Shepherds of Israel Ezekiel 34:1-16

What makes a leader?

We see this same idea even in sophisticated examinations of authority. For instance, William Oncken, Jr., in a 1970 Colorado Institute of Technology Journal, gives an analysis of authority that suggests it is comprised of four elements:

1. The Authority of Competence: the more competent the other fellow knows you are, the more confident he will be that you know what you are talking about and the more likely he will be to follow your orders, requests, or suggestions. He will think of you as an authority in the matter under consideration and will feel it risky to ignore your wishes.

2. The Authority of Position: This component gives you the right to tell someone, "Do it or else." It has teeth. "The boss wants it" is a bugle call that can snap many an office or shop into action.

3. The Authority of Personality: The easier it is for the other fellow to talk to you, to listen to you, or to work with you, the easier he will find it to respond to your wishes.

4. The Authority of Character: This component is your "credit rating" with other people as to your integrity, reliability, honesty, loyalty, sincerity, personal morals, and ethics. Obviously you will get more and better from a man who has respect for your character than from one who hasn't.

-In the face of selfish and unconcerned leadership, we must trust the Lord

I. The Lord Condemns the Shepherds of Israel vv. 1-6

In chapter 34, Ezekiel receives the Word of the Lord once again, this time regarding the “shepherds of Israel”

Who are these shepherds in Israel? We don’t get a direct answer, but roughly speaking, we are talking about the leadership who are responsible for the care of the people:

The political leadership

The religious leadership

The family leadership

There is a problem: the shepherds are feasting on the sheep, not caring for them

They take without giving back in return; they are self-serving, not sacrificial

Their relationship with the people is one of disinterest; they do not mend the wounded or seek the wandering

Instead of loving the sheep in their care, they treat them in contemptible ways, with harshness

The sheep are suffering under their leadership

They are scattered and have no unity

They are wandering and have no direction

This problem of leadership is a past and present problem:

We see it in the family where the children become props to Mom and Dad’s social standing, careers, and personal ambitions

We see it in the church where the people consistently give and they never receive; where the pastor’s ambition to build a little kingdom supercedes any vision for the greater Kingdom of God

We see it in our nation today, where the absence of shepherding is felt on a daily basis and the people become a continued prop for the wealth, power, and positions of others!

We need to be reminded that the Lord sees and has passed judgment on this!

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”—Thomas Jefferson

II. The Lord Constrains the Shepherds of Israel vv. 7-10

Next, we see that the Lord will not let this go on forever. He is prepared to act!

The Lord is not silent!

He sees what has been taking place and makes a declaration

God is more than happy to speak up about what He sees

He understands the damage that is being done by self-serving leaders and knows where it comes from

The Lord is not still!

He will act to show mercy to the sheep

He does this by holding leaders accountable for their care of the sheep; He holds shepherds to a standard and makes a requirement of them

Whatever other good qualities a leader may have, care for the people is a non-negotiable

A time will come when the Lord removes the sheep from their care so that they can do no more harm; this is an act of rescue on the part of the Lord

You can lead in this way for a while, but eventually God will remove His sheep from your care!

1 Samuel 15:26–29

[26] And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” [27] As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. [28] And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. [29] And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” (ESV)

III. The Lord is the Compassionate Shepherd of Israel vv. 11-16

There is Good News though: the Lord is going to personally intervene on behalf of His people

Because God is not silent and God is not still, God acts and His work is an act of incredible deliverance for His people:

He will rescue them from danger v. 12

He will return them to their homes vv. 13

He will restore them to strength and health v. 14

An incredible transition will come!

From a scattered, wandering band of sheep, we will become the Lord’s sheep

God cares about leadership and will not let bad leadership go on forever, because He cares about us corporately and He cares about you individually

He will do this because the Lord is our Shepherd!

This was a reality that the children of Israel had heard before:

Psalm 23

[1] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

[3] He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

[4] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

[5] You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

[6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

forever. (ESV)

This is a reality that is fulfilled in Christ:

John 10:11–15

[11] I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12] 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. [13] He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. [14] I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. (ESV)

In 1972, a shepherd had brought his sheep into a walled-off, enclosed area for the night, and he had just gone to sleep when he heard a commotion. He quickly rushed over to where the sound was coming from and to his horror he discovered that a wolf was in the process of dragging off one of his sheep through a hole in the wall. He was mauling this sheep and blood was flying.

The shepherd quickly began hitting the wolf, and the wolf turned on him and began attacking him. He bit him over and over while the shepherd was striking him with his staff, and finally with one final blow of his staff, he killed the wolf as he himself collapsed into a bloody heap.

He managed to crawl over to the half-dead sheep and began to bandage its wounds. He gave it some water, and then took it in his own bloody arms, and shepherd and sheep went to sleep together. The next morning the shepherd was found dead, his body literally draped over the sheep to comfort it and keep it warm. The following day the headline in the Jerusalem paper said, “Sheep Alive, Covered in Shepherd’s Blood.”