Ezekiel 34:31—”And ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord Jehovah.”
God intends for pastors (shepherds) to look after their flock (of the believers in their churches) and not only look after themselves with help of their churches. ‘Shepherds’ also include parents who are responsible for their children, those in authority and elders, older believers who are responsible for infant believers, etc.
Is it right if, in a literal sense, they only eat the curds, clothe themselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but do not take care of the flock as shepherds? Is it right if a shepherd has not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays or searched for the lost? Has this led to a scattering of God’s people (sheep) where they became food for all the wild animals (Satan’s wily ways and schemes)? Jesus says ‘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.’
In the Bible, Jesus’ covenant is that:
– He will hold all ‘Shepherds’ accountable for His flock; Jesus will remove them from their responsibilities so they cannot continue to feast for themselves.
– He will rescue the flock from their mouths and they will no longer be able to be fodder for the shepherds.
– He will tend his sheep and have them lie down in a good, rich pasture (grazing land) on the mountain heights of Israel.
– He will search for and rescue His lost sheep from all the places (where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness), bring back the strays, bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. But the sleek and the strong will be destroyed because God will be a shepherd of justice.
– He will rid the land of savage beasts so that His sheep may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. In fact He will make them, and the surrounding places, a blessing where there will be showers in season – showers of blessing; where the trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land.
The sheep will know that their Lord has done this for them, when:
– the bars of their yoke get broken
– they get rescued from those who enslaved them
– they live in safety, where no one can make them afraid
– they will live in a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations
Under Lord Jesus, as the good Shepherd, the church would be a blessing to all around. Our constant desire and prayer should be, that there may be showers of blessings in every place where the truth of Christ is preached; and that all who profess the gospel may be filled with fruits of righteousness.
“You are my dear flock,
the flock of my pasture, my human flock,
And I am your God.
Decree of God, the Master.”
