Ezekiel 34 Failing Shepherds
Throughout the Bible there is an emphasis on the need for good shepherds who will guide people well. The prophet Ezekiel had much to say about the bad shepherds of his day, especially in chapter 34.
The context was that Jerusalem had finally fallen in 586BC into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king.
Ezekiel chapters 1-24 explain that God himself was behind the destruction of Jerusalem because God’s people were not longer living as God wanted, they had gone their own selfish ways. Chapters 34-48 explain that there is hope because God will restore everything for his designated people so that it would be even better than before.
The exile was because God was putting an end to the rule of abusive kings. It did not matter that they were physically related to King David, what God required and still does is for people to love and follow his ways. The future will be even better for those who turn from evil to trust and follow him.
When we read these ancient accounts and try to apply them to our lives today it is important that we understand the context and get close to understanding what the original message was with as little adjustment as possible. The kings were known as the shepherds of Israel but the term also applied to other leaders. God had seen that some of his countrymen enjoyed listening to Ezekiel, they were saying to each other:
“‘Come and hear the message that comes from the LORD.’ My people come to you, as they usually do and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.” Ezekiel 33:30-32
There is no doubt what Ezekiel was teaching, he taught only ‘The Word of the LORD’ . This phrase comes no less than 62 times in the book of Ezekiel alone.
Who are the shepherds Ezekiel is referring to?
Since the days of the good king Josiah there had been four wretched, selfish kings of Israel. Josiah’s three children were Jehoahaz (Eliakin), Jehoiakin, and Zedekiah (Matthaniah). Jehoiakin’s son was Jehoiachin (Coniah)
Their leadership had led many people away from the Lord and the time came for God to act.
When Babylon captured Jerusalem, Zedekiah tried to escape, abandoning his people, with some of his troops. They were captured and the king was taken to the Babylonian emperor. There he was forced to watch the execution of his sons and then he was blinded, chained and taken away. The exiles must have felt that the unthinkable had happened. God’s people had been defeated and many killed. The temple had been destroyed and there was no longer a descendant of king David ruling God’s people. They had thought that God would protect his own. When Ezekiel prophecies against the shepherds of Israel he could just be referring to the king who ruled but it is probable that he was addressing a wider audience of the leaders of the people. He uses the plural whereas only one king rules at a time.
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?” Ezekiel 34:2
In the New Testament Peter uses this terminology of ‘shepherds’ for church leaders and this passage has much to say of relevance to us. It is also relevant to those who aspire to be political leaders or leaders in companies or industry. Good shepherds are vital if a church or any organisation is going to flourish. God rejects those who refuse to live with and for him.
1. The false shepherds who feed themselves not their sheep
There are several characteristics of these false shepherds but in essence God is warning us that it is so easy for those in authority to be there for their own benefit.
“You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.” Ezekiel 34:3
It is significant that in this chapter the Hebrew word for ‘to shepherd’ is the same word as ‘to feed’. Instead of feeding others, these shepherds were feeding themselves. The main job of a shepherd is to ensure that his sheep are well fed. Yet these fale shepherds were taking for themselves the milk intended for the lambs, taking the wool left the sheep naked and cold and then they kill of the sheep for themselves to feed on!
They had responsibilities but what they had failed to do is made clear by the negatives in the next verse:
“You have not strengthened the weak or healed those who are ill or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.” Ezekiel 34:4
These false shepherds did not care for the weak. They did not look for and try to help those who were lost. When the Babylonians invaded, people fled for their lives but Ezekiel’s wording suggests that his meaning is wider than just physically lost, they were also emotionally and spiritually lost.
“So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.” Ezekiel 34:5-6
The root problem was these leaders were in it for themselves. As Lord Acton astutely pronounced,
“All power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
These leaders were not serving but self-seeking.
2. These false shepherds are removed by God
The ‘false shepherds’ thought the sheep were theirs, but note what the Lord says,
“My sheep wandered over all the mountains” Ezekiel 34:4
“ . . . my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered” Ezekiel 34:8
“I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. . . . I will rescue my flock from their mouths.” Ezekiel 34:10
Privileged people can so easily have a sense of entitlement and forget whose people they are to care for. Whoever they are they are God’s tenants with responsibility to him. They must never fleece their sheep for their own benefit. Their failure to lead as God required will always result in their being removed and punished. Beware of any church leader who speaks about ‘my church’.
