Ezekiel 34:1-10 1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 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. 7 " 'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.Throughout Scripture, we see the image of the shepherd. Now, I don't know a great deal about the importance of shepherds to the ancient Jewish ecomony, but I know enough about the spiritual importance of them throughout both the OT & the NT. This first section of these verses deals with the bad "shepherds" of Israel & Judah, during Ezekiel's time. Throughout Jewish history, we have seen leaders of Israel & Judah, both good & bad. The Good ones include Rebekkah, Hezikiah, & Soloman. The bad ones include Rehoboam, Abidja, & Nadab. I can't help but read this first section of Ezekiel 34, & as much as it DOES refer to the bad rulers of Israel & Judah, I really see it referring to the Pharasees & Saducees of Jesus' time. They certainly lived much more prosperously than the people who they were supposed to be leading! This is true is several cases in the NT, particularly in Matthew 7:1-2, where we read:Matthew 7:1-2:"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. These verses are certainly true of the early Jewish leaders, although it dos not directly mention them. Jesus Himself, called the Jewish leaders hypocrites more than once, as we see in Matthew 23:13"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying toMatthew 23:15"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.Matthew 23:23"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.Matthew 23:25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.Matthew 23:27"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.And Matthew 23:29"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.They only cared about their own standing among the Jewish people, Matthew 23:5, 27"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments......Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.Giving their tithes, but negelcting the treatment OF the Jewish people,Matthew 23:23 & 25Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.....................Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.And what is the future of these bad shepherds? Ezekiel 34:10This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.I just thought of sopmething-that these verses don't just apply to the Jewish leaders, but to all leaders throughout time.Scripture also talks about how we should submit ourselves to those in authority,Hebrews 13:17Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.Yet, God DOES remove those leaders, who are bad for the people that He loves-those "shepherds" who have NOT shown compassion to ALL the people, & only thought of themselves. In history we see this with so many of the Roman leaders, & in modern times, we have seen this with such leaders as Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, & Hussein. Just as they were removed from power, so to, ultimatly were the Jewish leaders of Israel, as we see in history, with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, in 70 A.D! Even though Satan will raise up 2 armies to fight against God, one, through his leaders, the antichrist, & false prophet-Revelation 19:19-21Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.And then lead by Satan himself, in Revelation 20:7-10 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.Jesus WILL remove him from power as well. No 'bad" shepherd has lasted forever, & those people under them WILL be rescued.Bill
