Shepherds Feeding Themselves

There is an interesting connection between two passages in two very different books of the Bible. Jude 12 and Ezekiel 34:1-10 being those texts. Part of Jude 12 says: "These are...shepherds feeding themselves". This is said by way of analogy concerning the false teachers Jude is writing about. It is in the midst of a string of six analogies Jude uses to discuss what these false teachers are like. Likewise, Ezekiel 34:1-10 speaks of shepherds feeding themselves:

"The word of the Lord came to me: “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?  You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.  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. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. 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.
"Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 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, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 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."

The passages are related in wording and subject matter, but have a different audience. Jude is addressing Christians with a warning of these false teachers who will do nothing but feed themselves. Ezekiel is prophesying a word from God directed at the shepherds of Israel as a warning of their evil behavior. While these passages are separated by a considerable amount of time from each other and from our time, they carry the same lesson that can help us right now. Ezekiel was written from approximately 595-575 BC. Most of the book is about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BC as well as the promises God makes to restore Israel. Jerusalem was destroyed because God had become fed up with the idolatry taking place in Israel. The "shepherds of Israel" were not merely participating in the idolatrous practices of the people, they were leading them (Ezekiel chapters 5-16). Jude most likely wrote late in the apostolic era, sometime around 65-80 AD. False teachers had slithered in to a congregation that Jude had apparently taught (Jude 5) and encouraged the disciples to use the grace of God to practice sexual immorality (Jude 4).
What can be said concerning how this relates to our time is this: there were shepherds feeding themselves in Ezekiel's time; 600 years later there were shepherds feeding themselves in Jude's time; chances are there are shepherds feeding themselves in our time (Jesus said there would be tares; Matt. 13:24-30) and these passages give us a clue as to what they act like and how we should deal with them.

1. Feeding the sheep is the shepherd's job. If a leader is feeding himself first, he isn't doing his job. If he isn't caring for the weak, the sick, the injured, or the strayed and lost, he isn't doing his job. If he is leading people astray with false teachings and encouraging sinful lifestyles, he isn't doing his job.
2. Ruling with force and harshness is not the way to lead. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). If a leader doesn't reflect these there is something wrong.
3. In the Ezekiel passage, verse 10, the Lord says: "I will require my sheep at their hand". Shepherds will be held accountable for the guidance they give their flock. This goes both ways: bad shepherds will face a fearful judgment and should be warned when they are not fulfilling their duties, and possibly even shunned and ignored while a body of believers builds themselves up (Jude 19-20), while good shepherds should be honored and given the benefit of the doubt considering the huge responsibility they have in being entrusted with a flock from God.

There are a lot of people putting themselves out there as "shepherds" of God's people in various ways. As an example, go to Lifeway or Family Christian bookstores and check out the enormous number of books being written about just about any topic you can think of concerning the Christian life. They are all trying to be shepherds in some way to the body of Christ. The message of this post is that not all of the people who put themselves forward as leaders should be trusted as sent from God. 1 John 4:1 says: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." It is our duty as Christians to test every spirit and see if they are acting in accordance with the guidelines God has shown us in his word.