Thursday 19 August 2010

Background

The historical background of this passage is the fact that overthe previous century and a half the land of Israel had been overrunby foreign powers, first Assyria and then Babylon (both now inmodern Iraq). Many of its people had been deported, some intoexile, the prophet Ezekiel among them, but most simply dispersed,losing their identity in the process.

Ezekiel lays the blame upon the kings and other leaders, accusingthem of being more interested in their own advantage than thewell-being of the people. The analogy between rulers and shepherdsis often found in the Bible and is a natural one in any ruralsociety. It is self-evident that any shepherd who thought only ofmeat and wool and did not nurture the flock or protect it frompredators was a fool. Eventually there would be no flockleft.

There are obvious implications here for all in positions of power,whether in state, industry, commerce or the Church. The temptationto misuse power for personal gain is not confined to the ancientworld; it is all too easy to think of contemporary examples.

The climax of the passage is in the final verse. Comparing God to ashepherd was not new (see Psalm23 - "The Lord is my shepherd"), but the implications hereare many. As verse 10 asserts, rulers are never absolute, they areaccountable to God. For Ezekiel's contemporaries it also means thatGod will eventually restore the exiles to their homeland, and theparagraphs following today's passage develop the promise.

The image of God seeking lost sheep is taken up by Jesus in one ofhis parables (Luke 15:3-7) and John'sGospel chapter 10 reflects on Jesus as the Good Shepherd.So the political context of this passage is given a widerreference. 'Lostness' is an experience in many contexts. Verse 11then affirms that God actively seeks and restores all the lost.

To Ponder

What experience of being lost have you had? Whatmight being 'sought by God' mean in that context?

What priorities do verses 1-6 suggest for thosewho exercise power?