From “Dwelling and Sleeping in Peace” to “Enjoying the Lord’s Blessing and Becoming a Source of Blessing”

 

From “Dwelling and Sleeping in Peace” to “Enjoying the Lord’s Blessing and Becoming a Source of Blessing”

The spiritual progression in Ezekiel 34 and 37 can be understood as the Lord’s shepherding → His ruling → the covenant of peace → dwelling securely → enjoying His blessing → becoming a source of blessing to others.

1. Integrated Summary Table

Aspect	Dwelling Securely & Sleeping in Peace	Enjoying the Lord’s Blessing & Becoming a Source of Blessing
Meaning	To dwell securely in Christ under the Lord’s shepherding and ruling, enjoying peace, rest, and freedom from fear.	Not merely to receive the Lord’s blessing personally, but to become a channel through which His life, grace, supply, and blessing flow to others.
Reason	The Lord seeks, gathers, heals, feeds, and shepherds His sheep, and establishes with them a covenant of peace.	Peace gives us rest and capacity to receive the Lord’s supply; what we receive from Him can then flow through us to others.
Spiritual Picture	A sheep lying down safely because the Shepherd is watching over it.	Land receiving rain from heaven and becoming fruitful, so that others around it can also be supplied.
Explanation	“Lying down” signifies inward rest, security, and freedom from fear, anxiety, suspicion, and spiritual intimidation.	“A source of blessing” does not mean that we ourselves are the source; God is the Source, and we become vessels through which His blessing flows.
Effect	Peace, rest, security, openness, and freedom to live and fellowship in the church life without fear.	Spiritual abundance, fruitful living, shepherding others, and supplying Christ to those around us.
Purpose	That God’s people may dwell in Him, enjoy Him as their Shepherd and King, and experience His peace.	That God’s people may become His testimony and channel of blessing, supplying Christ as life to others.
Mutual Relationship	Secure dwelling is the foundation of enjoyment.	Becoming a source of blessing is the outflow of enjoyment.
Spiritual Order	Shepherding → returning → submitting to the Lord’s rule → covenant of peace → dwelling → lying down in rest.	Rest → receiving the rain → enjoying blessing → becoming rich in life → becoming a source of blessing → supplying others.
Example	The Lord promised His recovered people that they would “dwell securely,” “lie down,” and have no one to make them afraid (Ezek. 34:25, 28).	“I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing” (Ezek. 34:26), indicating that those blessed by God become a blessing to others.
Application	Remain in Christ, receive His shepherding, submit to His authority, reject fear, and practice peace and openness in the church life.	Daily enjoy Christ as life, receive His word as heavenly rain, and allow what we receive from Christ to become supply to others.
Spiritual Burden	The church life should be a place where the saints can dwell securely, experience Christ’s peace, and not live under fear or intimidation.	The Lord does not desire merely a people who are blessed; He desires a people who become a source of blessing to others.
Prophetic Speaking	“The Lord is my Shepherd; therefore I can lie down in peace. Because He has established a covenant of peace with me, I do not need to fear.”	“The Lord first waters and blesses me; then He makes me a source of blessing so that others may receive Christ through me.”
Conclusion	Dwelling and sleeping securely are the inward enjoyment of the covenant of peace.	Becoming a source of blessing is the outward issue and overflow of that enjoyment.

 2. Spiritual Development

The complete spiritual development may be presented as follows:

Lost sheep
↓
The Lord seeks and restores
↓
The Lord shepherds
↓
The Lord becomes King
↓
The covenant of peace
↓
Dwelling securely
↓
Lying down and resting
↓
Receiving the heavenly rain
↓
Enjoying the Lord’s blessing
↓
Becoming a source of blessing
↓
Supplying and shepherding others

This shows that “dwelling securely” is not the final destination.

The Lord first wants us to be shepherded, then to rest, then to receive, then to enjoy, and finally to overflow.

In other words:

We are first shepherded by Christ, then rested by Christ, filled with Christ, and eventually become a channel for Christ to others.

3. Core Contrast

Dwelling Securely & Sleeping	Enjoying Blessing & Becoming a Source of Blessing
What the Lord gives us	What the Lord gives through us
Enjoyment	Overflow
Peace	Blessing
Rest	Supply
Security	Fruitfulness
Being shepherded	Shepherding others
“I dwell in the Lord.”	“The Lord flows through me.”
Inward experience	Outward testimony
Lying down	Heavenly rain
No fear	Becoming a blessing
The Lord preserves me	The Lord supplies others through me
Enjoying the covenant of peace	Becoming an expression of the blessing of the covenant

The key transition is:

From “I am blessed” to “I become a blessing.”

