Woe to the Shepherds!
One of the most scathing rebukes found anywhere in the Bible is in Ezekiel 34. It is a rebuke to the shepherds, or in today’s culture, the pastors. The Prophet Ezekiel was not the least concerned with sparing anyone’s ‘feelings’ when he gave his politically incorrect rebuke in the 34th chapter. He was concerned with saying what the Lord instructed him to say. He didn’t water it down, and he didn’t consider how it might put him in social jeopardy. He was not afraid of the shepherds, but he did have a healthy fear of God, something the modern Church seems to lack.
In my next few blogs, we will be looking at the Woes to the shepherds (pastors). This is one area of woes that you won’t hear preached very much. Why? This message about shepherds feeding themselves and not the flock may have been given centuries ago, but it is prophetically relatable to the modern-day Church. God showed me in prison, that we (pastors and myself included) had been preaching a false, made-up money gospel. I have repented of that and I continue to preach against it. But, it still permeates much of the Christian teaching you hear everywhere.
SKINNING THE SHEEP
In our desperation to maintain huge budgets, we have carelessly misused Scripture to our own advantage. In this regard, the prophet Ezekiel’s warning to spiritual shepherds sounds as though it were written in our generation:
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” (34:2–5 NIV).
Clearly, the anger of the Lord expressed through Ezekiel was a result of the spiritual leaders’ callous concern for their own well-being, rather than being concerned about the needs of God’s people. God wanted shepherds whose hearts’ desire was to care for the sheep, not skin them alive. He still does.
One night while I was sleeping in a prison cell, God gave me another dream, a dramatic vision in which He showed me a picture of the church, the body of Christ. In the dream, the people of the church appeared as cattle being herded along in a line. I was horrified when I saw the sight, for these cattle had no skin! They were a bleeding, raw mass of flesh.
As I viewed the pitiful scene, I sensed God speaking to me. “This is what My leaders have done to My church—they have skinned them! They are being herded toward destruction by the shepherds; they are hurting and bleeding.”
I awoke shuddering with fear and an attitude of repentance. I vowed, “Never again do I want to be associated with anything that even hints at impropriety. Never again will I even hint that godliness is a means of financial gain.”
To Titus, Paul wrote of the requirements to be a spiritual leader, teaching that the bishop or overseer “must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain” (1:7 NASB). Then, in an effort to alert Titus and other spiritual leaders to be on their guard against those teachers who were propagating false doctrine, Paul warned, “For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake” (1:10–11 KJV).
Granted, Paul’s main concern in this admonition was that spiritual leaders know sound doctrine so they could refute the errors being propagated by those believers who felt they should maintain the rituals of Judaism along with their new-found Christian faith; but it should not escape our notice that money was a motivating factor for the perpetrators of those false doctrines. It is still the same today. Money motivates much of the mixed-up, watered-down gospel messages being presented.
I echo much of what you have said in one of my blogs, and
along with a man I greatly admire .. Milton Green … who first
preached “Woe to the Shepherds” from Jeremiah 23. I was in
the christian church denomination at the time, and that message
rang out so loudly and clearly to me. I was involved in a system
that was growing financially, but NOT feeding the flock! Spiritually
starved, I finally was able to break free of that system, and God
propelled me into the “fullness”. I believe in God’s prosperity.
I believe that it works according to His Word. And, there are
“good” ministers who work the Word, and live right, and GIVE.
I mentioned this in my blog … I also encouraged people to not
gripe about ministers who are in “wealth”, because some
of them got there honestly, and did not rip off the flock. It is
important that regardless of who we are, preacher or not, that
we eschew jealousy, and avoid “the lust of money”, which is
really the correct sense of the scriptures. Blessings & peace to you.
Great teaching on “Woe is Me”. Made me look at Matthew 23:1-39, where Jesus said Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees several times! I’ll leave this reply as is so that everyone reading this blog can look up Matthew Chapter 23 for themselves, and probably God’s spirit is prompting you to cover a future “Woe is Me” blog on this very Chapter.
