Shepherds!

Shepherds!

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.”’” Ezek. 34:2.

Those who sleep, sleep at night; but we are children of the day. As such, we should know how a shepherd should conduct himself—in the love and longsuffering of Christ, he should nurture and safeguard the flock of which the Lord has made him an overseer. In the old days of Israel, the shepherds were seriously at fault because they nurtured and protected themselves and neglected the flock. They sought whatever was to their own advantage while allowing the flock to suffer lack. They oppressed and exploited those they should have cared for and fed, those whom God had entrusted to their care, until the last mite was gone and the sheep were scattered on the mountains without a shepherd.

It is a great responsibility to be entrusted with souls, souls who need to be cared for with insight and understanding so that they can become partakers of divine nature. Great love in the Spirit is required in order to foster the lambs and feed the sheep.

Today there are also shepherds, but I am in no way referring to shepherds who are appointed by the state, whose eyes are on the fatlings of the fold. However, there are shepherds who have grown up from among the people, shepherds from whom we should be able to expect something and in whom the multitudes have confidence. When these shepherds are unfaithful in their task, it is a tragedy. When shepherds who have been filled with God’s Spirit and have been a great blessing to many turn aside and are captivated by self-exaltation and self-admiration, then indeed things are quite desperate. When the shepherds feed the sheep with accounts of their daily lives, stories of their travels, talk about how people bid them farewell at the docks, about who shows up to meet them and about where they sleep, eat and preach, then things are indeed bleak. Poor sheep! How is someone in North Norway or way off in America or anywhere else in the world supposed to be nourished by stories of the shepherd’s mundane daily activities?

The apostle Paul asks, “Who is Paul? Who is Cephas?” And we can be tempted to ask, “Who do the shepherds of our times think they are, since they have so much to say about themselves? And who are these ignorant sheep who are so enthralled with a mere man who has so much to say about himself?”

There might be some hope if the shepherds would just open their eyes a tiny bit so they could begin to hate their own works and forsake them. However, some people preach that they never do anything that deserves to be hated. On the contrary, they believe that their lives and deeds are pure and gracious. They see nothing to hate, judge or forsake; they shun such thoughts. Rather, they think everything they do is done quite well. All their plans about what they will do or may do are, of course, according to the counsels of God! They have never been wrong! They are always the greatest, and who would dare to criticize them? When it’s time for such a shepherd to retire, a new convert who has barely cast aside the most blatant vanity can easily assume his duties, as long as the outward appearance is in order and everything looks honorable. As long as he is entertaining, educated, animated, articulate and captivating for his audience, it doesn’t matter that it’s just a show.

To hate such folly would be regarded as a dangerous teaching, because once a person has received the Spirit of God, there is no need for any self-acknowledgement, humility or remorse. That would just be bondage and apostasy!

How are the sheep doing under the leadership of our present-day shepherds? Are they being led from power to power and from victory to victory? Are they growing up into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ? Is their knowledge of God increasing day by day? Are they purifying themselves daily? Are they being instructed to daily take up their cross? Does the shepherd make sure that the sheep are nourished and that nothing troubles even the smallest lamb? Does he know them by name, and does he know how to feed the lambs? Does he tend the sheep and the lambs? Does he go before the sheep and say, “Follow me as I follow Christ”? Or does he feed himself, talk about himself and praise the one who serves, honors and exalts him?

We can truly ask, “For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it?” Jer. 23:18.