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  CHAPTER 8

  “I Will Raise Up One Shepherd”

“David My Servant Will Be Their Chieftain Forever”

If this prophecy shows us that Jehovah has always wanted his worshipers to serve him together and united.

And how did he keep his promise?

One such fulfillment was in 537 BC when God restored the nation of Israel back together in the promised land. 

And although it was initially fulfilled at that time this unit was only a small preview of what will be much more impressive and lasting very soon when the kingdom of God did.

One of those aspects mentions that it will be a permanent government, that is to say that in this prophecy expressions are used forever and eternal that implies that the blessings of this kingdom will never end forever.

Yes, this government will also have unity because only one king will make all those who live will have the same laws, the same judicial decisions and will live on earth.

Yes because this kingdom will be designed to draw closer to Jehovah we are designed to depend on him so everything that this kingdom does according to Ezekiel 37:22 says that we will not be divided but only as a people or as a family we will worship Jehovah.

If it also makes me see that in the kingdom of God there are no hierarchies, it does not mean that those who have a position are going to do what they want and those who do not have any position the subjects because more will be required of them, no, it really is a unity both in the kingdom of God and those who will be under that kingdom.

If, in addition, currently we cannot feel close to any government or ruler, but how different will the government of God be, which makes it possible for his subjects to feel closer to him. 

If in 1919 the faithful Christians were gathered under the authority of their only pastor the Messianic King Jesus Christ and later a great crowd also joined the Anointed brothers to establish this government.

It is indeed a great privilege to be part of this kingdom subjects while some anointed ones are still on earth giving direction to the activities assigned by their good King together we consider ourselves one flock we live under one shepherd and that already gives us a glimpse of what we can expect in the new world.

And something that can be highlighted is that no matter what hope we have, be it heavenly or earthly, we will all obey the same judicial decisions and the statutes that Jehovah gives us, this allows us to follow the same direction but he also allows us to live in a spiritual paradise forming a United family.

We can see the contrast that we live here in Jehovah’s people with the nations in these difficult times as they struggle to reach an agreement but we live in a spiritual paradise we enjoy having friends all over the world and having this spiritual food that Jehovah It gives us all to be able to worship Jehovah in peace and to know that he is here with us that is a great privilege for one.

And we are also very proud to serve Jehovah because sometimes one turns governments around and may feel perhaps disappointed because they do not keep promises or do not treat people as they should, however in the reign mentioned in this prophecy we have seen fulfilled because we see that the people of God have benefited with peace, that is, we have a beautiful singular pure adoration and we feel very proud to be Jehovah’s Witnesses and serve a God who continues to care for us and help us even in moments like those we are all facing the pandemic. 

First Corinthians 1:10 encourages us to speak in agreement that we act in agreement that we do not have a spirit of contradiction with each other, which means that by becoming servants of God we accept the commitment to promote the unity of remaining united to give in if that is necessary according to our preferences. 

And we can do our bit to even feed on the same spiritual delicacies if we follow the same biblical standards and behavior and preach that alone is contributing to the unity of the congregation.

If it is very important that we show so much love in our meetings when we help people in the Ministry, this is a quality that should be displayed in us.

If there are in Colossians 3: 12 to 14 we see the facets of love, this will help us know how to act, for example, if a disagreement arises with one of our brothers due to imperfection, this will allow us to put aside our own feelings and it will help us to solve the problems that we have with love and this will be to keep the congregation united

ILLUSTRATION

In the illustration that appears here we find different ways in which we can show love in the congregation, we see a brother who is preaching with an older sister, now we have the opportunity to meet for the preaching and together with our brothers participate in it in the another we see brothers of different colored races because we also want from our hearts to love our brothers regardless of their skin color or race. 

Yes, seeing how everything that Jehovah promised throughout this time has been fulfilled makes me feel a lot of gratitude and complete trust in Jehovah because just as it has happened throughout this time in the future everything that Jehovah has also promised without doubt it will be fulfilled.

Yes it also makes us have a lot of confidence because we know that Jesus Christ as the king of this government is someone who has shown the right to be our ruler and also during his ministry on earth he showed a lot of love with passion for people so we know that he will be a wonderful ruler. 

BOX 8B

1st Prophecy

If this prophecy covers from the years 607 before the common era to 1914 and it began to be fulfilled when in 607 King Zedekiah was removed from the throne of Jehovah on earth.

If in 1914 is when the one who has the legal right returns because from that year 607 there was no King in Israel, in 1914 what is it when Jesus Christ is enthroned in heaven and becomes king and shepherd and due to his line that came from David he had the legal right and becomes king. 

