Plain old fasioned powerful obedience

Preached at Glen Aros Christian Fellowship, Scotland on
Sunday 22nd October 2006

Read Ezekiel 34

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.
4 "The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.
5 "So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.
6 "My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them."
7 'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
8 "as I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock" -
9 'therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!
10 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them."
11 'For thus says the Lord GOD: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
12 "As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.
13 "And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 "I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15 "I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down," says the Lord GOD.
16 "I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment."
17 'And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.
18 "Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture-and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet?
19 "And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet."
20 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD to them: "Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep.
21 "Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad,
22 "therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 "I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them-My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.
24 "And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.
25 "I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
26 "I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.
27 "Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.
28 "And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid.
29 "I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore.
30 "Thus they shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people," says the Lord GOD.'"
31 "You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God," says the Lord GOD.
(NKJV)

Look at Verse 26

‘I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.’

• I will make them a blessing
• I will make the places all around My hill a blessing
• I will cause showers to come down in their season
• There shall be showers of blessing.


Look at Verse 23

‘I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them – My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.’

• My servant David!

Let’s look at Numbers 24:1- 9

Here is a prophecy given over Israel, before Israel became a nation.

Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
3 Then he took up his oracle and said: "The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
5 "How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters.
7 He shall pour water from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. "His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 "God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; He shall consume the nations, his enemies; He shall break their bones and pierce them with his arrows.
9 'He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?' "Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you."

Look at Verse 7

‘He shall pour water from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. "His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted’.

• [God] shall pour water from his buckets
• [Israel’s] seed shall be in many waters

Here is the prophecy of what God will do in the future to Israel.

He shall pour upon His people water from His buckets, and the seed of Israel shall be in many waters!

• His king shall be higher that Agag, and his kingdom shall he exalted.

What is this Agag all about?

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Look at 1 Samuel 15:1-3

Samuel also said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD.
2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.
3 'Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"

Saul is told by Samuel the prophet to

• Utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them.
• Kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.

Look at Verse 9

‘But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed’.

• Saul and the people spared Agag
• Saul and the people spared the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, and the lambs and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them

All that was good they were unwilling to destroy.

Look at Verse 13

Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD."
14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"
15 And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed."


When Samuel the prophet arrives, he asks King Saul ‘what is this bleating of sheep in my ears and the lowing of oxen which I hear?’

God hates the Amalekites for what they did to his people years previously, when Israel was raped.

Here is Saul keeping the belongings of the Amalekites, and offering them up to the Lord.

You see Saul thought this was just a war and he could take the spoil.

He did not realise that this was vengeance! There is no spoil, from vengeance. When God declares Vengeance on his enemies there is no spoil to swoop upon.


Saul attempts to offer to God that which has been kept from the rapist of Israel!

Look at Verse 16
‘Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak on."

This is what Samuel said:

Verse 17

‘So Samuel said, "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel?
18 "Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'
19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?"
20 And Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 "But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."
22 Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."

We could go on… enough said…you can look it all up at home.

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Look at verse 19

"Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?"

• Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD?
• Why did you swoop down on the spoil?
• Why did you do evil in the sight of the Lord?

Remember the Verse earlier?

Verse 9

‘But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed’.

• They kept the best
• They kept all that was good
• They were unwilling to utterly destroy them

Saul and all the people thought they had wisdom to know what to keep and what to destroy. None of us can claim to have that kind of all knowing wisdom. It is simply in obeying the words that come to us from God.

Blind obedience, when we do not understand why it has to be done. Only He has the master plan, and we have our part in it.

God requires the destruction of all the rest.

Notice it is Saul and the people, even though Saul tries to blame it all on the people.

We are all guilty in the end; of offering our best and the good: that we have saved from our old rebellious life. God requires your death so that you can rise in Jesus Christ to a new life of obedience.

Verse 22

‘…has the lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?’

Only obedience will please the Lord.

All the best, and all the good that you can offer to God, Stinks in his sight!

He wants your obedience!

Showers of blessing are falling, every day, and you don’t even know about it. I was walking along in the sunshine and a few miles away on Criffle were showers falling in abundance! You don’t know the whole plan, only your part in it. When he speaks just do it; just be obedient.

Paul tells the Galatian church: Galatians 2:20

‘I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me’.

If you do not understand these words of Paul then you need to speak to someone who does and have them explained to you.

‘I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.’

• I will make them a blessing
• I will make the places all around My hill a blessing
• I will cause showers to come down in their season
• There shall be showers of blessing.

Saul was disobedient
He thought Agag was the best and the good!

God had a greater then Agag!

The Israelites thought his name was David. The man after God’s own heart.

When Balaam prophesied that God shall pour water from his buckets,

The Israelite looked to David, and watched with expectation.

‘He shall pour water from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. "His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted’.

• [God] shall pour water from his buckets
• [Israel’s] seed shall be in many waters

Let me tell you God’s buckets of water were not prophesied for David.

The buckets of water and the showers of blessings were prophesied of the Seed of David, the one who is our chief Shepherd! - Jesus Christ.

Jesus – The one who never did anything except God said so – Jesus the obedient one!

Obedient even unto death, the death upon the cross

Because of Jesus obedience; your obedience, will lead to

• Buckets of water poured out and showers of blessing upon you.
• Blessings upon the hill around about where you live
• Hallelujah!

It is his seed that shall be in many waters!

When Balaam uttered those words he spoke of you.

When Ezekiel uttered his words he spoke of you

Do you want the showers of blessing?

Do you want the buckets of water poured out on you?

Then don’t swoop upon the spoil, don’t try and offer up to God the best and the good!

He wants plain, old fashioned, powerful obedience.

Next time I see you I trust you will be soaked to the skin!


Jeremiah 31:12