005 Warning to the Under Shepherds

The Watchman issues a warning to the Under Shepherds of the modern western church regarding the mishandling of the flock. It is a warning that, unheeded, will lead to disastrous consequences. 

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005 Warning to the Under shepherds

 Welcome to The Watchman Speaks. I am your host, Lonnie Richardson. I have received a few comments in regard to my closing of the podcasts thus far inquiring as to why I end this podcast with the word “shalom”. There are some who wonder if I am Jewish or a Jew. To clarify this, my answer is, “No, I’m not Jewish. Not even remotely.” To be more precise, I am a redneck, reformed, protestant. So why “Shalom”? I think it’s fitting. “Shalom” means “may nothing in your life be broken, may nothing in your life be missing.” It’s a pronouncement of blessing. Who doesn’t want a blessing?

Now, that I’ve cleared that up, let’s move along to the issue at hand which is a difficult issue for many. Today I come with a warning for pastors, the under shepherds of the church. Some may say, “Lonnie, don’t you mean the shepherds of the church?”

 No, I meant what I said, Pastors are under shepherds of the church. I’ll explain that in a few moments. Please, bear with me. We’ll get there in due time.

Now there are a lot of pastors, not all of them but there are many, who are operating under authority that is not theirs. They are operating under an authority that they don’t have. The authority that they are operating under is not biblical. They are operating under their own authority.

Jesus is THE SHEPHERD. You, beloved pastor, are an under shepherd. Or, I should say, you are supposed to be an under shepherd. You work as an underling for THE SHEPHERD, and if you don’t, you are merely a hireling.

 Now pastors, you are not shepherds. You are under shepherds. There is only one shepherd and you, as pastors, work for the shepherd. Or, I should say, you’re supposed to. Let’s go to Ezekiel Chapter 34 and see what God told Ezekiel.

Let’s go to verses 23 and 24.

23. “Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd.

24. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them; I, the LORD have spoken.” 

Does that mean that David, the one man of whom it was said was a man after God’s own heart, would be the shepherd? No, not the way that the western church might read things. Rather it is one from the house of David would become THE shepherd. HE shepherds the flock that belongs to Him and His Father. That would be Jesus Christ. Yeshua Ha-Mashiach. Did Jesus not say, “I am the Good Shepherd?

Yeah, you know Jesus. That guy. That’s who Ezekiel is talking about.

Now let’s sachet over to the Gospel of John 21:15-17

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.

He said to him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, 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, “Tend My sheep.”

 Jesus was giving Peter the instructions for an under shepherd. Remember? Jesus is THE Shepherd. Peter would become the under shepherd working for THE Shepherd. Jesus was laying out and explaining the duties of the under shepherd. Now take notice as to whom has ownership of the flock. “MY Lambs”. “My sheep.” The flock belongs to God and His anointed. Never once was it mentioned as to what the sheep were to do for the under shepherd. But the instructions were in regard as to what the under shepherd was to do for the sheep. Think about that.

“Tend My lambs.” “Shepherd My sheep.” “Tend My Sheep.” These instructions are basically the same instructions that the shepherds of Israel, in Ezekiel’s day, had paid no mind to. For them, the flock existed for the benefit of the shepherds. I’ll show that to you in a moment. 

Now, I’ve never tended sheep, but I tended livestock for the first thirty five years of my life and I know what it is to tend livestock. Anyone who has ever tended livestock knows that you go out and you keep a close eye on the well-being of the livestock. You feed them to keep them from becoming emaciated and weak. If they are sick you provide medications and treatments to help them heal. If something is broken or out of joint, you bind up the affected area and keep them in a stall to allow things to heal. If they break out of the pastures and get lost, you go out and find them and bring them back. It also means that you repair those broken fences. You tend to the needs of the livestock and the livestock will provide for those looking over them.