2nd Prophecy

Well this prophecy says that the king Jesus Christ or the king that Jehovah has appointed was going to feed and shepherd his sheep and precisely in the line we see that in 1919 with this objective the faithful and prudent slave is appointed to take care of God’s sheep and under the direction of Pastor Jesus Christ has cared for us ever since.

Something that distinguishes this government is unity and we see how that was accomplished when the faithful anointed under the authority of this King also joined a great crowd, so here we see the unity of both the anointed and the great crowd.

We can also highlight that despite the fact that a physical king was removed here on earth we have not stopped receiving spiritual food care that is why in the time line after Armageddon we will still continue to enjoy the blessings of this government that it is Jesus who is in charge.

3rd Prophecy

Well, as we have been analyzing this, it has a lot to do with our times with the last days but that it covers towards the end, how you can see there in the green line it is seen that it covers from the year 1914 onwards until reaching after Armageddon. because it was emphasized right now in some points such as the blessing of this King not only this unity that we have today but later that we will have after Armageddon will be forever and his government will also bring eternal blessings that will help us all. 

“My Servant David” Will “Become Their Shepherd”

As an example, when a father of a family for some reason entrusts his children with someone for a short time, because he not only entrusts them but also keeps watch over them, in the same way Jehovah does not forget to be attentive to the needs of his little sheep, so Jehovah is always watching and caring for his people. 

16. How were “the shepherds of Israel” in Ezekiel’s day treating the flock?

Unlike what Jehovah would expect, these shepherds were cruel, they were tyrants, they were harsh, they mistreated the flock and obviously that bothered a lot.

Chapter 34 in verses one through six gives a very vivid description of how they were starving them while they ate the best portions and speaking of the health of verse 4 it mentions that they had neither healed the sick nor strengthened the sick. weak and fewer had gone to look for the one who was lost, as the paragraph mentions, they were scoundrels who ruled the people like that.

They had the responsibility to take care of them but they did the opposite, they worried about themselves to feed themselves and they neglected the sheep.

And the end result was logical after all this mistreatment many of these sheep ended up abandoning pure worship.

17. How did Jehovah rescue his sheep?

In the year 607 he used the Babylonians, they invaded the country and took, so to speak, the sheep of these selfish shepherds and 70 years later he returned to rescue them when he took him out of Babylon and took them back to his land.

It all teaches us that Jehovah is not slow for his promise, he loves his sheep very much, he was even willing to twice in ancient history how he is seeing to make the necessary changes of government so that his sheep were, this teaches us that Jehovah is always aware of his faithful servants and he is also aware of those who are mistreating his people gives us the guarantee and absolute certainty that Jehovah can intervene at any time to free his faithful and beloved sheep.

Josue 21:45 | As expressed there, not a single promise has failed or will fail of all the good promises that Jehovah has made and they had been witnesses of that care so they could feel safe just as we now too. 

Jehovah always fulfills what he promises and for this he can use any necessary means in the past he used the Babylonians later when the Babylonians were the ones who pressed his little sheep now he freed them from them, so this lets us see that regardless of the tests to the that we face today Jehovah can give us the solution. 

And it also guarantees us that Jehovah’s care is eternal, Jehovah took a certain time to free them first from one and then from another, but the paragraph mentions that Jehovah is still on the lookout or he was still on the lookout for his sheep, so he will not delivering one or two or three times Jehovah’s care is eternal. 

18, 19. What prophecy did Ezekiel relate in 606 B.C.E.? (See opening picture.)

If this prophecy shows how the messianic king will shepherd Jehovah’s sheep. 

Yes, and by using the expression a single shepherd followed by the term servant, it indicated that this king was not going to resume a dynasty of kings of the descendants of David that would have a beginning and an end, it was going to be eternal.

This prophecy was encouraging those sheep because although they will pass through the hands of many nations in the end they will come to someone as already indicated a single person who was going to treat them with the care and affection that they already deserved from Jehovah So this undoubtedly brought great comfort to the people living in Israel at the time that they knew that they were going to one day live under a One government forever that was going to provide them with the care that Jehovah wants. 

And it is evident the difference between this new shepherd that Jehovah’s sheep had and the shepherds that they had in their time who did not take care of them who had forgotten them, here it was the opposite, it was a shepherd who was making a pact of peace and Jehovah with them. I assure that they would have showers of blessings, the drawing in the Illustration clearly shows how it would be a shepherd who was there in front of his sheep, taking care of their path, guiding them, being with them and protecting them, that is what Jehovah was about to put into this nation.

ILLUSTRATION

In the image we can see how the shepherd will take care of all the dangers that exist, it is also seen that they will have authentic security, abundance and not only it is seen that there will be peace between humans but it is also promised that there will be peace between the people and animals too.

