Ezekiel’s allegory of the shepherds and the Good Shepherd says much about understanding of God and his understanding of the function of kingship. For him, kings are clearly meant to be servants of God and God’s people, in contrast to what the kings of Israel had made of the institution. Several interesting points emerge in his treatment of God as the Good Shepherd. Perhaps the most important is the statement that God actively searches for the lost sheep, rescuing, gathering, and feeding them. This is not a dispassionate judge but an impassioned savior. The goal of God’s activity in the lives of people is to seek the lost, gather the strayed, heal the crippled, and empower the weak. This is also the proper goal of the servants of God, according to Ezekiel.
The shepherd “watches over” the strong as well as the weak. It would make little sense to “destroy” them, even though the shepherd may have to judge some of them. God shepherds the entire flock.
In Ezekiel’s prophecy the Davidic monarchy is to be reestablished in Israel (vv23, 24), and his conception of that future life is conservative, in the sense that it projects the pre-exilic from of the nation. Second Isaiah does not do this with respect to the Davidic monarchy, but instead envisions Israel’s role as that of prophet and teacher within a world empire ruled by a non-Israelite king. What actually happened in the postexilic era was much closer to Second Isaiah’s vision that to Ezekiel’s. However, the principal emphasis of Ezekiel 34 is not upon the restoration of the Davidic monarchy. This event is only one aspect of the unfolding purpose of God. The ultimate goal of the drama is to bring people to the knowledge of God. The making of a new covenant, the provision of natural blessings, the freeing of slaves, the establishment of peace and security, all serve one purpose: “And they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord God” (v31). Living in the knowledge of God is the goal of the entire process of human history and divine providence.