The Assyrians decimated the northern tribes of Israel in 772 BC, and Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 587 — all because of the sins of Israel. After that God began his program of restoration. He had to rebuild and renew before he brought his people back and reestablished them in Judah. He began by addressing problems at the top.

Israel’s civil and religious leaders had failed to care for God’s people. God compared them to wicked shepherds who made themselves rich from the sheep while neglecting them. The sheep were scattered and no one looked for them. Predators pursued them and the shepherds didn’t protect them. They went hungry and thirsty and no one cared.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.” Ezekiel 34:10

The Good Shepherd Takes Charge

God gave Israel judges, prophets, priests, and kings to lead them, but these human leaders failed to protect God’s flock from harm. So now the Lord introduced the next part of his plan: He would become their shepherd again, as he was when he brought them out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land. God was going to put his own shepherd in place, a prince who would fulfill every expectation the Sovereign Lord had for the ruler of his people.

“I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.” Ezekiel 34:23

Ezekiel prophesied that from the house of David was going to come a great Shepherd to tend God’s people. He would give life to the sheep instead of causing their deaths and he would represent God perfectly in caring for them.

“I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.” Ezekiel 34:15-16

God Sorts Out the Sheep

God had to deal with corrupt shepherds, but he also had to deal with unruly sheep. Injustice and cruelty were not confined to the ranks of the shepherds; there were also sheep who harmed other sheep. They trampled the pastures and muddied the waters making it impossible for other sheep to safely eat and drink.

God dealt with sheep-on-sheep injustice just as severely as he dealt with unjust shepherds. No one was under the radar as far as God was concerned; he saw everyone’s behavior.

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.” Ezekiel 34:20-22

No matter how good a shepherd is, if there is trouble among the members of the flock, the whole flock is in trouble. They can’t eat and drink quietly when there are some sheep shoving and head butting others and trying to take over the pasture. God sorts out troublesome members of his flock and removes them.

Israel’s Mountains

God was concerned for the mountains of Judah because they were the scenes of some of Israel’s worst sins. The memory of child sacrifices lingered over the high places in Judah and people of other nations spoke disparagingly of the mountains. They had a reputation for being the site of horrific acts of pagan worship.

But it wasn’t the mountains that sinned; it was the people of Judah.

“Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it with their conduct and their actions . . . So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols.” Ezekiel 36:17-18

God was going to change the reputation of the mountains of Judah by making sure no one ever sacrificed children there again.

“‘Because some say to you, ‘You devour people and deprive your nation of its children,’ therefore you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless,’ declares the Sovereign Lord. ‘No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.” Ezekiel 36:13-15

God Blesses the Land

God spoke to Judah’s hills and fields and promised they, too, would be restored.

“But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, and I will cause many people to live on you – yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt . . . I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you more prosperous than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 36:8-11

Can mountains and fields really know that God is the Lord? Can inanimate objects, or even non-human creatures, praise God?

The Bible often talks about the heavens and the earth glorifying God. It says the stars and planets have voices that declare his glory (Psalm 19). When people shouted praises to Jesus and the Pharisees told him to make them stop, Jesus said, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:40

God’s creation brings him praise whether people hear it or not. Human beings are only one part of God’s beloved universe – and they are the best and worst part, depending upon the condition of their hearts.

A Failed Nation

God could use the normal course of nature and the renewing power of the seasons to cleanse and restore the land of Judah, but it was going to take more than that to restore his people. In fact, it was going to take a complete overhaul of their hearts. They had left Judah in shame and they were known throughout the world as a failed nation.

“And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’ I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.” Ezekiel 36:20

God wanted to restore his people so he could restore his good name.

New Hearts, New Spirits

“Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name . . . Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.” Ezekiel 36:22-23

God offered to do something for the people of Israel that was impossible for anyone else to do. He was going to completely restore them by giving them new hearts.

“I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God . . . Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.” Ezekiel 36:25-28

It’s only by the power of God’s Spirit that people learn to hate their sins and want new hearts. After all that people had done to offend God and desecrate his creation, it was wonderful that he wanted them back so much that he would create new hearts in those who were willing.

He did it so the world would know – forever – that he is the Lord.