In these days and times, I see a lot of pastors, or under shepherds, that are not at all interested in tending lambs, shepherding sheep or feeding sheep. Let’s look at the warning in Ezekiel concerning the shepherds of Israel in Ezekiel’s day.

In chapter 34 beginning in the second verse:

2. “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the LORD God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

3. “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.

4. Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and severity you have dominated them.”

Does that sound familiar? That’s pretty strong language. So, pastors, under shepherds, I’m asking you some direct questions. Are you feeding the flock? Or are you fleecing the flock? Do you guide and direct the flock with love and patience. Or do you dominate them with force and severity? Pay attention now. I’m asking a genuine question. Take heed. I don’t care if you lie to me but for the sake of all that is holy don’t lie to yourself. 

Now, let’s go to verses 8 through 10

8. “As I live,” declares the LORD God, “surely because My flock has become prey, My flock has even become food for the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;

9. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

10. Thus says the LORD God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them. 

Now THAT is pretty strong language!

God was basically saying to the shepherds of Israel. “You have failed Me in attending My flocks, so I am taking My flock from you.” I may add that these failures on the part of the shepherds of Israel line up perfectly with Jesus’ instructions for Peter in John chapter 21. Tend My lambs. Shepherd My sheep. Feed my sheep. Here, in Ezekiel, as it was with Jesus’ instruction to Peter, the charge for taking care of the flock has not changed.

Again, I remind you that here in Ezekiel the charge or the instructions are for the shepherds of Israel were the same as it was when Jesus gave the instruction to Peter in the Book of John. Likewise, there is nothing mentioned as to what the flock were to do for the shepherds or under shepherds. The instructions are concerned with what the shepherds are to do for the flock.

Here’s the scary part. Could it be that the failures of the modern day under shepherds will be met with the same results as the shepherds of Israel faced in the Book of Ezekiel? Could the under shepherds be removed from their flocks? I believe that it’s a pretty much forgone conclusion. In fact, I’m fairly certain of it. In fact, It’s already happening.

Pastors of enormous churches are resigning in scandal being brought to light. Suspicions of misappropriation of funds are coming forth and, strangely, no follow up or explanations are forthcoming. Pastors of churches are living well, high on the hog so to speak, far in excess of the lifestyles of their supporters. I’m not going to point fingers or call any names …. Yet.

You may say, “Lonnie, that’s judgment upon the shepherds of Israel in the Old Testament. That has nothing to do with pastors and today’s church.” All I can say to you, brothers and sisters, is to continue being deceived if that’s what you choose to do. The charge that was issued to the shepherds of Israel in the Book of Ezekiel is the same that Jesus issued to Peter in the Book of John. I’d say that has some New Testament ramifications and accountability involved. 

Now, I can hear some of you digging in your heels, discounting the Old Testament and accusing me of replacement theology. I know that some of you are saying the Old Testament is dead and that the New Testament is the only covenant that we need to concern ourselves with. Be forewarned! Without an understanding of the Old your comprehension of the New is weak, at best! Jesus outlined the duties of the under shepherd to Peter in the Book of John, which is aligned with the charge that the Shepherds of Israel ignored in Ezekiel. 

Let’s look at what Jude had to say. You all know Jude. That’s in the New Testament. It comes just prior to the Book of Revelation. Let’s see what Jude had to say. We’ll begin in verse 3.

3. Beloved, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I felt it necessary to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

Now why did Jude feel that it was necessary to appeal to the saints that they contend earnestly for the faith? Let’s continue.

4. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons, who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Wow! That’s a mouthful! Who is Jude talking about. He’s talking about false teachers and  erroneous pastors who twist the Word of God for their own personal agendas. False teachers and pastors who walk in hidden condemnation, ungodly men and women who turn the Grace of God for their own personal gain and, in doing so, deny Jesus as Lord, Master, and Savoir.

5. Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once and for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.

