Daily Devotionals

Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? ³ You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. ⁴ You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. ⁵ So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. ⁶ My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them” (Eze. 34:2-6).

This picture of the shepherd passes over into the New Testament; Jesus is the good shepherd. He is the shepherd who risked His life to seek and to save the one strayed sheep (Mat. 18:12, Luke 15:4) He had pity on the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mat. 9:36, Mark 6:34). Christ’s disciples are His little flock (Luke 12:32). When He, the shepherd is attacked, the sheep are scattered. You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” (Mark 14:27, Mat. 26:31). He is the shepherd of human souls (1 Peter 2:25). He is the great shepherd of the sheep (Heb 13:20). Just as in the Old Testament picture, the leaders of the church are the shepherds, and the people are the flock. It’s the duty of the leader to feed the flock of God. To do it eagerly and not for love of money, not to use the position for the exercise of power and to be an example to the flock (1 Peter 5:2-3).

• Thank you for reading our devotional on “Seek The Good Of The Flock”.