In Ezekiel 34, God brings a prophecy against the shepherds of Israel, whom God had instituted as spiritual leaders over the flock—His people. Not only had these leaders failed to nourish God’s sheep, they had also abused their power, reaping personal benefits at the sheep’s expense.
“The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.” (Eze 34:4)
You and I may not so be so bold to abuse God’s flock as these failed leaders had.
It would, however, be foolish of us to disregard these rebukes completely. You likely have others you can look out for in this journey of faith – your sheep.
Let us consider:
How high does your shepherding ministry sit in your to-do list?
When you think of “doing church work”, how have you defined “work” here?
Does it extend to taking unscheduled initiative to connect with believers beyond church hours?
How much time do you spend reaching out to believers struggling in their faith?
When you interact with other believers, how often does the conversation move to strengthening one another with God’s word and/or prayer?
Whatever kind of a shepherd we now are, however our sheep may respond to us, Jesus wants us to always pray and not lose heart (Lk 18:1). The perfect Shepherd is ready to grant us an upright heart and a skilful hand to shepherd His people as David did (Psa 78:72).
More importantly, God is the perfect Shepherd. Where we may fail in our ministry, God can do infinitely more.
Despite those shepherds’ failings, God says, “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick” (Ezekiel 34:16).
Moreover, when you and I are in our darkest days, we have a perfect shepherd who restores our soul (Psa 23:3).
Our Shepherd declares, “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God” (Eze 34:31).
As you embrace your ministry of shepherding God’s sheep, never stop allowing God to shepherd you.
All the sheep of His pasture fare so wondrously fine
His sheep am I.