As I analyze all this, it motivates me to continue to make calls to people who are oppressed to tell them what Jehovah is like, Jehovah is a God who cares deeply about people and how Jehovah has already shown that he has done many things for them to people can have an excellent pastor. 

Also in the image we can see how well nourished these sheep are, they were no longer going to be hungry, they were not going to be sick, we do not see any sheep that is sick or lost, this spoke about the abundant spiritual food that this shepherd was going to give at the appropriate time.

20, 21. (a) How is the prophecy about “my servant David” fulfilled? 

This began because when Jesus was here on earth he demonstrated an unparalleled love for Jehovah’s sheep, no one had ever laid down his life for these sheep before and Jesus did, then from that very moment it began to be seen that he was going to be a king. wonderful because everything he did he did with the love that characterized Jehovah an unending love a divine love and now that Jesus is in heaven he can extend that to all of us.

So it is fitting that Jesus is given the term an excellent shepherd, an excellent shepherd never neglects his sheep and Jesus has not neglected his sheep either yet since heaven has proven to be an active shepherd who is attentive to the needs of the sheep and each of us can say that we have proven it.

Part of the shepherd’s job is to feed the sheep feed the flock, in the case of Jesus Christ he has taken care that we do not lack spiritual food that is nutritious since he was installed as king he appointed a faithful and prudent slave who will take care to give us what is necessary and thanks to this all his flock has an atmosphere of peace and security in a spiritual paradise.

And it is very moving to see how Jesus Christ in his role as shepherd fulfills not only feeding but also making sure that the food is nutritious for his little sheep and today we can feel that Jehovah’s organization takes care of us and feeds us in this way.

Having so much abundant spiritual food from our Lord Jesus Christ helps us to promote an environment of peace and security in this paradise that we demonstrate with our actions that we are grateful that we not only feed ourselves but that we benefit by putting into practice what we learn.

20, 21. (b) What do Ezekiel’s words about “a covenant of peace” mean for the future?

Yes, when the benefits of this covenant are fully received and the entire planet is a paradise, everything that at this moment causes us anguish sometimes causes us concern, everything will be a thing of the past, it will have been eliminated and Jehovah has proven with his King Jesus that he will and we can enjoy a land turned into a paradise.

Sheep are among the most delicate animals, they are easily scared and vulnerable to many dangers Ezekiel 34:28 says that in the new world Jehovah’s flock will no longer be the prey of the nations the wild animals will not devour them they will live safely without being scared by anyone then in the new world wars crime hunger, any of the problems we face today will be something that no longer happens and that will give us peace as Jehovah’s flock.

We are convinced that what we have already seen on a small scale, we do not doubt that it will be fulfilled on a large scale and still with things that Jehovah will not stop surprising us. 

22. How does Jesus feel about the sheep, and how can those serving as undershepherds reflect his concern?

It has become clear that what he feels is a very great love, he was willing to give himself up for the sheep, we are deeply concerned about our food in a spiritual sense and he is making all the arrangements so that in the future there are no diseases or anything like that. make us tremble, so we are very happy to have him as the overseer of our souls.

And a proof of what a good shepherd Jehovah is is the way we feel under his care when we think of Jesus and how he is the pastor, we feel protected cared for, it gives us pleasure and peace of mind to know that he is in charge of the congregation. and what is the king. 

ILLUSTRATION

It seems that he is in a vigilant position in the expectation that there is nothing that attacks the sheep, he is fully protecting them, having, so to speak, a broad vision of the land seeing that they are all eating that none of them go, which shows the great love that our Lord Jesus Christ does not continue to have. 

How do humans who have the mission of shepherding the sheep imitate Jesus?

If these brothers imitate the pastor Jesus Christ since they take care of us with affection and tenderness and willingly and with determination, then they are an example for the flock.

And the elders should reflect the same concern that Jesus showed in willingly doing everything with effort and being examples to the flock.

1 Peter 5: 3 | The attitude that we should have before the sheep of Jesus, we will never try to lord it over them thinking that they are ours, but on the contrary willingly with the correct reasons and in the best way we will endeavor to copy Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 34:10 | There the warning is used, Jehovah says I will ask them to account that means that he is aware of the results so we can say that as elders we always have to deliver healthy, well cared for and happy sheep.

And it is beautiful to see how our elders in the congregation do it not simply out of fear of what Jehovah is going to hold them accountable if they do not do it out of love because they are eager to show us the affection they have for us to take care of us by responsibility that they have before Jehovah but mainly for the love of neighbor as well.

And it is a blessing that Jehovah has entrusted his little sheep to be in charge, for example the elderly, although they also have difficulties, they have also lost their loved ones but they set aside a little time to make the visits of encouragement and how much they strengthen us when we receive these visits.