Thanks to Ben Spackman and Jana Reiss for ideas incorporated into this lesson plan.
Lesson 43: The Shepherds of Israel
Ezekiel 18, 34, 37
Purpose: to encourage class members to fulfill their responsibilities as “shepherds of Israel”
Scripture Discussion and Application
1. The shepherds of Israel
2. Repentance and forgiveness
3. Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of bones
4. The stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph
Lesson Development
Ezekiel was born in Jerusalem of a priestly family. When the Babylonians made their first assault on Jerusalem and carried away some of the children of Israel, it is probably because of his priestly birth that Ezekiel was one of those taken to Babylon. He was then about 25 years old. His record tells us that in Babylon, he lived along the bank of an irrigation ditch, perhaps suggesting the kind of labor he performed in exile – certainly something very different from what he had known at Jerusalem. He still retained some status among the exiled Jews, however, because he records a number of times they came to consult Ezekiel.
When he was 30, so after about 5 years in captivity, God called Ezekiel to be a prophet, to deliver God’s message to the Jews remaining in Jerusalem, to record the fall of Jerusalem, and to preach to the Jews in exile in Babylon for the next 30 years. His book is a difficult one to read – it is filled with bizarre visual images, of things that don’t exist in the real world and don’t happen in real life. We have to think about those images to find meaning in them, and I’m not sure that we always necessarily have interpreted those visions the way God or Ezekiel meant them. We’ll do our best with a few of those visions in the few minutes we have this afternoon.
The theme the Church would like us to keep in mind as we discuss Ezekiel is found in Ezekiel 34:1-2:
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
The image of a shepherd watching over his flocks – feeding, protecting, caring for them – is familiar enough that we probably don’t have to discuss it too much at this point. We will talk a little later about Ezekiel’s condemnation of shepherds who neglect the sheep in order to give attention to their own comfort, but for now, let’s just keep in mind the theme that we are all shepherds within our own stewardships, and talk about what Ezekiel’s visions have to do with being “shepherds of Israel.”
The book of Ezekiel opens with Ezekiel’s call to be a prophet. Ezekiel has a vision in which he sees the Lord and his glory. [Sketch the figures on the board as a class member reads these verses:]
Ezekiel 1:26-28
26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
This is a pretty straightforward description, as visions go. Ezekiel uses some of the same poetic images to try to describe the glory of God: He is a king on a throne, and, just as Saul, and later Joseph Smith, described that glory as light – “above the brightness of the noon-day sun” – Ezekiel describes God as surrounded by the appearance of fire.
What is harder to grasp, perhaps, is how Ezekiel describes being brought into the presence of the throne of God. Earlier in chapter 1, he describes the coming of four living creatures, each of whom has four faces and four wings, with the feet of cattle, and the faces of men, lions, oxen, and eagles. Elsewhere in his book, Ezekiel explicitly calls these creatures “cherubim,” the same creatures that guarded the Ark of the Covenant in the holy temple. Following the directions of the spirit of God, these creatures pulled some sort of a wheeled vehicle.
Ezekiel 1:19-21
19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
Now, we don’t have any objective way of knowing what Ezekiel saw, or how the Lord called him into his presence. Usually when we read these strange visionary experiences, we note that Ezekiel couldn’t have understood the mechanism, either, and that he drew on objects he was familiar with – certain animals, wheels, and fire – to try to describe what was literally indescribable.
Trying to understand this vision in any more concrete terms is probably more than we are capable of. Still, there is one part of this description that I think has a symbolic meaning that we ought to talk about.
Before the fall of Jerusalem, when first the United Kingdom of Israel and later the divided Kingdom of Judah looked to Jerusalem as their capital, what was the primary symbol of Israelite worship? [The temple.] The temple was the seat of all their worship: This was the only place where, according at least to the chief priests, that sacrifices could be offered, the place where the prayers of the people ascended to God.
It hadn’t always been that way, of course. What had been the center of worship before the temple was built at Jerusalem? [The tabernacle.] What was its chief characteristic? [It was mobile, so could go with the Israelites wherever they wandered.] The Israelites have certainly not forgotten their tabernacle – it must have been remembered every time they talked about God’s having brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt. Still, they had lived in the Promised Land for centuries, and wandering in exile was not part of their familiar experience.
But here, when Ezekiel is called to speak as a prophet, the Lord does not go to the temple at Jerusalem – he sends, so to speak, his drivers to pick up Ezekiel in Babylon and bring him to the throne of God. If you were a captive in Babylon, unable to approach God by going to the temple at Jerusalem, what might this part of Ezekiel’s vision mean to you? [That being cut off from the temple did not necessarily mean being cut off from God. God is “portable,” and even in exile the Israelites can enter his presence.]
Ezekiel’s commission as a prophet is found in Chapter2.
Ezekiel 2:1-6
1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.
4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.
5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
It isn’t going to be easy for Ezekiel to be a shepherd in Israel, is it? He will bear the word of the Lord to Israel, and they will “know that there hath been a prophet among them.”
