Ezekiel 34 :2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
The Shepherds of Israel is a figurative expression referring to Kings and other political and religious leaders
“Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ “
— 2Sam 7:7 (NKJV)
Ps 78 (NKJV)
⁷⁰ He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds;
⁷¹ From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.
⁷² So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
“Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”
— Isa 44:28 (NKJV)
Jer 25 (NKJV)
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
³⁴ “Wail, shepherds, and cry! Roll about in the ashes, You leaders of the flock! For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled; You shall fall like a precious vessel.
³⁵ And the shepherds will have no way to flee, Nor the leaders of the flock to escape.
³⁶ A voice of the cry of the shepherds, And a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard. For the Lord has plundered their pasture,
³⁷ And the peaceful dwellings are cut down Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
³⁸ He has left His lair like the lion; For their land is desolate Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor, And because of His fierce anger.”
“For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, And have not sought the Lord; Therefore they shall not prosper, And all their flocks shall be scattered.”
— Jer 10:21 (NKJV)
Mic 5 (NKJV)
⁴ And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth;
⁵ And this One shall be peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men.
Zech 11 (NKJV)
¹⁴ Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
¹⁵ And the Lord said to me, “Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd.
¹⁶ “For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces.
¹⁷ “Woe to the worthless shepherd, Who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm And against his right eye; His arm shall completely wither, And his right eye shall be totally blinded.”
Sheep are most frequently mentioned animal in the Bible, and shepherd who take care of them appear in approximately 100 biblical passages.
Many of the prominent individuals in the old testament were shepherd including Abraham
“He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.”
— Gen 12:16 (NKJV)
Isaac “for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.”
— Gen 26:14 (NKJV)
Moses “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
— Exo 3:1 (NKJV)
David “Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.”
— 2Sam 7:8 (NKJV)
And Amos “The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.”
— Am 1:1 (NKJV)
Sheep’s are helpless if left to themselves. A person must have compassion in order to be a good shepherd. Just as the leaders of Israel were denounced for exploiting the sheep in Ezek 34 (NKJV)
⁸ “as I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”—
¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”
Apostle Peter warned elders against leading the church with self- serving motives
1Pet 5 (NKJV)
² Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
³ nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
⁴ and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
On the positive side, the shepherd metaphor is used in the new testament to describe how church pastors and elders should fulfil their responsibilities
John 21 (NKJV)
¹⁵ So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
¹⁶ He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
Acts 20 (NKJV)
²⁸ Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
²⁹ For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
1Pet 5 (NKJV)
¹ The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:
² Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
³ nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
⁴ and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
⁵ Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”