This week I happened to be studying
both Ezekiel and John 10 and was struck by the importance of the
sheep hearing the voice of Jesus well so that they can follow him,
and the sobering responsibility of pastors, preachers and watchmen to
convey God's messages accurately and completely. The Lord emphasizes
this life and death responsibility repeatedly in Ezekiel, and that
responsibility continues to be revealed in the New Testament, as the
reader will observe below.
You might read the passages below and
think, the focus is unbalanced toward the “negative” warnings and
you would be correct in the sense that I focused primarily on God's
warnings to preachers and those who listen to them. That was done in
response to hearing God's repeated warnings to Israel, particularly
in Ezekiel, and to my own recognition that I have not listened to
this message as much as to the encouraging words offered to
pastors and preachers in contemporary books. Sure, we need
encouragement, but if we are ordained as pastors and preachers, we
had better pay even greater heed to what God has to say to us about
our ministries. I am convicted to study my Bible more vigorously and
to communicate the Word of God more fully because of the Word of the
Lord that I have received this past week. I pray that I may not lose
my resolve. With that thought in mind there is a sad reminder of one
who began so well, who was so greatly blessed, and then ended his
life so poorly: Solomon. Consider all that Solomon accomplished with
God's help, but his is how he ended:
4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after
other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as
was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth
the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the
Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord
and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7
Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab,
and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east
of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made
offerings and sacrificed to their gods. 9 And the Lord was angry
with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the
God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him
concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he
did not keep what the Lord commanded. 1 Kings 11:4-9 (ESV)
Having studied and compiled these
verses this week, I am also convicted that it is too important not to
share with others. So, here are the passages that have been on my
mind this week. May the Lord convey them to you and stir you up as He
sees fit.
The Sheep follow Jesus
My sheep hear my voice, and I know
them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will
never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John
10.27, 28 (ESV)
Discipline and preaching
But I discipline my body and keep it
under control, lest preaching to others I myself should be
disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9.27 (ESV)
Leaders will give an account
Obey your leaders and submit to them,
for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to
give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for
that would be of no advantage to you. Hebrews 13.17 (ESV)
Shepherd eagerly as an example
So I exhort the elders among you, as a
fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a
partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the
flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under
compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful
gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but
being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears,
you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 1 Peter 5:1-4 (ESV)
Prophetic word is from the Lord
19 And we have the prophetic word more
fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a
lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning
star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no
prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For
no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from
God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2.1 But false
prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false
teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies,
even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves
swift destruction. 2 Peter 1:19-2:1 (ESV)
Speak whether or not they listen
And go to the exiles, to your people,
and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’
whether they hear or refuse to hear.” Ezekiel 3:11 (ESV)
The watchman must warn
“Son of man, I have made you a
watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my
mouth, you shall give them warning from me. Ezekiel 3:17 (ESV)
Preaching to a rebellious house
2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst
of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have
ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. 3 As for
you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile's baggage, and go into
exile by day in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your
place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand,
though they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 12:2, 3 (ESV)
The Lord's Sabbath
Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a
sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who
sanctifies them. Ezekiel 20:12 (ESV)
Watchman's Warning
6 But if the watchman sees the sword
coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not
warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is
taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the
watchman's hand. 7 “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for
the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you
shall give them warning from me. Ezekiel 33:6, 7 (ESV)
Listening but not transformed by
preaching
30 “As for you, son of man, your
people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of
the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and
hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ 31 And they come
to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they
hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in
their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. 32 And
behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a
beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what
you say, but they will not do it. Ezekiel 33:30-32 (ESV)
Lazy Glutenous Shepherds
34.1 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. Ezekiel
34:1-10 (ESV)