ezekiel 34
To prevent people scattering, to keep them from falling prey to wild animals, God asks his shepherds to…
- Feed his people
- Take care of the weak
- Tend the sick and injured
- Look for those who have wandered away and are lost
- Guide people with gentleness and love
To ignore this is to become God’s enemy, he will hold you responsible for what happens to people. He will…
- Take away your right to feed people
- Destroy those who are fat and powerful by feeding feed you justice!
- Stop you from feeding yourself
And, rather than relying on the shepherds, he will take it upon himself to …
- Search and find his people
- Rescue his flock from both the wilderness and failed shepherds
- Return them back home to the ‘promised land’ from among the nations
- Tend his people and give them a place to rest in peace
- Bandage the injured and strengthen the weak
overview
In
short, when God’s shepherds don't do their appointed tasks, God
promised to personally do what he had asked of them. This was fulfilled
by Jesus being sent to do what Israel should have done, but didn't.
Unfortunately today, this failure continues. The ‘church’ being the new
‘Israel’ is not shepherding God’s people.
Who are God’s people? Anyone. Whether we acknowledge him as Lord or remain estranged.
.
Because
the same expectations and consequences of being a shepherd (e.g.
discipling) exist today as they always have, God asks us:
Are the pastor and leaders of your church personally doing these things themselves? Are you (Revelations 1:4-6)?
Is
it enough to speak about it, preach a sunday message/sermon, pray about
it, delegate to others? Or do we need to be involved in the day to day
lives of people?
How
does God consider those who don't do as he has asked? He will consider
them his enemy and will remove their authority, give them justice, and
humble them in every aspect of their lives. Yes, pastors, priests,
elders, deacons, anyone he has asked to be his shepherds. Does this
also mean you (Revelations 1:4-6)?
God
wants to prevent people from scattering, to bring them home, and keep
them from falling prey to anything that may destroy them. He sends
shepherds to help. Are you helping?
