Ezekiel 34

Good Shepherd

For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. Ezekiel 34:11–16

Because the leaders failed the flock, Jehovah promises to be the Shepherd Himself: seeking the lost, binding up the broken, healing the sick. Jesus, who is Jehovah, fulfilled this when He declared, "I am the good shepherd" and said He came to seek and save that which was lost.

How we know: the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it

• fulfilled by John 10:11 — "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
• alluded to by Luke 19:10 — "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" echoes v16.
• alluded to by Luke 15:4-6 — Parable of the lost sheep: the shepherd goes after the one that is lost.
• alluded to by Matthew 9:36 — Jesus sees the multitudes "as sheep having no shepherd" (compare v5).
• the same title in Isaiah 40:11 — "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd."

The Shepherd-Judge

And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. Ezekiel 34:17–22

The Shepherd also judges within the flock, separating the bullying sheep from the weak ones He will save. Jesus used the same picture of dividing sheep from goats when He described His judgment at His coming.

How we know: the chapter heading names Him

• alluded to by Matthew 25:32-33 — The Son of Man separates the sheep from the goats.

My Servant David, the One Shepherd

David — "beloved"

And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. Ezekiel 34:23–24

David had been dead for centuries, so this future "David" is the promised King from David's line, Jesus Christ, the one Shepherd over all His sheep. Jesus spoke of "one fold, and one shepherd," and taught the Nephites that they were His other sheep.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

• fulfilled by John 10:16 — "There shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
• fulfilled by 3 Nephi 15:21 — The risen Christ tells the Nephites they are the other sheep of whom He spoke.
• the same title in Ezekiel 37:24-25 — "David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd."
• the same title in Jeremiah 30:9 — "David their king, whom I will raise up unto them."
• the same title in Hosea 3:5 — Israel shall "seek the LORD their God, and David their king" in the latter days.

Plant of Renown

Plant of renown — a planting of name and fame

And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. Ezekiel 34:29

Placed right after the promise of the Shepherd David, the "plant of renown" is read as another picture of the Messiah, like the Branch and the tender plant in Isaiah and Jeremiah. Through Him the people are no longer spiritually starving.

How we know: the chapter heading names Him

• the same title in Jeremiah 23:5 — "I will raise unto David a righteous Branch."
• the same title in Isaiah 11:1 — "A Branch shall grow out of his roots."
• the same title in Isaiah 53:2 — "He shall grow up before him as a tender plant."

Jehovah

Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 34:30–31

The chapter closes with Jehovah claiming the people as the flock of His own pasture and promising to be with them. The premortal Christ is the God whose sheep they are.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him