Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
The Lord calls the ministers and leaders entrusted with His people to listen to His word as a warning and rebuke that holds them accountable for how they care for the flock. The call comes because they have fed themselves instead of the sheep, leaving them weak, scattered, preyed upon and wounded for lack of needed teaching and strength. He still claims His own as the purchase of His blood, and declares that He Himself will seek the lost, restore the vulnerable and judge between the oppressed and their oppressors. Faithful shepherds heed that word by feeding the people with His Word and His binding law, including the messages for this time, instead of misleading them or treating truth as optional. They do this not by preaching alone but by personal house-to-house labor to comfort and establish souls, and by faithfully speaking reproof and warning even when it is unwelcome, for silence leaves others in darkness and lost through unfaithfulness.
Shepherds Summoned to Listen
The Lord summons the shepherds of Israel, that is the ministers and leaders entrusted with His people, to hear His word. The summons is a warning and a rebuke that holds them accountable for how they care for the flock. Read with Isaiah 58, it confronts leaders who disregard God's law and reject truth because it requires self-denial, and calls them instead to receive God's message and share it as spiritual food for the people.
The charge comes because the shepherds fed themselves instead of feeding the flock, neglecting and oppressing the sheep. They left them without needed teaching and strength, so that the people suffered for lack of proper instruction, scattered and became prey. In Iowa the ministers proved unfaithful shepherds who wounded and tore the sheep, and under such self-indulgent leaders who use God-given abilities for their own interests, churches backslide.
The Lord of heaven still cares for His own, the purchase of His blood. He Himself declares that He will seek the lost, restore and strengthen the vulnerable, and judge between the fat and the strong. He also vindicates a fellow worker left weighed down and crushed beneath censure when unwise shepherds stand back and excuse themselves instead of bearing their share of burdens, laying more burdens on him than all the people do and leaving the poor sheep to suffer.
Unfaithful Shepherds Exposed
Unfaithful shepherds are those who disregard God's law and turn away from truth and commands because obedience demands self-denial. Becoming self-indulgent, they use the abilities God gave them for their own interests and leave the flock without needed teaching and strength. Ministers who teach that God's law is not binding are false shepherds who betray their trust, for instead of bringing the light of truth to the people they try to persuade them to reject it.
They knew that obedience to the commandments just as written is a question of life or death, deciding destiny when every person is judged and receives according to works of obedience to the law of His kingdom or of transgression to the last. Yet they made no personal earnest effort to save souls with persuasive influence, but treated testing truth in a tame way as if every person were at liberty to regard it as he pleased with no denominational bounds. They acted a lie in order to link up with the disobedient, instead of laying hold of people in intense earnestness and exalting righteousness and truth as a life and death principle. Those they deceived will charge them with understanding their peril and leaving them within reach of forgiveness without warning, and God holds such shepherds accountable for souls lost through their unfaithfulness.
They confuse the people with their own interpretations and lead the flock astray rather than feeding them with the Word. They shut truth away from the higher classes by refusing every church to those who would preach any doctrine other than what their denomination believes, so the message of warning does not reach the very ones who need it. By ignoring all the evidences God has given they turn blessing into a curse, insult the Lord, and leave the standard of truth to trail in the dust.
They are idle laborers in many places, including Iowa, who are consumers and not producers. They bring no fruit to the church because they are not themselves receiving grace from God to impart to others, they are not doing the work they should do, and they are not reaching the high standard their knowledge of the truth requires them to reach. They harm the flock and their fellow workers by evil suspicions, criticism, and faultfinding that poison the church, instead of seeking out the spiritually sick to help them. Unwise as well as false shepherds stand back and excuse themselves instead of taking their share of burdens, laying more burdens on a crushed fellow worker than all the people do and leaving the poor sheep to suffer.
In example they are self-righteous rather than learning Christ's meekness and lowliness, which does not advance God's work. Those who do this should tremble for the safety of their own souls, for their light will be removed unless they repent.
Faithful Shepherds Charged
Faithful shepherds are watchmen summoned to hear the word of the Lord because they failed to care for the flock and fed themselves instead, and read with Isaiah 58 this shows they must receive God's message as spiritual food and share it with the people rather than disregard His law and reject truth that requires self-denial. They must clearly teach God's binding law and feed the people with the Word, not serve themselves nor confuse the people with their own interpretations, being held accountable for souls lost through unfaithfulness. They are entrusted to feed the people with right provender and with the truth of the first, second, and third angels' messages, not to mislead them.
