KEEPING MY EYES ON THE GOOD SHEPHERD
The Lord is my shepherd. Psalm 23:1
Good shepherd. Bad shepherd. Before moving in Psalm 23, I am riveted on the reality of God’s warnings to bad shepherds. Why are they bad? What were they doing that incited God’s anger? What would be the consequences of their abusive shepherding? And how should I handle any encounters with bad shepherds?
The Bible sketches out in great detail what a good shepherd would look like both in the Psalms and in the words of Christ himself. However, before turning to these descriptions it will be beneficial to consider in the broadest terms what the focus of a leader of God’s people should be, and in specific how the poor leaders of Israel failed in this regard.
The focus of a good shepherd was to be on his flock--their provision, guidance and safety. The epitome of the bad shepherds, in Ezekiel’s expose of Israel’s leaders of his day (34:1-6), sketches out in vivid terms, what it looked like when leaders failed to provide this care. These leaders were slaughtering their sheep for their own gain rather than feeding them. ( This calls to mind the hireling of John 10:10, who comes only to steal, kill and destroy and also of Jesus’ scathing rebuke of the Pharisees in Matthew 23.) Rather than caring for the flock, they treated them with “force and severity”. (vs.4) Perhaps Ezekiel’s greatest rebuke was for their lack of guidance. This is emphasized here (and in other passages). Three times he mentions that the sheep are scattered. They were lost, became prey for every beast and had no one to search or seek them. (vs.6) Jeremiah, in his judgment of the leaders of Israel took this notion on step further, connecting a lack of spirituality on the leaders part with the scattering of the sheep. In Jer. 10:21 he states, no doubt in reference to the captivity of Judah, “For the shepherds have become stupid, and have not sought the Lord; Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.”
For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org
Originally published Tuesday, 15 August 2023.
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