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God, the True Shepherd Ezekiel 34:11-31 MEMORY VERSE EZEKIEL 34:31 “'You Are My Flock, the Flock of My Pasture; You Are M En, and I Am Your God,' Says the Lord GOD.”

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God, the True Shepherd Ezekiel 34:11-31 MEMORY VERSE EZEKIEL 34:31 “'You Are My Flock, the Flock of My Pasture; You Are M En, and I Am Your God,' Says the Lord GOD.” Lesson 181 God, The True Shepherd Ezekiel 34:11-31 MEMORY VERSE EZEKIEL 34:31 “'You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are m en, and I am your God,' says the Lord GOD.” WHAT YOU WILL NEED: A mixture of beads, M & M’s (or other small candy), or noodles. Whatever you choose it needs to be a variety of shapes and colors. You will need enough to fill a small cup for each child. You will also need paper towels. A “Sheep Mask” template for each child (copied on heavy paper), scissors and string or yarn. ATTENTION GETTER! Sorting the Sheep In our lesson today we are going to learn that God will one day separate His true sheep from the goats. He is the true shepherd and knows those who are His own. This game will help to introduce today’s lesson. You will need to have a mixture of beads, M & Ms (or other small candy), or noodles. Whatever you choose it needs to be a variety of shapes and colors. You will need enough to fill a small cup for each child. Before class, have a small cup filled up for each child. Have the children sit in a circle and place a paper towel in front of them. Have them pour out their cup and sort out the contents inside. See who can do it the quickest. Play the game two or three times until the children tire of the game. LESSON TIME! What does a true shepherd do with his sheep? If he is a good shepherd he will take very good care of his sheep. He will take them to the best watering places, and the best places to eat where the grass is rich and green. He will make sure they do not wander away, and that no wolves get to his sheep. If there is a sheep that is lost, he will leave the others to go and find the lost one. If there is a sheep that is rebellious he will discipline that sheep with his rod and his staff. In this passage we will see that our God is a true shepherd. We will see that He takes care of His own sheep, gathering them and feeding them on good pasture in the land of Israel. He separates the bad sheep and graciously loves and cares for His sheep. God is our true shepherd. EZ EKI EL 34:11-16 'Fo r t h u s s ay s t h e L o r d G OD : " I n d e e d I M y s e l f w i l l s e ar c h f o r M y s h e e p an d s e e k t h e m o u t . " As a s h e p h e r d s e e k s o u t h i s f l o c k o n t h e d ay h e i s am o n g h i s s c at t e r e d s h e e p , s o w i l l I s e e k o u t M y s h e e p an d d e l i v e r t h e m f r o m al l t h e p l ac e s w h e r e t h e y w e r e s c at t e r e d o n a c l o u d y an d d ar k d ay . " An d I w i l l br i n g t h e m o u t f r o m t h e p e o p l e s an d gat h e r t h e m f r o m t h e c o u n t r i e s , an d w i l l br i n g t h e m t o t h e i r o w n l an d ; I w i l l f e e d t h e m o n t h e m o u n t ai n s o f I s r ae l , i n t h e v al l e y s an d i n al l t h e i n h abi t e d p l ac e s o f t h e c o u n t r y . " I w i l l f e e d t h e m i n go o d p as t u r e , an d t h e i r f o l d s h al l be o n t h e h i gh m o u n t ai n s o f I s r ae l . T h e r e t h e y s h al l l i e d o w n i n a go o d f o l d an d f e e d i n r i c h p as t u r e o n t h e m o u n t ai n s o f I s r ae l . " I w i l l f e e d M y f l o c k , an d I w i l l m ak e t h e m l i e d o w n ," s ay s t h e L o r d G OD . " I w i l l s e e k w h at w as l o s t an d br i n g bac k w h at w as d r i v e n aw ay , bi n d u p t h e br o k e n an d s t r e n gt h e n w h at w as s i c k ; bu t I w i l l d e s t r o y t h e f at an d t h e s t r o n g, an d f e e d t h e m i n j u d gm e n t ." In verse 11, God Himself says that He will search and seek for His sheep. He will not leave the task to another, but He will seek them Himself. This shows us what a good and true shepherd He really is. This passage actually looks forward to the future restoration of Israel, the deliverance of the sheep out of the places to which they have been scattered in the dark and cloudy day. Israel was in a place of being judged by God. They were being oppressed and in darkness. God’s sheep, Israel, have been driven into strange pastures; they were in bondage to a nation and a king who didn’t care about them. But now God is talking about gathering together Israel out of the nations and their restoration to their own land and their feeding upon the mountains and all the dwelling places of the land. God is our true shepherd. This is a beautiful picture of a shepherd searching for his lost sheep, for those who have gone into other pastures, as we see in Matthew 18:11-14. In the reading of this passage we think of the 23rd Psalm where we again see the good and true shepherd. In the Psalm the shepherd makes his flock to lie down in green pastures, as in the passage in Ezekiel 34:14. It might sound silly to think that a shepherd has to make his sheep lie down, but as Charles Spurgeon said, “One would think even a poor silly sheep would have sense enough to lie down when weary, but alas, with the sheep of Christ’s flock it is often otherwise.” God will seek after those that were lost, and He will bring back those who were driven away. It is a sad thing to realize that those who feed upon the flock of God, can be the instruments that drive them away from God. Yet God is aware of all that happens to His sheep, and He does deal with it. As the true shepherd He will heal those that have been maimed, and will strengthen those that were sick; but the self-sufficient and the strong will face a different judgment as He shepherds His flock in righteousness. God is our true shepherd. EZ EKI EL 34:17-22 'An d as f o r y o u , O M y f l o c k , t h u s s ay s t h e L o r d G OD : " B e h o l d , I s h al l j u d ge be t w e e n s h e e p an d s h e e p , be t w e e n r am s an d go at s . " I s i t t o o l i t t l e f o r y o u t o h av e e at e n u p t h e go o d p as t u r e , t h at y o u m u s t t r e ad d o w n w i t h y o u r f e e t t h e r e s i d u e o f y o u r p as t u r e ; an d t o h av e d r u n k o f t h e c l e ar w at e r s , t h at y o u m u s t f o u l t h e r e s i d u e w i t h y o u r f e e t ? " An d as f o r M y f l o c k , t h e y e at w h at y o u h av e t r am p l e d w i t h y o u r f e e t , an d t h e y d r i n k w h at y o u h av e f o u l e d w i t h y o u r f e e t ." 'T h e r e f o r e t h u s s ay s t h e L o r d G OD t o t h e m : " B e h o l d , I M y s e l f w i l l j u d ge be t w e e n t h e f at an d t h e l e an s h e e p .
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