Ezekiel 34:20

"Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 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. And I, Jehovah will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, Jehovah, have spoken it."

"Ye thrust with side and shoulder ..." (Ezekiel 34:21). The message here is that human beings, some of them, behave exactly like hungry animals shoving and jostling one another in the feed lot.

The reference is to the shameful and outrageous conduct of the upper classes of society in their greedy denial of the rights of the poor and needy. Here Ezekiel takes his place among such prophets as Hosea, Amos, and others who demanded that the principles of social justice be received and practiced among God's people.

"Between sheep and sheep ..." (Ezekiel 34:20). These words reveal that this paragraph, like the one before it, is still speaking of the judgment, not merely of the evil rulers, but of the sheep themselves.

"One shepherd over them ... even my servant David ..." (Ezekiel 34:23). Some commentators still cling to the notion that "a line of rulers," rather than an individual personal Messiah, is suggested by certain Old Testament passages; and such suggestions cannot be completely denied. However, for those who must find multiple shepherds (kings) in these ancient prophecies, they like every things else prophesied are to be found in the Church of Jesus Christ alone, and nowhere else.

All Christians are "kings and priests unto God" (Revelation 1:6, KJV). The twelve apostles are upon twelve thrones reigning with Christ throughout the dispensation (Matthew 19:28); and the elders of God's church actually have received that glorious designation, "Shepherds." The word `shepherd,' pastor in the Greek, is one of the New Testament terms for elder; thus all elders are "kings" in the sense of ruling under "The Chief Shepherd" (1 Peter 5:1-4). As Paul expressed it, "If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him."

This fully takes care of the impression that their are multiple kings suggested.

Nevertheless, it is an indisputable fact that absolutely all of the great blessings promised here did not appear under the "kingship" of any human Davidic successor. They were never even partially realized in the temporary prosperity of the Jews, "Nor can they ever be realized in any earthly kingdom. All of these prophecies point to the One Subject of all Prophecy, The Righteous King, the Anointed Prince, the Son of God, the Son of David, and the Lord of David."[14]

It is surprising that a Christian scholar should raise a quibble over the fact of David's being referred to in Ezekiel 34:24 as "prince," stating, that, "The leader of the ideal theocracy would be `a prince' rather than `a king.'"[15] How could he have overlooked the God-given name of the Seed of the Virgin, which includes the designation, "Prince of Peace!" (Isaiah 9:6). It is a truth well known to the scholarship of all mankind that, "'Prince' instead of `king' is Ezekiel's usual designation of the ruler of the future, as in Ezekiel 45; Ezekiel 46."[16] Besides that, the mention of the 'covenant of peace' in the next verse, which is undoubtedly a reference to the New Covenant under Christ, made it extremely appropriate for Ezekiel to use the term `prince' in Ezekiel 34:24. If any further proof of this was needed, it is available in Ezekiel 37, "Where the name `king' is used three times in a peculiarly effective manner as titles of `The Messianic prince.' There is no reason whatever to suppose that Ezekiel saw some kind of a distinction between `prince' and `king.'"[17] Ezekiel used the terms interchangeably.

"Christ as the Good Shepherd (equivalent to Jehovah) and as `The Son of David' completely fulfills, not merely these prophecies here, but those of 2 Samuel 7:13; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Micah 5:2-4; Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 9:25-26; and many others."[18] In fact, it is no exaggeration at all to affirm that Jesus Christ as the Holy Messiah fulfills every one of the 333 prophecies concerning him in the entire Old Testament.

The two great Types of the Son of God in the Old Testament are Moses and David; and it is hardly a coincidence that both David and Moses were shepherds.

The notion that "The Davidic monarchy will be continued, but the monarch will have a real shepherd's heart,"[19] must be rejected. Jeconiah was the final end of the earthly dynasty of David, and Jeremiah categorically prophesied that no descendent of his should ever again rule in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 22:30). (See my commentary on this in Volume II of our Major Prophets Series." Not even Christ could have inherited the throne of David if he had been the literal son of Joseph (who was descended from Coniah); but as his adopted son, the ban of Jeconiah's posterity did not affect our Lord.

"One shepherd over them ..." (Ezekiel 34:23). Still another error is founded on this mention of "one shepherd." Feinberg supposed that this meant, "There would be the need of only one shepherd for the united nation."[20] What is indicated here is not the reunion of the Northern and Southern sinful kingdoms of the old racial Israel, but the uniting of all men, Jews and Gentiles alike in Jesus Christ. Of course, that is exactly what Feinberg may have intended, but the erroneous understanding of it prevails with some.