In Ezekiel 34, the Lord takes up the question of the shepherds of Israel, who had evidently misused their trust and authority over the people and who had fed themselves instead of feeding the flock. As a result, the sheep “were scattered, because there is no shepherd” (vs. 5). It seems that there were at least three reasons why the sheep had been scattered.
First of all, as I have already noted, the shepherds had been self-seeking, so that the Lord had to say that they “fed themselves, and fed not My flock” (vs. 8). The neglect of the flock had resulted in the sheep wandering away, probably to seek pasture. They had “wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill” (vs. 6), and none searched after them.
Second, some of the sheep were sick or broken or “driven away,” and the shepherds had not given them the special care that they needed. They had not taken the time to seek those that were lost and to bring them back.
Third, the sheep had been scattered “in the cloudy and dark day” (vs. 12). If the weather had been bright and sunny, they might have remained as a complete flock, but when their vision was blurred under clouds and darkness, it was easy for them to stray away and to get lost.
The Lord was very displeased with the shepherds who had treated His flock like this, and He could say, “I am against the shepherds; and I will require My flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock” (vs. 10). Then the Lord Himself would seek His flock, bring them back, and “feed them in a good pasture,” upon the “mountains of Israel” (vs. 14).
There is no doubt that all this refers to God’s initial judgment on Israel for their unfaithfulness, and then His gathering of them together again in millennial blessing. God’s indignation here is mainly against the shepherds, but as we know from Israel’s history, the sheep were not better than the shepherds in most cases, and they were very susceptible to being lead astray. The sheep had to bear some of the responsibility themselves for being lost.
I would suggest that all this has a parallel in our day, in the history of the church. God raises up leaders among His people and gives them responsibility and authority as “under-shepherds,” to feed His flock, to care for those who are sick, and to seek for those who may have wandered away. Their responsibilities are brought before us particularly in 1 Peter 5, but also in other scriptures. In Acts 20:2828Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28), Paul exhorts the elders of the church at Ephesus to “shepherd the assembly of God, which He hath purchased with the blood of His own” (Acts 20:2828Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28) JND). As He did in Israel, so in the church the Lord holds the shepherds responsible for the way they have done the work given to them.
In particular, we need to realize that the shepherds can be the ones who cause the “cloudy and dark day” and who leave the sheep in a position of not knowing which way to turn. Another has described this very well:
“While leaders are busy darkening the sky with their controversies, the enemy is busy scattering the sheep. While the shepherds wrangle, the sheep wander. We can scatter, but what little power we have to deliver!” (H.S.)
The question then arises, Do the sheep not have any resource when they find themselves in the cloudy and dark day? Must they be at the mercy of shepherds who do not care for them? No, they are not without a resource, for the Lord Himself, the Chief Shepherd, never ceases to care for His sheep. If leaders have darkened the sky and clouds make the way difficult, there is always One who is above it all. Just as the Lord will step in and re-gather Israel and will “deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day” (vs. 12), so the Lord’s eye is ever on His sheep. Not only will He seek them and bring them back, but He is able to prevent their being scattered, even in the darkness.
Many years ago, some of the Lord’s people were scattered in the “cloudy and dark day,” and the Lord graciously enabled one of them to be brought back through a faithful under-shepherd who sought him out and was a help to him. Some years later, when another serious difficulty confronted God’s people, the brother who had been brought back was asked by his son, “Father, what are we going to do?” The father, having profited by his previous experience, answered wisely, “Son, at this point I don’t know. But let us pray that when the time comes to make a decision, we are near enough to the Shepherd to hear His voice.”
Yes, those who are in positions of responsibility must answer to God, if they have been the instruments used to darken the sky, but the sheep need not be scattered, if they look to the One who never forgets them and who will always lead and guide, no matter how dark the day may be.
W. J. Prost