“As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep who are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep. And I will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day (‘the day of clouds and thick darkness'). And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and their fold will be on the mountains of the house of Israel. There will they lie down in a good fold, and they will feed on fat pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord Yahweh. I will seek that which was lost, and will restore those who were driven away, and will bind up what is broken, and will strengthen those who were sick. And the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in judgment.”
The prime point here is that because the shepherds failed God Himself would act more directly. He would be their king. In order to carry out His plan the first stage would be to bring His people back to the land of Israel. This He gradually did, and we have no reason to doubt that many from both Israel and Judah returned to the land. There were no lost tribes to Him. The ‘cloudy and dark day' was past.
And there He promised to feed them lavishly, on the mountains, in the very place where they had regularly sinned against Yahweh, and by the rivers. In other words out in the open everywhere, not limited to sanctuaries. The old leaders had been replaced. Indeed it is significant that there is no reference here to the temple. The very point is that they will no longer be taught by the old shepherds, but by Himself throughout the land, and that their fold will be on the mountains of Israel where they will learn and be blessed.
We can hardly fail to see here the ministry of John the Baptiser and Jesus, literally by the rivers and on the mountains. And we are told by Isaiah that this ministry in Israel was to be an essential preparation for God's ministry to the whole world through His Servant (Isaiah 42:1-4; Isaiah 49:1-6 see Acts 13:47).
There is nothing more clear than the fact that this abundant sustenance was lacking throughout later centuries prior to the coming of Jesus. There were of course some faithful shepherds, and there were a remnant of those who were faithful to Yahweh, as there had always been. There were pockets of blessing. We must not denigrate or deny the work of godly men. But there was nothing that tied in with this triumphant picture. The Jews themselves admitted that prophecy had failed. All awaited the coming of the great Prophet Who would transform the situation (Isaiah 61:1-2), and the prince of the house of David (Ezekiel 34:23-24; Isaiah 11:1-5), Who would send out his true under-shepherds, first to Israel (Matthew 10:5-15), and then to the world (Matthew 28:18-20).
‘I myself will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord Yahweh. I will seek that which was lost, and will restore those who were driven away, and will bind up what is broken, and will strengthen those who were sick.' God Himself will care for the sheep. This was also to be the ministry of the great coming Prophet (Isaiah 61:1-2) and Jesus makes clear that it was His ministry and that this was where the other shepherds had failed. They did not seek the lost, but He did (Luke 19:10; Luke 15 all). They did not restore those who were driven away, but He did (John 10:12-14). They did not act as physicians to the sick, but He did (Mark 2:17). They did not bind up the broken-hearted, but He did (Isaiah 61:1). As a whole they mainly restricted themselves to their adherents. So He was fulfilling the task of Yahweh.
‘And the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in judgment (or ‘as is fitting').' The sleek and well fed, who had made themselves so at the expense of others, would face their judgment. Judgment would become their food. This is a vivid picture of what would happen to the leaders of Israel in the coming of Jesus and what followed in the destruction of the temple. They received what was their due. And it is also a vivid warning to preachers who make themselves rich at the expense of His people.