The books of Charles Dickens are going out of favour at present, possibly because we cannot cope with the recurrent inhumanity and cruelty against underprivileged people and children. There is a crushing desire within his books for someone who cares to show up. Ungodly behaviour is everywhere. It doesn’t matter if this inhumanity is in India, Ukraine, North Korea, Israel, Gaza, England or the United States, God sees how people think and behave and he will be the judge. This judgment may be experienced partly in this life but it will certainly be eternally experienced at the final judgment that we will all have to face. We are all warned:
“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” Hebrews 9:27
The Lord will provide his own Good Shepherd
Instead of these godless kings and self-centred leaders God himself is going to step into history and provide the Good Shepherd that people desperately need.
“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.” Ezekiel 4:11-12
This is a remarkable prophecy. Ezekiel had been called by God into a prophetic ministry in July 593BC. Yet he is able to tell us all that a Good Shepherd was going to enter this world and he would be God himself. ‘I myself will search for my sheep’, ‘so will I look after my sheep’, ‘I will rescue them’. Here is a God who is coming to save his people and then lead them. The Lord is saying that he is going to replace the false shepherds with himself. How vital this understanding is. Christians do not follow a particularly gifted human leader in their denomination, they follow Jesus Christ.
In fact, the earliest Christian art depicts Christ as the Good Shepherd, not the crucified Savior. Often he was portrayed as a beardless youth. Surprisingly, the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is still popular. In fact, early childhood education experts tell us that young children find the concept of a shepherd and his love for his sheep enchanting.
In the Old Testament God is frequently called a shepherd, and God's people the flock. In Psalm 23 the psalmist the shepherd leads the sheep to green pastures near refreshing waters. The shepherd guides him in right paths and protects him from evil. Ezekiel continues with this picture:
“I myself will tend my sheep and make them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.” Ezekiel 34:15-16
Jesus referred to himself as a shepherd. He said,
“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me” John 10:27
A shepherd knows his sheep well. There is a personal relationship between Jesus and his followers. Jesus knows each of us by name. As a result of the relationship we have with him we respond to his voice and do not follow the voice of strangers who may lead us to harm. We learn to discern the false shepherds. Jesus said,
“I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” John 10:11
Unlike a hired hand who flees to save his life, Jesus saved his flock from the wolf even though it meant sacrificing his own life. On that cross he bore the sins of many. This is what the whole bible teaches, for example the prophet Isaiah writing around 700BC wrote about God’s Messiah:
“Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12
The parable Jesus told about the lost sheep is a story about Jesus' concern and care for us sinners. He is the loving shepherd who goes to great lengths to search for his lost sheep and when he finds them, carries them back on his shoulders rejoicing.
When Jesus gave Peter the responsibility of leading his Church, he again used shepherd imagery. He told Peter,
“Feed my lambs. . . . Tend my sheep. . . . Feed my sheep” John 21:15-17
A shepherd uses a staff with a hook on the end to guide the sheep and pull back the stray. Today Jesus leads his people using ‘pastors’, a word derived from the Latin for ‘shepherds’. We still use the word ‘pastoral’ The shepherd also has a rod to fend off wild animals that might harm the flock. Jesus saved us from the consequence of evil and enables us to live lives that honour him.
Good shepherds are filled with the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus and will help feed God’s people by teaching them how to understand and live by God’s Word. The image of shepherds is that they are kind, loving, patient, strong, and self-sacrificing. They are a good image for Jesus. And sheep, who can be rather stupid and foolish creatures, are a good symbol for us! A true Christian can say:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want!” Psalm 23:1
Application of Ezekiel’s message for today
In Ezekiel’s time the application was obvious. The evil king Jehoiachin had only been king for three months when he was exiled, only to be followed by the evil Zedekiah who reigned for eleven years. These years are summarised in 2 Kings 25. Zedekiah’s reign was terminated by the devastating invasion by the Babylonian armies.
All people needed to be warned never to trifle with God. Ezekiel was given the responsibility of warning people about this. Watchmen carry an awesome responsibility.
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.” Ezekiel 33:7-9
Leaders must warn people
To be called to lead God’s people does carry an awesome responsibility. God’s people must speak out. The Christian message must begin with the bad news of warning. False shepherds just say ‘nice things’.
“Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.” Ezekiel 33:31
We all face the same problem today. Our problem is that we are all self-centred and certainly not righteous enough to live with an all-holy God for eternity. The Bible is clear about this and these verses are some examples of its teaching:
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God, your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2
“For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities.” Isaiah 59:12
Liberal optimistic theology has failed to get the right diagnosis about mankind’s basic problem.. This is also the underlying problem with communism. Mankind is not naturally altruistic. How we like to think we are, at heart, decent moral people, but it is not true. Charlie Kray, one of the Kray twins, was a gangster working in the East End of London. At one time he was being tried in Woolwich Crown Court on a £38 million drug charge. The defence called on some interesting character witnesses. ‘Mad Franky Frazer’, who had himself spent 42 years in prison, was called as such a witness. He said to the judge about Charlie Kray,
“He wouldn’t say ‘boo’ to a goose; in fact, he wouldn’t say ‘boo’ to two geese!”
At Reggie Kray’s funeral there were many hearses and horses with an abundance of flowers. The general understanding was that the heavenly Father has room for a few rogues in heaven. The New Testament teaches differently. Without belonging to Christ, there is no salvation. Our behaviour can never be good enough for a righteous God. Sin is our deliberate rejection of him and his wants.
“Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned? For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law.” Isaiah 42:24
In order to be credited with this status of being righteous in God’s eyes we have to accept Christ’s righteousness as out own by belonging to him. The warning in Hebrews that we will all face God’s judgment has a rider which is very good news:
“. . . so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28
This has always been God’s message. God is absolutely righteous but he longs to give salvation to us sinners by giving those who turn to him his righteousness:
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18
“My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations.” Isaiah 51:5
This is not a popular subject and so is seldom emphasised in churches. How many times have you heard a minister taking a funeral assuring the family a someone who has died that, ‘They have gone to a better place’ or ‘They have gone to be with the Saviour of the world’? In contrast we have seen that the Bible teaches:
“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:27-28
The outcome of that judgment depends on our relationship with the Lord Jesus that we have in this life. Only those who love him, ‘who are waiting for him’ will be saved. The apostle John kept repeating this point in his gospel,
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:36
One striking example about how false shepherds within the church can twist what the Bible teaches can be seen from the use of Psalm 95. this psalm is popularly known in Anglican and Roman Catholic circles as the ‘Venite’ from the Latin of the opening word ‘Come’. The first seven verses of the psalm are a call to worship the living God.
“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD . . . For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all Gods. . . Come let us bow down in worship . . . for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.” Psalm 95:1-7a
That is usually where the singing stops. The reason is that the psalm then goes on to warn those who have previously professed to follow the LORD but turned away that their hardened hearts will result in judgment!
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah (means testing) in the desert, where your fathers tested me and tried me though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” Psalm 95:7b-11
Christians follow what the Bible teaches and so we must never be complacent, we must never drift from Christ, as our very salvation depends on him.
It is remarkable that in the Anglican ‘Alternative Service Book’, the Venite has been included in the service of morning prayer, but these last verses have been replaced by much softer words, addressed to other people, saying that they will face a judgment, instead of the actual warning which is for us, God’s people.
Peter longed for all Gods people to think clearly,
“Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.” 2 Peter 3:1-2
How we Christians need to be reminded afresh about what God teaches us in His Word.
Leaders must practise what they preach
What a tragedy it is is keep hearing of people in senior positions in churches who have failed in one way or another. Some leaders have succumbed to a desire to become rich. Others succumb to sexual gratification in one way or another. Others regard their standing to be so important that they denigrate others in the church around them. Leadership is a tough role as there will be some in our churches who do harm the progress of the gospel. That should always be our aim – to honour the Lord Jesus and not ourselves.
Zechariah recognised that a leader of God’s people would be appointed who used their status for their own benefit. What is striking is that God had allowed this appointment – it was a sign of his judgment on his people:
“For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.” Zechariah 11:16
Conversely it is clear that good shepherds will care for the lost, they will be evangelistic, they will seek the young, youth work will be a priority, they will feed the those in the church by excellent expository teaching and look primarily after himself. How striking it is that these good leadership characteristics were recognised in the 6th century BC.
