Ezekiel II
And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken. (Ezekiel 34:23,24 ESV)
The Messiah
Ezekiel’s audience was seeing their line of Kings fail and die out. And undoubtably that made them nervous. Not only was a Kingdom difficult to manage without a King… but the whole concept of God’s Blessings on His People was entwined with that Kingdom. And a King.
But now what?
So this promise has at least two levels. First, Ezekiel is saying that A King will still be around. While they might have been thinking about better prices for olive oil, better sources for sheep-feed, and better armed protection against enemy nations, God meant more.
He is saying that He will take care of them.
Which brings our minds to the second level. God was going to provide a King, but a better King than they had dreamed of since the days of Samuel. This would not be a King like other nations have… this would be God’s choice of King, a King with God’s direct authority, the Lord Himself as King!
And somehow, with shades of Christmases to come, that King would be both divine and human.
That King would be the Messiah.
And that Messiah is still our King. Shepherding His people, feeding His people, being our prince, being our savior.
Being Jesus.