“My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.  They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.  I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”

1) What is the greater context of these verses?
Under King Jeroboam, the nation of Israel had split into 2 kingdoms. One was made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the other was referred to as “Joseph”, or the other 10 tribes. Eventually, the Northern tribes of Joseph were captured by Assyria and never recovered. In the verses before these, God is speaking to Ezekiel about one coming day when He would bring both nations back together into one, united Israel. As to the exact meaning behind this prophecy, theologians have debated it for centuries. Does this refer to all 12 tribes literally being reunited, or does it mean that all peoples, both Jew and Gentile (as most of the Northern Tribes were Gentile at this point), would become one Body in Jesus, where there is no Greek or Jew? We don’t know exactly, but we do know that Jesus came to bring unity, restoring relationships back to Himself.

2) What is the double meaning of “my servant David” and “one shepherd”?
This particular reference to David refers to the line of David rather than the actual king David. We know this because at the time of the writing, David was already deceased since it was under his grandson, Jeroboam, that Israel experienced the split. The promise here is that One Shepherd would come from David’s line and bring unity. Jesus would bring peace and end division unlike any earthly king and His kingdom would never end.

3) Does this passage teach that we need to be perfectly obedient to God’s laws to gain inheritance?
At the time of writing, God had given the Ten Commandments along with many other rules and laws as a means of setting Israel apart from other nations. Israel was called to live differently than the nations around them because the Lord was their King. Being part of God’s chosen nation meant that your lifestyle should exhibit His guidelines. But even here, in the middle of the Old Testament, it’s God who sanctifies His people, making them right before Him. Our inheritance has always rested on the work of God and not ourselves, even in the Old Testament!

4) What is the significance of the location of “my sanctuary”?
In ancient times, gods were worshipped and feared, but lived in the heavens, far away from people. A god would never “lower him/herself” to live among humanity. Worshipping the Lord God was completely opposite than the current culture. He gave them an inheritance without child sacrifice (which was extremely common), He emphasized a heart faith instead of empty actions, and He promised to dwell with them right in their midst! This was a God like no other!

1) What is the greater context of these verses?
If you read verses 15-19, God uses a visual object lesson of 2 sticks to help the hearers see and understand what God would do. In the New Testament, God teaches the Jewish people the same lesson, except this time, He is describing the 2 “sticks” or “branches” as being Jew and Gentile. Paul says that God “grafts” the Gentiles into the inheritance of the Jews, making One Body, called believers!

2) What is the double meaning of “my servant David” and “one shepherd”?
Christ calls us to live in unity within the Body of Christ, but getting out of alignment is all too easy. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart regarding areas or people that you may be in conflict with. Remember that Jesus doesn’t ask us to do something He hasn’t given us the power to fulfill through the Holy Spirit. Take time to pray for those you have conflict with!

3) Does this passage teach that we need to be perfectly obedient to God’s laws to gain inheritance?
In the New Testament, Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets completely on our behalf, but He still calls His believers to live a life that is different than the world around us. He calls us to walk in love; love for God and love for people, which sums up every Old Testament law. Praise God that our righteousness isn’t dependent on our ability to be good, but on the finished work of Jesus Christ! Praise Him for the Holy Spirit living inside who empowers us to love others deeply, just as Christ loves us!

4) What is the significance of the location of “my sanctuary”?
While it was nearly incomprehensible that part of Yahweh’s inheritance meant that He would dwell with His people because they were His reward, looking at this same concept in light of the New Testament is so precious! Today, God doesn’t dwell in a tabernacle or live in our churches. No, our God takes up residency right inside our hearts through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In Bible times, the location of God’s presence was the most ornate and beautiful place that could be found. It was covered in gold, intricately designed, and masterfully created according to God’s own specifications. God only dwells in the most precious of places, sisters, and that includes your heart!

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We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
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