0 Ezekiel's Warnings to Shepherds

This morning I was walloped by Ezekiel and his words to the shepherds of Israel in chapter 34 of his prophecy, where he starkly takes them to task:

Ezekiel 34:1-10 (ESV):

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. 6 My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. 7 "Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 10 Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

Wow. How careful a shepherd must be - and as I read this I am reminded of the awesome responsibility of "sheep-care" that shepherds have and the stern warning that God gives to shepherds NOT to be feeding themselves for the purpose of getting fat - but to feed themselves for the purpose of caring for the sheep of God's flock.

When shepherds devote themselves to becoming fat on God's Word and neglect the care of the sheep (we won't even get into the question of shepherds who fail even to feed themselves on God's Word), what happens? See first, Eze 34:4-5:

• Weak sheep are not strengthened.
• The sick and injured sheep are not bound up.
• Sheep are ill treated and lorded over.
  
• Sheep are scattered.
• Sheep are vulnerable to wolves and fall prey to them.
  

Listen to this list and see if you see the modern church here. See if, even, in your own churches this is going on to some degree. I think we can all see areas in which there is improvement to be made... but this stark list helps me to see the grave error that all of us can be subject to if we are not careful.

When the sheep are forced by the negligence of the shepherds to feed them, they must search for and find food for themselves. What kind of food do sheep look for if they are not guided? What kinds of poisonous food might they wander into if they are not helped to find good pasture? Think about it. Is this not occuring today, also?

Finally listen to the warning in Eze. 34:10 - this caps the passage and sets it in all seriousness: the LORD will require His sheep at the shepherds' hands. It is indeed a STERN and SOLEMN warning to all shepherds to shepherd well and according to God's Word. May this warning take root in our churches, that the Lord's prescription be obeyed, and the Lord glorified in His church.

1 The Simplicity and Difficulty of Preaching

I have been reading John Calvin's Sermons on Ephesians as I mull over the text of the letter and plan out my teaching of Sunday School at our church - and continue to be impressed with the ease with which Calvin makes profound and important statements. His sermons on Ephesians will make several appearances here on In Principio Deus, as I'm teaching throughout the Fall (and perhaps the year) on this epistle.

One thing struck me immediately in his first sermon (on Ephesians 1:1-3) that I thought worthy of sharing. Calvin writes this, discussing the authority of God and the connection to those that would preach and teach His Word:

"It has always been God's will to keep the guiding of his own church to himself, and that his Word should be received without contradiction. He has not given that privilege to any creature. And when Jesus Christ is ordained in the place of God the Father, it is because he is God manifested in the flesh, and the infallible truth itself, and his wisdom which was before all time. [1 Tim. 3:16].

Furthermore, when men speak they must not do it in their own name, nor put forward anything of their own fancy and brain, but they must faithfully set forth the thing that God has enjoined upon them and given them in charge. Thus you see why St. Paul uses this preface, as it were everywhere, that he is an apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence he holds it as a settled principle that if any man introduces himself to speak in his own name, there is nothing but rashness in him, for he takes upon himself what belongs to God only." (pp. 8-9, Sermons on Ephesians, Banner of Truth)

If this doesn't leave the preacher or Bible teacher shaking in his boots, I don't know what will. How much must we pay attention to everything we say, and to be careful in every detail with what we teach, that we are not injecting our "own fancy" but speaking clearly the truth of God! Reminders of this truth are critical, and it is good to hear it again - and to be convicted again of the deep and abiding need for study and careful analysis of the texts one is preaching or teaching. How much is this neglected today!

This, too, it seems to me, to be a fantastic reminder of the solemnity with which we must approach the pulpit or the lectern. It's not a time for fun and games, nor is it a time to be cracking jokes... the precious Word of God is to be handled with care and severity - with humility and appropriate reverence. How short does so much of what passes for preaching fall compared to the standard that Calvin rightly proposes! It certainly gives me much pause to think carefully each time I prepare to stand before my classmembers or the congregation if I am called upon to preach as I was this past Lord's Day.

The importance of bearing carefully the Word of God must be understood... and we who teach and preach it must be concerned to "get out of the way", as it were, when we undertake our various roles with respect to its propagation. The Word must shine forth as gold, even though it is borne within cracked clay pots... let us not consider ourselves to be anything but that. We are not shiny new flawless pots, but those that have been rescued from the rubbish pile by God Himself; cracked vessels, transporting the precious Word. Let us humbly go forth, then, and proclaim Him faithfully.