Reading Time: 4 minutes
“1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God — 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures —”
In today’s devotion, we’re going to look at verse 2. Paul, speaking of the Gospel of God, tells us that it was promised beforehand by God and is rooted in the Old Testament. Here is one example of what Paul is talking about:
“I will establish over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will shepherd them. He will tend them himself and will be their shepherd. I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I, the Lord, have spoken.” — Ezekiel 34:23-24
This passage comes from God amid a rebuke of the shepherds of Israel. The word shepherds used here does not refer to those men and women who tend to sheep, but those men who have been tasked with leading the nation of Israel and holding them accountable before God. The rebuke begins this way:
“The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock.” — Ezekiel 34:1-3
It’s clear that the religious leaders in Israel have not been humbly shepherding, but rather are egregiously self-serving. How can this shortfall be rectified?
“This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand my flock from them and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue my flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.” — Ezekiel 34:10
God will remove the evildoers and will establish His own shepherds. This is where our key verse comes in:
“I will establish over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will shepherd them.” — Ezekiel 34:23a
God promises that He will set up His own shepherd named David, who, upon a full reading of the Old Testament, we come to realize is referring to David, son of Jesse, who would become King of Israel. (See also 1 Samuel 13:14 and Psalm 89:20-29) Also, beyond this initial blessing, we know that from the line of David, comes Jesus Christ the Savior.
“After removing him, he raised up David as their king and testified about him, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will.’ “From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus.“ — Acts 13:22-23
Jesus is often referred to as a shepherd as well. Jesus himself says:
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd.” — John 10:14-16
A stark contrast is drawn between what the shepherds of Israel were doing (serving themselves) and what they were supposed to be doing (serving others), modeled by Jesus. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God shows us that His people are living in transgression of the law, and the religious leaders are using their positions for their own selfish gain. God has provided the solution to our transgression: Remove sin and replace it with the righteousness that comes from Jesus Christ. He is the Good Shepherd. (See also Ezekiel 37:23-28)
Even thousands of years before God would send His Son, Jesus the Messiah to live a perfect life, die a sacrificial death in the place of sinners, be raised on the third day, and ascend into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, God, through His own words and the words of the prophets, promised that He would provide the way to be saved from our sin. For more examples of the gospel of God being “promised beforehand”, see the following passages: Genesis 3:11-15, Isaiah 11:1-2, 53:1-12, Jeremiah 23:5-6, 33:14-18. See also Romans 3:21, 16:25-26, Titus 1:1-3, Luke 1:69-70, John 5:36-37a, 39