Shepherding the Flock (Ezek 34)

God knows the heart. This morning I read Jeremiah 17 about the wickedness and deceitfulness of the heart and each and everyone must be wary lest their hearts are deceived in anyway and there is no stumbling block or idol in the heart. Then I read Ezekiel 34, the famous chapter about the rebuke of the shepherds whom God entrusted to shepherd his flock, the house of Israel. There are three main parts in Ezek 34. First. the rebuke of those pastors are failing in their jobs of looking after the sheep. Second, the rebuke of the strong sheep that push aside the weak sheep and the third part about God himself will do the shepherding, but He will do so through a human being, a David whom He will raise to shepherd His people that they might find rich pastures and peace in prosperity. Then God will be the Lord, David a prince among his people, the house of Israel, God's flock.

I can see the fulfilment of Ezekiel 34 right before my eyes. How is it possible that today on a Sunday when I am supposed to work, I am barred from "church"? What has the "church" become? When I took my annual leave in the month of October, I still attended church every Sunday by at least going towards the end of the service and for four weeks in a row, I talked to members coming out of the church hall and a couple of times, even had lunch with them while ministering to them. Why did I do that? Because I cared for my flock, not my flock but God's flock which He had entrusted to me. I was a shepherd of God's flock. Not for one second I did not feel the responsibility before the Lord for the whole of 23 months until I relinquished my position mid-November last year. 

In Ezekiel 34, these shepherds don't care about the sheep, especially those that need caring, the sick, the wayward, the confused, the rebellious perhaps, the ones who have gone astray. It is the pastor's job to bring these spiritually sick sheep back to the fold. But these shepherds only care for themselves, their positions and their power. They planned to retain power by all means to lord over the sheep for their own gain but their hearts are filled with iniquity (hearts are desperately wicked) and they have no love for the sheep. And the rebuke against the strong sheep. These are perhaps members of the community who might look religious, pay their tithes, hold titles of elders and deacons but again they have no love for the sheep, especially the weak and down-trodden. The passage in Ezek 34 says that the strong sheep out-muscled the weak sheep, making them feel unworthy and unwelcome. Is it not happening in our midst? We brag about rules and regulations to keep people out and being smug themselves, as if they are more worthy - "holier than thou". At the end, it is the religious spirit, not the love of God that controls the hearts of these heartless shepherds and strong sheep and both of them shall be judged and God will raise a new David to become His shepherd for His flock, the house of Israel, the church of Jesus Christ.