The Responsibilities of All Church Leaders
All those who have been ordained in the Anglican church have committed themselves to the ministry of warning people about God’s judgment and sharing with them the hope we have because of the Lord Jesus. Bishops have assented to this three times, first when ordained as deacons, then as presbyters and again when they became bishops. Other denominations have similar high callings. The question needs to be asked why so many turn their backs on this oath.
The following is an extract from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. This is right at the heart of the Church of England's doctrinal basis which is summarised in the Book of Common Prayer, the Thirty Nine Articles and the Ordinal.
In the service for the ordination of presbyters the bishop says :
“Now again we exhort you, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye have in remembrance, into how high a Dignity, and to how weighty an Office and Charge ye are called: that is to say, to be Messengers, Watchmen, and Stewards of the Lord; to teach, and to premonish, to feed and provide for the Lord's family; to seek for Christ's sheep that are dispersed abroad, and for his children who are in the midst of this naughty world, that they may be saved through Christ for ever.
“Have always therefore printed in your remembrance, how great a treasure is committed to your charge. For they are the sheep of Christ, which he bought with his death, and for whom he shed his blood. The Church and Congregation whom you must serve, is his Spouse, and his Body. And if it shall happen that the same Church, or any Member thereof, do take any hurt or hindrance by reason of your negligence, ye know the greatness of the fault, and also the horrible punishment that will ensue. Wherefore consider with yourselves the end of the Ministry towards the children of God, towards the Spouse and Body of Christ; and see that ye never cease your labour, your care and diligence, until ye have done all that lieth in you, according to your bounden duty, to bring all such as are or shall be committed to your charge, unto that agreement in the faith and knowledge of God, and to that ripeness and perfectness of age in Christ, that there be no place left among you, either for error in religion, or for viciousness in life.
"Forasmuch then as your Office is both of so great excellency, and of so great difficulty, ye see with how great care and study ye ought to apply yourselves, as well to show yourselves dutiful and thankful unto that Lord, who hath placed you in so high a dignity; as also to beware that neither you yourselves offend, nor be occasion that others offend. Howbeit, ye cannot have a mind and will thereto of yourselves; for that will and ability is given of God alone: therefore ye ought, and have need, to pray earnestly for his Holy Spirit. And seeing that ye cannot by any other means compass the doing of so weighty a work, pertaining to the salvation of man, but with doctrine and exhortation taken out of the Holy Scriptures, and with a life agreeable to the same; consider how studious ye ought to be in reading and learning the Scriptures, and in framing the manners both of yourselves, and of them that specially pertain unto you, according to the rule of the same Scriptures; and for this self-same cause, how ye ought to forsake and set aside, as much as ye may, all worldly cares and studies.
“We have good hope that ye have well weighed these things with yourselves, long before this time; and that ye have clearly determined, by God's grace, to give yourselves wholly to this Office, whereunto it hath pleased God to call you: so that, as much as lieth in you, ye will apply yourselves wholly to this one thing, and draw all your cares and studies this way; and that ye will continually pray to God the Father, by the mediation of our only Saviour Jesus Christ, for the heavenly assistance of the Holy Ghost; that, by daily reading and weighing the Scriptures, ye may wax riper and stronger in your Ministry; and that ye may so endeavour yourselves, from time to time, to sanctify the lives of you and yours, and to fashion them after the Rule and Doctrine of Christ, that ye may be wholesome and godly examples and patterns for the people to follow.”
And here are some of the vows in the Common Worship ordination service those being ordained take regarding the Bible:
Bishop: Do you accept the Holy Scriptures as revealing all things necessary for eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ?
Ordinands: I do so accept them.
Bishop: Will you be diligent in prayer, in reading Holy Scripture, and in all studies that will deepen your faith and fit you to bear witness to the truth of the gospel?
Ordinands: By the help of God, I will.
Bishop: Will you lead Christ’s people in proclaiming his glorious gospel, so that the good news of salvation may be heard in every place?
Ordinands: By the help of God, I will.
Bishop: Will you faithfully minister the doctrine and sacraments of Christ as the Church of England has received them, so that the people committed to your charge may be defended against error and flourish in the faith?
Ordinands: By the help of God, I will.
Such wording is in line with what the Scriptures teach. Should not all people who are admitted to church leadership roles, whether ordination in established churches or eldership in non-conformist churches commit themselves with such words and then keep on living by them?
BVP
