God's People Need Great Leaders / God's Leaders Need Great Sheep
Posted by: randal <randal@...>
forthright.antville.org
God's People Need Great Leaders /
God's Leaders Need Great Sheep
by Barry Newton
Why would an ancient Israelite break God’s
commandments by making an idol and by installing
his own son (who may have been an Ephraimite), as
his household priest? Scripture provides us with
the reason. “In those days Israel had no king;
everyone did as he saw fit.” Judges 17:6
Although some contemporary advice would suggest
“let each person discover his own path,” the
biblical book of Judges records the disastrous
results which ensue when everybody pursues his own
ideas about what is right. Judges 18:1; 19:1;
21:25 What God’s people needed then as well as
today is strong godly leadership.
Within scripture we find God’s people floundering
whenever they lacked leadership or perhaps more
accurately whenever they lacked the right kind of
leadership. After a brief period of glory under
David and Solomon, tragically Israel's history was
predominantly characterized by a rebellious
character.
During the time of the divided kingdom, the
history of God’s people was frequently filled with
worldly leaders who showed little concern for her
spiritual welfare. In one of the saddest chapters
of her history, God became so frustrated with his
people that he led Ezekiel to describe the
departure of his glory from the temple. Ezekiel
10:18-19; 11:23
Why did this happen? One cause for this was God’s
people were ruined and scattered “because there
was no shepherd.” Actually, there were leaders but
they were not the type of shepherds God’s people
needed. Unfortunately, the shepherds of Israel at
that time were only concerned for themselves and
not the welfare of the sheep. Ezekiel 34:2
Why They Failed
Why did God view those leaders as failing in their
leadership?
• They had not strengthened those who were weak or
injured. Ezekiel 34:4
• They had not searched for those who went astray
and were lost. Ezekiel 34:4,6, 8
Like Ezekiel, Peter also spoke of God’s leaders as
being shepherds. He encouraged the elders to take
care of God’s flock which had been entrusted to
their care. 1 Peter 5:2
You might be thinking, what does this have to do
with me, since I am not an elder? If as a sheep
you can clearly see the role of our shepherds, how
clearly have you acknowledged your God-given
function as a sheep? How often do the sheep
contemplate what God expects of them?
Be a Good Sheep
Here’s a partial checklist for the sheep:
• Appreciate those who diligently labor among us,
and who have charge over us in the Lord giving us
instruction. Esteem them very highly in love
because of their work. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 How
often as sheep have we privately thanked our
leaders and encouraged them for their leadership
and service? This is one of our responsibilities
as sheep.
• Be submissive and obey - this means following
their lead even when I want to graze just beyond
the fence. Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:5 For the
well-being of the flock, sometimes shepherds will
need to make a decision which a few sheep may find
inconvenient or they would prefer something
different. One of our responsibilities is to obey,
not rebel.
• Do not even listen to an accusation against an
elder, unless there are two or three witnesses. 1
Timothy 5:19 This is one of our responsibilities.
• Imitate their faith as those who are leading us.
Hebrews 13:7 Sheep can not be passive; we must
actively seek to grow in becoming more like those
who are leading us. This is one of our
responsibilities.
Let’s be the shepherds and sheep God wants us to
be.