Ezekiel 34:1-6 - My sheep wandered

34:1-6

We now come to one of the several shepherd passages found in the prophets, and these passages form the backdrop to Jesus’ frequent use of the shepherd analogy, and to His declaring himself to be the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). Isaiah makes occasional use of the shepherd analogy, but Ezekiel and Jeremiah are the prophets with the main shepherd passages (Jer 23 and here). There are two key elements to the teaching. The first is the condemnation of bad shepherds, and the second is that God Himself will shepherd the flock. God’s word to Ezekiel starts out by condemning Israel’s shepherds. The primary criticism is that the shepherds focused more on taking care of themselves than taking care of the sheep. The good shepherd is supposed to strengthen the weak and heal the injured. They are supposed to go and look for the lost sheep, which immediately brings to mind the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7).  Instead they exploited the sheep, taking the meat and the wool. Instead of caring for the sheep, they “ruled them harshly and brutally”. So the sheep were scattered and were subject to all kinds of dangers.

The lessons from this chapter can be rightly applied to Christian leaders today, in how we are supposed to function. The primary lesson is that God has appointed us as shepherds, and our task is to care for the sheep. We can fail in this duty for two board reasons. The one highlighted here is self-interest. Greed causes someone to do things to benefit themselves, with no concern for others. We all appreciate that this is wrong, and for most this is not the main danger, though of course there are numerous times in churches when self-interested shepherds do arise. The second reason is why we might fail is fear. Being a good shepherd is a dangerous and costly business. We can fear that we are not up to the task, or be concerned about our own safety. This is a more common danger, one that more people are susceptible to. There are two antidotes, and we need both doses! The first is that we are accountable to God. We are appointed by God and are answerable to Him. The second is to know that God cares for us as a good shepherd. We are secure in Christ. Learning these lessons is something that goes on throughout our lives.