Outline

«　WEEK 5　DAY 5　»

　　Ezek. 34:14-15 I will feed them with good pasture, and their dwelling place will be upon the mountains of the heights of Israel; there they will lie down in a good dwelling place, and on rich pasture they will feed upon the mountains of Israel. I Myself will shepherd My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, declares the Lord Jehovah.

　　Whereas the streams signify the life-giving Spirit, the pasture signifies Christ [Ezek. 34:13-14]. By the streams we have the rich Christ as our pasture. The streams are for our drinking, and the pasture is for our eating. In the meetings of the local churches, we do have the sense that we are by the streams and in the pasture, that we are drinking and eating. Praise the Lord that we are under the care of our Shepherd, drinking by the streams and feeding in the pasture!

　　In verse 15…to lie down means not to work, struggle, and strive…In Song of Songs 1:7 the seeker asked the Lord where He pastured His flock, where He made His flock lie down at noon. Whenever the Lord feeds us, shepherds us, and gives us something to drink, He also gives us rest. In the church meetings we often have the sense that we are lying down to rest. Outwardly, we are sitting, but inwardly, we are lying down to rest. (Life-study of Ezekiel, pp. 178-179)

　　As the Shepherd, the Lord will bind up the broken one and heal the sick one [Ezek. 34:16a]. How we need the Lord’s binding and healing! Frequently in the church meetings we have the sense that we are under the tender binding of the Lord and that the wounds and the broken places are being bound up by Him. At other times we may sense that we are experiencing His strengthening, His healing.

　　Only after He gives us the life supply, binds up our wounds, and heals us can all the unjust things among us be cleared away. However, if we lack the Lord’s supply, binding, and healing, we will condemn others, blame others, and complain about others. If we condemn and blame one another, we cannot be in harmony with one another. But as the Lord recovers us by life, we have genuine revival, we have the enjoyment of Christ, which causes us to be satisfied, restful, and peaceful, and we experience the Lord’s binding and healing. The One who nourishes us and supplies us causes us to have an accurate sense concerning our relationships with the brothers and sisters. When we have such a sense, we judge ourselves, and as a result, we have a genuine oneness with the saints as the one flock.

　　Verse 23 goes on to say, “And I will set up over them one Shepherd, My Servant David, and He will feed them; He will feed them, and He will be their Shepherd.” David typifies Christ. Christ is the real David, the real Shepherd, feeding us and causing us to be filled and satisfied. As our Shepherd, Christ takes care of us, including all our problems and responsibilities. He takes care of us not only in spiritual things but in all things related to our human needs. This means that, according to Psalm 23, He takes care of us in every aspect of our living.

　　Since the Lord Jesus is our Shepherd taking care of us, we should not worry about our problems or about our living. Instead, we need to learn to put our trust in Him. At the end of the day, it is very good to pray to the Lord as our Shepherd. There is no need to pray at length in a formal, religious way. Simply say, “Lord Jesus, I thank You that I am under Your care. Now I am going to sleep, and I ask You to come and take care of me.” Such a simple prayer is good enough. When you wake up in the morning, you say, “Lord, I thank You that I am still under Your care.” There is no need to be religious, asking the Lord to protect you and do many other things for you.

　　As He cares for us, He feeds us, and we have the real experience of Psalm 23: The Lord is our Shepherd, and we lack nothing. May we all learn to experience Christ as our Shepherd. (Life-study of Ezekiel, pp. 179-181)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ezekiel, msg. 16