Again and again, God echoes this chapter’s warning to leaders

By Dean Collins

If you are in a leadership position, you hopefully have realized that you will always have some critics. There will be plenty of opinions concerning how you could improve. It is somewhat common for all of us to believe we could do better in leadership than others are doing. Just consider how many suggestions we have for the head coach when our team loses a game! 

But the chapter we’re reading today has criticism for the spiritual and political leaders of Israel from God himself. The word from the Lord to Ezekiel about them was clear and direct:

“Shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?”

The leaders of Israel had failed to guard and guide their sheep and had instead been more concerned about their own well-being and comfort. The result was a weak flock that had become physically and spiritually sick. And now they were in constant danger due to the failed moral and spiritual leadership of the shepherds.

Time and time again in Scripture we see this pattern of failed leadership. It is hard to count the number of priests, kings, and later Pharisees who were more focused on their positions and resulting prestige than on treating others with kindness, justice, and mercy. 

The kindness and mercy of God is always present. As Ezekiel continued, he declared that God himself would be the shepherd:

“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. “

A regular reader of scripture might quickly remember the words of Jesus in John 10:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

There is both warning and encouragement in Ezekiel for those who lead. The warning of chapter 34 is echoed in several places in Scripture. We are cautioned about being quick to desire positions of spiritual authority. Consider the warning of James 3:1 as an example. “Not many of you should become teachers.” There is great responsibility that comes with the task of teaching and preaching God’s Word.

Or consider the instructions in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus concerning the high standards of conduct as elders and ministers in the church: Be above reproach, respectable, and hospitable; not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome or a lover of money, never greedy, not addicted or a drunkard, and faithful in all things. These are just some of the expectations of leaders in the church.

And we cannot forget that Jesus told his disciples that greatness is demonstrated through servanthood.

But while there are many warnings and clear expectations concerning leadership, there is also encouragement in Ezekiel 34 and elsewhere in Scripture. The first and greatest was that God promised that he himself would be the shepherd of his sheep:

“I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.”

God promised Israel in Ezekiel that he would not only be our shepherd but that one day he would send a shepherd that was from the line of King David:

“I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

In God’s infinite wisdom and unimaginable love, Jesus came to earth to fulfill the promise of a shepherd who would feed and protect his sheep. As we assess our leadership, may we always follow the model of our good shepherd who did not seek self first but instead gave up his life for us.

Father, we thank you that you fulfill every promise! Thank you for sending Jesus as our Savior and shepherd. Fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we can follow your example and lay down our lives in service to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭34‬ ‭ESV

Istockphoto.com by XiXinXing
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