Wednesday after Misericordias Domini
Posted on May 4, 2022 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
No matter who the individual appointed to be God’s shepherd, he will always fall short. Pastors from any age cannot come close to the standards of the ultimate Shepherd, Jesus Christ. That is why we hear these words that God speaks through the prophet Ezekiel: “I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them–My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken. I will make a covenant of peace with them…” Obviously, this cannot mean King David of the Old Testament, for he has already been dead over four centuries. Rather, Jesus will be the new and better King David, who will always rule wisely and compassionately, bringing peace to troubled humanity. This hearkens back to Monday’s reading, where we see the Good Shepherd literally laying down His life for the sheep.
The “peace” to which our text refers is not just an outward or worldly peace, but an inward and spiritual peace. When we have peace with God we are restored to the Father through faith in what Christ has done. In the resurrection we will see peace in the fullest sense, without doubt or worry. Everything will once again be in harmony–a new Eden where we will walk with God in complete and eternal peace.
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, 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.