Ezekiel will be with the Israelites for about half of their exile in Babylon. He will try to bring his people to repentance, and he will teach them that they will one day return to Jerusalem. Before the day of that return comes, though, Israel, as a people, will change in some fundamental ways.
First, because the Jews in Babylon are surrounded by the Babylonian community, they will soon adopt the language of Babylon – when they return to Jerusalem, they will no longer speak Hebrew, but will need interpreters to translate the scriptures for them. Instead, they will be speaking Aramaic, the language they were still speaking when Jesus was born 500 years later.
Social conditions will change – some might say for the better, some not. Jewish women, for instance, learned that Babylonian women had privileges that Jewish women did not have: Babylonian women could own and sell property; they could petition for divorce from unworthy husbands; they could inherit part of their husbands’ property when they were widowed, and not have to depend for survival on gleaning the fields or the not-always-reliable charity of their relatives. Babylonian women, however, did not set the ideal example for Jewish women in other ways, though, in the view of Ezekiel, and some of Ezekiel’s strongest, most vivid condemnations of Israel use the metaphor of Israel as an adulterous wife, and one who rebels and seeks to rule over her husband.
Because the Temple has been destroyed, and because they have nowhere to perform their regular sacrifices, their worship will change dramatically. They will still practice sacrifice on a smaller scale when they return to Jerusalem, but that will no longer be the center of their worship. Instead, prayer, and study of the scriptures, and an emphasis on the laws of God that they can still keep in exile – like observance of the Sabbath – will rise in importance. Whole new fields of Jewish life will rise to support those aspects of worship: the synagogue, and the expert teachers to be found there, and minute interpretations of the commandments, and expansion of the body of laws to guarantee that the commandments are kept with precision – all this is a heritage of the Babylonian captivity, through which Ezekiel shepherded his people.
Let’s turn to another of Ezekiel’s sermons.
Ezekiel 18:1-2
1 The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
First, what does it mean, in ordinary human life, to “eat sour grapes” and have your “teeth set on edge”?
What is its proverbial meaning here, when a parent does the action but a child suffers the consequence?
Ezekiel goes on to say,
Ezekiel 18:3-4
3 As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
What is the Lord telling the captives here?
Ezekiel then goes on to spell out some of the things a righteous Israelite must do – fulfill his obligations to the Lord, avoid idolatry and ritual uncleanness, and serve his fellow man. Every man who does right, Ezekiel says, will not be punished for any other man’s sins; any man who does wrong will be punished himself.
Ezekiel 18:21-32
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Is the Lord an unjust, unmerciful, cruel god? What parts of this passage support your view?
Why is it important for the Jews in captivity to understand that they are not being punished for their parents’ sins?
This seems easy enough for us to accept, doesn’t it? I mean, we have the article of faith declaring that “man shall be punished for his own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.” But don’t you wonder how it sounded to the Israelites in captivity? Contrast it with these verses from the middle of the Ten Commandments:
Exodus 20:5-6
5 Thu shalt not bow down thyself to them [that is, graven images], nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
The scriptures – even the voices of living prophets – are not always consistent, are they? How do you resolve inconsistencies like this in your own heart, and mind? As a shepherd in Israel – a parent, a ward leader, a trusted adviser – has anyone ever come to you concerned over inconsistencies? How have you helped them understand?
Back in Ezekiel’s sermon, I’m intrigued by verses 26 and 27 – would you read those again, please?
Ezekiel 18:26-27
26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
What kind of a warning is that to those of us who think we’ve done pretty well so far, and are tempted to relax and live off the good works of our past?
What kind of hope is this to someone who has not been very faithful in the past?
One of Ezekiel’s earlier visions fits very well with this passage.
Ezekiel 3:16-21
15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
In this passage, not only is the righteous man who is rewarded and the wicked man who is punished, but someone else bears part of the responsibility for how things turn out. Who is responsible?
Does this violate in any way the principle that men will be punished for their own sins and not for someone else’s?
The Lord is not pleased with watchmen who abandon their duties on the towers, or with shepherds who think more of their own welfare than that of the sheep they are charged with tending.
Ezekiel 34:1-6
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
In one way or another, we are all called to be shepherds to some of the flock – either because we have a calling over a quorum, or an auxiliary, or a class, or as parents, or simply as Latter-day Saints who follow the Golden Rule.
What are some of the ways we can fail in that responsibility?
What are the consequences? to the sheep? to the shepherds?
Ezekiel 34:11-16
11 For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.
16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
Ezekiel was called to serve his people during some of their worst years, when they were captives and exiles. He was called to be a shepherd, to teach the people to live righteously and to repent from sin. He helped them find their way back to God, a God who would be with them in exile, and who would be both just and merciful, holding them accountable only for their own behavior, and not for their parents’. Yet he also gave a special warning to the leaders of the people, those who were responsible for teaching the people right from wrong – they were responsible for the people put in their care, and if they did not fulfill their obligations, they would be held accountable for the result.
[closing testimony]