A Very Lovely Song And A Pleasant Voice

 This has been sitting in my drafts for months. I kept hesitating to share it, since prophecy carries weight and it’s easy to wonder whether you’ve missed something or stretched an idea to far. Last night in our fellowship meeting, Ezekiel 17 came up again and it brought this  back to mind. I reread it, prayed, and decided to post it. If I’ve gotten something wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last! The Lord corrects the humble and that feels like grace enough. So here it is, offered with an open hand and a seeking heart.

Ezekiel 17 A Pattern 

The words of Ezekiel 17 offer more than a rebuke to ancient Israel. They unfold a prophetic pattern that feels painfully familiar in our day. Read symbolically, Ezekiel becomes a type and shadow of Joseph Smith, and the Lord’s warning about shepherds reaches forward into modern institutional religion in our own day.

In this chapter, the setting is already sobering. The city has fallen, the people are scattered, and the prophet is finally able to speak. Then the Lord exposes what is happening among the survivors, and among the religious leaders who should have been healers.

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say unto them, Thus says the Lord God unto the shepherds: Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?” 

The accusation is simple and devastating. Shepherds exist to feed the flock. When they feed themselves, the entire order of care collapses. The Lord goes on to describe what that collapse looks like in real life, not in theory.

“You eat the fat and you clothe yourself with the wool. You kill them that are fed, but you feed not the flock. The diseased have you not strengthened, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought again that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have you ruled them.”

The picture is not merely neglect. It is harm. People who were already sick are left unattended. People who were wounded are left unbound. People who were driven away are not brought back. People who are lost are not sought. In the vacuum, the flock becomes vulnerable.

“And they were scattered because there is no shepherd…. My sheep wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill, yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.” 

This pattern resonates in modern religious life. Institutional leadership often becomes a system of preservation and control, and that system can leave real people spiritually unfed, confused and wounded. Ezekiel 17 gives language to what many have experience.

The Lord’s Personal Intervention

Then the chapter turns, and it turns in a significant way. The Lord does not merely condemn bad shepherding. He declares His own direct involvement in the rescue.

“Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against the shepherds…. for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.”

“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out…. and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.” 

There is something intimate here. God describes Himself moving among His people as a shepherd moves among scattered sheep. He gathers. He feeds. He heals. He binds up what is broken. He strengthens what is sick. He brings again those driven away.

This describes the work of gathering those who hear His voice and respond to His renewed covenant in  our day.

A Neglected Message

Before Ezekiel 17 turns fully toward the shepherds, the Lord describes a different problem, a more subtle one. People come to hear the prophet. They speak love. They sit as though they are ready. Their hearts still chase covetousness, and obedience never takes root.

“And they come unto you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but they will not do them…. And behold, you are unto them as a very lovely song of one that has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do them not.” 

This is the pattern I see echoed in the life of Joseph Smith. Many admired his gifts. Many were moved by his voice, his revelations, his spiritual power. Far fewer embraced the demand of the message he bore. Over time, what began as a Restoration was institutionalized and corporatized. The higher things God offered were admired, discussed, and gradually set aside.

Ezekiel 17 gives a name to that spiritual tragedy: hearing without doing.

A Personal Reflection

I want to pause here with an observation.

When I first heard Denver read these passages from Ezekiel 17 (Ezekiel 33 in the KJV) at the Zion lecture in Grand Junction, I assumed the Lord’s words about the “lovely song” referred to him. I heard it as a warning directed inward, a moment of self-awareness from a man conscious of the danger that accompanies being listened to, quoted, and admired.

Over time, my understanding has shifted.

The text does not require the servant to claim that role for himself. The passage places the responsibility squarely on the people. The problem is not that the words are beautiful or the voice is pleasant. The problem is what the hearers do with what they hear.

Ezekiel describes people who gather eagerly, speak warmly, and sit attentively, while their hearts continue to pursue other desires. The failure is subtle. It is possible to feel nourished by the sound of truth while remaining unchanged by its demands.

I now see that this warning applies to any servant the Lord sends, including Denver, and just as importantly, it applies to us. Any messenger can become a mere “lovely song” if we allow the message to remain inspirational rather than transformative.

That realization carries a sort of accountability. If we listen, quote, share and admire, yet stop short of repentance, forgiveness, sacrifice and lived obedience, then the pattern Ezekiel describes is repeating itself in real time!

The danger isn't that a servant might speak beautifully. The danger is that we might stop there.

Ezekiel 17 doesnt accuse the prophet of failing. It exposes how easy it is for a people to substitute appreciation for action. That pattern doesn't end with ancient Israel, Joseph Smith or modern institutions. It remains a present risk wherever Gods word is spoken and heard.

This realization reframes the question entirely. The issue is not whether or not a servant could become a “lovely song.” The issue is whether we will allow the word of the Lord to work deeply enough in us that it reshapes how we live, how we treat one another and how we bear the covenant we claim to have received.

