Ezekiel, no doubt one of the strangest of a strange bunch – the prophets of Israel – lived in a time of great social upheaval and distress.  The book of Ezekiel is dominated by the context of the exile of the people of God from their homeland as they are conquered by Babylon.  The book articulates the fundamental question of the exilic and post-exilic community – “how then shall we live” in light of everything that has happened (33:10b)?  Today’s lectionary passage falls in the third part of the book, in which Ezekiel describes the character of salvation for a new Israel.  In the context of exile, what does salvation look like?  What does it really mean?  Today’s passage provides a part of the answer – salvation necessarily entails a community characterized by sustainable abundance, in which everyone has enough, and the vast disparity between the “strong” and the “weak” is undone.

Because the lectionary reading has gaps in it, it is important for us to discuss all of Ezekiel 34.  Starting in verse 17, the prophet invokes a scene of judgment between the faithful and unfaithful sheep (an image later made famous by Jesus in Matthew 25).  Ezekiel states: “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats: Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet?  And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet?  Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep” (34:17-20).  The main indictment against the “fat sheep” is that they have horded the free gifts of God, they have lived beyond their boundaries, they have consumed too much, and in their arrogance they have polluted the resources of the earth.  In so doing they have poisoned and starved the “lean sheep.”  

Then, in verses 20-24, we see how God promises to intervene in this life-and-death struggle.  Through God’s “one shepherd, my servant David,” God will overturn the twisted logic of overconsumption, setting the people on the path to true and lasting peace: “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely.  I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.  The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil; and they shall know that I am the LORD” (34:25-27).  Throughout this passage, there is a deep and abiding connection between the people’s willingness – or lack thereof – to share their resources and the flourishing of the land.  Thus, for Ezekiel, to live in a sus- tainable way is truly to live at peace with God and with each other.

BY CHRIS LIU BEERS, PROGRAM ASSOCIATE,

NC COUNCIL OF CHURCHES