Old Testament
Reading
For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search
my sheep, and seek them out. 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. 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. 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. I
will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. 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.
Old Testament
Commentary
God not only
promises to feed and strengthen His sheep here, but also to call (by the
Gospel) the lost Gentiles from other lands, so they become true sheep in His Kingdom of Grace. He feeds us "upon the mountains of
Israel by the rivers", and what is it that the Lord feeds His sheep, the
Holy Christian Church?....He satisfies our hunger and thirst for forgiveness
with the Means of Grace, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the Gospel Word (in
its various forms). And though even now
throughout the world God's sheep are not always able to join a local church
(due to false teaches, false doctrine, etc), God still feeds them and clothes
them with His grace via the Word, wherever the Gospel is found, for "I
will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. 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." Note at the end God's wrath
against the "fat and strong".
These are false Christians, particularly those pastors and ministers who
are in the "business" for the sake of their bellies and not the love
of Christ. "For they that
are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good
words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple" (Examples: Joyce
Meyer, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, and many others belly servers).
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