Seen this way, the warning doesn't end with listening. It carries us forward into the next movement of Ezekiel vision. What begins as admiration can, over time, shape how a community relates to one another. When words are enjoyed more than embodied, the consequences do not remain private.

Ezekiel doesn't describe rebellion breaking out overnight. He describes subtle damage. Pasture that once nourished many becomes trampled. Water meant to refresh becomes fouled. The harm is not always intentional, yet it is real. Those who are stronger, louder or more certain can unknowingly leave less room for the weak, the wounded. or the hesitant.

This is where the Lord’s judgment within the flock enters the picture. It's not sudden condemnation. It's discernment. Its' the careful weighing of how covenant people treat one another once they have heard the word and begun to walk together. The test moves from hearing to inhabiting, from words received to lives shared.

In that light, Ezekiel’s transition makes sense. A people who listen without doing will eventually affect the spiritual environment they share. What they tread down and what they leave clean matters because others must live there too.

“My Servant David”A Shepherd Pattern

After the Lord declares He will personally gather and heal His people, He also describes a servant role that supports the flock.

“And I will set up one shepherd over them and he shall feed them, even my servant David. He shall feed them and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them. I the Lord have spoken it.” 

In scripture, David is more than a man. David is a role, a servant pattern, a shepherd after God’s own heart. The key word in this passage is repeated for emphasis: feed. The authority here is pastoral. It is relational. It is oriented toward nourishment and care.

The chapter also keeps the hierarchy clear. God remains God. The Lord remains King. David is called “a prince among them.” His authority is derivative and conditional, and it remains fragile by design. It depends on continued alignment with God’s will.

This is why Ezekiel 17 offers no safety for hero worship. A servant can point, guide, warn, and feed. A servant cannot become a substitute. When a people begin treating a messenger as the source, the line between God and man blurs, and the covenant pattern deforms.

It's a part of our nature to enjoy speculation, and as a people we are no exception. We are free to wonder how this role may be embodied in our day, while also recognizing that its fulfillment becomes clear only as the work itself unfolds.

Judgment Within the Flock

Ezekiel 17 doesn't only confront corrupt shepherds. It also speaks to the flock itself. The Lord describes judgment within the covenant community.

“And as for you, O my flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he-goats.” 

The imagery is earthy and sharp. Some cattle graze and leave pasture for others. Some trample what remains. Some drink clean water and leave the residue fouled behind them.

“Does it seem a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? And to have drunk of the deep waters, but you must foul the residue with your feet?” 

The result is communal harm. The weaker are forced to eat what has been trampled and drink what has been fouled. That is a spiritual picture as much as a social one.

“Because you have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, until you have scattered them abroad, therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey. And I will judge between cattle and cattle.” 

Among Covenant Christians there will be peacemakers, and there will be those who push and scatter. The Lord discerns between them. This judgment may unfold through conflict, controversy, silence, correction, and opportunities to forgive and repent. The purpose is refinement, not spectacle. God is preparing a people capable of Zion.

The Covenant of Peace

Ezekiel 17 ends where covenant always aims to end, with God’s presence, safety, fruitfulness, and identity.

“And I will make with them a covenant of peace…. and they shall dwell safely…. There shall be showers of blessing…. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase… Thus shall they know that I, the Lord their God, am with them…. And you, my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men; and I am your God, says the Lord God.” 

That final line restores proportion. The flock is human. God is God. The covenant is the point. The Shepherd is the point.

The Invitation

Ezekiel 17 is layered with meaning:

• It exposes the pattern of leaders who feed themselves while the flock suffers.
• It shows how a people can gather to hear God’s word, speak love and still refuse to do it.
• It promises the Lord’s direct intervention to seek, gather, heal and feed His scattered sheep.
• It describes a servant shepherd role, “David,” who feeds and guides, while God remains God.
• It warns that judgment also comes within the flock, especially where the weak are pushed, scattered, or made to drink fouled water.
• It ends with a covenant of peace, showers of blessing, fruitfulness and the Lord’s declared presence among His people.

The invitation is simple.  Ezekiel 17 asks whether we will receive the word of the Lord deeply enough to live it, and whether we will treat servants as servants, while keeping our hearts anchored to God Himself.

I first heard Ghosts Upon the Earth by Gungor when it was released in 2011. I have a very eclectic taste in music and enjoyed how the album unfolded as a complete experience. I listened to it slowly, letting it settle rather than pulling it apart. At the time, I didn't realize my kiddos were paying much attention. Years later, I began noticing songs from the album appearing on their playlists! I honestly don't know whether they were hearing it as a beautiful soundscape, or absorbing the grief, exile and hope carried beneath the surface. I can't tell whether it functioned for them as something deeply felt, or whether it has simply become a piece of shared memory, woven  into their sense of home and time. The uncertainty feel meaningful though. It echoes the question Ezekiel raises about how words and messages are received over time. The album (and the song “Ezekiel” in particular) carries weight for those who choose to sit with it. For anyone who appreciates music that is layered, contemplative, and patient, Ghosts Upon the Earth is worth the effort!