Pastor Jim, In Genesis 1 we can read where God spoke and their was light! Jesus said he is the light of the world! He also mandated that we Christians be the salt and the light of the world. To allow ourselves to be consistently available to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
As you have fearlessly proclaimed and will continue to address the “how many shepherds have chosen personal preferences over the principles of God”.
I believe the Holy Spirit is moving those of us who are the watchpersons on the wall because we are together proclaiming in unity with spoken and written words given to us by God that it is time for the “tainted shepherds” to come to repentence. I would be wrong if I did not mention I must assess myself daily to ensure I am not caught in the teaching of a “watered down biuble and gospel message”.
There is a kind of darkness overshadowing many of the pulpits and teachings today that is proclaimed to be the “true” message of God and is nothing more than what has been sent to seek, steal, kill, and destroy souls.
There is hope! The reason there is hope is there are few, like you Pastor Jim, who are sensitive to what God is trying say to “church” as a whole. I able to confirm God’s message by reading some of the comments on this page by others. They hear God speaking also. Together we can take the message to the masses. God is faithful. His word and truth never returns void. God Bless! Mike
Thanks Jim for preaching the truth with boldness!
Hi Jim,
I just got off work from my factory job. I sat in the car to read
your blog at about midnight tonight.Very straight forward and truthful. I love that and just want to say Thanks and I Thank God for you and Lori.I never miss or skip any blog you send.Thanks for watching out for
all of us!It would have been horrible to enter tribulation without an understanding of how to prepare.I just don’t know if you and Lori understand that I appreciate the thoughtfulness and care that you two have given so my family could have a chance. Iam gratefull….. PAULA WAGNER
David Wilkerson said it well. Another Gospel. There is a way that
seemeth right but leads to destruction. The prosperity gospel
will not work in countries where people are starving, where the
children don’t have clean water to drink. The true Gospel is
for every tribe, every nation. There was a time where they
had the name it claim it gospel going around. I had a little
sports car and one day after church I watched from a window as
this lady walked around my car saying I want it, its mine in
the name of Jesus. She kept pressing me about the car. I am
thinking, the Bible says we are not to covet. However I grew so
weary of this woman claiming my car as hers. I finally sold it to her.
She polished it up, God gave her the car she said. A few weeks later
I noticed she wasn’t driving it to church. I asked her where her
car was. Now I had never had a problem with the car. It was an
older model. She told me, it just fell apart on her and she had
to junk it. So did God really give her that car? I don’t think so.
It was the widow with 2 mites that Jesus took notice of. The rich
gave of their abundance, but she gave all that she had. A mere 2
mites, but because it was all she had, she gave everything. Concerning the prosperity Gospel, where we here so many, get your stuff. God give me this, give me that, make me rich. That’s the wrong focus. Our focus should be not what we can get, but what can we
give him.
Bless you Pastor for the confirming word. I have been heralding this very message for 3 years and as you said, it is NOT something that you will hear talked about. Bless you for having the boldness to speak what the Lord is saying for THIS time we are in! Prophetess Sheila Smith.
Woe to the Shepherds!
Yes Sir, Ezekiel chapter thirty four certainly prophesies this, and the ‘good news’ is the lean or the good of the cattle or flock of sheep will be saved by God our father with his son Jesus as our shepherd.
Mankind including pastors, the clergy, ordained ministers, who end up eating the flock have got huge problems on the ‘day of judgement’. If they ate the ‘fat’ cattle then I suppose they have a chance of salvation, but Woe to the Shepherds who have done harm to the innocent. They could keep repenting to Jesus for some sort of a great ‘mercy’ from god our father, but I fear the devil is to ingrained into their lifestyle, and it would take a miracle like Saul being struck on the way to Damascus by a blinding light, to shake up the sinners, and repent to Jesus continually in order to have any chance of balancing out that evil of theirs in the ‘book of life’.
The blind leading the blind, where the leader will get everyone stuck in the ditch, springs to my mind also. So good leaders and good shepherds are essential for salvation. He leadeth me down to lie in green pastures, is what we want from the lord is our shepherd, and leaders just need to follow Jesus as the perfect role model to keep the flock healthy.
Thank you sir for your ministry,
God bless,
Stephen
UK