Wednesday after Misericordias Domini
Posted on April 21, 2021 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
“Beasts” that would devour the flocks of God are wicked men who are self-willed. The history of the Church is plagued with examples of sinful undershepherds who are more interested in vain displays and easy money than in truly caring for the people of the flock. Sometimes it seems like there are more thieves and robbers than there are faithful servants. But God promises that He will bring His saints to a day when we will not have to deal with “beasts” or any of the other problems that come to the Church in this world.
We have no promise that the work of Christ’s flock will be easy or peaceful now. Our Lord tells us that men will be weak, and sin, and need to be forgiven. He assures us that there will be struggles and tribulations. There will be problems. To think it should be easy and glorious now is to forget much of what God has shown us throughout His Word. But we do have His promise that there will be a day when we are delivered from all the difficulties and sin. Both the Old Testament and the New assure us of this glorious hope.
In the meantime, we are called to serve, love, and be patient, because God desires that people continue to hear His call to repent and be forgiven on account of His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ!
Prayer: 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. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
