Just as
the shepherds of God's flock have duties and responsibilities
before the Lord (and as members themselves of the flock, being both
sheep and shepherd), so does the flock have duties and
responsibilities to the Lord first, then to the shepherds and each
member of the flock. If the shepherds are to feed the flock,
then the flock must gather together consistently to be fed.
If the shepherds are to lead, then the flock must be submissive to
the leading (being nurtured in the knowledge of God so that know
they are being led aright, and not being led astray). If the
shepherds are to set an example for the flock, then the flock must
follow that example (being sure that the example being set forth is
that of the example of Christ). The following Old Testament
Scripture is a wonderful example of what a true Shepherd should be
(following the example of God), what happens to the shepherds and
the flock when God's shepherds fail in properly caring for,
protecting, leading and feeding the flock, and what the
responsibilities of the flock are to God (and therefore, to His
appointed shepherds) and to each other:
Ezekiel 34: "The Word of the Lord
came to me: 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds
of Israel; prophesy and say to them: "This is what the
Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take
care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the
flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and
slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the
flock. 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. So they were scattered because there was no
shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the
wild animals. 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.
"'"Therefore, you shepherds, hear the Word
of the Lord: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign
Lord, because My flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered
and has become food for all the wild animals, and because My
shepherds did not search for My flock but cared for themselves
rather than for My flock, therefore, O shepherds, hear the Word of
the Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the
shepherds and will hold them accountable for My flock. I will
remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no
longer feed themselves. I will rescue My flock from their mouths,
and it will no longer be food for them.
"'"For this is what the Sovereign Lord
says: I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them.
As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them,
so will I look after My sheep. I will rescue them from all the
places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and
darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather
them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land.
I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and
in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a
good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their
grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and
there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of
Israel. I Myself will tend My sheep and have them lie down,
declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and
bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen
the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will
shepherd the flock with justice.
"'"As for you, My flock, this is what the
Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another,
and between rams and goats. Is it not enough for you to feed
on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture
with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must
you also muddy the rest with your feet? Must My flock feed on
what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your
feet?
"'"Therefore this is what the Sovereign
Lord says to them: See, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep
and the lean sheep. Because you shove with flank and
shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have
driven them away, I will save My flock, and they will no longer be
plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. I will
place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will
tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the
Lord will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among
them. I the Lord have spoken.
"'"I will make a covenant of peace with
them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the
desert and sleep in the forests in safety. I will bless them
and the places surrounding My hill. I will send down showers in
season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees of the
field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops;
the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am
the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from
the hands of those who enslaved them. They will no longer be
plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They
will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. I will
provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no
longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the
nations. Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am
with them and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,
declares the Sovereign Lord. You My sheep, the sheep of My
pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign
LORD."'"
Consider
also the following Scriptures concerning "the
flock:"
Luke 12:32-34: [Jesus said,] "Do
not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to
give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the
poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a
treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes
near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also."
John 10:12-16: [Jesus said,] "The
hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees
the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf
attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because
he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the
Good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me--just as
the Father knows Me and I know the Father--and I lay down My
life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this
sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My
voice, and there shall be one flock and One
Shepherd."