4. Spiritual Burden

A. The church life should provide spiritual security

According to the burden expressed in Ezekiel 34, the Lord’s recovery should be characterized by peace, shepherding, safety, and rest.

A normal church life should not cause the saints to live in fear, intimidation, suspicion, or spiritual anxiety. Rather, under Christ’s shepherding and authority, the saints should be able to:

• come to the Lord openly;
• fellowship with one another freely;
• receive shepherding;
• be dealt with in love and truth;
• experience inward peace;
• and rest in Christ.

This does not mean that the church life has no cross, truth, discipline, or spiritual warfare. Rather, the operation of the cross and authority should bring us more deeply into Christ, not into human fear or intimidation.

B. The goal is not merely personal enjoyment

The Lord does not want us to stop at:

“I have peace.”
“I am blessed.”
“I am enjoying Christ.”

His goal is:

“I have received Christ, therefore Christ can flow through me to others.”

The one who has been shepherded becomes a shepherding one.

The one who has received supply becomes a supplying one.

The one who has received blessing becomes a source of blessing.

5. Spiritual Formula

Formula 1 — The Covenant of Peace

Christ’s Shepherding + Christ’s Ruling + the Covenant of Peace
↓
Security + Rest + Dwelling in Peace

Formula 2 — Becoming a Source of Blessing

Rest + Receiving the Lord’s Rain + Enjoying His Blessing
↓
Abundance of Life
↓
Overflow
↓
Becoming a Source of Blessing
↓
Supplying Others

Complete Spiritual Formula

Shepherding → Ruling → Covenant of Peace → Secure Dwelling → Rest → Receiving → Enjoying → Being Blessed → Becoming a Source of Blessing → Supplying Others

Or even more simply:

Shepherded → Rested → Filled → Blessed → Overflowing → Supplying

6. Key Scripture Overview

Scripture	Spiritual Significance
Ezekiel 34:11–16	The Lord Himself seeks, gathers, heals, feeds, and shepherds His sheep.
Ezekiel 34:23	One Shepherd shepherds God’s people.
Ezekiel 34:25	The Lord makes a covenant of peace, enabling His people to dwell securely and lie down.
Ezekiel 34:26	God makes His people a blessing and sends down showers of blessing.
Ezekiel 34:27	Fruitfulness and supply issue from God’s blessing.
Ezekiel 34:28	God’s people dwell securely without fear.
Ezekiel 37:24	David, typifying Christ, becomes King and Shepherd of God’s people.
Ezekiel 37:26	God establishes a covenant of peace as an everlasting covenant.
Ezekiel 37:27	God’s dwelling place is with His people.
Ezekiel 16:60, 62	God remembers and establishes His covenant.
Psalm 23:1–4	The Lord as Shepherd causes His sheep to lie down, rest, and fear no evil.
John 10:9–11	Christ is the door and the good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep.
John 14:27	Christ gives His peace to His believers.
John 7:37–39	Those who come to Christ and drink have rivers of living water flowing from within.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4	Those who receive God’s comfort can comfort others with the comfort they have received.
1 Peter 5:2–4	The believers are to shepherd God’s flock under Christ as the Chief Shepherd.

 7. Ultimate Conclusion

The covenant of peace in Ezekiel is not merely God’s promise to remove outward trouble. It brings God’s people into Christ as their Shepherd, King, dwelling place, peace, and rest.

Therefore:

The covenant of peace produces secure dwelling; secure dwelling produces rest; rest enables us to receive the Lord’s supply; the Lord’s supply produces blessing; and the blessing enjoyed by us eventually becomes a blessing flowing through us to others.

Thus, “dwelling securely and sleeping in peace” is the inward enjoyment, while “becoming a source of blessing” is the outward overflow.

The Lord’s ultimate intention is not merely to have blessed sheep, but to have sheep who, after being shepherded and filled with Christ, become a blessing to others.

One-Sentence Summary

The covenant of peace brings us into Christ as our secure dwelling and rest, and as we enjoy His blessing like heavenly rain, we are transformed from those who merely receive blessing into a source through which Christ’s life and supply flow to others.

 

*Please refer to the April 2026 Summer Training General Topic: Believers, Part Five: Living Stones and Sheep