Bad Shepherd - Eekiel 34

Ezekiel 34:2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?"

For the priests, the resources that came in were taken as their income. I suppose they became wealthy, for a time, yet, they cared not for the people. It says later in the chapter that, not only did they eat the good grass but they tread down what was left.

v18 "Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?"

They took what they wanted and spoiled what was left.

A shepherd has a responsibility to care for the sheep. Not just the healthy sheep but those who have become injured or are sick.

v4 "The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them."

I am glad that some pastors and preachers are realizing that injured Christians are like injured soldiers in the battle field. If they are cared for, they will recover to fight another day. Christians get injured, lost on their way. It is not right to just write them off as lost causes. They should be sought for and restored.

v6 "My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill; yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them."

So, the flock is taken away from the shepherds and we will learn in the next lesson about the Good Shepherd who took the flock and cared for it.