This one verse gives us a lot to chew on. First, Jude felt it necessary to remind the people, even though they knew all things (lest they forget) of a truth that many in the modern western church have never grasped because they do not understand the Old Testament. You see, THE LORD in this verse carries a lot of weight that we should consider. In the Greek that is Iesus, we call him Jesus in the New Testament. How did Jesus, after saving a people (Israel) out of the land of Egypt (Old Testament), subsequently destroy those who did not believe? How did Jesus of the New Testament save Israel out of Egypt in the Old Testament and what was their disbelief that He would destroy a generation in the Old Testament? Israel had stood on the threshold of a land promised to them by God and refused to go in based on the report of ten out of twelve spies. Israel didn’t believe God could give them the land. So, they did laps in the desert for forty years until the generation of unbelief had died.

But the question must be asked, “How is a New Testament Jesus bring an Old Testament people out of Egypt and destroy them in their disbelief in an Old Testament setting? Jude understood that Jesus was as much part in the eternal past as He is in the Eternal present, as He is in the Eternal future. It is a concept that the western church, by and large, misses completely. Let’s get back to the topic at hand.

6. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,

7. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they  in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

8. Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. 

Ever heard a pastor talk about his vision for the church? Ever seen or heard a pastor set themselves as the ultimate authority, as being unteachable by anyone in the flock, as not being able to be corrected? That’s what this passage is about.

9. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a ruling judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

Uh oh. Here is where I must be careful to not overstep my boundaries. Pastors, if I talking to you, you know. IF I’m not talking to you, you know. I’m not judging you for your indiscretions. I am not condemning you for your misdeeds. I am warning you to turn back while there is still time! I’m trying to HELP you! The Lord Himself will rebuke you! You would much rather heed my warnings than to suffer the rebuke of the Lord! 

10. But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know, by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.

Pay attention pastors! Those things that you know, in and of yourselves, will destroy you!

11. Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Why does Jude compare these individuals as having gone the way of Cain? Could it be that Cain killed his brother Abel in rage because Abel’s sacrifice was honored by God above his own? These individuals have, FOR PAY (MONEY) rushed headlong into the error of Balaam. Balaam was offered a fee to come and curse the armies of Israel for the King, Balak in Numbers 22. Jude also depicts the fate of these individuals to compare with the destruction that resulted in the rebellion of Korah?

Who is Korah? Korah was a Levite who rose in rebellion against Moses, accusing Moses of exalting himself above the people of Israel. As a result, the ground opened up swallowing Korah, his followers, and all their possessions.

Here’s a question? If the Old Testament instructions that the Shepherds of Israel ignored do not align with the charge Jesus gave Peter in John and are not the same, if one has nothing to do with the other, If I’m teaching “Replacement theology” then why are Jude’s comparisons of false teachers and straying under shepherds in the church linked to Old Testament disobedience of Cain, Balaam, and Korah?

Here's something else that you might not have noticed between the Shepherds of Israel mishandling of the flock and the mishandlings of those in Jude. The flocks were merely removed from the Shepherds of Israel. In Jude, those who mishandled the flock are…destroyed. The game today has greater stakes involved.

Pastor, I’m going to ask you one more time. Are you tending lambs, shepherding the sheep, feeding the sheep? Are you feeding the sheep or are you fleecing the flock?

Now, in all fairness, I’ll say that there are many pastors or under shepherds who genuinely love and tend the flock, fulfilling the charge that Jesus gave Peter. They pray, I’m talking about callous on their knees, pray for the flock. They tend the lambs, new believers who require milk and cannot yet eat meat. They watch over the flock in sickness, weakness, and brokenness. They are on guard watching for those who stray, and they seek the lost. Gentlemen and brothers in Christ, my hat is off to you. Know that you are in my prayers. My soul rests knowing that there are still such men among us.

As for you pastors who feed yourselves and do not feed the flock, may God have mercy. My prayers are with you as well.

I am The Old Watchman, Ezekiel. You have been warned. 

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