26(Ezek 34,01-19) Careless Shepheds

Shepherds are to:

1.      Feed the flock (34:3).

2.      Strengthen the weak (through special care, extra feeding) (34:4).

3.      Nurse the sick back to health.

4.      Mend the broken

5.      Find and bring back those who have been driven away.

6.      Seek the lost.

Instead, the shepherds had:

1.      Fed themselves from the produce of the sheep (3)

a.       Taken from the sheep, which is OK.

b.      But they did not provide for the sheep to continue to produce.

2.      Ruled them with force and cruelty.

a.       Not with a corrective intent, but with a selfish intent.

b.      Sheep that are out of line are cast out.

c.       Led by intimidation, not intimate care and feeding.

The result? (5) They are scattered.

1.      Why? No leadership, no guidance.

2.      Sheep were not the point, they were an inconvenience.

3.      They become prey for false doctrines, for worldly pursuits.

4.      Their fault? No, the shepherds’ fault (7-10).

5.      Is it too trivial to you to have enjoyed the benefits of being fed and not to see the need to feed? (18).

6.      Is the next generation to be satisfied with the leftovers? (19)