Every minister must do personal, house-to-house labor, visiting every family he can get access to, getting acquainted with people in their homes and identifying himself with them. This work cannot be supplied by proxy nor shifted upon his wife nor any other person, and even if far less preaching has to be done, this pastoral visiting remains the most profitable and most essential part of the ministry. It is the properly binding off of the work that binds the messenger bearing the truth up with the sheep and lambs of the Lord's pasture, through which the human instrument becomes a channel of light speaking words at the right time to comfort, strengthen, and establish the weak until they become rooted, grounded, and established in the faith. A minister who neglects it is an unfaithful shepherd whose work is not half done, for which God will accept no excuse, and places are lost to the cause when messengers fail to do this work because it is not pleasant business.
Shepherds must hear the word of the Lord and speak it faithfully to warn souls about keeping His commandments just as written, since obedience is a life or death question deciding destiny when every man is judged and receives according to his works of obedience to the law of His kingdom or transgression to the last. They must make personal earnest effort to save souls with persuasive influence and lay hold of men in intense earnestness exalting righteousness and truth as a life and death principle, not treat testing truth in a tame manner as if every man were at liberty to regard it as he pleased with no denominational bounds nor act a lie to link up with the disobedient, lest those deceived charge them with understanding their peril and leaving them within reach of forgiveness without warning. When those under their care or alongside them do wrong, even a leader, the faithful shepherd tells the erring one his mistake and gives the reproof and warning God has given, even if he will not acknowledge wrong and will not receive anything that does not harmonize with his own ideas. Withholding corrective instruction and staying silent leaves associates in darkness about the wrong course and lets them be led astray, so the light must be brought to them in clear lines.
Those responsible for appointing a shepherd must ensure that the sheep are faithfully cared for and not harmed, and a minister should seek out the spiritually sick and give them help, not poison the church through evil suspicions, criticism, and faultfinding. Each person must study Ezekiel 34 individually to know what the Spirit says to the churches and what the Lord requires, so as to form a character after the divine similitude and be prepared to meet the Lord with joy when He comes in the clouds of heaven with power and glory. God will also hold souls responsible for lacking keen discernment to discover what kind of food is being given to His flock, for those who ignore all the evidences He has given turn blessing into a curse, insult the Lord, and leave the standard of truth to trail in the dust.
The Lord calls the ministers and leaders entrusted with His people to listen to His word as a warning and rebuke that holds them accountable for how they care for the flock. The call comes because they have fed themselves instead of the sheep, leaving them weak, scattered, preyed upon and wounded for lack of needed teaching and strength. He still claims His own as the purchase of His blood, and declares that He Himself will seek the lost, restore the vulnerable and judge between the oppressed and their oppressors. Faithful shepherds heed that word by feeding the people with His Word and His binding law, including the messages for this time, instead of misleading them or treating truth as optional. They do this not by preaching alone but by personal house-to-house labor to comfort and establish souls, and by faithfully speaking reproof and warning even when it is unwelcome, for silence leaves others in darkness and lost through unfaithfulness.
Shepherds Summoned to Listen
The Lord summons the shepherds of Israel, that is the ministers and leaders entrusted with His people, to hear His word. The summons is a warning and a rebuke that holds them accountable for how they care for the flock. Read with Isaiah 58, it confronts leaders who disregard God's law and reject truth because it requires self-denial, and calls them instead to receive God's message and share it as spiritual food for the people.
The charge comes because the shepherds fed themselves instead of feeding the flock, neglecting and oppressing the sheep. They left them without needed teaching and strength, so that the people suffered for lack of proper instruction, scattered and became prey. In Iowa the ministers proved unfaithful shepherds who wounded and tore the sheep, and under such self-indulgent leaders who use God-given abilities for their own interests, churches backslide.
The Lord of heaven still cares for His own, the purchase of His blood. He Himself declares that He will seek the lost, restore and strengthen the vulnerable, and judge between the fat and the strong. He also vindicates a fellow worker left weighed down and crushed beneath censure when unwise shepherds stand back and excuse themselves instead of bearing their share of burdens, laying more burdens on him than all the people do and leaving the poor sheep to suffer.
Unfaithful Shepherds Exposed
Unfaithful shepherds are those who disregard God's law and turn away from truth and commands because obedience demands self-denial. Becoming self-indulgent, they use the abilities God gave them for their own interests and leave the flock without needed teaching and strength. Ministers who teach that God's law is not binding are false shepherds who betray their trust, for instead of bringing the light of truth to the people they try to persuade them to reject it.
