The Wednesday after Misericordias Domini Sunday
Posted on April 22, 2026 by under
Scripture: Ezekiel 34:23-31 (NKJV)
34:23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
25 “I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. 29 I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. 30 Thus they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God.’”
31 “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.
Devotion
The Prophet Malachi says at the end of his book, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (4:5). Jesus confirms that John the Baptist was “Elijah the prophet” (Matt. 11:14). Of course, John was not literally Elijah having come back from the dead. John came in the spirit of Elijah.
Similarly, here the Prophet Ezekiel speaks of the coming of “My Servant David.” That person is not literally David, but one like him, who will rule over all God’s people. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that prophecy. Jesus is that “David,” the Prince of peace, who brought blessing after blessing upon God’s people. God’s sheep will be safe from their enemies all around them. Jesus will bring them back from their captivity and the places to which they were exiled. He will feed them so that they are satisfied.
Ezekiel particularly stresses that there will be “one shepherd over them.” Verse 24 explains that by the shepherding work of this one Shepherd, the Lord will be, in truth, the God of His people Israel. Jesus, the New David, has made a covenant of peace with us. The dividing wall of sin has been removed, and we have peace with God.
Collect: God, Who, by the humiliation of Thy Son, didst raise up the fallen world: Grant unto Thy faithful ones perpetual gladness, and those whom Thou hast delivered from the danger of everlasting death, do Thou make partakers of eternal joys; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
