Read the Bible and respond to the following:

1. The Lord is described as a shepherd. What ways does the Lord provide for his sheep (vv. 1– 3)?

2. Of the 4 provisions in vv. 1–4, which one does not contain shepherding imagery? What separates this imagery from the other 3?

3. Read vv. 5–6. Identify and explain the metaphorical differences between vv. 1–4 and vv. 5–6.

4. Read Ezekiel 34:1–24. In this passage “the shepherds” are Israel’s kings. Briefly outline the offences of the shepherds/kings in vv. 2b–10.

5. Outline the similarities between Ezekiel 34:11–15 and Psalm 23.

6. Given that God is the shepherd in Psalm 23, what theological teaching(s) should we glean from God’s duties as shepherd in Ezekiel 34:17–24?

7. Intertextuality describes the various approaches to reading biblical texts in relation to other biblical texts. For example, the prophet Ezekiel uses the shepherding imagery (Ezek 34:11–15) in Psalm 23 to make a theological point. Read Luke 15:1–7 and answer the following questions.

Responding to the critique of eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus declared that a shepherd would leave his flock to find the lost sheep. Who is the shepherd in Luke 15:1– 7 • The shepherd is Jesus.