They knew that obedience to the commandments just as written is a question of life or death, deciding destiny when every person is judged and receives according to works of obedience to the law of His kingdom or of transgression to the last. Yet they made no personal earnest effort to save souls with persuasive influence, but treated testing truth in a tame way as if every person were at liberty to regard it as he pleased with no denominational bounds. They acted a lie in order to link up with the disobedient, instead of laying hold of people in intense earnestness and exalting righteousness and truth as a life and death principle. Those they deceived will charge them with understanding their peril and leaving them within reach of forgiveness without warning, and God holds such shepherds accountable for souls lost through their unfaithfulness.
They confuse the people with their own interpretations and lead the flock astray rather than feeding them with the Word. They shut truth away from the higher classes by refusing every church to those who would preach any doctrine other than what their denomination believes, so the message of warning does not reach the very ones who need it. By ignoring all the evidences God has given they turn blessing into a curse, insult the Lord, and leave the standard of truth to trail in the dust.
They are idle laborers in many places, including Iowa, who are consumers and not producers. They bring no fruit to the church because they are not themselves receiving grace from God to impart to others, they are not doing the work they should do, and they are not reaching the high standard their knowledge of the truth requires them to reach. They harm the flock and their fellow workers by evil suspicions, criticism, and faultfinding that poison the church, instead of seeking out the spiritually sick to help them. Unwise as well as false shepherds stand back and excuse themselves instead of taking their share of burdens, laying more burdens on a crushed fellow worker than all the people do and leaving the poor sheep to suffer.
In example they are self-righteous rather than learning Christ's meekness and lowliness, which does not advance God's work. Those who do this should tremble for the safety of their own souls, for their light will be removed unless they repent.
Faithful Shepherds Charged
Faithful shepherds are watchmen summoned to hear the word of the Lord because they failed to care for the flock and fed themselves instead, and read with Isaiah 58 this shows they must receive God's message as spiritual food and share it with the people rather than disregard His law and reject truth that requires self-denial. They must clearly teach God's binding law and feed the people with the Word, not serve themselves nor confuse the people with their own interpretations, being held accountable for souls lost through unfaithfulness. They are entrusted to feed the people with right provender and with the truth of the first, second, and third angels' messages, not to mislead them.
Every minister must do personal, house-to-house labor, visiting every family he can get access to, getting acquainted with people in their homes and identifying himself with them. This work cannot be supplied by proxy nor shifted upon his wife nor any other person, and even if far less preaching has to be done, this pastoral visiting remains the most profitable and most essential part of the ministry. It is the properly binding off of the work that binds the messenger bearing the truth up with the sheep and lambs of the Lord's pasture, through which the human instrument becomes a channel of light speaking words at the right time to comfort, strengthen, and establish the weak until they become rooted, grounded, and established in the faith. A minister who neglects it is an unfaithful shepherd whose work is not half done, for which God will accept no excuse, and places are lost to the cause when messengers fail to do this work because it is not pleasant business.
Shepherds must hear the word of the Lord and speak it faithfully to warn souls about keeping His commandments just as written, since obedience is a life or death question deciding destiny when every man is judged and receives according to his works of obedience to the law of His kingdom or transgression to the last. They must make personal earnest effort to save souls with persuasive influence and lay hold of men in intense earnestness exalting righteousness and truth as a life and death principle, not treat testing truth in a tame manner as if every man were at liberty to regard it as he pleased with no denominational bounds nor act a lie to link up with the disobedient, lest those deceived charge them with understanding their peril and leaving them within reach of forgiveness without warning. When those under their care or alongside them do wrong, even a leader, the faithful shepherd tells the erring one his mistake and gives the reproof and warning God has given, even if he will not acknowledge wrong and will not receive anything that does not harmonize with his own ideas. Withholding corrective instruction and staying silent leaves associates in darkness about the wrong course and lets them be led astray, so the light must be brought to them in clear lines.
Those responsible for appointing a shepherd must ensure that the sheep are faithfully cared for and not harmed, and a minister should seek out the spiritually sick and give them help, not poison the church through evil suspicions, criticism, and faultfinding. Each person must study Ezekiel 34 individually to know what the Spirit says to the churches and what the Lord requires, so as to form a character after the divine similitude and be prepared to meet the Lord with joy when He comes in the clouds of heaven with power and glory. God will also hold souls responsible for lacking keen discernment to discover what kind of food is being given to His flock, for those who ignore all the evidences He has given turn blessing into a curse, insult the Lord, and leave the standard of truth to trail in the dust.