e.g., feeding, leading, watching over, seeking, rescuing, gathering).

Yahweh will assume and fulfill every obligation the shepherds failed to perform. Yahweh condemns inequities within the flock. Not only are the leaders to blame for mismanagement, but the people themselves are to blame for their mistreatment of each other. Faithlife Study Bible

Compare the Lord’s persistent shepherding and guiding of His people with the faithlessness of Israel’s leaders. See also Psalm 23, where similar ideas pertain to God’s shepherding of the individual rather than corporate Israel. 

The cloudy and dark day was the day Jerusalem fell. It may also speak of the future day of deliverance when God will seek out His sheep. Israel, though guilty and misguided, would eventually be rescued by the divine Good Shepherd and restored to the Promised Land. 

The rams and goats were the leaders of Israel who had failed to lead properly. They had used their positions of power to their own advantage and to the disadvantage of the people. The NKJV Study Bible

The Lord declared that he intended mercy towards the scattered flock. Doubtless this, in the first place, had reference to the restoration of the Jews. It also represented the good Shepherd’s tender care of the souls of his people. He finds them in their days of darkness and ignorance, and brings them to his fold. He comes to their relief in times of persecution and temptation. He leads them in the ways of righteousness, and causes them to rest on his love and faithfulness. The proud and self-sufficient, are enemies of the true gospel and of believers; against such we must guard. He has rest for disquieted saints, and terror for presumptuous sinners. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Psalm 23:2  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Jeremiah 23:3 “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

Matthew 25:32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.